Cursed to Hunger

by Pairiny10

Setting aside all his grief and worries, Jean is called to action once again when Titans mysteriously appear inside Wall Rose. One vicious Titan terrorizing all who are unfortunate to cross its path. While Reiner swears that he won't let his nightmares break his resolve in protecting his friends, Jean can't help but see a familiar freckled face past the Titan's maw.

Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan. This story contains violence, gore, and dark themes. Viewer discretion is advised.

Marco never strayed off from the pathway. He always followed big sister's instructions to keep to the same cracked stone path when going to and from the market. Her light yet stern voice had set up shop in his mind, with her words ringing, "Never take a single step off that path, Marco. Going out on your own as young as you are is risky enough. You're like a cute little potato anyone could snatch up. I don't want you to get lost." Though her words were a feeble whisper compared to crying that echoed out from a passing alleyway. His brisk walk had slowed to a stop before the alley, the bag of fruit slung over his shoulder settling as the weeping stirred a tender cord with the boy. He'd heard the weeping a couple times before but kept his head down and continued onwards with a frown, ignoring the heavy rock in his chest.

Today, however, was different. Marco looked around as if his big sister was hiding between the shadows of the buildings, ready to leap out if he took a single tow off the path. But when he did so, no one reprimanded or stopped him from taking another step. He was nervous walking down the alleyway and into a different town block, but his need to find the source of the crying outweighed it. He kept track of landmarks and the buildings he passed to know his way back to the path the further he walked, eventually coming to a wooden fence boxing the backyard of one of the taller houses he'd seen. Unfortunately, he couldn't see over it, and peeking through the cracks in the fence didn't give a good enough view of whoever was crying, so he set down his bag and pulled up a nearby discarded crate to stand on.

The wood creaked as he put his weight on it and peaked over the edge of the fence. The backyard had short green grass dotted with dew that shimmered amber under the afternoon sun. Sitting on the patio steps was a boy that couldn't have been any older than himself with short ash-brown hair and dressed in a mud-splattered cream shirt with brown shorts. His plump face was reddened and buried in his hands as he wept with a distressed grimace.

"Um… Are you okay?" Marco meekly spoke up, and the boy jumped with a yelp. Then, when his teary caramel brown eyes found Marco's face peering over the fence, he fiercely wiped his face and angrily scowled.

"What are ya staring at, creep?!" he growled past sniffles. Marco flinched and anxiously gripped his pant leg, his eyes favoring the grass.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he hurriedly apologized, "I didn't mean to scare you. I, uh, heard crying and thought somebody was hurt," He looked back up to meet the boy's eyes. "Are you?" the boy's eyes narrowed as he unsuccessfully wiped the mud off his shirt.

"No, it doesn't hurt." He stood up, hands balling into fists. "Did the jerks send you here to rub it in? So you can tell those idiots 'I'm not scared of them'!"

"Sorry, I don't know who you're talking about. I only came to… see if I could help?"

"Really? How? My best shirt is ruined, I'm starving since my lunch is in the dirt, and everyone thinks I'm some baby mama's boy!..." the boy's lip quivered, and his eyes welled with a fresh wave of tears. "And they're probably right."

"Oh," Marco frowned. "Well, I don't know about two of those, but," he reached down and opened his bag, grabbing one of the fruits inside. "Hopefully, this can help with your empty stomach," he presented the luscious red apple with a bright smile. The boy's eyes lit up like the spark of a match, and his hands uncurled from their fists. "I just got it fresh from the market. But, I don't know if you like apples—"

"No!" The boy was quick to interject but looked a little ashamed of his outburst afterward, digging the tip of his shoe into the ground. "… I like apples." He said softly and walked over to Marco, slowly reaching out his hand to grab the apple. He was quick to sink his teeth into the red fruit; the crisp crunch harmonized with the boy's hum of satisfaction as his face brightened with a grin. After he finished his second bite, he wiped his mouth with his hand and looked at Marco with much kinder eyes. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Marco smiled, the weight in his chest lifting with soaring wings.

