Of Epic Proportions

by authorinprogress97

And I thought life was hard enough the first time. OC self-insert (because I'm that shameless)

8. Live

And I thought life was hard enough the first time.

OC self-insert (because I'm that shameless)

I apologise for Dani in advance. You'll find out later. Also, I'll answer the question that some people might ask next chapter, so hold in the questions, yeah? At least until next chapter.

I'd really just like to take this moment to thank AllTheAces for pointing out any flaws in my story. I promise I'll improve in the next chapter!

Nina – I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you enjoyed the others, friend!

Supernova – It's okay! Happens to the best of us -smiley face-

Guest – Ah, well it'll be a while before I seriously ship Dani with anyone. Then again, she is still a teenage girl, despite her mature moments (which I'm starting to fear aren't many). Eren and Dani though… interesting choice.

-0-

The roar chilled me and gave me hope simultaneously. It was weird because it sounded so familiar, even if I was sure I had never heard it before in my life.

"Mikasa!" Armin said, suddenly changing course. I turned, spotting a lone figure in the middle of the alleyway and letting out a sigh of relief. I let Armin scoop her up as I waited for them on a nearby roof.

They landed next to me, rolling to cushion their fall. I immediately knelt by Mikasa, checking her for any major injuries. A fall like that must have hurt, even if she had lessened the fall by rolling off a roof. "Are you hurt?" I asked urgently, scanning her body for any unexplained splotches of blood or oddly-angled limbs. I nearly jumped when I heard another set of feet thud behind me, but relaxed when I noticed Connie's shaved head. Mikasa looked at me for a brief moment before shaking her head twice.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked, his voice sounding a little harsh.

"Yeah," Armin promptly answered.

"We must get going," Connie urged. He looked up as heavy footsteps sounded. I turned as well, frowning at the Titans that were heading our way. "Shit, this is bad. There are two fifteen-metre classes!"

"No," Mikasa refuted. "That Titan's…"

They stopped in what was vaguely reminiscent of a Western showdown. I couldn't keep my eyes off the Titan on my left; the one with the longish hair. It rang alarm bells in my mind, but I couldn't think why.

The Titan I was staring at let loose a roar, only to be replied by in kind by the other Titan. The Titan with the longish hair… I had never seen one like it before. Unlike the other Titans, with their potbellied appearances, this one was clearly muscled. I frowned, bottom lip clamped firmly between my teeth. How odd.

My eyes widened as the odd Titan shifted into a vaguely familiar fighting stance, an image superimposed over the Titan before disappearing, so quick that I didn't manage to catch it. "That Titan, it's like … it's fighting," I murmured, not really making any sense.

The other Titan charged towards it and couldn't believe my eyes as the odd Titan swung its arm – an awful lot like a punch – and knocked the other Titan's head clean off. We turned, watching as the Titan's head hit a tower, smashing it into pieces. We turned back to the Titan just in time to see it stomp down on the fallen Titan's nape, effectively ending it.

"Holy crap," I breathed in disbelief, hand clutching my dad's ring out of reflex.

"It… finished the other Titan off?" Armin observed quizzically. "It knew of a Titan's weak point?"

"We must get going before it comes this way," Connie said.

"No," I said, my voice sounding strangely far away as I watched the odd Titan walk away. "It doesn't care about us, see? It could have attacked us a long time ago. I think… I think it only cares about the other Titans."

"It seemed like it had an idea of how to perform hand-to-hand combat too," Mikasa observed a little uneasily. "What was that?"

"Just consider it an abnormal!" Connie concluded somewhat irritably. He looked a little forlorn as he added, "There's just too much we don't know."

That was something I wasn't used to: the lack of information. There was still so much we didn't know about the Titans. Where they came from, how they multiplied, why they only devoured humans… we didn't have the answer to that and it frustrated me. I was used to living in a world where information was only a click away. Here, I had to physically search through books to find what I wanted and it frustrated me to no end. Coupled with the lack of information on Titans simply because we weren't exactly excelling at collecting information on them, it was so tempting to just give up on attaining information in this world altogether.

