Chapter Twenty-Nine
To Rod Reis' Estate
A/N: I've been in an AoT mood so here's a second chapter within a week. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: Attack on Titan does not belong to me, I only own Emalina and any other OC's. The new story picture does not belong to me; I hold no Copyright and found the picture through Google Images.
~ oOo ~
LEVI
By the time I had captured the man from the Interior Police, it was nearing sunset. I wanted to place plenty of distance between the checkpoint we destroyed and where we currently were. Gathering my new squad, we set out further into the woods, seeking someplace that would keep our location a secret. We walked until the sun finally left our graces, falling behind the horizon, allowing the moon to venture into the sky.
Finding the edge of the forest close to an open plain, I called for everybody to stop. My sister walked up beside me as I threw the Interior Police scumbag against a random tree.
"So what now?" She asked, holding her gun close to her chest. "You think he'll actually give us some answers?"
"Who knows," I answered, casting my eyes towards her. "Either way, I'll make him talk."
She patted my shoulder. "Good luck with that, because I leave it all to you. What do you want us to do in the meantime?"
"Keep your wits about you," I said. "We're still wanted criminals. If they find the checkpoint in the state we left it in, they'll send more MP's to search for us." Nodding, she left my side to relay what I'd said to the others. I could hear them move to different corners of where we stood, taking their own positions.
Smirking towards the man beneath me, I knew I was going to have fun with this. I didn't really want to torture the man, but I had to do whatever it took to find the location of Eren and Historia. Besides, I would take the burden of gathering this information than leaving it to my sister or the other members of my squad. They weren't quite at that level. I doubt they ever would be, but they were getting there.
As the moon traveled over our heads, I spent some time connecting my fist to the man's face, several teeth eventually popping out of his mouth the more I smashed him. Still, he wasn't talking, no matter how much I slammed him.
"Screw you…" the man eventually said. So? I slapped him in the face with my foot.
Kneeling, I wasn't about to give up. I would do whatever I had to to get the answers we needed. "Where'd they take Eren and Christa?"
"You bastards," he I'm mediately replied. "You think you're so brave? That post was manned by recruits. They barely even knew how to wipe their own asses. No one's gonna think you're heroes for beating them down."
"Tch, yeah the guilt's tearing me apart," I said, narrowing my vision. Shoving my foot into his mouth, I slammed the male against the trunk of the tree until my boot could move no further. "But what really gets me is this mouth of yours. I'm gonna suggest you start talking while you're still able to use it. Now, where are Eren and Christa?"
Removing my boot, the man gagged spitting blood out onto the dirt. "You can't win. All that's left to you now is to find some filthy corner to hide in, covered in mud and shit! If you don't turn yourselves in, then every last Scout we capture will get the noose! Starting with the guiltiest one of them all, Erwin Smith! Gyah!"
Emalina had run up beside me and smashed her own fist into the man's face, sending his body flying to the ground as she tackled him. I merely watched in amusement, knowing the comment about Erwin truly riled her up. Honestly? I thought it was amusing.
"You stupid, selfish, son of a bitch!" she cried. Standing over him, she kicked his ribs, slamming her foot wherever she could to cause injury. "How dare you speak so ill will about Erwin! He has done nothing wrong you fucking coward - !"
"Emalina that's enough!"
Running behind her, Jean captured the woman in his arms, carrying Emalina back to her position as she kicked and screamed at the man. The moment Jean halted, so did she. Glancing between him, myself and the male, she dropped her head, mumbling an apology. Her boyfriend said nothing as he whipped some hair away from her face, whereas I grabbed the man by the collar and forced him back up against the tree trunk.
Spitting up more blood, he said, "You - you fucking bitch! I'll kill you!"
"Mmm, I don't think so." I grasped his hair, ramming his head against the wood. "You ever lay one finger on my sister," I growled murderously. "And no one will be able to find your body. Emalina," I called out to my beloved sister. "Do no apologize for what you just did. The man deserves every injury we can afflict upon him." To prove my point, I twisted the man around with his right arm until I could move it no more. That is, until I broke the bone and moved it at will; the man screamed bloody murder. "Thats right. That's what you get for not answering my question. Some Scouts lives are more valuable than others. Only those dumb enough to agree join us. Again, where did they take Eren and Christa?"
"I…I don't know!" He had tears falling from his eyes at this point. "Nobody told me, I swear! Kenny Ackerman doesn't like to make his business known!"
"…Ackerman. I know Kenny. That his last name?"
"It is, but…!"
"He never was one much for sharing information; important stuff anyway. But I bet you have a rough idea. Best try to remember." Stepping forward, I grasped his unbroken left arm.
"No, stop…!"
"You still have plenty of bones for me to break."
"Damnit! Are you insane?!" I merely stared down at the man unamused.
"…maybe."
"Sasha!" My sister suddenly cried.
"I know! Somebodies coming towards us!" Sasha cried out. Throwing the man to the ground, we all hid behind the trees, waiting to see who it was. "And there's more than one!"
"Told ya, you're beat!" The man said. "Struggle all you want. One way or another, the Survey Corp will be destroyed!"
"Shut up!" I hissed, shoving him further into the grass.
Watching the two figures, I narrowed my eyes, trying to discern who it could be. Their hoods were up over their heads, preventing me from seeing their faces, guns held up in a defensive pose. The closer they walked, the more I sensed these people were on our side. As they treaded near our positions, I widened my eyes, knowing exactly who it could be. Making their way closer, they revealed themselves, pulling back the hood; it was Hange and Moblit.
