The town was in a panic. Hapless citizens ran for cover in their houses, locking doors and barricading windows. Those who weren't fast enough were snatched up and taken, talons the length of kitchen knives savagely piercing their flesh as all the humans could do was scream to be saved. A dragon raid had started soon after midnight and the monsters whistled through the air like missiles, picking humans up like their main diet, fish or shredding into the roofs of houses. Minutes after the start of the attack, the violent hissing and rapid whirring of the 3D Manoeuvre Gear screamed through the air and the island defenders flew into battle. Soldiers roared their battle cries to which the dragons responded with their own haunting cry and half a second after, blades clashed against talons. Dragons and soldiers alike dropped left and right, but many more held strong. A skilled soldier bolted head on into an oncoming dragon, determination glinted in both of their eyes. At the last possible second, before the dragon could bury its talons into the soldier's chest, the man twisted, narrowly dodging the attack just under the dragon's wing and flipped his body around. Now the dragon was vulnerable and completely at the mercy of the soldier. He opened his arms out and fired his net. The dragon, having no time to react, was hit clean and in the centre and was sent tumbling down to the ground.
Many soldiers fighting tonight were recent recruits who had been training for months. It wasn't their first raid and it certainly wasn't their last. But all the kids fought hard in hopes of being noticed by the seniors. Nothing was a greater honor than being addressed by one of the Wings of Freedom themselves, and the trainees wanted that glory like the dragons wanted them.
These trainees were skilled and the seniors had high hopes for them. Most showed exemplary skill and passion in their work, even hints of a potential member of the Wings of Freedom. Among this group of trainees was a talented boy named Eren Jaeger. He had beautiful technique and rarely ever made any mistakes that resulted in injury to his body or damage to his gear. Though rash and headstrong, Eren was passionate and the gear he wore seemed to move like an extension of himself. Every one of his captures was like an elegant dance for those watching Jaeger, and most of them left the dragon completely unharmed. He never missed and casualties were at a minimum around him. The seniors would think about recruiting him early into the Wings of Freedom, if it wasn't for one unfortunate flaw; Eren Jaeger had the lowest kill-rate in the history of defenders. While most soldiers had already killed over thirty, some skilled ones even over fifty dragons, Eren had killed two. Despite the countless feathered beasts that had been captured under Eren's net, only a measly two had actually died under his blade, and not before being captured in his net. The boy didn't even bother to lie about his score unlike some recruits did in hopes it will work in favour for them. Eren had never fatally hit a dragon in flight ever, which was unfortunate as that is the one skill that must be mastered to become the Wings of Freedom. It is a strange rule that the Wings of Freedom have because it is actually harder to successfully capture a dragon unharmed than it is to just kill it. This baffled the seniors as when they had tested Eren they found that he really was bad at actually killing them. They sent him into the forest arena again and again, and still no dragons died before him. But when they asked him to just capture the dragons, he got a perfect score.
The soldier who did have a perfect score in killing dragons was Eren's adopted sister, Mikasa Ackerman. She had the highest score among all trainees and everyone knew that she was destined to become one of the Wings of Freedom after graduating. Eren and Mikasa were close and the only family each other had. Mikasa was not island born like Eren and was actually brought from the mainland after an expedition run by the Wings of Freedom. The soldiers had found her hiding in a decimated house after the titans had eaten her parents and took her back to the Isle of Maria where she would be safer. Eren lived with his father, the island doctor as his mother had vanished when he was a baby, and they took Mikasa in as their own. Shortly after taking her in though, there was a dragon raid and Dr. Jaeger was tragically killed. Mikasa was almost taken as well if it weren't for Eren who viciously fought off the dragon with a knife until the soldiers arrived. It wasn't a day the children would like to remember, but it was the day Mikasa couldn't help not forgetting and would then on forever feel safest around Eren. From that day forward, Mikasa promised her short-term father that she would protect Eren at all costs and be there for her brother always.
