Attack On Titan: Wings Of Crystal
Chapter 24: Welcome Home
The Beast Titan stood frozen with curiosity at his crystal-covered opponent standing opposite him with a sword in hand, no longer paying attention to the Scout's lieutenant injured on the ground. The revelation of the Crystal Titan not only being real but being the literal first person he encountered since his arrival was all too much of a coincidence for his mind to process.
Zeke now had something of an understanding about why Lazarus had taken so long to recover the Coordinate. Nobody could've predicted the Crystal Titan legend to be true, let alone know how to fight it.
Despite knowing next to nothing about the Crystal Titan, he wasn't going to back down. He will defend himself should he choose to attack.
The Crystal Titan soon charges for him with its sword getting ready to swing at his midsection. But the Beast Titan leapt backwards, moving with such speed and agility that it caught Michael off guard.
"Damn! He moves fast for a bulky seventeen-meter-tall Titan. I guess he has the agility of a beast as well as the appearance." Michael thought to himself as he readies his sword for another strike.
Upon landing a great distance away from him, Zeke quickly grabs a large boulder, rips it out of the ground, and throws it single-handed at the Crystal Titan.
Michael attempts to slice through it with his sword, but the boulder came at him with the force of a cannonball and shattered his sword on contact, followed by getting his face smashed in. The Crystal Titan ended up tumbling backwards until it crashes into the building, almost crushing Miche in the process.
Miche managed to survive by using the last of his gas to boost out of the trajectory. With no gas and blades left, there was nothing he could do to aid Michael against the Beast Titan if he wanted to.
Just when things couldn't be any more inconvenient, Miche's horse arrives on the scene in the direction opposite the battle in front of him.
With no other option, Miche climbs onto his horse and prepares to head back to the Survey Corps and report what's happened. But not before giving Michael one last order.
"Smith! You don't have to beat that thing. Just use your Titan powers to locate the others and help them. You're of no use to the Scouts dead!"
The Crystal Titan glances over at Miche with the only eye he has left after the right half of his face had been smashed in by the boulder. Before he could attempt to object, Miche was already riding away from the battle.
The Beast Titan started to approach the downed Crystal Titan, hoping to ask for his cooperation again. He could tell that Michael was not giving this fight his all and that he was exhausted. Had he been at full strength he could've easily dodged the boulder he threw at him.
As he closed in, Michael uses all his strength to push the boulder off of him, tossing it to the side. He musters as much upper body strength as he can to pick himself back up again. His face was still healing from the attack. Behind his crystal mask was his exposed, skinless face with his right eye missing from its socket. Despite his injuries, Michael still refuses to give up.
"This guy is no Abnormal! He's a human with Titan powers like me, Eren, and Annie." He deduced as he finally managed to maintain a balance while standing. "Is he another one of the Winged Titans' allies? Why now did he choose to show himself? Why is he even here? Is it to get me?"
"You're probably wondering who I am, aren't you?" The Beast Titan spoke up, acting as if he was reading his mind. "Yes, I am a man who can transform, just like you. Despite this, do you still plan on trying to kill me without even knowing whom it is you're attacking?"
The Crystal Titan growled in response and raises its fists, ready to fight him hand-to-hand.
"It's pointless to continue. Your Titan body has reached its limits. You don't have the energy to fight me. It's time to give up." Zeke attempted to reason with him but to no avail. He sighs in disappointment when he sees Michael charge in and throw a couple of hardened punches his way.
The Beast Titan easily blocks each strike with one hand and even mocks him by not putting any effort into his blocks. He then single-handedly shoves Michael backwards by smacking him in the jaw with the palm of his hand.
"Thousands of devils in these walls, and the Crystal Titan ends up under the control of a foolhardy youth. You think because you have this power you're a match for someone like me? Someone who's had years of training for something like this? It's a wonder the Winged Titan hasn't killed you yet."
Hearing those final words managed to awaken a burning sense of adrenaline within Michael. He now knows that this Beast Titan is definitely in league with the Winged Titan. This was all the motivation he needed to give this battle everything he's got.
The Crystal Titan lets out a furious roar. Its eyes began to glow blue again just like how it went down in the forest when he transformed for the first time.
