Attack On Titan: Wings Of Crystal
Chapter 25: The Battle of Utgard Castle
As night was quickly falling upon the land, the group of Scouts led by Nanaba were travelling southwest of Wall Rose. Michael and Sasha had rejoined them a few hours ago and filled them in on their reports about Dauper Village. Now that all nearby villages have been evacuated or searched, it was time for them to get back to their main objective. Locate the breach in the wall and report back to the Survey Corps.
Among Nanaba's group were Ymir and Christa. Christa was relieved to see Michael and Sasha were ok, whilst Ymir didn't seem to care at all. Michael always knew she was the type who only looked out for herself. She made that clear to him during their first week of training in the Cadet Corps. But he was one of the few people she had a tough time getting on his nerves, as Erwin raised him to never take shit from anyone, especially those you call comrades.
Eventually, the darkness of the night had completely taken over the sky and made travelling by horse much more difficult. Even the light of their torches didn't make much of a difference.
Both they and their horses were tired from the many hours of scouting. With no luck finding the breach, the only thing left to scout for was a place to rest for the night.
Suddenly, Nanaba halts her group upon hearing a faint sound straight ahead of them. She draws her blades expecting a Titan to appear before them. Titans aren't usually active at night so the chances of them running into one were slim. But that didn't give her the luxury of letting her guard down. With Michael's gear stolen and his body still recovering before he could transform again, she was the only one burdened with protecting the group.
Fortunately for her, it wasn't a Titan. Instead, it was Gelgar's group who just came into view with their torches out. Lazarus, Reiner, Bertolt, Connie and the others were still with him, confirming that both groups hadn't sustained any casualties. Except for Miche who was still missing.
Both groups were frozen with surprise and fear. Each side wondered if the other had any luck locating the breach and reassuring their nerves. But from the looks of things, it would seem that neither team had such luck.
"Nanaba… So I take it you followed the wall here too?" Gelgar finally spoke up after what felt like an hour of awkward silence.
"That's right. I assume you found the breach then? We didn't see any irregularities along the western route. Surely you must've seen something in the east."
"No… the wall is perfectly intact." Gelgar hesitantly replied.
His response shook the other party. There's no way the wall is fine. There had to be a breach somewhere. How else could they explain the Titans that got in? There was no way any of them could've missed it. A hole as big as the Titans themselves is impossible to miss. Even a completely oblivious person would've spotted it.
"I suggest we have another pass then. There are still parts of the wall we haven't checked yet." Gelgar propositioned.
"That goes without saying. Trouble is the horses are on the verge of collapse, and so are we." Nanaba pointed out as she looked up at the sky, wishing they had more light.
Just as she was wishing for it, the clouds parted and allowed the light of the full moon to shine down on the forest floor, as if God himself was answering her prayers. The light of the moon starts to point them in the direction of a path that led to an old abandoned castle atop a hill. Just when things started to look bleak for the Scouts, a ray of hope pointed them in the right direction.
The group make their way down the path to the castle, passing an old ruined sign that reads "Utgard Castle" on it. At least now they know what kind of castle they're wandering into.
And if finding the castle wasn't convenient enough, the courtyard also happened to have a stable for their horses to rest in, as well as tons of supplies within the castle itself such as canned food, bottled water and even blankets for them to sleep in. Maybe God has answered their prayers.
But in actuality, the castle acted as a home base for bandits who stole food and supplies from various villages. They were then forced to flee when the Garrison Regiment tracked them down. Though most of it had been returned to the villages, some of it was left behind which was fortunate for them.
With the horses locked up, fed and watered, the group made themselves at home in their temporary camp. Lazarus, Michael and the others took the time to catch up and fill each other in on what each of them went through.
While the adults continued to look around. Or most notably Nanaba. Gelgar was rummaging through one of the crates and leapt for joy upon learning it was a crate full of ale. The man had been itching for a drink ever since they left their last outpost. If he didn't have faith in God before, he certainly did now.
"So what happened to Lieutenant Miche?" The other female Scout asked Michael.
"He escaped on his horse and headed north. My guess is he went back to my dad to let him know of our situation."
"I can't believe you lost to a Titan." Ymir teased him. "You kicked Annie's ass twice, and you couldn't handle one Titan?"
