Attack on Titan: Survival and Dedication - Male Reader

PART THREE

Yvonne was deep behind enemy lines. She clung to the darkest corner she could find, hesitant to remove her coat and tend to her wounds.
That's how soldiers died these days. So many young men thought the gas had passed and so they removed their masks. Yvonne remembered stumbling upon such a scene. It was late evening, almost too dark to see the floor made of foreign uniforms stained with blood. An entire company had died that day all because they couldn't see the gas when in truth, it could see them.
Her shoulder and arm stung with each bit of movement. Her former officer's coat rubbed into the open wounds, making her grind her teeth together in the vain hope of dulling the pain.
To make matters worse, her adrenaline high was gone. She could feel every bit of her injuries weigh her down, whispering to her, asking for her to stop and take a breath in the dizzying air and her heavy limbs. She knew she couldn't.
The constant bombardment overhead had ceased some time ago. The young trooper had mixed feelings about it all.
As she stood there, catching her breath and mentally dominating the pain across her body, an earth-shaking rumble traveled along the tunnel.
Yvonne looked to the ceiling of the tunnel with apparent confusion. It was no explosion that toppled her to her knees, it was something sudden and short.
Getting to her feet, she held her breath, making only the ringing in her ears prominent. And then it happened, a terrible roar put vibrations into the ground itself, making it seem as if the planet shook in terror from this sudden entrance.
A Titan?! Yvonne gasped. They weren't expected to see any of the Warriors in this region of the country. But then again, that was news from a month ago, something command wouldn't share with them over a pigeon.
The earth trembled once more, this time bringing one reverberating stomp after the other as the Titan wreaked havoc on the Middle East's line.
  To think such a powerhouse was deployed here of all places. It could mean only one thing. And to break through the enemy line, constantly being at its heel, there was no greater honor Yvonne could think of.
  Her heart pounded within her chest, flooding her body with the power of generations of battle. With her rifle ready, she ran through the dark tunnels with nothing but a scavenged headlamp attached to her breast pocket lighting the way.
  The unknown Titan brought confusion and fear to the Mid-East's forces, shattering their last line of defense while a company of Marleyan and Eldian soldiers were right behind them.
  It wasn't long until Yvonne encountered the enemy, cowering in the safety of their tunnels. She had the upper hand, flanking them with several well-placed shots from her rifle.
A man shouted in terror and confusion as her bullet toppled him. There he lay on the ground, groaning and moaning before Yvonne silenced him with her bayonet.
Foreign shouts came from down the way, supposedly to order and rally what troops they could find. Yvonne clicked a fresh clip into her rifle and gave chase.
The combination of adrenaline and blood loss turned the battle into one big haze. Her vision blurred and blood rushed to her ears. She was also faintly aware of the constant ring in her ears and powerful thump within her chest.
Good. She thought, reflecting on her training. It was more than enough to push forward and kill anything that wasn't wearing white.
And what a terrifying sight it was. The enemy didn't know what they were fighting, and those more attached to their god than reality thought they were fighting monsters, beasts, or a more appropriate name for the Eldians, devils.
Yvonne loaded another clip into her rifle as she staggered over a corpse. Her mouth and throat were dry but it mattered little. They had the Mid-East army on the run, now they needed to capitalize on this opening.
The Titan outside let out a ferocious roar, signaling to an unknown force. And sure enough, the ground rumbled again with another explosion, bringing forth another Titan.
A loud screech spread over the battlefield, being the opposite of the deep bellow of their comrade. It was the Female Titan.
Yvonne blindsided an enemy soldier, putting all her weight into it as she charged right into him. This left him dazed and on the floor, open for a quick double take from the trooper's bayonet.
Yvonne could feel a chill in the air. Although minor, it still touched another open wound on her forearm. Before she could continue, she removed her pack, took a knee, and produced a length of gauze she wrapped tightly over the bullet hole.
As she finished up, a set of footsteps pounded from around the corner. In a flash, Yvonne raised her rifle and set her sights straight. The newcomer did the same, pointing a devastating shotgun her way. However, they both hesitated.
"On your feet, trooper!" An Eldian officer shouted from beneath his mask. "No Eldian shall be on their knees!"