"I… I don't think I've seen you at school."

"Oh, I just moved here. I'm not sure which school I'm going to yet."

"You should go to mine! I can show you the ropes, and you can feed me apples. It'll be great!"

"Uh, I'd have to talk to Mom and Dad first. But we can still meet with each other if you want to." Marco held out his hand. "My name's Marco." The boy eagerly grabbed his hand, sticky with apple juice.

"I'm Jean."

~ O ~

"Whatcha got there, freckles?" Jean curiously asked as Marco climbed over the fence, carrying a thick book in his tiny arms.

"A book," Marco answered as he walked over.

"I know that." Jean scoffed. "I mean, what's it about?"

"Oh, right," Marco sheepishly chuckled and sat beside Jean on the soft grass that was nature's cushion. "My mom gave me this book," he set the book down on the ground, its brown leather cover worn and aged though its title scrawled in dull golden ink was still legible in the summer sun. Creatures of Myth and Legend. "It's full of stories of monsters and creatures that live in imagination. I wanted to share it with you." He flipped open the book, and Jean cringed at the page depicting a grotesque monster with a muscular humanoid body and a singular large eye where two should have been.

"Ew, is that supposed to be a Titan?" Jean asked, sticking his tongue out in disgust.

"No, it's the Cyclops. Though he does eat people like Titans do, he's smarter and talks. Look," Marco pointed to the story on the adjacent page of the illustration, "The Cyclops was living in a cave with a herd of sheep he took care of, and he trapped a group of travelers in his cave and started eating them one by one. Luckily, the group leader of the travelers was able to blind the Cyclops and trick him into escaping with the rest of his friends."

"And it's still wondering blindly in its cave?"

"My mom thinks so."

"What other monsters are there?" Jean started flipping through the book's pages, admiring illustrations of birds made of fire, big cats with a scorpion's tail, ferocious dogs with three heads, and the stories they belonged to, some having happier endings than others. "How could someone kill something that big?" he questioned, staring in awe at the drawing of a massive lizard with spiked wings and flames shooting out of its mouth.

"With a knight's golden sword straight through the heart." Marco mimicked a thrust motion with his invisible sword.

"Obviously, but regular people can't do that."

"Sure, they can."

"Really?" Jean gave Marco a skeptical look.

"Yeah, we kill Titans, don't we?"

"More like they eat us when we try. You've heard the horror stories of Titans eating like a hundred soldiers in a day. There isn't anyone who could kill them all."

"What about Captain Levi? I've heard he's the strongest soldier anyone's ever seen."

"He's only one man."

"Then maybe one day you could join him in battle one day."

"Pfft, me?" Jean laughed, "I'm not stupid enough to make myself Titan food."

"I think you're brave enough to put up a fight."

"… Maybe if you were there too. I'm not getting eaten alone."

"We'd make tasty—" A sharp pinch on the back of Marco's lower neck made him yelp and swiftly smack whatever had bitten him.

"Are you okay?" Jean asked. Marco lowered his hand and saw a splattered bug on his palm, a dark red stain.

"It's just a bug." He shrugged, wiping its remains on the grass.

~ O ~

"Hey, Jean," Marco called out with a puff of misty breath and a shiver in his brown coat as he walked up to the fence. His backpack heavy on his shoulders, he peered over it and saw Jean waiting for him on the patio, tapping his foot impatiently.

"There you are, Marco!" Jean exclaimed with a smile that made Marco grimace. "I thought I was going to freeze to death with how long you had me waiting out here." Then, he paused, seeing Marco's distressed expression, and quirked his head. "What's going on with your face?"

"Well, I…" Marco, anxious, rubbed the back of his neck, "I only came over to tell you something."

"Is that something bad?" Jean asked, walking over with unease written over his face.

"Kinda," Marco nodded, adverting Jean's gaze. "You know how I told you that my sister became a soldier?

