"Dedicate your hearts!" Commandant Shadis shouted under the night sky, his arms behind his back.
In front of him stood the graduates of the 104th Cadet Corps with their right fists over their hearts, standing at attention. The torches around them illuminated their faces so one could see the determination in their eyes. Three years of hell, being broken and put back together had gotten them to this point.
Shadis stepped aside to allow another official with a clipboard to call out the names of the top ten, starting from last place.
"Krista Lenz, Sasha Brause, Connie Springer, Marco Bott, Jean Kirschtein, Eren Jaeger, Annie Leonhart, Bertholt Hoover, Reiner Braun, Mikasa Ackerman!" The ten of them stepped forward in the order they were called, waiting for further instruction.
While some of the recruits she stood around were shocked Avery's name hadn't been called, a wave of relief had washed over her. She was glad the people who wanted to join the military police had made it and not her. Looking at them now, she deduced that if she had ranked it was possible Krista wouldn't have. A small smirk crossed her lips as she thought about it.
'Ymir would have been pissed had she done all that work just for Krista to have not made it.'
Early on in their training, they had called each other out for not using their full potential. The reasoning behind it hadn't been clear until Avery confronted Ymir about her reasoning out of curiosity. Krista had been quite the popular girl as far as people's affections went, Ymir and Reiner something of rivals. Despite her attempts to deny it, Ymir made Avery promise not to say anything until they graduated.
"Today, you trainee graduates will be given two branches to choose from! The Garrison, which protects towns and reinforces the walls, or the Survey Corps, who risks their lives going beyond the Walls into Titan territory. The top ten, however, may choose to join the Military Police who serve the King, lead the people, and maintain internal order."
Avery couldn't help but scowl the moment he explained the functions of the Military Police. 'Maintain internal order,' he said. In her opinion, they were only adding to the chaos the past five years had brought them. They weren't honorable, they were cowards who took advantage of dire situations for money and power.
Sensing her distress, Mina softly elbowed Avery in the ribs to get her to focus. She settled her face and listened to Commandant Shadis explain how to choose their branches. The thing she was looking forward to the most now was being assigned to a squad, though she had a hunch of where she would be going. Once they were dismissed the recruits set off to change so they could enjoy the celebratory feast that had been thrown for them.
Considering they didn't know when they would get another chance to relax the recruits decided to take full advantage of the feast. The hall was full of chatter and laughter when Mina and Avery walked in, the latter fiddling with her hair. She decided that since it was such a causal night, she would leave it out again. The two split up for a moment as Avery set out to get them something to drink.
When she found her again, Mina was standing with Reiner and Bertholdt, discussing their graduation. Avery handed the girl her cup before opening her mouth to speak.
"What are we talking about?" She asked, looking between the three of them.
"Just about how Jean managed to outrank you." Mina teased. Avery just rolled her eyes and placed her free hand on her hip.
"Let me make one thing very clear. Jean did not manage to outrank me, okay? Besides, it doesn't matter anymore. We're graduates." She stated, lifting her cup to take a sip.
"Okay, but even Connie ranked and you're more of a master at maneuvers than he is, so what happened?"
As if sensing her need for an escape, Reiner draped his arm around her shoulder with a grin on his face.
"Isn't it obvious? Pisces got lazy towards the end!" His joke caused Bertholt and Mina to laugh behind their hands as Avery looked up at him.
"Yeah, let's go with that." She stated, her eyes narrowed with a smile on her face.
The last year of their training Reiner and Avery had gotten closer, much to her surprise. Somehow Reiner had been one of the only people to understand some of her decisions and thought processes. Granted there were still a lot of things she kept to herself, but for the most part, he was understanding. It looked like he was slowly working his way to being on the same level as Mina.
Before they had a chance to say anything more, Thomas's voice grabbed their attention as they turned to face him.
He was standing a further away from them having a debate with Eren.
"Are you insane?! How many people have died?" Thomas shouted at Eren. "We're talkin' a fifth of the population. If that doesn't paint a picture for you, I don't know what will." The fear and confusion were clear in his voice. It seemed that Eren had decided to join the Scouts even though he ranked fifth and Thomas didn't understand why. He assumed all ten of them would join the Military Police. "This is our life now. We can't beat them." His voice wavered, almost as if he were about to burst into tears.
