As soon as they were safely within the confines of Rose, Mina, Nac, Annie, Bertholdt and Reiner were quick to find a spot to sit down at.

Now that they were safe from the Titans, the small group allowed their fatigue to set in as they shouldered their way through the crowd that had gathered close to the gates of Rose. To their knowledge, the group was gathered to perhaps launch a counterattack against the invading Titans, though at the very least, the returning Cadets were given some time to recuperate.

"G-GUYS!" proclaimed Mylius the moment he saw them return. Before he had seen them, the blonde, alongside Sasha, Connie, Ymir, Christa, Jean and Marco simply stood/sat idly by the front of a house. Jean seemed to be close to cracking from the guilt of having led so many other soldiers to their deaths, with Marco by his side, doing his best at assuring Kirstein that he was not entirely responsible for that. Meanwhile, Sasha seemed to be recovering from a mental breakdown, with Christa sitting by her side, whispering things regarding food into her ear in an attempt to keep her sedated.

Connie and Ymir both seemed keen on staying away from the whole ordeal, with the two of them being inexperienced in calming others down. And as for Mylius, he had remained sat down on a bench, whispering things that sounded somewhere between hopeful and hopeless as he prayed for the survival of the rest of his team. The stress of the entire situation was getting to him, and the added stress of thinking about his team wasn't helping much.

And at the very moment he laid eyes on those he thought to be dead, Zeramuski quite literally broke down and rushed towards them, breaking down into sobs as he held Nac by the shoulders and stared at him dead in the eyes.

"Y-YOU GUYS ARE ALRIGHT!" proclaimed Mylius between sobs as a handful of Cadets within earshot turned to stare at them in confusion. Nac himself felt a little overwhelmed by Mylius' greeting, though he didn't mention it as he simply offered a tired smile as he held onto the blonde's wrists, urging him to release him, though that didn't happen as Mylius continued speaking. "I… I thought that… when you guys didn't return with us… I thought…!"

"H-hey, Mylius, we're fine, trust me," assured Mina as she laid a hand on his wrist, prompting the blonde in question to slack his shoulders just a little as he gulped, breathing rather heavily as he released Nac and rubbed his upper arm rather awkwardly before he wiped a handful of the tears that were on his face. Mina herself winced at that as she stepped forward and placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Are… a-are you…?"

"I'm fine. Just… overwhelmed…" admitted Mylius after lowering his arm. He offered a shaky smile that barely masked his nervous demeanor. At that, Nac found it prudent to perhaps drag him off to the side and console him, leaving the remaining members of his little group to do whatever they wished.

Reiner and Bertholdt both took a seat on the table that Jean and Marco were on, both being relatively relieved that they survived the ordeal. Meanwhile, Mina and Annie claimed a corner to stand in and stood in silence for a long while.

'She's not taking this well, especially now that we have time to think about things without needing to worry too much about our safety,' thought Annie as she watched her twintailed friend rub her wrist rather absentmindedly. Though subtle, Leonhardt did notice the mild shake of her friend's hand as she clenched it into a fist, prompting the blonde to raise a brow as she watched silently.

Annie did wish to perhaps help lighten her friend's mood. Though it wasn't obvious, the blonde did care deeply for those who were close enough to be considered 'friends', and as such she felt the urge to perhaps reassure Carolina on their current situation. After all, that was what friends were for… and yet, Annie found herself lacking the courage or the experience to do so.

Unlike Nac, she was never one to speak in a comforting way. Whenever she spoke, she would simply state what she thought to be the truth, however brutal or heartbreaking it may be. As such, Annie had a feeling that even if she did try her best to reassure Mina on their current situation, she would only end up making things worse, and as such she kept her lips sealed.

"Hey… Annie…?" began Mina after a short while of silence, prompting Annie to perk up and stare up just a little at her twintailed friend, who had released her wrist and was now rubbing her upper left arm rather uncomfortably. Leonhardt noticeably winced at the expression Mina was making as she stared at her. That frown that was on Mina's face couldn't be deeper even if she tried, and Annie noticeably winced at it, though Mina either didn't notice or care as she continued. "Are you, y'know… alright?"

"...yes. I am," assured Annie, confused as to why Annie asked her that out of seemingly nowhere. And, before she could stop herself, she blurted out; "Why did you ask?"

"Well…" muttered Mina as she tightened her grip on her upper left arm a little, biting her lower lip as she scrambled for an answer or perhaps a lie. Meanwhile, Annie mentally yelled at herself for asking such a ridiculous question, though before things could get too awkward, Carolina sighed and nodded in defeat. "I… I just want to make sure you're alright. That… you're not hurt and all that, you know…?"

"Hmph, you were always concerned for others more than yourself," muttered Annie, allowing a small slither of a smile to worm its way onto her face as she pointed that out. Mina, however, didn't change her tired expression as she crossed her arms and deepened her frown, and at that, Leonhardt mentally sighed and took a gambit as she raised an arm up to her slightly taller friend's shoulder. "Mina, what's really going on here. Tell me, or else."

'Or else nothing,' added Annie mentally as she frowned deeply, knowing that she probably screwed up on trying to get her friend to tell the truth. Much to her relief, however, Mina didn't seem to acknowledge the unintentional 'threat' Leonhardt had made as she perked up and shook her hands defensively.

"W-What exactly do you mean, Ann?" inquired Mina somewhat nervously as she attempted to ease Annie's suspicions. In response, Annie quirked a brow upwards, prompting Mina to sweat just a little as she scrambled for a follow up. "It… erm, you see… the day's stressing me out and…"

"Nac's proven to me that stress can be lessened by talking to others about it," pointed out Annie, who jerked her thumb towards the boy in question, who was still consoling Mylius. The blonde had definitely seen better days, considering how he still had his face buried in his hands as Nac patted his back, whispering words of encouragement into his ear as he did. The sight of that made Mina bite her lower lip just a little before she turned back to Annie. "So you can talk to me, Mina. We're friends, right? We can talk to one another about things like this."