He exhaled sharply. "Anyway, we must head to HQ!"

"Wait! Mikasa's out of gas," Armin pointed out.

"Huh? Are you fucking kidding me? What are we going to do without you?"

Armin glanced at me before kneeling down beside Mikasa. "It's obvious what we need to do," Armin said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I don't have much gas left…"

Immediately, I caught on, reaching out to stop Armin from unhooking his gas tank. "No," I growled. "You're not giving up your gas!"

He looked up at me with a hard gaze, jerking away from my touch. "There's no other choice!"

I snarled, my own hands dropping to my own gas tank. "Like hell there isn't. If anyone should give up their gas, it should be me. It's not like I'll last long with my leaking seal – "

"They need you," he gritted out, gripping my arm hard. "They don't need me."

"I need you."

Silence. To be honest, my confession shocked myself just as much as it shocked the others. I hadn't realised how much I depended on Armin until the real thought of losing him was right in front of me. How – how could Armin ever think he was useless when I would always need him?

For all of my maturity, all my experience, I needed a crutch and that was what Armin was. If he wasn't around… how could I live? Not how could I live with myself, but how could I live. He was an integral part of me and I didn't even know when I had allowed that to happen. We had known each other for seven years, which was a lot longer than I knew some friends from Back Then. Nobody had ever stayed long in my life, so how could Armin leave me? He was my oldest friend – my best friend.

"The gas is useless on me," Armin said quietly, "but your gas is more useful to yourself." I couldn't even move as Armin swiftly unhooked his gas tank and hooked it up to Mikasa's gear. He looked up at Mikasa imploringly. "Please use it carefully this time, Mikasa. You must save everyone."

Armin quickly tested Mikasa's gear, letting out a spurt of compressed air. He nodded to himself. "Alright, your Maneuver Gear's good to go," he declared. "I gave you all of my blades as well."

"Armin!" I said sharply, pulling on his shoulder a little. What is he thinking, allowing himself to be so defenceless?

He didn't budge, ignoring me. "Just… leave one with me." He took out a solitary blade, staring at it. "Now that I think about it, I don't want to be eaten alive."

I didn't react as Mikasa took his blade and threw it off the roof.

"B-but…" Armin stammered.

"Armin, I won't leave you behind," Mikasa said firmly, hand atop his. She looked at me, eyebrow quirked a little. "Dani would just stay behind with you anyway."

I jerked; I hadn't thought Mikasa would have known what I had been thinking of doing. Armin stared at me with wide eyes and I met his gaze evenly. I could never have left him behind. He should have known that.

He stood up with Mikasa's help, looking down. My hand found its way onto his head and I ruffled his hair. He looked up and I held out my pinkie. He stared at it, his own hand rising to link his pinkie with mine.

"We promised, didn't we?" I whispered. "Nobody gets left behind."

"Or forgotten," he rasped. He rested his forehead against my shoulder. "I'm sorry."

I swallowed my tears of relief down, sending Mikasa a grateful look. I pressed my cheek against his temple, releasing a shuddering breath. Still here. "I'm sorry too."

He drew away from me, wiping at his eyes. "But, with so many Titans around, how are you going to carry me?"

I reached out a hand for him, but Connie roughly pushed my arm away, grabbing Armin instead. "Let's go," he said, pinning me with a stern look. I blinked at him before nodding. Connie probably had the necessary muscle strength to carry Armin the whole way to HQ anyway.

At some unknown cue, Mikasa, Connie and I started running to get a head start off the roof Armin trailing behind us. We were almost to the edge when: "Wait, listen to me!"

I jammed my heels into the slippery tiles to stop myself, nearly crashing into Mikasa. "Armin," I began agitatedly, "if you're going to try and convince us to leave you behind – "

"No!" he disputed. "I've got a suggestion."

"A suggestion?" Connie asked, frowning slightly.

