Guess who's back lmao.
More in the outro.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"If any of you have something to say, then just say it."
"Oh, no, there's nothing at all. Please just continue."
"Hmph."
That was a less than satisfactory response that he got from Lynne, but even so, the pilot said nothing about it as he remained within the cockpit of his Gundam… with him sitting atop his mother's lap all the while. The cockpit hatch to his unit remained opened, with both Lynne and Nac sitting on either side of it as Mikazuki kept his gaze fixed squarely onto the radar display on the cockpit's main monitor, and all the while, Martha kneaded her fingers through his hair for comfort as he tried to focus.
After saving Rico from the clutches of that Beast Titan, Mikazuki and the other soldiers had regrouped with the civilians, who were rightfully awed to see the Gundam up close, though they spoke nothing of it as Mike assured them of its allegiance to them. Thereafter, they fired a Purple Flare skywards, a signal for assistance, before bunkering down for the time being. Henning did suggest they try to book it towards Stohess for now, though Tomas vetoed his suggestion, stating that to do so would be hard folly, considering how many civilians they had to escort… and without a cart to pile them onto as well!
"I don't know about you, Tomas, but I'd rather not run from here to Stohess, especially if I wasn't trained to do so," snarked Tomas at the time, eliciting a blush of embarrassment from Henning, though he didn't argue back as he simply went along with the plan to bunker down for the time being, with the civilians remaining in close proximity to the Gundam whilst the soldiers remained more spread out, keeping an eye out in conjunction with Barbatos' on board radar.
Rico and Tomas were the sole exceptions to this rule; the former's leg was mangled beyond repair, and latter, being the most medically knowledgeable of the team, took it upon himself to salvage as much as he could, but alas…
"Unless we were to magically regrow your flesh, it would be impossible to fix your leg back to what it once was. I'm… sorry, Rico," apologised Tomas sincerely after he had wrapped Rico's leg up in bandages. The bleeding had stopped by now, thank God, but it came as a small comfort to the platinum blonde, who knew that this would be the end of her military career, but even so…
"I see… thanks for stopping the bleeding, I guess," muttered Rico flatly, with her being too doped out on painkillers to say much else as she looked away from Tomas, who set a hand atop her shoulder.
"Keep your chin up… this isn't the end for you, Rico," encouraged Tomas kindly, only for Rico to shrug his hand off with a frown.
"Well, it may as well be…"
Yeah, it was safe to say that Tomas' optimism wasn't going to turn this situation around… not that he didn't try to do so, anyways, though whilst doing so, Mikazuki, Martha, Lynne and Nac had taken refuge atop and within the Gundam. Their positions were spoken of some paragraphs above, and even if it was, admittedly, somewhat embarrassing for him to be seated in such a way, Mikazuki did not complain as he found Martha's lap to be quite nice to sit on, and her patting his head was a nice bonus as well.
Whilst patting her surrogate son's head, Martha found herself looking around the cockpit in silence. Whilst she didn't like how wrecked the place was, with jagged metal poking out one side of the cockpit that had a sizable hole near the bottom and cracked monitor screens that were no longer usable, she spoke nothing of this as she continued to knead her son's hair, with her finding it imprudent to speak of the Gundam's damages whilst in his presence.
It didn't mean that she didn't ask about a thing or two, though…
"What exactly do all of these buttons do, though…?" asked Martha at one point as she peered past Mikazuki and over at the arm controllers. Mikazuki gave her a grunt before telling her what each button did, and although she was curious about seeing a few of these features for herself, the Carolina matriarch was able to contain herself just enough to not go apeshit with her curiousity. Mikazuki himself was glad for this; at least his adoptive parent wasn't as bad as Hanji!
At one point, however, when Mikazuki leaned down to inspect a blip on the radar, the pilot inadvertently caused the Alaya-Vijnana tube connecting him to Barbatos to be pulled up and into his mother's face, exposing her fully to the red tube connecting the two together. She knew of its existence beforehand, of course, and she knew that it had much to do with the trio of spines along his back; Nac had told her that much, but even so… what she wished to know was…
"Mika… does it hurt, whenever you… connect to Barbatos?" asked Martha, with her sounding genuinely curious and just more than a little concerned as she asked this, and upon inquiring about this, the other two present perked up; they hadn't asked him this prior, and as they turned to have a look at what their friend/charge would respond with, they saw that the pilot had to pause briefly before doing so.
"Not… all the time. I usually get a tingly feeling in my back when I connect to Barbatos, but if I connect to him after a long time, it sometimes makes me feel uncomfortable. It never hurts… but it's not always pleasant either," admitted Mikazuki bluntly, with his words making Martha flinch lightly as she nodded, seeming somewhat relieved at the notion of her son not being wounded by the mere act of connecting with his Gundam, and likewise, both Nac and Lynne seemed relieved as well.
"You really care for your kid, huh?" mused Lynne after some time, with her smiling as she glanced down at Martha, who simply chuckled as she gently flattened Mikazuki's ahoge down against his head, only for it to spring back up after she raised her hand within a moment's notice.
"How could I not? He is my child… not of blood, but even so, I love him all the same," smiled Martha, and even if she hadn't known her for long, Lynne could tell that she was being genuine with her words, and as she processed this, the Elite glanced over at Nac with a smirk.
"You've got a good mum, kid," grinned Lynne, to which Nac grinned right back, bringing his hands to his hips all the while; he was proud of that fact and was not shy about hiding it whatsoever.
"I know, right?"
And for all it was worth, Martha had ended up burying her face in Mikazuki's hair as she heard this, with her not knowing that the pilot felt the same as his friend and superior all the while.
