Attack on Titan: Bloodline -- Version 2

• Chapter 27 •

Five long hours passed at a crawl. The sun rose slowly higher into the sky, burning off the clouds and leaving the grounds dry. Lorraine sat on the wall, her legs dangling and her elbows propped up on her knees. She had her hands clasped and her face held a look that told anyone exactly what they needed to know. Her eyes were red and still stung from crying for three of the five hours. She stared off into the distance while soldiers were laid out behind her, many injured, some well, and others dead. Mikasa laid among the injured, having hit her head during the blast. Armin sat next to her, looking sadly between the two girls.

"How are the girls doing," Hannes asked Armin quietly. Armin sighed, "I'm not sure, to be honest. Mikasa still hasn't even moved yet. I think," he put his hand on the unconscious Mikasa's shoulder, "she may have a concussion." Hannes looked up at the younger girl and asked, "What about Lorraine?" Armin shook his head. He said, "She's barely spoken a word in the last five hours. She's just been sat over there looking out beyond the wall." Hannes frowned.

Lorraine thought, "Reiner. Bertholdt. What is going on? First Annie, and now you two. Why did you do it? Why did you destroy our home? It's your fault that we even had to join the Survey Corps in the first place." She felt another tear running down her cheek and thought, "I'm scared and confused and I just keep hoping this is all a nightmare and that I'll wake up soon. I'll wake up and Annie, Reiner, and Bertholdt will all be waiting for me in the mess hall. I'll run into Reiner's arms and he'll tell me it was only a bad dream. Annie and I will go out into the yard and spar." She closed her eyes.

Mikasa shifted a little, making Armin gasp, relieved. She opened her eyes and Armin called, "Lorraine! Mikasa's up!" She turned and stumbled to Mikasa's side, asking, "Mika? Mikasa! Mika, are you-" Mikasa sat up and asked, grabbing Lorraine's t-shirt collar, "Where's Eren?!" Lorraine sharply inhaled. Mikasa tightened her grip and pulled on Lorraine's shirt, repeating, "Where is Eren?!" Lorraine's face fell and she put her hands gently over Mikasa's, shaking her head. She muttered softly, "He's gone. R-Reiner...he...they..." She couldn't even bring herself to finish her sentence and started to cry, still gripping Mikasa's hands. Mikasa's grey eyes shimmered with tears and asked, "Please. Just tell me someone went after them." Armin said, sitting on his knees next to the girls, "No." Mikasa snapped, "Why?" Armin continued, "All the horses are on the other side of the wall. We're waiting for the lifts to come so we can move them. There's nothing we can do until they get here." Mikasa sighed.

"Not again."

Armin asked, "Are you hurting, Mikasa?" Mikasa said, rubbing her temple, "No. I must have hit my head pretty hard, but that's not it." She took a shaking breath and said, "It's just that...when Eren was taken by Annie, I went after him then and there. In the end, fighting alongside Captain Levi, we were able to get him back." Lorraine said softly, her voice breaking, "I-I'm so sorry. If I...h-had I known...about Reiner, I...I-I never would have...and Bertholdt..." Armin said, "Lo, it's not your fault. They tricked every single one of us." Lorraine said, "How could he? All that time...he lied to us...to...to me..." Mikasa said, "Armin? Lorraine? Why does Eren always go somewhere far away from us?" Armin said, "Yeah. I guess he has always had a bit of a habit of running off on his own and leaving us three behind, huh?" Lorraine looked up at her blonde friend. Mikasa let go of Lorraine's hands and pulled her scarf close. Armin said, "I guess that's just how things are meant to be...well, for Eren, at least." Lorraine clasped her hands in her lap. Mikasa said, "But, all I want is to be with him... That's all." Hannes walked over and said, holding four small packets of field rations, "Mikasa? You're up. I'll bet you three kids are pretty hungry. Here. Eat these." He passed out the rations and sat nearby, taking a bite out of his own bland rations.

"Ah, well," he said, "Tastes neither good nor bad. Same as always. Speaking of, this seems the same as always, too. Ever since you kids were little, you three have always had to clean up after that brat, Eren, huh?" Lorraine looked back out over the wall. Hannes continued, "I'd say that's a pretty lousy relationship. Jeez. It's a different time and place, but you kids are still doing the same thing as you always have." Armin said, "You're not really wrong, but there's a bit of a height difference between the neighbourhood bullies and Titans." Hannes nodded. He smiled and said, "True. Yeah, Eren was never that great at holding out on his own, but by God, that son of a bitch never gives up." Lorraine turned her gaze down to the field rations in her hand. Mikasa looked up at Hannes. Armin chuckled lightly. Hannes said, "By the time you or the MPs would show up, he'd usually have been beaten to a bloody pulp every time. You know, I never did get the pleasure of seeing him win in a fight before." Mikasa and Armin looked at each other, but Hannes continued, "Then again, I've also never seen him give up, either. Sometimes, his tenacity scares me." Lorraine's lips curled up into a smile and thought, "He's right. Eren's a stubborn bastard. He wouldn't give up even in the face of certain defeat."

