So sorry for the wait on this chapter! I had some stuff come up along with some serious writer's block for what felt like forever. This chapter will be in two parts to make up for it.

Also manga spoilers (and major feels) ahead so don't say I didn't warn you!

Espyon

Ariadne had told me to put on my gear. I gaped at her for a moment, unsure if I had heard her correctly. "Espyon, Commander Erwin says to get on your gear. You're coming with." My friend was obviously troubled at the thought of me coming with, but I was not going to let this opportunity slip away. Not when my goal of going outside the walls was this close.

We mounted horses and were soon on our way towards the walls. I stayed riding near Erwin because I was a higher ranking soldier and that was what was expected of me. A number of Military Police joined us on our trek towards the walls. According to Erwin, they were ordered out of the safety of the Interior to join us outside with the Titans. Eventually we found ourselves on top of the walls, slowly lifting our horses to the top. It would be a long ride to get to where we needed to be.

About 5 hours later, we arrived. I had stopped my horse closer to where Erwin was. I could see a large chunk had been taken out of the top of the wall. I could only imagine what had done that.

Erwin got off his horse. "What's the situation? Still the same?"

"Yes," answered a soldier. "You've arrived just in time, sir."

Another soldier behind them yelped. Commander Hanji had grabbed her leg. "Give me the map," she demanded, pulling herself up to her elbows. Quickly, the soldier complied and had a map laid out in front of Hanji. Erwin soon knelt beside the map while the rest of us gathered around it. Hanji pointed to a group of trees. "There's a forest of giant trees over here, although pretty small. That's where you should head. I doubt the Armored Titan would cover its tracks, but there's a good chance they would head there."

"What makes you think so?" piped up one of the other soldiers.

Hanji brushed a lock of hair from her eyes. "It's a gamble, but they're still not totally safe from Titans, even while in their own Titan form. They're probably exhausted from all the fighting they had to do." She glanced at Erwin. "If their goal is beyond Wall Maria, then they most likely don't have any stamina left to make that journey, so they would probably take refuge in those trees to rest where Titans can't reach them. I would venture to say they will stay there until nightfall when the Titans can't move." She looked up at the rest of us. "You have until nightfall!" she announced, turning back to Erwin. "If you can make it to that forest before then, you might be able to catch up with them!"

Immediately, we were on the move. Soldiers were milling about the small space on top of the walls, unafraid of falling.

Ariadne found me among the soldiers as I looked out towards Wall Maria. She grabbed my hand. "Are you ready?" she asked.

I nodded. "I think so," I replied, not looking at her directly.

She squeezed my hand for a moment. "Just…try to be safe out there."

I nodded again. "You too."

Ariadne paused for a moment then quickly wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace. She held her hands on my shoulders. "I'll see you soon, okay?" she said with a small smile. Her smile seemed almost like it was forced, but she knew as well as I did, neither of us may come out of this alive.

"Right."

The horses were lowered back to the earth below. We soon lowered ourselves down with our gear. My faithful steed stayed calm as my feet touched the ground beside him. I rubbed his nose and fed him some oats I had in my pocket before swiftly mounting him. I found Erwin amidst the horses and even more soldiers.

"Commander," I called, turning my horse beside his. "I believe we're all ready. Full speed ahead?"

He nodded. "Almost," he replied, turning to look behind. "Damn Military Police act like they've never used their gear before," he muttered. I hid a smile. "LET'S MOVE OUT!" he called out a moment later. Simultaneously, we gave our horses a kick and were swiftly moving across the grassy plains.

I would have been more amazed at the scenery had I not grown up around the very same plains I now rode upon. However, this was sufficient. I had not seen these places since the wall first fell. It was a nice change from the cramped interior walls.

We were nearing the forests Hanji had talked about. Erwin turned to me, ordering to fire a signal flare. I put the green clip in the gun and fired it into the air. Several more flares came up in reply. As soon as we were upon the forests edge, a burst of light appeared then was gone. Suddenly, a whole hoard of Titans were coming towards us. I wanted to panic, but I shook my head to focus on getting out alive instead.

"EVERYONE SPLIT UP!" came another commander's order. "FIND EREN AND TAKE HIM BACK! ASSUME THE ENEMY HAS TAKEN THEIR TITAN FORMS!" A Military Police soldier beside me was snatched from his horse and promptly eaten. His cries did not last long.