Noticing who it was, everyone gathered around as Hange handed me a piece of paper. Moblit lit a lantern he had attached at his side and gave us some light to read what was in my hands. As I sat on a chopped tree trunk, my team gathered around me, all curious to see what had happened. We spent several minutes reading the newsletter only to leave my team gasping; hell, even my hands were slightly shaking.
"And there you have it," Hange finished her tale. She had explained everything that had happened these last two days as she explained her situation with Flegel Reeves as well as the battle-less coup Erwin initiated against the government. "The coup was successful. Premier Zackary now has full control of the Capital and government. For the time being, at least. The nobles seem to be staying in line," she stated.
"Ok but what about the incident with Mr. Reeves?" Armin asked hastily.
Hange merely smiled. "We got a public confession out of one of the Interior Police. Reeve's son Flegel really pulled through for us. It's all written right there. The abuse of power, the bogus charges against the Scouts, and that King Fritz was both a puppet and a fraud. It's clear that we only acted in self-defense. In short? We're no longer criminals."
Everyone cheered. I watched as Connie jumped into the air; Sasha grasped Mikasa around the neck; and Jean collected my sister into his arms and spun her around before sharing a kiss. Rolling my eyes, I stood facing Hange. "Looks like Erwin's gamble paid off."
"That it did," Hange answered solemnly. "But it wasn't just Erwin who gambled. Many people had to make a lot of hard choices for this to work."
"Whereas my choices got three of your people killed." I glanced in her direction. "I'm sorry." She merely smiled down at me. "Here's the thing. The Interior's may have lost, but not all of them know it. They still have Eren and Historia too. We need to find them quickly."
"Right. I think I know where they might be." She lifted her arm, revealing a thick book. "Let's get there, and put an end to this fight."
~ oOo ~
EMALINA
Leaving the man from the Interior Police behind, we all trekked back towards the road checkpoint where we had left the wagon and Freyja behind. Upon my steed seeing me making my way towards her, she ran with all her might towards my location, pulling the wagon with her. Slamming on her hooves she almost plowed me into the ground as I hugged the horse around her neck.
"I missed you Freyja!"
Jean joined beside me, scratching Freyja behind the ears. "She's such a good girl."
"Of course she is," I said happily, still exhilarated from learning we were no longer criminals.
"Well she does have the best mother in the world."
"Aww you're so sweet Jean." Standing on my tiptoes, I planted a kiss on his lips, wishing I could elongate the gesture. It had only been a few days, but I truly missed being intimate with Jean. What with my capture, me turning into a titan, being labeled as criminals, the kidnapping…we obviously handn't had any time. So when would we? Even if we didn't initiate sex, I just wanted some alone time with him. I wonder if Jean thought the same.
The others soon joined just as Jean began helping me remove Freyja from the wagon's harness. Hange and Levi walked up to me and Jean as the others moved to grab the spare horses the MP's had tied up.
"We have our location," Hange said towards me. "The Reis' Estate."
"And how far is that, exactly?" I asked, scratching Freyja's snout.
"Not too far," Levi stated. "It shouldn't take us more than an hour or two by horse."
"So what's the plan?" Jean asked. "Are we expecting company once we're there?"
"I wouldn't put it past the Interior Police to have some members of the Anti-Personnel squad there so we need to go prepared," Hange answered as she held her chin. "Jean, I want you and Emalina leading the wagon when we leave."
"Got it," he answered.
"And Emalina," Levi turned towards me. "I want you to be prepared to use your titan if necessary, we don't know what to expect, but if it's anything like the fight we had in Trost, they'll have their guns. Your titan form can handle gun fire better than we can."
"Won't that…" I swallowed. "Won't that reveal my powers to the Interior Police then? If any survive tonight, won't they go and blab to the government there's another titan shifter like Eren?"
"That's a risk we need to take, shorty," Levi ruffled my hair as I growled. He smiled, but it fell with his next statement. "Besides, we don't know how many of them there are. You'll be our best defense."
I shrugged my shoulders, now knowing exactly how I could help in my titan form. I didn't know any of my abilities other than making titans run away from me. I guess we would find out. As Hange and Levi left to go and prepare the others, I pulled the last strap off of Freyja and pulled her away from the wagon so we could replace the front with another horse. When she was loose, with Jean's help, he pulled us towards the side, furthering the gap between us and the others.
Taking hold of my hand, Jean leaned down towards my ear. "I miss you," he softly whispered. His voice sent shivers down my spine as I curled into his body. With our positions, Freyja was blocking us from the view of others as I grasped the man's face and pulled him in for a kiss. It was one we hadn't been able to share for several days and I didn't care if the others could potentially see.
Pulling me against his muscled frame, Jean clawed his fingers into my hips as I slipped mine into his hair. I resisted in moaning, the kiss was that good and very much needed. If it weren't for the others, I would've begged Jean to take me right then and there. Knowing we needed to pull away, I slightly pushed against his chest, needing to breathe as I gulped in air, our lips still mere inches apart.
Toying with the collar of his button-up shirt, my head tilted down, cheeks tinted red. "I - I miss you too, Jean."
"Hopefully soon," he said quietly. "We'll have some privacy."
I could feel the tips of my cheeks burning. "I just want some time alone. Feels like we haven't had that in ages."
"Heh, you're telling me." He kissed the top of my head as I chuckled. "As long as you're still by my side, I can wait forever."
"Me too," I glanced upward into his golden eyes.
"Hey you lovebirds!" Hange called from across the checkpoint, waving us down. "We're about ready to set sail!"
Laughing at her choice of words, we trekked over to their location. Sasha appeared and handed the reins from a horse to Jean, signifying it was his for the night. Myself, Jean, Moblit, Sasha and Connie all had horses whereas Armin, Hange, Levi and Mikasa would ride in the wagon, seeing as there was a slight shortage in steeds.
