After watching Eren coming out of the nape of the titan who had fought off and killed at least twenty other titans, Mikasa sprung into action, grappling down into the street, racing towards Eren.
"Mikasa wait!" Armin called out, attempting to get her attention.
They watched from the roof as she raced towards him and climb up onto the titans decaying carcass and pull Eren into a hug. They watched as she put her head to his chest. "Must be checking for his heartbeat." Nick thought as he also went down to help her and Eren.
"He must be pretty tired after collapsing" He thought just as he reached street level. As he got closer he could hear Mikasa sobbing inti Eren's unconscious body, he could see her visibly shaking as well.
"Mikasa, we need to move." Nick said as he reached her. She didn't respond except for holding Eren even tighter. "Mikasa it isn't safe here, we need to get back to high ground." She looked up at him for the first time. He saw the tears in her eyes, tears of happiness at finding Eren alive.
"Mikasa" Armin called out as he and Jean also came down to get her back on the roof. "We need to get out of here" He said.
Once they had gotten Eren on the roof of HQ, Mikasa wouldn't let go of his body, seemingly afraid that he would disappear if she let go of him.
"So you're telling me" Jean began as he looked around at all the decaying corpses of the dead titans. "That Eren did... all this."
"Yes, it was him" Nick said.
"I don't understand" Armin muttered as he held onto Eren's hand, interlacing their fingers. "His arm and leg were bitten off."
"They were" Nick said, "His boot is gone and the fabric of his shirt is torn." He explained.
"But then how-" Armin began before being cut off by Annie.
"They grew back" She stated.
"Exactly. It seems that he has the healing properties of a titan as well as being able to take the form of a titan as well."
"What does this mean then?" Jean asked to no one in particular.
"It means we can retake this city, and possibly Wall Maria in the future." Nick told them.
"What!?" Jean shouted. "How do you know he won't kill us the next time he does it?"
"He didn't attack any of us this time, and judging by the way he fought, he seemed to have at least some control over it. Otherwise he wouldn't have used a fighting stance."
"B- But he could be a threat to us!" Jean exclaimed, still panicked at the thought of Eren being a titan.
"He could also be the on me to save us all from this war Jean. I know you want to join the MP, so let others like Eren fight in your place."
Jean ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Well I guess he did save us"
"Heads up guys" Reiner called out. "The Garrison are here."
"Shit, if they saw what happened, they will try to kill him. Captain Weilmann is likely in charge after scurrying off back to the Inner Gate."
"Cadets!" A commanding voice called. "Return to the Inner Wall and hand Cadet Yeager over when you reach there."
"I can't let them kill him. No. I won't let them. He's our only hope now. I'm sorry Eren, but the fate of humanity now rests on your shoulders."
They had now reached the top of Wall Rose and they were met by Captain Weilmann, while Eren, Armin and Mikasa were sent to the base of the wall where the Garrison could keep an eye on them until the Captain returned to give them orders.
"Any of you who speak a word of what happened out there will be struck down as a traitor. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir" They all replied.
"And you" he pointed at Nick. "Clean yourself up. That's an order soldier."
"Yes Sir" Nick replied.
"Shit, I'll have to make this quick so I can get down there."
"You could ignore his orders" Frieda suggested.
"I could, but I have to trust Armin snd Mikasa to help him if they have to, as long as he doesn't die by their hands. Hell even if he's eaten fully this time would be better than the Garrison killing him."
"Thats quite grim" Frieda noted. "However you're right, it's better for the power to be in the hands of a trained soldier rather than a new born child, who may not even live in the walls."
"Yeah, but I trust them to not let Eren die. Mikasa would never let it happen." He said to her.
"Yeah, it's scary what she does when it comes to him. She would probably fight the whole Garrison to keep him safe."
"Probably, but lets hope it doesn't come to that. It wouldn't help at all."
"No you're right love, it wouldn't."
(Eight minutes later)
"Looks like I'm finally going to get this shit off of me" he thought as he was given access to a hot shower after the soldiers got a sight of him at the HQ behind the Inner Wall.
"You should be quick love, you dont know what's happening out there." Frieda warned him.
"Right" he replied as he quickly discarded of his blood soaked clothes. "Remind me to burn those clothes Frieda" he said after he stepped into the shower.