"Did something happen to her?"

"No, she's fine, but my brother also plans to become one too…"

"And that's the bad news?"

"No, that's not it."

"Then spit out what it is! You're giving me a heart attack over here."

"I'm leaving!" Marco finally blurted out, relieving himself of that worry but promptly gaining a new on the shocked look on Jean's face.

"What do you mean 'leaving'? What better place is there to go?" Jean questioned, growling.

"I honestly don't think there's any, but it's not my choice. My parents want to move closer to the training center to keep our family closer together. Since… I think I'll become a soldier in a few years too." If Jean looked shocked before now, he looked horrified.

"You a soldier?! What are you crazy?" he threw his hand in the air, "You got a death wish 'cause those Titans will surely grant it for you?"

"I don't want to join the Scouts. I'm going to the Military Police."

"Why?"

"Because I…" Marco looked over to where he knew a grand structure stood housing an even grander man inside of it, sitting on a golden throne. "I want to be knighted by the King, to be honored wielding a sword that can kill monsters and protect the people I care about." He looked back at Jean. "I'll be a worthy knight."

"Marco…" Jean's expression started to fall, and he reached over the fence to grab Marco by the shoulders, "My cousin said that only a few special people get to be in the Military Police. What if you aren't one of those people?"

"Then… I'll have to work harder, I guess, and not die trying." Marco shrugged with a small smile.

"But… you can't." Jean's light eyes gained a glossy sheen, "You can't just leave." He squeezed Marco's shoulder's as if he would disappear at any moment, "You're my only friend, Marco." Marco felt his eyes start to burn, but he blinked away any tears before they could fall.

"You're my friend too, Jean, and just because I'm going doesn't mean we have to stop being friends. I'll come and visit you after I join the Military Police." He put his arms around Jean and pulled him into a warm hug that fought the chill of winter, ignoring the rough edges of the fence pushing against his chest. "It's not goodbye forever. Only for now." With a shuttering breath, Jean completed the hug despite Marco's backpack.

"I better see you later then," Jean's voice cracked, and his hug tightened. "Bye, Marco."

"Goodbye, Jean," after a lasting moment, Marco let go and turned away, wiping the one tear that had been freed his eye. He stopped when he reached the edge of the alleyway and turned around. Jean was still standing at the fence, his face just as red as when Marco first met the boy. Jean waved, and Marco gave one final wave back before turning down the alleyway.

---

Death's scent plagued the air Jean was forced to breathe in. It tasted sorely rancid and burned his nostrils as he inhaled, though he'd gladly take those senses over what his eyes dared to witness. He'd seen plenty of dead bodies at this point in his cadet career, but never so many at once. Their corpses were mangled and scattered into pieces over the street like scraps left over on a dinner plate. Haunting faces contorted into horrified expressions of their final moments, eyes filled with frozen terror, and mouths agape in silent screams.

Though they all started to melt into one collage of mortification, one face differed from the others. That face had been… more relaxed than the others. His mouth had been closed shut with teeth exposed in a mockery of a smile, and his remaining eye, though dull, stared off blankly into space as if there wasn't a care in the world. 'That meant he hadn't been scared, right?' Jean thought. His final moments had been as peaceful as they could have been for being eaten alive.

"Jean!" he was numb hearing the relieved call of his name and hardly budged when arms wrapped around him from behind in a hug. "I knew you'd make it out in one piece! I don't have the heart to tell Aunt Marie otherwise," the chuckle that followed was a tired and dry remnant of a weak smile. He knew the voice and the face as he was turned around to face his cousin. "Hey, how are you feeling?" Gertrude nudged him when he remained unresponsive, her amber brown eyes seeping concern, and he could tell she was frowning underneath the white cloth covering half her face. Her wavy sandy blonde hair ended in an unkempt tangle just past her chin, and her jacket didn't fair any better with the Garrison Regiment roses soiled with specks of blood and dirt.

