Chapter 17:

Enemies from Above

Kai and Kuklo were eating their dinner; it wasn't much just soup and bread. As they quietly ate, processing what happened the night before (especially Kai), Kuklo stands up suddenly and explains that he'll come back, needing to go to the bathroom and off he went before Kai could reply. For a moment, Mr. Arlert genuinely thought he was going to get his memory wiped back in the crystallized cave, but somehow managed to be almost immune to the Founder's power right before Emet appeared. It was strange... How come Uri the Founder was unable to use his abilities? Was it because of the moment Emet entered the cave? It was no longer just when Emet appeared that things got confusing, but it got worse when Emet tried to eat Uri and take the Founder. How did he have the knowledge to do that? Why would he want the power of the Founder when he wouldn't be able to use it anyway; after all Emet was not related to the Riess or any members of the Royal family under King Fritz or Ymir; and the holder needs to either be, or in contact with someone directly related to the original Founding Titan, Ymir Fritz. The entire Fritz family held the crown for centuries, keeping the royal bloodline intact. The only time that royal blood wasn't required was when Ymir granted Eren Yeager the Power to start the rumbling, and then later set her free from King Fritz's slavery for thousands of years. Kai sighed in frustration as nothing made sense anymore.

As Kai lifted his eyes, he wondered where Emet had gone. Emet Ackerman left Kuklo and Kai when he heard the commotion outside. The moment his blue eyes caught sight of the entrance, is when Kai saw her; her eyes scanning the room with a bowl of soup in her hands as if she was looking for somewhere to sit. He was happy to see her again, for it had been so long, and he waved the girl over calling gladly, "Aimi, over here!"

Recognition of her own name, Aimi found where her presence was called from. It was to Kai surprise when Aimi only returned a light-hearted smile. Her grey eyes were dull and exhausted as she made her way to Kai.

"You okay?" Kai asked, letting her sit across from him.

"Could be better, you?" Aimi responded.

"I'm alright, but you seem to have had a rough day."'

"I did." Bluntly, the girl takes a spoonful of soup and avoids eye contact with Kai. It was like she wasn't interested in talking at all. Aimi Ackerman was never a girl to be this disengaged talking to Kai Arlert, and it shocked him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kai asked as he scratched his head, not used to seeing Aimi this way, but in response she shook her head.

"Aimi," Emet coming into the barracks made Aimi roll her eyes as she intensely lets go of the spoon for her soup. Kai remained quiet when the older Ackerman made his way to Aimi and said "I want to talk to you."

"Emet... I am not in the mood," Aimi answered.

"Look, hear me out…" Emet started to say but Aimi angrily pushed herself away from the table and shouted for everyone to hear, "I AM TIRED! I AM EXHAUSTED! AND I FEEL CRAP FOR NOT SAVING THAT GIRL TODAY! I WAS AFRAID AND WEAK! I GOT MAD AT THE VILLAGERS BECAUSE THEY PUSHED MY BUTTONS, AND I'M SORRY - OK? NOW BACK OFF AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Everyone from Eleanor, Emet, Kai to the other soldiers who were eating were lost by what just happened, and Aimi, panting heavily after her outburst, groaned in rage and stormed out of the room. It was only Eleanor who chased after her. Kai watched, wondering what had just happened. Just as he was about to follow, Emet halted him, "Just stay with me, I'm sure Eleanor has got it under control."

"What happened?"

"Well, from almost calling her a drama queen. I came to understand Aimi had to toss someone she knew out of the cart to a titan in order to get away... Then Dahlia was brushing her up the wrong way... That's when I caught her fighting."

In a somewhat guilty manner, and he couldn't explain why, Kai softened his face, only wanting to find Aimi but knew Emet would just stop him again. In response, all Kai could do was sigh in hopes the girl would come round again. It definitely wasn't the reunion he had hoped for.

As the men wander to their barracks, Emet was relieved he doesn't have to sleep isolated anymore as he gradually gained freedom from Hunter to do things. The tiredness then hit Emet; Kai and Kuklo walked down the corridor to the assigned room the three were sleeping in and were told a fourth person would be inside waiting for them. That fourth person was Milo Becker, who was sitting on his bed and was working on something and Kai and Emet didn't notice this until they entered the room.

"Hey Milo, long time no see buddy!" Kai waved, stopping midway to see Milo's project on the bed, "Uhh... What ya doing?"

