46.

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CHAPTER FORTY-SIX — Connection

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...

"—sie…"

…

"—osie!"

…

"R-Rosalie!"

Twitching slightly, Rosalie slowly comes to. Groaning lowly to herself, she slowly opens her eyes, hissing in instant regret as the evening sunlight assaults her retinas. "Damn…!" She curses, immediately squeezing her eyes tightly shut as she slowly raised up. 'What happened…?'

Her head was pounding, amplifying the ringing in her ears; both leaving her nauseous and disoriented.

Forcing her eyes open, she ignores the buzzing sensation prickling at her brain and looks around, taking in the chaos she seemed to be in the center of. 'What's going on?'

Eventually, her gaze lowers, latching on a patch of purple wildflowers to her left.

..

"It's really pretty out today, huh, Mikasa?"

"Yeah."

..

'This place…'

..

"What's with the flowers?"

"Noticed the bunch your Mama had on the windowsill we're starting to wilt, so I picked her some fresh ones."

"What a suck-up."

"You're just jealous 'cause your mom likes me more!"

..

Reaching out, she lets her finger graze one of the petals. 'It's so familiar but… W-Why can I remember anything?'

It was then she noticed that something warm was trickling down her temple. Reaching up, Rosalie grazes the area with her fingers before pulling her hand away, surprised to find them wet and shiny red. 'Blood…? Why am I bleeding…?' She muses, her brows furrowing in alarm. Her confusion, however, is short-lived. It was as if a dam broke inside of her head, allowing memories of recent events to come pouring through.

..

"Seems like here lately, everyone has a secret to hide."

..

"Five years ago, we demolished the wall and began our attack on humanity."

..

"I'm the Armored Titan and he's the Colossal Titan."

..

"One last chance, Bertolt. Let him go… Don't make this harder than it has to be."

"No. We've come this far already… We're taking Eren home with us. We're going back to our hometown!"

..

"Eren!"

Jumping at the abrupt shout, Rosalie moves instantly without thinking. Head snapping to the right, she cringes as a sharp pain jolts through her head and neck. Her vision blurs slightly, and spots of white dizzying stars obscure her vision of Mikasa and Eren from where they sat a few feet away.

Biting down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, Rosalie swallows back the whine that wanted to rise up her throat as she hunches over and clutches at her head with her hands. 'What's going on?! Mikasa hasn't sounded like that since…'

Allowing the thought to trail off, she forces herself to ignore the pain and look up, her eyes widening at the familiar Titan reaching its hand out for Eren. 'That Titan… It's the one that—!'

Suddenly, as if to confirm her thoughts, Hannes appears and stops the oncoming hand from grabbing the kneeling duo. Roaring furiously at the top of his lungs as he slashes his blades deeply into the Titan's palm and inner wrist.

"Hannes…?!" Eren— having removed the gag from his mouth long ago— exclaims; his eyes wide as saucers.

In response, Hannes turns to them with a laugh. "What are the odds of this, huh?! Check it out, you three!" He yells before looking back up to the Titan, "You just watch! I'm about to avenge your mother and butcher the shit out of this beast!"

He then runs forward, using his gear to hook into and grapple closer to the Titan, drawing its attention away from the three teens as it focuses on trying to swat him from the air.

"Hannes!" Eren shouts again but goes ignored as the older blond continues to make slices all over the Titan's body; although none were quite deep enough to incapacitate the humanoid and send it to the ground.

Rosalie doesn't know where to focus. Everything was becoming hazy. The sounds of Eren and Mikasa arguing and the distant screams of fellow soldiers were beginning to bleed together— muffled as if she were sinking underwater.

Blinking sluggishly, her eyes slowly trail after Hannes' form as he maneuvers around the Titan with his gear. Watching as he attacks the Achilles' Tendon first before swooping up and around for the Titan's nape.

The Titan reaches out a hand, barely missing its target as it made a quick grab for the wires.

Rosalie swallows thickly at the close call and tries to stand— unable to raise any higher than onto her knees due to a sudden bout of vertigo.

"Shit…!" Eren suddenly exclaims, his voice somehow loud and clear over the chaos. "Shit, what's wrong?!"

Looking over, Rosalie eyes the boy as he repeatedly bites into his already bloodied hand. His body was refusing to transform. "Eren, you're still exhausted from your fight with Reiner…" She calls out weakly, frustrating the boy even more. "Eren, stop!" She snaps, her voice cracking from exertion.

It's then that the Titan falls to its knees, gaining the trio's attention once more; and the sight has a small bubble of hope swelling in their chests. However, the feeling quickly disappears a moment later when the Titan reaches up with one quick movement and snatches Hannes mid-air as the blond swings around its front.

Eren let out a dismayed cry, his expression growing more panicked as he began viciously biting into his hands with a renewed vigor.

'He won't make it in time!' Rosalie can't help but think to herself as a fearful dread begins to churn in her stomach. Gritting her teeth, she forces herself to stand and take a step forward; unfortunately unable to make it too far.

