IN WHICH ARAMINTA ALMOST DIES... AGAIN!
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ARMS TONITE  ∕  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

ARAMINTA HAD DECIDED SHE HATED THE SNOW. It was pretty, sure, but only from a distance, and only in small amounts. But, out on a mountain in the middle of a blizzard, her toes numb and her nose completely frozen, it was not pretty. Instead, it felt more like pure torture. Her teeth were chattering so bad she was shocked they hadn't just shattered under the pressure into a million little pieces already.

To make matters worse, she was in a group with Jean and Connie, the latter of whom had been getting on Araminta's nerves the entire trip. For some reason, the training corps had decided they needed to trudge through the snowy terrain with giant backpacks to some cabin in the middle of nowhere. She knew it was to build character or whatever, but she still hated every second of it.

        "Give me the map, Jean." They'd been walking in circles for the last hour, or at least that's what it felt like. And since Jean was refusing to give anyone else the map, she was sure it was his fault.

         "No. Shadis gave me the map, not you. Back off." Jean had hissed in retaliation. Araminta growled.

"Wait, why can't I have the map?" Connie asked, a large frown forming on his face.

        "Neither of you can have the map! I get the map! Just give me a minute, okay?!" He snapped. Araminta watched as he lifted the map up to get a better look at it, turning it on the side.

         "You don't even know which direction we're going!" Araminta moved to snatch the paper out of his hands, but her boot got caught on a stick she didn't know was under the snow, sending her toppling over.

        "Ha! Karma!" Jean laughed, though his attention remained on the map he held in front of him.

"Jean, which way is the cabin, again?" Connie ignored Araminta, walking over to one of the nearby trees. The girl
pushed herself up with a huff, brushing the snow off her coat.

"North." Araminta answered for Jean, pushing herself off the ground.

         "Okay, well we've been going South for the last half hour, that's why it's taking us so long." Connie said.

        "What?! How do you know?" Araminta trudged towards the boy, and tossed a snowball she'd made at Jean as she passed him.

"Look, it's hard to see but the moss on the tree is facing us." Connie informed them, pointing a gloved finger at the trunk of the tree, where sure enough there was a faint green texture.

"Okay... So...?" Jean appeared next to them, and tilted his head to get a better look.

          Connie let out a frustrated sigh. "Did no one ever teach you about moss and trees?!" He asked the two of them, who exchanged a confused look. "God--Okay, the sun never shines from the North, right? So, moss grows on the North side of trees."

         Araminta stared at the tree, confused for a moment, until the realization slapped her in the face. "So we've been going backwards?" She turned to slowly look at Jean, who had gone pale.

         "In my defense, I grew up in the city." He held up his hands, a nervous laugh coming from his lips.

         "Which is why I think you should give me the map." Connie plucked the paper from Jean's grasp, and passed the lantern he'd been hauling over to Araminta. "We shouldn't be too far off course, it won't take us too long."

         "Hey, where'd you learn the moss trick?" Araminta queried, sticking close to Connie as they began to walk in the (hopefully) right direction.

           He smiled. "My mom. Sometimes, she would take me and my younger siblings on little walks through the woods, and she would always tell us little facts like that. Some stuck around in my mind, some didn't." He shrugged, and folded up the map to stick in his pocket.

         "Your mom sounds cool. Mine's annoying, always babying me." Jean came up behind them, and Araminta could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

         "My mom... She was good. Always told my sister and I outlandish stories, and let us help her cook. She was a good mom." She smiled softly at the memory of cooking with her mother and Marina, the sound of their laughter echoing across her brain.

         "Was...? Did she... Y'know..."

          "I don't know." Araminta spoke quickly, the previous joyous memory replaced with one of her mother sitting in her rocking chair, staring off into space with no awareness of the world around her. As silence filled the air, Araminta realized the awkward tension she had just created between them. So, she cleared her throat.

"Um... I was just thinking... My mom used to make these really good little cookies, with oatmeal and chocolate chips... Is there any food you miss from before joining the military?" She attempted to change the subject.

"Man, my mom used to make these omelettes for breakfast sometimes..." Jean was quick to respond, he apparently did not need to ponder the question that much. "And they were amazing. I never thought I'd miss them so much until we started eating slop for dinner every night."

