AUTHOR'S NOTE:

As of writing this, it is February 5th, 2022. When I started 'Our Friend' back in late November 2021, I didn't have much in mind besides a writing exercise and a lot of fun exploring an alternate Attack on Titan universe. However, a little over two months later, the story has surpassed over 4,900 views, completely dwarfing any expectation I had!

Two months is both a long and a very short amount of time. Either way, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, both from readers & fellow writers alike, and I can only do so much when it comes to thanking all of you for your support. Nonetheless, as an appreciation gift, I have news.

It is unquestionable that not only the story as well as my writing have evolved such much over the time this project has been on going. Therefore, I would like to announce here that I am currently rewriting the first few chapters of this fanfic to better fit the quality of the later ones. This rewriting seeks to improve the flow of the reading, fix grammar mistakes, odd phrasing and some personal pet peeves in order to make the experience a better one for old & new fans alike.

As of right now, Chapter 1 (this chapter) has been considerably rewritten and already updated. While I work on the next chapter of the story, expect to see the following chapters get the same treatment, too.

Thank you so much to every one of you that has supported this fanfiction! I am very lucky to be able to share this story with you all.

- RememberShiganshina

EDIT May 30th, 2022: Chapters 2 and 3 have also been rewritten. I have updated the story's synopsis and cover art as Chapter 24 is on the way. Fresh coat of paint as the story takes a huge leap forward.

-BEFORE WE BEGIN...-

Our Friend is an unofficial continuation of the videogame Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle, loosely following its plot and details. There are many throwbacks to events, scenes and gameplay elements from it- however, the story is original and follows a distinct canon with original elements.

I have been writing for fun for over a decade now. This is my first time writing fanfiction and my first time attempting to do something bigger. This project was born out of passion for a franchise I love, filled with characters I adore, inspired by several works that I feel strongly about.

I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I do writing it. It is not only for me, after all, but for you too.

It was pitch black.

Darkness covered her like a blanket, but comfort was the last thing she could feel at that moment. Pain took over her entire body, and even though she couldn't see anything, she could still feel as if the entire world was spinning thanks to dizziness. Her ears were ringing, the haunting noises from far away echoing inside her head, a soundscape straight from the depths of Hell. And maybe it was, indeed, Hell. The distant sounds of flames burning with all the rage nature could evoke clashed with the louder screams of demons both human and titan, something so horrifying only the Devil himself could create.

The feeling of dread grew, filling her with adrenaline. Using what little strength she had left, she managed to struggle just enough for light to finally break on through the dark. The rubble of a destroyed rooftop rested upon her, the same rooftop she was on before passing out. She couldn't know how much time had passed, but as she tried more and more to escape the wreckage, her memories began flooding in.

The Beast Titan showered the outside of Shiganshina with artillery. The surprise from its boulders froze all of the Scouts with shock, and a rock roughly the size of a door soon landed right by Laure's side, collapsing the roof of the house as she was instantly knocked out before landing.

'Bastard', she muttered with much annoyance as she barely managed to stand up, still feeling dizzy and weak from it all. Laure looked down to find that her body had nothing explicitly broken, even though it ached all over. Her ODM gear wasn't as lucky, its left side appearing to be held together by the souls of her fallen comrades, with her hand grips also having been bent. There was no time to worry, however. She had to be as quick as possible to know what the hell was going on.

'Shit... here I go.'

Laure jumped through the window and barely managed to handle the landing, awkwardly rolling on the ground. She clumsily stood up, turning to her right and having a view that once more made her doubt if she was in Hell. The village had been destroyed by the Beast Titan's throws, rubble drenched in blood spread all over the place. Those who were hit by the rocks exploded into a red mist, leaving behind nothing but chunks of flesh, clothing and pieces of equipment. Further away, dust and smoke was almost entirely covering the horizon, the advancing Scouts charging at the Beast Titan, firing their flares towards him. The Beast, on the other hand, was getting ready to throw yet another barrage of rocks. It was a suicide charge, their fates being sealed.

Laure touched the back of her head, whispering to herself as she felt blood. She was bleeding from a big cut.

'Why?', she uttered in a sad and confused tone.

Her once braided brown hair was now a mess, dirty with blood and dust. She could feel as the blood slowly dripped down her neck. The faint noise of flesh being cut suddenly caught her attention, making her glance to her left. The intimidating row of titans was slowly shrinking in size, a figure zipping across the air, killing them one by one. The Beast Titan didn't seem to notice it as it happened, prompting Laure to think and piece everything together.

'A suicide charge to distract the Beast Titan...', Laure thought to herself as she limped towards the mangled remains of one of her comrades. She noticed a bag filled with flares, grabbing as much as she could carry on herself. She turned to the Wall before giving a last glance towards the charging Scouts.

"I trust in whatever it is that you are doing, my comrades", she said to herself. "I trust it with my life."

The loud noise of steam could be heard by her, coming from the other side of the Wall. She used her damaged ODM gear to climb it, almost falling a few times. As she finally reached the top, she saw the source of the now-deafening noise. The Colossal Titan was steaming similarly to when Bertholdt & Reiner revealed themselves as Shifters, betraying the Scouts and kidnapping both Eren & Ymir. However, the intensity of his steaming was greater, the Titan not stopping for a moment.

