"Oh! So you use both blades to cut off the nape. That's why it didn't die when I decapitated it."
The beginning streams of the morning could be seen in the sky. Despite this, the ginormous walls made the world feel like it was still at night. The land was grassy and filled with the occasional bustle of trees.
"You didn't think to ask?" Armin questioned in disbelief.
"Well, where I come from, monsters can only be killed with imperial gold. I just thought the problem was my weapon, not my method."
Armin stayed quiet for a bit. Then he asked, "How did you learn to use the ODM gear so quickly? You wore it for less than an hour."
Jason thought about how he should explain his experience with flight. He decided it would be best to keep things simple. "I had a good teacher. Mikasa is really talented. She knew exactly what to tell me to understand the equipment."
"You sound like the only problem you had was with the gear. It took me six months to get used to it. And the way you dived at that titan…"
This kid is way too sharp. Wanting to change the subject, Jason pointed to the other Scouts. "So, what's this formation you guys have got?"
Armin quickly glanced at Jason. "Remember what I told you before. Commander Erwin developed a formation to avoid titans as much as possible. Ms. Hange is out front, and dictates the direction of the party based on threat levels. The scouts on the wings of the formation inform her of titan sightings through different colored flares. Red flares indicate titan sighting. Then she will determine the direction we will use to avoid it through green flares. Black flares indicate aberrant titans."
"But you didn't shoot a flare for that earlier monster."
Armin looked back to the other horses. "The night is too dark to use flares. So instead the formation was decreased in size in favor of speed and sight. See." He pointed to the torches being extinguished. "We had to use torches to travel."
Jason stretched his arms in exhaustion. All the adrenalin from earlier was leaving him. "That's a solid strategy. I'm shocked you guys haven't reached Wall Maria yet."
Armin patiently explained why that wasn't the case. "Even if we did reach Wall Maria, the material we would need to plug in the holes would be too heavy and take too long to reach that far. The titan threat is too unpredictable for us to greenlight such a huge project. We need to understand that threat better to better our situation."
"Which is why catching Reiner and his friend is so important." Jason stated.
"Exactly. If Reiner and Berthold know anything about the outside world, we need to know it. All these events and incidents that have been happening one after another. No matter how much I think about it, none of it makes sense." Jason could hear the frustration in his voice. "All I know is that Eren is at the center of it all. And that idea scares me more than anything else."
The two teens stayed silent for a while. That sentence got Jason thinking about his friends and how they fared through their struggles. While most of the time the seven were on their own, they could count on a deity to provide assistance every now and then. It also helped that each of the seven had a talent to help them through their adventure.
Armin, with nothing but his intellect, had more use in this world then he ever did. Even with ODM gear, I'm still a hindrance. He clenched his fist. I need to get stronger.
Not wanting the conversation to end on such a dour note, Jason said the following, "Armin, if I had met you where I was from, I would think you were Annabeth's brother."
"Who?" He asked.
Jason tried to find the words, "Annabeth was a… friend. She is the smartest person I know. She helped save my world multiple times, after surviving many near death experiences. So don't worry. You'll figure out what's going on, and you'll keep Eren safe while doing it."
The tips of the sun overcame the wall's horizon. Armin's blond hair shone brightly.
Jason could hear the smile in his voice. "Thanks Jason."
He grinned right back. "No problem."
Jason noticed Wall Rose was getting closer and closer. A tower in the distance helped with his perception of distance. As Jason focused more and more on the castle tower, he noticed strange things about it. It was surrounded by destroyed debris, Jason assumed that was what used to be the main building, and the tower was covered in…
"Titans." Armin said out loud.
Jason noticed the formation increase in speed. Where there were titans, there were people. And the only people left in Wall Rose were the Scouts.
"HURRY!" Jason heard Hange yell from the front of the formation. An order that seemed unnecessary to give.
"Listen Jason," Armin began, "I know you're not going to stay still so listen to this."
He pointed to the back of his neck. "When you kill a titan, you use both blades to slice off its nape. Think of it as a cone shape. Ok?" He used two of his fingers to indicate the shape.
"Sounds easy enough!" Jason exclaimed as the tower fell, joining the rest of the debris.
Before the formation could reach the castle, Jason propelled himself off Armin's horse using a portion of his gas. Armin called for him to wait, but Jason couldn't wait. One of the titans had jumped out of the debris to eat a person.
Jason pulled the trigger to shoot out the hooked wire. Attaching his blades to his handles, he went for the kill. Without turning, he sliced the nape unsuccessfully.
The cut was too shallow!
He landed behind the girl he was trying to save. Steam had come out of the titans back, healing his failed slice. Mars spear! These things are tough. Jason was about to jump towards the girl when he heard familiar pressurized air.
Without missing a beat, Mikasa had sliced the monster's nape with a spin and moved on to her next target. Jason's left eye ached.
The other scouts then began their attack. Following the rays of early sunlight, they went after the monsters that had most likely killed many of their comrades. Both inspired and awed, Jason followed suit, choosing his target carefully.
A shorter titan who was farther away from the fallen debris started approaching another group of disarmed individuals. Jason took a deep breath, and began his hunt.
He ran counter clockwise to the monster, gaining some momentum. Attaching one of his hooks to its nape, he used the last of his gas to accelerate towards it. Remembering Mikasa's elegant spin on the earlier titan, he released the hook and mimicked her movement.
He tumbled into the debris, his momentum not allowing his legs to land properly. He heard the body lump over. He shot up. Looking behind him, he saw the carcass release steam. Jason roared in triumph raising both hands.
He had successfully killed his first titan.