"They're all dead, and you're next."
If that statement held any shred of truth, he'd rip the person controlling that titan out of there and torture them slowly until the notion of death became a tantalizing mercy.
Levi rose from his position, tightening his grasp on his blades, He didn't even want to dignify this ugly freak with a retort. He momentarily took his eyes off it to scan the distance, something was providing it with artillery support, a presence they couldn't see but clearly had eyes on them. Levi's gaze fell upon an intermittent gleam in the distance, his eyes narrowed as he decided on his course of action, this thing needed to get out of the way first.
Mistaking this as a lapse in concentration, the titan lunged directly, Levi allowed it's own momentum to work against it as he sidestepped and hopped feet first off the tree to launch forward. It was then that he spotted Oluo circling around the place, much to Levi's relief, there appeared to be no casualities besides Eren's titan, Petra was held unconscious between his hands. The rest of his team were alive, concealed somewhere. The good news ended there, when the scouts suddenly became aware of multiple footsteps shaking the earth towards them.
Levi frowned, as a dozen or so titans of varying sizes rushed to their location. 'They're coming from the same direction as that artillery so why are they ignoring whatever's back there?' Levi wondered to himself, his eyes suddenly widened as he realized the danger Eren was in. 'Shit, He's wide open.' or so he thought.
To his confusion, they seemed to be ignoring the boy, and focused on him solely. Levi hooked onto the biggest of the group, worked his way up from it's legs and sliced off a chunk of their nape at an upwards angle before he pulled back to hover around Eren's form as it dropped lifelessly.
That was his first kill since learning the truth about what these titans are, for better or worse, knowing that didn't make it any less difficult. In a way, he was merely putting them out of their misery. That aside, something wasn't right about this, these titans are ignoring Eren entirely. His eyes narrowed as he shifted priorities, he needed to lead these things back where they came from. "Oluo! Take Eren and Petra away from here!"
"Got it, Captain!" Oluo shouted back, before he called out again. "Look out behind you!"
Levi twisted around in the air, as that deformed bastard zipped past him again, to it's credit, it was more agile than it looked. He found himself being cornered by two abnormals taking advantage of the distraction, however, Levi killed his momentum and allowed them to skip past him. He shot his hook between their legs and took one down to it's knees before he turned around and elimnated the titan still standing. The kneeling titan could only watch as Levi took it out as well, leaving just a few other more lurking around and ready to strike.
At that moment, another round of stray rocks had come in out of nowhere and were about to hit him directly. Levi pushed hard on the gas release and propelled himself out of harm's way at great speeds. He latched onto the side of a tree and glared back at the direction of the bastard responsible, so that's their angle huh? Throw distractions at him so that whatever's out there could snipe him when he had his guard down.
He needed to deal with the ones in the background and he needed to do it quick, that last maneuveur had cost him a lot of gas, Levi thought as he tapped on his canister to check.
He found the four-legged titan again, it was simply observing him from a distance high up in the trees, it finally realized the level of threat he posed. Suddenly, two hooks zipped past it, Eld appeared out of nowhere and took out it's leg from behind. It faltered and attempted to take hold of him before he could pull out but Gunther appeared next, slicing off it's extended arm and retreating safely, it fell down to the ground, struggling to recover.
Gunther called out, "Captain! Focus on the other threats; we've got this one!"
"Understood—stay alive no matter what!" Levi responded, noticing Oluo already moving out with Petra and Eren on his shoulders.
Seeing his team in action, Levi felt a wave of reassurance, they were all mostly fine. And with that, he resumed his original task, leading those titans away with him in the process. So they really were focusing on him, interesting.
A nagging sensation alerted him to a new threat. A tiny projectile flew by at such velocity that it would have been imperceptible to the average eye, followed by a sonic crack. His eyes widened in realization—he was being shot at. Gritting his teeth, Levi accelerated, outmaneuvering his attacker. Identifying the shooter wasn't challenging; their white garb stood out against the natural hues of the environment. Evidently, the enemy hadn't anticipated such resistance out in the middle of nowhere, neglecting the need for camouflage. But to Levi, their oversight merely simplified his task.