Either way, though, after a few minutes had passed, the flare fired by Team Mike had been acknowledged as a decently sized group of soldiers closed in on them on horseback. Mikazuki had detected them first through Barbatos' radar, prompting him to turn his unit's head towards the inbound soldiers, and after confirming that they were, in fact, human and not Titans, he relayed this info to Lynne, who, in turn, relayed this info to her fellow soldiers. Down below, Henning held a blade up and waved it over at the inbound group of soldiers, all of whom got to them within a matter of minutes.
As they drew closer, Nac and Lynne slid off the cockpit and landed on the ground without issue, and Mikazuki himself detached himself from Barbatos and jumped out of the cockpit with Martha held in his arms in a bridal carry. It was amusing to see someone as short as the pilot holding a woman that was almost two whole heads taller than himself in such a way, but even so, no one said a word as Mika set her down and motioned for her to join the other civilians by the side, and as she (reluctantly) did as she was told, the newly arrived soldiers came to a stop in front of Team Mike.
There were just about seven soldiers present on horseback, with two of the horses present pulling a cart behind them, presumably for the express purpose of evacuating civilians, which was a nice stroke of luck, Mike thought, though he didn't dwell much on that as he watched the apparent leader of the team dismount her stallion and jog over to greet him head on. In truth, he hadn't expected to see her out here, not so soon at least… but all the same…
"Hanji. It's good to see you," nodded Mike in greeting, with him watching as Hanji offered him a two fingered salute whilst marching up in front of him. By her side were Moblit and Nifa, both members of Hanji's personal team, though they hung back as their Captain spoke to Mike upfront. The rest of the two Teams linked up by the background, with them exchanging quick pleasantries before informing one another of what was going on.
"Same here. I saw your signal flare and just so happened to be within the perimeter. Didn't expect to see your team firing such a flare, though, especially considering who's on your team," admitted Hanji, with her sounding somewhere between jovial and serious as she spoke. Her bespectacled gaze turned towards the civilians present as she spoke, however, and after some time, she scowled. "But considering our current situation and how this is an invasion, I guess it is to be expected…"
"Indeed," muttered Mike as he glanced back to see the rest of Hanji's team loading the civilians up onto the cart for evacuation. Off in the back, Mikazuki spoke with Nac about him retreating alongside the civilians. Martha was amongst the aforementioned group of retreating civilians, and although she was reluctant to leave her son, she recognised how her remaining with him would only be a detriment, and as such, she agreed to leave, albeit not before she pulled Mikazuki in for a gentle hug.
"Be safe, Mika. I will be waiting for you to return," smiled Martha, with her pulling away from Mikazuki and planting a gentle kiss onto his cheek. For all it was worth, Mika's cheeks did flush ever so slightly when she did this, though he spoke not of it as he simply nodded, prompting the woman to smile slightly, knowing that the pilot always kept his promises, before retreating to the nearest cart.
Thereafter, however, Nac did argue that he should remain with the rest of the soldiers present, with him arguing that he could be of assistance out in the open, though much to his chagrin, Mikazuki vetoed his opinion personally.
"You're needed elsewhere, Nac. Protect these civilians… and protect mum if you must. Do not let any of the Titans get close to her, and if they do, crush them, do you understand?" stated Mikazuki, with him narrowing his eyes as he grabbed onto Nac's collar and yanked him down to eye level whilst speaking. His words and actions made the taller man flinch as he nodded stiffly, and to this, the pilot released him and grabbed onto his hand, holding it tightly as he squeezed it with his own. "I don't want to leave you either, but right now, we all have our parts to play, and your part is to protect these mum and these civilians, alright? Do not let me down."
"... alright. Just… be careful, alright. After what happened, I don't think I can trust anything good happening anymore," admitted Nac weakly, to which Mikazuki huffed and gently punched him in the arm.
"Where's your optimism gone, Nac?"
"Down the shitter, that's where."
And for all it was worth, that crude response from Nac had gotten a somewhat amused snort from Mikazuki, and moments later, he jumped aboard the cart with all the civilians and gave his friend a two fingered salute. Mika mirrored the gesture before the aforementioned cart began rolling away from them, escorted by a good chunk of Team Hanji, though Hanji herself remained alongside Moblit and Nifa, who motioned for Team Mike, plus Mikazuki, to gather with them.
"Now that the civilians are out of the way, we can get down to the nitty and the gritty. Nice job, by the way. My team and I were told that you were in this general area, and we followed the path of destruction you caused," stated Hanji, with her grinning at Mikazuki as she crouched down and unfurled a map, setting it down onto the grass all the while. The pilot didn't look remotely amused by her words, prompting her to continue as the rest of the team coached by her. "We didn't encounter any Titans along the way, which is a shame, really."
"Only you would see this as a bad thing, ma'am," hummed Nifa, with her shaking her head in endearment as Hanji cackled at her words, but even so, they quickly moved on as the bespectacled maniac informed them of some… unsettling tidings with a frown.
"That aside, though, we've gotten some insider info from one Pastor Nick in regards to how we can resolve this situation," informed Hanji, with her motioning for Mike and Mikazuki in particular to get in close and listen. They did as such, with the currently present members of Team Mike doing the same thereafter, and as they did so, Hanji continued. "He wasn't keen on revealing much to us, but what he did reveal was a way to perhaps seal the breach in Rose if we find it."
"Well, don't leave us hangin', Hanji! Spill it!" scoffed Henning, with him swinging his arms around impatiently as he requested this, to which Tomas brought a hand up to placate the guy's impatience whilst Hanji did as such after rolling her eyes, and moments later, she brought a hand into her jacket and pulled something out of it.
