The Boy I Knew

12. A Lie & Promise

You hadn't seen Eren change into a titan and you didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't the lightning show that you received from both Zeke and Pieck. Pieck's titan was horrifying in its own way: having an elongated face and crawling around on all fours. You watched as she was saddled with equipment, allowing her to cart around people and other heavy equipment. Instead of going with Zeke, this time you rode on Pieck's back. Granted, it was more comfortable than a hairy hand, but she still may want to kill you.

The plan was to bring you Utgard castle where, you assumed, the other titan shifters were. You weren't told who they were, but that they, along with other scouts, had decided to stay there for the night, presumably after scouring the walls for a hole. With the way Zeke worded it, it made it seem like they were looking for something that wasn't even there. Like what they were doing was pointless. The moon illuminated everything beneath it. Beams scattered about through the leaves and branches of trees as you rode to the castle, making things seem almost like a dream.

It made you wonder if this really was a dream. If you had really died and this is how your brain was coping with moving on. 'I never got to say goodbye to Erwin.' It hurt, thinking that you wouldn't have been able to tell him you loved him. Pieck slowed as the trees broke in front of you. The castle looked like it had seen better days, with pieces of stone everywhere. Torch light came from within, lighting up dark windows as people passed by.

"You can get off here. Reiner knows you're here." Pieck's voice came out distorted from her titan body like Zeke's had.

"Reiner..." You hoped off. Of course it was him. You should have known. He stood at the top of a tower, looking down in your direction.

"Thank you." 'For not killing me.' You wanted to say, but she knew. All you got was a nod as she turned around and went back to where Zeke waited. Thankful that you were still alive, you booked it to the castle door, Reiner having disappeared from the tower.

"Y/N!" His familiar voice shouted from behind the door you approached. He opened the door, shocked to see you. With nothing but anger in you, you brought your fist to his face, meeting him smack in the nose. A small pop could be heard in the silence.

"Move." You pushed past him. "Where's Miche?"

"What the fuck?" Reiner, having recovered from the shock, turned to you in disbelief.

"I want to know he's okay."

"He's fine, but was injured, so he was sent back." A sigh of relief left you. He kept his promise, so you'd plan on keeping yours. At least partly.

"We've got company." Bert popped into the foyer. He was in one of the other teams, so you assumed that they had converged here at the castle. His face paled when he saw you.

"Pieck." Reiner answered. "Don't think about running."

"Don't plan on it." Following him and Bert to the top of the tower, you noticed titans had begun to appear around the castle. Feeling trapped, you looked to Reiner, but noticed that both of the guys looked terrified.

"Guys, we need help here." Someone called from another room. Not wanting to be the first one to go in there, you waited until everyone else had made their way up the stairs before following. Passing a window, you noticed that there were titans surrounding the castle. Where were they coming from? People were boarding up windows and barricading doors to prevent them from coming in. Scouts were putting on gear to fight and all you could do was stand there and watch everything happen. You never felt more useless in your life.

"They're in the tower." Reiner shouted, further down the stairs from you. You watched as Bert went to him, pitchfork in hand. Behind him followed Connie and two women. Deciding to join in, they started pushing a canon to the door that Reiner and Bert just went through. Pushing it down the stairs, it crashed through the door that the small titan was breaking through, effectively knocking it out.