InsecuritysSanity: Yeah, you and me both :)

.73: Sorry, but this won't let me display your full screen name for some reason :(

I know it's a little confusing with so many names- fortunately, there's going to be a lot more coming in the next chapters.

Hikaru7: I'm glad you liked the chapter.

Personally, I really didn't like that scene and it really scared me the first time around I saw it in the anime.

I don't think I really have a favorite character- there are too many awesome people in Attack on Titan.

Antex- The Legendary Zoroark: That's great to hear ;)

The remaining soldiers had been gathered before Wall Rose, abuzz with nervous energy and anticipation- apparently, there was a plan to retake Wall Rose. However, whatever remaining moral among many of the soldiers had long since evaporated.

"They've got to be kidding..."

"We don't have the technology, manpower or Pokemon power to seal up that hole!"

"What're the officers thinking?"

"If we enter Trost, we'll all just die or watch our partners die!"

"In the end, all we can do is defend Rose until we get eaten..."

"Those damned glory-hounds!"

Atop the wall, the three squads were filled in about the situation and the plan. Armin looked down at the plans before the two Garrison and Outpost Guard soldiers while the two Beast Trainer and Survey Corps soldiers were getting ready for battle as well as they could. "I'm sorry again for barging in- I know I'm only a trainee-"

"It doesn't matter- go on ahead," Gustav said to the blond.

Rillo almost immediately liked the soldier for listening to Armin.

"Well, we know that the titans react to unusually concentrations of humans by giving chase- we can use this to our advantage and lure them next to the wall, in fact a corner would work best. This way, we can keep the titans from getting to Eren and take them down with the cannons," Armin explained before looking over at Andreas and Isabel. "I think it'd be best if the remaining Beast Trainer soldiers coordinate the Pokemon to form a perimeter to keep the titans from going anywhere. The ones on the ground can herd them further into the corner and the ones that can fly or are agile enough can kill them if they try to leave..."

"Makes sense," Andreas agreed.

"There should be more of us here by now, so it shouldn't be too unmanageable," Isabel said.

"Since we can't leave Eren completely defenseless, we should assign a small but elite team to protect him," the blond went on. "But we also can't avoid confrontation with the titans coming through the hole in the wall, so we should also assign a crack team to keep too many from getting through."

It was then that Armin realized that both Survey Corps squads had come to look over at them as well.

"All right, we've got it," Gustav said. "While it still needs some fine-tuning, it should be sound soon enough."

"But still..."

Amitya looked uncertain as she said, "This whole thing hinges on Jaeger closing that hole up, but we're still not sure if he can actually do it, right?"

Armin nodded. "That itself puts the entire plan on thin ice as it is..."

"That in itself is true enough," Anka agreed. "Not to mention the possibility of a riot breaking out and/ or mass desertion."

"There's not anyone here who'd blame them for feeling like they're marching off to their deaths, especially when there are so many unknown variables," Gunther said.

"Even so, I guess I can get what Commander Pixis and Olivier have in mind- sort of," Tristan said with a thoughtful frown.

"The problem is is that the entire situation is escalating," Erd pointed out. "Even right now, more and more titans are filing inside- even with us, the possibility of taking back Trost when it's teeming with titans is depressingly low."

"Not t-to mention Rose might get breached t-too at this rate," Jeremy added.

"Even then," Sayram concluded with a frown, "fear can only motivate people so far..."

Pixis pulled out a small flask and Monika reached into her pocket to take out a small cigarette and lit it before they both happened to glance over at Eren. "Would you like to sample?"

"That brat's going to be carrying a heavy-ass boulder on his back when in the form of humanity's enemy," Levi cut in with a flat look. "The last thing he needs is to be drunk off his ass, have a lungfull of ash, or, God-forbid, both."

"Ah yes, good point," Pixis remarked as he took a swig from the bottle while Monika gave a shrug as she inhaled through the cigarette and blew out a puff of smoke.

"That old man and friggin' ginger'll kill themselves one of these days with that shit," Eren heard Levi mutter under his breath and Mitternacht gave a small shrug, though he didn't hear the Gallade's response and Levi rolled his eyes at said response.

"I can't set foot in that hell again, I can't! I just want to see my family again!" Daz sobbed, his hands covering his head.

The Simisear grimaced in sadness for his partner- he could never experience the drive to see his own family again but it pained him seeing Daz so frightened.

"I heard that!" a brunet Garrison soldier barked, stomping up to the young man followed by a blonde Outpost Guard soldier with glasses and a Watchog and Seviper respectively. "Do you intend to desert your post?!"

"Yes, I DO!" Daz retorted, his teeth chattering. "This is nothing short of mass suicide and it won't do us any good to lose any more soldiers- there's no point whatsoever!"

"How dare you?" the Outpost Guard soldier asked in a low voice, her expression furious. "The moment you put on that uniform, you offered your heart to humanity- now you intend to flee?! On those grounds, I have every right to execute you for such a disgraceful display!"

"By all means, go right on ahead!" Daz yelled back. "It's a hell of a lot better than becoming titan-feed!"

The blonde's eyes gleamed with fury. "Monty, break him," she spat and the Seviper shot towards Daz, his mouth opening to reveal poison-soaked fangs aiming for his throat. "Ah-!"

The next moment, Chili was between them, knocking Daz back to block the blow before retaliating with a fire punch to the Seviper's jaw. The attack burned Monty badly and knocked him back a few feet, a fang hitting the stone pavement. The Outpost Guard soldier looked furious. "You-!"

"Domani, enough!" the brunet Garrison soldier barked, gripping her arm tightly. "Enough," he repeated in a softer but no less stern tone.

The blonde looked furious at that before she stormed away, Monty slithering behind her. Daz felt a firm and warm grip on his arm, as if anchoring him and he looked down to see Chili's gaze aiming and ahead, his expression molded into an intense and determined glare.

If this is what you want, Chili said, his expression never wavering, then I'll keep them busy when the time comes.

Tears of gratefulness beaded in Daz's eyes. "Thank you so much..."

The soldiers instinctively backed away from Domani as she went through the ranks, though they weren't surprised at the confrontation, given the situation. Some almost wished somebody would rebel, as one of the cadets expressed her wishes to her Excadrill partner.

"At least, I want to choose how I die..." she said to him. "I know we were given the opportunity to join the Police thanks to you, Gawain- but now..."

"Mira..." he mumbled sadly, unable to say anything to ease her mind or even hold her hand in some semblance of comfort without drawing blood.

"H-hey..."

Mira froze as she saw one of the other Garrison soldiers, a bearded man with black hair and a Stoutland by his side approach her. "What you just said-"

The brunette's eyes widened in horror, Gawain already standing in front of her with his claws raised as she stammered, "I-I was only joking, Officer Grey-"

"Do it."

The brunette cadet froze. "Wh-what?" she got out, trying to calm her partner.

"Make as much noise as possible and with as many others as possible," Grey told her. "With this much discord in the soldiers here, I'll use this to get away from here."

Jean looked back from where he was near Mira. "Where would you go then, if they broke through here too?"

"To my daughter," he said determinedly. "The gate here will come down either way and I need to get her away from there before it's too late! You've heard of the people who live outside of the walls, haven't you? The Verstoyen."

His eyes were like flames as he said, "If they can survive out there, who's to say we can't?"

Pixis and Monika led Eren and Becquerel down the wall, Hikaru and Rayleigh keeping a lookout from the rear. "It was said when the land became infested by the titans that humanity would rip itself apart in wars over the differences in race, religion, principals and politics- sometimes they went to war simply to take territory and resources for their own gain," Monika said. "Entire plots of land, countries or regions as they were called, would fight to the bitter end with whatever means possible, even using Pokemon as living weapons."

"It was around that time that someone said, 'What if a mighty enemy appeared that wasn't a human being? Then humanity would stop fighting amongst each other and put aside their differences in order to fight that enemy,'" Pixis said before turning to the brunet. "What do you think of that?"

"I did hear about that before, but that's still a really optimistic look not to mention naive," Eren answered. "It'd make a good bedtime story, but that's it."

Pixis chuckled and Monika gave a small smirk. "Your mind is more twisted than your appearance suggests," the ginger-haired commander remarked.

"It's more common sense than anything," Eren said. "Even with the titans, we're still a far cry from what that story calls for. To be honest, I don't think that humanity was ever meant to unite together."

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Pixis asked.

"We're all too different from one another for one- we can't account for what everyone wants. For another... we'll always find something to fight about or disagree over- even people who work together are probably doing for different reasons or have different feelings over it," Eren said before looking over at Becquerel. "Even when we have them by our side, we see them as friends, partners, family, even lovers for some."

"You act as if such a thing is bad," Monika remarked.

"No, it's not!" the brunet backtracked. "If everyone was the same, I wouldn't want to live like that- what we all need isn't a common enemy, but a common ally."

The Absol smiled softly as he took in his child's words- there weren't many out there who had such clarity on those matters. He looked back at the Ninetails and Poliwrath as they glanced at each other for brief moment. No doubt they feel the same-

"When in the hell're we going to FIGHT?!" Hikaru howled, a vein on her head prominent.

"I'm actually tempted to let them through and direct them over to the fat-asses that need to die," Rayleigh deadpanned.

Marquis Bart gave a harsh shudder- he didn't know why but he was suddenly terrified for his life.

"Tonight I shall feast upon the corpses of my enemies!" Hikaru declared with an evil grin.

"Leave some for me to play with, won't you?" Rayleigh requested, cracking his gloved knuckles.

Becquerel sweat-dropped at the two Pokemon, startled by how eager they were to fight.

"Oh my, it seems our partners are rather eager," Pixis remarked with a smile at the Ninetales and Poliwrath.

"... sure, we'll call it that," Monika deadpanned with a sweat-drop.

Eh? Eren wondered.

At that, the two commanders and the cadet and Pokemon came to the walls overlooking the soldiers. Pixis took in a deep breath and bellowed out, "ATTENTION ALL SOLDIERS!"

At this, the murmuring stopped and they looked up towards them. "WE WILL NOW LAY OUT THE STRATEGY FOR RECONQUERING TROST!" Pixis went on. "OUR OBJECTIVE REQUIRES US TO REACH THE HOLE IN THE WALL AND PLUG IT!"

This was met with startled and confused murmurs as the soldiers digested the information- had the officers gone mad? How would they plug the hole up?! "What do they...?" Marco wondered. "How can we do such a thing?"

"AS FOR HOW WE WILL PROCEED, WE HAVE THE ONE WHO WILL INITIATE IT RIGHT HERE!" Monika shouted. "TRAINEE EREN JAEGER, COME FORTH!"

