The Wings Of Our Dreams
AN: Hello there, my dear readers! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!
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RememberShiganshina: No he really doesn't.
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20 An Official Start
Year 850
Fifty-first entry
So, I'm a part of the Scouts… a whole month early. Feel like I should be proud but I think it's kind of unfair to others considering that it's only circumstantial. I just happened to be noticed and then I got this spot. Though Erwin did explain that he would have wanted someone more close to Eren, but he couldn't find the proper reason to include cadets like Mikasa or Armin.
Still, I probably shouldn't whine about it. I wanted to join the Scouting Regiment and I did. Besides, I have a duty to do, and I'm gonna do it.
Also to note, politics suck major ass. Dear God, I swear I wanted to tear my hair out during yesterday's trial for Eren's custody. I can't believe Premier Zackary would even consider giving Eren to those trigger-happy morons at the Military Police. Can't believe Annie wants to join them. I honestly tried to talk her out of it but she's adamant. Well, I suppose I can't blame her. I can't expect everyone to want to put their lives at such risk. Hopefully I don't get killed on my first mission.
"Wait, you're leaving early?" Bertholdt asked as he watched Collin pack his things.
"Yup. Got an early recruitment," Collin answered as he put the small uniform in his pack. There was no way he was leaving without it. "I just happened to be noticed by some higher ups and they said they can get me early thanks to my record."
"Hmm, is that a fact?" Reiner said with crossed arms. "And you accepted that duty?"
'Man, I wish Erwin didn't tell me to keep the real reason for this quiet,' Collin thought. "Yeah, I did. They need recruits, and well, I gotta do my duty. Ain't that right?"
Reiner chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose so. Though it definitely sucks that we won't be seeing each other for a month. Well, at least you'll have Eren as company
Collin smiled."Yeah, that's true," Collin said before sighing. "But hey, compared to the three years we've hung out together, a month ain't that long. We'll see each other soon enough."
"Eh, you got a point," Reiner commented. "Just don't go dying on us, all right?"
"Not a chance," Collin said with a grin as he took his pack. "Well, I gotta go. The Commander told us to gather on the Wall later this afternoon."
"Good luck, Collin," Bertholdt said.
"And don't forget to tell Annie about going so soon," Reiner said.
"Darn right I ain't forgettin'!" Collin exclaimed. "Don't wanna get kicked to oblivion."
The three laughed for a moment, though Bertholdt with a bit less enthusiasm.
"See ya, guys," Collin said before passing the two.
"See ya in a month!" Reiner said with Bertholdt nodding.
As Collin walked through the hallway, and almost immediately bumped into Annie, who leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.
"Oh, hey there," Collin said. "Been lookin' for ya, actually."
"So, I see," she said in her usual tone. "I overheard you were already going to the Scouts."
"Ah, so… ya already know," Collin said. "Yeah, I'm goin' early."
"Hmm. And I thought we'd still have some time together," she said, actually looking a bit disappointed. "I guess it didn't really matter to you that much."
"C'mon, Annie, dontcha be teasin' me like that," Collin said with a grin before grabbing her by the waist and leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "Ya know I'd never want to get away from ya."
Annie let out a small smile. "Yeah, I know. It's just a shame since our regiments would have kept us apart already, and now you're leaving sooner than expected."
"Hey, hey, don' be like that, Ann. We'll still see each other, ya know that."
"I do. It's just that we seem to constantly run into complications."
"Well, true that. But hey, it ain't a relationship without a few bumps in the road. I mean, my folks didn't have it easy all the time. It'll all turn out fine, you'll see."
She stayed silent for a moment before responding. "God, I wish I could be as positive as you."
"You'll get there, shortcake," Collin said. He then leaned for another kiss which she returned. "Now, I gotta go. I'll make sure to visit ya at the MPs."
Annie nodded. "Make sure you do."
"At the first opportunity, hun."
Noon came, and Collin stood in front of the Scout Regiment barracks. He was lined up in the second row consisting of over a dozen Scout soldiers, which actually included the Levi Squad and the Miche Squad. Needless to say, Collin felt both excited and a bit out of place at the same time.
Commander Erwin Smith was currently addressing them, with a somewhat nervous Eren next to him and Captain Levi standing calmly on the side.
"As I imagine you've all heard by now," Erwin spoke. "The Special Military Tribunal has reached its decision, and this kid is officially joining the Scouts."
"Eren Yeager, sir!" Eren introduced himself. "At your service, sir."
"My own view is that Eren here represents humanity's best hope in beating the Titans," Erwin continued. "Our primary objective right now is to prove that right." He gestured towards Levi. "So, he'll be put under Captain Levi's supervision for now. The rest of your positions will be decided in due course. That's all. Dismissed!"