The room soon went silent for a moment as they waited for Eren's rebuttal.
"Yeah? So what? We buckle and take it all lying down? Things have changed. Maybe not a helluva lot, but they aren't the mystery they were five years ago. There's still a long way to go but every battle we've lost taught us something to help make progress towards hope." Avery couldn't help but grin while listening to his speech.
"What an inspiration…" She whispered to herself sarcastically.
"You tellin' me it's better to cut our losses? That means all the death and destruction is meaningless. I won't ball up and accept that! Not on your life! Humanity's future lies outside the walls and I'm gonna clear the way and take back what's ours."
There was a long pause before Eren departed from the hall, Mikasa and Armin running after him. Reiner, Bertholdt, Mina, and Avery looked at each other.
"That riveting little speech reminds me. Have you guys decided which branch you're joining?" Avery asked. Reiner dropped his arm from her shoulder to place a hand on Bertholt's.
"Scouts, of course. Can't take back our hometown being behind walls." Reiner answered, looking to Bertholt with a triumphant smile. The brunette returned his friend's smile as he nodded his head.
"Right!"
"Well then gentlemen, tomorrow starts the rest of our lives. We'll kill those Titans one by one and free humanity from these walls." She paused to turn to Mina, placing a hand on her head. "You make sure the Walls are taken care of so we can focus on the task at hand."
Mina gave her a reassuring nod. "Dedicate your heart!" She shouted.
Peeking from behind a wall, Avery and Sasha kept a lookout for any Senior Officers.
The two of them – along with a few others – had been assigned to Wall Rose in Trost District for the day to do cannon maintenance. At one point they overheard one of the Officer's talking about the special rations they kept in the storeroom. As soon as she heard the word 'meat' she knew Sasha was about to rope her into something foolish.
"Weren't you some sneaky thief? C'mon, help me do this!" Avery narrowed her eyes at the girl at the mention of her past.
It was the first time it had been brought up since the incident with the bandit, something she was grateful for. Kai told her not to mention to anyone where she really came from since her papers were a forgery. Not only did she not want to get the older woman in trouble, but she surely didn't want to get sent back where she came from.
"You really want me to do this alone?" Those words alone had been the only reason Avery went along with her.
"Sasha, you're going to get us caught!" Avery harshly whispered, peeking out of the officer's storeroom door.
She could hear the other girl shuffling behind her as she looked for their prize. Somehow, she had let Sasha rope her into sneaking into the storeroom to steal meat using the fact that Avery used to be a thief as a selling point.
Despite Sasha often being an idiot, she truly did have her moments and this had been one of them. Having graduated the night before Avery understood the girl's desire to have one last moment with her friends before they were possibly separated.
"I got it!" Avery turned her head to see Sasha holding a slab of meat and drooling. "We'll have to share, but it's definitely worth it." She let out a soft giggle as Avery reached to take it from her for safekeeping. After wrapping it in paper she stuffed it into her jacket to hide.
"Alright, it's secure. Let's get out of here." Taking another peek outside the door, she made sure the coast was clear before signaling Sasha to follow her.
The two of them quickly made their way back to the top of the wall where Connie, Samuel, Thomas, Mina, and Eren stood cleaning cannons.
"There you are! I was wondering where you had gone." Mina said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"Well wonder no more, Mina, because we have a surprise." Mina raised her eyebrows at the word 'surprise' while Sasha reached for the girl's jacket. Avery looked around to make sure no Senior officers were present before taking it out. Everyone around them gasped at the sight.
"We stole meat from the Officer's Storeroom," Sasha told them.
"We knew Sasha was an idiot, but you too Avery?" Asked Thomas shaking his head.
"Let's split it! We'll slice it up and make sandwiches." Sasha's eyes had glazed over as she stared at the slab, drool dripping down the side of her mouth. Eating that meat had been the only thing on her mind while she shuddered at the thought.
"You guys! After all the land we lost, meat has become very valuable… Maybe you should put it back." Mina looked to Avery with that familiar worried look in her eye while Avery just placed her hand on the shorter girl's head.
