It was well past dark by the time the Scout Regiment soldiers departed from Ehrmich District. Following Hange's orders, both Eren and Yavena were riding alongside her in the Command Center of the formation.

There was a grim mood settled across those riding towards Wall Rose. Of course, Yavena had not expected anything different, but it was still unnerving—she found herself thinking about the last few minutes she'd spent talking with Levi in the courtyard before they had left. She couldn't help wondering if anyone had ever attacked him with an embrace like she had, and if they had, whether he had reacted the same way; a flush rose to her face at the recollection of how hasty her action had been, making her grateful for the darkness of the night sky. Still, if she had the opportunity to reenact such an action again, she would…

"It'll be another few hours until we reach Wall Rose," said Hange, breaking Yavena out of her self-indulgent thoughts. "We'll take a rest at one of the abandoned castles nearby: Castle Utgard. In case some of our soldiers were inspecting the Wall, attempting to find the breach, it's likely they might be there as well."

Yavena chewed the inside of her cheek; her mind was on Conny and Christa, hoping that they were all right. She had grown fond of Conny, and while she did not know Christa very well, she was a sweet young woman, as well as a priority for the mission. Turning towards Hange, she said, "You should consider the tower being overrun by Titans by the time we arrive."

Hange readjusted the goggles—she always wore goggles while fighting or horseback riding—upon her face. "Aye, if we're unlucky to arrive by the time the sun is back up, we'll formulate a plan as we investigate the situation."

This was satisfactory enough for both Yavena and Eren, who exchanged knowing looks. Yavena could not help noticing how tightly Eren was gripping onto the reins of his own horse, or the way that his jaw was clenched.

"You all right?" she asked, keeping her eyes upon him.

Eren looked back at her and sighed. "Worried about my friends. And… worried about my friends."

There was no mistaking what this second sentence was about. Yavena remembered how shaken he had been by Annie's betrayal, and based on what he had said about her, she wasn't even one of his closest friends. When it came to Reiner and Bertholdt… Eren did not seem to have formed much of an attachment to Bertholdt, but Reiner was definitely a different story.

She could not help recalling what she had seen from Reiner during their conversation in the old headquarters. He'd spoken about his friends, how he was concerned for them—he told her of how Eren had been almost swallowed whole by a Titan in Trost District. He'd asked her to take care of Eren during the mission…

Yavena's instincts were rarely wrong. It would be a nasty and humbling shock if she had mislabeled Reiner so drastically.

That was when Eren's voice captured her attention. "Oye, Yavena, I've been meaning to ask…" His mouth was quirked in a knowing grin, which surprised Yavena based on how tense he had been just a few minutes prior. "Over the last few days, I couldn't help but notice something."

Yavena already knew where this was going. Her eyes widened. "Eren, don't you start."

"I've been noting that you and our Captain—"

"Eren."

"—seem to be getting along pretty well as of late, and—"

"Shut up."

"—I'm just saying, it seems I might've been right about—"

"Shut up, Eren."

"What? Personally, I think the two of you would—"

"I'm going to kill you."

He burst into laughter at how red her face became, which only prompted Yavena to groan and cover her face with her hands. She glared at him from between her fingers, however, and contented herself with one last malcontent grumble. "I hope one of those Titans kicks you in the ass next time you transform."

Eren either did not hear this remark or did not take it to heart. It seemed to be the first; he turned towards Hange, who had clearly been eavesdropping due to the maniacal grin upon her face, and exclaimed, "Section-Commander! You're Yavena's best friend, surely you know something about her and Captain—"

"Shut your whore mouth, Eren!"

Now both Eren and Hange were laughing, which only made Yavena's face flare up even more. She was not necessarily angry; more like embarrassed and exasperated. The last thing she needed was her personal life flaunted about…

Restraining a groan, Yavena said, "Will you two please stop acting like five-year olds about this? My personal relationships are none of your business; not to mention I'd rather not have two of my closest friends laughing over it. You're reminding me of Olou, and I don't have Petra, Eld, or Gunther here to defend me, either."

