IN WHICH ARAMINTA RETURNS TO SHIGANSHINA!
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ARMS TONITE  ∕  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

       THE GRASS WAS COLD AGAINST ARAMINTA'S BACK. Usually, it didn't get very cold within the walls, unless you ventured up into the mountains like they'd done when she was a cadet. Tonight, though, there was a soft breeze that graced the air, causing the bare skin of her arms to prickle up. It was cold, but it was nice. It was a very welcomed feeling.

         She turned her head to the side, shivering slightly as her cheek was now pressed against the cold grass. The view to the side of her was enough for her to not care, though. The sight of him, laying beside her and gazing up at the stars was one she'd seen multiple times when they were just cadets, but she was pretty confident that it was one that would never get old.

        Eren's dark eyebrows were knit together as his teal eyes stared forward, unmoving. Clearly, he was extremely lost in his own thoughts, and she couldn't really blame him. It had been a crazy couple of weeks.

        After realizing he had seen their old Cadet Corps commander in his father's memories, Keith Shadis, they had all gone together to pay him a visit. It turned out, he had found Grisha, Eren's father, wandering outside of the walls, claiming to have a bad case of amnesia. The story reminded Araminta of how her mother always used to say their family came from outside the walls. It sounded insane at the time, but she was starting to wonder if maybe it was true.

        It was becoming apparent that a visit to Shiganshina, specifically to Eren's basement, was crucial to winning this war against Reiner and Bertholdt, and to find out the secrets to the Titans. So, preparations had been made, and now here they were, on their way to retake Wall Maria. After a day of traveling, they finally found a safe spot to stop and get some rest before they arrived to Shiganshina, where they knew a fight would most likely be waiting for them.

       She and Eren had snuck off, not too far away from their camp, but far enough away they would be able to talk without having to worry about any of their nosy comrades (read: Connie and Sasha) listening in on their conversations. It was proving to be pointless, though, since they weren't really doing a whole lot of talking.

       "What are you thinking about?" She finally asked, and her voice seemed to catch him by surprise.

        "Hm? Oh. I guess I'm just thinking about... Everything..." He muttered vaguely. "It's going to be weird to be back home, after all of these years. Don't you think?"

        Araminta nodded, turning her head to look back up at the night sky. "Yeah," was all she said. The mention of home made her stomach churn, as she started to think about everything that happened there.

       She could hear him shifting around beside her, and glanced over our of the corner of her eye to see he had rolled over onto his side, so he was now fully facing her. "It's funny... We grew up so close to each other, but it took the wall being breached for us to meet each other."

       "Well, I knew who you were. My dad always warned me to stay away from the doctor's kid, because he was always getting into trouble." She mused, mimicking his actions and rolling onto her side.

He gasped. "What?! I wasn't that bad! Ask Armin!" He jumped to his own defense. "Actually... Don't ask Armin. He was there almost every time I got into a fight."

Araminta giggled at that, which caused him to smile. "If it makes you feel any better, I also got into fights all the time. I think my dad was worried we would feed off of each other's craziness, or something. Or maybe that we might fight each other."

         Eren rolled his eyes. "That's crazy, I would never fight you. I might fight your dad for keeping us apart, though." He told her.

       His gaze lowered, and he tiptoed his fingers across the grass towards hers. As if it was instinct, she immediately opened up her hand so he could intertwine his fingers with her own. The feeling of his skin against her own caused warmth to flood her body.

        "You know, he was actually a pretty good guy, I think. If I introduced you to him now, he might still think you're too wild for me and try to chase you out of the house with a broomstick..."

         Eren frowned at that.

        "...But I think he would like you. My mom, too. She probably would have loved you."

        He smiled. "My parents would have loved you, too. Especially my mom. She probably would have tried to keep you forever the first time I brought you home..." His voice trailed off, and he glanced back up to look directly into her eyes. "Do you ever wish things were different?"

Araminta furrowed her eyebrows. "Of course I do. Everyday I wake up and wish that I'll step out of my bedroom and find my family waiting for me in the kitchen, and Marina will scold me for oversleeping. But... There's no point in dwelling on that, right? I mean, of course I would change what happened if I could. But right now, at this exact moment in time..." She tightened her grip on his hand. "I think I'm happy."

