Fight? But with what? It's not like you could fight those things with your bare hands or anything. Even if you had a weapon, what could you do with it? These things were huge! What weapon would be powerful enough to stop them?
A cannon maybe?
Where the hell are you supposed to get a cannon, (f/n)? you scold yourself frustratedly.
You look around to see what the other soldiers are doing. You see a man with two giant swords in his hand and then realize all the other soldiers have them too. You instantly glance down at your body to check for some kind of sword holster of your own. You find a pair of handles attached to your waist instead, so you take them into your hands.
Okay, so what the hell am I supposed to do with just the handles? you think in irritation as you start searching for more clues on your uniform. You suddenly realize that you've been staring at the sword holsters all along: It looks as though the giant metal boxes hanging from your thighs are holding the blades, for you can see the ends of them sticking out. The ends look like they might connect to the handle, so you carefully plug the blade handles on the blades themselves. After a few seconds, you try and pull the blades out.
Placed in your hands now are two giant swords. You examine the blades, and then focus on the handle a little more. The handle is strange: it has triggers and wires that connect to some strange contraption around your waist. You pay a bit more attention to the triggers: There is a large one that sticks out in front and two smaller ones under it that your fore and index finger rest on; the two smaller ones look similar to gun triggers. You have no idea what either of them do, but you are sure it somehow activated the machine attached to your waist.
Your eyes go from your sword triggers to the soldiers around you. The more you observe them, the more you learn. There is a man a few feet away from you and judging by the uniform, he is a soldier too; he is glaring up at one of the giant humanoid monsters that are rampaging throughout the city.
This sim is so strange.
The swords, you know, are for killing the titan, so the things around your waist must have some type of big purpose in this too; otherwise, they wouldn't be part of a soldier's uniform. The titans are so big. What's the use of a sword if you can't even reach a good kill spot? Then it hits you. That's what this thing must be for. Somehow, the triggers on the sword handle will activate the machine. Then the machine will take you higher. You look back down at the contraption, as if continuing to stare at it is going to make it work.
If it's supposed to take you higher, then there must be some type of pressure to lift you up in the air. Something like air or…
Gas.
So now I know it's purpose, but I still don't really know how to make it work. The basics: The triggers activate the gas and the gas takes you higher in order for you to kill the titan.
Speaking of which, the titan is getting dangerously close, along with a few others. Luckily, they move pretty slow. Still, you cringe at the thought of giant teeth, nearly bigger than yourself, sinking into your flesh and then down into your organs. Your breaths begin to grow shaky and your hands begin to sweat; you are beginning to feel very weak and lightheaded.
This is just a sim, (f/n). This is just a sim. You can't really die.
It still feels very real though.
This is just a sim, (f/n). It's just a sim. Think! Think! Think! You have a way to kill these things and save your life: It'll just take a little bit of figuring out is all. You're halfway there, just…
You can't think because every thundering footstep of those monsters is making your heart beat harder and faster. You are struggling to keep your balance as the Earth shakes to the rhythm of footsteps: It is still, then violently shaking the next moment. This continues as the titan gets closer. The mantra reminding you that this is just a sim has gone completely silent. It seems every part of you has given up, and has given in to the fact that you are going to die.
Quit being dramatic. This is just a sim! Now stop focusing on your virtual death, and focus on your ticket to getting out of this place.
You don't know what part of you said that, or what part of you makes you look back at that guy a few feet away from you again, but you have it to thank. You look at the man just in time to see him operate whatever it was that was connected to these swords. He presses down the top smaller trigger. You watch as gas flies out of the fan attached to his back, and then wires with grapplers on the ends shootout, attaching themselves to a nearby building. Then, he's flying high above the town rooftops. He clasps the large frontal trigger and it releases from the building it had attached itself to. Lastly, he squeezes the bottom smaller trigger to reel the grappler back into the contraption. Continuing to use his triggers, the man cleverly begins maneuvering in the air towards the titan; you can't believe how high some simple gas tanks and wires could take you.
But at least you know how it works now: The top smaller trigger shoots out the wires and grappling hook while simultaneously activating the gas. Then, the frontal trigger is used to release the grappling hook from the building, allowing you to fly through air freely while using the bottom smaller trigger to pull the grappling hook back in. Repeating this process could get a solider around to where they wanted to be with the titan.