He waved to her, beckoning with such charisma that she fell in line, joining well over three dozen men and women who did the same. They were a part of the second wave.
The officer navigated the tunnel with ease. Or maybe he was confident, never faltering in his movement. Both, Yvonne could believe.
As they took their final turn, the officer fired his shotgun, raining down pellets upon their enemies. The weapon was truly unmatched in trench warfare, remaining in the higher echelons with their belt-fed machine guns.
The officer took an arm off one of the Middle-Eastern soldiers, shoving him to the ground with its monstrous power. He left the man screaming, an easy picking for Yvonne when she followed closely.
Before he turned the corner of the exit, he slipped a few more shells into his weapon and moved. Yvonne did the same, taking the other direction, covering him.
Bullets whizzed and snapped overhead, the opposition screamed orders to fall back, and dirt rained down on Yvonne's head as the Female Titans sprinted over, ruthlessly chasing those on the run.
Coming upon one of the enemies' many bunkers, she remained steadfast at the sandbag entranceway. Her belt felt less cumbersome than it did just an hour ago, but a fellow Eldian's belt was clean enough and heavy enough for what lay ahead.
She motioned to the following soldiers to wait. When one stood still, she removed a grenade from their waist, primed it, and tossed it in. When the dull thud of explosion met her ears, she marched in with the others following close behind.
Dust and agony filled the bunker. The former settled after a short battle, the latter Yvonne silence with a bullet.
The trooper took a moment to reload, giving enough pause to spot the unmanned machine gun left on the floor.
"You!" She pointed to one of the troopers, stopping them. "Help me with this!"
They did as they were told. She wasn't sure if it was because of the officer's coat or because of the strategic need. Either way, the trooper helped her with much-needed ammo boxes while she heaved the heavy weapon into place.
The barrel sloshed with water that would cool the barrel. The sound was but a whisper in battle, but she knew it was almost full.
She was no specialist when it came to the weapon, but they were trained to use any bit of equipment they could find. That included the machine gun, a fine work of metal and destruction.
Yvonne remembered a time when such a machine was deemed too deadly for war, almost as a deterrent. That day, everyone thought war was a forgotten era because of it.
Now, the weapon lay in her hands as she racked it and held it with a white-knuckle grip. She scanned the battlefield for but a moment before she found her target. It lay something short of two hundred meters down range. It didn't matter if it was barracks, a supply cache, or even a triage point, all that mattered now was that they weren't Marleyan or Eldian.
She clicked both levers located near the handles and fired. The machine gun spit six hundred rounds a minute, more than enough firepower to shred the retreating force to ribbons.
The gun shook in her hands. When it felt violent and out of control it sat almost still, weighed down by its metal housing. Before long, they were on their last ammo box and the barrel smoked with red-hot metal.
The officer from before must've been somewhere within range because the next thing they knew, he blew his whistle, signaling another charge.
There was no reason to stop now. They would take their supply line, then their precious artillery. Only then would they remain within reach of their capital.
The enemy grew desperate. They were ordered to hold this line no matter what. And so they did. Their home was on the line, and it filled them with the steel needed to fire upon their retreating forces.
Well over five hundred troops were on the move. They supported the armored Titan, shattering the enemies' resolve while the Female Titan delivered the killing blow. It was a sound plan, a perfect one, even. Yet at the end of the day, they were the tip of Marley's spear and the first line of defense.
Shells whistled overhead before making a sudden, explosive entrance. Ahead, a trio of soldiers were engulfed in dirt. When Yvonne passed over the newborn crater, she found nothing more than a shred of white cloth.
They screamed at the top of their lungs, fearless as explosions rattled all around them. The Female Titan would close the gap between her and the artillery, silencing the guns for good. Precious minutes their forces needed to continue.
Then suddenly a blast of air flanked Yvonne, rattling her senses. The air was followed by an intense heat covering the right side of her body. She was confused, dizzy, and then finally cold.
She dropped to the ground, tired. Her eyes were open but she saw darkness. There was nothing, no sound, no light, and no voices. The only thing there was left to experience was an immeasurable cold and elation.