Eren stared at her, nodding slowly. "Yeah, you're right. We can't change the past, so I guess it's better to be grateful for what we have now, right?"

She nodded. "Right. I'm grateful that tomorrow, we're going to get the chance to retake our home, and avenge our families. And I'm grateful I get to do it with you." Her cheeks warmed at her own confession, and she was thankful for the blanket of darkness that hid her.

"I'm grateful for that, too." He leaned his head down and gently pressed his lips to hers. "We should probably get some sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

"Yeah... Can we stay right here a little longer, though? Just the two of us?" She asked quietly, and scooted closer so she could press her head into his chest.

        As much as she was trying to stay optimistic about it, she knew that the following day was probably going to change everything, and she doesn't even know for certain they're going to make it out of it unscathed. So for that moment, before things might change forever, she wanted nothing more than to savor the moment for as long as she could.

       She could feel him nod, and he shifted his arms so he could wrap them around her. "Of course we can." He murmured into her hair.

       There were a lot of things Araminta would change if she could, but laying there in his embrace, listening to the sound of his heart beating against his chest, and feeling his soft breath against her head was not one of those things.

       SOMETHING WAS WRONG. THE SECOND they flew up above the wall and into Shiganshina, Araminta could sense something was off. They were prepared for Reiner and Bertholdt to be waiting for them, and maybe even the Beast Titan. But the city was completely empty, not a single Titan or traitor in sight. A part of Araminta was relieved — she wasn't sure she was even ready to face Reiner again. But, the larger part of her knew something was wrong.

        Eren was able to plug up the outside gate with no problem. Araminta stood atop of the wall with Hange, watching as Eren's Titan crystallized the same way they had been practicing for weeks. When he finally broke free from the nape of the neck, she was prepared to drop down and retrieve him, but Mikasa beat her to it.

For a brief moment, there was the same sour taste in her mouth from the day they'd been doing experiments and she saw Mikasa coddling Eren, but then she reminded herself there were way more important things going on.

For example, she was back in her hometown, for the first time in over five years.

        Slowly, she turned back around to face the small district, finally allowing herself to take it all in. The day the wall had fell, the city had been filled with so much chaos, she didn't ever stop to take a look around. Now, though, she was able to see how much had changed that day. How near the gate that Eren had just sealed, there were giant boulders all over the place, crushing multiple structures. She wondered how many of those had crushed people, too.

       Her gaze drifted upwards, to where her old house was. From where she was, she couldn't pinpoint which house was hers, but maybe it was for the better. She wasn't positive that it was somewhere she was ready to go back to. Besides, she needed to divert her focus back to their mission and keep her guard up.

There were two loud bangs, and Araminta looked up to see two green smoke signals being fired off. The wall was completely sealed on both sides, so nobody would be able to get in or out.

"Eren, how are you feeling? Are you tired at all?" Hange asked, and Araminta returned her full attention to the task at hand. She realized Eren was missing his cloak, and pulled her own off to wrap around him while Hange was interrogating him.

"I feel fine. I guess all the training we did really paid off." He replied to Hange, who nodded.

"Well, good. Let's not waste any time, then! Everyone, head for the inner gate! And keep your faces hidden!" They announced loudly, and everyone began to move.

It was a bit difficult for her to hide her face now that she gave Eren her hood, but it was more important for him to not be recognized than it was for her. She just hoped that she wasn't giving anything away by staying so close to him.

"Did I really seal up that wall? It seemed too easy." Eren wondered aloud, his gaze tracked on the crystallized corpse of his Titan. She was slightly glad she wasn't the only one who felt like everything was going too smoothly, but she also hated that they were probably right.

"You did. I saw you." Mikasa told him. "Have faith in your own strength, Eren."

Eren nodded, though he didn't seem fully convinced by her words.

Also not convinced was Captain Levi, who Araminta didn't even realize was so close to them. "We're not finished yet." He said, which caused Eren to look up at him in surprise. "We can plug up the holes all we want, but they can just break them again and again. The only way we'll fully retake Wall Maria is to kill Reiner, Bertholdt, and whoever else might be with them."

