Chapter 23

The Edge of Dawn

"You're Taiga, right?"

Kagami looked up from his dinner to see the petite blonde that had all the boys enamored. He remembered her name was Christa and that she was friends with Josh and his group. Why she was standing in front of him, when most avoided him, was something he did not know.

"What do you want?"

"It's just you always sit alone. You're friends with Josh, right?" Christa asked.

"I wouldn't call us friends."

"Well, he's the only person I've seen you talk to," Christa replied.

Kagami rose and eyebrow and straightened his posture. He had not expected for people to be watching him while he and Josh talked. Though, they did speak most of the time at the mess hall, so it seemed plausible that people would look.

However, what he wanted to know was why she was standing in front of him. She was the little sister of Josh's group and a pure angle to the other boys. He was not blind of course, he knew she was cute, but he never found himself fawning like the other boys; especially not as much as Ymir.

Though he was also able to see through her act. He knew the kind and caring girl she presented herself to be was not really her. He assumed it was an exaggerated persona of a quality she had, but had no way of confirming it. He still largely ignored it though. Kagami never felt like it was something he should overly concern himself with; just like the others who acted a bit strangely.

He let out a breath and returned to facing his plate of rations. "I guess that's true."

"Then why don't you try talk to the rest of us?" Christa asked.

"I'm not here to make friends. We'll all become comrades in arms soon, so I want my relationships with people to be just that."

"It doesn't hurt to have people to talk to," Christa replied.

Kagami let out a sigh and stood up from the table. He could tell this conversation was going to go nowhere.

"Look, just stick with your friends. I'm not someone you should make time to talk to."

Before Christa could respond, Kagami walked away.

However, Christa continued to make the attempt to get him to talk to her. It would happen during random points in the day, so Kagami could never time when it was best to avoid certain parts of the camp. Even when he ignored her, she would continue to try.

There were times when he gave in and talked. He never spoke more than a few sentences, instead just listening to whatever she rambled about. There were times when she spoke about worrying about his wellbeing as sometimes training could get rough, but he knew those questions were just to keep her act up.

Kagami never brought that up when he was with her. There times when he wanted her to drop it, but whenever he was about to people would show up and stop him.

He was also able to notice the times where her smile was genuine. They were mostly when she was around Josh and his group. He also caught glimpses of them when she was with him, but those were rare.

One of the few times they were alone during training, he finally decided to mention it.

"You do know you can drop the act around me," Kagami said.

"Huh? Act?" Christa asked looking up to him.

Kagami groaned. She was really committing to it. Though, he also did not care about whatever decision led to her adopting it. "How about this: when you decide to smile genuinely around me, introduce yourself to me again."

His glanced over to Christa and saw her eyes had gone wide. He had figured something out that she did not want people knowing. He still did not know why or who she was like without the persona, but the fact he had noticed the act gave her pause.

"I…I don't understand," Christa replied.

Kagami put his hands in his pockets and began to walk away. Evening training was starting soon and he had to meet up with his team.

"I think you do. Until that times comes, see you later."

—

Kagami was not sure why he suddenly remembered that from so long ago. The climb up the stairs was silent, but Kagami's thoughts were not. He never considered anyone present a friend, they were all just comrades. But ever since they had been stuck inside the old castle, events from training began to replay in his brain. The small interactions he had with the others, plus the one sided conversations. He guessed it was because this could be the end, and that his life was flashing before his eyes, but it felt different in a way.

He looked up towards Christa. He was not sure what the significance was, but he knew there had been a change in their relationship in recent times. What it was he could only guess, but it had something to do with a feeling in his heart.

When they got to the roof, they saw Gelgar and Nanaba carrying Lynne and Henning's dead bodies. However, they were not killed by titans, something else had ended their lives. Their arms and were bent at unnatural angles and their gear had been destroyed.

Along with their dead comrades, the tower's wall was destroyed as well. Debris was scattered everywhere and coated with blood. Amongst the stone brick were larger rocks that had not been a part of the castle.

"They're dead. They died instantly," Gelgar said as he set down Henning.

Because the two were dead caused the fear to rise within everyone. What made it worse was that no one had any idea what had killed them.

Connie then took a sharp breath. "It had to be that hairy one. The one that made a beeline to the wall." Everyone followed as Connie moved to tower's edge.

"Hairy one?" Kagami asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The hairy bastard must've-" Connie stopped as he looked down. His face morphed to one of absolute terror. "Heads up! We got twice as many as before!"

