Oh... my... god... the user named 'Someone Else Took My Name' is the best beta that I've ever had! O_O Seriously, the first two chapters of this were pretty mediocre, but this person just took the third chapter revamped it up to being absolutely amazing! Seriously, a lot of the credit for the quality of this chapter goes to them! Also, I'd like to mention that the bits of dialogue that I strip directly from the anime, I strip from the English dub. I personally think that funimation did a pretty good job with this one, so I don't mind watching the English version. Eren's voice is the only one that really bothers me, but the rest of the cast is absolutely phenomenal, so I see no reason why the dub should be faulted for what it does. Anyways, I'm sure you guys just want to get on with reading this chapter, so I'll let you get to it. After all, out of all the people who reviewed, there were no guests for me to respond to via author's notes. ;) Have fun!

Chapter 3

Armin didn't understand. Nobody did. How could a titan possibly be intelligent enough to know what to do? How would it know about saluting and the purpose of it? How the hell would it know that it Pixis was the one in charge and that the salute should be directed at him? It was impossible, but there it was! There absolutely had to be something more to this titan than anyone knew. Whatever it was, though, it had to wait. If this thing was intelligent enough to know that, then it was probably intelligent enough to go through with the plan!

"That… that's…" was all that Armin could say in all of the confusion. Mikasa, though, seemed to get her bearings a bit more quickly.

"Then… just stay here until we come back. We're going to get reinforcements!" She stated before firing off her maneuvering gear towards the wall in order to scale it. Armin followed soon after, feeling the titan's gaze on him. As the wires pulled him up towards the top of the wall again, he looked down and saw the titan relax its arms and turn back around.

I hope that was the right thing to do; I don't want them running away in fear of me. The awkwardness nipped at him as they all stood there in silence. As it waned on, his mind began to wander. Sure, the salute showed that he was conscious and intelligent, but it also showed that he knew about human customs. Would they see his intelligence as a threat? He blinked away the doubt; either way, what was done was done and he'd just have to take the results for what they were. He was sure he could handle it! Suddenly, he heard Armin's voice.

"That… that's…" Armin was absolutely speechless. Eren knew he didn't recognize him, so he understood why he was like that, but it was Mikasa's voice that seemed to bring everyone out of their dazes.

"Then… just stay here until we come back. We're going to get reinforcements!" He didn't need to be told twice. She probably didn't recognize him either, so he stayed still until she was about half way up the wall so as not to frighten anyone. As she continued going up, he dropped his arms and turned back around again to face away from the gate.

Whatever they've got planned, I want to help them. Armin's bright enough to be able to figure out a way. What was that he said back there? The boulder? If that's our only option, then I'll find a way. I'll do whatever they tell me to do; they'll figure something out. In the meantime, though, I'd better stay ready for the Armoured Titan, should he come…

-Ten minutes later-

"Not only that, but we don't even need to send all of the soldiers to look after the Rogue Titan. All we have to do is draw all the regular titans to the corner by acting as bait and then just send the elites to cover it." Armin continued to discuss the plan with his commanders. It hadn't taken them too long to come up with what was drafted up as their final plan. Commander Pixis stood in silence, watching them and listening in on whatever the boy was planning. Once the basic plan was set in stone, he walked over to the other side of the wall.

Looking down, Pixis saw that the seemingly intelligent creature was still standing at the very same gate that it had before. The fact that it had saluted him confirmed that the Rogue Titan had a level of intelligence that was at least on the same level as a human's, but the question still remained as to whether this was a good thing or not. It seemed to be listening to them and following the few orders that it was given, but how long would that last? He took another swig of his alcohol; they had no choice but to hope that it would last at least long enough for this plan to work.

The Commander turned around and walked towards the other side of the wall. As he had previously ordered for, all of the soldiers, garrison members and new recruits alike, were all gathered and waiting for whatever order they were going to receive. Just because they were waiting, though, didn't mean that they weren't going to talk amongst themselves. In fact, there was quite a large amount of chatter among them as many seemed to be discussing whether they wanted to leave or not.

"What are they thinking?"

"We should just cut our losses and spend our remaining time with our families."

"I just want to see my little girl one last time."

"It's hopeless, there's no way we'll survive!"

"I don't want to face them again; I just can't!"

