IN WHICH ARAMINTA IS BETRAYED!
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ARMS TONITE ∕ CHAPTER SIXTEEN

ARAMINTA DID NOT CONSIDER HERSELF TO BE AFRAID OF HEIGHTS. She'd been in the air before, whether it be whizzing around with ODM gear or cleaning cannons on top of Wall Rose, being high up in the air had never really scared her before. But that was probably because during those times, she'd always had her ODM gear, acting as her safety net. There was nothing to be scared of, since she would just be able to catch herself, right?

       But now, as she was being lifted up alongside the wall, on a thin board attached to a few wires without her gear and instead with a broken wrist, she could confidently say she was scared. She looked down at her feet, and the entire world below had become minuscule. The realization of how high up she was made her sick to her stomach.

        She attempted to ease her nerves by not looking straight down below her, but rather at the rolling fields laid out in front of her, stretching all the way past the horizon. It really was a nice view, all the way up there. And very few people in their world got to experience that view, Araminta was extremely lucky to be one of those who got to take in all of its beauty.

         After twenty minutes of what felt like torture, ascending up into the sky--which was very cloudy, by the way, and very dark--she finally reached the top. It looked like a storm was festering; she hoped it would pass and they wouldn't blown off the top of the wall by the powerful winds or anything like that. That would absolutely be the most unpleasant way to go out.

        With a grunt, Araminta swung her arm up over the wall's edge, attempting to hoist herself up onto the stone. Thankfully a hand appeared, wrapping around her arm to help pull her up. And god did she feel embarrassed, kicking her legs behind her as they searched for something to grip onto, looking like a fish out of water. Whenever she saw her gear again, she was never ever going to let it go.

         Once she'd safely made it atop the wall, she brushed herself off. "So embarrassing..." She mumbled to herself. Finally, her eyes flickered up to see the thick glasses belonging to Squad Leader Hange themself staring down at her.

      "What was that?" They inquired, tilting their head.

      "Oh, nothing, Squad Leader Hange. Thank you." She smiled, and pushed herself up off her knees.

       "You're welcome, Araminta. Can I ask you some questions?" Hange began to walk, and of course, Araminta followed them closely behind. "Were you and Ymir ever close?" They asked, and the question made Araminta chuckle as she was reminded of their fight.

        "Um... No. I can very confidently say no." She assured them, a smile forming on her lips.

         "So you had absolutely no idea she was a Titan, right?" Hange queried, and Araminta nodded. "Was Ymir ever close with anyone?"

         "Just one person... Christa." She glanced over to see the girl in question, where she and Eren were watching Ymir being lifted up just like she had been. "They were always really close, I think." She chose to leave out the part where she'd always thought they were in a relationship, Squad Leader Hange didn't need their time wasted with gossip. 

       "Ah, I see." Hange nodded. "Remind me, which one is Christa?"

        Araminta pointed. "Her. The blonde one."

        "Thank you, Araminta. I appreciate your help on my mission." Hange replied, and placed their first in front of their heart in a salute. "Your service will not be forgotten!" Well, they were certainly one for the dramatics. But Araminta enjoyed it.

         "Of course, Squad Leader Hange." She returned the salute, fighting back a laugh.

          "Hey, what did I tell you about honorifics?" Hange looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. "You only need to call me Hange." They smiled, and Araminta returned the smile. They bid each other farewell, and then Hange was off to talk to Christa.

          Araminta stood and watched, unsure what the hell she was supposed to do now. She considered curling up into a ball on the cold stone and passing out, but then she figured that wouldn't be very helpful. Luckily, Armin appeared beside her, so she wouldn't have to awkwardly stand there like an idiot any longer.

          "It's crazy, isn't it?" Armin asked her, his gaze locked on Ymir being lifted up the side of the wall. "First Annie, now Ymir? How many Titan Shifters are out there?" He wondered aloud.

          Araminta shrugged. "Maybe all Titans are just people shifting into Titans." She suggested. "But maybe only some people are able to control it." She thought back to what Connie had said about his mother, and the Titan he had seen, and maybe the nonsense she was spewing really wasn't nonsense.

        "Yeah. But... That would mean this whole time we've been killing people." Armin muttered gravely, and Araminta paled at his realization. God, she hoped she was wrong.