"Now," Hange began as she walked up towards the wagon, book in hand. "It is time we go and rescue Eren and Historia. I've already told Emalina and Jean that they'll be in front, which means I want Sasha, Connie and Moblit riding behind the wagon. Keep your eyes and ears open for anyone that could be after us. Just because our names have been cleared, doesn't mean we're in the clear. Got that?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Now let's set out!"
Claiming my spot upon Freyja's back, Jean and I moved our steeds to the front of the wagon, waiting patiently until everyone was ready. When Hange told us to go, we sped off into the night, each of us holding a lit torch to light the way before our vision.
Everything was quiet. The still of the night palpable with tension because of the mission we had to achieve next. There were times I glanced over at Jean, his face and attention always set forward towards the road. That's what I loved about him. His ability to stay calm in any situation where he can always look forward. Smiling to myself, I was glad this man had chosen me to stay by his side. I loved him with all my heart.
Everybody stayed quiet for most of the trip until Mikasa asked a question, then their conversation began. I tried listening in, but Jean caught my attention as he scoot his horse closer to mine.
"So, what do you think?" He asked.
"About what?"
"About what we're to get ourselves into."
Shrugging my shoulders, I honestly didn't know. Any and everything could happen. If Levi was correct and there truly were Interior Police there, it was to become another battle just as with Trost yesterday. If the moment ever came to it, we'd most likely have to make some pretty tough decisions in our near future that would go against our moral compass. I passed a stare at Jean, knowing this would affect him the most.
"We'll just have to wait and see, I guess. But you need to be aware that - "
He nodded slowly, already understanding what I was about to say. "I know. I won't make the same mistake as I did in Trost. If need be," he turned his head to stare into my wide eyes. "I'll pull the trigger. Any and everything to protect my friends. To protect you."
The corners of my lips lifted somewhat. "And I'll use my titans powers to protect you."
Smiling at the thought, his face soon fell, thinking of the decisions he would soon have to make. I felt bad for Jean, knowing he didn't want to make such decisions; he didn't want to kill somebody just because they were opposing forces.
"The chapel was built from stone," I could hear Hange state behind me in the wagon. I guess they had been discussing Reis' estate. "It would take a lot of time and effort to destroy it. If it was bandits, they would've taken what they could and made a quick escape. Also, Lord Reis was the only witness, no one confirmed his story. Then Lord Reis rebuilt the chapel with his personal fortune almost immediately. What was his rush?"
Jean and I stared backwards at Hange, her voice full of skepticism and confusion.
"When you think about it, the story. Could only make sense if it involved a titan attack. It may turn out that I'm jumping to conclusions, but it's suspicious enough to merit an investigation. And it's the only lead we have."
"Well, that and they captured Eren, who just so happens to be a titan," I offered.
I could feel the stares of everyone on my back.
"What're you getting at, Emalina?" Levi asked.
"It's just as I said. If Hange's theory is correct and the attack occurred because of a titan, doesn't it seem a little odd to have the Interior Police capture Eren, a titan, just to take him back to the place that was destroyed by a titan five years ago? I dunno, it's just seems too coincidental to me. I get that Eren is to be swallowed, but why with Lord Reis?"
"You may be on to something, Emalina," Hange offered. "But, before the night is over, Reis' land will be crawling with our soldiers. Unfortunately, we can't expect him to wait that long. We have to get there as soon as possible. Before Eren ends up in someone's stomach."
"That won't happen," I could hear Mikasa growl. "Because we'll save him."
Glancing back at the female, I could feel a drop in my stomach. But what if we didn't? What if we were too late? Whipping my reins, I edged Freyja to move faster. We had to get there on time!
"Wha - ! Emalina! Slow down!" I could hear Jean and Armin call after me. They weren't far behind, catching up just as quickly with their steeds.
Riding with everything I had, we finally made it to the estate, making our way through the roads to the largest building on the far end of the complex: the chapel. Slowing our steeds down, we all managed to stop right at the front doors. Dismounting Freyja, I moved her beside the wagon, instructing her to stay. She whinnied in response, nudging my face as I stroked her snout.
"Don't worry girl I'll be back."
Taking Jean's hand, we made to follow Hange and Levi as they were the first to open the chapel doors. Walking inside to find it small, I was surprised it had been rebuilt. Hange was right, what was the rush of rebuilding it when the man lost his entire family, all in one night?
"Alright, before we begin searching for a secret doorway, we've got some construction to do," Hange stated.
"Construction of what?" Connie asked hesitantly, knowing with Hange, it could be anything.
"We'll need all the help we can get if there truly are Interior Police inside. So, here's what we do…"
This time, I was actually impressed with the invention Hange wanted us to construct. They were large barrels , gun powder inside, with gas canisters and bags of oil attached with rope along the outside to be used as a sneak attack. I wasn't sure how they exactly worked, but Hange was adamant that they would. Considering the other inventions I've seen her tamper with, I simply agreed and went along with the plan.
We all spent a good amount of time creating at least three of these machines, leaving us with little time left to consider another sound plan in case these didn't work. We had already wasted enough time trying to make it to this damn chapel, it was now or never to save Eren and Historia.
Explaining what we were to do next, all of us began searching throughout the chapel for some sort of contraption, a hidden door, something that could hide where Eren and Historia were. Jean, Connie and I were searching near the front door when we heard Hange cry out.
"Found it!" She cried quietly. "A hidden door. Reis and Eren should be inside. Hopefully the layouts close to what I predicted."