The soldiers saluted before dispersing, though Collin decided to stay for a little while longer as he saw Eren talking to Hange and Moblit.
"Um, what is Collin doing here?" Eren asked as he saw Collin standing there. And instead of the cadet jacket he wore before, he now sported the official Scout Regiment uniform, emblazoned with the Wings of Freedom on his left pocket and another one on his back.
"Oh, you know, the Scout Regiment is always short on personnel, and now that you're here, things will be even busier than usual," Hange explained. "So I helped in getting our friend here."
"But, Section Commander," Moblit spoke. "Are you sure it's a good idea to bring in rookies before their training is officially over?"
"It's all been cleared up, don't worry about it," Hange assured her assistant before turning to Eren. "Besides, it'll be easier if you have a friendly face around, right, Eren?"
Eren looked to the side. "Y-yeah, that's true."
Hange smiled and clapped her hands. "Goodie! Now let's get back to our duties," she said before walking away with an excited step, and Moblit sighing before following her.
After they left, Eren approached Collin who greeted him with a smile.
"Hey there, Eren," Collin said. "Surprised to see me?"
"Honestly, yes I am," Eren said before scratching his head. "Man, there are so many weirdos here. I'm actually glad you're here! Though, I heard that you were actually picked by the higher ups. I wonder why. Not to say you aren't skilled, of course, but I mean, some of the others got good grades too, right?"
Collin grinned before putting his index finger and thumb on his chin. "Why, it must be 'cause o' my dashin' good looks."
Eren looked at him unamused. "Yeah right. Like the Scouts are stupid enough to do that."
"Oh, c'mon. Learn to take a joke, will ya?" Collin said. "I just got picked 'cause they were actually able to see me fightin' Titans. If they saw Mikasa they'd probably get her, but I guess I got that shot."
"Oh? So that's how," Eren said before smiling. "Well, at least I won't be the only one of our class here. Since we both planned on joining the Scouts, I guess this situation is just fine. So, let's give our best shot."
Collin nodded before bringing his fist up, and Eren bumped it with his own.
When the afternoon came, the Scouts gathered on top of Wall Rose, this time also adorned in their green scouting coats. Eren was currently absent from the mission as they felt like he wasn't currently needed.
"Okay, Scouts!" Erwin exclaimed. "We've been given a task to exterminate any remaining Titans in the vicinity of the Wall as a part of the Trost Recovery Mission. We'll have to do it quickly so we can continue on our mission beyond the Walls. I hope you all remember the tasks assigned to you."
The Scouts saluted. "Yes, sir!"
"Hey, rookie!"
Collin slightly jolted when he heard someone addressing him and turned to see a man with slightly curly light brown hair in an undercut and hazel eyes. He also had some more pronounced wrinkles on his cheeks, making him seem older than he actually was. That was Oruo Bozad, if Collin remembered it right.
"Now, listen here, you," Oruo said, his expression snobbish and his voice had a tone that Collin could swear was imitating Levi's. "You may have gotten here on recommendation, but don't let that get to your head. For all we know, you may end up a first casualty."
Collin raised an eyebrow at the man's attitude. "Well, I guess I'll have to prove myself."
Oruo scoffed. "Good luck."
"Oh, don't mind him," said a woman with shoulder-length red hair and amber eyes. "He's just trying to act tough. Trust me, he's a bigger softie than he lets on."
Oruo crossed his arms. "I honestly have no clue where you got that idea from, Petra."
"Ya know," Collin said. "I think ya should stop with that snob face of yours. You'll end up gettin' wrinkles. Oh, wait, too late for that one."
Petra chuckled at that, and even Eld covered his mouth so a laugh wouldn't escape him.
The wrinkled soldier on the other hand, was more than annoyed. "Now listen here, brat! If you think you can-!" Oruo was interrupted when he suddenly bit his tongue, making him moan in pain as he covered his mouth.
This actually got some laughs, even from Collin who rubbed his eyes. "Ah, man. I'd tell ya to bite your tongue, but looks like ya got it covered." Several more laughs erupted, making Oruo go red in embarrassment.
"Will you all please pipe down," Levi said as he stepped in front of the group with his arms crossed.
'Wow. I only now noticed how short he is,' Collin thought as he looked at the captain.
"I sure hope you had your laughs, because right now we have a mission," Levi said. "So you better get going! Or else I'm gonna throw you all off this Wall!"
The soldiers quickly departed after that, not wanting to get on Levi's bad side.
"Hey you, oversized brat!" Levi called out, making Collin stop in his tracks. "Hange gets your babysitting duty. Better get to her squad."
"Uh, right, Cap'n," Collin said before quickly departing.