The panicking enemy soldier attempted a desperate descent to flee. Levi, with practiced precision, attached his hooks to the branch the man had utilized, rotating around it twice before launching into the air. He executed a mid-air twist, redirecting his momentum towards the ground to intercept the escaping foe. As they descended side by side, the man emitted a gasp of shock before he met the earth lifelessly, his torso grotesquely cleaved in two.
Three more titans had caught up by that point and the scout captain made short work of them. Levi spared the soldier only a brief glance, noticing a few peculiar objects dropped nearby before his attention already shifted back to the area ahead, piecing the situation together. 'The one responsible for the artillery—they're not here. They're relaying signals with mirrors; they must be further ahead.' His gaze settled on two distant figures clad in white. "Found you."
His hooks darted out, and in moments he was upon them. One managed just in time to face his demise, his expression of shock imprisoned behind his gas mask as his head separated from his body. The second man was quickly subdued, on the brink of Levi's blade when a sudden swipe from a gargantuan, furred titan—forced Levi to postpone the man's execution date.
Landing away safely, Levi reassessed his situation. He surmised there were only two more enemies besides the six titans behind him, as there weren't any other soldiers in obnoxious white clothing. A familiar sound and a glint of light signaled a titan transformation way back behind him. 'Is it Eren, or...?' He shelved the thought for later, focusing on the immediate threat.
Confronting the beast, Levi remarked with unflappable calm, "So, you're the one behind the barrage. Frankly, had your aim been better, my mood might have been a little worse today." He switched his blades, prepared for what may come next. "Can you speak as well, or is that privilege reserved for the freakshow we just dealt with?"
"Indeed I do, you seem awfully calm about this encounter, what gives?" The beast titan inquired as he nonchalantly crushed a large piece of debris in hand, "As far I can tell, encountering something like me out in the wild ought to strike fear, yet you speak to me so casually, are you not afraid?"
Anger bubbled beneath Levi's calm exterior, he wasn't fond of that smug and carefree attitude, he needed to change that.
"Tsk, it was a surprise hearing your kind talk the first time, I'll give you that." Levi replied back, getting into position. "But from where I'm standing, there's hardly anything to be afraid of. As far as I'm concerned, in the next thirty seconds I'm going to carve you and drag you outta that giant fucking fursuit screaming and crying."
"How insightful." It simply said before getting into position to throw, it seemed like this man was aware of what he was, interesting.
Levi jumped out of there in time to avoid the incoming barrage, which hit some of the titans who had been watching in the background. Having quickly assessed the threat before him, Levi made up his mind and engaged the beast after determining it's flaws, unlike the female titan, it was no good up close.
As for Zeke, he found that he had underestimated what his observers had said when they informed him the man before him was ridiculously fast, he could hardly keep up with him, often vanishing completely before his eyes like a pesky little house fly. In his confusion, a hissing sound caught his attention. To his horror, Zeke suddenly found his left arm replaced by a stump. He attempted to step back and retreat, only to have his right heel severed next, dropping him harshly on his ass.
In his panic, Zeke remembered his titans were standing around watching as he stood up on one knee. "Get him!"
Zeke couldn't believe his eyes, those six remaining titans only served as a momentary distraction if nothing else, this monster before him was practically untouchable. He glared at him and reached for the earth beneath him, digging up a rock that had been sticking out of the dirt. Zeke hastily crushed it in his palm and hurriedly threw the debris at Levi's general direction but the tiny bastard used the last remaining titans as cover, effectively eliminating the beast's only line of defense as well as that soldier that had previously survived.
Levi rose high up in the air and dove straight down towards him, Zeke reached out to grab him with his good arm but the scout began to spin around it, slicing it up in the process as he worked his way down. Finally, using his centrifugal force, he took out Zeke's eyes in one fell swoop, leaving him isolated from the outside world.
