Apologies for the longer wait time. I didn't expect the edits to take as long as they did. Be prepared for that for the rest of the chapters. If I take too long to post something, most likely it's because of all the changes I'm making. Here's 10,000 words to make up for that.


Chapter 11: The Price of Survival

The rain didn't last very long in the city of Trost. Within twenty minutes, it had subsided, but its work was finally done. The blood of the slain soldiers had spread throughout the city like a river, as if wanting to constantly remind the survivors that sacrifices were made today. They didn't need such reminders, for the memories of their comrades getting killed by the Titans were branded into their memories.

The 104th gathered on a collection of rooftops, exhausted and traumatized. They had seen so many horrible things today that they would never forget. Lives snuffed out at a moment's notice, screams of the dying echoing in their minds, and the thought that they, too, would suffer the same fate.

"Hey, Jean," Connie said. He was one of the few that put aside the trauma. "What are we gonna do?"

The brown-haired teen didn't even look at him, finding the roof a far more interesting sight. "We can't do anything. They finally gave us the order to withdraw, and we're all out of gas. Of course." He sighed. "I can't believe this is how it's gonna end…because of those damned cowards."

"You mean the supply depot?" Connie asked, confused. "What is going on? Where are they!?"

"They all lost their will to fight," Jean explained. "I can understand why…but they abandoned their duty to supply us, barricading themselves inside HQ. And, of course, Titans have swarmed the place which means we can't get the gas ourselves."

Connie was getting more aggravated by the situation. "Then why are we waiting? We gotta go! Start thinning their numbers so we have a chance! Sitting here on this roof is completely pointless. Eventually, the Titans are gonna come for us."

Jean didn't say anything and only gave him a cold look.

"We don't have much gas left," he went on. "We'll just waste what little we've got if we try to run. And without our mobility, we're completely screwed."

"You're using your head for once, Connie," he noted. "Nice going, but I'm not sure if we've got the numbers needed to pull this thing off. The veterans in the vanguard force have all been killed. How exactly do a bunch of rookies pull off a suicide mission like this? I mean, let's assume half our forces survive the initial assault. Then what? The supply room is probably crawling with Titans in the three to four-meter range. I don't see us accomplishing much there."

The words sunk in as Connie lost the drive he had. "It's… hopeless."

Jean let out a sigh. "God, what a dull life this turned out to be." He looked up for a second. "Any sign of him?"

He shook his head. "Annie asked me the same question not too long ago."

Jean chuckled a little. "Bastard's too stubborn to die. If anyone has a chance of making it, it's him."

On another part of the roof, Sasha attempted to rally the troops. "Come on, guys. We can do it! Right? Let's go. If we all work together, we can make this happen. I know we can. All right? I'll take the lead."

Her words fell on deaf ears. The cadets were too traumatized to even move. They had seen horrors they never imagined in their worst nightmares.

Discouraged, she looked around for a kindred spirit and found Armin sitting in a corner, looking down. She quickly ran over to him. "Armin, it's time to go!"

He was just like the rest of them: petrified and motionless.

Nearby, Annie kept a sharp eye out for any sign of Dillon. She knew he wasn't dead given that their mind link was still open, but her attempts at contacting him mentally were met with silence. There were lots of reasons why that could be, so she kept her ears and eyes out.

"It's not like you to hope," a voice said.

She forgot that she was standing next to her squad. "He's still alive, Reiner."

"How can you be sure, Annie?" Bertholdt asked, giving her a confused look. "None of have seen him since the debriefing earlier."

"I can't explain it… but I know he's not dead," she replied.

"You really care about him, don't you?" Reiner realized.

Annie didn't answer that for a moment, but then she said, "He's my boyfriend. Of course I do."

"Must be nice to have someone like that in your life," Marco stated, giving that same traumatized look everyone else had. "Someone that cares about you, someone that loves you. When I die, I'll have no one."

"Hey, don't talk like that," Bertholdt rebuked. "We're gonna get through this."

"It's no use," Marco replied, lost in despair. "There's too many of them. I don't think any of us are going to survive this. I've come to accept my impending demise." He looked up at the wall ahead, so close but not close enough. "I just… wanted my death to mean something."

At this time, there was nothing they could do to help Marco. Not while he was like that.

Their ears perked up at the sounds of ODM gear being used. Some of the cadets look over to see four other cadets arrive at the scene, practically crashing onto the rooftop. They recognized this group as Squad 31, but one of their members was clearly injured as he was carefully lowered onto the—

"Dillon," Connie said, running towards him.

Jean and Sasha's eyes widened, quickly joining him.

The blacksmith didn't look injured save for some blood running from his nose.

"He got dizzy and nearly passed out," Franz explained. "He needs water." He turned to Hannah. "Hannah—"

He knew the slap was coming and made no effort to dodge it. Seeing that look in her eyes, that look of betrayal, it hurt him more than the slap. Unable to look at him anymore, Hannah sat on the edge of the rooftop, burying her face in her hands.

With a sigh, Franz sat next to her, his face still stinging. "I know you're furious with me, Hannah, but I had no choice."

"We could've saved her," she wept.

He shook his head sadly. "No, we couldn't. The tanks were too low to attempt attacking the Titan and Dillon was too incapacitated to help. I didn't want to leave Elsa either."

"Then why did you?" Hannah questioned, giving him that same look. "Why did you tell us to leave?"

"Because we had to live," he answered, pulling her close.

She couldn't find it in her to resist his attempt to comfort her, so she just let him.

Connie handed him his canteen. "Here."

Like earlier, Dillon knew to take careful sips as he sat up in a sitting position. "Thanks."

"Move!" Quickly, his friends moved aside to make way for Annie as she knelt down next to him, worried. "What happened?"

"I didn't…recover fully from the Colossal Titan's attack earlier," he lied openly, but on the mental side… "Too much strain on my powers."

She let out a sigh. "You just don't know your limitations, do you?"

