Requested on Tumblr/Pt2 of drabble
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During the 57th expedition beyond the walls, everyone was on edge. While Commander Erwin hadn't specified all the details for their plan, a select few knew the danger this put young Eren Jeager in.
In order to use him as bait to draw out the 'abnormal' titan hiding amongst their ranks, they'd need all the protection they could get. So naturally, they'd tasked you; their secondary titan shifter, to stick close to the young boy.
As plans shift and fail, you're left with no choice but to take on the threat single handedly until help could arrive. But no one knew the danger this would place you in, until it was nearly too late.
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SWF, s2, language, description of injury, fluff
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"Eld, you're taking the lead from here. Tether the horses and get Eren out of here until I give the signal."
The second in command gave a brisk nod in return, then turned his attention back to the front.
Just behind him, you gripped the reins holding you to your horse tighter and grit your teeth. It had been a close call, for the past several minuets. Really, it had felt like hours; galloping at top speeds to escape the grasp of the titan behind you all. You'd lost count of just how many times you'd felt her ginormous calloused fingers brushing your back through your cloak.
You'd understood why you had been placed at the rear or the Special Operations Squad. You knew it was to cover the flank and provide even more security for the young boy in front of you. But damnit if you hadn't been scared shitless the whole time despite your agreement.
Chancing a glance back towards the front, you caught your Captain's eye. He stared seemingly into your soul from the front of the small formation, as thought he was looking past your gaze and into your very mind. After assessing you a moment longer, he gave you a small nod. One you had a hard time returning.
"L/N, you know the drill. Watch their six. Should anything happen, you're to act as defense."
"'Course, Captain," You mumbled, trying to shoot him a smile. Though it looked more panicked than reassuring in his eyes.
Looking you over one last time with a flash of what you could have sworn was concern, he turned back to the front and crouched up onto the back of his mare and gripped the handles of his odm gear and shot off up into the forrest surrounding your path. A moment of silence accompanied his departure, and you couldn't help but worry for his safety above your own as he returned to the Commander's side.
Humanity's strongest or not, the lot of you had never gone toe to toe with another shifter.
The silence followed you all up until you came to stop near a large oak, where you dismounted your own mare at Eld's call and prepared to tether her to the tree.
"Don't worry sweety, you're well out of danger here," you murmured to your loyal steed, petting across her forelock gently before shooting up into the trees with the rest of your squad.
Grappling onto the first of many branches that would bring you nearest the top of the large tree, you glanced over at Eren with a smirk as you pressed down on the lever of your gas containers; a wordless competition for a race.
Sensing your mischief, Eren rolled his eyes. But he couldn't quite hide the interest he took in your silent challenge.
Racing through the thick limbs, you couldn't help but chuckle to yourself despite the dread this mission had placed the entirety of the Corps in. But a little fun far away from the danger might help ease the boy's mind, right?
And maybe yours, too.
The two of you touched down nearly in synch, catching your breath as you playfully shoved at one another's shoulders with mumbles of disagreements for who'd won.
Hearing someone clear their throat, you both stopped and stared ahead with wide eyes. The rest of the SOS had made it up to the top before the both of you, much to your disgruntlement.
"Oi, you shifters...or whatever they're calling you now; you're more trouble than you're worth," Oulo grumbled out, folding his arms loosely across his chest.
Shrugging your shoulders with a careless smile, you strode past him and jumped over to an adjacent branch and took a seat with your back propped against the trunk.
"Just lessening the tension," you sighed, closing your eyes a moment.
"Lessening the tension, my ass. You act as childish as Jeager."
"Hey!" Eren scrunched up his face and jutted his chin, squaring his shoulders as though ready for a fight.
"Oulo that's enough!" Petra cried, shooting her companion a glare. "Captain Levi said that Commander said this was of utmost importance, so you'd better act like it!"
"Of course it's of most importance dear Petra, I just don't see why Captain placed me here among you children instead of taking me with him for assistance." Oulo clicked his tongue in annoyance, his posture aloft and dismissive.
"Assistance in what? Impersonations?" Gunther scoffed from his place leaned against one of the thick tree trunks with a humored grin.
"Wh-I do not..."
"You do, Oulo."
You smirked to yourself on the opposite branch. Their banter never failed to boost your moral. Especially now with so much clouding your mind.
You listened in as Eren jumped into the banter, and observed how the conversation took a more somber mood a moment later. With a grunt you stood and brushed yourself off, waltzing your way closer to your companions.
