Chapter Text
A light mist blanketed the land as the sun slowly rose from behind the mountains. The midnight sky started to blend into light blues, vibrant yellows and soft oranges. The once tranquil forest started to wake alongside the dawn as birds sang and woodland creatures milled about.
As if being influenced by nature, a young girl of 18 opened her eyes revealing a pair of bright hazel orbs. She blinked the drowsiness away as she got up and stretched before starting to get ready for the day.
Without pause, she neatly made her bed and softly exited the barracks to take a bath in the female's communal shower. She hummed softly to herself as she felt energy slowly building inside her after such a refreshing wash.
After putting on her uniform, she stared at her own reflection in the mirror. Looking back at her was a girl with light brown hair that fell in waves and reached her waist. A beauty mark under her left eye added to her charm as her hazel eyes twinkled softly in the sunlight. She had naturally rosy cheeks and pale pink lips that complimented her fair complexion.
What caught her attention the most was how confident she looked, especially with the patch of the wings of freedom proudly sewn on her jacket.
She smiled to herself as her fingers expertly tied her hair in a loose French braid.
'Today is another day that I get to be free. Free to be me.' she thought.
As soon as she walked out of the showers, she bumped into someone causing her to fall back a step.
Before she could lose her balance, a hand shot out to steady her by the arm. "Woah there! Are you alright Aimee?"
"I'm fine. Sorry about that Jax." she replied, recognizing him immediately.
Jax, or rather Jaxon, was a boy her age who had messy dark brown hair that somehow matched his tanned skin and beautifully chiselled face. Complete with shining emerald eyes and a lean build, he was truly a handsome man.
They have known each other since they were training as cadets. Her first impression of him was that he was a bit too flippant. Someone that joined to be a soldier for the heck of it or in order to attract the attention of the opposite sex.
When she got to know him a bit more, Aimee found that she had nothing but respect for the young man. His parents were both part of the Survey Corps and had died valiantly in an expedition while protecting their comrades, some who are still in duty to this day. This made him an orphan when he was just 8 years old.
He and a few other children never got adopted and grew up helping out in the orphanage and being the eldest out of them all taught Jaxon responsibility, but he never forgot what his parents were fighting for. So he enlisted to be trained in order to join the Survey Corps to follow in his parents' footsteps, all the while carrying their passion and enthusiasm, and hopefully finish what they started.
As soon as they had graduated and earned their right into the wings of freedom a year prior, she was delighted when they had been put together in a squad. Aimee has never been one to play favorites and she loved every one of her comrades, but she can't help but be drawn towards Jaxon's positive outlook and overall reliability. They've kept growing close ever since.
He was quite the charmer, though. "Just be careful next time okay? You're lucky it was me. Can't have you falling for anyone else now could I?" he said, giving her a lopsided grin that could make any woman swoon.
However, Aimee was very used to his antics and gave him a smile of her own, "Fortunately for me, I don't plan to fall any time soon. Not to you or to a titan."
"You break my heart Aimee! But that means there's a chance at some point right?"
She chuckled at his optimism as they walked side by side to the mess hall. "I'll give that a hard maybe."
"Maybe is good. That means it may be a yes."
Aimee laughed loudly at that as they made their way towards their squad's table.
As soon as breakfast was over, everyone went off their own ways to fetch their equipment and prepare themselves for the upcoming expedition.
Aimee checked her blades to make sure that none were dull, then she fiddled with her handgrips' navigation sliders to make sure they were functioning well. Lastly, she lightly knocked her gas tanks, appreciating the low sound to indicate it was full.
A knock on the door caught her attention. "You ready to kick ass, Aimee?" Jaxon asked.
She smiled as she bounded towards him, "Ready as I'll ever be."
The two made their way to the stables, a tense silence hanging over them as it always does before they embark outside the walls. The brunettes took their horses out and readied their saddles.