Just past the tree line, about thirty more titans emerged of varying sizes. The group looked at them in disbelief. Just as it felt like the onslaught of titans was going to end, more foes appeared. It was like the first titans they had battled were just the vanguard force and the rest were waiting for their orders.

"This can't be real," Gelgar replied.

"It's almost like they're timing these attacks. Like they're strategizing," Nanaba inferred.

"Are you saying titans are smart now?" Ymir asked.

Before anyone could respond a deep roar echoed around them. Everyone's heads turned trying to find the source of it. As the roar faded, the titans that were close to the tower began to slam into it, while some hammered away with their fists. The tower began to shake and everyone was thrown into a panic. It felt like the who tower was going to fall. The rumbling then came to a stop as titans returned to just clawing at the tower.

"Whatever the situation is, it feels like we're being tested. Like ascertaining our level of strength," Kagami mused.

"But by who?" Aemilia asked.

Kagami did not have an answer to that, but is mind did land on the only possible explanation: the hairy titan. From what he could remember, there was has never been a titan covered in fur. That meant the titan was as abnormal as they come, or it was something much worse.

"It can't be," Kagami muttered.

"What? If you got something then say it!" Nanaba ordered.

"The titan that Connie said he saw, it might be someone like Eren."

Everyone gasped in surprise, but Kagami could see gears turning in everyone's heads as well. As he glanced around he noticed that it clicked a bit too fast between Reiner, Bertolt, and Aemilia. Their eyes widened in realization quicker than even the veterans.

"Are you certain?" Nanaba asked.

Kagami nodded. "It's the only thing that makes sense. No other titan would throw rocks. They ain't got the brains for it."

There was another pause between everyone as the information processed. Again, Kagami noticed how quickly the same three were the quickest to accept it. Reiner seemed to be the most unnerved by the possibility, but he hid his emotions well. The other two looked more controlled, but he noticed the growing sweat on their brows. Kagami could only guess as to why. He assumed it was because they had seen that titan before. It was the only thing that made sense in his brain.

"Section Commander, a question if I may?" Albrecht asked.

His question caused for Kagami to be taken out of his musings. He mentally thanked him, because he did not want to continue down that train of thought.

Nanaba, meanwhile, looked like she did not want to answer anything. The whole situation was making her head spin. Too much new information so quickly was making her mind run in circle. She took in a breath to try and relax as much as she could. "Ask."

"I'm not trying to be indelicate, but are either sets of equipment still functional?"

Nanaba was quick to notice what he meant and shot him a disgruntled look. "Don't put me in that position, recruit."

"The less of us that just watch the better, right?"

"Our jobs is to keep you alive. I will not be the one to put you through a suicidal engagement," Nanaba answered. "We're buying time, as much as possible."

Kagami could see the resolve in the commanding officer's eyes. She had long since made peace with the fact that she would die. Kagami respected that mentality, as one did not join the Scouts expecting to live long. Her resolve spoke to her experience, it almost made Kagami want to disregard her orders and try to fix the damaged ODM rigs.

From her a holster in her jacket, Nanaba took out a signal gun. She aimed it towards the sky and fired. A single, bright shot flew into the sky, looking different from the stars above them. She then handed the gun to Albrecht, along with two more rounds.

"The light should last about fifteen minutes. Be smart about the intervals in which you fire them. We might get lucky and whoever is coming will see it," Nanaba said. Her tone betrayed the hope her words were trying to instill.

Before anyone could say anything, the tower began to shake again. The titans began to slam into it again and this time with more force than before. Now the mindless beasts were determined to bring the tower down.

"There's not time to waste! We have to keep fighting, or else the tower'll fall," Nanaba said as she drew her last set of blades.

Her and Gelgar jumped backed into battle, leaving the recruits on the roof. Not that they could do anything, but watch.

Nanaba went after a taller one. She avoided getting grabbed by it, but the force of the titan's hand caused for more stone to fall from the tower. She swung around in order to get a batter angle. When she found it, she moved in to slash the nape. Steaming blood sprayed and the titans stumbled. She yelled at it to fall, and when it did she let out a shocked gasp. The titan began to fall, but it fell into the smaller tower, causing its destruction. Stone fell on top of it and any other smaller titans that were around.

Nanaba cursed as she took a moment to rest on the taller tower. With the smaller one gone, that meant there was even less support for the main one.