(13 minutes later)
He had finally managed to successfully scrub himself clean of all the shit covering his body, he had to wash himself with soap multiple times to get himself smelling nice instead of like a titans stomach.
He had just finished putting on his gear when he hear what sounded like a cannon firing and a larger explosion following it.
"Shit, Shit, Shit." He thought. "Fuck you Weilmann" he quietly grumbled as he took off running through the building, crashing inti multiple people who were yelling at him to watch where he was going. When he got outside he saw the plume of smoke coming from the base of the wall. "Did he transform" he thought.
He then used his gear and took off towards the smoke. Since he only had one jacket and he was going to burn it, he only had his shirt on, with the straps going over it. He was slightly cold with no jacket to cover him. He flew over where other cadets of the 104th were at the time such as Sasha, Marco and Krista.
Once he got to the roof closest to the smoke he saw Annie, Reiner, Bertholdt and Jean all staring into the steam. All he could see was the half formed body of a titan, the flesh had only formed on its left side and its arm was held upwards.
"Did he block the cannonball?. If he did there's now way Weilmann will let him live now."
The Garrison members were terrified now after seeing the upper half of a titan formand block the shot from the cannon.
"Get ready to shhot once you see it." One of the Garrison members called out.
"NO!" Weilmann yelled. "Hold your fire. Let's wait and see what it does. Artillery crews get that cannon reloaded."
"Well then, looks like he has the sense to not shoot on site." Nick noted.
"But for how long?" Frieda asked.
"Shit, I need to do something."
"What could you do?" Frieda asked.
He sighed. "I... I don't know." He told her.
Just then the head of the titan corpse fell off the body and onto the floor, creating even more smoke for the Shiganshina trio to use as cover.
"That should buy them some time." Nick thought.
"Captain Weilmann" A silver haired soldier spoke. "The cannons are almost ready to fire again. What are your orders for the next attack?" She asked.
"All troops await my signal!" He called out.
"Yes Sir" The troops shouted back, still aiming their rifles towards the smoke.
"That Captain is going to kill our only hope" Nick said to the other four standing next to him.
"We're all dead if he kills them" Reiner agreed.
"We need to do something" Nick said to them.
"What can we do?" Annie asked. "We'll be arrested for treason if we try to help." She paused for a moment. "Well you won't" she said to Nick.
"Guys look, someone's coming out." Jean pointed out.
They all looked to see Armin leave the smoke and then be halted by the Captain.
"Halt!" Weilmann called out, causing Armin to stop dead in his tracks. He then raised his hands to show he wasn't doing anything as the soldiers pointed their rifles at him.
"Is this supposed to be your true form monster!" Weilmann shouted, clearly losing it due to his paranoia. "I don't buy it. Not for one second. I'll give the order to fire, I mean it."
"Eren is not a foe of mankind" Armin told the soldiers. "We're willing to cooperate with military command and share everything we've learned about his powers!"
"Your pleas fall on deaf ears!" The Captain shot back. "He revealed his true form and because of that threat he cannot leave here alive. If you insist he's not an enemy of ours, show me proof! Otherwise, we'll blast him back to whatever hole he crawled out of!"
"Weilmann is losing it. His paranoia is gonna be the death of us all." Nick said to the others with him.
"You don't need any proof," Armin pointed out desperately. "The fact of the matter is it doesn't matter what we perceive him to be!"
"What!?" Weilmann replied with.
"The reports say hundreds of soldiers saw him," he explained. "And those who were there saw him fighting other Titans… and that means they saw him get swarmed by Titans as well. To put it plainly, the Titans saw him how they see each and every human being: as their prey! And it doesn't matter how else you look at it! That is an irrefutable fact!"
"Woah Armin, that was impressive, if only you weren't talking to Weilmann." Nick thought.
The soldiers then began murmuring between themselves, some even lowering their weapons. It seemed as if Armin's words has swayed them on their stance.
Unfortunately Captain Weilmann wasn't swayed by his argument. "Prepare to attack! Don't let yourselves be swayed by his cunning lies!"
He then continued on as the soldiers raised their weapons once again. "The Titans' behavior has always been beyond our comprehension. I wouldn't put it past him to assume human form. He's… speaking our language in an attempt to deceive us! I refuse to let them continue this behavior anymore!"
"It sounds like Weilmann is making it up as he goes along. Even with Eren coming out of a titan, he's far too paranoid."
