"Mikazuki?"
Blinking as he tore his gaze away from the window of the Isaribi, Mikazuki raised an eyebrow as he turned to come face to face with none other than Atra Mixta, who had an expression which showed her worry for him. In spite of his usually stoic self, Mikazuki allowed his normally hard gaze to soften before he turned to regard her.
"Atra… what are you doing here…?" muttered Mika as the shorter girl walked up to stand beside him, hands by her side and head craning up to look him in the eye. "You… couldn't sleep either?"
"I… guess you could say that…" muttered Atra, something which made Mika nod. And silence prevailed from then, with Mika occasionally popping a raisin into his mouth while Atra stood in silence. And finally, right as Mika was about to leave, Atra spoke her mind. "Mikazuki… you… are you feeling alright…?"
"I…" muttered Augus, not sure of why she would ask that but answering regardless. "I feel… normal."
As he said that, Mikazuki had brought a hand to stare at it. To him, he seemed alright. Nothing on him felt hurt, at least nothing he could see or feel. But Atra, being more observant of such things than he was, could notice several indications of his discomfort, key of which being how the hand Mika brought up to stare at was shaking mildly.
"Mikazuki…" muttered Atra, lifting her arms up and gently wrapping her fingers around the taller boy's larger hand, an act which made him quirk an eyebrow up. "If that's true… then why are you shaking…"
Widening his eyes ever so slightly as he pulled his hand back, with Atra releasing her grip on it to allow him to do so, the boy stared blankly at his own hand. He seemed to only just notice the subtle shakiness in his hand, and to a certain extent, the smaller discomforts he was feeling internally.
"...you're right," muttered Mika in response to Atra's observation as he clenched his fist. "I… wonder why. Something… is strange today. I just feel… off."
And, without even a second thought, Atra stepped forth. The motion caught Mikazuki's attention, but he wasn't able to react before Atra, after tiptoeing, leaned up and gave him a surprisingly strong hug. Her arms were wrapped around his neck in a manner which wasn't so strong that it hampered his breathing, but it was still strong enough to make him exhale sharply. Despite standing on her tiptoes, however, the top of Atra's head only came up to Mikazuki's cheek.
For a short while, Atra remained this way, simply hugging the one she cared the most about in an attempt to comfort him. She didn't know what issues he was facing, exactly, but she'd be damned if she let him face them alone. Mikazuki, on the other hand, stood there, confused as a new form of emotion coursed through him. The boy still kept his stoic expression, but he felt his heart rate speed up tenfold by the sudden act.
After ten seconds, however, Atra seemed to realize what she was doing and widened her eyes and breaking the gentle hug. Jolting back and now staring at Augus with a face so red that it made her look like she'd eaten an entire can of hot sauce, the shorter girl tapped her index fingers together as she fumbled together an explanation. "I-I… I just recently saw Fumitan-San do this to the other kids… they seemed to calm down. I… I'm sorry if the hug didn't work though… I…"
The girl had to pause for a moment before she went on, her beet red face now turning even darker.
"I don't have a chest size that's big enough to comfort you…" she continued, and that was when she realized how stupid she was sounding and blurted out an, "I… I'm s-sorry, Mikazuki!"
While she blurted out line after line, however, Mikazuki found himself inadvertently staring at her with his own variant of a shocked expression. She was such an adorable child, and he knew it. The boy didn't know how he felt towards her, not yet at least, but he did wish to repay her for the act of kindness she had just showed towards him. The boy was about to say a simple 'thank you', but he knew that wasn't enough. Closing his mouth, he thought of another way to thank the girl, and once he did, he smiled.
A smile which Atra remembered to be almost playful looking, especially for Mikazuki.
Distracted by that smile, Atra did not react when Mikazuki trailed one of his hands up along her cheek, pushing aside some of her hair as he rubbed the side of her face in a shockingly gentle manner, especially for him. And, without warning, the boy leaned down and gave Atra the honor of being the first person he's ever kissed.
That was his thanks to Atra, and it was something neither of them would forget about anytime soon.
"Atra…"
"No Mika, it's me, Nac!"
Upon hearing that, Mikazuki shot open his eyes and found himself face to face with none other than Nac himself, who was kneeling down in front of him with a smirk on his face. While his presence usually made Augus at least brighten up on several occasions, the shorter boy felt like socking Tias in the cheek for interrupting his pleasant memories. Still, he kept that emotion in check as the taller boy helped him up onto his feet, and by then, the pilot began remembering where he was.
He still remembered the 'graduation party' they all had the night before. Despite him wanting to not attend, Nac and Mina kept insisting on it, and he was inevitably forced to comply alongside Annie, who seemed to be as 'thrilled' to be there as he was, even if they did exchange some nice words with each other. The party wasn't exactly tiring, per say. Perhaps long was the better term to describe it. It had dragged on and on, long enough that Mika only got perhaps four hours of rest by the time they had returned to the dorms.
Having been woken up with minimal rest, the boy was unable to listen to the briefing Keith Shadis had bellowed at them, though he vaguely caught the words 'Cannon Maintenance' being roared at them. Whatever that meant wasn't too important to him at that time. He had also remembered walking through Trost alongside Mina, Nac, Annie and at least ten other Trainees.
By some inconceivable miracle, Mika had found himself separated from the main group. He would have tried to locate them, but his lack of rest was taking its toll on him, and the last thing he remembered before that pleasant trip down memory lane was him sitting down with his back against a wall and drifting off into dreamland…
"Hey Mika?" piped up Nac out of nowhere, prompting the shorter boy to snap out of his trance and turn up to stare at him. Nac was, as usual, smiling as he stared at him, though Mika noticed that he had a hand in his Trainee Corp jacket, trying to pull something out of it. When he seemed to finally find what he was looking for, the boy widened his smile and pulled out a slip of paper which appeared to be a letter of sorts. The thing was folded in half. "Here, this one's for you."