In his nape, Zeke could feel himself being cut up effortlessly. His right arm went next, sliced away up to the shoulder. Then, his left leg which he had used to support himself ad been severed at the knee, causing him to collapse face-forward onto the ground, incapacitated. The blonde man inside was engulfed in horror; unprepared for this level of combat. He wasn't warned about this, he didn't know these people could move like that, who the hell was this guy? No, this devil.
He could hear him walk above his nape, his voice muffled. "Now then, either you come out or-"
In a frantic bid for help, Zeke howled, signaling for Pieck desperately. His plea was cut short as he was abruptly extracted from his titan form, swiftly incapacitated without a chance for resistance. He found himself thrown to the ground, facing up towards the dense canopy and the blue sky as he was pinned down, staring into the eyes of his captor.
"So fucking loud and for what?" Levi grunted, piercing Zeke's shoulder. "We're due for an extensive chat so sit tight will you? My men will handle your frie—"
Levi's words were cut off as he was forced to evade just in time as the Cart Titan landed, shielding Zeke's form. It carried it's original payload that had fallen off because of Eren. Eld and Gunther joined Levi, their expressions betraying their recent exertion. "Apologies, Captain. We almost had her, but she managed a quick transformation after ejecting from the damn thing."
Huh, a she? So that hideous freak was controlled by a woman? Could have fooled him.
"No matter, we've got the advantage, they're going nowhere." Levi replied, replacing his blades for fresh spares once again.
"Pieck, do it now! He's too strong!" They heard the blonde man call out frantically.
On cue, Pieck reached for two barrels and hurled them at the three scouts. While they were distracted with dodging those objects, she took a few crates and frantically threw them around the clearing.
While they did manage to get away from that attack, a green smokey substance had exploded around them, and to their worry, none had managed to flee without inhaling some of it. Eld and Gunther began to cough, as Levi shielded his face from the foul smelling substance. It wasn't poisenous as far as he could tell, or they'd be dead by now.
In his retreat, Levi noticed the man looking awfully calm about the whole thing, his eyes trailed towards the crates, he squinted as he inspected them, noticing someone's head poking out of said crate, the smoke reaching down towards them as well. He paled in horror at the sudden realization, as Zeke took a deep breath then roared up into the air with all his might.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Pull back, Retreat, Retreat!" Levi frantically called out to Eld and Gunther before turning to his men, "Get out of-" His eyes widened in shock as he found them physically struggling, their faces spasming painfully.
They dropped to the ground, and Levi tried to reach out for them but a blinding flash of light stopped him dead in his tracks. A certain redhead's words replaying in his mind as he put two and two together. Eld, Gunther, the crates around them, all of them lit up like fireworks.
Oluo was not having a good day, one could even say, that out here in this wilderness, he was not a happy camper.
Petra was out cold, safe and unharmed but unconscious. But Eren... Eren was worse, way worse. When he pulled him out of his titan's nape, torn flesh and shattered bones stuck to the flesh of his titan, causing a sickening squelch as he pulled the boy out, forcing him to severe what was left of his arm and shoulder from the nape. Thankfully, it was all healing slowly due to his power, but it wasn't a pretty sight.
This left him alone in charge of protecting these two way out by the treeline, leaving the captain, Eld and Gunther to handle the titans left inside the forest. To make matters worse, there were even more people getting transformed into titans if those blinding flashes of light was any indication. He dropped to his knees and gently set Petra down on the grass first, before he also secured Eren and covered the boy's steaming pulverized torso with his jacket.
"Ughhh, my head... what... happened?" Petra croaked as she stirred awake, finding Oluo now hurriedly crouching down next to her.
"Careful now. Nice and easy, no quick movements." He said as he helped her sit up slowly.
"Thanks, where's the rest?" She muttered as she glanced around.
He frowned. "Still fighting back inside, I had to get you two out of there."
"...You two?" Her eyes suddenly widened, the memories rushing back to her. "Eren?! Where is he?!"