Normally, Dillon would've had a snarky comeback, but not this time. Not after losing Elsa. He was still shaken up over her death.

Annie picked up on his pain. "Something happened."

He nodded sadly. "We lost someone: a girl named Elsa Glöckner. She… she didn't tell us that she was almost out of gas and… she was eaten." A tear fell from his face. "I can still hear her screams."

Doing the only thing she could do, Annie embraced him gently, rubbing his back. "I'm sorry, Dillon."

"Why are they doing this, Annie?" he asked quietly. "Why do they hate us so much?"

"I don't know," she answered.

"There is no reason," Reiner stated, kneeling down to their level. "The Titans are feral monsters who want to kill us all. That's what they want."

"Thank you for your help, Reiner," Annie spat, annoyed.

He sighed, ignoring her. "Amsdale, I know today has been hard on you. It's been hard on all of us—"

Fricking. Understatement. Dillon thought to himself.

"—but you've gotta put all of this aside. We have a mission to complete."

It was really strange for him to get sympathy from Annie and a dose of reality from Reiner. Nevertheless, he nodded. "You're right. We're not done yet."

"Annie!"

The blond-haired girl glanced at Mikasa, who had just arrived on the scene. Seemed like she decided to abandon the rearguard after they evacuated the civilians.

Mikasa slowed down upon seeing Dillon's condition. "Dillon, what happened?"

"I had a very long day," he answered, turning around to face her. "I'm shaken up and dizzy, but I'll live. Appreciate the concern."

"You need to get to a medic."

"Great idea. How?"

Mikasa was taken aback by his biting tone.

He let out a sigh. "Sorry. I… I just want this day to be over."

She nodded in understanding as she went back to talking with Annie. "I know how bad things have gotten. It's selfish, putting personal matters on the forefront, but have you seen Eren's squad?"

"Some squads made it back," Annie answered, "but I don't know about Eren's."

Reiner pointed his thumb to Armin. "We found Armin. He's over there."

Seeing the blond boy, Mikasa ran towards him. "Armin!"

He continued to stay silent, and even curled himself into a ball as she stopped in front of him.

"Armin, are you okay?" she asked gently as she knelt down in front of him. "You're not hurt, are you?" With every second of his silence, she grew more worried. "Where's Eren?" Her voice took on a tone of desperation. "Armin!"

Finally, Armin looked up with her, tears falling down his agonized face.

Inside, Mikasa felt her life being torn apart as she finally realized the truth.

At this point, many of the cadets had gathered around, wanting to know what happened.

"They were…" Armin spoke, his voice breaking. "The cadets of Squad 34: Thomas Wagner, Nack Tierce, Mylius Zeramuski, Mina Carolina—"

Dillon's head popped up at that name. No. Not Mina.

"-Eren Yeager."

His heart nearly stopped.

"These brave five… upheld their duties. They died valiantly in the field of battle." Unable to take it anymore, Armin broke down completely.

The cadets grieved with him, though none of them had the strength to break down like Armin did. Many of them bowed their heads in mourning, and some were staring at Armin, trying to comprehend the things he said. They couldn't believe that Eren Yeager, of all people, met an untimely end.

Mikasa felt like someone pulled out her heart and crushed it before her eyes. She failed. She failed to take care of him when she needed him. She broke her promise to his mother, and now he was dead too. Once again, Mikasa was alone, and this time, it would stay that way.

Dillon wasn't better off. Everyone seemed to disappear as he remembered the times he had with Eren. The first time they managed to come to a true understanding that blossomed into a good friendship. And now, after everything the boy went through, he died at the hands of a Titan? Then, there was Mina. He remembered how she was the one to come with a good plan to help save Krista from those kidnappers two years ago. How she carried him to Headquarters after the Colossal Titan attacked him. How she was more… hopeful about things.

One of his hands turned into a fist. The Titans. Those monsters. How dare they come here and take innocent lives? Nothing mattered to them except how many humans they can shove down their throats. Dillon's hatred for them began increasing. They didn't deserve to exist in this world and prey upon the weak. He was going to-.

"Dillon!"

The blacksmith snapped out of seeing red and slowly faced Annie, who was looking at him with worry. He felt his face getting drenched by his own tears, struggling to cope with the loss of his friends. "It's not fair," he found himself saying.

Annie could've delved into how life wasn't fair, but it wasn't the time for that. All she said was a simple, "I know."

"I'm so sorry, Mikasa," Armin wept softly, wrapped up in survivor's guilt. "It should've been me that died. Not Eren. I couldn't do a thing. I'm worthless."

Letting out a sigh, Mikasa knelt down and placed her hand on his. "Armin, calm down. There's no time to get emotional right now."

Armin looked at her and nearly flinched at the sight. Mikasa's eyes were completely devoid of… anything. It was like they were dead.

"On your feet," she ordered, pulling him up. She began walking to the other side of the roof. "Marco, if we eliminate or bypass the Titans at HQ, we can refuel our gear and get over the Wall? Is that assessment correct?"

"Well, uh, yeah, I guess so. Sure," he answered, a little put off by the change in demeanor, "but there's just too many of them out there, even with you on point."

Mikasa stopped and glared at him. "I can do it!"

Marco instinctively back up.

"I'm strong," she stated, pulling out her sword and raising it in the air. She had everyone's attention now. "Real strong. None of you come close. You hear me? I am a warrior!" It sounded like her voice was beginning to break.

Dillon felt his heart shatter at the girl trying to remain strong even after everything. He wanted to say something, anything, but found himself at a loss for words.

"Know this," she went on. "I have the power to slay all of the Titans that block our way…even if I have to do it alone. As far as I'm concerned, I am surrounded by unskilled, cowardly worms."

The cadets stared at her, surprised. Some were upset that she had the gall to insult them, though it was getting them out of their traumatic state. On Dillon's end, he just stared in shock, wiping his face until the tears were gone. What the hell was going on?"

