IN WHICH EREN JAEGER IS DEAD!
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ARMS TONITE ∕ CHAPTER FOUR

        IT HAD BECOME A NORMAL THING for Araminta to stay late after the cadets had been dismissed for the day. She wasn't necessarily falling behind the other cadets in their training, but recently she hadn't been excelling in the way she wanted to. No, Araminta was not usually a perfectionist, in fact through most of her childhood she had half assed everything she did. But, Araminta was not in the Cadet Corps solely for herself--it was also a way to avenge her family and make their deaths worth it. So, if she was going to be a soldier, she would be the best damn soldier she could be.

      One place she seemed to be especially lacking right now was her hand to hand combat skills. While the other cadets had left to eat food--(Sasha claimed she would have stayed with Araminta had it not been dinner time, but Araminta had a feeling Sasha wouldn't have stayed regardless)--she was out on the training grounds, practicing with some dummy that had been left out. It was dark out, except for a small lantern she had hung up nearby and the glow of a full moon overhead. Minus the sounds of her fists through the air and her huffs, it was quiet out.

      Her canvas jacket was tossed onto the dirt next to her, leaving her in only the black sleeveless shirt she'd picked out, relishing in the feeling of the cold air against her hot skin. The exhaustion from the training she'd already endured had just hit her, along with the aching feeling in her stomach that longed for some food. It was probably stupid to skip dinner to work on training that she might never improve at, but she couldn't help herself. She would just try to eat extra tomorrow, (spoiler alert: she was just going to train again the following night as well).

      With an exaggerated groan, she threw one last punch before practically folding in half and letting her arms and head dangle in front of her. Just a short break, then she would continue her training. Honestly, she planned to keep going until she couldn't feel her arms anymore. Sure, it would hurt later but it would be worth it in the long run, right?

      The sound of footsteps against the dirt caught her off guard, and she quickly snapped up straight. Embarrassed someone had just seen her like that, she was reluctant to turn around and see who it was. If it was someone like Annie or Bertholdt, who excelled in hand to hand combat, she would probably die right there. But it was neither of them. Before her was Eren Jaeger, holding a small loaf of bread. Oh. Her cheeks quickly grew hot.

      "Sasha told me you would be out here." He explained, stepping towards her. Araminta nodded in response, placing her hands on her hips as she eyed at the dark haired boy. His features were highlighted by the moonlight, he looked positively pretty, she thought.  "I figured you were probably getting hungry, so I-I brought you my bread." He held it out towards her, reaching up to rub his head with the other hand.

      Araminta stared at him incredulously, at a loss for words. He brought her his bread? Something warm spread through her chest. She slowly reached out, gently wrapping her fingers around the loaf. Her eyes lingered on his teal ones as she tugged it from his grasp, feeling a teensy bit suspicious of his actions. "Um... Thank you." She quickly averted his gaze, looking down at the bread.

      "It's no problem..." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and it was then Araminta noticed he had changed into his casual clothes. Now she wished she was wearing her skirt, as her jeans paired with her boots were beginning to chafe. It was a very random thing to be thinking about at that moment. "Y'know, if you ever need a sparring partner after training... I'll help you. I could always use some extra combat practice." And against the soft light from the lantern, she swore she could see shades of pink dusting his sharp features.

      A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Yeah, that'd be great. I mean, you don't have to, but if you want..." She raised the bread, biting down on the edge for an uncharacteristically small bite.

      "Honestly, Araminta, I want to." He shrugged, leaning back on his heels. "Like I said, I can use some extra practice, too." She chewed slowly, still avoiding eye contact with the dark haired boy. No one, not even Sasha had ever offered her help. But Eren had just as much reason as her to become the best soldier possible. She couldn't be too surprised.

      "Okay. As long as you think you can handle it." She joked, folding her arms across her chest in an attempt to fake confidence. Eren rolled his eyes, but there was an undeniable smile there.

      "I'm pretty sure you're the one who's gonna have to worry about being able to handle it." He returned the joke, mirroring her stance. Araminta couldn't help but giggle, raising the bread to take another bite of it. She finally met his gaze, a grin lingering on her lips as she began to chew. His eyes grew wide, and the smile faded. What? Did she do something wrong? Was there something on her face? Her fingers instinctively jumped to the edges of her mouth, attempting to wipe away any crumbs that might have stuck around.

       "Uh-um, I can't tonight though, um, A-Armin is waiting for me, and--" Eren was rubbing the back of his neck again, and now he was the one avoiding eye contact. "Enjoy the bread. Let me know the next time you're training." Before Araminta had a chance to respond, he had turned on his heel and rushed away, his head hung low. She frowned, wondering what made him run away so quickly. Oh well, she would worry later. For now she would eat the bread, and focus on the reason she'd gone out there in the first place.

     She couldn't help but grin as she ate, though. For the first time outside of assigned training, she had a partner.

850. THE BATTLE OF TROST

      ARAMINTA DID NOT HAVE TIME TO DWELL on death. Eren Jaeger, one of the closest friends she'd ever had was dead, and she didn't have the time nor capacity to dwell on it. There were much more pressing matters at hand, like the fact that HQ was being overrun by Titans and that she had barely enough gas in her canisters to make it back-assuming she wouldn't get eaten on the way. And she was afraid if she did stop and let herself grieve what had gone down, she wouldn't be able to stop.

      Only once before had Araminta ever felt so defeated. As she sat atop some rooftop with the remaining cadets from that were lucky enough to escape death so far, her knees were pulled close to her chest as her chin rested atop them. She could try to fight back and take down some Titans without her ODM gear, but that would be stupid and basically suicide. So instead, as she tried to come up with some other solution, she would sit.