"He's right behind me, he's healing just fine so don't worry about the brat." Oluo replied, as Petra looked around his frame to find him down on the grass unresponsive.
She froze with a gasp, She could tell Eren's right arm and parts of his shoulder were missing yet gradually healing as steam rose out of them. She frowned as she recalled the events, even after everything she initially thought he had lost control, but instead, he had sacrificed himself to save her life. Petra crawled to his side and somberly kept a close eye on him.
"Petra, I'm gonna head back to help the others, watch over him will you?" Oluo spoke behind her, she nodded without meeting his gaze.
"I will, be careful, Oluo." She replied, just loud enough for him to hear.
"Heh, you forgetting that you're talking to the guy who saved your ass twice?" He smirked as he stood up, he didn't go far however as Levi had suddenly showed up unnannounced and landed next to them.
The two immediately stood up and faced him with alert expressions. "Captain!" Oluo glanced around at the treeline, finding no visual of Eld or Gunther anywhere. He looked back at the captain, he face was blank, something akin to a rifle strapped to his back as he hurriedly walked over and untied his horse.
"Captain! Wait, where are-"
"Grab Eren, we're leaving." He simply said before mounting the steed.
Petra frowned. "But sir, what about Eld and Gunt-"
"That is an order." Levi coldly hissed.
They knew that tone full well, they weren't about to argue. Petra flinched and complied, as Oluo grabbed Eren in a bridal carry and walked over hurriedly to their horses. They weren't stupid, they both knew what it meant. Oluo frowned, gritting his teeth in frustration as he fastened Eren to the horse. It was at that point while he was securing him that they all began to feel the earth shaking a little. "What the hell?" Oluo muttered as he scanned the forest.
They were suddenly greeted by the sight of two oddly familiar titans hurrying towards them, Petra gasped in shock as Oluo's eyes widened. They both hurriedly mounted their horses and the trio left the area, their two transformed comrades giving chase through the meadow, their faces grim in abject horror as they sped away.
Levi gazed ahead, eyes sunken and dark as he did his best to tune out the thudding behind them. He was being a hypocrite, they were suffering in there, he should put them out of their misery. But... he knew full well they both still had a chance to be human again, at least one of them did. He made his choice to let them live, suffer a while longer, and he'll make that choice again when it came time to bring one of them back.
For now, they had to run and hope for the best. Four-eyes better say goodbye to her little lab rat.
"... So choose for yourself, whichever decision you will regret the least" - Levi Ackerman 850 AD, To Eren Yeager as they were being chased by the Female titan out in the territory of wall Rose.
Armin sighed as he gazed out in the open, it was starting to get pretty tiring waiting out here without being told why. Granted, it wasn't like he didn't have a clue as it was glaringly obvious to those with working eyes but... it was boring. And if the state of his fellow privates was anything to go by, they'd agree too. He was curious what the others out there were up to, it's been about three days since he last saw Eren and four since he had last seen Mikasa.
It's been even longer since he had last seen Reiner, Annie and Ymir. As for Bertholdt, he's heard rumors about what's been happening to him and none of them were good, they say the stench of rotten meat sometimes finds it's way back to the east wing barracks where all the veterans slept.
Absorbed in the nature surrounding them, Armin hardly noticed the approach until a voice, laced with humor and surprise, cut through his solitude. "Finding solace in the wilderness on your own, Arlert?"
The question came as a jolt, causing the blonde to whirl around, his reaction a mix of alarm and embarrassment. "N-no—I was just... Ah, greetings, Captain Dieter!"
The bandana wearing scout chuckled, as he clapped a reassuring hand onto the young scout's shoulder. "Ease up, boy! You're not in trouble."
"Y-yes, sir," Arlert stammered, visibly trying to shake off his nerves.
Dieter turned his gaze to the vast horizon, his voice taking on a reflective tone. "How are you all coping so far? This mission's conditions are a far cry from the clear-cut directives you trained for. But I reckon being stuck in this place is a notch better than being dead elsewhere, isn't it?"
