The Wings Of Our Dreams

AN: Hey there, my dear readers! Yes, it's time for another chapter of The Wings Of Our Dreams.

But first, I'd like to give a shoutout to the story titled 'Our Friend' by the author RememberShiganshina. It is also a story inspired by AoT 2 but with it being set during season 3 as it follows the author's own character, Laure Garnier. It's really good and it needs more loving.

But now, on with the story. Hope you enjoy!

8 Consequences

Year 850

Forty-fifth entry

This is the final year of our training and graduation is only months away. Man time flies fast. Soon, I'll join the Scouts and be out in the field fighting Titans. The mortality rate may be high, but I will survive. My home awaits me.

Ma, pa, gramps, I promise that I won't let those monsters win. Me and everyone else will set things straight. All those years in the training camp, all the anticipation, I honestly think it's starting to get to me, not gonna lie. But I'll persevere, and I'll succeed.

I'll put the ghosts of our village to rest. I promise with my heart, my soul… and my life.

"So Mikasa, do you think we'll make it to the top ten?" Eren asked as he walked alongside the oriental girl.

"There's a good chance we could," Mikasa replied as her gaze went from the training field in front of them to Eren. "I know you'll do great. I believe in you."

"Well, thanks for the optimism," Eren said, putting his hands behind his head. "Won't be long now before we join the Scouting Regiment. By the way, do you know where Armin is? I haven't seen him when we woke up."

Mikasa was about to reply, but then something else caught their attention. They heard several grunting noises, and they seemed to be pretty near. Looking around, they spotted something that shocked them for a moment.

Armin was there, in the middle of the training field, doing push-ups. The blond-haired young man had sweat dripping off of him, his eyes were narrowed and teeth clenched in determination. He had also forgone wearing anything on his upper body, wearing only training pants and boots.

However, the more unusual part was that Collin was next to him, sitting on a chair and flipping through the pages of his journal. And he was also resting his legs on Armin's back.

"You're doin' great, Armin," Collin said as he looked at the young man beneath him. "Just a couple more."

"R-right," Armin said through his grit teeth as he continued his exercise.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" Eren said as he and Mikasa approached the two.

"Oh, hey there, you two," Collin said with a smile. "Armin 'ere said he wanted my help in gettin' in better shape so he isn't left behind. I was more than happy to. I wanted to sit on him at first, but I don't wanna have the little guy break his spine so my legs'll do."

"Come… on. Just a… little… more," Armin said with some struggle, his push-ups going a lot slower.

"Actually, I think ya had enough," Collin said before moving his legs off Armin and rising up. "Tearin' your muscles from stress ain't a good thing. Ya need to do the exercise in intervals."

Collin kneeled down and offered his hand. Armin looked at it for a bit before taking it and rising.

"Thanks for this, Collin," Armin said as he got to his feet, wiping some sweat of his forehead. "I need to be prepared as best as I can."

"Don't worry that little head of yours," Collin said with a grin before ruffling Armin's hair, making the young blond blush. "I'm more than happy to help out our fellow cadets. Friends especially."

"Well, uh, still thanks," Armin said, trying to get his now messy hair back in order. "I'll… go and get prepared. See you later, Eren, Mikasa!"

Armin then retreated from the field, leaving Eren, Mikasa, and Collin alone.

"Don't you think you're pushing him too hard?" Mikasa asked. "I know he needs to work on his constitution, but doesn't Shadis put us through enough training already?"

Collin shrugged. "What can I say, Miks? Armin was determined and I wanted to help," he said before glancing back at his journal.

"I get that, but still," Eren said as he looked at the large teen. "Don't you think that maybe- Collin?"

Collin didn't seem to hear him, looking like he was in a world of his own as he looked at the journal, his smile now a thin line. Curious, Eren glanced at the open page and immediately understood.

The page was open on the drawing of the Armored Titan.

Blinking, Collin closed the journal before looking at the two. "Sorry about that. I was thinkin' of somethin'."

