IN WHICH TROST IS ATTACKED!
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ARMS TONITE ∕ CHAPTER THREE

       ARAMINTA WAS FALLING. SHE WAS falling, and she was probably going to die. And it was all Connie Springer's fault--almost things in this world seemed to be his fault. The training exercise had been going good, her aim was beginning to get better and she had actually beat Jean in some foot race, a feat that probably made her a little bit too happy. After taking her own shot at one of the titans, she had retreated to stand on a tree branch to catch her breath. She really was just minding her own business!

        Then, to her surprise, Eren had landed down next to her, also taking it as an opportunity to take a breather. He was hunched over with his hands on his knees, while she propped her arm against the trunk of the tree and let her hair hang in front of her eyes. It was abnormally hot out, and the exercise combined with her long jacket made it almost unbearable. But, she had to learn to get used to unbearable situations like this if she was ever going to make it to the Scouts.

"Your aim is getting a lot better." Eren commented, and she turned to see his eyes trained on the target. She straightened up slightly, nodding.

       "Thanks. Yours isn't too bad either." She smiled, finally feeling like she had enough oxygen to straighten up without her lungs collapsing. Eren returned the grin, still hunched over. They stood in silence--a silence that was far too awkward for two people who had been friends for two years. Honestly, a lot of their interactions had become awkward over the last month for a reason she couldn't figure out. Maybe he had just decided he didn't like her anymore, that would make sense.

The silence became too much to bear, though. "Are you dying over there? Can't take a little heat?" She attempted to tease, though he didn't seem to be very amused as he instead continued to stare at the ground and huff loudly. Immediately, she felt embarrassed and looked away. Okay, so he definitely just did not like her anymore. She frowned.

And just when she thought the situation couldn't get any worse, Connie had to come and rain disaster. She really was minding her own business, her hands on her hips as she admired her handiwork on the Titan replica and hoped she would be able to maintain the same skill when fighting the real thing. Eren must have been fucking dying, his brunet hair was dripping with sweat and his entire face was red—from the sun kissing his skin or his lack of airflow, she wasn't sure. Lucky for him he was hunched over, so Connie would just barely miss him and only take out Araminta.

Connie must not have ever heard the phrase watch where you're going, since he definitely was not paying attention to his course of trajectory. He was flying through the air with his ODM gear, and didn't even see Araminta until he had already collided her and knocked her off the tree branch. Araminta was falling, and was probably going to splat against the ground and die a horrible, painful death.

"Araminta!" Oh, apparently Eren was not dying. At least not until after he called out her name in a panic. Maybe he didn't hate her, or maybe he just didn't want to be witness to a murder. If she survived, though, it wouldn't be her murder he would have to worry about--Connie had better be guarding his stupid throat.

For what was probably fifth time in her life, Araminta truly believed she was about to die--though this one was much more reasonable than most of the other instances. Should she welcome death with a sweet embrace? Or at least try to escape it? Honestly, she. was leaning towards the first option.

Life had other plans for her--or rather, Reiner Braun had other plans for her. He literally came out of nowhere, swinging by in his ODM gear and somehow managing to catch her moments before she would hit the ground. She could remember so vividly the sweet look of determination on his chiseled features as the two of them coasted through the air, his blond hair waving majestically in the breeze.

      And that was the moment it began, her stupid crush.

He landed gently on the ground, holding her small body in his muscular arms bridal style. In that moment she wished she was his bride, she would probably marry him on the spot if he agreed to it. Reiner seemed like the type who would bring her lilacs over roses, right? She hoped so. He lowered her down onto the ground, kneeling down beside her.

"Are you okay?" I am now. She nodded dreamily as Connie and Eren landed down behind him, a look worry written all over their faces. Her mood was instantly ruined as she noticed Connie.

"Shit, Araminta, I'm so sorry--"

"Listen here, Baldie, you'd better sleep with one eye open, or else you're not even going to be able to stop me from strangling you in your sleep. I won't hesitate to kill you the first chance I get." She hissed, her finger pointed at him accusingly. He stared back at her in horror. Good.

"You're okay? I'm sorry, I wasn't even paying attention--" Eren had started rambling, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. Araminta rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Eren, it wasn't your fault. And I'm fine, thanks to Reiner." She turned to smile at said boy, a blush rising in her cheeks. What. Araminta did not blush, especially not because of some boy. He smiled back at her, patting her shoulder.