"Tower's gonna fall any minute now," Gelgar said as he landed next to Nanaba.

"Every minute we fight counts." She was about to say something else, but the sound of the flare gun firing caught her attention. The equipment they had left had only lasted for fifteen minutes. She looked at he blades, there were dull and chipped. It would only be a matter of time.

"How're you on supplies?"

Gelgar held up what was left of his blade. "I've only got nubs left. Gas is pretty much used up too." He looked to Nanaba and saw her blades. He knew those were her last, but he asked anyway. "Is that all you have left?"

"Afraid so." She turned back to the titans below them. They continued to call at the tower, some even managing to remove bricks.

"Hey, between the four of us, how do you think we killed?" Gelgar asked, his tone stating how tired he was getting.

Nanaba let out a humorless chuckle. " Can't say. Lost track a long time ago."

"Well, I think I didn't do too bad," Gelgar chuckled, "what's a guy gotta do to get a drink around here."

"Now's not the time-" She stopped as soon as she saw his face. Blood trickled down the side of his head. Now she understood why he sounded tired.

"Sorry, Nanaba," he paused to take a breath, "I think I bashed my head." Blood dripped down his chin as he slumped forwards further. "I can't hang on."

His weight caused him to fall, and his grip on his blades loosened causing the anchor to release. Nanaba screamed for her comrade before charging after him. Just as Gelgar was grabbed, Nanaba swung around the titan and plunged her blades into its nape. The force caused for her blades to snap, but the titan staggered and let go of Gelgar, tossing him into one of the castles openings.

"Gelgar! Can you hear me?!"

She tried to get to higher vantage point, but the sound she least wanted hear came from her gear: she was out of gas. She knew she was low, and using what she had left to try and save Gelgar was worth it, but show she was within arms reach. Without weapons or gas she was defenseless. The moonlight the once bathed her was blocked out by shadows. She looked up and saw multiple titans staring at her. She thought she was ready for it, but in that moment all she could feel was terror.

Within the tower, Gelgar slowly recovered from being dazed. She brought himself to his knees as he took in many labored breaths. He could barely see in front of him and what even was going on outside was muted. As his eyes adjusted to the moonlight, he began to scan around where he was and out of the corner of his eye he saw the bottle. He hastily grabbed it, making sure he was not imagining anything. When he felt the glass he could almost cry.

"There must be a God after all." He quickly uncorked the bottle and brought above his waiting mouth. He waited for what felt like eternity before a single dropped escaped the bottle. The drop did not even land on his lips. In that moment he broke down. Tears began to fall and he inwardly cursed the world.

"This isn't fair!"

Behind him the moonlight began to darken, a titan peered into the castles opening. It reached out and grabbed Gelagr. The soldier did not fight it. All he cared about was not being able to get one drink.

"Who drank my goddamned booze!?"

From the top of the tower, the recruits watched as the two veterans met their end. Connie, Ymir, Christa, Albrecht, Elise, and Kagami watched as Gelgar was grabbed and shoved into a waiting mouth. Reiner, Bertolt, and Aemilia were on the other side, watching to see if anything help was coming on the horizon.

"They got them…" Connie said as he fell to his knees.

Christa turned around, grabbed a loose piece of rock, and chucked it at the titans below. Kagami stared with wide eyes at her action. Wondering she was dumb or that determined to fight.

Ymir stopped her from grabbing another by grabbing on of her arms. "This place is gonna give any second and you're not helping. Stay still would ya?!"

"For once, I agree," Kagami said.

"Let me go!" Christa wrestled free from Ymir's grip. "They're dying in our place."

"It's not like they're going to forget we're up here," Albrecht said as he looked down. "Though, I'd be lying if I said I could ignore the screaming."

Kagami had tried his best to ignore it as well, but what Nanaba cried out caught his attention. Gelgar was luckier, in a morbid way, that he died quickly. Nanaba was not as lucky. Her limbs were being torn apart as titans wrestled to get a piece of her. Despite being resolute just a few moments ago, her mind was the first to give into the terror.

"No! No! Stop it! Please, I'm sorry, Daddy! I'll be a good girl from now on I promise! It hurts stop!"

Her screams were silenced as a titan, mercifully, bit into her. Now, Kagami understood why she had looked so sullen when they spoke about the man who raised him. Kagami tightened the grip of his fist, he wanted to fight. He wanted to avenge those who had just perished to save them. For once, he hated that people were dying in his place.