"Didn't you just say you don't like your mom?" Connie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I just-I just said she's annoying. I still... Love her, she's my mom." Jean replied, and even though his cheeks were already scarlet from the cold, she could tell he was blushing.

"Aww, Jean loves his mommy!" Connie cooed, and the taller boy grew even more bashful.

"Shut up!"

Connie continued to tease him, and Jean continued to try and shut him up, but it didn't seem to work. The rest of the trip down the mountain they argued, and honestly the back and forth brought Araminta some form of comfort. So, as she listened to them converse with one another, she looked up through the trees, and just for a second she thought maybe the snow really was beautiful.

850. UTGARD CASTLE

      TITANS WERE FALLING FROM THE SKY. Well, at least that's what it was appearing to look like was going on. After Araminta had met back up with the Scouts, she helped them finish traveling the perimeter of Wall Rose, finding absolutely no signs of a breach until they ran into another party who had also reported seeing nothing pointing to a breach.

The only explanation, it seemed, was that the Titans had fallen from sky. Or, somehow learned how to make tunnels under Wall Rose and into middle of it, but that somehow sounded less likely.

The sun had sunk below the horizon, causing darkness to fall over the land. It was, however, a full moon, the soft light reflected off the satellite's surface enough to illuminate the world when it wasn't hidden by clouds. The Scouts had found the ruins of an old castle up on a hill, which they had decided would make the perfect place to settle down for the night and rest up in.

"It looks like a mess, but we can make it work for tonight." One of the older Scouts had commented as they rode up, moving the large torch he held in his hand to light up the area.

"Right. And luckily, the moon is out..." Nanaba muttered, turning her horse to gaze out at the distance. "Alright, we'll tie our horses up here in these old stables, then head inside. Holm, Springer, I want you two to go dig around inside and try to find any food while the rest of us set up a good area to sleep. Sound good?"

"Sounds good." Araminta and Connie answered in unison. The former lowered herself off the horse, leading it over to one of the stable stalls.

"Be careful, okay? Don't run away, or else I will hunt you down and berate you." She warned the horse, sticking her finger in its face menacingly. "I have to get you back to Sasha's dad or else I'm gonna feel bad, so don't do anything stupid!"

"Are you talking to the horse?" Connie materialized out of thin hair, his sudden presence startling Araminta so bad her fingers hit the horse's muzzle.

"Look what you made me do!" She hissed at the boy, hurriedly petting the spot she had whacked the horse to apologize.

"You barely even touched it, it's fine." He rolled his eyes. "Dramatic."

"Oh, been spending too much time with Jean? You're an expert in horses now?" Araminta couldn't help but giggle at her own joke, slandering Jean was just too easy and too funny.

"Haha. Did you tell that one to Reiner? He loves your jokes." Connie teased, and Araminta felt her cheeks heat up remembering her own knock knock jokes.

"Shut up, idiot." She smacked his arm. "Let's go inside and find some food. I'm hungry."

"Wow, been spending too much time with Sasha?" He walked beside her, and although he was cracking jokes, Araminta could tell something about his demeanor was off. "Where did Sasha go, anyway?"

"Back to Stohess to relay a message to Commander Smith." Araminta replied plainly, using her shoulder to push open a door leading into the castle.

"Why didn't you go back with her?" Connie asked.

"We don't need two people just to give a message, right?" Araminta shrugged. "And besides, I thought you all could use my help."

"Yeah, because you can contribute so much right now."
He rolled his eyes, and Araminta gasped dramatically.

"Hey, just because I broke my wrist doesn't mean shit. I could still fight better than you."

"Sure you could."

"Whatever, you're just saying that because I'm a girl." She joked, and opened a door up to a small closet. There was a small box with some cans inside, but Araminta couldn't read a single word on them to see if they were expired or whatnot. "Am I losing my mind or do you know what these say?" She asked Connie, lifting one up for him to read.

"Uhh..." He squinted his eyes. "No, I have no idea. Let's take them out and ask if anyone can read them." He suggested, and Araminta helped him pick up the wooden crate.