         "Well, good thing it's not true." Araminta brushed off the subject, folding her arms across her chest. "By the way... What happened with Annie? Last I heard you guys had a plan to trap her, but what happened?"

         "It was pretty insane. The whole time we kept hoping we were wrong, you know? I mean... She was one of us, or at least we thought that... But we were right, she was the Female Titan. Honestly, I thought we were gonna lose a few times, Eren was really struggling. But, he pulled through, like he always does." Armin smiled, looking over at his friend.

        Araminta bit the inside of her cheek, glancing over at Eren, who was now walking away from Ymir and now heading in their direction. "So... What happened to Annie? Is she... Y'know..."

         "No, she's not dead." Armin shook his head. "She created some kind of crystal, we don't really know how. But now she's being kept in a Military Police base." He explained, his words intriguing Araminta.

         "A crystal...? She's inside a crystal? She's alive inside a crystal?"

         "Yeah, I think she's sleeping. Or, hibernating, kind of. I don't know how she's breathing in there, but she is." He shrugged.

         "Wow... That's amazing... I wonder if Eren can do that? Make and encase himself in a crystal? That would be helpful." She thought out loud. "Or what if he can put one of us in a crystal? That would be so cool, we should try it out." She began to think of all the possibilities of things they could do with giant crystals.

        "I think there's a lot we still don't know about his Titan. It's very possible he can make crystals too." Armin nodded along with her rambling. She appreciated him, since she knew she probably sounded a bit crazy, but he went along with it anyway.

        Araminta was prepared to continue spitting out ideas, but heard the sound of someone reaching the top of the wall behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Reiner's buff arm on the wall's edge, struggling to pull himself up. Thankfully Eren was there to help the blond up, so he was fine.

       His piercing blue eyes found her own from across the wall, and she felt her face heat up. Oh, thank god for that stupid Titan appearing, she would not have been able to live with herself if she had really told him she liked him.

        "What happened to Reiner's arm?" Armin asked, tilting his head.

        "Oh, that? He almost got his arm chewed off by a Titan, it was really bad." Araminta explained, and Armin's eyes grew wide.

         "What?!" He demanded, then began racing over to the two boys. Araminta pursed her lips, not really wanted to talk to either of them since she was trying to avoid any awkward tension, but she also didn't want to stand there and do nothing. So, with a small groan, she trailed after Armin towards her impending doom.

         By the time she reached them, she'd only picked up a fraction of the conversation. "--the time I almost got crushed in a Titan's hand?" Reiner had seemingly asked out of the blue, and Araminta gasped at his question.

        "You what?!" She asked in disbelief, mouth agape.

        "That makes it two times I've almost died. I mean at this rate, I'll be dead before I know it. I picked this path myself, but man, being a soldier is rough. It's like a soldier's spirit breaks down before their body."

       Araminta rolled her eyes. So dramatic.

        "Though, until we plug up this wall, there's no time to waste whining about it."

       "Yeah." Eren said. "You two have been driven far enough way from your hometown. I'm thinking... This is where we gotta draw the line." They all went silent for a moment, and Araminta frowned. This is where we gotta draw the line. What did he mean by that?

       "He's right, Reiner!" Bertholdt exclaimed, standing up and thrusting his arms outwards. "Our hometown! Let's go back! Isn't it about time we go back? Compared to all the trouble we've gone through, what's left to do is nothing!"

       Araminta narrowed her eyes at the two of them, a sour taste rising in her mouth. Something about this all felt so... Strange.

      "That's right." Reiner replied. "We're so close, it's just another few steps until the end."

       "What are you talking about?" Araminta asked, glaring down at them. They looked back up, lips parted to speak, but not a word came from either of them.

        "Is everyone clear?" Hange asked loudly, their commanding voice catching all of their attention. Araminta gave Reiner and Bertholdt one last look before walking back towards Hange, keeping her guard up. "We'll deal with Ymir later. And Connie... I'll arrange for a squad of Scouts to investigate your village later. For now I want you to focus on the mission to fix this wall, okay?"

