~About an Hour Later~
As the yellow glow quickly illuminated the other side of Trost, I stood on the wall. The plan was being executed to retake the city. Eren would turn into a Titan and carry the boulder, which would act as a plug for the whole in the wall. We just had to wait and see if things would go to plan.
Calmly, I walked over to a crate and sat myself down. I wondered what may be taking place over there. Would Eren be able to pick up the boulder? I couldn't see Eren and his team from where we stood. The only thing we could do was sit and wait for a smoke signal to let us know how the operation was going. While deep in thought, I was interrupted when Connie and Sasha made their way over.
"Hey [Y/N]!" Connie started. "While we wait for orders, wanna play a quick game?" A game? Now?
"Sure," I said as they stood over me.
"Ok, so it's quite simple." Sasha began. "There are two options that you can choose from. You can answer a question, or perform an act of our choice." She gave a knowing smile to Connie.
"We like to call it, 'Answer and Act!'" He grinned and gave me a thumbs up. "So whaddya say? Will you answer or act?" The pair seemed suspicious, but the game sounded amusing.
"Wow, that name needs some work..." I mumbled. "Alright. Well, I guess I'll answer first." I sighed and crossed my legs. If we were going to be stuck here luring Titans anyway, why not let Connie and Sasha have their fun?
"Alright! I'll ask first!" Sasha's eyes widened happily as she whispered sneakily to Connie, who nodded in approval. She then turned back to me with a cheeky grin. "Who is a better kisser, Jean or Reiner?" My face felt hot.
"How do you guys know about that?!" I exclaimed loudly, utterly embarrassed.
"Simple," Connie said. "Jean told me he kissed you, and I told Sasha." I felt uncomfortable knowing Jean had told someone else. Although the kiss was nice, I didn't necessarily want everyone to know. Besides, it was bad enough that Reiner found out about it after I exploded at him and Jean.
"Oh and Ymir, Christa, and I followed you and Reiner. Unsurprisingly, we caught you two in the act, and I went and told Connie!" They high-fived each other, and now I knew why they had singled me out to play a silly game.
"What?! Well, I– I'm not going to say who's a better kisser!" I said stubbornly.
"Oh c'mon [Y/N], that's not how the game works." Connie said slyly. "You gotta answer." He spoke in a sing-song voice. I threw my head in my hand, dreading having to respond. Though I didn't want to admit it, the choice to me was obvious.
"I–" My attention was drawn away from the topic as the red plume of smoke rose in the air on the other side of Trost. Both Sasha and Connie noticed as well, and I hastily got up.
"My god– did the mission go south?!" Connie exclaimed.
"Where's Eren? What do you think happened over there?" Sasha asked urgently.
"He–" I thought for a moment. There was no way Titans got in the way, we had lured almost all of them to the corner. Is Eren... is he in control? Or is this just something I don't understand, like Reiner and Bertholdt? I was startled by the urgent voice of a superior officer who called out a few of our names individually.
"Springer, Leonhart, [L/N], Kirstein, and you two over there, come with me!" He shouted. I have to be paired with Jean? Right now? At least for now I could keep my distance from Reiner whom I could see a bit further down along the wall. After lashing out at those two, I wanted to keep my distance for a while. Another officer ran to our superior's side. "You go down and get more trainees. I need Braun, Bodt, Braus and a few others to get down there on the front lines. Go!" He commanded, and the officer ran.
"I guess that's my cue." Sasha said as she followed the running officer. Connie and I ran up to the superior, and Jean and Annie followed. We swooped down into the city with our ODM gear, and our superior stopped us in an alley.
"Kirstein, I heard that you led your fellow cadets to safety earlier today. I trust you have what it takes to lead this squad, so for now, you guys are the Kirstein squad." He nodded in Jean's direction.
"Yessir!" Jean exclaimed with his fist over his heart, but I could see the sweat dripping from his cheek.
"You six will lead the stray Titans, out there in the city, back to this corner. Once you have done so, immediately get back up on the wall to safety. Don't die out there," he said urgently.
"Sir, if we feel in danger, can we stray from our orders?" Annie asked calmly. Stray from our orders? Why? I wondered. I had more reason to question her intentions than I did with the others.
"If you must, then you must." The officer stated. "Now Kirstein squad, go!" He shouted, and we shot our wires out of the alley. Immediately upon going forward, we found ourselves surrounded by many Titans. All we have to do is lure them, right? It isn't as hard as killing them... right?
