Chapter 9: Graduation Day
"News about Annie and I being a couple was met with surprise by very few people. Marco was right. The Corps knew about our feelings for each other. According to Annie, Krista was outright cheering when she found out. On my end, I was being congratulated by everyone. Eren was impressed that I managed to get through to her cold exterior, but I knew that underneath all that was a woman I could count on and care about.
"Over the next few months, Annie was becoming a little more friendlier and was smiling a little more often. People were asking how the hell I managed to pull a feat like that off, but I simply answered that I cared a lot about her. Out of all the cadets she had come to know, it seemed her best relationships outside of mine were with Eren and Armin. Eren, because they had a student-teacher thing going on, and Armin because he was smart. I don't get jealous because I know Annie. She would never abandon me for someone else.
"Finally, the three years of hell came to a close. On the day of graduation, it was over. The Top 10 List was revealed, too… and I was on it."
"Number 5," Dillon said, staring at the chart. "Beaten by Annie, Bertholdt, Reiner, and Mikasa. I can live with that."
Everyone was talking about this moment. Lowest to highest, this was the Top 10: Sasha Braus, Connie Springer, Marco Bodt, Jean Kirstein, Eren Yeager, Dillon Amsdale, Annie Leonhart, Bertholdt Hoover, Reiner Braun, and, to no one's surprise, Mikasa Ackerman. And, as usual, she was barely fazed by it. Lots of people were extremely disappointed that they didn't make it, but it was what it was and there were no second tries.
When he saw Shadis's evaluation of him, though, he didn't know whether to laugh or be insulted. "Dillon Amsdale. Easy to dismiss as a spoiled shitling from Wall Sina, it's shocking to see he has decent aptitude. He displays good hand-to-hand combat ability, and has gained the trust of his comrades through sheer sincerity alone. His ideals and recklessness, however, could prove to be detrimental in his military career, but that remains to be seen." Shadis had good points, and Dillon would take these to heart, but he had a feeling no one else was graced with the honor of being labeled a shitling in their evaluations.
Looking around, he noticed that Annie wasn't around. Knowing her, she probably came by earlier, saw where she was placed, and left. Moving passed the people that congratulated him, he remembered a spot just outside the compound where Annie and he spent some time. They even brought a bench over so they didn't have to keep sitting on the ground. Sure enough, he found her sitting there, contemplating things.
"Is this seat taken?" Dillon asked with a stupid grin.
Annie rolled her eyes, but she moved to her left to give him enough room.
"Thank you," he replied, sitting down. "You know, now that I look at you, you remind me of someone I know."
"Your imaginary girlfriend?" she questioned.
"She's more of the real kind," he replied, sipping his water. "She kind of looks like you. Blond, blue eyes, good-looking body, and is a really good woman."
"Sounds like a total skank," she commented. "So, what does that say about you?"
"Don't let her hear you call her a skank," he warned. "She could kick your ass faster than you can say, 'Whoops.'"
"Fine. She's not a skank. She's just a bitch."
Choose your words very carefully. "Depends on how she's feeling. She can be a bit cold, but you know why I like her so much? She challenged my convictions and helped me become a better man. I gave her something I've never given anyone here: my complete trust. She's one of a kind and I'm lucky to have her in my life." He took a sip for that declaration.
If Dillon was paying attention, he would've noticed Annie flinch slightly before forcing a smile. "Glad to hear it"
He returned the smile. "So, number 4. How does that make you feel?"
"Like you should have tried harder," she answered bluntly.
And just like that, the smile was gone. "What?"
"Let's see: picking fights with Eren at the start, making reckless decisions that almost got you killed, fraternizing with a fellow comrade-."
"Yeah, yeah, I get your point," Dillon muttered. "I wasn't the model cadet. Still, I didn't enlist so I could be number 1."
"I'm not surprised Mikasa won," Annie said. "Abnormal piece of work if I ever saw one."
"And what does that make me?"
"A freak of nature."