The soldiers could only raise their brows in confusion when they saw it to be a crystal, similar in appearance to Annie Leonhardt's hardened skin. Seeing it made Mikazuki flinch lightly as he looked away from it momentarily, though as for Mike, he raised a brow as he asked Hanji a silent question, one that was answered in an instant.
"This crystal was taken from the wreckage of Stohess after Barbatos defeated Annie. Apparently, her crystalline skin doesn't disappear like her Titan body does," stated Hanji. "I did some research of my own in my spare time, and guess what? The composition of this crystal matches that of the fragments of the Wall that were broken off during the climax of the battle, and… well… as most of us know by now, there are Titans hidden within the walls of Stohess at least…"
A pause as she looked at Mikazuki in particular to confirm this, and when he nodded, having been informed of the Wall Titan issue during his stay at the medical ward, she continued on.
"Well, I've been theorizing recently that, due to the similar composition… it's possible that the Walls themselves are but a barrier of Titans, hardened in a manner similar to Annie's weird power thing," stated Hanji, with her snapping her fingers whilst speaking, and as she said this, the other Elites all stared at her with apprehension, seeming very much unsure of what to make of her words all the while.
"That's… a bit of a far fetch concept, Hanji," admitted Tomas, but even so… "Still though, it's the only one we can work off on…"
"Damn straight," grinned Hanji with a nod, though thereafter, she cleared her throat and continued. "That aside, though, I personally speculate that the surface of the walls are constructed from hardened Titan skin. Currently, we're all hard pressed to plug up the breach in Rose, but if Eren were to use this hardening trait that all the Titans seem to possess… then…"
"He could potentially block the breach indefinitely," finished Mike, with him rubbing at his chin thoughtfully as he said this, and to that, Hanji nodded.
"Aye. It's our only real shot at this… unless we can find a second boulder, anyways," mused Hanji with a shrug. The other soldiers seemed to be in agreement with her on this, but even so, there was much apprehension to be found alongside their agreement, with one of their grievances being voiced out by Mike as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"That's a good plan on its own, but even so… does Eren even know whether or not he's capable of doing such a thing?" asked Mike, with him sounding very much apprehensive as he asked this, and furthermore… "And have you even asked him about this beforehand?"
"Sadly, no. This is a theory I came up with on the fly… we're under a lot of stress right now, so, in truth, I'm just throwing shit onto the wall to see what sticks," stated Hanji solemnly as she bowed her head, and for all it was worth, the soldiers present seemed to get where she was coming from as they nodded sympathetically at her, though all the same…
"Hang on… you mentioned something about Nick, didn't you? What was that about?" recalled Lynne, with her reminding Hanji of her initial comments as she spoke, and as she said this, Zoe shook her head and spoke up, though her words seemed to be directed more towards Mikazuki as she did so.
"Well, that's the problem… Nick gave us some insider info, but it kinda amounted to him pointing us towards someone else to figure things out," stated Hanji apologetically. The stares she was getting from the members of Team Mike made it apparent that they wished to know who this someone else was, and to that, Hanji directed her gaze towards Mikazuki and eyed him critically before speaking. "He said that he took a vow to not speak what he knows, but he knows of another person within the 104th Trainee Brigade that made no such vows… someone that goes by the name of Ymir Fritz…"
And upon hearing this, Mikazuki blinked in genuine surprise. Ymir was knowledgeable in such things…? It felt rather jarring to know this, but even so… something about all this didn't feel too surprising, really, especially when considering everything Annie had told the pilot all those weeks back. Ymir Fritz, she who holds the name of the First Titan and the First King of Eldia… it was likely no coincidence that she had turned out to be someone so important…
"Ymir Fritz… I know her. She's an acquaintance," stated Mikazuki flatly, and as he said this, the soldiers present all flinched at this. "I never suspected her of anything, though. Nothing outside of her crush on Christa."
"Jeez, TMI, kid," snarked Lynne as she gently bopped Mikazuki over the head, with her flattening his ahoge briefly before it springed back up like a… well, spring. As she said this, however, Hanji couldn't resist a slight snicker as Nifa spoke up.
"Last we heard, Ymir Fritz was being held at a base located near the Southern end of Rose, but seeing as how the Titan invasion began from the South to the North end of Rose in an arc," said Nifa, with her unsheathing an Anti-Titan blade and using it to trace an invisible semicircle around from the south to the north end of Rose to emphasize her point. "We deduced that the only safe means of evacuation was through Stohess, but it'll take a while for us to find him, and that's time that we can't afford to waste."
"So what's the plan, then?" asked Henning, with his patience running rather thin as he spoke, to which Hanji grinned.
"The plan's simple; I left a few soldiers behind by the gates of Stohess to take Ymir in whenever she arrives there," stated Hanji. The flinch from Lynne, Tomas and even Mikazuki, to a lesser degree, was not missed by her, prompting her to add on, "don't worry, it won't be high security or anything. It's just a low security cell that we're dropping her in; we're not going to torture her for info. We're just going to ask her about this whole ordeal and, after she answers us, we'll let her out."
"Somehow, I doubt that," muttered Tomas somewhat bitterly as he crossed his arms, though he spoke nothing more of it as Hanji continued.
"While that happens, though, my team and I intend on linking up with as many soldiers as possible to track down the breach, and when we do, we'll secure it and make sure no other Titans get in," continued Hanji, with her punching the side of her fist into her palm as she spoke. "After securing it, we'll lock it down and consult Eren on the matter. If this plan goes off without a hitch, then we'll likely be able to end this whole kerfuffle within the week, and even better, we might earn back the Tribunal's trust in Mikazuki! It's a win/win situation if that comes to pass!"