      But sitting seemed to be a bad idea. As her eyes glared into the wall of the building across from them, she couldn't stop her mind from wandering. To their across-the-table interactions, to their late night combat practices, to the way he made her laugh... Oh, her heart was aching now. Maybe it was an okay time to grieve since she was probably on the verge of death anyway, right? Their last conversation had been so stupid, his little squabble with Jean. If she'd known this was going to be the end, she might have thanked him for all that he did for her. But it was too late.

      "Get up! If we all work together, I know we can succeed!" Araminta slowly raised her chin to see Sasha yelling at all of the cadets, who were looking as emotionally drained as Araminta felt. "I'll take the lead!" She stayed quiet, lowering her chin once more. What were they supposed to do? Commit suicide and try to fight the Titans? Everyone there had ran out of gas the same way Araminta had, there was no safe way to get back to HQ. It was all hopeless.

      A clatter against the roof shingles startled Araminta, causing her to jolt up straight. It was Mikasa. She quickly jumped to her feet, confused as to why the dark haired girl was here. "Mikasa, weren't you supposed to be in the Rear Guard?" She asked, knitting her eyebrows together. But Mikasa ignored her, running towards Annie.

      "Annie, I have a general grasp of the situation. Forgive me for asking something personal, but--" here it comes... "--has anyone seen Eren's squad?" Araminta bowed her head, looking down at her boots. She hadn't even thought about how heartbroken Mikasa would be when she found out what had happened.

      "I haven't, but several squads made it up the wall." Annie replied to Mikasa.

      "You might want to ask Armin." Reiner joined in, pointing his thumb towards the said blond who was still curled into a ball against the wall. He still looked absolutely traumatized, though Araminta couldn't blame him. She watched in silence as Mikasa ran towards Armin, kneeling down besides him.

      Sasha was now standing besides Araminta, trying to get a bit closer to Armin so she could hear the answer--though it wasn't an answer Araminta thought anyone would like to hear. "These five... Carried out their mission and put up a heroic fight!" Armin had announced, and there was a collection of small gasps from the cadets around him. It fell silent for a moment, the group too stunned to utter a word.

       And then Araminta couldn't help it anymore, she was grieving. Once again she had lost the people around her. Mina, who although she was never exactly close with was always kind to her. And Thomas, who she had shared a few laughs with. And Franz had died, and Hannah likely would as well when she refused to abandon his body. Araminta could still hear her sobs echoing down the streets, and the redness of her puffy eyes. And Eren...

      On just her first day, she had felt a connection with him, like they were two sides of the same coin, or like they were twin flames born from the same hellish fire. Araminta never had any friends during her childhood, besides Marina but who counts their siblings as friends? And she'd met Sasha, and Sasha was her first real friend and she adored her dearly. But Sasha hadn't seen the same horrors that she had seen, and try as she might she would never truly understand what Araminta had gone through. But Eren understood.

       She could still remember the first time he'd told her the story of his mother, and how she'd been eaten right in front of him and how helpless he had been. They had both been witness to such horrific events at just ten years old, and because of that she found comfort in talking to him. It had taken her months later to open up to him about her own trauma, but once she had been able to, he was so supportive. And now the only person she'd ever been open up to properly was gone.

      Was it selfish for her to be mourning right now? She still had so many other friends still alive, like Sasha and Connie and Christa and even Jean... But Mikasa and Armin had no one left besides each other. The two of them and Eren were inseparable throughout the last three years, almost always by each others' sides. For them it wasn't just losing a friend, it was losing family.

      There was a feeling of warmth pressed against her palm, and Araminta peered up to see that Sasha had taken her hand into her own. Comfort spread through her chest as she looked back towards Armin and Mikasa, who had gone as silent as the rest of them.

      "The 34th squad was wiped out..?" Someone asked quietly. "This is what will happen to us if we fight the Titans head-on..."

      "I'm so sorry, Mikasa..." Armin choked back a sob, his golden bangs shielding his eyes from everyone's view, though Araminta could assume they'd become red and glossy. "Eren gave his life for me, I... Couldn't do anything."

      Araminta sucked in a sharp, shaky breath, knowing if she didn't get ahold of herself she would start crying as well. Araminta did not want to cry. She was not going to let herself slip up, not now. For those brief few minutes, she let herself grieve the death of her friends, now it was time to move on. Mikasa had bent down to say something to Armin, before taking his hand and pulling him up to his feet.

      "Marco, if we get rid of the Titans gathered near headquarters, we could refill our gas tanks and everyone could make it up to the wall." Mikasa was shockingly calm, turning towards the rest of the soldiers. "Isn't that right?"

      "Uh-Yeah, you're right..." Marco responded, seeming off put by the steadiness in her voice as well. "But even with your help, there are too many of them--"

      "We can do this." Mikasa snapped, flipping her head to look at the boy. Marco's lips parted in surprise, looking for a response. "I am... Strong! Stronger than all of you, much stronger!" It was true, she was the strongest one there, but Araminta still had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. "I can scatter them. Even if I have to do it myself. You guys are cowards and wusses without fighting skills. I feel sorry for you. Stay here and twiddle your thumbs... Watch me do this."

      "Mikasa, what are you talking about? You're really planning on taking on all of those Titans by yourself?" Araminta jumped in, narrowing her gaze at the taller girl. "That's suicide, we can try to come up with some other plan--"

      "If I can't take out those Titans, I die. If I win, I live. But... I can't win unless I fight." And with that final sentiment, Mikasa activated her gear, disappearing into the chaos that surrounded them. Araminta stared in the direction she had gone, her nose scrunched up and her lips agape. What the fuck? Was this Mikasa's way of grieving? Thrusting herself into harms way until she eventually got killed so she could join Eren in the afterlife?

