a/n: spoiling you guys real good td 😚
But suddenly, my chest started burning.
***
It was as though time slowed down.
Hange stared at me wide eyed, my own eyes trailing down to the anchor that had pierced straight through the flesh just below my left collarbone. I had managed to get to Hange in time, taking the blow for her. It only took a second for for my shirt to turn to a shade of crimson. My back soon felt the exact same as my chest, a searing pain shooting straight through my body.
Blood built up in my throat, the pressure of it against the walls of my neck only forcing it up and out of my mouth. The anchor had managed to ease it's way straight through my body and settled just in Hange's own shoulder. With a scream, the blonde woman who had struck us both yanked her gun in a direction I couldn't decipher. She retracted the anchor, the hot pain of the hook ripping it's way back out of my chest only worsening the pain I was already in.
Hange and I both went flying into a pillar, only giving me time to flip both of us around so I was the one to take the worst of the fall. My arms tightened around the brunette, my back soon meeting the crystal pillar with a sharp sound that echoed throughout the cavern. A grunt left my throat, the both of us falling to the ground and leaving a long trail of blood from halfway up the pillar all the way down to where we laid.
Hange laid beside me knocked out, perhaps her she hit her head during the fall. My vision was blurry as I laid on the cavern floor, staring at the ceiling with my teeth grit and thoughts running rampant.
I heard mine and Hange's names being called, the echo traveling to the edge of the cave and then bouncing back. We couldn't stay here, but my body was in excruciating pain. My jaw further clenched as I went to sit up, the zipping of gear sounding from nearby, my right arm flew to my hilt, drawing a blade as I search for who had just landed nearby.
"Y/N!" Armin's voice rung through my mind, his hands finding my right shoulder and my left upper arm in order to not disturb the wound that excreted excessive amount of blood.
"I need, to kill, that bitch." I say with breaths between every two words, bringing my arm up and wiping my mouth free of the blood that had left it.
"Armin!" Levi's voice yelled, and then my hearing expanded to everything and everyone. I dropped my sword, hand flying up to my wound which was hot with blood and searing with a white hot burn. "You take care of Y/N and Hange! Everyone else, we're going after them!" Then he and the squad all disappeared somewhere deeper in the cave. I stood up slowly, Armin's eyes looking at me, horrified.
"Y/N, Captain's orders!" He exclaimed as he grabbed my sleeve. I ripped it out of his grip, bringing my hand away from shoulder and gazing down at it.
"Tend to Hange, I'm going to help them." I say quietly, beginning to take slow steps away from him.
"Y/N-" He began before I pulled a trigger and followed after the others. The pressure of my harness against the wound hurt, but it was pressure nonetheless. The pressure helps, right? So my stubborn ass will make sure that pressure stays by helping out the squad. Luckily, I wasn't too dazed, a little lightheaded but nothing to keep me from fighting.
Suddenly, a blinding light flashed from the furthest point of the cave, and the silhouettes of multiple figures became more evident as I got closer to the flash. I manage to make out Levi's figure amongst the light, he and the others hooking to pillars as they watch it grow brighter. I shoot an anchor to the patch of bare crystal just below him. planting my feet on the pillar and look across the cave.
"Why the fuck-" He hissed as he looked down at me.
"I don't care what you say, orders or not. This is a fight we all have to fight." I say, not averting my gaze from the light that slowly died down but didn't go away completely.
"It's too late to send you back anyway. Let's go." He said with venom lacing his words. I wince as I took a breath, he and the others flying ahead and my hand reaching up to the puncture. Levi was pissed at me? That makes two of us, why I decided it'd be a good idea for me to continue going, even after knowing the blood loss could cause me to pass out? Good fucking question. But I'm still pissed at him too, with all the passiveness I had been displaying toward him, it was beginning to get exhausting knowing I was supposed to be angry at him.
Pulling one of the triggers, I allow for the anchor to carry me further into the cave, following a while behind the others as my hand reached up to grasp my shoulder. My breathing was heavy, becoming one of the only things I could hear. Up ahead, a large set of staircases lead up to a ledge, two long chains attached to either side of the cave keeping a shirtless and bloody Eren on his knees at the end of the ledge. Historia, whom we had thought was the one who had transformed into the titan, was at the boys feet trying to unlock the binds that kept him on his knees.
