𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃; jean k.

chapter 9.

the large beast let out a piercing roar. it's unlike any titan i've ever seen: pointy ears and long brown hair. he doesn't even look our way and continues to tear at his own kind.

"look at him go" connie laughs, "that guy makes the others look like total weaklings". the titan then tears another titan in half and kicks two smaller ones away.

"it's almost like he's playing or something" i joke.

"i think we should hurry, we have to go with the others" connie suggests. i nod and look over at jean but he appears to have already left.

"hm? where did he go?" i ask while looking around but connie shrugs in response. the two of us manage to catch up to the rest of the crowd but still, jean is nowhere in sight. we use a lift to make our way down to an empty room and wait for further orders.

"they're not going to take this building. not with him on a rampage out there" connie informs annie and reiner as the four of us sit in a group on the cold stone floor.

"that's all well and good, but what's to keep him from turning on us once he's done?" reiner asks.

"guess we'll worry about that when we're safe" connie replies.

"yeah, you're right. at least he's buying us a little time" the blonde boy adds.

"good news!" a voice echos through the room. i turn my head and see jean walking in with a group holding something in their arms, "courtesy of the military police, and covered with a layer of dust". he crouched down puts and lays the wooden box in his arms on the ground, sliding open the latch to reveal a gun lying in it.

"where'd you find those?" i ask while walking over to him.

"don't worry about it, here take one" he says before pulling another one out of the box and handing it to me. i sit next to him and begin to examine it. it's a deep wood with silver detailing and a spot to load it with ammo. in a smaller box there's small silver bullets to be loaded into our weapons.

"buckshot?" i read off the ammo box.

"are you sure this is the way to go? seems like we might aswell throw spitwads" jean says referring to the size of the billets, "i mean, come on. are guns even effective?".

"i don't know" armin sighs, "but they're bound to be better than nothing. we're looking at seven titans in the supply room of the four-meter-tall variety. if we time this perfectly, this much ammo ought to be enough to do the trick. step one: we lower a group into the area via lift to get the titans attention. step two: when the titans come within range, the group fires in all four directions simultaneously, blinding them. then the hard part; the moment of truth, as it were. before the titans have time to recover, eight of us swoop down from the ceiling and strike our vital regions. that's it. that's the plan. it puts all our lives on the line. we screw up, and we're dead. eight people have to slay eight titans in one blow at the same time. we're gonna need the best of you, the seven soldiers most physically gifted and adept with their blades. you'll be the difference between life and death for the rest of us".

"seems like a good plan" reiner replies.

"when you get right down to it, the risk is the same for everyone. doesn't really matter who goes" annie says.

"look i... i'm willing to be talked out of this. one half baked strategy can't be our only option, right?" armin worries.

"hey, don't be so hard on yourself. come on, with our situation? for our only option it's pretty well thought out. if we give it our all we might just pull this off!" marco assures armin.

"it'll be fine. you just have to be confident" mikasa says, "you're a better strategist than you give yourself credit for. i'm serious. that mind's saved eren, y/n, and i more than once".