Previously:

"Do you have any proof that you did prevent humanity's demise?" the district mayor asked. "You've been able to get nothing out of Annie Leonhart, is that correct?"

"She is currently being detained deep underground," Erwin replied. Levi was seeing to that. "As her body is now surrounded by a hard, crystalline substance… it is impossible to extract any information from her."

"Your efforts were in vain?" the district mayor asked.

"I believe that there is value in simply having captured one of the titans," Erwin said. "Yes… I know there are more. We must hunt down every last one of them. Every enemy… hiding… inside our walls." A bead of sweat slid down the side of Minister Nick's face.

BAM.

"Commander Erwin!!" a Survey Corps member yelled as he burst into the room. "It's terrible!"

"Thomas?!" Hange said, surprised to see him there.

"Wall Rose has—!" Thomas said, desperately urgent.

This story began twelve hours earlier.


Chapter 28: The Beast Titan


Twelve hours earlier...

"Really?" Nanaba said as she stood on top of a tower with Miche and Thomas, looking out across the land. They had taken all of the recruits from the 104th corps to a facility far away from the Stohess district. "Could one of those kids…?"

"… Have been conspiring with Annie Leonhart…?" Miche finished for her. "Well… who knows? But… it's not a possibility we can ignore."

Inside the building next to the tower, Connie and Sasha were staring aimlessly out the window with their heads propped up on their hands. Reiner and Bertolt were playing chess. Krista and Ymir were sitting quietly further down the table. Heidi was watching Reiner and Bertolt's game, occasionally and subtly glancing around the room at the rest of the 104th stuck there with them, keeping her eyes peeled for suspicious activity.

To be honest, Heidi would rather be part of the Stohess operation. If Eren, Levi, and Erwin were in trouble, she wanted to help. But Erwin insisted that this was the best place for her to be. She wondered if it was because they didn't want her to use her berserkergang in public. She had only ever used it in front of Survey Corps members, so far. Still, she would have thought that Erwin would want to throw every resource he had at the Female Titan...

"This place isn't far from my village," Connie said.

"It's very close to my hometown, too," Sasha said. "Right, Heidi?"

"It is," Heidi agreed, pretending to be bored too.

"We've come all the way to the south part of Wall Rose… Why can't we go back…?" Connie asked. "We don't have anything to do, either… We're just sitting here all day. This sucks. Maybe I'll sneak out tonight."

"Ohh?" Sasha said. "You want to go home that badly? I was told not to come home until I became respectable. My father was sure Heidi would make something of herself, though..."

"Sorry about that..." Heidi said wryly, sweat-dropping.

"Everyone said that a midget like me could never become a soldier," Connie said dryly with a small smile. "But I ended up a prodigy… I made the top ten of my training corps. That's why I'm gonna go back to my village and lord it over them. I don't have to rub it in, but… I want to, while I'm still alive." Sasha and Heidi stared at him. It was true, now that they were in the Survey Corps, they could die at any time. They had seen that firsthand.

"Connie. If you're serious about that, I'll help you," Reiner told him.

"What?" Connie and Heidi both said.

"Why?" Connie asked.

"You can't be… Don't you think you'd get in trouble?" Heidi said, frowning a little with concern. Connie had been mostly joking when he said it, but Reiner seemed completely serious.

"… Don't you think this is strange?" Reiner asked them. "Why are we on standby dressed like civilians? Our orders said not to wear our combat uniforms, and not to train. Why? We're soldiers! You think it's strange too, don't you, Heidi? I mean, you don't usually wear pants when we're in our civvies."

"Yeah, I wanted to be prepared for anything," she answered honestly. If she pretended it wasn't strange, that would only make him suspicious of her as well. "It seemed odd… I thought we might get further orders once we were here, but… nothing..."

"What makes me even more suspicious is the fact that our officers are fully equipped," Reiner continued. "We're not on the front lines, you know. We're inside the walls! What are they going to be fighting?"