"It's a two-person operation, so two of you should decide whether to carry it out." His gaze lingered on Mikasa and me. I don't understand… why me? I was only tenth. Connie was eighth, so he was better than me. With that brief glance, I knew he wanted me and Mikasa to carry it out. I just didn't understand why us – no, why me? "I know it's crazy, but… couldn't we use that Titan?"

"That Titan?" Connie repeated, eyes following his gaze as well.

"It's only attacking other Titans," Armin pointed out. "It seems uninterested in humans." Maybe because it's a human too. "I was thinking of luring it to the supply tower somehow. If it handles the other Titans for us, we could get everyone out of this alive!"

I chewed on my lower lip contemplatively. We were working on the context that the Titan wouldn't attack us at all. I was pretty sure it wouldn't, but still… "How do we know it won't attack us?" I raised.

"We don't," Armin answered promptly, "but we still have to try."

"Lure it?" Connie exclaimed. "How would we even pull that off?"

"I think it acts on instinct," Armin inferred, studying the Titan for a brief moment. "If two of you defeat the Titans in its vicinity, then it'll start looking for other Titans."

"And with the large number of Titans at HQ," I murmured, finishing his line of thought, "it'll most likely move towards there."

Armin nodded. "Right."

"How could we do something so risky based on a mere guess?" Connie asked harshly.

"But if it does work, we could eliminate every Titan at HQ in one fell swoop," Armin countered back.

"It's at least worth a shot," Mikasa interjected.

I nodded. "She's right. If we're wrong, the worst that could happen is we'd have to hightail it to HQ."

"Are you two serious?" The question marks were practically bouncing around the air.

Mikasa's hands curled into fists. "If we're facing certain death either way, the path to take is the path with a chance of victory. Let's go with Armin's plan."

"You could always stay with Armin," I suggested, placing a hand on Connie's shoulder. "Mikasa and I will handle killing off the Titans."

Connie's eyes widened, his mouth dropping open slightly. I looked towards Armin and he gave me an approving nod. If that was his plan in the first place, then I'll go with it. Armin was our top theoretician for a reason. I didn't doubt his plan would work. It was unlikely the three of us could have come up with a better plan anyway.

That didn't mean I wasn't still apprehensive. If that wasn't who I thought it was, we were dead.

"You want to side with a Titan to fight against Titans?" Connie asked incredulously, eyes darting between Mikasa, Armin and me.

"Yes, precisely," Mikasa answered.

"It won't even be funny if we fail," Connie said in a low voice.

"But it'll be pretty awesome if we succeed," I retorted, squeezing his shoulder.

"Everyone will be saved," Armin added, looking refreshingly determined.

Mikasa's gaze swept over the three of us. I could tell she had made a decision and it was time for us to make ours. "Make up your mind," Mikasa ordered, darting forward.

Connie and I shared a look before I nodded, unsheathing my blades. "Connie, if Armin is harmed, you're dead meat," I warned, following after Mikasa.

"I'll take good care of your boyfriend," Connie called after me with a snicker.

"Not my boyfriend!" I yelled back as I leaped off the roof, letting my wires zip off to catch me.

Connie and Armin were an extra set of eyes for Mikasa and me as we eliminated any Titans that would distract our friend from going where we wanted him to. Frankly, this was a lot more preferable to the daunting task of needing to take care of all those Titans surrounding HQ.

"To your left," Connie cried out and I twisted, jumping off the hand that reached for me and running up the arm. I jumped off the Titan as its head turned, using my 3DMG to catch me and slashing off the nape.

I cast a look over my shoulder, my eyes widening when I noticed the Titan turn to look towards HQ, where there was a large congregation of Titans. It's… working!

I bared a feral grin, slashing at an unsuspecting Titan and anticipating the heavy thud of another dead monster. We could – we would survive this.

HQ was just in front of us, the longish-haired Titan helping us distract the rest of the Titans. I followed behind Connie and Armin, making sure there weren't any Titans coming up behind them. I had just reeled my wires in, about to shoot them out again to safely swing through the window Mikasa had broken when I heard it; gas sputtering weakly behind me before dying.

