Third Person's POV •

Everybody sat around, as still as windless waters. They bore the appearance of bored, waiting, tired people. The bags under their eyes and the lifeless way they carried themselves made it blatantly obvious to any bystanders. But, each of them carried a certain signal that made them look wary and impatient for the next move.

Jean's knuckles were white as he held his waterskin.

Connie's jaw was locked and tight.

Ymir was sweaty, the heel of her boot tapping quietly against the stone floor.

Krista's eyes kept darting all over the place.

Reiner had a haunted look in his eyes, forcing himself to breathe every breath that passed his lips.

Bertolt's fingers were twitchy, constantly moving right to his blades whenever there was a sound that felt out of place.

Annie's index finger tapped relentlessly against the table, making the tiniest of dents with her fingernail.

However, every single one of them froze solid when a loud explosion violently shook the floors below them. Jean and Annie in particular felt their blood run cold; The noise—likely from some sort of cannon—was around where they dropped Jade and the others off.

"Cannon fire!?" Reiner clenched his teeth together as everyone within earshot of the blast flew into pandemonium.

"But why only one shot!?" Jean snapped, looking around frantically. His ears tuned in onto one of the cadets, shrieking loudly as he pointed.

"Look! There's smoke! It's from within the wall!" He wailed. "What's happening? Was the floodgate broken through?"

Looking to his side, Jean realized that Reiner looked truly mortified. The 2nd Ranker was clutching his chest and heaving in air painfully like an old man on his deathbed.

Jean briefly wondered why the 2nd Ranker was so scared, but he couldn't for long. His eyes were fixed on the smoke floating into the air. "Could it be...steam from a Titan...?" He wondered aloud, trembling and shivering like a wet cat.

Without thinking, the 6th Ranker grabbed the hilts that were once concealed within the folds of his military jacket and pressed the triggers harshly. He felt himself rocket into the sky but didn't mind the abruptness of it as his eyes scanned the rooftops. He immediately located where the cannon had gone off and flew away in that direction. He heard the sounds of Annie, and two others behind him, but was uncaring about it. Instead, he kept his gaze firmly pinned on the billowing smoke by Wall Rose.

No explosive shell could result in so much smoke erupting from one area. Jean's arms were tight as he moved to stand on a rooftop nearby the explosion. Titans.

"What the hell's going on here!?" Reiner hissed, looking down into the smoke with wary eyes. Jean, however, was scanning the area for any other signs of life, trying to find movement somewhere in the mask of steam.

Then part of it cleared. Jean's heart stopped.

It was a terrifying sight to see without context of the situation. There was a Titan—half-made, with a huge exposed rib cage that held two figures hostage inside. He recognized them as Armin and Mikasa right away. There was no skin on the Titan shielding them, and its one arm was outstretched in the direction of a recently-fired cannon.

The other one, however, was even less made than the one behind it. There were only bones with gaps of muscles along the structure, and the arms were fully made altogether. Skin, muscle tissue, carpals and metacarpals alike...they were all there along with a shield of the same hard substance that was on Jade's Titan before, only it was more controlled than before. They formed two blades over the Titan's forearms, and the arms crossed over one another. It made a protection from both the cannon fire and the soldiers in front. But her eyes, which were a startling emerald green color, were daunting and staring viciously at the Captain, who hadn't listened to Eren when he should have.

(BREAK)

As the soldiers screaming horribly, Jade and Eren forced themselves out of their own respective prisons. They tore through flesh until air finally filled their lungs. Jade had spit flying from her mouth as she tore herself free, panting as she managed to free one of her arms. The other one, however, was locked tight and close to her metal leg.

Flinching, she slowly pried her right hand from the jaws of the boundless muscle. When her right hand was finally worked free, she meticulously pulled off the clinging material off each individual gear, each fragment of metal, and every strap of leather. If she just carelessly ripped her leg out, she would have damaged the complicated metalwork miracle of her right leg.

Once finished, she tore out her left leg to topple over and fall from her Titan's back. Eren himself had climbed down with ease despite him being panicked, but Jade had not been so fortunate. She landed squarely on her spine, just between the shoulder blades. Pain flared up through her chest, and the air was forcefully ripped from her lungs. Armin and Mikasa, finally over the shock of seeing their two friends summon these deadly beasts to protect them, instantly reacted to Jade's heavy fall.