Augus took the piece of paper and stared at it, puzzled. "...what is it?"
"Ah… well," muttered Nac as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, we had a break not too long ago, and during that break, Mina, Annie and I decided to go looking for you. And during that time… we… may or may not have went over to visit Ms Carolina… Annie kinda separated from us after that visit. She said that she needed to work on something with Bertholdt. As for me… I went off to find you while Mina returned to her duties.
"Of course, we did spend time with her, and when she realized that you weren't there, she wrote this letter for you," explained Nac with a smile. "Read it whenever you want!"
Shrugging a little, Mika promptly stuffed the piece of paper into his jacket, intending to read it later, before turning up to face Nac. "Let's go and find Mina."
"Yeah," muttered Nac, realizing how Mika seemed to sound… well… a little more energetic than usual. "Let's do that! She's probably getting kinda lonely by now!"
And with that, both Mika and Nac continued their walk, though Mika couldn't help but feel some form of childish glee light up his heart as they walked.
"There you guys are!"
Smiling immensely when she saw Mikazuki and Nac make their way towards the cannon she was maintaining, Mina stopped what she was doing and gave her friends a wave. Nac was the only one to wave back, with Mika staying neutrally silent as they approached, both of them with their Maneuver Gear equipt.
Currently, both Mikazuki and Nac were atop the northern side of Trost's wall. From what Nac told him prior to getting here, they were meant to clean and maintain the cannons atop the Walls of Trost. It was their first assignment as proper soldiers of the Military Brigades, and it was simple enough as a first assignment, at least to Mika.
Mina herself was not the only person who was over by the southern side of Trost. Others, namely Connie, Eren, Samuel, Hanna and Franz were present here as well, working on their separate cannons as they chatted idly to one another, every one of them also equipped with their Maneuver Gear. Mina herself was working alongside Hanna, and both she and her friend paused to regard Mika and Nac came into view.
"Waddup," greeted Nac, coming to a stop in front of Mina. Mika followed suit, crossing his arms as he stared at Mina. "As you can see, I found Mika… he was kinda asleep and all that."
"I never took you for a sleepyhead, Mika!" complained Mina, lifting a finger to prod Augus on the cheek. The action didn't get much more than a neutral, confused stare from the pilot, causing Mina to chuckle awkwardly before she went on. "But still, why'd you decide to sleep at… wherever you were?"
"I was tired, and that spot looked good enough to rest at," replied Augus flatly, prompting the twin tailed girl to nod as she retracted her hand.
"Right right," muttered Mina, clearly not buying the lie but not keen on pushing the topic as she waved Augus off to get back to maintaining the cannon. Nac chuckled at that before moving off with the pilot to the cannon closest to them, leaving Hanna and Mina behind to speak with each other idly as they worked on theirs.
"Mikazuki really is somethin, eh?" said Hanna sarcastically. "Being able to sleep in so many strange areas regardless of comfort."
"That's one of the many things which make him enduring!" said Mina cheerfully as she scraped some grime off the side of the cannon the two were working on. As she did, Mina herself began thinking about the boy in question, feeling her mind absently drifting off into the distance as she slowly averted her gaze towards him. The boy didn't seem as keen on cleaning the cannon as Nac was telling him to be. Instead, he seemed more interested in tossing a pebble down at a Ten Metre Titan that was at the bottom of the exterior Wall.
"Mika, couldja give me a hand here?" grumbled Nac, his voice calm, though hints of irritation were apparent. In response, Augus nodded, though not before kicking a decently sized pebble down the side of the wall. The pebble went straight into the mouth of the Titan down below, though it seemed oblivious to that fact as it clawed at the Wall, trying to get to its prey.
Chuckling ever so slightly at that, Mina herself began thinking back to their earlier days as Trainees. Back then, Mika was, rather unsurprisingly, much like Annie, just less drastic. He didn't show up to all training sessions, but whenever he did, the boy gave it his all, a trait which Annie could stand to learn. Mina herself wished that Leonhardt wouldn't slack off so much, though it didn't really matter now, considering how their Trainee days were over, and how she seemed keen on joining the Military Police Brigade.
The Military Police Brigade… thinking about that reminded Mina of a conversation she and her small group of friends had the day prior. It was a simple conversation to say the least, with a single end goal; which branch they were joining. Annie herself was keen on being a part of the aforementioned Police Brigade, but Mika… he was apprehensive.
"I go wherever the two of you go," was what Augus said after Mina announced that both she and Nac were joining the Survey Corps. "Someone has to keep the two of you in line, after all."
"You sure?" she remembered asking Mika. "You're kinda abandoning a good life in the interior walls just to make sure we don't break a leg. You do know we're not that weak, right?"
"I know. You two are strong. But I'd feel better if I was with the two of you all the way. I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself if either you or Nac get eaten on an expedition."
She still remembered the expression both she and Nac gave the pilot when he said that so openly. Though he has shown his love, in his own way, for all three of them in the past, Mina felt that this was perhaps the first time Mika has ever shown some form of intense compassion towards either one of them in the past five years. It was enough to make Mina's heart stop for a few moments, and even now, as she stared at the boy prod a crack in the body of the cannon he and Nac were maintaining, the girl couldn't help but feel a little giddy.
"Mina…? Yo, Karanses to Mina! You there?"
Something about Augus just made her feel… happy. Perhaps it was his stoic yet sometimes gentle nature, or the way he spoke to his friends with a tone very different from whenever he was speaking to acquaintances, but something about him made her smile from time to time.
"Seriously, you there?"
The fact that she has seen him half naked doesn't really help. The spinal birth defect he suffered from didn't mitigade the fact that he was fuckin' ripped, and just the memory of a half naked Augus made the girl blush. If anything, those spinal things only served to make him look more unique…
"M-Mina! Your face is turning red!"
