...Slaughtering Pt. 2...
The Garrison surrounded the four of you.
You and Mikasa stood side by side, blades out. Armin stayed behind guarding Eren, who was still unconscious. Mikasa held her blades up into position and you twirled yours with your wrists, partly to show off. Neither of you had spoken a word yet. Actions spoke louder than words, so the moment the Garrison unsheathed their blades, you both mirrored the moves.
"I'll kill them all."
Then silence.
You turned over your shoulder. Eren was awake with that deranged smile of his again.
"Couldn't he have picked any better words?" muttered Mikasa.
"Eren, can you move? Are you alright?" asked Armin. "Listenâyou've got to tell them everything you know! They're terrified but they'll understand!"
"What? What is even happening-"
"Cadets Eren Jaeger, Y/n L/n, Mikasa Ackerman, And Armin Arlert! The four of you have jointly committed the highest act of treason! Whether or not a brief execution will depend on your next actions!" yelled Captain Woerman. He had worse sunken eyes than Shadis. "Any attempt to move from where you stand now, anything I deem the least bit suspicious, will be met with cannon fire! Do not test me!"
You stopped moving your blades. Not because you were afraid of him. But because this would be the most stupidest way to die.
"Answer carefully! Eren Jaeger, what exactly are you?! Human?! Or titan?!"
Hell, even I want to know.
"I'm sorry, sir! I'm not understanding!"
"Answer me, damn you! Evasion will get you nowhere! Don't try to stall with pretend ignorance! You won't stand a chance! You'll be blown to hell before you can assume your true form! And before you try and deny it, we have all seen it! You emerged from the carcass of a fallen titan in full view of your comrades! A creature of unknown origin, ability, or allegiance has slipped through and infiltrated Wall Rose, and that creature is you! I cannot waste any more time or manpower on you! Do you understand now?!"
"As soldiers, they all know the price of their position," said the woman with the short blonde hair next to him. "If they're this committed to defiance under threat of death, so be it. They won't be persuaded and will only waste time. We must act now if we don't want any more casualties."
You raised a blade as if raising a hand. "Sorry, that's not going to work."
Her eyes flashed behind her glasses, visibly offended. "Excuse me?"
"You want to get to him? You've got to get through us."
"We've torn through flesh and bone," said Mikasa. "I'm sure that neither of us will pass on the opportunity to demonstrate our skills if necessary."
"You hear that, all of you? If anyone's willing to try us, then please, be our guest. Killing titans was a piece of cake. Imagine how easy it'd be with humans."
Before Woerman could yell anything back, Ian came forward. "Captain, Y/n L/n and Mikasa Ackerman were in the rearguard with us. They are worth two hundred soldiers combined. One hundred soldiers each. Even one loss would be enough a critical blow to humanity."
"Y/n! Mikasa! You can't take them all on," reasoned Armin. "Even if you took down a few, there's nowhere left for you two to run."
"Is that a challenge?" you asked. "You know I'm always willing to prove someone wrong." Starting with the fact that all of them thought Eren was fucking dead. Imagine that?
"Armin, we've just made our case," said Mikasa. "Anyone who wants to get through to him, goes through us first."
"This isn't the only answerâthey're just scared! They don't know what's happening! We just need to calm down and talk it out!"
"Talk it out? Look at them, Armin!" you pointed your blade to the guards who all had their own blades up. "Use your two eyes! You have two, don't you? Do you see a single person who looks like they're willing to talk?"
"One more time!" yelled Woerman. "Are you a human or a titan?!"
You turned over your shoulder. Shit, if he says he's a human, that stupid man probably won't believe him. If he says he's a titan, then we all die. Either way, we're deadbeat. Fuck.
"I'm human!"
You let out a sigh. Whatever. He fucked up the moment he came out of that titan anyway.
"Just as I've expected you would say," said Woerman. Then he started lifting his hand up. "There is no way to prove the truth. So you've left me with no choice!" His hand was all the way up.
In the split second you and Mikasa made eye contact, both of you dropped your blades and rushed back. "We're going up," Mikasa quickly said. You grabbed Eren's arm and yanked him back. But all of a sudden, he wrapped an arm around your waist, which completely took you by surprise, making you loosen your hold, and dragged you with him to Armin and Mikasa.
Then everything happened all at once. The cannon fired. Eren bit down into his hand, hard. Lightning struck. Then in the next moment, you found the three of you under a huge cage of ribs. Inside the half-formed titan. He just saved us.
"Hey! Guys!" Eren rushed to you all through the ribs. "Are you guys alright?!"
Upon seeing him again, your heart quickened so suddenly that you had to put a hand to your chest. Now why the hell is my heart doing this again.
"Eren, how'd you do this?" asked Armin.
"I don't fucking know?! But look, this thing's going to decay like any titan corpse in a second! Let's get away from it!"
"To where? We've got nowhere else to go!"