"Eld's right, we're in some weird shit right now. But don't you worry Eren, we've got this under control," you comforted the younger man with a grin.
He returned your smile, seemingly more at ease now with the reassurance of his friends. His shoulders were less tense now, and his hands finally fell from their fists.
With a frown you lowered your gaze to your boots. You understood his rage towards the beast. A devil, really. Another shifter in Paradis; only, this one was bloodthirsty and dangerous.
Hearing all those strangled cries behind you on the trail, accompanied by sickening crunches from bones snapping into pieces and tearing through flesh...It sickened you, made you see red as your hands shook. You'd had to restrain yourself as much as Eren from breaking formation then and there to take her out.
So many lives lost...So many you had to repay...
A sharp crack off in the distance startled you from your thoughts.
Turning to face the direction your comrades all stared off at, you saw a plume of black smoke shoot up over the tree line.
"A flair signal," Eren gasped.
"That's our cue. It's gotta be Captain's signal to regroup. We'll head that way immediately," Eld addressed you all, finally a small smile tugging at his thin lips.
"This'll all be over soon. Gunther, watch the rear with Y/N. Petra, Oulo, stay at Eren's sides. I'll take the lead."
"Sir yes sir!" You chirped, already clipping your handles to your blades. Taking a stand beside Gunther, you shot him a grin as you watch the others shoot off into the forrest ahead of you.
"No crazy stunts, L/N. Not till we're back in HQ." Gunther chuckled, loosening up more now as he shot off ahead of you.
Rolling your eyes, you leapt from the tree to catch up. "Yeah yeah. You keep Oulo and Petra under control, I'll keep Eren and myself sane."
As the forest flew past you in a blur, and your friends in front of you continued to banter back and forth through the air, you allowed yourself a deep breath of relief.
So far, everything had gone to plan...
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"Levi, restock on your gas and blades then regroup with your squad. We must get Eren out of here as soon as possible."
Scoffing under his breath, Levi watched as the carnage below nearly drowned out his Commander's order. As the titans ravaged the unknown shifter's steaming corpse only meters below him, the Captain ran a hand down his face in frustration.
"My tanks are full, and my blades were replenished earlier. I'll be fine," He countered, shooting a raised brown over at the tall blonde.
Erwin didn't budge, his sharp gaze fixated on the scene below. "That's an order, Levi. Restock, then regroup."
Assessing Erwin only a second longer, Levi clicking his tongue in annoyance.
"Fine, I'll do it."
With that he shot down to the ground some ways away from the titans and quickly topped off his gas containers and placed new blades into the metal scabbards at his sides, before loading up a flair gun and taking off the way he'd come.
No matter how fast he flew through the trees scanning for any clues as to where his squad had gone, he couldn't escape the rush of worries running through his mind.
If she escaped, she could be ahead of me...with them. If she didn't, then we threw lives away for nothing yet again.
If she did manage to escape, and I don't reach my squad in time...
Levi shook his head and grit his teeth, pressing down harder on the gas trigger.
No, I will reach them in time. I haven't given the signal yet, so they haven't moved from the trees. They shouldn't have...They haven't. They're still there. She still there-
Levi's train of thought was quickly interrupted as a shape came into view amongst the trees. A deafening crack bounced off the trees around him, with a light akin to lightning illuminating his surrounding more then they already were. A shift had occurred, no doubt, but from who, he had no way of knowing.
Through the yellow hue, Levi came to a brief stop near the object and sucked in a breath.
Twisted in his own wires, the lifeless gaze of Gunther's eyes stared back at his face.
With newfound urgency, Levi was once again shooting through the trees.
I 'was' too late. She 'did' get ahead of me...
A second crack lit up the forrest, making Levi's hands grip his handles all the more tightly as he listened to the undeniable scream of Eren's rage resonating through forrest. Damnit, where were they...
Grunted curses flew from his lips nearly as fast as he shot through the trees, desperately scanning both the tree tops and the floor below for any sign of movement. Or dare he think, any sign of what might remain.
A scream he knew all too well filled his ears as he entered a clearing in the wood, knocking him from his line of focus. Whipping his gaze this way and that, he was unable to see where she might have gone. Instead, all he saw were the broken remains of his squad lying about in heaps across the trampled ground.
Goddamnit Y/N...Not you too...
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What felt like days might have only been hours. Or even just minuets. Every second that passed you by only reminded you of the pain that coursed through every limb.