"Evening," Milo who was concentrating intently replied, "Something for my injury."

"Injury, what happened- WHAT THE? What happened to you?!"

Kuklo was the last one to enter the room, and seeing Milo for the first time, noticed the dried blood stains on the young man's old bandages. He frowned, feeling sorry for the soldier, "I guess a titan did that to you?"

Startled by the voice, Milo perked up to see Kuklo. There he sees the others man's scars across his face and asked, "Yeah... Did they do that to you too?"

"No… People actually."

"Oh, I'm Milo Becker."

"Kuklo Mansel."

"Nice to meet you..." Milo drily smiled, before continuing back to his project. "Anyway, this bad boy will help me catch up with all of you. I'm nearly finished, so I won't keep you up too late..."

The men moved to their beds, watching Milo continue his work. There was wood, leather and metal. It was confusing why the Milo was constructing something this late, his eyes glimmering with hope and effort to get it done. The object that Milo was currently obsessing over producing was a peg leg; something a pirate would use and would hopefully take over for the stupid crutch Milo had been using. There was a lateral stabilizer, a thin piece of wood, which can move and bend slightly with the wearer's movements. There was also a wooden stump attached to the stabilizer, this is a solid block, which was used by an amputee to place their leg onto for stability - it is the point of contact between the prosthetic and stump and therefore requires the most attention to ensure that pressure and forces on the stump are minimized to reduce pain. The support was chiseled and carved to the template drawn onto the block originally; the edges were then smoothed to remove any splinters or sharp edges which may eventually cause discomfort to the wearer or damage to the leather which will be attached. Open socket peg legs had cloth rags to provide cushioning for the distal end of the stump, allowing a free range of motion, however, these were not added by the manufacturer, they required extra materials and therefore expenditure so the amputees were told to "rest the knee on a very full pad, otherwise it will soon become tender and incapable of transmitting the weight of the body to the artificial appliance. As Milo eventually finished, he sits to the edge of the bed, looking at his device. It was Emet who twigged on first, "You're making a leg?"

"A peg leg, it'll help me move around much easier than crutches. I'm not letting those twats of titans disable me into nothing." Milo frowned, holding back his rage from everything that had happened today.

"Milo, you'll hurt yourself more." Kai insisted, "I don't think this is a good idea."

"Kai, if you were in my position. I know you out of all people would do the same. Don't you start either, Emet." Milo cuts in, proving a point of the obvious that makes Kai no longer wants to argue. Emet lifting his hands to say, 'no problem' but was too tired to even include himself in the conversation to begin with.

"Then at least let me help you get it on. Is your wound not too fresh though?"

"I don't care. It's fucked anyway, so forcing itself to work with this piece of wood...Too bad."

The boy was upset, and the three knew it. Kuklo was settled in bed, feeling down for Milo as he watched him. It was their first encounter and Kuklo began to wonder what Milo was like before today. He sighed, moving his head to the roof as he stared into the ceiling. As Milo puts his knee into the padding, he bites his lip and groaned in great pain but continued, and started tying his belt around his leg and up to his waist to stabilize his peg leg. He did this by reconstructing the belt that he wore as part of the Survey Corps uniform for the ODM gear, and now used it instead for his leg. Kai hurries over, helping Milo stabilize as he offered to tighten the belt for him instead. Milo had tears in his eyes, the wound was being compressed to the padding, far too fresh for the pressure that had to be applied but he wanted to know that he could walk on his product. He needed to know.

"Milo, we can do this another time."

"NO!" Milo blurted out to Kai before he hissed, "I want to. Let me try and walk."

Slowly, and painfully, but surely Milo made himself limp across the room, a new form of walking, but it was definitely quicker than using his crutches. In triumph, he tightened his fist and hissed, "Yes man, let's fucking go..." And the other men smiled, letting Milo have his moment.

"Jeez, you once were a twig in weight," Emet smirked, pulling his scarf down that was covering his gesture, "Now a literal twig with that leg."

"Har, har…" Milo lightly kicked Emet with his wooden leg playfully, "I'll poke you in the eye with this if you don't shut up."