Connie, Christa, and Ymir turned away. The stared from the titans became more than they could bare.

Connie buried his face with his hands, trying to forget what he had just seen. "What are supposed to do now, dammit?! Just sit here and wait for this tower to fall to only just get eaten? This is bullshit. We're going to die before finishing what we started."

Aemilia fell to her knees as panic began to set in. "Is this really how we go out? If I had the choice, I wouldn't've taken this mission in the first place."

Kagami turned to her. Her eyes were welling up with tears. He remembered the night of the selection and telling her not to join. Part of him wanted to say 'I told you so,' but another felt sorry for her. There was also the words she used. At first he did not look too deep into them, but now he was second guessing himself.

"Look, nihilism is going to get us anywhere!" Elise said, trying to calm everyone down.

The recruits looked amongst themselves. Her words did not have any effect, but some seemed to appreciate the gesture.

"If we had a single weapon, if help doesn't come soon, I'd rather go down fighting." Her expression hardening to show her resolve. "Make myself worthy of their sacrifice."

Kagami let out a sigh and walked over to her. She looked up to the red-head, trying to read his expression. To her surprise, he hit her with the side of his hand on her head. Everyone let out a shocked gasp. Christa tried to soothe the pain by rubbing her hands where he had hit her.

"What was that for?"

"You're talking crazy. Plus, the brave face you're putting on isn't convincing anyone," Kagami said. There was no emotion in his voice. His usual scowl was gone as well. It was the first time she had seen him monotone.

"He's right," Ymir said. "Don't use their deaths as an excuse to fulfill some fantasy of yours."

Christa turned to Ymir. "You know that's not what I meant!"

"You know damn well that you're not like Connie and the others! From the beginning, they've been in this to give humanity a fighting chance. All you care about is having the word hero etched on your grave!"

Christa struggled to find a response and looked away from Ymir. She tried to find Kagami, but even he was looking away.

"That's enough," Albrecht said, stepping forwards. "Keep talking and you're not going to like what happens.

Before Ymir cloud step forward to meet him, Kagami got in between the both of them. Kagami looked down to Albrecht's raged fueled eyes. He let out a sigh, he did not want to have to resort to this. He curled his hand into a fist and slammed it into Albrecht's gut. Albcrecht crumbled to the ground, taking in breaths as the wind was knocked out of him. Elise rushed to his side. Shocked gasps escaped everyone again, even Ymir could not hold herself back.

"What the hell is you problem?!" Elise asked, turning to Kagami.

"He's going to start an unnecessary fight. His problem with Ymir can be dealt with after this." Kagami turned to the titans below and sighed before turning back again. "Or maybe in the afterlife."

"Taiga, you bastard. You're letting her off the hook," Albrecht breathed out.

Kagami rose an eyebrow and squatted down to meet his eyes. "She hasn't done anything. You're the one with a grudge. Where it comes from, I don't know and I don't care. You're the smartest one here, but you're throwing that away for something stupid."

Kagami leaned in closer, so that only Albrecht could hear what he said next. "Get your goddamn head on straight or I'll give the titans a snack before the main course. We'll have less stupid people to deal with"

Albrecht's blood ran cold. He had never experienced Kagami being so cold before. From his expression to his tone, everything radiated an immense chill. He watched as Kagami stood up, his blank expression remained as he turned back to the others.

"Are we all as calm as we can be now?" Reiner asked.

Kagami glanced down to Albrecht, who nodded before looking away, and turned his attention back to Reiner. "I think so."

Ymir turned to Kagami, she treaded carefully, as she did not want to set him off. "I didn't need you to step in."

Kagami turned to her, his cold expression was still present. She took a step back, actually afraid of what he might do. "I didn't do it for you."

Ymir did not respond. She took a few steps to the side to be closer to Christa.

There was a silence among them. Everyone's eyes were on Kagami, waiting to see what he would do. Whatever he had said to Albrecht had shaken him. They were also curious if he had some sort of plan. Kagami knew all eyes were on him. They were waiting for him to say something. He sighed and turned to Ymir, who took a step back.

"You talk big, but can you meet your own words?" Kagami asked.

"Huh?" Ymir raised an eyebrow.

"It's like you said, most of us here want to save humanity, but why are you here? Albrecht is right as well, you're dodgy to say the least. I don't care as to why, but it better be worth something if he's getting worked up about it. So, I ask, can you meet your own words?"

