BLOODSPORT

Episode 39

The group leapt onto a roof using their ODM gear to locate exactly where Captain Levi was. "I hear shooting!" Sasha exclaimed. "I heard close to a dozen shots! From there!" She pointed South.

"Levi and the others must have gotten into some trouble," Rhea stated before leaping off the roof and using her gear to maneuver throughout the city. From behind, Rhea saw Mikasa follow after and shortly she saw Connie, Sasha, Armin, and Jean. Unlike herself and Mikasa, the others hesitated.

Below, Rhea caught sight of the wagon which Eren and Historia resided in. However, something was wrong. The two of them were lying down and not moving. They wouldn't have been killed. Both of them were too valuable to Reeves and his men. No. They had to have been drugged or something.

Out of nowhere, the Captain swung after the wagon! A soldier was hot on his tail, cocking his weapon at Levi, who managed to use his ODM gear to stab through the gut of the man, before drawing him in close and slicing his neck. "What the Hell was that?!" Jean shouted, his eyes wide with fear.

"Follow the wagon!" Levi commanded. The group huddled in the air, listening intently to Levi's orders. "These soldiers were trained to fight other people. They've already taken out three of ours. If you hesitate for so much as a second, you'll be dead. The moment you see an opening, go for the kill."

"Yes, sir!" Mikasa and Rhea chimed together. Rhea heard a light gasp from her side. She saw Jean and the others look more frightened than ever before.

"Armin! Secure the wagon with Jean!" Levi ordered, taking out one of the guards. Above Levi, Rhea saw a soldier ready his weapon, aiming for the captain. While her friends secured the wagon, Rhea launched one of her blades at the man, impaling him in his gut. "Thanks kid!"

Rhea nodded slightly. If she was going to save her friends and comrades, then she was going to kill every last one of these bastards.

"Jean!" A gunshot sounded from the direction of the wagon. Trepidation rolled down her spine as Rhea gasped. Her heart was pounding so fast from the fear of glancing down. She didn't want to see another person whom she loved, die.

Relief immediately flooded through her body when she saw her friends were alive. Rhea watched as the female soldier's body connected with the stone road. Armin had shot her. His eyes were wide with shock while his arm remained raised with the gun.

"Shit! Armin! Jean!" Levi shouted from above, flying down as quickly as he could towards the wagon. Rhea turned in her gear, drawing her last sword out of its holster. Lining up the shot, she threw her blade. Rhea watched it decapitate one of the three soldiers. Her efforts weren't enough, however.

Sasha and Levi managed to grab hold of Jean and Armin, carrying them out of the wagon just before the remaining soldiers rode off with Eren and Historia. Their mission had failed.

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Rhea peered down at her hands which were now soaked with the blood of man. Not Titan's, but literal human's. She had made her bed and was now a killer. But Rhea didn't regret it for one second.

Glancing up, she noticed how quiet her comrades were. They sat in a circle, on top of some wooden crates, in the building Jean and Armin had previously been tied up in.

"What's wrong? Did all this filth kill your appetite?" Levi asked.

Rhea looked over to Armin. "No. Jean, there's something I don't understand."

"What's that?"

"When I turned around to try to save you..." Armin hesitated. "That woman already had her gun to your head. It's... funny. How could I have shot before she did?"

Jean turned his head to the side, forcing his eyes shut while gritting his teeth. Rhea wanted to run to the other side of the room and take his hand in her own, trying to provide as much comfort as she could. "I don't know." He answered, softly.

"You shot first because she hesitated." Levi spoke up, drawing everyone's attention towards him. "It's simple."

"I'm sorry, Armin. You wouldn't've had to save me if I'd just done my job," Jean said.

"I know what it is," Armin responded in a quiet manner. "The woman I shot back there. I bet she was a really kind person. She must've had a lot more human empathy than I ever did. I pulled that trigger so easily. Without a thought. I'm..."

"A killer." Levi finished. "And now that your hands have been soaked in blood, the person you once were is gone for good." Rhea again glanced down at her hands. Everything Levi had said was right, and that wasn't a bad thing. The person she was before this, before Bertholdt and long before Marco, was gone for good.

"Why would you say that?" Mikasa asked, clearly repulsed by Levi's response.

"Because he's right." Rhea spoke up. "Our hands are stained with the blood of our enemies. They always have been. Titans or humans, it doesn't matter anymore." She stared at Armin, "we shouldn't regret what we did today. Not for one second."

Levi added on, "if all of you had chosen to keep your hands clean, Jean and myself would be corpses on a cart right now. I'll tell you why you pulled the trigger, Armin. Because your comrade was about to die. Armin, everyone on our squad survived today because you got blood on your hands. Thank you."

"Captain Levi." Jean sat up. "I, uh, I thought it was wrong for us to fight other humans, sir. I thought it was wrong that you'd ordered us to do it. I mean, we became soldiers to protect people. But now, I see that I was in the wrong, sir. Next time, I swear I'll shoot."

"I never said anything about what was right or wrong," Levi retorted. "My moral high ground's shot to hell. I have no idea who's in the right at this point. Now then," Levi stood up, "I think it's time we heard what our guest has to say."

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