SPECIAL AN: Hey, everyone! I am in need of some artistic help. I'm looking for artists who are willing to do multiple art pieces for my story. The art needs to be as close to the anime as possible. Unfortunately, I won't be able to pay you, so it would have to be pro bono, OR… I can do a writing commission for you in return. If anyone is interested, please send me a PM, and I'll get back to you when I'm able.

Regular AN: So… I received my very first death threat and that same someone threatening to commit suicide if I don't make a certain decision. You guys can see them in the reviews for the previous chapter. I guess I can be considered to truly be part of the internet now that I've been given those. Let me make something perfectly clear: if you are obsessed with something to that point that when it goes in a way you don't like, you get so pissed off, you decide to send a death threat to the creator or threaten suicide, you need to take a step back. You can't allow a story to affect you this way. Anyone who sends me death threats in the future, I implore you to stop, take a deep breath, and seek help from a professional (preferably a professional therapist, not a professional hitman). I make no apologies to the direction I am taking this story.

Also, I realized I screwed up a bit with the rankings. Turns out that Captain Levi is actually below the Section Commanders. I didn't realize that because I thought Section Commanders and Squad Leaders were essentially the same thing, and Levi is Erwin's right-hand man. Logicially, I should've known because Hanji and Mike were in the Regiment long before Levi showed up. Yet another mistake to add to the growing log.

Anyways, have another chapter after a month of me battling writer's block.

Chapter 66: Risk of Morality

The combined aroma of blood and gunpowder filled the air, growing heavier as the minutes passed on. Every strike of thunder resulted in dirt cascading off a newly-formed hole in the stone of the fallen castle, or a scream from an unlucky soldier whose only crime was being a couple of inches too far to the left. The lucky ones died from their wounds shortly after, welcoming the sweet release of death they were secretly wishing for. Others crawled over the corpses of their comrades like rats trying to find the nearest shelter before it was too late.

How many MPs were there lurking in the trees? Ten? Twenty? Fifty? Too many, as far as Gelgar was concerned. Any attempt on using the ODM gear was literally shot down thanks to the marksmanship of the enemy. Contacting Levi for reinforcements via that weird mental link wasn't working after all. So much for that advantage. To make matters worse, a couple of cannons were finally brought in to help dismantle the stone barriers that were erected from Utgard's ruins. It wouldn't be much longer before the Scouts were blown apart.

"Bryan, talk to me!" Gelgar shouted over the next volley of cannonfire.

The medical officer attempted to bandage a Scout's amputated leg, but the wound was bleeding too much. "Nine are dead, and three are gravely wounded," he responded with a shake of his head.

The man slammed his fist against the ground. That was half their forces cut down. "Is there anything we can do for the wounded?"

Bryan attempted to hold down his thrashing patient while his frustration spoke for him. "Unless we can find a way out of here, we'll all end up dead, sir!"

Gelgar winced at that remark, but he could do nothing to refute it. He and Nanaba were in charge of this collection of Scouts, and they had unintentionally led them to slaughter. The Scout Regiment wasn't meant for this. They were meant to soar into the sky and cut down the beasts that dared to devour them. Face down in the dirt while silently praying that the next volley of shots wouldn't strike home? Nothing compared to this kind of torture. Part of Gelgar wished that the Beast Titan did him in, too, just like his friends two weeks ago.

"I told you we should've run when we had the chance!" Nanaba snapped as she crawled to Gelgar's position.

"And look how well that turned out for them," he shot back, gesturing to a few corpses nearby. "They're sharpshooters, Nanaba. We won't stand a chance."

"If we stay here, we're all going to die," she told him, ducking her head as a shot impacted a brick wall behind her. "Some of us will make it, others won't, but that's better than nothing."

Gelgar gritted his teeth as he was forced to consider their options. How Erwin and the others operated under intense pressure was beyond him, but they weren't here. He and Nanaba were. The MPs took advantage of their panicking, and if they didn't do something fast, they would be corpses for the vultures to feed on.

Levi was not surprised to see that when he peered through the spyglass, he and his forces were at a disadvantage. He counted ten patrolling officers, some of them carrying the modified ODM gear he grew to despise so much. Cannons were strategically placed on rooftops and the two guard towers in case a certain Female Titan he knew and tolerated decided to make a grand entrance. Not to mention there was no telling how many MPs lurking inside each building.