Ymir scoffed and straightened her posture. "You sure know how to talk to a woman." She turned to Connie, who looked between Kagami and Ymir. "You still got that knife?"

"Yeah, but what for?" Connie asked, unsure as to approach the situation.

"Don't worry about that, just give it," Ymir demanded.

Connie nodded and took the knife from his belt. "Thanks, cue ball, I appreciate it." She rubbed his head, much to his discomfort. She turned to the titans below, who looked back with hungry eyes.

"What're you going to do with it?" Reiner asked.

She turned to him and gave everyone present a glance. Her eyes remained on Christa longer than the others. She chuckled and shrugged. "Just gonna give them a little hell."

Everyone felt both tension and relief at those words. Even Kagami felt a shift within the normally sarcastic girl. She turned back to the titans below. She steeled herself for what was to come.

"Do you have a plan?" Reiner asked.

She chuckled and turned to him. "If I do, we'll be learning it together."

"Wait, are you really going to fight titans with just an old knife?" Albrecht asked. His breathing still labored from when Kagami punched him.

"You sound concerned. After all the shit you said, your split personality must be showing."

Albrecht grit his teeth. "I didn't peg you for being insane."

Ymir chuckled again."What's insane was that I didn't do this sooner. Guess that means I'm selfish."

"I didn't mean suicide was the way to clear yourself!"

"If all it took were mean words to get me down, I wouldn't have lived this long." Ymir turned to Kagami. "I guess what he needed was whatever you said."

Kagami did not say anything in response. He was still trying to figure out what she was trying to accomplish. It was almost like these were her last words.

"Taiga seems to have that effect on people," Aemilia replied.

Ymir scoffed and turned to the platinum blonde girl and gestured to Kagami. "Keep him in line. You're the only one capable of that."

Now she had said something to almost everyone. It felt odd to see them look concerned for her well being. She had thought that all her berating and chastising would make them think ill of her, but a part of her felt warm that it was not the case. Maybe going out like a hero was not all bad.

Lastly she turned to Christa. The tiny blonde was still unsure as to what was going on, but the dread she felt was real. Ymir's expression become serious as she put her hands on the blonde's shoulders.

"Listen to me. Since we might just die, I want you to think back. The promise we made on that snowy mountain-"

Her words were cut off as the titans returned to slamming into the tower. As the rumbling stopped, Albrecht shot the last flare. Now there were really out of options.

"Ymir, whatever your plan is, better get to it," Kagami said coldly.

"You really don't know how to talk to a woman, huh?" She said before turning back to Christa. "I have no business telling you how to live your life, so this is more of a hope of mine. Christa, live a life you can be proud of."

She turned to everyone, resolve in her expression. She wanted to focus her gaze on Albrecht, but she knew the person she had to say it to was Kagami. "When I die, please look after her for me, okay?"

Kagami could see how she pleaded with her expression. Why it was directed at him, he did not know. He heard Albrecht respond to her, but ignored it. For some reason, her words were for to him and only him, which confused him. He responded with a nod, which satisfied her.

Ymir took a few steps back and took in a breath to steel herself. "Remember our promise, Christa."

She broke out into a sprint. Everyone yelled for her to stop, Christa's voice could be heard the loudest among them, but she did not stop. She then jumped off the tower and plummeted to the titans below, bathed in the light of dawn. Everyone raced to the edge of the tower and watched her fall. There was a flash of red and the air got warmer. Kagami quickly understood what was going on and looked up. The sky turned green and a lightening bolt descended. In an explosion and gust of wind, a titan appeared before their eyes.

Everyone watched with amazement at Ymir's titan form as she bit into titan's napes. As one fell, she quickly jumped to the next to do the same. She jumped to the next, and then to the next, killing several titans in a matter of moments. They all watched as she began to thin the number of titans all by her lonesome.

"Somebody tell me I'm dreaming," Connie said.

"She was a titan, this whole time?" Elise added.

"Ymir…" Christa breathed out.

As for Reiner, Bertolot, and Aemilia, they looked at Ymir's titan form with greater intensity than anyone. It was like they were reliving a memory.

"It was her…" Reiner muttered.

"On that day…" Bertolt added.

"Mar…" Aemilia muttered.

Kagami simply watched. His reaction was more subdued compared to the others. He always had a suspicion Ymir was hiding something, but he did not expect it to be a transformation.