Araminta gave a curt nod in agreement with her captain. She wasn't sure when it had happened, she didn't even notice it happening, but at some point her goal had grown past just retaking Shiganshina. After he had lied to her for years, made her believe he was her friend, someone she could rely on, someone she could like, Araminta would not rest until Reiner Braun was dead.

        On the other end of the wall, she noticed a flood of emerald green, and looked over to see dozens of soldiers leaping off of the wall and down into the city. She narrowed her eyes as she watched them, trying to figure out what they were doing. Were they searching for something?

        A smoke signal went off, and all the soldiers retreated back to the top of the wall. She had no idea what was going on, but judging by the way they were all grouped closely together, it was something important. Instinctively, she looked over at Eren, who must have been thinking the exact same thing as he looked back at her with a face of uncertainty.

Another signal was fired into the air. This time, it was red, which meant the mission was being put to a halt. "Everyone retreat to the top of the walls and scatter around!" Hange commanded, and people around them started to zip upwards.

        Araminta shot Eren one last glance. Even though they had betrayed her, she knew Reiner and Bertholdt were smart. And even though she wasn't sure she knew who they were anymore, they knew them, and once they saw her without a cloak, it wouldn't be hard for them to spot him. So, for now at least, she would stay away from him.

         She followed Jean, Sasha and Connie to a spot on the wall, settling in with her back towards the city so she could keep guard on the terrain beyond the wall. There were some clanging noises echoing all around her, and she couldn't help glancing over her shoulder out of curiosity.

        "Is this even safe? I feel like we're just a bunch of sitting ducks up here." Connie mumbled.

        The bright sunlight reflecting off of a sword nearly blinded Araminta, and she realized the clanging sound was blades against the stone walls.

         "Do you think Armin found something?" Jean asked, though Araminta wasn't fully paying attention to his question while she was trying to figure out what the other Scouts were doing.

Then, it dawned on her.

"They're checking for hollow spots in the wall. Reiner and Bertholdt, they're here. They're hiding in the walls." She gasped, and as if on cue, the sound of a smoke signal startled her.

She whipped around to see a Scout holding his sword high in the air. "There's a hollow spot in the wall right here! There's — "

Before he got the chance to finish, she saw the gleam of a blade puncturing through the back of his green cloak, and blood splattering into the air. All the air had been sucked out of her lungs as she watched him start to fall towards the ground below, dragging a faux piece of wall with him.

And then, for the first time since he first revealed his true self, she watched as Reiner Braun finally made his appearance.

Her blood immediately began to boil at the sight of him, and she had half a mind to go down there and kill him herself. Levi was faster than her, though, diving down from above and thrusting one blade straight through Reiner's neck. Then, he plunged the other one into his chest, and for a moment, Araminta thought he was finally dead.

How foolish of her to think that.

She wasn't sure what Levi saw, but he released his blades from their handles, and let Reiner's body fall to the ground with a thud. "Jesus, what are these guys made out of? A blade to the throat and the fucker still refuses to die!"

        Below, Araminta watched the blond boy thrive on the ground. "C'mon, just die already..." She muttered under her breath. But, there was a bright flash of light, and once the gust of wind he created settled down, she was finally able to see that he had transformed into the Armored Titan.

       "Bastard. He's like a fucking cockroach." Jean spat.

       "Stay alert! Keep an eye out for his comrades! They could appear at any moment — "

        Commander Erwin was cut off by another transformation like Reiner's, but it was multiplied by the hundreds as a multitude of Titans appeared, surrounding the wall past them. Then, at the center of them all, Araminta saw it:

        The Beast Titan.

       "Shit, not this guy again." Connie groaned.

       Araminta could feel her heartbeat in her ears, pounding loudly as she watched the monkey-like Titan pick up a massive boulder — about as big as the same one Eren used to plug up Trost — then launch it towards the wall.

        Sasha gripped her arm as they braced for the impact, but it didn't come. At least, not in the multitude they'd been expecting. The boulder had landed down in front of the other gate, completely blocking everyone inside.

        One after another, things kept happening, and Araminta was starting to have trouble keeping up with everything going on. There was movement on the ground below, and her attention was turned towards Reiner, who was up off of his back now, and instead in a lunge.