The rant continued. "You all can just sit here and suck on your thumbs and watch how it's done!"

"Wait, Mikasa, are you out of your mind!? That's crazy," Hannah protested, brushing away the final remnants of her tears.

"You can't be serious, trying to take them out by yourself," a male cadet added.

"Mikasa, we have to stick together," Dillon interjected at last, realizing what she was really going to do. "You can't just go off and—"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Dillon," Mikasa warned, glaring at him, making him recoil. "If I can't be beat them, then I'll die, but if I win, I'll live… and the only way to win is to fight."

Before anyone could stop her, Mikasa took off, ready to kill or die trying.

"She can't be serious," Dillon said, eyes wide.

Jean scoffed. "You know, I was expecting something more motivational. Her way with words was kind of a letdown." He drew his swords, shaking. "I blame everything about this on you, Eren."

Newfound energy coursed through Dillon's energy as he found his drive. The time to mourn was over. It was time to fight. "See you at HQ," he said mentally, drawing new blades.

"Be careful," Annie warned.

"Hey, don't just stand there," Jean shouted to all the cadets. "We weren't taught to let our comrades fight alone. Unless you are a coward, in which case, stay out of my way!"

With that, Jean and Connie dived off the roof, heading towards their objective.

"Squad 31, move out," Dillon ordered, taking charge again.

The remaining members looked at him, shocked.

"For Elsa," he stated.

Nodding, they gathered around him. "For Elsa."

Giving Annie a smirk, Dillon charged off the building with Squad 31 right behind him.

"Never expected that from Jean," Reiner commented as he, Bertholdt, and Annie followed them.

With a sigh, Armin put one foot in front of the other, catching up to Marco who waited for him.

"Hey," Sasha shouted while on the edge of the roof. "Seriously, come on, you bunch of chickens!"

Properly motivated, the rest of the cadets gave a shout of determination before following Sasha off the roof. Even the sun was starting to shine its way through the clouds.

The entire group followed Mikasa, who was taking down the Titans that came near them, towards the path to Headquarters. They had to avoid fighting to conserve gas and blades, and they did their best to jump from rooftop to rooftop, using gas sparingly. Dillon aided by launching quick, precise, mental attacks on the Titans Mikasa didn't get, stunning them long enough for the rest of the cadets to get through.

"Don't overdo it," Annie warned.

"We're going to make it," he swore.

Then, it happened. He felt time slow down as he watched Mikasa, who was far ahead of them, run out of gas. She crashed onto a rooftop before falling to the street below.

No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! Dillon couldn't take it anymore as he broke off the group, making a beeline for the girl. He was not gonna let Mikasa get added to the casualty list.

"Dillon, what the hell are you doing?" Annie demanded.

"I'm done watching my friends die!" he practically shouted.

"You're going to get yourself killed. There's nothing you can do."

"Watch me," Dillon growled, his mind made up.

There was a spike in frustration and anger through their link. "You thick-headed, idealistic idiot!"

Whatever else Annie said, Dillon ignored. He was going to save his friend.


Mikasa didn't quite understand how she survived the fall. Some sort of sheet she fell on, but she didn't care anymore. She stared at her broken blade, the blood of the Titans gone at this point. It was her last kill. She killed three today, maybe more, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough. Nothing she could do would bring back the boy who gave her that scarf she always wore.

With a sight groan, she managed to get up and move a few steps. However, her legs gave out, forcing her to her knees. First, her parents, then Eren's parents, and now Eren himself. Despite her strength and abilities, she couldn't protect the people that mattered most to her. In the end, she was a useless little girl that wanted the suffering to just end.

Then, the sound of ODM gear attracted her ears as someone landed next to her, hoisting her up. "Come on. Get up. We've got to move."

Mikasa's eyes widened as she turned her face to Dillon, who, despite the exhaustion coursing through his body, had that fire in his eyes. A fire that she no longer had. She managed to wrench herself out of his grip. "Dillon, what are you…? The ODM isn't made for two."

The ground began to shake with slow, rhythmic beats.

"I can carry you," he assured. "Get on."

Mikasa hesitated, giving him a sorrowful look. Why was he making this so hard for her? "I don't want to get killed, too."

"What are you talking about? Just get on. It's so simple."

"Get out of here!" Mikasa urged, pushing him away.

Behind him, she saw a fourteen-meter rounded the corner. It was a good distance away, but that wouldn't last long.

Dillon stared at her, putting the pieces together. "You were never planning to make it to Headquarters. This… this was your plan."

She couldn't stand to look at his mortified expression. It only made things worse. She wanted to be alone. "Just leave me already."

Anger coursed through Dillon's veins as he pulled his swords out. "So, that's it? You're just going give up and throw your life away because Eren's gone? What about Armin, you dumbass? You're really going to commit suicide instead of helping someone who needs you?"

"Why can't you just go?" Mikasa begged, her voice cracking again.

The Titan drew closer to them.

"Because I'm not going to leave someone I care about to die!"

She froze, staring at him with a slack jaw. "What?"

Dillon refused to let up as he glared at her. "Tell me something, Mikasa: is this what Eren would want for you? If you really think that, then you never knew him at all."

Mikasa wasn't in Trost anymore. She was six years younger watching a man strangling Eren, the boy who rescued her and killed two of her captors. Despite how tight the man held onto his throat, he managed to speak to Mikasa. "Fight," he said. "You have to fight." He wanted her to live from the start. Even if he didn't survive.

Then, there was Armin. Another important part of her life. He was always the voice of reason among them, using his intellect to figure out solutions instead of trying to bash skulls like Eren tried to. He was always there for them… and she was willing to leave him alone in this cruel world.

Finally, there was Dillon. By all rights, he should've left her to her own demise, but here he was, standing in her defense against an incoming Titan. He was the one who managed to help Eren come out of his shell a little more, and he was the one who inspired Mikasa to speak her mind back in Training. He really cared about them, and this was the thanks he was getting? Throwing his life away to ensure she would live?

