The 5th Ackermann

60- Offer All

Written: 3/10/21
Published: 4/23/21

(I almost forgot to publish today.)

(Wish me and my friends luck for doing our theater show!)

     "Levi deduced, "He must've been thrown all the way to the top of the wall by that thing..."

     "He's not moving...." Y/n said worriedly.

     "But he's not dead, either."

     Another barrage of boulders and rocks came hurling at them. Y/n cupped her hands. "ANOTHER BARRAGE! TAKE COVER!" The banging of stone meeting house, dirt, and wall echoed throughout the area. The rookies screamed in fear.

     "Looks like the Beast Titan has us in its sights." Levi said. "This place is about to turn into a honeycomb. Erwin... If you tell us there's no way left for us to fight back... I'll start preparing for defeat." He pointed a finger to the top of the wall. "Eren's sprawled out there, right? Go wake him up. You, Y/n, and some of the others get on him and run. That way, we'll have at least a few survivors."

     "Wha..?!" Y/n exclaimed.  The two males turned to her. "No way! Retreat? Leave you? Leave that monkey alive after all this?"

     Levi faced her. "Y/n, think about this th-"

     "Hey!! A horse escaped!" Marlo's voice yelled. The three turned to see the situation. He was holding Floch, who was sitting down, by the arm. "You're supposed to be watching them, aren't you?!"

     "Shut up!" Floch retaliated. "What's the point anymore?!"

     "What was that?!"

     "All of those powerful survey corps members just got wiped out in the blink of an eye! You must know it just as well as I do! It doesn't matter if we protect these horses because they'll be no one around to ride them!"

     His words struck home in all the hearts of the newbies. Of course they did. Everyone knew this situation was practically hopeless. Hearing them aloud from someone... it just shattered them. Yeah... Why were they here, again? To be bait or heroes? Oh. They are just fodder. There was no beating the titans.

     Floch held his head. "It made sense in theory. If humanity stayed copped up inside the walls... we'd someday be eaten up by titans who appeared out of nowhere. Someone had to act, even if it was dangerous to do so. Humanity needed people willing to sacrifice themselves so that others wouldn't fall victim... When I was asked... who would be that brave soldier... I ended up thinking... I would. But I... I never imagined that dying... like that... could be so....... Meaningless. When I think about it, that's what happens to nearly all of us who die. Why did I ever think it'd be different for me?"

     Levi turned back to Erwin. "The recruits and survivors from Hanji's squad can scatter on horses all at once and try to head home... how does that sound? With them acting as bait, you and the others on Eren will be able to escape."

     "What will you be doing, Levi?" Erwin and Y/n asked.

     "Me?" Levi replied. "Well, I'll deal with that beast. I'll lead him away."

    "No way." Y/n said.

     "Agreed. You can't even get close to him." Erwin added.

      "Probably not." Levi said. "But... if you two and Eren make it back alive, there's definitely still hope. Isn't that the kind of situation we're in, now? This is a major defeat. Honestly, I'm not expecting anyone to make it home alive at this point."