#with the wires and remnant so much it's barely recognizable as a human being so. with the limited information i'm willing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chillax-kass-w · 4 years

Text

After All | RM8

[Reiner Braun/Reader]

[TW: Canon-Typical Character Death/Violence]

Happiness seems impossible for Reiner, but he may get there after all.

Read on AO3

[As a note, the format of this story is as follows: chapters actually titled “Chapter _” are current to the Marley Arc, chapters titled “M_” are Reiner’s memories in succession, and chapters titled “RM_” are the Reader’s memories in succession]

Nothing could prepare a person for sitting in front of a gate that held certain peril. No training, no mind tricks, nothing. It was as if everything was out the window save for the absolute terror of the Titans and the memory of the formation.

Thank goodness that had been drilled into her memory.

“Thirty seconds to opening!”

She knew for a fact that this would be the longest thirty seconds of her life. Glancing around, she recognized Reiner’s crown a little ways away. She didn’t know what made him turn to her, but she was glad he did. Even though she was head over heels in inner turmoil, she relished in the safety she felt when she looked into his eyes. He didn’t smile, and neither did she, but the quiet resolve in his heavy eyes was enough to assure her, if only in that moment, that she would be okay. He would be okay.

“This is it! Now the human race takes another step forward! Show me what you learned!”

She raised her fist, solidarity and strength held within her grip. She would survive. She would not succumb to the fear the Titans engendered. She would stand tall with her comrades. She would trust them.

Trust is all they have.

“Open the gate! Launch the 57th Expedition outside the Wall! Advance!”

With that, she shook the reins so tightly held in her hands. Alice, her horse, held her ground beside the other steeds of the Survey Corps. Immediately, they crossed through the remnants of a town, long abandoned since Wall Maria was breached. Immediately, a ten meter Titan was upon them. She almost reached for her triggers to engage it, but she remembered the plan. The support team would hold off the Titans close to the Wall to give them time to get into formation and leave civilization. She trusted them, so she returned her hands to the reins.

“Long Distance Enemy Scouting Formation, deploy!” Based on her higher than average kill count in the Battle of Trost, she was tasked closer to the right flank of the formation. She was in the immediate first column, the first wave of enemy detection. Not surprisingly, most if not all of the new recruits had been tasked with message relay and spare horses. Even Mikasa, who’d had a higher kill count, was positioned nearer to the center of the formation, but (f/n) assumed it was due to Eren’s position at the left center of the formation, the same squad that held Mikasa. She would protect him to the death; the Commander must have planned that accordingly. Based on that, (f/n) was technically the next best recruit to fill an empty position that would normally hold a veteran.

Despite that explanation, she felt immense terror as soon as she spotted her first Titan. Shaky hands made to reach for a smoke signal, but the leader of her squad shot off one without delay. This continued for a while, the Titans slowly coming into the light. The terror in her gut was dissipating as she saw the formation at work; they hadn’t had to engage once.

Good things never last, though.

“What the hell?!”

“Abnormals! A bunch of ‘em!”

Black smoke signal.

“Prepare to engage!”

“Is that female one leading them here?!”

White noise.

She turned her head, only to feel bile well up in her throat. At least twenty Titans were headed their way, and at their center was what looked to be a blonde female, easily fourteen meters high. There was little time to think about that, though. The Titans would be upon them at any second. Shaky hands reached for her grips, then for her swords. Dull comfort filled her chest at being armed, but the adrenaline wasn’t enough. She froze when she saw the first of her squad dismount and engage a six meter class Titan. It was Colette. As soon as the woman struck the nape, another appeared behind it, reaching for her comrade. So close, so close to Colette, yet she spun out of the way and struck its nape too.

So close to her…

Sarah…

She couldn’t sit idly by and watch her comrades be devoured. Colette, Ivan, Declan, Stella, Schultz… None of them deserved to meet Death. She wouldn’t allow it. As she placed her feet firmly on the saddle, she extended her promise to them. She would protect them; she would bring them home. So, with that in mind, she met the air. The Female Titan hadn’t reached her position yet, but three Titans were bearing down on her group. They had to get rid of them if they wanted a chance against the horde behind them.

Near her, Declan took out an eight meter Titan’s achilles, so she latched onto its neck and closed in. His shout barely met her ears; her heartbeat was too heavy. The rest of her squad took down the remaining two, and they were left to wait for the Female Titan to close in.

It didn’t take long .

Instantly, she kicked Ivan’s horse from beneath him, and he flew through the air with sickening velocity. Next went Colette, then Stella, then Schultz. Declan screamed, dismounting and engaging the air. The Female Titan caught his wires, throwing him away as if his life meant nothing.

Nothing.

She could do nothing.