"These presents better pay off," my brother stated, somewhat angrily. "Considering the time we spent prepping them."
Standing beside Jean, I attached the gun to my back, seeing as how I didn't need it as I would be transforming into my titan. Holding his weapon tightly, Jean caressed my hand, needing comfort in this moment now more then ever. "Are you ready?" He asked me.
"Mhm," I said quietly. "As ready as I'll ever be. Trust me, I've got all of your backs," I stared off to Connie and Sasha as well.
"And we've got yours," my bald friend stated. "You might be a badass as a titan, but you still have your own weakness."
"You're right," I said, unconsciously grasping the back of my neck. "Still, they have guns, not blades, so we have the upper hand on that."
Grasping my arm, Jean forced my attention towards him. Eyes narrowed, he said, "I need you to be extra careful. Just because they don't have blades doesn't mean they can't inflict damage to you."
Smiling softly, I nodded in agreement. "You're right. But if we all keep a look on each other's backs, I'm sure we'll kick some ass."
"Ok." Halting our conversation, we turned to Armin who had been placing the last minute touches on the barrels. "We should be good to go now."
"Alright then," Levi said, then moved his attention to everyone else. "Is everyone here ready? Cause you're all about to dirty your hands." Everyone fell silent. Jean didn't remove his hand from my arm as nobody said a word. Catching the stare of my brother, I nodded in affirmation. "Guess that's a yes then," Levi stated, not waiting another second for someone to speak up. "It's now or never people!"
As Hange opened the door, everyone. Over towards the staircase hidden underneath. As they all disappeared, Jean pulled me off to the side, shoving me into the wall, roughly landing his lips upon mine. It was the same as earlier, we were all over each other. My hands found their way into his hair as Jean's gripped my waist tightly. Our lips moved in sync, tongues battling for dominance. This was definitely a kiss to remember, one I surely didn't want to end.
Removing himself, the man dropped his forehead against mine. "I love you so very much, Emalina. Never forget that. Everything I do and have done, is always to protect you."
~ oOo ~
JEAN
"I love you too Jean, more than anything," replied Emalina. Dropping another kiss to her lips, I forced ourselves apart, otherwise, I would never let the woman go.
Taking her hand, I led her down the stairs, quickly making way towards the others as not to allow them to know what we just did. We eventually met up with the others, no one glancing back to see we finally made it. The stairs led a ways down into the depths beneath the chapel. Still holding Emalina's hand, I could feel her slightly shaking against my back and I wished for nothing more than to comfort her. Hell, I was scared to. We had no idea what we were walking into.
After several minutes, we finally made it to the end of the stairs where we were greeted with yet another door. Having glanced back at the rest of us, Levi nodded, his eyes searching everyone until they landed on me. I did nor said anything as there was nothing that could be said. I was still here, wasn't I?
Taking a deep breath, Levi suddenly moved forward as he kicked the door wide open, surprising all of us that we would cause such a loud racket. Waiting several seconds, he and Mikasa then threw the barrels outside and down the crystal-like staircase as they rolled to the grounds lower level. Everybody ran out through the door, Levi and Mikasa zoomed through the air straight towards the top whereas we all knelt towards the ground. Sasha lit her arrow on fire and threw it to one of the barrels, causing a mighty explosion as the barrel ignited with power.
With one barrel down, myself, Emalina and the others used our flare guns to ignite green flares across the open room to cover Levi and Mikasa. That way, the Interior Police couldn't use their guns as they couldn't see their targets. We continued to shoot as many flares as we could while Levi scoured the area to count how many of them there were.
"Thirty-five total!" His voice screamed through the smoke. "In the upper parts of the pillars! Continue the plan, we'll take them all out right here!"
"Everyone, scatter!" I could hear of the female Interior Police call out. "Let them spread out then surround them!"
Connie, Hange, Moblit and myself then set off our ODM gear. Behind me, I could hear Emalina's scream. Turning around just in time, I was able to see her jump off the top of the stairs, snapping her fingers to find the yellow, electrical spark floating around her. My girl was transforming, and for some reason, I couldn't have been more proud of her. I watched as her giant form took root, her height not even tall enough to reach the roof of this place. Roaring into the crystal chamber echoed across the entire room.
"What the hell?!" I could hear someone scream.
"They have a fucking titan! We weren't told that!"
Snickering, I knew this was the reaction Levi wanted; to throw all the MP's off balance because we had an awesome secret weapon. Leaving Emalina to do her own thing, as she was just tall enough to reach the platforms connected to the pillars, I zoomed on through the smoke.
"I can't see shit!" There was somebody not to far from my location. Bursting my speed faster, I could hear the man's coughing due to the smoke. Damnit! Where'd they go?!" Bursting through the darkness, I drew my blades, ready to pounce. Just as I drew nearer, I could hear Armin's voice in my head, his words of information were greatly needed during this fight.
The Anti-Personnel ODM gear has a big weakness. The anchor points in the same direction as the gun, so once it's deployed, the gun can't be aimed again. Which means that while the users moving, they're vulnerable, to an attack from behind.
Taking my friend's words to heart, I knew this was the moment. Levi expected this of me, so I had to do it. But Emalina…Her face suddenly entered my mind. The beautiful freckles scattered across her nose, the scar on her temple, the way she smiled, all of it was a perfect image in my head. I was about to commit murder in order to keep her safe. If that's what I had to stoop to, then so be it.
Drifting over the man, I noticed he heard my gear rumble as he rotated his head to glance back at me. "Ah! What the…?!"