Becquerel looked back at Eren and met his gaze before the brunet stepped forward, saluting strongly for all to see. This brought several more gasps and murmurs all around as Monika bellowed out, "THIS YOUNG MAN IS THE SUCCESSFUL RESULT OF TITAN SHAPE-SHIFTING EXPERIMENTS- HE HOLDS THE ABILITY TO TRANSFORM INTO A TITAN AND CONTROL IT'S BODY WITH HIS WILL!

"HE WILL PICK UP THE BOULDER THAT WAS DUG OUT TWO YEARS PRIOR, CARRY IT TO THE GATE AND PLUG IT UP SO THAT NO TITAN CAN GET THROUGH!" Pixis picked up. "THEREFORE, YOUR ROLE WILL BE TO PROTECT HIM FROM ANY TITAN WHO TRIES TO GET IN HIS WAY UNTIL THE STONE HAS BEEN MOVED!"

As expected, the plan was met with more than a bit dissension.

"Pick up that stone- That's just-"

"What, so the titans are finally starting to control human beings?!"

"That's it!" Daz cried out. "I won't die for this kind of crap- we're not just blades you can use and throw away without a care!"

Then we're leaving now, yeah? Chili asked, readying for battle.

"This is a bunch of bullshit..."

"Do they actually think anyone would take them seriously?"

"You've gotta be kidding..."

"So what then?"

"That's all they see us as in the end- we and our partners are just living weapons in their eyes..." Grey spat angrily.

"Are you really so cowardly is that you'd let the titans have their way with humanity without a fight?!" the brunet Garrison solider cried in horror at the rapidly increasing chaos.

"Humanity is FINISHED!" Daz yelled back at her. "I'm spending what little time I have left with my family!"

"They intend to have us all die today!" Grey shouted, rallying the other reluctant soldiers. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm out of here!"

The tension in the air was becoming even worse as the soldiers began to turn one after another. Just then, a purple flash shot across the pavement and knocked several human and Pokemon soldiers backwards. The next moment, Domani and Monty stopped in the back with their swords and fangs bared. "Get back to your posts," she spat.

Chili glared furiously at them both, holding up an arm to stop Daz. "This'll only take a minute," he said, his fangs barring.

"It will not be allowed," Monty hissed, slithering to the back where soldiers began to turn. "Return to your postsss."

At that, Grey's Stoutland appeared behind the Seviper and used strength to smash him across the pavement. "Stay out of our way!" he barked.

Monty gave a furious hiss and he moved to trike back only for Chili's fire punch to slam into his jaw before Rick the Granbull grabbed him from behind to restrain him as other Garrison soldiers came to stop the deserters, Verman leading the way. In moments, it would all decend into a bloodbath.

"HERE ARE MY ORDERS- ALL THOSE WHO WISH TO LEAVE WILL BE PARDONED! Pixis' voice rang, halting the fight for a moment as everyone looked up in startled surprise.

"THE TITANS ARE TERRIBLE CREATURES AND THE MOMENT THAT SOMEONE GIVES INTO THE FEAR OF THEM, THEY CAN'T EVER FIGHT ONE AGAIN!" Monika shouted. "THAT'S WHY THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT TERROR ARE FREE TO WALK AWAY HERE AND NOW! MEANING THIS- YOU WHO WOULD ALLOW YOUR PARENTS, SIBLINGS AND ANY OTHER LOVED ONES TO EXPERIENCE THAT SAME TERROR FOR THEIR OWN SAKE ARE FREE TO LEAVE RIGHT THIS MOMENT!"

This halted all movement at once as the crowd digested this information. For the Pokemon, this didn't have the same impact as their families would not be targeted- but it would also mean that their partner's family, often their surrogates, would be in danger. Grey imagined it, his tiny daughter's eyes wide with fear as a titan plucked her up like a piece of fruit and his resolve cracked. He couldn't let that come to pass, not when she- along with his partner- were his very last hopes left.

Slowly but surely, the soldiers walked back to the walls, realizing the futility of their fear in the face of the suffering their loved ones would face if they lost. Chili winced as he rubbed at his arms after Rick let him go to rejoin his own partner before looking back at Daz. "Do you still want to leave?" he asked.

"... if I leave now," he said, still shaking, still scared, "I couldn't face them again even if we won."

"Okay then."

Eren remained upright from where he stood on the wall as he watched the soldiers come back. For his part in this entire plan, the brunet had no way to know if he would be able to use his power to move the boulder but his duty was already crystal clear.

Even though this whole thing is a sham, I have to succeed- if just for the sake of bringing back hope...

For the next minute, the brunet heard Pixis and Monika relay the plan to retake Wall Maria, pointing out the absurdity that Armin had talked of so long ago, how twenty-thousand people who had been delivered from hell were forced right back into it with no weapons and not even any Pokemon for protection. All because the government decided they couldn't provide for them. It was a sin that could never be washed of their hands.

If Wall Rose really does fall here, the government won't be able to just make the problems go away like four years ago- Wall Sina wouldn't be able to support even half of the humans inside the walls right now, the brunet thought. Even our partners are still suffering- Wall Maria had a bigger HQ than Rose and that was where the Pokemon were bred and hatched before going to Rose to be formally trained, and now that one is practically bursting at the seams to meet both objectives- that's why there was so much infighting before. If we do need to retreat into Wall Sina, then they'll be forced to stay outside and we wouldn't be able to train or fight together- our combat strength would be cut in half.

"IF THE HUMAN RACE DIES OUT, IT WON'T BE BECAUSE THE TITANS ATE US ALL BUT BECAUSE WE'LL HAVE ALREADY KILLED EACH OTHER!" Pixis boomed. "WE CANNOT ALLOW DEATH TO PROCEED ANY FURTHER WITHIN THESE WALLS!"

"FOR THAT SAKE, WE ASK THIS OF YOU ALL," Monika shouted, "PLEASE, DIE WHERE YOU ARE!"

In the next hour, the soldiers prepared for combat as swiftly and efficiently as they could. Tanks were refilled, gears tuned and they were able to find several spare apricorn capsules for the cadets.

The three Garrison captains were lined up with their respective partners along with the Survey Corps Squad leader and captain. Their respective partners, Lairon, Chatot, Charizard and Gallade stood by their sides as they received their orders from the two commanders.

"Squad leader Finn and Janach will be in charge of keeping as many titans from getting through as possible, along with Dragonite Donovan," Pixis relayed. "Meanwhile, Captain Levi and his subordinates will guard Jaeger for the route to the boulder and Captain Dietrich and Brzenska's subordinates will provide whatever back-up in necessary in case of injury and death. Take this time to prepare for anything."

"Commander, if I may ask something," Rico interjected. "Does this weapon really work?"

"Quiet, Rico!" Ian admonished her.

"Surely you don't believe this?" the blonde said. "If this doesn't work, then many people and Pokemon would have died for nothing."

"With all due respect, this entire operation depends on Eren Jaeger," Mitabi Janarch said, "yet we know next to nothing about him- and there's also the problem with his partner..."

"I see- so you've heard of the myths surrounding the Absol sub-species?" Pixis remarked.

"I suppose you enjoy losing to the titans then, is that it?" Monika asked. "I for one, don't- losing means that good soldiers die, that resources are lost and families and friends grieve. It'd be no exaggeration to say I hate losing more than anything else and these five years have held nothing but losing for us all."

Her fist clenched and her green eyes blazed with determination. "I want to win against these monsters, no matter what and more than anything else in this world."

"Are you saying that the rest of us don't?!"

"Then betting on Eren Jaeger is the only option we have," Pixis said simply. "We know nothing of him but right now, he's out best bet in defeating them right here and now."

Monika turned to Levi and Sayram. "I trust you two have no objections?"

"You've all said what's needed to be said- all that's left is to go," Sayram said.

Levi remained silent.

"Very well then! Ian Dietrich, Rico Brzenska and Mitabi Janarch, you hold the Garrison's most Elite troops. Sayram Finn, Levi, you are two of the finest officers in the Survey Corps- it is with no exaggeration that humanity's fate rests in your hands. Ian and Levi will share command on the field- you both will have free reign."

Levi nodded in acknowledgement and Ian looked surprised. "Me?"

"I have no objections," Rico said.

"I don't either," Mitabi said.

"We all know you can do this- after all, we've all experienced our own wins and losses, haven't we?" Anahit said, casting a cool gaze on her partner.

Ian's fist clenched tighter over his heart and he gave an affirmative, "Yes sir!"

With that, the two squads turned to their respective partners to heal any injuries either species might have accumulated, recharge said Pokemon's move power and discuss various battle tactics while Ian went over to inform Mikasa of her joining them.

During this, the short captain stole a glance at Eren. The taste and smell of sewer water in was his mouth and nose and his guts twisted at the memory of the loathing he held and the guilt that almost crushed him. "Do you resent me for what I did?" Levi asked the brunet.

Eren was surprised at such a question and he answered, "You were only doing what was necessary, Captain-"

But you went too far- that wasn't brutal, that was nothing short of animalistic, Becquerel cut him off, looking at Levi with a stern look. If this is how you conduct yourself with the other soldiers of the Survey Corps, it makes me question just what they were thinking allowing you to join. Are they really so desperate for strong soldiers that they would overlook something like this?

Mitternacht's eyes narrowed in cold anger, the blades on his elbow extending despite the healing burns on his arms, startling Eren. "You're right and I apologize for what I did," Levi replied, bowing his head slightly in acknowledgement to the Absol.

"?!"

So long as it doesn't happen again, I have no complaints, Becquerel said with a short nod in acknowledgement of the apology before looking over at Mikasa and Tanya. This has been resolved- don't drag it further.

Tanya nodded while the ravenette scowled but said nothing, the Gallade mirroring her anger inwardly as he looked at the Absol.

I can fight my own damn battles- I don't need you butting in and making things more complicated, Levi told Mitternacht sternly, making him frown with conflict and slight shame before he lowered his tonfa-like blades. Tanya frowned with concern at the older Pokemon.

It was then that Eren saw a squad of Garrison soldiers come towards them, Eren recognizing Ian and Rico from the crowd, Anahit in her Apricorn capsule and Bellamy flying alongside his bespectacled partner and they were also filled in on the plan from when they had tended to their partners. "They called you a human weapon or something along those lines- but so long as you close up that wall, I don't really care," Ian said. "We'll make sure that you complete your mission. We're counting on you!"

"Y-yes sir!" the brunet said before the groups began to make their way down the walls to where they would embark.

Mikasa stole a look at Eren before she asked, "Are you all right?"

"I said I'm fine- this is a lot better than being surrounded, that's for sure-"

"We're not playing house here, Jaeger," Rico said as she ran alongside them.

"Jaeger-bombastic!" Bellamy squawked.

"I didn't mean like that-"

"Even so, I still can't believe we have to leave our fates in the hands of some spoiled kid..." Mitabi muttered, his gaze lingering by his side where his Fearow partner should have been.

"That's enough, both of you!" Ian barked.

