A/N:
I just wanted to leave a quick note;
Thank you guys for entertaining my story this far! Your likes and comments mean a lot to me as a writer and definitely help me get better! Don't hesitate to leave critiques!
Fear, anxiety, and regret had begun to sink into the hearts of the recruits. Many were beginning to rethink their decisions to join the military, saying they should have become farmers instead.
"Did you see what it did?! There's no way we can defeat it!"
"It doesn't matter what we do, we're just going to be fighting in vain."
"I want to go home!"
Though she was understanding of their feelings, they also annoyed her. They had trained for three years together, watched some of their classmates die, prepared for situations like this. They screamed and shouted about how they would kill a Titan with no hesitation but now that it was a reality they were backing out. She frowned and had to bite the inside of her cheek from saying anything more to them. If she opened her mouth now she was sure to say something discouraging and the Vanguard needed all the assistance they could get.
"Avery!" Her head turned to the sound of Eren's voice, waving her underneath the columns of the Headquarters Building. Standing with him were Thomas, Armin, and Mina.
"We're going to move out now. Got everything you need?" He had that impatient look in his eyes telling her he didn't want to wait a second more. She just nodded her head before following him and the others to the roof.
While standing on the red tiles, Eren was looking out into the distance exchanging brief words with Armin. Mina glanced over to Avery with a determined grin.
"We finally made it!" The sound of her voice startled Avery. She had been looking down, trying to figure out why the pit she felt in her stomach was growing. The last time she felt this way was during their Forest training. Something didn't feel right.
"Hey, don't get too excited. We have to be on our toes from here on. I don't plan on being eaten before our first expedition." She didn't want to worry Mina – nor anyone else for that matter – so she passed off the feeling as her being paranoid.
"If we're successful here, we might even have promotions before we even officially join the Survey Corps!" Eren shouted. The two of them turned their attention to him as Mina responded.
"Let's see who can kill more Titans," Thomas suggested. Before Avery could say anything about them needing to be more serious, a member of the Garrison called out to them.
"Team 34! Advance! Support the Vanguard!"
Without hesitation, they jumped from the roof and shot their anchors into nearby buildings. The moment Titans were finally in their sights the knot in Avery's stomach got tighter, listening as Thomas questioned why there were still so many.
"The number of Titans must've overwhelmed them," Avery responded. "We should-,"
Before Avery could suggest they pull back, an Abnormal suddenly jumped for them, causing their group to maneuver around it. They managed to land safely on a roof further away from it, staring ahead. The Titan landed face-first into a pillar and when it leaned its head off to the side, the world seemed to slow down.
Thomas was being held in its mouth with only his torso visible. The group had been paralyzed with fear at the sight of their comrade being eaten. Even if they wanted to save him it was too far away for them to reach in time. In the next second, he had disappeared into its mouth no doubt being killed in the process. The Titan soon dropped down to the ground and started to walk off.
"How dare you?!" Avery turned her head towards Eren, who had been hanging off the side of the roof. He had the same tone of voice when the Colossal Titan appeared and she knew exactly what was about to happen. He let go of the ledge and shot towards the Abnormal. Armin called after him before doing the same, the rest of the group following suit.
"Keep your eyes peeled for any others!" She shouted. He was leading them in blind, filled with nothing but the desire to avenge Thomas. Being pissed at the Titan was understandable, but if he were going to be leading them, he should have put the desire to the side. Merely seconds later they were surprised by another sudden Titan attack, this time Eren falling victim.
His body landed on the roof and whether he had been bitten in half or not remained a mystery. They wouldn't have any time to dwell on it as they tried to fight off the remaining Titans.
One had come from behind a building and caused a member of the team to run right into its hand, killing him instantly. Avery quickly reacted by shooting her anchor into its neck, propelling herself towards its nape. The moment it hit the ground with a thud is when she heard Mina screaming. Avery shot herself onto the roof so she could figure out where it was coming from. It was a bit away from where Armin stood, looking at Eren's body in horror, but she wasn't worried about him at this moment.
She ran along the roof keeping her eye on the wide-eyed Titan. As she got closer to it she could see Mina struggling against its hold. At the very last second Avery's blades sliced into its nape dropping Mina out of its grip. She quickly anchored herself to a building before grabbing Mina by her waist and swinging them to safety.
Mina hit her head upon landing with Avery tumbling down next to her. Avery hadn't registered everything that was happening, the adrenaline forcing her body to act. The pit in her stomach had begun to subside as she looked up at her friend. Mina had turned pale as she stared at her savior with wide eyes. The corner of her eyes began to well with tears as she opened her mouth.
