The Wings Of Our Dreams

AN: Hello there, my dear readers! Here I am, bringing you another chapter of The Wings of Our Dreams. Hope you enjoy!

Now to reviews.

RememberShiganshina: Oh, boy, does he

Scipias: I'm glad I got you interested.

Boshwa: Thanks a lot!

dancelikeapro2018: Well he was emotionally hurt last night so that's partly a reason. Besides, he is a man on a mission, and he'll have to carry it out.

benedict616z: Yeah, pretty intense.

Guest: I most definitely will


Hell At Your Door


Collin swung over and landed his feet on the top of the Wall. He and Eren stared at the Colossal Titan as it glanced at Eren while some steam emanated from its skin before its eyes settled on Collin.

The teens gripped their blades tightly as they stood next to one of the most dangerous Titans in recent history. The heat generated from its mere presence already caused them to sweat.

A huge growl was heard from the Colossal's mouth as it suddenly began swinging its right arm and making it slide along the top of the Wall.

Seeing the danger, Collin jumped over the approaching attack, his body moving above the palm. Luckily the palm was moving at an angle instead of being outstretched so the task was made easier. But just at the giant hand passed below him, Collin could feel some of his hairs being scorched. Definitely explained why the creature was steaming so much with how hot it was.

The moment he landed on the ground, he looked at the devastation that the Colossal caused as the tracks that carried the cannons were destroyed while the cannons themselves were reduced to scrap.

'And we just cleaned the bloody things,' Collin thought while his gaze quickly returned to the Titan. 'Wait, was it really aimin' at me? Or the… cannons?' He was kinda conflicted on that opinion, but if the latter was true, that meant the huge Titan… was intelligent!

Collin noticed Eren swinging from behind the Titan, the same determined look on his face as he latched another cable on the giant's left arm. The Colossal only now seemed to notice as its eyes twitched before turning Eren.

It was now his opportunity. Collin jumped over the wall and fired his cable, digging it into the Colossal's shoulder. The Titan let out a rumble as he also noticed Collin zipping towards him. The monster tried to move its arm to swat him, but as expected, the enormous size cost it speed and it missed Collin.

As Collin let loose his cable and landed on the Titan's arm, he quickly jumped off and sent another cable to swing around to the nape, he saw Eren beat him to the punch as he quickly approached it with blades ready. And just as Eren was about to strike, the world became very hot.

The Colossal let out a huge amount of steam, making Collin gasp as it blew him away from it. Eren's gear held a firmer grip as he still hung on to the Titan's red flesh. Clicking the triggers for a stronger pull, Eren yelled as he zipped through the cloud of steam and swinging his blades… only to be met by clear air where the Colossal Titan stood.

Collin, now hanging off the side of the Wall, looked at the scene in shock. The Colossal Titan, the sixty-meter tower muscle… wasn't there! He couldn't believe his eyes. Did the entire Titan just vanish?

Eren joined beside Collin as they looked in various directions where the Titan could be located. But nothing. It left footprints where it stood, but nothing else gave any indication of where it might have gone.

"Hey, you two!" Thomas called from the top of the Wall. "Where is it?! Were you able to take him out?!"

"No! It disappeared!" Eren said. "It was there one moment and gone the next!"

Collin once again glanced down and saw the destroyed gates. Again, he thought the Armored Titan might appear soon after if the Colossal had done its part with the outer gate. But the question was, when will it appear again?

Collin's grip on the blades tightened at the thought.


Soon they were recalled back to the HQ by their superiors to report what happened. The civilians within the city itself quickly began evacuation while safety nets were put over the destroyed gate and the Garrison worked on holding back the Titans with cannons and ODM gear.

Walking through the torch-lit halls of the HQ, Collin had already had his gear properly prepared, and now he searching for someone among the cadets. Well, more people actually, and he hoped he could meet at least some of them before they were led into the jaws of death.

And luckily for him, he found at least one.

"Don't lose your nerve!" Reiner sternly told some other cadets. "The people out there count on us to defend them! We cannot afford to be afraid now, so make all your training worth it!"

"Right!" the cadets exclaimed before quickly going to prepare.

"Inspirin' some cadets, eh?" Collin said, getting his attention. "Nice to see you're carin' to the last."

"Of course. We need soldiers to be in the right state of mind for this," Reiner said. "And shouldn't you be preparing as well?"