      After chewing her lip for a minute, Araminta finally turned to face the others, clearing her throat. No, she was not the leader type-never had been probably never would be. But, there was no way she was going to sit and watch Mikasa throw herself towards her own death, and she couldn't help her on her own. "As soldiers, we never let our comrades fight alone! Let's join Mikasa, and take back HQ!" She raised her fist, hoping to inspire some people.

      "You're all turning into pathetic cowards!" Jean joined in-not quite the derogatory attitude Araminta had been looking for, but with his blade held high in the air, it seemed to strike a chord with some people. He took off running, and she quickly tailed behind him alongside Connie. Where exactly they were running off to, she wasn't sure yet, but she was pumped up and that was all that mattered.

      There was a roar of shouts behind her, and before she knew it everyone was sprinting with them. While trying to conserve her gas, she leapt across rooftops placed close to one another, rolling across the shingles to break her fall. This was it, this was the momentum she'd been waiting for. The sure feeling in her gut that they could do this, and reclaim Trost District the way they hadn't been able to before.

      She could hear her own rapid heartbeat in her ears, feel her skin growing hot as adrenaline began to surge through her veins. In the distance, she could see a glare of black swinging through the air, and then a Titan crumbling to its knees. Mikasa. With a low grumble, she released her hooks, jerking herself off the roof she had been in seconds before and propelling herself into the air. The breeze was cool, weaving its way through her ebony locks and kissing her cheeks. The feeling reminded her of when she'd first used ODM gear to its full power two years ago on a training exercise, and it reminded her of freedom.

      Mikasa was close now, only a couple of houses ahead of Araminta. But it was clear she was taking the amount of gas she had left for granted, gliding through the wind without a care for her gear and what she would do without it. The small line of steam emitting itself from the mechanism resting on her hips disappeared, and then she tumbled down against a rooftop and Araminta could see her blades shatter. That wasn't good.

      "Jean take the lead!" Araminta looked over to see Connie yelling at the aforementioned Horse Face, his green eyes narrowed. "I'll go help Armin and Mikasa, okay?"

      "What? No way, I'm coming with you!" Jean protested.

      "There's still tons of Titans ahead of us, Jean, we need you." As much as she hated to admit it, Jean was the best leader they had at this point. She looked to him with a pleading look, to which he groaned.

      "Fine. Connie, make sure they get back safe, okay?" Jean ordered, and Connie nodded in confirmation before disappearing. He looked back to Araminta with a deep sigh, as though he was trying to compose himself.

      "Holm, let's head out!"

      BY THE TIME MOST CADETS had emptied their gas canisters, HQ was still dozens of blocks away from them. Araminta stood close behind Jean as she gazed at the destination in mind, awaiting some kind of order from him. From below she could see Titans clawing at the building they stood on, and she was so thankful they were too stupid to climb.

      No, she was not giving up hope yet. Too many times she had given up far too quickly, and when she gave up it always seemed that bad things happened to her. There was still time, there was still a chance she would make it back to HQ and that they would be able to reclaim it. They just needed to keep going.

      Movement from down on the ground caught her attention, and this time it didn't belong to the Titans. One of the cadets had gotten himself stuck on the floor, with his gas all emptied he had nowhere to go. Her eyes widened, and she felt her chest begin to tighten.

      "We-We have to help him!" She breathed out, stepping forward and lowering her hands so they rested on her handles. Her fingers began to tremble, but before she was fully able to activate her gear Jean stuck his arm out in front of her, bringing her to a complete halt. "What're you--" Her gaze shifted to look at him, and he stared forward, his eyes wide.

       "Tom, I'm coming to get you!" Another cadet cascaded through the wind overhead, flinging himself towards one of the titans cornering Tom.

      "Stop! You can't save him!" Jean shouted after him, although he didn't listen. But, as he raised his blades, he was snatched out of the air by another one of the Titans. Araminta's eyes widened, and she started to push Jean's arm away from her.

      "No! We need to--I need to-" She began to grunt as he held her back, continuing to push on his arm. "Jean--"

       "Araminta, stop it!" He suddenly turned to face her, planting both his hands firmly on her shoulders. She stumbled back in shock, narrowing her eyes at him incredulously. "We can't help him! So just stop!" What was his problem?! He was really going to just stand here and let the others die?

      "We have to try!" She shot back, raising her fist instinctively--but before she had the chance to punch him the way she'd been dreaming of for years, he caught her wrist, tightening his grips. Behind him, one of the boys had been lifted by the Titan, and then...

      She stared in horror as the blood of her comrade spilled out onto the Titan's hand, and the horribly familiar sound of his bones being crushed filled the air. Suddenly she was the same, scared little girl back in Shiganshina, watching the people around her die and being able to do nothing about it. Jean hadn't bothered to turn around, staring down at his own feet while still maintaining his grip on her.

      "I-I'm sorry..." Was all he mumbled, finally releasing his hold on her and sliding his hand off her shoulder. He clenched his jaw, seeming to be struggling with something internally. Araminta wanted to punch him, she really did, but... He was just trying to do what he thought was best. Defeated, she lowered her head, heaving a deep sigh. "You would have died, too, if you went after them."

       And he was right, if she had gone after them she would probably be between the Titan's ugly teeth right now. Araminta didn't want to be like Mikasa, she didn't want to throw herself in a situation where she would probably die, even if it meant watching other people die. She needed to get ahold of herself, and make their deaths mean something.