"Except what I fought was no ordinary Titan. It was massive, highly intelligent, and its body was covered in brown fur. It kinda looked like a giant animal."
Lazarus, Reiner and Bertolt's eyes widened in shock at what Michael had said. They all knew instantly that he was talking about the Beast Titan. This confirmed Lazarus's suspicions earlier in the day. Marley did send Zeke to aid them. He was behind the Titans that appeared out of nowhere. And Michael fought him as the Crystal Titan.
It made sense to Lazarus that Michael would lose to him. When it comes to Titan combat and superior strength, Zeke had them all beat. Even with all his powers as the Winged Titan, he could never defeat Zeke in Titan combat. This was why he was made War Chief instead of him. That and he was more trusted by the Marleyan military than he was.
"So Zeke is here. I can't believe Marley was desperate enough to send him here with only Pieck protecting them. Sending him here will put the motherland at risk should any other nations choose to attack. Surely Commander Magath realises this… Unless. Maybe he came here of his own free will. But why? Why come here, Zeke? What are you planning?"
"Besides Ymir." Michael continued. "The only reason I lost was because I was still recovering from my last fight with Annie. And this Beast Titan was something new. But what I do know is, it's not another Abnormal. This is yet another human that can turn into a Titan. Probably a new comrade of the Winged Titan."
The room fell silent as they took in this new theory of Michaels. So far some of Michael's theories had been proven right. He'd been right about the Winged, Armoured and Colossal Titans being human. He'd been right about them hiding among their ranks. And even though he didn't want to believe it at the time, his suspicions about Annie being the Female Titan were right too. So they had no reason to think he was making this up. After all, who knows how many more Titan Shifters are out there?
Lazarus was about to change the subject in the hopes of throwing Michael off his thoughts on the Beast Titan, but Christa seemed to have beaten him to it. She asks her superiors about the possibility of Wall Rose not being compromised since they haven't located the hole. There also hadn't been many Titans since the ones they'd encountered in the south. Since then there hadn't been any more sightings. If the wall had been breached they would've seen more of them pouring in by now.
But Gelgar wasn't interested in answering that question as he was too tired to think straight. So he orders the cadets to get some sleep while they still can as they'll be riding out at first light tomorrow.
"Hey, Lazarus. Did you guys see any Titans where you came from?" Michael asked.
"A few. They attacked Connie's village. When we got there it was totally destroyed."
"Oh… I'm sorry, Connie."
"Don't be. Nobody got devoured so there's a high chance they all got out, so there's a silver lining at least." Connie spoke slowly.
"Wait. I thought you said it was destroyed." Ymir questioned.
"Well, the houses and stuff were. But the people themselves must've all escaped. I mean they had to have… The thing is, we didn't see any blood anywhere. Not so much as one drop. It's the only possible explanation."
Ymir listened carefully to Connie's explanation, something Lazarus took notice of. Among all the cadets he trained and lived with, Ymir was someone he hadn't interacted with much. In fact, he can't recall a single moment in the five years he's been here where he had a conversation with her. Ymir to him was the angry loner type who prefers being on her own. The only exception is Christa who always hangs out with her. So to see her suddenly take an interest in something that doesn't concern her got him curious.
"Still though, there's one thing I can't get out of my head. There was a Titan on top of my house. Just lying there, staring at me. It couldn't move on its own, thank god. But I just… I have no idea why, but it kinda reminded me of my mom. Am I crazy?"
"Connie, we talked about this." Reiner turned to him concerned. "It was just your imagination. Nothing more-
"Are you for real?!"
Everyone immediately looked in Ymir's direction, surprised by her out of nowhere reaction to Connie's story. For whatever reason, she started laughing hysterically at him, amused at the fact that he thinks a Titan is his mom. Everyone else couldn't understand what was so funny about it. Connie's words were filled with confusion and fear, yet she finds something humorous about it that the others didn't. Even the adults couldn't understand how her mind works.
"You actually think your mom might be a Titan? Someone as itty bitty as you are? Please. We all knew you were as dumb as a bag of rocks, but this takes it to a whole other level! Hahahaha!"
"Hey knock it off, Ymir. He's been through enough today!" Sasha angrily shouted back at her, defending her friend.
