-Kaisa-
My anxiety shoots through the roof once we're outside of the prison cell I escaped only 24 hours ago. The difference this time is I've come with my regular clothes, gear, and comrades by my side. It turns out there was another entrance near the front I somehow missed where it's easier to load the explosives and other equipment we require to pull this stunt off. As we approach the last door separating us from our fight, I check my belts, gas, and readjust the knives on my gear.
Weirdly enough, even through my anxiety, I am incredibly excited. I can already feel the adrenaline rushing through me; it's exhilarating to get payback on these bitches. Hopefully we'll be able to get those two out without killing anyone, but by the sounds of it, it's either us or them.
And there is no way in hell I'm handing over any of my squad's lives for free.
Jean, Sasha, and Connie prepare the fuel-filled barrels nearby the door while I organize the bow and arrow for Sasha to use later. Tobio and Kei are preparing the flares while Mikasa, Kiyoko and Armin are off to the side helping Hange finish the last explosives. Levi pulls up next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder as I'm crouched. Looking up at him, a curious expression is spread across my features.
"How are you feeling?" He asks, coming to my level.
"Is it weird to say I'm actually pretty excited?" I respond quietly.
"No, you're just still weird as always."
I jokingly stab him with the end of an arrow, "Oi, watch yourself Levi—I have a weapon!"
"Tch, like that'll do anything." He rolls his eyes, "I'm glad to know you're not too shaken up from the last week." He confides in me, helping me stack the arrows.
I shrug, "Guess you could say that I had a relief of stress."
He drops his head, hair covering his eyes wearing an unnoticeable smile, "Not here, brat."
I giggle in response, "Okay, okay, okay, I'll stop."
I reach behind me, "By the way, you should keep one of these on you." I hold out one of the guns I brought back yesterday.
"Where'd you get this? We haven't gone back to HQ yet." He ponders, checking the bullets.
"Getting out of this place wasn't easy; killed some idiots and took their guns."
He places a hand on my head, ruffling my hair softly, "That's my girl."
I raise an eyebrow, "I'm not anyone's girl."
"Yet." Levi finishes.
He places his hands on his knees, before standing up and facing the rest of the squad. I must've been the last person he checked in on during his regular rounds. It always impressed me how he took the time to meet his squad where they were at, making it priority to evaluate their mental health before executing the objective. He gathers the rest around and I listen intently before finishing up my job.
He reiterates the plan before walking towards the door, giving us a look before slamming it open with his leg.
Damn, Levi's got some glutes.
You say that if you didn't see them last night.
My face tinges red before I'm brought back to reality by Sasha's created explosion. Levi leads the attack, flying amongst the smoke as everyone else follows. I'm the last to leave to ensure our backend doesn't have any weak spots. More explosions occur and gun shots are now fired. Levi calls out the amount of people we're against before the smoke completely engulfs us. My main focus is to kill those standing on the sidelines to avoid any snipes coming from nowhere.
The smoke is thick, but thankfully, we know exactly how many of them are. Now having relatively good control of my senses and abilities, it's clear to me where each person is even through the smoke. Their aura's give themselves away, making it easier for me to stop them from doing any more harm. I decide to clear out one row at a time. I start on my left, shooting a hook into the first pillar, heading towards the first soldier.
Their presence is outlined in my perspective, creating an easy target for me. I twist my body as I approach them, spinning before slashing into them. I aim another hook at the pillar across from me, killing the other individual before continuing the action. Each time, remembering their faces before death.
The smoke clears, so Sasha shoots another barrel which covers my movement to the next pillar on my list. So far, it seems like Tobio, Mikasa, and Jean are killing it as usual.
No pun intended.
I follow up behind them, covering their blind spots as they continue attacking our enemies. We're doing great given our circumstances; there are no openings for them to attack and we haven't lost a single person which is comforting. My clothes are already splattered in blood from those against me, but I'd rather it be theirs than my own.
"Ya-hoo!" A voice calls out gleefully. I turn back, knowing exactly who this individual is.
Levi, it's our favourite man.
Shit. Hold him off for a bit.
Yes, sir.
"Kei! Trail the rest!" I yell.