"I'm just glad I was there to catch you in time. But... Why didn't you use your ODM gear?" He laughed. Oh, yeah! Her ODM gear. Araminta truly was stupid. So incredibly stupid. She buried her face in her hands in an attempt to hide her reddening face, growing embarrassed.

"I don't even know, oh my god..." She grumbled into her jacket sleeves, feeling more and more stupid as time passed. Maybe Reiner should have just let her fall onto the forest floor and just fucking die instead of going through this dumb stuff. She felt a hand grab her own, slowly prying it away from her face. It was Reiner. Jeez, could her face get anymore red?

"It's okay, don't be embarrassed. We all do stupid stuff sometimes, right?" He asked, looking to Eren and Connie who very quickly nodded. Eren, though, had a scowl resting on his face, and it seemed to be directed towards Reiner. What was his problem? Did he think Reiner was calling him specifically stupid? Whatever it was, he seemed somehow angrier than usual.

She was about to ask him about it, but Connie chose to open his fat mouth. "Yeah, Araminta just does stupid stuff more often." He shrugged. She glared at him.

"You're dead, Springer!" She shouted, jumping to her feet. He chuckled the most evil little chuckle, before taking off running. A gasp escaped from her lips. "Dead!" She emphasized and began to chase after him. Eventually she had caught up to him, tackling him to the ground and hurling insults at him. Even though at the time, she'd wanted so badly to die that day, it would become one she would look at with fondness in the future to come.

850. THE BATTLE OF TROST

FOR THE SECOND TIME IN HER LIFE, Araminta was falling. It was sunny, and she was falling. The Colossal Titan must have knocked her off, and sent her hurtling towards the ground on the other side of the wall. Fifty meters felt a lot shorter when you were falling, accelerating more and more as you approached the ground. It would be a freeing feeling if she knew she wouldn't die the second she splat against the floor, and if she wasn't terrified for her life.

The last time she had been falling, she had been rescued by Reiner before she hit the ground. But as she realized very quickly, Reiner wasn't here this time--she was going to have to save herself. Her flaw last time had been forgetting about her greatest asset resting around her hips, and she wasn't going to forget it now. With a grunt, she released her hooks, praying they would lodge themselves somewhere in the wall and save her.

Just seconds before she would have hit the ground, she was pulled up by her gear. She had succeeded. There was so much noise around he--civilians screaming, her comrades shouting to each other, wires flying through the air, the sound of rubble landings in various parts of the city with loud booms, all on top of her wild heartbeat pounding in her ears. Wait--the rubble--

       From her perch against the wall, she fearfully looked down to the base of it, her heart leaping into her throat at the sight. A hole in the wall, just like the one from Shiganshina. She felt sick to her stomach, her memories forcing their way in uninvited. Marina's begs for her to leave her behind. Her father's last I love you. Her mother trying to scrub the blood out of her hair.

      "Stationary Cannon Maintenance Team Four!" In typical Eren fashion, he saved Araminta--though this time it was from her own gruesome memories and not someone saying something stupid to her in the dining hall. She looked up to see him ripping his blades out, holding them out to his sides. "Prepare for battle! Our target is right in front of us, the Colossal Titan!"

Araminta's throat went dry as she looked up to see the hand of the Colossal Titan lingering atop the wall the same way he had done in Shiganshina. Eren was right, the titan was right in front of them. A rush of anger coursed through her blood as she stared at the large, muscly hand. It was his fault titans has flooded the city, his fault her family was dead. And she was going to make him pay. Gritting her teeth, she propelled herself up the wall behind Eren, equipping her own blades for combat with the Titan.

Her landing was a little off, forcing her to somersault against the top of the wall and transitioning onto her feet. There he was, the Colossal Titan in all its glory staring them down. He was somehow even uglier up close. Her amber eyes watched as he swung his huge arm backwards, knowing what his next move would be. She jumped back, letting herself drop a bit before catching herself and latching onto the wall as the Colossal Titan smashed their stationary canons to bits. Asshole move, really.

Beside her, she heard a whirring sound followed by the feeling of someone's presence besides her. She looked over to see Sasha, who for once in her life had a serious look on he face. "Stay here, let Eren fight that thing." Araminta looked up and watched as Eren flew around the Colossal Titan, reminding her of a mosquito bothering her in the summertime. She wanted to go and help him, and get her revenge on that stupid titan that had ruined her life, but Sasha gave her a pleading look and she knew she couldn't go risk her life just yet. Besides, she had a feeling if she went up there they would end up crashing into each other and falling out of the sky.