       "We move now!" Araminta flinched when Jean was suddenly shouting out commands, catching everyone off guard. "We storm Headquarters now!" And with that, he was running off again. It seemed making announcements and immediately running away was becoming a habit of his. Slipping her blades out of their holding place, she began to sprint after him, light on the tips of her toes.

      "Everyone charge!" After bending her knees, she propelled herself off of the roof, kicking up some shingles beneath her. The tight feeling in her chest was beginning to wither away, leaving behind a warm feeling. There was a small group of Titans ahead of them, but she managed to weave between their slimy, wandering hands and swept past them.

      This, right now, was the moment she had been training for over the last three years. Flying through the sky towards Headquarters so they could save the city from these awful Titans, and secure a win for humanity. Sure, things were currently looking bleak, but in order for things to succeed she had to stay positive--something she wasn't typically used to.

      Out of nowhere, Titan--a particularly ugly one--reached out towards her, and in an attempt to dodge it she latched one of her wires onto a nearby roof. But instead of doing a quick dodge and then smoothly recovering, her hook got stuck in the shingles and she ended up crashing into them and rolling across the roof. With a large groan, she came to a stop, landing on her back and smacking her head against the singles.

      She laid still for a minute, staring up at the sky as she felt her bones slowly begin to ache and a stinging feeling spreading through the back of her skull. If she stayed down for too long, she would probably get snatched off the roof and eaten, but just for a moment she wanted to let her body relax. Of course, any kind of relaxation couldn't last long in this situation, someone or something would eventually come along and ruin it.

      In this case, it was the voice of a familiar blond next to her, and the ringing in her ears that she hadn't even noticed before began to fade away. "Araminta! Are you okay?" It was finally time for her to push herself off the surface, reaching up to rub the back of her head with her free hand. She shifted her gaze to see Reiner next to her, Bertholdt and Annie standing behind him looking almost annoyed.

      "I'm fine, help me get up and let's go fucking take back HQ." she responded, not really paying attention to the words slurring out of her mouth. He chuckled, somehow amused by her words before he lifted her around the arms and up onto her feet.

      "You know, I'm having a little déjà vu right now." He said simply, and although she would love to have this kind of conversation with him any other day, it absolutely was not the time. She rubbed the back of her head again, watching as the other cadets advanced onward towards HQ.

      "We're getting close, let's get going." She ignored his previous statement, putting her hands on her hips. Honestly, she was feeling a bit proud of herself for making it through one conversation with him without stuttering and blushing-though it was probably partially due to the concussion forming. She took a step forward to leave, but stopped herself, chewing her lip. "But um, thank you."

      And then she began to run again, sprinting along after the others. She was still feeling a bit dizzy, nearly slipping and falling a few times, but somehow she managed to stay alive and on her feet. So close, they were so close. Yes, her canisters were growing ever lower, but it might just be enough for her to make it.

      With a loud yell, she released the wires, tugging herself up into the sky and over a small group of Titans. Apart of her was kind of feeling like stopping and killing some of them like she had been trained to do, but that would be outright reckless and a waste of gas. Once they were up the wall and regrouped, maybe then she would be able to come back down in a new squad to help take them down. At least she hoped so, especially after watching them kill so many of her friends.

      Over the sound of the wind in her ears and various wires swinging through the air, she could hear glass being shattered somewhere. Sure enough, not too far ahead of her, Jean had dove through one of the HQ windows, followed by other cadets doing the same to the other windows. By the time she had reached the building, and plummeted towards a window, it was already shattered.

      Shards of glass glimmered against the wooden floor, and before she knew it, Araminta was rolling across them to once again break her fall. The amount of times she had to do that today, she was surprised she'd only had a concussion. Well, before she only had a concussion, now she had a small cut on her cheek from the glass shards. Fucking great. On the bright side, her uniform had stopped it from cutting her anywhere else, like her leg which would have been so inconvenient.

      They had made it. They made it! They were standing inside HQ, alive and well, and they had made it. All they needed to do now was refill their canisters, and make it up the wall, then the deaths that had occurred along the way would have been worth it--Eren's death would have been worth it. She would be able to join the Scouts like he wanted, and avenge his death. And even though so many horrid things had happened that day, she couldn't fight the prideful smile creeping onto her lips.

      She was going to make everyones' heroic deaths worth it.

      "H-How many made it?" Jean asked quietly, raising his hand to cover his own face. With the help of Sasha--who she was so incredibly relieved to see--Araminta stood to her feet, pressing her palm against her cheek. Well, it seemed she was the only one with a not-so-graceful entrance, (but it was the concussions fault, not hers!)

     "Your cheek, are you okay?" Sasha whispered, which Araminta was thankful for as she really did not want to arouse any unwanted attention. She just waved the brunette off, deciding she would worry about it later.

      Jean suddenly looked to the side, his eyes widening as he noticed something under one of the desks. Araminta followed his gaze, surprised to see two fearful cadets tucked under it. One of them was covered in the blood, the other staring forward with the all too familiar look that she'd seen too many times today--the look that told her that they had witnessed something horrible. "You guys are with the Quartermaster Corps, aren't you?"

      "Yeah..." The boy responded quietly, before being violently ripped out from under the desk. Before she knew it, Jean's fist was on the boy's face, knocking blood out of his mouth.

      "Stop it, Jean!" Marco called out, rushing behind the said not to restrain him. Jean struggled, glaring down at the boy who didn't have it in him to even try to stand up. Araminta watched quietly, unsure how to react.

       "These are the bastards! They're the guys who left us to die! It's your damn fault people died needlessly!" He spat out, Marco having to strengthen his grip on him before he slipped out from his grasp.

