"Hey, I'm gonna go ahead and meet up with Captain Levi!" Gunther called out as he zipped past us, giving us a quick thumbs up.
"Alright, catch ya later!" Eld replied, pausing on a tree branch to make sure we were all following. We had received a signal flare from Levi only minutes before, which let us know he wanted us to regroup and withdraw.

I'm kind of relieved...now we can all just go home...

"Hey, Pet..? Olu..?" I glanced over my shoulder, smirking slightly. "When you pissed yourselves on your first missions...did it spray through the air..?" I savored Petra's shriek as her cheeks blossomed, and Oluo nearly went ahead and bit his tongue.
"That's what I was gonna ask!" Eren gasped, and I started cackling, wobbling as I sped through the air.

"CAN WE JUST FORGET YOUR DAMN FIANCE EVEN MENTIONED THAT PLEASE?!" Petra wailed, absolutely mortified that her information had, for lack of a better word, been leaked.
"Why? It was glorious! It was like someone had popped a bottle of wine right out of your a-"

T    H    W    A    K

Everything seemed to freeze when I saw it. The limp, bloody body that bounced like rubber off of the tree ahead of us. The neck that was so terribly sliced and mangled; barely attached, and the dark, matted hair that I had decorated so many times with colourful floral crowns.

It was Gunther...and he was dead.

"G..Gunther..?!" Eld was the first to find his voice, and I could hear the sheer panic in his tone.
"Keep fucking moving, Eren! Don't stop!" Oluo immediately grabbed Eren by the hood, dragging him along as we all simultaneously spotted the enemy. Swallowing dry, I felt my heart skip a beat as I took in their cloaked appearance.

One...of us...

"Hurry! Quick as you can, to the captain, or any friendly forces! Protect Eren..!" Eld swooped ahead of me, blades drawn and at the ready, and I was the same. I didn't give a flying fuck about Eren, but I sure as hell wasn't prepared to let this traitor live after murdering Gunther.
"Come on!" Petra shrilly called out. "At the very least, we'll all go down together!"

No...Nobody else is going to fucking die today..!

We had passed by the assailant, and u thought, just for a split second, we were in the clear. That was until that glaring light burst out from behind us.
"Here it comes!" Oluo shouted, eyes wide. "The female titan!" I knew we had been right. There had been a pilot in that hulking bitch all along, and now it was sprinting after us again.

With a ripping snarl, Eren pivoted around, lifting his hand again.
"This time, I'm killing that thing!" I was all for it, if I was being honest, but I looked to Eld, who I knew would try to refute his decision.
"You can't!" He snapped loudly, sweat beading down the side of his face. "The three of us will bring down the female titan! (Y/N) will take you safely towards command!"

Wh..what?!

"Fuck right off! I'm fighting that thing! It's the four of us, Eld! Jaeger can fare for himself!" I barked angrily, hurt that he didn't trust me enough to be able to back them up. I could see the conflict on his face as he looked to me, and the fear was almost causing his earthy eyes to glow.
"(Y/N), please, this is an orde-"

"DIDN'T YOU HEAR YOUR DAMN CAPTAIN, ELD?! NOBODY CAN FORCE ME TO SUBMIT! FUCK, EREN, JUST TITAN UP ALREADY!" I'd had enough. I loved Eld, and I loved Petra and Oluo. I had loved Gunther, too. I wanted this to stop, and I knew Eren could finish it if he just made the right decision.

That boy was torn between two wrongs, in his eyes. If he shifted, he would lose the respect of the three surviving squad members he served under, but if he trusted them, and went ahead alone, he was leaving us all to quite possibly die.

"I'll fight too!" Eren announced, and I was almost relieved, before the others had to go and open their prideful mouths.
"What's wrong, asshole?! Do you doubt our abilities?!" Oluo verbally tore into him, and I wanted to kick him in the back of the head.
"Really, Eren..?! Do you really have so little faith in us..?!"

"STOP FUCKING GUILT TRIPPING HIM! THIS IS FUCKED! HE'S OUR BEST CHANCE!" I roared, speeding up and swinging right by my new fiance. "ELD, PLEASE..! HAVE SOME SENSE..! I'LL FOLLOW YOU, BUT PLEASE DON'T MAKE THIS MISTAKE..!"

Eld's eyes were dark, and I knew there was no use trying to sway him. He'd made his decision, which in turn made mine, but I still had to hope that Eren would choose the right way.
"EREN, PLEASE..!"

"I BELIEVE MY SQUAD WILL BE VICTORIOUS!" My prayers were halted as I watched Eren swing off ahead, and I turned to Eld again, who had already turned around to lunge into battle.
"H..hey..." I caught his attention briefly, (E/C) eyes frighteningly large and filled with fear. "...Cross your heart..?"
"Always, for you..." He responded with a pathetically weak smile, before he zipped away from my side.

Why...did it seem like we weren't talking about the same thing..?

Gritting my teeth; almost to the point of shattering, I followed their lead. Their skills were impeccable, I couldn't deny that, so we weren't simply heading to our deaths. We really did stand a fighting chance.

The scream Eld released from his throat was powerful as he swooped towards the female titan, slashing his blades through the air. I was terrified, but I knew what his plan was. For once, I was glad I had allowed them to teach me their coded signals.

Just as she was about to strike out at him, he redirected his anchors, pulling back and rushing backwards past us, giving us the distraction we needed. Oluo and Petra went straight for the eyes, gouging them out with swift swings of their blades, and I quickly began aiming for her arms, which were raised so her hands could cover her nape.

