Score

Petra remembered her first time seeing the South Gate, rearing up, massive and imposing, before the Scouting Legion casting its grim shadow upon the city. An older Scout had ruffled her hair and grinned, telling her not to worry and that their enemy wasn't that big. Petra lowered her eyes, her hand reaching up to fiddle with the end of her braid. That man had died during that expedition, in the forest where his gear failed and a titan's jaws snapped like the steel traps she'd seen Dauper hunters use. It had scared her so much she'd pissed her pants and nearly died herself, but another Scout, a greenhorn like her, saved her from sharing the same fate.

It had been almost two months since the last expedition. An unusually short respite, but the relative success of the new formation had garnered more support than usual. Civilian or government support, as long as they had one, their future as a military branch was secure. That was another thing that old Scout told her. She often found herself wishing she'd learned his name.

Looking around now, she saw many faces unfamiliar to her. New recruits trembling in apprehension, seasoned soldiers staring grim-faced at their destination. Which was she now, she wondered. She'd survived several expeditions since she was fifteen, so she was pretty far from a rookie. Yet she didn't feel like an expert, like that veteran had been. Deep down, she knew she was just as nervous as everyone else. Hell, Levi was much more of a pro than her, and this was only his second expedition. Where did that kind of strength come from?

Ahead, she spotted him and Herr Schultz in front of her. She had been stationed in Addario's squad with Schultz, and Levi was in Smith's. Jinn and Bozard were in the unit behind them, under Squad Leader Trask's command. They would separate from each other, which disappointed her. She'd only met them all a couple months ago, yet she wished they'd had more time together. They were good people, even with their flaws.

Silently, she sent Maria a prayer for good fortune, then called ahead, "Levi! Schultz!"

They looked back at her.

"Let's kill every last titan we come across, okay?"

"Hey, the point of the operation is to avoid the titan's, dummy!" Bozard's voice called from somewhere behind her.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they're going to avoid us!" Jinn called back.

"Exactly!" Petra cried. "I say we give it our all and come home together!" Because I want to keep getting to know all of you. She silently added. It was unrealistic, she knew. It was unlikely all of them would come back alive. She'd only killed one titan, and she'd almost paid the price with her life.

"Sounds good to me!" Schultz shouted back, raising a fist.

Levi narrowed his eyes at her. "How do you intend to take down one of those things, never mind all of them?"

Stubbornly crossing her arms, she retorted, "I'll cut the feet if you cut the neck, and don't you dare die in the process, stupid!"

Several riders around her turned their head in surprise, probably shocked at her brazen declaration, but she didn't care. Levi glared back at her for almost a minute, then allowed what might have been an amused smile and faced forward again. "Same to you, Ral."

Petra grinned, then steeled her nerves as Commander Shadis' roaring voice echoed back to them and the old gate began to rise.

Here we go.

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Author's Notes: I was going to post this one tomorrow, but then I was bored, so here it is now.

Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin is owned by Hajime Isayama.