To Die For (Levi x OC)

Twenty: Decimation

We coordinated our attack with the new thunder spears Hanji had designed, destroying first his eyes and then attacking his nape, hoping to destroy his armor so we could damage Reiner inside. For a moment, it felt like the old days, when Petra and I would work like one mind. But instead of Petra beside me, it was Sasha. Our attack worked, successfully exposing his nape, but Sasha and Connie faltered, hesitation evident on their faces. Why were they hesitating? This was someone who was responsible for killing our friends and family. For killing our comrades. If it wasn't for Reiner and Bertholdt, we would still have a majority of our veteran scouts and we wouldn't be struggling now with a regiment that contained a majority of new recruits.

"Kill him!" I ordered them, frustration taking over. If I wasn't so far away, I would have done it myself.

Recovering from their hesitation, they did as instructed, burying the thunder spears into his nape and blowing his neck apart. For a moment, I could see Reiner inside, partially decapitated. But was he dead? Apparently not because the Titan roared before falling over. He was calling to someone.

Turning around, my eyes widened as I noticed an object flying over the wall and into Shiganshina. When it broke open, I could distinctly see Bertholdt, the colossal titan, flying through the air. Was he going to transform? Of course he was, that was a stupid question. I braced myself for the transformation, but it never came. He seemed distracted as he dropped out of the sky.

Our entire squad was on the move, running to meet him. Armin engaged him first, trying to talk while I remained on edge. Bertholdt didn't seem to have any intention of transforming just yet, but I knew the blast from his massive titan would be deadly at such close range.

Mikasa caught up then and went for the kill, but Bertholdt dodged and ran. He needed to die now, otherwise he'd kill us first.

Turning to look at my squad, I ordered them with anger in my voice. "Stay back! Don't follow me." I took the chase, following after him. In the distance, I saw Hanji and their squad approaching as well, closing in from the front as they also tried to take out Bertholdt before he could transform. None of us were quick enough even with ODM gear. Bertholdt got up high, higher than he had the entire time and I knew immediately he was going to transform.

"Get down!" I screamed at Hanji, but the bolt of lightning drowned me out and the explosion of energy was overwhelming.

The blast slammed my body into a rooftop so hard that I couldn't breathe. The weight of the energy seemed never ending as it threw my body, and I tumbled across several building roofs before I fell down a crumbled chimney. I folded in half inside the fireplace and tried to right myself quickly, but bricks and other heavy debris fell down after me, crushing me.

Screaming in pain, I writhed in the small space, fighting with every ounce of adrenaline to free myself. My chest heaved, trying to take in air, but a load of bricks had fallen on my chest. Trying to calm myself, I only had one arm that was free, my left, and I used it to grab each individual brick and throw it as far into the building as possible. It took ages, but I freed my other arm first and tried to use both to free my chest and legs. But my right arm was riddled with lacerations and likely had crush injuries to go along with the cuts. It was far more difficult to lift heavy objects with that arm, but I tried anyway, weakly allowing the bricks to tumble off the pile rather than throwing them. Once I had freed my torso and pelvis, I used my elbows to pull my legs out, the bricks cutting into my joints as I did so. But I was free.

Flipping onto my stomach, I army crawled into what appeared to be a living room before collapsing onto my back, allowing myself to catch my breath. I was alive and still conscious. That's all that mattered. I had survived worse, right? Looking down at myself, I noted the blood that covered my right arm completely, as well as the blood that stained my torso and legs. Using my left arm, I felt my head for any wounds, but only found superficial cuts. That was good, at least. I tried to get to my feet, but I knew immediately I couldn't get up on my own.