"What do you think, Annie?" Hanji wondered quietly. "Think your Titan can handle all that?"

The Shifter shook her head. "If Reiner was here, he'd be able to handle this easily. At best, I'd be able to bring down one building before they took my head off even with my hardening ability."

Armin looked through his own spyglass, trying to come up with a good plan. "If the cannons were out of commission, you would have an easier time taking them out."

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Armin," Annie deadpanned. "How do you suppose we destroy the cannons?"

"Well… you could throw balls of dirt at them like the Beast Titan threw rocks at us," the blond suggested.

"Shifting is out of the question," Levi stated grimly. "You might as well be holding up a sign that says, 'Hey, I'm over here. Come kill me.'"

"But the cannons have a limited range," Hanji reminded him. "A target that's too far away is harder to miss."

"I know that, Four-Eyes… and I bet Kenny knows it, too." With a grunt, he stashed the spyglass in his bag. "It's a setup. Leonhart swoops in in her Titan glory, and then the real forces show up and send us straight to Hell."

The Section Commander gave him a look of worry. "Are you sure about that?"

Levi stared back at her, giving her only a twinge of grief as a hint to what lurked inside. "Underestimating Kenny is the fastest way to get us all killed. It's not going to happen on my watch." Not again.

Armin wasn't surprised by his captain's actions, but he couldn't help but protest them. "But sir, what about the Scouts that are pinned down? They need our help."

"That's exactly what he's hoping for," Levi shot back with a glare. "Even if we do win, this whole battle is nothing but a distraction. The more time we waste, the more likely we lose Eren and Historia." He mentally kicked himself for becoming so focused on the wrong thing. Those two were top priority above all else. This is exactly what Erwin would do.

But you're not Commander Erwin. He paused as that single thought creeped in. It was true. Erwin was a master strategist who could plan five steps ahead even when everything around them was falling apart. Levi was a man who followed orders and could only focus on the immediate future and the immediate consequences that came afterwards. If the interest of the collective was to abandon Scouts to their fates and move on, then that's what Erwin would do. It was little wonder that the previous Scout Commander broke under the pressure.

That being said, he didn't need to be the ultimate intellectual to know that things were already risky. Whatever Rod Reiss had planned for his illegitimate daughter and Humanity's Last Hope would not bode well one way or the other. They had to be rescued, or else everything they had done up to this point would be for nothing. That was something he couldn't live with. Being the one that drove the entire country into ruin.

However, he would be abandoning Gelgar and Nanaba along with their soldiers. The MPs were far more clever than he gave them credit for, much more adept at killing humans than Titans. If they were caught off guard like he was, their demise would only be a matter of hours. They knew the risks. They knew what they were getting into. Amsdale's damn mental link would only make this harder than it should be… so why wasn't he giving the order to leave?

"Levi?" Hanji asked when he hadn't moved a muscle.

The captain refused to look at any of them, his hand tightened into a fist. "We don't know where they are," he said in a low voice. "One of these bastards will have what we're looking for." He turned back to face the group and gave the order. "We're going on the offensive. Take out the foot soldiers, but spare the ones with the fancy ODM gear. They're more likely to have information."

Hanji pursed her lips for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Alright. Come on, Armin. Let's put our heads together and see if we can figure this out."

"Uh, right." Armin brushed off the confusion he felt towards Levi's change of heart, but he decided to go with the flow.

Levi knew that he was trying to justify his reason for sticking around. The safest option would have been infiltrating the Interior and snatching an MP off the streets, though he rationalized that tactic as taking to long. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to leave his comrades to die, even if it meant rolling the dice on their lives. He made a mental vow that if something horrible happened to Eren and Historia because of his actions, he would happily line himself up for the noose.

There was one rule that everyone in Dauper was expected to follow: all inhabitants, temporary or permanent, had to work to earn their keep. Hunting, farming, construction, gathering supplies, and all sorts of necessities had to be performed by every able-bodied individual. Which is way Dillon found himself chopping firewood in the morning. In hindsight, it wasn't a wise idea to give the unstable Psion an ax, but since most of the people that knew of his volatile nature were currently on a mission, no one thought twice.