They returned out to the main room, where blankets had already been laid out and Bertholdt was just finishing up building a fire in the middle of the room. The rest of her class was already sat down, bathing in the warmth of the flames. The room was very dimly lit, illuminated only by the fire and a couple of torches that had been hung up on the walls. Honestly, it was quite cozy.

       "Here, we found these." Araminta announced, and Connie set the crate down on the ground. "But we have no idea what they say. Can anyone read them?" She lifted one of the cans out, showing it to the group.

Bertholdt squinted to read them, but his eyes suddenly grew wide and his eyes flickered over to Reiner, a reaction that puzzled Araminta. Maybe it said something inappropriate? Reiner stepped forward, taking the can from Araminta's hands.

        "Umm... I think it says it's canned beans. Those don't really go bad." He told them, turning the can over in his hand to investigate. "We can just heat them over the fire."

Which is exactly what they ended up doing. A half hour later they had finished eating some of the beans, and found their own spots in the corridor to rest up for a bit. Araminta sat on one of the blankets next to Connie, with her back against the wall and her knees pulled up close to her chest. It had been a long, long day, and now that her stomach was filled the exhaustion was beginning to settle in.

"Look what I found!" One of the older Scouts, Helvar, or whatever, entered the room, holding up a glass bottle for everyone to see.

"You got alcohol, Gelgar?" Nanaba asked, in a bored tone. Gelgar, where the hell did she get Helvar from?

"I dunno. I can't read it." He responded.

"Well, I hope you're not planning on drinking it now." She rolled her eyes.

"Of course not! Not at a time like this."

Araminta began to tune out the rest of the conversation, focusing her gaze on some random cracks in the floor and making shapes out of them in her head. From one angle it looked like an eagle, from another like a lizard. God, she was going insane from sleep deprivation.

"You rookies should get some rest." Gelgar appeared in front of them, gazing down at the group. "Titans shouldn't be roaming at this hour, but the rest of us will take turns keeping watch. We'll leave from here four hours before daybreak."

"Um... What if the wall actually isn't broken after all?" Christa peeped up. "Where could the Titans be invading from?"

"Tomorrow, our job is to figure out that answer." Gelgar replied, then turned around and walked away from them.

"But what if it's not actually as bad as we thought?" Christa asked, looking back to the group.

"They're too stupid to dig, so they probably were dropped down from the sky by God or something." Araminta said sarcastically, her eyelids beginning to grow heavy.

"You know, we've only seen that group from the beginning. There's not that many Titans." One of the Scouts replied from across the room, and besides the small one Araminta had seen in Sasha's village, he had been right.

"Connie. What about your village?" Ymir turned to the boy in question, who began to pale.

"It was destroyed. Crushed to sticks and rubbles by Titans." He responded, and Araminta felt her heart sink. Oh. She didn't know that.

"I see... How awful."

"But nobody was eaten. I think they all escaped, so there's at least that to be grateful for." Connie assured them all quickly, and Araminta knit her eyebrows together.

"Wasn't the village destroyed?" She queried.

"The houses and stuff were wrecked, but the villagers made it out safely. If anyone was eaten, then... There would have been blood and remains scattered. And there wasn't any of that, so it's the only explanation." He told them.

"That's strange... Why would the Titans tear up a village if no one was there...?" She wondered, pressing her lips together tightly.

"I don't know..." Connie shrugged. "But... I can't stop thinking about it. There was a Titan at my house. It couldn't move on its own, but it was laying right on top of my house. But it's weird. I don't know why... But it reminded me of my mother."

"Connie, you're still saying that?" Reiner asked bitterly, his tone bothering Araminta a little bit. "You--"

"What an idiot!" Ymir exclaimed, and began to laugh. Araminta stared at the girl in bewilderment. "You think your mother might have been that Titan?! Then how come you're so damn short, huh? Come on, Connie, I knew you were stupid, but this is taking it to a whole new level!"

"Shut the fuck up, Ymir!" Araminta spat.

"Oh, come on, you're telling me you believe that bullshit?!" Ymir shot back, continuing to laugh. "You're just as stupid as he is!"

"God, would you just go to sleep, you stupid wench!" Connie shouted, rubbing his temple.