        "Oh god, he's gonna climb the wall." Araminta realized with dread, watching as he flexed his fingers and toes while they hardened into the same crystal material Eren had used moments before. She watched in horror as he raced towards the wall, then dug his foot into the hardened stone to begin his ascent.

        Her fingers rested on her triggers, ready for Commander Erwin to give the command to attack, but it didn't come. Instead, he told the Scouts not to engage with him.

        "What the hell?" Araminta gasped, looking over to Hange for answers.

         "Why isn't he telling us to attack? What the hell is he thinking?" Eren also demanded an answer from their squad leader.

          "The enemies prepared quite a welcome for us, didn't they?" Hange started. "Erwin's just watching their movements for now. He doesn't want to act until he understands their strategy."

Araminta didn't like that answer, but understood it nonetheless. As if on instinct, she found herself standing beside Eren again, her attention refocused on the land within the walls. Her gaze fell on a Titan she had never seen before — one that was walking on four legs, and had a big load of cargo strapped to its back.

"What the fuck is that thing?" She asked, scrunching up her nose. The face of it was hideous — a new contender against Ymir for the ugliest Titan she had seen.

"Looks like some kind of cargo Titan... It must be another Intelligent Titan, who knows how many of those the enemy has up their sleeve." Hange observed, which sent shivers down Araminta's spine.

The Beast Titan raised his fist high into the air, then slammed it down onto the earth, the force sending a shockwave through the ground that caused the earth around him to split. It also awoke the small Titans, who began to move in towards Shiganshina.

"Everyone get ready! Multiple two to three meters approaching!" Hange announced.

There was another boom, though, and they all looked over to see Reiner was nearing the top of the wall. Surely Erwin was ready to give his command now, right?

"Dirk Squad and Marlene Squad, too! I need you to join Klaus Squad at the gate and protect the horses! Levi Squad and Hange Squad, I need you to take down the Armored Titan! Employ the Thunder Spears at your own discretion! Do whatever it takes to achieve your objective!

"This is our moment! Our chance to strike! The fate of humankind depends on this battle! Lay down your hearts and lives... One final time... For humanity!"

Araminta and the others turned to face Hange, awaiting their instruction. They stood silent for a moment though, appearing to be deep in thought as they tried to formulate a plan.

There were footsteps approaching, and at first Araminta thought it was Levi, returning to lead his squad, but instead it was Armin. "Hange! Erwin wanted me to pass on a message!" He announced, which quickly caught the squad leader's attention.

"Commander Erwin wants Eren to transform and bait Reiner away from the wall, and the horses!"

Hange looked bewildered. "He wants to use Eren as bait?!"

Araminra glanced over at Eren as Armin answered, unsure how much she liked that idea. He was still donning the crimson Titan marks after transforming not too long before, and though she knew he would be able to handle another transformation just fine, she couldn't help but feel nervous about it all.

"Hold on... So he's willing to risk Eren's capture just to protect the horses?"

"You're kidding." Mikasa deadpanned. "Even if we do try it, Reiner might just go after the horses anyway.

"No. I'm sure he'll chase Eren. If Reiner does choose to go after the horses, then Eren can continue running north, and wrap around the Beast Titan's formation. With Levi, the Scouts, and Eren, they can catch the Beast Titan in a pincer attack. Erwin must've said all this himself, right, Armin?"

"Um... Yes." Armin blinked at Hange.

"Of course! Even if things don't go as we hope... The enemy won't expect Eren to flee, so it might confuse them enough to get them to change their plans. The only question is can Reiner see that far ahead..."

"Knowing him, he should work it out pretty quickly." Eren answered, and Araminta nodded in agreement. Reiner had always excelled in their strategy classes, so it would be more surprising if he didn't figure it out.

"Okay. Then this is where we'll bring down the Armored Titan." Hange decided.

"Wait! There's one more factor we need to consider!" Armin stopped the group just as they started to walk away. "He's still hiding, but Bertholdt has to be nearby. The last time they fought, Eren outmaneuvered Reiner, and had him on the verge of defeat until Bertholdt intervened. As a simple counter measure, you need to do what you can to keep the fight away from the walls."

