Thank you once more for all the support you guys are giving. Your reviews and favs really keep me motivated. Also, sorry to say that updates may start taking a little longer. I'm starting a new job that's going to have me working 40 hours every week, and if overtime happens I'll have to work it because the boss says so and such.

Screams filled the air all around. Men, women, and children running for their lives. Doing the best they could to outrun the Titans, to place themselves outside of their long reach. However, many failed to achieve that goal. In the areas closest to the breach Titans began to snatch running humans and consume them, then moved on to repeat the process. To the people that had lived their whole lives in peace it seemed like this was the end of the world to them.

One lone woman ran into an alley, hoping to find some kind of shelter from the massive invaders. Her breath was ragged, her lungs burning in agony as she continued to run without pause. When the alley came to an end she ran round the corner, only to be met with despair when a dead end awaited her. Looking around she saw no doors or entryways that would allow her to further escape from the Titans. Looking back the way she came the woman figured that it was better to stay where she was, somewhat hidden, than running out in the open where she could be snatched easily.

A rustling noise above her nearly made her heart stop. Slowly looking up she knew that her time had come to an end when her eyes locked with those of the Titan. It stared at her for a moment blankly, as if savoring the fact that it was about to kill her, before reaching for her. Just as its large hand was about to grab her skull, the Titan shuddered violently and ceased moving. Tears still pouring down her face the woman frowned at the non-moving Titan. Before she could think to run away from it she saw a large, scaled hand with three fingers and a thumb grab ahold of the Titan's head and pull the monster away with force.

For a few seconds the woman actually thought she was hallucinating or that she'd been killed, but then she saw the top of what looked like some kind of reptile walk past where the Titan had been. Running back around the corner and to the alley entrance she frantically looked left and right. There! Down the road a ways she saw something large and green going down another street, though she only caught a glimpse of a long, thin tail that grazed the front of a building. The damage was more superficial than anything, but after seeing the Titan get dragged away she was sure whatever she'd just seen could have done much worse if it wanted.

"Thank you." She whispered before heading at a light pace towards the Inner Wall.

Elsewhere a large group were running in terror from two Titans that began to close the distance at a fast pace. The group consisted of a husband and wife, along with their infant, a young boy, a teenage girl, and an older man. The group had ended up tagging along together in order to escape from the Titans, but it looked like they would be added to the casualties today.

"It's just a few more blocks! If we can make it to the Wall then we'll be able to board a transport boat! Just keep running!" The older man yelled. He didn't dare look behind him to see how close the Titans were. However, even though he couldn't see them he could feel and hear the stomps made as the Titans advanced closer and closer.

The young boy was trying his hardest to keep up with the group, but his stamina was pitiful and his smaller body couldn't match their pace. He slowly found himself at the back of the group, sweet mixing with tears upon his cheeks. He knew he was going to die, perhaps the rest of the group would get away, but he would not be able to outrun the Titans. His tears intensified at the thought, scared of dying without seeing his mother and father one last time. Before he could fall to his knees in exhaustion however, he was scooped up into the arms of the teenage girl.

"We're not gonna die that easy!" With adrenaline filled strength the teen tossed the younger child onto her back, holding him up by his legs while he wrapped his arms around her neck. "Hold on with all you have and don't let go no matter what! Understand?"

"Y-Yeah, I got it!" The boy tightened his arms to just before the point of choking her, burying his face into her brunette hair in an effort to stem his tears.

Although the two Titans behind them continued to gain ground, there was an intersection ahead that would allow them to change their direction and hopefully slow their chasers down. Unfortunately all hope of escape left the group when a third Titan appeared from around the corner, stumbling towards them at a quick walk. Everyone stopped immediately, looking back and forth in desperation, as if somehow they would be able to locate some other path away from the monsters. No one made a sound, save for the crying infant held by the couple, as the Titans closed in. Falling to her knees in agony the woman holding her child cried out in despair.

"I love you so much Atticus, please know that mommy loves you when we meet in heaven." She kissed her baby on the cheek and closed her eyes, more tears leaking onto her face when her husband, Jaden, held her close.

"It's going to be ok Alexis. No matter what happens we'll have each other." Prepared to meet death everyone in the group looked at either the ground or the sky, praying that their end would be quick.

'Hrrrraaaaa', Zilla appeared atop a row of buildings, which nearly buckled under his weight. Seeing another intruder he leapt onto the single Titan that had been closing in on the humans. Both monsters crashed to the ground, but Zilla gave the Titan no chance to fight back. Having landed with the Titan facing him Zilla latched onto its throat and began to violently shake it. A horrendous tearing sound flooded the area as everything from the neck down went crashing into a building while the head and throat were still gripped in Zilla's teeth. Spitting it out Zilla turned around and locked eyes on the other two Titans that continued to approach the group of humans.