         Connie nodded. As Hange continued to speak, Araminta spotted a familiar head of brunette hair, and bit back a smile. She snuck up behind the girl, then gently tapped her shoulder, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. Sasha looked down at her, pure terror lining her features. "Hey! What was that for?" She whisper shouted.

        "Just saying hi." Araminta grinned.

        "Well next time just say it, don't scare me! And, also, I'm very glad you're alive!" She continued to whisper shout, then wrapped an arm around Araminta's shoulders.

         "It's the Garrison's advance squad." She heard Hange say, and returned her attention back to her superior. She looked down the edge of the wall to see a group of soldiers riding in on their horses. "They've come to tell us where the hole is."

        A blond soldier who was leading the pack--Hannes, it seemed was his name--used his ODM gear to propel himself up the side of the wall, reaching the top and using his arms to hoist himself up. "There's no hole anywhere!" He told them, sounding exasperated.

        There was a collective gasp.

        "We spent all night looking for it, but at least between Trost and Krolva district, there's nothing wrong with the wall."

        "What'd you say?!" Hange shouted.

        "We bumped into soldiers from Krolva, and retraced our steps. We haven't seen any Titans the whole way here."

        "But... We know for sure there's Titans on this side of the wall!"

        "Did you actually look? Are you sure you're not just drunk?" Eren snapped.

        "I didn't drink!" Hannes shot back. "Wait, why are all of you here anyways?" He looked down at Eren, Mikasa and Armin, even shooting a glance Araminta's way.

Ohhhhh. He was that Hannes, the drunk Garrison soldier from Shiganshina. The one who had been with Eren the day the wall had been breached, and been too much of a coward to fight the Titan that killed his mom...

         "Well, if there's no hole, so be it." Hange said. "For now, we're falling back to Trost District!" With that, they walked away alongside Moblit, off to do more important things.

        "Whatever you do, don't let your guard down." Hannes suddenly spoke up, his voice startling Araminta. "We're going back ahead of you." And with that he was gone, zipping down the side of the wall.

        Araminta glanced over at Eren, who was stood still, looking a bit stunned. "There was nothing wrong with the wall...?" He muttered in disbelief. Araminta shook her head, not sure how to process the information.

Was she right? Had Titans fallen from the sky? Because how the hell else had they gotten there?

        The two of them began to follow after Armin and Mikasa, but Eren was stopped by Reiner calling out his name. Araminta slowed, listening to the conversation the best she could. She was still suspicious of Reiner's weird behavior, and felt uneasy about leaving Eren alone with him.

        "We need to talk." Reiner said, his voice low.

        "What about?" Eren asked.

        "Five years ago, we demolished the wall and began our attack on humanity."

       Araminta froze.

       "I'm the Armored Titan and he's the Colossal."

       "H-Huh? What are you talking about?"

        "Why are you telling him, Reiner?" Bertholdt sounded frenzied.

        "Our primary goal was to make sure all of humanity was wiped out. But now there's no need for that. Eren. If you agree to come with us, we won't wipe out any more of the..."

        The sound of their voices seemed to fade away as Araminta stood, staring down at the ground through blurry vision. Reiner... The Armored Titan... Bertholdt... Oh God, it was all coming together now. Every time she'd thought Reiner was being weird over the last few weeks, she had been right. And he has basically told her about it the day before, insisting the Armored Titan was scarier... How has she not seen this coming?

        Reiner was the one everyone looked up to. He was smart, and brave, and strong, and an incredible leader. They were all qualities Araminta admired him so much for. But she also admired how caring he was, he seemed to genuinely care about every single person in their class. Was that all an act? Had he just been swindling them all this entire time, tricking them into trusting them? Araminta felt sick.

        And Bertholdt. She'd always considered him a friend. But it was his fault her sister was dead, his fault a Titan had reached her father. And Reiner had been helping him! The person she most admired in the world had helped kill her family, the person she'd been crushing on for the last two years had aided in her family's death. How could she have been so blind? She wanted to scream, and cry, and beat those
... Those... Monsters. She wanted to hurl her fists at those monsters and tell them how awful and horrible they were, and make them feel the pain she was feeling.

        A water droplet splashed against the back of her neck, and she realized it was raining. She turned her face up to the sky, hoping the cold water against her skin would help her to wake up from this nightmare. This was some sick joke, right? They weren't actually serious? They had some dark sense of humor that led them to think this would be funny? Please, god, let it be a joke.