Shit.

My eyes widened as I started to fall. Thankfully, my inertia carried me forward, but I definitely wasn't going to have a soft landing. I let out a shriek as I flew through the window and crashed into a body, sending us both to the ground.

"What the hell, Dani?" Connie groaned from beneath me.

I rolled off of him, coughing from the sudden impact. "Sorry," I wheezed. "I suddenly ran out of gas mid-air." I sat up, shaking glass out of my hair. "Son of a bitch, that was scary."

"You're… all alive?" Jean gasped.

I ran a hand through my tangled hair, wishing I had a hair tie. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't need to sound so disappointed, Kirstein," I drawled sarcastically, helping Connie up.

"We did it, Armin!" Connie whooped, patting Armin's back way too hard. I shot him an annoyed glance as Armin yelped. "Your plan was a success!"

"Of course his plan was a success," I sniffed, hauling Armin up next to me. "Never doubted it for a moment."

Connie's grin was a little teasing. "Sure you didn't."

I jabbed his forehead, narrowly missing his eye. "Shut up, Connie."

He glared at me, rubbing his forehead before turning to the stupefied soldiers that had seen our entrance. "Everyone!" he exclaimed. "That Titan's an abnormal Titan that slaughters other Titans!" He turned, pointing to the Titan that I was pretty sure I had seen before. "It's not even interested in attacking humans. If we play our cards right, we can all get out of here alive!"

"We'd… use the Titan?" someone asked in disbelief. Okay, I knew it was a long stretch, but this was a lot better than waiting to die. Might as well participate actively in bringing about your own death, right?

Poor humour, sorry.

"You'd rely on a Titan's help?" Jean asked. "That's more delusional than any dream!"

"It's not a dream," Mikasa argued calmly. "I don't care if it's an abnormal or whatever. Just let it rampage here for as long as possible."

"It's doing our job for us," I pointed out. "Can we really complain? It's not like it can feel pain."

I looked over at it as it let loose another vengeful roar, tilting my head to the side in contemplation. Eren… is that you?

Mikasa nodded, resting her hand on my shoulder. "Realistically, that's our best option for survival," she added.

"It's okay. That Titan's stronger than average," Connie added, nodding firmly. "They can't take over the building while it's rampaging outside."

I looked around the room, seeing cautious hope on each of their features. Humanity's hope… that's what Eren is supposed to be, right?

I turned back to the Titan, still fighting all those others.

Eren… if that's you, you'd better win.

•●•●•●•

We retreated into the building. Before we could do anything else, we had to figure out a way to replenish our gas supplies. As everyone had said multiple times, we were nothing without our mobility.

I unhooked both my gas tanks from my 3DMG, rechecking the seal with a sigh of frustration. While I was relatively good with repairing my gear on my own, I couldn't figure out what to do with my faulty gas seals. They just kept leaking. I couldn't even remember when it started. Probably that last training we did…

Hands covered my own fumbling pair, gently moving them away. I noticed my hands were trembling and inhaled slowly, looking up into Marco's concerned eyes on the exhale.

"Is it still giving you problems?" he asked, his voice soft like he was talking to a frightened child. God, I felt like one. For all my bravado, for all my talk… I couldn't function properly if my Maneuver Gear wouldn't cooperate with me. I should have felt shamed at reacting so badly to my faulty gear, but damn it, what if I had run out of gas earlier? I would have died again without completing anything and there was no guarantee I would wake up again.

Calm. I have to keep calm. Calm down.

I swiped a lock of hair out of my eyes, pressing my fingers to my temple briefly. "Yeah," I answered faintly. "It's still leaking and I don't know why. I… I need your help again."

He squeezed my hands before releasing them. "Of course. That's what friends are for."

We drew to a corner as I took off my gear, setting it before us so we could examine it together. He brought out something from behind him and I almost smiled when I saw the electrical tape.

"Maybe we were thinking about it too hard," he explained as he wrapped it around the nozzle, preventing it from continuously leaking. He tore it off after he was done. "There. Finished."