"Keep your heads in the game, would you?" Levi said. "This is just the way things are right now and it can't be helped- we just have to deal with what we've been given."

"Then let me say this much at least," Rico said before looking over at Eren. "When this is over, whether or not we win, people and Pokemon alike are going to die for your sake- those ranked above and below us- soldiers who chose to give up their lives regardless of goals or faction or emotion. But remember this above all else- these aren't just pieces on a chessboard. They have friends family, loved ones and the emotions that entail to them."

Her eyes clouded as she remembered her comrades. "Alyosha and Mason, Domonic and Gina, Phine and Clementine, Izabel and Ginger, Ludwig and Penelope, Martina and Olive, Guido and Ford, Hans and Selma- they are all humans and Pokemon as alive as we and our partners are. I've known them from my days as a cadet and I know that some of them will die today for you. That's why it falls on you to make sure that their deaths will not be in vain, no matter what. Never forget this and be prepared to die for that responsibility."

Her minds raced through Eren's mind and he gave a determined, "Understood!" his gaze focused ahead before he caught sight of Sayram and Levi's backs, the wings of freedom in his gaze. Those two face this kind of thing all of the time- I'll be joining them soon, I have to make sure that they can count on me!

Just then, Murtogh swooped back down and flew beside Sayram and relayed the Charizard's report, "There aren't any titans on the shortest route to the rock- looks like those playing decoy are doing their job."

Eren grimaced as he thought of the others before shaking his head and returning to the matter at hand. Ever since the titans appeared, humanity had been fighting to survive- they had taken back territory and they had their partners to aid them, but they never truly scored any true victory against the titans it seemed. Wall Maria being breached and losing their rescued territory only made their morale go in a perpetual downward spiral.

But once this plan succeeds, we'll be back on track. I know it's not much, considering what we did in the past, but this will be a huge step forward out of the flunk we've been in for so long.

At that moment, the group came to the route and leaped off the wall, their gear activating and their partners either flying or leaping down agilely to the route, Sayram's squad separating with Donovan to the gate. Eren shot through the air with Becquerel racing by his side on the rooftops, his heart hammering in his chest before he brought his hand to his mouth and bit down into the flesh, drawing blood. In that moment, lightning seemed to crackle around him, followed by a mighty crash resounding in the air before the Rouge titan appeared once more.

Even though he had been prepared, Becquerel couldn't help the shudder that went through his body as he saw the titan- to think that his child was inside of that thing controlling it's movements! He wasn't the only one with such thoughts and eight out of the nine Survey Corps soldiers were silently astounded at what they were witnessing- for all these years they had spent fighting and killing titans and watching their comrades get eaten and killed by them, to fight alongside one, to protect one, was incredible to say the least.

The Rouge titan looked over at the boulder from where it lay, the two squads and Mikasa keeping guard before he halted. Mikasa looked at him worriedly. "Eren?"

"MIKASA-"

CRUNCH

The squad quickly made their way to the gate where titans were still coming through.

"All right then! Reece, use your electricity and set up a barrier for the smaller titans! Jeremy, Amitya and Anderson, take out the ones who manage to walk through! Donovan, work on taking out the titans that stray too far inside Trost but don't take on more than you can handle! Tristan, Issac, you're with me and Murtogh!" Sayram barked.

"Got it!/ Got it" all seven barked before shooting off.

Reece bounced past the large feet carefully before arriving at the left side of the hole in the wall. It began to swiftly store electricity inside it's capsule-like body before discharging it into the debris around the wall, which was in no short supply. Adjusting the power, it created a current that made most of the titans shy away from it, keeping them back temporarily.

Jeremy and Amitya meanwhile clenched their swords before going into battle. To their dismay, nearly half of the titans by the gate had gotten through but hopefully they could handle it. The next moment, two of them fell to their knees as Anderson's poison worked it's way through their bodies, rotting away the muscles in their limbs. The two swung their swords and slashed out their napes before dodging another blow from a ten-meter blond titan and a twelve meter brunet titan tried to grab at Anderson before he smashed a poison jab into it's hand, the poison traveling through it's arm and making it fall to it's side.

"Behind you!" Amitya barked to the brunet, making him look back and dodge a black-haired thirteen meter right behind him by inches before firing another grappling hook to it's side and swiftly shooting down behind it. He fired yet another one to the nape and he ran up, keeping low and away from the hands that tried to grab him before his sword sang as it slashed out the flesh.

Amitya had landed on the rooftop after she had warned her squad mate before jumping out of the way of a titan's fist, the grubby hand barely missing her before smashing the place where she had been seconds ago. She fired out the grappling hooks and spiraled towards a sandy-haired ten meter before swooping right between it's legs and making it bend down to try to grab her before coming up from behind. When it tried to raise it's head, it knocked it against another titan reaching in her direction. She was able to send another grappling hook that embedded itself in the titan's head and she shot up as it struggled to move back up before slashing out it's nape, barely dodging the second titan's grip.

A fourteen meter blond, a ten meter brunet and an eleven meter black-haired titan had wandered near the houses before a fat twelve meter sandy-haired titan was thrown in their direction and smashed the first two to the ground and Donovan grabbed the eleven meter by the back of it's neck and snapped it, breaking the nape apart. The blond titan struggled to get up as the impact from the titan thrown had broken the brunet titan's nape before Donovan sent a flamethrower at it's head, burning both nape and head off. Donovan didn't even need to catch his breath before shooting towards four more titans that had made it past the three squad-mates.

Issac leaped down to the ground from where Tristan released him, landing with a solid thud between three titans. The middle, a ten meter blond reached down to grab him before the Bisharp shot up it's arm and leaped right into it's mouth. Confusion swept over it's features before it's stomach was slashed from the inside in a mess of guts and blood, the flesh hanging limply before it fell backwards from where Issac cut up through it's spine and to the nape. Smashing his foot down into the bone, Issac leaped off of the dead titan and towards the next titan, an eleven meter brunet. It grabbed at him around his midsection before blood spurted from it's finger before most of them were cut off on the spot or left hanging by a few threads of sinew before Issac sent a focus blast through it's throat and nape, killing it.

Murtogh let out a powerful flamethrower, licking the titans below and burning apart their heads and napes as Sayram and Tristan shot through the air, twisting and turning to avoid the titans. There were more and more heading to the gate, as if drawn to them. The blond let out a startled yelp as a titan grabbed at his leg before slashing it's fingers out and shooting beneath it's overhead arm and spiraling around its' back before sending one more grappling hook to let him shoot around it's leg and up it's back. He didn't stop moving, not until the nape was flying out and he landed on a broken-through roof to catch his breath as Sayram killed two more, their bodies crashing to the ground.

Why the hell are there so many showing up at once?! Tristan thought frantically, trying to steer clear of a thirteen-meter brunet. It's not like there's a lot of us here anyways-

His thought was cut off as he heard a faint noise. He strained to hear it and get out of the titan's grasp, succeeding in the latter as Murtogh burned it's head off and near made Tristan's boot catch on fire. He quickly stamped it out before catching himself. He could finally place the sound as that of a whistle and looked down in time to see five figures shoot down the streets and his eyes widened in horror. "Squad Leader!" he yelled before gesturing down and the black-haired officer's eyes widened in horror as well.

"Verstoyen- now of all times?!" he hissed before barking at Tristan, "Take Donovan and pursue them, now!"

"Got it!" the blond nodded before trying to get over to Donovan only for his path to be blocked by three more titans. "Fuck!"

From the walls, the soldiers who weren't guiding and protecting Eren's titan form in Trost or holding off the titans at the gate, were hanging from the walls by their wires to lure as many titans as possible to the wall. Their partners had formed a perimeter around the titans so they were trapped in the corner, the ones on the ground halting their movement if they tried to leave and the ones on the rooftops and air killing any who made it past them. Despite their best efforts however, they were nearing twenty percent of casualties.

"Those soldiers did not die for no reason- they died because you and I chose to give that order," Pixis said as he and Monika watched over the battle from where they were- Hikaru and Rayleigh had joined the perimeter much to their (the Pokemons') satisfaction.

"I'm not a little girl anymore, Dot," Monika said without venom. "I've been living with the choices that sent many soldiers under my command to their deaths, whether against the titans or the humans who are out for our blood. This is no different- just another fight to show whether or not we can live in this world or not."

Gilbert's eyebrow twitched as he saw the titans trying to reach for them- it reminded the brunet of some kids who were trying to get a piece of candy or a pastry off of a windowsill and he gave a startled laugh at that before he felt his gear shift as one of his wires snapped and his freaked out smile dropped off his face, a look of horror replacing it. He tried to bring himself back up the wall but the one grappling hook was under too much weight and it became dislodged from the stone.

A yell broke from Gilbert's lips as he felt himself drop downwards only for a hand to close around his wrist, breaking his fall. Yue clutched the stout soldier as tightly as she could hang on, stretching herself to catch him from where she was. "Idiot, this isn't the time for heroics!" Gilbert cried out even though he was terrified for her to let go but Yue refused, her eyes squeezed shut tightly as tears of exertion and terror leaked out and trickled down her cheeks.

"I'm a fucking coward but I don't wanna lose anyone else today," the albino soldier got out with a ragged sob, snot dribbling down her nose and mingling with the tears and sweat dripping down her face. "I'm scared shitless but I don't wanna see you die!"

The brunet's eyes widened at her words. The next moment, Gilbert felt his other wrist being grabbed and Basil supported both soldiers as best as he could. Yue gave a hoarse sob, her lips and jaw trembling in a grateful smile. The Garrison soldier nodded back and couldn't help feeling a tiny bit amazed at himself- he never imagined himself doing anything like this for anyone, save for his family.

Suloch was shaking all over from where she was hanging over the titans, her hand closing around her throat where dark bruises and red scars were still so prominent even after six years, the adrenaline of combat from earlier having faded long ago. Flashes of blood and steel, and the shrieks of fear and tearful begging flashed before her eyes and thudded in her eardrums. Suloch's breath came out in short frantic huffs as her throat closed and her eyes shut tightly before both of her hands came up to cover her ears. Her jaw ached as her teeth gnashed together, her head spinning rapidly. A moment later, a hand ruffled her hair gently and she looked up to see Andreas give her a reassuring look from above.

"..."

Alexi froze in horror as he felt crushing pressure around his ankle and looked down to see a blond titan leering at him with wide eyes and lips pressed firmly together. "Oh-" he choked out, only for the titan's eyes to explode in a mess of blood and fluid, letting go of him in pain a second later. "Uh...?" he squeaked.

The burgundy hair man shot back up out of range and saw Denys and Anka each holding a rifle from where they had shot at the titan before they got up and moved to a different vantage point on the wall. Briar Rose and Gustav were doing the same, only they were aiming for the titan's fingers as they tried to grab at the soldiers before moving themselves as well. Out of the corner of his eye, Denys saw a grey-haired titan clutching at the grooves in the wall, trying to climb up. He fired at it's fingers and eyes but it held on stubbornly before leaning it's head forward to shield both. He frowned before grabbing the other rifle by him.

