Elsie and Reiner tumbled from their branch, arms locked as they fell through branches. Leaves scratched at her face, tearing her clothes, all she could hear was the whip as another branch zoomed past her. Her eyes watered, her blonde hair escaping from its tight pony tail and caressing her cheeks. Reiner was above her, lips pulled back in an animalistic sneer.

"What happened?"

"They fell! Reiner and that blonde chick, they fell!"

"Halt! They have ODM gear, they'll figure it out! Everyone, stand down!"

Elsie's grapple hook found solid before Reiner. She swept to the right, her busted hip hitting a trunk. She winced but had no time to check her injuries, Reiner had also caught himself and was flipping around. This was it. She heard their names being shouted from above, no one could see them through the thick canopy. It protected Elsie as she met Reiner, mid collision, once more rolling with him in free fall.

They landed on the ground, rough, she bounced from the impact. But her adrenaline was in full force, the sun's heat burning her neck as she straddled Reiner and repeatedly punched. She had a blade, it was in her pocket. She went to grab it and Reiner twisted her wrist. She heard a crack, a terrible pain making her scream and hunch over protectively. Reiner grabbed the back of her head and rammed their forehead's together.

She rolled over, moaning, vision black. Reiner stood, she could hear his heavy steps as he stumbled to his feet. There was a kick to her side and Elsie was rolling, grass in her mouth and palms.

"So, you figured it all out and thought you'd handle it yourself, huh?" Another kick. Elsie tried to get to her feet but Reiner pushed her back down. "Should've known with all the freaky stuff you've been saying."

He went to kick again but Elsie had her eyes open. She grabbed his leg and pushed back. Reiner fell and Elsie waisted no time, grabbing her blade and darting to hold him down. They struggled, his hands were big and her lead hand was broken, but she had survival instincts on her side. Her hand flew, the blade pointed down, and dug it across Reiner's neck. It felt like she was cutting styrofoam but when she glanced down, the knees of her tan pants were drenched in dark liquid and Reiner's eyes were glassy, staring up at the voices screaming his name.

Elsie stumbled back, the blade shaking in her hand. She waited, she made sure to wait. He didn't get up. Elsie ran forward and kicked his leg. Reiner refused to move.

"Get up!" She shouted, shaking his chest. "Get up and fight me!"

Reiner didn't flinch from her roughness. Elsie dropped her head and kneeled back, accepting that she had finally done it. She killed. It had happened so fast, they had just been standing on the branch when Reiner had tackled her off. The trees swayed from the wind and Elsie's head lulled back, resting in the silence.

Then lightening struck to her left. Birds flew, the floor shook. Elsie's heart stopped. No. No. I told them. I told them. Elsie took off, never moving as fluid as she did then. The trees blurred, she had no idea where she was. The pounding was getting louder, she had to be close. Did this forest ever end? She hadn't seen a green smoke signal, had Eren transformed? What was going on?

Trees crashed ahead, pushing her back. She tumbled, grasping on bark to hold on to the closest tree. Her fingernails raised, she felt them detach, but she hung on, head tucked into her chest to protect her from the high winds. It stopped just as fast as it had came and Elsie looked up, horrified to see two monsters battling ahead of her.

Eren and Annie, in their titan forms, fighting. No. No. Where was Petra? Gunther? Elsie flew closer, standing on her toes, praying that things had just gotten mixed up. That maybe Levi Squad was about to appear, blades shining and dark faces, but it never did. Elsie was the only one to watch as Eren screamed in Annie's face, his eyes rolling into the back of his head and hands regenerating.

Elsie took her chance, swooping down and digging her blades into the lines of Annie's jaw. It fell, steam rising, and Elsie rolled back just as Annie seemed to come back to herself, wrapping her legs around Eren and rolling him. She got the upper hand, and it was just like the show, the noises, the screams. The show never gave justice to the fear that Eren's animal scream sent down her back, knowing that he was loosing it. That he had just lost the people he trusted the most.

Elsie was in the air, waiting for the right moment to strike. Annie was beginning to win, bending Eren so she could get to his neck. Elsie only had one shot, she needed to cut Annie when she went for Eren.

"Eren!" There was pure helplessness in Mikasa's scream. The raven haired girl appeared from no where, landing unsteadily on a branch and gasping as Annie bent.

Elsie flew, pushing as much gas as she could, blades poised for the shot. She turned her waist just right, the blades going where they needed, Annie would be too focused to get Eren to focus on Elsie. Then she was shouldered, slamming into a tree. Her head bounced and for the hundredth time Elsie's vision disappeared for seconds. When she came to Elsie was blinking at Levi's face. He caged her into the tree, head turned to watch Annie swallow Eren and take off running.

Elsie was revolted, twisting out of Levi's hold and taking off. Mikasa was hot on her heel, surging forward to get some fast strike at the titan. Annie faltered, weak from her fight. Levi appeared, assisting Mikasa in her moves. They moved like flies, rapid in their twists and cuts, a flash of murderous face before their green cloaks were swirling up Annie's legs. The female titan fell, debris rising, and Levi was flying through it all, a saliva covered Eren in his grasp. He was panting as he landed beside Elsie, Mikasa hot on his heel and staring wide-eyed at Eren.

"He's fine, we need to get out of here." Levi ordered, shouldering Eren and taking off in the direction they'd come from.