Every piece of wood he chopped in half, Dillon imagined everything he lost. His life in the Scouts. THWACK! His friends who could never trust him again. THWACK! His screwed-up family consisting on a dead father and a sociopathic mother. THWACK! Annie. SMASH!

Not only was the firewood cut in half, but the ax ended up deeply embedded in the stump he was chopping on. Grumbling curses under his breath, he attempted to yank it out. Unfortunately, it was jammed tight, so he decided to use his powers to free it. He pulled, and the handle was ripped off, leaving the important part of the ax stuck in the stump. In response to yet another failure in his life, Dillon threw the stick as hard as he could into the nearby forest.

"Might want to be careful where you throw things, son," a voice said nearby. "Never know who you might hit if you're not careful."

Dillon glowered at the approaching man. "What the hell do you want, Dimo?"

"I came to tell you that I'm sorry for your loss," the merchant responded simply.

He eyed him suspiciously, trying to think of an angle the man could be pulling. When nothing came to mind, Dillon scoffed and waved him off. "Save it. My father blackmailed you back in the day. I doubt you've been shedding any tears for him."

"True, but I'm not heartless enough to ignore the suffering of his son." Dimo glanced at the stack of firewood that came up to his knees. "Not bad for just starting out."

The Psion grunted in annoyance. "Dimo, just leave me alone. I know what's gonna happen. You're going to try and give me advice, I'll try to follow it, manage to get a day or two of things looking up, something big happens that sends me straight back to rock bottom, rinse and fucking repeat." He heaved a sigh that did nothing to help him. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Dimo stared at him for a few moments before speaking again. "Then why are you still alive?"

He threw him a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

"If nothing matters anymore, then why haven't you just ended it all? You're a capable, young man. A simple slash of the throat would do the trick." Dimo spoke simply, like he was talking about the weather. "So, why haven't you killed yourself?"

Dillon snorted at his questions. Once again, he was shown that the world was screwed up when a merchant was discussing suicide so flippantly. "I don't have the spine to go through with it," he answered.

"Could be the case," the merchant admitted, "but I don't believe that's the reason. Perhaps there's something holding you back, a thin line you're clinging onto even after all this time. Is it… hope?"

"Why the hell do you care, Dimo?" Dillon demanded, yanking the ax head out of the stump with his powers. "You're the boss of the Reeves Company. I'm a Sina Brat. Not exactly a correlation between us, is there?"

Dimo allowed himself a soft chuckle as he approached him. "You could say there's more similarities between myself and your Commander Erwin. We view the situation as a whole, decide what to invest in, weigh the consequences of our actions, take the plunge, and accept whatever comes our way. In a sense, we're all businessmen of different trades."

"You should write a book about it," the blacksmith deadpanned while he placed the head on the stump. "What's that have to do with me?"

"There's one rule that we have to follow the moment we take up the trade: never make a decision under emotional duress," he explained. "Rarely does it work out in our favor. Take what happened in Stohess, for example. Anyone with common sense would know you acted from an emotional standpoint. Sure, you succeeded in your venture, but that was an exception, not the rule."

"You know what happened when I acted like a 'businessman?'" Dillon growled. "I killed my father. Pulled his eye out and stabbed him in the heart. I don't care that we were on opposite sides. He was still my father." He found himself leaning against a tree, emotionally drained from it all. "Just forget it. It's pointless now that I've lost everything."

It was evident to Dimo that Dillon would not listen to logic in his mentality of feeling sorry for himself. If he wanted to get through to him, he'd have to come from a different angle. "Then take it back."

The Psion barked out a mirthless laugh. "Just like that, huh? What, do you think I can just snap my fingers and magically make everything right again?"

"Of course not, but if you're anything like your parents, you're resourceful," he explained patiently. "If there's one thing we can agree on, it's that the Scout Regiment is desperate. You need to allow that to work in your favor. That is, if you haven't given up completely."

Dillon didn't respond, turning away to sulk. The weight of his defeat was suffocating, the glimmers of light turning into mere specks against the darkness. He knew damn well how many lines he crossed, so hoping for a positive outcome made the pain worse.

Dimo shook his head in disappointment. "You can continue to drown yourself in self-pity if you wish. Nothing can stop you now. I would ask for your assistance, but I can see that you are content where you are." With that, the merchant began to make his way back to the village."

"...What do you need, Dimo?"