Her plan wasn't flawless, but it had its merits, Mikazuki had to confess. Her going out of her way to not waste time locating Ymir, instead having another trusted individual simply wait for her to arrive at where she suspected her to go to and mobilizing to locate the breach in the wall of Rose was, admittedly, ingenious of Zoe, and by all means, it was at times like these when Augus was reminded of the fact that Hanji Zoe was a chief tactician of the Survey Corps, amongst her many other roles.
Still though…
"We can find a way to narrow down the search if we figure out the most likely areas for a breach," stated Mikazuki firmly, with him glancing over towards Hanji as he spoke. The bespectacled maniac raised her brows at this, with her saying nothing as she listened to the pilot elaborate. "The parts of the Wall that were the least maintained over the past few years; that's where we should focus on investigating. If we have to look across this entire region," a pause as Mikazuki traced an invisible semi-circle from the north to south end of Rose with a finger, "it could take us an entire day of riding, including stopping for breaks. But if we isolate the regions that have been damaged beforehand, to the point where a breach becomes plausible…"
"We can waste less time in locating this breach of ours and securing it! Oh, Mikazuki, you're a genius, you!" laughed Lynne, with her snuggling her little pilot buddy from behind and burying her face in his hair, and in response to her affection, Mikazuki simply sighed and turned towards Hanji, who was grinning at his plight alongside several others before she cleared her throat and spoke.
"Well, snuggling aside, Lynne's correct on that front, Mikazuki. You've got a good strategy cooked up, and we can very well use it," stated Hanji, and as she said this, Moblit stepped forwards and reached into his jacket, where it pulled out a folder and opened it without much issue.
"When the Wall of Stohess was being covered up for repairs, the menders were given a folder or two with details in regards to the damaged portions of the Walls. It not only contained information regarding Stohess' Wall, but of Sina, its districts and that of Rose as well, and seeing as how Hanji's rank is that of a Captain, she was given one as well," explained Moblit, with him holding the folder out to Team Mike as he spoke.
"I was not given one," commented Mike as he raised a brow, to which Nifa snorted.
"That's because you were more focused on the kid than anything else, so they didn't think it necessary to give you one… no offence, of course, but I don't think the higher ups liked how you were being all buddy buddy with him… not that we were any different," mused Nifa, and after Mike waved her off, a sign that he really didn't care all that much about that, the team went back to checking on the folder's contents.
After a moment's worth of observation, Mike saw that there were four possible points that could've been weak enough to warrant a breach, one point was far north and the other three were by the southern side of the Wall. Zacharius grimaced at this, with him knowing that it would take too long for them to reach all four points, should they travel together, and as such, he devised a plan.
Simply put, they were going to split up; Team Mike and Team Hanji would investigate the breaches at the southern side of the Wall whilst Barbatos would go at it solo to investigate the north. Should they find the breach, either party would fire an Orange Flare to signify that they had located the hole in the wall, and if they were unable to locate it, they would all meet at the furthest possible spot at the southern side of Rose where the breach could be at and rendezvous there.
"With Barbatos' speed and agility, I doubt that making the trek from the north to south side of Rose will be much of an issue," admitted Nifa with a grin, to which Mike nodded in agreement. This was their best shot at figuring out where the breach was, he surmised, and although it would leave their team fragmented, he reckoned that this was their best course of action for now.
Still though…
"I don't mind the plan, but where are Gelgar and Nanaba?" asked Mikazuki, with him having noticed their extended absence by now as he glanced behind himself. A small part of him was growing concerned over the possibility of them being KIA, and that feeling was only exasperated when Mike was unable to respond, prompting Tomas to do so in his steed.
"We weren't able to link back up with them. The best case scenario is that they linked up with another team of soldiers and are fighting alongside them, and the worst case scenario…" trailed off Tomas, only to not finish that statement when Mike held a hand up.
"Don't. They are fine, I know it. Nanaba and Gelgar are some of the best soldiers that I know of; they are still alive, I am sure of it," stated Mike firmly, and as he said this, the rest of his team nodded in agreement. They knew those two for the longest of times, and if there was anything that couldn't be used to describe them, then it was incompetent. Those two were hardened veterans, and they could survive this with little issue, they were sure of it! Mikazuki, for his part, seemed to agree with him on this, but regardless… "Regardless of their current situation, we must carry out this mission as soon as possible. It is what they would want."
"Ah, though… would it be best if we carried it out when the sun sets, though? Just a thought," posited Henning, with him making a valid point, seeing as how the Titans were less likely to be active when the sun set, and to that, Hanji nodded, but even so.
"No. If we wait around for the sun to set, we'll only be wasting time. It's evening at this point, so by the time we get to the potential breach sites, it'll already be dark, so it's best if we moved out now," argued Mikazuki, with him getting up and marching towards Barbatos after he had said his piece, and as he did so, he climbed up his unit's chassis and jumped into the cockpit with minimal issue. As he did so, however, the rest of the two Teams glanced up at the activating Gundam with concern, with Lynne crossing her arms awkwardly as she eyed Tomas with some discomfort.
"I know it's wrong to just… assume, but doesn't Mikazuki seem kinda… on edge at the moment? As if he's seen or heard something that's pissed him off," commented Lynne, to which the rest of her team nodded in agreement. "It's nice to see him so proactive, but I doubt it's spurred on by something positive, really…"
"Hmph… usually I wouldn't even think of him doing anything stupid, but I'm… a little worried now, honestly. Should we try to talk to him before we leave?" asked Henning, to which Mike frowned. It would be logical for them to reach out to the pilot when he was quite obviously experiencing some form of distress, but even so, their current dilemma warranted swift action from them; they could not afford to daddle at time like this, and as such, regrettably, Zacharius shook his head.