Within his mind, Michael could feel the presence of the old man that appeared before him when he was moments away from knocking on death's door. The old man places his ghostly hand on his shoulder and whispers in his ear.
"You've done well harnessing our power this long, Michael. But you still have yet to scratch the surface of the Crystal Titans' full potential. Rest now. I will take over and kill this enemy on your behalf!"
"No!" Michael objected sternly. "I need to know who this guy is. Killing him won't help humanity uncover the truth. With Annie sealed away and the others nowhere to be seen, this guy is my only chance to-
"SILENCE BOY!" Cried out all the voices surrounding him and the old man. Their bodies were still silhouetted with only minor differences that Michael can make out what kind of people they were. All of their eyes were glowing blue, sending a shiver up his spine.
"We are the Crystal Titan! We spare no threat to our queen! We destroy all that threatens our empire!" They all shout in unison, except for the old man standing beside Michael.
The spirits then stand to the side like a squad of soldiers standing in line and paving the way for their commander.
Suddenly, a new figure starts to slowly appear from the endless void within the collective consciousness of the Crystal Titan. It was someone Michael had never seen before. Though he never bothered to count the exact number of spirits living within his mind, he knows for a fact that the person walking down the opened path to the centre of the circle was someone new. And someone very important judging by the way the other spirits were bowing before him, acting like he were their king.
"What the hell? Who… are you?"
Before Michael could get a better look at the new being, he was brought out of his purgatory state by the feeling of something grasping his throat tightly, preventing him from breathing.
He was then brought back into reality by the sight of his Titan body being lifted off the ground by the Beast Titan who was strong enough to lift him by the throat single-handed. Michael struggles to break free but Zeke's grip was too strong for him to escape, causing his Titan body to start flailing its legs around, trying to land a kick on him. But thanks to his long arms, he was well out of kicking range.
"What's the matter? You seemed to have zoned out and left yourself wide open to attack. Were you having an internal struggle with the voices in your head?"
Michael's eyes widened in response to that. How in the world did he know about the inner psyche of the Crystal Titan?
"That's right. I know all about the Crystal Titan and how its power works. It was a part of the research a friend of mine left behind. I of course thought of it as a story, but a part of me always thought it could be a possibility." He tightens his grip around Michael's neck. "Here's some advice. Always learn everything you can about your enemies. Even the stuff that seems unlikely to be true. You never know what benefits you'll uncover. After all… "He leans in closer to the Crystal Titans' face. "All legends and myths must originate from somewhere, right?"
The Beast Titan then finishes him off by slamming the Crystal Titan into the ground hard enough to create a huge human-shaped crater. He then follows this up with a couple of beastly punches to the face, hammering him deeper and deeper into the ground.
And before the Crystal Titan could attempt to get back up again, the Beast Titan picks up the boulder he threw at him earlier and drops it atop his chest, causing a painful response from Michael. The Crystal Titan attempts to push it off again, but he had little to no stamina left. His whole body felt weak, and the weight of the boulder only made things worse.
The Beast Titan stares down at the helpless Michael who's weakly struggling to break free.
"Such a shame. If things played out a little differently, you would've made a fine Warrior… Fortunately for you, I can't kill you, as you are important to us. Unfortunately, I cannot capture you with your nape buried deep in the ground. So for now I will let you go."
The Beast Titan then finally manages to turn tail and leave the area as initially intended. Michael continues to struggle against the heavy boulder.
"Let's meet again soon, Crystal Titan." These were his final words to Michael before walking away for good.
After splitting off from the group, Sasha headed straight for her village to warn her family and the rest of the villagers of the invading Titans.
The official name of the village was Dauper. It was a village comprised of a handful communities of hunters living near the forest. It was where she learned how to hunt, as well as develop an obsession for meat.
By the time she arrived, she called out to any villagers, announcing her arrival, hoping to get a response from the people she knew growing up, most importantly her family.
But the village was dead quiet. She'd expect to hear the distant sounds of the villagers gossiping and going about their lives. But there was no such luck. Not even the sounds of the wildlife in the forests could be heard, which started to worry Sasha.