Armin looked shocked by the Captain's words as he turned around to presumably look at Eren and Mikasa before he turned back around, the determination clear as day on his face.
"I am a soldier!" he declared. "And I have dedicated my heart to the restoration of humanity, sir! Nothing could make me prouder than to die for such a noble cause! If we were to use his Titan ability and combine it with the manpower we have left, I believe we can do it! We can retake this city! For humanity's glory and what little time I have left to live, I will advocate his strategic value!"
His voiced seemed to echo around he area they were trapped in. His voice making Weilmann's seem like a mouse in comparison.
"Captain Weilmann" One of the other Officers said. "His words are worth considering. Maybe we should-"
"QUIET" Weilmann roared as he began to raise his arm to signal to the artillery crews to attack once more.
"Shit. I have to do something" Nick thought as he reached for his handle, preparing to attack Weilmann if necessary but before he could pull the trigger he saw Weilmann's arm being stopped from lowering by another man.
"Ugh, it's that drunk Pixis. Well at least he wont kill Eren. I've heard that he was always a bit weird when it came to planning." Nick mused to himself.
Eren, Armin and Mikasa were then taken to the top of the wall by Pixis, while the five on the roof made their way back to where the others were waiting at.
Once they had reached the top of the wall, Pixis called up the staff officers to the top if the walk to hash out a plan.
After they had their conversation about what Eren would do and then how they would seal the hole using Eren's titan power, Pixis stood at the top of the wall with Eren by his side.
"ATTENTION" His voice boomed from the top of the wall, gaining the attention of every soldier in the vicinity. The call for attention also shut up the soldiers who were making a scen like Daz, who didn't want to go back to trost.
"Take note. The blueprint of the Trost recovery operation is this : our primary objective is to reseal the hole. Yes, you heard right. What's more, it will be done manually"
This cause some mutterings to go about between the terrified soldiers in the streets.
"As for how the task will be done," he went on, indicating Eren, "that's where this fellow comes in. Allow me to introduce Cadet Eren Yeager!"
Eren saluted behind Pixis.
"Dont let appearances fool you" He stated. "Cadet Yeager is the product of cutting edge science. On top of that he possesses the ability to fabricate and control a titan body at will."
"What!?" Connie exclaimed. "Can someone explain how this is possible?" He asked.
"Just shut up and listen you idiot" Ymir told him.
Pixis then continued. "Recall the massive boulder roughly a league from the gate. Having assumed Titan form, Cadet Yeager will hold said boulder on his back, shlup it into the hole, and voilà! And this is where you all come in! Your job will be to defend him. Yes, defend a Titan against its own kind."
"They're lying" Daz screeched. "I'm not gonna be drawn into sacrificing myself for this crap! We're just disposable tools to you people! You expect us to live and die by whatever comes out of your mouth!?"
"Daz shut the fuck up" Nick hissed. "You're making it worse."
However Daz's shouts lead to a chain reaction of many soldiers turning and trying to leave. Captain Weilmann however didn't take this too well.
"Traitors!" He yelled as he pulled out one of his blades. "I'll kill you where you stand."
"Anyone who wants to leave. Will by personal order, not be charged with treason" Pixis shouted to the soldiers down below. This caused Weilmann to turn around in shock at his words.
"What is he doing" Nick thought.
"Those who have seen a Titan firsthand will not be expected to revisit such horror again! Whomever this applies to, you may leave with my blessing. Additionally, anyone with family or loved ones they would spare from the same problem may also leave. The crown will continue to recognize your service. Thank you, and good luck!" Pixis called out to the soldiers below. This speech however caused the soldiers to turn back, not wanting their families to meet their fate at the hands of a titan if they lost Wall Rose as well.
"Wow, didn't expect that."
"Nicholas Meier?" A woman called out to him as she aporoached.
"Who wants to know" he responded with.
"Anka Rheinberger" she introduced herself. "Commander Pixis wants to talk to you."
"Hold on, I'm listening to him talk about the truth about the Wall Maria recovery operation four years ago."
"You already know the truth. So why listen" she countered with.
"I guess you're right, lets go then" he followed her to the base of the wall where there was a lift waiting to take them up the wall.
"Where's your jacket?" She asked.
"It's covered with the insides of a titan"
"You cut open a titans stomach" She stated. "Why?"