Collin, now mounted on a brown stallion, rode alongside Hange near the Wall, steadily approaching an abandoned town.
The town hasn't been inhabited ever since the first breach, so thankfully there were no civilians for the Titans to kill.
"Oh, just look at those beauties," Hange said. "Too bad this isn't a capture mission."
"Section Commander, please focus on the now," Moblit said.
"Yeah, yeah," she said dismissively before noticing how close they were to the buildings. "Engage ODM gear!"
At the command, they put their feet on the backs of their horses before jumping off and attaching themselves on the buildings with their cables.
Collin noticed a ten-meter coming from around the building they were swinging on. Acting swiftly, he turned to the girl with shoulder-length auburn and golden eyes.
"You go low, I'll go high!" Collin said before shooting upward getting the Titan's attention.
The girl, Nifa, blinked in confusion for a moment before seeing the distracted Titan. She quickly latched into the Titan's calf before zipping over and slashing the leg.
The Titan fell to the knee, making Collin fly above it before making a sharp turn. He latched onto the neck, zipped over, and the nape came flying off.
"You know," Nifa said as she and Collin flew alongside the buildings. "It's not very usual to be ordering your superiors."
"Well… it worked, didn't it?"
"You two, watch out!" another Scout shouted at them.
Collin and Nifa saw a chubby twelve-meter running at them. Its hand was raised as if to swat a fly.
But Collin's instincts came true as he sliced the palm in half with his blades, a spurt of blood covering him in the crimson liquid.
Nifa turned around and zipped over to the Abnormal, who was looking at its hand seemingly confused. And using that confusion, Nifa was able to perform a precise attack on the nape, killing the Titan.
Collin landed on top of one of the buildings, the blood already steaming off, and saw Hange take out a fifteen-meter alongside Moblit before zipping over to the building they were at.
"Well, that was pretty quick," Hange commented. "I think it's time we moved to the southeast side of Trost."
"B-but, Hange," Moblit sait. "That's where Section Commander Miche's designated spot is located. Our orders were to clear the area and retreat."
"Oh, I know," Hange said with a smile. "However, the way I see it, the more the merrier. Surely extra assistance isn't gonna cause anyone harm." She turned to the rest of the group. "Fourth Squad, gather your mounts! We're headed towards Miche Squad to offer assistance! Let's move out!"
With positive exclamations, the soldiers let out loud whistles that had the immediate effect of having the specially bred Scout horses come with no time wasted.
'Well, the woman may be unhinged sometimes,' Collin thought with a smile as he dropped on his stallion. 'But she sure does have a leader's attitude.'
The soldiers raced across the area with their mounts. With the speed of the special-bred horses, it didn't take too long for them to reach their destination. The area was more forested compared to the previous one and had four times the amount of Titans.
"Hmm, just as I thought," Hange said under her breath. "All right, troops! Prepare to engage!"
Section Commander Miche himself zipped through the air before quickly dispatching a twelve-meter. His nose then picked up something and he saw the Fourth Squad approaching.
They also dismounted before joining his Squad in engaging the Titans.
'What's Hange doing here?' Miche wondered. 'If she cleared her area she should have retreated back to the Wall?'
"Section Commander!" Tomas shouted, getting Miche's attention. "We have a distress signal!"
Miche sharply turned and saw a plume of red smoke rising into the air. He saw a large gathering of Titans in that spot, five to be precise.
"Tomas, tell Nanaba and Gelgar to join me in assisting-!"
Miche was interrupted when he saw Collin and a few others pass them, answering the distress call as well.
"Uh, Section Commander, what should we-?"
"My order still stands! Go get them!"
Tomas nodded before zipping away towards his comrades while Miche continued heading to the distress signal.
Lynne zipped away from a Titan as it swung at her. She cursed under her breath. The situation went south fairly fast. A large number of Titans gathered and almost overwhelmed her team. It took some quick thinking and snap judgments to make sure none of them were eaten.
Lynne then swung around behind the Titan and slashed the nape. Good. One less Titan to worry about.
"Help!"
Gasping, Lynne saw that one of her comrades was snatched from the air by a ten-meter and was just about to be devoured.
'Oh no! Can't make it!' Lynne frantically thought.
However, her worries were eased when she saw Collin zip over and kill the Titan just as it was about to bite, freeing the Scout.
She then saw Nanaba and Gelgar dispatch two more. And Miche and Collin approached the last one, swinging from two different sides and actually slicing the nape simultaneously.
Lynne let out a sigh of relief as the threat was taken care of, and thankfully no casualties.
Now, they needed to clear out the rest of the area.
Within the next hour, the surroundings of Wall Rose were cleared of the overabundance of Titans.
The soldiers that participated in the operation were once again gathered on top of the Wall with Erwin Smith addressing them.