"I found… he was…" He mumbled under his breath, staring blankly past her at the corpse-littered street.

"Staring at them will only make you feel more shitty," she warned. "Only so many people get to live; the dead wouldn't want us to waste it moping around." She glanced up at the amber sky. "It's getting late. You should turn in for the day."

"…Yeah," he slowly nodded, noticing a figure approaching in the distance. "I probably need to…" his sentence drifted off as the figure became more apparent, and the first thing his eyes locked onto was dark freckles on a face flushed full of life. "Marco?!" he gasped in disbelief and surprise, brushing past Gertrude and rushing over to his lost friend. As he got closer, he noticed details he wished he hadn't, like how the man stood a few hairs taller, how his cadet jacket held the Garrison roses, how his fringe was long and messy, and how his dark eyes had more green than brown, like a tree with overgrown leaves. Finally, he came to a slow stop before the man. "But, you're… supposed to be Marco?" he asked defeatedly.

"Heh, I get that a lot," the man chuckled with a slightly off Marco's voice, smile clear with how his freckled cheeks rose. "No, I'm not my brother. Sorry to disappoint… Hm, you look," he put a gloved hand to his chin, "Familiar."

"That's Jean, Bram," Gertrude said, moving to stand beside her comrade. "You've seen him hang around Marco before. Don't tell me you forgot."

"Oh, that's right," Bram snapped his fingers, "You're the Kirstein boy Marco keeps talking about. Sorry, there's been so much going on the last few days my mind's struggling to keep up. Could you please tell Marco I've been looking for him? Just to see how he's doing, after all…" he glanced around, "This chaos." He looked back to Jean hopeful, though that hope turned to confusion as Jean started to stutter:

"I-I uh, I don't…" Jean's hands clenched into fists, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can."

"Sure you can," Bram replied, tilting his head as if to see Jean from a new angle. "It's not too much to ask, is it?"

"Bram…" Gertrude spoke softly and carefully despite the horror in her eyes and put a gentle hand on Bram's shoulder. "You should sit down."

"On the diseased ground? I'll pass." He retorted and looked back and forth between the pair with an incredulous look. "What's the matter with you two? I know today's been—"

"Marco's dead," the dreaded words tasted even more bitter than Jean thought they would as they rolled off his tongue. Though Jean buried his gaze into the dirt, he could feel the pair of eyes on him. "He didn't survive the Trost Operation. I found his body earlier today. He's probably already been carried off by now to be burned… I'm sorry."

"That's… that's one disgusting joke." The harsh laugh hissed past Bram's teeth, and Jean looked up to find the man's narrowed eyes burning holes into him. A seething glare that looked wrong on a face so closely resembling Marco's.

"Shit, what would I give to wish it was just a joke?" Jean dryly scoffed.

"No, that's… That's not right at all," Bram shook his head like he could shake out all the negative thoughts rushing through his mind. "Marco's too smart to die. Not before I do, at least." He turned to Gertrude, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Right, Trudy? He can't be dead."

"Bram, I want you to be right," she solemnly sighed, and he gritted his teeth, whipping his head around to face Jean.

"Did you check for a pulse?" he questioned, and Jean shook his head.

"No, he was already gone when I—"

"Bastard!" Jean wasn't prepared for the death grip on his collar or his back to painfully ram into a building wall that momentarily left him breathless. "You didn't check to see if he was still alive?!" Bram snarled as he pushed the younger man up against the wall.

"Bram, put him down," Gertrude ordered, pulling on Bram's arm though that didn't release his iron grip.

"I didn't need to check that he was dead," Jean croaked out with the pressure on his chest. "If you saw him too, you'd know he was gone with just a look." Jean's eyes widened as Bram wound back his fist.

"You think I wouldn't at least check, you lazy piece of shit?!"