Suddenly, Jaxon groaned exasperatedly making the girl cock an eyebrow at him. She turned to where he was looking and saw a tall man with neatly combed blonde hair heading towards them.
"Erwin." she greeted with a small smile.
"Erwin." Jaxon said at the same time, though he sounded a bit strained.
"Aimee, Jaxon, be careful out there. I have a bad feeling about today." the blonde said, paying no mind to the other male's blatant irritation.
"You say that all the time." he grumbled lowly.
"And I mean it every time. Promise me you won't let your guard down, Aimee." Erwin said sincerely as he walked out with his horse.
"Of course-!"
"Aimee and I'll be together out there. We watch each other's backs so we'll be fine. You watch yourself." Jaxon cut her off.
Aimee huffed in fond annoyance, "I was going to say the same thing before I was rudely interrupted, Jax. You don't need to worry Erwin. We'll manage if anything happens. Worse comes to worst, I'll put my medical knowledge to use as well."
The blonde smiled and gently pat her shoulder as he continued to walk off.
As soon as he was out of earshot, the girl rounded on Jaxon. She said nothing but stared at him with a raised eyebrow, her lips shut in a thin line.
He threw his hands up in the air, "It's not my fault! He's just so weird with you. I can never tell what he's thinking and he's so honest with his warnings that it makes him sound like an asshole!"
Aimee shook her head as she laughed. "Let's just go. And for the record, you're pretty weird with me too." she said, mounting her horse and trotting off.
"I am not! Don't compare me to him! You take that back Aimee!" he sputtered indignantly while following her.
As soon as they were out of the walls, grey clouds started to replace the white ones. Soon, the sky was dark and ominous, indicative of a terrible storm looming upon them.
The girl looked up and her face scrunched up in worry. 'This is bad. A storm could only mean that we'll be blind out here as well as less mobile. Why hasn't the commander asked us to turn back? Erwin was right, I do have a bad feeling about today.'
"Hey Aimee! What's with that face? Don't tell me what that guy said got to you?" Jaxon called out, tugging on his horse's reigns so he could ride alongside her.
She nervously bit her lip, "It's just that it looks like it's gonna be a terrible rain soon. You know how that's like. It's just not safe."
As if on cue, droplets of water landed on their faces followed by hundreds more that poured all around them.
The man grumbled as he pulled his hood on before gesturing to Aimee to do the same. "Make sure we stick together with the squad. We can't afford to get stranded out here. Keep close!"
The two galloped nearer to where their teammates were and everyone clustered together by instinct. All around them the other squads did the same and the formation tightened as precaution so as not to lose sight of anyone.
Rain continued to pour heavily across the once sunny fields. The continuous barrage of water muddied up the tracks and lifted a thick fog that hung persistently in the air. In the distance, one could see bolts of lightning shoot down from the heavens followed by the boom of thunder. Still, they rode on.
At this point, no one cared where they were going or when they would get there. Everyone was too focused on staying within the group to care.
They didn't feel the earth shake, didn't hear the loud thumps, didn't see the 8 meter figure through the fog until it was too late. A titan emerged on their left and easily cut their formation in half all the while trampling on the soldiers.
Aimee could only watch as its feet landed on her squadmates. She saw their looks of terror, their mouths open in a silent scream as they were crushed before her eyes. "NO!! Damn it! Jax! Jax where are you?! We have to go!"
She looked around frantically, trying to spot any familiar trace of her friend. Shouts could be heard everywhere and horses neighed in alarm as those who survived tried to retreat. Others were too injured to move and had to be helped by their comrades to get to safety.
Amidst the chaos, Jaxon hooked himself on the Abnormal and swung, narrowly dodging its swinging hand and gaping mouth. He landed safely on its nape and, with a yell, he sliced it clean.
The titan fell, steam pouring out of its corpse adding to the heavy fog. Before he could marvel at his kill, a shrill scream pierced through the air.
"Jax look out!"
He turned only to come face to face with a 3 meter titan, jaws already wide open and ready to devour him. "Oh."