"I had to get out." Was all he said as she remained quiet for the rest of the ride up the wall.
"Commander, I brought him" Anka said as they reached the top of the wall.
"Very good Anka, now go help Gustav with the plan. I need to talk to this young man." He said while waving her off.
"It's good to see you again Nick. Still got that iron grip?" Pixis asked.
"That depends if you try and hit on my mother again" He spat back. "Sir"
"Well then I'll get straight to the point. Cadet Ackerman says your one of the best we have, but your ranking says otherwise. Care to explain the contradiction."
"I never wanted the top ten." He told him. "So I gave others the chance to make it instead of me."
"Hmm, how noble of you. Befitting the title held by your family. Now, do you intend to take part in the Trost recovery operation."
"Yes, It is my duty as a soldier."
"How brave of you, well then, I'll be placing you in the Elite squad tasked with keeping Cadet Yeager safe." Pixis told him.
"Where is the squad?" He asked.
"The officers leading the squad are on their way here now. I'll make sure that they know you're coming with them. Oh and don't die out there, I'd hate to see your mother angry at me again."
"Yes Sir"
(15 minutes later)
"Ian Dietrich, Rico Brzenska, Mitabi Jarnach, the fate of all of us rests in your hands." Pixis told them.
"Oh and Cadet Meier will be accompanying you on this mission."
"Who is that Sir?" Ian asked.
"He ranked barely inside the top forty." Rico protested. "Why is he coning with us?" She asked, remembering reading about his family status in the reports.
"Have you not read the reports of the initial battle Rico?" Pixis asked.
When she shook her head he elaborated. "The reports say that he has at least twelve confirmed solo kills so far. Thats more than any of you correct."
"Bu- But Sir" Mitabi started.
"No buts. Cadet Ackerman graduated top of her class and she has less solo kills than him. He is going with you. Thats an order."
"Yes Sir" The three officers responded.
(Twenty minutes later)
The decoy operation had begun fifteen minutes ago, drawing a lot of titans away from the boulder that Eren was tasked with lifting. As they were running Mikasa was trying to make sure that Eren was okay with the mission while Rico was busy grilling Nick after she had warned Eren about the cost of this mission.
"I don't know how you sweet talked your way into coming with us. But if you get us killed, I will come for you." Rico warned him.
"That's assuming you survive the operation" Nick shot back. "You're assuming that I have no skill and that you do. What makes you so sure that you will survive." Seeing she had no response to this he continued. "That's right, you dont know you will survive, you don't know if I have the skills necessary for this operation. But most of all, we don't know if this plan will be successful."
"Can it Meier" Ian shouted back at him. "We don't have time for you to be putting doubts in our heads. All that matters is that we get Eren to the hole in the gate."
"Okay we're here. Let's do it" Ian shouted as he shot a green smoke flare. This signalling the start of the mission to retake Trost.
Eren quickly took off with Mikasa close behind him, Nick and the other three were close together as they made their way towards the boulder he was supposed to lift.
"One eight metre down the street!" Ian called out.
"I'll take it" Nick replied as he shot off towards the titan, the titan was facing him so he had to get around it. The titan swung its arm at him, he easily dodged and went across its face, slashing its eyes, blinding it as he circled around to cut the nape and kill the titan.
"Looks like Pixis was right about him" Mitabi said.
Once they had reached the boulder they saw a bright flash of yellow light as they set down on the roof. Then they saw Eren's titan form as it went flying into a building.
"That idiot, why didn't he do it standing still?" Nick angrily thought.
Then Eren emerged from the building, all fifteen metres of him standing tall once again as he let out a loud roar.
"He needs to learn to not do that, he will attract titans if he does that everytime he transforms. And it hurts my ears."
Something was wrong, he wasn't going for the boulder, he then turned around to look at Mikasa. Then he swung his fist at her, cutting her cheek with a piece of rubble. Mikasa then flew to his face and tried to reason with him but he swung at his own face, missing Mikasa and knocking himself out in the process.
"I knew it. We were foolish to think we could pull this off." Rico said as she fired a red flare into the sky, signalling the mission was a failure.
"So the kid was just a regular titan all along" Mitabi spoke up.
"No he wasn't, he is a human with the ability to transform into a titan" Nick said.
"It doesn't matter now, the mission is a failure" Rico said.