"Half his head was eaten!" Jean angrily spat, "That's pretty dead to me!" He shut his eyes as Bram's fist came racing towards him, and a violent crash disturbed the deathly quiet of the street. Surprisingly, Jean only felt the adrenaline that numbed his body and slowly opened his eyes, seeing Bram's fist had shattered the window beside his head, blood soaking the dark fabric of his torn glove.

"… No," Bram said simply as he shook his head, looking down. "You're not the one that needs to be punished," he set Jean down and dusted off the cadet's collar before turning around and storming down the street.

"Sorry about that, Jean," Gertrude apologized.

"It's fine." Jean said, rubbing his neck, "I feel like throwing someone against a wall too."

"I have to go after Bram before he kills somebody. Please, go get some rest." She left to go after said man.

'Why don't I need to be punished?'

Jean clutched tightly onto the rolled paper in his hands as he entered the quiet mess hall full of unrecognizable faces. Most different about the group of people were the forest green capes they wore, the symbol of the Survey Corps woven into the fabric. He glanced around to find the face he had in mind without any luck. A scout sitting at a nearby table must have seen him looking around like a lost child and turned to him.

"What are ya looking for, kid?" he gruffly asked, his brown hair buzzcut and a scar running down his lip.

"I'm looking for Agostina Bott, sir." Jean swiftly answered. "I have an important message for her." The scout's already present frown deepened at the sight of the paper.

"She's sitting in the third row near the center. Do you know what she looks like?"

"I have an idea. Thank you, sir." Jean walked off to complete his search and successfully found the table where a group of five were seated, engaging in lively conversation. If fact, they seemed to be the liveliest out of all the tables. 'Hopefully, this isn't as painful as last time.' He walked up behind one of the table members, who hadn't noticed him approaching and cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Ms. Bott," he said, and the group's chatter ceased. The young woman he stood behind turned around, her freckled face filled with surprise but quickly eased into a gentle smile. Her long black hair was tied back into a low ponytail that rested over her shoulder, with strands of hair left free to frame her kind face.

"Oh, hello there, cadet," she greeted with a shine in her light brown eyes, green streaking through them. "How can I help you?"

"I…" he took a deep breath; I" have a message for you." He held out the paper.

"Never thought you'd get in trouble, Tina." a man on the other side of the table teased and was nudged by the woman beside him.

"Dirk, if that were a warning for bad behavior, it would be going to you."

"Well, today may be my lucky day, Priska." Agostina chuckled and unraveled the paper. Jean tightly clenched his pantleg as he watched Agostina read. To his surprise, she maintained her gentle smile as she read, but he saw the gleaming flame in her light hazel eyes gradually diminish to smoking embers. Jean noticed how quiet it had gotten, hearing his own blood rush through his head, ringing in his ears.

"Tina," the man sitting beside her softly spoke up, "What happened?" her response to the question was to delicately tear the paper into quarters and set the pieces on the table. She ignored the man as he collected the pieces of paper, and Jean flinched when she set her lightless gaze on him.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Ms. Bott," he apologized, bowing his head.

"… You're the boy Marco always went to?" Agostina's calm voice asked in the quiet of the mess hall.

"Yes, we were both in the 104th class." He replied.

"… Before the cadets, Marco went to your backyard to play with you." She more so stated, and he looked up surprised, old memories flashing before him in the blink of an eye.

"Yeah, he visited me anytime he could. He came over so often that my mom even had a snack prepared just for him." He half-heartedly chuckled.

"I'm glad to formally meet you, Jean Kirstein." She held out her hand, her smile still present on her lips. "Thank you for serving with little Marco."

"Honestly, the pleasure was all mine," he shook her hand, her grip firm.

"Do you know if my brother's gotten the news?" she asked.

"I told him myself, actually."

"I'm guessing he didn't take it very well."

"Not as well as you are."

"Hm, I expected Bram to take the news hard," she paused with a distant stare before returning to the present. "May I ask you something about Marco?" he nodded. "… How was his death?"

"He was eaten by a Titan during the Trost Operation."