"Oh god, Carla... So you think they've sent you off the edge?" Bernadine, who was the same age as Carla Rin, was now sitting where Milo was the moment before the Commander and the injured solider left. The two young women had become best friends over the years; it had been a month since the two of them were able to talk, and it drove the normally relaxed individual Bernadine crazy to not know why her friend Carla had been so distant and silent for so long. It had been ever since those strange individuals were found outside the walls and since then, her friend who normally spoke about everything decided to keep her mouth shut. Until tonight. When Carla spilled everything to her, from Milo to Eleanor and the training throughout the six weeks Carla conducted. To when, she first discovered Emet Ackerman, a titan shifter, not even knowing they existed and had to be kept secret until he and Kai were sent with Hunter into the Titan woods. It was then when she brings up a solider from the past; Kuklo. By looking through the records, he really was meant to be dead and was listed as missing in action, but was apparently alive they learned through confirmation from his wife. Kuklo Mansel lived on, yet he somehow remained in his early 20s despite time moving forward.

Their conversation became weirder and weirder. Discussing Hunter's discovery at the Reiss Chapel and how there is another ruler, but there was little to none they can do about it. That it was apparent based on Kai's claim that the Founder can erase memories if they try to begin with. But that wasn't the concern anymore; it was what Carla has personally experienced with Kai Arlert and Aimi Ackerman back in the forest when they first made contact... the vision of the little children she never seen before but somehow knew...

"So ever since then... that's what you have been experiencing?"

"Yes, I don't know how to explain it. I plan to tell them once Kai is approved by Hunter as it will be his final call." Carla, sitting facing her friend rested her head against her hand on the armchair.

"I can't believe it... Everything seems to be changing before our eyes. Is there anything I can do?" Bernadine asked.

"No. I want you to try keeping everything in order. I sense it will all go to mad if we don't get those lot outside the walls."

"Alright, well you know I am here for you." Bernadine smiled, "Always have been."

"I know." Carla added smiling back, "You've been good to me."

The door knocked, disturbing the women's conversation. Carla allowed them to enter, a man appeared. A man both Bernadine and Carla knew very well. He was all and intimidating man, with a full head of short dark hair that he kept neatly combed. He wore the standard Survey Corps uniform while on duty, usually with a dark corps trench coat also. His face stared over to Carla, but it was in surprise as he muttered, "Carla, it's been a while."

"Keith Shadis, it has been." Carla greeted, smirking at Bernadine's playful eye roll that Keith wasn't able to see.

Keith walked over to the table while remaining standing and noticed Bernadine sitting casually by the chair. Keith was fascinated with the world beyond the Walls, and it was this fascination that drove him to join the Survey Corps, and led to him developing a very self-righteous personality, often referring to himself as being "different" from everyone else within the Walls. It was later confirmed by the words of Grisha Yeager, calling him special, and that became Keith's identify for a period of time. One definite thing about him, were his feelings for Carla Rin. They met in cadets training, meeting her and he saw her as someone he never known before. She somehow pulled his strings, and despite him being a bold personality on his own, it was more often than not that he wished Carla would notice him in a different light.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her, his tone soft and concerned.

"Temporarily staying here until tomorrow. We'll probably head back South to Shiganshina before the next expedition," Carla replied, resting her feet on the table and as she sighed in exhaustion. "Been a long day as I assume you heard."

"Another unsuccessful mission," Keith said as he shook his head, "Well, I should be back for the next expedition. Hopefully, better results next time."

"Keith, at this rate if the ODM isn't improved I don't want to send any more of my comrades…"

"You know Hunter will send him out regardless," Keith retorted, "He's a man of risk."

"Yes, but we aren't getting the chance to fight the titans off properly," Bernadine argued, "We only just recruited a few handful of trainees."

"But it's what they signed up for," he said bluntly, Keith peering down over Bernadine, "Carla, you know better than anyone why those join the Survey Corps. We deserve to retake the world that's been-"

"And I joined the Survey Corps for a different reason," Carla interjected, her eyes deadly still at Keith as a sign to end the conversation.

"Yes... I suppose some individuals like yourself have their own personal reason...Well tell Hunter I will meet with him soon, Captain," He sighed, taking the hint as he began to exit the room.

"Will do Vice Commander," She saluted, keeping her mouth shut until the door closed and then released a groan of frustration. "Why take these soldier's lives as if they don't mean something?"

Shrugging, Bernadine tutted, "Not sure, but one thing I do know, is that he soooo wants to marry you and values your life completely. Carla Shadis."