"No… we can ask him later but for now, we must focus on the task at hand," stated Mike, sounding somewhat remorseful as a gust of steam exploded from the Gundam's various vents, with it standing up moments later, but as it did so, Zacharius still felt a little skeptical about letting the pilot go off on his own, and with some reluctance, he glanced over to Lynne and motioned for her to follow him. "It would be best if someone accompanied him, though…"
"On it," smiled Lynne as she rushed over to tell Mikazuki this before he departed, and as she moved to do just that, the other soldiers remained grounded as they stared up at the woman in silence. Whilst doing so, Nifa marched up to Henning's side and rubbed her chin thoughtfully, with her grinning in amusement all the while.
"She really does care for that kid, huh?" mused Nifa as Barbatos' cockpit shifted down, allowing Lynne to jump in with little issue, and as it shut itself back up, Henning found himself nodding stiffly.
"Yeah, she really does."
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"All Clear!"
"CLEAR!"
Swinging his blade up as he acknowledged the words of his team, Levi Ackerman frowned a tiny bit as he stood atop the corpse of a rapidly dissolving Titan, and moments later, he jumped off its body and moved to regroup with his team.
Currently, they were standing by the damaged gates leading into Stohess, fending off the Titans that were invading from this end of the area. Whilst Team Mike pushed onwards to take the fight to their foes head-on, Team Levi hung back to defend the gates up close, and evidently enough, if the multitude of Titan corpses littering the area were any indication, they did a brilliant job in doing so.
"Sir," greeted Gunther as he landed beside Levi, who nodded in response to his words, and as he landed, Ackerman couldn't help but notice how the taller man seemed to have something on his mind, prompting him to comment on that, and thereafter, Schwartz found himself smiling as he nodded in amusement. "Just as sharp as ever, huh? You're right… there is something on my mind."
"Share it. We won't know when we might die, so you might as well," huffed Levi, and although meant as a joke, his words still got a flinch out of Gunther as he glanced over at his Captain in shock, though moments later, he got over it and turned back towards the field with an uncertain look in his eyes.
"It's just that… was it truly wise for us to have… split our forces up in such a way?" asked Gunther, with his concern being very much apparent as he spoke. Levi didn't need to be told what his subordinate was speaking of as he hummed thoughtfully at his words, and thereafter, Schultz continued. "I get that we can technically afford to split our team up, considering how the damaged gate is already so heavily guarded, but even so…"
"That woman has a good level of intuition, Gunther. If she claims to have a bad feeling about something, then I'm willing to put my faith in her words," commented Levi, with him cutting Gunther off mid-sentence as he spoke. The Elite in question flinched a little as he acknowledged what he was just told, though all the same, the midget continued moments later. "Though… I guess I've got to concede that, perhaps, allowing Eld and Oruo to accompany her was an oversight on my part. She's more than capable of taking care of herself, after all."
"Aye… though… what do you think got her so spooked, sir? Usually, she's looking out more for her brother, but now… she seems to be fine with leaving him under our care," observed Gunther, with him glancing to the side to see Eren grumbling about the lack of action to himself, and to that, Levi could only shrug indifferently.
"Hell if I know.
"For all I care, perhaps her secret lover is in danger and she wants to save their ass."
Things were bad… very bad, to say the least, and as she tried to process the situation around her, Sasha Braus felt her breathing and heart rate skyrocket as she sprinted through the panicked streets of her village.
She wasn't sure what was going on, nor was she equipped to deal with the matter, as evident by how she was clad in her civilian wear and without any of her standard issue equipment, but all the same, her legs carried her through the fleeing crowd of individuals that were attempting to bypass her as she fled, and all the while, the bumpkin couldn't help but whimper pathetically as she tried to made sense of the situation.
'How…?!'
Sasha paused as her heels dug into the dirt beneath her, forcing her to halt as the ground shook beneath her with the force of a tidal wave.
'H-How?!'
Halting in her sprint, Sasha took a measured step back as she watched the source of the tremor walk into view. Fifteen metres in height and with a pudgy form that looked just as grotesque as it was horrific, the titanic humanoid beared down upon her and the other civilians present, with its smile devoid of warmth and its gaze void of all manner of life.
Sasha's own shimmered with horror as her legs quivered beneath her in horror.
'H-How have the Titans invaded Wall Rose?!'
And right as she thought that, Sasha's body moved on its own as she dove towards the building closest to her, leaping into its opened door as she hastily scrambled to hide within it. Soldier though she might've been, she was aware of how she was completely and utterly defenseless in this one instant, and by all means, if she stayed behind to fight, she'd be killed in an instant…
Holding a hand up to her mouth, Sasha muffled her breathing as best she could as she listened to the sound of the Titan stomping past the building, with her holding her breath until she was sure it would not turn around. Thereafter, the sound of distant screams and horrified yells could be heard as civilians were scooped up by the various Titans that somehow were present in the vicinity, and all the while, Braus could do nothing but stay behind, horrified, as she squeezed her tearstained eyes shut.
As she berated herself for being unable to do… anything in this situation, in spite of her training, however, Sasha's ears perked up when she heard the sound of a choked sob nearby, prompting her to turn towards its source and stand upright with caution. Looking around hastily, the resident bumpkin took stock of an axe resting outside the building, close enough to the window that she could take it without issue, and hastily moved to retrieve it, and upon doing so, she shuffled deeper into the house, axe held at the ready.