A pang hit her chest as she said their names: Yavena hadn't said them aloud for a long while, perhaps not since they had been killed. She couldn't remember…

As it was, her remark seemed to sober the other two up. Hange offered her a small but sympathetic smile. Eren met her eyes, reflecting how startled and sorrowed he was by their remembrance. It became painfully evident that he was still hurting from their previous squad's death as Yavena still was.

Whatever joking mood had been in the air had died away. Feeling like she needed to speak further on the matter, if only so the newfound tension would clear, Yavena directed her horse towards Eren's and said, "I know how you feel, Eren. Believe me, I do. But there's nothing else we could've done."

"That's not true," he said, a bite to his voice. "I could've transformed earlier. I could've saved the members of the rear-guard, too. It's my fault that they died. I know that."

Yavena inspected him closely; it had been a long time since she'd attempted to peel away Eren's layers, the way she did to Levi every other day. She was shocked by what she found. There was a heavy guilt weighing upon his shoulders, a haunted light in his eyes. If she didn't know any better, Yavena would say that Eren was placing the blame for everything bad that had happened upon his own conscience.

"Eren, look at me," she said.

He did so.

"You cannot make yourself responsible for everything that goes wrong in the Scout Regiment," said Yavena. She looked at him intensely, hoping that Eren would absorb the sentiment behind her words. He did not deserve to shoulder such burdens, especially not at fifteen years of age. "You need to remember… you may be our best hope at sealing the Walls, but you are only one person."

Eren's shoulders slumped, but the expression on his face said he wasn't convinced yet.

Yavena straightened, determined to help him. "Being in the Scout Regiment is a team effort. Yes, you are the only one we have with the ability to turn into a Titan. That doesn't automatically make you the only person able to make a difference. There are still countless soldiers that can change the course of an action or decision. What would've happened if I'd called a retreat after debilitating the Female Titan? What if Gunther had never shot up the smoke signal? What if Eld had seen her attack coming? Things would be different, but they're not. Remember what Levi said, Eren: we can only make the choices that we'll regret the least in that moment. And remember that you are not alone in this."

At last, Eren glanced back to her. While there was still sadness to his face, it seemed that some of the guilt had melted away; smiling, he said, "Thanks, Yavena."

He was quiet after this, but he did not need to speak more. Yavena simply reached out and ruffled his dark hair before gesturing her horse next to Hange's again.

The following few hours were spent in meditative silence. Yavena spent a goodly amount of time studying the stars above; she found Soldier's Guide and the White Ward easily. There was another star that caught her eye—it was to the far west of both of the stars, and it glowed with a faint red light she'd never quite noticed before.

Yavena spent a number of minutes attempting to come up with a good name for it, a troubled look on her face as she did so. After about twenty minutes of ceaseless pondering, she decided the name 'Summer's Hearth' would do.

"We're only an hour out from Castle Utgard!" shouted Hange's voice. "Keep an eye out for Titans—the sun will rise within the next half-hour!"

She was right, of course; the eastern sky was beginning to grow lighter, greeting the soldiers of the Scout Regiment with pinkish light. For the first time, Yavena realized how tired she was… but there would be no time to rest, especially with the Titans waking up soon.

As they drew nearer to the Wall and to Castle Utgard, a stone settled into her stomach like a giant weight. There were the unmistakable signs of Titans here: footprints in the grass, broken and ripped up trees.

Perhaps most unnerving of all, however, was the sudden rumbling and CRASH that they heard from not so very far away.

Yavena and Hange exchanged concerned looks. The sun had only just finished rising in the sky—unless these Titans were the type to wake up at the first sign of sunlight, then they had been active throughout the night as well…

"Forward team, prepare to engage the Titans!" bellowed Hange. She withdrew her sword and held it up in the air; sunlight gleamed off the steel blade. "Launch one swift coordinated attack, and keep your eyes peeled for any survivors! Support squads will follow, and rear-guards will watch behind us for additional Titans!"