"Thank you," I said, squeezing his shoulder. "Not just for my gear. For, I don't know…" not being dead, "stuff."

He patted my thigh, his lips twitching upwards slightly. "You're welcome for the stuff."

I scanned his face. No, he couldn't die. I didn't want him to die. We had gone through so much the past three years. We knew each other's hopes, dreams and goals. I knew him the way he knew me and it wouldn't be the same if he was gone.

"How much do you know about that Titan?" I heard Reiner asked and I blinked, leaning away from Marco and reaching forward for my gear, murmuring my thanks. I glanced over at Reiner as I tinkered the last final adjustments, frowning at him. Why was he so curious about the Titan? Did he… know? I mean, there was no way he could know.

Was there?

He caught my eye, looking away swiftly. There was a flash of emotion in his eyes, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

Connie seemed slightly shocked, eyebrows furrowing. "Shouldn't we discuss that after we're safe?" he pointed out.

"True that," Reiner replied, sounding a little sheepish. "Let's get out of here alive first."

"Do you think we can?" Marco asked quietly, despair in his voice.

I glanced at him a little sadly. I hoped we could. Maybe if I just stayed near Marco? Would that be enough to prevent his death? I shook away the lingering sorrow – he wasn't dead yet, damn it – and shoved him. "Don't talk like that," I scolded. "If you talk like that, the fight is half lost." I poked his temple, sending his head tilting. "Don't be pessimistic."

"Since when were you such an – "

"Don't call me an optimist. You and I both know I'm not one."

"We found some!" Jean announced, carrying a crate under his arm. "They're Military Police supplies, though they're covered in dust." The last statement was muttered as he set the crate down.

I got up, curious to take a peek at what was in those crates. They were Military Police, so I doubted it would be much against Titans, but a weapon that wasn't very useful was still a weapon. I watched over Jean's shoulder as he took out the shotgun and loaded it.

"Will three bullets be enough?" he wondered aloud. I reached for another shotgun, the weight unfamiliar in my hands. I was much more used to the lightweight blades, but this was what we had, so I had to work with it.

"I think they could be," I replied, looking towards Armin. He had that concentrated frown on his face that told me his mind was whirring, coming up with plans and discarding them just as quickly.

Jean expelled an exasperated breath. "Do these guns even work against Titans in the first place?" He shot a frustrated gaze towards me.

I shrugged helplessly, loading the shotgun with mechanical efficiency. "Only one way to find out," I murmured, sighing as I sat down next to him. Things might look bleak, but I couldn't be overly pessimistic. I couldn't be too optimistic either or I'd just feel horrible when things went wrong.

"It's better than nothing," Armin stated, looking over the map of HQ once more. He looked up, easily taking control of the room. "Even if there are still six three to four-metre class Titans in the supply room, blinding them all at once isn't impossible with this much firepower.

"First, we'll use the lift to lower a large number of people into the centre of the chamber. Next, they'll fire directly into the faces of all six Titans at once. We'll blind them." He looked up at us, who were standing around him. "The next instance will decide everything. Six other people hiding near the ceiling will swoop down to attack their weak spots while they're blind. In other words… if we follow this plan, we'll be gambling everything on this single attack."

"If this attack fails, we're all doomed," I translated quietly. Tension rose as my words registered in everyone's mind. I looked around at my comrades, wishing it was a two-man operation instead. That way, only two people would be sacrificed instead of all of us. I would have readily volunteered.

Armin looked at me before nodding once, sharply. "Dani's right. That's why the whole point is for six people to kill all six Titans simultaneously. The six people should be the most physically capable ones. You'll have to shoulder the burden of everyone's lives," he reiterated.

I looked at the others; I already knew who Armin had in mind. Those in the top ten were obviously first pick. They only needed six, so Mikasa, Reiner, Bertolt, Annie, Jean and Connie were the obvious choices. I said so, causing them to look at me, but my eyes were on Armin. All it took was one glance for him to confirm those were the choices he had in mind as well.