"No problem," Eren said before turning to Mikasa. "Hey, could you leave me and Collin alone for a few moments? I want to speak with him."

Mikasa looked unsure for a moment. She was usually reluctant to leave Eren alone, but knowing Collin that wouldn't be a problem.

"Alright," she said. "But don't take too long."

Mikasa then moved away, going towards the direction Armin went.

"Man is that girl protective of ya," Collin commented with his attention back on Eren. "So, what did you wanna talk about?"

Eren slightly bit his lip. "How do you do it?"

Collin raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"

"How do you stay so… positive?" Eren asked with his fist clenched. "I mean… The Titans, they took everything from us. Our homes, our families. They've killed so many innocent people. I don't know if my father made it, you don't know if your grandfather made it.

"We've seen the horrors of Titans first-hand, and yet, you seem to be barely affected. I can count on my hand the number of times I saw you angry about it. But you still lift people's spirits up, you smile, you joke around… I just want to know how you…"

"Ah, I see," Collin said, pocketing his journal. "You're wonderin' why I ain't like you. Why I ain't such an advocate for Titan destruction, or why I don't speak 'bout the Armored Titan more. That what you're sayin'?"

"W-well, I just thought that-"

Putting a comforting hand on Eren's shoulder, Collin continued. "No, I get ya. Pretty sure everyone thinks you'd be more of a sourpuss in our situation. Well, I guess in my case you can blame my gramps for that."

"Your grandfather? How so?"

A large smile graced Collin's face. "Well, he was always positive about things. Seriously, I don't remember seein' that man frown. Well, he lost many things, too. He saw many of his friends die in expeditions outside the Walls, my grandma died when my pa was born, and of course, he lost his legs and was forced to retire.

"Many wondered how he could go on like that, even I, and ya know what he told me?"

This really got Eren curious. "What?"

"He said, 'I've seen people fall into depression, and never gettin' out of it. They lost any spark of life they had. But I don't wanna be like that. I survived, and I'll live the life I have. Wallowin' in sadness ain't gonna get me anywhere.'

"You know what he told me, Eren?" Collin said. "He told me that my pa, my ma, and me were the reasons he fought for so long. He thought that fightin' against Titans will give us a better future, and he would give us that future. It may not happen immediately, but through our sufferin' and struggle, we'll eventually get our freedom back. He would have died happily knowin' that we would live."

Collin paused after that, his gaze on the ground below. Eren had a good idea of what was going through his mind. He doesn't know if his grandfather survived, and now that his parents were gone he didn't know how Ferris Holt would feel.

"Collin," Eren called out.

"Hmm?"

"I'm not sure I can completely agree with everything your grandfather is saying, but there is one thing I definitely agree with," Eren spoke, his green eyes determined. "He was right about taking our freedom back. Too many have simply gone complacent living in this cage. But after Wall Maria was breached, it became apparent we will have to fight.

"Collin, we'll fight together, make your grandfather's dream a reality. The Titans will be gone, all of them, and our homes will be returned to us."

Brown orbs stared at green ones for a moment. Collin's grin returned as he wrapped an arm around Eren's shoulders.

"Ya know," Collin said. "You can also lift people's spirits up if ya put your mind to it."

"Yeah, I… I guess," Eren stammered.

"And I agree," Collin said before bringing his fist up. "I'll fight 'longside ya. You'll be back in your district, and I'll be back on my farm."

Eren smiled and gave Collin a fist bump. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

"Well, if you'd excuse me," Collin said. "I believe I have an appointment with somebody else."

Annie quickly ducked away from the incoming kick, though got back to her fighting stance quickly.

Her icy eyes focused on the large frame of her opponent who himself got into a similar stance.

"Almost got ya there, Annie," Collin said as he smirked.

"Don't get overconfident," Annie simply said.

Collin got into an offensive, throwing several quick jabs, all of which were avoided or blocked. Annie went to counter with a feint punch before aiming a kick to his legs. However, Collin saw it and moved backward to avoid the kick.

