Hange was alive, but down for the count. Unconscious, Armin and Moblit had left with her to try and find a way out, in case things went south.
Of course things went south. They always did.
The amount of energy that I was putting into not limping was almost laughable as I tried to keep up with everyone. At top health, even deprived of sleep, I was usually ahead of them, but I was struggling. My thigh was wrapped, but it was still bleeding. The whole area hurt, and radiated down my right leg.
"You should have gone with Armin and Moblit..." Jean murmured from just ahead of me, and I lowered my head a little.
"Nah. Oh, I'm not your girlfriend, either...for the record..." Why had it kind of sounded nice when Levi had said that? At the same time, though, it had hurt.
"I..I know that..!" Jean yelped, skidding to a stop as the others did, which resulted me in nearly smacking into his back. Kenny's crew had sealed the entrance with a woven sheet, keeping us out. They were waiting on the other side if we tried anything. I followed Levi's gaze to the ceiling, where a fraction of the crystal substance was missing, but it was boarded up.
Well...we either charge through...or we lose...
All of a sudden, the cavern lit up in an almost blinding orange and gold hue. A very familiar one.
"Eren..!" Mikasa sounded so distraught when she called the man's name, and for once I couldn't blame her. Eren may have been dead and gone, for all we knew.
The whole place began to shake, and a rush of hot air blew over us, and I crouched down, wincing at the pain in my leg. What was going on?
"Hey, guys..?! This place is about to collapse..!" Sasha yelped, having to jump out of the way as a cascade of wood nearly crushed her. Looking up, we all realised at the same time that our only route to the center of it all had been cleared for us.
"Up! Now!" Levi yelled over the rumbling, launching himself into the air. We all followed suit, and I hated that both Connie and Jean stopped to try and help me up into the opening.
"Quit it..! I'm fine! Focus, you idiots!" I didn't mean to be so rude, but it pissed me off. Why did I have to go and get myself hurt?
It didn't take us long to reach them, and I found myself relieved when I saw Mikasa catch Historia up ahead. Even when I saw Eren, chained to the pedastal. The titan, however, growing larger by the second? Now that shook me.
"Give me the keys!" Levi ordered, and Historia passed them over without a moment of thought.
Rushing to aid them, I grabbed hold of Eren's right arm, but Levi pulled me back. The look he gave me ceased any argument that wanted to fly from my throat, and I backed away slowly, shielding my face from the steam as I met Sasha, Historia and Mikasa at the back wall.
What happened here? Who is that? How the hell is it getting so big..?!
Swallowing my panic, I just watched. The passing of keys, the freeing of limbs.
"Woah..! It's even bigger than the colossal titan..! Crazy..." Sasha gasped in awe, backing up until her back pressed against the crystal. I did the same.
"If it doesn't stop...we're gonna get crushed..."
I should have been shaking in my boots. Crying, throwing up. But no, I didn't feel half as scared as I should have. Was it the blood loss? The possible concussion? Was I just that numb to the looming possibility of death?
"The ceiling! Get back!" Mikasa threw her arm in front of Historia as the ceiling began to crumble and fall, and I was positive that my heart stopped beating until the boys dragged Eren backwards, narrowly avoiding being killed.
Connie and Jean flanked my sides as we watched the titan grow larger, and despite my bland expression, I reached out and grasped each of their sleeves. In return, they both slipped their hands into mine, which I appreciated. Our skin was clammy and hot, but it didn't even come closs to the scorching air around us.
"Dammit..! We'll be buried alive..!" Jean hissed, shielding his face with his free arm. Bleeding and shaking, Eren slid his back down the wall, tears flooding from his eyes. Again, just like I had with the spoon incident, I pitied him. I realised how harsh I had been, and that Eld's death wasn't his fault, but perhaps it was too late.
"S..sorry...I..I can't..." He whimpered, hanging his head low. It made sense. He was pinning it all on himself, all because he was the one with the power. The poor guy really was trying. "I can't be humanities saviour, I'm just too weak..."
Dammit, Jaeger...