Albrecht was also silent, but his brows came together in frustration. He was sure she was hiding something, all the evidence he had found pointed to it. Seeing what she was hiding, did not bring the satisfaction he was anticipating. He could only grit his teeth and tighten the grip of his fist.

They watched as Ymir continued to bite away at titans. She used either her jaws or sharp teeth to strike at them. There also the fact that none of the titans could keep up with her. Unlike Eren's titan, this was one was fast and nimble. From what Kagami could remember of Eren's titan, he was physically strong and tall, but Ymir's was small and agile. He wondered if that meant something.

Kagami was broken from his thoughts when the tower began to shake again. Despite Ymir taking down titans, some of the larger ones were crashing into the tower. Everyone tried to stay away from the edge, but Christa was too close and lost her footing. Kagami moved quickly to grab her, but Reiner was faster and managed to grab her ankle. However, Kagami noticed his expression. He did not have one of relief at saving the blonde, it was one that he had trouble reading. He could tell it was anger.

"Thanks, Reiner," Christa said as he pulled her back.

"Are you okay?" Elise said as she rushed to her side.

"Stay away from the edge," Albrecht said.

"I'm good. Thanks to Reiner," she said turning to Reiner.

However, he had yet to let go of her ankle. In fact, his grip on her began to tighten. Christa yelped in pain as she called out for Reiner to let her go, but he seemed like he was just statue, staring at noting. Elise, Albrecht, and Connie tried to get him to stop as well, but they could not remove his vice grip.

"Reiner! Stop!" Kagami yelled.

Reiner quickly blinked out of his trance and looked around. He noticed what he was doing and quickly let go of Christa's leg. "Sorry. I don't…" HIs voice trailed off.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Albrecht yelled, grabbing Reiner by his shirt collar.

"Alb, it's fine. I'm okay."

Kagami looked between the three of them, but kept a closer eye on Reiner. Ever since Ymir transformed he had been acting strangely, as if he was in another place.

"Tell me the truth," Reiner said after a moment. "Did you know about this?"

"Huh?"

"He's right," Aemilia said, stepping forwards. There was anger laced in her tone. "You were around Ymir the most. How could you not know she was a titan."

Christa looked between the two and then back down to Ymir. "She never told me."

"How?! There was never a moment during training where she wasn't around you?!" Aemilia asked angrily.

"You really think she's keep something this big a secret?" Albrecht interjected.

Aemilia turned her angry gaze towards Albrecht. "You don't a say with all the shit your were saying about Ymir earlier."

No one had ever seen Aemilia that angry before. Even Kagami, who was around her the most, had never heard her even raise her voice. Whatever was causing her angry was not coming from Albrecht though, that much he was certain of.

"I don't understand. We were inseparable, yet I had no idea," Christa said.

Ymir continued her rampage, hopping from titan to titan. She would use the tower to take a moment to reposition herself. During one of the those moments she let out a screech before jumping back down. The screech caused for everyone's attention to move from each other to her.

"None of us suspected a damn thing. Even after Eren first transformed, she kept quiet," Reiner said.

"That's true. Why wait until now?" Bertolt asked.

"It's possible she did not know. Even Eren did not know he could until he did," Connie said. He took a moment to process his thoughts. He was then hit with a realization. "Then again, she did seem like she had plan."

"Up until now, we've encountered four titans with intelligence: the Armored, Colossal, Female, and Eren. Five if we count the titan Connie saw, and six with Ymir," Albrecht said using his fingers to count.

Kagami gave it some thought. He was sure they did not know about who the Female actually was, as that information was kept under wraps. That meant they all suspected that four out of the six were like Eren. He was not counting Ymir, as she transformed in front of them.

"Out of all of them, Eren is the only one who isn't a threat to humanity. He's also the only one we know the identity of," Albrecht added.

"Are you saying Ymir is a threat?" Christa asked.

"We can't rule out the four-to-one odds," Elise said, peering over the edge. "Super powers aren't something one should hide."

"For all we knew, she could be working with them?" Bertolt said. A noticeable amount of disgust was in his tone.

"But who is 'them'?" Kagami asked.

"The titans of course," Bertolt answered.

Kagami sighed and crossed his arms. "I've been giving that some thought. I don't think she'd be working for the titans per se. There's an outside force that wants the titans to kill us. That's my theory anyway. Besides, I doubt Ymir would've transformed if she was on their side."