       "Titans entered the depot, there was nothing we could do!" The girl has crawled out from her hiding space, her tears creating a small stream through the blood on her cheeks as she loomed over the other boy protectively.

      "It's your job to handle it!" Jean shot back, his brown eyes flaming with anger. Before anyone had a chance to react, there was some weird sound that Araminta had never really heard before. It sounded like... Something heavy... And it was flying through the air, and... It almost sounded like it was beginning to hurdle towards them at a rapid pace... Oh shit!

      "Get down!" She screamed, grabbing onto Sasha's shoulders on instinct and jerking her down to kneel on the floor. There was a loud crash echoing throughout the small room, and a rumble that shook the floor they knelt against. She grunted, raising her forearm above her head in an attempt to protect herself from any debris that might be headed their way.

      What the hell was that?!

      After a moment of silence, when she knew it was safe, she slowly peeled her eyes open to see a Titan had crashed into the building, ripping a hole open in the wall that had been protecting them moments before. Oh God. She felt sick to her stomach, paralyzed in place as everyone began to zoom out of the room in terror. If it wasn't for Sasha grabbing her hand and tugging her towards the exit, she probably would have stayed frozen to that spot.

      What had happened? Where had they gone wrong? They had made it... Everything was supposed to work out now, right? She was dumbfounded. Had she really believed they were safe? They were never going to be safe, not as long as they were completely clueless to everything about the Titans

      "Guys, stop! We can't all get out at the same time!" Sasha tried to scream over the chaos, but everyone was too terrified and panicked to listen to her. The tightness in her chest returned, this time it was much worse than before. Her vision grew blurry, and she was beginning to feel dizzy again. In a dazed state, she glanced over her shoulder to see Jean still frozen in front of the two Titans that had their eyes locked on him.

      "Jean! Why--Why's he just standing there?!" Araminta shouted at Sasha, who then turned to look back at him as well. "I've gotta go get him!"

      "Araminta, no!" It was too late. No, she wasn't thinking clearly at all, and this was so stupid of her. But Jean had saved her two times that day-the first with her gas canisters a few hours earlier, and then from getting herself eaten--there was no way she was leaving him here to die.

      "Jean, we need to--"

       She must be seeing things, surely she must be seeing things. Her brain must have really taken some hard damage back on that roof, because there was no way what she was witnessing was real. A fist--a Titan sized fist—colliding with the ugly faces before her. It felt like slow motion as she watched something--or rather someone punching the Titans, squishing up their extremely unflattering faces and causing their skin to ripple against its touch.

      And then, in the blink of an eye, they were gone, and in their place another Titan that looked like no other Titan she'd ever seen before--mostly because this one wasn't ugly like the other ones. It had long black hair, and pointy ears, and a rage in its eyes that was oddly familiar... Which was weird, she never thought she'd call a Titan familiar.

      He opened his jaw, releasing a loud roar that forced her to reach up and cover her ears. God, that thing was loud, especially up close. She glanced over at Jean, who just stared at the Titan in shock--he was lucky his eardrums weren't being exploded. "What the hell is that?" He whispered once the Titan had finally closed its mouth and shut up.

       In an overly heroic fashion, Mikasa finally appeared, smashing through the one window that hadn't already been shattered and landing in front of the two of them, quickly followed by Armin and Connie. So they hadn't been eaten, they'd somehow managed to stay alive through all that. "Mikasa?" She gasped, so incredibly thankful to see the girl.

      "That was close, I was beginning to run on fumes." Connie tapped his knuckles on his canisters, which Araminta could tell by the hollow sound were obviously emptied out now. "I just barely made it!"

      "Y-You're alive!" Jean had approached Mikasa, his eyes wide. Araminta rolled her eyes, reminding herself of the fact that he obviously had a crush on the girl.

      She turned her attention to Armin and Connie, the latter slapping the former on the back. "We did it, Armin!" The blond squeaked in pain. "Your strategy worked! Listen everyone!" He stood up, facing the group of soldiers who were finally calmed down. "That Titan is a unique variant that goes on Titan killing sprees!" He announced, turning to point at it. "And it shows no interest in us!"

      A Titan that killed Titans, huh? Araminta stepped forward, examining the strange Titan. They'd studied abnormal Titans before, but this one was nothing like the ones they'd described during her lectures. It's eyes landed on her for a brief moment--and once again she found something so familiar about it--before it looked back straight ahead and began walking. Those eyes... They almost reminded her of--

      "If we use that one the right way, we can escape from here!" Connie's demeanor was so different compared to when she last saw him, he seemed so hopeful, and even confident.

       "Use a Titan?" She clarified, raising an eyebrow at him in disbelief.

      "A Titan is our savior..? Only in your dreams." Jean glared at Connie.

      "It's no dream." Mikasa spoke up, which seemed to shut Jean down. "Regardless of what it is, we need to keep that titan fighting as long as possible." From outside Araminta could hear a loud thud, followed by another roar. So... It really was killing other Titans. "Face it. He's our best chance at survival."

      Through the large opening in the wall, Araminta now had a clear view of the strange Titan, along with the others that were now approaching to attack it. He was roaring again--did he ever not roar?--and fighting off the others like it was nothing. "Don't worry, that Titan is stronger than the others."

      Araminta watched as it kicked away some smaller Titan as if it was some can she would play with when she was little, unable to fight the feeling of familiarity. Especially those eyes.

      "WHILE IT'S ON ITS RAMPAGE,  the building will probably be spared of destruction." The group has now migrated deeper inside the building, all gathered around as they tried to formulate some sort of plan. The game had changed now, they had a strong, abnormal, Titan-killing Titan on their side. Cadets were beginning to feel a real sense of hope, the mood had drastically increased from moments earlier.