Eren grunted as he narrowly missed being savaged by a rogue talon. The dragon snarled in frustration and lunged blindly again, only to be ensnared by Eren's net. As the dragon fell, Eren finished the capture before detaching himself from the chords and darted off to the reloading station. Before he even got there, he was greeted by his friend Armin, a soldier who wasn't really cut out to kill dragons, but refused to be left behind by his friends. Eren often argued with Armin, telling him that he would be far more successful studying the dragons with the crazy seniors or even as a blacksmith, building the weapons and fixing the 3D Manoeuvre Gear. It was true that Armin was a natural genius in both those areas and he did indeed spend his spare time honing those skills, but he loyally refused to be away from his only friends for long.
"Eren! I have your net!" Armin cried, landing on a rooftop before Eren and immediately set to work reattaching the bundled capture device to his friend.
"Restocking the soldiers, I see, Armin?" Eren commented.
"Yeah," replied the blond, "restocking the defenders is crucial if we don't want to be caught out. Sometimes, your only option is to use your net,"
"I agree," said Eren, fixing the straps securely.
The boys ducked as a captured dragon sailed over their heads and crashed into a house.
"By the way, what have we got, Armin?"
"Mostly the usual!" He shouted over the deafening sound of a house collapsing, "Mainly Velxes, Lurals, oh, and hordes of Incit and Pernix Navitas!"
Eren brushed off rogue splinters of wood from his hair, "Any Falkas?"
Armin shook his head, "None so far,"
"Good."
At that moment, Mikasa landed next to the boys with a loud but controlled hiss of her gear. Her two blades were heavily stained with blood which made Eren's nose wrinkle in distaste.
"What are you two doing here?!" She demanded, "It's dangerous to stay on the rooftops, you're an easy target!"
As if on cue, a dragon classed as a Lural dived for the three of them. Eren reached for his blades, preparing himself to attack. But before he could fully unsheathe them, Mikasa had already flown up to meet the beast and struck it down immediately. Her blades made a clean cut though the soft throat of the dragon and its blood rained down on the roof. It landed heavily on the hard surface, damaging it with its weight, and lay motionless.
"I can take care of myself, Mikasa!" Eren argued, standing up to face her.
Mikasa tucked her red scarf up to her nose, "Eren, I'm just trying to keep you safe,"
Feeling emasculated, Eren gritted his teeth and was about to snap back when Armin cut in, "I think Eren can look after himself, Mikasa. He's almost never been seriously injured while fighting-"
"Jaeger Boy, looking after himself?" An obnoxious voice called out, "What about the time he was left to watch the captured dragons before dinner and then let almost all of them escape?"
The voice revealed himself to be Jean Kirstein, a formidable soldier and an arrogant rival who wound Eren up for the sake of pissing him off. Though skilled in the gear, he had much to learn about the dragons themselves and working with his own side instead of against them.
"Shut the hell up, Jean." Eren spat, "No one asked for your opinion!"
Armin sighed inwardly at the unstoppable growing tension as Mikasa looked on.
Jean smirked, "I truly don't know how you expect to join the Wings of Freedom if you can't do the one job they are asking for."
When that received no response from Eren who was clearly seething, Jean digressed, "Anyway, I came to tell you that a particularly large flock of dragons are coming around the Western cape and we better move now if we want to stop them."
With that, Jean took off, leaving the three in his expelled gas.
"Come on, we better go," Armin encouraged.
But he needn't had to, as Eren violently took off after Jean, blood pumping and temper raging. He caught up to him quickly and shouted after him.
"Jean!"
The said boy slowed slightly and looked back to show that he had heard but didn't stop. The boys darted over and around houses, flying across the whole vicinity to get to the other side. Other soldiers were visible, including Mikasa and Armin who was carrying more supplies.
"I can look after myself!" Eren continued to argue, avoiding crashing into a chimney, "And I know that I'm better than you!"
"Is that a challenge, Jaeger?" Landing on a roof only to jump off, Jean teased, flashing a smile, "Okay then, prove it. By killing a dragon."
"Easy!" Eren shouted, unaware of the mess he was getting himself into.
"Oh, and not just any old dragon," Jean continued, making Eren's smile falter slightly, "Scouts tell us that there is a single Lethal Falka in the horde. Find it, and kill it. That's your challenge."