It wasn't until she was nearing the forest exit that she spotted a human footprint in the mud. Way too big to be a human, yet too small to be a regular-sized fifteen-meter Titan. But Sasha knew it had to be a small Titan, though she hadn't expected one to be this far out in the country.
Picking up the pace, she raced her horse out of the forest and into the village.
This time she refrained from shouting out loud in fear of drawing out any Titans that have entered the village. If a small Titan was lurking around, there was always the possibility of it hiding in one of the houses.
Eventually, she comes across a trail of blood that leads straight into the nearest open house by the bridge. Dismounting her horse as discreetly as she could, she carefully follows the trail until she was met with a horrific sight.
The Titan that had infiltrated her village was inside the house, carelessly eating away at a woman, who she assumed lived there. The Titan was only a few feet taller than the woman, which meant there was more flesh for it to devour. The woman was just laying there and letting it happen. She looked physically and mentally exhausted. She must've used up all her energy screaming in terror as the Titan started eating away at her leg. She'd been doing it for so long that her throat was sore, preventing her from letting out so much as a whimper. She had also lost a lot of blood from the big chunks of her leg missing.
But what shocked Sasha, even more, was the fact that they were not alone. Sitting by the window was a young girl, presumably the woman's daughter. She hadn't moved an inch since the Titan came in and started eating her mother. She couldn't tell if she was frozen with terror over seeing her mother getting slowly and horrifically devoured, or if she'd just completely given up on life and was waiting for the Titan to kill her next, seeing no reason to keep on living.
Whatever the reason, Sasha refused to stay back and let a child die. Without thinking, she grabs an axe that was embedded in a tree stump outside, charges into the house and swings it at the Titans nape. She started striking it again repeatedly. But each strike wasn't deep enough to properly kill it, and the nape kept healing faster than she could chop it.
After losing her axe in the middle of her last swing, she decided to take the child and run away, honouring the final request of her soon-to-be-dead mother.
The Titan decides to follow them instead of finishing off the mother. The approaching monstrosity scares her horse away before she even had the chance to mount it with the girl. Their only option now was to run off on foot.
No matter how far they run though, the Titan was still on their tail, refusing to give up the hunt. Sasha was forced to change tactics and face the Titan head-on, armed with only a bow and a couple of arrows.
Though she'd been trained to hunt by her father, it had been years since she'd fired off an arrow. But she refused to give up. That little girl was counting on her to keep her safe. Dying here would've been an insult to her mother's final wishes.
With one arrow left, she decided "screw the bow" and decided to plunge it deep into the Titan's other eye, blinding it. Giving her an opening to escape. Hopefully, by the time the Titan's eyes healed she and the girl would be long gone.
But to her stunted surprise, the little girl she'd gone to so much trouble to keep alive had decided to run back to her instead of away from the village as she instructed her.
"Huh?! What are you doing back here? I told you to run and don't look back!"
"There's another monster coming this way?" The girl blankly responded, still broken from watching her mother slowly die.
Her claim was followed up by the sounds of thunderous footsteps coming from the direction the girl had just come from. Sasha couldn't make out the approaching Titan as it was too far away for her to get a good look. But she can tell from the height and distance that it was a fifteen-meter.
This was a major problem for her. With no weapons and her ODM gear confiscated by the Scouts under suspicion of being a potential ally of Annie's, there was no way she could defend herself and the girl. And running away wasn't an option as the path was blocked by both Titans.
Putting the child's safety first, Sasha stands in front of her and picks up a big stick. If she could at least kill the smaller Titan, she and the girl could retreat into the village until the bigger one is gone.
The smaller Titan's eyes inevitably regenerate and can see the two of its prey once again.
With a deep inhale, Sasha lets out a loud and proud battle cry before attempting to impale the Titan again with the sharp end of the stick.
But before she was about to attack, the small Titan was suddenly impaled and sent flying back by a crystal spike projectile.
Sasha quickly turns around knowing instantly where it came from. Her face lit up as brightly as the sunbeams shining through the crystals on the Crystal Titan's body.
"Michael!"
