❝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?"
It shouldn't have hurt her, yet his words managed to make her pause. Being seen as a weapon – nothing more, nothing else – was something she would've expected from anyone but him. And her heart responded by clenching painfully.
His eyes showed no remorse, no regrets. And she wondered, for a split second, if nothing had really changed between them after all; if she had been an idiot from the beginning for letting herself believe it had. Then came the resentment, the rage.
Stepping back, she didn't bother hiding how disappointed she felt. "If losing a weapon is what worries you, you can relax. You already have my blood in those syringes." She didn't wait for him to reply, turning to Erwin instead. Her face twisted into a blank expression. "I know that man. He's smart and doesn't act recklessly, so I know I can get to him. And even if I don't, it'll still give you time to relocate your soldiers."
"You know him, or you knew him?"
Clenching her fists, she whirled around to face Levi. "I swear to God, jerk. I will break your nose if you don't stop antagonizing me."
A sigh came from behind her.
"Levi, get your group and go to your assingned position," Erwin ordered, which earned him an unamused stare from the man.
He didn't reply, but his eye twitched in annoyance when Galene smirked ever so subtly.
"Jack, you'll go with her," added the commander with a final tone.
Said words seemed to add to Levi's irritation, but he remained silent.
"Let's go," voiced Galene before jumping down the Wall, not looking back. Something that, perhaps, she would end up regretting later.
However, she was known for her short temper. For letting her emotions take control of the situation, for not stopping to read between lines and act upon impulse. Her anger was stronger than the pleads of her heart, that didn't want to leave on those terms, that screamed about a war which could kill them both and no argument would matter then.
Why had he reacted that way, though? What had made him turn from her, destroy her trust, spit on that last memory that she had been cherishing so much?
Galene shook her head mentally, abandoning her train of thought. It mattered not. It was done. And there was no turning back at that point. She was on a mission, a task which required her full attention.
So she pushed everything aside, jumped on a black horse and raced towards the opening doors.
Jack rode next to her. "That wasn't pretty. I mean, Levi--"
"If you continue talking, I'll smash your face in."
"Yeah, I'm sure you will."
The wind was wild, slapping her face as she gripped the reins and fixed her gaze on the naked beasts which had yet to move. Her throat clenched in anticipation, her eyes began stinging due to the fast peace at which they rode. When the figure of the man appeared in sight, however, she urged her horse to slow down.
Feeling her skin prickling, she did her best to stay on guard and not let the Titans out of her range of vision. She would not be taken by surprise, not would she hesitate to attack if threatened.
With a glance at Jack, she dismounted and landed on the wet grass. Some meters away, the man who held the powers of the Beast Titan took a step forward. Their eyes met, but they showed no emotion.
The man pushed his glasses up his nose and, after some seconds during which they analysed each other, smiled. "Galene, it's good to see you."
She didn't return the gesture. "I wish I could same the same, Zeke."
The smile disappeared from his lips.
"We don't have to do this."
"Yes, we have to."
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"You can still stop this by yielding."
She huffed, and a sarcastic smirk formed on her face. "You really think my mother will be satisfied with that? She's a bloodthirsty bitch," she spat. "She wants a fucking bloodbath, and you know that."
The last part held a meaning, one she was using to see if there was something in Zeke she could rescue. She knew he had never been one to give into violence – he hated it. At least, as far as she remembered.
However, as time went on and his posture didn't change, her faith started trembling. Had Cornelia managed to break him that much, turning an innocent kid into a brainless man devoted to her beliefs?
She accepted his choice with a slow nod. Gripping the blades in her hands, she said lowly, "We might be on different positions, but we've always been on the same side. There's only one true enemy here."
"I can't turn my back on my warriors, Galene."
There was something off about that statement, yet the woman couldn't comprehend it completely. His voice had come out almost gently, resigned. But before she could dwell in it, hundreds of teenagers dressed for battle stepped out of the Titan Forest.
"Jack, go back," she ordered.
"What are you—"
"Don't question me!" she snapped, raising her voice over the rumble of the forest. "Find her, do your part." He was obviously not convinced, glancing around as more warriors joined the ranks behind the first line of Titans. "Jack! Just trust me, or I will send you flying back myself."
With a firm nod, the man finally did as he was told and raced away. Her eyes met Zeke's again, and she was surprised to see a glint of sadness in them.
"I'm sorry, Galene."
She breathed in, closing her eyes as he gave the order to attack. The shadows of the Titans clouded her vision as they went to grab her. But then, she opened her eyes and witnessed the change in his expression.
"I'm not," she snarled.
And suddenly, a bolt of lightning crossed the sky and the ground exploded.
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