Venus and Rose

Chapter Twenty-Two: Attack

Holding the reins tightly in your hands, you guided Jean's horse, Buchwald, away from the horde of titans. On your right, Mikasa was riding with Eren and as if he read your mind, Jean answered your silent question. "Sasha's fine, she's with Connie. They're just getting Christa," Jean said in your ear and tightened his hold around your waist.

You nodded sharply in response, wishing you could get rid of the tension in your body that you'd been holding for what felt like days. "You're bleeding," Jean hissed and gently touched your thigh where you had long since bled through the cloth bindings.

"I'll live," you said and turned your cheek to flash him a grin. "Did you guys bring any spare gear, they broke mine."

Jean nodded. "Yes, there are extras in the wagons, but those are pretty far away since Erwin wanted the extra supplies to stay away from the fight." You swore, but Jean interrupted you. "You really shouldn't be flying with that injury, Venus. It looks pretty bad."

"Don't you dare," you flashed him a look that instantly silenced his protests. "Do not try to keep me out of the fight again, Jean. I need that gear; I could die without it."

Jean swallowed and nodded at your dark tone. "I know, but now we just need to focus on our retreat." Just after he spoke, a smoke signal went up and you pulled Buchwald to join the triangular scout formation.

Once you were in the midst of the scouts, you finally felt the tiniest bit of security. However, it did not last long. A massive shadow passed over you as a titan went sailing through the air and crashed before you, raising a cloud of dust and steam. Riding out of the steam and flashing sparks, you reigned to a standstill and looked back.

"Damn that Reiner! He's tossing titans like a madman!" Jean yelled. You followed his gaze to where the Armored Titan stood with the horde of titans still clinging to him. As you watched, Reiner hurled another titan in the air. In a manner of seconds, blasts from the falling titans littered around you and more steam and sparks filled the air. "Venus!" Jean screamed as a blast went off close by and sent you and Jean flying off Buchwald. Jean's arms never left your waist as you two flew through the air. Through the chaos surrounding you, Jean's words in your ear still rang out clearly. "I love you, Venus." Your bodies landed hard on the stony ground, and you clung desperately to Jean's arms until you both tumbled to a stop.

"Jean!" You parted from him the second his arms slackened to find him lying unconscious beside you. Turning him onto his back, you frantically checked his pulse and nearly cried in relief when you felt the rhythmic beat. "Jean wake up, please wake up," you yelled desperately and clutched the front of his uniform. Glancing about, you saw another scout lying face down close to you and quickly crawled over to him. When you checked his pulse, you couldn't feel anything so you turned him over and pressed an ear to his chest and placed a hand lightly over his mouth and nose. There was still no heartbeat and you couldn't feel any breath on your fingers. Your throat felt tight and your lip trembled at the horror of your actions as you began unstrapping the ODM gear from the scout's body.

It didn't take long for you to restrap the gear to your own body, although it was a struggle since your fingers kept slipping in your haste. The thunderous steps of nearing titans sent shivers up your spine and you hurried back to Jean. Until someone with a horse came to help move him, you had to protect him. The steam gradually lessened enough for you to see a hulking figure moving towards you.

Dodging the massive outstretched hand, you sent the ODM hooks attaching to the arm and propelled yourself in air. It had only been a few hours since you last used ODM gear, but as you flew, it felt like it had been weeks. Effortlessly sweeping around the titan, you sliced cleanly through its nape and landed back beside Jean as the titan's body crashed down behind you. Standing over Jean protectively with your blades drawn, you went after any titan that paid any attention to you. Bloodlust and rage had your heart beat pounding in your eardrums and in a mere few minutes, three titans lay steaming around you.