"Well… alright, look," began Mina as she sighed and sat down on the ground, frowning as she laid her back against the wall. Annie herself took a seat beside her twintailed friend as well, listening as intently as she could. "I… I think that… Mika… he's…"

"Not coming back," finished Annie, doing her best to sugarcoat the possibility of Mikazuki being dead as Mina's shoulders noticeably dropped at the prospect. Carolina bit her lip as she nodded, prompting Annie to grimace just a little as she clenched and unclenched one of her hands. "Mina… please, stop thinking about that. You need to…"

"It's all I can think of, Annie!" shot Mina as she turned towards her blonde friend, who visibly recoiled at her sudden shout. Christa, Ymir and Nac seemed to be the only one who managed to hear it, with Ymir seeing less than interested in the whole conversation but still listening in to stave off boredom whilst Nac and Christa appearing somewhat concerned for Mina, only to be waved off by Leonhardt before she turned back to Mina. "I… I know it's probably irritating you at this point, but Mika's all I can think of… Mika, Trost… mum… everyone who died defending Trost…"

And at that, Mina's words began trialing off briefly before she fell silent and buried her face in her hands, and it took Annie less than a moment to notice the mild shaking in Carolina's shoulders alongside the muffled sobs. In response to that, Annie widened her eyes and began panicking just a little. Her closest friend was breaking down right in front of her… and she didn't know what to do to stop it! Turning towards Nac, Annie winced when she saw that he too was a little too preoccupied with calming Mylius down to provide any form of assurance to Mina, and Christa herself was still busy with Sasha. Ymir didn't seem to be willing to provide any help… and that just left Annie to do something on her own.

A straightforward approach, whilst definitely in her nature, would not be a smart thing to do. If anything, it would most certainly make things worse! Mina, while by no means a baby, was more than a little more emotional than Annie, and one wrong word could very well send her into a mental breakdown. With this in mind, Annie began racking her brain for anything she could potentially say… though she could think of nothing as she began losing her composure.

This was humiliating! Annie prided herself with being able to handle any situation no matter what it was… and yet, here she was, unable to verbally comfort one of her closest friends!

Wait… verbally. As soon as that word popped up in her mind, Annie widened her eyes as an extremely dumb idea (by her standards) popped into her mind, and before she could stop herself, she set it in motion.

Within a moment's notice, Mina felt a strange and rather unfamiliar warmth envelope her body. Widening her eyes at that, Carolina removed her face from her palms, revealing a rather tearstained face, and turned to see… well, Annie hugging her. The blonde's face was mere inches away from her own, and though her expression was that of indifference, Mina had a feeling that she felt somewhat uncomfortable about their current situation, though she didn't let that stop her from hugging the twintailed cadet.

"A-Annie…?" muttered Mina, only to be silenced when Annie glared at her, prompting her to shut her mouth almost instantly.

"Don't talk… just… relax for a moment," ordered Annie, avoiding direct eye contact with Mina as she rather forcefully brought her friend's head up against her chest, much to Carolina's shock, though she didn't say anything as she allowed Leonhardt to cradle her in her arms. Annie was shockingly gentle with Mina as she held her close, a stark contrast to her usually harsh nature, something that did calm her down just a little, and if she were completely honest, Annie's… chest was pretty soft… so much so that Mina found herself relaxing just a little, much to Annie's relief. "Just relax and don't say anything. You've been through enough today. Just close your eyes and rest, or something… "

Mina herself didn't reply as she did as she was told, with Annie sighing in relief as she did. Over by the side, Ymir appeared rather bewildered by that exchange while Christa smiled warmly at that before going back to comforting Sasha, who began screaming about the meat they lost at Trost once more. Her screaming greatly confused those around her, though they, rather thankfully, dismissed them as the crazed ramblings of a Cadet who saw a little too much action.

When Nac himself noticed Annie's unexpected show of compassion, he offered a slightly surprised look at the sight, though he eventually nodded in approval, only to quickly wince when Annie gave a look that promised death should he spread the word about her going soft for this one occasion. In response, Nac held both his hands up defensively, prompting Annie to roll her eyes.

Elsewhere

Mika was never known to be a… let's say dramatic person, especially when in combat, but there was a first for everything, he supposed.

After he was sure that his friends and comrades were safe within the confines of Rose, and after Mika was out of range from the wall mounted cannons, the pilot went back to work and began clearing Trost of any and all Titans. By then, there were no visible soldiers in Trost, most likely because of the evacuation order, Mika supposed. And that meant that Mika didn't need to worry about any human casualties, which meant that he could go all out for once.

Of course, he did at the very least try to not destroy so many buildings. Though no one was perfect, and as such, he ended up demolishing quite a few…

Then again, if demolishing a building also led to the death of a Titan, then it was worth it, as proven when Mika bodyslammed a Thirteen metre straight into a still standing building, demolishing both it and the Titan in the process.

As soon as the Titan began evaporating into nothing, Mika had Barbatos step to the side, in turn dodging a tackle from a Fifteen metre, and before it could recover and turn to face it, Barbatos seized it by the shoulder and, using its other arm, jammed its manipulator straight into its nape. The Titan began convulsing violently as he did, though as soon as Barbatos clenched its manipulator into a fist, it stopped moving.

Without much thought, Mika ripped Barbatos' manipulator out of the dissolving Titan's nape, though he didn't expect his Gundam to rip out the Titan's entire spinal cord, with its head still attached, out along with it. Mika himself winced in surprise at that, though he quickly recovered from it as he tossed the spinal cord off to the side and continued on.

The next Titan to be dispatched was a Ten metre, and Mika opted to just swing Barbatos' Longsword at its neck, severing it and ripping the nape apart in one quick stroke. Before it could fall back, however, Augus launched his Gundam's leg unit at the still standing body, causing it to fly back and strike a Fifteen and Thirteen metre duo whilst the severed head began spinning wildly in the air before landing on the ground.

Between the Fifteen and Thirteen metre Titans who were struck by the headless body of the Ten metre, the former simply stumbled back a tad while the latter fell onto its back. After it recovered, the Fifteen metre turned back towards Barbatos with its smile still plastered on its face, though it was quickly dispatched when Mika swung the Longsword at it.