I didn't give him a chance to speak. "This is for Emalina!" Swinging my sword, I sliced the man in the neck, curling my arm to finish the deed. Blood spurted everywhere as the man's head and body fell towards the ground. I thought for sure my first kill would make me sick, or something of the least. But this? Nothing. I was perfectly fine.
Searching for his partner, I swung through the smoke, soon finding the man aiming his gun in my direction. Quickly tilting my head to the side, I burst my gas faster, stabbing my blade straight through the man's heart. Screaming in pain, he plunged towards the ground in death. Adrenaline was pumping within my veins to find my next target.
Is this what the Captain feels like?
~ oOo ~
EMALINA
Having snapped my fingers and transformed, I was now my abnormal, blue titan-self. Roaring into the chambers, I was sure all the Anti-Personnel squad knew I was here. I could here the screams of those fearing my form, that they weren't told there would be another titan. Smiling to myself, I burst forward, eyes focused on the nearest platform I could see. There were still two figures on it, their guns pointing in my direction.
I laughed.
Swinging my fist, it landed directly against the platform, smashing it to smithereens as the two Anti-Personnel squad fell to their deaths. Turning around, I watched as Armin continued sending green flares through the air as Sasha ignited the last barrel.
"Forget the others! Go after the titan she mustn't get away!"
Oh, so they wanted to play? Then let's play.
Three members came flying straight towards me; that was their first mistake. Stepping aside, I threw a fist at the first to appear, my hand shattered the woman as my strength flung her backwards into one of the pillars. More yells entered my ears as a piercing feeling entered my arm. Glaring down at the tiniest bullet hole, I growled, roaring into the cavern, waiting for the other two to show their appearance.
One came from the left, swinging around me as I watched his face, so full of fear full of confusion at how a titan could be here. I could only laugh even more. Maybe these titan powers weren't so bad after all?
As the remaining two came after me, I ducked from their bullets, even though I could take the hit and obviously survive. Activating the wires of their gears, they connected them to my skin. Wrong choice. I grabbed the wires and twirled the men around, thrashing them against the wall as far away as possible. I didn't like this feeling of having such power over these people, but they attacked my brother, almost killed Jean and was instructed to kill my friends. I wasn't about to sit aside and let them get away with any of that.
Making my way into the smoke, I had to be careful. The pillars were close together and I didn't want to run into any of my comrades. Making noises as softly as I could, I wanted the others to know I was there. Soon Levi swung by and landed on my shoulder, blades out, covered in blood, his eyes peering around.
"I don't see any more, but they're out there. Be on the lookout, got it?" Peering at him, I nodded, refraining myself from speaking. "Good. Keep your eyes open!" He then jumped from my shoulder, flying off to heaven knows where as he disappeared from my sight.
Moving forward, more soldiers zipped passed myself, avoiding me entirely as they were trying to go after those with ODM gear. I grasped the wires of the ones I could and flung them around. I had probably taken down ten by myself, not knowing how many were left or how many my comrades had killed.
Running through the smoke, I narrowly avoided the pillars. The smoke was thinning and we didn't have anymore barrels to use to our advantage. Though, we weaned their numbers; little by little there were less soldiers than when we first started. Connie's voice entered my hearing, then Armin's and Mikasa's. I had no idea where they were, but maybe -
"There you are!" Turning to see two members flying straight towards me. Hair flinging around me as I twirled in their direction, I didn't notice the third and fourth soldiers heading towards me from behind. Ignoring those two, I focused on the ones in front squashing them immediately. But as I threw the second man to the ground, I was suddenly on my knees, grasping at the back of my neck. Pulling my hand away, I was surprised to find blood among my fingertips. Somehow they had attacked my nape.
"She's down!" One of the ones that was behind me screamed. "Attack her now while we can!" It was then more than five members came at me from all directions. What caught me off guard was the blood on my neck, but that would heal. Now, how should I take care of these creatures?
BANG!
Gasping, one of the members shot my left eye, leaving darkness to succumb to one side of my face, until another explosion rang in my ear and I completely went blind. I was now scared. Crying out, I couldn't see and I didn't know how long it would take for my vision to return. I felt more bullet holes in my skin. They were shooting at me from all sides!
"JEAN!"
Screaming my lover's name was the only action I could take. Since my greatest asset had been taken from me, I didn't want to start flailing my arms around hoping I'd take down some of the flying members. My comrades could be coming to my rescue, I could potentially hit them instead! No, I couldn't do it. Instead I wrapped my nape with my hands, ensuring they could no longer do any damage.
"EMALINA!"
I could hear Jean's voice, somewhere off into the distance. Or was he closer? I couldn't fucking see! "JEAN! H-HELP!" I pleaded, trying to speak as best I could. Crouching against the floor, I curled into myself, waiting until the screams stopped. I could hear Jean slicing his sword, his grunts entering my ears as he took down soldier by soldier. Daring to open my eyes, I realized my vision was already coming back, movements here and there were blurred but I could still see. Within seconds of opening my eyes, color gradually returned. Glancing around, I couldn't see anymore bodies flying around, only to notice that all ten were now laying dead on the ground.
Taking down the last member, I could now see perfectly as Jean was flying in my direction. My eyes widened, however, as another soldier suddenly moved from beyond the pillar he just passed and was now flying straight towards him. Calling out Jean's name, I roared with all my might, flinging from my knees to my feet as I hurled my fist straight forward. Pummeling the Anti-Personnel soldier, I sent her flying nearly a hundred feet backwards. She was surely dead just from the hit alone.
Plopping himself onto my shoulder, Jean held onto my hair for balance. "Thanks Ema," he said breathlessly. I could only nod, not sure I could reply with a thank you in this form. He left a kiss against my large temple, jumping to assume his duties as I did mine. Being on edge, I was now wary of being shot in the eyes again, though I continued in moving forward regardless.