Despite her typically innocent nature, Mina couldn't help but allow several… naughty thoughts race through her mind. It was enough to make her cup her cheeks as her mind raced…
"MINA CAROLINA! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
And at that, Mina yelped and straightened herself, oblivious to the fact that she was just fantasizing about her friend as she snapped out of her trance, only to come face to face with none other than Hanna, who was leaning over the cannon and staring at Carolina with a worried expression. And, before she could even ask what she was doing, Hanna shot a hand forward, resting her palm against Mina's forehead.
"Strange, you don't seem feverish," she muttered, confused. "Care to explain why your face is so red, Mina?"
"It's what?!" exclaimed Mina, hopelessly embarrassed as she cupped her cheeks in her hands, not noting the lingering glances from the other Cadets. "D-Don't worry about it, Han'! Just… erm… overheating…?"
"If that's the case, you oughta get some water before you pass out!" proclaimed Hanna, and from out of nowhere, she grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to Mina. Deciding to play along, she snatched it away from her old Karanses friend and chugged it all down without a second thought, much to her friend's amusement. "Gee, you really were thirsty, hmm?"
"You… could say that," muttered Mina sheepishly as she emptied the bottle, wiping her lips as she placed it down. "Thanks for that, Han'."
"Yeah yeah, you're welcome and all that," responded Hanna, smirking. The two Karanses girls stood there silently for a moment, just enjoying the wind blowing against them as they looked out into the distance, out at the land the Survey Corps intended on reclaiming someday…
And suddenly…
"S-Sasha?! W-Where did you even GET that?!"
Blinking as both Hanna and Mina turned to investigate the unexpected sound of Nac raising his voice in terror, they both raised their eyebrows in confusion, as did everyone else within earshot when they heart Nac's voice. As for Tias and Augus, however, they were staring at Sasha with a horribly shocked expression. Even Mika's usually stoic expression was replaced with a surprised one, complete with an arched eyebrow.
"From the Senior's locker!" was Sasha's response to Nac as she pulled something from her jacket. And what everyone saw made their jaws drop in both hunger and terror.
Meat.
Oh dear Tekkadan, it was meat, only the scarcest and perhaps the most delicious thing which could be found in the outer confines of the Walls. Despite doing her best to remember, Mina couldn't recall the last time she ate it. In fact, she doubt she's even tasted meat before in her lifetime, prompting her to drool ever so slightly. The others, on the other hand, seemed apprehensive.
"S-Sasha, are you mad?!" exclaimed Connie. "When the seniors find out, you're as good as dead!"
"He's right," added Franz, walking up beside Connie as he crossed his arms. "Meat has become much scarcer ever since the Fall of Shiganshina and Maria. If any senior finds out, you could very well be executed… or worse…"
"But we can't let this opportunity slip by!" protested Sasha as she approached the group, smiling like a hungry, hungry Titan as she fantasized about all the things she could do with the slab of meat she had in her hands. And apparently, she was feeling generous on that day, as she added something unexpecteds. "We can divide it among ourselves as celebration! We did just graduate after all! We can slice it up and bread it… spread some butter on it and eat it with mushrooms…"
As she said that last line, Sasha gave out a low moan which made even Mika a little uncomfortable. After said moan, Sasha knelt down and opened a box which seemed to appear out of nowhere and gingerly placed the slab of meat inside.
"There's no need to worry about it, everyone," assured Sasha as she closed the lid of the box. "Once we've recapture Shiganshina or Maria, we'll be able to raise more cattle and cows for meat. And by then… ooooh, by then…"
It would appear that Sasha's gluttony was getting to the other former Trainees, as Connie's formerly indifferent expression began breaking down, leading to him demanding for a bit of the meat. Mina herself, eager to try it out for herself, was next to ask, with Franz, Hanna, Samuel and Eren coming in not long after. Sasha seemed to be fine with sharing, though Nac was the polar opposite.
"S-Stop and think, you guys!" protested Nac, catching everyone's attention. Out of the eight of them, he seemed to be the most serious, frowning as he crossed his arms. "If any one of the seniors even catch us holding that slab of meat, we'd have a very high chance of being courtmarshaled! Hell, just thinking about the consequences makes me queasy! You should put that thing back and try to learn some self control, like Mi-"
"Sasha," piped up Mika, making everyone turn to him as he had effectively cut Nac's rambling short as everyone turned to stare at the shortest person in the group. "Leave some for me."
And at that point, Nac nearly fainted. His point was proven moot after Augus asked for some of the meat, and all he could do was kneel down in defeat as Sasha gave a thumbs up. Noticing his friend's sadness, Mika added another request.
"And some for Nac," added Augus, prompting the taller boy to stand back up and point a finger at the pilot.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?! I HAVE NO INTENTION OF BEING COURTMARSHALED!" proclaimed Tias, causing a chuckle to erupt from Mina.
"Don't be such a downer, Nac!" proclaimed Mina, echoing what Mika had told her nearly four years ago. "Besides, you should take whatever good stuff life throws at you, like now! Just say yes and enjoy the moment! Who knows if you'll ever get this chance in the future?"
"But… I…!" began Nac, fumbling for a retort. He proved unable to do so, however, and finally, he knelt over in defeat. For a moment, no one spoke as Nac stayed on his knees, silent.
And finally, he stared up at Sasha.
"...could we at least have a small slice for Ms Carolina and Annie as well…?" he pleaded, and everyone, minus Mika, chuckled at that.
"Of course!" proclaimed Sasha, sounding just a bit uncertain but not heartless enough to deny that request. "This is practically a once in a lifetime opportunity, so we may as well make the most of it!"
"Ah… now could we please get back to work before someone notices something is up… please?" pleaded Nac. Everyone seemed fine with that, and they moved back to working on maintaining the cannons, though Nac himself still seemed antsy.
"I swear, Sasha's gluttony is going to be the end of us all…" muttered Nac, apparently still not liking the idea of having meat without the permission from his seniors. Augus, on the other hand, felt indifferent to the entire thing. Though, honestly, he did miss the taste of meat, so the prospect of potentially having some excited him to a certain degree.
