Because Of You

Chapter 40

When she reentered the upstairs room, the squad looked all set to leave. Each wore their gear and their cloaks, carrying their luggage too. Mikasa offered the woman a small smile, which Carmen responded to with a curt nod of appreciation. She wasn't in the mood to be vocal about what occurred in the basement just yet.

"Good, looks like we're all set." Hange noticed. "The plan is for Moblit and I to head to Trost and expose the MPs while Levi squad make their way to the Reiss chapel. Though, Erwin's situation is still a concern. We can't get information to or from him, so we'll just have to hope it all works out well."

Everyone nodded at the brief explanation, and walked out of the cottage they were stationed in. It was still dark, the sun just beginning to rise, illuminating the tree line.

Thats when Carmen saw it. A flicker of silver, like a knife reflecting the sunlight. She knew that they hadn't escaped the dolls, there were just too many.

"Everyone get down!" She yelled loudly as shots echoed and missed their targets. The squad hid behind the cottage, waiting for a moment that allowed them to run or even reach the horses. But as the dolls got closer, their chances slimmed.

"Who the hell are they?" Levi poked his head around the corner, tucking back behind the building when a bullet hit the cobblestone.

"They're dolls, aren't they?" Hange guessed, getting nervous due to the credit Carmen had given them.

"Yeah." Carmen responded. "They have us surrounded." She listened to the gunshots, about 8 guns constantly reloading.

Everyone waited while the gunshots got louder and louder, they were sitting ducks and they knew it. The one who knew it most was Carmen, she'd seen the brutality of dolls first hand, she inflicted the brute of it. Which meant, that only she knew what she had to do. The scouts needed to save Eren and Historia, Levi needed to know she was his ally, and she couldn't lose anymore friends.

"I know what I'm doing." She walked to the corner of their shield. "I'm going to distract them, the rest of you run and don't look back." She ordered, feeling a hand on her shoulder when she tried to walk away from them.

"Are you insane?" Levi pulled her back. "You know you'll get shot." He stated the obvious, Carmen only sighed.

"You still doubt me?" She retorted. "I can deal with the dolls, guns or no guns. As soon as I'm finished, I'll catch up with you."

"And if you die?" He asked, knowing at the rate she was going, it could happen.

"Then you'll live. Thats all thats important to me." The assassin answered carelessly.

She wanted to protest more, but was cut short when she saw a rifle appear out of the corner of her eye. Acting on impulse, Carmen grabbed it and twisted it out of the dolls grasp. When she had it in possession, she shot the doll, securing her squads safety temporarily.

"What are you waiting for?" She turned to the shocked squad. "Please, just go. I can do this."

Reluctantly, the captain ordered his squad to head for the horses, leaving only him and Carmen behind. She didn't want him to stay, what was the point in risking her life if he was still in danger? Carmen had to do this alone.

"Don't get yourself killed." He said to her sincerely. "You don't need to prove anything, I already trust you with my life."

"Don't make this difficult." She shook her head. "I'll see you soon, I swear." Hesitating slightly, the man turned away, rushing to the horses and his squad - leaving Carmen to do what she needed to.

She stepped out from the corner, holding the rifle in her hands tight as she located one of her enemies. With a bang, one of the dolls collapsed, then it happened again, and again. Until eventually, there were no more bullets to fire. Her opponents were unknown and unnumbered, but that certainly hadn't stopped her before, so the woman took out her duel blades from their sheaths.

The rest of the dolls were relatively close range, given the fact she was still wearing her gear, it wouldn't be too difficult. Quickly, the assassin shot her hooks onto the cottage roof and observed her enemies. When one got close, she jumped down and wedged one of her swords into their head. She used the body as a shield as she charged towards the next girl, tossing it aside the cut off the dolls hand.

As soon as the hand fell to the floor, Carmen sliced her throat and picked up the gun that the woman held onto. The next dolls closed in, Carmen responded by trying to shoot, only to realise that the gun was empty. Instead, she smashed the blunt of the weapon into the dolls head, finishing the job with a few more violent hits to her head.

The dolls were dropping like flies once again, the way things were heading, Carmen imagined she would be able to catch up with Levi quicker than expected. However, as she approached the final doll standing, she noticed something was different.

The woman was huge, at least 6"3 with muscles that were very prominent in her black suit. It almost looked as though the material would break given the stress. But the most abnormal feature on the woman, was her expression. Dolls were taught to be still and neutral, but here, one of them stood smiling down at her. The smirk was evil, malice behind every contortion in her face.

Carmen knew, that this was not an ordinary doll.

Acting fast, she tried to not let the woman distract her and charged towards her with both blades pointed. As soon as she got close, she pivoted out of the way of the dolls dagger and spun, hoping to cut the woman's head off from behind her.

However, as soon as she tried, the doll swiftly took her small dagger and held back both of Carmen's blades with one hand. Retaliating, Carmen brought up her leg to kick the woman away, but was halted when her boot was met with the woman's strong core. Not only was she solid, but armoured too. The shock made her vulnerable.

As the doll snickered at the feeble attempts, Carmen ducked under her blades and spun, getting away and gaining some distance. "Coward!" The doll insulted, throwing her dagger towards Carmen's face. Without hesitation, the assassin flipped her sword, knocking the dagger away from her.

But given her distraction, the bigger doll closed in again, aiming her huge hands towards the blondes throat. Impulsively, Carmen aimed her swords at the woman's arms, hoping to cut off her hands in one swift motion. Unfortunately for her, the doll came prepared. Metal clashed against metal and the doll took the opportunity to toss her against a wall.

Carmen didn't react at the impact, instead she got back into a fighting stance. Death was greater than failure was what she had been taught from the beginning, which meant that she refused to allow that doll to chase after her squad.

Her hooks suddenly shot at the doll, but bounced off her armour once again. The only place vulnerable that she knew of was the face, Carmen decided that would be her only target. She prepared her swords and readied herself to throw the blade directly at her face. However, as she took a step forward, a wave of fatigue washed over her. Her body weakened, and her legs gave way.

Eager to find the cause, Carmen searched her body, eyes eventually landing on an injection lodged into her shoulder. "You bitch." The assassin slurred as she began to slowly collapse to the ground. Her sight blurred, her last vision was of the muscular woman walking towards her, victorious smile plastered on her face.

That woman was no doll.

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Authors note

You know I have to take her out of the fight, because lets face it, she would solo.
Kenny's squad wouldn't stand a chance against her.

I'll add a photo of this new unhinged character in one of the next chapters.         :)