But Ymir wasn't done. She still had more to mock him with. And not even potato girl could get her to stop.
"If mother darling is a Titan it's only logical to assume dear old daddy is too. Basic biology. Think about it. How else would you be-
"OK ENOUGH! JUST SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!" Connie shouted furiously. He then decided to turn in early to avoid any further humiliation.
The rest of the group soon follow suit and prepare themselves for bed. All except Ymir who decided to go snooping around the castle storeroom. Lazarus decided to confront her about her little spat with Connie, but not for the reasons she'll be expecting.
"What are you doing, Ymir?" He's asked as she was rummaging through an opened crate filled with canned food.
"I should be asking you that, red eyes. Did you come here to ravish me like you did Annie?" She teased, causing Lazarus to blush and look away.
"How- How'd you know that?!"
"A little birdie told me you're really good in bed for a recently graduated virgin." She carelessly teased.
"Michael?" He guessed.
"Yep."
Lazarus grunted in annoyance. He makes a mental note to himself to give Michael a slap across the face for telling her of all people about his final moments of happiness with the girl he loved before she was taken from him.
"Tell me. How's it feel to learn that your girlfriend is a Titan?" She asked whilst continuing to rummage through the crate.
"Honestly, even though I've seen it with my own eyes, I still can't believe it. Annie and I had known each other for years. Her being the Female Titan felt like a stab through the heart. But still, I know she wouldn't have done what she did without some kind of reason. Though I'm only saying this because I still love her."
"How adorable. If you were a girl you could've been my type." She teased again.
"So you're into girls, huh?"
Ymir froze for an instant. She walked right into that one without thinking. Refusing to let Lazarus know he'd gotten to her, she focused on the contents of the crate again.
"Eh, it doesn't matter to me. As flattered as I am, I'm sorry to say you're not really my type."
"Oh? Are you only into short blondes?" She then quickly regrets that retort as she just realised that Christa fits that category too. "Don't get any idea with Christa."
"Nah, she's not my type either. I admit she's cute, but I prefer a girl who's more hard to get. Someone I have to work hard to earn the affection of. That's how I won Annie over in the end… Besides, Reiner's the one that has a crush on her."
"Pfft, in his dreams."
The two of them share a very brief chuckle before Lazarus decided to change the subject and talk about what he intended to ask her in the first place.
"Look. I wanted to talk to you about what happened with Connie earlier. Were you teasing him just to get his mind off of things?" Ymir didn't respond so Lazarus assumed that was her intention and continued. "It would be great if you could keep that up. The less he dwells on his family right now the better."
"What are you talking about? That wasn't my intention. I genuinely thought it was funny. Not my fault I have a twisted sense of humour."
"You can deny it all you want, but I think you do care about us. You're just too prideful to admit it. I know because I once had a friend that was just like you. He was more like an older brother to me really. He was the second friend I had growing up in my hometown… But as we got older, our goals forced us to drift apart. He's probably a different man now. My point is, we're still comrades, and nothing will ever change that."
Ymir once again remained silent. She could've gone in denial again and told Lazarus he was full of shit. But then she'd be lying to herself. While it's true she preferred looking out only for herself, she can't resist the urge to help someone out now and then, even if she had a strange way of doing it. Though she only makes an effort to help others just so they'd owe her a favour in the future.
"Huh, look at this." She utters as she picks up a small can of fish. "Herrings not my favourite, but whatever."
"Herring huh? Mind if I see?" He asked politely.
Ymir hesitates a little at first but eventually hands it over to him. Lazarus looks over the can. It definitely was the kind to store fish in. The fish logo was a dead giveaway. But there was something else that caught him off guard. The writing on the can was a completely different language. One that Lazarus wasn't familiar with.
Back in his military school days in Marley, he and the Warriors had been taught how to read and speak the languages of other nations in case they were ever given undercover missions there and needed to blend in. But this language wasn't among them. The only logical explanation he could come up with is that it was an old language. One that might've been older than Marley itself, or at least the Marley he grew up in.
But that didn't explain how Ymir was able to read it. She knew instantly that it said herring. Leaving him to wonder how.