      Araminta was sat beside Connie, bent forward so her elbows wrested on her knees as she listened. Any and all adrenaline she'd had left was gone now, and the pain from her fall earlier was really beginning to set in now. She massaged the back of her neck as she listened to him talk, her nose scrunched up in pain. Reiner and Annie also sat with the two of them, which normally would send Araminta into a flustered mess but she was too busy trying to relieve herself of her pain.

      "How much do you guys actually know about that Titan?" Reiner had asked, his tone suggesting he was doubtful of the plan.

      "It saved us, so what does it matter?" Connie narrowed his eyes at the blond.

      "I suppose you're right, it saved you." Reiner shrugged, glancing over at Araminta as her fingers moved south, beginning to now massage her own shoulder blades. Annie now looked in her direction as well, her eyes characteristically narrowed.

      "You're still sore?" She asked, and Araminta might almost say she sounded concerned. She nodded, grimacing a bit as her fingers brushed against a sensitive spot.

       "Hey, we found these!" On cue, the four of them turned to look at the source of the sound, to see Jean and some others carrying in large boxes between their arms. "They're Military Police issue. They're covered with dust..." He reached into the box, revealing a shotgun that had probably never once been used. "Will shotgun rounds be good?" He wondered aloud.

      Begrudgingly, Araminta stood, her legs almost collapsing under her before she stabilized herself using Connie's shoulder. They all wandered over towards the boxes they had laid out, looking at the shotguns curiously. "Will these guns even work against Titans?" Jean muttered, looking to Armin for answers. She knelt down beside them, already having a feeling what the blond's response would be.

      "They're better than nothing, I guess. If the supply room is still occupied by seven Titans," he glanced up to the small crowd forming around them, "all three to four meters tall, this firepower might be enough to blind them all at once." He then went on to explain his plan, which involved using the lift to blitz attack the Titans and blind them at the same time. Then, seven people would have to be hiding in the ceiling and be ready to strike them directly in their kill spots.

      "To have the highest chance of success, we'll need our most athletic seven." His eyes flickered between the members of the top ten currently present, falling on Araminta last. Her eyes widened at the attention, feeling a group of stares burn into her.

      "Have Connie take my place, I'm too injured to attack right now." She admitted shamefully, bowing her head. She wanted to do it, and she wanted nothing more than to help, but she knew that if she went in for the attack in her current state, she might end up missing and jeopardizing the entire operation. Her head was still pounding, and her body was still aching all over, it was safe to say it would not end well.

      Armin nodded, looking away and returning his attention to the crowd. "So, you seven will be responsible for bearing everyone's lives. I'm... Sorry about that."

      "No problem." Reiner replied smugly, a confident smirk on his lips.

      "Regardless of who does it, if we fail we all die. The risk's the same." Annie replied nonchalantly, unbothered by Armin's discouraging words.

      "But... Is my plan really the way to go?" Armin asked, looking down at the floor. He was always so insecure about his ideas, that was something Araminta had picked up on over the years.

      Marco leaned forward, smiling reassuringly. "We have to do it. Time is running out. No one's coming up with anything else. Let's just suck it up and do it!" He clenched his hand together and did a small fist pump. His determination was infectious, and Araminta could feel the sensation spread through her gut.

      "It'll work. Have faith." Mikasa added in, gazing at the blond boy. "You have the ability to lead us to success, Armin." Armin looked a bit taken aback by her words, mumbling a small huh? "Both Eren and I were saved by that ability."

     Araminta turned her head at the sound of a small thud to see Jean standing at the lift, not having even realized he had gotten up. "We're ready at the lift! Guns ready and loaded!" Pushing herself off the ground, she wandered over to the lift, one of the other cadets passing her a shotgun. She weighed the weapon in her hands, turning it over to inspect it. Although she wasn't really an expert in guns, she assumed this was a nice one that would get the job done--or at least she hoped that.

      Before she could step onto the lift, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Sasha, who was beaming down at her. "Stay safe, okay? I'll see you on the other side." The brunette then proceeded to pull her into a tight, suffocating hug, as if she thought it was the last hug they would ever share. Araminta was stunned for a moment, but slowly hugged the taller girl back.

      "You stay safe as well, Sasha. We still need to share some meat together, remember?" She teased, hoping to make some light of the situation. Sasha giggled against her shoulder. She then pulled away from the hug, sighing as she pursed her lips.

       "Yeah, our meat... I--"

       "Sasha! Let's go!" Connie was yelling, his hand cupped over his mouth so the brunette in question could hear him across the room.

       "Well, I guess that's my cue. See ya in a little bit." She reached out and patted Araminta on the cheek--an action that made her scrunch her nose up--before turning on her heel to leave. Araminta watched as she left, huffing quietly to herself. Everything was going to be fine, this plan was going to work.

      The lift was quiet--well, not the lift itself per se, but the group of teens clumped together had gone quiet. Araminta was gripping onto the shotgun tightly, her back straightened as she stared at the wall ahead of her. It seemed she had run out of any anxiety she had left in her system, and instead she just was just left feeling exhausted. Once this was all over, she expected that she would probably collapse and pass out.

      The wall had now disappeared, and Araminta knew the lift had made it down to the fuel room. Except for the lantern at the top of the lift and a few torches scattered across the room, it was dark, and the Titans were barely visible. One, two, three, four, five, six... And seven. All seven Titans were here, wandering around the dimly lit room.