Vision swimming, the brunette felt as if her world had suddenly turned on its axis with a violent shake, and the sensation sends her back to the ground with a grunt; useless — only able to helplessly witness the nightmarish scene taking place before her.

For what would be the last time, Hannes' meets their eyes. And while his own irises shine with unshed tears, the fearful, sorrowful gleam gives way to nothing but silent acceptance.

In the minute it takes the Smiling Titan to victoriously raise him to its gaping maw, Hannes doesn't thrash violently in its hold. Nor does he yell or scream or wail when it bites down on his legs, severing his body in half at the waist. He goes silently— stubbornly; refusing to give his enemy the satisfaction of cries for mercy.

The light fades from his honey-colored gaze as his blood spurts into the air, staining the ground below with red.

"HANNES!" Rosalie can't help but scream, wailing like a small child at the horrific sight.

…

In shock, Eren drops to his knees. Watching with wide, tear-filled eyes as the Titan continued to finish Hannes off with a large and bloody smile.

Hunching over, Eren leans heavily onto his forearms as a sobbing laughter tears from his throat— the sound is nothing short of hysteric.

Forcing her mournful gaze away from the bloody scene, Mikasa turns to him. "Eren…"

"NOTHING CHANGED…!" Eren wails, completely lost in his grief, his body trembling as he frustratedly berates himself. "YOU HAVEN'T CHANGED ONE BIT, DAMMIT! YOU'RE STILL AS USELESS AS YOU EVER WERE! NOTHING'S CHANGED!"

His voice then falters, turning into something utterly broken. "Mom…! I can't— I still can't do anything at all…"

"Eren!" Mikasa calls again, her voice a tinge more stern than before— which prompts him to finally look up at her. And once their gazes meet, she holds his stare evenly; earnestly. "That's not true."

At her words, he glances back at the commotion taking place behind them. The horde was now spread out as far as the eye could see, with each Titan focusing on whatever poor soldier was closest to them. He then meets her gaze once more, hesitant and disbelieving.

"Eren, listen." Mikasa sighs as he raises up to face her, "I need to tell you something. You've always been at my side, and I thank you for that…! You showed me how to live with purpose. Thank you."

She then pauses, teary-eyed and with a soft smile on her lips as she reaches up to grasp the scarf around her neck, and Eren follows the movement intently with his eyes. "And you— You wrapped this scarf around me. Thank you."

Looking up from the tattered, red fabric, Eren feels his heart clench; endearing affection bubbling in his chest at her words.

Suddenly feeling emboldened, and refusing to let things end this way, Eren stands to his full height and looks down at her from over his shoulder. "I'll wrap that scarf around you as many times as you want…! Now and forever…! As many times as you want!" He replies earnestly, his voice shaky but determined.

Mikasa's expression softens further, and all she can do is nod quietly in acceptance.

By this point, the Smiling Titan had focused its attention back on the trio and was reaching one of its hands out in another grabbing motion.

Eren steps forward, his own hands regenerating quicker than before. Clenching one into a fist, he screams as he throws a punch— which meets the palm of the gargantuan hand weakly.

The Smiling Titan retreats at this, pulling away slightly to look down at the appendage. And unbeknownst to the trio, every Titan in the vicinity stops what they're doing.

Defiant and unwilling to back down, Eren lets out another yell and throws another angered punch at the air.

At that same exact moment, an Aberrant appears from behind, leaping overhead and tackling the Smiling Titan to the ground.

Following its lead, the rest of the horde begins to make their way over, leaving their previous prey behind as they all converge upon the offending humanoid.

Surprised but deciding to not question it further, Eren uses this as a distraction and helps Mikasa to her feet. He then leads her over to Rosalie's side— who doesn't even flinch at their sudden closeness.

"Rosie!" Eren calls, releasing his hold on Mikasa as he kneels before the smaller brunette.

Practically catatonic at this point, Rosalie doesn't respond and continues to stare blankly ahead.

"Eren, she's bleeding…"

At Mikasa's murmured observation from behind, Eren's gaze immediately latches onto the trail of blood running down from Rosalie's hairline. 'A concussion, no doubt about it… The shock of everything that's happened isn't helping either.' He muses to himself before reaching out to gently cup her face in his hands. "Oi, Rose, snap out of it…! We need to get away from here while the Titans are distracted!"

Slowly, Rosalie's gaze moves to meet his, and it's as if she was just noticing him for the first time. Gingerly, one of her hands leaves her lap to grip ahold of his wrist. "Eren…" She murmurs weakly, "Hannes, he— That Titan—"

Gritting his teeth at her wobbly reminder, Eren shakes his head sharply. "We can talk about that later!" He dismisses gruffly, however, his paired actions of brushing her tears away with the pads of his thumbs negates the tone.

"We will mourn him later, but right now, we need to leave. He would want us out of danger." He adds with finality as he pulls her to her feet, clutching at her shoulders when she begins to sway.

Unsteady on her feet, it doesn't take Rosalie long until she's losing balance and dropping back to her knees with a garbled groan.