"Got it."
I release both hooks, dropping while turning around before shooting them out again, facing the man I've despised.
"You made it difficult, Zelda." He teases, "But I'm not one of these children playing games." He shoots two rounds at me from both guns attached to his gear. I see them in slow motion with eyes wide. I'm in the middle of the battlefield, and there isn't much place for me to go. There's no place, except up.
I press on my gas, undoing my hooks at the last second to propel myself up in the air as I spin. With the momentum and air I've created, I flip forward, just barely dodging the bullets which graze through my hair before landing on the man. With feet on his shoulders, I flip once more, pulling out my gun and aiming for his back while still upside down. I shoot the round, but the unsure momentum shakes my arm and it hits straight into his armor.
Following my trajectory, I'm falling straight to the ground. With another graceful spin, I catch myself with one hook, spinning around a pillar to face the man again. My blood pounds in fury, knowing the sins this man has committed against those he cared for. This man is the epitome of the selfish nature in humans. This is the man who betrayed those who cared for him, loved him, and took them in.
He's the one who killed my parents!
"I'll fucking kill you!" I scream, launching a hook in his direction. I come close, pulling a blade before he dodges at the last second, getting away.
"Ooo! Scary." He jokes, flying off towards Levi and the rest of our squad.
"I'm not done with you, bastard!" Trying to bring him away from the rest of our team.
He seems to understand our pathing and heads towards the group. I follow behind him quickly, moving below and in front of him to cut his calf. He grunts and pulls away using his gun to knock the back of my head. I focus on my recovery, swinging towards another pillar.
"You're annoying." He groans before pulling away.
I drop the old blades on my gear and take a new one out, throwing it at his back. Just before it hits him, another soldier blocks it for him. I shoot a hook into the body blocker, pulling him towards me before slicing his neck. After the body drops, I quickly follow Kenny's trail towards Levi who is currently dealing with two others.
He's heading towards you.
Shit.
Pressing on my gas, I catch up to him. I swing my blade, readying myself before my assault. I go to swing when he brings his arm behind his back on his left, shooting his gun. The sound pierces my ears, and the proximity between us prevents me from dodging. I grip my blade tighter, swinging through while awaiting the bullet to pierce my skin.
But it doesn't.
Instead, it drops on impact. For the first time, I notice the soft, transparent, golden orb surrounding my entire being. Even in my rage, I don't understand how I've summoned this, but it came naturally. It came without any effort; it came because I needed a shield and I made one. Confident in myself, I follow through with my momentum.
"What the hell are you?!" Kenny yells as I slash his left shoulder.
Another person swings by, hoping to crash into me. Unfortunately for them, I swing upwards, spinning once more before throwing a shuriken between their eyes. Afterwards, I rest from a pillar, noticing Kenny finally reached Levi and are fighting right now. There's nothing much I can do to help him, but I bought him as much time as I could have. Turning back behind me, Kei is still holding the rear just fine. I'm thankful to know they're safe and return to my original position.
On the way back, I see a woman with a gun pointed at Hange. She pulls the trigger, the bullet grazing her shoulder before she drops her gear. My heart sinks; there isn't enough time for me to kill her, but there's enough time to get to Hange. The wind dishevels my hair on the way towards my favourite scientist. Reaching out, I crash into Hange, holding her near me while creating the same golden orb around us. We tumble into the ground together amongst the crystal shards.
"Hange!" Levi's voice rings.
Once landing I pull out a gun, seeing a direct target almost perfectly aligned on her forehead. I take my shot; the woman drops from her spot. Knowing the enemy is rendered useless, I turn back to the woman on the ground.
"Hange, hey, can you hear me?" I ask, checking her neck and vitals.
"Ngh..." She groans.
She's not good.
Don't let her die.
I won't.
"Connie!" I call out to the soldier who's just killed another. He quickly approaches before peering into my created globe. I drop the shield and he rushes towards me.
He looks at Hange in distress, "I'm not even going to ask what the heck was around you two right now."
I take the knife from my pocket and cut off a sleeve and the bottom of my long-sleeved shirt, "You, Kiyoko, and Armin are going to take Hange out of here and make sure she doesn't die. Understood?" I command.