Dillon rolled his eyes. "Aren't you the flatterer?"
Annie briefly smirked at him before she went back to her neutral expression. "In any case, I know you plan on using your powers a lot out there on the Titans. I don't blame you, but you need to be careful. One false move and the Scouts will come at you with everything they've got."
And here we go. "I'm not gonna be joining the Scouts, Annie."
She stared at him surprised. "What?"
"I'm going to join the Military Police," Dillon said.
Her eyes widened at that declaration. "Why? I thought the Inner Wall was dangerous for you."
"The Inner Wall is dangerous for a lot of people, Annie," he explained. "That's why I'm going. I want to make the world inside the Walls safer, especially when it comes to the MPs. Lots of corruption to weed out."
"But Dillon, you'll be a target," Annie protested. She remembered him mentioning how many MPs his mom helped put away and how much the MPs hated the Amsdale family because of it.
He frowned a bit, realizing something. "And if I go, you'll be a target too."
"Wasn't even thinking about that, but yeah," she agreed.
He sighed. "Damn it. I want to be with you, Annie."
"And I want you with me."
"So, maybe it shouldn't matter. If we're targets, then that makes our jobs easier. With my powers and your skills, they won't stand a chance."
She sighed, massaging her temple. "Dillon, we can't just join up and fight everyone."
"Wouldn't I be doing the same if I joined the Scouts?" he asked. "Instead of fighting Titans, I'm fighting humans."
"At least Titans can't get in the Walls," she growled, looking over at him. "Are you that naïve?"
Dillon wanted to point out that Titans already got in the Walls thanks to the Colossal and Armored Titans. "Annie, I want to help people. Shouldn't you be happy that I'm trying to stay alive so that you and I can actually make this work?"
"Trying to stay alive by vowing to ultimately try and destroy the ruling body? That makes sense," she spat sarcastically.
He refused to get angry and settled on a calmer approach. "Annie, have you ever been to the Interior?"
"No, I haven't," Annie responded, wondering where he was going with this.
"I've spent my entire life there save for the past three years. I've seen MPs do horrible things. Assault people for looking at them funny, make shady business deals, knowing that no one is gonna call them out on it, and if any of the cases Mom told me about are anything to go by, they think they can do anything they want and get away with it." He clenched his fist. "People are suffering here, Annie. Even if we take out the Titans, we would still have to deal with a poisonous branch of the Military, and unless people take a stand against it, it's going to remain poisoned."
Annie didn't say anything for a moment, taking the things he said in. "You think one man can do that on his own?" she asked
"No, but I won't be on my own," he informed her.
"And who's going to support you?"
"My mom and Jean," he listed out instantly. He didn't list her because of her asking that question. His instincts turned out to be right.
"Not me," she said quietly. "I care about you, Dillon. You know I'd help you out with anything, but this? It's too dangerous."
"You don't have to," he assured. "Once we become MPs, I'm not gonna force you into this."
"Thank you," Annie replied gratefully.
"However, I expect to hear all about how you single-handedly took down an entire drug ring."
She raised an eyebrow. "Beg pardon?"
"Too much?" Dillon asked, trying to think of something else. "Okay, how about a gang of notorious thieves?"
She rolled her eyes more out of amusement than annoyance.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I can see the headlines now: 'Annie Leonhart, after two weeks undercover, brings down notorious thieves and returns very rare artifacts to the museum.' Then next week: 'Annie Leonhart rises to the rank of Captain for her incredible deeds!'"
Annie turned to him and gave a small smile. "What am I going to do with you?"
"I'm hoping it involves kissing," Dillon answered.
"If you insist."
She leaned in and gave him a nice kiss which the two were enjoying profusely, until...
"There you guys are! I've been looking for you!"
Damn his timing. Dillon thought grimly as the kiss came to an abrupt end.
Annie glared at Jean. "What?"
He raised his hands in defense. "Shadis is rounding us all up to practice what's going down in Trost tonight. I didn't want you two to be late."