        "Are we doing this now, Reiner? Right here?" Bertholdt was yelling, as Araminta's focus came back down to reality. She turned around to see Reiner had removed his bandage, revealing his fully healed arm. It wasn't a joke.

        "Yeah! We settle this right here, right now!" Reiner shouted. And suddenly Mikasa, who Araminta didn't even know was next to her, appeared out of the shadows, swinging one of her blades through Reiner's hands and the other right across Bertholdt's neck.

        "Eren! Get out of here!" She screamed, lifting up her blade to drive down Bertholdt's throat but being shoved out of the way by Reiner.

        Araminta stared, blinking away the tears welling up in her eyes. The familiar glow of lightning began to surround the two of them, signaling they were about to transform.

"Reiner..." She whispered, her gaze boring deep into Reiner's icy eyes. Was this how she would die? By being blown up by their transformations? Because that would be a really, really stupid way to go out.

         There was no way she was going to let herself die here, so she grabbed onto Eren's wrist, using all her strength to drag him away from the transformation. "We gotta move! We can't stay here!" She yelled as loud as she could over the sound of the lightning beginning to grow. One big lightning bold came down from the sky, the force of the explosion knocking the two of them off their feet and sending them flying.

         But before they could make it very far, Eren was caught in the Armored Titan's hand, who lifted him up to get a good look. Araminta slid down the top of the wall, desperately looking for something to cling onto so she would stop sliding. A hand grabbed onto her own before she moved any further, and she glanced up to see it belonged to Mikasa.

        She watched in slow motion as the Armored Titan leapt off the wall, sliding down the side with his captive in tow. "Eren!" Finally the wind was slowing down, and she was at last able to push herself up onto her feet. There was another flash of light, and she ran over to look over the edge and see that Eren had transformed into his Titan form.

         At that point there was so much going on, it was getting hard for Araminta to keep track. She was still trying to process the fact that the Armored Titan battling it out down below her was actually Reiner Braun, and had totally forgotten about Bertholdt Hoover in the Colossal Titan sitting up on the wall.

So when Hange shouted, "everyone jump off the wall!", Araminta forgot she wasn't wearing her gear and almost jumped off the wall. She was lifted into the air by Mikasa, who was glaring at the Colossal Titan in front of them.

        He lifted his arm and swung at the wall, the sheer force of his attack knocking rubble all over the place. "It got Ymir!" Christa screamed, and sure enough the girl and her gurney were held tightly in one of the Titan's hands. And in the other was another body, though Araminta was unable to see who it belonged to. He threw the two Scouts into his mouth, and closed it with a loud chomp.

        They made it to the side of the wall, where the rest of the Scouts had also retreated to. "I... I don't believe this..." Araminta whispered, staring up at the giant beast in front of them. Bertholdt... Not only was he the one responsible for the deaths of her family, but now he had eaten Ymir like she was an afternoon snack. Never, in a million years, would she have expected quiet Bertholdt to be such a vile human being--well, if she could even call him a human being. Monster seemed more accurate.

         "All soldiers, prepare to attack!" Hange commanded. "We're taking down the Colossal Titan! It's a threat to all of humanity! Swarm the huge bastard!"

         "Gear, Mikasa. Get me to some gear, please." Araminta said to the girl between heavy breaths. "I want to help."

          Mikasa looked at her. "But you're still injured. You shouldn't be using the gear, you could get further hurt."

         "I don't care, I need to help you guys! Just take me to some gear!" Araminta pleaded, and Mikasa huffed in annoyance, but proceeded to do as she said.

        It was a miracle they had brought a spare set of gear, otherwise she would be completely useless fighting the Colossal Titan--and she really wanted to fight the Colossal Titan. In minutes she had changed into some pants and gotten her gear loaded up, and oh it felt so good to have her gear back. It was a bit awkward, since it wasn't her own gear that she had adjusted to fit perfectly, but it got the job done. Her wrist was still broken, though, so she wasn't feeling entirely confident in her helpfulness, but at least she had her blades.