As he steamed without break, Laure noticed that he was slowly getting thinner and thinner. She also noticed the Colossal's eyes remorselesslly staring at a swaying Scout, their hooks attached to its teeth. That blonde bowl hair meant it could only be one person- Armin was the one being hit by the punishing vapor, and if he remained in that position he would end up roasted alive. Laure panicked, yelling at him.

"Armin!", she screamed as she fought the urge to cough, gathering as much breath as she could. "ARMIN!"

Her voice cracked and she couldn't hold back anymore, coughing with much pain in her ribs. As she tried to recover and not fain, she felt desperate. Armin probably had a plan behind what he was doing, but she couldn't allow him to die. He didn't react at all to the shouting, so Laure grabbed her flare gun and loaded up a flare.

'First chance out of three', she thought to herself.

She aimed at the Colossal's neck, hoping the wind coming from the steam would help the flare fly somewhere where it could grab the attention of both Armin and Bertholdt.

She fired it.

The flare flew across the titan's eyesight and almost hit Armin on its way back. The Colossal's eyes turned towards Laure, who was trying to load another flare.

'What?', Bertholdt thought for a second before recognizing his old friend. 'I am glad you are alive, Laure, but I can't do to you much different than what I'm doing to Armin.'

His eyes shifted to the corner of his view as he attempted to see as far behind as he could.

'Mikasa and the others have their hands full with Reiner', he thought to himself before shifting his eyes down. 'And Eren hasn't moved an inch. I'll put both of you to rest, one at a time.'

'I can't breathe... this is all I can take... no, not yet. This still isn't enough. I have to buy more time!'

Armin's thoughts raced through his head as he fought against all of his instincts, trying as much as possible to stay hooked to the Colossal's teeth. He was going to be scorched alive, but it was all part of his plan. He had to sacrifice something. He had to be a hero.

Laure fired another flare, once more prompting Bertholdt to look at her. The Colossal Titan stopped steaming, and an exhausted Armin quickly started falling down. He was conscious just enough to turn around and hook to the Wall, landing atop of it as his body rolled on the floor. He raised his head to see Laure staring at him, battered, bloody and shellshocked. There was a feeling looming over Laure's head that Bertholdt was very annoyed by the flares, like a fly that just wouldn't stop buzzing near his face, and he would probably take some action against her.

"Laure...", Armin said as he could barely manage to speak, out of breath. "You're alive... wh-what are you doing?"

"I know you have a plan, Armin", she replied between coughs. "But I can't let you die like that. I will not let you sacrifice yourself. I'm here."

Armin couldn't reply to her, a look of surprise on his face. His skin was covered in both first and second degree burns, the adrenaline taking his mind off the pain. The damage was done, and had Laure not interfered, his fate would have been much worse.

"The Colossal may be slow, but that doesn't mean we don't have to be quick", Laure said as she cleaned the bloody corner of her mouth, rubbing her hand against it. She looked at Bertholdt with a thousand yard stare. "I assume you were being a distraction, right?"

She looked at Armin, who nodded.

"I don't see Eren, nor Mikasa, nor Jean or anyone else for that matter. I don't know what happened inside the Wall... but time and time again we have been saved by your skills. What was the goal?"

Armin replied, being able to speak after catching his breath for a moment.

"I needed to hold on until the Colossal released enough steam... but your flares have got in the way of the plan... This means what was possibly our only shot at taking him down may have been wasted..."

Laure wasn't happy with Armin's words. She knew she acted out of desperation to help him, but she never wanted to accept his death as a solution, specially after witnessing the sacrifice from outside. Not while she could help.

"I trust you, Armin", she said, calmly. "But I don't believe in your sacrifice."

Bertholdt was staring at them the whole time, something holding him back from instantly attacking. Maybe it was the pity for Laure's deplorable state. He couldn't get memories of their time together out of his head.

'Why? Why now?', Bertholdt thought to himself. 'It doesn't matter. I need to fulfill my duty... as a Warrior.'

He was going to smash them. However, he could barely move his arm.

"What?! Why can't I?!", he panicked as he looked at his arm. It was skinny, to the point in which he couldn't do anything with it.

He wasn't able to think anymore than that. Laure looked Armin in the eyes as she loaded her last flare, suddenly turning around and running towards the Titan with all the strength she had left. She fired the flare at the Colossal's face using her left hand and shot her right hook towards his body.

Bertholdt once more panicked, prompting him to instantly react. A sudden burst of steam flashed like an explosion, throwing Laure backwards at the Wall. Her ODM's hook attached to the Wall by pure luck, saving her from falling over fourty meters to her death. Armin, who was still laying prone, fired his hooks at the ground, holding on for his life. The parry made his heart race as he stared at a dangling Laure, still trying to understand what she expected to accomplish with that sudden move.

As he looked down, something caught his eyes from the corner of his vision: A crystallized form of Eren's titan was kneeling down near the Wall's gates. A familiar voice then suddenly shouted from behind him

"Got you!", Eren said as his hooks attached to the Colossal's neck. He zipped across, cutting Bertholdt out.

The Colossal Titan had been defeated.