Collin sighed. "Maybe, but before we go fight Titans, I wanted to at least see some people. Tell me, are Bertholdt and Annie here somewhere?"

Reiner shook his head. "I'm sorry, but they already left to join the other cadets. I only stayed for a little while when I saw that group panic."

"Damn it," Collin said under his breath. "After yesterday… I thought that I should at least-"

"Hey!" Reiner interrupted as he grabbed Collin's shoulder. "Look, you have to remember that in this situation you are a soldier first. Is it unfortunate that you can't talk to them? Yes. But now we are the protectors of humanity."

Collin looked down and clenched his fist. As much as he hated to admit it, Reiner was right. He couldn't waste too much time on his personal issues. There were people out there that needed his help.

He remembered how he admired his grandfather for being in the Scouts, but today's events reminded him why he originally just wanted to be a farmer. But alas, the world was hardly kind.

"I'll… I'll go prepare," Collin said in a solemn tone.

Reiner gave a nod. "I'm sorry, Collin. I know it's not fair, but we have our duties. Besides, we might just live through this, so you'll get your chance," he said before walking past Collin. "Again, I'm sorry we don't have more time to talk."

Collin then quickly brought his arm behind him and bumped Reiner on the shoulder with his fist, causing the blond to stop in slight surprise.

"Reiner… Please, don't die," Collin said as he brought his arm back to his side.

Reiner stood silently for a moment before bringing his own arm behind him and bumping his friend on the shoulder. "Same to you, Collin."

And with that, the two separated.

As Collin hurried outside, he noticed two other cadets that he somewhat remembered from training. One was a tall young man with close-shaved black hair holding by the shoulders a short girl with light-brown hair tied in a small ponytail and a freckled face.

"I promise you," the boy, Franz said in a soothing tone. "Nothing bad will happen."

The girl, Hannah gave a nod and a smile. "I… I believe you."

Collin wasn't really acquainted with them like he was with some other cadets, but even he knew about them. Those two were obviously lovebirds, despite how desperately they tried to hide it.

God, he wished he could have seen Annie for a few seconds at least.


After they were briefed on the situation by captain Kitz Woermann, all the cadets were assigned to squads stationed around Trost so they could hold off the Titans while the civilians evacuated. And desertion was punishable by death.

So now, Collin was put in Squad Twenty Nine, with his teammates being Samuel, Daz, Franz, and Hannah. The five of them stood on one of the rooftops and looked over the city as Titans slowly flooded the streets.

"Th-there's so m-m-many of t-them," Daz said in his nervous tone, his hands shaking. "H-how are w-we-?"

"Daz, snap out of it!" Collin said in a raised tone making Daz jolt. "Ya bein' scared out your wits ain't gonna help ya any! We have a mission to do!"

Daz shook slightly, but spoke no further. His gaze turned back to the numerous Titans around the city.

"Collin speaks the truth," Samuel said. "The people here need our help. They rely on us. We better not let them down."

Hannah took a breath before looking determined and readied her swords. "I'm ready."

"So am I," Franz said with the same determination.

"Alright then!" Collin exclaimed. Looking forward, he saw a ten-meter Titan with long hair slowly walk through the street where they were located. "Squad Twenty Nine, let's take out the ten-meter! Samuel and I will get its attention, while the rest target nape!"

The five cadets then jumped over the roof and zipped forward with their ODM gear. They rapidly approached the Titan who seemed to notice them. Collin motioned to the right, after which he and Samuel altered their course.

The two then dashed past the side of the Titan's face, making it reach for them but miss. The ten-meter then turned to where they headed, leaving its nape exposed to the other three.

Franz, being the closest of them, quickly struck a cable on the Titan's neck, and taking a deep breath, he quickly zipped over. Before the Titan could respond, Franz's blades struck its flesh, and a huge chunk of the nape was cut out.

The ten-meter then halted for a brief second before its body clumsily struck the ground below with a loud thud, making a small crack in the pavement.

Seeing this, Franz let out a laugh. "Oh my God! We… we got one!"

"Nice work, Franz!" Hannah congratulated.

"Don't celebrate just yet, we got another one very close!" Collin exclaimed as another Titan appeared from the corner, a fifteen-meter class this time. "Aim for the ankles!"