Araminta cringed as she recalled the memory. Watching as the Colossal Titan tipped over the edge of the wall, and being unable to do anything as his giant body hurdled down towards Eren... She'd felt so hopeless, especially once the dust had settled, and Eren was gone.

      "Hey, are you okay?" Eren was in front of her, gazing down at her with his eyebrows knit tightly together.

       She nodded, and gave him a weak smile. "Yeah. I'm just thinking about the last time we were in this spot. When we thought we were going to win, and then they caught us off guard and captured you..." Her voice trailed off, and she suddenly became embarrassed. "I'm sorry. The last thing I want to do is make you nervous or anything."

       "Hey, it's going to be okay." Eren was quick to reassure her, a hand darting out to cradle her cheek. "Everything is going to be fine. We have a better grasp on what to expect now. And you guys have those new Thunder Spears."

       Araminta smiled. "Yeah, and I helped make them, so they're bound to work, right?"

       He grinned back at her. "Yeah, obviously."

       It was quiet for a minute, and Araminta found herself trapped in the sea that was his teal irises. He was right, wasn't he? Everything was going to be okay? She wasn't going to lose him again?

         Just in case it didn't, though, she tilted her head up and pressed her lips against his. It was just a gentle kiss, like the one from the previous night, but it said everything she couldn't figure out how say with words.

        Once she finally pulled away, he looked down at her with curious eyes. "What was that for?"

        "Definitely not because I'm worried." She lied. "Just... Consider it to be a kiss of good luck."

        He laughed softly, and started to tug her cheek to kiss her again but they were interrupted by Connie clearing his throat.

        "Ugh, gross, we get it! You guys are in love! But Reiner just got to the top, so we need to get a move on!" He pointed over to the wall, and sure enough, the Armored Titan was perched on the top.

        "Don't be jealous, Connie. I'm sure one day you'll find someone who will love you, bald head and all." Araminta rubbed the top of his head the way Ymir always used to, and he started to swat her hand away.

       Jean rolled his eyes. "He's right. You're wasting time. Let's get a move on." He snapped, and Eren glared at him as he walked past.

        "Shut up, Jean. I got this." He told him matter-of-factly. He gave Araminta one last reassuring look, then jumped off the wall to head towards the center of the city.

        Jean huffed. "He's so goddamn annoying."

        "Maybe. But we're fighting against our greatest enemy. You need to put aside your feelings and focus on that." Hange told him firmly, and he didn't say anything back, but based on his tense state, Araminta could tell he wanted to.

        "For the record, I think it's sweet." Sasha told Araminta, standing close to her as they watched Eren transform into his Titan. "I think this is the happiest I've seen you in the three years I've known you."

        Araminta felt her cheeks redden. "That's because we're about to retake my hometown. Not because of him."

        Sure enough, Reiner followed Eren away from the inner wall, and deeper into the city. That was their cue to get their Thunder Spears loaded up, and get ready to use them if necessary. The Thunder Spears were a weapon she, Hange, Moblit and some other engineers had been developing for a few months, so she was looking forward to finally seeing them in action.

        So far, Eren seemed to be winning the fight against Reiner. He had recently learned how to form the crystal hardening on his knuckles, which made each blow he landed on Reiner crush right through his armor like it was thin ice.

        That was, of course, until Reiner dove down and caught hold of Eren's leg, lifting him into the air and smashing him against one of the homes. Araminta's breath got stuck in her throat as she watched their enemy lift him again, then smash him again.

        "Hange! He needs our help!" Mikasa called out to their squad leader.

        "Not yet! Everything rides on our first attack! We need to wait and trust that Eren will give us a good opening!" They replied, and even though it pained Araminta to watch Reiner beating on Eren, she knew it was true. Even though they had immense power, they would still have to get them in just the right position to work against the Armored Titan.

        After some wrestling around, Reiner escaped from Eren's grasp, and managed to run a few blocks down from him. Now, he was alone, exposed, and definitely unprepared for a blitz attack from the Scouts, which made it the perfect time to attack.

        Mikasa and Hange launched their spears into his eyes, then pulled on the triggers, igniting them and causing an explosion that made Reiner roar in pain. Next, the rest of them moved in, puncturing their spears into the bare muscle near the nape of Reiner's neck.

