"Reiner..! Help me..!"
It was a cruel trick. I knew that, and I felt it, too. Much to my dismay, it was the only thing I could think of to surely gain his attention. He barely hesitated, jumping from his perch upon the wall and rushing after us.
Eren was being incredibly careful with me, his grip tight, but not exactly painful. He had obviously caught on to my plan, and was going to run with it. Literally. The town center was rapidly approaching, and I could hear Reiner's heavy footsteps thundering behind us.
I didn't want to fight him, but I knew I had to. I would have been better suited to fighting on the other side of the wall, able to do more than just play decoy. My arms were pressed tight to my sides within Eren's hand, and I was growning more uncomfortable by the second. I could only hope that my gear wasn't destroyed.
Finally, Eren slowed to a stop, turning around and preparing to face the armoured titan, a steamy puff of breath flowing from his nose directly over me.
"Eren, quit it. That burns..." I muttered, gritting my teeth as Reiner slowed before us, glowing eyes on me.
Everything so far had gone to plan, but I didn't want to be a part of it any longer. At least not hand to hand.
"Oi, let me go now, big guy. I did my job." I addressed Eren, and I had expected him to simply open his hand. Not toss me over his shoulder like a rotten apple.
Upside down and flailing, I barely managed to get ahold of my hand pieces, launching my grappels blindly. There was no way I could have made a graceful landing, and I crashed into the rooftops, rolling and bouncing until I skidded to a stop, bottom half off the edge.
On impact, I had landed on my bad shoulder, the searing pain making it difficult for me to climb up, but I didn't have to. In swung Jean, for the second time that day, and carried me further back, rendezvouing with the others.
"Okay, that time you definitely hurt yourself, didn't you?" He helped me stand up properly before removing his hands, but they still hovered, ready to assist in any way.
"Forget about it. Just knocked my shoulder, but it's not that bad. Strapped it tight before we left."
Didn't help for shit, though...
My left thigh was hurting, too. It seemed that the crash landing had flared up all of my old injuries.
"That was impressive, (Y/N). You lured him in with a damsel in distress act. Never would have thought of that myself." Hange complimented, double checking the thunder spear that was attacked to their forearm.
"It was Winnie's idea. Don't give me credit for this..." I murmured, recoiling once I heard that first, heavy clash of fists. Connie tugged me back a little by the cape, placing his hand on my arm.
"Just sit back when we move in, okay? You don't have any thunder spears, so just take a breather."
I knew he was just trying to look out for me, but I didn't want to be babied. There were only two ways I could get the answers I needed from Reiner, and they were fight, or lose. I would never opt for the latter.
"No, I was ordered to distract him, and that's what I'll do, if need be. He's smart, Con. He knows this is some kind of trick." I murmured, gazing at the dust and steam rising from the one on one battle. "Just...keep him alive."
I need the closure...
"No promises..." Jean muttered, and I shot him one of the harshest glares I had ever aimed at him, biting my tongue so I wouldn't lose my head over an argument. I could understand why they were hated. I hated them too, to a degree, but I couldn't completely. There was still a sliver of my heart in his grasp.
"It's your call, Hange. Want me to hang back, or stick close in case he notices you guys too quickly?" I turned to the brunette and they hummed in thought.
"Well, I'd probably stay by us, if I were you. Just keep a distance so one of these bad boys doesn't blow you to pieces." I glanced at the thunder spear and my teeth grit together.
I've seen what these can do. This might actually kill him...
When the call to arms was shouted, I shook myself out of my thoughts and followed, veering off to the side in case I needed to jump in. When the titans were in view, I could tell that they were pretty evenly matched. I felt torn. My feelings for Reiner were trying to get in the way of my duty.
Thise glowing, golden eyes turned to us as we approached, but he showed no signs of concern. Why would he? Despite some of his hard plating having been smashed upon his face, he didn't think we had the ability to get to his nape.
Still, I wasn't going to risk my comrades being killed.
Swooping past Hange and Mikasa, I launched grappels to either side of the street, knowing I'd get chewed out for where I was about to land. Finding my footing on his nose, I stared into Reiner's eyes, my reflection crystal clear bouncing back at me.