"What is this? I can't read a word of it. How do you know this says herring? This label is in another language. One that I'm not familiar with." He slowly looks down at Ymir. "Ymir… How do you know this language?"
Ymir stayed silent once again. Only this time it wasn't in a form of denial or anything similar to that. This time it was combined with a disturbing look that she gave Lazarus. A look that says she knows something about him. Something that everybody else in the other room doesn't know. Lazarus was also starting to grow suspicious of her. His mind was flooding with theories that could explain what the hell is going on.
"EVERYONE WAKE UP! GET TO THE TOWER IMMEDIATELY!"
Luckily for the both of them, the other female Scout barged downstairs and interrupted whatever it was that was about to go down between Laz and Ymir.
Without question, everyone raced up the stairs to see what all the commotion was about. Only to be met with fear and shock at the sight of dozens of Titans surrounding the castle.
"What the hell?! It's nighttime! They shouldn't be moving around!"
"Uh, guys. What the hell is that?!" Connie pointed over to the west side of the castle.
The others look in the direction Connie was pointing in and were shocked to see the Beast Titan wandering through the open fields. Michael's eyes widened as he immediately recognised it as the Titan he fought before.
"That's him! That's the Titan who kicked my ass before!"
"You weren't kidding," Sasha noted, unable to take her eyes off of it. "That guy is huge. It looks like some kind of beast!"
"Lazarus, are you seeing-
As he was addressing his friend, he was surprised to see that he, Reiner, and Bertolt were just ogling the Beast Titan slack-jawed. He could've assumed they were just as shocked by its appearance as he and the others were. But part of him feels like there's more to it than that. Their reactions to it are more akin to someone who's seen it before like it's some kind of mythical creature from a children's story made real.
"Lazarus?"
"It IS Zeke. He's here. And these Titans must've been summoned by him… But how? How is it he has the power to turn Eldians into Titans too?"
Lazarus then attempts to telepathically call out to Zeke and expects a response in return. But the Beast Titan didn't react to his call. He couldn't tell if it was because of the distance between them, or if he was just ignoring him. Whatever the reason, he needed to know what his intentions were.
"Lazarus!" Michael raised his voice whilst shaking his shoulder, finally getting his attention. "Everything ok?"
"Huh? Yeah, yeah. I'm good. It's just that, I've never seen a Titan like that one before. You weren't kidding when you said it looked like a giant animal."
"Yeah, I- Wait, look! It's heading for the wall!"
Suddenly, the tower started to rumble, causing the cadets to lose their footing and fall on their asses. One of the Titans had charged into the tower trying to knock them off of it. At the same time, one of the smaller Titans was head-butting the door trying to break in and get at them from the inside.
With no other choice, the veteran Scouts were forced to engage the Titans with their ODM gear and stop them from getting inside.
"All of you rookies stay where you are. We'll handle this. Let the ODM gear do what it was designed for."
"Wait! Let me and Lazarus help. He's the only one among us who has ODM gear, and I've got my Titan-
"Out of the question!" Nanaba interrupted him. "You're still too weak to summon your Titan again. And we need Lazarus here to fend off any Titans that may slip past us. Got it?!"
"Yes ma'am!" Lazarus saluted her.
Michael didn't want to admit it, but she was right. He only has enough energy to fight as he is, but nowhere near enough to maintain his Titan form for long periods. He needs at least another twelve hours before he's fully recovered.
Without any further interruptions, Gelgar, Nanaba and the other two Scouts attack the Titans below, leaving the others behind to watch and fend them off.
While the battle was underway, the Beast Titan was climbing up the wall, trying to get a better view of the castle and the Titans he'd sent to attack the Scouts.
"Sorry, Lazarus." It uttered to himself as he watched the fight from afar. "I know you and the others are in that castle. But I can't allow any more delays. You've been on this island for far too long. But now that I'm here, I will make sure the Coordinate is ours."
So far things were looking up for the Scouts. Despite the initial surprise of these Titans being able to move around at night, they were not much different to the Titans they fought regularly.
Unfortunately, they weren't able to stop one of the smaller Titans from breaking down the door and entering the castle.
It was up to the group of rookies to stop it from reaching them. They were ordered to barricade the door and Lazarus was tasked with killing any Titans that got past it. If all else fails, they were ordered to retreat to the top of the tower as a last resort and buy Michael as much time as he needs to recover enough stamina to transform into the Crystal Titan again.