The Titan's hand reached out for Dillon as the blacksmith prepared to fight, but he wouldn't get the chance. Mikasa pulled him back, slicing off the fingers of the monster. It didn't seem to register the pain and it slammed its other hand where she was. The girl jumped away, landing on her feet as she stared at her opponent. Like the rest of its kind, the Titan was persistent, going for another attack with its regenerated hand. However, Dillon intervened, leaving a large gash in its hand to distract it from her.

"Dillon, stay back," Mikasa urged.

Before he could respond, the Titan swung its hand once more. The blow barely missed them, hitting the wall instead, but the wind from the attack sent the two flying, crashing further down the street. Mikasa coughed harshly as she got to her knees, scratches across her face now. Dillon didn't fare better, his face having his own set of scratches and his eyes glowing. If they didn't do something quickly, the Titan would—wait, his eyes were glowing?

She blinked, wondering if she was seeing things, but there was no mistaking it, especially when the sun came out again. His eyes had turned into a silver glow, staring intently at the Titan. The monster's nose bled some as it stumbled to the ground in an awkward heap, its face smashing into the brick road. Dillon received another nosebleed as the glow died down, his face paler and panting heavily.

Did… did he just…?

Mikasa was beginning to form a question when loud stomping from behind jerked her out of the distraction. Another Titan, about fifteen meters, had appeared on the other side of the street. The two cadets were sandwiched in as the Titans drew closer. It was too late to try and escape on Dillon's ODM gear.

"Annie's gonna be so pissed," Dillon said, drawing new blades. He was steeling himself, ready to fight until the bitter end.

"Live long enough to see it," Mikasa replied, doing the same thing. Her eyes hardened as she let out a battle cry, preparing to attack with everything she had.

The new Titan from behind stomped hard, forcing Dillon and Mikasa into the air as its foot went through the brick road. It swung its fist directly at the smaller Titan's face so hard, bones shattered. The smaller Titan went flying as it slid across the road upon landing. Aside from a few more bruises once they hit the ground, Dillon and Mikasa were fine as they stared wide-eyed at their unexpected savior.

"What was that?" Mikasa asked, shocked beyond belief.

"That Titan… just saved us," Dillon said, almost at a loss for words.

This Titan was quite different than the Titan they usually faced. Its body was lean and so ripped that any bodybuilder would be put to shame. Its ears were pointed, and its eyes were green. Letting out an exhale of steam from a lipless mouth, the Titan roared at the top of its lungs that sounded more like a high-pitched screech, forcing Dillon and Mikasa to cover their ears. To their rising shock, this Titan ignored them, charging right at the Titan. It lifted its foot and began stomping on the Titan's neck over and over, roaring with each stomp. A Titan was killing its own kind.

"Is this even real?" Dillon wondered aloud, unable to take his gaze from the scene.

Mikasa had no response, her eyes fixated on this moment. She was so focused that she didn't even hear Armin swoop in and take her off the ground until they landed on a rooftop. Connie did the same for Dillon, dropping him off as well.

"Mikasa, are you okay?" Armin asked, worried.

"Are you guys all right?" Connie added.

Dillon nodded. "We're still alive."

"Then we'd better get out of here," Connie advised. The ground shaking immediately caught his attention. "Crap! Two fifteen-meter Titans."

Seeing that one of the Titans was the newly-dubbed Rogue Titan, Mikasa said, "No. That one's different."

"It saved our lives," Dillon pointed out, indicating the corpse of the Titan it killed.

Armin's eyes widened. "What? How…?"

The blacksmith shook his head. "I have no idea."

The Rogue Titan let a challenging roar, prompting its opponent to roar back. As if things couldn't get any weirder, the Rogue Titan took up a fighter's stance. It was intelligent. The Titan charged at it only to receive a fist to the side of the head. The monster's head soared away from its body, crashing into a nearby tower and destroying it in the process. The Rogue Titan stared at its hand, which was nothing more than bones thanks to that punch. However, the regeneration took care of that problem. As for the now-headless Titan, it tried to get up, only for a stomp to the nape to keep it down.

"It… it just finished it off," Armin said, almost in a daze. "It knew exactly where the weak spot was!"

Connie had enough of this. "Come on, guys. It's time to split. Last thing we need is him coming our way."

The blond boy, however, was completely focused. "No. He has no reaction to us. Any other Titan would've been on top of us by now."

"It seemed to understand the skill of hand-to-hand combat," Mikasa added. "What is that thing?"

"A freaking miracle if we're lucky," Dillon answered. Maybe, just maybe…

"Just chalk it up as another Abnormal," Connie urged. "Hell, they're always an unpleasant surprise, right? Forget about it. Let's get out of here."

"Connie, her tanks are empty," Dillon reminded him. "She can't exactly go anywhere."

That took him off-guard. "Huh? Then what are we gonna do? We can't clear HQ without your help!"

"There's only one thing to do." Armin knelt and removed his tanks. "I know there isn't very much left in them, but it's better than your empty ones."

"Armin!" Mikasa responded, eyes wide.

"This is our only choice," he replied, filling her tanks up. "It'll be a complete waste if I keep them. But… use this gas more sparingly. Everyone's lives are riding on you."

She gasped as it dawned on her what she had done. She had led the cadets to their deaths in an effort to die killing Titans. Who knew how many were killed by her recklessness? Tears glistened in her eyes, forcing her to look away so no one could see them.

"There! Got it!" Armin exclaimed upon finishing. "The ODM gear's functional and I restoked your blades. Just… just leave me this one, okay?" He held the single bled, shaking. "It's just that I would rather this be my end, not-."

A single slash of a sword knocked the blade out of his hands and onto the streets below.

"The next person to even think about killing themselves will get a broken nose," Dillon growled angrily, ignoring the looks from his comrades.

Mikasa winced, seeing him glance at her briefly.

"I don't… why'd you…?" Armin stuttered.

