7 Days Till [Armin x Jean]

3 Days Till the Invasion

I opened my eyes to see me laying over Annie. She looked flawless, her hooded eyes catching the light just perfectly that she looked as if she had light dancing in them. Her hair was up in her usual style from the training days, as if it hadn't grown an inch in the years. Everything about her made my heart do leaps and twirls as if I was with my soulmate.

I frowned, something wasn't right. I didn't like Annie that way, and Jean was my soulmate. Even if I did like Annie, there's no way she could be here with me right now, she's been in the crystal for years. We still have yet found a way to get her out of there...

"What's wrong?" She asked, reaching up to touch my face. Her hands felt soft as if the callouses from our teenage years had faded during her time in the crystal. "You look distressed."

"I just... Where's Jean? How are you out of the crystal?"

She stared at me for a minute before chuckling. I pulled back a bit at the sound, I never heard her act or sound so... soft. Caring even. "You're over worrying again. Just relax in the moment. It'll all be okay."

I tried to pull off of her, but she grabbed my wrist and held me down. "Annie, let go please," I told her, refusing to make eye contact.

"Did I do something wrong? Why won't you relax with me?"

"I just... need some fresh air."

She frowned and let go of me, watching me as I walked towards the door, passing the mirror along the way. I saw a glimpse of my reflection and froze dead in my tracks. That wasn't me in the mirror, that wasn't Armin looking back at me.

"Bertholdt, honey, what's wrong?" Annie asked, a worried tone in her voice as she sat up.

"I'm not- I'm not him. That's not me-" I said, keeping my eyes on the mirror as if the election would ripple away and reveal my own face.

"Baby? What do you mean?" She stood up and walked over towards me. No, towards Bertholdt.

I opened my mouth to respond but the bedroom door slammed open and Floch stood there, distress in his eyes. "Commander Erwin! Your assistance is needed!"

I looked around the room before turning to him, frowning again. "But... Erwin isn't here?"

"Now isn't the time for games!" He grabbed my arm, "We've got to go, now!"

Annie grabbed my other arm, pulling me towards her. "Now hold on a minute! Bertholdt is staying here with me."

"Commander Erwin is needed out on the field right now, we need his command!" Floch nearly screamed at her.

The two argued back and forth, each pulling on my arms as if to claim me. I looked between the two before looking in the mirror. It was cracked now, vertically down the middle. One side held Erwin's face, the other, Bertholdt's. I frowned, opening my voice to argue that I was Armin, but nothing came out. Soon, the sound of people calling for Erwin or Bertholdt filled my ears. The callings got louder and louder until I felt my ears start to bleed from the pain of the screeching. I felt my arms start to come undone from my body due to the force of Floch and Annie pulling on them, like an old sewn doll that two children had fought over. The pain seared through my body, became unbearable. My vision flashed red and white as if I was going under the final decision of heaven or hell.

Floch and Annie let go of me once my arms were held on by a single vein on each, their screaming joined in with the calling of the others. The ground had faded below me, sucking me down into a pit of eternal red. The screams of the damned following me all the day down until-

I jolted awake, breathing heavily as I tried to regain my place in the human world. Sweat beaded my forehead and body, tears stuck in the corner of my eyes. I looked over at the sundial by the window to see what time it was in this reality. There was no shadow, for the sun outside was only slightly above the horizon. It had to be only a few hours past midnight, but early morning since the sun had started its journey to the top of the sky. I wiped my face and stood up, noticing the wobbliness of my legs. I stood there, regaining stability before throwing on some clean pajamas and shoes and heading out.