"I'll go see how far they've gotten in. Lazarus, Bertolt, you cover me. The rest of you find something to board up the entrance. Anything that isn't nailed down!" Reiner instructed as he grabs a nearby torch off the wall.
"Right!" They both responded in sync with each other.
"Are you kidding me? Why does he always have to be the one to step up?" Connie asked rhetorically.
"That's just a habit of his," Bertolt answered quickly as he and Lazarus zoom past him to catch up with Reiner.
The three Warriors continue making their way downstairs until they reach the still-bared door. The room was dead quiet. They couldn't hear the sounds of any Titans no matter how hard they focus.
"Can you hear them, Laz?" Bertolt whispered.
"Yeah. There's one right behind that door. I can hear it breathing."
His answer causes Bertolt to gulp nervously as Reiner was getting closer to the door. He takes a deep breath, cooling his nerves before removing the plank of wood that kept the door shut.
He slowly opens it and raises his torch high to see down the stairs. He froze with fear as the small Titan that got in slowly came into view. Its face had an eerie smile that disturbed the young Warrior.
Just as the Titan was about to make its move, Reiner quickly slams the door shut and reseals it. The Titan attempted to break through by charging into it, forcing him to use all his strength to hold the door closed.
"They're in the tower! Get down here and help me!"
Lazarus and Bertolt race down the stairs and press their bodies against the door to strengthen its hold. But the Titan manages to punch through it with its right arm and manages to backhand Lazarus in the process, sending him flying across the room until he crashed head-first into the castle wall.
The impact not only knocked his hat off of his head, but his horns hidden underneath were broken off too. His head started bleeding as he cried out in pain. His broken horns landed underneath the stairs out of sight of the others racing down to help Reiner and Bertolt.
"Lazarus!" Michael cried out, worried for his friend.
He quickly rushes to his aid and attempts to help him. But Lazarus was in a dazed state due to his head injury. Blood trickled down his face, staining his white hair.
"Shit, he's losing a lot of blood! Somebody get me a first aid kit!"
Unfortunately for Michael, everyone was preoccupied with stopping the Titan from getting in. Bertolt attempts to keep it at bay by impaling it through the head with a pitchfork. Their leader may be down, but they were determined to stay alive. There was no way in hell they were gonna die here. They would've been worried for Lazarus's safety, but they know he'll survive since he was immortal. But for the sake of their cover, they hope the others won't let him die only to come back to life moments later. They still have a mission to complete, and no matter what they will make it home.
"Guys heads up! Incoming."
Ymir, Christa, Sasha and Connie burst through the door, pushing an old cannon out through the doorway and at the top of the stairs.
"Good find, guys. Is there ammo for it?" Michael asked.
"Yeah right, if only! It was pure luck that we found this to begin with. Now get outta the way!"
Without any warning, they push the cannon down the stairs, giving Reiner and Bertolt less than a second to jump out of the way in time as the cannon crashes into the door and the Titan behind it, crushing it to death.
Once things have calmed down, everyone gathers around Michael and the injured Lazarus and offers to help their wounded friend.
"You guys wouldn't happen to have found any bandages where you found that cannon right?" Michael asked hoping they had.
"Sadly not," Sasha replied regrettably. "Will Lazarus be ok?"
"He better be. He's the only one with ODM gear. We can't afford to lose him." Ymir noted.
Worried that he was losing too much blood, Michael decided that now was the time to begin experimenting with his powers again. If they can't find any bandages, then he'll just have to try and make his own.
Putting all his focus on his hands, Michael attempts to use his power of forming and moulding crystal to construct crystal bandages for him to use. He knows he can make flexible crystal when he forged that whip he used in his second fight with Annie. But he doesn't know for sure if his crystals would make a good substitute for bandages. But he goes through with it anyway, forming a big pile of bandages on his hands. Once it was complete the blue aura emitting from his hands fades away until only his creation remained.
He quickly kneels to Lazarus's level and proceeds to wrap them around his whole head. To his surprise, the crystal bandages managed to work exceptionally well, immediately stopping the bleeding and returning him to a more stable condition.