There were the standard rifles issued to the military and then there were these- some of the last functioning anti-titan rifles inside of the walls that he and his comrade and the two Garrison soldiers had been given clearance to use- the stock was sturdy and long, bolt action able to hold two sets of five rounds at a time on either side and the barrel was five feet long with a rounded caliber of two and a half inches, using projectiles designed so that they would lodge firmly into titan skin and stay there, preventing them from healing properly and allowing them to hit said titan from up to three hundred meters away.

As to why there were so few left, the anti-titan rifles required specific material to be manufactured, said manufacturing was incredibly difficult and taxing on the workers, sufficient strength and eyesight to wield and aim, and the incident in which one of said anti-titan rifles accidentally blew a hole in the wall that had the Wallists screeching like banshees at the rifle's manufacturers limiting their uses to outside of the walls.

Denys gripped the rifle steadily, readied the holding legs of said rifle into the stone below him and aimed carefully at the titan as it opened it's mouth to try and snap at Gilbert's legs. The next moment, the projectile was fired, nearly knocking Denys back, and the angle it was fired let it travel right into the titan's mouth and out of the back of it's neck, tearing it's nape apart.

"Fucking hell," Alexi whispered in amazement.

"How many shots do you three have left?" Gustav called from where he sent two more bullets into a titan's eyes, blinding it. "I got forty-four regular and thirty A-T left!"

"Thirty-eight regular and nineteen A-T over here!" Briar Rose yelled, making Gustav wince from her closeness.

"Thirty-two regular, twenty-eight A-T," Anka answered, reloading her rifles swiftly.

"Twenty-six regular, twenty-five A-T!" Denys shouted back, reloading his normal rifle before firing into a brunette titan's nose and through the nape. "Sorry- make that twenty-four regular!"

"We can probably keep this up for some time," Monika said as she took out a black sidearm and her own rifle- her own anti-titan rifle had been left behind in the forts but like hell that was going to stop her from filling the giants below full of metal.

The roof all but shattered beneath the power of the Rouge titan and Tanya clutched Mikasa tightly to her hollow body as they spiraled out of the way, Mikasa activating her gear and stopping them both from tumbling off the roof as she held the Froslass to her. The Rouge titan withdrew his fist and made a move to smash it at where one of the Garrison soldiers were before they shot out of the way, barely avoiding it.

"Eren, what're you doing?!" Becquerel shouted, leaping to the nearest rooftop by the Rogue titans' face. "Eren, listen to me-"

He was cut off as the Rouge titan attempted to smash his fist down at the Absol, Becquerel barely dodging it before his bad leg landed wrong and he hissed in pain- he shifted in order to alleviate the pain only for the limb to wobble beneath him even worse. Dammit-!

Petra and Oluo moved to fight the Rouge titan but Levi quickly stopped them before glancing at his partner. "It's no good- it's like I'm trying to read a normal titan's lack of mind now!" the Gallade said with a grimace.

Mikasa barely avoided the Rouge titan's next blow, shattering the roof she had taken refuge on before she landed near Becquerel, Tanya going over to help steady him. "Do you think you can try to slow him down?" the ravenette asked the Froslass.

I can try, Tanya answered and opened her mouth, letting out a powerful ice beam that began to encase the Rouge titan's legs. However, he easily kicked the ice off of him even as it was climbing up to his thighs and his hand swatted at Tanya, knocking her aside and slamming the ice/ ghost type against the chimney of a nearby roof. She slumped onto the roof, body limp.

"Tanya!" Becquerel exclaimed.

Mikasa's eyes widened in horror and she shot into the air towards the Rouge titan. "Wait, stop- Mikasa!" Ian yelled. "Don't get near him!"

"You idiot-!" Levi hissed as he barked out, "Oluo, Luca, keep a watch out for any in-coming titans! Gunther, Thor, Petra and Satoko, circle back around Jaeger and keep him from getting away! Erd, Chloe, you're with me and Nacht!"

"Eren!" the ravenette cried out, shooting before the Rouge titan's face. "Don't you recognize us?! Becquerel, Tanya and me, Mikasa- we're all here! You need to pick that stone up and move it to the hole in the wall!"

Rico grimaced. "So this was a failure in the end," she growled as she withdrew the flare gun. "Some secret weapon-"

"So it comes down to us, huh- not surprising," Oluo muttered while Petra's fingers twitched on her blades as she Satoko swooped down with Gunther and Thor shot down across the pavement.

Becquerel ran atop the rooftop before he leaped and gripped the Rogue titan's shoulder tightly, feeling the hot flesh burn at his claws and skin again but refusing to let go. "Child, listen to me, please!" he pleaded with him. "You have to-"

The Rouge titan's head to look at the Absol before he was thrown off roughly when his fist came into contact with him. Becquerel's eyes widened in pain as the fist hit his injured leg and he felt something snap before he began falling. He was stopped as Mikasa grabbed him, cradling the Pokemon in her arms as she looked back at her family.

"Eren, don't do this!" Mikasa cried out. "You are human-"

At that moment, the Rogue titan's fist raised towards where Mikasa was at high speed, only for Levi to kick her out of the way and block the blow with his foot. He winced as he felt white-hot pain travel up his ankle. A second later, Mitternacht appeared behind them and grabbed both raven-haired soldiers under his arms and teleported out of the way of the Rouge titan's next attack, setting them on the roof while Chloe swiftly wrapped vines around the Rouge titan's legs in an attempt to hold him back before he just kicked through them, knocking her back.

Satoko swiftly moved across the pavement, forming metal claw before she attempted to slash out the Achilles tendons only to barely dodge a kick to the head. Thor moved behind the Rogue titan and grabbed at his ankle, almost completely halting his movement. The Rouge titan stumbled before he slammed his foot down and swung out to balance himself out only for Satoko to finally get a clear view and slash apart his ankle, albeit narrowly missing the tendons from when the Rouge titan's foot snapped back, knocking the Weaville into a house.

Petra swooped around from the front and shot the grappling hooks up onto the Rouge titan's shoulders, her blades slashing at the veins in his legs before he slammed his fist down towards her. The honey blonde barely avoided the attack before she swooped up to his head, landing nimbly. A moment later, the Rouge titan's fist came up towards her and Petra swooped away, letting the Rogue titan smash himself in the face with said fist.

Gunther shot up from his back up to where the nape was only for Tanya to shoot towards them, grabbing the older man's wrists to stop him. "Please-!" she rasped before the Rouge titan reached for them both and Gunther grabbed the Froslass and avoided his grasp before he fell backwards and against the stone, unmoving.

"Captain, there're two titans approaching us!" Oluo yelled from where he was on Luca's back. "There's a ten and six meter coming from the gate and a twelve meter from over there!"

Levi swore under his breath in pain and frustration before he felt the area around his ankle- it was either broken or sprained but he couldn't tell at the moment.

Mikasa remained silent but then felt the pain in her leg where she had landed wrong and Becquerel was barely able to stand at the moment from where he had collapsed on her lap. The Gallade quickly extended his hands out so he gripped the injured areas of both of their injured limbs. A pale pink pulse shimmered out from his hands and Mikasa was startled to feel relief flood through her leg, as if it had been asleep and was waking up, the pain fading away slowly but surely. After a minute, Mitternacht withdrew and gripped Becquerel's leg, administering the same treatment.

"Be careful, all right?" Mitternacht told Mikasa, Becquerel and Levi. "Heal pulse restored your injuries but if you put too much pressure on them, it'll come undone and you'll be even worse off. When this is all over, rest your legs as much as possible."

At that moment, the remaining soldiers met on the rooftop for a brief respite.

"Captain Ian and Levi sirs, we need to retreat now!" one of Ian's subordinates, Gordon, exclaimed. "Closing up the gate should have never fallen on a kid's shoulders!"

He makes a valid point, Gunther couldn't help thinking.

"This really does suck," Rico muttered. "But we need to get out of here..."

Mikasa and the two Pokemon with her stared in horror and fury at their words- there was no way any of them would abandon Eren, not here or now. She glared at the two captains from where they stood, both meeting her black gaze with stern looks.

"Sir, what're you waiting for?!" his other subordinate, Christopher, exclaimed.

"There isn't anyone here who blames you two for this- we all knew that this plan stood on thin ice as it is," Erd said to both captains.

"Exactly!" Gordon cried out. "We did our best and it was worth a try but we've been through more than enough!"

"Enough!" Ian barked. "Rico, Gordon and Hans, assist soldiers Ral and Schultz with taking down the titans coming from behind- Mitabi and my own will assist Captain Levi and soldiers Jinn and Bozado with the ones heading from the front!"

Armin looked up in horror from where he stood as the red flare disappeared in the sky. What was going on with Eren and the others?

Rillo looked back at the blond and gave a short nod, showing him where she stood. He nodded back and grabbed the gas tanks, much to the other's surprise and refilled his own. Rillo scampered onto his back, clinging tightly with her claws as he jumped down, his wires shooting out as he headed back into Trost.

"Armin wait!" Marco cried out. "Where're you going?!" but the blond was already out of ear range.

"Hey!" Jean yelled as he and Miko ran over to them. "What' going on with Eren?! I saw the smoke."

We don't know- Armin headed after him like two seconds before you showed up! Rinslet exclaimed.

"What?!"

I think... I think they'll be fine, Miko said determinedly.

Jean stared at the Umbreon in disbelief. "I agree," Marco said. "They'll definitely be okay!"

Eren can do this, definitely! Fisher barked.

"Still... I can't be the only one thinks this whole plan of luring the titans out is pointless right?" Connie asked.

"It's always been a war of attrition with them," Jean pointed out. "But right now, we can't afford to lose anyone."

"... so everyone here died in vain then?"

Rinslet's fists clenched tightly- she knew some of the human and Pokemon soldiers risking their lives, she had heard their deaths! No...

"Right now, all we can do is make sure our casualties don't become too high- that's natural in of itself," Jean said. "I know I'm right about this!"

"Really..."

"Yes!"

Rinslet looked back at her partner and realized what he was thinking of doing. "... we'd better not become casualties ourselves then!" she said, bopping Connie's arm with a a determined look.

The bald teen looked back at Marco and Jean. "Well?"

"What?!" Rico exclaimed, Bellamy echoing her sentiments with the same shock.

"I'm the one in charge- so shut up and follow through with my orders!" Ian shouted back at her, leaving no room for argument. "We can't leave Eren defenseless any longer!"