It didn't take long before she found the source of the muffled sobbing, really, as she soon traced it towards a shut closet near the heart of the building. With a gulp, Sasha held the axe in one hand whilst bringing her other out to open the closet door, and upon doing so…
"AAAAAAAH!"
"AAAAAAAAAH!"
… Sasha and the individual hidden within shrieked out as they both tried to put some distance between themselves in a panic. The young soldier in particular had fallen onto her back as her axe landed beside her, and as for the person within the closet… it was a girl, much younger than Sasha herself, dressed in a simple green tunic and with blonde hair and blue eyes… eyes that regarded Braus with utter horror as she hastily got up to her feet and motioned for the child to calm themselves.
With her voice stuck in her throat, Sasha, without grabbing ahold of her axe, made an attempt to ease the girl into her presence. She didn't exactly succeed on that front, as the blonde seemed too panicked to form a coherent thought in the moment, but all the same, Braus did her absolute best to calm the child down.
And in a near instant, all of her attempts were flushed down the drain when Sasha took stock of how the girl was no longer staring at her specifically, but rather, she was now staring past her, and upon realizing this, Braus, after awkwardly grabbing at the axe that she had dropped by her side, turned around slowly to have a look at what the girl was looking at, and when she saw it staring right back at her…
"... fuck…"
… Sasha cursed the universe itself before she hastily grabbed onto the girl in the closet, who shrieked at the sudden gesture, before bolting towards the closest exit, and as she did so, the Titan slammed its arm into the building, with its hand crashing straight into the closet the blonde once hid in all the while. Both Sasha and the girl with her screamed as this happened, with the latter's yells only intensifying when she realized that the Titan's hand was pursuing them in an attempt to ensnare the duo as the former made a mad dash for the door, and upon reaching it, the Dauper resident lunged out of it and rolled to a stop.
As she did so, the Titan's hand swung itself above both Sasha and the blonde girl's head, sending splinters and chunks of debris flying overhead all the while. The girl squeaked in horror as this happened, though Sasha herself simply scowled as she hastily got up to her feet and began sprinting away from the Titan; the streets of Dauper were mostly empty now, giving Braus some much needed leeway when it came to navigating through her home, but all the same… it also made it easier for the invading Titans to spot her as she sprinted through with reckless abandon.
She had no real destination in mind; all she wanted was to get out of harm's way with the girl she had in her grasp, but all the same, she wasn't even sure of where she could consider to be safe as she glanced back to see the Titan that had spotted them initially pursuing them at a lackadaisical pace. That aside, she could also make out several others in the distance; this didn't bode well for her… the chances of survival were rapidly approaching zero, but even so, she refused to give up…!
The soft whimper against her shoulder reignited the flame within Sasha as she sprinted through the streets of her village, frowning heavily as she made a sharp turn to avoid a Titan that had its back turned to her, and as she ran, the blonde in her arms seemed to calm herself down, not completely but just enough, and realized that Braus meant her no harm, and with an uneasy look, she spoke.
"M-Miss… are you… a f-friend…?" asked the blonde child, to which Sasha, having not expected the question, glanced down at her in surprise at first, though moments later, she was able to muster a shaky smile before responding.
"Y-Yeah! I'm a friend! You… y-you don't have to worry about anything anymore, kid! You'll be safe, I promise!" assured Sasha, with her holding up her axe-wielding hand to offer the girl a light thumbs up. For all it was worth, even in spite of the axe being a somewhat threatening sight to the girl, Sasha's bravado, however false it was, was still enough to make the blonde's eyes glimmer with awe, and moments later, she lowered her arm and asked another question. "Hey… w-what's your name? I'm Sasha!"
"K… Kaya! I'm Kaya…!" responded the girl, Kaya, as she clung onto Sasha closer, to which the bumpkin nodded and continued her sprint.
"Kaya… t-that's a pretty name! You're a very brave girl, you knoOOOOAAAAAAAAH!"
Before Sasha could ease the girl's tension any further, however, the bumpkin shrieked as a Titan abruptly crashed in front of her, with it having leapt forwards in an attempt to ensnare her moments prior. Instead, it had crashed into a building ahead of Braus, with it taking a moment to recover all the while, and in the process, both Sasha and Kaya veered away from it as the former made a hard turn to the left, though all the same, the Titan that had crashed into the building recovered rather quickly and began pursuing the duo.
Kaya, understandably, felt horrified as they ran from the massive abomination, though Sasha had done her utmost best to maintain her composure. It was much easier said than done, really, as fleeing from a Titan in this manner would horrify anyone, soldier or not, into paralysis, but all the same, Braus mustered the courage within her and focused on escaping rather than succumbing to her fear.
"Kaya!" began Sasha as she ducked under a swipe from the Titan, which paused briefly in its pursuit of the duo as it stared at its empty palm in confusion. For as horrified as she currently was, Kaya still turned to face her savior with a scared look, and moments later, Braus continued with a frown. "No matter what happens, I want you to run, you got that? It doesn't matter if I can't follow you… just run! Run until your legs can't move any further! Run till ya' joints ache and till ya hips give way! Don't let these Titans getcha! You got that?!"
"I… but why…?! I… I don't w-want to leave you, miss Sasha!" protested Kaya, with her eyes wide with horror as she tried to figure out what Sasha was trying to get across to her; she was too young, younger than even Sasha herself when she had enrolled into the military, to understand the full weight of her words, though she could grasp some of it as she regarded Braus with admiration and horror. "The monsters, they… they'll take you away… j-just like they did with…!"