The Crystal Titan slowly approaches the two girls. He was moving at a much slower rate compared to his usual pace. It had taken every ounce of his strength to make it this far in Titan form, and he was already on the verge of collapse.
He was limping his way over to where the small Titan was, trying so hard not to fall over yet. Noticing Sasha and the girl below, he motions the two of them to move out of the way.
"Who's that?" The girl asked her saviour.
"It's ok, he's a friend. I'll explain later." Sasha quickly answered as she moved the girl out of the way of the Crystal Titans' path.
As the small Titan was about to get up again with the spike still impaled in its chest, Michael finally decided to keel over and let his Titan body die. The Crystal Titans' body goes limp and topples forwards, crushing the small Titan to death, and finishing it off for good.
Once it was over, the Crystal Titans' body started to evaporate at a slightly faster rate compared to how long it usually takes, most likely because Michael had used up all his energy.
Sasha climbs up the decaying Titan body, using the crystals as steps to reach the nape. Using the sharp stick she picked up earlier, she carves around the exposed part of his nape in hopes of cutting him out. Michael however manages to emerge from the nape on his own. Sasha wraps her arms around his waist and pulls with all her might until he is completely severed from his Titan body.
She carries the exhausted Michael down from the Titan and lays him down on the grassy slope. She rests his head on her lap with the girl sitting on his right. She looks over at the decaying Crystal Titan's body before looking back at the man controlling it.
"Your friend is a monster too?" The girl questioned Sasha.
"Well… no. Not exactly." She awkwardly struggles to explain without revealing too much. The less she knew about certain people turning into Titans the better, she thought. "Don't worry, he's a good guy. He just has a special uh- "gift" that the rest of us Scouts don't."
"Turning into a monster is a gift?"
"Uhhhhh." Was all she could muster. She was tempted to shake Michael awake so that he'd explain it better than she could, but he was out cold, and unlikely to wake up anytime soon.
She starts unconsciously stroking his head, comforting him. She had no idea what he'd been through since they split up, but she knows better than anyone the amount of shit he'd been through in the last couple of days. Discovering his Titan powers. Being labelled a threat by the people he'd sworn to protect. Having to fight a former friend because she was an enemy. It's no wonder he was so tired.
Sasha decided that she would give him a comforting hug once he'd woken up. But for now, there was another problem that she'd now only been made aware of. If Michael didn't wake up soon, she is forced to carry him out of the forest whilst protecting the little girl. And just like that, she started getting frustrated again.
"Grrr, why did my stupid horse have to run off like that?!" She shouted out loud without thinking. Her voice was so loud and carried itself so far that she was surprised that it didn't wake Michael up.
But things started to look up for the duo when they could hear the sounds of a group of horses trotting in their direction. Sasha was shocked to see that among the people riding, was her father. And beside him was her runaway horse.
The survivors immediately spot her sitting beside the Crystal Titans' body.
"Sasha! You're alive!"
"Dad? How did you find us?"
"We heard you shouting from a distance and figured you were in trouble. We followed that rising smoke until we found you. I assume this is your horse?" He jokingly asked.
Sasha nodded with a huge smile. But that smile soon faded when she realised that the Crystal Titan's body was now in full view of them, which will inevitably lead to a lot of questions. But she didn't care right now. What mattered most was getting Michael and the girl to safety.
"Dad, I need your help."
Lazarus's group were relentlessly racing after Connie who was too impatient to think clearly on what to do should they encounter any Titans on their path to his home village of Ragako. He, Gelgar and the few Scouts with them were the only ones equipped with ODM gear, so it was down to them to protect him should he cross a Titan's path.
"Connie, slow down! Get a hold of yourself. There could be Titans around every corner!" Lazarus called out to him.
Connie ignored his warnings and increased the speed of his horse. He was determined to learn the fate of his village after hearing the invading Titans had come from the south where it was located. He needed to know if his family was ok. And if not, he at least wanted to confirm their deaths by finding their bodies. Or what's left of them.
Just like Dauper village, Ragako was empty. No signs of life anywhere to be found. But unlike Dauper, something was off about Ragako. A lot of the houses had been destroyed. Most notably the roofs. The streets were littered with broken pieces of buildings as far as the eye can see.