Mikasa's eyes widened in surprise at his orders and Levi quickly jumped in, understanding what Ian was getting at. "For now, we protect Eren from the titans until he's recovered. Approaching him in this state would be unwise for any of us, but he's still the only one who can board up that hole. Not even the Pokemon who tried to move that stone were strong enough to budge it more than a few feet without nearly breaking their backs or minds," he said.

"So what, you're saying we just wait for him to get up?!" Rico snapped. "For the sake of some faulty weapon?"

Be careful of what you say, Becquerel said, his eyes like blood-ice as he glared at her, making her shiver slightly before she snapped, "My point still stands- are you really willing to gamble on such a chance?!"

"Do you really think that this is anything new to any of us?" Erd asked.

"We've begun to deal with decisions like this for a long time now," Petra said, her eyes like steel. "If this is the course of action we take, then we'll go down it until otherwise!"

"Soldier Ral took the words out of my mouth," Ian said. "No matter the casualties, we have to keep going!"

Rico was taken back by the determined expressions of the four Survey Corps soldiers and their present partners before she yelled, "You're all insane!"

"Then tell us- what else can we do?" Levi said to her. "If you have any other ideas on how to minimize casualties AND block the hole in the wall AND keeping what little we have left of our humanity, I'd be more than happy to hear you out."

Rico grimaced, her fists clenched before she said, "I don't. If we did have those kinds of methods, then we wouldn't be in this mess- I know that. So even though this entire thing sucks, it still needs doing and we're the only ones who can do it."

Ian nodded. "In the end, our mission is to die for whatever necessary."

"... what a joke- is this all we can do in the end?" Levi wondered absently.

The Pokemon with them looked visibly uncomfortable at this, mainly because it really was all they could do- they were sturdier, faster, stronger and had a broader range of abilities that humans couldn't hope to achieve in any lifetime. Even now though, they weren't under obligation to protect humanity after the history they shared with the species and by those rights, they should be more than satisfied they were being hunted by the titans.

"Still though, do you want to die begging for your life or fighting for it, even if you die like a dog in the end?" Ian asked the company.

"... that was by far the piss-poorest attempt at motivation I've ever been subjected," Rico said.

"Rico!" The four Special Ops soldiers snapped and Levi's flat expression only got flatter.

"I'll still follow the plan through, and you did make a good point," the blonde continued. "Even if I die, I'll show those bastards just what it means to screw with humanity because I refuse to just lay down and die pointlessly. Ral, Schultz, you can count on our back-up!"

"Count on us!" Bellamy repeated with determination.

Petra smiled and both Gunther and Thor nodded. "Yeah, let's do this!" Satoko grinned, pumping her clawed fist into the air before the seven of them took off. Becquerel stood back up now that his leg was better and Tanya smiled with relief.

"I'm going down to him," the Absol announced, then stopping the other soldiers from protesting by saying, "I can take more damage than any of you and I've known Eren for far longer than anyone here- if he can recover, I'm the best chance of getting through to him."

"Fine then," Levi said. "But don't count on us to bail you out if he tries to attack you."

"I wouldn't dream of slowing you down," Becquerel said before he slid down the house to the Rouge titan's limp form and the Gallade turned to Tanya to inspect her side. "How did I miss this?" he wondered absently, making the Froslass' face burn.

"Captain Ian and Levi, thank you," the ravenette said. "Thank you for defending him..."

"You don't need to thank me," Ian said. "Personally, I was scared out of my mind because I didn't know what you were planning on doing- I was relying on Levi to stop you."

"Even so, we can't move forward without Jaeger- he's still the only one here who has any sort of prayer of lifting that thing," Levi pointed out. "This at least will keep you busy and to use those skills that made you be worth a hundred soldiers."

"Understood!"

The captains didn't face her as Ian said, "Protect the man you love."

Mikasa's faced burned at that. "Wha-"

"I understand that you love him," Levi cut in, "so try not to get too carried away."

The ravenette's face was turning redder at their comments as she got out in a subdued voice, "It's not like that- he's my family..." before Tanya rejoined her and they shot off together.

Still though, what man? Levi wondered. He's an overly earnest shitty brat with a temper the size of these walls and she needs to focus so she doesn't get carried away by a single person.

"Hello pot, I'd like to introduce you to kettle- I think you'll get along swimmingly because you're both black."

"You're a Goddamn riot, Nacht," Levi deadpanned to the Gallade, eyebrow twitching and making Ian snort a little.

As Mikasa passed by Eren, Tanya noticed that he wasn't regenerating his injuries yet- the fact she didn't know how this would affect her precious brother, it made the worry grow in her chest, making her hand grip over the organ before a warm hand gripped hers.

"There's no way to know what will happen, but we have to concentrate," Mikasa said, giving Tanya's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Thank you..."

The ravenette spared the Froslass a smile.

"We can't let the titans leave this area!" the Garrison officer barked to the soldiers with him, Jean, Miko, Annie, Kouji, Connie and Rinslet included. "Focus on that goal and lure them in- form groups of three to move on foot, Pokemon will remain inside their Apricorn Capsules unless absolutely necessary. Once you're by the wall, climb up as fast as possible and try not to die or lose your partners."

"'Some chance', my ass," Jean muttered.

"Are we free to act as we see fit in case of emergency?" Annie asked.

"If you can sort it out that way-"

The next moment, the officer's head went flying underneath a gleaming blade. The five soldiers stared in dumbfounded shock as a person wearing a black cloak and clothing appeared in front of them, their dirk soaked in blood. Connie let out a startled yell and the two other soldiers attempted to back up only for a Machoke to grab them by their heads and squeeze them into a bloody pulp before a Throh smashed their Apricorn capsules, killing their partners inside.

"Wha-?!" Jean whispered in dumbfounded shock before practically screaming at the assaulter, "What the fuck is this?! Don't you have any idea what's going on?!"

The person, a young man, smiled and withdrew a Meditite to stand alongside himself, the Machoke and the Throh, the symbol of an orange fist punching a silver rock on his chest. "But of course I do, Envahisseur."

Connie's eyes widened in horror, tripping over his feet and landing on the pavement. "The Verstoyen!"

At that moment, Annie moved so swiftly she was unseen and her blade slashed the Throh's jugular vein, leaving him to collapse. "We need to get out of here right now- if the Verstoyen are here, who knows what'll happen!" she yelled.

"Sorry, but you can't leave just yet," the man said with a smile before he took out a whistle and blew it loudly.

Jean stared in horror as the footsteps of a titan drew closer. "You bastard-!"

"Come on!" Connie yelled, following Annie away from the alley and to the walls.

Jean followed after them only for the Meditite to punch him in the gut and Jean collapsed in shock. "Take care of him, would you?" the man said. "Dean and I will follow those other two rats."

With that, the man and Machoke left, leaving Jean to the mercy of the Meditite as it pulled him up by his shirt, its' other fist wreathed in flame. The next moment, his Apricorn capsule opened up and Miko tore out the Meditite's neck with her fangs.

"Miko-!" Jean choked.

"Let's go, before it's too late!" she snapped urgently.

"R-right!"

...

...

...

...

Wha...

What am I...

What am I sitting here for...?

I can't see anything...

What time is it...?

Where am I...?

...

Eren opened his eyes, still heavy with sleep, to find himself wrapped in a blanket in his house. Carla was doing the dishes, Mikasa was helping her out and Grisha was looking over some doctor notes. Eren gave a long yawn before setting his head against the cushion on the seat by the window- he was so sleepy...

Becquerel's claws dug into the Rouge titan's skin as he climbed up to where the nape was, wincing as the heat burned the flesh around said claws. "Wait for me, please..."

"Becquerel!"

The Absol looked up to see Armin above with Rillo. "What's going on with Eren?!"

}:O~

Luca sent out a dragon pulse straight at a ten-meter blond titan that the energy's pressure snapped through and destroyed the nape before it fell forwards and crashed face-first against the roof. The three dragon dances from before the fight allowed her to hit with impunity, though the extra speed also caused her to nearly hit her own allies and Oluo more than twice.

"Be careful- are you trying to get us killed-" he yelled at her, only for him to stumble when a titan barely missed him with it's fist, his teeth sinking into the meat of his tongue and drawing blood.

D8!

Bellamy was barely seen, his tiny form easily able to slip beneath the titan's radar until it was too late, screeching loud enough to disorient them and Satoko easily scampered from rooftop to titan, ice shard shimmering as it smashed into their eyes, each giving Rico and Petra a chance to slash the napes out.

Meanwhile, Chloe and Thor were restricted to the ground thanks to their weight and limited agility but that certainly didn't hinder them- if anything, it made them more dangerous as the former used vine whip and leaf storm to slash apart and trip the titan's legs while the latter dragged the titans down to his level and crushed their napes or tripped them over with arm thrust and stone edge.

"Shit!" Hans yelled as a twelve-meter titan was crawling across a house towards where Eren was.

Thor smashed the nape of a titan he had in a headlock with brick break only to see four ten meter classes come towards him and his eyes widened in horror. "Chloe!" he barked.

"Right!" she nodded back and they shot towards them swiftly, the Serperior's vines flailing as they wrapped around one of it's legs before spiraling around and tying it's limbs up before Thor pitched it over, making that ten meter smash into another before the Hairyama smashed the first nape while Chloe slithered up the second's body in a blur of green before wrapping her serpent-like body around it's neck and snapped it along with the nape.

"Mikasa, the one behind you is all yours'!" Ian barked.

"Got it!" she yelled back and shot towards the coming ten-meter titan, Tanya shooting over to the second.

They didn't stand a chance.

"Don't let them anywhere near Eren!" the Garrison captain barked. "This is where we've got to hold them!"

Even as she sped away leaving the ten-meter's body behind, worry gnawed at Mikasa- she prayed that they could handle in the incoming titans. She shot above the thirteen meter trying to climb over the house and slashed out its' nape, the creature slumping onto the roof. Mikasas' eyes widened and she looked to the left where she saw several other titans heading their way.

Why isn't the crack team taking them down and aren't the rest supposed to be occupied at the wall?!

At that, a horrifying thought entered Mikasa's mind- were they being drawn to Eren somehow?! She wasn't allowed to dwell on that as she saw Armin and Rillo by Becquerel as they were on Eren's shoulder. "Armin, Rillo, get out of here, it's dangerous!" she yelled at them.

"I know- Becquerel told me about it!" Armin shouted back. "Somehow Eren isn't under control of this titan- but what about the plan?!"

"It's failed! The only reason we're still fighting is because we can't afford to abandon Eren right now but at this rate, we'll get overrun by the titans- now get out of here-"

"Just wait!" Armin shouted back before looking back at the nape. "Eren came out of the nape before, right where the titan's weak point it- I think we can get him out of there!"

"One meter- ten centimeters, right?" Rillo reiterated before she began to gnaw at the skin, grimacing at the taste.

"Mikasa, Tanya, keep the titans from here just a while longer, all right?!" Becquerel shouted up to her.