The soldiers saluted and shouted affirmations to let her know that they heard their commands, though Yavena herself was silent. Her mind was still on Conny and Christa: she hoped that they would stay alive if they were fighting, or if they were elsewhere, that they were safe…

It didn't take long to ride up to Castle Utgard—or more accurately, what remained of it. There was little more than rubble remaining, and for better or worse, it seemed that most of the Titans were congregated around one area. Yavena's stomach churned; she could hardly imagine what might've caught their attention significantly enough for them to stick together in one group…

Mechanical whirring sounded. Mikasa had leapt off of her horse and was diving towards one of the Titans that was standing right in front of a small soldier with blonde hair, dressed in normal clothes: Christa.

But Yavena didn't need to worry. The Titan was dead before long, and Mikasa was standing in front of her protectively.

"Now!" Hange shouted.

The forward team sprang into action, utilizing their omni-directional gear as one unit and slicing off the napes of a large number of Titans in one fell swoop.

Seeing that this had been a success and that the members of the forward team were rounding for a second attack, Hange turned towards Moblit and ordered, "Have the rear-guard disperse and cover the area! The rest of us will attack where the Titans are gathering!"

"Got it!" Moblit replied, and then he spurred his horse around.

Before Yavena could ask what she and Eren should do, Eren apparently decided to take the words 'the rest of us will attack' to heart. He leapt off of his horse's saddle directly towards a Titan—

"OYE!" Hange shouted, throwing her hands into the air. "We don't need you to be a part of the attack! Eughh. Yavena?"

Yavena laughed at the exasperated look to Hange's face and said, "I'm on it." Then she followed Eren's pathway, keeping her eyes peeled for any stray Titans on her way.

Eren had already embedded his cables in the few ruins that the castle pertained. With a murderous hatred upon his face, he yelled, "Die!" and dove straight to his target, blades extended—the nape of the Titan's neck was severed from its body. It hit the ground with an abrupt thump.

As soon as this was done, he whirled back around to face Yavena, a wild grin on his face. "I did it! My first kill!"

And then his cables got tangled, and he fell to the ground.

Yavena couldn't help but laugh somewhat—she directed herself towards another Titan all on its own and took care of it as well before rejoining Eren upon the ground. He seemed like he was having trouble untangling his gear. Sighing somewhat, she muttered, "Damn it, Eren, you're going to give me a heart attack one day. At least give me a heads-up the next time you dive-bomb a Titan. Erwin told me to look after you, remember?"

"Right, sorry," he said, although he didn't seem very apologetic at all. Eren's attention was on his arm; he frowned as he moved it and muttered, "Ouch…"

Yavena sighed, wishing that she could be more stern with Eren. All the same, she rolled her eyes and said, "Keep stretching it for a few minutes. No skin broke, right? Just sore muscles?"

Eren nodded and began to stretch out his arm, the way that they both did whenever they used to prepare for training with Squad Levi when first he had joined. Only a moment later, they both heard a familiar voice shout, "Oye, Eren!"

Up ran Conny, who was flanked by Reiner, Bertholdt, and Christa. All of them looked utterly relieved to see Eren, who shouted, "Guys!" and turned as though to run towards them—but then he stopped, as if looking to Yavena for permission.

"Go ahead," she said with a smile. She figured he was safe enough for now. As the other four approached, Yavena took care to keep her attitude as easygoing as she had when last she'd seen them in the Scout Regiment headquarters. "It's good to see you're all safe. Stay here for now—Hange and I are going to clean the last of these bastards up, and then we'll check on you. All right?"

She was met with five individual voices shouting, "Aye!" Yavena only stopped to slug Conny in the arm before launching back into the air to join the remainder of the Scout Regiment soldiers.