Dillon sighed. "I forgot we have a dress rehearsal."
"Trost? What's going on in Trost?" Annie questioned. "I thought we had the graduation ceremony."
"Annie, the graduation ceremony is in Trost," Dillon reminded her.
For the first time, the blond-haired girl was lost. "I thought we were having it here at the compound."
"The dress rehearsal is in the compound," Jean explained.
"Oh," she said, shaking her head. "Sorry. Didn't sleep well."
"Jean, we'll catch up in a second," Dillon assured.
Normally, Jean would come back with a crude joke, but considering the company that was before him, he settled for, "Don't take too long," before running off.
"Annie, there's one more thing I want to do," Dillon said.
She looked at him in confusion. "What?"
His eyes flashed, cutting her off. There was a strange sensation inside her mind, as if a part of her was opening up. Once his eyes stopped glowing, she still felt it, but it didn't bother her.
"Can you hear me?" he asked without moving his mouth.
"Y-yes," she stuttered, eyes wide.
"I established a mind link with you," he explained. "This can allow us to talk mentally. We can give each other helpful advice during a combat situation, or you can give me answers to a math test."
"You could have asked first, Dillon," she rebuked, not used to it. "It's strange."
Eyes wide, he quickly shut off the link. "Crap! Annie, I'm so sorry." Oh, this isn't good. I didn't ask.
"You're fine," Annie assured. "Just let me know next time, okay?"
He nodded. "Okay. Should I reestablish it?"
"Yes," she answered. "I need to get used to it."
Dillon's eyes flashed, and that sensation was back.
"So…is this a permanent thing?" she asked.
"I can shut it off at any time," he assured. "Also, I won't be able to hear your thoughts unless you're trying to contact me, and the same goes for me."
"So, if I want to shut off the link…?"
"Just concentrate on getting rid of it and you can do it too," he replied.
Annie took a deep breath and focused on the feeling, trying her best to shut it out. It took a few seconds, but it was gone. She decided to test it out. Dillon? Can you hear me?
"Well? Did it work?" Dillon asked.
"Guess so," she said, deciding to give it one last test. You're an idiot.
"The downside is that I'm the only one that can reestablish it," he added.
"Can't you keep it open and just give me a switch, or something?" she questioned.
"Uh, I don't know how," he admitted sheepishly.
"Well, ask your dad. It'd be really useful."
"Once we get to the Interior, I'll ask him," he promised. "Shall we head back before. Shadis breaks my nose for old time's sake?"
"If he does, just fill his head with thoughts of his mother in a swim suit," Annie suggested.
Instinctively, Dillon started to gag. "Oh, God, I think I'm gonna throw up."
"Don't. It's a turn-off."
"There are some things people must never think about," he stated. "That is one of them."
"You'll live," Annie replied in an unsympathetic tone.
"Let's just double time it and avoid the situation altogether."
"Fine by me. Ready, set, go!" she shouted quickly, running ahead of him.
"Hey, no fair!" he protested, giving chase.
(Trost District; Graduation Ceremony)
218. That was the number of Cadets that were graduating from the 104th Cadet Corps. It was humbling experience for the top 10, who stood in a line in front of everyone else, that they made it despite so many people vying for it. It was honor that they did not want to go to waste.
"Do you have heart?" some head honcho commander Dillon didn't know the name of questioned.
All the cadets saluted. "Yes, sir."
"As of this moment, you have three options open to you!" he announced. "Choose wisely! The Garrison Regiment, whose job is to reinforce the walls. The Scout Regiment, who rides out into Titan Country to take back what was once ours. And the MP Regiment maintaining law and order—"
Bullcrap. Dillon thought.
"—under orders from his Royal Majesty! Those cadets eligible for the MP have already been named. The rest of you? Take a look. These are the top of your class!"
Dillon allowed himself a small smile he felt so many eyes upon them. He, like everyone else, worked hard to earn this position. It was a moment he didn't see coming. In fact, many things in his life in the Training Corps he didn't see coming, but it was all behind him. Now, they were truly soldiers for humanity.