"Hmm…" Connie said, thinking. "There must be bears around here."

"Heh. Bears. Sure," Sasha said.

"They'd just have guns if they were worried about bears..." Riener said.

"Right," Heidi agreed.

"Everyone's confused. They don't know what's going on. You two are the only ones who are relaxed and carefree," Reiner told Connie and Sasha. "Personally, I feel like sneaking out and seeing how our officers react."

"..." Heidi and Connie said. Heidi thought his insistence on escaping was unusual. Reiner wasn't normally a trouble-maker.

"Hm…?" Sasha said. She plopped her head down on the table. For a moment, she lay there, looking up at her friends. Then, her eyes widened. She jerked back up into a sitting position. "Huh?!" she cried, startling them. "I heard the ground rumbling! It sounds like footsteps!!" she said anxiously.

"Huh?" Connie said. Heidi put her head on the table, trying to see if she could hear it too, but her ears weren't as sensitive as Sasha's when she wasn't berserking.

"What are you talking about, Sasha?" Reiner asked. Heidi closed her eyes and tried going berserk for a moment. She knew Sasha must have heard something. If she was right… "If you're trying to say that there are titans here…?" Heidi's eyes snapped open and she jumped to her feet.

"Sasha's right!!" Heidi exclaimed and shot out of the room to alert the officers in charge.

"Hey!" Reiner called after her, but she was already gone. He looked at the others, sweating nervously. "You realize that would mean they've broken through Wall Rose?!"

Miche sniffed the air. His eyes widened in shock. He moved to look over the side of the crenellated roof. There was no visible threat, but he could smell danger approaching.

"Miche?" Nanaba said, as Heidi came rushing up the stairs to the roof.

"Footsteps! Giant footsteps are approaching us!!" Heidi shouted. Nanaba and Thomas's eyes widened.

"Thomas!" Miche yelled, still looking out across the land. "Get on a swift horse and deliver a report!"

"Sir?!" Thomas said.

"It seems that there are no titans among the 104th Survey Corps… And a horde of titans is attacking from the south!!" Miche said urgently. "Wall Rose… has been breached!!"

"Is everyone here?" Nanaba asked Heidi.

"Yes. No one is absent," she replied grimly.

"We need to inform the others," Nanaba said.

"You do that," Miche told her. Nanaba left them to carry out that order. "Heidi, rejoin the others as they come out." Heidi clenched her fists and nodded.

"Yes, sir!" she said and ran back down the stairs. Miche decided to move from the tower.

"Nanaba?" Krista said when she suddenly appeared in the window and opened it.

"We have multiple titans nearby, 500 meters to the south. They're walking this way," Nanaba informed them without preamble. "There's no time for you to change into your combat uniforms. Get on horseback immediately. Sweep through and evacuate nearby houses and villages. Got that?" Everyone stared at her in shock.

"From… the south?" Connie asked, horrified.

"Oh…!" Sasha gasped.

"So… They broke through the wall…?" Reiner asked gravely, looking at Bertolt.

"Sorry, but lunch is on hold until you finish your mission!" Nanaba added.

"?!" Sasha gasped, dismayed.

"All right, get going!!" Nanaba ordered. "You won't be able to sit around like idiots anymore if you end up dead!" She jumped back out the window and maneuvered herself onto the roof of the facility, where she found Miche standing, facing south.

"Miche. Where are the titans?" Nanaba asked.

"Ahead of us," he replied. "As far as my nose can tell..." He sniffed the air again. "There are nine out there."

"So we should act… as if another wall has been breached?" Nanaba asked. "There would have been a report if Trost district or Krolva district were attacked… If the wall itself was breached and not a gate… there's no telling what the extent of the damage will be… And even if the breach was at a gate… unless there happens to be a conveniently sized rock lying nearby… we won't be able to plug the hole, even with Eren." She was covered in cold sweat. "In other words… our worst-case scenario… is happening right now..." She frowned and furrowed her brow. "All that matters is… Wall Rose has been breached." She fell to her knees. "We… we failed to discover the identities of the Colossus Titan and the Armored Titan, or even to assess the enemy's combat strength… This day is the result. We've lost… Humanity has lost..."

