Before the End - Armin X Reader

Encounter

*Revised Version*

      After several days of eating, sleeping, training, and cleaning, our next expedition outside of the walls had arrived. During that time, I had been informed of the situation beyond the walls. The titans beyond wall Maria had been eradicated, and patrols constantly rounded the territory of what the outside world knew as "Eldian devils". There have been sightings of Marleyan ships on the coast, and the Scouts were anticipating an encounter. We were led by Hange and Armin at the front of the patrol, Armin had shown up to the patrol meeting having a new haircut, his chin-length hair now closer to an undercut. He hadn't mentioned the idea of getting his hair cut to anyone beforehand, so it was quite the surprise to everyone, to say the least.

      I glanced down at my horse, Miro, her long, black, shimmering hair, flew past me to my left as we strode out of Wall Maria, heading towards the shore. We traveled along the shoreline, hooves kicked up clouds of sand in their wake. We closed in on our destination, heading to the wall which had been used by Marleyans to send Eldians to their demise. As we rode along the outer length of the wall, gazing onto the horizon, Sasha piped up at the outer edge of the crowd, "Ship!" She exclaimed, pointing towards a barely visible figure on the surface of the blue expanse. My eyes were glued to the vastness of the ocean, their bright E/C color shimmered in the spring sun. I was in awe, and thought deeply to myself, 'If this is the ocean, how large is our world exactly?'

   "We will stop behind the mass of boulders inland from here. Stay close, and don't make unnecessary noise." Hange informed the patrol of 16 soldiers. We got off of our horses and huddled as tightly as possible to the edge of the cliff that led up towards the mainland, a large boulder hiding us from view of the ocean. We watched in tense silence as the ship changed its course, now headed in our direction. After nearly ten minutes of rigid observation, the ship anchored, and a booming voice was heard from the deck of the ship.

     "Devils of Paradis Island, surrender now or be obliterated by Marleyan forces." A ragged man's voice appeared loud on the shore. Little did they know, it had been part of our plan to have Eren appear behind the boat as a titan, forcing the Marleyan soldiers to flee their vessel. The Attack Titan's form loomed large over the small cruiser, and Hange yelled so the inhabitants of the ship could hear, "Would you like to rethink the statement you said to us? Or would you like to invite our 'little friend' over for a cup of tea?" The soldiers had turned and aimed their guns towards Eren when he transformed. The words Hange spoke made their hands quiver, before one man yelled, shooting first, and starting a bombardment on the Attack Titan. The bullets they used barely penetrated into Eren's flesh, and he took a step forward, landing his foot directly on the center of the ship. Many Marleyan soldiers jumped when they saw the incoming foot, but a few were caught up in the impact, injuring at least 5 and killing 2.

     The power of the Attack Titan was impressive, beyond impressive, but that didn't stop many of the remaining Marleyan soldiers from rushing forward through the thick current of the ocean, their uniforms drenched, their forms weighed down. The patrol of Scouts was quick to respond to the Marleyan's advances, Mikasa and Levi quickly taking advantage of Eren's titan form to gain height and come down on their enemies from above. Armin took a few steps towards me, staying in front of the line of fire of me at all times. My perception is good, I pick up on social cues more than the average person, but my senses aren't nearly as good as that of Sasha's. I had managed to notice the little movements he made while holding his blades in a ready stance, prepared to engage if the time comes.

     The Marleyan soldiers were now on Paradis soil, "Die you fucking devils!" A man screamed, a couple of his comrades yelled at full volume in response, and a volley of bullets raced towards the boulder shielding many of the Scouts. "Take cover!" Sasha yelled, I yanked Armin to the left by his scouting jacket as hard as I could, he was only a split second from being shot in the abdomen. Mikasa and Levi proceeded to slice the legs of the Marleyan troops with large, long-range weapons, Eren stepped forward onto the rubble of a boat once more, and progressed towards the Marleyan soldiers on land. One burly Marleyan soldier sporting a dark beard approached the boulder, he was breaching our defenses.

     Armin and I were quick to respond to the advancing soldier, we rushed towards him with our swords held outright, ready to inflict wounds on the man, but not to kill. Hange instructed that we needed some invaders alive to interrogate. However quick I was to respond, I was not prepared to take the life of another human being. Over the previous few weeks, I was thinking intently about how the leaders of the Scouts had described our situation. The military no longer faced titans as their only enemy, but humans as well. The entirety of the human race was our enemy, and we should prepare to encounter, and disarm, humans, killing if necessary. I have never killed a titan, let alone a human, and at this point, I probably would never kill a titan.

     The burly soldier responded to the advancing Scouts by pulling something heavy and shiny out of his boot. Another loud bang was heard amongst the lingering fighting, making Mikasa and Levi aware that there was still an enemy with a ranged weapon among them. I felt a force hit my right shoulder and a sharp, deep pain immediately followed the shot. Armin was in shock for a moment when I gasped out in pain and fell to the dusty earth beneath me, but he then whipped around to face the attacker, weapon now pointed at the blonde. I watched through clouded vision as Mikasa whipped around behind the man, slicing the muscles on his lower back, disarming the Marleyan.

     I panted in pain, my head spun, dots of colors and black filled my vision when I glanced at the wound in my shoulder, my shirt and jacket already stained by blood. "Y/N? Y/N!!" Armin's muffled voice calling out my name was the last thing I remember before falling into a deep, dream-filled sleep.