The remaining soldiers who were not picked off made their way into the forest. Some used their gear to fly between the trees. I stayed on my horse, unsure of where to go. I watched as Mary Kat flew through the air, slicing at a Titan's neck. Ariadne stayed on a nearby tree, scanning the area below her. I could tell from the look of her face, even at a distance, she was terrified, although I did not blame her.

Erwin's voice rang out over the chaos. "ALL SQUADS! JUST GO AHEAD AND LET THE TITANS FOLLOW YOU! COME WITH ME!" His horse reared and soon shot off running after the Armored Titan. I had not noticed it had burst out of the trees and was running in the opposite direction.

The Military Police commander cursed at Erwin, accusing him of using his soldiers as decoys. Erwin denied it and instead praised the Military Police for their effort. "THE ARMORED TITAN IS TRYING TO ESCAPE WITH EREN! HE MUST BE STOPPED NO MATTER WHAT!"

I was already pushing my horse to his limit. I could feel him straining beneath me. As we neared the Titan, I could see the figures hanging onto him. I could see the smaller female Titan and the two boys sitting on the Armored Titan's shoulder. Soldiers hacked away at its legs and arms. One even tried to severe the back of his neck, but the female Titan threw his cord away. It was odd for a while because several of the other cadets landed on the Armored Titan's shoulders, but they seemed to be trying to talk to him. Even though he was in the Titan form, I was unsure if he would understand. I glanced behind me to see many more Titans following after us. I quickly looked forward at Erwin instead. I feared for what would come next.

Titans, soldiers and horses clashed. "ALL UNITS DISPERSE! PULL AWAY FROM THE TITANS!" Nobody wanted to disobey Erwin's order and be put in between the Titans as they clashed with each other. We watched from a distance, letting our horses rest for a few moments. The Armored Titan was ambushed by other Titans. The female did her best to keep them off, but even that seemed to be pointless. They were outnumbered. I looked at the soldiers around me. Where was Ariadne?

"ALL UNITS! CHARGE!" We stared at Erwin as if he was insane. Even a part of me seemed hesitant. He continued giving the order, raising his blade high into the air. "MANKIND'S FATE WILL BE DECIDED AT THIS MOMENT! WITHOUT EREN, A FUTURE WHERE MANKIND CAN INHABIT THIS EARTH WILL NEVER COME!" He put his right fist to his heart. "WE'LL TAKE EREN BACK AND RETURN AT ONCE! PUT YOUR HEART'S TO THE TASK!"

Determinedly, we charged forward into the battle again, raising a cry so loud, I was sure my ears would pop. I rode on Erwin's left, hoping to find Ariadne alive somewhere. "ADVANCE!" he shouted, putting his right arm out to signal.

It happened in a flash. Erwin was on his horse beside me one moment, then it was just his horse. I looked behind me in horror. An Abnormal had him by the arm, pulling him away from the rest of our group.

I cried out. "Commander!"

"ADVANCE!" Erwin called out again. I was perplexed at how he continued to give orders while being in a Titan's mouth. "EREN'S RIGHT THERE! ADVANCE!"

I let the other soldiers race past me as I circled around to get Erwin out of the Titan's jaws. I shot the cord from my gear towards the Titan's neck. I heard screams and shouts behind me. I did not dare look back as I pulled myself forward and aimed at the nape. With a swift and deep cut from my blade into its skin, the Titan let Erwin fall from its mouth. I landed beside Erwin, believing he was still alive, which of course he was.

"Espyon," he breathed, staring up at me. He sat up, holding what was left of his bleeding arm. His eyes still had the fire in them, a fierce determination.

"Hold still," I told him. I took the fabric belt out of the loops of my pants and tightly tied a tourniquet around the stump. Several soldiers had surrounded us, attempting to protect us from any Titan that neared, but they were picked off way too easily. I wanted to scream. I watched as my comrades were eaten with hardly any chance to fight them off.

Erwin stood and started making his way towards the Armored Titan. "Commander!" I yelled, standing as well. "You must stay away from the Titans! You could get killed!"