Dimo allowed a slight smile to crease his face. Head of a company or not, he was still a damn good salesman.

All had been quiet since the MPs had set themselves up at the outpost. Two cannonment were appointed to the top of each watchtower, leaving the remainder of the troops to set up in the rooms near the entrances. Their strategy was simple: at the first sign of cannon fire from above, they'd swarm the doors and windows to eliminate all enemies that approached. Not the most original plan but efficient if properly executed.

Suddenly, an arrow was lodged into the chest of one of the cannonmen, shattering the perceived calm. He gasped in pain before falling on his side. His comrade immediately looked in the direction the arrow came from only to be bombarded by a green flare. On the opposite guard tower, one of the cannonmen suffered an arrow to the knee before the top was covered in red smoke. The ground patrol split off in either direction to take down the ambushers. By the time they reached the towers, the ground erupted in a chorus of black flares, blinding them completely. As if things weren't chaotic enough, the horses were let loose from the stables. The loud noises spooked them into galloping in every direction, including barreling into a few MPs caught in the black smoke.

Levi used this exact moment to dart into the smoke field, cutting down three MPs with quick precision. He fired a hook into one of the towers, taking flight in the open air. It didn't long for multiple gunshots to trail after him, but his speed surpassed them all. His flight path took him straight by the guard towers where he quickly beheaded the surviving cannonmen. With the defenses cut down, it would be easier for the rest of the soldiers to charge in. However, Levi's ears picked up the sound of ODM gear and a shot whizzed by his cheek. Seemed like the Interior Squad decided to make their move. Exactly how he planned it.

Down below, two squads consisting of both Scouts and Dauper militia charged into the parallel entrances to the command center. On the left, Hanji led Team A consisting of Nifa, Goggles, Keiji, and five militia.

"Stay away from the windows!" she shouted after she kicked the door open.

Several MPs were waiting inside and fired their rifles at her. She took cover on the side of the entrance, grinning once the shots came to an abrupt end. Guns always had a crippling weakness: they could only hold one shot before the user had to reload. In contrast, the Dauper militia retaliated with a volley of arrows that took down two MPs and forced the remaining two into cover.

"You might want to give up now," Hanji advised while Keiji and Goggles quickly barred the door.

The answer came in the form of a shattered window that rained glass on Nifa and a loud, "Screw you!" from the MP that missed his shot.

Rolling her eyes, Hanji kicked a desk into the hiding place of the other MP who didn't fire his weapon. He stumbled backwards before falling on his back. As for the accurately-challenged soldier, Nifa simply grabbed a chair and slammed it on the man's head before he could even think about reloading. He went down in an instant, unconscious.

"I don't want to jinx us, Hanji, but this is a lot easier than I thought it would be," Keiji admitted.

Hanji nodded in agreement. "Either the MPs have something up their sleeve… or maybe they've spread their forces too thin."

Team B was led by Moblit and he led the 104th minus Sasha and Dillon for obvious reasons along with a few of the militia. One MP kicked the door open before they could reach it in a reckless attempt to shoot someone. Moblit easily pulled the trigger before he could, managing a headshot that splattered the walls with blood.

"We don't know how many forces are in there," Moblit calmly reminded them. "Whatever happens, don't…"

Annie tuned him out as she took notice of MPs forming up in the center of the building. All carried rifles and they were aimed at them. "Look out!" she warned, tackling Armin to the ground before he could lose his head to the gunshots. Of course, since the MPs failed to break the windows before firing through them, the accuracy was off and they failed to hit any of their targets.

"Thanks, Annie," Armin managed, wincing in pain from Annie's weight crashing into him.

The blonde quickly stood up and charged towards the center. She wasn't going to give the bastards a chance to reload. The look of horror on the MP she focused on filled her with satisfaction right as she leapt through the window, tackling him to the ground. Her leg shot out into the shin of an MP who tried to get her from behind, but a kick to her abdomen sent her rolling off the one she had pinned down. There were five MPs in this room, and none of them were part of the Interior. She hoped their combat styles were lacking in execution this time.