The fifteen-meter went for Collin and Samuel, but the two flew in different directions, making the Titan grab air instead. Hannah and Franz zipped down as the Titan's attention was elsewhere. Franz sliced through one ankle while Hannah took another as they spurted blood.

The Titan stumbled before quickly falling on its knees and hands. Not wanting to waste an opportunity, Collin quickly latched onto the nape with a cable before swiftly zipping over, and slicing the nape. He had to admit, having your blades cut through actual flesh instead of paddings definitely felt different, even if not by a huge margin.

Falling down dead, the Titan began to steam while the group dashed away. They zipped through the street with Collin in the lead while they kept an eye out for any more Titans.

"Man, we're actually doing it!" Franz said with a smile before turning to Hannah. "I told you everything will be fine."

"I never doubted for a second!" Hannah said.

Collin looked at them for a moment, a smile gracing his own lips. He hoped things went as smoothly for a little while longer.

Then, they saw another Titan appear, around twelve meters this time. Collin once again prepared a plan.

"Squad Twenty Nine, now we-!"

Then from between some buildings, a six-meter Titan suddenly jumped out, with its large mouth wide open. Without any proper time to react, the Titan captured Franz in its mouth before landing on the ground.

The four looked back in shock as they Franz down there, with half of him within the Titan's maws.

Franz, scared out of his mind, looked at Hannah who was the most shocked out of all of them. "H-Hanna-"

The Titan's jaws clamped down, tearing through Franz as if it was nothing after which the upper half of his body fell on the ground.

Tears welled up in Hannah's eyes as she saw the now lifeless Franz laying on the floor with blood pouring from his missing half. Her lips quivered before she shouted "FRANZ!"

Collin looked at the scene in horror before snapping out of it and seeing the other Titan approach them. "Everyone, disperse!"

The four of them quickly abandoned their course as Collin quickly turned around, while the rest had a slight delay. While the six-meter was munching on Franz's legs, Collin quickly zipped over and sliced through its nape, almost snarling in anger as he did so.

Looking up, Collin saw the three looking down from some rooftops, with tears streaming down Hannah's cheeks. Though, they didn't seem to notice the Titan from before as it approached.

'Why are they just…? Oh no, they're frozen from shock!' Collin thought before quickly firing his cable.

While the three looked, Samuel suddenly screamed as a giant hand wrapped around him and lifted him from the rooftop. He was then greeted by a snarling face of the twelve-meter as it opened its mouth to devour him.

"Ho… No… No! No! Please-!"

In a blurry movement, the Titan's hand was severed from its arm, making it drop Samuel while it stared at its steaming stump in confusion. Samuel quickly latched onto a nearby building away from the Titan. Looking back, he saw Collin slicing through the nape, the Titan falling on the ground soon after.

Collin zipped to where Samuel was and saw the young man let out several deep breaths.

"Oh, thank you, thank you," Samuel said. "That Titan… I… I couldn't do anything…"

"Samuel!" Collin called. "Listen, ya have to be more careful! Titans are gonna overflow this city and kill us if we all freeze up like that!"

"Um… right. You're right," Samuel said as he tried to compose himself the best he could.

"What is…? What is she doing?" Daz said while looking down.

Noticing that Hannah wasn't with them, the two looked down as well and were shocked by what they saw. Hannah was kneeling at Franz's side and tried giving him CPR.

Collin wasted no time descending down with his cable and running over to her.

"Hannah, what's with you?!" Collin asked.

The girl ignored him as she finished giving Franz some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation before trying to pump his heart. "Come on, baby. Please, breathe," she said in a loud whisper as she continued to administer her CPR. "Come on, come on." Tears then began falling down her eyes again before she looked at Collin. "Please, you have to help! He's not breathing!"

Collin's mouth hung open as he watched Hannah's utterly desperate attempts. Did she actually believe Franz was still alive when he was literally bitten in half?

Shaking his head, Collin grabbed her by the arm. "We need to go. More Titans will come."

"No!" she exclaimed before pulling her arm away. "We need to help Franz! I can't leave him behind!"

"Hannah, he's gone."

"No, he'll make it!"

Collin grit his teeth before wrapping his arm around Hannah's smaller frame and lifting her over his shoulder.

"No, let me go!"

Ignoring her protests, Collin just zipped back onto the building where Daz and Samuel were and dropped her down.

"No, please, I have to-!"

