Save Me (Levi x OC)

Chapter 81

What the- the others were supposed to keep Reiner's attention! What went wrong? Reiner was rushing forward to us, and out of the corner of my eye, I briefly saw a few scouts charging towards us. They won't make it in time to help us. The Armored Titan swung forward with one hand, trying to catch Eren, but with me still holding his arm, I spun out of the way, hurling Eren off of the wall. Mid-fall, Eren started his transformation, landing already in his titan form. With him out of the way, I was able to move more freely, and the Armored Titan paid no attention to me, charging after Eren instead. 

I smirked a little. Reiner wasn't aware of how far Eren has come, and how much stronger he got by now. I had no doubt that Eren would be able to win this fight, but still, as the other scouts finally got to us, I gave the signal for us to launch a simultaneous attack. We all propelled ourselves towards the Armored Titan, swinging past him to catch his attention. He tried to ignore us, focusing on Eren instead, and I growled in annoyance. None of us had a clear shot at the titan's nape, so we couldn't use our thunder spears yet, and even if we did, the chance of hurting Eren too was something we couldn't risk.

The fight between the two titans was ruthless, and there wasn't anything we scouts could do to help - if we jumped in to help with our gear, we'd just get crushed, and if we used the spears, we'd blow up Eren. The Armored Titan swung one punch after another, brutally attacking Eren over and over, to the point where, even though the Attack Titan was much faster than the Armored Titan, Eren couldn't dodge anymore. There must've been something different about the way that Reiner was attacking now - even though Eren looked heavily injured, it wasn't anything that his titan abilities wouldn't be able to heal, and yet, he was unable to do so. 

What went wrong? Did Reiner develop a new technique that prevents titans from healing themselves? I frowned. This wasn't good. At all. Right now, Eren's titan was too weak to even move - the best option would be to get him out of the titan and lead Reiner away from the wall so that we'd be able to use the spears without bringing any more damage to the wall. 

"Whatever you do, keep the Armored Titan's attention on yourselves and lead him away from the wall!" I shouted, praying that my voice would carry far enough for all of the scouts to hear. "I'll try to help Eren!"

I heard someone shout a "yes, ma'am" in response, and the scouts, moving as one, launched attack after attack on the Armored Titan. They didn't seem to be doing any damage, but it was enough to draw his attention. In the brief seconds that he was distracted, I jumped onto Eren's titan form, standing on his back as I raised my two blades, bringing them down into Eren's nape. Over our time at the fortress, we'd practiced getting Eren out of his titan body before, just in case of emergencies, so this wasn't new to me. I hurriedly pulled Eren out, holding back the feeling of vomit as the veins of the titan detached themselves from the young boy.

With Eren in my arms as I launched myself back to the top of the wall, I noticed how deathly pale he was. Even now, examining him up close, there didn't seem to be any particular reason for him being in such a condition. Is it possible that Reiner managed to get so strong that he fractured the basic frame of Eren's titan? But Eren should still be able to heal... Is there a particular pressure point that 'deactivates'  the titan powers? I laid Eren out on top of the wall, checking all of his vitals. There's still so much we don't know about titans... I frowned - Eren seemed completely fine, so why was he suddenly so sick? 

I turned back to where the scouts were now fighting the Armored Titan - they seemed to be doing pretty well.  Still, I felt like I should be out there helping them, and I glanced at Eren once again. "Eren, I'm going to carry you to a safer location and leave you there for some time, okay? Try to activate your healing, and when you're well enough, get to the wall and fix the hole."

The boy barely managed a nod, and I picked him up gently, picking my way along the wall until I reached the spot where Reiner had been hiding earlier. I placed him softly into the rubble, making sure he was more or less comfortable before climbing the wall again, giving myself a brief second to see how the others were doing against the Beast Titan. I glanced towards the ground, immediately regretting it when I saw the destroyed ruins of a city littered with the bodies of scouts. Still, despite the danger, they charged forward, shooting flares into the sky. I felt my heart race and suddenly, breathing became a lot harder, but I forced myself to look away. 

Levi's just fine. He said he'd come back safe. He wouldn't lie about that. I forced myself to calm down before charging towards the Armored Titan, readying my two swords. The others seemed to be doing well enough, and from the sound of explosions, it was safe to assume that some of them had already gotten a few hits in with the thunder spear. Good. There's still hope for us, then. I landed on one of the rooftops near another scout - a girl who joined the scouts maybe four years after myself, with short brown hair that had blonde streaks and a kind face - giving her a quick nod. I vaguely remembered working a mission with her before, and random details came back to me - something about her having an older brother, and how she'd joined the scouts for the honor of protecting humanity.

"Kaitlyn, right? Fill me in," I ordered. "How's the progress so far?"

"We managed to land a few hits on the titan's nape," she reported. "We'll weaken his armor a little more before going in with the blades."

I dipped my head slightly in response, staying low at the rooftop and pressing my body down as I waited for an opening. By now, we'd formed a circle around the Armored Titan, and were sending the thunder spears at it's nape from all directions. Once he'd turned his back to us, trying to catch one of the scouts, I launched myself forward and hurled my spear at his nape, pulling on the cord at the last second to blast an explosion at the Armored Titan's neck. The discharge was a lot larger than I expected, and some of the heat sent me reeling backwards, and I landed harshly on the roof beside Kaitlyn once again. Still, I could tell my attempt was mostly a success - the flesh at the titan's neck was chipped and broken now.

After a few more thunder spears found their mark, I could tell the Armored Titan was weakened enough for someone to cut through its nape. I readied myself, and as soon as the titan turned its back to me, I aimed my gear at its neck, but before I could pull the trigger, Kaitlyn was already there. She flew through the air, the grappling hooks digging into the titan's flesh, and drew her blades back, ready to strike, but the Armored Titan whirled around, catching her in his hand just before her swords made contact with his neck. 

The titan's hand clenched around Kaitlyn, and she let out a blood-curdling scream followed by a string of curses, but the Armored Titan didn't leave it at that. He hurled Kaitlyn's limp body towards the wall, and her body crushed into it with a sickening splat. I stood completely frozen for a second. This is real. Death is real. For a horrible moment, I almost wanted to run. I thought of Levi, and of Liane, waiting for me to get back, and my will to fight faltered, just for a brief second. Then, a roar from behind me forced me to turn around, and I was greeted with Eren's angry titan charging in our direction.