And before she could finish that statement, Sasha gasped as she lunged to one side, holding her axe close and Kaya even closer as she rolled to a stop, with the Titan pursuing her having leapt at the two all the while. Landing in an awkward roll, Sasha was ready to retreat away once more, though before she could do so, the Titan, having recovered remarkably quickly, sprung its arm out and attempted to grab ahold of both ladies.
In a panic, Sasha scowled and instinctively threw Kaya to the side, with her mind working in overdrive as she focused more on the girl's survival than her own. The young blonde fell to the ground in an awkward stumble before the Titan could ensnare her alongside Braus, who flinched as she was hoisted upwards by the Titan, whose fingers wrapped around her waist like a vice.
"SASHA!" yelled out Kaya in horror as she watched Sasha be lifted up to the Titan's mouth, though as this happened, Sasha brought one of her arms up, with her in turn bringing the axe she still had with her up and over her head, reminding Kaya that she wasn't exactly defenseless at the moment, and as soon as she was close enough to the Titan's face…
"RAAAAAH!"
… Sasha swung it down, and in an instant, the axehead found itself buried deep into one of the Titan's eye sockets, half blinding it and causing it to release the bumpkin all the while. Braus found herself yelling out in horror as this happened, with her having to resort to holding onto the axe handle as the Titan thrashed around in agony, lest she wished to fall towards the ground and become and unsightly stain upon it, though before long, the blood gushing from the Titan's wound stained the wooden axe handle, turning it slick and causing the young woman's grasp on it to grow frictionless, and with a strong jerk of its head, the Titan, however unintentionally, was able to fling Braus off itself as she was sent careening skywards.
Flailing her arms about as she was sent skywards momentarily, only to plummet down moments later, Sasha felt her relatively short life flash before her eyes as she vaguely heard Kaya screaming out for her in the background. At the same time, however, the sound of something else could be heard coming in from the sides, with Braus finding the sound to be somewhat familiar as she turned to face it, and when she did, her eyes widened when she saw…
'... an angel…?'
And moments later, she was tackled out of the air and in through the window of a building.
Groaning softly as both she and her saviour recovered from that tumble through the opened window, Sasha groaned softly as she pushed herself off a remarkably soft ground, and as she did so, her blurry vision cleared itself, however slowly.
The first thing she saw were, well… boobs, something that made the bumpkin pause momentarily as her eyes trailed upwards, only to see a red scarf and, moments later, a pair of grey eyes staring over at her with a mostly unreadable expression. For a moment, Sasha's light brown pair locked onto this individual's greys with no small amount of surprise, though moments thereafter… something inside the young woman's mind clicked as she gasped and recoiled in shock, having recognised her savior as-
"Mikas-"
And before she could finish that greeting, so to speak, Mikasa brought her hand up and pushed Sasha off her. The act was aggressive, yes, though the faintest tinge of pink could be seen shimmering on her cheeks, not that anyone was present to comment on this, anyways, as the top 104th Trainee scrambled up to her feet and marched towards the window she had tackled both herself and Sasha through.
Staring out of it, Mikasa saw that the Titan that Sasha had struck with the axe remained half blind, with it having fallen over in pain and landing on a building moments later, incapacitating it briefly all the while. That was good, she surmised, and with a sigh, Ackerman momentarily turned away from the outside and glanced back at Braus, who was back up to her feet and by her side in an instant.
"I… how… you…!" began Sasha, with her mind struggling to comprehend what was going on as she stared over at Mikasa in utter disbelief. The young woman before her seemed keen on responding to Braus' inquiries, though before she could do so, the bumpkin's eyes widened in remembrance, prompting her to shift gears almost immediately. "Shit, that doesn't matter! There… t-there's someone down there! A girl, Kaya! I have to get to her!"
"A civilian…? Kh… I was hoping that Dauper would've been evacuated by now…" admitted Mikasa, with her scowling as she said this, though whatever the case, she was quick to motion for Sasha to head down and find Kaya. "There are other soldiers present helping with the containment of the Titans. With them keeping them busy, I should be able to divert some time into helping you find this 'Kaya."
"I… thanks, Mikasa. I won't forget this!" smiled Sasha, with her holding her hand out towards Mikasa as she spoke. This had caught the young woman by surprise at first, though moments later, she accepted Braus' warrior handshake before she leapt out the window and back into the battlefield, where she kept an eye out for Kaya along the way.
Sasha herself followed suit, with her exiting the building without a second thought, though along the way, something did catch Sasha's attention, with her pausing in her sprint as she took stock of the armament that she was very much familiar with. She didn't have much time to waste at the moment, but even so…
"This will be useful…"
Sasha's sudden disappearance had left Kaya in a state of panic, but all the same, she didn't let herself stop, not even for a moment.
Sasha's advice rang through her mind as she sprinted through the Titan-infested streets of Dauper, avoiding the giant flesh monsters all the while. Vaguely, the girl could hear the sound of combat in the background, with the few soldiers that had arrived (all three of them) doing their best to clear the area. They were doing a decent enough job, but even so, there was a lot of ground to cover, and Kaya remained mostly unnoticed by them, even as one of the trio boosted overhead.
Panicked, Kaya sprinted down an alleyway and out into the open, only to gasp in horror when she saw a Titan standing directly in front of her, seemingly having been awaiting her arrival. With a shriek, the girl spun away from it and ran in the other direction, though she didn't get very far before she came face to face with three others, stomping towards her all the while. Horrified, the child's knees quivered violently before they collapsed beneath her, causing her to fall to the ground as she hastily scrambled away from the Titans, unknowingly bringing her closer towards the one she had encountered prior all the while.