"..." Miche looked back at her. There was a frustrated, defeated expression on her face. "No… not yet." He looked down at the 104th as they scrambled to saddle up their horses. Nanaba followed his gaze. Heidi had already finished hers and was helping a guy who was so nervous that he kept trying to put his on backwards. "Humanity's first defeat will come only when we stop fighting," Miche stated firmly. "As long as we keep fighting, we haven't lost." They continued to watch the new recruits.

"What we've done to the 104th is inexcusable," Nanaba said. "We doubted them… and now we've thrown them into this situation completely defenseless. Ugh..." She stood up again. "I can't let them see me like this."

"Come… Now we fight," Miche said.

They left the roof to mount their own horses and took charge of the new recruits, leading them away from the facility.

"Once the group of titans reaches the wood, everyone disperse!" Miche shouted so they could hear him above the horses' hooves beating the ground. "Before then, I want you to form four teams! Teams made up of the 104th corps and armed troops will split into north, south, east, and west teams. Avoid combat whenever possible, and focus on spreading information. I leave the details of the mission to your discretion. Branch off as you find people or villages. South team will also be responsible for identifying the damaged section of the wall. For that reason… that team will need more people. Is anyone here familiar with this area?!" Heidi and Sasha both raised their hands.

"Yes, sir!" Heidi answered, worried for their families and determined to find them before the titans. "Our home village is in the northern forest!"

"Y… Yes, sir!" Sasha answered a little more nervously. "We know the terrain! And Connie..." She glanced at him. He was staring straight ahead with a horrified expression on his face. "Hey!" Sasha yelled, getting his attention.

"Snap out of it!" Heidi told him, concerned.

"My village is to the south…" he said, looking at them with wide eyes. "Where the… titans are coming from..." Heidi's eyes widened as she and the others stared at him, feeling horrified for him. "I can guide them them to the villages nearby. But after that… please let me go to my village!" he asked Miche. Reiner and Bertolt frowned. "I know that… by the time I get there… It'll probably be hopeless… but… but… I have… to go..."

"All right… you'll guide the south team," Miche told him.

"Connie! I'm going too," Reiner said.

"The south is probably the most dangerous! It's full of titans…!" Connie reminded him.

"What are you saying? Didn't I tell you I'd help you slip out?" Reiner retorted. "What're you going to do… Bertolt?"

"..." Bertolt stared at him, looking a little taken aback.

"I'm not going to force you to come, but… we need numbers," Reiner said. Bertolt's eyes widened slightly.

"Of course… I'm going too," Bertolt said. Heidi gripped her reins tighter. Even if he was concerned for a friend, something didn't feel right to her about the way Reiner kept insisting on 'slipping out'.

"… I'm going too," she said, surprising them.

"But… your own family..." Connie said.

"Like Reiner said, you need more people… Sasha… Can I count on you?" Heidi asked earnestly.

"Y-Yes! I'll warn them and get them to safety, even if I have to drag them out of there myself!" Sasha said with determination, furrowing her brow. She knew Heidi would do the same for her, and Heidi wouldn't pass up the chance to go to her family herself unless she thought it was beyond important.

"As you've probably realized, this day is now the worst day in human history!" Nanaba said. "And humanity will have to work harder than we ever have before—starting now!!" The titans came stomping into view.

"The titans have reached the woods! Disperse!! Gallop at top speed!!" Miche ordered.

WHOOM.

The titans began to run, and they were sprinting straight toward them. Their eyes widened in fear and surprise.