The first swing of the Longsword was aimed at its legs, and with one clean cut, Barbatos sliced both its legs off from below the knee. The now legless Titan growled just a little as it fell down onto its knee stumps, though it didn't have time to do much more than that as the Gundam stabbed it through the nape with its Longsword once more, with the blade emerging from its mouth due to the angle at which it was stabbed from.

As soon as it was taken care of, Mika turned his attention towards the Thirteen metre that was still struggling to get back up to its feet. Sighing at that, Mika simply had Barbatos walk over to it and drop its Wrench Mace onto the Thirteen metre. The Mace rested atop the Thirteen metre, who struggled beneath its weight, and Mika would be lying if he said that he didn't snort in amusement at the sight, though he was quick to finish the damn thing off with a stomp to the neck.

After picking its Mace up, Mika had Barbatos turn to face the Wall of Rose, sighing just a little as he stared at it, ignoring the Garrison gunners who were aiming their cannons at him just in case Barbatos were to turn on them. The only real thought that went through his mind, outside of him dealing with the Titans, was how his friends and comrades were holding up within Rose, though that was par for the course at this point, he supposed.

Being a soldier who had grown used to combat by now, Mika had enough firsthand knowledge and experience of how a person's first time on the field could affect them mentally. He could barely remember his first time on the field, wielding an assault rifle and forced to go up against trained men who were more adept at combat than he was at the time. He emerged a changed person, to say the least, and it was the start of what Shino dubbed the Ballad Of Mikazuki, whatever that meant.

Point was, conflicts like these would no doubt change a person who participated in it. And now that they were safe from harm, Mika found himself wondering if they would suffer any mental consequences from this entire ordeal. Annie… Mika had faith in her mental stability. She was a reflection of himself, more or less, and could probably make it out of this with minimal mental scars. As for Mina and Nac, however…

'They're not like me… me or Annie,' thought Mika as he hoisted a Ten metre up into the air and ripped it in half with Barbatos' bare manipulators. Without much time to daddle, the pilot had his unit lob the two halves of the Titan off towards an inbound horde.

'They've never seen a proper massacre before, be it a firefight or a Titan massacre.'

Gritting his teeth, Mika had Barbatos swing its Longsword thrice at an inbound Titan. As a result, he accomplished something rather spectacular; the first swing sliced off both the Titans legs, the second sliced it in half at the waist, and the final swing tore through its neck and ripped apart its nape. All three swings took less than a second to pull off, and before long, the chopped up Titan bits fell onto the ground, accompanied by a few disgusting plop sounds.

'The first time experience of a battlefield tends to change a person drastically. Annie… by all means probably won't change much, but Mina and Nac… they're too innocent to experience something like this. The stress they experience will no doubt change them in some way, and them still thinking that I'm still dead won't help things…'

Grimacing as a muscular Fifteen metre charged at Barbatos, Mika opted to have his Gundam discard its weapons for a brief moment as he conducted a personal experiment of his. Quickly adjusting his grip on the arm controllers of his unit, Mika had Barbatos shoot both its arms out and seize the Fifteen metre by the head. With very little issue, the Gundam's fingers pierced the top of the Fifteen metre Titan's skull, and with the greatest of ease, Mika had Barbatos rip the Titan in half from the top of its head to the center of its waist, killing it in one blow and finishing his little experiment.

'They'll come out of this as different people,' concluded Mika as he had Barbatos retrieve the weapons it had dropped. As soon as he retrieved them, the pilot had his unit turn towards Rose and sighed deeply, the stress that came with worrying about others clearly getting to him as he stared out at the wall rather miserably. 'They'll be tougher for sure… but at what cost…'

At the cost of their innocence, no doubt. Though it was rather annoying at times, what with their naivete and romanticized view on the Survey Corps, but Mika found a small form of genuine enjoyment in their innocence. It reminded him that something in this god forsaken world he was sent to was still worth living for, and the mere thought of Mina and Nac becoming someone like him was… rather upsetting, to say the least.

'It won't come to that,' was something that Mika thought up to distract himself as he had Barbatos stomp down on the shin of a Ten metre, causing it to snap and for the Titan to fall to one knee. Right as it could make eye contact with Barbatos, the Gundam had wrapped its entire manipulator around its neck and yanked upwards, in turn ripping the Titans head and spinal column out of its body. Mika spared the head and spine a quick glance before he discarded them.

'It can't come to that. They've always been hopeful. They've always been optimistic. They won't become someone, something like me after this is over. I'm sure of it.'

And the pilot was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the smoke that was rising up into the air from within Wall Rose. Instead, he just pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed once more.

'I… never thought being a friend would be this stressful.'

Several minutes prior, within Rose

It was a miracle that Mina even managed to fall asleep, and even more so that Annie was willing to lend a shoulder to act as a pillow for her friend.

Off to the side, Nac couldn't help but offer a small smile as he watched the whole thing unfold. Mylius had calmed down by that point, thus leaving Nac free to do whatever he wished for the moment, so Tias chose to stand by and observe Annie and Mina. He had a feeling that bad things would happen if he stepped in and ruined their little moment, and as such he opted to remain by the side as a passive observer and keep his mouth shut.

His observation didn't exactly go unnoticed, however, as Annie did noticeably turn his way several times to glare at him, preemptively warning him of the pain he would be forced to endure should he tell anyone about this if they made it out of here alive. Nac rather obviously complied with that unspoken message, though if he were honest he doubted that anyone would believe him anyways. Then there was the other person who was staring at them…

"Between you and me, I still don't know why you even bother looking out for them," came Ymir's voice, startling Nac just a little as he turned towards her with a confused look. The tanned young woman had came up behind him at one point and was now staring at him with a disgruntled look and a stare that appeared both condescending and questioning all at once, and the combination of both made Nac shiver just a little. "You clingin' to em for protection or something?"

"What… no!" protested Nac as he waved his hands around rather dismissively, prompting Ymir to raise a brow as Nac attempted to dissuade her. It wasn't working to say the least, as the woman before him crossed her arms and awaited a proper answer. "Well, we're friends, you see… and friends look out for one another-"

"Fat load of bullshit you're spouting there, Nac," grumbled Ymir as she rolled her eyes, much to Nac's chagrin as his face went flush with insult.