"It's probably a once in a lifetime opportunity," pointed out Augus. "Just enjoy it."
"Yeah yeah, whatever…" muttered Nac in defeat as he tapped the side of the cannon. "Though frankly, I hope that what Sasha said will come true. Being able to reclaim Maria or Shiganshina sounds so… impossible. But with enough conviction, even the impossible can become possible."
"Look at you being optimistic," quipt Augus flatly as he tossed a rag onto the ground and stared out into the desolate world of Shiganshina that laid beyond the wall of Trost. Nac himself chuckled at his quipt.
"Yeah, some optimism is needed for this line of work after all," pointed out Nac with a smile as he stared out into the horizon alongside his friend. "It gives you hope even in the bleakest situations, motivates you to go onward or perhaps even inspire others in bleak situations."
"Perhaps…" muttered Augus, allowing Nac's optimism to be contagious. If it were about five years prior, Mika would've considered having some optimism in regards to the issue of him getting back to his home, his real home. But now, that optimism was reserved for another thing, to keep his comrades alive.
And following that brief exchange, neither Mika nor Nac spoke up again, seemingly content with just staring out at the outer half of Trost. This being his first time atop a Wall, Mika found the sight to be… beautiful, in a way. Minus all the Titans.
While he made no oath to do so, Mika himself felt that it was his own personal mission to help retake the outer Walls of Shiganshina and Maria. If it would make his friends happy, then so be it. That, and it would probably make his own life easier. Sure, he was unable to use Barbatos, but he had a feeling that he had enough Maneuver Gear skills to hold his own while in combat against Titans.
"Oi, Nac…?" muttered Augus, turning to face his friend. The taller boy, leaning against the cannon they were maintaining, turned to face him.
"Aye?"
"What are the odds of us being able to manage it?"
"I generally don't want to think about the odds, but honestly, I'm sure we'll be fine as Scouts. Just don't think about all the negative stuff and focus on surviving, perhaps?"
"Fair enough…"
And with that said, Nac went back to scrubbing the grime off the cannon they were working on, leaving Augus to simply stare out at the outside, where Titans roamed without a care in the world. There was an odd calmness to their current situation, with none of the other Cadets speaking loud enough to disturb him, and staring out into the outside had an oddly calming effect despite all the massive humanoid things roaming around.
The calmness allowed Augus to clear his mind for once, for him to close his eyes and just… relax.
And almost as though the universe itself wished for him to never be able to relax, a massive sound, accompanied by a horrifically bright flash of light, struck the area right in front of the northern end of Wall Trost. In response to that, Mika shot his eyes open, and he widened them immensely when he found himself face to face with a massive, flesh coloured head. Without any skin and its flesh visible, the thing fitted the description of the 'Colossal Titan' rather well.
For a moment, no one present at the northern side of the Wall uttered a single word. They simply stared in shock and horror at the sudden appearance of the Colossal Titan. And, by the time someone spoke up, the Wall below them shook with the force of a tidal wave, knocking them off balance just enough to let a powerful burst of steam, most likely coming from the Colossal Titan itself, to knock every last one of them backwards and send them flying off the side of the Wall.
"Tsk!" proclaimed Augus, allowing himself to panic for a split second before he remembered that he still had his Maneuver Gear equipped. Wasting no time, Augus and his fellow Cadets regained their marbles and shot both anchors of their gear onto the side of the Wall, roughly forty metres above ground level, effectively saving themselves from receiving a nasty end via a fifty metre fall. The others followed suit, all except for one. Samuel, apparently having been knocked out by the force of the steam, was still falling, and those who noticed that he was still falling turned to him in horror.
"Samuel!" exclaimed Mina, and right at that moment, Sasha did something rather unthinkable. Detaching one of her anchors, the Dauper resident began racing down the side of the Wall, the other anchor keeping her from falling straight off as she did so. Once she was sure that she was close enough to Samuel, she shot her second wire straight at him, and, by some ungodly miracle, the anchor was able to snag onto the boy, piercing his foot and holding onto him like some prized catch.
"Don't worry, Samuel! I've gotcha!" proclaimed Sasha, ignoring the shocked looks she was getting as she turned back up to stare at her fellow Cadets. "Is everyone aight?!"
"Yeah, we're fine!" assured Nac with a thumbs up, one that Sasha mirrored. "But… did that just happen?!"
"I have no idea! But… that face we saw before getting blown off… if you ask me, there's no doubt about it!" replied Connie, turning up to stare at the top of Trost. "The Colossal Titan has returned!"
While the Cadets calmed themselves, Mika and Franz both turned downwards, locking their gaze at the massive cloud of dust which shielded the gate of Trost from sight. It was a bad sign to say the least, and it made the former give a mild grimace while the latter widened his eyes in immense panic.
"Trost has been breached!" shouted Franz, catching everyone's attention as they widened their eyes to match his.
"Why NOW, of all fucking times?!" swore Connie clenching his fists so tightly that his veins began showing. His comment was largely ignored, however, as Eren ordered the small team of seven, including the unconscious Samuel who was still hanging from the wire Sasha shot into his foot like some sorta puppet, to move on to engage the Colossal Titan.
"Did seriously he just give that order?!" exclaimed Mina, feeling a wave of shock as she watched Eren swing himself up to the top of the Wall. Down below, Sasha was carefully reeling Samuel in, and when he was close enough, she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up to face Mina.
"It would seem so!" she exclaimed. "I don't know about cha', but Samuel ere' ain't lookin' too hot! Ah'll gettem to HQ fer medical attention!"
"That would be for the best!" agreed Nac, ignoring Sasha's native accent slipping in as he grimaced. Said grimace only grew in size, however, and Tias almost immediately widened his eyes immensely when he saw the first Titan, a Ten Metre, stumble its way into Trost. The taller boy grumbled when he saw it, though he did remember it as the Titan Mika was tossing rocks at not too long ago. "We've got company!"