Sprinting forward Zilla took a powerful leap into the air. The mutant soared over the terrified humans, easily landing on the other side of them and continuing his run. Zilla charged full speed into the Titan nearest him, head-butting it in the chest hard enough to send it nearly 200 yards away. The other Titan was grabbed by the face and shoved into the ground hard. Before it had a chance to stand up Zilla raked his claws through the nape of its neck killing it with ease. Returning his focus on the Titan he'd sent flying Zilla closed the distance between them quickly. The Titan was standing once more, but it didn't get a chance to defend itself as Zilla slashed it across the face so hard he decapitated it.

Zilla huffed to himself in satisfaction before walking back to the group of humans. They all flinched away in fear, thinking that Zilla had killed the Titans so he himself could have a meal. When nothing happened for several moments they all opened their eyes to the sight of Zilla just staring at them. The mutant leaned his head down close, startling them greatly, and began to sniff at them. A curious tilt of the head and a light groan followed this, confusing the humans just feet from his snout. What they didn't know was that Zilla was trying to figure out why he felt such fear from them. He had eliminated the threat of the Invaders, so why did they continue to be afraid? Perhaps it was his size that upset them, since he was just as large as the Invaders, or perhaps humans other than Parent were just naturally fearful?

Either way he didn't dwell on the idea long. Standing up to his full height Zilla sniffed the air a few times, looking around him at the distant forms of Titans walking around. There were a lot, and more kept coming, but he would kill as many as possible. Leaping to the rooftops Zilla crossed over to the next street. As luck would have it when he landed his right foot crushed a 3 meter Titan into paste. Running in his direction was another 3 meter, this one flailing its arms wildly, mouth grinning like it was having just the greatest time ever. Leaning down and tilting his head sideways Zilla opened his mouth wide, scooping up the humanoid monster. Standing back up he effortlessly bit through the Titan, its head falling to the ground and leaving a small crater.

Opening his mouth again Zilla let the rest of the body drop out. While he was large enough to eat the small Titan he didn't like the way it tasted on his tongue, so he would happily stick with fish or insects for now. Though, as large as he was insects did nothing to satisfy his hunger anymore. Thoughts of food aside, Zilla ran down the street towards the scent of more Invaders. While he could smell many of the Large Ones, his deeper instincts alerted him to something akin to an Alpha nearby. The Large Ones were potentially dangerous if he was careless, if there was some kind of Alpha amongst them it would have to be killed as soon as possible.

He would not let territory be taken over if he could help it.

At the Wall

Soldiers swore harshly as they fired off the cannons at any and all incoming Titans. Despite knowing that it wasn't killing them, only slowing them down, they still did their best to fight. Civilians continued to run through the checkpoint to the other side of the Wall, hoping to grab a spot on one of the transports. So far they'd had a fair amount come, but it was still smaller than what they were wishing for. It was foolish to believe that everybody that lived in Shiganshina would live, but it still hit the men and women of the Garrison hard to see this crisis happening. Yes, they'd been trained for this, but the difference between training and the real thing was very vast. Especially since humanity had lived for a century in peace within their Walls.

"Don't look back! Think about living past this day!" One such soldier that vowed to save as many as possible was Terry, who shoved a father and son duo towards the gate. Keeping his eyes locked on an approaching 5 meter Titan, he waved his hand to the left. "Now Kevin, take it out!"

Its attention focused on Terry and the escaping humans the Titan was cut down pathetically easy by Kevin, the second member of the Power Trio as he, Terry, and Scott were known throughout the Garrison. Scott himself had just killed a 15 meter Titan before it could swipe an elderly woman. The three men had situated themselves ahead of the line of cannons in order to take down any Titans that were not hit by the artillery. While dangerous if a stray shot came near them, they deemed it necessary in order to increase the number of survivors. Their lives would be a small price to pay if even one person lived another day.

In the corner of the men's eyes they save another group running to the gate. This one even had another Garrison soldier amongst them, Hannes if they remembered right. He was carrying an injured woman that had some serious damage done to her legs. Along with the woman were three young children, two with black hair and one with blonde, all looking ready to collapse from exhaustion any second now. Lucky for them that they'd made it to the gate, otherwise any stray Titan would pick them off with ease.

The group ran past the cannons and under the gate just as another volley of artillery was fired away. Hannes collapsed to his knees, inhaling gulps of air in an effort to stop the burning in his lungs. Luckily he managed to keep Carla in his grip, though the light jostling when he dropped did aggravate her injured legs. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin all were bent down, hands on their knees, breathing even heavier than him. Everyone was a bit worse for wear, but they'd finally made it to safety.

Looking back behind him at the soldiers manning the cannons Hannes' brow narrowed for a moment. After taking a few seconds to think over the situation he nodded to himself. "Alright, this is as far as I can go guys." His four companions looked at him in confusion. He, however, was still watching his fellow soldiers. "You three have to take Carla to a transport. I'd go with you, but every extra hand counts right now."

Eren, knowing that he'd said some rather rude things to Hannes earlier that day, look ready to grab hold of the man. "But…you could die! If you come with us then at least you can live to fight another day!"