"That's not your call to make Rico. It's his" Nick said as he pointed at Ian. "And I'm not leaving before you ask, and I doubt Mikasa would either."
"Ian we have to leave." Rico protested.
"Captain!" A soldier called out. "We have two titans approaching from the front. A ten metre and a six metre."
"Heads up. We got a twelve metre approaching from the rear!" Another soldier called out.
"Ian thats it. Please. Just look at him, we need to get out of here. The plans a bust" Mitabi told Ian.
"Agreed. Full withdrawal. We have to leave him as he is" Rico said, prompting Mikasa to glare at the three officers.
"Ian snap out of it. What are you waiting for? Give the order. Hey it isn't like this is your fault. Come on, look this plan was doomed from the start. We all get that. Was it worth a shot? Sure. Whatever. We did the best with what we had, but all we have now is going back over the wall." Mitabi finished as he started to walk away, prompting Mikasa to walk towards him only to be cut off by Ian.
"Stop!" He commanded. "Easy, now's not the time."
"Team Rico take out the twelve metre approaching from behind. Team Mitabi and I will handle the two front runners." He told them calmly.
"Are you nuts!?" Rico protested.
"In case you haven't noticed I'm the one in charge." Ian told her. "Now do as your ordered soldier."
"We are not leaving Yeager defenceless. Period." He told them. Rico slightly shocked by this. "Change of plan. Our job now is to keep the others off him until he can be recovered. Whether we like it or not, he's still our last best chance. We're not about to abandon him. We're expendable, he isn't. He can't just be replaced."
"Please don't talk to me about our last best chance. He's a failure that countless soldiers have died because of. Just look at him Ian. Are you saying you want more soldiers to die because of that." Rico said while pointing at Eren's unconscious titan form.
"That's right." Ian responded. "Down to the last man. If that's what it takes so be it."
Rico and Mitabi were both shocked at his orders, they both believed that Eren was a lost cause now.
"Ian you can't be serious" Rico was still protesting his decision.
"What other hope against the titans do we have?" Ian shot back "Do you know something I don't? This is it. It's all we got and you damn well know it. I am making a judgement call here. If you have a better plan speak up. How else are we gonna get out from under their feet? I'm all ears here."
Rico was not impressed now. "If you're asking me how else were going to defeat the titans, obviously I have no idea."
"See. Thats why we can't afford to retreat. Not just yet. We may not know what else is in there, but there's hope. And as long as that's the case, we're gonna fight to the bitter end." Ian said to her.
"Look at us. Always scraping by. Always on the run. Don't you want it to be over? Don't you wanna make a stand? Well this is how it's done." Ian finished his speech with.
"This is just... This is madness." Rico said as she turned around and started to walk.
"Hey!" Ian shouted at her.
"I think you're right, if we're to stand, this is the only way. Just this once let's not fight a fight that's just a battle of attrition. Let the bastards taste humanities wrath. Right my team will intercept the twelve metre coming from the rear." She said as she walked towards her team.
Mitabi then started to walk past Ian before speaking. "Well we got the two in front or don't we?"
"Right" he said as Mikasa came up to him.
"Thank you Captain. That was very brave" She said to him.
"No it wasn't." He responded. "The fact of the matter is I was petrified of the mess you were about to get into." He said as he pulled out his blades.
"But you're free now. Do your thing. Make use of that inborn skill."
"Sir"
"Go save the man you love" He said before running off to help team Mitabi.
"It's not like that" she said.
"Sure it isnt." Nick finally spoke after all the arguments between the officers. "Come on we need to deal with any titans nearby." He said while pulling out his blades.
"Right" Mikasa said, also pulling out her own blades.
(Fifteen minutes later)
Nick was currenly helping Ian and Team Mitabi after they had become overrun by the titans approaching from the front. He had killed six more titans in the retake operation and he was currently slashing the heel of another so Ian could take it out. Once the titan was dead they landed on a roof, with Team Mitabi on the other side when they heard and felt the thumping coming from behind them.
Once they looked they saw Eren's titan form carrying the boulder on his back. The soldiers all around them were shocked, no one could say anything as they all watched the titan with a boulder more than twice it's size on its back.
"DEFEND HIM" Ian suddenly shouted. "To the last man if thats what it takes. Eren must reach the gate."
"You two" he pointed at Armin and Mikasa. "Stay with Eren. Thats an order. Hop to soldiers."