How many had we taken down? Surely there weren't that many left?
"It looks like I found another reckless spirit!" I could hear Hange's voice yell as she moved forward to another target. Following in her direction, I wanted to see if there were more around her. Getting closer, I heard Hange's pained cry as I watched her be thrown left and right by the female Anti-Personnel soldier's gear. Staring, I was frozen as Hange was hurled towards one of the pillars, her cry of agony echoing throughout the chamber. Running and avoiding the pillars as best I could, I tried making it towards my friends location to grab her before she could fall to the ground.
I was too late.
Skidding to me knees, I barely missed Hange as she fell to the ground, blood pooling around her shoulder. Roaring with everything I had, I stared upward at the woman who had caused all of this. The female didn't seem faltered by my stare.
"Now!" She screamed into the air. "We'll reform our defense at the fallback point. Time to regroup!" Facing Hange's position as she flew away, the woman fired more gunshots towards my friend, but this time, I didn't let any harm befall her.
Reaching my arm forward, I clenched my teeth and fell, wanting nothing more than to create a barricade to protect my friend. Suddenly, a crystal like barrier grew from my hand upon the ground, creating a wall from the ground in front of Hange to protect her. The bullets rammed straight into the crystal, then fell to the ground, not even creating a dent. As the woman and six others flew in the opposite direction, my comrades dropped to the ground all looking at what had grown from my hand and Hange.
"Emalina," I could hear Sasha say. "What did you do?" I merely stared at her, not sure what to say. Even I didn't know, it was like I had just created crystal from my hands. Just like Annie could. But this time, I could actually create something, not just cover my hands with it.
Stepping back some, I knelt to the ground and withdrew from my titan form. Jean ran to my side, holding his arms open as I lost my balance and fell off my titans shoulder, to which I fell straight into his arms. "Thank you, as always." He merely smiled as he made our way back to Hange. Moblit was on the ground having rolled her over to assess the damage.
"It looks like it penetrated her shoulder. Nothing to drastic, it seems, I think she's just unconscious," said Moblit. Everyone sighed, thankful their friend and comrade was going to be alright.
"Still, what exactly did you create to save Hange, Emalina?" Levi looked in my direction as Jean and I neared closer.
Shrugging my shoulders I said, "Your guess is as good as mine. All I know is that…I wanted to create something to protect Hange and it just, appeared out of my hand?"
"Is this another one of your abilities?" It was Connie who asked. I shrugged once more, not sure what to say.
"Regardless, we must go after them. They're in the next room, who knows what they've constructed to keep us out," commented Levi.
After Armin and Moblit hoisted Hange up, we made our way to the opposite side of the room. As I was slightly unsteady on my feet, Jean guided me with an arm over my shoulder as we quickly moved; we didn't have much time left. As we made our way towards the narrowed tunnel, out feet splashed in water as we soon came to the other side, not so surprised to find there was a rope wall blocking our way inside.
We all came to a stop, only to follow Armin's glance towards the roof to find a large enough hole to fit all of us inside. However, it was barricaded with thick piles of wood, there was no way we'd be able to get through there.
"Might be a way through," Levi offered.
Out of no where, the chamber turned yellow as a beaming glow encircled all of us from the other side of the net. There could only be one thing causing that light. A titan.
"Eren!" Mikasa cried.
The light grew strong as rumbling erupted within the cavern, causing rocks and glistening stones to crumble.
"Hey guys?! This place is about to collapse!" Sasha commented.
"Captain!" Then Armin spoke, calling for Levi. We all turned towards our blonde friend to see him pointing towards the hole in the ceiling. "It opened up!"
"Ok, Armin, Moblit, you two take Hange and find a way out of here!" My brother roared. Following his footsteps, we all used our gear to climb through the hole to find it was a passageway straight through towards the next chamber. We all ran as fast as our legs could, seeking the opposite end, and when we did, we all jumped down. Mikasa thrust herself into action just as I saw Historia be thrown from Eren's position against the wall, catching her just in time before the woman crashed into stone.
"Mikasa?!" Historia cried out.
Levi landed and roared, "Give me the keys!"
"Captain…all of you…?" Eren was soft with his words. Had he already given up? Was he ready to die? I stood beside the wall as Levi and Jean grasped Eren's arms while Connie crawled to his feet. My brother had unlatched Eren's left arm, giving the keys to Connie to unlock his feet.
"Just leave me here!" Eren said adamantly. "Forget it! Hurry up and escape!"
"Stop whining you half-naked weirdo!" Jean roared. "We've got gunman and a titan coming at us so pipe down!"
As Jean worked on Eren's last arm, the rest of us stared at the titan transforming before our eyes. "Woah! It's even bigger than the Colossal titan!" Sasha said wide-eyed. "That's crazy!"
She was right. Whoever it was that was the titan would certainly be bigger than Bertholdt's titan form. This beast was slowly forming, growing larger by the second. Its bone structure was nearly complete to which its flesh began to grow across its body. As it grew in height, it finally reached the roof where rocks escaped from the ceiling, pummeling their way down towards us.
"The ceiling!" Mikasa cried as we all stared upward.
"Guys look out!" I roared towards the males.
The three of them dragged Eren's body back across the ground just as a giant piece of slab nearly killed them, destroying the platform in the process. As they made their way backwards, we all scrunched against the rock wall. With no where else to do, all we did was stare at the ever-growing titan before us.
