"Angelic Type-Titan."

"What?" Annie said, looking at Angel in confusion. Angel realized that he had spoken that last part aloud. He had been completely lost relieving his dreams he'd had while he was out. Angel hadn't meant to say that. It must have been completely odd to hear, especially considering that there had been complete silence for a few moments before it was interrupted by those three words.

"Nothing." Angel quickly said, "I just thought I saw something." Annie nodded, and said nothing more.

What does that mean? Angelic Type-Titan. Those words make me feel...something, but at the same time they mean nothing of any relevance. And what is this power my memories speak of? There are so many things which are fuzzy in meaning to me, yet seem to hold an importance that I am just missing. I did something...incredible earlier today. I don't understand how or what I did, but these memories must hold the answers to it.

But right now I need to answer this call. What is this force? What is this creature which beckons me to come to it? Is this the duty they spoke of? Is this the purpose that my family lives for? Is this why I feel such strength coursing through my body? Is this why I feel as if nothing will stop me now? Is this the power I awakened?

"Angel, hold on. Up ahead on that road, let's drop in."

"What? Why?" He said, already dropping onto the street, letting Annie drop to stand on her own.

"I can salvage a gear off these corpses." She walked over to a body, bruised and broken by the titans. She looked at it for a moment, and then she knelt down and took the gear off him, slipping it easily off his dead body. She quickly tied it around herself, "His canisters are pretty full. He must've died early on...well, no point in mourning the dead while the living are still in danger. Let's move."

"Alright." Angel said.

The two were approaching the HQ area. Looking in, they could see a large amount of titans, gathered around the building. There were trying to break in, it appeared. Angel could handle this. It wouldn't be easy but he'd never signed up for easy anyway. It would require a smart approach, and some extreme skill, but Angel was feeling oddly strong today, and confident in his abilities.

"You're not gonna try this alone, are you?" Annie asked. Angel looked at her, blank faced.

"Why shouldn't I?" He asked.

"You'll die."

"People like us, Annie, a titan has to defeat us twice, no?" Annie's eyes opened wide for a split second and an expression of shock went across her face. But the next moment she was composed and back to her emotionless complexion.

"Point taken. It's still risky."

Angel said nothing for a moment, thinking, "Alright fine. Let's head up to the roof of the HQ and get a full understanding of the problem." He zipped through the air and easily moved into the center of the battlefield, "The titans are distracted by something. Presumably there's people in the buildings, and we can capitalize on that."

"They won't stay distracted for long with us two here."

"That's why it's important to act fast."

"I'd rather not rush to my death." Angel nodded. The two crossed the peak of the roof, to examine the other side. Both of their eyes opened wide and surprise spread across their face as they looked down to find a Titan on the street, attacking other titans. A few members of the 104th were gathered around on the rooftops, watching the fighting with a mix of disbelief and admiration at the killing ability.

The feeling in Angel's chest grew stronger, and the voice which had been calling him seemed to ask him for help louder and louder. He collapsed to the roof, catching himself with one hand. He gasped, as if a punch had just been thrown into his chest and then the call dissapeared.

"It wants out. But I...I can control it..." Annie looked over at Angel, perplexed by his words.

"Are you...are you okay?"

Angel stood, the feeling within his body subdued slightly, but there was something within which wanted to come out. He could feel it. It urged him on his head. It told him this was their purpose, this was their mission. It said it was time to fulfill his duty, but he told it no. And it howled against him, and then raged against him. It pushed against his will, and he repeated his no but less firm. It reminded him of their purpose. And he staggered under the intensity with which it sought to overcome him.

Rise.

It whispered. It whispered while it curled around and sought an opening. Rise. It whispered as it begged, pleaded for release. Rise. It whispered as it raged against him, vying for dominance over the mind. Rise. It whispered as he stepped forward, buckling once more under its weight. Rise. It whispered as his mind bent and torn with its aggression. Rise. It demanded of him. Rise. It ordered of him. Rise. It required of him.

"No." Angel said, "I will not accept you. I do not need you. Leave...me...I AM MY OWN MASTER!" He yelled at it, aloud, albeit his voice was not very strong and his cry, although passionate, was not very loud. Only Annie heard it, and she continued to look at him with peculiarity, and perhaps a certain level of concern for him. His mind was clearly not stable. A combination of the injuries suffered and the transformation, and subsequent expenditure of his energy in combating Titans, alongside the efforts he had put up to come this far, was likely to have nearly completely exhausted his body. She was surprised he had the will to force himself to continue going. This mission he was on was clearly incredibly important if he was determined enough to destroy his body attempting to complete it.