      Her eyes grew wide as she watched Eren hurdle straight towards the Colossal Titan's nape, his blades shimmering under the sunlight. For a moment she thought he was really going to do it, was really going to take down the Colossal Titan and avenge all the lives lost because of him. A warmth spread through her chest, a feeling of hope. But, humans always seemed to lose. There was a cloud of steam billowing out from the Titan--hot steam that Araminta could feel against her cheeks all the way down from her perch against the wall.

"What the hell is that?" Araminta shouted loudly over the sound of the steam. Sasha's thick dark hair waved in the wind caused by the Colossal Titan, her eyes trained on the sight before her as she shook her head. Araminta hadn't seen the Colossal Titan do this last time--though to be fair she hadn't seen the titan up close at all last time. The steam began to clear, and it quickly revealed that the titan was gone. Huh? Had Eren defeated it? Had it fallen down on the other side of the wall and out of their sight? Eren was still up in the air, though, and there was no loud thud, leading her to believe it has just... Disappeared.

There was shouting from above, her cue to zoom up and join the others. She glanced over at Sasha, giving her a curt nod before propelling herself upwards. She felt sick to her stomach, seconds away from vomiting up the small breakfast she'd been given that morning. How had it all gone so wrong so fast? Her mind wandered to the meat Sasha had stolen, and the hope that one day soon they would be able to retake their land.

        "Cut the small talk!" By the time she reached the top of the wall with the rest of their small group, Connie was scolding Eren and Thomas, his eyebrows narrowed. He glanced over at her as she landed, followed by Sasha, and she swore he looked relieved for a moment. Truthfully, she was feeling relieved that they had all survived as well. "The wall's been damaged, we need to repair it before the Titans breach it."

       Upon hearing those words, Araminta glanced down over the edge of the wall, her heart leaping into her throat as she noticed there were indeed some ugly Titans out in the distance who must have been summoned by the Colossal Titan. It really was Shiganshina all over again. Her skin began to feel hot. Before she had the chance to comment on it, a man joined them stop of the wall, donning badges that told her he was apart of the Garrison. Araminta saluted him.

      "Operations are underway now that the Colossal Titan has appeared." He told them. "Return to HQ stat! And if you interacted with that bastard, make sure to report it!" It didn't take a genius to know the bastard in question was the being that destroyed their stationary cannons and broke up the wall minutes earlier. Araminta let out a breath she was unaware she was holding in as the Garrison soldier disappeared, leaving her and the others alone, beginning to chew her lip.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sasha's soft voice broke through the air, the feeling of her hand on her shoulder allowing her to relax a bit. Araminta looked over to her through her eyelashes, swallowing hard.

She nodded, pressing her lips together. "Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks." She smiled at Sasha, who looked unconvinced but half heartedly returned the smile. Connie and Eren approached the two of them, and Araminta once again felt relief at the fact they were all alive, here, together. She wondered about Jean, and Reiner, and Christa, and Armin and all of the others that hadn't been atop the wall with them. Were they okay? Or had they been crushed under the rubble of what was once the wall, and hurt their ankles, and were unable to walk--

      No. This wasn't the time to relive her trauma and to panic. Araminta was a soldier, and she had to fulfill her duty and put the sake of humanity above whatever feelings she might have been experiencing. If she was going to be able to prevent a repeat of Shiganshina, she was going to have to be brave and move on from her past. So, after a small huff, she turned to face her friends, placing her hands on her hips. "Let's save this city, yeah?"

      THE CITY WAS IN A STATE OF PANIC. Rushing to evacuate into the inner parts of Wall Rose, and escape the incoming titans and the impending death that came along with them. Five years ago, it had been Araminta experiencing that panic, running through the streets and trying to get past the hundreds of other people that nearly trampled her. But now she was the one flying overhead, observing the frightened citizens and hoping she would be able to save them and provide them some comfort.

Back at HQ, things were just as unruly. Some guy from the Garrison she didn't know was barking orders while the cadets ran from station to station like turkeys with their heads cut off. "You are now first class soldiers, too!" He was telling them, to which Araminta pressed her lips together. First class soldiers. That didn't help the burning in the back of her throat, or the slight shakiness of her hands. Ah, it seemed Araminta had another weakness to add to her ever growing list: being horrible under pressure.

       As she adjusted her belt straps, she heard the voice of Franz Kefka, and turned to see him looking down at Hannah Diament. "It'll be alright, Hannah." There was a weird feeling swirling in her chest as she watched the two of them, and the way they looked at each other. It was a look she'd never seen before, a look of adoration, and trust, and.... And love. "I swear I'll protect you." She pressed her lips together, looking back down to focus on the task at hand.

