The next day, Annie and I sat alone at our table again. She chewed her bread in silence, and I could see the gears turning in her head. She finally turned to me, an excited look in her eye.
"I have an idea", she said, her eyes bright, "I happen to know a few names of the people who helped Grand."
"How did you get them?" I inquired.
"I have sources", Annie answered cryptically. She took another bite of bread and continued. "Once we join the MP, we can easily wipe them out."
"That's excellent", I answered. Annie grinned.
"There's more", she said, "I also happen to know that some of the children of those people are in the Survey Corps."
"The Survey Corps?" I said, "but if we join the MP, how will we get to them?"
"Hold on, I'm getting to that", Annie said, and she carefully relayed the rest of the plan to me. I listened with interest, my desire for revenge growing.
"Your plan is genius", I exclaimed when Annie was done, and she beamed.
I saw very little of Annie as our final tests drew closer. She and I were both spending our free time preparing. However, my anticipation was growing, and I didn't think I could wait until the tests were over.
Annie and I passed our tests with ease, and once they were over, we began to see each other again. However, we were soon sent on our first mission, and we lost contact once more.
I was placed on top of the wall with Eren Jaeger and a select few others. Eren was still ranting about 'killing ALL the TITANS', and I was getting a bit tired of it. Finally, I made my way over to him.
"Can you shut up?" I said. "Just for one second?" Eren's eyes widened, and I could feel his anger building up inside of him.
"Why are you even here?" Eren demanded, "you obviously don't care about killing Titans. Why don't you just go home?" I laughed and rolled my eyes.
"You don't intimidate me, Jaeger", I responded, "I'm here for reasons of my own. You've got a big ego, kid. It's gonna get you killed." Eren looked about ready to scream. I chuckled and walked away from him.
Suddenly, a huge gust of hot air blew everyone off the wall. I quickly pulled the trigger on my 3DMG and locked into the wall, staring upwards. Everyone else seemed to do the same. People were all talking excitedly, but I couldn't quite make out what was going on. Suddenly, I heard Eren's voice.
"Everyone!" he shouted, "the Colossal Titan is right there! Let's kill it while we can!" He started to fly through the air towards the Colossal Titan.
"Jaeger!" I shouted, "Are you insane?!" Eren didn't answer me. Instead, he flew around to the back of the Titan's head and aimed at the nape of its neck, swiping through the air. However, the instant his blades made contact with the Titan's skin, it vanished. Eren's jaw dropped, and he locked into the side of the wall. I snickered a little at his expression before I realized that the Colossal Titan had breached the wall. Looking down, I spotted a bunch of Titans lumbering through a gaping hole in the wall, picking up innocent civilians and chomping them down. Eren and his squad took off, immediately attempting to slay the incoming Titans. I quickly leapt from the wall and flew through the air towards the center of Wall Rose, searching for Annie. We hadn't been counting on this incident, and it threw a wrench in our plans.
As I traveled, a bloodcurdling scream reached my ears. I stopped mid-leap and landed on the roof of a building. Just across the way, I witnessed Eren dive into a bearded Titan's mouth. I silently cursed the idiot and flew over, attempting to help. Suddenly, the nervous blond kid was thrown out of the Titan's mouth, and I was hit with the realization of what was going on.
"Eren!" The blond shrieked, reaching forward.
"We can't die here…Armin..." Eren's voice reached my ears, and I turned to see Eren holding the Titan's mouth open. He reached his hand out to me and the blond kid. For some reason, I couldn't move. I could hear Armin screaming behind me, and he ran forward, desperately reaching for Eren's hand. I watched in horror as the Titan's mouth clamped shut, biting off Eren's hand. It hurtled down and splattered on the floor. Armin shrieked, and I fell to my knees, my mouth hanging open.
"Why didn't you do anything?!" He sobbed, tears streaming down his face. I merely shook my head and stood.
"I'm sorry." I said, and I stood. Not once looking back at Armin, I activated my 3DMG and took off. I flew blindly through the air until I felt a sharp tug on my wire. I looked back to see a Titan holding onto it. It pulled, and I was suddenly pulled sharply down towards the ground. I hit it hard with a sickening crunch, and I rolled onto my back, gasping for air. Heavy footfalls could be heard behind me, and I struggled to sit up, my breath coming out in short, rattling gasps. I turned to see the Titan kneeling by me, reaching its hand out towards me. It prepared to pounce, and I quickly stood and ran, ignoring the blinding pain in my leg. A crash behind me confirmed that the Titan had pounced and missed, and I sped up, the wind whistling in my ears. I turned right down an alleyway and collapsed against the wall, sliding down to the floor and pulling my knees up to my chest. The sounds of battle reached my ears, but I suddenly didn't care. The image of Eren getting devoured by that Titan played over and over in my mind, and Armin's anguished screams echoed in my ears. I leaned my head back against the wall, tears streaming down my face, and I closed my eyes.
Suddenly, the sound of heavy footfalls reached my ears, and I cursed out loud. Why now? Why now? The steps grew louder, and I wearily lifted my head to face my attacker. A titan poked its ugly head around the corner and walked towards me.
"No…", I mumbled wearily, "please…" The Titan came closer and closer until it was right in front of me. It leaned down to pick me up, and I clenched my fists.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I shrieked, shielding my face with my arms and bracing myself. However, nothing happened. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up. The Titan had stopped, staring at me intently. Then it straightened up and lumbered away, not once looking back at me. I sat there shaking for a while, wondering what the hell had just happened. That Titan had listened to me! It had listened! I slowly stood up and stared at the place where the Titan had disappeared around the corner. Annie had to hear about this.