Annie let out a quick breath. She had to admit Collin was getting good. Over these last few months after she had taken Collin and Eren for training in this forest, and while there was definitely improvement in both, Collin adapted quicker and seemed like a more talented fighter. He even got a few wins over her.

However...

Collin attacked again, giving a few more punches and even a knee strike. But when the last punch came, Annie made her move.

She let Collin's arm move past her and with precision was able to grab it before her other hand went to his shirt. Her leg went to sweep his, and she ended up getting Collin off balance again and pulling him.

With a yelp, Collin was soon on his back and grunting.

Compared to her, Collin still had ways to go.

"Oh, man," Collin said before smiling. "One hell of a match, eh?"

"I hardly see being thrown on the ground a reason to smile," Annie said.

"Who knows? Maybe I like havin' a cute girl on top of me, shortcake," Collin said teasingly.

Annie rolled her eyes before getting off of him. "You'll never stop doing that, aren't you?"

"Nope," Collin answered before rising up and dusting himself. "Seriously, though. Thanks for this trainin' session. I can tell I'm gettin' better. Ya know, despite this bein' like the thirtieth time you threw me down."

"I think you're missing a couple of times."

Collin chuckled. "And you are improvin' your humor."

Annie shook her head, but still cracked a small smile.

"I think we should go back," Annie said, her usual expression back. "We have ODM training tomorrow."

"Yeah, don't wanna have Shadis yell at us to wake up," Collin said.

The training came fairly soon, and the cadets soon found themselves zipping across tree lines.

The slashing of swords and scratching of cables were the sounds permeating across the area.

Jean flew at a ten-meter Titan dummy, and successfully slashed the nape.

"Hell, yeah!" Jean exclaimed happily.

Eren then arrived soon after, and with a loud exclamation, sliced another part of the dummy.

Collin zipped along with them as he slashed through another dummy.

"Nice to see the two of ya ain't at each other's throats yet!" Collin said as he gave them a smirk.

"Hey, Collin!" Reiner said from behind him. "You should focus on your own training!"

"C'mon, Reiner!" Collin said before firing a cable to another tree. "You're way too stiff in these situations! Ya know we got this in the bag!"

"Suit yourself!" Reiner exclaimed before going off to slash through another dummy.

Collin watched his friend retreat before focusing forward. He decided to be a bit more adventurous and 'amp things up'.

With his smirk widening, Collin fired the cables and hurled himself a good distance. He whizzed past other cadets, surprising them. In less than a second, two Titan dummies had their napes slashed.

Letting out an audible chuckle, Collin once again dashed through the air, slicing through several more dummy Titan napes in a flash.

As he moved through the air, he made several spins with his blades extended, and slicing through another nape.

"Hey!" Collin heard a familiar exclamation from Connie from behind him and saw the 'genius' alongside Sasha. "Since when are you the guy to show off?!"

"Sorry 'bout that! I had a bit of an itch to do things a bit more liberatin' if ya get what I mean!" Collin exclaimed.

"You mean you've been whirling around like a maniac because you were bored?!"

"That's…" Sasha started. "That's a bit reckless don't you think?!"

"Who knows?! Maybe!" Collin said while snatching unto a fifteen-meter Titan dummy. "But hey, as long as it gets the job-!"

Then out of nowhere, one of the cables suddenly snapped from the hook, with the cable itself being pulled towards Collin at breakneck speeds. Collin got a look of shock as he brought his right hand up to stop the thick metal wire from hitting him, but it still impacted the forearm. A crack was heard along with some blood spurting.

Collin let out a painful yell as the sword fell out of his damaged arm. The other cable then tore off from the dummy, making Collin fall.

"COLLIN!" Sasha and Connie exclaimed simultaneously as they saw Collin fall below them.

Collin looked up with wide eyes as he saw the treeline get higher. Oh God, this wasn't good. He needed to think of something to stop his descent. And fast!

Then Collin suddenly felt something slam into his back before wrapping around his torso.

"Got you!"

Collin looked up and saw it was Reiner who grabbed him.