Mikasa looked visibly sickened at what Tanya was doing but she nodded anyways. "It'll be fine- so long as she doesn't strike the center!" Armin shouted.

"Armin-"

Rillo let out a muffled yelp as her teeth reached human flesh and bone, her claws ripping the titan flesh to keep it open for Armin and Becquerel. At that moment, steam erupted from the Rouge titan's damaged head, nearly knocking the two Pokemon and human off.

"Armin, Rillo don't do this!" Mikasa shouted."Becquerel-"

"Mikasa, if this gives us a chance to help him, then we're going to do it!" The Absol barked. "Now get back to your post so you can keep as many soldiers alive as possible, understood?!"

The ravenette grimaced in conflict but knew Becquerel was right and she shot back in the direction she came from and Armin and Becquerel leaned back to the wound Rillo made. "Eren, can you hear me?!"

"EREN!" Rillo yelled.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Becquerel shouted. "Eren, get out of there or we're going to die at this rate!"

...

Get out...?

But... why?

I just wanna sleep...

"Child, do you really want to just lay here and let those monsters keep coming- the monsters that ate Carla Jaeger, your mother?! You said that you would wipe the titans out, did you not!?"

?

I don't recognize that voice... mom's right over there...

Armin, stop banging on the window so loudly...

The area was littered with titan, human and Pokemon corpses all around them, finally taking down the titans coming at their area. "Fucking bastards, they're finally dead!" Mitabi yelled.

"There's one more coming from below!" Ian yelled as a ten meter crawled across the roof, its' jaw unhinged. "Merge with the Mitabi team, Mikasa!"

The ravenette nodded and shot across the roof.

Jean and Miko raced across the pavement as fast as they could- the titan from before was still trailing after them. They were nearing the wall soon and then they'd be able to escape-

Crunch

Jean's eyes widened as Miko was sent hurtling across the pavement before slamming into a house's wall as a Sawk had power-up punched her into it. "Fufu~ I found another little Envahisseur," another Verstoyen, a woman, chuckled, a Hariyama by her side.

The ash-haired teen felt his blood turn to fire from fury and frustration- here they were trying to fend for their lives against the titans and those bastards came in and had the sheer gall to mock and hinder them! He wasn't sure what made him do it or how he did it, but Jean's blade flew from his grasp and stuck into the Sawk's belly, drawing blood.

Jean would look back on this memory and be horrified with how simply he attacked a Pokemon but for now, he scooped up Miko and ran the hell out of dodge to escape them. He felt the Umbreon's pulse, relieved to find it still there, albeit faintly. "Dammit- I've had enough of others dying on my account- I won't let you add to the pile, no matter what!"

Miko smiled weakly, her eyes flitted close as she laid her head against his chest. Jean turned the next corner and heard a shriek from the woman before a sickening crunch as gravestone teeth shattered bone- it would be the only time that Jean was glad someone had been eaten by a titan. He tried to activate his gear, only to find the mechanism had broken.

As if that hadn't been bad enough, he heard yet another set of footprints behind him.

"Eren, GET UP!" Armin yelled, still trying to reach his friend. "At this rate, I can't stay here much longer or I'll get eaten!"

?

What're you saying, Armin?

Why're you staying outside...?

What's the reason you're staying in... the Survey Corps...?

"EREN, PLEASE!" Rillo screamed, tears pricking her eyes. "PLEASE WAKE UP!"

Armin's teeth clenched together before he got out, "Eren, weren't the six of us going to explore the outside world? Outside of these walls, is the sea, the landscapes of ice and sand, the fiery mountains with fire-water- I thought you had forgotten about it... you know, it was because we had this kind of talk I decided to join the corps..."

...

The... outside world?

...

Bec? Tanya? Where are you two?

"Child, do you remember when Grisha told you of it? It was so long ago but I know you didn't forget," Becquerel rasped, remembering that day.

"What?!" Eren exclaimed. "Bec remembers the world before the titans appeared?!"

"He does," Grisha said, setting a hand on the Absol's back. "Some Pokemon can live for centuries at a time, Absol included."

Becquerel remained silent at that, trying to pretend to be asleep.

"What was it like before they appeared?!" Eren exclaimed, eyes shinning brightly. "Can he tell us?!"

Grisha shook his head. "Becquerel never went near humans before the titans existed- his kind were considered monsters that brought disaster where ever they went so they stayed away from humans and lived in solitude. I've never asked him of his life before hand because it's painful to him."

Eren faltered at that, his fist clenched tightly in anger at the ones who drove Becquerel to that.

"Eren, what made you want to see it, the world filled with titans and humans who made Pokemon like Becquerel suffer?" Armin asked. "What reason do you have for seeing that?"

...

What reason...?

That's...

That reason is...

I decided...

Because I was born in this world!

"Stay down, dammit!" Satoko yelled as she slashed another aerial ace on the Machoke, only for him to smash his fist into her face, sending the Weaville sprawling.

"Dammit!" Bellamy mimicked with rage as he pecked at a titans' eyes to prevent it from seeing an injured soldier as he was helped away, his head bleeding.

Rico and her squad had been pushed to the wall where Sayram, his squad and Donovan were still trying to keep the titans back while also dealing with three people and their Pokemon that were revealed to be the Verstoyen- the other two had already gone into Trost and the other three had been kept back by the increasing number of titans coming through, causing them to run into the squad.

"It's no good, ma'am!" a soldier cried out, her sword smeared with titan blood. "We can't take the titans and Verstoyen on like this!"

Rico's teeth gritted together in frustration- on top of everything, those bastards from outside of the walls chose NOW to attack them?! It was unbelievable!

Then, they saw a column of smoke come up.

Connie's breath ran ragged as he tried to outrun the Machoke. "Why?! Why now of all times?!" he rasped.

Annie didn't reply but her gaze was furious. They were nearing the wall now and she saw titans heading towards them. She and Connie quickly activated their gear and shot to the wall before Annie felt a crushing grip around her arm and neck as the Machoke grabbed her. Connie gave a yell behind her as the Verstoyen man grabbed him from behind as well.

"Fall down, little Envahisseur," the man crooned in Connies' ear. "Ashes, ashes~ we all fall-"

"Get the FUCK off ma partner, you creepy shit!" Rinslet roared as she blasted the man with hydro pump, slamming him down to the groundl and a very satisfying splat rang out. Connie made it up onto the wall and swallowed with relief before he ruffled the Floatzel's head. "Thanks."

Annie could feel her lungs screaming for air, the bones in her arm starting to crack beneath the unrelenting strength of the Machoke. Was she going to die here, without completing her mission in the end?!

Father- Meenah-

Her eyes shot open as Kouji emerged from his Apricorn Capsule and attacked the Machoke with a fury she had never witnessed. "Let her go, you bastard- RIGHT NOW!" Kouji roared as he smashed his fist into the Machoke's mouth, breaking most of it's teeth and dazing it, it's grip on Annie loosening.

"K-Kou-"

The next moment, she felt her partner nuzzle her face gently before Kouji grabbed the Machoke and pried him off of the blonde only for it to smash it's foot into Kouji's head, knocking him out. Annie's eyes widened in horror as she tried to reach out for him only for her world to fade to black from the lack of oxygen and she couldn't even cry for Kouji as he fell with the Machoke.

Jean caught his breath within the confines of an abandoned home, still clutching Miko to his chest as if she were a baby, waiting for the titan to move on. Now he was holding the others back, fucking great-!

As he watched the titan go by him, Jean saw a dead soldier with his gear still on him and from the looks of it, still intact. Could it really work?

Jean looked back at Miko, her breath still slight and her pulse still faint. The titan had already walked away, allowing Jean to come outside again and run over to the gear. He set Miko down gently before grabbing the gear and dismantling it so he could re-hook it up to his. However, the mechanisms weren't sticking together as they should and Jean was becoming increasingly frustrated, only to hear the footsteps come behind him yet again.

"Jean, calm down!"

The next moment, Marco swung down and caught the titans' attention before running away and Jean was startled to see that Fisher's Apricorn capsule wasn't on him. But he remained focused on the task at hand, determined to use the time the freckled teen gave him well. He finally pulled the gear loose and reattached it to his own before picking Miko back up.

However, the trigger was stiff from overuse and the gear was awkward since it wasn't his size and Jean ended up crashing onto the ground as a titan approached him. The next moment, Rinslet's hydro pump shot out and blasted the titan in the head, knocking it into the house as Connie followed after her.

"What're you doing?!" Jean yelled.

"Look who's talking, just get out of here!" Connie yelled as a titan flung itself at him with it's mouth open, the bald teen barely dodging it.

Jean quickly activated the gear again, still barely able to use it but still able to function. His arms tightened around Miko as he swung into the sky and finally made it up the walls where he crashed, the Umbreon still held protectively before Connie and Rinlset joined him. "Jean-" he began only for the ash-haired teen to run past him.

"Someone, anyone!" he yelled, looking around frantically, running past a despondent Annie from where she was standing. "Miko is-"

Isabel looked up from where she was with Suloch and Alexi and the other wounded who managed to climb back up the walls and ran over to him. "Let me see her."

The ash-haired teen nodded and let the Researcher examine the Umbreon before her gaze stilled. "Kirstein, when did you last check your Umbreon partner's vitals?"

Jean froze at that and looked back at where Miko was in his arms, dread filling his stomach at her stillness. He got onto his knees and gently set her down onto the ground, laying his fingers on her pulse and his hand on her heart. "But- what-"

Isabel knelt down beside him and checked over Mikos' body, her hands traveling across her chest and abdomen. "Blunt force trauma was prominent in the rib cage area with one of the bones jutting into the arteries near her heart. You were holding her to you like this, right?" the head researcher asked as she demonstrated with her arms in a cradling position.

"Y-yes."

She gave a low sigh. "That was the worst possible way to transport her- the position of your arms drove the broken ribs further and further into the arteries until they reached her heart."

Jean stared in dumbstruck shock and grief at his partners' body. After all of that time and training, after promising to go together to Wall Sina, he had brought an end to Mikos' life when she could have been saved-

"Even if you had brought her without damaging her further," Isabel told him, cutting off his train of thought, "there would be nothing we could do for her but make her comfortable in death. We will deal with her body soon so leave her in the apricorn capsule for now and- and collect her band and item," her voice shook at the last part and that's when Connie and the others saw the scene from before.

Alexi looked dumbfounded as he held his captain's arm, the only thing they could recover of Andreas Brock's body before he had been ripped down by a thirteen meter titan and Suloch wrapped her arms around her chest as tears streamed down her face, clutching at Charlie's shattered capsule, smeared in the Hitmonchans' blood.

"Why...?" the burgundy-haired man whispered.

"What? But this is the offense unit!" Alexi exclaimed in upset.