"A Titan's already here?!" exclaimed Connie, prompting everyone to freeze up. "We oughta get out of here! We're not suited to going up against these things!"
"Bullshit!" shot Hanna, unsheathing both her blades as she turned to stare at the Ten Metre Titan, its eyes lazily looking around, trying to find its first meal. All around it, random civilians were panicking, running away from the monstrosity in terror as it scanned the crowd lazily. "I don't give a damn what you guys say, I'm taking that thing down one way or another!"
"If you're going, then I'm with you!" proclaimed Franz, his blades unsheathed as well. Hanna shot him a sweet smile before the two of them began boosting towards the intruder before anyone could stop them, much to Nac's dismay. Mika, on the other hand, turned to Nac with an expression which showed some mild form of conflict.
"... Nac, go inform our seniors about this," he instructed, unsheathing both of his blades as he spoke. Everyone turned to face him as soon as those words left his mouth, and Mina was the first to realize what he was planning.
"Wait, Mika! You can't-" she began, only for Augus to cut her off.
"I can," he retorted, cutting her off effectively. "Hanna and Franz can't hold their own for long. If you want to help me, get the more experienced soldiers onto the field before more Titans can get in and swarm us."
"I… guess you're right…" muttered Mina, seeing the logic in what augus just said as she nodded and turned to Nac. The taller boy seemed apprehensive, but he too nodded.
"Fine, let's move, double time!" he proclaimed, and with that, the remaining Cadets began retreating, leaving Mikazuki, Hanna, Franz and Eren behind. For a brief moment, Augus turned up to stare at the top of the Wall. From where he was hanging from, he could vaguely hear the sounds of cannonfire, making him believe that Jaeger was using the Wall mounted cannons against the Colossal Titan. A smart move, all things considered. But now was not the time to think about that. Turning back down to eye the Ten Metre Titan, the pilot saw that Franz and Hanna were already engaging it in combat.
Narrowing his eyes ever so slightly, the boy dislodged himself from the side of the Wall and began falling. The boy simply fell without a care in the world…
...and when he was roughly twenty metres away from the ground, the boy fired his Maneuver Gear anchors at the closest building and at the side of the Wall and, using his built up momentum, slingshot himself straight at the Ten Metre Titan.
"Damn you!"
Those were the words which were uttered by Franz as he took a slash at the arm of the Ten Metre Titan, giving it a large gash but not enough to stop the limb from moving. Not too far from him, Hanna was maneuvering around, doing her best to strike the nape of the Titan, though it's movements were too jerky for her to line up a shot clearly.
While the duo combated the Titan, they noted that the civilians were using this opportunity to flee the area. The two did not mind at all. This was what they were trained for, after all. Soldiers were meant to protect civilians, after all. If they perished, then so be it.
"Take this!" proclaimed Hanna out of quite literally nowhere, zipping in at an impressive speed. Her target was the left arm of the Titan, having apparently gotten fed up with her failed attempts at striking the nape. Franz did his best to distract the Titan long enough for her to get the strike in, but unfortunately for both of them, the girl's yell caught its attention, and before she could connect her blades with its left arm, the Titan lashed out at her with its right arm, snatching her out of the air and holding her at eye level. "Gah!"
"HANNA!" proclaimed Franz, not wasting a second to boost to save the person closest to him. However, before he could even begin to swing towards the Titan, a figure blasted straight past him. The Cadet just barely made out a sliver of black hair before the newcomer swung straight towards the right arm of the Titan, seemingly aiming for its wrist. And, with a swing which would rival even the top Survey Corps, the newcomer severed the entire right hand of the Titan, releasing Hanna, who began falling. Thankfully for her, however, Franz was able to get in and snatch her out of the air before she hit the ground, with the two landing on the top of a building not long after.
"T-Thanks for that, Franz…" thanked Hanna, her face a horribly dark shade of red when she realized that the boy in question was holding her in a bridal fashion, something which was impressive, considering the current situation the two of them were in at the moment. Franz, on the other hand, blinked as he turned to regard the one who just saved his crush.
"Yeah… but that wasn't me…" he admitted, and at that, Hanna herself turned and widened her eyes when she saw none other than Mikazuki Augus, circling around the Titan as he tried to spot a weak point to exploit. "It was him…"
Over with Augus, the boy kept his distance from the Titan, eyes narrowed as he watched its movement. The boy kept moving, using his Maneuver Gear to slingshot himself forward in a truly erratic fashion, dodging most of the swipes the Titan sent at him, perhaps waiting for the right moment to strike. After that initial hit from Mikazuki, the Titan kept its gaze firmly locked onto the pilot, ignoring Hanna and Franz as it focused entirely on Mika.
Those large, glassy, soulless eyes manage to send a chill down Mika's spine, much like how it did so long ago, but he ignored that feeling as he slingshot himself high up into the air. While he was doing so, the pilot noted that the Titan was still staring at him. That, and it looked as though it were ready to leap into the air and attempt to grab him.
Acting on instinct, as soon as the boy reached the apex of his flight and began slowing down, he maneuvered his waist properly into position and narrowed his eyes. He had only one shot at this, and if he failed he could very well become this thing's lunch. When he was sure that he had his target lined up, he took a deep breath… and fired his Maneuver Gear anchors.
Bullseye.
Both his Maneuver Gear anchors burst out of their canisters and buried themselves deep in both eyes of the Ten Metre Titan, causing a fountain of blood to gush out of them as the Titan, now unable to its target properly, leapt blindly into the air. When it landed, the Titan landed on its front. That simple action pulled Mikazuki down towards it, but the pilot used that momentum to swing himself straight at the Titan, dislodging both his anchors from the Titan's eyes as he did.