"And what do you mean by that, Ymir?" inquired Nac, keeping his polite tone, even if it did have some hints of anger in it. Ymir didn't seem to pick up on it, however, as she simply snorted.

"You're staying by em for protection, ain't cha'?" accused Ymir as she jerked a thumb towards Annie, who raised a brow at that gesture. Nac seemed rather offended that she would even consider such a fact, as evident by how he reddened with insult. "You're nothing special, and Mina's closer to Annie than you are, so tell me the truth, Nac, you're just sticking with Ann to keep your head on your shoulders, aren't you?"

"You've got that wrong, Ymir!" whisper-shouted Nac, doing his best to defend himself from Ymir's accusations whilst attempting to keep himself as calm as humanly possible. It was rather amusing, honestly. Nac managed to keep his nerves in check throughout the initial invasion of Trost, and even after they were safely behind the Walls of Rose, he managed to push aside every last bad thought he had regarding the current situation in order to help steady Mylius' mind. And yet, his defences began breaking the moment Ymir Fritz began to bring up the legitimacy of his friendship with those he held dear. "W-Why are you even bringing this up now?! Save it for after-"

"It helps me cope," cut off Ymir, not noticing the shocked look Christa was giving her from behind. If Sasha hadn't passed out from stress on her lap, she would have most likely done something to break the two up, though as things were now, she was unable to do so, and could only sit by as Ymir continued on. "So tell me, what did I get wrong, hm?"

"You got our friendship dynamic wrong, Ymir. I legitimately care about Mina, Annie and… Mika," shot Nac, his face going a little pale at the mention of Mikazuki's name. He had to bite his lip to stop himself from groaning at the thought of him being dead, though before long he continued. "Sure, they're all stronger than me, physically at least, but that doesn't mean I'm leeching off them. I always do my best to support them whenever possible, and they do too. We… rely on each other, to some extent, be it for strength or moral support."

"Psh, good comeback," growled Ymir as she slouched her shoulders and looked towards Annie, who was glaring at the taller woman, her eyes clearly saying that if Mina was not napping against her shoulder, she would've buried her by now. Ymir returned the glare in full, clearly not taking that threat seriously, before she noticed something. "Hey, where's the short guy? Black hair, cresent hair look. Mikazuki, was it?"

"... Mikazuki is… missing in action," answered Nac, lowering his gaze towards the ground as he spoke. In response, Ymir simply snorted as she rested a hand against her hip.

"Pft, most likely retreated to the inner Walls or something. He's not dimwitted enough to stay and fight," reasoned Ymir as Nac turned to glare at her, causing her to raise a brow. His glare was nowhere as intense as Annie's, but it was enough to get a reaction out of her as she snorted. "Deep down, you know that-"

"You're wrong," cut off Nac as he held a hand up towards Ymir's chest, jabbing her accusingly. "Mika would never run away, especially in a situation like this. He was among the first Cadets to take action when a Titan entered Trost, and I doubt that he would ever turn tail and run so long as one person he cared about was still on the battlefield!"

"Yeah, but what if he was faking it this whole time?" rebutted Ymir, causing Nac to falter just a little as the tanned woman continued. "You don't get it, do you. Of course you don't, you're too dense to consider it. Humans are vile creatures, Nac. We keep secrets from each other, we pretend to be things we aren't in order to keep a lie up, and most of all, when push comes to shove, we won't hesitate to abandon each other should things get too dicey. The only reason we've come this far is because we have a common enemy, the Titans. Trust me, if they didn't exist, we would've gone extinct long ago via infighting."

"I…" muttered Nac as he began faltering just a little, prompting Ymir to roll her eyes as the taller boy began to let all that sink in. He never did consider all of what Ymir had just said, not until now… and the realization hit him harder than even the strongest of artillery the Walls could throw at a Titan. He didn't want to consider it, but Ymir… could be right. Mika never did reveal too much about himself, and he never did seem to care much about any of them. Sure, it could've been what Mina dubbed 'Mika's way of showing love', but even so…

"... look, I'm not saying that as a fact. Just wanted to throw that out there," grumbled Ymir as soon as she noticed that Nac seemed to be contemplating some serious crap at the moment. "Just stop being so dense, you hear? You're good at academic crap, so use that brain of yours for more than just pushing numbers."

"...right," was all Nac could reply with. And at that very moment, an ear-piercing BOOM could be heard, and the ground beneath them shook, prompting nearly everyone present to gasp and steady themselves at that sudden tremor.

Nac himself nearly fell off his feet while Ymir simply lost balance. As soon as they steadied themselves, the two turned towards the source of the boom and the tremor, and their eyes went wide at the sight of smoke rising up into the air close to the side of Trost.

"W-What was that?!" was the only thing Nac could shout out at that point.

"Ann… the heck was that…?" muttered Mina as she stirred awake, rubbing her eye as she pushed herself off Annie's shoulder. As soon as she was awake, however, she realized that she had been sleeping against her blonde friend's shoulder, prompting her to squeak as she jerked backwards. "A-ANNIE?! I… I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T-"

"Mina, calm down," assured Annie as she held a hand up to placate her friend, feeling just a bit amused at her outburst. At that, Mina sighed and nodded, taking in several deep breaths as she did as she was told, with Annie standing up as she did. "As for your question, I do not know what that was, but…"

"T-There's smoke coming from there!" proclaimed a Cadet from the crowd as Annie helped Mina up to her feet. As soon as she was up, the two rushed over to Nac's side, with the taller boy looking stressed out as he greeted them.

"Mina, A-Annie, good to see that you two are up again. You look better as well, Mina," greeted Nac with a shaky, stressed out smile. Beside him, Ymir rolled her eyes before turning towards Christa, who was now trying to calm a panicked Sasha. The Potato Girl had no doubt been shocked awake by the sudden boom and having mistaken it for a Titan attack. Connie seemed reluctant to offer help thanks to his lack of experience on the matter, though to be fair, he was too preoccupied with staring up at the rising cloud of smoke to do anything.