He stood in Ashs' office, clutching at the paper in his hands, Andreas standing with him. "I told you- the whole reason I'm here is to help- I don't want to use my strength to hurt others again!"

His fists clenched tightly. "Never again..."

A hand laid itself on his shoulder and Alexi looked up at the enormous man. "Nothing can ever justify for someone hurting another- but at the same time, pain can bring out what someone never believed they had. Sometimes it makes them timid and other times it makes them brave. I will never order you to hurt anyone."

"But when you entered the military, you pledged your heart. As a soldier of humanity, you can't expect to not act when the time comes- will you stand by and allow others to be hurt or killed or will you stand up and protect them so they don't have to feel it as well? That is what the Beast Trainers are here for- we are here to give these soldiers, human and Pokemon, power so that they can protect, so that those people don't have to feel pain or fear."

Alexis' eyes were wide as he digested this, his eyes averting to his right fist still clenched over his heart.

A choked noise came from the back of Suloch's throat and her hands covered her face as the tears trickled down faster, short hiccups coming from her ravaged throat that sounded like a frogs' croaks.

Suloch barely managed to dodge the next blow before Charlie swooped her feet from beneath her, sending her sprawling. "Damn, I can't beat you, can I..."

"You'll get there soon enough," the Hitmonchan encouraged her. "You're strong, even if you don't acknowledge it."

"Why did you have to die like this?!"

At that Alexi slumped onto the balls of his feet and cradled the arm in his grip, sobbing unashamedly. Isabel's eyes widened and without any preamble, ran away from the scene as fast as she could.

Monika and Pixis remained silent, the former closing her eyes in weariness and the latter looking out onto Trost.

The sight took the soldeirs' breaths away.

The Rouge titan was on his feet, the stone held aloft on his shoulders as he took step after step to the hole, steam coming from his body like a locomotive, his green eyes gleaming like fire. Mikasas and Tanya's eyes shimmered with relief, the latter even trying to hold back tears. "Brother-"

"Mikasa!" Armin yelled as he with Rillo on his back and Becquerel struggling up, came over to her. "We can still win- we need to cover him until he reaches the gate!"

Mikasa was about to nod when she saw three people in black cloaks shooting over to Eren. "Sir, are those reinforcements?" she asked Levi, only for his dark silver eyes to widen in startled shock.

"No."

Suddenly, the middle released a Hawlucha that shot over to Eren, it's attack intent clear. It was knocked backwards by Anderson but caught it's balance a second later. The other two Vertoyen released a Heracross and a Medicham who quickly circled around to try to attack the Rouge titan as well. Bellamy swiftly rammed the former backwards while Anahit smashed the latter to the side.

"What the hell are they doing?!" Armin cried out in horrified confusion. "Who-"

"Verstoyen," Levi spat like a swear word. "They picked a hell of a time to show up."

Mikasa and Armin looked back at each other in shock- the people who lived outside of the walls yet survived living in the same space as titans without 3D maneuvering gear or even conventional weapons. More than half of the Verstoyen hated the people and Pokemon inside of the walls' guts- they claimed that they had run them out of the land where the walls now laid to be eaten by the titans.

"Don't let a single one of those bastards near Eren," Levi roared. "Make sure he reaches the gate no matter what! Arlet, Raticate, Ackerman, Froslass and Absol, get to Eren's position- NOW!"

"YES SIR!" came the simultaneous cry.

From where Ian was directing the rest, his eyes widened as he saw Mitabi and his team racing towards the incoming titans and Verstoyen on foot. "What are they-?!"

"COME AND GET US, YOU BASTARDS!" they yelled. "IF YOU KEEP IGNORING US, WE'LL SHOVE OUR BLADES RIGHT UP YOUR ASSES!"

Two of them froze and glanced back at the humans, making several sweat buckets as they came towards them before they backtracked and actually led them over to where the three Verstoyen and their Pokemon were.

Levi's expression became darker but knew that this is what the Garrison soldiers chose in the end- they needed to plug the gate there and now or else more would get inside and they didn't need anymore distractions. "Follow Mitabi's team and keep them from following Eren, now!"

"Oh, you crafty bastard," the leader, a blonde girl with her hair tied back in a ponytail and light blue eyes, muttered, drawing her dirk out as the titans came towards her group.

My body...

It feels like it's being crushed into a pulp...

Becquerel...

Tanya...

Mikasa...

Armin...

Rillo...

Stay safe...

Don't get eaten...

"Stay the hell OUT!" Donovan bellowed as he drop-kicked a three meter away from the gate while Reece sent out a vast-reaching but weak discharge to paralyze the in-coming titans.

[This is it! I can't keep the barrier up any longer or I'll lose my remaining electricity!] it reported, retracting the electricity from the debris.

Jeremy and Amitya barely avoided the Heracross coming at them before Anderson smashed it back and jumped onto it's front to keep it from getting away while the other two struggled to hold off an Abnormal who was especially persistent.

Sayram blinked the sweat out of his eyes, clutching his blades enough to made his fingers feel numb- they were coming through faster and faster and he knew that if Eren didn't get there soon, they'd be overrun.

"N-NO!"

The black-haired squad leader's eyes widened and he looked over to where Tristan was trying to activate his gear but the mechanism was broken and a titan was fast approaching him.

The next moment, the titan had been downed and Mitternacht and Issac landed on the ground facing the other three that had begun to go after Mitabi along with the first few as they went towards him. "That's right- keep following us!" Issac shouted. "It doesn't matter who you kill so long as they look like a human, right?!"

D8{!

Luca gave a loud trill as she shot at the titans, the note she sang enough to make blood dribble from their ears and they clutched at their heads, disoriented. Meanwhile, Chloe and Thor's bodies were mere slivers of green, yellow and tan as they knocked the titan's feet over, making them trip and crash to the ground before their respective partners cut their napes out.

Why...?

From the time we are all born... we are born free...

If you reject that or try to take that from others... I'll have nothing of it...

The vast ocean... the lands of ice and sand... the fiery mountains...

If I could see such things... then I would call that 'freedom'...

Reece let out a screech along with Donovan's roar as they, along with Amiya and Anderson slashed at the last of the five titans just as the blonde girl took off Mitabi's head, leaving his body to join the rest of his squad, some killed by titans, others by herself and her own team. Anahit and Ian were locked in battle with one of the Verstoyen, a man and the Heracross from earlier before Ian manged to kill him but not before the Heracross landed a hard hit between Anahit's eyes, the Lairon slumping to the ground unmoving. Ian looked back at the Heracross as it raised it's claws to bring down on him, holding his swords up to block even realizing it would break through weapons.

"OUT OF MY WAY!"

A moment later, Rico's blades slashed the bug/ fighting part apart, it's blood splattering against the ground while Bellamy had taken out the man's Throh. "Are you all right?!" she yelled at Ian.

He nodded before checking on Anahit only to find her pulse was gone. He sighed and closed her eyes, his chest heavy. The next moment, a shadow crossed over him and he saw the blonde girl from before above him, her dirk raised to kill, only for Rico to shield him as the blade went through her chest and out the back, her blood splattering on Ian's face. "Rico-!"

"Sir..." she rasped softly, "this really does suck... but not as bad as I thought it would..."

With that, Rico Brzenska breathed her last. The blonde panted harshly before she brought the dirk out, sleek with blood. "What a good soldier you were," she said, raising it over Ian's head. "Let's have you join her, shall we-"

The next moment, Bellamy shot down and slashed her back open, leaving a gaping wound before he crashed into the ground, exhausted. "Payback's a bitch, bitch," he spat before flying over to his partners' lifeless body, tears leaking down his beak.

If I could spend my life like that... even if I got devoured... if I got to see that... I could never regret it...

I don't care how cruel this world is...

The greatest freedom is the freedom to leave- even if we get devoured the moment we leave, we'll have experienced FREEDOM!

"GO EREN!" Armin yelled as the boulder came down with a mighty crash, blocking the hole in the wall.

There was a long silence as the soldiers stared in shocked silence, most almost too scared to believe what they were seeing. "He did it..." Ian breathed in amazement, struggling to blink the tears from his eyes as he fired the flare gun, Bellamy too busy crying to notice.

"WHOO!" Donovan, Satoko and Rillo yelled.

"It seems that things are going to be changing now," Thor remarked, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"Yeah," Chloe agreed.

8D!

"Great job, Eren!" Tanya cried out, tears in her eyes.

"Aw hells yes!" Anderson cheered.

"Indeed," Issac said with a smile.

[It's over, for now,] Reece said.

Becquerel and Mitternacht smiled tiredly.

"All right- retrieve Jaeger and let's get the hell out of here!" Levi barked.

"Got it!" Petra called back and swooped over to the Rouge titan's limp form.

"I don't want you hurt by that again," Mikasa told Tanya, who reluctantly held back along with the Absol and Gallade as the ravenette shot over to the Rouge titan.

Sweat made Rillo's red-brown coat sheen as she helped Armin rip open the nape so they could get Eren out, the heat burning them. "How's Eren?" Mikasa called up to him before she and Petra made it up there.

"He's got an incredibly high fever! He can't climb the wall in this condition!" the blond called back.

"Oh-!" Rillo gasped as she saw the titan skin melding to Eren. "Armin, I can't get him unstuck- we need to cut him out!"

Armin nodded back and slashed at the skin, freeing Eren. The brunet slid down and Petra quickly caught him before he hit the ground- he was no longer the titan that saved them but the boy she had seen earlier. The next moment, the honey blonde saw a shadow over her and she looked up to see the Hawlucha shooting at her, a scream from it's throat resounding. It's attack was cut short as Sayram's blade slashed against its' back and cut it down.

"A yellow flare-! They did it," Monika said, looking through the spyglass.

Gustav, Anka, Denys and Briar Rose looked up at this and a mix of relief, surprise and triumph spread on their faces. "This could really work for us, then..." Denys said, a smile on his face.

"This isn't the time for celebration yet!" Pixis barked. "Deploy a squad to rescue the elite!"

"Understood!"

On the Outskirts of Wall Maria, activity was blooming. Several groups of people had set up camp in that area, tents of yellow, pale green, orange and brown were picketed and weapon smiths on standby. Orders were barked about and the clatter of steel and the rustles of Pokemon were loud for all to hear.

Yet the few, few titans that saw them, drew no closer and continued on their way inside the walls. By this time, a man with black hair in disarray, blue eyes, a long white coat, blue pants and black boots swerved through the hoopla until he came to the main five tents, entering the white one surrounded by the blue, red, grey and indigo tents.

A young woman with light brown-black hair pinned back in a bun, blue eyes and pale grey, almost white robes, pants and dress shirt was inside alone, looking over the battle plans for the umpteenth time, a Gardevoir fast asleep on one of the laid-out futon mattresses and silver armor was hung up reverently. She noticed the young man a moment later and straightened. "What news?"