(f/n) couldn’t even find her voice. The panic, the dread, the immense grief kept her rooted to her spot. Bile flooded her taste buds, and her heart threatened to cease its beating. She barely registered that her hands held her blades tighter than ever. The dull comfort was gone; the adrenaline left her veins; lactic acid took its place. She was vaguely aware of the blood coating her skin and clothes. Who did that belong to?

Thump, thump, thump.

Was that her heart, or the Titan’s approaching footsteps?

Blue eyes…

Shocking was the fact that the Female Titan stopped to look at her, its hand outstretched to crush her. Death was there, standing by her side; (f/n) could feel it, see it, taste it. Time stood still as that gaze bore into hers. Blonde hair reminded her of Reiner, of their days in the forest cracking walnuts and watching the clouds. How ironic that a blonde Titan would crush her, just as Reiner had crushed so many walnuts.

She didn’t, though.

The Female Titan turned away from her, ran away from her, left her there, alive.

As much as she wanted to stop and stare, she couldn’t. She couldn’t contemplate the implications in that action. Screams for Life, screams of Death, filled her ears, and she begged her legs to move. They were upon her now, finding her comrades’ broken bodies strewn throughout the grass.

Move!

P l e a s e !

Out of sheer will, she picked up her blades. She couldn’t recall when they’d fallen from her hands, but she wouldn’t let it happen again. Adrenaline finally decided to flood her being. Bile remained, for she could hear the sounds of her friends being devoured. In her stupor, she’d been too late to save Colette, too late to save Stella.

She’d never forget that sight.

There were too many to fight alone; that much she knew. There would be no show of prowess here, no blaze of glory. Two Titans were leering down at her, and she almost let them grab her. Almost, but almost is never certain. With every ounce of hope she had left, she leaped from the saddle. The first was easy to take down, so easy she couldn’t remember the technical aspects of the kill. The second, however…

She missed.

Out of sheer luck, it missed too, but she knew luck wouldn’t have its way again. She had to get out of there. Treason be damned, she had to live. She had to save whoever she could, and she had to leave that hell. So, rather than engage again, she whistled for her horse, and she screamed for anyone that was alive. They were bearing down on her, five or six taking notice of the meal in front of them.

“Is anyone alive?!”

A voice, to her right. So close, so close.

“Somebody tell the others…”

It was Declan. A small Titan was grabbing his leg, his hand outstretched in a final gesture for Life. He was barely recognizable, what with the blood veiled across his face. Even as he clawed at the ground, (f/n) could tell he’d given up.

She wouldn’t let him.

“Right flank… Scouting Squad is nearly wiped out…”

“Shut up!”

First, she cut the wrist, then she went for the nape. It was all muscle memory at this point. She was running on autopilot, her only mission to save Declan. She’d do anything, anything at all. The Titan’s blood was satisfying, if only for the fact that it added a little more time to Declan’s clock. With a whistle, she landed beside him. He looked to her, looked through her, barely managed a cough. She picked him up, quickly mounting Alice and heading off in the direction of the Female Titan. A group was following her, but she believed in her mare’s speed, even with the added weight. Declan was still mumbling about the destruction at her back.

Thump, thump, thump.

Dissipating green smoke told her she was headed in the right direction. Everything was moving so fast, so fast. A cluster of Titans told her she was on the right track, but why were they staying at the base of such large trees? Faster, faster. Above the Titans, she could see soldiers in the trees. So close, so close. When she was within range, the Titans surrounding the trees noticed her. Fear coursed through her veins at that. She was truly between a rock and a hard place. The Titans at her back weren’t slowing down. Her only option was to dismount her horse and try to make it over the wall of Titans with Declan in tow. There was no way she could engage with him in her arms. So, she readjusted her hold on the man, and she jumped. The rest of her adrenaline, the rest of her gas, pushed her forward, and somehow, just somehow, she made it onto a branch.

She didn’t know how.

She didn’t want to know.

She couldn’t take it anymore.

As soon as she set her comrade down, she doubled over to vomit. Voices were at her back, but all her focus was on the dry heaving that shook her lungs. She curled in on herself, wanting nothing more than to vanish. All she could see was Death. Colette, Stella, devoured. Blood on her skin. Blame on her skin. Blame, blame, blame.

“(f/n)! Snap out of it!”

Someone was shaking her, but she couldn’t find her voice. She couldn’t find her resolve. She couldn’t bring herself to look at anyone, for fear they’d die in front of her again.

Strong arms turned her around.

Hazel…

“(f/n), calm down. Breathe with me.”

The rise and fall of his chest assured her he was alive. The rise and fall of her chest assured her she was alive. Up, down, in, out. Up, down, in, out. She hadn’t realized she’d lost her peripheral vision until it came back, and she saw her friends surrounding her. That dull hope rose again, as did her blame, but nothing trumped the fact that they were alive, alive and breathing.

Why did it all feel so wrong?

#reiner braun #reiner braun x reader #reiner braun/reader #aot #snk #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #character death #death

9 notes · View notes