Ymir smirked and leaned back, folding her arms behind her head. "I'll try my best. Though now I'm worried I'm going to be haunted by the image of your Titan mother... And Titan father... Y'know..."

"You're such a freak, Ymir." Araminta groaned, burying her face in her hands.

Ymir had finally decided to be quiet, standing up and leaving the room. In the absence of her presence, Araminta was finally able to relax, and let her eyes droop closed. She listened to the voices of the Scouts, mumbling across the room, but as she drifted into a deep sleep, their voices disappeared.

"GET TO THE TOWER! QUICKLY!" Araminta was jolted awake by the panicked shouts coming from above her, the abruptness leaving her feeling a bit dazed. She blinked in confusion as everyone leapt to their feet, running up the staircase in chaos. Her body was still frozen from sleep, she felt paralyzed as she watched everyone run away, and the confusion she felt was not something she was enjoying.

        "Come on, we have to go!" Someone had grabbed her and pulled her up off the floor, helping her climb up the stairs.

          "What's going on?" She asked, her eyes taking their sweet time adjusting to being awake.

          "I don't know, they just called us up here." The person responded, and she realized it was Bertholdt that had come to her aid. "I can't imagine it's anything good, though."

         The cold, outdoor air was like a slap to the face when they broke through the surface, reaching the top of the tower. Everyone had races to the edge, looking at something that must have been hanging around below.

          "What..." She followed their actions, moving to the edge to gaze down at the bottom of the castle to see dozens of Titans approaching, trying to climb over the ruins.

         "Damn it! I'd be drinking right now if it wasn't for you!" Gelgar cursed at the Titans. "This is all your fault!"

         "Let's go!" The four soldiers didn't hesitate to leap off of the tower, their blades at the ready.

         "H-How are they moving? I thought they need sunlight to move." Araminta stared at the scene unfolding in front of her, watching as Gelgar cut a Titan's fingers off and Nanaba sliced through another's nape.

         "I don't know... Something isn't right..." Christa replied. One of the larger Titans had been wiped out, falling slowly to the side and crushing some of the smaller ones. Until now, Araminta really hadn't seen much of the Scouts in action, but wow, they really were amazing.

        Lynne soared up, landing on the wall's edge in front of the six of them. "The Titans broke through." She informed them, her chest heaving up and down as she panted. "Go back down and form some kind of barricade. If you can't block them, retreat back up here as a last resort... We might not be able to help you, though. I'm not sure we'll still be alive by then..." She paused, looking out at the rolling fields that glowed under the moonlight. "We've all gotta do what we were trained to do. Give it all we got until we die! Understand?"

"Got it!" They shot back, and as she disappeared into the night, they ran back down into the tower.

Reiner grabbed one of the torches on the way down, leading the group. "I'll see how far they've come through! You guys grab boards or rods or whatever! Bring everything you can carry!" He instructed, his words causing Araminta to frown.

"I'm coming with you!" She told him, racing down the stairs to get next to him. He glanced over at her and shook his head.

"No. It could be dangerous, just go with the others and help carry stuff."

"I can barely carry one board, I'm not going to be any help to them." She insisted, and judging by the exasperated sigh he let out, he decided to give in and just let her come with.

They reached the door leading down to the next floor, and they slowed to a stop so he could gently push open the door. She poked her head out the door, surveying the area to the best of her ability. "They're still below." Reiner muttered. "The door is still locked, but it's not going to keep them out for long." He began to descend the staircase, but stopped for a moment. He turned to face her and opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but decided against it and continued down the steps.

She stood closely behind him as he opened the next door, handing her the bar that had been holding it closed, and held the torch out to light the room. They were met with the eerie smile of Titan, who was standing only a few feet away from them.

"Shit!" Araminta exclaimed, shoving the board back in the second Reiner got the door shut.

"They're here!" Reiner shouted up to the others, pushing his back against the door. "Bring something! Quick!"

        Despite his efforts, the Titan ended up smashing the wooden door, shoving his arm through the hole he created. "Move!" Araminta pushed Reiner, sliding the wooden board off the door and slamming it into the Titan as hard as she could. "Let's go!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the way just in time for Bertholdt to appear, holding a rake out.