When Lazarus and the others finally caught up with Connie, they too set their sights on the semi-destruction of the village. They couldn't picture how this could've happened or what was the cause, other than the assumption it was the Titans.
Connie screams at the top of his voice, announcing his long-awaited return home. But nobody answered, not a living soul.
Panicked, Connie starts to head for his house. Lazarus races after him, worried he might get himself killed. If Titans were responsible, then there's a slim chance some of them might still be hiding in the village.
"Connie, stop! You can't just go off and-
Lazarus froze once he noticed what it was that got Connie so spooked all of a sudden.
In the remains of his house, a Titan was laying there on its back with its eyes glaring at them despite its peripheral vision being upside down. Its body was disfigured with its body impaled on broken roof beams, and exposed ribs. Its arms and legs were disturbingly smaller than its body, making it impossible for it to move so much as an inch.
"Oh, my god," Lazarus muttered under his breath.
"That- That's…my house." Connie weakly uttered.
"Connie, I'm so sorry," Lazarus replied sympathetically
The rest of the group soon catches up with them and lay their eyes upon the only Titan left in the village. All of them are vaguely confused about what happened here. With arms and legs like that, that Titan couldn't move on its own. So how did it get here?
"Did any of you kids find any survivors?" Gelgar asked.
"No sir. The whole village is in ruins." Bertolt responded first.
Connie started to break down crying, instantly being led to believe that his entire family is dead. Lazarus places his arm around him in an attempt to calm him down.
"You don't know that for certain, Connie. We haven't found any bodies once we arrived. Maybe there's a chance they were evacuated in time. Including you're family."
Connie wipes away his tears with the sleeve of his jacket and glances up at his Stetson-wearing friend.
"You really think so? You think they're alive?" He asked with a glimmer of hope in his voice.
"Sure." He reassuringly nodded. "It's the only logical explanation as to why we haven't found any trace of carnage in this place."
"I don't know about that." Gelgar interrupted, forcing all eyes to fall on him. "Assuming the entire village was evacuated in time. How do you explain the devastation? Why would Titans rip apart empty houses? And how do you explain the stable still being full? Without horses they couldn't have gotten far, let alone outrun the Titans."
And just like that, Connie's hopes started to fade and despair began to take over again. Lazarus was left speechless. He will agree that Gelgar made solid good points. There was also the fact that there wasn't any blood splattered anywhere. Not a single drop.
The more he thought about all this, the more he began to question the possibility of these Titans being of his own making. There were still abilities he had that he wasn't able to master. So his ability to turn Subjects of Ymir into Pure Titans might've taken effect without his scream.
"That can't be it. I've never had issues with my ability to turn Eldians into Titans with a scream before… I need to closely examine this Titan. Hopefully, this isn't one of my- …No, I'd remember flying over here, it has to be!"
"Standing around wondering what happened isn't going to change the fact that the villagers are gone. We've fulfilled our task of warning all the nearby villages. We should head back north and catch up with the others. We'll also scour the side of Wall Rose and locate the hole. If we can do that, we should be able to get the word out to the Garrison Regiment and have it patched up using Michael's Titan powers… Let's move out!" Gelgar ordered, interrupting Lazarus's thoughts.
The group salute their leader and prepare to leave the village. Connie was still saddened by the revelations Gelgar brought up earlier to properly pay attention to what he'd just said.
"Come on, Connie. We have to get going. There's nothing for us here." Lazarus slightly shakes his shoulder, snapping him out of his upset mindset.
"Right," Connie muttered as he followed Lazarus out of the village.
"Welcome… home."
As Connie was getting back up on his horse, he froze upon hearing a strange voice weakly call out to him. He slowly turns his attention back to the Titan that was laying atop his house. Its eyes hadn't left him once ever since he made it back home. He wasn't sure if his ears were deceiving him or not, but for a brief moment he had the strangest feeling that it came from the Titan
Lazarus had also heard the mysterious voice coming from the Titan. His eyes widened in response to it. It didn't take long for him to realise that the Titan laying there was a relative of Connie's. Supposedly his mother.