"I'm sorry," he said to them, looking downwards. I placed a hand on his shoulder. I wished he didn't have to make these decisions, but I couldn't protect him from that. There was a lot I couldn't protect him from.

"No problem," Reiner boomed confidently.

"Whoever fails, all of us will die," Annie added, quite pessimistically. "The risk is the same."

"But… I'm a nobody. Is my plan really the best option?" Armin had always suffered from low self-esteem, but I could confidently say that this was on area he never had to doubt in himself. he wasn't just some nobody.

"We've got no other choices except your plan. There's no time left to think. This idea's our only shot," Marco said, wiping his top lip.

"Even if there was more time, nobody else could have come up with a better one," I added.

Marco nodded. "Now, we've just gotta give it everything we've got."

"Don't worry," Mikasa said calmly. "Be confident. You've got a talent for reasoning out the best solution. That intuition has saved my life before, and Eren's life too."

Armin looked confused as he muttered, "Huh? When?"

She caught my eyes, tilting her head towards him and I understood. The fall of Shiganshina, Hannes… that was what she was referring to. That's why I hadn't done anything, letting Armin lead. I could never take this away from Armin. He needed it a lot more than I did.

"The lift is ready!" someone shouted. "So are the guns! All of them are loaded!"

"You just aren't aware yet," Mikasa told Armin. "I'll tell you more later."

"Okay…"

I watched her go, but there was that regret bubbling in my stomach. I couldn't let her go now.

"Mikasa, wait," I called, hauling her to the side. She didn't protest. I stood in front of her, trying to figure out a way through my broiling emotions and come up with words that could convey how I felt. That had always been a problem with me – my words. There were so many times – in my previous life and this one – where I couldn't find the right words and simply fell silent. I didn't want that to be the case. Not here, not now.

"What is it, Dani?" she asked, arms crossed in front of her.

I emulated her calm, tapping the barrel of the shot gun against my knee. "I'm sorry," I apologised quietly, looking into her black, dull eyes even if every nerve screamed at me not to. "I shouldn't have lost sight of Eren like that. I understand if you're angry at me, or if you hate me – "

"I don't hate you."

I paused at the proclamation. She didn't? Why – why not? I had let her only family die (even if I didn't think he was dead) and I was supposed to look out for him. "Why?"

She sighed, resting a hand on my shoulder and gripping it. "Armin told me. He told me how you tried to save Mina and got eaten. I realise you were busy with your own problems."

I blinked at her, meeting her steady gaze. She wasn't angry, but… "You can't forgive me," I concluded, realising the absent warmth in her eyes. I was on thin ice and would be for an indefinite amount of time. I nodded. "I get it. Just… I care – cared about Eren too."

There wasn't anything else for me to say, so I walked away, heading to the lift where majority of the soldiers were gathered. Armin looked up, frowning at me in concern.

"What was that?" he asked quietly. I could barely hear him over the turning of the gears as we descended.

I readjusted my grip on my shotgun, not turning to look at my best friend. "I had some things I needed to say," I replied, the tone in my voice signalling it was the end of the discussion. It felt… better, knowing she didn't hate me, but would I ever earn her forgiveness? This was undoubtedly going to be a wedge in our friendship. We had come so far, too.

We descended into the relative darkness of the gas storage, easily gaining the Titans' attention with our presence. A Titan right in front of us turned towards us curiously, waiting as we shuddered to a stop.

"We're all good," Marco murmured, lining up his shot as I lined up mine. "There's still only six. Follow the plan."

Somebody wailed right next to me, sounding like a dying pig, but Marco was quick, firmly ordering, "Calm down. Lure them in closer!"

The Titan walked closer, staring straight at us. It's lips were upturned in a gruesome smile and a vision passed in my mind of a woman being brought up to a smiling Titan's mouth and being bit on. Visions from another life.

I took in a deep breath, slowly releasing it as I stared down the barrel of my gun, aimed at the Titan's huge eyeball.