Lazarus was looking at his broken horns under the stairs and sighed in relief when they started to disintegrate into nothingness, covering up his true identity. His horns can easily grow back, but for now, he was holding back his regeneration, using every ounce of will to maintain his cover as a regular guy.
"Lazarus. Are you ok?" He holds up four fingers in front of him. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Four. I'm ok, Michael. I'm not concussed if that's what you're implying. However, I don't think I'll be able to fight off any Titans in my condition now."
"Well, all that matters is that you're still alive."Michael smiled. He then presents his hat to him. "I believe this is yours."
Lazarus smiles and allows Michael to place his hat back atop his head. Reiner and Bertolt then approach him and grab his shoulders, helping him back up on his feet.
"Are you good?" Bertolt asked.
"Yeah, I'm good. What about you, Reiner?"
"I'm fine. I'm just glad we didn't lose you today. Remember Laz, we can't do this without you. No matter what, we're gonna make it home. This is not how we die!"
Lazarus nodded, giving him the determination he needed to get back on track. "You're right. We will make it home." He glances back at Michael who was checking to make sure the Titan was dead. "All of us!"
"What now? With our only cannon destroyed, Michael too weak to transform and Lazarus too inured for ODM gear, all we've got left is this knife I found." Connie complained.
"Then I think it would be best we head back upstairs for now," Christa suggested.
As the others were about to follow her back up, she noticed another Titan climbing up the stairs out of the corner of her eye. And it had its eyes locked on Connie.
"CONNIE, BEHIND YOU!"
The Titan lunges at Connie with its mouth wide open, ready to chomp his shaved head.
But Reiner manages to push him out of the way and ends up getting his arm bitten instead. The strength of the Titan's bottom jaw was like someone was tightening a vice grip around his arm, causing the bone in it to break. Reiner fought through the pain and uses all his strength, to everyone's shocking surprise, to lift the Titan, carry it up the stairs, and throw it out the window.
The Titan however was still clutching its teeth hard around his arm, refusing to let go. Connie uses his knife to slice up its bottom jaw, loosening its grip around him. But before it could attack again, Michael charges in and with hardened fists and punches the Titan as hard as he could, sending it out the window and plummeting to its demise.
"Holy shit, Michael!" Connie blurted out.
"And don't come back!" Michael shouted down at the dead Titan. He looks down at his hardened fists and allows the crystallised layer of skin to evaporate, freeing his hands. "I'm so glad that worked. That could've gone terribly wrong."
After things have quieted down, Connie, Michael and Bertolt place a couple of wooden beams against the door upstairs from the one they destroyed with the cannon. This was the only door left that separated the Titans from the top of the tower. If they get in, their last option is to get to the top and seal the trapdoor. And this time there won't be another conveniently placed cannon for them to ram into the other invading Titans.
Christa was patching up Reiners injured arm using a piece of cloth she tore from her skirt. This kind of act caused Reiner to get a little flustered.
"Marry me!" He thought to himself.
"You know I can hear your thoughts right Reiner?" Lazarus reminded him whilst also holding in his laughter.
Reiner grunts in annoyance, feeling stupid for forgetting about Lazarus's signature ability. He can never have any private thoughts with him around.
"You know, Christa. I kinda got scratched up myself." Ymir innocently speaks up, trying to draw her attention to her. Jealous over Reiner getting all her affection.
"Quit your whining." Michael retorted. Reminding her that Lazarus and Reiner were the ones who are seriously injured and now wasn't the time to mess around.
"Sorry, that happened to you, man." Connie addressed the injured Warriors. "You really saved my ass there, Reiner. Thanks… And you, Lazarus. You've been watching out for me ever since training. It's because of you I became brave enough to join the Scouts to begin with because I knew you'd always be around to look out for us. I owe you a lot, pal."
Lazarus looks away from Connie unsure of what to make of his kind words. On one hand, he was happy to hear him say that. But on the other, he started to feel terrible because of who and what he is. And he could tell that Reiner was feeling the same way. As fun as his time was on this island, eventually he'll have to reveal his true colours and hurt them in the process. It was unfair that he and his friends were put in a position like this. But that's just how life is.
"No really, it's fine. We have each other's back. It's what we soldiers do. We look out for each other."