Laughing, and before Eren could say any more on the matter, Jean took off, throwing himself upon a pair of very surprised Velxes and cutting them down. Eren looked ahead to see that the bulk of the horde had finally arrived and were already scanning for stragglers and tearing into houses. Eren, being Eren, was desperate to find that Lethal Falka as soon as he could, but that was impossible as there was a multitude of problems that called for his aid. He could hear screaming to his slight right and looked to see five Raufens breaking in to a house.
Raufens were bulky and strong, classed as heavy and aggressive. They are not the most advanced in the air but make up for it with their sheer brute strength, breaking defenses and being tough to take down. Eren dispatched of these common beasts eventually and with only one net to immobilize the beasts, he had to be clever. First, Eren attacked the wings of the five dragons, painlessly slicing off the large primary feathers that gave the dragons their flight. Now with no means of escaping for them, Eren literally crashed into one, using his legs to kick it into another and sending the two tumbling. In the instant immediately after, Eren fired his net and ensnared the two in one. Then Eren skilfully used the rest of the ropes to tie the remaining dragons together. Luckily for him, reinforcements arrived and finished the job up for him. Finally released, Eren set off again. Time was running out if he wanted to catch, no, kill the Lethal Falka. Knowing Jean, he was probably after it too in hopes of one-upping Eren and taking all the glory, anything to be noticed by the seniors.
Flying around with no net made Eren uncomfortable and the maximum damage he dared cause to the attacking monsters was nullifying their means of flight. Feathers rained down where he went, followed by dragons that had no choice but to run and climb the houses. Eventually, Eren found Armin again and obtained another net. Eren wished for a way to carry more than one but these things were heavy and to wrap them up further would make the release far too slow and the dragons would get away more often than not. Sacrifices had to be made.
Eren swung around a house and ducked, narrowly dodging a falling beam (god knows where that came from) and shot up to get to a good vantage point. He hoped to catch a glimpse of his prize but the momentary vulnerability he had put himself in made Eren an immediate target for a Velx. Velxes are in the speed and agility class and are incredibly light and thin. They are hard to hit with their skilled manoeuvring but if a soldier could keep it at bay long enough, Velxes can be tired out and struck as soon as they make a mistake. This is exactly what Eren did, dodging and twisting and flipping to avoid the fury of attacks the Velx lunged at him with. Eren tested the dragon by making a dummy move and in the process, caused the dragon to react. Seeing that the dragon was now tired out (the dodge wasn't nearly as graceful if it were refreshed) Eren gave chase, sending the dragon into a panic. Cutting the dragon off over and over again, Eren have a multitude of chances to kill the dragon, all of which were never taken. Instead, Eren waited until he was above the beast before firing his net and sending it to the ground, screeching in fear.
Damn, Eren thought, I've got to stop using my nets so bloody much!
On his way to Armin again, Eren crossed paths with an Incit and Pernix Navitas. Navitas are two sub-type dragons that fit in the stamina group, Incits being fast and Pernixes being agile. They are often seen working together as they both can keep up with each other the longest. They are the only species of dragon that are known to work together when attacking and are difficult to take down alone. Luckily, Eren had the upper hand of surprise and quickly sliced the feathers of the Incit. He had no time to watch it fall as the Pernix was upon him immediately though, and he nearly lost the skin on his chest. After a rapid session of playing cat and mouse, Eren, though now exhausted, was able to get under the dragon and slice the exposed 'middle wings' at the base of the tail.
Another type of dragon that regularly visits Maria are the Lurals. These are shorter in height than any other dragon and are skilled at climbing trees and stalking prey, hence being classed in stealth and agility.
Eren took a breather on the ground in an alley and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. It was still a while before daybreak and he was already tired. Not to mention, he still had to kill that elusive Lethal Falka. A grim thought ran though his head that Jean might have set him up, but the thought didn't last a second when a fearful sound resonated through the night sky; the whistling of feathered wings streaming through the air at break-neck speed, growing stronger and louder…
"LETHAL FALKA!" Someone shrieked, "GET DOWN!"
Several soldiers were heard being hit by what sounded like a missile and were sent to the ground screaming. The Lethal Falka was here.