"Yeah, I feel a little better…" admitted Mina shakily as she turned to stare at the rising cloud of smoke as well. "But what…"

"I… don't know!" admitted Nac as he clenched his fists. "Just… an explosion came up, and the ground trembled a little! Oh god… what if… what if the Armoured Titan did that?!"

"Or the Mechanical Titan," muttered Ymir, frowning at the thought of having that monstrosity be their enemy. The handful of Cadets who heard her shivered at that prospect, though before Mina could voice her thoughts on it, the four of them heard the distinct sound of Maneuver Gear activating, prompting them to turn towards its source and spot Jean hoisting himself up towards the closest building, with Marco following closely behind. If Nac had to guess, he was headed towards the source of the smoke, prompting him to grimace just a little.

"Jean!" proclaimed Nac in an attempt to call him back, his sudden shout catching the attention of a handful of other Cadets. Unfortunately, Jean was too far off to hear him, prompting Nac to grimace further as he readied his gear as well. "Dammit! I-"

"You're going after him, huh?" piped up Reiner as he stood up from the seat he was on, prompting Nac to turn towards him and nod. In response, Braun simply nodded and smiled just a little. "Sounds just like you. I'm coming with."

"R-Reiner, can't you just hang back and get some rest for once in your life?!" proclaimed Bertholdt, prompting Reiner to chuckle bitterly.

"Sorry, Bert, but sometimes resting is not much of an option," retorted Reiner as he nodded towards Nac. "Lead the way."

"Thanks, Reiner," thanked Nac with a smile before he turned towards Mina and Annie, who both stared up at him. Annie seemed to already know what he was about to say while Mina simply pursed her lips together in anticipation. "I… well… if you two don't want to…"

"Nonsense! We're with you till the end, Nac!" shot Mina with a thumbs up, prompting Nac to crack a small smile as he nodded. Annie herself shrugged, showing her indifference, though she was willing to come with. "Let's get a move on!"

And with that, Nac, Mina and Reiner set out after Jean. Bertholdt was quick to follow out of worry for his blonde friend, and Ymir sighed as she got ready to get on with her day… at least until Christa came charging up to her side.

"I… I'm following as well!" proclaimed Christa, prompting Ymir to flinch as she seized her small wrist. "Ymir…?"

"Ooooh no, you're staying here, Christa!" proclaimed Ymir, sounding just a little worried as she glared at the short blonde. In response, Christa got ready to open her mouth and retort, though she was cut short when Annie seized Ymir by the wrist with enough force to cut the circulation from the limb, in turn forcing her to release Christa's. "Gah! What the fuck, Annie?!"

Annie chose to remain silent as Christa left after the others, though she did offer Annie a quick nod as thanks before she did. Leonhardt chose to ignore it, however, only speaking up after Christa left.

"You and I need to have a talk, Ymir," growled Annie, and despite being mostly unnaffected by her attitude, Ymir was quick to admit that Annie's tone set her on edge just a little…

"Jean!"

Jean Kirstein heard his name be called. He heard it loud and clear, and yet, he didn't respond to it. Neither he nor Marco did, for they were too focused on the sight before them to do so. Even as Nac, Mina, Reiner, Bertholdt and Christa landed behind them, neither one of them turned to acknowledge the newcomers, as they simply stared at the cloud of smoke that was slowly beginning to dissipate.

Below the building they had landed on were several hundred Garrison members, all of whom surrounded the slowly dissipating cloud of smoke with their Anti-Titan blades unsheathed or their musket rifles aimed at it. If Nac bothered to focus, he would've noticed Kitz Woermann alongside the Garrison Elites, minus Rico who was absent for some unknown reason, down there alongside the soldiers, though he didn't bother to do so, as he was completely focused on Jean and Marco.

"Jean! Marco!" repeated Nac as soon as they landed, and this time, Marco snapped out of his mild trance and turned towards the newcomers whilst Jean kept his gaze firmly locked onto the slowly dissipating smoke. "What the Hell are you two thinking?! This could be…"

And Nac's words trailed off as soon as he noticed the slowly dissipating smoke, or to be more precise, what was within it. It didn't take long for the other newcomers to notice it as well, and they all gaped at it in shock.

"Is… that… am I seeing things correctly or…" muttered Reiner as just enough smoke dissipated to show the face of what appeared to be a Titan. Or at least, what remained of it, as the small group saw that the skin and flesh appeared to have been blown off, revealing its skull. Mina, Bertholdt and Christa had to fight off their gag reflexes after laying eyes on the sight, though the others kept their eyes glued on it out of fear.

"You're not seeing things," assured Marco as he and Jean both took a step backwards out of instinctual fear, with Jean backing right up into Nac in the process. The taller guy didn't seem to mind, though, as his attention was completely fixed on the skeletal remains of the Titan. As the smoke cleared more, more parts of the Titan could be seen, and everyone present flinched just a little when they saw its exposed ribcage, with flesh still clinging onto it. A singular arm was still attached to its body, its left arm to be specific, though its entire forearm was missing from the elbow onwards. "That… t-that's… a Titan…"

"But how did it even get inside of Rose…?" muttered Christa in disbelief as she took a preemptive step backwards. In response, Mina grit her teeth and answered.

"It's Eren… it has to be Eren!" pointed out Mina, prompting everyone to turn towards her. Her expression was a lot harder than Nac remembered it being, though he didn't voice that out as he allowed her to continue. "They separated him, Mikasa and Armin from the rest of us when we returned, remember? I'm thinking…"

"That they wished to interrogate those three in particular," finished Reiner as he rubbed his chin, turning back towards the smoldering remains of Eren's Titan form as he spoke. "Evidently it didn't go well. They probably got the order to kill them, and it didn't go as planned."

"Well whatever the reason, should we really be staying here?" muttered Bertholdt as he turned his attention up to spot a handful of Wall mounted cannons aimed down towards the remains of Eren's Titan form, seeming ready to open fire at any moment. "We could potentially get caught in a tussle we have no way of winning!"

