"Don't be too reckless De Reyes." Erwin warned, noticing from the corner of his eye that Kira removed her hands off the reins of her horse and slowly climbed onto her saddle to stand on it.
"You know how I am, Erwin." She grinned, staring at the herd of Titans that were within sight.
"Exactly... that's what's so great about you." He said, which caused Kira to flush embarrassed by his compliment.
"Oh c'mon, you're way better." Kira retaliated, rolling her eyes while sheathing out her blades from her gear.
"Oh yeah?" He questioned, sheathing his blades out, grinning at a cocky Kira.
"Mhm... But if I kill over twenty Titans, you owe me one of those old muffins you made for me before," She half joked, as she took a glimpse at the man who merely smirked and nodded at her rather childish request, "and the blueberry kind."
With the Survey Corps in sight, the Titans started to run, and like Kira, Erwin stood on the saddle of his horse, ready to grapple away. "Make it out alive and you got yourself a deal, De Reyes."
"You make sure you don't die." She retaliated, witnessing the Titan slowly make its way forward.
"I don't plan on it." Erwin said.
To the leader's side was his usual companion. Levi could hear their conversation crystal clear, and all he could do was hone in on his subordinate's big-headed attitude. He rolled his eyes at her claims, spitting out his usual disapproving jabs, "This is what I mean by 'you're cocky,' De Reyes."
"Oh, Captain..." Kira jovially said, as she smiled, looking to her left, seeing the man opposite roll his eyes. He too was stood on the saddle, waiting for Erwin's call. But upon hearing her squad leader's demand, she shot her grapples out, swinging high in the air towards her target, hoping her last snide remark at Levi would titter him over the edge. "You're exactly the same."
As the Titan flailed its hand slowly, Kira dodged its movements with ease. Just like she would on any other expedition, she sliced the Titan's nape within a couple of seconds, landing on to the ground to devour her next kill. With her bet on the line, twenty Titan kills should be easy to handle. In tandem the skilled squad were back on its horses as they defended themself from the stomping monsters.
As the squad regrouped on the grass, Levi tugged down on Kira's ponytail, getting her back for her last comment.
"You little shit..." Levi muttered, stumbling on his words as there weren't enough to describe how riled up he was from her smugness. "You always get on my nerves, De Reyes!"
• • • • •
"Shit... Erwin!" She called out, as she whistled for her horse. Hearing no response, she continued to shout for her other comrades, "Cole! Anyone?! Levi?"
Feeling a thud coming from her left, she sharply started to dash in its direction, grappling onto the pure Titan that appeared. As she swung herself high into the air, soaring, she grappled perfectly onto the shoulders, using a burst of gas to take her towards the nape. Slicing it like butter, she landed on the ground, taking down her twenty-first Titan that expedition. 'Haha, when I find the formation, Erwin owes me a blueberry muffin!' She thought, rejoicing at the thought of Erwin's baking goods. As her kill led to her finding another Titan forest, she propelled herself around, hoping to find her comrades or her horse.
"KIRA!" Calvo screamed out towards the girl who was swinging towards him. Hearing his plea, Kira grappled onto the abnormal, slicing its right hand's wrist, causing him to fall out and land on the ground terrified.
"Calvo, are you okay?!" She worriedly asked, as she grappled down to him. As she ran, the Titan snatched her into its grasp, lifting her up. "AHH!"
"Calvo! Calvo?!" Kira cried out, as she witnessed said man run away towards the Titan filled forest, his eyes full of horror as he scrambled away the abnormal Titan who grabbed onto Kira. "CALVO, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"
While she wanted to yell and curse her squad-mate for abandoning her, she didn't have time to think about his cowardice. The tight grip around her left arm felt so tight that trying to move it would shoot pain from her elbow straight to her shoulder. As she struggled to move from the Titan's grasp, she used her free right arm that still had a hold of her gear repeatedly hitting the fingers of the Titan that had captured her. Slowly the abnormal raised her high above, opening its mouth to chomp her down.
"Let! Me! Go...!" She groaned, using her legs to push against the Titan's fingers to loosen its grip on her. While she used as much strength as she could to extend her legs, she continued to hatch down on the Titan's fingers, slicing its pointer finger. Once she sliced it off, the Titan began to wail, releasing her from its grasp and dropping her.