Hannes turned his gaze to the young boy, shaking his head while gently setting Carla down. "Yeah, but right now it's more important for you all to live. I'm a soldier, I chose this life and this line of work. I knew the dangers, however small a chance they would be. If I die, it'll suck, but I'll die happy knowing that for once I was able to actually do something right, instead of just standing around drinking all day." Just as he stood back up Eren grabbed his arm harshly.

"I'm sorry damn it! Those things I said to you, I was angry ok! Just because I got mad doesn't mean I want you to die! Humanity can regroup and we can fight them another day when we're stronger!" Eren felt incredibly guilty over the situation. Yes, he wasn't responsible for the Titans breaking through the Wall, but he didn't want a friend of his family to be needlessly killed after the things he'd said. It made him feel….dirty almost.

Hannes stared him down silently, the look in his eyes almost searching, before the man placed two fingers over Eren's heart. "Kid, never lose this if you can help it. Your mom and dad obviously raised you right, and your fighting spirit is inspiring really. But now I need you to do something for me."

Eren let go of Hannes' arm, confused by what he could possibly do to help the man. Hannes saw the small doubt on Eren's face and smirked. "You gotta take care of Carla here. You and Mikasa have to look out for her while I hold the fort, so to speak." Not allowing the boy to attempt to start another argument Hannes turned and ran towards the line of Garrison troops.

Eren was about to chase after the man, but was held in place by Mikasa. Just as he was about to yell at her to let him go he caught sight of the look in her eyes. He wanted to shove her away and argue, but he knew that his sister was just as stubborn as he was, if not more. "Alright, help me out Mikasa." Going to his mother's left side he threw her arm of his shoulder. Mikasa did the same on the other side, using all her strength to lift Carla up. Together they managed to pull their mother along, and though she whimpered in pain they did not stop. They knew that the only way to get her help was by getting to a safe place.

Armin followed them quietly, but not before giving one last look at Shiganshina. Zilla was nowhere in sight and the battle wasn't looking well for the Garrison. The cannons were taking down a Titan here and there with a lucky shot, but for the most part each fired cannonball would knock the Titan down and moments later it would get back up. Gritting his teeth in frustration Armin ran after his friends when they called his name. He hoped Zilla was alright.

Then things turned bad.

While it had looked like a losing battle the Garrison soldiers were doing their damnedest to salvage the situation. Orders were to keep the gate open until it became hazardous to those in Wall Maria to do so. So far they'd been alright, but a few cowardly troops had turned tail and ran for it when it started becoming obvious that they were only stalling and would not be able to win against the Titans. Then, they saw it.

It was definitely a Titan, but it looked very bizarre. Most of the things skin looked like armor instead of actual skin, and it had glowing yellow eyes. Each step it took left a forceful impact felt like tremors of a minor earthquake. It looked right at them after it entered their line of sight and took a runner's stance. The men and women looking after the gate watched in pure horror as the vicious looking Titan almost flew from its spot, charging at them faster than any Titan recorded by the military yet.

"Fire the fucking cannons!" Terry screamed at his troops, already activating his 3D Maneuver Gear in the direction of the running Titan. Scott and Kevin followed after him, instantly recognizing the danger this Titan posed.

The cannons were fired, but unlike when the artillery hit before, this Titan shrugged off each cannonball like it was a leaf in the breeze. Seeing that their attack did nothing most of the troops manning the gate high-tailed it to the other side of the Wall. This was an obvious situation that called for closing the gate, despite knowing it would damn everyone left on the other side.

Ignoring everything in its path, other Titans included, the Armored Titan continued its sprint towards the, now closing, gate. It knew what it had to do, and one way or another it would accomplish the mission. Unfortunately it was at that moment that Zilla leapt from a rooftop onto the Armored Titan, sending them both to the ground. Momentarily stunned from the impact and sudden stop, the Titan looked up confused at Zilla, unsure what the hell was on top of him.

Zilla had no such problems and instantly tried to swipe his claws through the Titan's throat. Reiner, unknown to any that he was the Armored Titan, snapped back into focus just in time to block the attack with his left forearm. Using the other arm he struck Zilla across the face hard enough to make the beast stumble off of him. Standing up and finally getting a chance to look at whatever it was that stopped him. The 15 meter tall lizard-like thing that stood opposite him was stranger than anything he'd seen before, but strangeness aside, it was standing in his way and if he had to kill it to accomplish his mission then he would have no problems doing so.

Zilla had finally found the Alpha amongst the Large Ones that were invading. Everything about the Large One he faced set off his instincts like nothing before. While he'd fought those three humans when he was an infant, and today had fought many Large Ones, none of them had given him a feeling like this one. It was a step above everything else he'd come across so far, and that meant it had to die. It was a danger to the territory and to Parent. The other humans were also in danger of course, but for now Zilla did not consider any human other than Parent to be part of the Nest.

Each one growling at the other the two monsters charged one another ready to fight till they breathed no more.