"Perhaps, but-" began Nac, only to be cut off when the sound of Maneuver Gear units hitting the ground could be heard, causing the small group atop the buildings and the Garrison who were down on the ground to gasp. And mere seconds after, the familiar figure of Armin burst out of the smoke, causing a few gasps to erupt from the crowd below. "I-It's Armin… I guess you were right, Mina…"

"I wish I wasn't," was all Mina could mutter out as below them, Kitz Woermann held his hands out to signal for Armin to stop his running. To back his order up, a handful of the Garrison surrounding them raised their rifles and aimed them squarely on Armin, who complied as he stopped his rush and held his hands up to show that he was not about to harm anyone.

It was admittedly a little comical, to see an entire platoon of soldiers aim their rifles at Armin, who didn't look to be capable of harming even a fly, though with context, it did make sense, seeing as how in at least Kitz's eyes, the Cadet was friends with a person who had just come out of a Titan's nape mere hours ago and, if the dissolving Titan skeleton was anything to go by, could also transform into one.

For a brief moment, no one said a word. Armin simply stood there with his arms held up above his head while the riflemen aimed their guns at him. And, for the briefest of seconds, Armin's eyes seemed to dart up to Jean and the other Cadets who were watching the whole ordeal unfold from atop the building, though he was quick to dismiss them, as his attention was stolen by Kitz speaking up.

"So it would seem as though you have revealed your true colours, monster!" accused Kitz as he motioned rather unnecessarily as he spoke, at one point nearly swatting one of his Garrison Elites in the face. The Elite didn't bring that up, however, as Kitz continued on. "Your transformation into that wretched beast within the confines of Rose shows your true nature, and as such, you are a threat to us all! On my signal, gunners, open fire!"

"W-Wait, he's not gonna-" began Nac, instinctively stepping forward to perhaps intervene in some way, only for Reiner to hold him back. "R-Reiner?!"

"It's best if we don't get involved in this, Nac," suggested Reiner as Nac raised a brow in disbelief. Before he could retort, however, the blonde continued. "If you do so, they'll more than likely mark you as a traitor for speaking up for the supposed enemy. Just… hang back and let things play out, alright?"

"But we can't just leave Eren, Mikasa and Armin to be wiped off the face of the world!" protested Nac, only to be silenced when Mina gently placed a hand over his back, prompting him to turn towards her with a confused look. "M-Mina… don't tell me…"

"Have faith in Armin," urged Mina, sounding rather confident as she turned back towards the blonde in question. Nac grimaced just a little at that, though he allowed the topic to drop as soon as he heard Armin speak up once more.

"Captain Kitz Woermann! I assure you that he is not an enemy of mankind" proclaimed Armin, his usually small and timid voice now loud and clear enough to be heard by anyone within a fifty metre radius. His tone shocked those who knew him well, though it didn't compare to what came out of his mouth next. "As Cadets of the 104th Trainee Corps and as proud members of the Military Brigade, we are willing to share any and all information we have on the matter and provide as much support as we possibly can in potentially retaking Trost!"

The bravery that had pushed Armin to say those words was more impressive than anything the group that stood atop the building had seen in quite a long while. It was perhaps on par with seeing the Mechanical Titan in person, though just barely. Kitz, on the other hand, didn't seem to be phased by this act of bravery, however, as he held a fist in front of his face and retorted. "I have no intention of hearing your desperate pleas! We have heard everything from those who witnessed it rampaging around Trost, and we know more than enough to say that there is no room for discussion whatsoever!

"But if you say that he is not our enemy, Cadet, then prove it! If you are unable to do so, then we shall simply eliminate the beast and the traitors who stand with him!"

"There… THERE ISN'T ANY NEED FOR PROOF!" proclaimed Armin as he leaned forward to amplify the sound of his voice, prompting several Garrison members to tighten their grips on their rifles. "How we see him… it is not an issue!"

"What?!" proclaimed Kitz, his confusion rather apparent. Up top, his fellow Cadets were also rather confused by the whole ordeal, though Reiner smirked a little at that, seemingly understanding just a little of what the shorter blonde meant.

"You say that many have seen him in combat, Captain!" continued Armin. "From either atop the Walls and from even on the field! If that is so, then you must have seen the way he fought, including the sight of the Titans swarming him!

"In other words, the Titans too saw him as a target of predation, just like the rest of mankind! No matter how we go about it, that fact cannot be denied!"

And at that, the area fell silent. So much so that the only thing that could be heard was the vague sounds of metal impacting flesh and the occasional discharge of a 170mm Autocannon round in the distance. The tension that filled the air was so thick that Mina and Jean both began stumbling just a little, prompting Christa and Marco to extend their arm out to steady the twintailed girl and horse-faced boy respectively to keep them upright.

Before long, however…

"He… h-he has a point…" came a Garrison as he lowered his rifle, frowning deeply as he pondered his next course of action. "That boy… he and that… Mechanical Titan… they seemed to be targeting only Titans and not humans…"

"A Titan as an ally… it's ridiculous, but…" added another, trailing off as her resolve began weakening. "If the Mechanical Titan is supposedly non-hostile to mankind, then perhaps…"

"I saw it… him… I saw him lunge forward and attack in spite of having lost both his arms…" muttered another, shivering at that rather gruesome memory.

One by one, the Garrison began lowering their arms, be it Anti-Titan blades or their rifles. Armin seemed to be getting to them, and the sight of that made Nac smirk just a little as he turned to Mina with a small smile.

"I guess you were right to have faith in Armin, huh?" quipt Nac as Mina offered a weak smile in return, though before she could respond, Kitz swung his arm out towards the closest Wall mounted cannon and bellowed out an order.

"PREPARE TO ATTACK!"

"Wait what-" began Bertholdt, only for Kitz to continue on with his command.

"DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THIS CADET'S CLEVER TRICKS!" urged Kitz, eliciting several gasps of shock from Armin and the Cadets atop the building. "THE ACTIONS OF THE TITANS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN BEYOND OUR COMPREHENSION! AS SUCH, IT IS NOT BEYOND THE REALM OF PLAUSIBILITY THAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF TAKING THE FORMS OF HUMANS AND IMITATE OUR METHOD OF SPEECH TO DELUDE US!

