Beyond The Walls (AOT x OC Fanfic)

Am I Cut Out For This?

The battle raged around Jeiden as she stood on a rooftop, her gaze locked onto the supply building in the distance. Titans swarmed the streets, and chaos engulfed the cadets as they struggled to survive. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to analyze a path forward, her mind racing through the options.

Jean's voice broke through her thoughts. "It's no good. We won't get close to the HQ. Not unless we're prepared to make sacrifices."

Jeiden's stomach churned at his words, a cold dread settling over her. The thought of sacrificing her comrades was a weight she struggled to bear. They had been trained to fight Titans, but none of them were prepared to watch each other fall, not like this.

A desperate cry echoed from below.

"Uuhu... Ahh!" The voice was strained, panicked, cutting through the noise of battle like a blade.

Jeiden and Jean looked down to see a soldier struggling to climb up a building. His gas had run out, leaving him defenseless and stranded in the midst of the Titan-infested streets below. Desperation was etched into his face as he scrabbled at the building's wall, trying to escape the two Titans bearing down on him.

"Damn!" Jean muttered, his voice tight. "He's out of gas!"

The soldier, Tom, looked up, eyes wide with terror. "Stay away!" he screamed as the Titans loomed closer, their massive hands reaching out to grab him.

Without a second thought, Jeiden shot forward, her heart pounding. She couldn't just stand by and watch him die. She pushed her 3D Maneuver Gear to its limits, flying past Jean as she hurtled toward Tom, blades drawn and ready to strike.

"Hold on!" she shouted, her voice fierce with determination.

But Jean's voice called after her, urgent and laced with fear. "Jeiden, stop!"

She didn't listen, her focus solely on reaching Tom in time. Just as she neared him, a Titan lunged at her, its massive fingers closing in. Her reflexes took over, and in one swift movement, she sliced through the Titan's fingers, its massive hand recoiling as it stumbled back in pain.

But as she turned her attention back to Tom, her heart plummeted. She was too late.

The second Titan had reached him first. With a sickening crunch, its jaws closed around him, silencing his screams in an instant. Jeiden froze mid-air, her mind reeling as she watched the gruesome sight unfold, guilt and regret twisting her heart.

I was too late... she thought, her chest tightening with self-loathing. If I had been faster, I could have saved him.

The sounds of battle faded into a dull roar as the weight of her failure settled over her. Her thoughts spiraled, dark and suffocating. She had trained for this, had prepared to be a leader, a protector. But here she was, helpless to save her comrades.

Another scream snapped her back to reality—a soldier caught in a Titan's grip, his voice filled with terror as he struggled against the inevitable.

Jeiden's heart ached as she watched. Am I really cut out for this? she wondered, doubt clawing at her. Am I really cut out for a position with so much responsibility?

Pushing herself forward, Jeiden flew back to the rooftop, landing beside Jean, Marco, Sasha, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie. The group stood in grim silence, their faces marked by fear and sorrow as they watched the scene below unfold. The streets were littered with the bodies of their fellow soldiers, some still struggling, others already lost to the Titans' jaws.

Sasha's usually cheerful face was pale, her hands clutched around her blades with white-knuckled grip. Marco looked away, his face filled with sorrow and disbelief. Reiner and Bertholdt stood side by side, their expressions stony but haunted, as if they were burying their emotions under a layer of hardened resolve.