"Shut. Up." Carla glared, playfully tossing a book that was sitting on her desk across to Bernadine, "Maybe you're not so good to me after all."

Deep into the late night...

"Milo! Is your leg now converted into a stick?!" Eleanor shouted, eyeing Milo as he was walking along outside as he seemed to be forcing himself to get used to his peg leg.

Milo sighed, smiling at his friends who were sitting on the roof of their barracks. "Yeah, behold my grand leg... Not going to lie, it's killing me at the moment. I think that after a couple weeks I'll be numbed to the pain."

"You coming up here?" Eleanor asked as she waved to the peg legged boy.

As Milo comes up to the side of the barracks, the roof was low enough for Aimi to be able to pull him up as well as himself. They both climbed over to where Eleanor sat, and the three of them looked over the military base. It was very late into the night and everyone had passed out for the night. "... Today went to shit." Milo chuckled.

"We defo could've died today," Eleanor stated and rolled her eyes, smiling lifelessly at the thought.

"Well, we didn't and we won't." Aimi bluntly spoke, "So that's all that matters... I'll make sure we won't next time."

"Hah! Yeah, after today... I'm not so sure," Eleanor replied, "But hey, I remembered something after we got back. Those titans were once humans too weren't they? I mean... They were Eldians like us, who turn into titans... somehow? Don't we?"

Milo nodded explaining, "Yup, we get injected by titan serum, and poof we become one of them. Apparently, those who reverted back to normal say it was like a long nightmare; their own definition of misery."

The three looked beyond them, the silence of their individual thoughts only broken by Eleanor as she quietly spoke, "Well, can we promise each other something?"

Aimi and Milo are taken aback at Eleanor being more serious than usual. She grinned, trying to make the promise seem less serious than it really was and said, "If one of us dumb-wits become a titan, could one of us put each other out of misery and set them free? Y'know, by killi…"

"Shut up!" Aimi barked, thumping Eleanor on the head with her first. "That is the stupidest request you've asked us. What is the matter with you? None of us will ever become titans!"

"No it's not! I mean look at us, we're clumsy as hell!" Eleanor sweat dropped, "Look, can we just make that promise. Just in case... It's like putting a dog out of its misery when it's dying. I mean, if I became a titan... I would rather be dead right away than aimlessly roam around the place! If it was one of you guys taking me out – I'd be grateful."

"I promise." Milo agreed, freaking out immediately when Aimi snapped, "MILO!?"

"Come on, it's an innocent promise. It won't happen anyway,." Milo shrugged, seeing Aimi sigh at the concept in defeat before agreeing, "Fine. I promise too."

"YAY!" Eleanor cheered and said, "But look at all the fireflies tonight! Aren't they nice?"

Fireflies that were beaming in the atmosphere, Eleanor was truly referring to the stars. The term "fireflies" was a group reference and had meaning from when they were children, something close to their hearts and memories. For a moment, they felt like they had returned home back to Mikasa's cabin as little children sitting by a campfire; their eyes were filled with awe and they sat quietly together gazing into the thousands of stardusts above them – souls made of flames and gas. They were really nice tonight. For Aimi, she gazed at both the stars and briefly to her friends. One thing is for certain is that Aimi loved them dearly and she will make sure to protect them even before her own life. Aimi agrees with Eleanor and responds with, "Yeah... they are."

On Wall Sina, early in the afternoon.

Aimi, Milo with his one leg and Eleanor were standing together on a wooden lift being pulled up to the very top of the wall, whereas for Kai, Emet and Kuklo with a few other soldiers were asked to climb the ladder instead. It'll be their first time they'll see Paradis 50 meters above ground. When Aimi reached the top, she felt the sudden wind slap her in the face, but didn't mind as the scenery was just breathtaking a second later. That was one thing about Paradis in the Year 830; everything was in rich in nature and just less urban in 879. Today was a fresh start, what happened yesterday was in the past. In Aimi's heart she had to push forward and let all her emotions go (particularly Niamh's death), as she walked near the edge of the wall, it wasn't until a moment later that her best pals were standing beside her.

"Wow, you know I like to see more of a view like this. Is this what the birds would see?" Eleanor admits, the breeze making all of their capes flow.

"Yeah, it's not bad," Aimi agreed, inhaling the air, and then arched her brow when she hears her brother behind her, "Aimi," he said.