"Damnit!" I could hear Jean over the rumble. "We'll be buried alive!" Taking hold of my hand, Jean didn't let go as we both tightened our fingers around each other. If this is where we were to die, I'm glad it was with Jean, my brother, and friends by my side.
Beside me, Eren started crying as he slid down to the floor. "I'm sorry…I-I can't…I've been too late every step of the way. This power never should have been given to me. I can't be humanities hope, I'm just too weak…"
"Come on, stop playing the tragic hero," Jean sneered. "Of course you're to weak to accomplish jack by yourself, but no one expects you to."
"Yeah, calm it down," entered Connie. "We've been through a whole lot worse than this, man."
"Not that I really want to get used to it!" Said Sasha sarcastically.
"Still," Connie said. "It's gonna suck trying to fly through that mess."
Mikasa stepped forward as I cast my eyes around, trying to find something, somewhere we could possibly hide. I was too young to die at the hands of rubble, what a pathetic way to go. Moving my feet, I was surprised to find something touching my boot. Glancing down, I found it odd to see a vial laying on the ground. Squinting my eyes, I tried to make out what the label was saying.
Armor…?
Mikasa stepped forward. "I'll take Eren."
"It's gonna take all that we have to not get hit. So hold on for your life," Jean glanced towards Historia.
"Right," she replied.
"It's useless," Eren was still crying. "You know we won't make it."
"So what, we should do nothing?!" Historia cried out. "Wanna sit here and hold hands until we're crushed? Or until we burn to death? You know dying here won't make anything better!"
Eren gasped.
"Listen." It was my brother's turn to enter the conversation; I was the only one to have refrained from speaking thus far. What was I to say? "I really hate that I do this to you all the time. But…you've gotta make a choice here."
When Eren still didn't say something, I knelt towards the ground, grasping the vial in my hand. "Look, Eren. You can't give up now, not with everything you've accomplished, everything you've done!" I said, still trying to figure out what I was supposed to say. "There's nothing I could say that can ease your mind, I know this. But," I held out the vial for him to take, knowing exactly what it was used for, considering I had just discovered it as one of my new abilities. "You're not alone, and you never were. Besides, I'm a titan now too, remember?" His eyes seemed to widen when I reminded him of that fact. "We can learn through this together. You're not alone," I reiterated.
When he lifted his eyes to mine, I offered him a kind smile. "So, are you ready to do this together?" Eren nodded, snatching the vial from my hand as he bounced upwards towards the broken platform. Following right behind him, I dropped Jean's hand as the male screamed my name, calling out to me just as Levi was. Jumping into the air, I watched Eren bite his hand, the same electrifying yellow glow surrounding us as he began to transform. As for me, I stood at the end of the platform before I turned to see everyone staring at me.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Jean roared. I merely smiled as I lifted my hand and snapped my fingers. I hadn't had the chance to see if I could transform more than once in one day; I had the conviction to do so, so we were about to find out.
Feeling the swirl within my gut, I knew I'd be able to do this. With Eren behind me turning his titan flesh into hardened skin, I transformed into my own titan. The moment I was at my heightened state, I cupped my hands before my body, holding them with palm side facing down and took a deep breath. It was then my hands began to glow as they had earlier when I was near Hange. Crystal grew from my fingertips and I was soon directing where it was to go. Soon, I had made a small recess made from this crystal substance beneath my hands as I glanced my attention towards every before me, signaling for them that this was their protection.
"Come on!" I could hear my brother yell. "Get under Emalina's hands! Now!"
~ oOo ~
JEAN
Making sure the others ran first, I was the last to make it under Emalina's crystalized hands, nearly getting crushed myself as I rock landed in my position. Gotta say, it seemed pretty nifty that she suddenly discovered this certain power of hers, because it was definitely helping us in this instant. We all trekked towards the back, keeping our front secure on the open hole of the alcove she created.
From our positions, we watched what we could. It seemed whatever Emalina had given Eren was working because crystal-like beams erupted from behind Emalina's titan and were shooting in different directions across the cavern. I wasn't sure how long we had stayed in such a position, but we made sure to stay still for as long as possible until we couldn't hear anymore rubble falling from the ceiling.
Ten minutes seemed to pass before I slowly made made way passed Emalina's hands to see everything surrounding us was still. Waving to my comrades behind me, we all exited Emalina's structure to find the cavern nearly collapsed, all except for the circle Eren managed to make with his hardened crystal beams.
Impressed, I stared upward at Emalina who was glancing down at us. She seemed to release a sigh at seeing all of us were unharmed. Staring at her, I watched as she began to crawl from her titan's nape. Igniting my gear, I climbed up towards her location as Mikasa and Levi made their way towards Eren to get him out of his hardened skin. As for me, I gently pulled Emalina from the confines of her titan being, slowly dragging her out of the flesh.
"There you are," I smiled down at the woman in my arms. Emalina returned the gesture as she cupped the side of my face. Staring into her face, it pained me to see the lines beneath her eyes, the same Eren gets when he removes himself from his titan. Tracing a finger down each line, I leaned forward and kissed underneath each eye.
She giggled. "You're tickling me."
Helping the woman to her feet, I replied, "Sorry, you're just too irresistible." I dropped a kiss to her forehead, thankful she was still here with me. We both ignited our gear and dropped to the ground level, waiting for the others as Mikasa and Levi safely pulled Eren out from the confines of his hardened titan. As we were all now on the ground, I kept my shoulder around Emalina as we all stared at the structure before us.
"Not to shabby, Eren," commented Levi. "Even after we cut you from it, the titan hasn't disappeared. This could be a game-changer."