"We're going to make it to Headquarters together," he went on. "I don't care how, but it's going to get done, okay?" He let out a pained groan, holding his head as the lightheadedness and dizziness returned with a vengeance.

"Whoa, man." Connie caught him as he stumbled. "You're still injured."

This prompted Mikasa to think back to a few minutes ago. She didn't imagine things. Somehow, Dillon caused the Titan to fall without touching it. She wanted to question it, find out everything about this strange power that Dillon was hiding, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Now wasn't the time. Right now, they had to get back to HQ. She knelt to Armin's level, taking his hand into hers. "Armin, I will not leave you behind!" The fire had returned to her eyes, and she would be damned before she let it die again.


Not much could steer Annie into rage, despite her expression being contrary to that, but Dillon's antics did just that. The idiot was risking his life on the off-chance he could save a girl that had a death wish. If Mikasa wanted to throw her life away, that was her business, not Annie's. So, naturally, Dillon had to get involved by wasting more gas to reach her and despite the fact he was already wounded. Part of her wondered why she didn't go after him if she was that concerned for him. Survival seemed like the logical choice, but by doing so abandoned Dillon to whatever fate would befall him. It was that thought that prompted some guilt to build within her. It quickly faded when she continued thinking about how stupid he was being, and once he made it back, she was going to let him have it.

As Annie drew closer to Headquarters, the cadets grew more confident and began to split apart to reach HQ a different way. Unfortunately, by doing so, a couple of them plummeted to the Titan-infested streets below. Seeing the fallen soldiers as easy meals, Titans of various sizes charged at them, jaws wide open and arms outstretched. Jean, who landed on a nearby rooftop, could only watch in horror at the carnage that was about to commence.

"Tom, hold on," a cadet cried out, jumping into the fray.

"We're coming," that Vaughn guy promised, joining them.

Annie winced as an eight-meter snatched Vaughn out of the air, snapping his spine in half. He was killed instantly, his body going completely limp in its grip. The soldier that the cadets went to save, Tom, was bitten in half, his blood coursing down the hand of his devourer. She couldn't avert her gaze as she listened to the death throes of the cadets, begging for help. The worst one was seeing a girl get her arms torn off as she screamed in agony. They were taking their sweet time eating her, and the cadets had to listen to it too. A terrible, horrible way to die.

"Annie," Bertholdt said, concerned.

Snapping out of the daze she was in, she turned her back, unable to look at him or the carnage that was occurring. Any second now, Dillon could be one of the cadets. She could feel his fear, his anger, his exhaustion, and so much more. She was terrified that she would feel him die.

"Let's go!" Jean suddenly shouted. "Make a break for HQ while they're distracted!"

It seemed that he came to a difficult conclusion: sometimes sacrifices had to be made in order for others to survive. Checking her gas supply one more time, she followed in the direction of the cadets. The others trailed behind her, ready to be done with this horrible day.

"Give it everything you got!" Jean shouted to everyone that could hear him.

As they got closer to Headquarters, they had to use their ODM Gear to get past a group of Titans that were waiting for them. Jean got caught by a Titan, but a quick slice of the pointer finger allowed him to escape and keep going. Annie navigated around the monsters almost like a dance, focused solely on her objective. No matter what happened, she was going to survive.

Never in all their lives did the cadets try so hard to get to safety. The building was practically an arm's stretch away… with at least a dozen Titans between them. The soldiers' numbers began to dwindle as the creatures managed to catch them with their hands or run out of gas at an ill opportune time. Ignoring their screams, the surviving cadets pressed onwards.

Finally, the window drew near, and Annie used the rest of his gas to reach it. Shielding her hands and face, she smashed into and through the window, landing unceremoniously on the ground. Several other smashes indicated that more of the cadets made it as well. She had to move out of the way as a few went through the same opening she made. At long last, they arrived where they needed too.

"How many of us made it?" Jean asked, holding his face in horror. People died from the orders he gave, and he had to live with that for the rest of his life.

Sniffling caught his attention, causing him to look under a desk. There were two soldiers, a man and woman, curled up in balls and hiding. The woman's face was covered in blood, but it didn't appear to be hers.

Slowly, Jean stood. "Hold on a sec. You guys with the supply team?"

"Yeah," the male soldier answered.

Jean hoisted the man up and punched him dead in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him out.

"Jean, stop," Marco exclaimed, holding him back from going further.

"You cowards," the teen roared. "You left us out there on our own! People are dead because you didn't have the guts to do your job."

"The Titans were coming at us from every angle!" a female soldier tearfully wailed, shielding her fellow comrade from further harm. She was almost incoherent when she spoke. "They drove us out of the supply room, okay!?"

"It's your job to deal with it and back us up anyway," he shot back.

Suddenly, they were cut off from an unearthly roar. It sounded like a howling wind containing the souls of the damned. The Titans were not finished with them yet.

"Hit the deck," a cadet shouted as a wall exploded, sending that cadet flying down the hallway.

Two Titans smashed their heads into the building, attempting to eat whatever came near to them. Panicking, the soldiers attempted to flee for the exits, but there were so many of them, it was a jumbled mess. If they kept this up, everyone was going to die.

Then, a giant fist slammed into the Titans' heads, sending them flying away from the building.

Annie's jaw dropped at the sight of their savior. It was a 15-meter Titan with green eyes and pointed ears like an elf. It wasn't trying to attack the soldiers; It was going after the Titans that were attacking them.

"Did… did that just happen?" Reiner asked.

"Yes, it did," Annie replied, equally shocked.

A window smashing caught their attention. They looked to see Mikasa, Armin, Dillon, and Connie entering the building scratched up, but alive.

Relief coursed through Annie's body as she saw her boyfriend alive and well… until she remembered that he was the idiot who nearly got himself killed.

Jean was the first to say something to them. "Mikasa, Dillon, you're—"

"Man, that was a close one," Connie interrupted, sounding a little excited. "I was running on fumes. We made it here, though. It was crazy, but we did."