A faint smile graced Arlert's features. "In some respects, sir. We're all merely curious about the nature of our assignment here."
"Heh, even us seasoned veterans are in the dark as much as you are," Dieter confided, casting a meaningful look at the young blond. "Between you and me, I suspect this is all part of the commander's strategy."
Curiosity sparked in Arlert's eyes. "In what way, sir, if I may inquire?"
Dieter surveyed their surroundings with a calculated eye. "Well, we stripped our former headquarters bare before our departure. There was nothing left but echoes and dust. The commander must have compelling reasons for uprooting us, aside from the alleged dangers out here."
Armin contemplated this revelation, a new understanding dawning on him. "I hadn't realized... But now that you mention it..."
"Stow that thought for now," Dieter cut in abruptly, his tone shifting as he turned towards the regiment's quarters, his voice booming across the encampment. "Alert! Alert! We've got a distress signal from the north! Titans inbound!"
Wide-eyed, Armin watched Dieter spring into action, swiftly rallying the troops with his ODM gear as a crimson flare pierced the skyline in the distance. Rushing to join his fellow squadmates, who had emerged, gear in hand, from the barracks, Armin realized the urgency of their response as veterans swiftly mobilized towards the impending threat.
Gathering the rookies around him, Dieter spoke out. "Listen up! Our worst fears might be unfolding — Wall Rose could be compromised!" The rookies exchanged anxious glances, the weight of the news settling heavily upon them. "But fear not! Adhere closely to our commands, maintain formation, and we'll curb this threat quickly. Evacuation orders have been dispatched to nearby settlements. Our objective now is to prevent any further spread of Titans."
With a decisive turn of his steed, Charlotte, Dieter pointed towards the beckoning smoke signal. "Move out!"
Under the guidance of their squad leaders, the unit surged forward towards a looming forest, branching out their approach into seperate squads. Armin, along with Connie, Sasha, and Mina, found cover behind the trees, their hearts racing under Captain Dieter's vigilant gaze as they lay in wait for the enemy's advance. Slightly behind, were a few artillery canons ready to intercept the approaching titans in the distance.
Sasha's ears twitched "They're getting really close."
Dieter spared the girl a look before calling out to the soldier above them. "What do you see up there?!"
The female scout above lowered her telescope. "It's the special operations squad, Levi's team! Uhhh, shit, it looks like they lost a few of their guys, only two abnormals are in hot pursuit, don't know why Levi isn't taking care of them, they could be low on gas!" She relayed, before adding more information. "Get ready, they'll be here in twenty seconds!"
"You heard her," Dieter craned his neck to look at his squad. "Just sit tight, two titans don't pose much of a threat so you'll be backup in case something goes disasterously goes wrong."
The group of four nodded back at him, as they counted down the seconds. The thudding grew louder and louder, Armin glanced at Mina next to him, noticing the way her hands shook. He frowned and gazed ahead, before softly speaking to her. "It'll be fine Mina, we've got the advantage here, nothing will go wrong." That seemed to do the trick for now, as Mina gave him a grateful glance, her breathing steadying and hands returning to normal, albeit slick with sweat.
"Here they are!"
Captain Levi, as well two others and... Eren! Armin's eyes widened as he saw the boy tied to the horse for a split second, looking in grave shape. His thoughts were halted when the titans rushed past them, it wasn't until they reached a certain threshold that he heard someone call out. "Fire!"
A sudden and ferocious onslaught of explosive force rent the air, the deafening sound of metal rending through flesh reverberating across the forest. About ten seconds later, all that was left behind the cloud of smoke was two restrained abnormal titans hooked in place. Steam hissing from their wounds as they struggled against the wires. A strike team was poised to deal with the Ten meter and Six meter respectively when Levi's voice suddenly cut through the air.
"Stand down, don't engage!"