Now that you know how to get in the air, you want to know how useful it could be; you want to see the easiest way to kill that monster. Compared to the size of the titan, these swords didn't seem like nearly enough. Come to think of it, neither did that guy that just flew towards it. You feel bad just letting the man fight alone, and observing him instead, but you definitely weren't ready to fight alongside him either. Though you had saw him activate his gas tanks and wires, you were still wary of trying to work them yourself: Maneuvering in the air as graceful as him was probably harder than it looked, and it seems there could be more to making the wires go the direction you want them to. Taking a chance with the triggers-shooting the wires out at a random spot while hoping for a good outcome-seems dangerous.
I need this guy for observation.
But he won't survive fighting alone.
He may not even get a chance to kill the titan, and I won't get a chance to see how it's done.
You frown; your thoughts seemed to switch from selfless to selfish. Which one are you? Will you survive through selflessness or selfishness? You feel your index fingers move over to the upper small trigger, the one that will release the grappling hook and wires, and your other fingers move towards the frontal trigger. It seems your entire body is ready to do the selfless act, but mentally, you are not prepared at all. It takes all your strength to hold yourself back even if your conscience is screaming at you to help that man.
But what help would I be if I don't even know how to work this thing? It'd be a suicide mission. There'd be no point: him and I would both die, solving nothing.
Your selfish side slowly allows you to move your fingers away from the frontal and inner trigger. You take a shaky deep breath as you return your attention back to the man.
The best way to learn to survive in this nightmare is to study him.
The soldier seems to be handling himself well anyway. Currently, he was maneuvering around the titan's swaying hands. It was horrifying to watch, even if the man managed to avoid being grabbed by the monster.
One slip up and he's gonna be…
You quickly pinch your eyes shut, and shake the thought away.
Focus (f/n). You can't think if you're afraid.
You quickly avert your attention back to the situation at hand, focusing on the man's clever movements rather than the creepy, terrifying beast that was trying to grab him. You pick up on the clue you are looking for immediately. The man is using his body to sway the wires towards the direction he wanted; mainly using his hips which hold whatever it was that is holding the wires and the hooks. While taking notice of his body movements, your eyes also catch the straps that cover him all the way up to his chest.
I'm guessing those have a part in it too. Mainly the ones around his legs.
The harness like straps seem to help him propel his hips towards his target better.
It is all starting to come together in your head now, and the feeling of understanding this new fighting device was almost hope-restoring. Looking down at your own uniform, you allow yourself to smile.
With enough strength and balance, nearly anyone could operate this.
But that thought presents another problem.
Do I have enough strength and balance?
Without strength and balance, these wires will get you no where. You will simply go flying around like a rag doll with no sense of direction what-so-ever. A sigh escapes your mouth as your eyebrows furrow into a deep frown of concentration.
There's so much thinking to this sim.
The booming sound of a large footstep jolts you out of your thoughts, and you turn around to see a titan slowly making it's way down the street.
And it has it's large eyes on you; a creepy grin plastered across it's face.
Your breath hitches in your throat and for a moment you feel your heart stopping beating. You want to turn your head away, but like when you saw that first soldier get eaten, you can't. It appears to be almost impossible not to stare death in the face when it was right behind you.
Oh god no, I don't have any more time to think.
Then you realize that there really is nothing left to think about; it all simply comes down to how you can perform on this fighting device. The footsteps behind you are only getting more resonant, and you can feel the ground shake more powerfully as the titan got closer to you. You are panicking now because you can't stop fearing the worst of what will happen if you try to fight.
I don't even know how to kill this thing. I don't even know if I can get high enough to kill it. My balance and strength are questionable… but if I just stand here, I could die. But if I operate this fighting gear, and fail, then I still could die.
At least the latter thought gave you other options. Standing here, death was inevitable, but if you use your gear, then there is a possibility you could live.
Looks like fighting is my best option. Or at least… the less worst option.
But you aren't ready to fight now, so taking a deep breath, you break into a sprint the opposite direction of the titan pursuing you. Looking up ahead, you see steam, and lots of it.
Steam? Where the hell would steam be coming from, and this much of it?
The steam begins to surround you, turning everything around you to cloudy silhouettes. You stop in your tracks, fearing you might run into something you don't want to. The steam is so thick that you can't even see a path, so it is best to go slow and watch your step. You can still hear the footfalls of approaching titans- the sound is insanely and torturously slow. Luckily, you also hear the shouts and calls of other soldiers as they direct the citizens around through the steam. You tried your best to just follow the voices and scurrying footsteps of people running, but you end up tripping over something large in the path. You fall flat on your face into the cobblestones, your blades flying out of your hands and clattering on the ground beside you.