One of his two anchors ripped the eyeball of the Titan out of its socket, but Mikazuki himself didn't really care as he had his target in sight: the nape. Not wasting any time, he retracted and fired both anchors straight onto the back of the Titan's neck and reeled himself in. Clutching his Anti-Titan blades tightly, the boy waited for the right moment.
And with a single, solid slice, he ripped straight into the nape of the Ten Metre. Mikazuki himself landed rather harshly on the ground, having to roll to a stop before he could stand himself up. Once on his feet, however, the pilot turned to regard the slowly dissipating Titan for a moment as he sheathed his Anti-Titan blades.
Mikazuki himself was still covered in the dissolving blood of the Ten Metre, though he seemed oblivious to it as he turned his head upwards to regard Franz and Hanna, the former still holding the latter bridal style. Both of them were staring at him as though he had done the impossible, which may or may not have been too far off the mark, though it didn't stop the pilot from raising an eyebrow. 'Are you two okay?"
"Y-Yeah… we're fine!" assured Hanna with a thumbs up as Franz finally set her down. After giving her beloved a small smile, she opened her mouth to ask a simple question, only to close it when a group of Garrison soldiers came into view.
The first to reach them was a man who wore combat goggles. The soldier seemed panic, as he should be, as he landed down beside Franz and Hanna. The man already had his Anto-Titan blades unsheathed as he barked orders at the three Cadets.
"You three, fallback, now!" he ordered, pointing to the Military HQ at the heart of Trost as he spoke. "You all should've followed protocol, not rush in and try to act like a hero!"
"But sir, that Titan would've-" began Franz.
"It would've been handled by more experienced soldiers!" retorted the senior, cutting the Cadet off. "Now get moving, all three of you!"
"...yes sir…" was all Hanna and Franz could muster up as they turned to Augus, who was simply staring up at them with an indifferent expression. "Come on, Mika, let's move!"
"Ah…" muttered Augus absentmindedly as he stared out at the breached Wall of Trost. The entire situation reminded him so much of the Fall of Shiganshina and Maria, with the soldiers being mostly powerless when it came to combating the Titans. From the few rumors he's heard, the only reason the soldiers were able to evacuate as many residents of Shiganshina and Trost as they did all those years back was because of the Mechanical Titan…
Because of himself and Barbatos having joined the fight…
Connecting the dots within his head, the pilot turned up to regard Hanna and Franz. They were still waiting on him to follow them, so much so that they widened their eyes in shock when he shook his head.
"You guys go on ahead," instructed Mika, pointing towards the Trost Military HQ with an index finger. "I'll catch up."
"But-" began Franz, only for Hanna to stop him.
"No, he's got a family here, Franz," she explained to her love, pursing her lips together as she looked down to regard Augus with a firm expression. "Go warn em about the breach! We'll meet you at HQ!"
"Ah," replied Mika with a nod before he slingshot himself towards the eastern front of Trost, with Franz and Hanna making their way to the center. As he swung, however, the boy couldn't help but feel… conflicted with the paths which were now opened for him. Despite that, he pushed those thoughts out of his head and focused on reaching the barn he had used to keep Barbatos away from the general populace for roughly five years.
He'd have a lot of time to think of what was bothering him when he was powering the unit up, after all.
Trost Military HQ
Breathing heavily as they sprinted through the Trost Military HQ, the soldiers, primarily Garrison and Cadets, did their absolute best to maintain some form of order as they fueled up their Maneuver Gear gas canisters and resupplied their blades.
By the time they had returned, Mina, Nac, and Connie had parted ways with Sasha. The former three met up with their fellow Cadets in the gas replenish station while Sasha brought Samuel to the infirmary to work on his wounded foot, among other things. By the time the Dauper Cadet got to the gas replenish station to meet her fellow comrades, the soldiers were all divided up into smaller groups, each group placed under the command of a single Garrison senior.
Sasha herself was grouped alongside Connie, Ymir and Christa, and she didn't have enough energy to complain as she walked over, though not before giving Mina a slight nod for 'good luck'. Mina herself returned the gesture before she sheathed her final spare blade and stood up. Her team was led by the infamous Garrison commander, Flex Moto Ray, and consisted of Nac, Mylius, Thomas and herself. She was bummed that Annie wasn't around to assist them, but she reckoned that her skills were needed elsewhere.
Flex's group was assigned to Vanguard Duty, something Nac wasn't exactly pleased with. Before he could express his displeasure, however, he had noticed the return of a trio of Cadets, namely Eren, Hanna and Franz… though with a missing fourth person.
Eren was the first to split from the group, moving off to lead his own Vanguard squad, leaving Hanna and Franz behind to ask for theirs. This gave Nac and Mina enough time to jog up to the two, though Carolina got to the duo before Tias did.
"H-Hanna! Franz!" greeted Mina, keeping her voice as calm as she could as she greeted them. The two lovebirds in question responded with nods and by repeating Mina and Nac's name, though after the pleasantries were exchanged, Carolina immediately seized Hanna by the shoulders and pulled her face close to hers, almost enough for their noses to be touching. "W-Where's… where's Mikazuki…?!"
"I… uh… he…" began Hanna, too shocked by the sudden outburst from Mina to respond properly. Franz, on the other hand, managed to reply, though only after getting Mina to release his girl.
"Mikazuki went off to check on your parents," he explained after Mina's hands were pried off Hanna. "Don't worry, he'll be back in no time! I'm sure of it!"
Staring at Franz with a serious expression, Nac concluded that the Karanses resident was not lying before he nodded and patted his friend on the shoulder. "We'll hold you to that, Franz. Come on, Mina. Let's not hold the others back any longer!"
And before Mina could attempt to pry any more information from either one of the local Karanses lovebirds, Nac had seized her by the wrist and pulled her off to rejoin Mylius and Thomas, who were both nervous about the upcoming events but still trying to remain optimistic. As they walked, however, the taller boy couldn't help but note how his shorter friend seemed more fidgety than usual.