"Lazarus… did you hear that?" Connie quietly asked, almost sounding like an eerie whisper. "Did that Titan… talk?"
"I uh… I-
Reiner then intervenes and startles Connie by suddenly appearing in front of him on his horse.
"Snap out of it, both of you! We're falling behind Gelgar and the others."
"Reiner! That Titan. I swear I heard it speak to me!"
"It was only you're imagination. I didn't hear a damn thing." Reiner immediately denied it.
"I wasn't imagining things! I know I heard it talk!" He quickly turns to Lazarus. "Lazarus, you heard it too right? Tell him you head it as well!"
Lazarus just sat atop his horse at a loss for words. Yes, he did hear the Titan speak. But he fears that if he confirms it, Connie would start questioning the existence of Titans. And if he were to relay this discovery back to the Scouts, it wouldn't take long for them to deduce the truth behind them. He can't let that happen, even if it means reassuring one of his friends.
"I- I didn't hear anything. Sorry Connie."
Connie was hurt by Lazarus's response. He didn't want to start thinking he might be going insane from the series of events leading up to his eventual return home, only to have the fate of his family remain a mystery.
"Don't lie to me, Lazarus! You must've heard it! I know what I heard. That Titan sounded like my mom-
"Damnit Connie, do you even know how serious our situation is right now?!" Reiner started raising his voice at him, hoping to take his mind off it for good. "If we don't see this through, people will die in the hundreds of thousands! Just because your family escaped doesn't mean they're outta the woods yet. Now do you want to be a soldier or don't you?!"
Both Lazarus and Connie were surprised by Reiner's sudden urge to take charge and remind him of what's important here and now, rather than what he may think.
Connie didn't want to just straight up forget what he heard, but he was smart enough to know that arguing about it any further wouldn't help anybody. Lazarus helped him hold onto the hope of his family being alive somewhere. As he thought before, he will confirm for himself the truth about what became of his family.
"You're right! I'm a soldier! It's about time I started acting like one!" He lightly kicks the side of his horse and follows Reiner out of the village to catch up with the others.
Lazarus however stayed behind a little while longer in the hopes of properly examining the downed Titan. He inches his horse a little closer to its forehead until he was able to reach out and touch it with his hand.
Closing his eyes, he put all his focus on seeing the path of energy within it, hoping to find traces of his power inside it. He needed to know if this Titan was one he infected with his presence. But no matter how deep he looked, he could not find a single trace of his essence.
"This Titan isn't infected with my spinal fluid? Then how did it transform within the walls? When I'm in the air, I can disperse my spinal fluid by shedding my hardened skin into tiny particles. Any Subject of Ymir that breathes it in can be turned into a Titan with a single scream from me. My spinal fluid isn't in this Titan's bloodstream, yet I can sense that it had been transformed by another Titan power… This can't be right. I'm the only one in our group that can transform people into Titans with a scream. It couldn't have been Eren and Michael either. Neither of their Titans possessed this ability… So then why-?"
"Hey, Laz! You coming or what?!" Reiner called out to him, snapping him out of his train of thought.
Lazarus turns his horse around and follows Reiner out of the village and eventually joins the others.
As he rode off into the fields, his mind wandered back to the many theories as to what could've transformed the villagers of Ragako into Titans. As far as he knows, he alone possesses the ability to turn them. If Eren did possess the Founding Titan, it could be possible that it was his doing. But it seemed highly unlikely as Eren isn't even aware of such abilities if he had any.
Lazarus's eyes then shot wide open as another possibility popped into his head. He thinks back to the moment when he and Michael were arriving at the outpost the rest of the 104th were being kept. He couldn't understand it at first, but he was sure he felt the presence of another Titan Shifter. But the sense only lasted for less than a second and was very faint. Nowhere near enough time for his mind to process and question what he could've felt.
But still, he could not deny that there was a sense of familiarity to the presence. It was like a sweet whiff of nostalgia on his part. Something he hadn't felt for years.
"No, it couldn't be… could it? There's no way Marley would be desperate enough to send another Warrior here. Then again, it has been five years since we arrived. Perhaps they've grown impatient."