Groaning, you take a second to get over the impact of the ground slapping your face. Then, you slowly try to stand up, grabbing your swords along the way. Once you are on your feet, you dust any street debris off your uniform, and turn around to see what you had tripped over. You can barely see anything other than a shadowy outline of it, but that was enough to tell how big it was.
Whoa. What is this?
Taking a few steps back and gazing up, you couldn't believe what your eyes were taking in.
You seemed to be standing under a giant rib cage: the spinal cord laying on the street longer than the houses and stores next to it. Following a the spinal cord, the giant skull that lay up ahead, and even from this far away you could see it's black and empty eyes. Your hand flies to your mouth to keep the scream forming in your throat from escaping. This skeleton has to belong to a titan.
Someone actually killed one of these things?
The steam in the air was rising from the decaying titan body.
How bizarre. They're bodies just decay into ash and steam in a matter of seconds.
The bones are no longer hard and white like they should be; you watch as some of them slowly burn into grey ash and then collapse onto the ground with a deafening sound, creating more ash and steam. More bones begin to collapse around you, and you take this as a hint to run before you're buried alive in them. It is hard to run: the contaminated air is making you choke and cough every time you take a breath, but you have to run as fast as you can. With all the new pollution, it is harder to see than before. The steam is getting hotter as more bones decay. If you don't get out of this area soon, you will suffocate.
I made it this far. I will not allow myself to die from a dead titan.
You manage to see the corner of a building on the path ahead of you, and you race towards it, turning at the corner. You arrive at a new path with fresh air. Seeing that you are out of sight from titans or other soldiers, you take this as a time to rest. Pressing your back against the brick wall, you slide down so that you're sitting on the street. You close your eyes and inhale the fresh, ash-free air.
When will this simulation end? What do I have to do to make it end?
Fight.
But I cant. I have no idea how to kill these things, and I'm scared, really scared, of them: whether they're dead or alive.
You don't want to fight, but you don't want to die either.
I haven't even gotten into a situation where I've actually needed to fight.
As if some outer force had been listening your thoughts, you hear screaming. The scream is blood-curdling and it makes your heart jump. Your eyes widen in panic, and in a second, you're on your feet. A new energy is running through you as you sprint towards the direction the scream had sounded from. Something about that scream drove you to it; it was young. It was the scream of a child.
The scream tore through your heart, and whatever ideas you had about not fighting were gone.
It was just like the last simulation: you were going to ditch your own life if it meant it could save someone else's; no second thoughts.
But is it just because this is a simulation? Strange. How could they test people on their reactions to certain situations if the person knows it isn't real? A person's decision might change if they know there are no real consequences to their actions… including mine.
The thought causes you to stop running; it felt like a stab in the heart.
If I was going to really die, would I do this?
If this was real, would I really do this?
The answer is another knife in your chest, and makes you feel sick with guilt.
No, I wouldn't.
The child screams again, this time it was followed by the familiar sound of a titan slowly chasing it's prey.
The scream still feels real, and you can't just sit and listen to it. It will only grow more grotesque once the titan catches the child.
In real life, you would run to escape the sound; just ignore it and try to forget that it's there.
But this was a simulation, and in here, you were willing to do anything to get this child out of danger.
Although, deep down, you know that you are only saving this child so that you can get out of this sim, and so that their screaming will stop forming more guilt inside you.
Subconsciously, you use the cuffs of your sleeve to wipe tears from your face, although you hadn't really realized you had been crying.
In a way, these sims really do show what kind of person I really am.
A few choking sob sounds escape your lips, and you just wanted to collapse on your knees and cry.
Whether you want to believe it or not, you are selfish. If you had to choose between your life and a soldier's, you'd choose your own. If you have to choose between a child's life and your own, you will still choose yourself.
There's no other way to think about it, and you didn't want to think about, so instead you focus on your current task of saving the sim-child. Rubbing your face roughly with the cuffs of your sleeves again, you wipe away the remaining tears on your face. You then place your fingers on the triggers of your both of your blades, and dash towards your exit out of this sim.
"Exit out of this sim"?
It was a selfish thought; a cruel one even.
I didn't even think of calling the situation "a child in danger".
It doesn't take long to arrive at the scene, and surprisingly, to your relief, the child is alive; it is still in danger, but alive. Upon closer observation you see the child is a little girl: she has long blonde hair, big blue eyes, and she is wearing a simple grey dress. She reminds you of the Abnegation girls at home, but their hair would be tied up in a tight bun. The young girl is hiding behind a carriage in a sad attempt to throw off the 7 meter titan coming her direction. It knows where she is, and you couldn't have arrived at a better time, because it is getting close.