       In unison with the other cadets, she cocked the gun so it was ready to be shot when the time came. Her forehead was growing sticky with sweat as she raised the gun, aiming it ahead of her. The ground shook as a Titan walked by in front of her side, and she began to tighten her grip on the gun. They just needed the perfect moment before they would strike, any minute now-

       It whipped its head around to look at them, smiling hauntingly. "Keep it together! We need to draw them in close!" Marco shouted, able to sense the thick, expanding fog of fear hanging over the group of them. Like all other Titans, the one currently eyeing her like a piece of meat was incredibly ugly. She couldn't wait to shoot it in it's stupid, ugly face. It began stepping towards them, and as it got closer, Araminta rose the gun and squeezed one eye shut so she could aim perfectly, just like she had been trained to do.

      Wait for it...

      She gently laid her finger on the trigger.

      Wait for it...

      "Fire!"

      All at once, the guns were fired off, bright flashes of light from the gunpowder almost blinding and the loud sound of gunfire nearly destroying her eardrums. The Titan from earlier was much quieter compared to this. The seven soldiers descended from their perches on the ceiling, swinging their blades against the napes of the monsters in front of them.

      They all began to fall onto their knees, and tumble down to their sides. Well, all except one, that apparently hadn't gotten hit in the nape quite perfect enough. Leaning her shotgun against the edge of the lift, Araminta stood on her tiptoes and leaned against the railing to see what had happened. It was Sasha's Titan, and it was now turned and staring straight down at her.

      "Sasha!" She screamed as the Titan stepped towards her and Connie, half ready to leap over the railing and onto the titan's neck. But she'd left her gear upstairs, there'd be no point now. "Help them!" She watched in horror as the Titan leapt towards Sasha, the brunette barely able to dodge it in time by diving across the floor.

      In some lame attempt to help, Araminta rose her shotgun, cocking it once again and aiming it at the Titan. "Araminta, don't! The gun isn't going to do anything except anger it!" Armin cried out desperately, his blue eyes pleading her to stop. Before she even had the chance to decide whether or not she would take the shot, Mikasa had come to the rescue and sliced the nape of the ugly Titan, followed by Annie who finished off the job.

       With a sigh of relief, Araminta lowered the gun, her eyelids fluttering closed. It was fine, she freaked out over nothing. Sasha and Connie were fine, and so was everyone else. Their mission had been a success. She reached over and placed her hand on Armin's shoulder, unable to contain her grin. "Thank you, Armin. You're a genius." He stared back at her with wide eyes, seeming caught off guard by her words.

      "Oh, uh, it was nothing." He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling bashfully. He really was quite smart, definitely smarter than her and half the other idiots that were in the cadet corps with them the last three years.

      "You too, Marco--" Before she even had the chance to compliment the freckled boy, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he stumbled backwards, forced to be caught by everyone else. Araminta weirdly enough found herself envying him.

      Soon they were all refilling their canisters, preparing for their journey to the top of the wall. Araminta sat besides Sasha as she hooked the gas hose up to her canister, resting her chin in her palm. Sasha was still beating herself up over the whole incident with the titan, tears staining her puffy cheeks.

      "I gave up to those Titans! How can I even face all of you!" She cried out dramatically, reaching up to grip her hair.

       "We'll harass you plenty about it, later! Right now we need to focus on getting out!" Connie appeared next to the two of them, shouting in Sasha's ear at equal volume. Araminta cringed, reaching up to cover her ears.

      "You two are somehow louder than the gunshots and stupid Titans combined." She mumbled, rubbing her temple as her headache was slowly beginning to make an appearance.

      Connie rolled his eyes. "You're such a drama queen, Araminta. Besides, you still love us anyway." He sighed some fake, dreamy sigh, standing behind the two of them and throwing his arms around their shoulders.

      Araminta scoffed, pushing his arm off of her. "You wish, Baldie." She rose her eyebrows, rapping her knuckles against the canister while Sasha began to giggle, beginning to feel a little bit better.

       "Miss Araminta Holm, you wound me." Connie clutched his chest, acting like she had just ripped her heart out or something. Maybe his stupid ass needed to be added to her list of people she wanted to punch before she died.

       "Hey 'Minta, Reiner's right over there." Sasha leaned over, practically singing the words. Araminta looked at her friend in confusion, wrinkling her nose.

       "So?" She followed Sasha's gaze, noticing that Reiner was indeed standing nearby and chatting with Bertholdt like he usually was.

       "So... We might die, why don't you go talk to him?" Sasha nudged her shoulder.

       "About what? My stupid little puppy love, school girl crush on him? No thank you." Araminta said matter of factly, pulling the gas hose off of her canisters once she was sure they had filled up all the way.

       "You don't want to die with any regrets, do you?" Connie joined in on the harping. "I've already accomplished all that I wanna do before I die, I've got no regrets." He jabbed his thumb at his chest, a smirk playing on his lips.

       "Believe me, Connie, I already have many regrets. It won't hurt to add one more." Araminta muttered in response, moving to click the canisters into place. Her big three questions would remain unanswered if she died today, and she still hadn't punched Jean. "But not to worry, I don't plan on dying today."

      Well, maybe she didn't want to tell him how she felt yet, but she really would like to see him live. So while Connie and Sasha finished refueling, she decided to head over to the boy and his friend. She sighed heavily, flexing her fingers as she walked. No, she wasn't nervous, she was just feeling a little bit... Jittery.

       She caught a snippet of their conversation as she approached, crossing her hands in front of her and lacing her own fingers together. She hadn't meant to overhear, but she couldn't help but listen as she stood beside the two of them. "--We're so close, Reiner, we just need to find whoever's in that--oh hey, Araminta!" Bertholdt seemed caught off guard by her presence, practically jumping when he saw her.

