"Fire!"

That's our que.

Dashing across the beam, I leaped down onto the titan's back, dragging my blade through the nape before the titan could even move. It crumpled, but the second titan reached out it's hand slowly to grab at me. Slipping through its fingers, I ran up its arm. Without ODM gear to weigh me down, I felt more agile. The titan turned to take a bite at me. "Whoops!" I laughed, flipping my body forward to avoid being eaten. Digging my blade into the nape again, the titan collapsed, taking me down to the floor with it.

Steam rose from the gaping wound, but I sat on the titan's neck. The only thing that had kept me going was pure adrenaline. It must have been the rush of having no gear. Two of the cadets had missed, but the titans were cut down by the others. Overall, I'd say they did a damn good job today. All that's left is to refill and get back over the wall.

Refilling my cannister, I sighed. That hospital bed may have been lumpy, but it called to me. The sounds of the cadets being excited that they'd succeeded came from all around. My head snapped up at the sound of my name. Marco and Jean were a few feet away, discussing the situation.

"You made a damn good call out there. Got me running for my life, and Cori saved our asses out there when she took out that titan," Marco laughed, glancing at me. His eyes widened in surprise that I was paying attention. "So, thank you, Cori."

My cheeks felt hot. Must be the fever. "It's not a big deal." No one ever praises me. They just pretend I'm not around. Making sure all my gear was good to go, I headed for the door. "Let's go, cadets!" I said loudly. All my muscles hurt.

The path had been cleared, but I planned to stay behind to make sure everyone got out. Mikasa stood up on the rooftop, watching something in the street below. Armin and I both went up. The sight before me was unheard of. Cannibalism among titans? Hange spoke a lot of nonsense about titans, but this I'd remember. The abnormal one had four or five titans tearing apart it's skin.

"This might sound stupid, but I was hoping he'd be the key for us. That he'd help make mankind break the cycle, turn the tide just long enough to give us a little ray of hope," Mikasa said from beside me.

I shook my head. "No, you're right. I was hoping that, too. This is something that could benefit the scouts mission." A titan on our side? That's revolutionary. A freaking miracle. Hange would be eating this up if she were here. I would have to make a report about it the second I got back, so that no details are forgotten. There could be more titans like this one.

"She's right. He's too valuable, there's too much we could learn from him. I think it's perfectly clear our priority should be to ward the scavengers off. He's no good to us picked up apart," Reiner spoke up. This boy made me anxious. Something about him didn't seem right.

Jean, the voice of reason, had his own opinion. "Are you out of your mind. We've got a path out of this nightmare, and you want to stay?" That's right. I almost forgot that he wanted to be in the MPs. He wouldn't have to deal with titans very often, if at all. For him, this could end his experience with them.

"Think about it, having an abnormal as an ally would be an incredible advantage, right? Cannons have nothing on a titan who likes to rip apart his own kind," Annie spoke up. Along with Reiner, her and Bertolt were three cadets I had a bad feeling about. They reminded me of my time in underground.

With a desperate tone, Jean ran his hands through his hair. "You… do you hear yourself? He's not like a new friend!"

I sighed. "If you don't want to be here, then go over the wall." That silenced him. My entire body feels heavy and is covered with sweat, but this titan had me entranced. Having been in the scouts for almost 5 years now, this had been the first time I'd ever witnessed a titan like this.

"That's the titan who ate Thomas!" Armin exclaimed as a new titan stumbled down the street.

The scene that unfolded before me had me speechless. The abnormal titan, who was pretty immobile due to being eaten by others, ripped himself free, losing both arms in the process. His running became sloppy and unbalanced, but he charged the other titan. It looked angry. The abnormal used its teeth to bite down into the neck of the titan who ate the cadets' friend. Inside of just taking a bite, he used the titan to beat against the other titans.

Screw doing this for Hange.

I'm fascinated by this abnormal titan.

It didn't last. The abnormal titan fell to its knees and then dead on the ground. How that worked without the nape being damaged alluded me. "Let's leave while we can. We're lucky that ugly bastard didn't get bored. We'd have been next on the menu," Jean said, satisfied that the titan had died.

"You're wrong. This is different," I replied, unable to tear my eyes away. Steam rose from it's body. My head titled to the side. The nape… is open. The skin has broken open and a boy emerged. He pulled free of the muscle, still unconscious.

Mikasa moved before I could, but I went after her. This is impossible! I have to see the boy for myself. Could someone really have been inside a titan? Mikasa pressed her head against the boy's chest before bursting into tears.

"Is he alive?" I asked, wafting the steam away from my face. Her head bobbed in a yes. More titans began to spill onto the street. "We need to get him over the wall." Even though I could barely hold my own body up, I let Mikasa put the boy on my back. I deserve a bonus in my pay for today.

Safely in the city on the other side of the wall, I listened to Armin tell me about him. Eren Yeager, I vaguely remember him from before we all left to defend Trost. He had lost his leg first, and then his arm before he was finally eaten by a titan. Yet, he had all four of his limbs. That could mean he… has a regenerative ability even as a human. I should ask Hange to explain it to me later.

"Good job today, cadets. Make sure you turn in a report before completely relaxing, okay?" I said. That's something I need to do as well. There's so much paperwork.

Back in the hospital, I made myself sit at the desk, knowing the second I fell onto that bed, I would be passed out. First, my official report, but I left out my allegations against Woermann. It would be easier to bring it up to Erwin and let the higher ups deal with it. Second, my report to Hange about Eren and his apparent titan ability. That should have been it. A nagging feeling still lingered. Woermann is the commanding officer right now. How is he going to react to the news about Eren?

I wrote out a letter to Commander Pixis. He's a good man, though he's drunk most of the time. I explained the situation and made sure to include that I am part of the scouts. A nurse promised to deliver it as soon as possible. And with all that done, I could finally rest. I didn't even bother to change out of my uniform, only shedding the ODM gear. The lumpy bed felt amazing. Now for some peace and rest…

If only that could last.

Before I had even rested for a few hours, Commander Pixis had requested my presence on top of the wall.