"Enough!" Collin interrupted. "I'm sorry, but he's dead! I know it, and you know it! It's unfortunate, but it's how it is!" He wished he could say something more comforting, at least take a lighter tone with her, but considering their situation they needed to act faster.

"But he… he can't be," Hannah said as she dropped to her knees before sobbing in her hands. "Franz… Oh, Franz… You… promised me… promised me that…"

"Oh God," Daz said while grasping his head. "Franz was killed. Just like that. Dead in mere moments. And… And he was a better cadet than I was." Daz then began shaking. "And Hannah was almost driven mad. We… We barely even fought yet… Oh God, we're doomed!"

"Whoa there, Daz. Calm down. We still have a mission to do," Collin said.

"That's easy for you to say!" Daz practically screamed. "You are one of the best cadets, so of course, you'll live longer than any of us! But what chance do the rest of us have?!"

"Tell me, by 'us' do ya mean 'me'?" Collin asked.

Daz blinked. "W-what?"

"Are ya really worried about others, or yourself?" Collin asked as he approached Daz. "And don't answer that. I already know the answer. So lemme ask ya somethin' else." He then grabbed the wrinkled cadet by the shirt and pulled him closer as Daz gasped. "Do ya wanna die?"

"Wh-wha… What kind of question is that?! Of course not!"

"Well, do ya think that standin' here and whimperin' is gonna help ya achieve that?!" Collin said as he pulled Daz closer. "If ya don't wanna die, then make sure that ya don't! If ya don't wanna end up like Franz, then fight back, and work with your team!"

Samuel, and Hannah even, listened to Collin as he spoke, feeling some of their motivation return.

"We have other comrades that rely on us, and if ya wanna continue breathin' then I suggest you come with us and help 'em! The more of us, the better the odds of survival!"

Honestly, Collin was also talking to himself in some capacity. He just lost a teammate and they barely started fighting Titans. He needed to make sure that the others lived, all the while doing their best to protect the innocents of Trost.

Letting Daz go, he turned to the others.

"Listen to me, all of you," he said in a calmer tone. He wanted to be harsh, but knew a calm mind would help as well. "We cannot let Franz die for nothin'. We have to gather our wits, we need to continue. But… we also need to look out for each other. So ya watch my back…" He turned back to Daz. "…and I'll watch yours."

Collin closed his eyes for a moment. "So please, my comrades, my squad," he said as he brought his left arm behind his back, and his right over his heart in a salute they were all too familiar with. "Let us give it our all. Our freedom may seem far, and while we might stumble and fall, our determination will help us reach it.

"Let us fight, with all our hearts and souls, and let us fight together, so that our squad, our comrades out there, so that we all survive to live another day."

The three of them didn't say a word as they watched Collin salute them, but Hannah soon wiped her tears, rose, and saluted back. Samuel, seeing his teammate back in the game, also saluted back as he stood tall and determined.

Daz was honestly conflicted. He felt like he couldn't do this, that this was all for nothing. That if anything, he would only be a hindrance to everyone. But then again, what else could he do? If he deserted then he would be executed for treason. Even if that was preferable he might not make it with all the Titans around.

And Collin was right, he really was pretty much thinking about himself, yet Collin was willing to risk his own life for his. While he may be a coward, he definitely wasn't someone who lacked any gratitude or sympathy.

Taking a big intake of air through his teeth, Daz straightened his posture and saluted.

Seeing this, Collin couldn't help but smile. He then brought his arm in the air, his hand having a firm grip on his sword. "Squad Twenty Nine, let's move out!"


After a little while, they were able to take out six more Titans, with the seventh being currently handled by them. Daz and Samuel slashed through the ankles of a twelve-meter Titan before Collin slashed the eyes, and Hannah finished it by slicing the nape.

They didn't waste any time before zipping away, leaving the giant steaming corpse behind.

"Remember, pay attention to your surroundings!" Collin exclaimed. "They could come out from anywhere!"

"Right!" Samuel and Hannah said simultaneously.

"R-right!" Daz added as some sweat fell down his head.

Collin noticed something in front of them. "An Abnormal incomin'!"

A twelve-meter Titan appeared, but it was running wildly at them with its arms flailing as if they didn't have any proper motor function.

The Titan crouched before leaping at them.