He glances over his right shoulder and looks back at the destroyed village as he was getting further and further away from it.
"Was all of this your doing… Zeke?"
Michael was mumbling and muttering in his sleep. His body still felt weak and exhausted after over-exerting his Titan form beyond its current limitations. His fight with Annie left him mentally drained, and his brief clash with the Beast Titan hadn't helped matters either.
It took all of his strength, determination and will to reach Dauper village in time to save Sasha and the little girl she was travelling with from the Titan that invaded the village and killed everyone in it.
Michael ended up passed out for a couple of hours, only able to awaken to the smell of cooked meat. The warmth of a small fire cooking said meat. And the sounds of people talking and laughing amongst one another.
He starts to slowly open his eyes. The light of the sun piercing through the tree branches above him caused a slight blindness to his perception until he was able to adjust. He was then met with the blurred image of what appeared to be someone looking down at him and greeting him with a smile.
Michael pulls up his goggles and rubs his eyes to clear up his vision more. Once he puts his goggles back down he could see the person more clearly. He expected it to be Sasha, but instead, he was staring up at the young blonde girl she rescued, who had a look of relief upon seeing him awake.
"He's awake, Sasha." She called over to the group of people sitting around the campfire. Sasha was sitting next to her father eating some beef stew.
Upon hearing the news, Sasha quickly turns to Michael and the girl with a piece of meat still hanging out her mouth. She then quickly rushes towards them and looks over Michael, still tucked under a warm blanket and resting his head upon his Scout Jacket folded up to act as a pillow.
"Michael, are you alright?" She asked with her mouth still full of food.
"Swallow your mouthful first, Sasha. That's not how a lady's supposed to act." Her father called out. His voice sounded deep and scratchy, and he had a country-like accent, one Michael wasn't familiar with.
Embarrassed, Sasha swallows her food and addresses Michael again, only more clearly than before. Michael chuckles slightly before succumbing to the bruising around the parts of his body that was still healing from the wounds he obtained during his encounter with the Beast Titan.
Sasha helps sit him up properly, allowing Michael to get a look at his arms where he was hurting the most. He was surprised to see that his arms had burn marks on them emitting small amounts of steam, showing that they were still in the process of healing.
"What the- My arms?" He weakly uttered.
"That's my fault. I pulled you out of your Titan body without thinking and some of your skin got peeled off. Sorry." Sasha regrettably told him.
"Oh, I see. It's not your fault." Michael reassured her. He then takes a moment to check his surroundings, only now realising that he's not on the pathway he found her on anymore. He was now in a forest surrounded by trees and grass. "How did I get here?"
Sasha's father decided to get involved in the conversation and fill him in on the events leading to now.
"My group and I followed a plume of smoke that led us to you, Sasha and the girl. We saw her pull you out of that Titan body. We'd heard rumours in the big cities of certain people turning into Titans, but we'd never expected to find one out here. At first, I thought you might be a threat. But Sasha told us you saved her from another Titan, and you looked like you'd just left your grave afterwards. Though we had our doubts, you still saved my daughter, and I owed you a debt. So we brought you out here."
"You're Sasha's father?"
Mr Braus gently nodded. He then presents Michael with a freshly poured bowl of stew he'd saved for him. Michael took hold of the bowl, the warmth and smell of the stew giving him a sense of satisfaction. But it was nowhere near as good as the taste of the stew itself. Unlike the stews he's had in the mess hall during his training years, this one was made with love and care. The texture of the meat was well done and the vegetables were cooked just right. Every spoonful felt like he was receiving a warm kiss from the gods. If all of Mr Braus's cooking was this good, he could understand why Sasha had a huge love for food.
"Sasha's been telling us all about you, son. Always going on about how skilled you are at killing Titans, both as a soldier and a Titan. She also told us about the little hunting trip you had with her during your training years."
"Dad! You promised not to bring that up with him!" Sasha responded embarrassed by her father's words.
Both Michael and Mr Braus laughed in response to Sasha's embarrassment, which only caused her face to redden a lot more.
"I'm glad to know that someone like you will be around to remind her of the old ways should you end up marrying her one day." Mr Braus joked.