"J-Jade!" Armin yelped quietly, dragging the hacking brunette over to their original spot. "Are you okay...!?"

Jade wheezed, a hand over her chest where the pain was most prominent. "B-barely...R-remind me never to fall like that again..." She kept on coughing, feeling burning vibrations through her chest with each hack.

Eren, who had just arrived before Jade, peered out from behind the rib of his evaporating Titan to see through the fog. He caught sight of the figures and began to speak in a quieter tone as Jade managed to get her coughing under control. "Whether they're figuring out what to do or use distracted, the Garrison can't see what we're going now," the 5th Ranker concluded, moving back towards the group of three behind him. "But in the end, they'll probably continue attacking."

Jade Covert's POV •

I kept my gaze steady on Eren's back, slightly afraid of both him and myself due to our…strange abilities. Mikasa stood up as he laid out the current situation for us, and I shifted my eyes to her.

"I don't have the confidence to talk them down after showing this," Eren admitted, and I noticed his arms were twitching with fatigue. If I didn't have Armin supporting me with his own grip, I'd be in the same boat; quivering and unstable by nature. "It reminded me of something though." He pulled out the brass-colored key from underneath his shirt, revealing it to us. I remembered seeing it a number of times, but I never once asked him about it. "The basement. The basement of my house.

"Dad said I'd understand everything if I went there," he continued, and I was reminded of my own flashbacks. Of the adult telling me to stay by Eren's side no matter what. "He's also the one that turned me into this. If I get to that basement, I'll probably learn the truth about the Titans."

His hand clenched into a fist, and I cringed away as he slammed it onto the cracking ribs of his Titans. "Damn it!" He thundered. "Why did he keep it all a secret?! The Survey Corps searched for that information at the cost of thousands of lives. It's mankind's only hope!"

I tightened my muscles as I pushed Armin off gently. "You're telling me it was locked away in your own basement...!?" Rage made my insides flare up in a furious blaze, making me want to find the adult that made me a monster and Eren's dad. Just so I could beat them into a pulp. "Just what was going through their heads!?" I stopped talking when I noticed Mikasa's attention was briefly captured by something else, outside the shield of smoke.

Eren continued regardless, oblivious of Mikasa's twitches. "Come to think of it, where did he disappear to for five years—"

However, the 1st Ranker still went up to him and cut off his line of thought, grabbing him harshly by the shoulder. "Eren, we have other things to worry about now," she said, her eyes narrowed with focus. The smoke was beginning to clear from the air, making them all more and more visible. Even though my Titan's arm plates weren't vanishing away like the rest of it.

"Right," the 5th nodded, and he lent me his shoulder. I tilted my head to the side to avoid him getting scratched by my ears, but I gratefully took his offer. With my leg still slightly jammed from the muscle I couldn't work out, I had to wait for it to evaporate out.

The other soldiers outside the cloud of steam began speaking, and I turned my oddly powerful sense of hearing on them. "The smoke is clearing." "We'll attack immediately on sight." "Let's finish this quickly!"

"Remain on standby!" The Captain was barking out orders to stay calm, but he sounded like a frightened puppy. His voice kept cracking in certain areas, and I pitied him.

As the bone became weaker and weaker, it finally became too brittle to hold up the weight of the skulls. The one from my Titan clanged loudly, leaving nothing but dust and the white ears of it that were identical to mine. More steam flew upwards to mask our forms away.

As the others began talking amongst themselves, I moved to the hardened ears. They gleamed as if they were metal, but I knew they weren't. Somehow, the air of mystery that surrounded the walls was inlaid in these ears as well. I wanted to hide them, keep them hidden away for myself. I pressed my hand to it with that same greediness and gasped.

They were sucked away into my fingertips, gone and never to return.

The childhood trio stood behind me, gaping in awe and surprise and fear. I didn't blame them for the last one.

When I felt the last of the Titan flesh vanish from my mechanical leg, I turned the dial to 'WALK' so that I could converse better with the others. "We're...leaving this place..." Eren finally said once I got there, placing a warm hand on my shoulder. My ability to 'suck away' the Titan material was the least of our worries right now.

Mikasa and Armin froze on the spot, their eyes pinned on the two of us. I felt cherished in that one moment, but I knew it was too selfish to think about right now. "Where to? How?" Armin began to question us.