"Spread out!" Collin ordered and the three moved to the sides, while Collin decided to stay. Unhooking himself from one of the buildings, the gravity moved him downward out of the reach of the Titan's mouth, but just at the point where Collin wanted. He then sliced through the Titan's leg with his blades, after which it crashed into the pavement below and slid for a few moments before stopping.

Samuel quickly took action and zipped over to the Abnormal and slashed through the nape.

Gathering once again, the four continued to dash through the city streets, their eyes peeled for any other Titan they will come across.

As Hannah looked around, she noticed something shocking. "Guys, look over there!"


Mina Carolina couldn't believe what was happening. How could it have all gone so bad in such a short span of time? A little while ago, she and her team were ready to face the Titans, with Eren even giving his own motivational speech. They were even trying to make a competition on who would kill more Titans

And not too long after they charged they were set upon by an Abnormal who much to their surprise ended up devouring Thomas. Eren went livid and set off to kill the Abnormal, but another Titan came out of nowhere and bit his leg off. Her other teammates, Nack and Millieus were snatched from the air and devoured. She was just barely able to avoid getting her cable snatched, but soon stood frozen when she saw Eren in a bearded Titan's mouth before he was devoured too.

Another Titan then caught her and was just about to bite her.

'So this is it?' she thought as she saw her doom slowly approaching. 'I die… without accomplishing anything?'

But just as the Titan was about to put her in its mouth, it suddenly halted, with its grip loosened before it fell backwards.

"Mina!" she heard a familiar voice before something else wrapped around her waist and pulled her away. Looking up, she saw that her savior was none other than Collin himself. The two landed on another roof, with Mina collapsing on her knees and hands.

"Mina, are ya alright?" Collin said before kneeling down. "Mina, where's the rest of your squad?"

"Th-they… They are…" she stammered, her voice trembling as her hand curled into fists. "They're gone." Collin looked at her wide-eyed when those words left her mouth. "But… Is… Is Armin…?"

Samuel zipped over to them. "Collin, we took care of the Titans here! And there don't seem to be any too near!"

"Good work, Samuel!" Collin said before bringing his attention back to the pig-tailed girl. "Mina, what about Armin?"

"He… He was…" she tried saying before she remembered where the blond boy was. Looking over to where she last saw him, she noticed he was still there and pointed, her voice failing her.

Collin and Samuel noticed that Armin was indeed at one of the buildings. He was on his knees, eyes wide and mouth hanging open as he seemed to stare into something in front of him.

"Take care of Mina," Collin told Samuel. "I'll go get Armin."

"Right," Samuel confirmed before giving Mina a hand.

Zipping over, Collin landed near Armin, who seemed to lack any reaction to his presence as he simply stared in the distance.

"Armin!" Collin called out as he gave the blond a shake. "Armin, snap out of it!"

Armin's blue eyes trembled before looking at the tall cadet. "C-Collin, what are… you doing here?"

"Armin, what happened 'ere? What happened to your squad? Mina couldn't properly tell us," Collin said, hoping that what Mina said didn't mean what he thought it meant.

"M-Mina is… alive?"

"Yes, she is," Collin confirmed. "But what about the rest?"

"They… died," Armin said. "They all got eaten. Thomas Wagner, Nack Tierce, Millieus Zeremski, and… Eren Yeager."

Collin looked at Armin in utter shock. Despite all his hopes, they were all indeed gone. And Eren Yeager… was dead? No, that… That couldn't be true. Someone like Eren, they couldn't die just like that? Eren was ranked fifth among the cadets, so how could he…?

Remembering the time back on that boat five years ago, Collin recalled how Eren vowed to destroy every Titan. He remembered the boy's spirit and determination. Bringing his arm up, Collin stared at it, almost perfectly recalling the tear that fell on it, and the sensation it brought as he made his own vow that day.

Eren inspired him to move forward, and to think that he was gone seemed... unfathomable.

Armin's head then turned in a direction behind him, which Collin also followed.

"Eren," Armin whispered as tears began streaming down his eyes

Collin's teeth clenched behind his lips as he saw what Armin was looking at. The only thing that was seemingly left of Eren. A severed left arm.


AN: And that's it for now, my dear readers. This chapter was mostly focused on Collin and his team as the Trost invasion happens, but I hope I did a good enough job to keep you entertained.

And of course, I implore you to check out my other stories. And I also hope you leave a review since they are great motivators.

See you next time!