The clean-up duty did not take much time at all, a fortunate turn of events. Most of the Titans had been wiped out by the forward team by the time Yavena had returned to assist them, although she was able to add one more to her kill count, which increased her overall total to an impressive seventy-three in total. A small smile filled her face as she thought about what Gunther would say: he'd probably still be right on her tail, less than fifteen kills behind.

Once it was clear the area was secure, Yavena made her way towards Hange, who was kneeling across from Christa in the midst of a pile of rubble. Lying in front of her was a body; one of its owner's arms was missing, as was one of their legs. As she drew closer, she suddenly realized she recognized that person—it was Ymir—

Yavena rushed forth and knelt on the ground beside Hange. Her eyes were wide as she inspected Ymir's body; but she froze upon seeing her face.

Ymir had markings just like Eren's across her cheeks: the markings that Eren got whenever he transformed into his Titan ability. That meant that Ymir was also a Titan… and she hadn't said anything.

Although confusion and irritation itched at Yavena's mind, she did not wish to say anything yet. It seemed that Ymir was in a very bad state; not counting the missing limbs, there was also a large stripe of red across the top of her chest, and a garish wound in her midsection that was colored scarlet. If Ymir did not have the special healing abilities and regeneration that one with the Titan ability had, she would certainly have been dead.

Christa was grabbing at Ymir's hand with tears trailing down her cheeks. "Ymir…" she said.

Ymir's eyes opened.

"My real name is Historia."

A small smile appeared upon Ymir's face, and then she closed her eyes again.

Yavena glanced towards Hange, whose expression was a careful neutral. The two locked eyes; it seemed that they were both just as confused as the other, though now was not the time to press for answers. They needed to regroup first.

With a sharp exhale, Hange rose to her feet. Looking around at those who had followed her, she declared, "Let's get to the top of the Wall. Bring a stretcher for Ymir. I think it goes without saying that we have a lot to discuss."

The soldiers rushed to follow her commands. A stretcher appeared not thirty seconds later, which Yavena and Christa—or Historia—carefully placed Ymir upon. As they did this, Yavena heard herself asking, "Was I correct in hearing that the name 'Christa' is not your actual name?"

The young woman's blue eyes lodged onto Yavena's own; there was a conspicuous difference within her. After whatever ordeal she and the others had undergone at Castle Utgard, it seemed as though she had been changed. There was a bravery in her stance now, as well as no small amount of determination. Then she said, "Aye. That was a fake name I've been using for the last five years. My real name is Historia Reiss."

Yavena felt as though she had heard the name 'Reiss' from somewhere, though she couldn't quite place it. It wasn't important at the moment. "What would you like to be called now?"

"Historia, please."

Yavena smiled, watching as a number of soldiers transported Ymir over to the lift so they could get her to the top of the Wall. Once they were gone, she turned back to Historia and said, "I'll remember that. It's good to see you well, Historia. We were worried about you."

A bright, familiar smile was shot Yavena's way. Historia turned around and began running after the stretcher that Ymir had been placed upon without another word.

The next thirty minutes were spent getting everyone up to the top of Wall Rose. The rear-guard had finished their search of the surrounding area and had confirmed that there were no more Titans in the near vicinity; this helped the remainder of the Scout Regiment forces to relax a little.

The day was a cold one, with a light rain descending upon everyone's heads. It didn't help the churning in Yavena's stomach—although she knew that they wouldn't dare reveal themselves at the moment, she was still uneasy around Reiner and Bertholdt. It seemed that Conny had no idea that they were suspect at all; he was taking comfort next to them, shadows under his face. There was something bothering Conny that Yavena did not know… something beyond what had happened at Castle Utgard.

Yavena made it to the top of Wall Rose with little to no trouble and found herself standing next to Hange, who was distributing orders to the members of her research team. Once they had all been given their orders, Yavena turned towards her and asked, "What would you have me do?"

Hange glanced at her and leaned close, speaking lowly. "Stay as close to Eren as possible. There was a manic light in some of the recruits' eyes that I don't trust. If there's any possibility of him being in danger, be ready to act. And be careful."