"Armin, that plan was completely insane," Dillon added, shaking his head while panting. "I can't believe it paid off." He started to stumble again only for Mikasa to catch him.

Connie started patting Armin on the back, a wide grin forming on his face. "You're a certified genius! As far as I'm concerned, your word is law." Finally, the bald cadet looked up at them. "Check it out! We found an Abnormal that's got a bone to pick with its own kind. And the best part? He couldn't care less about us! That's right, you heard me! This big, beautiful S.O.B. is our ticket out of here!"

Jean looked at him as if he was insane. "Are you serious? A Titan's not gonna help us. You're out of mind if you think this can work."

"It is working," Mikasa shot back. "For whatever reason, he's rampaging against them. Stand back and let him do it. Trust me. You'll see. Either way, what choice do we have? Right now, that thing is our best chance at survival."

The Rogue Titan, gave a loud roar, drawing the Titans closer to it.

"It did save our lives," Dillon reminded him simply.

Jean brushed his hands through his hair, trying to come to grips with everything, so he just gave a frustrated grunt and headed towards the exit along with everyone else.

"I'll take him off your hands," Annie said, using her weight to support Dillon as they trailed behind the others. "Low gas, bleeding face, diminished abilities, and you thought the best course of action was to attempt to save Mikasa?"

"I had to try," Dillon protested, going weak in the legs.

Grunting, she slowly lowered him into a sitting position, which gave him the chance to see her glare. "How did you make it out? With your intellect? Your fight prowess?"

"…The Titan saved us," he admitted glumly.

"What a surprise," she sneered. "If you weren't so injured, I'd start knocking sense into you because it's clear that you lack it. You can't just keep throwing your life away like that and expect everything to turn out fine." She clenched her fist. "I watched cadets die pulling the same stunt you did. I listened to them scream as they were turned into bloody mush. That could've been you, Dillon."

Dillon looked down. "I'm so sorry I put you through that. I just... Eren's dead, Annie. And Mikasa? I didn't-"

"Want her to die, too," Annie finished for him. "Dillon, I get that, but I want you to live. I… can't watch you die, too." Her voice was trembling a bit. "I just can't."

Weakly, he managed to wrap his arms around her. "I'm sorry."

She managed to rein in her emotions just in time as she hugged him back. "I need you to stay close to me. I'll do whatever I can to keep you alive."

Taking a deep breath, he responded with a simple, "I will."

Annie helped him up as they continued their walking, her expression not betraying the feelings she had.

"Did my squad make it?" Dillon asked.

There was an uncomfortable pause. "Franz and Hannah did. The other guy, Vaughn… a Titan got him."

Dillon closed his eyes, another wave of grief hitting him. "Damn it."

"Just hold out a little longer. It's almost over."

They entered a room where the lift had descended into the refueling station. According to the others, Armin and a few other cadets went down there to see how many Titans occupied the area while Jean took a few others to go look for some guns. For now, they could rest.

"Can you walk?" she asked.

Dillon righted himself, his pain dying down a bit. "Yes."

Annie joined Reiner and Connie, the latter continued gushing about how amazing the Rogue Titan was. Dillon would've made to join him, but noticed Bertholdt was sitting in the corner alone. With a sigh, the blacksmith walked over to him.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked politely.

"I thought you'd want to be with Annie," Bertholdt replied.

"I figured you and I could talk for a bit," Dillon said.

He paused for a moment before relenting. "Fine."

Satisfied, Dillon sat down next to him. "Bertholdt… I've noticed you've been giving me dark looks lately. What's going on?"

"Didn't Reiner already tell you?" he questioned, his eyes narrowing.

"Maybe, but I want to hear it from you," Dillon responded. "Bertholdt, I consider you my friend, and when a friend of mine is upset with me, I have the right to know why."

With a sigh, Bertholdt admitted it. "I wanted to tell her so many times… but I didn't."

"Why not?"

"Because… I didn't know how she would react," he confessed sadly. "I doubted she felt the same way, and I thought it would upset her."

Dillon phrased his words carefully. "Look, Bertholdt, I'm sorry things didn't work out for you, but I'm not sorry for becoming Annie's boyfriend. I hate to say it, but you need to get over it."

"What's so special about you, Dillon?" he asked suddenly. "Why you?"

The blacksmith paused, thinking it over. "I don't know, and if I did, it's not my place to tell you."

"I don't want her to get hurt," Bertholdt said. "How do I know you aren't going to hurt her?"

"Because Annie would break every bone in my body if I did anything to her," he answered. "I'm going to do my damndest to make her happy, Bertholdt. That much I can promise."

Bertholdt didn't respond this time, just sitting there in silence.

Dillon decided it was best to leave him where he was and returned to Annie. Just as he did that, Jean's team returned with crates of rifles while Armin's team came back from their scouting mission.

"Good news," Jean announced, putting down the crate he was holding and opening it. "Courtesy of the Military Police." He let out a couple of coughs. "And covered with a layer of dust."

As Armin laid out a map of the refueling station, Jean cleaned out the rifle and checked to see if it was still functional. Once the inspection was complete, Jean asked, "Are you sure buckshot is the way to go? Seems like we might as well throw spit wads. Come on, guys. Are guns even effective?"

"I don't know, but they're bound to be better than nothing," Armin answered as he presented his plan. "We're looking at seven Titan in the supply room of the four meters tall variety. If we time this perfectly, this much ammo ought to be enough to do the trick. Step 1: we lower a group into the area by a lift to get the Titans' attention. Step 2: when the Titans come within range, the group fires in all four directions simultaneously, blinding them. Then, the hard part. The moment of truth, as it were.

"Before the Titans have enough time to recover, seven of us swoop down from the ceiling and strike their vital regions. That's it. That's the plan. It puts all our lives on the line. If we screw up, we're dead. That's a hell of a risk for one attack, but it's our only chance. Seven people have to slay seven Titans in one blow at the same time. We're gonna need the best of you. The seven soldiers most physically gifted and adept with their parring blades. You'll be the difference between life and death for the rest of us. I'm sorry. That's how it is."