There was a high chance Araminta was going to die today. A high chance she would die and leave her big three questions unanswered. Aside from those questions, was she ready to die? To sacrifice herself for the sake of humanity? Honestly, she was pretty sure she had been ready to die since that day back in Shiganshina. She didn't want to die, though. She wanted to answer her questions, and to avenge her family, and she wanted live a long life with her friends. She wanted to live for Marina.

"Hey, you need a hand?" Araminta looked up, shocked to see the offer had belonged to Jean. He was alone, which meant Marco must have already headed down to the courtyard. "Your hands, they're shaking." He explained, gesturing to her dainty fingers as she tried to attach her new bottles of gas, which were indeed trembling.

Normally, she was sure she wouldn't have accepted his help, but was now really the best time to be stubborn? She nodded, passing the tube over to him and avoiding his light brown eyes. It was an easy task, one she'd done so many times before out on her training exercises, but now that there were actually high stakes, she couldn't do it. She hoped the same didn't apply when it came to fighting the Titans. If she had to have Jean help her kill a Titan the same way he was helping her now, she would never be able to live that down.

         "Are you scared?" Jean asked in a low voice. Araminta narrowed her eyes. It was a stupid question, how could she not be scared? It felt like the same thing was happening all over again, and the same fear she'd felt that day had returned to bite her. Instead of giving him some snippy response like she wanted to, she just nodded, chewing the inside of her lip--that seemed to have become a habit of hers as of late. Jean glanced up from his work and met her gaze. "Me too." He mumbled, before looking back down.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Eren had materialized out of thin air, appearing beside the two of them with his hands on his hips. His gaze flickered between the two of them incredulously, like he had just walked in on them murdering someone together. Jean rolled his eyes.

"She just needed help with her gas, calm down." He huffed.

Eren looked unconvinced. "She doesn't need your help, Jean. Here, let me--" He tried to push Jean with his shoulder, grunting loudly when Jean pushed him back. Now it was Araminta's turn to roll her eyes. What were they even fighting about now?

        Armin and Mikasa walked up behind Eren, seeming unfazed by his behavior. "Eren, stop." The dark haired girl said sternly. Poor Mikasa always seemed to be picking up Eren's messes. Eren, however, didn't listen, continuing to try and fight Jean who did not seem into it.

       "Eren, it's fine." Araminta reached out to put a hand on Eren's shoulder in hopes of calming him down. He did stop trying to fight Jean, though the angry look still lingered on his features. Was he really getting angry because of Jean offering to help her? Why? That had to be just about the dumbest reason to get mad.

        "What's your problem anyway, Eren? I'm just helping her." Jean snapped, returning to finish clipping in the gas tube. Araminta looked at Eren, hoping to get some sort of answer out of him. He glanced over at her, his chest heaving with deep breaths as he tried to calm down. He stayed silent though, almost like he didn't even have an answer for his random outburst.

Mikasa reached out, grabbing Eren's wrist and tugging it. "Come on, Eren, we need to get downstairs." He begrudgingly followed, his teal eyes still narrowed towards Jean. Armin whispered a quick "sorry" before tailing after his two friends, rushing to keep up with them. Well, that was the weirdest interaction Araminta had ever had. She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to dissect the reason for what has just happened but came up empty handed. Maybe it was just the stress of the impending battle causing him to spiral. It sure as hell was making her spiral.

Jean finally got the canister clipped in, straightening up and letting out a quick breath of air. "Thank you." Araminta muttered, still embarrassed that she needed his help in the first place. Jean just nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"It's no problem. C'mon, let's go." He ushered her towards the stairs, beginning to walk. It seemed he didn't want to talk about what had just happened with Eren, so instead of bringing it up and pestering him about it, she began to follow him, keeping her head down.

Eren Jaeger was weird.

The Titans had broken through the wall. Trost District had been breached, and the Armored Titan would probably be showing up at any second to breach through Wall Rose. Araminta and the other cadets would be assigned to the Middle Guard, while the more experienced soldiers would be in the Vanguard and the Rear Guard. Commander Kitz was currently spitting orders at the cadets, and she was surprised she had found someone uglier than Commander Shadis.