Heart beating like the wings of a heavy Raufen in his chest, Eren launched himself onto the rooftops and scanned the area in hopes of spotting it. The night was void of such desired sounds and was drowned out by the moans of the wounded. The Falka is among the rarest of dragon types. Classed as aggressive and fast, this monster can do colossal damage in seconds with sheer force and tactical thinking, taking out weaknesses first and knowing exactly where to cause the most catastrophic damage. There was currently one in the stables but it was a difficult capture and one many wondered if it was worth the loss. The high pitched whistling is caused by the top speed in which the Lethal Falka flies at when attacking. The only other dragon known to make this sound, and fly at this tremendous speed is the Falka's lighter cousin, the Deadly Evonna, classed in speed and stealth. The Deadly Evonna is probably the rarest dragon in existence with only one ever sighted. This one dragon was also the same one somehow captured by the greatest member of the Wings of Freedom, Levi Ackerman. The fact that the humans have a live and healthy Evonna in the stables is beyond comprehension.
Pulling himself out of his focus, Eren went to find Armin who was currently tending to an unlucky soldier who was hit by the Falka.
"How many were hit?" Eren said, landing gracefully but heavily nearby and running over. He knelt down beside Armin to see the boy desperately trying to hold the man's bleeding guts in. His body was also shattered, bending in all the wrong places but he was alive. The moans and whimpers of agony were proof of that.
This was only some of the devastation these dragons caused to humanity, and Eren would have probably thrown up if he hadn't already seen the work of a dragon when it takes its sweet time with a victim.
Bastards, he thought bitterly, what have we ever done to deserve such Hell?
"The Falka took out nine soldiers in one fell swoop!" Armin said, still frantically working on the flesh, "Hold this." He handed Eren some first aid as an extra set of hands which Eren complied with.
"Armin, I need another net," Eren spoke cautiously.
"This is your seventh in one night, Eren," Armin reasoned, still working to distraction to keep the soldier alive, "You can't keep using our resources like this,"
"I know, I know," said Eren, quickly, "this will be the last one, I promise."
Armin took the aid from Eren's hands and the boys ducked, covering the wounded as an explosion sounded near them and showered them with debris. This was just another night at work for these fifteen year old boys.
"You're not going after the Falka, are you, Eren?"
"How did you know?" Eren mumbled, picking splinters out of the soldier's wounds.
"Because I know you," Armin was coming close to finishing his work, "Mikasa will kill you if she finds out."
"Mikasa is not my mother!" Eren growled.
The boys ducked again when they heard the whistling return and waited for the onslaught to finish. Several screams and crashes later and the soldiers looked up again. It was another deadly strike from the Falka. Eren swallowed and forced the growing fear in his stomach down. He wasn't going to give up and let the dragon win before even facing it.
"Maternal instincts or not, Eren, you must respect the fact that Mikasa loves you and will do anything to keep her family alive and safe." Armin spoke calmly, "And throwing yourself in front of a pissed off Falka isn't respect!"
"Armin, please," Eren almost begged.
Sighing, Armin sat back, detached a net from his torso and handed it to Eren, "Last one okay?"
"Thank you Armin." Eren replied, hastily securing the net to himself.
His hands were shaky with anticipation and Eren could feel his heart rate rising with each passing second. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Eren stood and prepared to take off.
"Oh, and Eren?" Armin called for his attention and the boy looked down to see his friend now in the middle of securing the soldier's bones, "Don't get hurt from this one. Remember, it just took out nine soldiers in one hit and god knows how many more since."
Smirking, Eren didn't quell Armin's fears and simply said, "Just don't tell my sister," before taking off.
In an instant, Eren was back in the line of fire and everything was still as chaotic. Eren knew that his only hope would be to wait for the next attack so he had to avoid being tempted to use his net. That meant avoiding any dragons. Scanning around him, Eren noted that the Falka was combing through the area and could roughly predict that the next shot would be near the cliffs. Eren darted over, getting to high vantage points and avoiding dragons instead of tearing himself apart to offer help everywhere possible. Ducking, leaping and sprinting across rooftops, Eren covered ground quickly and cleanly. As he dashed closer and closer to the town's edge, Eren saw his other comrades in action, including Jean who looked to be having a bad time with an evasive Velx.