"Damn right." Michael praised him. "Even when I was revealed to be like Eren and Annie, you still saw me as a trusted ally and friend. And even though you loved Annie, you still chose us over her, even if it meant you'd lose her. I know how hard it must've been for you, Laz. But we'll always be thankful to you. You as well, Reiner. You've been putting your life on the line a lot more lately… Hey Bertolt, has he always been like this? The self-sacrificing type?"
"No, he's changed a bit. In the old days… Reiner was more of a warrior."
Lazarus glances over at Bertolt, fearing he was trying to break their cover at first. But as far as the others know, warrior is used as the term for a brave fighter/individual. And not the organisation they're a part of.
"Whoa. Say what you want, but the Scouts get shit done." Ymir commented as she looked out the window. Most of the Titans had been wiped out, leaving only a few of them left. It looked like they'll be able to survive the night after all.
Suddenly, a huge crashing sound echoed throughout the tower. It came from the courtyard area. Ymir peered out the window again and noticed a cloud of dust around where the stables were. When it finally cleared she was shocked to see the horses dead and buried under debris.
Shortly afterwards, another thundering boom strikes the tower directly, causing it to shake. The shockwave was strong enough to knock everyone who was standing off balance.
Ymir then loses her balance on the windowsill and begins to stagger forwards. But she was saved at the last second by Michael who grabs her left ankle and quickly pulls her back inside to safety.
The rookies decide to investigate what was going on by racing to the top of the tower. When they reached the top, they were shocked to find a huge chunk of the tower missing, but not as shocking as the two dead Scouts that were sent flying by the incoming projectiles along with the missing chunks of the castle.
Lazarus turned his attention to the Beast Titan that was standing atop the wall. He knew instantly that it was him that killed them by throwing chunks of the wall. He knew what his strategy was. He killed the horses so that they couldn't escape and took out half the Scouts stationed atop the tower, leaving only Gelgar and Nanaba.
"They're dead! But how?! Sasha questioned.
Michael then looks over at the Beast Titan who was raising his arms like he was doing a victory pose.
"It was him. The one who made a beeline for the wall! That hairy son of bitch is-
His eyes widen in shock to the many Titans that were suddenly coming out of the forest and heading straight for the castle. He quickly looks up expecting the Winged Titan to be leading them, but just like before, he wasn't there.
"Heads up! We've got twice as many Titans than before heading this way!"
"You're kidding me! No way this was a coincidence." Gelgar responded.
"It's not," Nanaba added. "This attack wasn't random. We're being toyed with!"
The Beast Titan lets out a deep roar that can be heard even from Utgard Castle. The Titans respond to the roar and all begin attacking the tower they're all standing on, attempting to tear it down and slaughter them.
With his task completed, Zeke starts making his way down the opposite side of the wall into the lands of Wall Maria. There was no reason for him to stick around. Their fates are sealed. There is no escape.
Gelgar and Nanaba continue to fight the Titans. Though they were running low on gas and blades, they couldn't just stand around and wait for the tower to fall. if this was the end for them, then they would rather go out fighting.
Or at least Nanaba was. Gelgar was too tired and concussed to continue the fight. Even if he had the strength to continue, he was out of gas and his blade was nothing more than broken nubs.
He releases the trigger for the anchors that were holding him against the building and allowed gravity to send him to his doom. Nanaba attempts to save him by slashing the nape of the Titan who grabbed him, breaking her last blades in the process.
She soon ended up getting grabbed by a couple of Titans fighting over who gets to eat her. Nanaba soon succumbs to despair as her disturbing cries rang throughout the castle. Her final words were even more disturbing to the others as they involved her apologising to her abusive father and promising she'd be a good girl for him before being torn apart by the two Titans and eaten.
As for Gelgar, he used the last of his strength and will to reach out for a bottle of ale, hoping to savour his last drink before accepting his fate. But what remained of his hope and faith in God had been ripped away as there was not a single drop of alcohol left in the bottle. For he had no idea that Christa had used what was left of it to clean out Reiners wound before patching him up, unaware of the fact that he can heal. His final words were the promise of killing the one who finished off his booze before being eaten by a Titan.