Instinctively, Kira pushed on the trigger of her gear, boosting herself away from the abnormal Titan and onto a branch she knew the abnormal couldn't reach. As she finally got a chance to breathe, she placed her single handle into her holster, before properly observing what had happened to her left arm. Seeing the harsh bruising around her entire arm, she used her right hand to carefully move her lower arm to bend it. In both her lower arm, and by the joint of her elbow there was excruciating pain that shot through again, causing her to grit her teeth in agony.
'Shit! It's broken...' She thought, as she feverishly looked around for help. But what was happening below was the least helpful.
Cadets were being ripped to shreds and eaten everywhere. She couldn't stomach it, and neither did the Titans. There were already a few globs of dismembered Scouts around the roots of the trees. She physically gagged at the sight of it. Wincing while looking away, she refocused on the abnormal who was aimlessly wandering the blood-stained grass beneath it.
She knew she couldn't fight it with one arm working, so getting her broken arm to stay up in a sling was her best option. Unclipping her cape from her neck, she twisted the cape upside down, using her teeth to hold it while her right hand could source the middle tear. As she took a tight grip on one side of the fabric, she used her mouth, biting down on the other side, forcefully pulling the cape to tear it apart. While it was clean, it was enough to make a really rough sling she could rest her arm in. With the rest of her unused cape, she tried her best to stash it somewhere safe. But with her uncoordinated hands, it effortlessly slipped away, flying in the wind.
'Fuck! Ugh... I guess that sentimental value shit is over...' She thought, as she adjusted her arm into the split cape.
'Right, I can't defeat all these Titans...' She thought, assessing the situation she was in, 'I can use my gear still to run, but we're so far from the Walls that I can't go back by foot. So, either way, I'm screwed... That's great!' She scoffed as she knew she might not survive.
But she knew she couldn't give up then and there. If she was alive, she had to do the one thing she promised. She had to keep going. There was no point going back, so her only decision was to go forward.
"The sun... Sunset!"
Seeing the sun slowly descend, she knew it was her time to go. While she knew that not all Titans stop moving at night, she had a better chance of escaping than if she stayed until morning. It would be dangerous going without any lanterns or torches, but this was the one chance she had. The moon was enough to guide her steps. With her right hand, she took the handle into her hand, once again adjusting back to the triggers, lever and joystick. Facing into the forest, she propelled away, swinging high above the sea of pure and abnormal Titans that were metres below her. Despite having only one arm to manoeuvre, she was still able to swing relatively fast. Noticing that Titans were only surrounding the front end of the forest, Kira was more confident to swing lower than she did earlier.
Seeing an unguarded glob of Titan spit, Kira knew it would better to get resources like gas tanks and blades. While she had four tanks of gas on her back up, she knew that it wouldn't last if she continued to use the ODM gear. As much as she hated it, she saw a cadet that had his ODM gear with spare gas tanks with him.
Wincing, she cut the spit, letting the remains of the people the Titan ate spew out. Feeling herself gag and the bread she had before the expedition from before, she knew it was a bad idea. But she had to survive. Seeing the mangled mess of the soldier she was taking the two gas tanks from, she turned her head away as she blindly searched for the two, touching the gloop and slime he was surrounded in. Once grabbing a tank, she yanked it out, tossing it onto the grass in disgust.
'Alright... One down, one more to go.' She thought, as she dug in again. Pulling out the last tank she ran over to a tree, wiping the repulsive gunk from her hand onto the bark. Using her boot, she began to scrape off the Titan spit, along with rolling the two tanks into the grass in hopes it would remove the sickly goo.
"Six tanks should be enough to survive, right?" She questioned herself, before picking the two tanks and adding it to either side of her gear. "If I survive, I guess I can prove to Levi that I don't use a lot of gas, hah...!"
Re-establishing her footing, she started to run, aiming her gear upwards. After grappling, she began to swing through the rest of the forest, avoiding any sight of a Titan if she saw one. Just like she was trained, she used small bursts of gas to keep her momentum up and swing. But as she saw the light at the end of her path brighten, she knew that she reached the end of the forest. Considering how her sightings of Titan dwindle to none, she felt safe to travel on foot. She didn't know where she was running to. She didn't even know if the land ended. But she her desire to keep going and to know what was beyond the mapped-out land outweighed it all. It was strange that there weren't many Titans out this far from the Walls, but she wasn't missing the thought of seeing one.