"WE MUSTN'T ALLOW THEM TO DO AS THEY PLEASE ANY LONGER! TO ALLOW THEM BACK INTO OUR RANKS WILL ONLY CAUSE HARM TO US AND THOSE WHOM WE CARE FOR! AS SUCH, WE MUST WASTE NO TIME IN ELIMINATING THESE BEASTS WHO MASQUERADE AS MEN, STARTING WITH THEM!"

Kitz's little speech seemed to stir something up within the Garrison, as their hostility shot back up, prompting them to either train their guns back onto Armin or reassume offensive stances with the Anti-Titan blades in hand. At that, Armin's face paled several shades, and atop the building, Bertholdt fainted from the stress that came with the whole situation, with Reiner thankfully grabbing him before he could roll off the roof. Nac, however…

"T-The Captain… he's abandoned all reason!" proclaimed Nac as he took a preemptive step forward, only to be stopped by Reiner once more. "He's too scared to think, dammit! We have to do something to stop him before he makes a terrible mistake!"

"There's nothing we can do, Nac!" proclaimed Reiner as he shoved Tias back. "We just can't…!"

"There's always something that can be done!" reasoned Christa, making her voice known as she stepped forward, though Reiner simply shook his head in defeat.

"I'm… sorry, Christa, but…"

And then it happened.

"I AM A SOLDIER THAT HAS LONG SINCE OFFERED HIS LIFE FOR THE REVIVAL OF MANKIND!"

Armin's voice rang out loud, silencing practically everything else in its wake. If anything, it seemed as though the entire Earth fell silent for this one moment as the Cadets atop the building turned back to spot Armin, performing the Military Brigade salute with such valor that even Erwin Smith would feel envious.

"TO PERISH WHILST OBEYING THAT CONVICTION WOULD BE MY LIFE'S GREATEST GLORY!" continued Armin, his sudden raise of volume shocking those who heard his claim into silence. Noticing this, Armin continued on, not allowing his volume to drop for even a second. "IF WE WERE TO USE THE COMBINED MIGHT OF EREN JAEGER'S TITAN POWERS AND THE ANTI-TITAN CAPABILITIES OF THE MECHANICAL TITAN IN ADDITION TO OUR REMAINING FORCES, THEN THE RECAPTURE OF TROST WOULD NO LONGER BE IMPOSSIBLE!

"I SHALL PRAY ONLY FOR THE GLORY OF MANKIND, AND IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, I WISH TO ELABORATE ON EREN JAEGER'S STRATEGIC WORTH WITH ALL THE TIME I HAVE LEFT!"

And as soon as the blonde finished what could most likely be the last words of his life, the area they were in went deathly silent once more, only broken by the unsteady breathing of nervous Garrison members. Several of themfound themselves gasping at such a claim, to use Titans, of all things, to recapture Trost. Even the two Elite Garrison members who flanked Kitz seemed baffled by such a statement, though above them the Cadets did seem to understand what Armin was getting at.

"Eren… he fought like a monster out there. He doesn't seem to be controllable… and yet, if we make proper use of him…" muttered Reiner thoughtfully as Nac nodded.

"We just might have a chance of retaking our home…!" proclaimed Mina, sounding extremely supportive of Armin's plan as she stared down at the Garrison, Kitz in particular as he was the one who called the shots around here, it seemed.

"But… what if he doesn't agree…?" was all Christa could mutter out as a Garrison Elite took a step towards Keith and spoke up.

"...Captain Woermann, perhaps we should consider the Cadet's proposal?" suggested the Elite as he took a step forward, prompting his fellow Elite to stare at him, baffled. He ignored him, however, and continued on. "Should this plan sound worthwhile, then perhaps…"

"SILENCE!"

That one word was enough to tell everyone present that Kitz was unwilling to cooperate, and the Elite took a step back and gave a solemn nod as the Captain began raising an arm up to signal the gunners to fire.

'He's not listening to their pleas!' thought Nac desperately as he gulped. 'No matter how much they try to change his mind, to him, they're no different to Titans! And he's going to attempt to eliminate them like one!'

The Captain's hand was already halfway up, and Nac took a step forward, only to be held back by Reiner.

"Don't," pleaded Reiner, only to be met with a massive grimace from Nac, though that grimace quickly turned to a pained frown when he saw that Kitz's hand was held high above his head by then. Reiner himself looked away as he held Bertholdt's unconscious body over his shoulder, frowning as he muttered out his next words. "They're… finished…"

At that, Nac simply grit his teeth as he, alongside the other Cadets who were with him, squeezed their eyes shut and looked away from Armin, the blonde who would be wiped off the face of the Earth within the next couple of minutes…

...and yet… the shot never came…

Perking his ears up just a little, Nac first wondered if he had gone deaf. There was meant to be a cannonshot… right? Did they opt to just stab them to death? Unlikely, as the sound of metal slicing through flesh would've been heard.

Slowly, and rather uncertainty, the Cadets began to open their eyes one by one and, to their relief, saw that Armin was still standing there, his salute as firm as ever. That, and a newcomer, who had restrained Kitz Woermann's wrist before he could bring it down and signal the cannons to open fire.

"I-Is that…" began Jean as soon as he opened his eyes, and before he could finish that statement, the newcomer spoke up, his elderly voice matching his appearance.

"As always, Captain, despite you having a large body, you're still as feeble as a fawn that has yet even gain its antlers," were the first words to exit the mouth of Commander Dot Pixis, and as he spoke, he lowered Kitz's arm down to his side and had a good look at Armin, and vice versa, Arlert himself got a good look at the bald, elderly man. Though he was definitely old, Commander Pixis still looked ready for combat, even if that smile on his mustached face made him look more like a proper grandfather than the Commander of the Garrison Brigade.

"C-Commander Pixis…?" sputtered out Kitz as he, alongside everyone present, turned to face the Commander, who smiled as he walked past the Captain. "Why are you…?"