"Anywhere will do for now," I answered, touching Eren's hand with my own. Exhaustion was tugging at my muscles, making me want to collapse on the spot. "We'll climb the wall from there and head to his basement. But we'll turn into Titans first."

Armin's eyes bulged as I said that so casually. "You can do that?" He gasped.

"I'm not too sure how we do it myself," the 5th Ranker admitted. "but I think we can."

My finger spasmed uncomfortably. "Just like how a person can't explain how they move their arms," I offered an analogy.

"Earlier, I unconsciously focused on blocking the cannon," Eren continued off from there, and I was mildly happy that our strange in-sync talking was still working efficiently. "That's why the body had no other function and easily fell apart. This time I'll go for something stronger." I noticed then that both Eren and I were breathing heavily, our chests heaving to keep us from passing out. "The fifteen-meter class that I kicked around all those Titans with should suffice!" Blood dripped from his nose, going over his lips quickly. However, he didn't notice.

"Eren, your nose is bleeding."

"Jade, why is there blood coming from your mouth and ears?"

Both Mikasa and Armin spoke at the same time, but that's when I realized Armin was right about me. I didn't even notice that my mouth was filling up slowly with blood, leaking out of the corners of my mouth to form fang-like patterns. I coughed, sending the rest of it flying in the other direction. I was careful to avoid Armin and Mikasa from my spray, then I wiped my mouth.

I then brushed my fingertips over my ears, making sure not to touch the blades concealed inside. There was indeed something warm and sticky steadily streaming from underneath the disc that hid the hilts of the blades. It trailed down my jaw and dripped off my chin.

"You guys are looking pale, and your breathing's heavy too," Armin continued to point out. "It's clearly taking a toll on your body!"

Eren wiped the rest of his blood off his face. "I couldn't care less about my well-being," he hissed, bags forming underneath his eyes. I knew that I was looking roughly the same. "I've got two ideas in mind. If you guys don't try to cover for us, you'll be spared at least. We've already gotten you two in enough of a mess."

"So, we'll be moving solo from here on out," we decided, though I spoke the thought.

Armin sucked in a breath, his shoulders trembling. "No, I—"

"Eren...Jade...I'm coming too," Mikasa growled, looking as fierce as the beast Annie claimed she was.

"You can't," Eren instantly replied.

Mikasa was clearly hurt, but she kept trying. "If I can't keep up, you can just abandon me. But I don't have to listen to what you say."

"I'm telling you to cut it out already!" The 5th Ranker snapped, furious with his adoptive sister. I noticed Armin was slowly slinking away, fear evident in his sky-blue eyes. "I'm neither your little brother nor a kid!"

Knowing that this was a personal argument, I moved away with my metal leg clicking uncomfortably. A few pieces were missing from the entirety of the mechanism, making it loud and jerky in some areas. But I pressed myself lightly against the shield my Titan made with her arms and listened in closely on the discussions outside.

"Captain, the high-explosive shell is almost loaded. How shall we proceed?"

"Await my signal!" The Captain boomed.

"Sir!"

I sighed slightly and kept my eyes focused on the outer edge to see four figures standing on a nearby rooftop. I recognized them easily and smiled with tears of joy brimming my eyelids.

It was Reiner, Bertolt, Jean, and Annie.

Each of them looked terrified in their own right, but I merely breathed in relief, wiping my mouth again from any possible blood that still lay there. Reiner and Bertolt looked horrified, their faces pale from what I could see.

But Jean and Annie looked different. Instead of scared, they were worried.

'Jean, worried? That's a good one,' I found myself mentally scoffing at the ridiculousness of such a suggestion.

But it was the truth. Jean was looking around, trying to find someone. I didn't know who that person was, but I was wondering. Who, of us, could make him genuinely concerned?

"Eren, I—" Mikasa looked to be on the brink of tears, fighting to let the 5th Ranker allow her to join him. I moved back to them, satisfied with the information I received.

"I said I had two ideas in mind, didn't I?" Eren interrupted her, making hope shine in her dark brown eyes. He turned his head to look at the blonde who had been sitting by them with a faraway, helpless look on his face. But he stiffened as Eren spoke. "Armin, I'll leave everything for you to decide."

Armin's lips moved, but no sound came out because of his shock.