"Seems like a sound plan," Reiner said with a smirk.

"When you get right down to it, the risk is the same for everyone," Annie pointed out. "Doesn't really matter who goes."

Armin started faltering. "Look, I'm, uh… ready to be talked out of this. One half-baked strategy can't be our only option, right?"

Ever the encourager, Marco stepped in. "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. Come on. With what we're looking at? If this is our only option, it's a well-thought out plan. If we give it our all, we might just pull it off."

"It'll be fine," Mikasa assured. "You just have to be confident. You're a better strategist than you give yourself credit for."

Armin gave her a look of surprise.

"I'm serious. Your mind saved Eren and me more than once."

"When did I ever save you?" he asked, confused. "I never-."

He was cut off by the lift doors opening loudly.

"All right! The lift's ready to go," Franz announced. "Guns are loaded in the stocks. Let's go kill some Titans."

"You didn't realize it at the time," Mikasa explained, helping him up. "We can talk about it later."

Mikasa, Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, Dillon, Connie, and Sasha all volunteered to be the seven soldiers that would take out the Titans. Of course, Annie made sure Dillon was in good enough condition to pull such a feat before letting him join. While the rest of the cadets lowered the lift into the supply room, the group of seven filed down the stairs.

"So, I'm gonna ask the obvious question," Connie informed them. "Can we do this without ODM gear?"

"No problem," Reiner assured. "These guys are only four meters tall. Their weak spots are not that far above eye level."

"Size isn't the issue," Dillon stated. "The spot's still one meter high and 10 centimeters across."

'"Back of the head to the nape of the neck,"' Sasha reiterated from their lessons.

"Worst comes to worst, you can always shove one of these up their ass," Reiner joked, holding up his sword. "That's the other weak spot."

"Seriously?" Connie asked.

"Did I miss a day of training?" Sasha wondered.

Dillon cracked a grin. "Is there a backstory to that claim, Reiner?"

"Remind me to tell you about one day," he answered.

"And as a bonus, he'll talk out his ass," Annie snarked.

Connie looked at her as if she grew a second head. "Did…did you just make a joke?"

She turned her head and gave him a deadpan expression. "What? Was it not funny?"

His eyes widened in fear and quickly answered unconvincingly, "No, it was hilarious! Ha ha ha! See?"

"Okay, that was pretty funny," Dillon admitted.

"You could learn a thing or two," Annie pointed out, turning her head back to the front.

"Are you implying I'm not funny?" he asked.

"I'll let you wonder."

With a snort, he changed the subject. "Why did you let me volunteer?"

"Because I know you can handle it, and your aim with a gun is shit." Blunt as always.

Dillon rolled his eyes. "Thanks a lot."

"That's what I'm here for."

The seven grew quiet as they drew closer to the ground floor. Quietly, Mikasa opened the door, signaling the others to follow her cautiously on the walkway. The loud footsteps of the Titans unnerved them, but they remained calm. Everyone was counting on them to succeed. Carefully, the seven soldiers split off, stepping onto different rafters. The timing had to be perfect in order for this to succeed.

Amidst the stomping, they heard the lift getting closer before it came into view.

"Good," Marco whispered. "We're still at seven."

Immediately, all the cadets in the lift pointed their rifles in four directions as planned.

"Okay, nice and easy," Marco continued.

A blonde-haired Titan started walking by, but then it caught their scent. It turned quickly to them, frightening a few of the cadets.

"Don't lose your cool," Jean exclaimed quickly. "Fire only when they're all within range."

Slowly, the seven Titans approached them, ready to make meals out of them. The soldiers in the rafters waited patiently for the attack to begin. As Marco repeated for them to stay steady, the Titans had them completely surrounded. There was no chance of them escaping. It was do or die.

"Fire," Marco yelled.

All the guns went off, blinding all seven of them at once. With determination, the seven soldiers launched themselves off the rafters and slashed as hard as they could when they reached their napes. Five Titans fell down dead, but Connie and Sasha didn't cut deep enough on their Titans. Sensing them, the two Titans turned around, looking like they were glaring at them.

"I'm sorry," Sasha said nervously, backing up a lot. "I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"Oh, crap," Connie swore, terrified.

"Sasha, move," Dillon shouted.

The brown-haired girl lunged out of the way as the Titan attempted to body slam her. Quickly, Dillon ran to its nape while it was down and delivered several slashes, killing it. Annie got to a higher point and killed Connie's Titan in one precise slash.

"Dillon," Sasha cried, burying her face into his chest as she cried. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's, uh, all right," Dillon replied uncomfortably. "Um…"

"Get off him, Sasha," Mikasa ordered.

Nodding, she brushed away her tears as she walked away.

"I owe you one," Connie said to Annie.

"No worries," she assured before turning to Dillon. "You only needed one slash."

"I wanted to make sure it wasn't going to get up," he explained.

"Fair enough," she conceded.

"They're all dead," Jean announced. "Start loading up supplies!"

"It worked," Armin exclaimed happily.

Marco grinned before falling backwards, nearly fainting. Fortunately, two cadets caught him in time.

Once the lift was lowered to the ground, everyone immediately started refueling their tanks. The ones that finished first kept an eye out for anymore Titans in case more tried to invade their Headquarters. If there were, they'd be ready this time.

Sasha, however, was in the middle of a breakdown. "I caved in front of the whole gang. I'm never gonna be able to face any of them ever again!"

"Damn it, feel sorry for yourself later," Connie demanded. "Focus on escape."

Dillon rolled his eyes as he filled up the tanks. All that was left was to get over the wall and then it was over. Of course, there was still the hole in the Wall to worry about, but one problem at a time. The fact they had survived this long spoke volumes. He was surrounded by good soldiers, and he wouldn't trade them for anything.