       "According to our reports, the Advance Guards have been decimated!" He announced. Araminta felt her heart sink as she heard those words. The Advance Guards. Decimated. "I'll be blunt! Don't be surprised to see the Armored Titan break through the inner wall at any minute!" Just as she had predicted, it was likely the other special Titan would be appearing anytime now. But if she did see it, she swore she would take it down.

        There was a sea of hushed voices around her, and if the other cadets weren't scared before they definitely were now. Most of them had only heard stories of the Armored Titan, and the horror that came along with it. The Colossal Titan had already been terrifying enough, the thought of a Titan with a solid armor encasing his body that allowed him
to penetrate anything was enough to make anyone cry. And sure enough, there was a boy a few rows away from her crying.

        "Silence!" Kitz spat. "At this time, we are holding off the titans on the front lines! Our defense strategy is simply this: guard Wall Rose with your life until every citizen is evacuated! Be prepared to sacrifice your lives! Dismissed!" That seemed to shake up a lot of people, the realization that this could be the day they died for humanity.

        After a quick salute, chaos ensued. Soldiers hopped onto horses and headed out to the battleground, people searched for their friends to see them one last time, there were a few people crying and having panic attacks it seemed. Araminta had left her own panic upstairs, feeling a bit more at ease--well, as at ease as you could feel before possibly heading to your death.

       There was a gagging sound, and she turned to see Daz hunched over the ground while Christa comforted him. He was vomiting. The sight was nearly enough to make Araminta vomit herself. She rose a hand to cover her lips as she looked away, not wanting to make herself sick. Christa must have had a stomach of steel to be that close and not throw up as well.

With a small exhale, she leaned her head back against one of the pillars before she would have to head out. She wasn't sure where Sasha was, Connie had disappeared on her too, Christa was helping a sickly Daz and Eren was in yet another argument with Jean so she really didn't have anyone to talk to--although she didn't feel like doing much talking right now. Her primary focus was on the mission.

      If she were to die today, would she get a funeral? Her sister and father never got one, and she was sure her mother hadn't either--

      Her mother.

      The two of them had been living in Trost District in the two years leading up to Araminta joining the cadet corps. In some small apartment towards the edge of the city, that's where she had left her mother. Had she already been dead before this day? Had she been eaten by Titans within the last half hour? Had someone helped her be evacuated before that could happen?

       There was no way she had survived the last three years on her own, right? But maybe she had, maybe she had pulled herself together after Araminta left and learned to take care of herself. Was it worth the time to stop by her temporary home and see? Araminta had already accepted the idea that her mother had likely died while she was gone but... If she hadn't died...

"Araminta! We're heading out." The familiar voice of Horse Face was a harsh blow to her thoughts, reminding her of her current situation. She was going to go with Jean's squad to fight Titans in the Middle Guard, and help prevent the fall of humankind. It was a lot of weight on her small 15 year old shoulders, but she believed she could handle it.

       She and the rest of her squad were sat atop some building, overlooking the city. From her point of view, it didn't look so bad yet. There was a few trails of smoke towards the front of the district where the Vanguard was stationed, but other than that it looked like it'd barely been touched yet. She couldn't even see any Titans from where she was standing. Something about the sight made her feel uneasy.

      Squad 34 was moving forward to help aid the Vanguard--Eren's squad. No, she wasn't worried about him. He was a strong soldier, stronger than her, he would be fine. Besides, it didn't look like there were that many Titans. Still, she couldn't help but say a little prayer to whatever god was up there that he would stay safe. He was a close friend, and she wasn't ready to lose a close friend today.

"Squad 34? Isn't that your boyfriend's squad?" The words caught her off guard. Some random cadet she'd only ever trained with once or twice was standing next to her, his head tilted to the side. Boyfriend?! What? Her cheeks suddenly felt hot.

"Boyfriend? Huh?" Her eyes stayed wide as she stared at the boy, trying to conjure up the source of that stupid theory. Eren Jaeger. Her boyfriend. That was the dumbest thing she'd ever heard, and she'd heard a lot of stupid stuff--she was friends with Connie Springer!

"Well, y'know, you two have always been so close... I just assumed he was your boyfriend." He shrugged, folding his arms across his chest. "Plus, you were always sneaking off during dinner, it was really suspicious."

Araminta scrunched up her nose. So close? She was much closer to Sasha, but nobody ever assumed she was her girlfriend. Seemed a little homophobic of him. "We snuck off to practice, you perv. No. Eren is definitely not my boyfriend." She rolled her eyes. Did everyone think he was her boyfriend? Did Reiner think Eren was her boyfriend? Oh god.