"What's wrong?" She asked as she faced her brother.

"I shouldn't been so harsh on you," Emet admitted, "I tried to apologize yesterday but…"

"No, forget it. I shouldn't of been such a brat yesterday."

"Hmph." Emet grunted, their apology said and done. Very sibling like, even though they're not related by blood, "Good," Emet finished, placing his hand on his sister's shoulder and nudged her lightly as positive reinforcement.

"Look at us, one big happy family again!" Eleanor jokingly laughing, nudging Milo but accidently nearly knocked him over his on his new peg leg.

Not really paying attention, Aimi spots Kai having a discussion with a guy she hadn't noticed before. In honesty it was the one eyed appearance that sparked her interest. Leaving the three to themselves she made her way to the other two. It was Kai and Kuklo who Aimi was making her way as the pair was looking over Capital Mitras. It was much grander compared to the other districts, the majority who lived there were MPs, high ranked officers and followers of the royal family along with their families. Kuklo explained that in his life, money wasn't divided out across the walls so fairly, and that sometimes it would be hard for certain districts to survive in the winter. Kai then talked about his timeline, how the island itself is becoming more modernized as a whole, ensuring that improvements in all districts now renowned as towns or cities depending on population as class status doesn't matter. It was a simple conversation, but it was a conversation that Kuklo was happy to hear based on the direction that the island would be heading one day. He truly felt for the poor, wishing he could've done something if he had the knowledge to.

"Hey there." Aimi perked in, unintentionally disturbing their conversation, and she sweat dropped, "Sorry, I'll let you talk!"

"No, No!" Kuklo smiled, extending his hand out to Aimi, "I'm Kuklo Mansel, pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, I'm Aimi Ackerman!" Their hands locked in a firm shake, and Aimi was pleasantly surprised how welcoming Kuklo was, he seemed genuine despite his painful but well healed looking scars. Kai smiled, playfully nudging Aimi; "Better form now?"

"Heh... Yeah, I am so sorry for my outburst..."

"I'll not hold a grudge." Kai chuckled, teasing the girl with his grin that she couldn't help but smile to, "We were just talking about Mitras. Crazy how times have changed isn't it?"

"Yeah, Kai was saying your people are improving the standard of the island." Kuklo added in, looking hopeful as gazed over the horizon of the capital.

"Ah… Yeah, they're advancing alright." Aimi shrugged, seeing the capital herself for the first time. "I just can't get over the whole wall situation... I mean, this is how you, Kuklo and our parents lived throughout their lives."

"Well, I assume your parents truly hated it just like I did... Then again they were able to do something about it and get rid of the walls completely."

"You know about that?" Aimi widened her eyes to Kai.

"No…no, don't worry. When I return back to my time, I won't do anything or say a word. Nothing I can do to be honest. Heck, I didn't even know about the founding titan inside that royal family chapel. Shows you how far behind I am." Kuklo sighed, "Nice if I could do something."

Both Aimi and Kai exchanged looks, feeling sorry for Kuklo. They felt sorry not only for him but also the previous and the later generations after Kuklo who may never get to see the outside world if it wasn't for their parents who broke the curse of Ymir. Kuklo, was a man who believes the titans will one day breach the walls. When he joined the Survey Corps, he wanted to prove the people of Shiganshina and all of Paradis that he wasn't the son of a titan. While passionate about his goal of freeing the world from the Titans, it can be argued that Kuklo had a one-track mind. He later admits that, due to his moniker and being alone for much of his early life, he did not envision himself living very long and does not know what to do with his life aside from fighting against the Titans. So, when he returned back from his first expedition, he married Sharle and decided to focus on what he can do. And that was loving his wife, his friends and the people around him. He decided to live in peace within the walls, even though he still hated the concept of living within them. Kuklo, now facing the capital, was saddened at the thought of home and how he will never be able to get rid of the walls. It was a tough pill to swallow but then again, he then wondered why he was brought to the future. Surely there must be a reason.

"Arlert." Hunter, beside him was Captain Carla making their way to the three standing facing the capital. "You still have one more thing to prove to me." Kai Alert straightens himself up, facing the Commander who had a strange amusement to his face.

"Yes, I do. So far, I proved to you Eldians can become titans through Emet... I showed you the Reiss Chapel, in fact, I even showed you the true ruler Uri Reiss. I mean he revealed himself, but he's the inheritor of the Founding Titan that has power over these walls and Eldians! Now, I need to find a way to show you the third paradox."