All of the chatter was overwhelming. Among it, Commander Woerman was trying to quell the potential deserters by threatening them with death. The situation was so out of hand that someone might actually get killed. It was fortunate that Commander Pixis was able to rally the soldiers.

"ATTENTION!" Pixis yelled over top of everyone.

"Take note, the blueprint of the Trost recovery operation is this: our primary objective is to reseal the hole. Yes, you heard right. What's more, it will be done manually." He paused to let it sink in, leaving everyone in a stunned silence.

"As for how the task will be done," He continued "that's where a new, abnormal titan comes in. Just on the other side of this gate is what we have officially dubbed the 'Rogue Titan'. Don't let appearances deceive you. This titan does not attack humans, but instead rips apart other titans and shows an insurmountable degree of intelligence when compared to others of its species!" he paused again, pulling up confusion and disbelief in all those gathered. He didn't try to alleviate it, though. Instead, he went on to talk about what it was supposed to do.

"Recall the massive boulder not far from the gate. Following our direct orders, the Rogue Titan will hoist the boulder on its back, slap it to the hole and voila! And this is where you all come in. Your job will be to defend it. Yes, defend a titan against its own kind." The Commander waited to see the soldier's reactions, prepared to say whatever he needed to in order to calm them down or make it easier on them.

From atop the wall, he could hear the uncertain mumblings of the soldiers trying to decide whether to abandon the cause or stay to help. He even heard a few of them yelling back up at him, saying that he was lying. Things really started to get out of control, though, when Commander Woerman started threatening them all with death yet again. Thankfully, Commander Pixis had an idea.

"Anyone wishing to leave will, by my personal order, NOT be charged with treason! Those who have seen a titan first-hand will not be expected to revisit that horror again. Whomever this applies to, you may leave with my blessing. Additionally, anyone with family or loved ones they would spare from the same trauma may also leave. The crown will continue to recognize your service. Thank you and good luck!"

The Commander was not surprised at all to see that they had taken the bait. All he had to do then was put things in a little bit of a perspective for the soldiers, just so that they knew what they were really fighting for.

"Now, think back four years ago. Namely, the operation to retake wall Maria. I bring it up because you all deserve to have your suspicions confirmed. Officially, we labeled it 'reconnaissance', but in fact, as most of you probably know, it was little more than a purge. A thinly disguised exercise in population control.

"We knew this in our hearts, of course we did. Yet, we turned a blind eye. We supported the state-sponsored myth because the deaths of our fellow human beings allowed us to survive. Pure and simple. The guilt is ours; we share the blame, all of us. The citizens of Wall Maria sustained themselves on the wholesale slaughter of the refugees who'd flown to us for help, but turnabout is fair play, is it not?

"If Wall Rose succumbs, the population will fall by a whole other order of magnitude! The lands comprising Wall Sina wouldn't support half the people now living. If we're wiped off the face of the earth, the culprits will not have been the titans, let me assure you. No, no. We'll have done it to ourselves. If the line isn't drawn now, then it won't be drawn at all. If we must die, then let us die here!"

Upon finishing his speech, Pixis withdrew from the edge of the wall to allow Commander Woerman to organize everyone. Hopefully the messenger would make it there soon in order to give him a copy of the plan in more detail. All they had to do at that point was start the decoy operation and then send out the team that would lead the Rogue Titan over to the boulder. Everyone could only hope that it would follow the order it would be given.

What seemed like only minutes after Armin and Mikasa had left, Eren's mind began to wander. What if I can't do it? Whatever they're planning for me must be big, but what if I just… can't? He thought.

However, it was then that he began to hear something. He had to strain his ears to hear it, and even then, it was just barely audible. It was Commander Pixis' voice that was ringing out over and above everything. The commander was being loud enough that it was obvious that he was announcing something to a large number of people, but he wasn't loud enough to indicate that he was talking over the same side of the wall that Eren was on.

In spite of the fact that he was just barely able to hear, Eren still tried to listen in on the conversation. In the end, he caught the general gist of what was being said.

That's right, I need to do this, no matter what. He says they're going to try to protect me? Well, at least they're not all running in fear. I don't know if I can, but I have to try my best!

He continued to wait for instruction, like he had been ordered, until a small squadron flew down to the same building that Armin and Mikasa were on earlier. The squadron consisted of about ten or so people, with there seeming to be three in the lead… and a certain, familiar, red scarf.

