Underdogs

FIFTY

❝Hard times don't create heroes. It is during the hard times when the hero within is revealed.❞

Chapter fifty:

HERO IN DISGUISE

The Titans were standing still, unmoving as if their erratic movements had been put on hold by force.

From the top of one of the Walls that protected humans from the gruesome beasts, Galene observed their opponents with unblinking eyes. Her muscles were tense, her instincts ready to send her pouncing. However, not a single soldier made a move. Not a single word broke the unwavering silence.

Her gaze surveyed what was about to become the battlefield, searching. The threat was clear as a day, yet her focus wasn't on the normal Titans that stood before them.

She isn't there, she soon realized, furrowing her lips in thought. Where are you hiding, mother?

As if hearing her question, the Titans suddenly snapped back into life.

"Be ready," voiced Erwin.

But they were far from it; they had been taken by surprise, and their well-thought plan couldn't be put into action. The soldiers were dispersed like rats around the Wall, and Galene had witnessed how their faces had slowly morphed into uncertainty.

Glancing back at the Titans, she clicked her tongue.

"What are they doing?" asked Hange in a mutter from her left.

"Something isn't right," Farlan added with a frown.

The Titans were moving sideways, as if making a path for someone. And then, a man was walking it. Calmly, he stopped some feet in front of the beasts – as if they were harmless bugs instead of killing machines.

"Who the fuck is that?" Levi's voice was carried by the wind, before he met her eyes with a raised eyebrow.

Galene knew the question was directed at her, but she didn't need to glimpse at the man's face to know his identity. Narrowing her eyes, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"One of the Nine." Taking a deep breath, she added, "The Beast Titan."

He wasn't moving though, as if waiting for something. And that's how Galene saw her chance. Turning to Erwin, she said, "I need a horse. I'll buy us some time to prepare."

No one spoke for a few seconds, yet their attention was fully on her. She made sure to avoid the grey eyes who were staring at her intently, focusing on the Commander instead.

"That's suicidal," opined Levi nonetheless. "Are you that desperate to die, brat?"

He hit a nerve, succeeding in making her turn to him. Furrowing her lips, she met his glare head on.

"Look around you and tell me we are ready for this," she hissed, ignoring the rest, and stepping up to him. "If you have any other idea, I'm all ears."

He regarded her with a blank expression in return, which would have made it seem like he didn't give a shit had she not been looking straight into his piercing eyes. Anger swam within, along with those emotions she had grown used to meet whenever they clashed – those damn emotions that always threatened to drown her.

"When did you get that shitty hero complex?"

"I'm far from a hero, but someone has to do something," she snapped, getting annoyed. "We need as much time as we can get, or we won't stand a fucking chance."

When he rebuked, however, his voice was cold as ice.

"How's losing our best weapon before the war even starts going to help us win it?"