One shot. That was all we had. We couldn't blow it. We had one try at this plan and all I had was three bullets.

"Ready!" Marco breathed and I put my finger on the trigger. I breathed in. Breathed out. Gently squeeze the trigger on the exhale.

I breathed in again.

"Fire!"

I pulled the trigger.

A cacophony of sound erupted in the basement, the enclosed space causing it to echo. I wanted to cover my ears, but I needed both hands on my gun. It made my ears ring as I fired off two shots. I was about to fire off one more, but something stayed my finger. I pulled the gun away as the Titan fell.

"It's Connie!" Bertolt yelled.

"Shit," I hissed, tuning to where Connie was and seeing him trying to crawl away from the Titan. I didn't even have my blades –

I looked down at the shotgun in my hands, still loaded with that one bullet. I felt sweat trickle down my neck as I thought. The Titan was closing in on Connie and I didn't know if the others could even move fast enough.

"I must be insane," I muttered under my breath, placing my foot on the ledge and pushing off. I ignored Marco's and Armin's panicked shouts behind me as I flew through the air, heading straight for the Titan's back. The feeling of flying assaulted me, but so did the fear that I didn't have my 3DMG to catch me this time.

"Hurry! Help – Vale! What the hell are you doing?" Jean raged somewhere next to me as I landed on the Titan's back, almost letting go from the heat of the skin. I gritted my teeth, ignoring him as I jammed the barrel of the shotgun in the Titan's nape so hard it started to bleed. Holy crap, I can't believe I actually landed on its back!

It was starting to turn, the shotgun embedded in its back moving along. I reached out for it, my finger desperately scrabbling for the trigger. They was shouting, but it wasn't getting through to my brain, the pounding of heart in my ears too loud. I found the trigger and closed my eyes as I pulled it.

The bang of the shotgun was deafening, overpowering any other sound that could have been made. The Titan stood still and I was worried I had missed the spot, but then it started to tilt. Backwards.

My eyes shot open as I planted my feet onto its back and lunged off. I closed my eyes again, bracing myself for the pain. It wouldn't be crippling, but I didn't doubt it would leave me winded for a while.

Instead, I found myself crashing into a body for the second time today. We tumbled to the ground, rolling around until I eventually landed on top. My shoulders and back ached, but I wasn't winded; only very confused because I hadn't thought anybody would have been close enough to catch me.

I pried my eyes open, my jaw almost dropping when I saw who had broken my fall. "Jean?" I whispered in disbelief.

"Are you two okay?"

"They're not moving!"

"Get. Off me," he muttered through gritted teeth, glaring up at me. Oh, right. I rolled off him, staring up at the ceiling for a while – I can't believe I survived that – before finally sitting up.

Jean promptly smacked the back of my head. "Ow, what the hell?" I yelled, hand raising to the back of my head.

Jean's hand snapped out and grabbed my wrist in a painful grip. "Have you gone insane?" Jean hissed, shaking my wrist. "You could have died!"

"I could have, but I didn't," I argued, trying to tug my wrist out of Jean's grip and failing miserably. "Let me go."

"How could you be so reckless with your own life! Haven't we lost enough today? What, because that suicidal bastard is gone, you decided to take his place?"

"This… this has nothing to do with him," I whispered. "It has to do with everything else. You said it; we lost a lot. I just – I didn't want to lose anyone else. Wasn't…" Wasn't Eren enough?

He fell quiet after that, finally releasing my hand.

"Are you two hurt anywhere?" Mikasa asked, running up to the both of us. She ran calculative glances over the two of us. I glanced at Jean, who wasn't looking my way at all. Was it because of what I said?

"We're fine," I answered, sighing heavily as I stood up. "Right, Jean?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, getting up as well.

Mikasa nodded. "Good." I could feel her gaze on me, but I didn't meet it.

I looked towards Connie, who was still backed up against the wall. "Are you okay?" I called out to him, wiping Titan blood off my face even as it evaporated.