For the first bit as it drew to night, she walked to conserve her energy. As the threat of being attacked at night was low, she took a steady, yet quick pace. This what it was for the entire night. The adrenaline from trying to stay alive drove her sleepless through the hours, forcing herself to keep running for her life.
When it reached the morning again, she felt her body grow fatigue. She didn't give herself time to rest. It was the same routine every day. If she was lucky, she would give herself a couple hours to try and sleep. But being so afraid to sleep and never wake up, Kira barely got a good night's rest. This was going for three days.
Until it didn't.
'What? What is this...?' Kira deliriously thought, as she stumbled off the cascading rocks and landing onto the soft and grainy land. Her knees buckled from all the weight of her fatigue those past few days. Her right hand tried to grip onto the new terrain beneath her, but the grainy, golden land had crumbled as she lifted it up. As the wind had blown away the sand from her hands, her eyes examined the minuscule and rough granules that stuck onto her skin. Blurred in the background from hand was another wall, she could see stairs that led up to it, but she gnarled in annoyance.
'I thought I was done with these walls...!' She thought, as she tried to push herself up.
She tried to get back up and walk towards the new Wall she saw, but her legs still didn't co-operate. She collapsed again. But her will fought back. She grappled to what she assumed was another barricade, using the last of her gas to fling her tired body upwards, and toss herself onto the landing. From there, she collapsed and laid, staring out at the beautiful sight. She reached the end of the land to only meet an oasis bigger than anything she has seen. An oasis than surrounds the entire world she was now lying on. It was vast and she could feel the fresh salty breeze hit her face. Refocusing before she felt herself slip away, she saw a metal boat that was docked at the edge of the land. Another question that goes unanswered.
She believed reached the end. She believed there was no other side of this oasis.
But what contradicted what she believed whatever this world was on some metal floating boat that reminds her of the ferry boats in the Walls. But she can't even make it to that. She can't reach the answers. Reaching out with her only working arm, everything became a blur.
'I kept going, Levi... I kept going, Erwin...' She thought, letting the days of never sleeping, eating and running away from Titans catch up to her. She wouldn't mind if this was the end for her. 'I kept going, Sylvia... I wish you could see this, Nana. There's more beyond the Walls!'
"Hey! Marcel, stop!" A young voice had shouted. "Don't go near that devil!"
However, Marcel didn't listen and kept running towards the lady he just witnessed topple over on the top of the docks. His compassion outweighed whatever the mission was. Despite Reiner and Bertholdt holding him back to stop him, he broke through and ran off up the stairs of the stone pier. With his impulsive actions, the three other warriors chased after, not wanting him to get hurt. While they were given all the information about the Island, they couldn't help but be cautious of the new land they had set foot on.
"Marcel! Don't be rash." Annie scolded, finally speaking out her annoyance.
"But she's bleeding real bad!" Marcel rebutted, "C'mon—!"
"There's no point helping her. She's just going to die anyways." Annie interrupted, grabbing onto Marcel's shoulder, pulling him back from making another step on the stairs. But he pushed her off, carefully observing the lady who was groaning.
"But isn't it weird? That there's a devil outside the Walls." Bertholdt voiced, peering towards the lady that was barely conscious. "They said it was unheard of for them to leave."
"That's why we should help her." Marcel snapped back, almost formulating a plan that had way more risks than benefits. But with someone in a vulnerable position, it was quite easy to exploit. "She could tell us how she survived and what's it like in the Walls. It would make it easier to infiltrate... And we can get this mission done quicker."
"Just leave her, Marcel." Reiner pleaded.
"Please... Trust me!" Marcel begged, staring back at his three hesitant teammates.
"One wrong move and we're done for." Annie reminded, letting go of his shirt, "Just remember that."
They were obviously smart enough to act dumb and innocent and not mention anything that the lady didn't need to know. But judging by her state, they didn't even need to think about what to say. The three boys were more worried about her injuries than who she actually was.