        Araminta watched in amazement as they all ignited the spears, leading to another massive explosion.

        "Oh my god, Hange, it's working!" She exclaimed excitedly to her mentor.

        "She's right, look! The armor in his nape is in splinters now!" Jean laughed like he could barely believe it.

        "We need to do it again!" Sasha said.

        "You each still have a Thunder Spear! Use them to take him down, and end this!" Hange shouted back.

       Connie and Sasha's eyes widened. "But... It's Reiner..." Connie said quietly.

       Araminta looked down at her last Thunder Spear, waiting to be used, then back again at Reiner. No, at the Armored Titan. If she was going to be able to kill him, she had to remind herself that he wasn't the boy she had spent the last three years looking up to, the one she had once trusted with her whole life. He was the one who had helped break into the very city they stood in, who aided in the death of her family.

        It wasn't Reiner. It was an enemy to humanity, and he needed to be taken out.

        "Come on, guys! We said we'd do it if it ever came down to this!" Jean reminded the other two. "So let's go!"

        Araminta smiled at his outburst, which seemed to rile up Connie and Sasha the way they needed to be. With a chorus of loud shouts, the soldiers carrying the last set of Thunder Spears aimed directly for the Armored Titan's neck, then fired.

        She rolled onto one of the nearby roofs, finally landing on her butt. After the explosions, there was a big smoke cloud that made it impossible to see how much destruction they had actually caused. As they waited for the dust to settle, Jean helped Araminta stand to her feet, holding her close to him in anticipation.

        The dust settled.

        Their plan had worked. The armor protecting the nape of his neck was gone, and now Reiner was exposed, with the top half of his head blown off from the force of the explosion.

        Scouts all around them began to cheer. Araminta sucked in a breath, reaching up to cling onto Jean's cloak. "Holy shit, we actually did it. After five years, we actually took down the Armored Titan." She spoke in awe.

        Jean began to laugh. "Haha... We did it. He was a serious pain in the ass for us... Serves you right, you scumbag!"

        Araminta began to laugh as well, mostly just because she couldn't actually believe they had done it, but then she heard crying. In unison, she and Jean looked down to see Sasha and Connie sitting on the roof, quietly sobbing to themselves.

        Jean let out a low growl, then let go of her to instead grab ahold of their cloaks. "What the hell are you two crying for? Get up! We still have work to do!"

        Araminta's eyes widened, and she made haste to intervene. "Stop it, Jean!" She shouted at him, trying to push him off, but he didn't budge.

        "Quit crying for him! He would've done the same thing to us!" He yelled in their faces.

        "Leave them alone!" Araminta pressed, giving him one more harsh shove to get him to let go of them. He stared at her in bewilderment, and for a second she was afraid he might start screaming at her, too, but Hange started shouting before he got the chance.

        "This isn't over yet!" They called out. "We'll hit him with another round just to be sure."

        Sasha and Connie gasped, and Araminta let out a frustrated sigh. As much as it physically pained her to admit it, Jean was right. They needed to get up and stay alert, there was no time for mourning, especially not for the enemy.

       "Come on, guys, we all know there was no room for negotiations. It was either kill or be killed." Araminta tried to reason with them, but it just seemed to make them sniffle even more.

        Suddenly, a loud roar ripped through the air, and she was forced to cover her ears in an attempt to protect her hearing. She turned around to see that the roar had come from Reiner, who must have made it in one last ditch effort to find help. It was a heartbreaking sound, reminiscent of when the Female Titan had screamed the same way in the Forest of Giant Trees.

        "Come on! If we want him dead, we'll have to explode the whole body!" Hange commanded.

        Araminta felt uneasy. When Annie had unleashed a scream like that, she had called the Titans in the surrounding area to her. What if Reiner was doing the same? What if he was calling for backup? From the Beast Titan, the ugly cargo carrying Titan, or even...

       "Hange, wait!" Armin called out. "See that barrel?" He asked, pointing up to the sky where sure enough, a lone barrel was soaring through the air. "I'm sure Bertholdt's inside!"

        "And if he transforms, we're all done for!" Araminta backed up the blond.

         Hange nodded. "Okay. Everyone move away from the Armored Titan! The Colossal is falling towards us right now!" 