"Understood," said Yavena, taking care to emulate the same volume. She clapped a hand upon Hange's shoulder and began walking to where Eren had positioned himself atop the Wall.

As she arrived, she heard Moblit's voice exclaiming, "Slowly, bring it up slowly!"

Yavena glanced over the Wall; it was Ymir upon the stretcher. Her eyes were closed and her skin was pale, but she was alive. The dark-green Scout Regiment cloak covered her body; steam was exiting from underneath it.

"How's Ymir?" asked Eren. He turned towards Moblit worriedly. "What sort of state is she in?"

Moblit did not spare him a glance. "Her right arm and leg were bitten off, and her insides are beaten liked scrambled eggs. If she were normal, she'd be dead for sure."

"If she was normal, eh?" sighed Eren.

Yavena moved forward and took a seat next to him, clapping a hand on his shoulder before helping Moblit gather the stretcher and carefully deposit it on the ground. The small lift began lowering once more to get some of the other recruits atop the Wall, but Yavena's attention was on Ymir.

"What kind of coincidence is this?" she whispered to herself. "Three Titans in one division…"

In truth, she suspected that there were five. But of course she couldn't say as much aloud—at least not yet.

Based on the look in Eren's eyes, she knew he was thinking the same thing.

The next person was brought upon the lift within the next minute or so; it was none other than Reiner, whose arm was in a sling. He was having trouble getting to the top of the Wall—

"Reiner, grab on!" Eren exclaimed, extending a hand.

Reiner clapped onto it, and with help from Eren, was hauled atop the Wall. As soon as he arrived, he grimaced and placed his uninjured hand upon his other shoulder. "Damn… thanks, Eren."

The lift lowered again. Yavena walked over and seized a water-skin, holding it out to Reiner. He took it and nodded at her before taking a long drink—Yavena used this opportunity to say, "It's good to see you're alive, Reiner. When we received the reports about the hole in the Wall, we were worried, to say the least."

"Ah," Reiner sighed, finishing his drink. "Thanks for the concern, but we're all right. There were a few close calls, but… we made it."

He trailed off, a faraway look to his face. Plastering a smile onto hers, Yavena asked, "Do you need anything? You've had a long night."

Now he smiled. There was a quivering to his lips; it said that this was a false bravado. Whatever had happened, it must've been intense. "I'll be all right. Check in on Conny, though. He had a rough day yesterday—worse than the rest of us."

Yavena nodded, not surprised by this report. Conny was not yet atop the Wall, but she made a mental note to talk to him once he arrived.

The next person to ascend the Wall was Bertholdt, who took Yavena's outstretched hand with a single nod. He immediately walked over to Reiner and clapped a hand on the other man's back.

It was like a cold fist had just reached inside Yavena's stomach and scrambled her innards. She had the information: if she really wanted, she could lunge out at these two right now and get rid of whatever threat they posed…

But there still wasn't proof. She needed to wait, despite the little voice in her heard screaming at her to be proactive, to protect Eren by striking first.

"You all right, Bertholdt?" she heard herself ask. Yavena forced her eyes to him and was unsurprised to see he was looking dispassionately back at her. "Do you need anything? An extra cloak? Water?"

Bertholdt shook his head. "I'm fine. Thanks."

Knowing there was nothing else for it, Yavena nodded and turned to the side.

Following Bertholdt up the Wall was Armin. He too had trouble getting himself off of the lift, though this was likely due to lack of upper body strength rather than a broken arm. While Armin was brilliant, he was not the most physically adept soldier the Scout Regiment had to offer. Nonetheless, Yavena dove forth to help haul him up to the Wall.

As she grabbed his arm, she heard Reiner hiss behind her. "Damn, this hurts."

"You all right, Reiner?" asked Eren.

"Well, a Titan nearly gnawed off my arm. That was pathetic. I thought I was done for," Reiner muttered. There was palpable bitterness in his voice; perhaps directed to the Titan, perhaps to himself.

