Ocean

The stench of blood hung heavy in the air. It clung to your uniform, coating your throat with its sickly scent. Death, you discovered, carried its own perfume.

This was all wrong. This area outside the walls was a designated safe zone! Extra walls had been constructed specifically for training new recruits! The Survey Corps had retaken land beyond the Walls on their 62nd expedition. This mini wall, called Wall Nua, encircled nearly fifty miles of Titan-free land, just outside of Shiganshina. A small portion was covered by forest, making it ideal for training in rough terrain.

Pulling yourself to your feet, you surveyed the chaos around you. The remnants of your class were scattered around you.

You recognised each and every one of the bodies. Your students. As their combat trainer, you knew that some wouldn't make it. However, nothing ever prepares you for the loss of lives as young as these.

Theo. Callie. Senan. Ferdi. Fabian. Lydia. Tarja. Anya. Karl. Amalia. All lost.

Guilt pulled at you, twisting you in every direction. You knew it couldn't be helped. But every year, it got harder to train the new recruits. The fear you originally felt slowly turned to dread over the years. How can they keep doing their duty, knowing you had failed countless others before them?

You yourself had surpassed the ranks, becoming one of the youngest trainers in history. No-one had ever been a fully qualified combat trainer at age 22. It was unheard of. There was only one other person who had ascended the ranks as fast and he was a bonafide genius.

Adjusting your gear, you quietly glided upwards, to seek refuge in the branches of a large tree. A wounded horse screamed nearby. Heavy footsteps ran towards it. The scream cut off as the horse was crushed underfoot.

Amalia's body lay beneath you, twisted and deformed. Her fine white hair was dyed a rusty red. Her bottom half was gone. You forced yourself to look away, trying to forge that the young girl had just celebrated her 15th birthday only yesterday.

"H-Hey, there you are!" A voice called out to you. You turned your head, spotting a young man zipping towards you.

"Armin! My god, you're ok! What the fuck happened?! Where are your students?"

Armin Arlert landed heavily beside you. His golden hair fell past his shoulders, strands coming loose from his neat ponytail. His azure eyes were filled with determination. As a recruit, your old classmate had borne years of torment and taunting. He believed himself to be a burden, a scrawny weakling and nothing more.

As he matured, his body filled out. His shoulders grew broad and strong, his legs became sure and steady. His voice grew deep and rich as his hair finally decided to grow out of his trademark bowl haircut.

However much he had changed physically, his mind was the real gem. He excelled in every exam, impressing Commander Pyxis, motivating him to take the young man under his wing. Because of his belief in Armin, the handsome blonde was now the lead Tactician. If an expedition was to be planned, it was Armin who arranged it. If new requirements came up for improving the 3DM Gear, it was Armin who sat up tweaking designs here and there.

He stood before you, blood splattered across his white shirt, staining it with gore. "I wasn't sure it was you from so far away. Are you alright?"

"I'm alright Armin. But my class…I can't see anyone alive. Where did the Titans come from?"

Armin's brow wrinkled into a frown. "I don't know. I know there were only two, and they seemed to be 7 metre class, but fast! They were so fast! How did a simple training exercise turn into this?"

A loud bellow could be heard from within the forest, scring the remaining birds from the trees. Crouching down, you pulled Armin down with you, taking cover in the tree's thick leafy branches. His body was heavy. You could smell him, his sweat and anger. Waiting for the harsh noise to stop, you both closed your eyes tightly, lying flat on the massive branch.

All became silent once more. You looked up to find Armin smirking at you, his eyes twinkling. "It's amazing, so many years have passed and yet here you are, still trying to save me. You're like a little mother."

"Shut up Arlert. How can you not be affected by this? Those students, what were you bringing them out for? We are…were…practising assisted kills with our gear."

"I'm sorry. Of course I'm affected. I try not to show it as much or I wouldn't be able to control my class. Maybe Levi's attitude rubbed off on me too much as a cadet. I only had my top four students with me today. We were testing an experimental gas cylinder I came up with. It's supposed to use less in shorter bursts. You get all the speed but use half the amount you'd normally use. It could prove invaluable." Looking down on you, he smiled again, a light blush danced upon his cheeks.

Feeling awkward and eventually realising he was still lying on top of you, you shoved him off. He helped you to your feet and brushed himself down. "OK, so what are our options? We can return to the city and warn them there is a breach somewhere. We can try and find the Titans and take them down. Or we could wait here and hope reinforcements come soon."

Your face grew pale with horror as you grabbed Armin's sleeve. "Oh no, Armin…the new recruits…their solo mission training is today! They'll be alone! Shit, we can't expect a bunch of kids to handle this! We have to find the big bastards and cut them down. How are you for gas? I'm nearly out."

His eyes narrowed as he checked his cylinders. "I'm ok, this prototype seems to be holding up well. We'll just take it slow, slingshot from branch to branch, conserve your gas. Unless we can find where my other prototypes were scattered, we just have to be very careful."

Nodding, you readjust your gear and soar from the tree, following the trails of blood and chunks of flesh that were once living, laughing, loving people.

"There, look, there's one." The monstrosity was covered in a mass of gore. Human hair stuck to the lips, peeled back to reveal crooked yellow tombstone teeth. You could have sworn you saw shreds of a cadet's jacket in the teeth. "I'll take this one, you go easy on your gas. Worst comes to worst, grab mine and head for the Wall."