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Armin knew what loving someone in this world would be like, especially when each of them were fighting titans in the military.
It was a risk he was willing to take for her, Cearo Aalish.
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She sat on the blimp, anxiously messing with her thumbs. She did understand that every mission she went on could've been her last but this was different, she was on land she knew not a damn thing about! She also had a bad feeling about it, her stomach was turning and she was getting nauseous. Armin, of course. noticed this.
"What's wrong? The only other time you acted like this was when.." Cearo looked at him from the corner of her eye, "Since we got the mission to kill Bertolt?" Armin hesitated but nodded, the look of genuine concern in his eyes. "I'm just.." She let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair, "I have a bad feeling, and you know how those turn out!"
Cearo has gotten bad, gut feelings, only a few times but every time something goes wrong. She got her most impactful one when she woke up on a peaceful yet busy morning, only for it to turn into a blood bath in the evening. That was the same day Levi's whole squad got wiped out.
"I'll ask Captain if you can switch with another soldier, nothing major but just so you're closer to the others." Armin quickly walked away to go find The Captain, who was in the front with The Commander. Cearo couldn't protest and didn't plan too, She knew very well she would feel safer with her friends.
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"Cearo! Now!" Said female quickly latched her right grappling hook to a building, the gas flying out from the mechanism that hung on her waist. She quickly grabbed a thunder spear, throwing it down at some of Marley's soldiers trying to shoot them down from the air. She flew through the air onto the same building she had latched onto a few minutes earlier, a safe distance away from the spear she had just threw. She heard the spear go off and saw the explosion barely reach over the building that was in between the metal object and her.
She leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh right after. She didn't want to do this but she didn't have a choice either.
"Cearo." The female opened her eyes to see Jean, "Let's go, don't got time to waste." The male walked away, assuming she would follow, and she did.
Just then, as Cearo was about to latch her grappling hook on the building across the street, her ODM gear failed.
Before she could comprehend anything the female collided with the front of the brick building. Her body fell down the wall of the building, limp in the air as she was knocked unconscious from the hit to her head. She woke up when her body collided with the ground, the pain she felt on her head and back was unbearable. The fall wasn't far enough to kill her but it was far enough for her to have broken a bone or two.
"Cearo!" The girl saw Jean leaning over the roof, looking down at her. "Are you okay?" He shouted, a visible look of concern in his eyes. "Yeah-" The female let a small cough out, "All good." She tried to sit up but when she did the pain she felt only got worse, so she laid back down. She knew there wasn't time for this, she couldn't just lay here.. but she also couldn't stand the harsh pain she was feeling. After Jean saw she couldn't get up he used his ODM gear to fly down by her side, "Do you think you can make it to the blimp?" He asked the girl, analyzing her body to look for any other injury's that were visible. "I think so." He nodded, lifting her up. She placed one hand on the building she just fell from and the other around Jeans shoulder.
From the corner of Cearo's eye she could see a little girl, aiming something towards the pair. Jean hadn't noticed the girl as he was to focused on Cearo. Just then the sound of a cloth ripping boomed through the air, making Jean look up immediately with wide eyes. Once Cearo heard the noise she had pushed Jean to the ground with all her strength, ignoring the pain that was quickly traveling up her spine. The strength she had used made her stumble to her right.. to the exact spot that the male was standing at before.
The bullet ripped through her torso a few seconds after Jean hit the ground. The female sucked in a breath and fell down onto her back. The pain in her back was immediately forgotten and her attention went to the hole in her stomach, which most likely hit a major organ. Jean saw the girls body laying on the ground and ran to her side, "Fuck- Cearo!" The male muttered in distress, "Hey! Stay with me!" He shouted, waving a hand over her eyes, which were starting to become unfocused. Jean didn't have anything, no medical kit, nothing! That made him panic, how would he slow the blood down? He eyed the green cloak that was hanging around her shoulders and quickly undid the button that held it closed. He watched the girl, making sure her eyes were still open and slowly pulled the cloak a bit more down and around her waist, tying it over the hole in her stomach was. He knew the chances of her surviving with a hole in her stomach and a measly green cloak holding the blood back was extremely low but.. it was worth a shot, no?
He glanced back at the girl as he was about to pick her up, but he whipped his head back when he realized her eyes were closed, "Cearo! Wake up!" He shouted, slightly shaking her body. He looked down at her, hesitating and then slapping her on the cheek. Cearo lazily opened her eyes from the impact, she wouldn't last longer and Jean knew that. He knew what the outcome would turn out to be, he just wasn't ready to lose one of his best friends. How would he even tell the others? Connie, Sasha, Mikasa.. Armin. Jean didn't notice the tears that started to fall down his cheeks, it felt hopeless at this point. Cearo took some weak breaths and looked into his eyes.
"Jean, let me go. I'll be fine, tell Armin I love him." She said quietly through some pauses. Jean kept shaking his head, the last time he lost someone this close to him was Marco. "You'll make it, I promise!" He shouted desperately, his grip tightening on her body. She let out a weak sigh as he picked her up and latched one hook onto a building, making his way to the blimp floating in the sky. The cloak around Cearo's waist was a dark shade of red with the blood that continued to come out of her and the movement was only making it much worse. Her eyes slowly started to close, Jean wasn't paying an attention to her and soon they completely shut, her body going weak and limp in his arms.
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Jean wasn't holding her body anymore.
He stood still, arms hanging at his side, eyes staring at the hardwood floor mixed with so many different emotions, sadness, anger, worry.. guilt.
"Jean!" The male didn't look up, "Where's Cearo?" A specific blonde asked while walking towards Jean. Armin quickly noticed his demeanor, the stance, the disconnection to reality and the tears that fell from his cheek onto the floor. Armin stood Infront of Jean in silence, quickly understanding why he couldn't find her anywhere on the blimp. This is why she was nervous.
Armin's throat felt like it was closing.. like he was drowning. Tears immediately started falling to the the floor, he slid down the wall next to them and sat against it. He brought his knees close to his torso and buried his hands in his legs, letting out sobs. People heard him, some walking past with sorrow in their eyes and others with confusion. Then Connie, Sasha, and Mikasa walked towards the pair.
"Jean, where did you and Cearo go? Me and Sasha thought you guys got.. lost." Connie's words got slower as Jean and Armin came into view. That's when they all understood what was happening. Connie and Mikasa started breaking into sobs, immediately falling near Jean and Armin. Sasha stood still in front and in a quiet voice she asked, "She's hiding somewhere.. right?" The tears fell from her eyes as she didn't get an answer from anyone.
"This isn't real, She isn't gone." Armin whispered to himself, trying to convince himself that maybe this was just a bad dream. He had the urge to punch something, anything! But.. he was also tired, weak, he just wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare.
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20 minutes later, they lost Sasha as well.