"Oh, come on! Stop playing the tragic hero!" Jean piped up from beside me, still holding my hand. "Of course you're too weak to accomplish jack by yourself, but no-one expects you to!" Nodding, I leaned a little to meet his eyes so I could pitch in.
"Tch, you do realise we're part of a team, right?"
Squeezing my hand, Connie hummed in agreement, lifting his chin.
"Yeah, calm it down. We've been through a whole lot worse than this, man." Sasha leaned further back against the wall, covering herself a little more with her torn cape.
"Not that I really wanna get used to it!"
He's right. We can get out of this...
"Still, it's gonna suck flying through that mess..." Connie chuckled weakly, and I looked out into the burning fray. I was barely standing as it was, and I didn't want to burden anyone with carrying my dead weight. I had to keep it together, at least until we managed to get out. If we managed to get out.
"It's useless...you know we won't make it..." Eren sniffled, looking completely defeated as he sat against the wall.
"So we should do nothing?!" Historia snapped, taking me by surprise. "You wanna sit here and hold hands till we're crushed, or burned to death?! You know dying here won't make anything better!"
As I stood there, gauging the situation as closely as I could, my right side buckled, but Connie pressed up against me, using his shoulder to keep me upright. Luckily, nobody else seemed to notice.
"Come on, I said no dying..." He whispered under his breath, slipping his hand from mine and moving his arm behind my back to support me.
"Yeah...I know...Not today..."
Trying my best here, bud...
"Listen...I really hate that I do this to you all the time...but..." Levi spoke up, his voice level, but eyes telling all. He was just as scared as the rest of us were. "...you've gotta make a choice here..." I despised that word. Choice. I could see now how unfair it was. Though, this time, if he made the wrong call, I wouldn't be around to hold a grudge.
When Eren finally moved, he snatched something up from me ground and charged off, running like an absolute madman towards the chaos. If we hadn't been in a life or death situation, I would have been beside myself with laughter.
I swore I heard the sound of glass smashing before the world lit up brighter, and the force of the scorching gust completely knocked me off my feet. Both Connie and Jean tried to catch me, but I chose to rely on the former, simply because he was on the side that needed the most support.
The heat was stealing the air from my lungs, and my head was spinning. Vision hazing in and out of darkness, I remembered cursing myself before I completely blacked out. I didn't want to slow anyone down.
When I came to, I was laying down, gently rocking around, and a hand was covering mine. Blinking up at a darkened sky, I rolled my head a little to see Hange beside me in the same position, noticing me almost immediately.
"Well, hey there, lovey. Look at us, a pair of beat-up queens." She chuckled, holding her bleeding shoulder. Groaning, I let my head go back to the way it was, the sky above painted with fading smoke along with the stars.
"Yep. We totally rocked it." I replied, tapping my toe into the nearest boot where my legs were, which happened to be Eren's. "So, good choice you made back there, Jaeger. Can't say it was graceful...but you did it..."
Leaning over a little, Eren nudged me back, the slight lines beneath his eyes from his transformation fading.
"Thanks, (Y/N)...You doing okay?" Humming in thought, I tried to prop my right leg up, quitting halfway due to the burning pain of my thigh.
"Unless she got out, I'm doing better than the bitch who messed me up."
Is it wrong to hope she didn't?
"That's what you get for not following orders." Levi spoke from further down the cart, and I screwed up my nose.
"ThAt'S wHaT yOu GeT fOr NoT fOlLoWiNg OrDeRs..." I mimicked him poorly, hissing as my head throbbed. Clicking his tongue, Levi shifted a little closer, leaning his elbows on his knees.
"Idiot. Still, I'm glad you didn't get killed..." Our eyes met for a fleeting moment, but his quickly darted away, and he straightened up. "Erwin." Hearing that name, I seemed to get a large fraction of my energy back, and it only grew when I heard that voice.
"Anyone hurt?"
Once I was sure the cart had come to a stop, I jumped up, ignoring the surging pain in my right limbs as I vaulted over the side. Nearly getting myself tangled in the reigns, and slightly startling Erwin's horse, I threw my arms around the man, burying my face in his chest as I sat facing him on his saddle.