        They all began to zoom away, and Araminta braced herself for the massive explosion to be unleashed from Berthodlt's transformation, but it didn't come. Once the Scouts realized he wasn't transforming yet, they stopped on some rooftops, and looked back to get a good view of what was going on.

"Now's our chance! Armin, you take command of Levi Squad, and my squad will go finish off the Armored Titan!" Hange announced.

"But Hange! This might be our only chance to negotiate with Bertholdt!" Armin called out to their superior.

Araminta laughed softly to herself. There was no negotiating with them. They made that clear the day they had kidnapped Eren, and refused to give him up. But, this was just who Armin was. Even when they'd had cannons pointed at them, and their own higher-ups were convinced Eren was an enemy of humanity, Armin wanted to negotiate.

Even though she knew it was futile, though, she couldn't help admiring Armin's determination to believe in the good in everyone.

He caught Bertholdt on the top of a bell tower; and the two began to loudly argue. Bertholdt claimed that everyone within the walls must die, that he decided today they would die. Araminta felt her gut twist each time the taller boy spoke, each time he declared they needed to die.

"I know you're not devils." He told him. "But I can't permit you to live. Your deaths have already been predetermined."

Araminta gritted her teeth tightly together. In the distance, she watched as Mikasa attempted a surprise attack on him, but he noticed her just in time, deflecting each of her attacks. It had been so long since she had seen him in action, Araminta almost forgot he was in the Top 3 cadets in their class.

And then, he zoomed away, abandoning Armin and Mikasa on the rooftop to go do god knows what. "He wouldn't transform yet, right? He must have seen the state Reiner is in, he wouldn't risk killing him, right?" Araminta asked, keeping her gaze trained on him.

But then, she realized how high in the air he was getting. Right near where they had abandoned Reiner, and where Hange Squad was heading to finally get rid of the Armored Titan once and for all.

Oh no. He was going to transform. And then it hit Araminta that he was going to transform right where Hange Squad was located, and he was going to blow them all up.

"He's going to transform!" Jean called out, and everyone started to prepare to take cover.

"No-no-no-no-no, he can't transform yet! Hange is still over there!" Araminta's eyes widened as she kept her eyes glued to Bertholdt's figure in the sky, and even though he was hundreds of feet away, she could see his tiny arm starting to move towards his mouth.

"Araminta, get over here!" Jean screamed at her, but she wasn't listening.

She didn't know what exactly she was planning on doing, but she couldn't just stand there and watch her mentor get killed. Maybe, if she warned Hange fast enough, they would be able to get far enough away from the explosion. Maybe, they could try to do something to distract Bertholdt and give Hange Squad enough time to get away. Maybe —

There was a bright light, and then came the explosion.

The boom that came from the explosion was so deafening, she wasn't even able to make out the sound or her own screams.

It had all happened too fast. They had overestimated Bertholdt's care for Reiner, and now her mentor, the first person she had looked up to since she had lost her mom was gone. Probably burned to a pulp, or blown into a million little pieces.

The force of the wind knocked her backwards, and she nearly slammed into the brick siding of a house, but a hand had caught her own. She could barely see through the smoke and her own tears, but she could see Sasha was the one keeping her from blowing away.

How poetic was this? Five years after she witnessed the gruesome deaths of her sister and father, she just watched one of her favorite people in the world die as well. And it was by the same hands as before. She knew then and there that there was only one possible outcome for this fight.

Bertholdt Hoover had to die.

oopsie rip hange 😢😢 just kidding
they aren't dead but araminta doesn't
know that!

guys im genuinely so close to wrapping
up this fic sjsjsnsjs there's max 3 chapters
left and arms tonite will finally be finished
after nearly 3 years!! and then it'll be time
for the sequel... which will 100% be the
angstiest most tragic thing i've ever written
i'm so excitedsjsjsjsje

if you are someone who's read this whole
massive fic up to this point i appreciate
you so much and you are the reason i am
so determined to complete this fic <333

anyways wow this is such a long authors
note but it's the first chapter i've posted in
monthsss so i think it's necessary!! and it's
the first chapter i've published since aot
officially ended isn't that crazy... but i
don't wanna talk abt that ill start crying.

enjoy!