Vane Kabrino: An Attack on Titan Story (Rewritten)

Soldiers

Today the trainees were forced to run with packs on their backs and in the middle of a heavy rain. The path was slippery and Vane was tired. He attempted to power through as Shadis shouted at them to move faster.
"Easy for you to say!" Vane wanted to shout. "You're on a horse!"
He happened to go over a very slippery spot and fell down.
"Son of a bitch!" He swore as mud slapped his hood and the side of his face.
"Careful there." Jerrica said from above him, grinning smugly.
"Are you going to help me up or not?" He asked, wiping mud from his face.
With the smile still on her face, she helped him back up.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now hurry before he beats our asses for falling behind." She said.
----------
Shadis watched as the Trainees swung through the forest swings their swords at the dummy Titans. He made notes on his board.
Vane Kabrino, Shadis noted as Vane zipped by. Prefers to work alone but will cooperate with, at most, five others if the situation calls for it. Earlier in his training he showed signs of being rather childish. That has almost evaporated entirely during his training. He has now matured. Over all he's become a good soldier.
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He sliced through the training Titan's neck. Vane passed Annie Leonhardt and Jerrica on his search for another Titan. These Titans were definitely easier than the real ones outside the Walls. He let the faintest of smiles cross his face as he passed by Jean Kirstein. He too was in search of another Titan target. Vane zipped to the right and gave a triumphant, "Ha!" As he struck the target's weak point. Vane felt Shadis' eyes on him.
He briefly considered flipping him off, but decided against it.
Instead he waved as he went by.
He could have sworn he saw Shadis smile.
But maybe it was just his imagination.
-------
Later that night at dinner everything was normal, at least as normal as it could get.
Vane sat with Jerrica and not a word passed in between them.
The only interesting thing that happened that night was Eren and Jean's fight. It was pretty cool, watching Eren flip Jean.
Then Shadis opened the door.
"What the hell is happening in hear?" He asked in a deadly tone. Everyone's eyes are averted, not looking towards him and finally Mikasa said,
"Sasha passed some gas, Commander."
"No wonder." Shadis said not noticing Sasha's horrified face. "Learn some self control for god's sake." Everyone somehow managed to keep a straight face as he left.
-------
The cadets were all lined up. They had done it. Three years of hellish training behind them.
"You have three options now soldiers!" The soldier in front of us shouted. "The Garrison, guardians of the Walls. The Survey Corps, those who fight the Titans in their territory. Finally, strictly for those in the top ten, The Military Police! Choose this path and you'll be working in the capital." As expected Vane wasn't in the top ten. Did he care? No. He made it through training. That's all that mattered. There was a celebration later. All Vane did was sit quietly and have a drink. It was quite boring. Jerrica sat with him for a brief period and they discussed going into the Survey Corps.
And to top it all off, Eren gave what Vane had termed "The Survey Corps Speech". It seemed to motivate a lot of people who seemed on the fence about choosing the military branch they wanted to go into.
-------
They were up on Wall Rose. Was there an exhilarating view of the world outside the Walls? Yes. Boring? Yes. Cleaning cannons? Double check. Vane's "squad" consisted of Jerrica, Sam and two others whose names he couldn't remember.
"Nice view." The boy said.
"Yeah. Over the mountains is Titans probably. It's beautiful." Vane said sarcastically.
"You know what I meant!" He shouted.
"I don't think he did, Rick." Sam said to the Trainee whose name was apparently Rick, chuckling.
"Oh shut up or I'll toss you off the Wall." Vane grumbled angrily.
"Wow it looks like you do get annoyed underneath the cold surface." Jerrica teased. He didn't respond but continued to work.
"I swear you're gonna be the death of me." He said in an annoyed tone.
"Which one of us?" Rick asked. As Vane opened his mouth to snarl an insult there is a crack of lightning from our right. They all glance over to the far away Trost gate. The Colossal Titan was there. Vane knew Eren was over there. They couldn't do anything from this distance but watch in horror as a blast of steam sent Eren's team off the edge and the gate bursts open below them.
Eren shouts something indistinct at this distance and swings up around the Colossal Titan, which lets off a huge amount of steam, obscuring everything over near the gate.
A Garrison soldier swung to the position on Wall Rose where Vane and his team were.
"Report to Garrison Headquarters immediately!" She shouted, brandishing a sword and pointing with it. They all nodded and got to Garrison HQ as fast as they could. The Commander of the Garrison, Weilman, told the newly graduated trainees that the Titans had breached Trost and that the Garrison and the Trainees would have to work together to drive the Titans out.
"'Drive the Titans out'." Vane repeated outraged.
They had only just graduated the night before.
What were they expected to do?
They hadn't seen real combat before.
Weilman gave them time to get ready.
The whole of the Trainees were in a frenzy. Some were running frantically, some were sick at the thought of fighting Titans, some were just breaking down, and some, like Vane, were actually preparing.
Though behind his neutral exterior look, Vane was in a full panic.
He couldn't do it, he couldn't face the creatures had taken away his home and his parents.
This wasn't training.
This was real.
There was a very high chance of death.
His hands were shaking, making it difficult to adjust the belts for his 3DMG.
He felt a hand on his shoulder.
Sam.
Vane looked up at him.
"Vane, get a grip on yourself. We're soldiers."
While Sam looked grim and uncertain, he was right.
Vane nodded.
"Thank you, Sam." He said.
------
Vane was teamed with Jerrica, Sam, Rick and the other girl whose name he didn't know.
He simultaneously disliked and liked this arrangement.
As he watched them, he knew that they were all nervous.
Calling them nervous would be an understatement.
They all had varying degrees of terror accompanying them as they looked out at the Titans pouring through the hole in the Wall.
"Before we go," Vane said shifting his position on the roof. "What's your name?" He pointed to the girl who was next to Rick.
"Anika." She said.
"Nice to meet you. Now then, Anika, Jerrica, Rick and Sam let's try and get through this shit together and in one piece. We'll stick together and only stray within one another's sight range." Vans said. They all straightened up and nodded.
"Team 23! You're clear to go!" A Garrison officer shouted.
They all sprung from the rooftop and swung in the hell of a town.
Titans. Titans everywhere. As they hopped building to building they evaded the Titans and swung at their napes. They might have killed some, but they didn't have much time to look back and admire their handiwork. There wasn't the sound of falling Titans afterwards, so they most likely almost maimed it.
A Titan loomed out of no where. Its hand swung at the group.
"9 meter! Scatter!" Sam yelled.
"Shit!" Anika swore.
The swish of the Maneuver Gear could be heard as they propelled themselves away from the incoming hand.
They landed heavily on a roof heavily. Vane did a quick head count.
"Where's Anika?" He asked quietly.
Panic struck the team as they searched for her.
Maybe she was on another roof?
Maybe she was hanging from the rafters?
Alas, neither was the truth.
"I found her...." Rick said, his voice heavy, pointing at a house several meters back.
We all turned to where Rick was pointing. A Titan had swatted her against a house. Anika's arm was at an odd angle and her neck twisted incorrectly.
There was no hope that she was alive.
They all looked away as the Titan reached for her limp body.
"We need to continue." Vane said his heart thumping so loudly in his chest he thought the others would hear it.
They zipped to the next roof. Their hearts were heavy with guilt, Vane could see the pain in their eyes. They should have been more careful. He gritted his teeth. "Whatever we do now it's for Anika!" Vane said, but his voice didn't come out strong as hoped, it was small and frightened. None of the others pointed it out. They were all just as terrified as he was.
The only sounds now was of the 3DMG being used, soldiers' footsteps and the thunder of approaching Titans.