Wait a minute...what happened? Annie thought, as she noticed that Angel had steam trickling off his body from his chest. She saw no injuries from where she was standing, but it was clear something was healing. He rose from his kneeled over position, his eyes filled once more with a vigor and purposeful look that almost frightened her.

"I understand now." Was all he said, looking down to the street, where the other Titan was rampaging. Annie had figured out the meaning of that a while back, yet Angel was only realizing that now? Or was there something else he was speaking of. He looked over to Annie, his eyes seeming to pierce through her, swiping all her secrets well kept underneath her never changing gaze, "I see. Interesting." His eyes moved back to the street, "We should assist that Titan."

"What?" She said, "Even if it is a good idea flying around in that area is suicide."

"The creature is tiring. The rapid movement combined with the strong attacks has most likely caused the Titan to use up most of its energy, losing more than it normally gains. If we wait too long the other titans may succeed in killing it, and then we've lost it forever."

"It's a little too risky now. If we want to help it we'll have to wait till it's cleared out enough that we could properly maneuver without getting accidentally killed by its swings."

"Then we rendezvous with the other trainees, and secure their safety. After we've removed them as a potential threat, we'll secure the Titan."

"Why remove the others? They can help us."

"Some, but others will find the plan to dangerous and jeopardize it. Right now I only trust the two of us with this mission."

"Why me? What have I done?"

"I am uncertain. But I know that for some reason you seem to wish to save the Titan as well. The exact reason why I am still determining, but I will not look a gift horse in the mouth." Angel looked towards the walls far off in the distance, "And besides, I trust you." Annie looked towards him, "I trust you. People like us? We gotta stick together. The world is too dangerous for us. We gotta stick to one another, protect one another. That's what it means to be human. That's what it means to be a warrior, a real warrior. It isn't about winning battles or defeating your enemies. It's about protecting your allies, saving your friends. There are too many foes out there to risk losing your allies. You keep those who are trustworthy around and defend each other. Otherwise you end up all alone, back against the wall, and caught in the corner."

Angel turned his end from staring into the distance and met Annie's eyes, "That is what it means to be a warrior. That is what means to be...to be...a Guardian."

"People like us. Why Annie, we already have enough enemies." And then he was off, flying off to join the rest of the 104th on the rooftops of Trost, to watch a Titan kill its own kind.

Annie could only sigh and follow, suppressing the guilt that had welled up in her chest. Today had been a hard day.

Angel and Annie joined the 104th watching the rampaging Titan, Angel smoothly landing with his eyes continually drawn towards the violent beast. The others looked at them with a slight bit of surprise, especially Mikasa when she saw Angel, who had earlier in the day been laying on the ground with at least twenty broken bones. Reiner looked at Annie with surprise, not exactly that she was here but that both her and Angel were. He also glanced back at the Rogue Titan, before looking towards Angel again and seeming to fall deep into thought.

"Angel." Mikasa said, "You made it out fairly well for a man who broke every bone in his body."

"Did you think a fall that minor was going to stop me? I was just taking a nap."

"Some nap."

"We have other issues besides my napping habits. We have to save that Titan over there."

"I agree it's pretty hot."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Hold on," Jean spoke up, "You want to save that Titan? Are you mad?"

"Yes." Angel and Mikasa said in unison.

"I agree." Reiner interjected, "The Titan is clearly different from the others. There is much to learn from it."

"It could prove an ally." Annie stated.

"You're all insane!" Jean sighed, exasperated.

"Perhaps." Angel and Mikasa said in unison.

"So how do we do it?" Mikasa asked.

"I...I didn't think that far ahead." Angel replied, before being interrupted by a roar from the creature.

"That's..." Armin suddenly said, pointing to a titan that had just walked into view, "That's the titan that killed Thomas!" And the other Titan strode forth, shaking off the others dragging it down and raced towards the new challenger, grabbing it by the nape and then lifting it up to show off its trophy. It swung the titan back around to smack another one with it, and then slammed the two into a building far off, killing them both. The great beast roared one last time, and then seemed to lose all its vigour, collapsing to the ground knees first, head slamming into the ground.

"Eren..." Mikasa stammered, speaking towards the boy who was detaching from the nape of the Titan, slowly pulling himself, gasping for air, out of the great beast.

"What the hell..." Everyone else said, except for Angel and Annie, who stared down at the emerging boy with the same look in their eyes. A look which was nearly ravenous, as if the two had a hunger which they desired to satisfy.

"There he is," They both said, quiet enough that none of the others could hear them, "My target."