And still I failed...
Of course the flair signal had been a trap. You should have seen that coming. As Gunther fell victim before your very eyes, and the figure weaving in and out of sight to your left finally took form in the shape of the dreaded shifter, you'd lost yourself to panic a second longer than you should have.
As you were corned in the clearing, it took Eld's spine snapping into two for you to shake yourself out of your panic. You'd failed to act as defense before now, but you'd be damned if you let this devil claim you all.
You shifted quickly, screaming at Eren to run. Your transformation distracted the female titan just long enough for Oulo and Petra to blind and immobilize her
But not long enough for them to completely escape.
You'd charged her with a shriek, determined to avenge your fallen squad. Blow after blow you delivered and received, but never once did you waver.
Even when her stronger jaw bit clean through your arm, severing the limb halfway up the humorous. Even when your legs were clawed from your hips and your face torn nearly in half.
Even then, you didn't stop. You couldn't stop.
Briefly you registered Eren charging in behind you as you clung to the female titan, ripping through the skin of his hand to kickstart his own transformation. You could do nothing but watch as he tackled her, and in turn you. With your broken body flung to the side, you were unable to dodge the next blow thrown your way. The hardened skin of the titan's heel came crashing down only a foot away from your nape, making your world go completely black.
Now, unable to claw your way out of your titan, you were left steaming in the woods. Unable to move, unable to call for help.
Whether Eren had defeated her, you feared you'd never know. Regardless of the outcome, you started to think that maybe this fate that had befallen you was well deserved.
What good was a shifter like you when you couldn't even complete an order?
The sound of wire cables anchoring into the trees somewhere around you caught your attention. Though you couldn't see through titan's eyes, you could still hear. Straining to listen, you heard the zipping of cables cease, only to be replaced by rushed footsteps and a panicked call.
Another moment of silence followed, in which you were only slightly aware of a presence standing on your titan's back. Blinding light filled your senses, and you felt your body being forcefully removed from the wreckage.
Finally able to see, you turned your head with a grunt to see just who had pulled you out.
Forehead damp with sweat and evaporating titan blood, hands shaking as they held you up into a seated position with a pained grunt. You squinted your eyes and furrowed your brow.
"L-Levi?"
"You don't have the energy to talk, brat. You're not healing as fast as you normally do." Levi grumbled, observing your steaming body.
A raspy chuckle escaped your chapped lips despite yourself. "Probably cause I got stepped on. Should have seen what I did to her though."
"I did. She escaped." He replied bluntly, picking you up with ease as he stood.
Letting your head fall against his shoulder, you let out a shaky sigh. "I'm sorry. I didn't act fast enough. If I had...t-the squad...she wouldn't have gotten away-"
"I said you don't have the energy to talk brat. Focus on healing yourself while I rush us back to the front. They've started to depart, and I'll be damned if we're left stranded out here alone."
Humming half heartedly in agreement, you closed your eyes as you felt him shoot back up into the trees. For a minute, you did try to focus on healing. But at the moment, that felt impossible.
No, undeserving.
"I'm sorry...I couldn't save them."
"It's not your fault, Y/N." The soft tone of his voice surprised you, making you peer up at him.
"You did what you could. And it's more than any of us could have done. Both you and Eren will be returned to base soon enough. I'm just glad you survived."
"But the others...Gunther, Eld, Petra, Oulo..."
You felt him physically shudder at their names being spoken. Undoubtedly, you knew he had seen what you had. Shying away from his gaze, you kept your eyes on your steaming skin.
"I'm sorry."
"No, I'm sorry," he sighed, coming to a stop by grappling into the nearest tree and kneeling against the bark with a pained huff. "I wasn't there in time. Not only did the bitch get away, but it left you injured in the process. I never wished for you to end up in this state."
You examined his face, what of it you could see as he turned away. The pain etched into every mark lining his furrowed brow only made you feel worse.
"I won't end up like this again, and that's a promise. I'll get stronger, I'll be better," you whispered, gently tugging at his chin to make him meet your eye.
"It won't be like this next time. I'll train more, prepare more...so that I can save more."
Finally, his frown let up and his brow relaxed. Cradling you more firmly against him, he caged you in his arms and shot his wires into the next tree. To your surprise, he looked down to meet your eye before taking off again; this time, with a hint of a smile.
"Well unless this training idea of yours involves setting me up in another damned tree without my gear, I'll be there with you. Every step of the way."