BLOODSPORT

Episode 31

The cart brought the group of scouts to the base of the wall where everyone was hauled up by the pulley system to the top. Rhea peered up at the others as her comrades began to assemble next to the wall and sort out who was going up first and how exactly they were to get Ymir's body up to the top. She had been brutally injured during the fight between her and the rest of the Titans. Ymir's arm and leg were bitten off, and her insides were scrambled for lack of a better term.

Just as Bertholdt shuffled to move out of the cart, Rhea gripped his hand tight, causing him to look back in confusion. "Bertholdt, I don't know what's going on, but I'm scared something bad is about to happen."

"Nothing is going to happen, Rhea. You're perfectly safe now with the rest of the Scouting Regiment." He let go of her hand to only hop off the cart and take it again. "Let's get you on one of those seats, and you'll feel better once we're on top of the wall, okay?" Rhea nodded, hesitantly. "Can you sit up?"

Hissing while she did so, she slowly and painfully sat up. The aching pain in her hip spiked when she moved her leg, causing her to clench her teeth. Overall though, her body felt utterly exhausted whereas her mind was on fire with all her suspicious thoughts about why Armin and everyone else were so tense next to her. All the Scouts including Hange, Moblit, Armin and even Mikasa kept a close eye on her as Bertholdt carried her over to the pulley system and sat her down gently on the wooden beam.

"I'll see you up at the top," Bertholdt smiled, giving Rhea a chaste kiss before she was pulled up by the mechanism. Once again without her ODM gear, she felt more uneasy about heights as she gripped the lift wires deadly tight that her knuckles turned white.

Eventually, the ride was over when she heard Eren's voice calling out to her. "Rhea? You alright? Here, give me your hand."

"Thanks," she whispered, holding her quivering hand out for her comrade to grab. She subsided the throbbing pain as Eren pulled her up onto the wall and led her to where Ymir was resting.

"I brought up the other stretcher for you to lay on," Eren stated. "I thought you could rest, considering all you've been through. We also brought your cloak to cover you up in case you got cold or–"

Rhea grabbed the cloak out of Eren's arms and chuckled, "Thanks, Eren. I appreciate that." She winced as she adjusted the green fabric across her shoulders. "You know, I envy you in a way, Eren."

"How so?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Well, if it didn't come at a terrifying cost, I would want to be a shifter as well. Just for the benefit of healing remarkably fast." Rhea gestured towards Ymir, "To regrow limbs, to have wounds heal in seconds, some would say it isn't fair. But for all the shit you guys go through, especially you, Eren, it's nice to have that one perk."

Eren placed his hand on Rhea's shoulder, "You'll heal too, Rhea."

Rhea smirked, "Oh there's no denying I won't. But thank you for helping me. You know, I think this is one of the longest times we've talked without budding heads."

Eren shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a small laugh. "Yeah. I think it's because you're always around Horseface."

"That could definitely be the reason," Rhea smiled before she noticed Reiner struggling in the distance. "Hey, you think you could help him too?"

Eren stood tall and immediately went to go help his other injured friend. She had witnessed how Reiner had saved Connie by sacrificing himself to the Titan's jaw. Reiner was like the big brother everyone needed and looked up to in this life as a soldier. She then saw Bertholdt make his way toward her.

"Hey," he said, his eyes staring into her own as he kneeled down beside her. There was something off about him since she last saw him, minutes before. Had something happened? Rhea could see the light shakiness of his body, the fearful look in his eye, the nervousness in his voice as he began to speak. "Rhea, I was thinking maybe you, me, and Reiner can head back to our hometown. After all this is over and you're good enough to travel."

Rhea's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Wasn't your hometown destroyed by Titans?"

There was a desperate look in his eyes. "Rhea, I–"

"But that's impossible!" Hange shouted. A member of the Garrison Regiment was standing beside the Section Commander and the rest of the Scouts, delivering some form of news about the wall.

"You should go see what they're saying." Rhea glanced at the group and back at Bertholdt, who seemed like he was growing more nervous by the second. "Hey," she took his hand in her own, "we'll talk more about this later."

The wind began to pick up as Bertholdt joined the rest of the Scouts while Rhea finally laid her head down on the stretcher and covered herself up with her cloak. Soon she would receive the medical attention she needed if she wanted to go back out and fight against the Titans.

↮

Enough time went by for Rhea to sit up and instantly see something was off with everyone. Eren, Reiner. and Bertholdt were at the end of the group talking to one another in a tense state from what she could see. Mikasa was close to them, whereas Hange and Moblit were making their way back toward her. Yet everyone kept their eyes focused on Eren, Reiner, and Bertholdt as if they didn't trust them.

A loud clang suddenly erupted through the air as a flag snapped off its staff and tumbled down the side of the Wall. Rhea's mouth opened a gap when she saw everyone stop, the tension growing so thick between them all. She noticed the Scouts gripping their ODM gear like their lives depended on it. "What the Hell..." Rhea muttered.

Krista and Connie glanced her way as Rhea tried to get to her feet. The sun peaked out from the clouds as the rain slowly disappeared. However, in this glimmer of hope, Rhea couldn't manage to get to her feet. Instead, she sat on the stone wall, utterly useless when she saw Reiner remove his arm from the sling Krista had made him. What was he doing? She questioned, internally.

Then she saw it. The smoke was emitting off his skin as it mended himself. It healed the way a shifter would heal, the way a Titan would. Which only meant that her friend, her beloved comrade, was a shifter. Rhea couldn't make out the entire scene before her, or hear the words that everyone was saying, but as a tear fell from her eye, Mikasa slashed both Reiner and Bertholdt with her sword!

"No!" She shouted, now trying to crawl towards her friends. Even if they were shifters like Eren, why was Mikasa trying to kill them?! They didn't try to do that with Ymir! And Reiner saved Connie earlier, so why was Mikasa trying to kill them? "Bertholdt! Reiner!" She screamed as her friends were bleeding out.

She felt arms envelop her as she tried to get to her comrades. Rhea fought against the person, but they were too strong and she was too weak in her state. "Rhea?!" Sasha screamed at her, but she had to keep trying. He was- he was dying. Bertholdt...

Reiner shoved Mikasa off the wall just before she could plunge her blade into Bertholdt's chest. Sparks of light emitted off Reiner and Bertholdt when the lightning struck down and her friends had transformed.

The explosion of the two Titans caused Sasha and Rhea to be propelled back by the brute force of hot air. Sasha managed to hook her ODM gear into the stone, holding herself up from flying back any further. In the nick of time, Sasha also grabbed hold of Rhea's waist, making sure she didn't fly off the Wall to her death.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Rhea finally looked up at the sight before her. Bertholdt and Reiner were the Colossal and Armored Titans.

---

Hope you Enjoyed! Vote and Comment!