Once the ceremony ended, the cadets split off into various locations across Trost. They would be taking a week off before they had to choose between the branches. The section Dillon was a part of entered a pub. Naturally, none of them were allowed any alcoholic drinks at the time, so they all settled with water or some type of juice. Dillon was thrilled to find apple juice, a drink he loved since the moment he could drink liquids.
As he downed his fourth cup, he approached Jean, who looked dejected.
"Hey, buddy, why the long face?" Dillon asked, sitting down next to him. "You made it in the Top 10. You should feel proud."
"How in God's name did I get ranked under Eren?" he questioned, downing his drink that he wished was alcoholic.
"It doesn't matter, Jean," he replied. "You beat 208 people. That should cheer you up. I didn't beat Annie, and I'm fine."
Jean would've responded to that, but he noticed something. "What's up with Bertholdt?"
"Come again?" he asked, looking at Bertholdt who quickly looked away when Dillon saw him.
"He's been shooting you dark looks lately," Jean stated.
Dillon sighed. "I've seen it from time to time. I asked Reiner about it, but he wouldn't explain it to me, but I have a feeling it has something to do with Annie."
"Ex-boyfriend?"
"More like ex-crush," he answered. "He never told her how he felt, and he resents me for beating him to the punch. He'll get over it."
Jean stared at him. "So, Reiner did explain it to you."
Dillon paused to think about it. "Yeah, he did."
"Are you insane?" the loud voice of Thomas exclaimed.
That stopped all conversation as all eyes looked at who Thomas was talking to: Eren.
Realizing that everyone was paying attention, he spoke quieter, but still had that fear. "How many people have died? We're talking a fifth of the population. If that doesn't paint a picture for you, I don't know what will. This is our life now. We can't beat them."
Dillon just shook his head. Thomas, do you have any idea who you're talking to?
"Yeah, so what?" Eren growled. "We buckle, take it all lying down? Things have changed. Maybe not a hell of a lot, but enough. They aren't the mystery they were five years ago. There's still a long way to go, but we've made progress. Every battle we lost taught us a lesson, gave us the tiniest inroad towards something like hope. You're telling me it's better to just cut our loses, let all the death and destruction be meaningless? Just to ball it up and accept it!? Not on your life!" By now, Eren was shouting. "Humanity's future lies just outside the Walls, and I'm gonna clear the way! I'm gonna take back what was ours! I'll drive them out, and as long as at least one of us can say that, we're not done."
When no one spoke, Eren furiously charged outside, not wanting to be in the pub any longer, with Mikasa and Armin running after him.
Slowly, the cadets returned to their conversations, though it was far more subdued. Dillon didn't say anything for a while, continuing to enjoy his favorite drink. He was surprised that Eren was actually trying to motivate people. Sure, the whole, "I'm gonna kill all the Titans," rhetoric snuck in, but it was serious progress. Dillon considered chasing after them, but he decided against it. As much as he was friends with them, this seemed like something only the three could deal with. When he saw Annie get up and leave, he followed her outside the pub.
"Quite the speech Eren gave, wasn't it?" Dillon noted as he leaned against the wall. "Didn't think he had it in him."
"I knew he was capable of good things," she replied.
"So, the pupil has impressed the teacher at last," he said. "I know you took him under your wing for a while."
"I saw potential."
"Well, if he keeps this up, it's gonna lead to good things." Dillon pulled out a newspaper and tossed it to her. "Once we get into the MPs, I found our first case. Someone's been smuggling weapons and selling them to the Underground. Could be someone looking to make easy money, or it could be someone trying to start a riot, a gang war, or a revolution. Lots of possibilities."
"Probably just money," Annie figured as she looked it over.
"Well, in a week, we'll find out," he stated with a grin.
She shrugged. "You don't have to come with me, you know."
"I want to," Dillon pointed out, moving closer to her.