"Um... Are you okay?" Marcel asked, waving his hand over the lady who was hardly present, despite having her eyes wide open. While she didn't respond, Marcel pressed on, "Do you need help?"
"W-Who are you?" Kira could barely make out the faces of the four who had covered the sun from her eyes. While it was slightly blurred, she could make out the outlines of the four, and from the voices, they were young. "Did you come off that boat?"
"Y-Yeah..." Marcel stammered, "We did."
"Why?" She instantly shot back, "Why would you ever come here?"
"What do you mean?" Reiner questioned, tilting his head confused.
"This place is hell..." Kira desperately said, shaking her head furiously.
"How comes?" Marcel curiously asked.
"Titans are everywhere..." Kira muttered, groaning as Marcel and Reiner helped her to sit up. "I'm surprised I survived..."
'Titans everywhere?' The four young warriors collectively thought, knowingly looking at each other. Their eyes shared the same concern about what the Island had in store for them. From the information Magath had given them, Titans that were criminals of Marley were all around Paradis Island, so they should look out for them. However, the Titan's were closer to the Walls than out by the coast. With such a dire claim coming from the girl, one person surviving all of those Titans and getting this far out from the Walls was an insane feat. Despite it all, they were still wary.
"Your arm!" Marcel blurted out, seeing blood slowly drip through the fabric that covered her arm and onto his fingertips.
"Don't worry 'bout that... It's only broken."
"Only broken...?!" Bertholdt panicky called out, mostly terrified by the state of her bruised and broken arm. As she started to move, Bertholdt became more cautious, reaching out to her left arm, "Let me re-bandage you..."
"What are those things you are wearing?" Marcel asked, noticing the harness that wrapped her body and the gear her right hand was still clutching onto.
"This?" Kira questioned, before a small smile grew on her mouth, "It's my ODM gear."
"ODM gear?" Reiner questioned, "What's that?"
"It's a complicated but it's a weapon that kills Titans." Kira summed up, slowly brought her arm out towards Bertholdt, who had dug through his bag to get bandage wraps and a proper splint.
"Gear that can kill Titans?" Reiner questioned, scanning her various bruises and scars she probably received when out in the open.
From its size and the minimal look of the weapon, they mentally scoffed at the puny item. From past things they've experienced like cannons and explosives, those swords were weak compared to those.
"Mhm... These blades can cut through Titans flesh." She explained, still groaning at each of Bertholdt's actions on her arm. While it was better to have him disinfect her cuts and bruises, it stung so much it kept her from fainting of fatigue. Removing the ripped up cape, he flung it to the side, revealing her bloodied arm.
"C'mon, the ship hasn't left yet, someone grab Commander Magath!" Marcel ordered, looking towards Reiner and Annie. Knowing Annie wouldn't budge, Reiner got up and ran for the ship before it could abandon them.
Annie, who just sat back, took in the details of the fabric Bertholdt had removed. As she scanned the green cape, she noticed the half-torn crest that was enlarged across it. She then examined the similarities the crest had to the one on her brown jacket. Sighing, she spoke up, "What's the crest?"
"The crest?" She clarified, flinching again as Bertholdt continued to wrap her arm. "It's the Wings of Freedom. It's the logo of the Survey Corps, the regiment I'm in."
"Wings of Freedom?" Marcel remarked, surprised by the name. 'She's a soldier?' They thought, the situation changing from one drastic side to another.
"Mhm... We go outside and kill Titans. We want to save humanity from the Titans and set the people free from the Walls." She explained, as she suddenly had Erwin on her mind, "Or some of us want to find out more about the truth about the outside, which the government keeps hidden. Like me... I want to escape and see what the outside is like. But being out here for three days just to reach this, I didn't get to escape..."
"I see."
"Wherever you're from, I hope it's not like mine." She continued, shaking her head at the atrocities she was imagining. "We're trapped in that cage...!"
As she rambled, the Warriors listened closely to what she had to say. Anything she said was valuable information they could use to infiltrate. And judging by her desperation, they figured out that the devils of the island were hopelessly locked away in the Walls. It was obvious they didn't have a clue who or what they were.
"What's your name?" She asked the boy who was still carefully holding her up so they could re-bandage her.
"I'm Marcel. Marcel Galliard." He said, which earned a smile from the girl, "And you?"