Leaning forwards, the aforementioned Titan reached down to grab at Kaya without much of a care in the world; it cared little for her age as, in its eyes, food was simply food, and it would consume her and move on without a second thought. Glancing back at it as its shadow loomed over her, Kaya whimpered pitifully as she did her best to figure out what she could do. Her young mind wasn't able to formulate a response, however, as she simply stared at the encroaching Titan in horror.
So this was it, it would seem, for the girl, and with a horrified gaze, she watched as the Titan's fingers got ready to furl around her body and crush her…
SHNK!
… or…. perhaps not.
In the literal blink of an eye, a newcomer swooped in from behind Kaya, who didn't even notice her approach until she was already upon both herself and the Titans. Boosting in from behind the trio of Titans that had cornered her in the first place, the soldier narrowed her eyes before moving in a tight zigzag motion past their necks. With each pass, the soldier slashed at the Titans' napes, not losing her momentum for even a second as she delivered unto them several deep cuts, and in a literal second, all three had fallen to the ground, dead.
With all three dealt with, the newcomer bolted downwards and swung her blades towards the final Titan's wrist. Swinging her blades in an X shaped pattern, the soldier's arms practically blurred as she sliced apart the Titan's hand, effectively halting it from grasping onto Kaya all the while, and giving the aforementioned girl a brief glimpse at who she was.
Short black hair, raging grey eyes and with a scarf that flowed elegantly, this individual radiated pure, unrestrained power, and without pause, upon landing on the ground with her knees bent to absorb the impact of her landing, the soldier sprung back towards the sky, aided by a powerful burst of steam via her Maneuver Gear, and, upon reaching the apex of her launch, she descended down upon the final Titan in the general area and swung at its nape, striking with such force that she had decapitated it before she landed in front of Kaya in a kneeling stance.
The decapitated head of the Titan fell close by, though it was mostly ignored by Kaya as she watched the newcomer turn her attention towards her, and as she did so, she loosened her grip on her blades and leaned in close to have a closer look at the girl. Kaya was, admittedly, taken aback by the proximity, but even so, she said nothing to her saviour as she spoke.
"You. Are you Kaya?" asked the woman, with her sounding all business, unlike Sasha, as she regarded Kaya neutrally, and although she was put off at first, she still nodded, prompting her to mirror the gesture whilst standing upright. "Good, you're still alive; I'm Sasha's friend."
"Sasha's friend…" echoed Kaya, with her watching as the woman reached a hand out to pull her up to her feet. Kaya reached out to accept it at first, though before she could do so, her eyes flickered to some movement coming from the sidelines, something that the soldier took stock of in spite of its subtle nature, and without a second thought…
… Mikasa scowled and lunged forwards, grabbing Kaya before rolling out of the way in an instant, and moments later, a Five metre Titan lunged at where they once stood, crashing into the dirt moments later.
Recovering relatively quickly, it made another attempt at the duo's life by swinging its arm at them, though Mikasa responded to this by swinging one of her blades at its hand. Kaya whimpered in horror as she watched the blade pass through the Titan's hand like a hot knife through butter, splattering both herself and Ackerman in Titan blood, though whatever the case, the soldier was quick to leap back as she set Kaya down.
"Kh… how annoying…" muttered Mikasa, with her watching as the Titan, seemingly ignorant of the wound on its arm, turned towards her with a smile, though as it did so, the soldier's ears perked up when she heard the distinct sound of a bowstring being pulled back on, though before she could fully acknowledge it, she felt something whizzing up and over her head, coming close enough to displace her hair a little, before embedding itself in one of the Titan's eyes, half blinding it in the process and causing it to recoil. "What the-"
"Mikasa!"
"?!"
Turning on a dime, Mikasa was quick to see that the one that had fired the projectile, an arrow, was none other than Sasha herself, who was armed with a bow and a quiver of five arrows as she moved to prime another to be loosed. Even without her Maneuver Gear, Braus seemed completely fine with getting her hands dirty, something that Ackerman could respect greatly, but all the same, she wasn't focused on that at the moment as she gently shoved Kaya back towards the bumpkin.
"Kaya, go to Sasha, now! She'll protect you!" instructed Mikasa, with her twirling her blades around expertly as she said this, to which Kaya flinched.
"But… the giant monsters… they…" began Kaya, with her still feeling… unsure on if she should leave Mikasa to do the dirty work. The soldier understood where the girl was coming from; she felt useless in this one instance, Ackerman herself had been in her shoes before, but even so, there was a time and a place for everything, and now was not the time to be arguing over the logistics of letting a child take up arms… or the lack thereof.
"Don't worry about Mikasa, Kaya! She's strong, very fuckin' strong, actually!" assured Sasha, with her rushing up to Mikasa's side as she held her bow and arrow at the ready. The top 104th graduate felt her heart thump a tiny bit faster at the praise, though she didn't think much of it for now as she stood shoulder to shoulder momentarily with the bumpkin, and as she did so, the duo nodded at one another firmly. "She can handle herself in a fight… so… don't fuckin' die, ya got that, Mikasa?"
"... I got it, Sasha. Be well."
"I oughta' be sayin' that to you!"
And with that, the duo separated once more, with Mikasa leaping back into the fray whilst Sasha and Kaya spun about and continued their retreat from the village.
Oh man, 7-8 months of silence, eh?
Ah, good times.
Whatever the case, I'm back lmao. Behold, another chapter, and uh… yeah nothing more to comment on here really. Just another chapter. Yep.
Er… updates are available on older chapters? Modifications made to streamline stuff and all that. Also uh, new stories? Striving For Eden, a remake of that old Hazbin Hotel fanfic I had that I deleted, and on AO3, Hashira Of Courage. Check those out I guess?
Um… see yall next chapter?