"Why, though?" she asked, putting it aside. "I thought you wanted to make a difference."
"Annie, we talked about this already," he reminded her. "Weeding out the corruption in the Military Police is just as important as going out there and killing Titans."
"Is it, though?"
"Annie, why do you want me to not join the MPs so badly?" he questioned. "Wouldn't you rather have a relationship with me where you can see me as opposed to riding out into Titan Territory where the survival rates are low?"
"I'd rather not worry about you getting a knife in your back," she stated, crossing her arms.
"Well, the alternative extreme seems to be inside the stomach of a Titan," he said.
"At least you can cut out of a Titan's stomach," Annie pointed out.
Dillon was getting really sick of this argument. His attempts to make Annie and himself happy at the same time were failing. He thought it was settled this morning, but clearly, he was wrong. Then, as he thought of it, Annie would probably send most of her time trying to keep Dillon safe like a bodyguard, something that would make her miserable in the long run. He also began to wonder if Annie wasn't his girlfriend that he would even consider the MPs.
"Would it make you happier if I enlisted in the Scouts?" Dillon finally asked.
"No," she answered bluntly. "The Garrison, preferably."
He scoffed at that suggestion. "And what am I gonna do in the Garrison? Sit around and wait for the Colossal Titan to break down the Wall?"
"And there it is," Annie said, giving him a stern look. "Dillon, you're trying to have it both ways. You want to be with me, but I know you well enough to know what you really want. You still have that dream of changing the world with your powers, making that positive difference you think you can make. Tell me the truth: do you really think you'd be happy to be in an environment where everyone hates you and wants to kill you no matter what your feelings are for me?"
There was some hesitance before he answered. "No."
"Then don't enlist in the Military Police. I've already made my choice. You need to make yours. I want you to stay alive, Dillon. I wish you would give up this dream of yours and stay alive… but I won't force you to do something you don't want to do."
He let out another sigh, not wanting to ask this, but he had to. "Annie, if I join the Scouts… would you break up with me?"
She gave him a shocked look. "What? No!"
"Oh, thank God," he replied in a relieved tone.
"Why would you ever think that?" she demanded, sounding insulted.
"Because I wanted to do something risky even though you don't want me to," Dillon answered.
"Dillon, I would never break up with you," she assured. "Granted, I might try and kill you, but never break up with you."
"Wait, what?" he questioned, confused.
"Nothing. Just venting."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."
Annie shook her head. "You didn't. Trust me."
And the confusion was back in an instant. "Then why did you say you might try and kill me?"
"Because you might catch me at a bad time… of the month?" she answered lamely.
Dillon tilted his head at her. "Annie, you've been acting really strange today. What's going on?"
"Nothing, Dillon. Just nervous," she admitted, looking away.
He sat down on some stairs. "Annie, why don't you sit down and tell me why you're nervous."
"Because I don't want anything to happen," Annie replied, sitting down with him.
Once again, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Annie, no matter what happens, I'm gonna do everything in my power to stay alive."
"Please do," she pleaded. "I can't lose you."
"You won't," he promised. "Annie, there is something I want to know: are you ever going to tell me what you're hiding?" Ever since she told him about the fact she was hiding a dark secret, he had been more than a little curious as to what she was keeping from him. Maybe now that graduation happened, she would tell him.
Unfortunately, all he got was a hesitant, "Someday, Dillon. I promise."
Well, it's a start. "Remember what I said: I won't leave you when you tell me."
"I know that, Dillon," she assured.
He kissed her on the lips. "Just wanted to remind you."
There was a silent moment between them as Dillon continued to hold Annie the way he did. It was nice for them to be able to do this and enjoy each other's company.
"Dillon. Do you care about me?" Annie suddenly asked.
Normally, Dillon would joke, but he had been around Annie long enough to know that now wasn't the time. "Yes, Annie. I do."
He could hear the hesitation in her voice. "Then I'd like to tell you a secret. Promise me you won't get upset."