"Excellent work, all of you!" Erwin exclaimed. "With this mission done, we'll be able to perform our own operation out of the Calaneth District!"
"Sir!"
"So I see you're alive," Collin heard a familiar voice of Oruo who came up to him with his arms crossed and looking unimpressed. "I guess it's not too bad for a rookie."
"Um, thanks?" Collin said. He had a feeling this guy had something to prove.
"Will you stop already with that, Oruo?" Eld said as he came to the scene. "Stop pestering him with your bragging."
Oruo shrugged. "I'm not telling anything but the truth. Besides, don't you remember which one of us has more solo kills, Eld? And that number increased by three today."
Eld rolled his eyes. "I tell him not to brag, and he immediately brags."
"Well, I ain't sure if you're interested," Collin said. "But my solo count also increased by three today."
"Good, maybe one day you'll get to my level," Oruo commented. "Provided you do well on the next hundred missions."
This time, both Eld and Collin looked at him annoyed.
"I'll keep that in mind," Collin said before turning and walking away.
"Hey."
Collin came to a sudden halt when only just now noticed Captain Levi was in front of him. Seriously, the man was really short.
"Oh, sorry 'bout that, Cap'n," Collin said with a smile. "Almost stepped on ya there."
Oruo blinked in shock at the comment while Eld couldn't help but grin.
Levi's eyes slightly squinted. "Smartass brat," he muttered to himself. "Listen, you're to join my team in escorting Eren Yeager. So get your head out of the clouds and get to it."
'Did… did this guy also make a joke?' Collin wondered. "Um, sure thing. I'll see ya in a bit, Cap'n."
Collin departed the area when Levi turned to the other two. "And what the hell are you two standing here? You're part of my team, aren't you? So get moving."
Sasha sighed before taking a bite out of her bread, her gaze settled nowhere in particular within the mess hall.
"Man, if only I was able to eat that delicious meat," Sasha spoke to herself as she took a larger bite out of her bread.
"Right, so now you're compensating by trying to stuff your face with other things," Jean said from across the table.
"And will you please stop talking about it out loud?" Connie said in a husher tone. "Do you really want people finding out you stole meat from the pantry?"
"But I was really looking forward to it, you know?" Sasha answered before remembering something. "Hey guys, I haven't seen Collin in a while. You know where he is?"
"Didn't you hear?" Jean said with a raised eyebrow. "He was recruited into the Scouts early and they're currently moving to the Calaneth District."
Sasha suddenly stopped mid-bite as her eyes widened. She quickly chewed on the bread and swallowed before turning to Jean in shock. "Wait, what did you say?"
"Apparently, they noticed his battle record in Trost and decided to recruit him before official transfer to the Regiments," Jean explained.
"But… He's already…" Sasha stammered. "Why didn't he say goodbye or anythin'?"
"They needed to move quickly from what I've heard from Reiner and Bertholdt," Connie explained. "He just didn't have any time to say anything."
"And it looks like we won't be seeing him or Eren until we actually graduate," Jean said. "Kind of a bummer if you ask me."
Sasha slumped into her seat. That was just perfect. She thought she'd at least have this month to spend some time with Collin but now he left. She swore there was some higher power playing her.
"So, Erwin," Hange said as she walked alongside the Scout Commander within the HQ. "I need to ask you something."
"What is it, Hange?" Erwin said.
"Tell me, did you put my team on the eastern side of Trost because there was a small number of Titans there, and thus less likely for Collin to be in danger?"
Erwin spared her a glance, his face still neutral. "Before you blame me for my decision, think about it. We recruited Collin Holt so he could help ease Eren into moving to the Scouts. How would he react if Collin died so soon?"
"Well, nice to see you have such faith in my team to take care of him," Hange said sarcastically. "But you know that boy is skilled. Do you really think he'd be killed so easily?"
"I'm not leaving anything to chance," Erwin said. "I can't say what kind of consequences that blunder could have brought considering how little we know of Eren's abilities. And speaking of, I got a report from Miche that you actually went to act as reinforcements instead of retreating like I ordered you to."
"Well, unlike you I'm willing to have Collin prove himself a capable soldier to others. Surely, he deserves that chance," Hange said before smiling. "Besides, he even saved the life of a soldier when nobody else could have. And by this point, we're more than justified in keeping him within our ranks. Have some faith, Erwin. I know what I'm doing."
"Hmm, well, you haven't let me down so far."
"Of course, I haven't," Hange happily said. "By the way, I have a proposition."
This got Erwin curious. "What do you need?"
AN: And that is all for now, my dear readers! Hope you liked it!
And as always, I implore you to check out my stories. Trust me, they are worth it. And leave a review, they are great motivators.
See ya next time!
