Prologue
Footsteps.
Armin could hear them. They echoed in his eardrums, and he felt a jolt of fear as he looked back. A Titan was coming towards them. After the near-death of Reiner by the Female Titan, who was currently carrying him, Armin wasn't taking any chances. The Titan coming towards them was a 15 meter class with dark hair on top of its head and large blue eyes. It didn't appear to have intelligence. It isn't heading to where Eren is. Armin struggled to get out of Reiner's grasp, but to no avail. The Titan was getting closer.
"Reiner! Jean!" he yelled.
"I know!" Reiner abruptly dropped Armin on the ground, and started running towards the Titan. The Titan immediately reached its vast hand towards the soldier, but Reiner used that moment to hook his 3D Maneuver Gear into the skin. At the corner of his eye, Armin could see Jean smiling – this Titan would be easy to kill, and no one would almost die. Then it happened.
The Titan suddenly grasped Reiner in its hands, smiling its hideous smile, as Reiner started getting crushed. Reiner squirmed and in vain tried to use his swords as his lungs were squeezed together, trying to breathe. Blood started to trickle onto the grass. Soon he couldn't move, and his eyes stared, terrified, at the Titan's smiling gaze. Armin's mind was blank. This… he thought as Reiner started to scream as the Titan increased its grip, blood dripping onto the grass. This…can't…be. His legs were frozen as Jean moved towards the Titan and their comrade who they had known for three years, since their cadet days. Reiner… A final scream was made when the spine was crushed. "NOO!" Blood. That was all Armin could see for a moment as Reiner was eaten. The Titan crushed the body into its mouth, blood smearing its teeth. Reiner was dead. Time seemed to stop. Armin could hear Jean shouting obscenities to the Titan as his swords were bared. Armin shakily stood, stunned, and prepared to use his 3D Maneuver Gear as tears streaked down his face. Suddenly, steam emerged from the Titan just as Jean was at the nape, and for a moment neither of them could see anything as the heat blinded them and slightly blistered their skin. Armin heard Jean shout as he fell, and Armin ran fast enough to use his body to cushion Jean's fall.
"Armin!" The blond soldier looked up blearily at his friend as Jean stood. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine…" Both of them looked towards the Titan. What had happened? The steam cleared, and Armin gasped at what remained. A human was lying on the ground. Holding their breath with their swords bared, they inched forward. The Titan – or human – didn't attack. Armin observed that the human had the same dark locks as the Titan. The eyes were closed. Could…it be? Torn and stained with gore, the human was wearing a uniform. Not at all like the uniform that the military wore. It was dark green with patches of lighter green and brown. It was barefoot, with sores and bruises. Armin could count numerous other bruises and cuts on the human's face, which immediately began to heal. Soon the skin was smooth as his own. How…and who…? Armin watched, wary, but the human didn't move. It seemed to be asleep. Looking closely at it now, Armin could see that – it – was shorter than him by at least five centimeters. Petite, like him. Could this person….be like Eren? he thought. Jean was looking at the human, stunned and his mouth gaping. But…the Titan didn't have intelligence…so how…?
"Let's kill the bitch!" Jean shout brought Armin out of his thoughts, his blue eyes stunned as Jean aimed his sword at the human's neck. It was only now that Armin saw the swell of the breasts. Ah…a female.
"Wait!" Jean looked at him incredulously. "She…might be like Eren, Jean." He saw the rage and grief in his friend's eyes. "She might be able to help humanity!"
"BULLSHIT!" The single screamed word almost deafened Armin. "I…don't care…who the hell she is…or if would help us." A crease appeared between his eyes. "She killed Reiner, Armin! Our friend! Our comrade! How could you…" Now he approached Armin, enraged, with his sword pointed at Armin's heart. "How could you…suggest that we spare her?"
"I didn't say that," Armin said calmly. "I simply stated that she could be a Titan-shifter like Eren…or something else entirely." Where did she come from? Armin thought to himself. And why did she turn back into a human…when she killed Reiner? "Erwin-danchō might use her," he added to Jean. Armin could see Jean calming down. He put away his blades, and his former mask of anger and rage was replaced by emptiness and disgust.
"Fine," Jean sighed through his teeth as he slung the human over his back. He climbed on the horse. It had been Reiner's. Now… "Are you coming?" he shouted to Armin as the shorter Survey Corps member stood there in silence.
"Yes," Armin whispered. What Jean had said hurt him. He had acted as if Armin had forgotten of what happened to Reiner. That's…not true. I saw him die…just as you did, Jean. As his horse followed Jean's, Armin's grief from Reiner's death started to dissipate. He felt a strange calmness. Is this what death feels like? He studied the human on Jean's back, morose thoughts flowing through his mind.
For some reason…I feel that my decision…is about to become something more.
Something…greater than humanity has ever known.