Eren didn't seem as enthusiastic as us. He stared wide-eyed at the captain. "I almost forgot…listen! Before I transformed, I drank…from a bottle that said armor! Emalina gave it to me."
Levi glanced to his sister who merely shrugged slowly. "I found it on the ground and thought 'armor' was the same as my new ability. Guess my gut instinct was right."
"Gotcha," Levi then said. "Guess that's all you needed to pull it off. Because this time you did it easily. You saved all our lives; you and my sister. You came up and built everything we see here in the blink of an eye. It's not exactly pretty, but I can see its potential. I bet this is how the walls were made, too. And you," he stepped to Emalina. "How did you know you could make something like that?"
"I didn't, but I just did the same as last and thought of what I wanted to create. Seemed to do the trick," she said.
Shrugging his shoulders, Levi offered his sister a rare smile. "Guess what? This means we finally have a real shot at plugging the hole up in Wall Maria. With both of your abilities, we could do some major damage." Eren gasped while Emalina's mouth dropped. "We had a hell of a time getting here. Took long detours, watched friends die. But as ugly as its been, look at the position we're in now."
"Captain!" Glancing upward, we saw Sasha slowly dropping her way to the ground, followed by Connie. "We secured an exit, sir!"
"Hange's fine!" Our bald friend stated. "Armin and Moblit too!"
"I'm glad to hear it," Levi said.
"Eren!" Sasha and Connie cried out, making their way towards our position. Sasha fell to her knees as if she was begging. "We're all safe thanks to you! But to be completely honest, when I saw you running off into the lights stumbling like a drunk and wailing like a baby, I thought we were screwed! You looked like an idiot and my fate was in your hands! It was awful! Quit your bawling, have some dignity! …that's what I was thinking anyway," Sasha commented. Standing to her feet, she then glared at her best friend. "And you!" She poked Emalina in the chest. "Don't go scaring me like that! You suddenly following Eren like that, I had no idea what you were about to do!"
"Heh," Emalina scratched her cheek in embarrassment. "Sorry about that. But I knew what I was doing!"
Sasha captured Emalina's neck in a tight hug. "Aww of course you did! Because you know everything!"
"I do not!"
"You figured out how to use your new ability, didn't you?"
Emalina's cheeks turned red. "Well, I mean, that is…"
Ignoring the quarrel between the two friends, Levi glanced around at everybody. "Let's go," he said. "We have a big ass titan to catch."
Taking Emalina's hand, I noticed she was wobbling on her feet slightly, just as before. Were the transformations taking a toll on her body? Making way to the hole in the ceiling, I wanted Emalina to go first as I would follow behind in case she needed any help. As we reached the surface, Armin and Moblit were there to take our hands and help us. Once we were stable and outside of the cavern, I pulled the woman into my arms, not caring about those around us.
"Don't ever scare me like that again."
"Heh, it seems that's all I've been doing lately, huh?"
I nodded, kissing her lips. "Sadly, I wouldn't have it any other way, because then you wouldn't be the Emalina I fell in love with."
Then I felt a slap to the back of my head. "Cut that shit out," her brother glared at me. "We've got a fucking titan to capture, and I don't have time to deal with this shit right now," Levi wagged his finger between Emalina and myself.
I was growing flustered. Couldn't we have just one moment of privacy between the two of us? Please?! Instead, I merely took Emalina's hand as we nodded. Once everybody was safely out of the cavern, we then searched for the horses and the wagon. Luckily, they weren't that far off, most of them came running when Emalina whistled for Freyja. Once we secured all the steeds, we began heading in the direction Rod Reis was slowly maneuvering.
It wasn't long until we ran into Commander Erwin.
"Erwin!" Levi called out as we all came to a stop.
"Anyone hurt?" The Commander asked.
"Yeah, Hange took a hit," Levi hooked his finger in her direction inside the wagon.
Erwin examined his Section Commander. "Doesn't look like anything to serious. You've done excellent work, all of you."
"I've got a whole slough of things to report, but, first…"
"Anything on that titan?" Erwin asked.
"It's Rod Reis," Emalina answered from behind the wagon. Erwin looked in her direction and nodded as he somewhat gasped.
"I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this, Commander," Levi comment nonchalantly.
"Time's short," the Commander eventually said after a few moments of silence. "We can't afford to sit here and chat. Head back to the wall."
"You gonna let that thing drag its fat ass all the way to Sina?"
"Well, more specifically, I'm letting it continue towards Orvud district."
Glancing over at Emalina, she scooted Freyja closer to my position upon my steed. "Hey…you really think we can take this titan down?" She asked.
"We have to. Otherwise it's another Trost we'll have to deal with, and I don't think you're in fit condition to fight right now."
"What're you talking about?" Her eyes went wide. "I'm perfectly fine." She wobbled in her seat, slightly loosing balance as I grasped her arm to hold her upright.
"See? Right there. I think your two transformations are taking a toll on your body," I said, slowly releasing her arm. Instead, I traveled down her skin to take hold of her hand. "Whatever you do, please do not transform a third time. I don't think that'll be good for you."
She was quick with a rebuttal. "I don't think I can do that, Jean. If I'm needed, I'll transform. If at any costs to protect the people of Orvud, I'll do whatever it takes!"
I sighed, knowing full well that was going to be her answer. Instead of reprimanding her for such a decision, I leaned across my steed and planted my lips against her cheek. "All I'm asking is that you be careful, alright?"
She smiled brightly, holding Freyja's reins tightly as we were about to set off again. "Now that, I can promise."
~ oOo ~
I'm hoping Emalina's powers make sense, it was somewhat difficult to write. Please leave a review! I want to know what you think of the story thus far :)
DragonGoddess629