"Commander, is that really necessary?" Carla urged, feeling as though what knowledge they had learnt was more than enough to at least trust them.

"Yes it is. A deal is a deal, now what is the final paradox you call, Kai.? I'm not helping any of you unless I am shown this final exposure." Hunter, determination in his voice warns Kai.

Everyone froze. Aimi because she didn't know how it would be possible to with titans roaming outside the walls. Then Hunter, Kuklo and Carla were dumbfounded as they heard something unexpected. It was something beyond belief, as the three of them all thought about the titans as Kai spoke, "I want to prove to you that humanity exists outside the walls. In order to do that, you have to take me to a place to show you where the titans are sourced from."

Like a fool, Hunter bursts out in hysterics while Carla stood in amusement, there the Commander wipes a tear from his eye, "Are you for real? Are you taking the piss out of me? How are you going to do that? Will humanity just pop out of nowhere?"

"No, he speaks the truth!" Aimi insisted, "Commander, it may sound far-fetched. But humanity is outside the walls…"

A piercing airing sound disrupts the conversation. Everyone who stood on the main wall of Sheena shifted their heads to see a flicker of light, which grew bigger and brighter in seconds. Everyone was lost and disturbed on what was happening. It was as if the sun was rising in the Ehrmich district, blossoming into mid-air as it met with the clouds, ready to implode, then sudden surges of lightning occurred. Lost and numbed by the event, Aimi doesn't realize that Hunter had commanded everyone to take cover and she remained still along with several others who were entranced as if they were under a spell by the bursting light. When a fast, but impactful gush of air pushes through the atmosphere, its force caused a lot of soldiers to plummet entirely over the top of the wall, causing the unfortunate soldiers to fall prey to high death expectancy.

"AIMI!" Kai shouted after Aimi, grabbing her close and was ready to jump to the other side for cover and would've used his ODM gear to hang against the wall for protection, but it was too late. The light, now bringing its rage as flying pieces of unrecognizable objects soared across the sky, followed with an unbearable sound...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

A light not from this world occurred about 10km at the near edge of district Ehrmich by a nuclear explosion. When the explosion ended Aimi, Kai and even Kuklo had remained on the walls lying face down and felt warm a heat brace their bodies, while Emet had Milo in his arms and Eleanor hooked on with her ODM gear beside him. They managed to avoid the smoke and rapture, just like Hunter, Carla and the other soldiers who followed the Commander's orders. Unfortunately, some did not make it. Carla noticed that some soldiers had fallen too far from the wall or had been struck dead by the impact.

In agony, Aimi lifted her head up, seeing Kai was next to her getting up as well. "Aimi, are you ok?" He asked his voice threaded with great worry, Kai helped Aimi to her feet as the rest of soldiers who were by the edge of the wall, struggled to get back on top again.

"I think so... What's going on?" she asked.

"What is that thing..." Kuklo queried, standing right at the edge of the wall, his face in complete horror at what was ahead of him as they viewed the nuked town of Ehrmich.

By the time Carla and Hunter got up on top of the wall, their faces had become numb just like the other hundreds of soldiers. In the destroyed district, there were somehow survivors of the explosion even though there were many homes that were torn from the soil. All were crying, fearful and completely distraught by the hell that they were facing. But that was not what was the most terrifying; standing there motionlessly spewing plumes of smoke, like volcanic ashes that were evaporating into the dim blue sky was a humongous, breathing and godlike creature towering over the district. It's nuked crator, a gradual effect of rubble and stone, that eventually fanned out towards homes and streets that managed to withstand its power. Standing around 60 meters, it slowly moved its head to face Wall Sina. The soldiers on the walls felt immediately like it's prey, with good reason. They were.

"Aimi..." Kai said her name, still holding onto Aimi by her arms for support, "You understand what that thing is, right?"

"It's.. a titan?" Aimi said as she shivered in fear, horrified by it's incredible size.

"It's not just any titan..." Kai gulped, unable to stop the shaking in his voice, "It's the colossal titan."