Mikasa? What are you doing here?! You'll get yourself killed! Go back; I don't want you hurt.

Eren instinctively tried to say these words before he remembered that he couldn't speak anymore. He cut himself off when he did remember, though, seeing as what should have been speech actually just came out as a garbled mess of grunts and growls.

How can I get my point across? He wondered before he became aware of a tiny voice speaking to him.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you! Do you even understand me?!" He heard one of the squad leaders, a woman with white hair, yell. He nodded to answer her question. She seemed very surprised by this, but she continued speaking anyway.

"Are you willing to go through with this plan we have to save everyone?" He nodded again. "Well then, you should know what the plan is!" Despite already knowing the plan, he listened to what she said. During the explanation, a titan even approached the group. Once they all noticed that it was there, Eren held up a finger at them, telling them to wait just before he ran towards the titan. He slammed into it brutally, knocking it down.

Eren managed to use the collapsed titan as a prop in order to stay upright, but he had completely cleared it and was standing on the other side of it. It was no problem for him, though, as he just turned on his heel and forcefully slammed his other foot into the titan's neck. Blood sprayed up from the titan's wound and splashed itself all over Eren's torso. The new titan corpse started to dissolve away, as did the blood, but when Eren looked over at the commanders and their elites, he saw most of them flinch.

It took Eren a little while to figure out why, but once the recently dispatched titan's steam passed into his vision, he looked down and it clicked. He figured that the blood would evaporate away soon enough, but they were no doubt scared of him and how utterly brutal he could be. Not only that, but he had also displayed some of his intelligence again! He totally understood why they'd be so scared of him, but there was no way he was going to let them bail on whatever plan they had simply out of fear!

Shit, I need to convince them that I'm not some sort of threat. All he could do, though, was wave his hand in a 'continue' gesture. The woman shook herself out her stupor and began speaking again.

"Uh- umm… right, so that's the basic gist of the plan. Do you understand?" He nodded. "Good, then… just follow us to the boulder in question." She turned and used her gear to fly away. All of the soldiers, Mikasa included, stared at him for a short while before following suit. He waited until all of them had set off before he began to follow, just so that he wouldn't end up confusing or scaring them, even though they were pretty much there already.

He didn't even notice that the white-haired woman, who's name he didn't know, had lagged behind until he felt a tiny weight hit his shoulder. While still following the soldiers, he looked at where he had felt the weight and was pretty surprised to see the her standing on his shoulder.

Is she not afraid? Or is she just betting on the chance that I won't attack her for touching me? I'd never attack someone, but how could she know that?... Well, I guess if she wants a ride, then I'm not going to swat her away or anything. After a moment, she spoke up again.

"I… see you don't mind. You act remarkably human, y'know. My name is Rico Brzenska… I'm not sure just how much you understand, but whatever you do know, it's probably a lot." He stole a glance at her to show that he was listening. "Something I want you to be aware of: make no mistake. More than a few of our comrades are going to die today trying to pull this off; their blood's on your hands." He looked at her again and ended up accidently destroying one of the smaller buildings by nearly tripping on it before she continued.

She continued to talk about this while Eren listened. He purposely avoided hitting any more buildings, but there were a few times where he came pretty close. He sidestepped around, making it obvious that he didn't want any more destruction than what was absolutely necessary. This seemed to go somewhat unnoticed by the people who were flying around, but at least Rico saw it. She didn't comment on it, though, instead electing to just finish her speech where she had driven the point home and then pounded it for extra measure.

"… Do you understand?" she finally asked. One final time, Eren nodded. He had understood every single word and he intended to make sure that this senseless loss of life would eventually amount to something more than just that. It was only a few more steps from there that brought the both of them to the boulder.

When Eren looked back at Rico, she pointed at it and then dismounted his shoulder, landing gracefully on another building just behind him. Eren watched her, making sure that she was safe before turning to look at the boulder. He only spent a few moments sizing it up and trying to figure out how would be the best way to get it moving. It was after he took a few steps around it that he saw a small flash of red in the corner of his eye once again.