"… Why?" Miche said. "Why did all the titans start running?!" The gap between the humans and titans was already closing. "They're fast!! They're going to catch up!!" he tightened his grip on his reins and gritted his teeth with determination. "Gelgar!! Take command of the south team!!" Before anyone could argue, he broke away from the rest of them and steered his horse towards the titans.

"?!" everyone gasped.

"Sir?!" Gelgar cried. "…!" He watched Miche go, concerned, but he furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth. "Y… Yes, sir…!"

"Squad Leader Miche's going to act as a decoy?!" one of the other armed soldiers said, startled.

"One man against the titans?! That's ridiculous!" another yelled. "I'll..."

"No…!!" Gelgar said sternly. "We need everyone here! Trust Miche! He's the second-toughest soldier in the Survey Corps, after Captain Levi! He'll get through this alive… I know he will!" They watched him grow more distant as they carried out his orders and split up. The last they saw of him, he had slayed two titans single-handedly.

—∞—

Miche stood on the roof of the facility, just as he had with Nanaba. This time he was alone, with only titans for company. He had already slayed five of the nine.

'Four left...' he thought, sweating. He looked at the remaining titans. 'No… this is my chance… I've brought plenty of time. All four teams should have made it far away by now.' He whistled for his horse to return. 'Now… just as long as my horse comes back… I can get out of here. Only...' He watched the humongous, hairy titan that was stalking around the woods. 'I'm concerned about that abnormal titan… something's off about it… a 17 meter class… maybe taller? … It's big. It's the first titan I've ever seen covered in hair, like some sort of beast. It's not coming near me, it's just walking around… it must be abnormal, but...' He saw something running up from a distance. "!" It was his horse. 'You're back… good. Looks like I won't have to hold out till nightfall..." His eyes widened when the hairy titan suddenly reached down and grabbed his horse. "Wha…?!" Miche gasped, shocked. "It went after a horse?! Could that mean—" The hairy titan pulled its arm back, looked at him, and threw his horse straight at him. "!!" Miche tried to dodge, but the horse slammed into the roof and knocked him off before he could finish jumping. He fell right into the open mouth of a titan with an oversized head. His eyes widened in fear. It bit down on him. "HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!" Miche screamed in pain.

"Wait," a deep voice said. The hairy titan moved closer. The titan eating Miche started to pull him further into its mouth. Miche gritted his teeth and tried to fight it. His eyes widened again when he looked up and saw the hairy titan squatting down behind the one eating him, staring down at him. Miche cried out in pain when the titan eating him started to chew. "AAAAAAA!!"

"Hm?" the hairy titan said. "I… just…" it reached down and put its hand on the titan eating him. "Told you to wait!" It squeezed, crushing the smaller titan's head. Miche was ejected from its mouth. He hit the ground with a thud. One of his legs was broken.

"Ah—blech..." the hairy titan said, looking at its bloody hand. Miche panted, breathing hard. "What do you call that weapon?" the hairy titan asked him. Miche was too terrified to speak. This thing could talk?! "The one on your hips that you fly around with." Miche looked up at it, his heart thumping hard in his chest. He trembled. The hairy titan scratched its ear. "Hmm… I thought we spoke the same language… but I guess you're too terrified to talk." Miche didn't answer. "So you're using swords…? You must know we're in the neck. Have it your way. I'll just take it with me."

"?!" Miche gasped. He rolled over and covered his head. The hairy titan reached down. "!!" It plucked the 3DMG from his back, then stood up and started to walk away. Miche was surprised to still be in one piece. He furrowed his brow as he remembered how he had told Nanaba that humanity's first defeat would come only when they stopped fighting. He gripped his sword and gritted his teeth. 'As long as we keep fighting, we haven't lost.' He turned back around to face the hairy titan, determined to make a difference.

"Oh, right," the hairy titan said, glancing over his shoulder at the other titans. "You can move now."

"!!" Miche was filled with despair when the remaining titans suddenly charged at him all at once. "NOOOO!!" he screamed as they grabbed him. "STOP!!" All of the titans sank their teeth into him at once.

