Arc 2 - Chapter 23: After The Herculean Explosion

“Is he responding?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he's unconscious.”

Gary, Diego, Eren, Ada, and the two other soldiers circled around the barely awake Fred.

Finding the strength, he jolted his body back up from the grass. Gently rubbing the back of his head, his fingers scoured a large bruise, which caused him to clench his eyes from the swelling pain.

“W-What happened?”

“Let the view speak for itself.”

Extending his hand outward to Fred, Gary pulled him up from the grass, as both their palms were dense in smoke. Keeping his shoes barely on the ground, Fred noticed his clothes drenched in ash, along with everyone else covered in it. In fact, everything around him was littered with smoke, leaving their eyes to peel nothing around the vicinity.

“Did I push the button?”

“Yeah, you did, right when you fell twenty feet. You managed to keep the creature still, but …”

The smoke in front of them faded away, giving sight to a large crater in the middle of the field of grass. Flames spreading across the edges of the crater, everyone pushed a relief of air outward once the giant creature was no more.

Turning his head left and right, he focused his attention mostly on the crater, all the while he rubbed the back of his head. Gulping at the site of black tar, gooping extensively in a huge puddle, his thoughts began to rapid fire into words.

“Wait, why is there a crater? Did those steamers create it? And where’s the—”

He widened his eyes.

“No…”

Black ash can be seen as far as the eye can see, followed by smoldering heat waves rippling above the crater.

Everyone burned their eyes at the large crater, while Eren focused his eyes on a single flower. It was a dandelion, in the midst of all the ash and past chaos that ensued earlier.

—But despite all of this, there was no sign of the Sergeant anywhere.—

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(Quintiles 29, 59 / 9:02PM)

“Why couldn’t I finish it earlier?!”

He marveled on the dirt, and pounded the grass with his right fist. And with his left, he teared up the grass, as he stared down at the floor. Everyone circling around him, their hands steadied on their waists, except for one short woman who wore glasses.

“He didn’t need to die!”

Having the grass in his left hand, he tossed it in back of him, with some blades sticking to his palm. Doing this repeated motion, he also relentlessly crackled his fists, the more he punched the Terra beneath him.

“I could’ve saved him! Why couldn’t I!?”

His eyes turned bloodshot red, along with his left hand dropping the handful of grass. Placing his left hand flat on the grass, the two soldiers gently placed their weapons on the ground. Everyone’s hands shook gently, as Eren felt his breath freeze in his throat like a block of ice.

“Why am I useless!? Why!?”

Fred covered his mouth with his left hand, while tears dripped down onto the grass. Gary and Diego crouched down toward Fred, their hands motionless while their cheeks pushed down.

“It should’ve been me—”

He laid limp on the ground, once he felt all of the air within his lungs to burst free. The grass tickling his chin, he looked up slowly at the person who kicked him, his lungs failing to take in the dirty air.

Pulling back her right foot, the female agent’s fists clenched tightly, allowing her knuckles to crack and pop. Gary and Diego, who crouched down on the grass, sharpened their eyes at Ada.

“Ada!? Why did you kick him!?” Yelled agent Eren.

“You bitch!”

“It’s for the best, you pussies!”

Veins sprouted against the right corner of her forehead. Seeing Fred beginning to drool, Ada huffingly walked toward him, and casted her shadow to shrivel his body inside out. And as he sluggishly looked up at her, Fred continued to cough out saliva.

“Why … why did you …”

“Stop saying that stuff you idiot!”

Crouching down next to him, she instantly gripped the helm of Fred’s hair. His miner helmet laid on the grass, she placed his groggy face close toward hers, and saw his eyes beginning to tear.

While all the men glare at her with convulsed faces.

“He did it to save us! And save you! Your moron!”

“But … I could’ve—”

—“Let him be Ada.”—

Two figures stood in back of Ada, causing her to turn around to face them.

One of the figures was a blonde-haired man with below average height, wearing a tuxedo and a fedora while drenched in tar. Next to the man, was a brown-haired woman with above average height, who wore the same attire. She wore sunglasses, despite there being no sun to block the sun’s squinting rays.

Everyone noticed the suddenness of the figures, leaving them to take a step back, except for Ada and Eren.

“Where were you guys?”

“Had to heal some wounds. Porky gave me a run for my money.”

Nodding his head toward the pool of tar, it burned the already flaming grass, leaving it to boil and bubble.

The male agent turned his head toward Ada, his frown making Ada let out a bead of sweat. Folding his arms, he glared at her with soul piercing eyes, as his voice had the frequency of a stone cold killer.

“Let him go, Ada, that’s an order.”

“... yes sir.”

She let go of his hair, as a couple of strands glued deep into her palms. Placing his hands into his pockets, he turned his head toward the female agent next to him, and nudged his head forward.

“Alexandra, help the poor boy.”

“Oh absolutely~”

Showcasing a smug grin, she walked to him while licking her lips, and let them moist while she set her eyes on the young man. Rubbing her hands softly, Fred gulped silently as she was halfway through her walk, until…

“I’ll help him up!”

Ada brought him up instantly, by gripping the bones of his shoulders like cranes. His feet steady on the ground, his heels dug into the grass, as he placed his attention onto the frowning man.

Alexandra gave off a huffed pout, and placed her hands onto her hips while glaring at her. In return, Ada glared at her back, leading her to fold her arms and place herself between Alexandra and Fred.

“Are you with the Dark Angels?”

Fred sniffled once, before he brushed away a couple of stalled tears.

“Only behind the scenes. Why?”

From his right pocket, the blonde-haired agent took out a lighter and a box of cigarettes. Flicking the lid of the box open, he unveiled a white paper roll filled with nicotine, before putting the box into his pocket except for the cigarette. As well as turning on the lighter, it flickered a small flame, while placing the butt of the cigarette into his mouth.

“Cause I’m going to need to borrow you for a second.”

“Of course. But may I ask for what?”

He ignited the lighter, allowing the small toxic cloud to foam his gums down to his lungs. Looking up at the night sky, which was drenched in orangish clouds, he blew out the lethal air like he was whistling.

“I want you to make a … red button. A failsafe if things start to go really south. You and your friends could help as well.”