Yavena hauled Armin to the top of the Wall—he nodded at her in thanks—and then she turned back to face him. "You're a strong man and a good soldier, Reiner, but at the end of the day, you're only human. That feeling is bound to envelop you sometimes."

Reiner sighed. "Aye, but this is the second time for me. Tell her, Armin."

"Eh?" asked Armin.

"Remember the time I almost got crushed in that Titan's hand?"

Armin's eyes widened. "Oh… back then…"

Even though Yavena already knew the story, she sat down upon the Wall across from Reiner and widened her eyes. Keeping her voice a hushed whisper, she asked, "What? What happened?"

"During the last reconnaissance mission outside the Walls, Armin, Jean, and I fought that Female Titan," said Reiner. His eyes were focused on a tiny spot of dirt along the top of the Wall, likely a speck of mud from someone's boots. "We tried to stall her, but she ended up grabbing me… almost crushed me like a grape."

Yavena exhaled lightly and placed a hand on his knee. The gesture made Reiner jerk—he turned to face her and was apparently surprised by the look of understanding that was in her eyes. Softly, she said, "Trust me, Reiner. I know exactly what that feels like."

He nodded and smiled, clapping a hand on her arm. "Soldiers need to stick together, don't they? I just hope I'm not dead too soon… I picked this path on my own, but being a soldier is tough. It's like a soldier's spirit dies before their body does…" He trailed off for a moment, as though wondering why he had become what he had become. But then that look of uncertainty vanished, and he stared at Yavena and Eren with resolve. "Still, until we plug up this Wall, there's no use whining about it."

"We'll make sure it gets done quickly," she answered. "But remember, all of you: be kind to yourselves. Soldiers like you four are rare. You've lived this long thanks to your own strengths and talents. Don't forget that."

Yavena squeezed her hand. Reiner seemed to understand this was a signal for him to let her go. Once she was free, she rose to her feet again.

"She's right, as usual," sighed Eren. Although Yavena wasn't looking at him, she had a feeling that he was rolling his eyes just as Levi liked to do. "You two have been through a lot, and I'm not just talking about tonight. You've been driven far enough away from your hometown. This is where we have to draw the line."

At the mention of their hometown, Bertholdt gasped. "He's right, Reiner! Our hometown—let's return! Isn't it about time we go back? Compared to all the trouble we've been through, what's left to do is nothing!"

Reiner quickly reflected his energy and said, "That's right… we're so close, it's just another few steps until the end!"

"Eh?" asked Eren. "What are you guys talking about?"

A void opened up in Yavena's stomach; she was grateful that her face was turned away from both Reiner and Bertholdt, because if she hadn't been, surely they would've seen the flash of panic that had run through her face.

Their remarks were suspicious, at the very least. And Reiner was participating in them—was returning them to Bertholdt—but it couldn't be, it really couldn't… he seemed to care about the others so much.

But facts were facts. Yavena's hands twitched towards her blades…

The sound of approaching horses broke Yavena from her thoughts. She glanced over the Wall to see members of the Wall Garrison approaching. It was only a few people: a simple forward squad.

"You two get some rest," said Yavena, looking over her shoulder towards Reiner and Bertholdt. "I'm going to see what the report on the Wall is."

Yavena did not wait for a response before turning back around and walking in the direction of the others. Based on the two pairs of footsteps following her, she figured that Eren and Armin had taken the opportunity she'd given them—a tiny sigh of relief exited her mouth.

She was grateful they were smart enough to catch onto her cues.

It took a few minutes for one of the members of the Wall Garrison to arrive. He was a man with cropped blond hair and a thin mustache—Yavena noted that Eren, Armin, and Mikasa all seemed delighted by his presence.

"Hannes!" exclaimed Eren.

He glanced up at them and offered them all a quick smile before turning his attentions back to Hange. Although he was still trying to pull himself up the Wall, he grunted, "There's no hole anywhere! We spent all night looking for it, but at least between Trost District and Krolva District, there's nothing wrong with the Wall."