"Hey, need some help here!" Reiner called out as their descent slowed, but the two made it hard for the gear to properly pull.

"I'm here!" Bertholdt exclaimed as he came into view, grabbing Collin by the arm.

Reiner and Bertholdt then shot their cables towards one of the large trees and zipped unto the branch.

When their feet touched the wooden surface, Collin dropped on one knee and groaned in pain while clutching his bleeding arm.

"Hey, are you alright?!" Reiner asked worriedly as he moved over to the young Holt.

"I'll live," Collin said with a strained voice, the pain in his arm flaring.

Reiner looked over the arm. "Oh, that's not good. Bertholdt, help me get Collin to the ground! We need to get him to the infirmary!"

"Right!"

The three of them were excused from the exercise, and Collin was soon escorted to the infirmary where he received treatment for his arm, along with having Bertholdt give his gear to repair. As it turned out, the cable snapped Collin's ulna and damaged the radius.

So now, sometime later, Collin was sitting on the bed, his right arm bandaged and in a cast that hung from his neck. The bleeding also needed to be stopped so it didn't get infected, which meant washing and putting a gauze that was covered with the cast.

"You should have been more careful," Reiner said sternly, his arms crossed. "I mean, what were you thinking?"

Collin sighed before rubbing the back of his head with his good hand. "Guess I wasn't."

"No, you weren't!" Reiner continued. "You were reckless and stupid! And now look what happened!"

"Reiner, please, cut him some slack," Bertholdt said. "It was a gear malfunction. You don't need to put it all on Collin."

Reiner's head snapped towards his taller friend. "No, I won't! The malfunction wouldn't have happened if Collin didn't go crazy during training!" He then looked back at Collin, who was now feeling like a little kid who did something stupid. Reiner then inhaled and exhaled to calm himself. "It doesn't matter now. What's done is done, and we can't change it. We can only hope your arm heals fast so you can go back to training. We can't have you lagging behind."

The doors then quickly opened, showing Eren, Armin, Connie, Sasha, Krista, and Mikasa enter.

"Collin, are you alright?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Collin said before looking at his arm. "Though it looks like I'll be away from trainin' for a while."

"Oh, this is really bad," Armin said. "Graduation will come soon, and by the time your arm heals I don't think you'll be able to catch up fast enough for a top ten spot."

"Well, I guess it doesn't help that this is also my writin' hand," Collin commented.

"Collin, this is serious," Connie said. "If you don't get into the top ten, you'll lose your chance to be a part of the MPs."

Collin scoffed. "Yeah, like I care about that. Look, I already decided to join the Scouts, so it doesn't really matter to me."

"But you'll still have a lot of catching up to do," Eren added.

"Yeah, I know. And I'll deal with it when the time comes," Collin said before rising. "Now, if ya'll excuse me, I'm gonna go outside. I need some fresh air."

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Mikasa asked.

"I won't be usin' my arm," Collin assured before going out the door. "Just need to clear my head, that's all."

After that talk, Collin ended sitting on the cliff that overlooked a lake. It was a pretty peaceful spot and it gave him some good alone time.

Man, he really was reckless today with his behavior at training. And it really came back to bite him in the ass. He really wanted to punch something, but that was kinda out of the question at the moment. And he couldn't even write or draw in his journal.

So he just sat there, resting on his good arm while his eyes overlooked the blue lake beneath, filling him with a sense of calm.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Collin turned around and saw that it was Annie, dressed in a grey hoodie instead of the military uniform.

"I just needed some time to think," Collin simply said.

"About how you screwed up?"

Collin shrugged. "More or less."

"I guess that means you also won't be training with me for a while as well," Annie said.

Collin slightly chuckled. "Yeah, I guess," he said before rising up. "'Least you have Eren to toss around while I'm gone."

"Maybe. But it won't be the same."

Collin chuckled again. "So why'd you come here? Just to check how I was?"

Annie raised an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

"Oh, no, no, it ain't. It's just that… I don't think anyone would expect that from ya."