The force of the wind from the transforming titan, whoever that is, sent Historia flying back, Mikasa landing just in time to catch her. We all landed on the ledge, my landing a little rough as I stumbled a little and ran to the teal eyed boy.
"Give me the keys!" Levi shouted over the screams of the wind, Mikasa ripping them from Historia's hand and reaching them out toward the raven before he rushed for Eren.
"Captain?! Everyone!" He screeched over the loudness of the cave, my arms keeping hold of the boys right arm, Levi holding the left arm and Connie at his only bound leg.
"Damnit, which of these keys is it?!" Connie exclaimed, talking to no one in particular.
"Hurry up Connie!" Levi shouted as Connie fit a key into the key hole, turning it and it clicked. "The roof is going to collapse!" Sure enough, a large chunk of rock from above came crashing into the ground. Levi snatched the keys from the hazel eyed boy, not taking much time to figure out which key was the correct one before he handed them to me. My hair whipped around my face, finding the key and clicking the lock open, the release of Eren nearly sending us all flying back.
Moving quickly, the ledge where the four of us just were was wiped out by a big piece of the roof, a loud crashing sounding just a second after. We stood against the wall, watching helpless as the titan that was still transforming only grew bigger.
"That thing looks bigger than the Colossal." Levi voices from beside me. "Really, just shitty can this day get?"
"This is bad, there's no way out!" Jean shouted. I watched, that's all we could do. We could only stand here and watch. Was this it? Was this the way we were going to die? Not by the direct hand of a titan, but by getting crushed or even trapped and eventually dying from asphyxiation? Eren let out a defeated cry before he collapsed to the ground, his head in his hands, gripping his hair.
"I'm sorry everyone. I was useless." He said as tears left his eyes.
"What, now you want to play the tragic hero?!" Jean says, almost in disbelief. My hand was eventually filled with something, Levi placing a piece of cloth in it as his hand brought my hand up to my wound. I pressed it against the puncture, knowing for a fact this was probably useless. What was there to do now? "You've been able to settle everything on your own before, haven't you?"
"Quit your sobbing, this isn't the first time it's been this bad!" Connie shouted over the wind, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Not saying I'd like to get used to it, of course!" Sasha added with a loud audible sigh following afterwards.
"It'd be hard enough to escape even if we didn't have to carry Eren and Historia as we flew." Levi says.
"The heat from that titan, we'll probably be burned to death if we get any closer." Mikasa gets out.
"Still, what else can we do but fly through and hope for the best?!" Sasha shouted.
"No, there's nowhere left to run..." Eren utters out with a somber tone. I heaved out heavy breaths. No one had any hope, there was truly nothing for us to do but sit back and watch, hoping for the best or maybe even a swift death. Soon, and even done so subtly, Levi's hand curled itself into my own, lacing his fingers with mine and squeezing tightly. The gesture was one I returned, the force I had put into my own squeeze was not even half that of his one. I looked over at him, his eyes finding mine. Even in a situation such as this one, he still looked beautiful.
"So you want to just wait here and hold hands until we either get crushed or burn to death?!" Historia says firmly, and I can't help but give a smile and squeeze Levi's hand that little bit more. "Because we're enemies of humanity?"
"I'm sorry for always doing this to you but, Eren." Levi spoke up, moving his gaze from the growing titan in front of us to the boy whose blood stained his own face. "You have to make a choice." His gaze softened a little, fixed on the brunette who only looked back at him wide eyed. It took him a moment, but he finally reached down to something that laid by his feet and ran forward with all of us watching in disbelief.
Whatever it was that he had picked up he brought between his teeth, and somehow, even over the howls of wind and my heart beating in my throat, I heard the crunch of glass as he bit down. He leapt off what was left of the ledge and another bright flash was seen, Eren's titan form slowly building itself up before turning itself into a glowing blue, just like the cave itself.
He had crystallised himself, all while forming some type of webbed globe all around him too.
"Everyone, get under Eren!" Levi exclaimed as he stepped forward, his hand still tightly holding onto mine as he nearly dragged me with him. I could barely keep up as Levi wrapped an arm around me and jumped off the ledge, weaving us between the small crystal crevices that had formed in the globe and settling us at the foot of Eren's titan.