"Don't you ever gamble like that again, you walking eyebrow bastard..!" I barked, pushing back the urge to throw up from the pain I had just put myself in. It was a stupid thing to do, but I was just so relieved to see him. For a while, I had honestly thought he had been hung at the gallows.
Having to keep his one hand on the reins, Erwin leaned into me a little, using the side of his head to tap my cheek.
"Come on, (Y/N). I'm glad to see you too, but you need to stay still." He chuckled softly, but I wasn't budging.
"You just woke up. Get back in the cart, you psychopath." Jean scolded me from up ahead, having pivoted around in the saddle.
"M'fine here. Go about your business." I mumbled, having to lift my right leg and sit it over Erwin's to ease the pain a little. If anyone wasn't aware of our dynamic, they likely would have thought we were a couple. Gross.
"I swear to god, I'll ri-"
"Leave her be, Levi. I don't think we have the time to argue right now..."
He was right. I only had to lean to the side a little to see it. That larger than life titan, slowly dragging itself towards Wall Sina.
"It's Rod Reiss." Levi announced, and I shuddered. Historia's father. "I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this, Commander."
I could feel Erwin's sigh through his chest as he turned his horse around, with me on it.
"Time is short. We can't afford to stand here and chat. Head back to the wall." Starting off, I clung to him tighter, the bounce of each step making me feel worse, yet calmer at the same time.
"You're just gonna let that thing drag itself and its fat ass all the way to Sina?" Levi asked, which caused the Commander to pause.
"Well, more specifically..." He turned a little to address the ravonet. "...I'm going to let it continue towards Orvud district."
With that, he began to ride away again, and I sighed into his chest. It would have probably been a better idea to stay in the cart, but I felt safe with Erwin. At least I didn't have to get chewed up and spat out by Levi for being a moron.
"I thought you were going to die...Again..." I murmured, having to grip onto the man's jacket, as my arms couldn't quite reach around him in my position. Puffing out in slight amusement, he kept his eyes ahead.
"I still have far too much to do. However, I appreciate the concern." He replied, hunching a little to rest his chin on my head. "I'm more worried about you. I assume you went against Levi again?"
Was it that obvious..?
Hiding my face, but tilting my head down so I could still speak clearly, I huffed.
"He was going at it with that Ripper bastard. I wanted to back him up so he wouldn't get himself killed...but then I got distracted...and then Hange got hurt..." Trailing off, I relaxed against him, the rock of his horse now less painful, and more calming than it had been before.
"I'm sure he appreciated your worry, but I think he just didn't want you to end up like this, or worse." Erwin hummed, passing several of his men as we headed towards Sina. "I speak for the both of us when I say that you're special to us. Not only because of your skill, but because of who you are as a person."
Exhaustion was dragging me down again, and I closed my eyes, though I still had enough energy to screw up my nose.
"You sure you don't have me mixed up with some other (H/C) dumbass, Winnie..?" My snicker was weak and lacking, but he got the gist of my sarcasm.
"You're stubborn, fierce and brash...but you are also very kind, and selfless when you desire to be. Personally, I believe that makes a marvellous person." He explained, chin still atop my head, keeping me steady. He was warm, and his presence soothed me. It reminded me of Dimitri, in a way. Someone familiar.
"Heh...you forgot stupid...and all the other shit that's wrong with me..." My voice was fading fast, and I quickly drifted off, my last thought being that I hoped I'd manage to stay on top of the horse without making a bigger fool of my injured self. Erwin sighed, his head dipping, lips pressing a ghost of a kiss to my crown.
"It's such a shame...I truly regret letting him take my place way back when..."
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***Added another screencap redraw thing. Sorry for making (Y/N) ginger and pale all the time. I just find it easier to use a single design for illustrations.
Not sure if I'll make her be a part of slaying Reiss bro or not. I just kinda wanna describe his...uh...'pretty face'.
Next Time: Meat Man***