𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲 | 𝗿. 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗻

𝗩. 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲

Corinne could tell something was wrong the moment she stepped foot onto the enclosure of rooftops further in the city. She knew something was DEFINITELY wrong when she didn't hear Eren shouting for everyone to get up and fight or him bickering with Jean about him getting ahold of himself and fight, like they always did back at the camp. No, she found Jean sitting with Connie standing over him.

In fact, she didn't see Eren at all.

Corinne chose her next words carefully, not sure how she would handle the response, or how Mikasa would. If anything had happened to Eren..who knows how she would react.

"Um..Guys, where is everyone? Where's Eren?" She asked, her voice low, but loud for both Connie and Jean to hear her. The two cadets turned their head to look at her; Jean with a blank stare and Connie with a distressed expression. "Guys, where's Eren?"

"You should ask Armin. He's the only one that knows.." Jean replied, gesturing to the corner of the rooftop they were on. Corinne looked over and saw Armin curled up along a chimney, his body, even from the distance Corinne stood at, was visibly shaking. That was never a good sign. "Has..has anyone else came back?"

"No. We haven't seen any other squads or Armin's squad since this thing started." Connie replied, looking down to his feet. Corinne inhaled deeply, preparing for the worst. If Armin is the only one here and nobody else had came back, it could only mean one thing. "Okay..thanks."

Corinne walked away from Connie and Jean, approaching Armin slowly, hearing quiet sobs coming from him. Her heart tightened, in the back of her mind, she knew what he was going to say. But for some reason, she was hoping he would say something completely different.

"A-Armin..?" Corinne called out, but her voice cracked. Maybe it was because she knew the truth or she was afraid to find out what it is, but tears began rolling down her face as she got closer to him. Armin heard the call of his name and he brought his head up, his eyes slightly red and puffy from crying and his frame still shaking violently. Armin saw Corinne's face and he immediately began sobbing again, throwing his head back down into his knees.

"It's all my fault..it's all my fault." He mumbled, repeating it as he hugged his knees tighter to his chest. Corinne, finding the strength to move closer, knelt down beside Armin, her hand reaching up and grasping his forearm. "Armin..? Where's Eren? And everyone else on your squad?"

Armin didn't respond for a bit, keeping his head buried in his knees and not daring to meet Corinne's painfully distraught eyes.

"Armin! What happened?! Where's Eren?" Corinne suddenly heard Mikasa shout anxiously. Corinne looked up from Armin and Mikasa had just came to a stop in front of them when she noticed Corinne with fresh tears rolling down her face. She didn't need an explanation for why. She didn't need to understand why Corinne was crying. It was clear from both her and Armin that there was no good news here.

"Corinne..?"

"..I'm sorry, Mikasa." Corinne mumbled back, lowering her head and crying softly, covering her mouth with her hand to suppress any sobs from escaping. It was hard enough knowing that Eren was dead, but to tell Mikasa? That was even more unbearable. It was hard to accept the truth, but when you don't see that person around, it's becomes more difficult not to. Especially with the amount of Titans in the city.

A hand was placed on Corinne's shoulder, and even through her jacket, she felt it's cold touch. It wasn't the normal cold touch, this one was filled with rage and vengeance. This made Corinne look up and she gasped softly as she made eye contact with Mikasa.

Her eyes..that little light of hope that shimmered in her eyes all the time..it was gone. There was no life to her eyes. She looked extremely broken, even through her emotionless state.

"There's no time to cry, you two. We still have a job to do." Mikasa muttered, standing up from her crouched position and walking away, both Corinne and Armin looked to each other in confusion.

"I'm going to take back the headquarters. I'm strong, so I can handle them all. If you choose to fight, go ahead. Otherwise, stay out of the way." Mikasa simply announced to all the cadets in the area, taking off down the street to the Titan-infested headquarters castle in the center of the city.

"What the hell was that about?" Jean asked Corinne and Armin, the two looked to him before they looked to each other again. "I don't know, she just..started acting like this."

"She's going to get herself killed. We need to stop her now." Corinne stated, getting up quickly to her feet. "Armin, we need to help her. She's going to get herself killed before she makes it to HQ. Come on."

"But, how can I-"

"Look, what happened to Eren and everyone else was not on you. Whatever happened, it's not your fault. But now is not the time to think about the what ifs. Mikasa's rushing in to her death and we need to stop her before she does." Corinne tried to reason, her hands laying flat on his knees. "Armin, please. I can't do this by myself. I need your help."

Armin was quiet for a moment, but in the end, he knew that he had to help. Eren may have died, but Mikasa didn't have to either. Armin looked up to Corinne and his hands outstretched to hers, Corinne pulling him to his feet quickly.

"You're right..we do have to help her. I don't want to make the same mistake twice. Let's do this." Armin replied back with certainty written on his face. Though Corinne didn't like that Armin was still blaming himself for what happened, it didn't matter right now. As long as he wants to help Mikasa, Corinne wanted nothing more than that.

"Alright, let's go. Jean?" Corinne looked to Jean next to her. He looked to the ground, still debating whether he should help. He didn't want Mikasa to get killed, but he didn't want to get himself killed either.

"Guess it wouldn't matter anyway. I'll be right behind you. Go." Jean assured, Corinne hesitating. It wasn't like Jean to consider fighting back, but Corinne could only imagine it had something to do with Mikasa. Whether it's the case or not, Corinne hoped Jean will make the right choice, along with everyone else.