Rachel
I looked Kaiden up and down in slight suspicion before nodding.
"Well, Kaiden, I thank you for your assistance in killing the Titans. Would you be inclined to join us for future fights?" He looked at me in a strange way, as if he was unaccustomed to being spoken to.
"Hmm. I guess so, but I don't like being controlled." He finally stated, nodding slightly. My attention was diverted when I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned to see Armin by my side.
"Rachel, he may be against the Titans but he still can't be fully trusted."
"Of course I am aware of that, Armin. But it would be useful know that we have another ally in the fight against the unknown Shifters." He nodded, understanding my point before motioning for the others to return to base. Spark and I followed, along with Kaiden. I kept him in my sight the entire way back to the castle.
~~~~
The higher-ups had gathered in a private room with a long table and a chalkboard for a meeting. Spark and I joined in with the discussion, along with Mikasa, Eren, Armin, Levi, Jean, Erwin, and Hanji. I glanced around at all the gathered people before speaking up.
"I am glad you called Spark and me to participate in this meeting. With the recent events happening, we fear that there is no place completely safe anymore from the enemies."
Eren nodded, shooting me a small smile before Armin stood and walked to the chalkboard, drawing a rough sketch of the wall and Reiner in Titan Form to the right of it. He then drew an arrow signifying Reiner's path of travel to the forest.
"Thank you for joining us again, Spark and Rachel. These are troubled times. Now, the Survey Corps acted swiftly when Reiner appeared in the city. He escaped the wall and traveled to the Forest of Giant trees in order to keep us distracted. When Spark and Rachel appeared, we realized that the Shifter's plan was to draw us away from the wall all along.
"It is unclear what their original objective was, but I'm sure it would have been harmful to all of us."
I studied the diagram.
"Perhaps they wanted to try and awaken the Titans within the walls?" I proposed, leaning forward slightly to rest my elbows on the table in front of my chair. Armin shook his head.
"It has come to our knowledge that even the Shifters don't know how to do that. No, we believe their objective was something else entirely." The blond pointed to a specific point within the wall on the chalkboard that I didn't recognize.
"To retrieve Annie." Spark suddenly spoke up, shock in her voice. I glanced at her, surprised by the proposition. And then I pondered over the suggestion.
That could be a possibility... With the Survey Corps as humanity's strongest defense, it would be easy to draw them out of the walls and away from the city where Annie is being held... As if reading my thoughts, Mikasa spoke up.
"That is why we've doubled Annie's security." Hanji clapped her hands suddenly, squealing loudly.
"Oohhh, isn't this exciting?! It makes me have goosebumps!" The crazy woman cried, and I chuckled. There was an outbreak of different conversations around the table, each one relating to Annie and the Shifters' plan. Spark and I shared a look before I returned my attention to the chalkboard.
As I stared at the roughly-drawn sketch of the wall drawn by Armin, a heavy feeling settled in my gut. Fear? Anticipation? Maybe it was dread, considering the severity of the situation at hand.
I sighed when, an hour later, the meeting was dismissed after other ideas were proposed and discussed. Nothing seemed completely solid to me– it was a feeling of uneasiness that grew deep inside me, and I knew it meant something. This kind of feeling never meant nothing.
As I lay in bed that night, in a room I now shared with Spark, I stared at the ceiling in thought. This fight was bigger than the Survey Corps realized, bigger than any of humanity's past encounters. I could only hope we would all survive through the experience...
~~~~
The next day was mainly spent training for the soldiers, since Eren claimed they needed to 'sharpen their skills' and 'increase their agility.' I laughed at this, because Eren simply blushed a deep red when I pointed out his own lack of coordination. The brunette huffed and turned away, and I chuckled as he went to oversee a fight Kaiden was participating in.
The boy was young– merely the age of 15, it seemed– and looked to have no experience, but he was an excellent fighter. So far, he had won every one of his fights in under 2 minutes, something that both impressed and alerted me to the boy's talents. I watched as he took another cadet down, only to blush sheepishly and rub the back of his head as he exited the training area. It was a complete change of character from our first encounter, which led me to believe he had been putting on a strong front. The cloth around his lower face still concealed a secret I was deeply interested in– but I wasn't rude enough to pry. It was when Mikasa challenged him to a fight that more people became interested in the boy.
As the two prepared to face each other, assuming their fighting stances, I narrowed my eyes. I could tell Kaiden was a skilled fighter, but was his level of skill high enough to challenge Mikasa? She was the second in command, and she earned her rank for a reason. I couldn't tell who would win, but as the cheering for Mikasa to triumph grew, I waited in anticipation for the fight to begin.
A/N
Hey guys, sorry I was gone for so long... But I'm back! Thank you all for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoy the story!
Credit to @Thespider12 for Kaiden~
~Rainy
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Humanity's Future
Fanfiction»Sequel of both 'Flying on Her Wings' and 'Humanity's Savior'« Spark has been encased within her diamond prison for many years. What the Survey Corps didn't know, is that she gave herself a little bit of movement so she could begin slowly chip...