"I knew it… you can talk," the hairy titan said, barely pausing before continuing on his way. "My word, they really do think up interesting things," it said as it stomped away, admiring the 3DMG.

—∞—

After discovering titans to the south, the Survey Corps acted immediately… sending messengers to each of the four major walled cities in the area.

Eight hours after the titans were spotted, Ehrmich district…

"Titans are coming!!" Thomas shouted as he galloped into town. "Titans have appeared in the southwest! Evacuate immediately!!" Everyone stared at him with wide eyes, shocked.

He stopped to rest with members of the Garrison, who gave him something to drink.

"Th-That can't be…!!" one of the Garrison men said.

"They broke through the wall?! Another asked.

"We haven't confirmed that yet… all we saw was a group of about ten titans," Thomas replied, trying to catch his breath. "But… that's what it would mean. It's… already begun." He stood back up. "Someone get me... the fastest horse here..."

"What?!" the second Garrison member said. "You're already going?! Where?!" Thomas borrowed a cloak from the Garrison.

"The commander… I need to let Commander Erwin know..." he replied.

—∞—

Garrison head quarters, Trost district…

Hannes was reporting to Commander Pixis when someone burst through the door.

"Commander Pixis!!" he shouted anxiously. "The titans are coming!!"

—∞—

Five hours after the titans were spotted… North team.

Sasha was riding with her group leader. They were fast approaching another village.

"Do you see it?" Sasha asked him. "That's your last village!"

"Roger… leave this to me!" he said. "Are we finished?"

"No… deep in the forest… is my village..." Sasha replied.

While her group leader warned that village, Sasha hurried on to Dauper. She furrowed her brow as she recalled the last time she had seen her father.

«« Flashback ««

"Hey! Sasha!"Mr. Braus yelled. "You're scroungin' fer food on yer own again?!" Sasha bit into the piece of meat she was holding in her hand. He tried to stop her. "Hey! Don't eat that!" She gnawed at it. "Didn't I tell ya ta quit eatin'?! That smoked meat's fer the winter stocks, dummy!" He grabbed her arms to hold her back.

"Nngh!" Sasha grunted as the meat tore from her teeth and fell to the ground. "Nngrahh!" she roared and twisted out of his grip, thrusting one hand up under his chin to push him away, so he couldn't interfere, while the other grabbed the meat and shoved it back into her mouth.

"Ya… stupid girl..." her father groaned. "Fine." He let her go. "Do watcha want..." Sasha sprang away from him and ducked behind a tree before he changed his mind.

"..." Sasha stared at him from her place of safety, still chewing on the meat. Mr. Braus wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed.

"Y'ever think about what's happenin' to this world?" he asked her, sitting down on a tree stump. "Why the forest's been gittin' smaller, why it's been harder to catch any game…? Ever thought about it?"

"… I know… it's cause outsiders been comin' in and takin' our forest and game," she said grudgingly. "That's why I'm hungry."

"Yep, that's right..." he said. "But those folks have had their homes stolen from them, too… They ended up here 'cause they don't got no other choice."

"That's their problem… They should hurry up an' git out," Sasha retorted.

"It's titans that took their homes, ya know. Like your friend Heidi. Would you say that to her? Her ma, aunt, and uncle all died 'cause of titans," he reminded her. Sasha looked a little guilty.

"Heidi's different," Sasha said. "She shares with me. The others just take. The takers should leave."

"Where else do they have to go?" Mr. Braus said. "They say ya c'n feed more mouths if ya clear the forest and jus' grow grain. Maybe our family oughta give up huntin'... and hand the forest over. The monarchy says… they'll pay us if we agree ta raise horses."

"Wha? But that's..." Sasha said, startled. "If we stop huntin' it'd be like givin' up who we are! Why do we gotta do that for a bunch of folks who look down on us like we're idiots?!" Mr. Braus looked at his daughter for a moment.

