Nest & Wings (Annie Leonhardt x Male Reader)

Chapter 13: Regret & Redemption

Having just witnessed the captain get eaten, you lacked the resolve to evade it and stood there as the titans fingers wrapped around you. Just as it was about to devour you, Reiner zips in and cuts off the titan's arm while Annie and Bertolt go for its nape. Marco catches you and lands safely on a nearby roof.

"Glad we made it in time." Reiner says with a sigh of relief. "A soldier told us how your squad went ahead and we came along just in case. Looks like we made the right call, are you okay?"

It takes a second for you to snap out of the trance you were in and realize what had happened. As you see Reiner's face, you try to remind yourself that he's an enemy. But perhaps out of pure sentiment, you couldn't feel anything but gratitude towards him as it was the second time he had saved your life.

"Wha-what happened? Is everyone alright?" You could see their expressions change as you asked that.

"Eren's squad was attacked and... Armin's the only one who made it out." Marco answers painfully.

"What? So Mina and Thomas are dead? And... Eren?" you ask in disbelief.

"Looks like he died saving Armin." Reiner answers.

You're devastated hearing that Eren of all people is gone. You recall your promise to Hannes-san which only adds to your guilt and frustration. You worry what it'll mean for the rest of your friends considering how he had essentially become the backbone of the group's morale as he inspired everyone with his absurdly optimistic speeches on exterminating the titans.

Reiner continues to explain, "Something happened to the supply squad and they didn't show. Everyone's low on gas, so we're going to the HQ to restock. You're coming with us, right?"

You take a second to assess the situation and after thinking it through, you answer, "Thank you for saving me once again Reiner, but I can't come with you."

"Are you insane?" Annie yells at you. "What the hell are you gonna do without gas?"

You explain, "I've got enough left since I practically did nothing while that titan attacked my squad. I'll meet you there once I make sure everyone in the area makes it out safely. It's the least I can do to make up for it."

While you appreciated your friends' concern for your safety, you couldn't just retreat after what happened as you blamed yourself for letting captain Ludwig die. Annie and Reiner try to stop you, but eventually give in out of respect seeing how determined you were to make up for your cowardice.

Having the grief from seeing Captain Ludwig die and hearing about your friends being eaten alive on top of the guilt of letting the disaster happen in the first place, you swear to yourself that you wouldn't let any more comrades die as you set off to provide backup to the soldiers who had run out of gas and make sure they get to HQ safely.

❋❋❋

As you zip by in search of survivors, you see two cadets being cornered by a seven meter class titan. Without thinking twice, you charge in from the side and go straight for its nape. This becomes your very first titan kill. As the titan's blood you were drenched in begin to evaporate, it gives you a boost of confidence and you remind yourself that you are no longer the helpless kid who couldn't do anything five years ago.

You instruct the two cadets to take cover inside the buildings as they weren't able to get back to HQ without their ODM gear. As titans swarmed the area, you sneak around them on foot to conserve your own fuel, and make your way down the street until you found the body of a dead soldier just a few blocks away from where you were.

You attempt to salvage the gas canisters from the ODM gear he was wearing for the two cadets, but it proved difficult as the locking mechanism that held the valve in place was jammed. As you struggled to take it off, a twelve meter class in the distance notices you and starts walking in your direction. You take a deep breath to avoid panicking and give full attention to the task at hand without letting the titan intimidate you.

As the titan drew closer, you realize you were running out of time and improvise. You take out the bottle of ointment from the emergency supplies you had and use it to lubricate the locking mechanism. With one last crank, you manage to remove the valve and take the pair of gas canisters out just in time to dodge the titan's arm as it reached to grab you.

Having acquired what you came for, you quickly latch on to a nearby building and fall back to regroup with the two cadets. You hand them the pair of canisters along with the rest of the emergency supplies you had before heading out to look for any other survivors.

They offer to come with you, but you could tell by the weight that the canisters you retrieved for them didn't have enough gas for the job, so you instruct them to head straight to the HQ instead.

After they left, you proceed to scout the entire area, making sure no one was left behind. Just as you were about to turn around, you notice two more cadets in the distance. You head over to check up on them and you're shocked seeing Hannah on her knees giving CPR to an inanimate Franz.

You walk over to them and ask, "What's wrong?"

"Help me! Franz isn't breathing!" She exclaims. "I've been trying to resuscitate him over and over, but... Franz isn't..."

You check his pulse. Franz was already dead... and Hannah likely knew it, but she didn't have it in her to accept it. You knew you had to snap her out of it, despite how difficult it's going to be for her. It was too dangerous to stay on the ground as the area was swarming with titans.

Speak of the devil! A ten meter class titan starts making it's way towards you. "Hannah, we have to go... it's too late for him." You try to explain.

She responds, "What are you saying? I can't leave Franz here... that titan's about to—"

"He's already dead Hannah! There's nothing we can do to save him at this point." You reluctantly yell and grab her before hooking onto a nearby building with your ODM gear. You quickly reel in and carry her to the top of the building as the titan made its way towards Franz and picked him up.

"No! Let go... I have to save him—" She screams desperately as the titan slowly brings Franz towards its mouth and eats him in front of her. You would've carried Franz' body over if you could, but it would've been too heavy for your ODM gear, and you couldn't risk both of your lives for a corpse.

"Why did you take me out of there? What's the point? Franz is dead... I don't want to live like this." Hannah says with tears bursting out of her eyes.

You try to console her, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to save you against your will, but think of it this way. Wouldn't Franz have wanted you to live? If you let that titan eat you back there, then his sacrifice would've been in vain: he would've died for nothing! Do you want that to happen?"

She contemplates for a bit and says, "No! I... I understand, I'll live on for his sake."

As she said that, the titan finishes eating Franz and turns towards the two of you. Seeing as there were no other soldiers left behind, you decide to carry Hannah back to the HQ as she had run out of gas and couldn't make it on her own.

On the way there, you see a fifteen meter class abnormal fighting several other titans. You were surprised seeing it as you had never heard of such behavior anywhere, despite the embarrassingly nerdy number of books you read at camp.

You watch as it punches the head off of one titan. As its body begins to regenerate, the abnormal stomps on its nape and lands the finishing blow. It seemingly had a level of intelligence beyond the other titans. Something about the way it fought seemed familiar, but you couldn't really wrap your finger around it.

That aside, you were almost at the HQ. The added weight of carrying Hannah burns through what little gas you had left. With a final burst of pressure from your ODM gear, you break through one of the windows on the top floor and land inside the HQ.