"Well, the report told me that. Was Marco's death quick, or did he die slowly? Was he writhing in agony or so numb he felt paralyzed? Was… Was anyone there to hold his hand, or was he left to die alone? I need to know how, please."

"I… I don't know how Marco died."

"Who does?"

"… Nobody." He quietly uttered, his nails digging into his leg through the fabric of his pants as he stared at the floor. "Nobody was there for him when that damn Titan bit him in half. We spent so much time working together to make it to the top ten, and we did. We were going to be officers in the Military Police together," he harshly shut his eyes as they started to burn. "When I was nearly Titan food, Marco risked his life to save mine. But when the time came that he needed me to be there for him… I couldn't return the favor. I'm so sorry." There was silence for a moment before the table bench squeaked as Agostina stood up. Jean prepared for a strike that never came, her arms embracing him in a comforting hug. A sensation he hadn't felt in too long was gladly welcomed, and he returned the hug. A soft splash sounded as a teardrop smacked the stone floor. Agostina pulled away, and Jean wiped away the one tear that had escaped with the back of his hand.

"I wish the best for you, Jean," she patted him on the shoulder, the gleam returning to her eyes in the form of a teary gloss. "Be a knight Marco would be proud of." She turned to leave the Mess Hall, the man that had been sitting beside her following after her. As she left, Jean's eyes couldn't leave the Wings of Freedom emblazoned onto her green cape.

---

Dusk claimed the sky in pale blues and soft lavenders, wispy clouds lazily drifting towards the pink and orange horizon. The crackle of campfires and quiet chatter emanated atop the wall as scouts prepared for the night.

"Shadis actually let you get away with that, Dirk?" Gustav skeptically questioned as he observed the man with grey eyes from the campfire between them.

"Don't sound so doubtful." Dirk scoffed, blowing a tuft of curly brown hair out of his eyes, "You know my natural charisma can get me out of every situation. Smooth talked the instructor into letting me run laps instead of sleeping outside."

"Ha," Priska curtly snickered with a hand over her pink lips, "Was that pleading and crying I heard from Instructor Shadis' office your brand of 'smooth talk'?"

"Pfft, that was just an act. Why am I not surprised you were eavesdropping on other people's business, Prissy?"

"It's Priska," she swiftly corrected as she brushed back a lock of auburn hair that hung out from milkmaid braids, a Castleton green ribbon woven into the braid. "And I was simply being observant. It's an important trait to have, especially when Titan lurk in every corner. If I had a coin for every time we had to warn you, I'd be richer than the King."

"Well, aren't teammates supposed to look out for each other?"

"There's 'look out for,' and then there's 'babysit.'" Gustav smirked, and Priska chuckled.

"Babysit?! Finn, are you hearing this blasphemy?" Dirk turned to the young man who was quietly sipping from his cup.

"Yes, and I find it entertaining," Finn stated with a faint smile.

"What about you, Tina?" Dirk called out to the young woman sitting away from the squad on the edge of the wall. "Are you entertained?"

"… Thoroughly." Agostina half-heartedly replied, not turning to face the squad, who gave each other disheartened looks.

"Please, excuse me," Finn said, setting down his cup and standing up. He walked over to Agostina as the rest of the squad continued their conversation, looking out over the grassy landscape that sprawled past the fading horizon. "Pretty view," he stated as he sat beside her; the gentle breeze tousled his honey-brown hair.

"If you look past the Titans," she replied, looking down at a pair of ugly beasts sluggishly clawing at the wall as the sunset. "They spoil something that should've been beautiful."

"Then we'll simply remove them. If we can capture a monster like the Female Titan, these rats shouldn't be difficult to exterminate."

"Then the world will be beautiful." she smiled solemnly. "… That's why I'm out here, right? To make the world beautiful?... With all the years I've been out here, you think I wouldn't have been so careless. I didn't see the harm in letting a few move past us. Who were they going to eat when the gate was sealed shut?"