"Then I will die with my soldiers who have fought bravely!" he countered. "There's an opportunity to free Eren! I'm not going to miss it!" He shot his gear towards the Titan and swung his blade toward the boy carrying Eren, freeing him from the rope.

I could not watch for long, however. Another Titan had come up behind me. I whistled for my horse and anticipated its arrival. I sliced at the Titan's fingers as they tried enclosing around me. I was terrified. It was close enough that its hot breath was making me sweat. I raised my blade and drove it into the creature's eye. It pulled away from me and grabbed at the blade, crying out in pain. While it was distracted, I mounted an abandoned horse and searched for Erwin.

"ALL UNITS!" I was relieved at the sound of his voice. He was still alive. "PULL BACK!" A flood of humans and horses sped past me, leaving the Titan clash behind. I soon joined them, but it certainly was not over yet.

Suddenly, a Titan was flying over our heads, landing with a great crash in our path. Horses reared and whinnied. "That bastard!" someone yelled. "He's throwing Titans at us!" Another crash, another Titan. More and more of them were coming. We would soon be overwhelmed and all of us killed. Carnage was everywhere.

I managed to not be smashed by any Titans or anything like that. I did find Erwin sitting on the ground, his horse struggling to stand. Another soldier went up to him first. "There's a replacement for me!" he said, wincing in pain. "Take Eren and escape from here! There isn't a moment to lose!" I glanced around the area, looking for Eren. I did not see him among the bodies.

I swiftly turned the horse back around to Erwin. "Commander! The Armored Titan is coming!" My first priority was to keep Erwin safe. I had to. Ariadne deserves to have her husband alive. Whether or not he did have a replacement for commanding officer, I was going to make sure he made it out alive. Whether it was for the Survey Corps itself or for Ariadne.

It was almost silly once I thought about it. Me? Keeping him alive? He had not even let me go outside the walls until now. This was probably the exact reason why. But if I was going to die out here, I was going to do it protecting him with my life.

I grit my teeth and hopped off my horse, running to stand with my back to Erwin. "What are you doing, Espyon?!" he shouted at me.

Erwin

What did she think she was doing?! We already had enough death for one day, I did not want to lose another soldier, let alone her. I was not totally impaired. I still had one good arm left, but my right side was screaming at me in pain. I ignored it.

"Espyon, get out of here! Get to safety!"

"No, sir!" she yelled back. I was taken aback for a moment. She had never denied one of my orders before.

A rather large Titan had come up to us, making a swipe at Espyon. She ran her blade along its arm, cutting the skin deeply. Titan blood sprayed everywhere. She cried out and wiped at her eyes, trying to wipe away the burning blood. I started to come to her aid, but another Titan had taken advantage of her blindness and had snatched her from the ground. She cried out again, uselessly struggling against its strength.

"Espyon!" I shot a cord out to take out the Titan. As my body swung around towards its neck, it dropped her into its mouth, shutting its teeth just below her hips. Her cries of agony pierced my ears. My blade pierced its skin, cutting along its nape. It let her go and slammed to the ground with a loud thud. Espyon lay helplessly on the grass not far from its head. "Espyon!" I shouted again, landing beside her.

Her head lolled to the side to look at me. "Commander," she breathed. "Are you alright?" She was not able to see me. Her eyes were burned from the Titan's scalding blood. My chest felt heavy. Espyon held her hand out to me, searching for my arm.

I gripped her hand tightly. "I'm fine," I replied.

She smiled and looked towards the sky. "I at least got what I wanted before I died…"

I would have told her she was not going to die, but we both knew better. I would have told her this was the exact reason I did not let her outside the walls. I would have told her she was meant for something more in this world. But I stayed quiet. There were many soldiers who I had seen die, but not all of them died for my sake. I never wanted it to happen again.

"Erwin." Her voice made me look at her. She was staring at me with blank eyes. "Don't leave… Don't leave Ariadne alone…" Her hand gripped me tightly then went slack.

I sat staring at her for several moments. I did not look at the ever growing pool of blood beneath her. I have never feared death. I only feared it for other people.

The next couple of hours were just a blur. I had ridden back on my horse towards the walls. The remaining of our group rode behind me. The wounded were gathered on the empty horses and slowly led towards the walls. I tried my best to stay awake, but once we got to the walls, fatigue overtook me. The last I remember was falling to my knees.

Go on to part three!