"You're worrying too much."
"You're not worrying enough!" She shouted while swatting her hand away.
Sasha took the meat from Avery to stash in an empty box for later.
"It's fine you guys. Once we retake our lands, we'll be able to raise sheep and cows again. Then we'll have as much meat as we want."
Everyone stood quiet for a moment as they pondered Sasha's words. Partly because it was Sasha who had said them and it made sense and partly because they secretly wanted to taste the meat too. Within a few seconds, they had all changed their minds and instead agreed to take part in these meat sandwiches she spoke of.
As everyone went back to work Eren placed his hand on Avery's shoulder to get her attention.
"Hm? What is it, Jaeger? I already spent enough time away from my post." She started looking around to make sure she hadn't been caught.
"I've been meaning to thank you for your help. Without your advice, I don't think I would have made it, especially in the top ten."
"Sure, but I had nothing to do with it. Let's be honest, you suck at literally everything but your determination to complete your goals is unmatched. It's your driving force."
"Driving force?"
"Armin really is the smart one of your trio, huh?" She teased, shaking her head. "Your determination is what pushes you, keeps you going when you think you can't go anymore."
Eren sat on her words for a moment before grinning at her. "Pisces-,"
A flash of yellow lightning followed by the sound of thunder cut their conversation short. Standing face to face with the graduates was the Colossal Titan just as tall as it had been five years ago. Everyone was frozen with fear and the moment they realized what was happening, a strong gust of steam blew them back over the wall.
Avery put her arms up to try and protect herself as she closed her eyes. "Is this steam?!" She shouted to no one in particular.
The moment she was able to open her eyes she immediately anchored herself to the side and looked around. Samuel was unconscious and falling to his death before Sasha shot her anchor through his calf.
"The wall… has been breached." Her head turned towards Thomas before her eyes settled in the direction he was looking in. A gasp escaped her mouth seeing the giant hole the Colossal Titan had created.
"No, we can't deal with that and him at the same time!" She gritted her teeth together and look up towards the intruder. The only thing visible was the red of his giant fingers gripping the top of the wall.
Avery frantically looked to her fellow graduates before her eyes landed on Eren. She had come to the conclusion he was more than likely having some sort of flashback to five years ago, but this wasn't the time for that.
"Jaeger! Focus! We have to-,"
"Fixed cannon maintenance team 4, prepare for combat!" He shouted as he took out his swords to ready himself for an attack. "Our target is the Colossal Titan before us!" Using the maneuvers, he learned during training he swung back and forth to gain the momentum he needed to shoot to the top. "This is our chance, don't let it get away!"
"STOP!" Avery shouted noticing some of them were about to follow him. "Ignore that order, we're not fighting that Colossal. It's a suicide mission!"
Having been blown away by the steam Avery could only assume it would be a big issue for them. Not only that but there weren't nearly enough of them to take on such a beast. She was in no way a coward, but she knew which battles to fight and which ones not to.
"Mina, help Sasha get Samuel back up here. Thomas, Connie, follow me to make sure Eren doesn't get himself killed!" They all nodded before setting out to complete her orders.
Avery planted her against the wall before kicking herself off of it. She shot her anchor to the top of the wall before launching herself up. By the time she and the others got there, the Colossal had disappeared.
"Eren! Did you-," Thomas was cut off by Avery pushing past him.
"Do you have a death wish?! Fighting the Colossal Titan is suicide already but trying to do it alone is even worse!" Avery shouted.
"I had to do something! I promised that I would kill the Colossal Titan and make him pay for what he's done."
"And how are you going to do that if you're dead?!" Eren stared at her with anger and pain in his eyes. He knew what she was saying was right but at the moment he wasn't trying to hear it.
"You guys! Now is not the time for this. It breached the gate again and took out our cannons. If we don't patch it fast, the Titans will get in like before." They both turned their attention to Connie as he spoke. Avery groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance.
A member of the Garrison landed near them, stating the contingency plan against the Colossal had begun.
"All of you, get to HQ immediately. If you made contact with the Colossal, report it to Captain Woermann." Once he departed Avery and Eren stopped glared at each other before standing down.
"Come on. The faster we get there the more work we can do."