Hand in Hand

11. Loss

War cries of her determined comrades rang in her ears. All around her horses grunted and reared up, riding past her in fast flashes of black and brown. The sun was almost down, its setting rays were low and blinding, casting an orange glow on the bloodied field. (Y/n) wanted to move but her body wasn't listening to her mind. 'Move! Pick up the reins and get out of there.' Her chest was starting to burn and the sides of her vision were clouding with grey. A faint buzz picked up in her left ear. She hung her head low, into the mane of her horse, and put her right hand over her chest, clinging to her left of her shirt in pain. The back of her neck felt heavy and lose, as if she had no control.

"(Y/n)!" A blurred voice said. "(Y/n) what's wrong? We need to move, please!"

She turned her head to the side to find a small blonde head, inches from her face. 'Armin?'

"Can you see me? (Y/n), we need to go. Hang on to the reins, okay? Trust me."

Without lifting her head, she tightened her grip on the reins. 'Alright, I'll trust you.'

Armin took a deep breath and moved behind her horse. Bringing his arm up high, he smacked down hard on her horse's thigh and watched as it bucked up and neighed loudly, taking off in the direction of the Armored. "Come on!" He snapped the reins of his horse and rode off after her.

The horse bucking up was enough to shake (y/n) out of her dizziness. Her heart was still racing and her legs felt heavy in the saddle but she could see everything now. Scouts and MPs were attacking the Armored left and right, trying to cut through its Armor and the small patches of exposed skin in between. It was still on his knees, trying to shake off other titans while simultaneously trying to protect Bertholdt and Eren.

"Are you alright?" Armin asked once he caught up to her.

She nodded apologetically. "Yeah, I think I've just been sitting on this damn horse for too long and I-"

"Armin!"

(Y/n) and Armin both turned their heads to Jean who was riding up towards them. He pointed up towards the sky. "It's Mikasa!"

Wrapped around Mikasa's body were the clawed fingers of a twelve-meter titan. Her arms were tucked under its grip and she cried out in pain as the titan shook her. An image flashed in (y/n)'s mind.

The same short black hair and pained screams. The same way she dangled from the horrifying grip of a titan. It was her.

"Let her go!" (Y/n) shouted.

"Hey, (y/n) wait for-

"Jean, be quiet!" Armin snapped.

They watched as she jumped off her horse and onto the ground, running straight towards the twelve-meter. Hooking her gear into the stomach of the titan, she swung upwards in a spiral, cutting its wrist completely off. The titan screeched out in anger and clawed at (y/n) but she had already circled around its body to find the nape. With one clean cut, she sliced a two-inch deep chunk of skin and the titan dropped forward with a loud thud, uprooting patches of grass and dirt.

Returning to the ground, she asked, "Where the hell is Mikasa?"

"I'm right here," Mikasa said from behind her. "I owe you."

(Y/n) shook her head. "You don't owe me. Just get Eren back safely and we can call it even."

Jean pointed upward towards the Armored who was still on his knees trying to shake off the small titans. Armin was standing on the Armored's shoulder, speaking to Bertholdt. "What the hell is Armin doing?"

"Mikasa, Jean, stay here," (y/n) ordered. "I'll be right back. Try and help the other scouts. These titans aren't letting up."

She used her ODM gear to latch onto the small fleshy parts between the Armor and hoisted herself next to Armin. "Hey, kid what are you-