"YOU TRAINEES PASSED THE GRADUATION DRILLS! YOU'RE FIRST-CLASS SOLDIERS NOW!" Yelled the commander in chief.
"THIS IS YOUR FIRST OPERATION, BUT WE EXPECT YOU TO CONTRIBUTE!"
"THE SURVEY CORPS IS OUTSIDE THE WALL ON AN EXPLORATORY EXPEDITION! THEREFORE, WE IN THE GARRISON ARE CURRENTLY ALONE IN REPAIRING THE WALL AND PREPARING FOR AN INCURSION!"
Dina looked around nervously. She could see the fear on the faces of both new conscripts, as well as experienced soldiers. Dina was trying to look for Eren. She knew that his squad was on the spot when the colossal titan appeared. Eren could possibly know some useful information about her foes.
"Armin! Are you alright?!" Dina suddenly heard Eren's voice and turned towards its source. The blonde boy was nervously trying to fill his gas tank.
"I-I'm fine! I'm sure the things will settle down soon!" Said Armin, "still… This isn't good! We've got an eight-meter-high hole in the wall and no way to fix it quickly! They put that rock there to plug the hole, but we can't even move it! And the moment we realize we can't fill in the hole, this town will be…"
"Armin!" Dina yelled at the boy "calm down!"
"I'm sorry. I'm fine" the boy said settling down.
Dina looked at Eren.
"Thank heavens you're alive" she said, "you were there when the colossus appeared. Did you see what happened to him?"
Eren looked down.
"I tried to take him down, but then he emitted a lot of hot fumes. When the vision was clear, he was gone…"
Eren didn't see anything. This was bad. After five long years, the warriors were finally making their move, and she didn't have any leads.
'What do I do now?' Dina thought.
Her only option was to wait until the armoured titan appeared, and then try to take him down. That was a brash plan, but it was her only option. She had no idea how many warriors were currently deployed within the walls. Besides the colossal titan and armoured titan, the Marleyan military had access to at least three other titans. It was only reasonable to think that the wall-breaking duo had at least one more companion.
'At least I took over the female titan.'
While it was good news, this could also mean there were other shifters besides the known two.
"JUST LIKE IN YOUR TRAINING, EACH SQUAD WILL TAKE A DIFFERENT STREET! YOU'RE UNDER GARRISON COMMAND. YOUR DUTIES ARE SUPPORT, COMMUNICATION, TITAN-KILLING AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT'S NEEDED!"
"THE GARRISON WILL TAKE VANGUARD. YOU TRAINEES ARE MIDDLE GUARD, AND THE GARRISON'S ELITE UNIT WILL BE REARGUARD!"
Dina was placed in the same squad as Krista. The girl looked like she was about to return the yesterday's feast.
"Hey" Dina said to the girl "still trying to die?"
Krista rolled her eyes at the woman.
"No" she replied, "I'm really curious about that secret of yours."
Dina smiled at the girl.
"That's the spirit."
She walked over to Eren who was currently calibrating his gear.
"Hey" Dina spoke "Don't you dare die before you even join the survey corps."
Suddenly Mikasa appeared behind them. The girl was placed in the rearguard along with the elite.
"I won't be there to baby you anymore" Mikasa said with a smile "please stay safe."
"Alright, alright…" said Eren waving his hand "women…"
"When we're done, I'll join you" Mikasa said as she was walking away "look out for him…" She said to Dina.
The woman nodded at Mikasa and went to the meeting point.
The street they were covering looked more deserted than others.
'Lucky' Dina thought as she was swishing through the air.
Suddenly a fifteen-meter titan walked from behind the corner.
Dina quickly changed her trajectory and landed on a roof far from the monster.
"LOOK OUT!" she yelled at the rest of her squad.
Most of the squad managed to take positions away from the titan, however one of them misjudged the distance, and his anchor didn't reach the roof he was aiming at.
"AAAHH!" he cried out as he fell to the ground.
The giant beast noticed his fall and reached its hand towards the soldier.
"HEEEELP!"
Dina momentarily jumped from the roof and flew towards the titan.
SWIIISH!
Her swords pierced right through the titan's skin, severing its nape. A large thud could be heard as the titan's body fell to the ground.
Dina landed near her squad mate.
'This was definitely something' she thought as she helped him up.
"Thank you…" The man said as they reached the roof.
"Are you okay?!" Asked Krista.
"I'm fine" Dina replied, "this sector is clear, we should check how others are doing."
As they were nearing the vanguard, they met up with a garrison officer.
"Change of plans" he said, "we're regrouping on the wall, check for any civilians as you retreat towards the inner gate."
"What happened to the vanguard?" Dina asked the officer.
"The vanguard fell in battle. I'm the last one of them" the man said with a grim face, "retreat to the gate."
He jumped from the roof and swished through the air. Dina looked forward. She could see a tiny figure slouching on the roof.
Dina turned to her squad.
"Retreat to the gate. I'm going to check what's going on."
The squad jumped down and swished away. The only people standing on the roof were Dina and Krista.
"You should go too" she said to the girl, "that is, if you're actually not planning on dying."
Krista looked at Dina with determination.
"I'm not a coward" she said, "let's check that person over there."
They jumped down and flew towards the figure. As they neared the person, she finally recognized him. It was Armin. Dina didn't like the implications of that. He was in the same squad as Eren, so why couldn't she see the brown-haired boy anywhere?
"Armin!" Dina yelled at the boy as she landed near him. The boy finally looked up.
"Dina…?" Armin said with a weak voice.
"Are you hurt? Hey! Where's the rest of your squad?"
"Squad…" Armin said. He suddenly grabbed his head, "you useless bastard!"
"Die!" Armin yelled to himself.
"Hey! Calm down! Where is everyone! Where is Eren?!" Dina asked the boy.
"Eren…" Armin said weakly "saved me…"
"I'm sorry miss Dina…"
Dina was silent.
"Can you stand up Armin?" she asked the boy and reached out to him.
The boy had tears in his eyes. He rejected her hand and stood up, brushing off his face.
"I'm sorry I caused problems!" He yelled as he jumped down and swished away, "I'll meet up with the rearguard."
Dina stood on the roof with Krista.
"Uhm, Dina…" Krista said nervously, "I think we should retreat."
"Yes. Let's go."
Dina's voice was hollow. As they flew towards the inner gate, Dina wasn't thinking about anything in particular. The only feeling she had, was the warmth from tears that streaked down her face.