"I don't know. And I doubt we'll be let off the hook easily after whatever this is," hes said, gesturing to the evaporating titan. "But I do remember one thing." He took out the key on his neck, the necklace that you thought was just for style. "The basement of my house. Dad said that if I go there, I'll learn everything. This titan thing happened to me because of him, too. Ah, fuck!" He pounded a fist into the bone of the titan. "Then why the hell did he hide it away for so long?"
"Oh come on, not now!" You wrapped a hand around his fist and wrenched it off the bone. "Why don't we finish our little tantrum somewhere else, some other time?" He turned to you, his gaze instantly softening that you had to look twice. You dropped his hand and averted your eyes, clearing your throat.
"We can't go up now, they'll be waiting for us up there," said Mikasa. "What's the plan now?"
"There is no plane. I'm going to leave here alone," he said.
"The hell you are not!" you argued. "We're coming with you!"
"This entire thing is because of meâyou think I'd let the three of you keep following me until you all die?"
"None of us are dying here," you said with certainty. "Not today, not ever. So there's got to be another way."
He dropped his gaze to the ground in a pensive state. "Armin, can you do something for us?"
"What? Yeah, anything."
"Mikasa's too blunt and Y/n fucks up everytime she talks."
Your eyebrows jumped up. "Are you asking him for a favor or just to talk shit about us?"
"Are you able to convince the Garrison that I'm not a threat? Just for a bit. Make them think they can use me to fight in battle. Otherwise, I'd have to leave. Armin, you make the decision."
Armin just looked plain terrified. "Why the hell would you entrust this choice to me?"
"Whenever things get shitty, you always know the right thing to do. So can you do this?"
The ribs were falling down piece by piece. It wouldn't be able to hide you all, and it wouldn't be long until the steam clears. "Come on, any time now, Armin," you muttered under your breath.
He stood up. "I'll do it. I'll persuade them. Meanwhile, the three of you stay put." Then he disappeared through the steam.
You all listened as he gave the most powerful, most convincing speech you've ever heard, saluting at the end. As much as you are proud of him, his words traveled through one ear of that dumb shit Woerman and out the other. Then he started lifting his arm. Mikasa held up half a blade, Eren brought his hand up to his mouth, and you held up a sharp piece of rock. A stupid weapon, but it wouldn't be the first time you killed with one. Not to mention, your aim was deadly.
"Enough." Someone gripped Woerman's arm. "As big as you are, you've never been any less dramatic, so I would've expected this from you." It was Commander Pixis of the Garrison. "Would you look at that splendid salute? I may be a little late, but my subordinates have caught me up to the situation at hand. Woerman, why don't you join the reinforcements? I'll hear this gentleman out."
Armin collapsed to his knees. Mikasa and Eren both let out breaths of relief. Without thinking, you rushed to Armin and wrapped your arms around him. "Holy shitâwe could've died so stupidly if it weren't for you. We owe you big time."
"No." He shook his head, holding onto your arm. "I owe you guys. I would've never been able to do that if it weren't for all of you."
* . * .
"Ah, I see. And if we reach this basement, we'll understand everything?" asked Pixis.
The five of you were on top of the wall, away from everyone else.
Pixis was willing to guarantee all of your safety under the conditions where he got to learn about this "plan" that Armin claimed he had, which consisted of having Eren's titan lift the giant boulder and block the gate. To his surprise, Pixis bought it. And Eren ultimately agreed to it.
"Come with me, son, let's go tell the reinforcements about our master plan."
"What? But..." he glanced back at the three of you.
"Go on, Eren, we'll be right here waiting," you assured him.
Pixis eyed you. "Cadet L/n, is it? Word got around that you managed to kill over ten titans."
"Over twenty, actually. Twenty-three to be exact."
Eren dropped his jaw and Pixis's eyes glinted in slight awe. "Even more reason to be impressed. Why don't you come with, L/n? Keep your friend company."
You glanced at Armin and Mikasa who both nodded for you to go. So you did. On the way there, Pixis started talking about some legend like a grandfather telling a bedtime story to his grandchildren.
He took a sip out of his flask and held it out to you both. "Care for a swig?"
"Uh, yes sir," said Eren. He took a sip then immediately spat it out.
"Gross, Eren! I could've been walking on that side!"
"Then you try it!" He shoved the flask to you.
You smelled it first. It's not water. You took one sip and your eyes lit up. It's whiskey! You chugged the entire thing down until it was empty. "Uh, sir? I think I accidentally finished it."
He chortled. "You've drinken before, haven't you?"
"The mistress at my orphanage was kind of an alcoholic. She never locked her cabinets."
Eren looked at you with concern. "No wonder you did all of that crazy stuff back then."
"Please, I did them all sober."