Mikasa! He reflexively turned towards her, away from the rock. This obviously made all of the soldiers far more nervous, but what he did next both confused and surprised every single person present, including Mikasa herself. He lifted one of his hands up, unintentionally making it look like he was about to grab her. The couple of other people who were on the same building as her wasted no time in fleeing, but she stayed right where she was.

Mikasa wasn't entirely sure what to think. This titan, who had not only saved her life, but had also shown a much greater amount of intelligence than any other titan before it, was now making to grab her. The others had already retreated, but Mikasa still stood there, confused. Just as the Rogue Titan's hand was fully within her view, she started to move out of the way only to find it pointing at her. She stopped short, more confused than ever.

The titan remained pointing at her until she straightened herself out and stood to look it straight in its eyes. While she saw the intelligence and brutality that the titan had so eagerly displayed earlier, she could've sworn that she saw something else… something almost… gentle. The titan blinked at her and began moving its hand again, but this time away from her. Not only did it make it even more obvious that it didn't want to hurt anyone, but it also surprised everyone by pointing back towards the wall. It was no doubt trying to communicate, but no one could be sure of what it was trying to say.

"Are… are you trying to tell me to go back?" Mikasa asked the creature. She hadn't expected it to nod, but when it did, she had to do a double take. A few of the superiors joined her, including Squad Leader Brzenska as she continued on asking the creature what it meant.

"Do you mean that I, specifically, shouldn't be here?" It nodded. "Why just me?" The titan raised its hand up again at this, sticking one massive finger out. She doubted that it wanted to hurt her, but as the appendage drew closer and closer to her, she had to fight against her fight or flight syndrome even harder. Despite this, though, she managed to keep her cool when the titan lightly touched her with the tip of its fingernail on her shoulder.

Curiously, she looked to where it was pointing and found that its finger was resting directly on the small part of her sleeve that had the symbol of the trainees on it. Did it know what that symbol meant? If so, then would mean that it was trying to say that she was too inexperienced to be on this type of mission. Either way, that was how the Squad Leaders took it, as evidenced by when Rico started yelling at the titan.

"She just graduated at the top of her class! Her skill rivals most of ours, so she was given special orders to accompany us. Just because she's still technically a trainee doesn't mean that she's not capable! Remember what I said to you?! Now please lift that boulder; the more time we spend here, the more other people die out there!" The titan flinched somewhat upon hearing her yell, although it was obvious that it just hadn't been expecting it and it had just gotten a little bit startled.

That flinch was enough, though, to jerk its hand upward slightly before it jerked back, nicking Mikasa's face. The instant that it happened, the girl turned her head and put a hand to the scratch. It was deep, but it was likely that the titan hadn't even noticed. She looked back up to it to see its eyes widen and the rest of its fingers uncurl from its hand. Its mouth opened just slightly, as though it were shocked.

The beast tilted its head just slightly, as though it were trying to get a better look at her. From what Mikasa could tell, nobody doubted at that point that it had intentionally hurt her. If it had wanted to do that, then it could have done much, much worse. Still, it seemed more concerned about her than the boulder. The titan's hand didn't move any closer to her, so she remover her own hand from her face, showing the cut.

Either the titan was overconcerned about her or it just had really good eyesight, because as soon as she did so, its eyes widened even more. It drew its hand back and even took a step away from the building, almost like it was ashamed that it had hurt her. She had to do something.

"I- It's nothing. Just please get back to the plan. All our lives are riding on you!" She shouted up at the Rouge. It looked at her for a moment before shamefully looking away again and nodding. It then looked back at the boulder and blinked a few times before moving around it to the spot that it seemed to think was easiest to grab. As it began trying to lift the boulder, it became obvious that it was quite the struggle, but the titan wasn't going to give up!

The creature powered through by sheer force of will and somehow managed to hoist the massive boulder on its back. As it began to walk towards the broken gate, steam started to erupt from various parts of its body, including its feet and legs, giving the beast an almost ethereal look. From its body language, though, Mikasa could tell that each step was painful. Yet, the titan still managed to take the next one and keep going, its willpower seemingly unshakable. It seemed almost familiar to her...

See? Quite the jump in quality, eh? (yes, I'm Canadian) Anyways, please tell me what you thought with a review below, because it might be a while before chapter 4 is going to be up. Why? Because college life, that's why. :/ Oh well, at least I'm able to give you a fair warning. Thanks for sticking with me! :D