The three soldiers faltered, as they pivoted away from their trajectory and abandonned their task. Levi dismounted his horse and walked over to one of the men leading the scene, whispering into his ear before pulling back. The man in question paled, giving an appraising look towards the titans before ordering his team down. "Do as he says, get ready to cut these two down for transport, we'll be taking them prisoners."
"Hey... What the hell is going on back there? Why aren't they killing them?" Connie wondered outloud.
"No idea..." Sasha muttered in confusion.
"Stay put," Dieter said before joining the group of squad leaders gathered around Levi.
Armin frowned as he scanned the scene, before his eyes fell on Eren way in the distance, being gently placed on the ground by one of his squadmates. Armin bit his lip in worry, glancing around him before his features twisted, doing his best to restrain himself from rushing to the boy's side. He grit his teeth and felt himself beginning to shake, "Ahh, damn it!"
"Huh?" Sasha and Connie let out in unison before they watched Armin jump off his horse and deploy his ODM.
"H-hey, Armin, where are you going?!" Connie called out.
Eren felt himself fading in and out of consciousness, he found that he had forgotten where he was or what he was doing, everything felt like a blur, one long dream. But something was constant, and it was the searing pain, not physically per se but he still felt it, aching, pulsating, oozing. He was here for a reason, because he made a choice, and that choice was... what was it?
"Eren!"
"Petra don't go too far!"
Oh yeah, he saved Petra.
"Eren!"
She was alive, thanks to him. One more death prevented, one more life preserved.
"Eren, please!"
He blinked his eyes open slowly, his consciousness gradually anchoring him back to the realm of the living. The first sight that greeted him was the blue sky and the anxious faces of Armin and Petra hovering close, their expressions melting into visible relief upon his awakening. A small, grateful smile played across his lips at the sight of these familiar faces—Armin's presence was particularly comforting, having missed the boy more than he realized. His gaze then shifted to Petra, a wave of reassurance washing over him to see her safe.
"Oh, thank goodness," Petra exhaled, her relief palpable.
"W-where am I? What happened...?" His voice was barely above a whisper, raspy from disuse, and at his question, he noticed the shift in their demeanors—anxiety laced with hesitation.
"Well... the thing is..." Armin's voice trailed off, uncertainty muddling his words.
"Armin... talk to me..."
"Eren... It's..."
"It's nothing you need to fuss over. Focus on healing, brat," came Oluo's voice, undercut with a familiar irritation yet tinged with concern. Eren craned his neck, finding Oluo leaning against a nearby tree. Now realizing they had placed him in the back of a carriage.
Relief briefly soothed his worry—Oluo was safe. However, his thoughts quickly spiraled to others. 'The Captain, Eld, Gunther... The Captain must've made it, but where are...' His train of thought stalled as his gaze stumbled upon a peculiar and unsettling scene in the distance. Two Titans, unmistakably familiar, were shackled in the path's center, heavily guarded by soldiers.
"H-hey, careful now!" Armin said worriedly but Eren ignored him.
He sat up, and searched around. Historia was off in the distance with the rest of their friends, helping a group of civilians. Captain Levi was nowhere to be found, and those two titans still looked oddly familiar. Recognition dawned on him with an uneasy frown. Ignoring the tightening in his chest, Eren diverted his gaze, but it was too late; the dam within him had already begun to crack. A troubling realization pierced his heart as he lied back down.
He had exchanged one life for two others, a trade that, according to the mounting dread within him, allowed their enemy to escape—likely to strike back at them with renewed vengeance in times to come. Tears, stubbornly held back, now cascaded freely. With a broken sob, he covered his face with his only arm, no amount of rationalization could sweeten the bitter truth: the future victims of that Titan would be, in some part, his burden to bear.
Why was he still such a useless bastard?
Later that day in the evening.
A caravan of wagons snaked its way across the sprawling plains, edging south toward the old Survey Corps HQ. Nestled within a forest clearing, the ancient castle loomed. The convoy came to a halt, and dozens of armed Military Police soldiers dismounted with disciplined urgency, encircling the fortress while their comrades established a secure perimeter.