"Attention!!" Pixis gathered all eyes of the soldiers down below. You stood in the back as Pixis and Eren were at the edge. "The Trost Recovery Operation has been devised!" He explained the plan to plug up the wall and introduced Eren as the product of titan science. A chorus of disbelief waved down there. "And if any of you desire to cower away, abandon your comrades and your humanity, then take a look at Cadet Y/n L/n!"
Oh. You immediately stepped forward and saluted. No one told me I was getting mentioned.
"This brave Cadet here has slain more than twenty titans on her first day without hesitation nor fear! If any of you find yourselves wondering if you should run or to give up, then think of her! This is what a true soldier is! Fighting forward and never looking back!"
You smirked. I fucking love this. You were presented as the role-model for everyone to follow.
The moment Pixis was done with his speech, the moment the plan had begun.
. * . *
Lightning struck and Eren formed his titan.
"The boulder won't be easy to carry," said Mikasa, a couple feet away from you on the roof. The two of you were assigned by Ian to the Elite Squad that would protect Eren.
"Yeah, but Eren doesn't give up," you said. "So he'll be fine." But after his transformation, he didn't touch the boulder. He turned around and spotted you. Why is he looking at me-
A fist pummeled into the place where you stood, but you were pushed out of the way by Mikasa, and the two of you tumbled across the roof. Another fist came down and both of you got out of the way. You swung to his head and yanked him by the strands of his hair. "Who're you trying to pick a fight with?! Your hand itching or something?! You know damn well I can still kick your ass even in this form of yours!"
"L/n! Get out of there! That's an order from your captain!" yelled Ian.
You swung back to the roof just as Eren's fist collided with his own face. Then he fell down. Mikasa rushed over to you. "What the hell were you thinking?!"
You noticed the fresh cut on her cheek. "What happened? That's going to leave a scar."
"My blades accidentally cut myself when I tried getting you out of the way."
"Why did you do that? This wouldn't have happened if you just took care of yourself!"
"No! It wouldn't have happened if you took care of yourself more!"
"Girls, enough!" called Ian. "We need to abandon him for the plan being, but not for long, until we can get backup and find out what the hell is happening with him!" He and the rest of the squad sped off in the direction of the walls.
"Go without me," you told Mikasa. "I'm staying to guard him."
"What? You can't!"
"I'm better off here killing the titans than talking with the superiors up there. You need to get up there and make sure they don't actually abandon him or something. You're serious, so they'll take you seriously. Me? I'm a fucking lost cause in that area and we all know that."
She huffed. "Fine. Stay alive and I'll see you later." She swung off.
In the meantime, you brought your kill count up to twenty-six. Seemed like they were getting less attracted to the people and more at Eren's titan. You flipped a blade up in the air and caught it. Maybe I can get it to thirty-five if there are enough of them.
"Y/n, what's wrong with him?" asked Armin as he landed nearby.
"I don't know! He just started swinging at me out of nowhere, and I didn't even do anything!" Is it because I called him gross for spitting out the whiskey?
"I'll talk to him. Keep the titans away!"
"Already on it!"
You dove between an approaching abnormal's legs, slashed its ankles until it fell, and carved out a dent in its nape. You swung towards another one coming from the opposite direction and kicked it square in its face, sending it backwards against the titan behind it, the both of them falling to the ground. Then you lured another one from another street over and tricked it into colliding into a tower. You cut out its nape and the huge tower landed on top of the other two fat titans on the ground.
Then suddenly, Eren's titan roared, making the ground beneath you quake. He got up on his feet and slowly hoisted the enormous boulder onto his shoulders. Armin landed right beside you. "He finally snapped out of it! Y/n, you okay?"
You were staring at the muscles of his titan, mouth parted, eyes wide. "Armin, is my face getting hot?"
"What?" He poked your cheek then looked at you disgustingly. "You're so weird."
"I don't know why it's heating up! Do you know why?"
He rolled his eyes. "I'm going to find Mikasa."
"Hey! I asked a question!" But he already sped off.
You glanced at Eren carrying the boulder, attracting the other titans. I'll ask Armin later. My job's not finished yet. You swung through the streets, slaughtering every titan in your path until finally, the moment everyone was waiting for, Eren pushed the boulder into the hole of the wall.
Yet you still weren't done. You spotted the last two titans heading over to him and you swung that way. But all of a sudden, a green figure zoomed past you.
You matched their speed and pushed them out of the way with your weight. "Get the fuck out of here! Those are my titans! My kill!"
Just as you raised your blades, the figure came back and pushed you out of the way. You tumbled to the ground right by Eren's titan.
"Y/n?"
You glanced up, seeing Armin, Mikasa, and Eren. All safe and sound. You pointed at Eren who had these marks on his face. "I'm going to deal with your ass later." He pressed his lips shut.
"Wait, if you weren't the ones who killed the two titans, then who is?" asked Armin.
You glanced up. There, standing on top of the slain titan, was a man wearing the green cloak of the Survey Corps. The Wings of Freedom. He turned over his shoulder. "Now what the hell am I looking at over here?"