"Tina," he reached out a hand to gently grasp hers, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "We're facing a breed of Titans no one's ever witnessed. No one could've suspected the Colossal Titan breaking down another wall. That includes you, Tina. So blame the Titans and only the Titans." Slowly she lifted her head, her light hazel eyes connecting with his steel blue orbs.

"Captain Bott!" the concerned shout gripped the pair's attention, and they turned to see a scout jogging over to them, worry etched onto her face.

"What's the situation?" Agostina questioned, she and Finn standing up.

"A Titan is approaching the wall." The scout said. Agostina looked up and saw the sky was now the true dark blue of night dusted with glittering stars, the nearly full moon the gem of it all.

"As long as we're atop the wall, we're safe. Let it burn whatever sun energy it still has then we'll kill it.

"Ma'am, this Titan is inside Wall Rose."

"What?" Finn gasped, and Agostina's eyes widened before she stiffened her lip and hardened her gaze.

"Show me." She ordered, and she and the rest of her squad followed the scout to where a crowd had formed at the edge of the wall. Even with the looming shadow of night, she could see the dark figure that was too tall to be human with its head hung low, trudging towards the wall. Its gait was slow with shaky steps, but its march was purposeful.

"How the hell did it get over the wall?" Dirk sputtered with disbelief.

"Did it climb over?" Gustav suggested, and Priska shook her head.

"It's too treacherous a climb even for that 15-meter Titan. Perhaps the Colossal Titan kicked down another gate?"

"We would've noticed it wouldn't we?" Dirk pondered. "I mean, it's taller than the walls."

"Right now, it doesn't matter how it got over," Finn said, gripping the handles of his blades. "There are villages in Wall Rose. We don't know what damage it's caused. Agostina, your orders?" He turned to his squad captain, whose eyes hadn't left the Titan.

"… Hoch, your group will take out the Titan after it's tired. Be on standby." Her order was replied with a chorus of 'Roger!' before there was a hiss of gas and the clatter of hooks as the three scouts maneuvered down the wall with their ODM gear. "We'll have to inform Commander Erwin if the Garrison hasn't already."

"If there are more Titans in Wall Rose, that'll be a dangerous journey," Finn warned.

"Danger and the scouts go hand in hand, don't they?"

The Titan came to a gradual stop before the group of scouts that hung from the wall, standing still as stone and nearly blending in among the shadows. The horses whinnied from where they were tied to their posts.

"Ready, boys?!" Hoch firmly called out and looked to see an affirming nod from his subordinates. "On my mark," the rattle of blades being unsheathed cut through the night air. "Attack!" the Titan surged forwards into a sudden sprint, impacted with its rushing footfalls that shook the earth. It stuck at the group with its open palm, rattling the wall with the blow and shooting up a cloud of dust and debris. Hoch was the only one to rise from the aftermath and barely managed to hook onto the Titan's shoulder, swinging himself in an ark, aiming to slice its nape. Its hand was faster, swatting at him like a measly fly and crushing him against its nape. It brought the remains of the scout in front of itself, staring down at the squished corpse in the palm of its hand. It opened its mouth with a wet smack and tossed Hoch's body inside, chewing and swallowing it as if it was a grape. It made a deep hum and dug its clawed hands into the wall, starting to scale it at a frightening speed with its mouth cracked open in a hungry gape.

"What the—"

"Berger, your group will relocate the supplies," Agostina's call to action interrupted Dirk's gasp of alarm, voice unwavering. "The rest of you keep yourselves scattered. Understood?"

"Roger!"

"Squad, prepare to execute maneuver six," she unsheathed her blades, and her freed blades were joined by many others. "We're meeting this monster halfway." She leaped off the wall, and her squad followed. The cool night air rushed past her and tugged on her scout's cape as she fell through the air toward the Titan. She glanced beside her to confirm her squad mates were flanking her in their positions before locking onto the spot she planned to anchor her hooks. Her eye caught the Titan's mouth shut, and a throaty hiss emanated from it, cheeks slightly puffing. Then, a wave of dark, steaming liquid spewed from its mouth like a rushing river.