A figure swooped in from behind him and instantly the 3 meter was down in a steaming heap as well. This titan was quickly replaced by another one that was 5 meters tall and Aimee wasted no time in hooking towards it and propelled herself around to slice its nape.
Still, she couldn't rest as it seems that the initial titan was part of a horde. Five other titans surrounded them and as soon as the 5 meter was down, the brunette launched herself towards the next.
This one tried to swat at her through the air, making her unhook from its neck and re-hook herself on its opposite shoulder. She pressed the trigger and used gas to quickly dodge getting caught. This maneuver's upswing allowed her to be in perfect view of its nape and she used a bit more gas so she could dive in for the kill.
"Hey Jax! What're you staring at like some kind of rookie? Come here and help me out some!" Aimee yelled as she swung to eliminate another titan.
That snapped Jaxon out of his stupor and he jumped into the fray with a smirk. "Come now Aimee, I was just admiring the view!"
The two took down titan after titan until there was only two left. "Let's finish this so we can regroup with everyone else!" the girl huffed tiredly.
"Gladly. I'll even take down your titan too if you'd like." Jaxon teased, giving her an impish grin.
She shoved him before he hooked at the 8 meter on the left. Aimee made her way towards the other one on the right.
It too tried to swat her in the air and she attempted to do a similar dodge from before. However when she pressed the trigger, no gas came out.
'No! I used too much!?'
The titan's hand swung down and it snatched her in a bone-crushing grip. Trapped and unable to reach her blades, she could only squirm as it held her near its mouth. Aimee screamed in horror, "No! Jax! JAX HELP!! Jax-!"
Jaxon felt a surge of adrenaline course through him as he flew through the air, expertly hooking towards the titan's nape and sliced it with a guttural scream. The titan fell, its hold on Aimee loosening to which she gratefully jumped free from.
She could feel her heart thundering in her chest and her hand gripped at it instinctively as she caught her breath. "I'm alive. I'm still alive." she panted, almost in disbelief.
Suddenly she was thrown back and warmth engulfed her body. Panic quickly overtook her and she stiffened, preparing to attack until a soft voice reached her ears.
"Ssh. It's me. It's okay now."
It took her a moment to get over the shock of a near-death experience and she realized that Jaxon was hugging her. His voice was so calm and soothing but his hold on her was anything but. His hands were in fists around her clothes and they were shaking. His face buried in her shoulder as he whispered words of comfort. Whether they were for her or for himself, she doesn't know.
Slowly, her hands wrapped around his torso as well to return the embrace. When she did, Jaxon felt grounded again and he straightened up to look at the girl.
Aimee's face was smeared with dirt and some leftover titan blood that hasn't evaporated yet. Her hood had been blown off and wet wisps of her hair that came loose from the braid clung to her flushed cheeks. Her eyes were round as saucers, clearly still filled with adrenaline from the event but he could tell that they were slowly calming down.
"Damn you Aimee" he breathed.
"Huh?"
"Damn you for scaring me like that. I told you not to fall for anyone, or anything, else but me." he smirked.
She gave out a shaky laugh at that. "Let's argue about that after we're safe with the rest of the Survey Corps."
Aimee gave out a sharp whistle to call for their horses and observed the distance for any movement, either friendly or not. Jaxon whistled as well after a moment.
"You think that will work? We can't see shit out here." he asked when he noticed her loading her flare gun.
"Better than nothing." she simply replied as she shot it upwards, purple smoke spewing out of the cartridge.
Jaxon paused, looking at the flare before glancing at the pistol she used. "Is your pistol defective?"
"I just fired a shot. What do you think?" she scoffed.
"Well what's that noise then?"
The two fell silent and Aimee could hear a faint hissing noise. However, it wasn't coming from her gun. It was coming from-!
"Behind!"
She could barely react when Jaxon pushed her away just in time as the titan closed its mouth on where she used to be standing. But this meant that it got a bite out of the male instead.