As we got deeper into the city, I felt a pang to my head. The rest of the cadets kept forward, too focused on avoiding the Titans nearby. Down I went once again, but this time on a roof. I screamed in pain.
Why now? I thought. Hadn't I healed? Was it too soon for me to go back to battle?
Suddenly, I couldn't even think straight. I writhed around with my hands on my head, unsure if Titans were near or not.
I closed my eyes and gasped.
"M–Mother?" I asked as her figure seemed to take shape in front of my eyes. Was this real? My words moved slowly, the breeze was slow, the clouds were slowly inching across the sky, the wisps of hair on my mothers brow moved slowly in the wind. Had time stopped?
"[Y/N], get up." She whispered as she stood on the roof near my shaking body. "Get up. We have to go home."
"Home?" I mumbled quietly. "Sh–Shiganshina?" I asked.
"No, [Y/N]. We have to go home..."
I opened my eyes and gasped.
She was gone. The pain remained. It was less severe, but still hurt nonetheless. Did I pass out again? I looked up. No Titans were near me. In the distance, the Titans were gathered in the corner of Trost where they had been lured. I looked in the other direction. My eyes widened.
Eren's Titan was lifting a large boulder and walking towards the hole. Its weight was so tremendous that it cocked Eren's head to the side. How much longer can he bear that? I wondered.
The pain within my head came and went, just like that. Strange, I thought to myself. What now?
I looked over to a roof in the distance, noticing Bertholdt and Reiner's figures standing there, watching Eren as he carried the boulder. What are they talking about?
Marco landed on the roof behind them, but they didn't seem to notice until after a while. When they did notice, they talked for a bit, and then Marco zoomed away. Not long after, Reiner and Bertholdt followed him.
Should I follow them...?
I decided it was best not to. I still wished to keep my distance, besides, perhaps Eren needed help on the front lines.
Annie suddenly landed next to me on the roof. Jean was not too far behind her, and he must've been able to see the pair of us as he advanced.
"[Y/N]," Annie stated coldy. "Have you seen Reiner and Bertholdt?" She asked. What a coincidence, I thought.
"I just saw them go that way, actually." I pointed. Without a word, or a simple 'thank you,' she turned and left. Jean landed by my side.
"Oi! Where is she going in such a hurry?" Jean asked, a bit tense.
"She had to rendezvous with a few of the others. For now we should get going to help Ereh–"
"Wait." Jean said as he grabbed my arm. "You were in our squad and disappeared for almost half an hour. We thought you died... We couldn't go back to find you, because well... we ran into some trouble ourselves." He paused, looking at his ODM gear. "Where were you that whole time? What were you doing?" He was concerned, and gripped my arm tightly.
"My– my head started to hurt and I fell," I replied honestly. "Had... had it really been half an hour?" I asked, completely unaware it had been that long. Jean's eyes widened.
"Yes, it was!" He was alarmed. "[Y/N], you need to get back to the wall immediately! You're in no condition to be out here fighting!" He shouted loudly. I stalled and looked at my feet.
"I... I guess I'll head back. You go ahead and clear Eren's path. He's gotta plug that hole." I gave Jean an assuring smile. "Don't worry, I can get back on my own." He looked at me, doubtful.
"Alright." He said hesitantly. "Be careful." He leaned in, but then stopped and took a slow breath. In haste, he pulled himself off the roof and towards Eren's Titan. I watched him go, but then I turned and looked to where Reiner had gone with the others.
I want to see him, don't I? Just admit it. You want to see him.
With that, I zipped in Reiner's direction.
I swung past buildings, rising up in the air and dipping down close to the streets. I stopped for a moment, landing down on the ground in alarm. Piercing screams and pleas for help only a few roads away bounced off the walls of the buildings.
"...had a chance to talk this through!" I could faintly make out those final words. From then on, there was only screaming. But, who was screaming? Instantly, I shot my wires in the direction where Reiner and the others had gone. That was definitely where the screams were coming from, but it was so far away.
Then, the shrieking stopped. Almost there, I thought. But what if it's too late? As I was about to turn the corner, my body was met with the intense force of Annie's. She charged straight into me, forcing the two of us to crash into one of the windows in the building behind us.
I was completely winded. If I could've spoken, I would've shouted and questioned her, but no, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even mutter a word. I couldn't gasp. I was pinned to the ground, Annie's knee digging into my chest and the point of her blade at my throat.
What was going on? Was this my time? Was this my end?