"Projectiles!" she urgently shouted and reflexively anchored herself to maneuver under the bulk of the spray, her freckled face stinging from the intense heat of it. A sinking pit formed in her gut at the cry of agony that ripped her ears, and she looked above her to see all, but Gustav had evaded the attack, screaming his lungs out as he fell, clawing at his face. A burst of air rushed past her as the Titan lurched forward to snap up the falling scout between its lethal jaws with an unnerving crunch and thick swallow.

"Gus!" Priska cried out in alarm, and the Titan paused its climbing to eye the remaining squad members stilled with surprise.

"Don't stop!" Finn fiercely ordered and shot his hooks into the Titan's shoulder from above and Tina's from below. A pair of hooks shot into the Titan's upper thigh, courtesy of Dirk, and another from Priska into its lower back, strikes targeted towards its heel and back of its knee. The Titan jerked in a sharp motion that disturbed the coordination of the scouts as it turned to hang from the wall one-handedly to swipe at them, its legs and back only being nicked by the blades. Off-kilter, Priska struggled to properly anchor herself as she fell, but only for a moment as she came to a jolting stop before being jerked upwards. The malfunctioning click of her gear revealed the horrid reality that the Titan had one of her hooks in its grasp. Hanging upside down, she desperately swung her blade at her hook line to free herself with no luck to be found, the Titan's hot breath rolling over her backside.

"Let her go!" Dirk demanded, swooping in to slice the Titan's fingers, forcibly releasing Priska. The action cost Dirk a leg as the Titan's maw snatched it between its teeth when he whizzed past. Dirk's screams that promptly followed were just as quickly silenced as the Titan whipped its head and smashed the crying scout into the wall with a splatter before flipping him up in the air and catching him in its mouth. Finn and Agostina gave each other a knowing glare and flew into action, zipping toward the Titan at opposing angles. It glanced at the scouts and then at the wall above it before striking out, its hand digging across the wall like a child playing in a sandbox, and unhooked the scout's anchor with a spray of debris.

Agostina felt herself fall as she was pelted with rubble. It watched her fall, its ebony hair tousling aside to show its face, and her eyes widened as a silent gasp left her. In the dark, its facial features were indiscernible except for the single ring of crimson that was its eye, the intensity of its glare like the serrated tooth of a predator piercing its prey. She came to her senses when she was smacked in the face by a sizeable chunk of rock and noticed Finn tumbling down, bleeding from his head.

She gritted her teeth and twisted herself in the air to shoot herself towards him with a burst of gas. She caught him in her arms before angling herself to shoot her hooks into the wall, slowing down their descent with a straining whir as the soles of her boots scraped against the wall. Nonetheless, hitting the ground still knocked the wind out of her, and her vision blurred. Finally, she forced herself to take a deep breath and sat up, though dazed, stirring the waking Finn.

"Get up, Finn!" she ordered, getting to her feet and dragging the stunned scout to the neighing horses. A groan came from further away, and she saw a grimacing Priska clutching her arm as she sat up from the ground. Agostina rushed over to her and yanked her up by her uninjured arm. "Hurry, Priska! We have to go."

"But," Priska coughed and looked up at the wall. The Titan had completed its ascent to the top of the wall, where screams and shouts echoed. "The others we have to—"

"We're not killing that thing. Not on our own." Agostina firmly gripped her by the shoulders. "We have to warn everybody. We can't do that if that monster devours us. Now, move!" the pair rushed to the horses, where Finn had made it to his feet and was mounting his steed. Agostina felt something warm and wet splatter onto her horse and glanced up, greeted with a spray of blood remnants, blade shards, and ripped entrails raining from above. She heeled her horse into a sprint and only looked back to see her remaining squad mates running behind her, letting the screams of terror and mashing of teeth become faint echoes lost to the wind.