         Maybe she was being dramatic, since it had only been two days without it, but she had so dearly missed the feeling of whizzing through the air, the cool breeze against her skin and the wind in her hair. She sucked in a deep breath of the fresh air through her nose, feeling as though she was finally, finally in her element. In that moment she was sure nothing in the world compared to this feeling.

        It only took a few seconds for her to realize what the other soldiers were doing: swarming the Colossal Titan who, as it turned out, was a lot slower than she remembered him being.

         "Now's our chance! Slice up his neck!" An older Scout called out, launching himself up high into the sky. Araminta, along with several others, did the same thing, soaring into the air behind the Colossal Titan. She shot out her hooks, which latched on perfectly to the Titan, helping her to speed up even faster. Once her blades were clicked into place, she raised them up, preparing to slice through the neck...

         A burst of  steam erupted from the Colossal Titan, and that steam was scalding hot against Araminta's skin. She hissed in pain, releasing a bit of her wire so she could get further away from the origin of the steam. For a moment she thought maybe she could withstand it, but then she could feel it interfering with her gear, and knew she had to release her hooks before anything was broke.

         "Retreat!" Hange called out, and that's exactly what she did. She flew back down to the surface of the wall, landing gently on her feet. There was a sudden rush of pain in her wrist, and she winced at the feeling. She must have put too much strain on her wrist, as the dull throbbing she had barely even noticed turned into a full on stabbing pain.

        "He's trying to disappear again?" Hange asked in reference to the steam.

        "No. Something's different." Armin replied quickly. "Last time he disappeared instantly... But now he's maintaining his form and emitting heat like a furnace. If he keeps protecting himself with the steam..." He launched a hook out at it, and it was instantly repelled. "We'll be unable to attack with our ODM gear!"

        "What should we do?" Araminta queried, turning to look at Hange hopefully. The Squad Leader stared at their foot, appearing to be deep in thought.

         "We don't do anything. We wait." They answered, then stepped forward towards the rest of the group. They began to yell out commands, instructing one half of the group to go on one side of the Titan and the rest on the other. "Listen... Forget about capturing them." Hange narrowed their eyes. "Kill 'em. And don't hesitate!" They turned to look at a very shocked Araminta and Armin, studying their faces. "Araminta, Armin and Squad One, you're with me! We got a date with the Armored Titan!"

        Araminta and Armin exchanged a look, then ran after them, leaping up off of the wall and swinging down towards the Armored Titan. She peered to the side to see Eren's Titan being flung through the air, rolling through a forest of trees and creating a cloud of dust behind him. Panic began to rise in her chest, and she began to pray to whoever might be listening that he was okay.

         Her eyes fell on the Armored Titan, and the panic she previously felt quickly turned to rage. God, she wanted to kill him. She wanted to rip open his nape and stab him through the through herself, and make sure he saw her as she did it. She wanted him to see the girl he had lied to over and over again for three years, the girl that had admired him and looked up to him, stabbing him the way he had done to her back. But of course, she wasn't going to do that. At least not unless Hange gave her the order to do so.

          Mikasa didn't care, though. Unlike Araminta, she wasn't much of an order follower, and she kind of just did whatever she wanted. She was out swinging after the Armored Titan, slicing through every spot she thought might be a weak point. It looked like their blades weren't enough to penetrate a single point on his body, not any useful point at least.

        Thankfully, Eren rose, swinging his fist against Reiner's face--but he missed, and instead it was Reiner who landed a hit, knocking Eren off his feet once again. But, he stood again, just like he always did. That was something Araminta liked about Eren. No matter how many times he got knocked down, he always got back up.

        "Eren! Don't do it! You can win in a fist fight!" Armin started yelling. "Eren, come this way! Don't try to fight him!" But Eren didn't listen, instead he let out a huge roar, and went in for the punch. Reiner did at the same time, and it looked like they were going to get the hit in on each other at the same time. But, at the last second, Eren ducked, slipping under Reiner's extended arm and grabbing onto him. With all his strength, he lifted Reiner into the air, and slammed him down against the ground. It was very reminiscent of Annie's fighting style, at least from what she'd witnessed back at the training camp.

        "Isn't that the technique Annie used...?" Armin asked, his eyes wide as he watched the two continue to wrestle.