Raising a hand to her head, Rosalie grips the front of Eren's shirt with the other as another wave of dizziness washes over her. "I— I don't think I can walk, 'ren, or run for that m-matter…" She informs, sighing shakily as she squeezes her eyes closed in hopes of fighting off the bout of queasiness. "I don't feel s'good…" She slurs with a grimace, her face paling as bile threatens to rise up her throat— prompting her to bow her head slightly.

Taking another steadying breath, she releases her grip on Eren's shirt and gives his chest a gentle nudge backwards. "Mikasa's hurt, too. You need to get her out of here… I'll only slow you two down at this point."

As she speaks, Eren begins to shake his head furiously; tears brimming his eyes. "What are you even saying—?!"

"You need to leave." Rosalie states and looks up to meet his gaze, smiling weakly in reassurance at the look on his face. "Hey, it's okay… Don't worry about me, I'll be alright. I'll be up and at 'em in no time, I'm sure! But you need to—"

"NO!" Eren roars, making both girls flinch at his tone. "No one is leaving anybody! We either go together or not at all!"

"You can't carry us both, Eren!"

"You're stupid if you think we'd just leave you here!" Eren shrilly retorts, once again cutting the smaller brunette off. "I can't lose you, too! And I won't. We promised mom that we'd survive together, and we will."

With that being said, he hooks his hands underneath Rosalie's arms and forces her to her feet a second time; making sure she has a grip on his shirt to keep her grounded.

He then turns to Mikasa, bending his knees slightly as he silently motions for her to climb onto his back.

Hesitantly, Mikasa complies. And once she's settled, she makes sure to keep one arm wrapped around Eren's shoulder as she reaches out to grab Rosalie's wrist in a firm hold; pulling the brunette along as Eren breaks into a light jog.

They only manage to make it a few yards before Rosalie begins to slow to a stop. Her face is more pallid than before as a cold sweat glistens on her forehead.

"…'ren… 'kasa…" She calls out through ragged breaths, "I can't— I can't keep going…!"

Both turn to her, concern marring their features and Eren is the first to look away.

"We'll get as far as we can." He replies through gritted teeth, feeling his heart pound erratically in his chest. "As long as we're together, it doesn't matter."

Teary-eyed, Mikasa swallows around the lump forming in her throat and looks back over her shoulder towards the Titans; her eyes widening at what she sees. "Why are they—? They're eating it…?!"

At her unsettling observation, Eren and Rosalie also look back, and sure enough, the smiling Titan was being viciously ripped apart by the multitude of its fellows surrounding it.

It's at that moment the trio hears large footsteps quickly heading their way.

Looking away from the horde, they move their attention to the South and instantly spot Reiner— with Bertolt on his shoulder— hastily approaching.

At the sight, Eren's rage returns tenfold as he immediately turns to face their adversaries head-on. "GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU BASTARDS! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

Suddenly, as soon as the words pass through Eren's lips, the horde of Titans behind their small group stand to attention; their eyes gleaming ominously in the afternoon sun as they turn their focus onto the approaching Shifters and charge.

Eren whirls around, completely baffled. "What—?! The Titans…?!"

Equally caught off guard, neither Mikasa nor Rosalie can find it in them to respond. Both were too stunned to speak, only able to watch alongside Eren in awe as the horde quickly closes the distance between them and Reiner's hulking form.

"EREN…!"

At the sudden shout, the trio looks over and is immediately met with the sight of Armin and an unconscious Jean approaching on a shared horse.

"Get on!" The blond yells again once he reaches their side, quickly nodding his head towards the spare steed tethered to his own.

"Armin…!" Eren sighs, relief palpable.

"Hurry!"

At the blond's urging response,Eren doesn't hesitate. Stepping forward, he helps Mikasa up and onto the saddle before turning to Rosalie, pausing as he tries to figure out a solution for the three of them to fit.

Then, as if he somehow sensed the conundrum, James appears from the opposite direction upon his own horse. His face was pale but relieved at the sight of his daughter. "Give her to me, Eren! I've got her…! You ride with Mikasa!"

Eren nods and Rosalie grunts as she's hastily hefted up into the awaiting arms of her father.

Once everyone is settled and astride a horse, they were off; regrouping with what was left of the formation. Following Erwin's next command all the while leaving Reiner and an injured Bertolt to fend off the Titan horde alone.

"DON'T LET THIS CHANCE ESCAPE! FULL RETREAT…!"

...

...

Rosalie jerks slightly as her father nudges her leg with his hand; her eyes flying open at the gesture. Slightly tilting her head back, she blinks sluggishly up at him, earning a wavering tense smile in return.

"Try to keep your eyes open, Rose… I know you want to sleep, sweetheart, but I need you to stay awake, okay?"

Rosalie offers a halfhearted nod in response before moving her gaze to the expansive, starry night sky. Her thoughts wandered, revolving around a certain blond-haired Garrison Solider as she mourned the loss of another connection.

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