The squad all huddled under the main body of Eren, hoping it was enough to keep us safe until that titan had left and stopped collapsing the roof on top of us. I curse to myself, knowing that this event was probably what ended the woman who did this to Hange and I. I really hoped I could've driven a blade through her throat.
Levi leaned me against Eren's calf, the crystal of it a little warm, assuming it was from the transformation. I closed my eyes, focusing everything into my breathing. Ignoring the wind that raged around us, ignoring the shouts of the squad, ignoring the searing pain of my wound, ignoring the feeling Levi's hand taking the rag from my hand as he dabbed away at the blood.
For this moment, it was just me. Breathing in through my nose slowly, then out through my mouth even slower. Repeating just that, I hadn't kept track of how many times I had done it before I finally decided to open my eyes, my senses coming back to me as I hear Mikasa and Jean, somewhere in the vicinity begging for Eren to come out.
"We've secured an exit!" Sasha shouts down as she used her gear to slowly descended from an opening in the ceiling.
"Good job!" Levi shouted back up from a few metres away from where I sat. Mikasa landed not too far from me, letting Eren down beside her and Jean landing on the teal eyed boys opposite side.
"Oh, Eren! They managed to dig you out!" Sasha says in relief. She fell to her knees just a few feet in front if the boy, her elbows and forearms meeting the ground, almost like she were praising him
"It was hard work though." Jean voiced blankly.
"Everyone's safe thanks to you! But to be honest, that moment you leaped forward bawling and running all creepy, I thought 'it's all over. There's no way this freak can save us.' And I was all teary eyed and sniffly and-" Sasha continued to blabber about her reaction to the Eren's weird attempt to save us all, making me chuckle airily.
"Is this-" Eren began, not talking to any specific person.
"Yes, it hardened." Levi answered before Eren could even ask the full question. "We cut you out of this titan but it hasn't disappeared. I'd say this is pretty good news." The brunette fell into thought for a moment, looking away from the raven to somewhere else before realisation flashed onto his face.
"Oh! Where's that bottle? I happened to drink from a bottle labeled 'armour' and when I turned into a titan-" He rambled, Historia stepping into view with what looked to be a burnt rag.
"We found Rod Reiss' bag but everything else in the bag, along with the other containers that flew out of it were either crushed or evaporated." She said, her tone taking on that of defeat. "There's nothing left."
"So it's-" Eren began, his eyes losing that hopeful glint he had in them.
"No. They'd could still be somewhere. You used whatever it was that was in that bottle and your titan hardened, something that you were never able to do all the time." Levi said as his eyes drilled into boy. "You supported the roof, keeping it from caving in and protected us from both the heat and the rocks. Obviously no one taught you how to do this, yet you created this structure in the blink of an eye. It's an absurd thought but this must be how the walls were made, too." The raven crouched beside Eren, whose eyes only followed him as he met his eye level.
"In other words, it's now possible to seal the hole in Wall Sina. We took the long way, and our path is littered with corpses of enemies and comrades. We're poor navigators but we finally made it to our destination." Levi concluded, the entire squad watching him with unreadable eyes. I use the crystal titan to help ease myself up to my feet, hand meeting the hole of my wound and drag my feet to where they all gathered.
"Captain, bad news!" Connie shouted from above. My head was pounding now, I only just realised it when I stood up. "Please come up here now!" Levi looked up, standing back up to his full height and then scanning the squads faces.
"Yeah, for now, let's just work on getting out of here." He words before side glancing Eren. "I gotta say, even for you, your face looks terrible." But it seemed the brunette wasn't even paying attention to the ravens words, Mikasa wordlessly looping her arms around him and pulling her anchor trigger, propelling the two upwards. My gear suddenly felt extremely heavy on my hips, nearly causing my knees to buckle before Levi caught me. I was very lightheaded now, bringing my free hand up to my forehead, rubbing at my temples in a pathetic attempt to ease the headache.
"Come on, Mon Coeur." The raven murmured, concern lacing his words as he hooked an arm around me. I felt our feet leave the ground, my head heavy on my shoulders as I let it fall back onto his shoulder.