Taking a deep breath, you prepare for your false act of bravery. You don't really have a plan: you are just going to charge into action. Whether you die in a gear-related accident, or in a titan's jaws, it will still give the girl time to get away, and that is all that matters. Well, that and getting out of here; this wasn't really fighting, but it was enough to get out of this sim.
Is the simulation aware that I'm aware? There's only one way to find out.
Without hesitation, you press the top small trigger, using your legs to aim the grappling hooks at the building a few feet ahead of you. You weren't prepared for the amount of force the gas and the grappling hooks came with to propel you forward, but you manage to find enough to strength to keep your body from slamming into a wall. You actually get yourself in the air, which causes you to panic a little. Through the panic, you are still able to push both the frontal trigger and the lower smaller trigger in order to reel your hooks back in. Your eyes scan the area quickly for something else to latch onto; fortunately, your gas was keeping you from falling down to the ground. Since you have now captured the attention of the titan approaching the girl, you decide that your best option now would be to lead it away from her.
You can see the blonde haired girl peeking her head out from behind the carriage, even from so far up in the air, you can see the awe in her eyes.
Don't thank me just yet, kid.
"RUN!" you scream at the top of your lungs at her. "RUN NOW! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE KILLED BY THIS THING THEN RUN!"
Her eyes widen in surprise, but she appears to get the message, and flees the opposite direction of me and the titan. You relax a little seeing that the titan doesn't even notice.
I'm doing good so far, but I have to be careful. That was just my first run in the gear. I can't be fancy with my maneuvers.
There's a building to the titan's left side, and you consider latching onto that, but if the titan were to swing it's hand while you were flying past it and hit you then it would be all over.
But the girl is safe.
And I can't die for real.
The titan's large eyes are emotionless, yet they show so much malice. It chills you to the bone, but now that your attention is on it's face, you notice something. The titan is straight in front of you, therefore, it would be a much easier route for your gear than trying to move around it. It was a crazy idea, but it you have a better chance of living with this one: you are going to latch yourself onto it's face.
You press your top small trigger with as much force you can, until the trigger will not push back any further. You launch yourself at it's face with full force. It doesn't even have time to react as you stick your two swords out, and implant them into it's eyes upon landing on it's face, planting the swords as deep as you could straight in it's pupils.
I was tired of looking at those damn eyes.
You can't help but grin at the damn monster's howl of pain, and the success in your maneuver. The titan's hands fly to it's eyes, but you push yourself off it's face with your legs before the giant hands can smash you, leaving the blades of your swords behind in the eyes of the titan. The titan falls to the ground, and it gives you an opening to sail over it's head onto a building behind it. To increase your chance of landing on the roof, you activate your grappling hooks for good measure. They get you on the roof, but the maneuver was sort of sloppy, and you end up smacking into the roof with your shoulder and rolling on it's tiles as a landing. It hurt, but you are alive.
Alive, and nearly done with this sim.
I'm guessing blinding it isnt going to be all that it takes to get me out. I probably have to kill it.
Your muscles and bones feel a little sore from the fighting and the rough landing you just did, but you stand up anyway. You're relieved to see your gear is still intact, and that you didn't lose your sword handles. Connecting the sword handles to the extra blades in your two holsters, you pull out an entirely new set of swords. You run over to the edge of the roof, and examine the titan. It's hands are still covering it's eyes, but you can see steam coming through it's fingers.
I thought steam only came when they've been killed. Guess it applies to injuries too.
Even though it is still blind, the titan swats it's left hand around, hoping to catch you by some miracle. It was moving around too much for you to do anything with gear, so you need to find some way to keep the titan still. It has to be still enough for you to be able to kill it.
Besides killing it, what other way is there to stop it from moving?
Cut it's limbs off?
You frown at the idea: it's arm was swinging around too much for you to get past it to where you need to cut, and you didn't know how well you could maneuver yourself to cut its legs.
Is there an easier way?
You peer down at the ground, some part of you already knowing the answer.
The heels would work.
The titan's heels are close to the ground, meaning you will just need a little gas, and you won't have to fly too high.
If I cut it at the heels, then it will either fall backwards or forwards. Either way, it gives me an opportunity to do what I need to do to get out of this sim.
You decide that you will cut it's head off. The swords seem too small to fully pierce the heart of these things, and the heart seemed too easy for some reason.