"Almost done?" Annie asked, putting her gear back together.

"Just one more tank," he replied. "It's been a long day."

"We just need to make it over the wall," she assured. "How's your head?"

"Still healing. Give it a day or two, and I should be back to normal."

Annie kissed him on the lips. "Does that help?"

Dillon grinned. "Maybe another one might do the trick."

Smirking, she gave him another kiss.

"Aw, you two are so cute together," Hannah interrupted.

Dillon sighed, looking at the remaining two members of Squad 31. Normally, he would be irritated, but he was just mildly annoyed this time. Hell, he was relieved to see them. "Glad you guys made it. How are you two holding up?"

"We're good," Franz answered. "We've… worked it out."

Hannah nodded in agreement before introducing herself. "I'm Hannah Diament, and you must be Annie Leonhart."

"I remember you two," she replied. "Did Dillon cause you any trouble? He can be a handful."

"Quite the opposite," Franz stated. "He saved our squad earlier today."

Dillon blushed a bit. "It was nothing."

Annie punched him in shoulder. "Don't be so modest, Amsdale. You did good today."

He looked down a bit. "I heard about what happened to Vaughn. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help him."

"It wasn't your fault," Hannah pointed out, sadness coming into her voice. "You were trying to save your friend. I can't blame you for that."

"All right, let's get out of here!" Jean exclaimed.

Dillon sighed, getting up. "Music to my ears."

Once the rest of the tanks were filled, the cadets busted out of HQ, free at last. Many of them made a beeline for the Wall, but some of them saw Mikasa get on another rooftop, staring down at something.

"Mikasa?" Armin asked, joining her. "What are you doing? We have to leave now!"

"Look down there," she said.

His eyes widened in horror as he watched two thirteen-meter Titans pin the Rogue Titan to the Wall. They were chewing on its body, attempting to devour it.

"Cannibalism?" Armin questioned as the Titan roared in pain. "Can it not regenerate like the others?"

"This sounds stupid, but I was hoping he'd be the key for us," Mikasa admitted. "That he'd help mankind break the cycle. Turn the tide long enough just to give us a ray of hope."

"She's right," Reiner agreed as he, Bertholdt, Annie, Jean, and Dillon joined them on the rooftop. "He's too valuable to just let die. There's too much we can learn from him. I think it's perfectly clear should be to get the scavengers off him. He's no good to us picked apart."

"Don't even think about volunteering, Dillon," Annie warned.

"I wasn't going to," he replied.

She gave him a look.

"Anymore."

"Are you out of your mind?" Jean asked. "We have a path out of this nightmare and you wanna stay?"

"Think about it," Annie said. "Having an Abnormal as an ally would be an incredible advantage, right?" "I mean, we already have one already."

"Love you, too, Shorty," Dillon replied in a deadpan tone.

"You are very lucky you're my boyfriend." "The cannons have nothing on a Titan that likes to rip apart its own kind."

Jean could not believe what he was hearing. "Do you hear yourself? You make him sound like a new friend!"

Armin gasped suddenly. "Oh, no. It's the one that ate Thomas."

As if he heard them, the Rogue Titan charged at the blond-haired Titan, roaring loudly. Its arms were pulled apart by the two that were chomping at him, but he still ran for that Titan. He fastened his teeth around its nape and lifted it up in the air by its jaw alone. A crunching sound indicated that he crushed its weak point, killing it. Seeing a Titan coming for him, he tossed the lifeless body in it, knocking it into a building.

"Holy shit," Jean whispered. "What was that you were saying?"

With a final roar, the gravely wounded Rogue Titan fell on its knees and crashed to the ground, seemingly dead.

"Because I think it's a moot point now," Jean finished. "All right, enough of this. Let's go while we still can. We're lucky the ugly bastard didn't get bored. We'd have been next on the menu."

"Whoa!" Dillon exclaimed, staggering back.

The brown-haired boy got a closer look. "What? What's wrong?"

The blacksmith simply pointed at the body, and like the others, their eyes were widening.

Something was pulling itself out of the nape, something… human. The flesh did not want to release him, but after a good pull, the pieces were detached. Amidst the steam the corpse was emitting, they could see a brown-haired boy that they all recognized.

"Is that… Eren?" Dillon asked quietly.

Mikasa launched herself down there despite Armin calling out to her. She ran towards him and embraced him the moment she got close enough. Dillon quickly followed her up to the Titan's corpse, much to Annie's chagrin. At least she could watch his back. Mikasa held Eren against her for the longest time before feeling something. Lowering her head to his chest, she could hear… his heartbeat.

"Mikasa, is he…?" Dillon couldn't even bring himself to finish that question.

"He's alive," she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

Her composure shattered within seconds as Mikasa began to sob uncontrollably. Dillon climbed onto what was left of the corpse and gripped her shoulder tightly, a few tears falling. He couldn't believe that Eren was alive after all this time. After all the darkness that enveloped this day, an impossible miracle finally shined through. Mikasa barely registered the physical contact as she continued to weep. She wept for losing Eren, she wept for finding him, and she wept for knowing that his life had been changed forever.


Remastered Edits: Well… where do I begin?

Simply put, now that Dillon and Mikasa's relationship had changed, he decided to try and save her life. I was going to go somewhere in this chapter where Mikasa confronts Dillon about his powers like Krista did, but considering they're trying to make it out alive and the appearance of the Rogue Titan, that fell by the wayside very fast. I hope you all enjoyed their interactions.

Naturally, his reaction to Eren's death and revival was different. Since the two are friends, he could stand to be upset about it.

Writing from Annie's perspective was a lot more fun this time around. After a year and a half, I think I'm getting the hang of writing her. When it came time for Annie to rebuke him, I didn't want a repeat of what happened when he went after the kidnappers, so I added some vulnerability to Annie, that she doesn't want to lose Dillon. That constant remains clear.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you all in the next one.