"I was informed of the nature of Eren Jaeger and the sudden appearance of the Mechanical Titan within Trost by the two over there," informed Pixis as he stopped walking and observed Armin Arlert briefly. As he did, Kitz turned his attention to his back and widened his eyes when he saw that Pixis' usual escorts were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the Commander was escorted by none other than Rico Brzenska and Flex Moto Ray, who were giving him irritated and smug looks, respectively. "They, unlike you, thought it wise to seek the aid of a higher up rather than take matters into your own two hands, something that all of you would be keen on remembering!"

At that, Pixis waved a hand, ordering all Garrison members to stand down, and they all did so without question. Kitz, however, simply grimaced as he stepped forward, the fear he was suffering clouding his judgement as he blurted out; "B-But Commander… how can you trust these Titans in human skin so swiftly?!"

"Why? Well, it is simple, Captain Woermann," responded Pixis, smiling as he kept his gaze locked onto Armin, who still had his eyes squeezed tightly shut as he spoke. "Do you not see the utter brilliance of that salute? It is a sign, Captain, a sign that he is more than willing to give up all that he has for our cause, and it should not be dismissed!"

Kitz could only gape at his Commander as soon as he processed those words, allowing Pixis to continue on.

"Though I only just arrived, one of your men kindly filled me in on the details of your… 'interrogation'," explained Pixis. "Now, please go take command of the reinforcements, Captain Woermann, for I think it to be best if we heard what these Cadets had to say."

And as soon as he processed those words, Armin collapsed into a heap of exhaustion as the Cadets atop the building released a collective sigh of relief. Their comrades would live to fight another day, it seemed… and now they had an advantage against the Titans.

"Hey, why're you guys up there?" came Flex's voice rather abruptly, prompting the Cadets to turn down and see that their senior was staring up at them in confusion. Several other Garrison did as well, prompting Nac to awkwardly chuckle as he attempted to explain themselves.

"N-No real reason… we just saw some smoke and came to investigate… right, Mina?" explained Nac, having expected a response from his pal. When he got none, the taller boy turned… and saw that Mina had fainted whilst standing up! "M-Mina…?!"

And at that, Mina fell off to the side, prompting Nac to gasp and grab her before she fell off the building. Meanwhile Christa sighed just a little in relief, though she did offer a small smile as a mildly positive thought entered her mind.

'Well, so much for that little nap she had earlier, huh…?'

Ah… I'm tired.

So this chapter does cover a majority of the major things for the Trost arc of Attack on Titan. It does feel rather rushed, I'll admit, but I'm doing my best to speed things up. I do apologise for the lack of Barbatos in this, but I do hope you guys enjoyed what little of it there was.

I'll admit, the Barbatos moments were inspired by Glory Kills from Doom Eternal. God, that game is fucking amazing. Another thing that's fucking amazing is the amount of favorites/follows I have now too! 260 favorites and 313 follows as of now… it feels rather overwhelming! And as such, I wish to thank all of you for sticking with me up till now, and if you found this story recently, I hope you enjoy my genuinely mediocre story writing, and here's to the future!

So… erm, reviews! By the way do you guys have an MG Barbatos? You guys should get one, it's great!

daggercloak: erm, alright. I'll do that

Touhoufanatic: firstly, I did genuinely enjoy writing Kitz Woermann. He's extremely sporadic and a joy to write. Secondly, I do apologise for pushing Pixis seeing Barbatos to the next chapter. And thirdly, go for it, and if you do, good luck!

UndeadLord22: I do apologise for the short chapter. This chapter is slightly longer… for all the wrong reasons

Kamikieskai: thanks, and here's the next!

Ulydace: I didn't bother with watching that TV trailer. Frankly speaking, even if I did, I would've still bought the game as soon as it hit the stores

Azure Dragon of the East: I didn't preorder Eternal, unfortunately. As for the Lupus Rex, it's released on May, so preorders may pop up a little later

Akashic Records: yeah… erm, I do admit to stretching some things out unnecessarily. I'm going to be doing my best to speed things up from here on out.

RocketFourze: why thank you

Guest (Kimaris): how lewd of you!

Adriaus Nighthunter: well, here's more!

Spyro fanboy: firstly I'm… uh, glad you're not dead anymore. Secondly, I'm glad you love the way I write, though I have to say that I'll need a lot more than 'a bit of work' if I want to make this an actual book

Guest: I'm glad you enjoyed the story! And regarding that little scene… I do have some dumb plans for it, but I'll keep it under wraps for now.

Guest: ah, well… I'll admit, it was an oversight that I didn't correct. I was a little too absorbed in writing characters interacting with one another to make them talk about his Alaya Vijnana system, and I do apologise for that…

Anyhow, things are rather rough these days. Coronavirus is on the rise, toilet paper is very scarce, and most of yall are most likely in quarantine. Do be safe!

Bonus: Tekketsu No Slap-Jin

"THOU IS A FOOL! AS PUNISHMENT FOR STANDING AGAINST ME, I SHALL DROWN THOU IN THE MAELSTROM OF MY NIGHTMARES!"

"MY TENTACLES SHALL TWIST AND CONTORT THY THROAT AS I THROTTLE THOU AND ALL WHOM THOU HOLDS CLOSE TO THY HEARD WITH VISIONS OF HERMAPHRODITIC SUCCUBI AND VIOLENT OEDIPAL RAPE FANTASIES!"

"HEARKEN, FOR I SHALL TAKE THY CITIES BY FORCE! I SHALL SUBJUGATE THY CHILDREN WITH MY OWN TWO HANDS, AND I SHALL RAPE AND DEVOUR THY ARMIES WITH NOTHING MORE BUT MY MIND!"

"HOWEVER, FOR THOU… THOU WHO BEDS THY MOTHER, IF THOU SURVIVES MY WRATH, THEN THOU SHALL BEAR TESTAMENT TO MY WILL AND THOU SHALL BE ON THE OPPOSING END OF MY REVENGEANCE!"

And at that, Mika opted to turn off the local comm links. Armin was a lot… stranger than he realised…

Have a nice day everyone.