"I'm not gonna promise something I can't keep," he informed her, "but I will still be here."
She sighed, deciding to just say it. "I have a bad feeling about tomorrow."
"Why tomorrow?" he asked.
"I don't know," she answered. "I just feel like something bad might happen."
He gave her a confused look. "I'm missing the part where you didn't want me to get upset."
She took a deep breath. "I… I think it might be the Colossal Titan."
For the first time in his life, Dillon gave her a look of suspicion. "Annie, why would you say that?"
"I don't know, Dillon. It's… it's just a feeling I have. I can't explain it."
Then it hit him. "Is it almost that time? The time when Shiganshina fell?"
She nodded. "Yes. It's been five years."
He sighed. "That explains it. You saw him, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did."
"That explains it. The trauma is surfacing up again," Dillon explained.
"Dillon, please, just promise me you won't do anything hasty if something happens," Annie pleaded.
He sighed. "I'll be careful. I won't pull a stunt like I did to those kidnappers."
"Thank you," she replied gratefully, leaning into him.
"If the Colossal Titan shows up, we'll take him together," he stated.
"Agreed."
The two leaned against each other, finding comfort within each other. If Dillon paid more attention, he would've noticed that Annie didn't believe she deserve this from him.
(The next morning)
Okay, so Dillon might have been a little off with saying that they would get a week off. While their workload had been greatly lessened, they still had things to do, like wall maintenance. Sections of the 104th would be divided among parts of Wall Rose to clean up the cannons to make sure they're in working order and spruce up the wall a little. Some of them believed the Wall Worshippers had something to do with the latter.
Until then, a crowd had gathered around the road to greet the prominent members of the Survey Corps: Commander Erwin Smith, the blond-haired leader of the Corps, Hanji Zoë, a Squad Leader who also happened to be a scientist, and Captain Levi, the short, black-haired soldier who was apparently Humanity's Strongest Soldier. If the rumors behind him were even a quarter true, humanity was in good hands.
"Heads up," some random guy announced. "The main unit of the Scout Regiment is back."
"That's right, Commander Erwin," another guy yelled. "Did you give those ugly bastards a thrashing!?"
"Look, it's Captain Levi," yet another guy pointed out. "They say he's like a one-man army."
Said one-man army just scoffed and mumbled, "Spare me please."
"Do you feel how excited everybody is?" Eren asked, looking happy for the first time in years. "It's like the crowd just has a different energy now."
"Well, we are going on five years without incident," a red-headed cadet named Hannah pointed out. "Seems like a good omen."
"And you should check out all the cannon upgrades," the tan-skinned cadet next to her, Franz, added. "The sight alone oughta be enough to scare them off."
"That's the truth," she replied.
"That's a load of bullcrap, you idiotic couple!" Eren raged.
Lord, give me one day without Eren bitching about something, Dillon inwardly pleaded.
Said couple started blushing furiously.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! This isn't what it looks like," Hannah protested, looking away.
"Knock it off, man. It's embarrassing," Franz added.
Dillon just rolled his eyes at the spectacle. The two were lovesick dopes. In his own relationship with Annie, he was the lovesick dope.
While Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were greeting that Hannes guy Eren told Dillon about, Dillon took the time to read again a letter he received from his parents that morning. It was an apology from them for not being able to be here today, but they promised to show up tomorrow and invite him and Annie to the Interior for dinner. When he told her about, she was intrigued to meet his parents. He had a sinking feeling that it would consist of 25% eating, 25% getting to know Annie Leonhart, and 50% embarrassing him. In other words, he was looking forward to the get-together and dreading it.
About an hour later, several cadets that consisted of Eren, Sasha, Dillon, Mina, Connie, Samuel, and Thomas finally began their work on their section of Wall Rose. The majority of them were assigned to cannon examinations while the others were attending the wall via dusting or removing objects that didn't need to be there.