"We're well aware of just how unrealistic the first plan is," I murmured, kneeling down with a flick of the dial to 'KNEEL'. "It would be the most effective to use this Titan power systematically under the army's command."

Eren glanced sideways at me before taking up the mantle. "I know it's a lot to ask, but if you think you can convince the Garrison that we're not a threat, we'll put our trust in you and stay. That's my second idea."

"If you think you can't," I whispered comfortingly, rubbing his shoulder with my left hand. "We'll have to resort to the first idea. You have fifteen seconds to decide."

"Whether you can do it or not, I'll respect any opinion you have," Eren smiled slightly at the blonde, who was shaking in surprise and fear.

The blue-eyed cadet sucked in a breath and calmed down a hint before talking again. "Eren...Jade...why would you entrust me with such a decision?" He asked.

Eren and I both chuckled and smiled at Armin right after. "The worse a situation is, the better your decisions are, you know?" The 5th Ranker grinned lopsidedly. "I'm willing to bet on that, and I'm sure Jade is, too."

"When did I ever..."

"Lots of times," I replied with a joking grin on my lips. I realized everyone was smiling reassuringly at Armin, hoping that he'd realize just how important he really was. "Five years ago, if you didn't call Mr. Hannes, Mikasa and Eren would've been devoured by a Titan, and I would have bled to death from that rock that crippled me."

The bones from Eren's Titan shattered again, breaking against the ground with a loud boom and a small explosion of smoke. But it also seemed to signify Armin's realization of his importance. Tears gathered in his lashes, and I felt my own eyes doing the same out of the love I had for him. He was like a little brother to me, and I loved him for it.

"Armin, we're out of time," Eren said quietly, and my perceptive ears picked up the sound of a loaded cannon getting ready to fire within mere seconds. I heard every signal and winced. My eyes went to look up at Jean and Annie, fighting against the grip of Bertolt and Reiner. They were scared, and judging from the 2nd Ranker's face, they were trying to stop the cannon. I smiled.

Armin finally stood up, his back erect and his face dark with determination. Eren and Mikasa watched him with awe, as he said "I'll convince them no matter what. Do anything you guys can to show you're not a threat." Eren and Mikasa nodded, with knowing smiles on their faces. I chuckled and pressed my fingertips to the shield that blocked his path.

"I'll take this down for you," I grinned, removing the non-evaporating Titan material. But then I tugged on his jacket before he began to sprint. He looked at me, slightly shocked.

"I believe in you, Armin."

He went rosy red in seconds but kept removing his ODM gear to appear friendly and as un-threatening as physically possible. The scabbards made loud clanging noises that echoed throughout the area, making the soldiers around freeze up in fright. But Armin held his hands in a surrender position as he ran out of the steam into full view of the others. It was around then that I passed out, exhausted by everything that had happened.

Third Person's POV •

With the soldiers tense with fright at the loud sounds Armin had made during his run to see them, the blonde listened carefully to everyone around him. It was a skill Jade had taught him during one of their 'intellectual talks' while eating.

"So, you've finally revealed your true colors, monster!" The Captain's voice, though loud and painful on the ears, was shaky and unstable. He was justifiably terrified. "I'll signal...I'll signal the cannon!"

This man was the type of person who made assumptions on a whim and wouldn't want to believe anything else besides the words that came out of his mouth.

"He is not the enemy of mankind!" Armin shouted, struggling not to stutter. "We're willing to share any and all information that we have!"

Unfortunately, the Captain didn't take the bait laid out for him. "I have no intention of hearing your pleas!" He snarled. "We've seen everything we need to know. There's no room for discussion!"

Like an idiot, the Captain made a small way out of the tight corner he was backing Armin into. "If you claim he's not our enemy, then prove it! If you can't, we'll simply eliminate the threat!"

"There's no need for proof!" Armin snapped back, and he felt his confidence growing. 'That's right,' he thought 'It's unnecessary!' "Besides, how we see him is not an issue!"

"What!?" The bearded man cried.

"I've heard that many have seen them in action!" Armin continued, making eye contact with many of the soldiers that were still holding their weapons to both him and the trio behind him. "If that's true, they must've also seen them fighting the Titans! And that includes the sight of the surrounding Titans swarming them! In other words, the Titans saw him as a targeted predation, just like the rest of mankind!"

"No matter how we go about it, this fact cannot be denied!"