Familiar with its name, Aimi gasped. She remembered the stories that Armin told her as a little girl about his titan and the power it withheld. It was like it was a giant but its skin had been torn from its frame, only to reveal muscle, tissue and flesh. It roared, shaking the district, causing the citizens and everyone on the walls to collapse to their knees, bar Kuklo. He stood there, unable to act nor move. He used to believe, when he saw a 10 meter titan, just how much terror was struck to the lives and his own to the core. Now, he faced a godlike titan. Was this finally true fear he thought he had already experienced?

Everyone watched as the titan began to move, crushing everything within its path at a glacially slow pace. That pace felt like torture, not knowing what it could do next as it headed for Wall Sina, where the Capital Mitras stood behind it.

"COMMANDER! THERE'S SOMETHING COMING IN THE SKY!" Uwe, panting out of breath sprinted to Hunter, pointing towards the southern direction.

"From the sky?" Carla asked, following Hunter as they hurried to the edge of the way to try seeing beyond the colossal titan. Hunter stormed to the edge of the wall, and both the Commander and Captain were seeing something that they had never seen before.

Kai, Emet and especially Milo already knew what it was that was flying through the air like birds. An airship, it's a lighter-than-air craft that uses buoyant gasses to float in the air. Due to their passive flotation abilities, an airship can possess a greater range and fuel efficiency than airplanes, such as a flying boat. Ubiquitous users of airships, have craft propellers that are mounted next to a large compartment nearly 2/3rds as long as the airship's frame; the bridge, machine guns, and carrying areas are all hidden in one large compartment under the ship. There was one airship leading with 4 others following behind it, evenly spaced out as they slowly arrowed their way towards the capital above Ehrmich.

"I don't believe this..." Kai said in disbelief to himself, only to gasp when he noticed Hunter was looking at him dead in the eye. Hunter was looking at him as if he had wished upon this to happen. As the tall man stormed his way over to Kai, his eyes pinning him in a glare, everyone else spaced out. The two men were in a show down, one fearing for his life and the other man enraged.

"Is that… What I think is coming straight for us? HUMANS?!"

"Yes Commander," Kai replied, lost as to why this was happening, wondering if this was his doing but denying the possibility internally as he didn't know how it would be possible. But he twigged onto who they might be, only one Country had knowledge of Paradis and its location, it had to be them.

"Humanity... is coming straight for us. They're... Marlayens... Paradis's enemy."

"What?! Enemy?! How?! HOW COULD HUMANITY SURVIVE OUTSIDE THESE WALLS?!" Hunter barked, confused and not understanding what Kai was on about.

"But they're responsible for releasing titans and keeping you all within the walls..."

Hunter was lost from what he was hearing, the stress blended with his anger and caused the Commander to grab Kai by his hoodie and dangle him in the air, roaring in rage, " WHAT DO THEY WANT WITH US? WHY ARE THEY ATTACKING US?"

Aimi, panicked for Kai's safety, is halted by Emet, who is already holding back his own impulses as he also tries to contain his sister's. Carla was dumbfounded, lost in everything as her eyes remained trained on the sight of the gigantic titan along with everyone else. She wasn't even sure what was important anymore during this chaos.

"I..." Kai tried to speak, feeling a tense choking against his neck, and gasped out with what little air he had, "I don't know."

So, Paradis is about to be invaded 0.0

Author's Note:

Ok.. I may have missed an upload during the month of October but IN GOOD REASON! My Beta Reader was going through some things, and I myself have 6 deadlines of Uni work. So... Oof. But look, Volume 4 is completed. From May till November. We are now getting into the juicy adventure in Return of the Titans. Please, prepare yourself for chapters that will soon set the journey of Aimi, Emet and Kai in the world of the titans and PLEASE- let me know your thoughts and questions. Volume 5 is submitted as well, a flavour of the upcoming months for Return of the Titans. Btw... When I'm 2 chapters in of Volume 5.... ATTACK ON TITAN PART 2 WILL HAVE ALREADY STARTED! I AM READDDYYYYYYY!

Disclaimer:

I do not own the characters of Shingeki no Kyokin, they belong to the rightful owner. Other characters later mentioned in the story will be referenced also as the fanfic progresses. The only characters I have ownership are ones created from scratch. Also, IF YOU ARE ANIME ONLY OR HAVE NOT COMPLETED THE MANGA, PEASE DON'T CONTINUE TO READ THIS STORY. Unless, you love spoilers then that's fine by me!

And also, *salutes*

Shinzou o Sasageyo!