      "Hmm." The boy hummed in thought. The entire exchange left Araminta feeling mortified as she stared out across the city she should be defending. What had they even done to give people that impression? There were tons of people that were close friends! And besides, Mikasa was much closer with Eren than Araminta would ever be. The whole thing was so stupid, she felt dumber the more she thought about it.

       Thankfully, she was saved from the tense situation as the commander yelled out orders, informing her squad it was time to advance. Instead of lingering, she quickly moved forward, following Jean who she hoped hadn't heard that stupid conversation. If he had heard it, that might be deserving of a punch, right? She hoped so.

       Using her ODM gear, she glided through the air, her ebony hair shimmering under the sunlight. If it wasn't for the possibility of her losing her life at any second and being devoured like fodder, she would have been might have been enjoying the nice weather. But bad things always seemed to be happening on sunny days now. She better start reveling in the rain and cloudy weather instead, because nothing bad would happen then, right? But based on her awful luck, something bad was still bound to happen no matter what the weather was.

Her amber eyes were trained on her surroundings, scouting for any sign of movement. So far there were nothing, besides a few wind chimes being disrupted by the slight breeze, and dancing around as if they had no cares in the world. Sometimes Araminta wished she was a wind chime, they didn't even know all the horrors of the world. As humanity was on the brink of collapse, they just danced.

With wind chimes on the mind, a new type of movement caught her eye--luckily it still wasn't titans, though the sight sent just as much of s chill down her spine as a Titan would have. Three of her fellow cadets down on the cobblestone, one of them bent over another performing... CPR. She glanced over at Jean who was focused on something else, and decided it might be okay to defect for just a second to see what was going on. She landed gracefully, soft on the pads of her feet as she retracted the wires of her ODM gear.

Oh.

It was Hannah, pushing down on Franz's chest and breathing into his mouth in hopes of bringing him back to consciousness. Her jacket was stained with blood, and her face stained with tears. Araminta's breath lodged in her throat, and suddenly she felt like she couldn't breathe. Her mind thought back to the way the two of them had been looking at each other back at HQ, and the embrace they had shared. What had happened between now and then?

Armin was there, too, blinking in confusion as he watched Hannah work. Why was Armin there? Wasn't he supposed to be on Eren's squad? Maybe he had left for a second like Araminta to check on Hannah. She hoped so, she really hoped so. "Hannah, what're you--" Armin started but seemed to trip over his own words, abandoning the statement.

Hannah finally looked up, noticing the two of them standing there. "Guys! He isn't breathing, help me!" She cried out, continuing to push hard on Franz's chest. Araminta felt paralyzed. Their love story was just barely beginning, and already it had been ended. "I-I've been giving him CPR, but it's not working! Franz is going to--"

       "It's not safe down here. We need to get up to the roof." Armin instructed Hannah is a soft voice.

"I'm not leaving him!" She screamed back, her CPR becoming more and more sloppy as she grew closer to breaking down. Franz's shirt was already soaked with her tears.

"No... Hannah, Franz is already..." Armin spoke barely above a whisper, just loud enough for Araminta to hear him. She was sure Hannah could hear him as well, but she ignored him as she continued her harsh chest compressions. For the fifth time that day, Araminta felt nauseous.

       "Hannah, we need to go." She tried to command in a stern voice, but it sounded more like a croak instead. Hannah bent down to try to blow some air into his lungs, though her mouth lingered on his for a second longer than she needed to. Araminta's eyes stung, and she turned to look at Armin for help but he was beginning to cry as well. "Shouldn't you be catching up with your squad?" She asked him quietly, wondering if her own squad had noticed she was missing yet.

Armin looked up at her, his eyes growing wide. "They... They--" Before he had a chance to finish, There was a flash of grey, and Jean had landed down by the four of them. Oh, so they had noticed she was gone. His brown eyes flickered from Araminta to Armin to Hannah. who was currently still performing CPR.

"Araminta, we need to get going. Armin... Where's your squad?" Jean looked at Armin, furrowing his eyebrows together. Armin stared down at his feet, not saying anything. That was when Araminta noticed it, the same painted look of horror on his face that she had seen on the Scouts back in Shiganshina. Realization hit her all at once, like a punch to the gut.

Thomas, and Mina, and... Eren.

They were all dead.

aw no this is so sad. i feel like so
much happened this chapter but also
nothing at all happened. weird.
anyway. things r getting crazy!! i'm
having So Much Fun writing this

rip eren jaeger 😢