"Heh, like I care what anyone thinks," Annie dismissed. "And I thought you knew me better after a few months."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, thanks for the thought. I'll be fine," Collin said before walking over to Annie. "Say, I've been wonderin', how are ya gettin' back to your pa?"

Annie looked at him for a moment before turning away. "I'll join the MPs, and use my position to look for him. He should have been in the Interior by the time everything with Shiganshina happened."

"I see," Collin said. "Well, if ya need any help, then I'll be more than happy to assist ya."

"I don't think you need to worry yourself about that."

"No, I'm serious," Collin insisted. "I'll help ya get back to your pa. In any way I can. That's a promise."

Annie slightly chewed on her lip. "And why do you care so much about my affairs? I think you already have enough on your plate."

"Because unlike you, I'll never get the chance to meet my pa again," Collin answered, making her stiffen. "I don't want other people to feel such grief, especially people close to me." He then put a hand on her shoulder. "So yes, I promise you that I'll help ya find your pa in any way I can."

"You… you don't know what you're asking," Annie said.

"And what's there to ask?" Collin said rhetorically. "I'll help ya find 'im. I can see how much he means to ya." His brown eyes then met her blue ones. "You know me, and ya know I'll try my best to keep that promise."

Annie stared up at him for a moment, as if thinking over his words. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out, and she ended up looking down at the floor.

She then ended up laughing for a bit. "God, damn it. I think your positivity is infectious."

Collin smiled. "What can I say? It's part of my charm."

"Yeah, it is," Annie confirmed before looking up at him. "God, why do you have to be so tall? Could you please lean down for a moment?"

Those words honestly caught him off guard. What was she planning? Nevertheless, he obliged. "So, what did ya nee-?"

He was interrupted by her grabbing him by his shirt, and closing what little distance was between them, and then bringing their lips together.

Collin was wide-eyed at what was going on. Annie Leonhart, the Annie Leonhart was kissing him? He wasn't sure what to think of that as their lips mashed together.

After a moment, Annie separated from the kiss and saw Collin's still surprised face.

"Wow, I… I didn't think you'd like me that way," Collin admitted.

"So you thought I couldn't have those types of feelings?" Annie said, a blush adorning her face as even she couldn't believe what she had just done.

"No, that's not it. It's just that…" he tried but struggled to find the right words for that. "I… didn't think it'd be me. That's all."

"Well, as you see, it is," Annie said before once again, kissing him. This kiss lasted a bit longer before they separated. "So I assume you're not against this?"

"Oh, well, the thing is that…" he said with a slight pause. "No, uh… No, I'm not. I'm… willin' to give this a shot."

"That's… good to hear," Annie said. "Just… Just don't go on telling everyone immediately."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Collin said, smiling.

"Good," Annie said before turning away. "Well, I'll go to my barracks. It's getting late anyway. Don't stay out for too long."

"Yeah, I'll… make sure I don't," he said to which she nodded and walked away. Collin then brought his finger to his lips, still feeling the sensation of his first kiss.

He hoped his ma and pa were watching him, as his life got a lot more interesting.

AN: Okay, now BEFORE you crucify me, I need to explain a few things. No, I didn't lie in tagging this story. The end couple will indeed be Collin and Sasha. Annie just ended up getting between them for the moment. And before anyone says anything, no, I won't make this a multi-pairing. It's strictly Collin and Sasha. And no, I didn't temporarily pair up Collin and Annie just so Annie was an obstacle or for some cheap drama. This is important to the story later on, I promise. For those who expected Collin and Sasha to be together, they will be, just not right now. And I once again assure you that there is a good reason why I'm doing this.

Okay, now for a minor thing. In the AoT 2 game, it kinda frustrated me that no matter how well you do you won't end up in the top ten cadets, so Collin having a broken arm was my explanation for why.

I implore you all to read my other stories, trust me they are worth it. And leave a review, they're good motivators.

And again, please check out 'Our Friend' by RememberShiganshina.

See ya next time and I hope I didn't make you too angry!