         Araminta smiled at him. "I was thinking the same thing. Looks like Eren learned a lot from her." There was a loud shatter, as Reiner's hard skin cracked under the pressure of Eren's legs squeezing his head. The Armored Titan began to stand, escaping the grasp, but Eren had him back in his grasp in seconds. He let out another roar as he pulled on Reiner's arm, and then pulled it clean off.

        We might actually win this, Araminta thought.

       "Come on, let's go down there!" Armin said to Araminta, and zipped down the wall towards where Mikasa was standing on the ground. She nodded, following along after him.

        "Eren, you need to come closer to the wall! Their goal is to kidnap you and run away!" Armin called up to Eren, who looked down at the three of them. "We gotta escape and prevent that from happening!"

        "But Armin, Reiner isn't going to let us just do as we please!" Mikasa shot back. And sure enough, Reiner stood again, glaring at his foe.

         "Kick his ass if you have to, Eren!" Araminta yelled, narrowing her gaze at Reiner. If she wasn't going to be the one to kill Reiner, she hoped it would be Eren at least. Armin shot her a don't encourage him look, but before he had the chance to scold her, a Scout was behind them, shouting at them to retreat back up the wall. "But also, be careful! Don't do anything stupid!" She called up to him, and retreated back up to where the rest of the Scouts were positioned.

          As soon as they landed on the wall, there was a gust of wind, and Eren was standing beside them, having followed Armin's orders. "Nice, Eren! Good call!"

         "He's in control again." Mikasa observed.

        "Yeah, but it's like you said..." Araminta stared at the Armored Titan, whose gaze she could feel burning into them even though he was so far away.

          "It's almost impossible to escape Reiner." Armin finished.

           Hange flew down, landing on Eren's shoulder. They began to give him instructions, but Araminta didn't really listen. Instead she was glaring at Reiner as he slowly moved towards them, trying to wonder what he was thinking. He was probably laughing to himself, laughing at their stupidity and naivety. Laughing because they had been dumb enough to trust and believe him. Or maybe he was crying, since Eren didn't go with him like he'd wanted. She hoped he was crying. She hoped he felt like a failure.

         Whatever Hange had said, Eren nodded in return, which seemed to stun them. Araminta knew exactly what they were thinking: oh my god, a Titan just understood me? She knew Hange was freaking out inside, and the excited little "oo-oo-ooo-oo!" sound they let out confirmed that.

         "I'm counting on you!" Hange said, then zipped up the wall.

           Suddenly Reiner was charging Eren, moving at what looked like an impossible speed. Eren toppled over, and Reiner began to swing fist, hoping to hit Eren's face but managing to miss every time. "Don't stay on the ground! Eren!" Araminta shouted at him, her voice growing raspy from all the yelling she had been doing. "Stand up!"

         And he did. He looked down at Reiner, looking a bit caught off guard, but at least he was standing. Reiner tackled Eren once again, but this time he had his legs wrapped around his torso, and his arms around his neck. Mikasa flew down, and was able to slice through the backs of Reiner's knees. Realizing Reiner was losing his strength, Eren gave one big tug, and cracked most of the hard bits protecting Reiner's shoulder blades.

         He continued to pull on Reiner, and it looked like he was really going to rip his head off. But, Reiner dug his fingers into the ground, and began to push, scooting the two of them along the ground. "What is he doing..." Araminta muttered aloud, knitting her eyebrows together. And suddenly he stopped. "What..."

         Araminta covered her ears when Reiner let out a deafening roar, a roar that reminded her of the Female Titan. Her gaze drifted upwards, and she looked to the Colossal Titan, which was still steaming. Wait. The Colossal Titan was directly above Eren and Reiner.

         "Keep your guard up! He's calling other Titans!" Hange said, but there were no other Titans around. None except for Bertholdt... There was a loud snapping sound, and Araminta realized what was happening.

          "The Colossal!" She screamed, looking to Hange. "He's going to fall!" She needed to warn Eren, to get down there and tell him. "Eren!" She prepared to move, but stopped herself when she saw the Colossal begin to sway. He began to hurdle down towards Reiner and Eren, and there was no stopping it now.

         They were too late.

SLAY 😍😍😍 reiner and bertholdt i
hate u sorry !