There was no way he was stupid enough to think I wasn't a diversion, but he still softened in a way. From fury to fear.
"D..don't die yet, okay..?" I whispered, the slight flickers in the background of my reflection signalling me. When I heard the hissing of the deployed spears, I drew back just as Mikasa and Hange flew past, their projectiles piercing Reiner's eyes.
All the air was knocked out of me as my back hit something hard, and I began to fall, but a giant, cupped hand caught me immediately, placing me on the roof of the closest house. Nodding my thanks to Eren, I hopped several houses towards the armoured, just in time to see his nape explode.
Connie skidded and landed on his ass close by me, Sasha and Jean making much cleaner landings.
"Do it again!" Hange screeched out, sounding much more stressed than they usually did. "You each still have a thunder spear! Use them to end this!"
Silence fell over the squad, and I sucked in a deep, shaky breath, just staring down at the smoke stream.
"But...it's Reiner..." Sasha murmured, obviously have second thoughts, just as I was.
"Come on, guys!" Jean shouted, a fresh grit to his voice. "We said we'd do it if it ever came down to this! So, let's go!" I caught his eye before he turned away, and I could see it. The fear and the grief. He didn't truly want to do it either.
When they charged forward, I remained. My blades rattled, my chest was tight, and when I watched them all fire off at once, I thought I was going to vomit. There was no way Reiner wasn't terrified in there. He was strong, sure, but he was human. At least, to me he was.
When the thunder spears exploded, I lost my footing, falling onto my rear and slipping further down on the roof, unable to tear my eyes away, even when my friends returned. He had screamed. Titan voice or not, it had been a scream.
The cheering hurt me. The whoops and hollers, congratulating each other on a job well done. Reiner's head was blown open, steam just barely covering the gorey sight.
"H..hah...we pulled it off...You were a serious pain in the ass for us!" Jean strained a laugh, and my teeth nearly severed my tongue.
This is horrific...
Ignoring the several shouts to stop, I launched myself down to Reiner's titanous corpse, the heat making its way through the soles of my boots. I just stood there, staring down at what was left of the man. There was no way he would be able to speak to me again. To tell me why. Why had they done so many horrible things?
"(Y/N), get away from there!" Jean called out to me, but I simply waved him off, knowing full well that even if he wasn't dead, Reiner wouldn't dare hurt me. At least, I was pretty sure. He'd had plenty of chances already.
Still, I don't think he's actually-
When the body of the titan threw it's head back, I slipped, gripping onto it's hair for dear life as a haunting shreik tore through the city. This time it didn't hold the feeling of fear or pain. It almost felt sinister.
He slumped back over again, and I remained on top of him, getting back on my feet and moving closer to the body that protruded out of the nape. There was still so much steam. Was he trying to heal? If he was, how much time would it take for him to regain consciousness and the ability to speak?
"Wait! We need to fall back for now!" Armin cried out, gaining my ears. "See that barrel?! I'm sure Bertholdt's inside! If he transforms, we're done for!" I looked into the sky, and sure enough, there it was. A barrel, rocketing through the air, right above us.
"Shit! Everyone, move away from the armoured titan! The colossal titan is heading for us right now!" Hange ordered, already zipping away, followed by everyone else. Except for me.
"(Y/N), now! Don't make me ca-"
"Jean, I'll be fine! Trust me, okay?! Just get going! I'll meet up with you!" I shouted back, turning and pleading to him with my eyes.
Even over the hissing of his gas cannisters, I could hear the click of his tongue when he nodded, leaving me behind. Crouching down beside Reiner's human body, I reached my hand down to his chest, holding my breath.
He's still alive...
"You idiot..." I murmured, my fingers scrunching up the material of his shirt as I kept myself together. "Why didn't you just go home..? Then neither of us would be in this mess..." Tearing my eyes away, I looked back up into the sky, the barrel directly overhead now. It was only a matter of seconds before Bertholdt made his move, so I crouched lower, hand still clutching Reiner's clothes...
...and braced for his detonation...
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***Shitty screencap draw overs yeeyee
I have another one ready for next chapter, too. Gonna try and do more illustrations for this, at least for important chapters.
Just, let me love Reiner a little, okay? The nuggy needs all the love and support he can get.
Next Time: Shield***