"I'm certain that boy will keep on fighting as long as he's got the strength to do so," Hannes said reassuringly, "He'll keep going until we show up. That's just how he's always been." Armin said, "I loved those good old days." He sighed, "If you asked Eren, he'd say those days were nothing more than a false peace." Hannes laughed, "As far as I'm concerned, I'd be more than happy to be a drunk freeloader if it meant going back to those ordinary days." Lorraine said, "Yeah," and opened up her packet of field rations and started to eat them slowly. Mikasa said, sitting up tall and putting on a determined face, "No matter how long it takes, I'll do whatever I have to to get back those good old days. I promise, we will get Eren back." Armin and Lorraine looked up at her. Hannes said, "I'll be going with you all. Without you kids together again, the good old days will never truly return." Around them, soldiers began bustling about excitedly. Armin, Mikasa, Hannes, and Lorraine finished off their rations and went together to see what the commotion was.

"Commander Erwin," Hannes said, "He's brought the MPs." Armin sighed, relieved. Lorraine turned and walked back out to the outer edge, standing next to Krista, who was looking out where she had been before. Krista said softly, "Soon, we'll go after them. I don't care what anyone says. We'll go and get Ymir back." Lorraine said, "Yeah." Krista turned and said, "Don't worry. Eren's going to be okay, too. Trust me." Lorraine nodded. The girls both looked back out over the wall. Connie said behind them, "Yeah. We''ve all got good reasons to go after them. I don't know about anyone else, but I've got to hear it straight from those two's mouths. It's still so hard to believe they did all of this." Lorraine sighed. Krista said, "I know. We were all together for three years and not once did they ever give us any hint that they had anything else planned." Lorraine muttered, "I wish I'd seen through him." Connie said, "There's no way you could have. He was really like everyone's big brother." Lorraine turned around and said sternly, doing her best to hide the new wave of tears rushing to the surface, "Come on. Let's go see what Commander Erwin wants us to do."

Commander Erwin and the Military Police soldiers gathered the soldiers who were well enough to fight and started getting the horses over the wall. Lorraine was tending to Hanji's burns and scratches when she said shakily, "M-Moblit...! Give me a map...hurry...!" Moblit looked down at his superior and said, "Hanji, you're in no condition to-" Hanji interrupted, "Moblit, now...!" Moblit sighed and ran off to get a map of the area. She looked up at Lorraine and said, "Lorraine, help me up." Lorraine obeyed her commands and lifted her arm over her shoulders, supporting Hanji's weight and walking her over to where the Commander and the soldiers had gathered. She knelt down with Hanji, holding her up while Moblit rolled out the map.

"L-look," she said, pointing down at the markings, "It may be a long shot, but I think...I think this forest is going to be our best bet." Armin asked, "What makes you say that?" Moblit knelt down next to her, supporting her other side as she explained, "Think about it. E-even if they had a way to hide the Armoured Titan's footsteps, they're probably spent by now. After that battle, even if they have the strength to transform, the other Titans outside the wall might still pose a threat to them. They...they probably need a chance to catch their breath." Lorraine furrowed her brow and put her hand to her cheek where Reiner had struck her, the skin still stinging at her touch. She thought, "There's no way Reiner's thinking that logically. Unless, maybe, Bertholdt is calling the shots?" Hanji reiterated, "Again, I know it may be a long shot, but I think it's worth a try." Erwin nodded and said, "Very well. You heard Hanji. We're going to go towards the forest. Make sure you're all prepared for battle. Those of you who are missing ODM Gear, we'll provide the equipment. Suit up and be ready to ride as soon as we get the horses down onto the other side." Lorraine, Connie, Krista, and Sasha nodded.

The four suited up in silence. The soldiers who were prepared helped to get the horses down onto the outside of the wall. Mikasa stepped out of the lift, holding the reins of four of the horses and guiding them to their positions. As she passed the reins to four other soldiers, something on the ground caught her eye. Shards of Reiner's armour were scattered about, the dull, gold colour catching her eye. She knelt down to the ground and picked up a small piece. She thought, "It hasn't vanished. Why?" She looked up at the top of the wall, thinking of Lorraine. She sighed and put the small piece of armour into her pocket, returning to the lift and grabbing another set of horses.

As Lorraine and the others finally descended, the sun starting to dip lower into the sky, Commander Erwin signalled the start of the recovery mission and the combined forces of the Survey Corps and the Military Police charged off into the fields.