"Sir yes Sir" they responded and flew iff.
"Meier, you link up with Team Mitabi, they need your assistance."
"Yes sir" Nick responded as he flew off to find the team.
(4 minutes later)
Ian, Mikasa, Armin and some other soldiers were on a rooftop, watching the titans in the street leading to the gate when they saw Nick and Team Mitabi running at the titans from behind.
"Team Mitabi. What are you doing?" Ian shouted at then.
"The ugly sons of bitches lost all intrest in us. We need to get closer to grab their attention!" He yelled back. "Hey ugly. You want us to shove our blades right up your smelky asses." Mitabi then paled as the titans turned around to give chase to them.
One titan stayed though so Nick had to get it out of the way before he killed it. "Hey big guy!" He yelled. The titan turned around and started to follow him. "Yeah that's right. Come follow the pretty noble!" He called out to the titan behind him.
"Setting foot down there is suicide. If they get cornered they're dead!" Armin exclaimed.
"I know. Let's move out" Ian said to the group on the roof as he jumped down and led a titan out of Eren's path.
"Fuck me, why the fuck is there two following me. Does the blood of an Ackerman really taste that good." Nick thought as he slashed the fingers of an eight metre reachig for him.
He was trying to lead them to a wider street so he could fight back and kill them with less risk of being caught and eaten.
He turned down a street but he looked behind him to see if they were still following, they were, but when he looked forward he saw a four metre feasting on the remains of another soldier.
"Shit, I'm trapped here, there's no room to manoeuvre out of here, is this how I die?" He asked himself, but he then remembered what Frieda said to him in the stomach of the titan. "Nick if you die here then how will you remember me." He remembers it well, she had given him a reason to fight. "Fuck that, even if I die, I'll go down fighting!"
He charged at the four metre in fromt of him because it was the smallest and it was currently distracted. He used a burst of gas to launch himself into the air so he could land on the titans shoulder. He then swung his blades into the nape, cutting deep into the flesh and killing the titan.
He then jumped off the titan into the larger street next to it, he pulled the trigger but he found out that he was out of gas.
"Are you shitting me right now?"
He then turned to ses the two titans from before were almost on top of him, he had no time to react as the eight metre scooped him up, his legs dangling out of its hand and his right arm trapped in its hand.
It raised him to its mouth, prepared to crunch on his bones but he used his free arm and legs to hold the titans teeth in place, the titan continually tried to bite down but Nick was able to use his strength to keep its jaw open for the time being.
He was hoping that someone would spot him and come to his rescue while he held on for dear life. From his position he could see Eren on the bridge towards the gate as Mikasa and Rico had killed the last titan in his path. He then saw Eren slam the boulder into the gate, sealing the breach.
"He did it, he actually did it. Now we have a way to win against the titans."
"But you're still stuck here" Frieda pointed out.
"Thanks for reminding me Frieda, where would I be without you?" He sarcastically asked her.
"You would probably be dead, and so would I."
"Yeah, sorry about that." He said while feeling the strain on his left arm.
"Don't worry about that, just keep fighting for me love."
It had been about four minutes since Eren sealed the breach snd the titan had made no move to crush him with its hands, it just tried to bite down on him, he was desperately trying to get his right arm free but it wouldn't budge.
He then saw two titans that were heading towards Eren being cut down by a figure with a cloak.
"The scouts must be back, hopefully one of them will help me."
He also noticed that the figure was spinning while it killed the two titans with ease, he made a note to try that later to see if it was more effective than just slashing at the napes.
(With the returning scouts)
"Mike look" Hange pointed at a titan. "There's someone holding its jaw open"
"Well, I'll go help them" Mike said as he sped off to help the soldier in the titans mouth. Once he reached the titan he quite easily dispatched of the titan, he wasn't humanities second stongest for no reason.
The soldier then fell to the floor as Mike went down to check on him. "Are you alright?" Mike asked.
"I don't have any gas left" He replied.
Mike then grabbed hold of his arm and brought him with him up the wall to where the scouts had gathered. Once he reached the top he set the soldier down as Erwin came over.
"Erwin Smith" the soldier spoke. "I had hoped we would meet again in better circumstances."
"You know him Erwin?" Hange asked, now coming alongside Mike.
"Yes. I met him five years ago to this day, during the Fall of Shiganshina. It's nice to meet you again Nicholas."