But there is no time to ponder why, because the titan has somehow recovered from your attack at it's eyes. In fact, upon closer observation, you realize that his eyes were fully healed.
What the hell?
If these things could regenerate within such a short amount a time, you are going to really have to work fast, and you are still getting the hang of this gear.
This sim has been one surprise after another, you think in frustration, glaring at the titan approaching you.
Either you fight and win, or you die. But either way, you are going to get out of this sim.
"Here goes nothing," you mutter shakily under your breath.
There is plenty of room on the roof to get ahead of the titan, so you make a break to your right. The titan follows you, but at a much slower pace of course. After you feel like you've had enough of a running start, you start running in a curve back towards the edge of the roof and then jump off with all your strength. You use your grappling hooks, which attach themselves to a higher roof top than the one you are on, to swing yourself onto the ground rather than let yourself fall. Then you turn around, and see that the titan is still a little ways behind you. Although it is like running towards your own death, you go for it anyway.
You can't believe how fast you can run when your life depends on it. Though it is a sim, adrenaline rushes through your body: it is fiery, invigorating, and the way it burns inside you pushes you to run and fight with all you have. Getting very close to your target, you let out a cry as you ready your swords for slicing. Pushing yourself upwards a little with the gas from your gear, you swing the swords as fast and as hard as you can. The muscles in your shoulders are pulled painfully, but the swords slash through the titan's flesh as if it was nothing. You continue the speedy process of using your gas to propel yourself upward and around the titan's feet, while slicing at them, making deep cuts in the flesh and muscles.
Steamy, hot blood flies everywhere, getting on your face and clothes, but you are too lost in your fight to care. You didn't even show the slightest concern at the titan's attempts to catch you with it's giant hands because you are too fast for it. Before you know it, the titan is falling forward onto it's face. You don't waste anytime to watch it fall as you latch yourself onto a high roof with your hooks, and swing yourself high into the air. You release and reel the hooks back in then use your gas to elevate yourself higher into the air. You now float hundreds of feet above the nape of the titan's neck, your swords ready to slice again. You release your grappling hooks once more, each one attaching to a building on your right and left, then swing down towards the titan as fast as your remaining gas will take you.
This is it. If I just let myself swing down from here, I can land on part of his neck and this sword will slice straight through the back of it deep enough to severe it's head off.
It is scary, getting closer to the titan at such a speed, but thrilling at the same time. The fear, exhilaration, and the thirst for the blood of monster are a powerful combo that seem to take control over you as you swing down; it doesn't seem to bother you at all how fast you are arriving at the titan's neck. The titan sluggishly tries to get up, but you are ready, and so are your swords. You can tell it wants to run, but it can't. You land on the trapezius part of the titan's neck, and the moment finally comes where you can bring down your swords. The swords hit the titan's rough skin at full force, causing them to slide down through the nape of the neck with ease. It is a rough yet smooth slide as the swords run through muscles and bone, but you continue to carve deeper, creating a cavernous cut. You make a two horizontal paths through the titan's neck with your swords, and eventually they come to the end of the neck. Bringing your swords up, you grin in victory as the titan's giant head falls to the ground, steam immediately making it's way in the head's absence.
When the titan's head hits the ground, it's almost as if it took all your energy with it. Without your adrenaline, you are completely out of strength and power, so you drop to your knees, and fall back. You forget you are sitting on the back of titan, so your body hits the street hard, and there's no adrenaline rush to stop the pain, so you cry out. Your swords, now covered with evaporating titan blood, lay beside you. You now lay on the ground with your body outstretched and in agony.
But at least it's all over, you think in exhaustion.
You smile which then turns into a weak yet happy laugh as the world around you begins to fade into the white light that welcomes a person who has completed their sim.
. . . Levi's P.O.V.
No, I groan internally. I wasn't expecting to have a test result like this already.
And I certainly am not prepared to do what I am supposed to do when this type of result pops up.
I didn't think there would be one so soon, or one at all.
I roll my eyes and groan.
Just my luck.
Moving my hand to the gun attached to the belt on my waist, my eyes divert from the screen of the testing computer to the (h/c) haired Amity girl lying in the testing chair. She is still coming to.
The room is soundproof, and she's not quite awake yet.
Now would be the perfect time to do what I was assigned to do without any trouble from her. The thing is, I don't really want to, and I definitely am not the type of man to kill a young girl in her sleep. But the Erudite and Dauntless will know right away if I am to let her live; there is definitely no hiding things from the Erudite.
Especially Divergents.
But I am going to try anyway.