A senior officer surveyed the scene with a critical eye. He paused behind a line of men, their rifles aimed directly at the castle's main entrance. With a voice that brooked no opposition, he commanded, "No warrant needed, gentlemen. Announce your presence now." His order was the spark that ignited action; the soldiers marched forward and breached the door, surging into the castle to detain any they encountered.
The officer directed his gaze around the desolate courtyard, issuing further instructions to ensure no corner remained unchecked. "You there, scan the surrounding vicinity. Arrest anyone lurking about."
"Yes sir!" came the prompt response.
As the middle-aged officer lit a cigarette, a self-satisfied smirk played on his lips. By nightfall, he mused, control over the titans—stolen by Erwin Smith and that contemptible dog, Zackly—would once again be in their grasp. His twisted satisfaction over Zackly's demise was abruptly cut short by an anomaly on the horizon. A blonde girl, clothed in their own uniform yet wholly foreign, approached steadily. "You there, identify yourself," he demanded, tension undercutting his authoritative tone.
Halting a respectful distance away, the woman offered a handshake, her palm gruesomely coated in blood. "Greetings, sir. My name is none of your concern, as I suspect you won't live to remember it."
His eyes widened in apprehension. "What?—"
Before he could react, lighting began to shoot out from her palm before a blinding explosion of light enveloped them, an unstoppable force hurling them through the air. He groaned in pain as he recovered, slowly sitting up as he gazed ahead, his eyes widened as he suddenly found himself beneath the gigantic foot of a titan, his life extinguished in an instant.
Chaos erupted among the soldiers as futile bullets peppered the towering female titan. Inside the castle, confusion reigned supreme, with many soldiers unaware of the catastrophe unfolding. It was then that another titan, its arrival heralded by a blinding flash and deafening roar, pummeled through the castle walls, wreaking havoc and spreading terror as it clawed it's way through.
"We've got to get out of here!" screamed one MP, moments before the structure yielded to the onslaught, debris scattering like leaves in a storm.
In a heartbeat, four lives were snuffed out and shattered under the weight of destruction. Amongst the chaos, a survivor's groan sliced through the air, a futile struggle against the debris pinning him down—until a blade pierced through his desperation, silencing him forever. Reiner Braun withdrew his weapon, navigating the decimated castle remains with caution, Ymir at his side. Her monstrous form tore through the barriers, leading them ever closer to their quarry. Upon finding their objective, Ymir reverted to her human form, landing next to Reiner in the bowels of the dungeon. Above them, the relentless fury of Annie's rampage echoed.
"In here," Reiner muttered, their search through the dismal rooms heightened by an uneasy silence.
Ymir halted, sensing an incongruity. "Something's off, this entire castle is too empty... don't you think it's strange?"
"Perhaps an expedition? They could have left Bertholdt with minimal guards, so keep looking." Reiner suggested, though his voice carried a hint of doubt.
"Enough," Ymir snapped, her restraint crumbling as she slammed Reiner against the stone wall. "He's gone, they're all gone. They've moved everyone."
Reiner met her gaze, defiance battling with realization. "We can't know for sure until we've searched the entire place."
"Listen dum-..." She furrowed her brow, momentarily averting her gaze before meeting his eyes again sharply. "Those men being butchered by Annie," she hissed, "Might be our only lead left. If anybody knows anything that might help, it's one of them. Now, you could either keep searching for ghosts like a retard or actually do something useful before she gets too carried away out there, it's your call but know that I didn't follow you guys to fuck around and twiddle my thumb."
With a heavy sigh, Reiner conceded then roughly shoved her away and made his way back to the surface. By the time they made it outside, they found the place on fire, with bodies laying around everywhere. The two heard a piercing scream as they glanced up to find Annie in the middle of stretching a man by his limbs. The air reeked of death as she stood in the middle of the carnage, toying with one of her victims.