All five opponents dashed towards her, forcing Annie on a retreat. Even she couldn't handle them all at one time. She rolled under a nearby table and kicked with both legs. She struck the shins of the closest MP, making him go down, but not before he smacked his chin on the table. If he survived the attack, there was little doubt he'd need stitches. The combined effort of two MPs removed her hiding spot. She managed to block a punch coming at her from the left, yet a foot smashing into her cheek was too quick. She stumbled into a chair, shaking off the blow before seizing an unloaded rifle. She swung the butt of the rifle towards the nearest soldier, though he managed to lift his arm in time. Still, he stumbled back just in time for the MP with the busted chin to grab hold of her weapon. Big mistake! Annie brought him close and kneed him right in his manhood. The fool collapsed to the ground in agony right before she swung her rifle right on top of his head. He did not get up again.

The remaining four grabbed their rifles and went at her like a bunch of men wielding clubs. Annie managed to block initial assaults, but a kick to her chest sent her sprawling across another table before landing on her stomach. This was getting annoying. It was time to change tactics. Whipping out one of her boot knives, she hopped to her feet, spitting out some blood. If she screwed this up, she'd be forced to resort to more drastic measures. Knowing the Scouts, they wouldn't take kindly to her blowing up the entire building with them still inside. With that in mind, Annie darted towards the quartet of assailants. She blocked the rifle with her own and managed to slice open the MPs side. She somersaulted under two rifles that came at her and managed to score a lucky blow by jamming the knife into another MPs neck. She had no time to yank it out, for a kick knocked the rifle out of her hands and a hard punch sent her against the wall. Only three left, including the injured one. This was more her speed.

The attacks were getting more aggressive, but they were also sloppy. It reminded her of every fight she had with Eren. She pulled the same stunt, dancing around their blows nimbly before grabbing an MPs arm and locking it behind him. She threw a high kick against another soldier before she performed a quick leg sweep that placed the arm-locked MP onto his back. Despite having a bloody nose, the MP she kicked in the face went at her again. Another kicking smashing into the side of his skull was enough for the lesson to sink in: they weren't going to win this fight.

All that remained was the MP whose side she slashed open. He looked so terrified, he was probably going to lose control of his bladder any second. That being said, he surprised her by doing the smartest action he could do via raising his hands in surrender.

"Good job. You get to live," Annie said, ignoring the groans of her surviving victims. She allowed her body to start the healing process now that the battle was over.

The door was finally kicked open, and Team B finally entered the room. Her fellow cadets shouldn't have been surprised that she took down five soldiers on her own, but it was still impressive nonetheless.

"We're supposed to be sticking together," Moblit rebuked with annoyance. "None of this lone wolf crap."

The blonde shrugged. "Slipped my mind. My bad."

Jean would've made a comment except a shattering window practically made him jump. A body fell from the second floor onto the ground outside, though the body was an MP.

"I think Team A has the second floor covered," Connie said.

Meanwhile, Levi had to deal with being pursued by two Interior MPs while dodging their shots. It was a little easier to do this time since he wasn't caught off guard, but he still needed to disable rather than kill them. One wrong move could break their necks if they fell the wrong way. The only option he had was to get them to land, but how the hell was he supposed to swing that? Unless…

I'd better not regret this. Levi thought as he shot his hook into one of the guard towers. He circled to the left, extending his line as long as he could so they could take the bait. Sure enough, a round severed the line, causing Levi to fall. The ground was thankfully a short distance and he landed on his back so the ODM gear could take the brunt of it. That being said, it still hurt to crash so abruptly. With a grunt, he got to his feet and ran towards the guard tower, gunfire raining upon the spot he was just at. Too close for comfort.

"Follow him! I'll cut him off from the stairs!" one of the MPs yelled.

It was a good tactic. Pity Levi planned for it. The second he was inside, he removed one of the gas canisters and sprayed it in the pursuing MPs face before he could get a shot off. The soldier recoiled from the surprise attack, giving Levi the opportunity to bring the canister right onto his head. One down, one to go. Coming in through one of the windows, the other MP landed on the stairs, opening fire. Levi took cover underneath the stairs, quickly putting his ODM gear back together. He only had one hook left, but that was all he needed. While the MP reloaded, the captain fired the hook into the ceiling and zoomed up. He relished the look on the befuddled MP's face before punching him right in the face as he passed by.

With the two out of commission, Levi could breathe a little easier. Detaching himself from the ceiling, he threw the MP on the stairs over his shoulders and dragged the other one by the back of the collar as he headed out. He headed straight for the center of the outpost, watching as an MP fell out the second story window. Probably Hanji's doing. Through the broken window on the first floor, he could see Annie, Armin, and Mikasa tying up the survivors from the fight. For once, the Scouts had everything under control. That only left one final step.