Elsie and Mikasa were silent in their pursuit. Elsie's eyes fell onto the ground, waiting for the inevitable. This would tell her everything. If she saw- And there, pushed unnaturally against a tree, was a honey colored body. Elsie didn't say anything, falling to the ground beside Petra's corpse.

Elsie bowed her head, her shaking hands refusing to move when all she wanted to do was lay Petra. She steadied her breath and with glossy eyes at the front of her mind, she stood and took off her cloak. Sweat dripped down her arms as she hooked her hands under Petra's arms, gently dragging her until she was laying on the meadow. Elsie didn't give herself a moment, walking the fifty feet to where Oulou laid face first on the floor. Eld was the last, the hardest to find. She'd thought she'd feel better when she had the three of them together, laying shoulder to shoulder like they would want to be.

Elsie fell to her knees, her chest heavy as she finally stared at the squad. Blood was on all their faces, not one of them looking as refreshed and rose-cheeked like they had this morning. What had been the last thing she said to them? Don't separate? Why hadn't she been more poetic, given Petra a hug, told Gunther that he shouldn't move. If they had just listened...

"I'll talk to your dad for you, Petra. Levi won't know what to say. He's going to miss you," Elsie's voice was hoarse, broken along with the rest of her body. "And Gunther, I'll visit your dad. Oulou, you have so many brothers and sisters, I don't know how I'm going to get them to college but I will. I'll watch over them," Elsie bowed her head, closing her eyes. "I promise."

But what was Elsie's promise worth? She'd tried but they were still dead. The four people that she had first known, who had taught her everything she needed to survive. Her friends. They were gone. Elsie grabbed her pocket for her blade but cursed when she remembered she'd left it next to Reiner's body. Swallowing the bile in her throat, she slowly opened Petra's pocket and took her unused one. It was silent, mournful, work as Elsie shifted from friend to friend, cutting their Scout badges off.

Elsie had failed them. This was the only thing she had set out to do and it hadn't worked.

"Hey! We were told to gather the bodies!" A group trudged out of the growth, a horse drawn carriage behind them.

Elsie looked over, "Yeah, I'll help." Already they had Gunther's body covered in the carriage, three more beside his. The guilt didn't leave Elsie has she helped carry Eld to the carriage.

"You're injured, you should hop on. We're leaving soon, Commander Erwin is just waiting for the survivors to return." One of them said.

Elsie stared at the grey blankets the entire rickety ride. Eventually the shade broke and she was once more in the pelting sun, squinting to see what was happening. Already a line of bodies had began. Mikasa was next to a carriage with Armin, Sasha, and Connie. They were silently watching a lumped figure. The carriage came to a stop and Elsie stood, not hopping off until all the bodies were removed. The line was too long after the rest were lined out. Elsie swallowed thickly, fastening her cloak back on.

"Hey! Elsie, right?" Bierthodlt jogged to her side, sweaty and concerned. He wasn't trying to come off as intimidating but she knew this wasn't a friendly talk.

"Yeah. You are?" She feigned ignorance, turning back to look at the bodies.

"I'm Reiner's friend, the guy you fell off the tree with. Listen, you're back but where is he? If you guys just fell he should be back now."

Elsie frowned, glancing at him, "I'm sorry. We heard the thunder and he wanted to investigate. He seemed so sure, he was so big... The female titan got him. She yanked his chord and he went flying. I don't know what happened after that."

Bierthodlt was not consoled. He stepped back, shaking his head, "No, there's no way. He wouldn't have just left like that. Not without me."

"I'm sorry. That's all I saw." She said plainly.

He opened his mouth but she never heard what he said. Shouting had risen from behind, two friends yelling at Erwin to go back for their friends. Erwin looked deadly already and the boy was pushing his ends, his eye twitching. Levi glowered from behind, like a lurking vampire. If she left the rest of this up to them Elsie would lose her friends bodies, and she'd be damned if she didn't return home with them. This one thing was going right.

Elsie walked up, making the blonde do a double take when he realized that she was standing and staring specifically at him and not Erwin like he'd originally thought. Her throat was dry as she pulled a frayed badge from her pocket, easily handing it over to him.

"Your friend is Evans, right?" She asked, hoping she got the name right.

The boys eyes watered, "Yeah."

"I was with him. At the end. He told me to give this to you."

He was crying, hugging the badge to his chest and thanking Elsie. His friend looked lost for words and led him away, their heads bowed in pain. She watched them go before looking at Erwin and Levi. They weren't as thankful for her intervention.

"I told you to stay together." Elsie said simply, looking between their eyes. Trying to find who was guilty. Who decided that they would go back on their word.

Commander Erwin held her gaze. Levi looked away.

"You had been reluctant to give us information about the attack on Trost. It would have been foolish of me to have changed the plan for you opting to keep a team together. They were great soldiers, they were well in their capabilities in this mission. Captain Levi was needed with me and Eren had to be away from the titan, like it had been planned

Elsie nodded, "How'd that go?"

"We've discovered who the titans are because of this mission."

"You could've done more if Levi Squad had survived," She hissed, her temper rising. "Do you know how difficult this will be now? How many people will die in the C-" Her throat burned but she choked over it. "Now you have children fighting, children who barely survived this!"

"Elsie, this is the Scout Regiment-"

She walked away, shaking her head. She had failed.