"Annie! Spare him!" Reiner's command pierced the chaos, halting Annie's looming execution. The terrified soldier, spared by a hair's breadth, collapsed before them, pathetically marked by fear.
"Where's the Survery Corps?" Reiner simply asked.
"Please... I know nothing about their' whereabouts, all we were told is that we'd find them here! I swear, please don't kill me!" He sobbed under Reiner's cold scrutiny.
"Why'd you even come here in the first place?" Reiner demanded further, his voice devoid of mercy.
"To capture a few people and send them off to the capital, the two Titans, Commander Erwin Smith, Floch Forster and Krista Lenz, they told us to detain the rest." the soldier stammered.
At the mention of Krista, a spark of intrigue ignited between all of them as Reiner spared Ymir a brief look over his shoulders. "...Why Krista Lenz?" Reiner probed.
"The order came from the top, that's all! I know nothing more, I swear by it!" the man pleaded for his life.
Reiner looked up at Annie who nodded back at him. "Then you're free to go." Reiner said.
The man looked on in joyous disbelief before he scrambled on his feet, trembling as he nearly tripped on his way out. He hadn't managed five steps away before Annie flattened him with her foot, leaving a small crater in the process as she pulled back her leg, blood, skin and intestintes sticking to the bottom as she used the earth to wipe it away.
"Was that necessary?" Ymir commented, unimpressed.
"No loose ends," Reiner stated coldly, as Annie dropped down to her knees and left her titan.
Ymir craned her neck to inspect the state of the castle, it was on fire, crumbling, blood and gore smeared everywhere and the ashes began to spread to the nearby trees. Ymir's dry retort barely masked her disgust at the surrounding devastation. "Surely, no one will notice, but this place still looks pretty loose to me Braun."
Her gaze turned sharp, casting their next move into the shadows of doubt. "Anyway, looks like we're heading back to Stohess again. That's our next play."
Reiner and Annie shared an unspoken agreement. Their path was set, no other place will offer them any leads for now. "Forster will be expecting you there soon." Annie added.
Ymir nodded, then gazed up at the sky. Floch will have to answer for everything he lied to her about. She just can't wait to see the look on that dumbass' face. Depending on his answer, he might not even have a face left in the future.
Annnnnnd scene!
There you have it, end of part 2! Wew, the words I could say to describe this chapter and the one before it... words I'll keep to myself and leave them to you my dear reader! Next chapter we'll see a return to other POV's we haven't seen in a bit, like what were Erwin and Floch up to? Or what are Marco and Jean doing? And also go indepth about how Eren, Levi and the rest are dealing with the situation they've just gone through. Yeah you get it.
Also I hope nobody was seriously expecting Zeke to put up a decent fight against Levi, before anyone could ask, the only realistic reason Zeke is not dead is because Levi wanted to interrogate him and then feed him to Eren maybe. (He doesn't know about Zeke being royalty or about the activation requirement for the rumbling) And also, wow, that's interesting, Marleyan weapons in the hands of the survey corps? Wonder what they're gonna do with that?
Anyway, I realized that I had forgotten about my story's 2 year anniversay, it was back in March 8th, Two years, 30 chapters, this might actually take a while I'm afraid... haha!
Finally, someone asked me last week why I haven't drawn anything after that one scene from chapter 4. The answer is that I got lazy and then my tablet was stolen by gypsy pickpockets when I came back to France to attend my father's funeral back in december of last year, if you read my new self-insert story "I, The devil." Now you know the inspiration behind that one line about gypsies lmao.
And if you have no idea what chapter 4 or drawing I'm talking about, in the AO3 version of Seeking the devil, I drew the scene in chapter 4 with Floch carrying Ymir on his back and included it in the story, I bought a new tablet recently so I'm hoping to draw more scenes out of this story, BUT, I'm a professional at procrastinating and I'm busy with work whenever I'm not writing so don't expect anything out of me soon haha.
Anyway, thank you for reading, hope to see you again soon!