He blinked before looking at me, nodding somewhat dazedly. "Yeah," he replied. "Sorry."

"You would've done the same for me."

Connie swiped a hand down his face, laughing breathlessly. "You're insane, Dani."

"Quite possibly," I agreed, wrapping my hand around my dad's ring. I hadn't thought it would actually work, but I was glad it did. The threat of dying had been dangling right in front of me and I had missed it by a hair's breadth. Despite whatever entity that had decided to reincarnate me into this world, apparently they were still on my side. I hoped this luck would last with me for a long time.

A smack to my back nearly had me falling over again. "You're one lucky bastard, Dani," Reiner boomed. "That was one hell of a stunt." I noticed he sent a glance towards Annie. In canon, she had been the one to save Connie, hadn't she?

I'm glad you're not injured.

… Why was I remembering this of all things?

"We got them all," Jean reported. "Stock up on supplies!"

"Hell yeah!" Armin cheered. I waved up at him and he visibly relaxed; well, to me at least. Next to him, Marco swooned.

When Armin got down to the basement, the first thing he did was tackle me to the ground.

"Don't you think I've been on the ground too much today?" I wheezed as his arms wrapped around my waist and he buried his face into my shoulder.

"Why did you do that?" he asked, tightening his grip. "That was pure insanity."

I threaded my fingers through his hair, ruffling it. "I guess my head took too long to catch up with my body," I sighed.

He looked up, a fire burning in his blue eyes that made them a darker shade than they usually were. "Don't ever do that again," he whispered fiercely. "I need you too."

I blinked at him in shock before letting the smallest of smiles settle on my lips. "Okay."

"Oi, you two lovebirds, get off the floor!" Connie barked and we both flushed.

"We're not dating!" I squeaked as Armin scrambled off me and held out a hand to help me up, not meeting my eyes. If we did that, I didn't know if we'd burst into laughter (completely inappropriate at this moment in time) or turn redder (just plain no).

"Connie, cut it out!" Armin sputtered.

Connie cackled as he walked off. I caught Armin's eye before coughing, scratching at my cheek that still felt a little too warm. We didn't react this way because we liked each other. Oh, no. We reacted this way because we didn't and it was just weird, having people keep thinking we're a couple when we're not.

I knew Connie was just teasing us, but did he have to do it now?

I took Armin's hand, intertwining our fingers as I tugged him out of the basement to get our gear and fill up the tanks. It was a coping mechanism, I realised, as I strapped on my Maneuver Gear. Everyone had one to deal with everything we had been through today. Connie's was to make fun of me and Armin.

"Dani," Armin called and I looked up from where I was checking Marco's bindings once more. I was met with Armin's serious gaze and stern expression. In that split-second, I could see Armin, only he wasn't Armin. He was older, more world-weary. It was just like seeing Eren as an adult and I held the same sentiment I did then; I hoped I'd be able to see it for myself, not just a vague image made up by my mind. "I'm serious. Don't ever do something so stupid again."

I sighed, looking down at the ground. I couldn't promise that wouldn't happen. I wanted to keep Armin safe at whatever cost. I wanted to save everyone, but I knew I couldn't. Most of them didn't even need saving anyway. I met his eyes once more, a corner of my lip rising in a small, lopsided smile. "I won't," I replied. "Well, I'll try, anyway."

"Dani."

I reached out to hold his hand. "Armin, you know I care, right?" I said gently. "You're my oldest friend, my best friend. I care about you just as much as Mikasa cares about Eren. You're my family. I'd… if it had been you instead of Eren, I don't think I would have made it this long."

His eyes widened as he gripped my hand back. "That's not true. You're a lot stronger than I am – "

"But I'm a whole lot stronger with you," I interrupted. "We're a team, remember?"

He fell quiet, looking at our joined hands. "I remember."

I didn't say anything else, tugging him back down to the basement so we could replenish our gas supplies. I just needed him to remember that individually, we were both strong, but together, we were a lot stronger. Put us together with Eren and Mikasa and we were damn near invincible.