"That's 'cause livin' in this world's a privilege."

"…?" Sasha said, confused. "Hunh?"

"Man's the kinda animal that's gotta live in groups… If ya only have so much space, folks that normally live different from the rest've gotta join the group and live inside it," he explained.

"No!" Sasha shouted. "Not me! We've been livin' the way our ancestors taught us!! We don't owe nothin' to the outsiders! Like Mr. Trumbauer! He's lived by himself for years, and he gits along fine! We got our own way o' livin'! And no one's got any reason to stop us!"

"Well… that's fine too," her father said. "Live your life in this forest, by the values of just you and yer kin. But… Sasha… would ya throw yer life away fer that? Don't matter what dangers ya'd face out there… ya couldn't go out beggin' fer help. Those won't do their duty don't get the benefits. It's only natural. That's how I see it. Mr. Trumbauer sees it that way too. He may be an aloof, unfriendly man, but when the village was in trouble 'cause everyone was gittin' sick, it was him who gathered enough herbs for everyone from the mountain and brought them down ta be used for medicine. He may not like gittin' help, but he'll give it if he has ta. That's why he took in an estranged granddaughter and a kid with no relation to him. He made room for a family 'cause they needed him. Even if we gotta lose our traditions, I wanna live to see a future with my family. We gotta accept that this world's connected. Ya know, Sasha… ya've got a bit of a cowardly streak."

"!" Sasha said, frowning.

"Leavin' this forest and facin' other people… is that really so tough for ya…?"

»» End Flashback »»

'I haven't been back since that day… It's been three years,' Sasha thought as she galloped along the road on her horse. 'I'm sure they noticed something was off and escaped...' Her heart thumped in her chest when she saw a track of titan footprints. "No! This far in?!" she gasped. 'So the titans that appeared to the south weren't the vanguard…? If it's already this far in… an abnormal…?' "!" she gasped again when she saw something unexpected. She could see houses and a bridge and a windmill. 'Is that a new village? … This is no longer a place where humans can live… I guess I'll never be able to go back home.'

—∞—

CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

A girl with short blonde hair stared straight ahead with wide eyes as she sat on the floor of her home.

CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

Off to the side, in front of the open doorway, a titan was holding her mother captive and munching on her leg. The little girl didn't know what to do. She was paralyzed with fear. It must have been excruciating, being chewed on while you were still alive. But her mother never made a sound aside from gasping for air. She stared at her petrified child, who couldn't face seeing her like that. As long as the titan was busy with her, she would be safe.

Outside the house, everything appeared to be peaceful and quiet. The windmill was still, and an axe lay forgotten on a tree stump outside their home. A bird was perched on the branch of a tree with a worm in its beak. A shadow fell over the ground by the tree stump. Someone reached out a hand to grab the axe. Their shadow carefully approached the house. Inside, the little girl heard the sound of someone's footstep. She found herself glancing to the side in time to see an older girl come charging into the house with the axe.

"WAAAGH!!" Sasha yelled as she attacked, swinging the axe at the nape of the titan's neck.

THWUK!

The titan didn't even flinch. She pulled it out and swung again.

THWUK!

The titan took another bite out of the mother's leg. Sasha tried again.

THWUK!

And again.

THWUK!

And again.

THWUK!

'No! It's wounds heal instantly if I can't slice through!!' Sasha thought anxiously. "!!" she cried when the axe slipped from her hands and flew up into the air. It embedded its high up in the wall, far beyond her reach. "Aaah…!!" It was then that Sasha noticed the girl. "…? A child..." Sasha looked back at the mother. The mother was half dead. She knew what she had to do. "I'm... sorry," she told the mother and carefully made her way over to the girl. She grabbed the girl's wrist and led her past the titan and out of the house. The mother watched them go without saying a word. She breathed her last, and her whole body went limp. The titan stopped eating and looked up. It turned it's attention to the two girls. "What's your name?" Sasha asked the girl as they hurried over to her horse. The girl just stared up at her in shock. "It's all… going to be okay. I know it..." The horse whinnied and pulled at its tether.