The others all look away in despair as their superiors were horrifically killed by the Titans. It was just them now. There was nothing they could do to protect themselves. All they could do was wait for them to bring the tower down and succumb to the Titan's hunger.
Lazarus didn't know what their next move should be. He and Reiner could easily transform and kill all the Titans around them. But doing so would break their cover and reveal their true identities to others. Even if they did it to save them, it wouldn't change the things they've done. And Lazarus couldn't simply order the Titans to leave since none of them have consumed his spinal fluid.
"Damnit! We've got to do something!" Connie stated.
"Trust me, Connie. I want to help. But I can't transform again. Believe me, I've tried. But no matter how much I bite my hand, my powers won't trigger. There's nothing I can do… it's too late anyway. They're gone!"
"You're right. There's nothing you can do." Lazarus responded before drawing his katana blades from his Cloud Zero. "But there's plenty I can do!"
Michael quickly stops him from leaping off the tower by grabbing his shoulder.
"Don't do it! You're still hurt from earlier. Fighting them might open up the wound in your head. For all we know you might've cracked your skull open. It's too risky to let you go down there!"
"He's right." Reiner butted in. "Your skills may be second to Captain Levi, but not even you are skilled enough to take on that many Titans by yourself."
"Maybe. But what else can we do? Michael still hasn't recovered enough to transform, and I'm the only one with ODM gear. And I can't just take it off and lend it to any of you either. If I don't stand a chance against that many Titans, what makes you think any of you will?"
The others all look at each other thinking what other possible options they may have. Unfortunately, though, nothing came up. Lazarus looks over at Reiner and Bertolt.
"We have no choice. We have to use our Titans to get rid of them."
Both Reiner and Bertolt try their hardest to hide their surprised reactions from the others.
"What?! You're insane!" Bertolt responded first. "We can't reveal ourselves here!"
"If we don't do something we'll all die! I don't want to be the only one left standing once it's all over! We've already lost Marcel to the Titans. I'm NOT gonna let history repeat itself. I'm gonna do what I should've done back then. If you wanna stay out of this, Reiner, that's fine. I'll take responsibility for this, even if it means showing Michael and the others my true self… As you said. We WILL make it back home, together!"
"Connie, where's that knife you had?" Ymir suddenly asked, preventing Lazarus from unleashing the Winged Titan.
Before Connie could question why she wanted it, Ymir insisted, forcing him to give it up without question. Happy with the compliance, Ymir pats Connie's shaved head, thanking him.
"What do you need the knife for?" He finally asked, slapping Ymir's hand off of himself.
"Oh, no reason… I'm just gonna give 'em a little hell!"
Michael lets go of Lazarus and turns his attention back to Ymir, wondering what she plans on doing.
"Ymir… what are you planning?"
Ymir ignores Michael's stupid question and walks over to Christa, reminding her of the oath the two of them made on the snowy mountain during their training years. Dawn then approaches as the sun begins to rise over the horizon, lighting up the land, and colouring it a vibrant yellow. It would've been a welcome sight had it not been for the Titans below them.
With her words gracefully exchanged, Ymir turns around and starts to perform a run-up before leaping off the edge of the tower and falling towards the horde of Titans below.
"YMIR!" They all screamed in unison as they raced to the edge, looking down at their falling friend.
Michael attempts to reach down and save her but she was already far out of his reach. Lazarus manages to save Michael from falling over by grabbing hold of his arm.
"Wha- Why would she do that? Is she insane?!" Sasha voiced what they were all thinking.
Before anyone could react, Ymir uses the knife she took from Connie to cut her palm. What followed afterwards was something nobody could've ever predicted.
An orb of electricity surrounds her as she's falling. Within that energy field, a Titan body begins to form around Ymir. One much smaller than Michael and Eren's. It was no different than a regular Titan, only it had sharp nails and teeth. Its face looked identical to Ymir's only it had a permanent snarl.
Lazarus, Reiner and Bertolt were horrified by this discovery, more so than the others were. For they knew exactly what this Titan power was. It was the Jaw Titan. The power that had been stolen from Marcel when he was devoured by a Pure Titan.
"No! It can't be!" Lazarus thought to himself. "The Jaw Titan… So it was her! She was the one who killed Marcel!"
To Be Continued