        "Bertholdt.." Reiner began, helping grab onto the rake. "We're going to go home. We're going to make it to our village." He told the taller boy. They prepared to ram the shovel into the Titan's face, but were stopped by Ymir, Connie and Christa appearing at the top of the stairs, pushing a great big cannon.

"Does that thing even have ammo?" Araminta called up.

"Hell no, you're just going to have to take the whole thing. Out of the way!" Ymir yelled, and the three of them began to push it down the stairs. Araminta, Bertholdt and Reiner ran to the other side of the room, and just as the Titan was about to get past the door, it was smashed by the huge cannon.

There was a loud crash, and smoke filled the air, causing the doorway to no longer be visible. "Looks like that worked out, miraculously." Ymir commented, and the three of them descended down the stairs.

"Yeah, no way he's getting up after that." Araminta looked down at the rubble, placing her hands on her hips.

"What now? All we have is this knife." Connie said, turning over a small blade in his hand. "Should I cut off its nape?"

"No. You'll get hurt if it grabs you." Reiner replied flatly.

"F-For now, let's retreat upstairs." Christa suggested. "There could be more than just the one that got in."

Araminta nodded, turning around to face the stairs. "Yeah, good id--"

"Look out!" Christa screamed, and Araminta looked around in confusion to see who she was talking to. It only took a second to see the Titan sneaking up on her, and she found herself frozen to the spot.

         Was she scared? Maybe. But more so she was paralyzed by the millions of things running through her head. She could dive one way, she could dive another, she could fall backwards, there were too many things she could do, and so many things that could go wrong. Her mind was a haze, and thus she had became paralyzed, unable to move.

         But in an instant she was on the floor, Reiner was in front of her, his arm now trapped between the Titan's teeth. "Reiner!" Araminta watched in horror as Reiner bent down, wrapping his other arm under the Titan's leg, and slowly began to lift it off the ground. Wow, she knew he was strong, but not that strong. He carried it across the room, struggling under the weight, and started carrying it up the stairs.

        "Um... Reiner..." Connie muttered, and they all watched as he continued to carry it towards the window. "Don't tell me... You're going to jump out the window with it?"

         "I've got no other choice."

         "Wait!" Connie tan up the stairs and began to jab the knife he had been holding into the Titan's face. "If I can just slice open its jaw..." Which is exactly what he did, as the Titan lost its grip on Reiner's arm.  "You're free!" Unfortunately the Titan still wasn't out of their way, until Bertholdt and Ymir knocked it out the window.

          "Okay, now let's go upstairs!" Christa exclaimed, and they did just that.

         Araminta, Ymir and Connie were able to find some thick wooden rods, which they'd used to barricade the door to the best of their abilities. Her gaze drifted to the middle of the room, where Christa was helping tend to Reiner's wounds. She watched the interaction with a scowl, her stomach doing somersaults. She nearly gagged when Christa ripped off the bottom of her skirt, and Reiner got a dark look in his eyes.

       "Are you alright, Reiner?" Connie asked, placing his hands on his hips.

        "Yeah, I guess."

         "By the way, Christa, my hand got scraped up a bit, too..." Ymir held up a finger, and somehow her flirting was even worse than Araminta's.

        "Huh? Just spit on it or something." Connie scrunched his eyebrows up.

         "Sorry, Reiner... If I had just moved out of the way, you wouldn't be hurt, now..." Araminta lowered her head, her cheeks growing flushed out of embarrassment. "I don't know what I was thinking. I'll pay you back somehow."

         "No. Don't worry about it, it's the right thing to do... Because we're soldiers." He replied, though his words didn't make Araminta feel much better.

         "Hey, Bertholdt." Connie piped up. "Has Reiner always been this way?"

          "No... In the past, Reiner was more of a... Warrior. Unlike now." Bertholdt glared at Reiner, who stared back at him with a narrowed gaze.

         "What's that mean? What do you mean by warrior?"

         "For now, let's just gather everything we can." Araminta hadn't even noticed that Ymir had walked away, and headed up the stairs. "That way when we die... We can go out with no regrets." She climbed up into the window, gazing down and mumbling something to herself Araminta couldn't hear.

         Suddenly, the tower shook. Hard. The tremor nearly knocked Araminta off her feet, and she was barely able to catch herself in time. "The hell..?" She wondered, and the six of them ran up to the top of the tower to investigate.