"What is?" the girl asked.

"Huh?" Sasha said taken aback. "Uh.. w-well, um… It's—hm? Just..." The horse whinnied and pulled at its tether again. "Easy, easy..." Sasha told it, untying it. "Ah!!" she gasped when the reigns slipped through her hands and the horse bolted. "N… No way! Wait!!" she cried, jumping up and down and waving for it to come back, but the horse galloped away regardless. "No… Please don't! I beg of you… Come on… Please come back!!" She begged with tears in her eyes. She whistled, but the horse didn't come back.

"Why are you talking so nice?" the girl asked her.

"What?!" Sasha said, looking back at her. Sasha's eyes widened. The titan was coming out of the house. "Come on… you're a Survey Corps horse… how could you be frightened by—a little 3-meter class like that?" She glanced around, looking for something, anything that could help her. "!" Her eyes landed on a bow and four arrows. She snatched them up. "This way!" she told the girl, pulling her along as she ran. "Run now! Everything's going to be okay!"

"Why?" the girl asked. "Everyone already ran."

"…!" Sasha gasped.

"The people in the village… knew that Mom had bad legs," the girl said. "But no one would help her. And all I did was watch..." Sasha suddenly recalled something that had happened during training.

«« Flashback ««

"Hey… That's really starting to get on my nerves," Ymir said.

"Pardon?" Sasha asked. She was helping Krista and Ymir draw water from the well.

"That stupidly polite way you talk," Ymir answered bluntly.

"..." Sasha furrowed her brow with a smile frozen on her face. She didn't know how to react to that.

"Why do you keep it up even around us trainees?" Ymir asked.

"Uh… Well, you see… Ah..." Sasha said awkwardly, fumbling for an excuse.

"Wait… let me guess," Ymir said. "You must be ashamed of the way people in your village talk, right?"

"..." Sasha wore an uneasy expression on her face. She couldn't deny it.

"Bulls-eye?" Ymir said with a smirk. "You know, you're pretty sensitive… for a dumbass. So, all you know how to do is hunt, and you're afraid of society, am I right?"

"..." Again, Sasha couldn't deny it.

"Probably don't have much of a reason to become a soldier, either," Ymir continued. "I bet… your parents..."

"Oh? You're picking on Sasha again?" Heidi asked, drawing their attention to the fact that she had also come to the well while they weren't paying attention.

"Good timing. You must have something to say about this, too, right?" Ymir said, turning her attention to Heidi. "That stupidly polite way she talks."

"It does bother me a little..." Heidi admitted, making Sasha flinch a little. "I don't think there's anything wrong with the way you usually talk. You're fine as you are," she told Sasha. "But if talking that way makes you more comfortable, I guess it's okay. Isn't it?"

"Heh! You're too easy on this idiot," Ymir said.

"Hey… Ymir!" Krista protested, worried she might go too far. Ymir banged her head down on Krista's to stop her from talking.

"Sasha, you gonna spend the rest of your life playing a character because you're worried about what others think of you?" Ymir asked sternly. "That is so pathetic! Isn't it okay just being you?!"

"!" Sasha said, surprised.

"Talk to me in your own words!" Ymir concluded. Sasha blushed a little, sort of touched.

"T… Thank you… very much" Sasha said, trying to talk more casually, only to fall back into polite speech.

"Hm?" Ymir said, staring hard at her.

"Ah, pardon me… please," Sasha said nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm still... a little..." Ymir continued to stare at her.

"Hey, don't you think you're being a little..." Heidi started to say, when Krista suddenly butted her head against Ymir.