"I'm Kira De Reyes." Kira introduced, keeping her eye on her arm and the ache that circulated around. As all her memories from her life until then flashed, she felt her eyes slightly water in relief. She found people who could help her. "Marcel... Do you think you could get me off the Island?"
"Don't worry, Miss Kira...!" Marcel said, as he watched her eyes slowly close after her final plea. "We'll get you to safety."
"Thank you... Marcel."
"What's wrong?" Magath exclaimed, running behind Reiner over to the group with a stern tone. As they stepped aside, what Magath saw was something he didn't think he'd see. "Who's that? Is that an Island Devil...?!"
"Mhm! But she's injured..." Marcel said, but as he spoke, Magath grunted and crouched down.
"How did she get here?" He asked, looking at the Warriors who stared back, simultaneously baffled and terrified by the Warriors' discovery.
"Marcel saw her body collapse on the top of the dock." Reiner explained, "She's from the Walls but she had been trying to escape."
"Apparently she's been out here for around three days trying to avoid Titans." Marcel added. Seeing the tense crease of Magath's eyebrow grow, "She doesn't want to be in the Walls anymore."
'Defying the Founder? Strange...' Magath thought as he observed the unconscious teen, he had never heard of a case like this. Then again, his knowledge of the Island was limited to the books he had. "That makes no sense, why would she do that?"
"She said that their government is hiding things from them, which led some of them to join their military to kill Titans." Marcel continued, recounting the information clearly to their Commander. "But they usually die before they could get this far."
"Hmm..." As Magath thought through the possibilities of what to do with her, he firmly decided on the smartest option, "Kill her. Throw it into the sea. Get that thing out of my sight."
"What?!" Marcel stammered, staring at him in disbelief, especially since the resting girl was lying in his arms, peacefully breathing, "But she isn't a threat."
"She will be once she finds out who we are." Magath reasoned, standing up from his crouched position. "Don't disobey my orders, Galliard."
"But you heard her, right Bertholdt? Annie? She wants to escape because their government are hiding what the outside world is like. They don't know who they are or what Marley is! I mean, they're killing Titans because they think the Titans are the threat." He assumed.
While it was a stretch for him, he didn't like seeing this innocent girl get killed after surviving without any powers. Even if she was an Island Devil to him, she was an Eldian that has potential to change. She had potential to be like them.
"If she learns about what she actually is, she'll bow down to Marley! And Marley could use her to reclaim the Founder! Commander, you can make her a weapon too!"
'There has never been an Island Devil who's gone out this far... How did she do it?' Magath thought, as he consumed every detail Marcel had said. He stared down at the unconscious girl, who grew tired from her three days of non-stop survival. 'Someone leaving the Walls is one thing, but wanting to completely run away from the King and escape his rule? Their government doesn't even tell them about the outside world?' He continued as he could feel Marcel's desperation to save the girl he just met. While it was a long shot for him to convince, Marcel still tried.
All he did was a take a chance.
"You sound crazy right now... You know that, right?" Annie, who was always outspoken, stared down at the boy who pleaded for someone else's life.
"Yeah, Annie's right..." Reiner agreed. Marcel snapped his head up at the boy he deceived the military for, almost disgusted by his sudden attitude. But he was always going to be the boy who would do anything for Marley without having the skill to back up his pride. "She's an Island Devil! She shouldn't be allowed to live."
"I know it's a stretch! But don't you all think this is weird?" Marcel stated. His question was shared across all their minds, because it was true. It was weird. "If they knew that the Walls protected them, why do they leave it? It doesn't sit right with me."
"Galliard." Magath interrupted, staring down with a hardened expression. Kneeling down, he scooped the girl into his arms after Bertholdt had finished wrapping her arm up. "I'm only doing this because of the information you gave me. If you're right, well done. If you're wrong, you'll face the consequences."
"T-Thank you! It won't be a mistake! She'll be a great asset to Marley."
A chance that he hoped not to regret.
"Follow me, Galliard." Magath demanded, not sharing a glance back at the boy who scrambled to his feet at the call of his name. As the naive boy chased behind his Commander, they descended down the large standing wall that divided the sand between the sea. "You're going to write every single thing she said before we leave.
"Yessir."