Now it was Michael's turn to get embarrassed alongside Sasha. Both of their cheeks ended up redder than an embarrassed lobster.
"Huh?… It's not like that! We're just friends!" They both responded intensely.
Mr Braus continued to laugh, enjoying seeing his daughter and comrade hide their shame. The little girl then started to giggle alongside him, probably for the first time since she'd lost her mother. It won't last forever, but for tonight, it will help her get over what happened and allow her to enjoy one of the good things in life.
A while later, Michael was conversing with the rest of the group of villagers, He and Sasha shared with them stories of their time together as cadets and then Scouts. Though he'd only just met these people, Michael trusted them enough to share with them the details about his Titan powers, the reveal of his former friend being the Female Titan, and how he ended up collapsing on the path outside Dauper Village.
But as nice as this break was, he and Sasha still had a mission to complete. Dusk was approaching and they still hadn't gotten back to the others yet.
Once Michael had regained enough stamina, he put his jacket on and prepared to head out. Mr Braus was kind enough to lend him one of the spare horses they had with them to replace the one that had been killed by Beast Titan.
As he and Sasha were preparing to head out again, Sasha spared a few minutes to say goodbye to her father and give him a big hug. Michael gave him a respectful handshake and thanked him for everything he'd done. Mr Braus responded in kind with a smile.
"You're a good man, Michael. Your father will be proud… Look after my daughter."
"I will, sir. And thanks again for the horse and the stew. You gotta teach me how to make it myself someday."
"No can do, son. It's a recipe that's been in our family for generations. But, if you do ever marry my daughter I'll be sure to teach it to ya then." He teased.
"DAD!" Sasha cried out in embarrassment. She thought that was the end of it, but apparently not.
Michael chuckled a little before breaking off the handshake with Mr Braus. As he was about to climb atop his new horse, he was stopped by the little girl who was lightly tugging at his jacket sleeve.
The girl turned away shyly as Michael looked down at her. He noticed that she was clutching something in her right hand. It appeared to be a big chunk of crystal that he guessed was from his decaying Titan body.
Michael was slightly shocked by this. Usually, his crystals evaporate along with the body, only it took much longer to decay than the flesh and organs. So to see a big piece of it still intact got him curious, enabling him to lean in and get a closer look at it.
"That's one of my crystals."
The girl nodded without looking up at him. "I took it from your Titan body when you were sleeping. I thought it looked pretty, but Mister Braus said I shouldn't take things that don't belong to me, so I want to give it back to you."
Michael smiles as the girl holds the crystal up to him. He takes back the crystal and looks it over. Then he starts to manipulate its structure with his Titan power, moulding the crystal chunk into a small shining statue of a horse. Both the girl and Sasha were amazed by Michael's display of power. He then hands the crystal back to the girl.
"Keep it. Think of it as a reminder for you to keep moving forwards and hope for a bright future." He kneels to the girl's level and places his hand on her shoulder. "I know losing your mother was painful for you. Trust me, I know what that's like. I have lost memories of my past before I was taken in by Erwin. Despite that, I keep moving forward to obtain a better future to make up for my lost past. Be strong, for her. Ok?"
The girl's eyes started to fill up with tears as Michael's words passed through her ears. Michael at first thought he messed up. Pep talks were something he wasn't good at, that's mostly Lazarus's thing. But the fact that the girl suddenly leapt into his arms without question shows that he didn't mess it up. He wraps his arms around her delicate back and held her gently.
Sasha was deeply moved by Michael's words of encouragement to the little girl who had been through hell today. Watching her mother get slowly eaten alive is something she'll never forget, but hopefully, his speech will help her learn to fight through it and keep her faith in humanity's survival.
Michael inevitably lets the girl go and at last climbs atop his horse. With one last wave goodbye exchanged to the surviving villagers, the two Scouts set off west out of the forest and hopefully rejoin their group before it gets dark.
As they rode off, Michael was wondering if Miche was ok and if he made it back to Erwin safely. They're gonna need his help in case the Beast Titan shows up again. Something was telling him that it'll be back to finish him off, and probably in greater numbers.
To Be Continued