My hands work to address the wound, using the knife to pull out the bullet which thankfully hasn't shattered inside her. Next, using the pieces of clothes, I wrap it around her underarm. With the sleeve, I use it to tie it all off in a knot before pulling Hange up into my arms.
"Please, make sure she doesn't die." I plea, handing her over to Connie who now holds her.
"Yes, ma'am!"
She's fine.
I don't get a response. My next thought is disrupted by another gunshot next to me. My eyes dart to Tobio who swings out of the way before letting out a grunt, cutting right through his opponent.
Nice kill, Tobio!
I follow up behind him on his right, "Where'd you learn those moves?"
He turns his head to the side slightly with a pointed expression, "I watched you do it once."
Once?! This guy really is a genius.
"Stay away from the man in the hat." I command, hooking into another pillar.
"Yes, ma'am."
I swing away, only to feel an arrow narrowly pass by me. Its flames hit another barrel, causing the smoke to rise into my vision. It was a good shot, just really poor timing. Although, I can't blame her, I did just switch directions at the last second. I wave my hands in front of me to rid the smoke from my vision, but all I can rely on is the sounds of clashing blades. Smoke rises, but down below I'll be able to see better. I remove both hooks from my pillars and roll over my shoulder once I land on the floor, sprinting on foot to locate two crazy people.
I look amongst the clouds, looking for two aura's flying around each other. It doesn't take me long to find them but what's surprising is one of the outlines is a navy blue. Disregarding this feature, I launch myself into the air with my ODM gear and follow suit. The smoke isn't potent here, clearing my view of Levi and Kenny's fight. Their fighting style is so similar; it's eerie. Their movements match. Their fight looks like a dance.
I'm going to burn this bastard.
I'm hiding. Bring Kenny towards me.
Levi looks up for a brief moment noticing my wave before I move around the pillar, waiting for Levi to deliver. Grabbing the knife out of my pocket, my body rests in my ODM gear comfortably. Soon, Kenny's back comes towards me, escaping Levi when I spin the corner, stabbing the knife into his shoulder. He groans before taking my arm and throwing me over him. The knife pulls out immediately with me and I tumble forward before landing a hook somewhere, catching my fall. He pulls away from the pillar and heads right towards another exit.
I manage to see the final move clearly. My distraction allowed for Kenny's shot to be directed at Levi's position, but not clearly. Levi tosses the bag of fuel in front of him as the bullet pierces through it, an explosion erupting milliseconds later. Levi presses his gas, launching himself in the midst of the flames before appearing on the opposite side with blades ready. His special hold on the blades help guide his attack, putting pressure on Kenny's torso while the man does his best to prevent it from going through.
"Slice his ass!" I scream from the sideline.
Levi digs his blade deeper, disarming Kenny's only protection before making an incision on his stomach. I quickly pull up behind Kenny, readying another sword to slash his back when I see a hook shoot right where I'd be; one of their soldiers is trying to kill me. My eyes widen when the hook appears right in front of my face.
"Kaisa don't-!"
I put my left arm up, letting the hook pierce through my arm, protecting my head from the impact before lazily cutting into Kenny as I fall. Kenny pulls away, so I yank the wire with the hand of the same arm the hook pierced towards me as I swing off to the side. The man is dragged with me, colliding into the pillar before I drop myself on his head, smashing his skull into the ground.
"Disgusting." I mutter, as I bring myself up next to Levi.
"Retreat!" Kenny yells before completely exiting.
"I have to kill him." I seethe with rage.
Levi puts an arm out in front of me, preventing me from moving and gives me a look.
You can't. Not right now--it's no use.
"He killed my parents." I say through my gritted teeth.
"You have a responsibility to make sure his squad doesn't do the same to yours." He pushes back.
I soften at his point. He's right—these children are my priority, and I can't let some stupid grudge get in the way of protecting them.
"Alright. Let's regroup."
----
hi hey hello!
smilinglevismillinglevismilinglevismilinglevi
that is all.
jkjk, but hopefully you all had a great new year!! thank you for 79k! <3
much love and take care,
~cendiain