"What was that?!" Connie exclaimed. There was a fire burning, and Gelgar and Nanaba were laying down the limp bodies of Lynne and Henning gently against the cobblestone floor.

         "It's no use..." Gelgar murmured. "They both died instantly."

          "This can't be..." Christa whispered, as they all stared at the dead bodies in horror. Things were beginning to look more and more bleak, the hope that they would be able to survive the night diminishing. If the best of them couldn't handle it, how were they supposed to be able to?

"It's him! The one who walked off towards the wall... The Beast Titan did this!" Connie ran to the edge of the wall, the others following closely behind.

"The what? Araminta asked, knitting her eyebrows together. She looked down over the edge to see tens of titans rushing the castle, her stomach sinking. "A group of Titans approaching! At least more than twice the amount before."

"What'd you say?!" Gelgar demanded.

"Their timing is too perfect, don't you think? Almost like it's some kind of strategy. I get the feeling they've been toying with us from the start." Nanaba muttered, and Araminta couldn't help but agree. All day, things had been so weird, especially now at the tower.

Titans began to surround the tower, slamming their fat fists against it so it shook like it had earlier. "You all stay here, we'll handle this." Gelgar said to them, and in seconds he and Nanaba were back in the air, soaring down to engage in combat with the titans.

"God, this is so stupid! They should have given us our gear a long time ago, then we could actually help instead of sitting here and doing nothing!" Araminta groaned out of frustration, running a hand through her hair.

"They got Gelgar." Connie knelt down, pressing his forehead against the stone.

Christa picked up a small rock and threw it angrily down at the Titans, and Araminta considered doing the same same until Ymir stopped her. "Quit it, Christa! The tower is about to crumble, get away from the edge!"

"But they're dying!" Christa cried, struggling to escape Ymir's grip.

"Father, stop! Father! I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Father! No!" Araminta watched as Nanaba was crushed between the Titan's teeth, nausea rising in her throat as she watched her blood splatter across the pale Titan skin.

"Hey... Are we just supposed to sit here and wait for the tower to fall and get eaten alive? Is there really nothing we can do?!" Connie sat down, pressing his back against the wall. "This sucks... We'll be wiped out before we get to even complete our mission."

"I... Want to keep fighting." Christa said. "If only I had some sort of weapon. Then I could fight and die alongside them."

"Christa... You're still saying things like that?" Ymir scoffed. "Don't you dare use their deaths. They didn't die so you'd have an excuse to get yourself killed.

Christa blinked. "That's not... That's not what I--"

"You're not like Connie, and Araminta and the Scouts! They don't want to die, but you... You don't even care. All you want to do is die in a way that makes you seem like a hero."

"That's not..."

"Connie. Give me that knife you had." Ymir demanded, holding out her hand to the boy.

"Huh? My knife?"

"Just give it to me."

"Fine. Here." Connie handed Ymir the knife.

"Hmm. Thanks." Ymir reached up to pat Connie's buzzed head, who quickly swatted her away.

"What do you want it for, anyway?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Hmm? Well, you see... I'm going to fight with this." She smiled, the expression sending chills down Araminta's spine.

"Ymir... What are you planning?" She asked, stepping towards the girl.

"Who knows? I don't even know myself." Ymir sighed, and walked over to the short blonde. "Christa. You've probably forgotten all about it by now..."

The tower shook again.

"But this might be the end, so... Try to remember. The promise we made training on the snowy mountain. I have no right to tell you how to live your life. So actually, this is nothing more than a hope of mine. I want you... To live a life you're proud of." Her hands lingered on the smaller girl's shoulders, and for a moment Araminta swore she was going to kiss her. But she didn't, she just backed up, holding out the knife to examine.

"Remember our promise, Christa." And with that, she took of running, right towards the edge of the wall.

"Ymir, wait!"

Araminta watched in what felt like slow motion as Ymir leapt off the edge, soaring through the air, and down towards the crowd of Titans below. She ran over next to Christa to watch, her breath hitched in the back of her throat. Ymir slid the blade through her hand, and then there was a huge flash. A flash like...