At his words, Reiner, Bertolt and Aemilia looked between each other. A panicked sweat formed on their brows. They knew Kagami was on to something and it was something big.

Kagami turned back to the carnage below and saw that Ymir was beginning to be over whelmed. Despite thinning down the number of titans, there was still too many left. There were too many for just a single person to take on, even if they were a titan.

Before Ymir could latch on to the tower, one titan grabbed her arm and pulled her down. She managed to slashed at the titans arm, loosening its grip on her. As she tried to jump away, a titan bit into her arm. Ymir let out a screech as she tried to claw at the titan to open its mouth.

When she broke free, she tried to jump again, but two more titan grabbed onto her legs. She grabbed onto loose stone and tried to pull herself up. The stones began to crumble in her grip, so Ymir let go and fell into the horde of titans. She looked towards the group of recruits watching her. She spun in the air and managed to land on top of the horde. She returned to jumping from titan to titan in order to avoid being grabbed.

"What is she doing?" Connie called out.

Elise had noticed the way Ymir's eyes moved and the way she moved about. Despite being quick, they showed what she was focused on. "She's worried about the tower falling."

"I doubt that," Aemilia said with a scoff.

"I'd believe it. She knows we're still up here." Kagami glanced towards Christa. "She knows Christa is still up here."

"You sure about that?" Aemilia asked.

"She transformed to fight. Think about it for a moment."

"Taiga's right," Christa said. "With her powers she could've transformed to run away, but she fought. That should be proof enough that we can trust her."

Kagami could see the uncertainty in her expression, as well as hear it in her voice. It was like she was trying to convince herself of what she was saying as well. Despite agreeing with her words, he was also unsure as to why. The Ymir he knew would not stick her neck out for others, besides Christa. While the blonde was with them, she could have just transformed, taken Christa and run away. Despite that, he still felt bad that Ymir was the next person that might die to keep them alive for a bit longer.

"Don't die on me! You hear?!"

Kagami turned to see that Christa stepped up on the low wall, a stone in hand. Everyone was panicking and trying to get her to get down. He too was worried, and took a step to get closer, but with everyone else grabbing onto her, she would likely be safe.

"Don't die in a place like this!" She threw the rock at Ymir. "You want to be the hero all of a sudden?! You want to go out in a blaze of glory?! That's rich! You're a selfish bitch and you know it."

Kagami stared at her with wide eyes. Hearing her yell profanities almost made him laugh. However, he was happy to see that she had a growing determination in her. "I'll be damned. Maybe she can fight."

"You're protecting the tower?! Screw that! Tear the damn thing down!"

The amusement of the situation escaped Kagami the moment she said that. Before he could say anything, the tower began to rumble. Kagami looked down to see that Ymir was tearing bricks out and threw them at the titans. As half of a lower level of the tower was removed, the tower began to slowly fall forwards. Panic rose in everyone as the tower began its descend to the ground below.

"Shit! Brace yourself people. This is happening!" Reiner called out.

Everyone slid to the tower's edge, and Albrecht and Elise managed to get Christa off the edge.

"How is this helping?!" Albrecht asked to no one.

As the tower began to pick up speed, Ymir climbed back to the top. Appearing where Christa was once standing.

"Want…to…live? Grab…on…tight," Ymir's titan said.

"You can talk?!" Connie asked.

"Not important right now," Kagami said picking him up.

"Where do we grab?" Aemilia asked.

"Anywhere… Just…grab."

No one said anything else. They jumped onto the titan's head and grabbed her hair. As the tower got closer to the ground, Ymir moved to the far side of the tower. Meanwhile, everyone hanging on was screaming for their life. Even Kagami feared that this would be the end. He found something funny in the way they were going out. No one would be believe that it was the way they died.

The tower fell on the titans, the stone crushing them with their weight. Without any form of intelligence, they simply watched as the stone got close and closer. Likely waiting to see if they could grab a human as the rocks fell.

When the tower finally did fall, a cloud of dust and debris erupted; encompassing the entire site. The cloud obscured everything and kicked up a massive gust of wind. The force of the wind caused for the group to lose their grip on Ymir. They were fortunate that the fall was short, so they were limited to just bruises.

"We're still alive?" Connie asked.

"Seems like it," Reiner said in surprise.

Before they could celebrate their survival, one titan escaped from under the rubble. It quickly set its sights on the group, pushing away anything that could impede its path.

"Hey, ugly! You got a job to finish!"