I managed to get a couple of deep slices in before she backed up against a tree, seeming to have caught on to what we were planning. That didn't stop us, and I was soon joined by the other three, who assisted me in dealing brutal damage to the bitch's pits and elbow joints, even the muscles around her shoulders.
"We have maybe a minute, tops, before she's out of the dark! Get those arms down!" Eld ordered, and I did exactly what I was told. He really was a born leader.

Dealing one final slice, I withdrew just in time to see those ginormous arms drop to her sides, hanging limply. The steam was beginning to clear around her face, and I knew our time limit was drawing near.

We gotta act fast..!

"The nape! If we cut the muscles around the neck, she'll lose all support!" Eld cried out, and that's all I needed to hear. I was in kill mode, and she was my one and only target.
"Got it..!" I flew forward; blades raised, eyeing the perfect spot. If I could get her head down in one cut, that would be the end of it. We could all go home, unscathed.

I can go home...and live a life with the man I lo-

"(Y/N), WATCH OUT!"

Flying backwards through the air, I at least wished that I had been unable to get a clear view. I wished that Eld hadn't raced forward and thrown me over his shoulder. Then I wouldn't have had to see what what happening right in front of me...

...or heard that familiar, sickening crack...

I couldn't even hear my own screams. The only sound that was playing in my ears was that execrable crunch as I watched Eld being crushed by those titanous jaws. All I could smell was blood as he dropped; half of him dropped, to the ground in a splatter of oozing crimson.

E..Eld..? N..no...no no no no no...You can't be...This isn't...You're not...

When that hulking, bleeding bitch spat; a single, haunting eye locking onto mine, I knew I'd never forget the image of Eld's face, falling to join his lower half on the filthy ground. His eyes were open, but there was no longer any life in them. There was not a single spark of the love I had seen in them only minutes before.

"ELD!" Petra and Oluo's screams finally reached me, and they kicked me to life. The titan was on Petra's heels, arms dangling lifelessly beside it as its leg swung out...

...There was that same fucking sound...

"PETRA! N..NO..!" Oluo howled from somewhere ahead of me, but I was far away from the world we were in. All I could see was red, and I wanted that traitorous cunt to be drenched in it.
"I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU..!" I wasn't even sure if those were the words I screeched as I swung up towards her from below, having somehow blindly anchored right beneath her nape.

I had expected to be dowsed in scalding blood, and to have her fall to the ground in a sprawled mess, but all I could see was the reflection of my frenzied face in my blades, which were flying through the air in front of me.

They...broke...

Everything happened so quickly. The female titan swung her entire body forward, launching me over the top of her head, before she threw herself back again, effectively causing my anchor to dislodge, and sending me hurtling up into the air, above the branches and leaves of the trees and into the clear sky.

The sheer force of it stole all the air I had left in my lungs, and it felt like I was rising and falling in the slowest of motions. My gear was busted, I knew that for a fact. I could see the wire flailing uselessly above me, in the clouds, as I watched them grow further and further away.

This...is good...I'll hit the ground any moment now...Good...

Breaking back through into the forest, I felt myself hit one of the extended branches, right against my aching shoulder, hearing the third and final; familiar, crack of the day. The pain that blazed through my upper body was so intense that I couldn't even scream if I wanted to, but it was fine.

I'm about to die anyway...Thank god...I'll be with you guys...Dimitri...Marco...Gunther...Petra...and Eld...

S H H H H H I N K

I didn't open my eyes for what seemed like hours. There had been no heavy thud, but I had been jolted badly, and my entire body stung and bit at my nerves like wildfire. Cracking my aching eyes open, I stared up at a hazy dapple of golden spots, streaming through the scarce cracks through the forest canopy.

Why...can't I manage to break a promise..? Not even once..?

Making the grave mistake of looking ahead, all I could do was let my tears drizzle up over my temple and collect in the clotted knots of my hair when I saw it all. The three of them were just laying there, gored and excruciatingly mangled, almost beyond recognition.

Close your eyes...DAMMIT, CLOSE YOUR FUCKING EYES!

I couldn't even manage that. All I could do was stare at Eld; split in two, gazing up at me with lifeless eyes. Eyes that no longer reminded me of the earth, because it was rich with blood beneath him. Decades could have passed by, and I would never have noticed. It felt that way until I couldn't take it any longer. Trying to move my arms, I went to unclip my gear so I could join them all.

It would have been the end of it, had I been able to move my left arm. The damage my shoulder had suffered during the drop back down had caused some sort of dislocation, and it hung like the appendage of a wooden doll in the air beside me. If I hadn't been feeling the searing pain of it, I would have assumed it had been torn right off.

The loudest of screams I had ever released tore from the depths of my being as I clawed desperately at my harness, trying to rip through it and free myself. I knew it was useless, but it didn't stop me from trying until my fingers began to drip with blood.

Please...just...let me fall..! Let me be the last of that fucking sound I ever get to hear..! Please..!

Wracking out a violent sob, I let my able arm fall along with my other, completely giving up. I was slowly losing a grip on my conscious state, and I was fine with that. Anything was better than having to stare down at Eld's shredded corpse.

As my eyes began to close; hopefully for the final time, I saw a dark blur rush past not far below me. Whoever it was tilted their head, and slowed, but only for a moment.

"I'll.........back.........you......."

Whatever they said, I didn't have the energy to process it. I didn't want them to notice me. If anything, I wanted them to assume I was dead and leave me to rot, swinging like a shattered pendulum in the bleeding forest.

What...did we ever do to the world...to make it cause us so much pain..?

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***I'M NOT OKAY GUYS MY CRYING SOUNDS LIKE A GOOSE DROWNING IN A VAT OF ACID - I LOVE MY SOS BABIES SO MUCH AND I WANNA NOT LIVE FOR A GOOD WEEK AFTER THIS***