Nest & Wings (Annie Leonhardt x Male Reader)

Chapter 02: Fall of Shiganshina

You wake up in the morning as usual. You could feel your stomach rumbling as you had eaten nothing in two days. You go downstairs to find grandpa on his bed reading the newspaper as usual.

You had to scrounge around in dumpsters to get him the newspaper every week, as you didn't have money to afford a fresh one. But it was worth the trouble, as there was nothing else he could do being stuck in bed.

"You heading out early today?" He asks as you put your shirt on.

"Yeah, the soldiers from the Survey Corps are coming back today and I'm going to see them." You say goodbye to Grandpa and head out to see the Scouts return.

The Survey Corps was the only unit in the military that went on expeditions outside the walls. They would gather information on the titans in hopes of finding a way to defeat them once and for all and save humanity.

On the way there, you meet Craig and his gang; the same kids who bullied you and spread rumors about you. They were heading towards the town square as well, likely to see the scouts arrive just like you were.

"Look what we have here... What's the Bread-Bandit doing heading to the town square on a day like this? You're not going to see the scouts... are you?" Craig asks in a sarcastic tone.

"Yup!" you answer.

He bursts out laughing and asks, "Woah now, hold on just a bit... you're gonna see the scouts? I certainly hope you're not planning to join the military... I mean, you; a soldier? Hah, don't make me laugh—"

"What if I was... what's it to you Craig?" You retaliate.

"Me? Nothing, I couldn't give less of a shit about you. But you'd better not get cocky just because you can slip past a few grown-ups now. Nothing's changed, you're still a thief and that's all you'll ever be!" He backs up and elaborates. Craig knew that violence wouldn't intimidate you anymore, so he resorted to using harsh words instead.

You remain silent as they walk away. There was no point in arguing as everything Craig said was true... you knew it better than anyone. Nevertheless, you weren't about to let his words discourage you as you were too excited to see the heroes return. With that, you promptly brush it off and make your way to the town square.

Seeing the enormous crowd gathered on either side of the street gets you even more intrigued as you proceed to secure yourself a spot with a good view. It doesn't take long however, for your excitement to turn into complete horror as the Scouts return with a mountain of corpses on their wagons.

The expression of emptiness on their faces was disheartening to look at. It seemed as if they had completely given up all hope. Just then, a woman walks up to the Commander and asks him where her son was.

"It's Moses' mother! Give it to her." He says and a Scout hands her something wrapped in a white cloth.

As she opened it, she falls down to her knees, and tears burst out of her eyes seeing that it was her son's severed arm. The commander says "I'm sorry, It was all we could recover."

"But, my son... he carried out his duty, right? Even if it wasn't significant, he contributed to mankind's retaliation, didn't he?" she asks, still in tears.

"Of Course..." The commander tries to comfort her, but he hesitates and admits the reality of the situation as he reluctantly goes on to correct himself, "No... Through this mission... we've failed to accomplish anything!"

As Craig pointed out earlier, you had always planned to join the military as you figured you could make better use of your skills there. But after what you just saw, you decide you'd never join the Survey Corps as you realized how futile their efforts and how meaningless their deaths were.

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Once things had settled down, you go looking for some food to steal for you and grandpa. As you walked down the street, you hear what sounds like a bolt of lightning and suddenly, a giant shadow stretched over where you stood. You look up to see a terrifying figure blocking the sun. A Titan! Although it was insanely larger than anything you've ever heard of.

The books you read at school mentioned how titans ranged from three meters to fifteen meters tall. But this one easily towered over the fifty meter high wall that was built to keep them out. Wall Maria, the outermost wall had kept humanity safe from the titans for a hundred years. However, with one swing of its foot, the Colossal titan breaks open the gate and a flood of titans swarm the city through the breach.

The eerie atmosphere left by the Scouts' arrival instantly turns into complete and utter chaos as everyone panics and starts running for their lives. Even the Garrison soldiers who were supposed to protect the people watched in fear as the horde of titans made their way towards them.

You had read plenty about titans before, but this was the first time you've seen them with your own eyes. It was a truly nerve-racking experience that no book could ever do justice.

They were terrifying in a really disturbing way. While some of their bodies were disfigured and disproportionate, their faces had so much detail that you could tell them apart just like humans. They seemingly had no sense of emotion or intelligence and appeared to act out of pure instinct as they grabbed and ate people indiscriminately.

You try to run away but your legs wouldn't move. You stood there frozen in fear with sweat running down your spine as a four-meter class titan picks up an elderly man and eats him right in front of you. The titan bites into his torso, making his blood gush out before swallowing him whole.

The warmth of his blood as it splattered on your face brings you back to your senses. With a rush of adrenaline, you sprint through the familiar streets of Shiganshina as the Titan turns its attention towards you. You've been chased down the same streets countless times before, but this time was different— this time you genuinely believed you were going to die.

The four meter class gains ground on you as you start to run out of breath. It was surprisingly fast for it's size. As it reached out its hand to grab you, you quickly make a sharp turn and make your way into a narrow alleyway. It was your usual strategy for escaping and it's never failed you before.

But the titan chases after you, smashing its way through the buildings that stood in its way. On the brink of collapsing from exhaustion, you were sure it was the end for you. Just then, the titan suddenly stops. It freezes for a brief moment before turning around and walking away for no apparent reason, leaving you completely dumbfounded.

As confusing as it was, you had no time to contemplate the logic behind it's behavior. For the time being, you were relieved that you were still alive as you ascertain the chaos ensuing around you. Just as you were about to breathe a sigh of relief however, your face loses all expression as you're reminded that grandpa's stuck at home.

In an instant, your tired out legs gather a desperate burst of energy and you start running in the direction of your house as fast as you could. You trip on a dead body and fall down on the gravel path, scraping the skin off your knees, but you immediately pull yourself back up and continue.

With the last ounce of strength you had, you finally arrive at your house— what was your house... as all you saw was a large boulder sitting on top of where it used to be. The house was completely crushed under the debris from when the Colossal Titan kicked down the gate with your grandpa still inside.

You attempt to clear the rubble and dig him out, fully aware that he's already dead. But traumatized from the preceding events, your hands move on their own and you keep digging nonetheless until your nails crack. The sound of someone yelling at you snaps you back into your senses. You look around and notice a Garrison soldier running towards your direction carrying two kids.

"What are you doing? RUN!!" He cries out with a tone of urgency and almost by instinct, you start running after him.

He loads you and the two kids onto one of the ferries and you evacuate with the rest of the survivors. As the adrenaline wore off, you felt immense pain and fatigue. As your consciousness slowly fades you notice the look of despair on everyone's faces.

Even though the people on the ferry survived the attack, they were dead inside as all hope was taken away from them. The once indestructible wall was no longer the symbol of safety it once was.