"Avery… You-," She stopped talking the moment Avery wrapped her arms around her shoulders. She could feel Avery's hand on the back of her head as tears started to fall from her eyes.
Mina started to softly sob as the realization hit her. She had just had her first dance with death. It was clear to her that this sort of thing could happen and it was normal but she didn't think she would experience it so soon. Had Avery not been there with her she was surely to have been eaten. Maybe, she wondered, becoming a scout isn't for me after all? She looked up at Avery with tears still running as she listened to her friend speak.
"We have to get out of here," Avery told her firmly. Avery raised her hands as she wiped the tears from Mina's eyes before noticing the blood slowly falling down her forehead. She lifted Mina's hair to see a deep gash along her hairline, more than likely caused by their landing. Taking off her jacket, Avery ripped off her green sleeve and started to wrap the fabric around her forehead. Mina let out a soft wince as she did so while keeping an eye out for Titans.
"Where are the others?" She hesitantly asked. The sudden question from Mina caused Avery to pause as she stood to look around again. She remembered seeing Armin somewhere along with Eren's body, but she didn't know if they were dead or not.
"I don't know but," she started, glancing down at Mina's gear. "We should retreat back to the rearguard. The wiring on your gear is damaged." As much as Avery wanted to go back to where she last saw her two teammates, she couldn't just leave Mina behind.
Mina glanced down at the loose wiring before standing next to Avery. "How will we get back?"
"Just hop on my back and hold on tight. Even though we didn't encounter any Titans on the way here, we should still be on guard." All Avery was focused on at that moment was getting her friend to safety. With Mina secured on her back the two of them retreated.
Once they had reached the position of the rearguard, Avery was shocked to see only a few of them around. She let Mina off her back as someone called out to her.
"Pisces!" She turned her head to the familiar voice of Reiner before feeling him suddenly hug her.
Under any other circumstance, she would have welcomed it, but because of the seriousness of their situation, there wasn't time for his sudden act of affection.
"Reiner!" She shouted, pushing him away. "What's going on?!" She asked looking between him, Annie, and Bertholt.
"Armin told us you guys were dead, along with your group." Mina's eyes grew wide as she looked at him.
"So that means he's alive?! Where are he and the others?"
Reiner began to quickly fill them in on how they were running low on supplies and how the supply team had abandoned their jobs. They were now stuck having to storm HQ with barely enough gas and blades. Apparently, Mikasa had given a rather rousing speech that encouraged Jean to lead their fellow comrades into battle. The plan was to avoid fighting the Titans and just focus on getting to HQ. As much as she wanted to make her own joke about Jean being a leader, she would save it for when this whole nightmare was over.
She in turn went to explain how Mina's gear was no longer functional, the reason she was on her back.
"You should switch out your gas with hers then. I'll carry her." He offered, lowering himself to the ground. She would have to thank him later as she set out switching out their canisters. With Mina now secured onto his back, they were able to make their way towards HQ with the others.
Their path was full of Titans, some of which Avery was able to take out. She could feel the anger and adrenaline fueling her movements as she maneuvered freely. They had caught up with the other members of their class quickly, though some of them had been killed just as quickly as they had appeared. The blue of the HQ building was getting closer and closer until they finally burst through the windows into an office.
The moment Jean laid his eyes on Avery, he smirked. "So, you aren't dead. Having mixed feelings about that right now."
"Good to see you too, baby bottom." She teased. He didn't seem to hear her as his attention had been grabbed by someone underneath a desk. Before she knew it Jean was punching one of them in the face. It turned out they were members of the supply team who had abandoned their post. While he yelled at them for being cowards, Avery tended to Mina to make she wasn't hurt upon entry. The bleeding on her forehead had stopped but she was still going to keep it wrapped. Mina complained of her head throbbing but reassured Avery she would get it looked at later.
"Get down!" She heard Reiner shout, pushing her down. There was no time to react as a loud explosion could be heard. As the dust started to clear she saw Jean standing in front of a hole created by a pair of male and female Titans.
Quickly scrambling to her feet and ignoring Reiner and Mina calling out to her, she grabbed onto his arm trying to pull him off to the side.
"You're even stupider than I thou-,"
"Look!" She stopped pulling and looked in the direction he was staring in.
A Titan fist appeared, punching the other two Titans away. The two of them were shocked, to say the least, as Connie, Armin, and Mikasa came bursting through a nearby window. The three of them seemed unphased.