Of course, given that Eren was there, he had to shout about something, but for once, it wasn't something bad. "What the hell do you mean, 'you're joining the Scouts!?"' Eren demanded, bewildered. "What happened to the MP? That was your whole thing!"
"Don't worry about it," Connie replied. "A guy's allowed to change his mind, okay?"
"Same here," Dillon added. "Annie and I had a long talk, and I've decided to join the Scouts as well." Now, how do I break the news to Jean?
"Wait, you weren't gonna join the Scouts?" Eren asked.
Crap. Dillon chuckled nervously. "I, uh, was going to, but then Annie came into the picture, and since she was going to be an MP, I thought she would've liked it if I was with her, and, well, we talked. So… here I am."
Eren stared at him and the others. "What's going on?"
"I think your speech yesterday lit a fire under them," Mina suggested.
I'd give an eight out of ten. Dillon thought. Points off for the "I'm gonna kill every Titan" part.
"Ain't nobody talking to you!" Connie shot back, turning to face them. "His temper tantrum had nothing to do with it!"
"Take it easy," Thomas advised. "It's not like you're the only one."
"What? Are you serious?" Eren asked, calm for a change.
Before he could answer, Sasha walked over to them holding her jacket tightly over her. "Can you guys keep a secret?" She opened it to reveal a huge slab of raw meat. "Because I totally helped myself to the officer's pantry."
Dillon slapped his forehead hard while everyone just looked at her in shock.
"Sasha, they could throw your ass in the clink for that," Eren exclaimed.
"Seriously, what is wrong with you?" Samuel questioned.
"What isn't wrong with her?" Connie snarked, sounding defeated and annoyed.
"It'll be fine," Sasha assured, drooling while sounding like she was about devour the whole slab herself. "I'm willing to share. Oh, can you imagine the sandwiches?" She started chuckling madly.
Dillon slowly started backing up, a little unnerved by her.
"Put it back," Connie ordered.
"Yeah," Mina agreed, worried. "Do you have any idea how rare meat's been since the Titans took Wal Maria?"
"Um…little bit," the food addict answered. "Yeah." She knelt down and opened a hatch to stash the meat in. "Look at it this way: pretty soon, we'll take back all the room we'll need for livestock."
Samuel took a whiff of the meat and said, "I would really like a slice, please."
"Hey, if he gets one, so do I," Connie stated, changing his tune completely. "Just so you know."
"Me too," Mina added. "I want in on it, too."
Eren looked at the group as if they were insane as they split off to continue working.
"Come on, Eren," Dillon stated with a grin. "Let's get back to work before the powers-that-be notice us slacking off."
"See you guys at lunch time," Mina said as she went to clean off the cannon closest to her.
Eren smiled and stared out at the wonderful city of Trost. A downward look revealed barricades and cannons ready to shoot anything that dared to come through the gate. Has it really been five years? Look at us! Ready to stand tall once again. We can do it! Mankind didn't start this fight, but we're gonna—
"Hey, slacker," Dillon said with a smirk. "If you're done staring at the city, could you—?"
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning crashed behind them and instantly appeared a creature that caused everyone to stare in horror.
It was massive, standing about 60 meters. Steam billowed from its body, creating a slight fog. There was no skin on its body. Only flesh. The only skin that was on it was pink and covering its face like some sort of mask. There were no lips on the thing, so they could all see its giant teeth as it seemed to glare at them.
The Colossal Titan had returned.
Remastered Edits: Not much except for three things: I finally added an evaluation for Dillon thanks to GodzillaFollower1998. I changed a bit from both conversations Dillon has with Annie. I cut out the "you could've done better than anyone else" thing because Necromancy101 pointed out how that's the type of thing to avoid when you don't want to write an overpowered character. I also hammered a bit in the second conversation about Dillon's motivations for wanting to join the MPs, and I had Annie point out that he's trying to have it both ways.
Hope you all enjoyed this one. The Trost Arc is going to go down a little differently. More changes are in store and they are gonna be good ones.