Ymir did not respond and charged towards the titan. She latched onto its back and bit into its nape. She was about to move to the next one when another titan that survived, grabbed her by the head and slammed her into a large chunk of rubble. The attack shattered her jaw and left her immobile.

"Ymir!"

Before anyone could move, more titans emerged from the rubble. Despite having the tower dropped on them, they were not impeded all that much. Some that emerged from the rubble were still healing, but others looked like they had not taken any damage.

"You're kidding," Aemilia said, devoid of hope.

"So many survived a building falling on them," Bertolt said.

The titans, however, ignored the group of recruits and went straight for Ymir. They all wanted a piece of Ymir and she had no way of defending herself. The titans were ripping her apart. The sound of flesh being ripped apart was making everyone queasy.

"Ymir, no!" Christa called out.

Christa began to take steps forwards, but before she could break out into a run, Kagami grabbed her shoulder. She turned to him, tears in her eyes, begging him to let go.

"She gave us this chance. We need to go."

As he loosened his grip, Christa used the moment to break out into a run. Kagami called out to her, but she ignored him. The others tried as well, but nothing was stopping her. She was determined to get to Ymir.

"Don't do this to me! We had a deal!" Christa stumbled, but managed to remain on her feet. I still haven't told you my name!"

In front of her was a large piece of debris, curling around it was hand. From behind it a ten-meter titan appeared. Its eyes laser focused on making Christa its next meal.

"Christa!" Albrecht called out.

Christa came to a stop, but there was not she could do. The titan's hand stretched out to grab her and she could see he life flash before her eyes. Everything moved in slow motion for her, but the titans hand never grabbed her. The sound of a metal coil rang in her ears, followed by a splash of blood. The titan fell to the ground and above her landed someone in a green cloak. On the cloak were the familiar blue and white wings. A sense of relief washed over her and the others.

The group looked up to see a young man with a streak of blue hair, bathed in the morning light. He turned to them and smiled kindly. "Looks like we made it in time."

"Captain Tetsuya!" Kagmi called out.

"Wait here."

Just as the Oriental captain finished his words the sound of ODM gear filled their ears. Around them the Scout regiment launched themselves into battle. In a matter of seconds, the titans that surrounded them were all cut down.

As Kuroko launched himself into battle, Hange replaced him where he had been standing. "I want the vanguard to sweep the area. Assault teams engage the titans."

The Scouts moved like a well oiled machine. Each one cutting down a titan with expert precision. None of the titans stood a chance against the maneuvers of the seasoned soldiers. There was an attempt made by the creature to fight back, but an out stretched hand always met edged steel.

"Well damn…" Reiner muttered.

"Oh thank, God. We're saved," Aemilia said.

Kagami watched as the Scouts killed the remaining titans. His eyes focused on the Oriental captain and his team. They took down three titans before he could even blink. His team worked with so much efficiency that it astounded him.

"He's pretty cool, right?" a voice asked.

Kagami nodded, but his eyes widened when he recognized who it came from. He turned to see Josh Kassmeyer standing behind him. The red head chuckled and put a hand on his hip.

"Been awhile."

Josh nodded in response. "Yeah."

Kagami held up a closed fist. At first Josh was confused, but then he remembered what the gesture meant. He held out his own closed fist and bumped it with Kagami's.

"Glad to see you're still kicking," Josh said with a smile.

AN: Finally, a new chapter! Let me start off by apologizing for the wait. I started a new semester in uni and the work load is a lot more than previous years. I waited for everything to smooth out before I went back into writing. To be completely honest the hours I spend writing should be for doing school work, but I really wanted to put out a new chapter after being silent for a month.

With that out of the way, about this chapter. This is another one I had been planning for awhile now, but went through some revisions. I think I managed to write what I envisioned in my head. With this chapter I wanted to showcase how Kagami thinks. He is observant and is always taking note of what happens around him, that's why he draws the conclusions he does. Despite that, he does not have the entire puzzle, just pieces. Pieces that make him a threat for others. That was what I wanted to showcase with this chapter.

The original plan was to end it after the name reveal and getting to the wall, but that would've made this chapter a lot longer. Plus, I like where I left off for this chapter.

With all that said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Updates will be slow, but I hope for them to become a bit more regular going forward. Real life is tough right now. If you're enjoying the story, then follow, favorite, and/or review. Also, follow me on Twitter (link in my author bio). I post story and life updates there. Until next time!