"What the hell was that?!" Avery shouted, causing them to look at her. Armin stood up and ran over to her with relief in his eyes.
"You're alive!"
"Yeah, and Mina. Glad to see you're okay." A part of her suddenly felt guilty for leaving him behind after she had saved Mina. She didn't look for him nor did she attempt to but seeing that he was alive now calmed her conscience.
"To answer your question," Connie started, pointing at the hole, "That's an Abnormal that attacks other Titans! It's ignoring us so maybe we can use it to escape!"
"Wha- How do we know it won't turn its sights on us after the Titans are taken care of?" Jean asked.
"It doesn't matter." Jean looked at Mikasa as she started to explain. "We need it to stay here and fight for us. At least long enough for us to re-supply."
In the end, Mikasa had a point and they all agreed to head towards the supply room. The only problem was it had been overrun with about eight three-to-four-meter Titans. On the floor above the supply room, they gathered to come up with a strategy. Armin took the helm and while he spoke, Avery was able to properly take care of Mina's injury.
Mina winced as her friend cleaned her wound and re-wrapped it with gauze but was grateful she was taking care of it altogether. The two of them then listened to Armin's plan closely. With the guns found by Jean, they would be able to lower a small group of them to fire at the Titans in order to blind them. Taking advantage of the limited vision, eight assigned people would take out the Titans from the beams above them.
In Avery's opinion, Armin had come up with a flawless plan. He was worried about it weighing too heavily on those assigned to take out the Titans, but really he shouldn't have been.
"You should really have more faith in yourself," Avery stated. "Besides, we don't really have any other options, do we?" After she realized how morbid her statement sounded, she tried to be more optimistic. "You were the smartest in class. We trust your judgement."
Avery made her way down to the supply room alongside Reiner, Bertholt, Connie, Sasha, Annie, and Jean. They were discussing whether or not they would really be able to take out the Titans without their gear. It didn't seem possible but then again neither did their survival up to this point.
Once the eight of them were in position, the others came down in the elevator as planned. Avery was sweating, worried that it may not actually work if any of them missed. She was confident that she would be fine but when it came to a few of them, she wasn't so sure. Their signal was the gunshots and as soon as they heard it, they launched their aerial attack. With her blades in hand, Avery jumped from the steel beams aiming for the Titan's nape. The Titan landed on the ground behind her with steam beginning to emit from its body.
She looked around the room to make sure there were no other Titans unaccounted for and to see if the others had done their part. Unfortunately, she had every right to worry since Connie and Sasha had missed their marks. Avery face palmed herself before running to Connie's aid while Mikasa tended to Sasha.
Avery took out its Achilles Heel to get it down on her level before jumping up to its nape. Connie ran over to her and threw his arms around her waist once he made sure the Titan was dead.
"Okay, okay, I take it back. You're better than me!" He cried. Avery just placed the palm of her hand against his face to push him off.
"Don't worry, we already knew that much." She stated. Reiner approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"That right there proves you should've been in the top ten."
"Oh, leave it, Braun." After shrugging him off she set out to resupply her blades and canisters.
Trusting that Mina would be tended to by the medics, Avery followed Reiner and Annie to the roof of the building. The three of them, along with Bertholt, Mikasa, and Armin, were staring at the Abnormal Titan that was fighting for them. The fact that it was happening was still a shock, but now it had been cornered by three Titans eating at it.
"Cannibalism?" She asked, turning to look at Armin.
"I- I- don't think we've ever heard about such a thing." He stuttered, trying to wrap his head around what he was seeing.
"We should help it. If we keep it alive, we might be able to learn from it." Reiner suggested.
"Are you crazy?!" They all turned their attention to Jean. "We can finally get out of here!"
"It's helped us this far; wouldn't you like to know if it could help us in the future? It's a far better weapon than cannons." Avery was inclined to agree with Annie, considering if it hadn't taken out some of the Titans, they would be dead.
"Come on Jean, just when my opinion about you was about to change. Don't go back to being a wuss."
"Shut it, Pisces! I'm not about to commit suicide when a path has been created for us to escape." Avery rolled her eyes as he started to walk away. "That thing doesn't need our help."
He was expecting her to give some sort of retort, but her attention had been grabbed by something else instead. With a deep groan of annoyance, he turned to see why no one had followed behind him.
The Abnormal Titan had collapsed and was exuding steam from the injuries it had succumbed to. Hope for its revival was slim among most of the recruits, but the last thing any of them expected was a human sticking out of the nape of a Titan.
Especially when it had been the supposedly dead Eren Jeager himself.