Seeing Hannes's struggle, Eren knelt and grabbed at the man's arm.

"What did you say?" murmured Hange, whose face had blanched.

"We bumped into soldiers from Krolva and retraced our steps. We haven't seen any Titans the whole way here," said Hannes. It seemed he was as uneasy with these revelations as Hange was.

"But… we know for sure that there are Titans on this side of the Wall!" exclaimed Armin.

"Did you actually look?" asked Eren. "Are you sure you're not drunk?"

Hannes groaned. "I didn't drink! Wait, why are all of you here, anyways?"

"If there's no hole in the Wall, so be it," said Hange. She sighed to herself and caught Yavena's eye—the two of them nodded. Raising her voice, Hange exclaimed, "For now, we're falling back to Trost District!"

With that, Hange began to walk away, along the outside of Wall Rose. A large number of other soldiers followed her, but Eren, Armin, and Mikasa were not three of them. They remained standing in front of the Wall Garrison's soldier, the man named Hannes.

"Whatever you do, don't let your guard down," said Hannes, looking at the three of them seriously. "We're going back ahead of you."

He leapt off of the Wall, using his omni-directional gear to return to the rest of his squad.

Once he was gone, Yavena glanced towards Eren. His cyan eyes were wide as he murmured, "There's nothing wrong with the Wall?"

"What could it mean?" said Armin. His eyebrows furrowed together. "There's been nothing like this in five years. Why is it all happening now?"

Yavena sighed and shook her head. "Come on, we should begin to return to Trost District. Perhaps there we'll be able to regroup and figure out where these Titans are coming from…"

The four of them didn't even get two steps in before a familiar voice called, "Oye, Eren!"

It was Reiner. He and Bertholdt were standing only a few meters away; the first of the two was waving Eren forward. "Got a minute?" he asked.

Eren looked back towards Yavena, who swallowed hard. She knew that allowing Eren to go forth would be dangerous… but it could also be free information. As far as she knew, neither Reiner nor Bertholdt had any idea that the Scout Regiment suspected them as traitors—and so she nodded to Eren and said, "Mikasa and I will wait here for you. Armin, could you tell Hange we'll be a bit behind?"

Armin saluted and jogged forth, having immediately caught on to her plan. Mikasa was no exception; her dark eyes regarded Yavena with the slightest hint of gratitude for including her.

Eren walked over to Reiner and Bertholdt, who gestured him a little further away as if to guarantee that neither of the women could overhear their conversation.

As soon as he was gone, Yavena turned to Mikasa and murmured, "You face them and keep watch. I'll try to overhear what they're saying. If either of them make any move to attack or harm Eren, we strike. You go after Bertholdt. I'll take Reiner. Understand?"

The light that spawned behind Mikasa's eyes said she would be ready.

Yavena turned her back towards the three men, doing everything she could to drown out the background sounds and the howling of the wind so she might be able to hear their discussion. For a short while, all Yavena could latch onto were the drones of each voice: Reiner's voice was low-pitched, but mildly agitated. Bertholdt, as usual, was quiet… Eren did not say much, but the inflection in his tone could only be described as devastated.

The first inkling she received to the conversation was Eren laughing uneasily and saying, "You're just tired, aren't you, Reiner? Right, Bertholdt? You've been through so much, it's making you crazy."

She took a deep breath and looked to Mikasa, whose face was lined with shadows.

"They're traitors," whispered Mikasa.

Yavena lowered her chin. "Wait for the prime moment. Don't attack early."

At that moment, there was a series of thunderous clanking.

Both women jumped at the noise—it seemed that the wind had torn off one of the flags from atop the Wall. It clacked against the Wall numerous times as it fell towards the ground and into Titan territory, but the noise still echoed over the horizon and rolled across the plains.

The entire world seemed to freeze in that moment. Yavena looked past Mikasa to see that Hange and her soldiers had stopped walking, and were looking back to Eren with their hands upon their omni-directional gear and their blades. In between herself and Hange was Armin, whose eyes were wide as he stared at the three men standing behind her.