"Don't worry about him, Mina," said Nac assuringly as he patted her shoulder, causing the girl to stare up at him. "Those Titans won't stand a chance against him. Hell, I'd reckon that they should be the ones running from him, y'know?"
"Real funny, Nac…" muttered Mina, showing a small smile as she stared up at him. "But… y'know… you wouldn't get it."
"Oh, it's one of those 'girl things' you and Annie keep talking about, eh?" remarked Nac sarcastically, managing to get a chuckle out of Mina as she gave a small nod.
"Yeah…" confirmed Carolina with a nod just as they got behind Mylius and Thomas. "You could call it that."
And with those words uttered, Mina and Nac joined in with Mylius and Thomas, discussing the upcoming events and, rather morbidly, speaking of who would take down the most Titans out of the four of them, minus Commander Flex. The four were so occupied with their conversation that they failed to notice that close by, very close by, Annie Leonhardt was giving them a look of pure guilt.
Before said guilt could consume her, however, the blonde felt a hand gently rest on her shoulder, prompting her to turn and spot Bertholdt, who was wearing an uncharacteristically stoney expression. That expression told her that their lives weren't worth risking hers for, and despite Leonhardt telling herself that countless times during the past, present and even in the foreseeable future, the girl knew that deep down, she didn't mean it.
Even deeper down, she knew she feared the day they found out about her true nature. However, she suppressed that feeling as she saw Mina, apparently having noticed her, giving an encouraging smile and a thumbs up, a gesture the blonde had returned with a simple nod of her head.
And with that possible final exchange between two friends, Annie herself exited the HQ, being the first of her team to step out into the field. It wasn't because of bravery, far from it.
It was because she feared that if she stayed in there for any longer, her guilt would have consumed her. And she wasn't going to let that happen, not now of all times.
Not when they were so close to accomplishing their goal…
Elsewhere
Whilst the Garrison and Cadets were preparing to launch a counterattack against the Titan invasion, both parties had their attention set on the southernmost side of Trost, specifically at the location where the Colossal Titan had breached the Wall. With a barbed net hanging loosely over the breach and the Wall mounted cannons unloading round after round into the oncoming Titans, the Garrison had their attention fixated on keeping as many Titans out of Trost to allow for as many of the civilians to evacuate.
The Cadets, on the other hand, were preparing to be led to their deaths by their Garrison seniors, something which was technically taught to them. So, simply put, both Military Parties were doing their jobs.
However, no one accounted for, or even noticed for that matter, a singular Cadet making a beeline for the eastern front of Trost. His Maneuver Gear allowed him to make it there in record time as he slingshot himself over the houses and subsequently through the dense forests of the east wing of Trost. Him soaring overhead, alone no less, did catch the attention of many onlookers, but frankly the pilot did not care. The only time he did was when he noticed a familiar woman staring up at him.
Their eyes did lock for a split, almost nonexistent, second. But despite the limited amount of time, Mikazuki was able to see that the woman who had locked eyes with him had widened her dark greys to an impressive degree, and Augus had to bite his lower lip to stop himself from going down there and speaking to the one he now considered his mother.
No… that wouldn't benefit anyone. If he wanted to help, he needed to get to that barn…
He needed to get to Barbatos.
And that only managed to motivate him further as he swung through the dense forests of the eastern wing of Trost. He evaded trees and branches for roughly ten minutes, where he finally caught sight of his target.
Not wasting much time, Mikazuki slingshot himself up into the air and entered the massive, dilapidated barn via the massive hole in its roof, landing with a soft thud right in front of what one could assume to be the most powerful weapon which resided within these Walls.
Tilting his head up to stare at his personal Mobile Suit, Mikazuki himself had to admit that it wasn't as worse for wear as he had expected. Its chassis was still intact, and there wasn't too much rust on it. Some of its Nanolaminated Armour was peeled of here and there, revealing some of the silvery grey metal beneath, but aside from that, the Gundam looked just as Mikazuki had left it.
The only real difference was the fact that there was a rather sizable blanket covering the still open cockpit of the Gundam. Mika remembered putting it there the day before they had left for the Trainee Site of Rose. The pilot did know of some voice command thing which would let the cockpit open, but he had no idea how to work it, so he reckoned that the best way to keep the critters out was to just plop the blanket over the still open cockpit.
It was better than getting permanently sealed out of the thing, anyways.
After a quick look at his unit, Mikazuki immediately fired his Maneuver Gear anchors at it. Both anchors hit the blue chestplate and held firmly as the pilot swung himself up, landing on the center triangle of the chest. He kept his balance as he ripped the blanket off the cockpit, and he did feel a little relieved when he saw that it wasn't as dirty as he had anticipated. Sure, the cockpit chair was a little ragged and a thick layer of dust and grime covered most of the inside, but it wasn't something he could deal rather easily as he removed his Maneuver Gear, both of which were slotted beside the cockpit chair, and leapt inside.
The sense of familiarity came back to him in full as he wiped the dust and grime off the cockpit monitor of the Gundam. Turning to examine the entire cockpit, the pilot saw that his 'pilot uniform' was resting over by the side. It looked dirty as all Hell, and even if he intended to, the boy wouldn't have worn it. Instead, he simply removed both his Trainee Corp Jacket and blue undershirt and chucked them both off to a corner of the cockpit. With that done, and after cleaning some dirt off the cockpit's Alaya Vijnana port, the half naked boy plugged himself into the Gundam.
For a moment, nothing came through Barbatos' AV unit, prompting the boy to panic ever so slightly, thinking that the Gundam was damaged in some way. And suddenly, that panic was replaced with an oh so familiar sense of pain as the Alaya Vijnana system on Barbatos' end began pouring data into Mikazuki's end. The amount of data was staggering, and it caused a small stream of blood to drip down from his nose. However, this minor tinge of pain wasn't enough to knock the boy out. Far from it. In fact, the boy couldn't help but feel… reassured when he felt that sharp sting of pain.