The other members of the Garrison relaxed a little, realizing the blonde was correct. They began murmuring amongst themselves, stating the ridiculousness of the idea of Titans as allies. But, each of them was lowering a gun and a blade, slowly falling into Armin's reassuring persuasions.

And yet, the Captain refused to listen. "Prepare to attack!" He boomed, his voice rolling across the small area. "Don't be fooled by his clever tricks!"

Armin, Eren, and Mikasa all stiffened. Jade, who had been unconscious with her head on Eren's lap—with her ears wrapped in cloth to avoid any further stabbings—woke as his quadriceps tightened underneath her head. The blue-eyed girl looked up to see Armin struggling to argue with the Captain. She let out a small breath and smiled.

No matter the situation, the blonde was doing fantastically.

"Their actions have always been beyond our comprehension," the Captain continued, oblivious of Jade's awakening. He was throwing out random, worthless, easily refutable evidence, and the brunette was pissed at him, though she was still too fatigued to lift herself off Eren's lap. "It must be possible for them to imitate our form and speech to delude us!"

"We cannot allow them to do as they please any longer!"

Everyone became blinded by the shield his words made. 'What a pathetic man,' Jade thought to herself.

Armin, however, was panicking. He couldn't think of anything to say. The Captain was too scared to think, unable to listen to anyone else. 'Eren, Mikasa, Jade!' He turned around, horrified and purely worried for their sakes. But what he saw surprised him.

Eren and Mikasa didn't look the least bit concerned, instead nodding to him with a smile on their faces. And Jade, though still conscious, gave him an honest giggle and a thumbs-up before she lost the little energy she had regained. But even while unconscious, she still bore a small, sweet smile that was perfect for someone like her.

Feeling his resolve increase by a tenfold, he slammed his fist against his chest in a flawless salute. "I am a soldier that has long since offered his life for the revival of mankind!" He practically screamed. "To perish while obeying that conviction would be my life's greatest glory! If we were to utilize their Titan powers in addition to our remaining forces, recapturing this town would no longer be impossible! Praying for the glory of mankind, I shall elaborate on their strategic worth with all the time I have left!"

Everyone watched him in sheer awe, amazed at his inspiring speech. He'd used every tactic in the book by this point to try and save the lives of his friends before, but now he was taking the advice of a friend of his. 'Speak from your heart. Anyone could believe something like that, not because it sounds right, but because it feels right.'

The Captain, still blinded by his own beliefs, slowly raised his hand with a fearful panic. He couldn't be convinced, deafened by his own fear and terror. No one could achieve such a thing.

Mikasa made a fist over her blades.

Eren lifted his hand to his teeth, with Jade clutched closely to him.

But the Captain gave a twisted, maniacal smile before throwing his arm down to signal the cannons. The monsters before him were going to die—his life was no longer at risk.

Or at least he thought so.

"That's enough," said an aged man, who held the Captain's arm with an iron-like grip. He wore a playful grin on his face, though it was subtle thanks to his mustache. "As always, despite having a large body, you're as feeble as a fawn."

"C-Commander Pixis...?" Stammered the Captain.

The Commander moved the Captain's arm down, tearing away the signal before continuing to speak as he walked forward towards Armin's trembling figure. "Are you blind to the brilliance of that salute?" He asked, looking at Armin with careful eyes. He kept walking until he was at the very edge of the platform they stood on. "I just arrived, but a messenger filled me in earlier." Turning his head, he looked at the Captain with a look that resembled a sneer. "Go take command of the reinforcements. I think it'd be best to hear what they have to say."

Armin, who'd been stiff with shock and fear, collapsed to his knees. There were happy tears in his eyes while he sweat profusely. He was panting like he'd been holding his breath while saluting. But the look of pure joy and relief on his face was refreshing. Hardly anyone made that sort of face anymore.

At Armin's back, Mikasa was walking forward with Jade cradled in her arms, the brunette finally out for good. Eren stumbled behind the two, a hand on Mikasa's shoulder to keep himself upright. The conscious two were smiling widely at Armin's success.

And Jade was tucked against Mikasa's shoulder, sleeping soundly. She was smiling the same sweet smile that she fell asleep with.

Even from far away, Pixis could tell that it was a smile of nothing but wholehearted belief. And, for some reason, found himself smiling in return to the girl who still had no clue of his very presence.