Ymir was gone, and in her place was an ugly Titan, jumping from Titan to Titan and ripping out their napes with its teeth. Araminta felt like she was in a dream. She must have never actually woken up, and dreamt up the entire last twenty minutes. That was the only explanation for everything going on. She pinched her own arm.

"Is this real...? Ymir is a Titan too...?" Connie wondered allowed, staring down at the scene unfolding below them.

        "Th-That Titan is..." Reiner muttered.

        "From that day..." Bertholdt finished for him.

        "Huh? What are you talking about?" Araminta glanced up at the two of them, who looked down at her with wide eyes.

        "Oh. It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Reiner responded quickly. Suddenly the tower shifted under the impact of a Titan slamming into the structure, the magnitude of the shake causing Christa to nearly fall off the edge. Reiner caught her leg just in time, gripping tightly onto her boot.

      "Th-Thanks, Reiner..." She then winced in pain. "Ow, it hurts! Reiner, my leg--"

       "Reiner, that's enough!" Connie yelled, as Araminta helped pull Christa up from the front. "Let go of her leg! Her leg! Hey!"

       Finally, Reiner snapped out of whatever daze he was in, releasing the girl so she could fall down to the ground. Araminta bent down to console the girl, staring up at Reiner in bewilderment. Reiner had never been the type to hurt anyone, especially not Christa, what the hell was up with him?

       "I'm sorry..."

       "No, you saved me." Christa assured him.

        "Christa, did you know?" Reiner asked, obviously referring to Ymir who was still taking down Titans below.

       Christa looked down over the edge, and shook her head. "I had no idea.  I was always so close to her, too. How? How could this be?"

      "In other words, she knew some of the secrets of our world. And I never suspected a thing."

      "I don't think any of us could have suspected it." Araminta muttered, and she was reminded of their conversation earlier that day. God, it had only been that morning they'd been at the old Scout base, dying of boredom and waiting for something to happen. Now, it felt like a lifetime away.

      "Hey... Do you think she knows about it? Eren's a Titan too, but he didn't know until it happened." Connie said. "But Ymir is like... She knew she was a Titan all along."

      "Are you saying... She might be an enemy of humanity?" Christa looked at him with wide eyes.

       "I'm saying that's one hell of a power to hide. Who knows what she may have been thinking."

        "I wonder... What could be Ymir's goal?" Bertholdt spoke up after being quiet for awhile.

        "I don't think she's a bad person." Araminta watched, her gaze softening. "She wouldn't be saving us if she was working against us. She at least wants to protect Christa, even risk her life for her..."

Was that what love was? Being able to sacrifice yourself for someone? She thought of her sister, and her father, who had both allowed themselves to die for her. Maybe that was love, and maybe Ymir loved Christa. Maybe.

         Ymir was beginning to slow down, and the Titans were taking advantage of that. Her hands were dug into the brick, trying to climb but another Titan had grabbed both of her ankles and began to pull her down. Her small, black eyes stared up at them, and Araminta could see the human in her. She was tugged down, letting go of the brick she had held onto.

        "What was that? Is she worried about the tower falling?" Connie wondered aloud.

        "She has to be." Christa replied. "If she wanted to, Ymir could use this power of hers to escape all on her own. And yet, she's not doing that."

        "It's us... She's risking her life to protect us..." Araminta whispered, and her respect for the girl swelled. Though Ymir and Araminta didn't usually get along, Araminta had grown to consider her a friend.

        "Why...? Why? Ymir!" Christa suddenly climbed up on top of the wall, staring down at her friend. "Don't you die, Ymir! Not in a place like this!" She nearly toppled over, but luckily caught her legs just in time. "Don't pretend like you're good, you idiot!! You wanna go out in a blaze of glory? Are you stupid?! It's too late for you to try and get into heaven! If you're gonna die protecting this tower, forget about it! TEAR IT DOWN!"

        That was enough for Ymir. She began ripping out bricks, flinging them at the Titans surrounding her. Oh shit, she was actually tearing it down. The tower began to tip, leaning further and further forward. "Keep it up, Ymir!"

         The Titan in question appeared in front of them, and although it really wasn't important at the time, Araminta couldn't help but think how ugly her face up close was. "Want live...?" She asked, her voice distorted by her Titan form. "Grab me!"

