chapter thirty-three ; discoveries.

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Fallan

"Three," I began, gripping the handles of my blade fiercely. I heard the slight mechanic clink as Konomi, Petra, Oluo and Hanji positioned the gear so it was directly aiming at the Titan.
"Two," I watched as they readied themselves, placing their hands on the lever that would shoot the grapple hooks into the flesh of the Titan. I swallowed down the lump that was growing in my throat.
"One!" I yelled and raised my hand in the air, hearing the sound of hundreds of hooks being released from the contraption Hanji had devised. It was followed by a hiss of steam and the Titan opened its mouth and groaned slightly.
"Gotcha." I grinned and swung towards it, landing on its mass of filthy blonde hair. I tapped my blade on its head lightly, but the beast didn't even seem to acknowledge me.
"Lieutenant! Be careful!" Konomi shouted and I waved her off, still tapping my blade on its head. Why wasn't the thing trying to lurch upwards, or at least move its head to knock me off? I walked over to its ear and leant down.
"Hey big guy." I shouted, but still no acknowledgment.
"Reid!" Levi yelled in a warning tone, but I chose to ignore him. Hanji landed next to me, and the Titan attempted to rear up and bite her, throwing me off balance. I began to fall, but shot my hooks into the Titan's flesh to steady myself. Hanji manoeuvred herself back to her original post and smiled at me sheepishly.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." She giggled, but I was too focused to reply. I unattached my hooks and hopped down to face the Titan. It didn't even look at me.
"I'm gonna start taking this personal if you don't even bother to say hello." I spoke lowly, and pushed my blade into one of its eyes. No reaction. Not even a single groan.
"Lieutenant!" Konomi shouted again.
"Damn Ko, leave the woman to do her job. She's in the zone." Tobias mused.
"Am I broken, or is this thing ignoring me?" I shouted back to the group, and a round of 'It's ignoring you' chorused. I heard the zip of the gear, and someone landed a little distance away from me.
"Damn." Levi grunted, and I pulled the blade from the Titan's eye. Steam billowed out and I shielded my face. He walked towards the Titan, which opened its mouth and attempted to bite at him, pulling against the restraints.
"Well, he's certainly interested in my ass." Levi muttered, and shot back to a low branch of the tree next to me. He peered down, scratching his head.
"Well then." He sighed. My brain scrambled for an answer, but I was left with nothing. I noticed Benjin, however, had been staying suspiciously quiet throughout the entire exchange. He looked deep in thought, and it was about time I interrupted him.
"Sallow!" I shouted, and he looked down at me.
"Yes?"
"What aren't you telling me? You better not be hiding things again."
The rest of the group exchanged confused looks, while Levi crossed his arms and leant against the trunk disapprovingly.
"I've got a few ways of forcing it out of him." Levi sneered, and I shot him a silencing look.
"For once, I'm actually as clueless as the rest of you. Nick didn't mention anything about a-"
Gotcha.
"Nick?" I shouted back at Benjin, and watched as he groaned and banged his head against the tree.
"Fuck." He sighed, and shot down towards me, maintaining a safe distance from the restrained Titan. It still attempted to make a lunge towards him, causing a loud creak from the mechanical system put in place to hold it still.
"Lieutenant? What's going on?" Petra shouted down, a worried expression gracing her dainty features.
"Sounds like a waste of time to me." Oluo grumbled, and I glared at him. I didn't appreciate the attitude he'd undertaken lately - it was like a grumpier Levi.
"Shut it Bozado, else I'll get your man-crush to shut it for you. Permanently." I hissed, and watched as Oluo shrank back and gulped visibly. Gunther and Eld sniggered and Oluo went bright red.
Serves you right, cocky little bastard.
"Power's changed you Reid. It's kinda hot." Tobias chuckled, earning a sharp glare from both Levi and Benjin. I turned my attention back to Benjin.
"Who's Nick?" I asked in a hushed tone, and Benjin tensed up slightly.
"I have no doubt you will soon find out. Please, not now." He replied quietly, and I sighed. I knew it was no use pushing further for information. If what Benjin said was true, then I'd be meeting this mysterious Nick soon, and hopefully he'd have the answers to my questions. The only thing I could do now was continue the experiments.
"Return to your post." I said to Benjin, and looked to the rest of the group. "I'll be conducting the rest of the experiments, it won't take long. In the mean time, make sure none of the ugly bastards bother me or Captain Hanji."
The group nodded and I got to work with the assistance of Hanji. We poked and prodded the beast, but the thing only ever reacted when it was Hanji dealing out the punishments. It was almost like I was invisible to the damn thing.
"4 metre incoming, and fast!" I heard Gunther shout, and everyone leapt to attention. I turned my head in alarm and shot off to a nearby branch. Levi was on it in an instant, disposing of the Titan as quickly as it had arrived. In one swift motion he was spinning towards the creature and sliced its nape, causing it to tumble forward and hit the ground with a satisfying thud.
That's my man.
To my surprise, even Benjin looked slightly awed by him.

A/N
Chapter 33 already u wot m8 i haven't even got into the main PLOT ugh stress :') maybe i should start writing longer chapters but also no <3

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