It felt almost as though Barbatos was welcoming him back from his long absence. And seeing the familiar logo of the Eighth Demon of Ares Goetia appearing alongside the model number and names, ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos, were enough to make the pilot smile as the cockpit shut itself.
Slowly but surely, the Gundam began powering itself up, and Augus could faintly hear both Ahab Reactors rev up behind the cockpit of the unit as it did. Slowly, the Pilot gripped the controls of his unit, memories of the battles he fought alongside his unit flooding back to him as he readied himself to head into combat. A quick scroll through the cockpit monitor was enough to tell Augus that everything was functioning as intended in spite of the 4 years of negligence. A surprise to be sure, though it was definitely a welcomed one.
Whilst he waited for the Ahab Reactors to power up, the Pilot turned to the side and spotted a piece of paper sticking out of his Cadet jacket. At that, he remembered Nac giving him a letter from Ms Carolina, and he decided that he may as well read it whilst waiting for his unit to power up.
After grabbing the letter, he unfolded it and began having a look at its contents… and he was quick to bite his lips as he read it all in his mind.
Dear Mikazuki Augus,
Whenever Nac finds you, I hope he remembers to give you this letter! It may not be that obvious, but the boy tends to forget things from time to time!
Anyhow, this letter will most likely be unable to convey my emotions very well, but I must say that I am proud of both you and Annie for making the Graduating Top Ten in your brigade! To think that my very own children would make it this far! You two really do make me a proud parent!
I would also like to thank you for taking care of Mina, Nac and, occasionally, Annie during your time as Trainees! I was wrong to worry about them so much! After all, despite all your rough edges, you truly are a wonderful big brother to the three of them!
Now, remember to return soon! I have so much to catch up with you!
Love, your mother~
It would have been strange at one point, for a letter that came from a non-Tekkadan member to be able to make him feel this way… to feel genuinely loved by the writer, but the mild wetness of Mika's cheeks told him that times have changed, and he was quick to fold up the note as he offered a small smile.
'Thanks… mum,' thought Mika as he wiped at his eyes, the momentary lapse of emotions being mostly ignored when the Ahab Reactors were at full power, something which was made clear when a strong surge of data was sent through Barbatos end of the Alaya-Vijnana system to his. It was enough to make him wince just a little, though he was quick to shake it off as he nodded in approval.
"Ready, Barbatos?" asked Mika out of habit, not expecting any sort of response from any one or thing. However, Barbatos had quite unexpectedly 'answered' that question when its optics roared to life, flashing a bright, green hue as steam was expelled from every last vent in its body.
"...good to see that you're in a good mood, Barbatos quipt Mika as he readied himself for what was to come.
"Reload and fire! Do not let any more into Trost!"
Those were the orders barked by a single Garrison commander atop the eastern side of Wall Trost as his comrades sent another wave of cannonshots at the Titans down below. They intended on keeping as many of the monstrosities out, though they were having difficulties doing so. A total of about twenty Titans managed to make their way past their defences, and the stress was clearly getting to the commander by now.
And unfortunately for him, that stress was about to get a lot worse.
Without much of a warning, a loud explosion could be heard from the interior of Trost, prompting everyone within earshot to turn towards it. And what they saw made them nearly faint from shock.
At first, there was simply smoke at where an old barn used to be. And suddenly, they saw it emerge from the cloud of smoke.
It's lanky figure bore a strong contrast to the usually round bodies of the Titans, and from where they stood, the soldiers could make out that it was a vague colour of white. It's green eyes were as bright as emeralds under the sunlight, and even though they were at least fifty metres away from it, the Garrison commander almost immediately knew what that… thing was.
"T-THAT… THAT'S THE-"
"SHUT UP! Don't startle the rest and get back to firing!. I know what that thing is…" proclaimed the Commander as he loaded a flare into his issued flare gun. He then shot the flare up into the sky, signalling to the others that a major anomaly had occurred not too far from at the gates.
The man then lowered his arm as he stared down at the Mechanical Titan, who let out an almost animalistic howl as it bent down ever so slightly, with flames being emitted from several spots on its body. And within a few seconds, the flames boosted the Titan forward, straight towards the breach in Trost.
And by then, the Garrison commander noticed that his hands were shaking intensely, with his grip on the flare gun tightening as he gave a sad smile.
'As if this day couldn't get any worse…'
The feck is this?
Two chapters in such a short period of time?
What demented shiet is this?
Anyhow, with the publishment of this chapter, we finally, FINALLY get into the Trost arc of Shingeki No Kyojin, and Barbatos finally returns. Took us 11.5 entire chapters to get here, but I'd say it's worth it, maybe.
If anyone here was wondering, the only reason this was updated so quickly is because I had a two week break and decided to cobble together chapters 11 and 12. I enjoyed writing to say the least, but hopefully you guys enjoy reading this chapter.
Oh and I do have a review. This makes me happier than it reasonably should.
noobie53: well thanks. I gotta admit, not using any Super Robot Gundams made this story a bit more difficult, but it was fun either way. And yes, as a spoiler, that will happen in a future chapter. Though which chapter it'll happen in is still up for debate.
Anyhow, I think I'll need to worry about updating another story now. See ya then.
Earth
With a sigh, the Mobile Suit overseer who worked under the Seven Star member, Mcgillis Fareed, placed his tablet down and pinched the bridge of his nose. It has been a hard day for the guy, what with all the units he had to repair, and he really wished to get a move on.
Before he could do so, however, a nearby computer screen began flashing, prompting him to approach it with a raised brow. Tilting his head, he tapped the console a handful of times before he realized why it had activated.
It had just received a handful of radio broadcasts from a unit… the ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos.
That couldn't be possible… Barbatos was confirmed to be destroyed in action after the Edmonton battle. There had to be a glitch in the system. There was no other explanation for this.
Even so, it was probably best to relay this information to Mcgillis. He was his boss, after all.