There is nothing like charging into a battle you know you're going to lose. Your orders are to attack. You know you'll die. But if you refuse, you are a traitor. You can't refuse. You must press on, and hope to survive. But there's one moment, while you're hurtling towards a 14-meter tall monstrosity hearing the screams of squadmates around you, it's that moment when you realise that you don't want to win this fight. You just want to survive, and be anywhere but where you are.

But Rose pressed on. Ahead of her, an aberrant had smashed Equius into the roof of a building with his cord, and his growl of pain could not sound more determined. She could hear Karkat's scream for vengeance somewhere to her right, and to her left, Eridan had jammed his blades into a titan's neck. She flew past the titan she was connected to, overshooting, so she latched onto it's neck with her other hook and released the other, allowing her a perfect strike. She grappled to a nearby building as Equius landed next to her, holding his side and panting. He then just seemed to breathe the pain away, and shoot off again, flying over to where he had last seen Nepeta.

Vriska, his other friend, had tricked one titan into punching another, and the the ensuing retaliation strike started a fight as she flew away, leaving them to kill each other.

She hears a cry. It's Dave. He never raises his voice.

She whirls around to see him two streets away, on the neck of a titan, with two others either side. She yells his name. He hesitates and looks up.

He is grabbed.

She grits her teeth and grapples her way towards him, as the offended titan brings him to its front, to get a look at its attacker. She's about to get to it as Karkat's battle cry flies past her, slicing its neck. Karkat gets Dave out of its hand and throws him to the roof, Rose swings towards him and grabs him as the titan on the left reached for him. The one on the right grabs him, and by extension, Rose too as it wrenches the hook out of the wall. She releases the cord, and latches onto its chest, and waits for it to try and hit her. She sees it reach back so she jumps, and it hits itself in the chest. she flies to its wrist and cuts it, freeing Karkat who, while falling, sees the other titan fall and Dave swing round to catch him.

The titan grabs Rose and quickly shoves her into its mouth. She screams and struggles to find purchase in its slimy mouth, but she is grabbed and thrown out by Karkat. She hears Dave scream Karkat's name as Karkat's own roar is silenced by the snapping of the titan's jaw. Four limbs fall from its grinning mouth, spraying the two in blood.

Dave screams as Rose watches in horror as more titans surround them.

"I'll kill them! I'll fucking kill all of them!" yells Dave as he draws his swords, but Rose catches him.

"There's too many of them, don't throw your life away!" she hisses as tears roll down their cheeks. "We need to go, now! Else we'll join him!"

Dave sniffs and flies away, Rose following her.