         The tower was completely falling now, so they all leapt onto her, gripping her thick hair tightly. The wind that cut through the air as they fell felt like cold daggers against Araminta's skin, her own hair had come almost completely out of her braid and began whipping her in the face. She braced herself for impact, squeezing her eyes shut so she couldn't see when they met the ground.

         The collision sent them all flying out of Ymir's hair, sliding against the stone ground. Araminta groaned as she pushed herself up, and though she couldn't feel anything due to the adrenaline coursing through her veins she was sure there was already a large bruise forming against her ribcage.

          To the East, she could see the sun peaking up beyond the horizon, meaning they had managed to at least survive another day. She wanted to lay back down and pass out, but she had a feeling they weren't completely out of the woods yet. Reiner appeared in front of her, stretching out a hand to help pull her up off the ground. A familiar warmth rose in her cheeks as she placed her palm against his, allowing him to help her up.

        In the distance, she saw a Titan rise out of the rubble, and couldn't help but groan out of frustration. "Seriously? There's more?"

       "Hey! Go finish the job, ugly!" Connie shouted at Ymir, who surprisingly abided and jumped towards the Titan to rip its nape off. But right as she finished, another Titan sprung up, catching her off guard and grabbing her by her head. It lifted her all the way up and slammed her head against a piece of rubble.

         More and more Titans began to rise up, and it really looked like it was the end. Oh god, once they took out Ymir, they were all going to die. This was it, the end of the line for Araminta. There were some things she couldn't change, like she still hadn't answered any of her questions, and she was going to regret it. But maybe there was one last thing she could do before she died so she could have at least one less regret.

         Christa took off towards Ymir, and the four of them started chasing after her. "Reiner!" Araminta called out to the blond next to her as they ran, her heartbeat thudding in her ears.

         "Yeah?" He asked, glancing down at her.

         "There's something you should know! I--" Before she had the chance to finish, a Titan appeared in front of the five of them, causing them to come to an abrupt halt. Her breath hitched in the back of her throat, and time seemed to slow as she stared up at the creature that was likely going to become her killer. Her mouth went dry, she couldn't speak. All she could do was close her eyes and await her death.

       Only her death never came. Instead came the all too familiar sound of wires swinging through the air, and blades slicing through skin. Was that it? Had she died and gone to heaven?

        She slowly peeled her eyes open to see the Titan now toppling against the ground, and a green cloak visible on top of an old structure. "Christa. Everyone, get back. We've got this, leave the rest to us."

Mikasa.

        A swarm of green filled the sky, as dozens of Scouts flew in overhead. Araminta let out a laugh of relief, her hands jumping up to cover her mouth. The horror they'd endured was finally over, after all that they had gone through in the last few hours, they had finally been saved. She was crying, but she didn't have the energy in her to stop it. Everything that came next was a blur, as Scouts rained down from the sky and wiped out the monsters. Now she was sure she was dreaming.

        There was a loud crash behind her, and she turned around to see none other than the weirdo Eren Jaeger, lying against the rubble, a freshly murdered Titan on the ground behind him.

"Damn it, Jaeger! I told you to stay out of the way!" Someone called out, and Araminta was not at all surprised he disobeyed orders to kill some Titans.

        He pushed himself up, and then his eyes met her own. For some reason that sent Araminta over the edge, as she erupted into a fit of sobs. This was so incredibly unlike her, she felt embarrassed as tears spilled onto her cheeks. He was up on his feet in seconds, running to her and looking her up and down in worry.

        "What happened? Are you hurt?" He demanded, grabbing onto her face frantically.

        She shook her head, a bitter laugh escaping her lips as she examined the state she was in. "No, I just... I'm so relieved." She sniffled.

        Eren smiled at her, using his thumb to wipe away a tear from her cheek. "Me too."

LOL UHHH yeah that was a monster of
a chapter i am sorry 💔💔 i ended up
combining two chapters into one long
chapter just for fun!! so much crazy stuff
just happened haha!! araminta and eren my
babies also araminta and connie such
cute little besties. hope u all enjoyed pls
leave a vote if you did i really really
appreciate it 😍