"Annie, get your Titan ass to Utgard," Levi ordered. "If there were reinforcements, they would've attacked us by now."

With her eyebrows raised in surprise, Annie stepped outside and asked, "Prisoners?"

"Don't bother," he answered. "Just bring any survivors back."

"Understood." Her eyes glistened with excitement. This wasn't going to take long.

This isn't going to take long. Nanaba thought grimly as the battle waged long. Their forces were diminished to four Scouts, the stone barricades were getting torn to shreds by the cannons, and she was exhausted. She couldn't remember the last time she had a decent night's sleep, and it greatly affected her aim. Gelgar was in the same boat, huddling behind one of the few remaining walls of stone.

"You know… I thought a Titan would kill me," he admitted, panting heavily. "Not some… dirtbag cops."

Even now, she couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Only fitting you get that. Probably payback for all the bar fights you started."

Gelgar snorted at that. "Yeah, yeah… probably better this way. Erwin would have our heads for screwing up this badly."

A cannonball tore off the top of the barricade, forcing the two the duck lower as the bricks rained down in front of them.

"Next shot will kill us for sure," Nanaba said as she felt her heart trying to escape.

Gently, Gelgar grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "It's almost over."

She nodded sadly. "Yeah, it is."

Then, the ground started to shake rhythmically. A familiar rhythm.

Gelgar's eyes widened slowly. "Wait… is that who I think it is?"

The MPs finally ceased firing as the rumbling grew louder along with the sounds of trees breaking. Nanaba risked peeking out of her cover just in time to see one of the cannons along with one of the soldiers get launched into the air by a giant foot. The remaining MPs fruitlessly fired at the Female Titan, but they were either stomped on or swiped away by her hands. The assault on the Scouts that had started since the morning came to a swift end in just under thirty seconds.

Nanaba breathed a sigh of relief, allowing a small laugh to leave her throat. She had never been happier to see Annie. If it wasn't for the fact she was twice her age and Gelgar would never let her hear the end of it, she probably would've kissed her.

"Second time we cheated death," Gelgar declared with a shake of his head. "I don't think I have it in me for another."

The Female Titan loomed over the survivors, examining the situation. She could see several Scout corpses scattered across the ruins. Some were gunned down with their horses, and others seemed to try and use their ODM gear to take the fight to the MPs. None of them were prepared for an ambush like this. Heaving a sigh, she knelt closer and held her hands out.

Bryan bowed his head as he closed the eyes of another body. None of them should have died like this, gunned down by their own countrymen.

"Bryan, Herrick, let's go," Nanaba ordered quietly. "There's nothing more we can do for them."

The fourth and final survivor, Herrick, was on his knees with tears streaming down his face. He couldn't take his eyes off his friends, people that he knew even before enlisting.

Gelgar placed a hand on his soldier. "I'm sorry, kid, but we have to leave."

Brushing the tears away with his arm, he nodded quickly. "Y-Yes, sir."

Annie gathered the four and held them close to her body before running back towards to the Outpost. Inwardly, she had believed that by the time she reached Utgard, every single Scout would be dead. She might be someone who enjoyed the deaths of her enemies, but it felt nice that she could bring a few people home for a change.

AN: This chapter has been one of the toughest chapters I have ever written. Why? Because of the battle scene. I had no idea how it was going to go down. I ran through scenario after scenario, trying to figure something out that would be satisfying not just to you, but to me. One possible scenario was for all the Scouts at Utgard dying by the time Annie got there, making this whole venture pointless. However, I decided against it because I think we all need a break from the bleak and depressing insanity of Attack on Titan, especially given recent chapters of the manga and my story.

Some of you have been asking for Annie to show her badass nature without using her Titan form. Truthfully, I see Annie as someone that would use the quickest way to defeat her enemies or accomplish a task. What's easier than a fourteen-meter Titan coming at you full speed. That being said, I wanted to see some human Annie awesomeness, too, so the fight scene in the outpost gave me the perfect excuse for it.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I look forward to your reviews, please consider updating the TV Tropes page, and I'll see you all in the next one… hopefully, less than a month from now.