Blood sprayed out of Jaxon's side as the titan took a chunk out of his abdomen. She watched as he yelled out and crumpled on the ground. The titan crawled towards his body, its mouth open wide and Aimee noticed that it was the same monster that had almost killed her. 'But that's impossible! Jax sliced it! Unless-!'
True to her suspicions, steam was rising from its nape. The cut wasn't deep enough and the titan was healing the wound. That's what was hissing.
The sight of it crawling closer towards Jaxon snapped her into focus and she charged at it in rage. "Don't you dare!"
Fortunately it was on the ground. She put the rest of her energy to her legs as she jumped high enough to land on its back and she swung on the closing wound, deep enough to tear out its entire nape. It stopped moving immediately. "And stay down." she muttered before looking around for any other threats. Seeing none, her eyes trained on the figure lying on the grass.
"Damn. Jax!" Aimee hopped off the corpse and rushed towards her friend. She gasped at the sight. His left abdomen was torn off and he was bleeding profusely. His face was pale and his breaths came in short and ragged. "Ai-Aim...ee."
She fell on her knees beside him as she took out medical supplies from her pouch. "Ssh. I'm here. I'll get you out of this."
She took a large roll of gauze out but dropped it. She cursed as she moved to pick it up and only then did she notice how badly her hands were shaking. Aimee grit her teeth and picked the gauze up. 'Pull yourself together! Don't you freeze now. Not now!'
She pulled open Jaxon's uniform, leaving the 3DMG straps on his torso so that she can tighten it later to slow the blood flow. But when she saw the wound she tensed up. Tears welled up and clouded her vision. 'It's too big. What do I do? I can't patch it. He won't make it.'
"Aimee...?" Jaxon croaked.
She blinked at him and her chest tightened at the way he smiled at her. His green eyes so optimistic and full of trust. Trust in her.
Aimee furiously swiped at her tears as she unrolled the bandage to wrap around his wound. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking but she pushed on and tightened his straps to control his blood flow. Her fingers gently enclosed around his wrist as she felt for a pulse. She was dismayed to find it was very faint and that he was quickly turning cold.
'What else? What else do I do? Think Aimee. Think! Anything! Save him!' She bit her lip to keep it from trembling as a fresh wave of tears threatened to spill again. Her brain working overdrive on how to help him.
Jaxon's gaze never left her and he could almost see the gears turning in her head. He'd laugh if he could. Tease her like he usually would. His throat tightened at the thought that he couldn't and probably wouldn't be able to. He forced his hand to move and rested it on top of hers. In an instant, her eyes were on him and he smiled.
"Aimee..s'okay." he weakly whispered.
His heart broke at the same time hers did and tears rolled off her cheeks. "Aimee-"
"Don't."
"Aimee."
"Don't Jax. You'll make it. I'll think of something."
"You always do. I will always believe in you." he whispered, his voice hoarse now.
"Good. Now stay with me Jax. Stay with me or I swear you'll never hear the end of this. Do you hear me Jaxon?"
"Yes ma'am." he grinned.
'He's so pale. He's losing blood faster than he can make it. Wait. Make it? What if I give him blood? I can and it'll be enough until help gets here.'
Aimee fumbled in her pouch again and found a syringe. She then took out latex gloves and cut off the section for the longest finger. She took another syringe out and removed the needle and poked it through the end of the cut glove then she secured the latex's open end around the hole of the syringe. She took off her cloak and jacket then rolled up her sleeves.
Aimee stared at the contraption then looked at Jaxon. 'This has to work. If it doesn't then I don't know what else to do. So please work.'
As if to mock her, lightning struck the field she was on, startling her. She dropped the makeshift blood transfusion device before she could insert one of the needles through her arm. She cursed and made to grab it again but suddenly a white-hot light shot through her then everything was black.
The last thing she remembered was how the air crackled around her and the numbing pain across her back.
END OF 1.