Finally, Eren reached the outskirts and lingered a few houses in so as not to limit his options of escape should he need to. Facing the ocean, he was waiting mere seconds before he heard the ominous whistling coming in on his left. Eren tensed his muscles and kicked forward.
One shot, he reminded himself, one shot to kill it. That's all it takes.
The whistling was almost ear-splitting and without even seeing it in the night sky, Eren knew that it was homing down on him. Suddenly, Eren jumped and fired himself thirty feet or so into the air, right into the line of his target.
Somewhere, Eren could hear someone screaming his name for him to stop, but it was far too late now.
Out of the darkness before him, the dragon emerged and everything seemed to move in slow motion. Eren raised his swords in perfect alignment to its heart in hopes that the dragon would fly right into them and do the work for him.
This was it.
This will be Eren's first kill in flight.
This will be the greatest-
Something in Eren's body stopped working and whether it was fear that moved him or something else, Eren's body faltered and twisted, forcing him into a perfect dodge under the dragon's wings. It was like he had no control over his body and by the time he realised it, it was too late.
In a desperate act to do something, anything, Eren swung his blade, definitely connecting with something, and opened his arms to release his net.
The familiar snap was heard as the net found its mark and Eren crashed painfully down onto a rooftop. He was able to look up just in time to see the shady silhouette of the bonded beast continue sailing through the air, hundreds of metres away and finally vanish into the depths of the forest. The echo of the dragon's cries of despair reached only the ears of Eren.
"Augh! Fuck!" Eren cursed out loud, mainly by the suffocating amount of disappointment that was drowning out any pain he felt from the crash, "Fuck! God… dammit!" He cursed again.
"Eren, what the Hell was that?!" Cried Mikasa as she rushed over to help Eren up.
"I don't fucking believe it!" Was the reply she got from him.
By now, dawn had come and the dragons retreated with the darkness. Soldiers were catching their breath and making final efforts to stop any dragons getting away with someone. It wasn't a clean sheet as it never is. Five or six people get taken at a minimum, particularly soldiers. On top of that, the dragons also target the livestock; so many sheep had gone with them.
"I had it Mikasa, I fucking had it!" Eren was ranting now and on the verge of pulling his hair out.
"Had what, Eren?" Mikasa gripped his shoulder to calm him down and get his attention.
"The Lethal Falka! It was mine! I nearly killed it! I-"
Mikasa interrupted Eren's tantrum, "I don't know what you're talking about. We saw the Falka fly away with the rest of the flock."
"What?" Eren exclaimed in disbelief, "No. No! No, that's not what happened at all, I caught it and, and it crashed just off Raven Point!"
At this point, the two had been joined by Armin, Jean and other familiar recruits.
"Well, Jaeger Boy, it's dawn and I don't see any dead Falkas."
"Jean!" Eren cried, exasperated, "You have to believe me; I did at least capture it!" His voice was rising in pitch as panic and despair settled in.
Jean sneered, "Even if you did capture it, which we know you didn't, that still means you failed to prove that you're cut out to be the Wings of Freedom and carry that honor."
A couple of the other soldiers snickered at the idea of Eren's pristine kill-rate of near-zero. Armin and Mikasa could see the pain and rage in Eren's eyes as he grew humiliated, hurt and enraged.
Jean fired more hurtful things at Eren before he was pulled away by his friend, Marco Bodt, and the soldiers retreated to the Grand Hall to assess the damage the night had brought on.
"Damn," Eren growled through gritted teeth, desperately trying to hold back tears.
"It's okay, Eren," Armin tried to soothe his friend, "M-maybe next time-"
"There is no next time!" Eren roared, "I really did catch that dragon and I'm going to prove it." He turned to the edge of town where the forest began and ran off, "Don't bother following me!" He called behind him.
"But, Eren!" Armin cried, "What about the meeting?!"
"Leave him." Mikasa said, bluntly, "If he wants to miss breakfast and run a hundred laps, let him."
And the two turned in the opposite direction to head home.