"Maybe I should've stayed back." I whisper with a breathy laugh.
"You're an idiot." He murmured with a hint of amusement in his tone and other twinges of anger and concern, heavily contrasting the light-heartedness in his voice. I furrowed my eyebrows a little, knowing for a fact that if I passed out, I'd wake up to an earful from him.
With Armin's help, fresh air hit us all in the most relieving way. Though, the temperature difference between the burn in my chest and the cool touch of the winter morning, I couldn't tell if it was painful or delightful. I felt my consciousness slowly slipping from me, my mind trying to grasp onto any sort of reason to keep myself awake.
But it didn't work, I was only met with darkness.
***
With a groan, behind my closed eyelids, I'm met with the light of day. I bring my left hand up to my eyes, wincing at the ache that shot through my arm. It dropped back down to the thin blanket that covered my body with a thud, bringing my other hand up to shield my eyes from the sun that shone through the mesh in front of the window.
My headache stayed, but it wasn't as bad as it had been back at the chapel. It took a few moments for my vision to adjust to the sudden change from night to day. I blew out a breath, slowly and quietly as I sit myself up, gazing around the room before my gaze fell onto Levi, who only sat on a chair in the corner. The door was closed, the window slightly open and another empty cot sitting a few feet to the side of my own.
"I- Is it over?" I ask, my voice a little raspier than I had intended. I met eyes with the raven, whose eyes were only set in a harsh glare as he stared at me from his corner. Pinching my eyebrows together, I tilt my head a little in question. "Are you-" I begin before he interrupted.
"Are you fucking stupid?!" He exclaimed. I flinched at his suddenly raised tone, still readjusting to being with the living once again. "Why did you get in Hange's way?!" The question was only causing more confusion for me, wouldn't most people attempt to do the same?
"You expect me to sit back and do nothing?!" I shoot back, instantly enraged at where he was going with this. His icy glare pierced straight through me, most would cower but I knew him. I would never back down with him, especially in a situation such as this one.
"Yes, Y/N, I told you specifically to not get hurt. Multiple times, and what do you do?! You go and get fucking hurt!" He seethed, not paying any mind to the people who could be resting in one of the other rooms or roaming through the hallways just behind that closed door.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I exclaimed back, fuming that he dared argue with me on such a matter. "Of course I'm going to save Hange! I'd rather it be me than her! Than any of you!" My hands gripped the blanket, poorly endeavouring to calm myself down.
"But you shouldn't need to, Y/N. Protecting other people can get you killed-" He began before I cut him off.
"So why do you, huh?!" I exclaim, making him shut up immediately. His eyes lingered on me, both rage and worry written in those irises. "Why do you protect humanity? No, no that's the wrong question." I say with a humourless laugh following after. "Why do you get so aggravated about not being able to protect me above all other people?! What makes me so special, Levi?!" I throw the questions at him, his jaw clenched tight.
"What makes me so much more significant than any other civilian? The squad? Even yourself?! Why can't I protect people, Levi?! Why can't I do my job as Humanities Second Strongest?!" I ask, my tone reducing ever so slightly, a small pause taking place before I raised it for one last question.
"Since when does my safety take priority over everyone elses?!"
"Since the day I realised I care about you in a way that's more intimate than just friends!" He shouted back, getting up from his chair and walking towards the door.
My eyes widened at his sudden outburst, gaze trailing after him. He walked away as if not to face the embarrassment of his sudden confession. The room was eerily still for a few moments, the longest moments I had ever experienced. Speechless was an understatement, I couldn't think about anything as those very words spiralled in an endless echo in my mind.
"You... You what?" My tone had decreased in volume drastically, my voice finally rediscovered. He didn't turn to face me, twisting the knob of the door and opening it. Instead, he turned his head ever so slightly, my eyes catching a glimpse of his cheek that was a tinge of pink.
"I don't like repeating myself." Were the last words he said before walking out and closing the door behind him.
***
how bout it bbgs?
i spoiled you guys EXTRA good today, three chapters and the CONFESSION?!?!??!?
what would you guys do without me fr 😩
WHATS YOUR THOUGHTS GUYS AND GALS?!
aishiteru 😚
jazz<3