      "Oh, hey.. How long have you been standing there?" Reiner laughed nervously, exchanging a look with Bertholdt. Why was he acting like she just caught them kissing or something? What kind of secrets were they spilling to each other.

       "Uhh, not long..." She glanced between the two of them, furrowing her eyebrows. "I-I just wanted to say umm..." Oh, here came the stupid blush. Okay. So she was a bit nervous. Reiner glanced down at her, an eyebrow risen at her weird behavior. "Just... Don't die out there. Okay? I need you to stay alive." She stared at her feet, already regretting this stupid decision.

      Reiner blinked down at her, his eyes wide. Not even her concussion could protect her from embarrassment now, her whole face was probably as red as the blood dried against her cheek. "Oh, um... You too." He finally spoke up, nodding at her. And when she snuck a glance at him, he was smiling.

       "Okay, great. Glad we got that covered. I'll see you on the battlefield. Bertholdt." She nodded at the taller boy after straightening her back, and then rushed back to Sasha and Connie who had been laughing hysterically. She hoped to whatever higher power was out there that she wouldn't have to go through such a stupid situation like that ever again.

       The brightness outside hurt her eyes, after becoming so adjusted to the dim lighting inside HQ. She rose her hand above her eyes, shielding her vision from the blinding sunlight. Against the blue sky painted with puffy white clouds, she spotted a figure atop one of the roofs, facing away from the entrance to Headquarters.

       "Mikasa?" Armin asked from beside her, also staring up at the girl. He squatted down, releasing the wires of his gear and lifting himself off the ground. Araminta furrowed her eyebrows together, hesitating for a moment before following him up there.

      The sun felt warm against her cheeks as she stood besides them, glancing over at Mikasa whose gaze was locked onto something in front of them. "That Titan..." She whispered, and Araminta followed her gaze to see the titan from earlier being practically devoured by a group of other Titans.

      "Cannibalism?" Armin whispered, staring at the sight in front of them. It raised its head in the air, looking almost as if it was in pain.

       "Why isn't it regenerating itself?" Araminta mumbled, knitting her eyebrows together. It was just a Titan, the same as the others, but... For some reason she felt like she needed to go help it.

      "If only we could have figured out the secrets of that Titan... I thought we might be able to find a way to break through this situation." Mikasa spoke, her eyes trained on the Titan.

       "I agree. If it's completely devoured we'll never learn a thing." Araminta ripped her focus away from the Titans, looking to the side to see Reiner's small crew and Jean had joined them on top of the roof. Of course he was here, after she made herself look like such an idiot in front of him. "Let's drive away the Titans around it and keep it alive!"

       "Are you crazy, Reiner?" Jean snapped, balling his fingers into fists at his side. "We finally have a chance to get out of this hell!"

       "What if there's a possibility of that Titan becoming our ally? That would be a more powerful weapon than any cannon we have." Annie spoke, eyeing Jean out of the corner of her eye accusingly.

       Jean stared. can incredulously, his jaw hung open. "Huh?! Did you just say ally?! Are you--are you serious?" 

       Araminta glared at the boy, wondering once again if this was an okay time to punch him. But a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she shifted her gaze to see a tall Titan walking down the streets towards the titan from earlier.

       "That Titan... That's the abnormal that killed Thomas!" He exclaimed, blue eyes wide as saucers. Araminta gritted her teeth as she focused on the ugly Titan, digging her fingernails into her palms. She was angry, and frankly wanted to murder that stupid monster where it stood.

      The Titan that had been being eaten seconds earlier seemed to be experiencing the same emotions as her, and with a sudden burst of energy he shoved the Titans off of himself and roared loudly. He began to charge, but the Titans that had his arms hooked between their jaws stayed hung onto him and ripped the limbs off one after the other.

        But he didn't need his arms, instead he chomped down on the nape of the Titan and lifting it up into the air. Araminta was fascinated--she had never seen anything quite like it. It was as if it knew the nape was the weak spot--it was intelligent. He slammed the other Titan down against the cobblestone, doing all of this with just its jaw.

       The seven of them up on the roof gasped quietly as another Titan began to approach, but before it had the chance to reach the titan he lifted the one in his mouth above the ground and launched it, smashes both of them against some building. It was magnificent, she stared at it in awe, her jaw practically on the floor beneath her feet.

       He let out one last, long roar before falling onto its knees. It must have run out of juice, tired from all the fighting it had been doing for them. And yet it's nape was still in tact, it shouldn't be dying right now, right? But it still fell to the side, smashing its own face into the cobblestone. Maybe it was dead.

       "Well... Looks like it's got nothing left." Jean said, turning away from the group. Araminta ignored him, staring down at the titan as she waited for something to happen. "Let's get out of here!" Like Araminta, the rest of them gazed upon the Titan as well.

        The steam the wounds of the Titan had released began to clear, and Araminta felt her heart skip a beat as something appeared at the nape. It looked almost like...

        No. No way!

       She was hallucinating, she had to be hallucinating, there was absolutely no way it was... A person down there... And she was definitely hallucinating the figure sitting up from inside the nape.

       Her heart stopped beating.

       The figure leaned back, his dark brown hair finally falling out of his face. There was no way, Armin had seen him die, hadn't he? She--She had mourned him, she had come to terms with his death. The corners of her eyes began to sting, and her vision was becoming blurred, for the first time that day she hadn't been able to stop herself from crying.

       Because there was no denying it. At the bottom of the street, sitting in the nape of a burning Titan corpse, was...

       Eren Jaeger.

to this day this is still the longest chapter
i've ever written of anything... if i told
you it was nearly 10k words would you
think i was insane? anyways this chapter
has so many cute little moments i always
have sm fun rereading this one <33