"Knock it off!" Krista said to Ymir. "You shouldn't change the way you speak just because someone tells you to!" she told Sasha. "Sasha's the only one who's lived Sasha's life. Sasha's already speaking in her own words! And I like it!"

"..." Sasha stared at her in astonishment.

"Well, there you have it," Heidi said, smiling.

"Huh. Guess it's not what you say..." Ymir said, rubbing the back of her neck. "Well, even if you do change the way you talk, I guess it wouldn't stop you from annoying me..."

"Ymir! Not everyone's as thick-skinned as you, you know!" Krista chided her.

"Hahaha!" Sasha and Heidi laughed.

"Hey… What're you laughing at…?" Ymir said.

"Oh… excuse me..." Sasha said.

"Not me. You totally earned that," Heidi said with a wry smile.

»» End Flash back »»

'Why… Why do I remember that at a time like this?' Sasha wondered. The titan, mouth still covered in the blood of the girl's mother, was lumbering after them, keeping up despite their desperate pace. 'Worthless… ordinary moments...' She looked back at the titan again. 'That's all… I can remember...' "Hey," she said, making sure she had the younger girl's attention. "Listen." The girl looked at her with wide eyes. "You'll be okay. Just run down this path. If it doesn't matter if you're weak… There will be someone who'll help you. You may not find them right away… but—just keep running until you do!" Sasha pushed the girl forward and turned on her heel to face the titan. "Now!!" Sasha took on of the arrows and nocked it.

"…" The girl stood still, staring at her.

"Git movin'!!" Sasha yelled, drawing the bow. The girl was startled into action. As she ran away, Sasha fired her first shot. It hit the titan in the neck. 'If I take out both its eyes… I can buy us a lot of time,' she thought, jumping up to higher ground. She fired another arrow and just barely missed the side of its head. "Tch!" She gritted her teeth in frustration. 'Two... arrows left!' She narrowed her eyes at the titan and stood level with its head as it continued to come closer. She drew her third arrow. 'Calm down. It's a big… slow-moving target.' She fired, and nailed it straight in its right eye. 'Got it… If this one... misses… I won't be able to get away.' She drew her fourth and final arrow. 'If it misses, me… and that child...' Sasha furrowed her brow and gritted her teeth. She gripped the arrow tightly in her hand as she cast the bow aside. She glared at the titan. "WAAGH!!" she screamed as she charged at it. She stabbed it in its left eye with all her might. It grabbed her, pulling her into a sick and twisted version of a hug, squeezing her tightly.. "Gah!!" Sasha thrust one of her hands up under the titan's chin and pushed, the same move she had used on her father years ago. She slipped free from its arms and ran as fast as her feet could carry her. The titan groped around blindly, but she was already gone. 'I slipped out because it was covered in blood...' she thought, touching the stain it left on her clothes as she ran. 'I need to find that kid and my horse...' Sasha's eyes widened when she heard the familiar sound of galloping horses. "…!" She turned to look into the woods beside the path and found herself staring at a familiar face she didn't expect. It was her father, leading a group of people on horseback. They had the girl with them. She was riding with Jacob on a sleek chestnut horse, while Mr. Trumbauer rode his old black horse. She was equally surprised to see them.

"Sasha?!" her father shouted, evidently just as surprised as she was.

"You all right, Sasha?!" Jacob asked. "Is Heidi with you?!"

"Heidi went South! Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be all right," Sasha replied.

They quickly got Sasha on a horse and took off again before the blinded titan had a chance to heal and come after them. Sasha looked back at the girl she had saved and saw that she was crying. Sasha smiled a little. It looked like she had finally come out of her shock. She should be all right now. Eventually.

"We went all 'round here givin' horses ta everyone. That kid told us someone was still over here..." her father explained. "But who'da thought… it'd be you! So you fought a titan to help that kid out?"

"Yeah..." she answered.

"Sasha… you've become a fine woman," he told her with a proud smile. Sasha was surprised.

"..." She smiled. "Father… I'm home."