The sun appeared from behind the clouds, casting a warm glow upon each person. Yavena finally looked back over her shoulder—she gasped as she noted that Reiner had removed his arm from the impromptu sling. Steam was emitting from the wound, and now she could hear him saying, "As a warrior, I must fulfill my duty to the bitter end!"

"Reiner!" Bertholdt had a panicked, deranged look on his face. "Are we doing it? Now? Right now?"

"Aye. We settle this… right here, right now!"

Yavena sprinted forth, her hands upon her blades. She and Mikasa charged forward—neither Reiner nor Bertholdt saw her coming—

She lunged forth and stuck her blade directly through Reiner's stomach, twisting it to ensure she struck vital organs. He screamed as her weapon pierced his flesh—Yavena retrieved it and looked over to see that Mikasa had struck Bertholdt across the neck, though it seemed like he'd managed to prevent her from taking off his head by thrusting his arm in the way.

"Eren!" shrieked Yavena. "Run!"

Eren staggered backwards as though he wanted to obey her orders, but was so stricken by whatever had just happened that he couldn't move. There was the thunderous sounds of the remainder of the Scout Regiment barreling after them, ready to provide assistance—

Reiner and Bertholdt turned around; even though she had struck him, it didn't seem that the wound was fatal for someone with the ability to transform into a Titan. They both glared at Yavena. Sparks began to fly from their being…

Yavena seized Mikasa's and Eren's hands and began sprinting away from them, knowing exactly what was about to happen.

The blast was deafening. Yavena's field of vision was entirely blocked off by flares of orange and yellow; she kept a tight hold of the other's hands, trying to run far away enough to get them to safety—

Eren's hand was pried from her own.

"Eren!" she cried, whirling around. The lights had finally died down, but now there was a cloud of smoke and steam blocking her vision. Yavena coughed, hardly able to breathe; sometime during the chaos, she felt Mikasa's hand slip from hers as well. "Mikasa!"

Ten seconds later, the clouds had cleared. Sitting directly ahead of her, only halfway formed, was the Colossal Titan.

Yavena gasped, her eyes frantically searching for Eren. She saw that Mikasa was well, she hadn't been grabbed, she was only a few meters away. That only made Yavena even more certain that one of the two Titans had taken Eren from her, but she had no idea where they went—

"There!" shouted Mikasa.

She followed where Mikasa was pointing and saw Eren was in the grasp of the Armored Titan, who had leapt over the side of the Wall and into Titan territory. Another trail of dust concealed their exact position as they slid down the very stone of the Wall, causing a number of bricks to go flying through the air…

There was another flash of yellow-orange light—outside of the cloud, Eren's Titan emerged. He roared, a sound of pain and fury, and lunged out to punch the Armored Titan.

"Mikasa!" shouted Yavena, whirling around to face the young woman. "Now is when we have to work together, understand? Follow my lead. We'll get Eren back."

Mikasa clenched her jaw and said nothing, but she did not have to. The determined light in her eyes was enough.

Yavena looked down towards the two Titans fighting only to see Eren's Titan attempt to punch Reiner's—his hand disintegrated, and then the Armored Titan launched Eren backwards as easily as he would a punching bag.

"Eren!" cried Mikasa. She rushed forward as if to dive off of the Wall, but Yavena lunged out and seized her wrist.

"Wait. We need a plan," said Yavena. She was met with a scowl, but Yavena proceeded to ignore it. "The Armored Titan's skin is covered in impregnable armor. We need to fly around it, search for any weaknesses, and attempt to mutilate those. If we find anything useful, we need to tell Eren while he fights. Got it?"

Neither of them waited for anything further; Yavena dove off of the Wall, knowing that the remainder of the Scout Regiment would have to take care of the Colossal Titan.

But her job was to protect Eren, and she would not fail.

Not this time.