"The Santalune, Aquacorde and Vaniville tribes have all arrived," he told her.

"Thank you, Augustine," she said kindly before writing this information down. "Along the Lumiose, Shalour, Geosenge, Ambrette, Camphrier and Cyllage tribes, we have four major and five minor. What of the others?"

"The Coumarine tribe chosen to remain neutral and Snowbelle and Anistar are still unwilling to move from their positions and are trying to convince the Dendemille and Couriway tribes to come to their side. We've still received no word from the Laverre and Kildou tribes."

It was then Augustine saw beneath that cool exterior, sadness and worry. "Are you sure that the time for talking has passed, Diantha?" he asked softly, taking her hands into his own. "If we do this, then there's no way for this to end other than in tears for us all."

"... I heard the stories from my great-grandmother," she said, her expression shadowed. "She talked of the great cities, the lovely little towns and the roving beauty of this land- now, even the name 'Kalos' has become a distant memory."

Her teeth gritted together. "The people who reside in those walls selfishly ripped it apart, conformed it to meet their whims, drove out our people to be eaten by the titans and then erected borders to push us back even further."

Augustine grimaced at her mood change, his hand reaching to her face before she caught the wrist, her eyes steeled. "We will make them understand that what they did cannot be forgotten or forgiven- they must pay for their crimes and they must know why they must pay. At the very least, we can make sure that those who died to this day can rest in peace."

"This is the path I have chosen to walk- what will you choose, Augustine?"

The black-haired man removed her hand from his wrist before placing a kiss on the band adorning her fingers. "My place is to give you advice and your place is to choose what you believe is best for us all- if this is what you choose, then my path is clear."

Diantha smiled softly. "Thank you, old friend," she said.

"Lady Diantha!"

At that moment, an old blond man with grey and red robes and coat and truly ridiculous eyebrows burst in. "My granddaughter- she went to the walls!"

When Eren awoke again, he found himself wondering if he had even opened his eyes in the first place before seeing the lantern glow on the other side of what was clearly bars of a jail cell. His eyes adjusted a few seconds later to see the people on the other side. He recognized Monika and the two soldiers Denys and Briar Rose, as well as Levi.

"Good to see you're up," Monika remarked. "You've been in a coma for the last three days- any questions?"

Eren tried to get up, only to find his wrists had been chained to the wall behind him. "Uh... where am I?" he asked dumbly.

"You can see for yourself but you're in an underground cell," Erwin said. "you're currently under the custody of the Military Police- the five of us were able to come in and talk to you just moments ago."

"What will happen next, with the other cadets?"

"Right now, we're trying to sort all of their stories out, their partner's included along with anyone else who knows your past," Erwin said before he held up a familiar object. "As for what you'll do next, won't be much of a change."

Erens' eyes widened as he saw the key his father gave him. "That's-!"

"You can have it back in due time," Erwin said. "For now, I want to discuss your parent's basement back in Zhiganshina. You say that your father told you of the basement but you don't know where he is now and on top of that, your own memory has holes in it?"

"Y-yeah."

"Your memory goes kaput and then your pops goes missing?" Briar Rose summarized. "Pretty convenient, huh."

"As I said before," Levi deadpanned.

"You both know we went over this and Commanders Smith and Olivier already deduced he can't be lying," Denys reprimanded them both. "So stop being smart-asses for at least a minute, why don't you?"

"That aside," Erwin said, "there are still some things I'd like to know and I believe we should ask you what you want."

"what I want...?"

"To get to your house, we have to retake Maria to investigate it without interruption from the titans," Monika said. "So we'd need a repeat performance of Trost to stop any more titans or any of the Verstoyen from getting inside so easily. Whether we want to admit it or not, the titans have a great influence on our lives right now and we're not the only ones who think that the Colossal, Armored and two unknown titans are affiliated with you."

"Is that really it?" Eren asked. "I know we still have flying types that can get us over to Zhiganshina and tunnelers who can construct our way there, as well as a means to block the gate that doesn't require my power."

The five officers remained silent. "So why... why do you have to depend solely on me right now?"

"We're not just being held up because of the titans- the truth is we have the Pokemon and the resources necessary to fly to and back to Wall Maria in about a few days," Monika said. "We can avoid the titans easily enough during that time with little losses inflicted by them."

Eren was about to ask what the hold-up was when it hit him. "Verstoyen."

A long silence filled the air after Monika explained what had happened during the battle of Trost. "So they're our enemies, then..." Eren said before asking, "Do you know about what they're planning already?"

"After we interrogate Korrina- the leader of their group- and her remaining followers, we'll know for certain," Erwin said with a frown. "But at this point, I wouldn't put it past them to declare war. Unfortunately, our strength became rather limited after five years ago and they've taken this opportunity to grow in strength."

Something clicked in Eren's head and said, "So that's why you're positioned out there for so long!"

Monika nodded. "The more obscure objective of the Outpost Guard was to make sure that the walls weren't attacked by the Verstoyen."

"Right now, they've advanced through the territory we were able to rescue from the titans and have started flitting into Wall Maria," Erwin went on. "So far, we've been able to avoid fighting with them other than a few skirmishes. But that will not change the fact that even then, they were and still are, out for all of our blood- be it soldier or civilian or any Pokemon who have chosen to side with us."

"If they're so dangerous, then why doesn't anyone-"

"Those of the Guard have tried plenty of times to warn the higher-ups of the level of threat that the Verstoyen present, but they've never been taken seriously," Monika answered, her impassive expression melting into an angry scowl, her fists clenching. "All that matters to them is whether or not the deaths that happen outside of the walls were by the hands of the titans. Anything else is set aside."

Eren stared in disbelief. So much had happened and his head was spinning- he could turn into a titan and there were human who wanted war with them? It was all too surreal to take in and that was when he was aware of the absence by his side. "That's ridiculous..."

"It is," Erwin agreed before his gaze became serious. "That's why we've come to suspect that our government has already been infiltrated by them and they're the reason that the situation has been muzzled for this long."

Another pregnant silence filled the air before Eren finally asked, "Where's Becquerel?"

"I was beginning to wonder when you would ask that," Erwin remarked before his expression became more serious. "Your partner is being detained in another dungeon. They're slotting him to be executed along with you, as well as ones Samuel Lingke Jackson and Luxio Cody."

Eren stared in shock before he exclaimed, "I get why they'd want to kill me and Samuel, but why do they want Bec and Cody dead too?! Those two hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Cody's crime lies in his passiveness," Monika replied. "Both the human and the Pokemon partner are supposed to keep one another in line and Cody failed in doing so when he could have and allowed Samuel to commit two crimes punishable by death- that in itself is bullshit but it's still the law."

"As for your Becquerel, it's not so much as what he has done but what he didn't or couldn't do," Levi said. "Are you aware of the myths that surround the Absol sub-species?"

Eren wracked his brain for information, remembering what his father told him and what little he found in the Beast Trainer archives- it had been said once said that Absols were harbingers of doom and that their mere presence were enough to bring on all kinds of disasters from the earth- this made them hated by many humans and Pokemon. It had been later proven that Absols actually had a sixth sense for sensing danger and only came to those locations to warn others of the impending doom-

The brunet's eyes widened in horror. "They can't think that Becquerel knew about the Colossal titan and chose not to tell anyone, or that he really was responsible for bringing it here in the first place!" he exclaimed, moving forward so fast his wrists screamed in pain and protest from the manacles.

"Unfortunately that's exactly what many believe, though the opinion on whether or not this is true is extremely divided at this point," Erwin affirmed. "The abilities of Pokemon are diverse and incredible- some can feed off of sadness and despair, and others can read minds- the possibilities are endless and the possibility that Becquerel could be responsible is as plausible to them as you being a threat to humanity."

"A boy who can turn into a titan partnered with a Pokemon who's a supposed herald of disaster," Monika mused. "That's bound to turn more than a few heads, I think. Some even believe that he might be responsible for you turning into a titan, or that you were the reason that he couldn't sense the approaching danger- either way, you're at the center of a shitstorm."

"Why did you decide to go along with them, Eren?" Levi asked all of a sudden.

"The titan power I have would be really useful to the army, wouldn't it?"

"You want to become a sword then? A weapon that exists to rip apart our enemies, titan, human or Pokemon?" Levi asked. "To be used and then thrown away after all's said and done- even if we do kill all of the titans, you'll be on the executioner's list as well."

!

"Well brat?" the captain pressed on. "Is that really what you want?"

"I..."

At that, Eren raised his gaze, his green eyes flushed with bloodlust and determination alike. "My plans haven't changed- I want to join the Survey Corps and slaughter every last titans in existence. That's all I want- if it means being called a 'sword' or a 'monster', then so be it. If these Verstoyen want to kill us, then I'll just return the favor when the time comes."

Dark silver eyes flickered at this display. "Not bad," the captain remarked simply before he walked up to the cell door. "Erwin, Monika, tell the higher-ups I'll vouch for him, his friend and their respective partners- that is to say I don't trust you in the least but this way I can kill him if he goes rogue and deliver Jackson's execution as well. I honestly can't say they'll disagree- I am the best one suited for killing titans after all."

"Welcome to the Survey Corps, brat."

It's like he's picking up a pet or something, Denys and Briar Rose thought with a sweat-drop.

And thus, the Trost Arc comes to an end! This counts as the October update as I posted this barely after midnight ^^;

This was a monster to write so please, PLEASE tell me if there are any mistakes and I'm sorry some of the character didn't receive as much focus or disappeared during scenes.

Anyways, the anti-titan rifles are based on the German anti-tank rifles, Panzerbüchse 39 and the bazooka. The overall outside design is similar to said rifle, but the barrel of the gun is thicker and rounder to hold the projectiles that are fired out- said projectiles are thicker than conventional bullets and are designed to be lodged in titan flesh. If it were used on a regular human or Pokemon, it'd more than likely leave a gaping, bleeding orifice from where it had been aimed. So it's essentially a gun with an anti-tank rifles' stock and bolt but with a bazookas' barrel and overall sturdiness and width. Truth be told, I was inspired by Seras Vectorias' guns from Hellsing Ultimate- both original and abridged.

Especially abridged.

"Verstoyen" (Verstoßen) is German for "outcast" while "Envahisseur" is French for, obviously, "invader". Bilingual bonuses ftw!

Now as you all know, I sort of flipped out last chapter about the ACWNR OVA coming out. Now on that topic... do you want me to write out the Ally with Monster version of A Choice With No Regrets? If I do that, then the updating of Ally With Monster will slow down a bit more and with my job-hunting, it'll only get slower. I'll be putting up a poll on my page for you to vote on.

Edit: Added a bit in the chapter that was missing from before- the reason that they don't use the electric current more often because it's very difficult to find the right frequency and maintain it for extended periods of time as well as any grammar mistakes and character placement issues.