As they rallied near the base of Wall Rose, Nac couldn't help but feel a pit grow near the base of his stomach.

Though he did support Armin's plan, no matter how crazy it could've been, Nac knew that it would not be a simple one to carry out. Though it was most likely cleared of a majority of the Titans by now, they knew that to retake it completely was no easy task. Fixing a crack on the side of the Wall was already quite an ordeal which required five to ten people at least, so to fix a hole that was well over twenty metres tall…

Even with the combined might of Eren and the Mechanical Titan, some sacrifices would have to be made, to say the least, and Nac didn't like that thought…

"You alright?" inquired Mina to his side as she offered him a weak smile. Shaking his head as he turned to face her, Nac chuckled weakly as he saw Annie peek over her twintailed friend's shoulder, raising a brow at his out of character expression. Mina appeared to think that the head shake was a 'no', however, as she bit her lower lip and responded quickly. "If you're not feeling well…"

"N-No, I'm feeling fine!" assured Nac as he shook a hand, assuring Mina of his current mental state. "It's just… I have a bad feeling about what's to come, y'know?"

"Yeah, we do," was his response from Annie as she watched several other soldiers be escorted into the group. Everyone appeared under the weather, to say the least, though it was for good reason, she supposed. To be asked to return to combat after just barely being able to retreat from the field had that effect on a person, she supposed.

As she overlooked the soldiers that were filing in, Annie didn't notice Reiner and Bertholdt approaching them. She only acknowledged their presence when Reiner tapped her shoulder, prompting her to blink and turn towards him with raised brows.

"Ann," greeted Reiner with a gentle smile as Annie lowered her brows in annoyance. Bertholdt offered a rather weak smile as well as he gave a two fingered salute, though before she could respond, Nac noticed the muscular blonde and offered him a wave.

"Reiner. You holding up well?" inquired Nac as Reiner snorted in response.

"As well as anyone could after returning from the battlefield, seeing their comrade become a Titan, and now being lined up to probably return to combat," replied Reiner as he held a finger up, summarising the day's major events all in one sentence. "And you guys?"

"We're holding up fine," answered Mina with a nod as she offered a weak thumbs up. "Just… a little nervous, y'know? We trust Armin and all that… but his plan is… kinda risky."

"I agree with you on that, Nac, but Armin's not stupid. I'm sure there's more to his plan than he let on," piped up Bertholdt as they turned their attention up to the top of Rose, where they just barely made out Commander Pixis strolling across the top of the wall. "That guy, Pixis… he's the Garrison commander, right?"

"The longest serving Commander in recent memory, I believe," confirmed Nac with a nod as he gave a somewhat unnecessary hand gesture. "He's known to be pretty willy and rather eccentric… and he's probably a little senile at this point, but he's the commander for a reason."

"I just hope he doesn't kick those guys off the top of Rose, intentional or not," whispered Mina rather worriedly as she rubbed her wrist.

And admittedly, Annie had to bite her lip to suppress a mild chuckle at that unexpected quip from her friend.

Atop Rose

"You know, I personally wouldn't mind being eaten if my slayer were an exquisitely beautiful female Titan."

There was no real response to that comment, with neither Armin, Eren nor Mikasa uttering a single word as Commander Dot Pixis capped his flask and stared down the edge of Rose, where an entire pack of Titans were attempting to scale the Wall. The three had been brought up to the top of the Wall for some privacy, according to Pixis, something which his juniors heavily objected to. Though with Pixis being Pixis, he was quick to ignore them.

For a brief moment, there was mostly silence, only broken by the vague background noise and what sounded like a cannon going off in the distance. The silence was eventually broken, however, when Pixis spoke up once more.

"What say you, Cadet? Have you seen any notably beautiful female Titans whilst out in the field?" inquired Pixis, much to the bewilderment of the Cadets he was speaking to. He must be going senile to be asking such strange questions in the middle of a catastrophe! Evidently, at least Armin and Eren's faces had shown their bewilderment, as Pixis was quick to chuckle and continue. "I see. Well, that is a topic for another time. Now… where were we… ah! Yes, you said that the answers all lie within the basement of your old home in Shiganshina, did you not?"

"... yes, sir," replied Eren weakly as he knelt beside Armin. The poor guy looked exhausted, though it didn't stop him from speaking. "Do you believe us, sir?"

They got no response from Pixis just yet, as the elderly man was busy staring down at Trost, or, more specifically, out at the Fourteen metre Titan that was just thrown up into the air with seemingly little to no effort. Pixis withheld a chuckle upon seeing that, having acknowledged it as the handiwork of the Mechanical Titan he kept hearing about, as he turned to face Jaeger and his two companions.

"You sound uncertain, Cadet. If you yourself are uncertain of if it truly holds the answers to all that we seek… then at best, I can only say that I will keep it in mind," replied Pixis as he tapped the side of his head cheekily. The three tensed up just a little upon hearing that, though they relaxed just a little when he continued. "However, I do pride myself with being able to see the truth of things. So, at the very least, I will guarantee your safety once all of this is over and done with.

"Now, Cadet Arlert, was it?"

Upon hearing his name be called, Armin Arlert took a preemptive step forward and offered a rigid salute. "Sir!"

"If I recall, you said that if we were to utilize the combined might of Cadet Jaeger's 'Titan Power' and the strength of the recently resurfaced Mechanical Titan, the recapture of Trost would no longer be impossible, yes? Did you truly believe that, or was it merely a vain act of desperation?"

In response to that, Armin's expression briefly dropped as he considered his next words very carefully. And once he did, he answered.

"It was… both, sir," answered the blonde as Pixis narrowed his eyes at him, prompting Armin to gulp as he forced himself to continue. "I… was unable to fully speak my mind back then, so I shall elaborate now, if you'll allow."

Pixis held no apparent objection, and as such, the Cadet continued.

"I believe that in his Titan form, Eren could potentially carry a large boulder within Trost and use it to seal the breach. The Mechanical Titan does not seem to see him as a threat, and as such, I believe we could exploit this factor and use it to keep the Titans away from Eren as he does so," explained Armin, with him keeping his explanation as short and simple as humanly possible. Eren and Mikasa both looked at him as though he were insane, though their blonde friend didn't seem to notice or care as he continued. "In truth, it was an idea that I made up on the spot. However, I had hoped that the use of Eren's power and the sudden appearance of the Mechanical Titan would be enough for us to break this deadlock."

The look that Pixis gave Armin after he had concluded appeared to be that of genuine disappointment as he turned his back towards the three and stared out into Trost, where he just barely saw a Titan be thrown straight into a building, collapsing and destroying it in the process, and at that, Arlert tensed up and hastily added on.

"O-Of course, it was all said in a genuine attempt to survive," added Armin, fearing the worst when Pixis turned his back on them. At that, the Garrison Commander simply smiled.

"A genuine attempt to survive…" muttered Pixis wistfully as he offered a mild chuckle. "Those may just be the most trustworthy words I'll ever hear in my entire career."

And as soon as those words left his lips, Pixis uncapped his flask and took a swig from it. Whilst he did so, the Cadets simply stared at him uncertainly, and Mikasa noticeably tensed up when the Commander capped it and approached her brother. Armin held a hand up to stop her from stepping in front of Jaeger defensively, and though she did shoot him an angered look, she complied nonetheless.

"So, what say you, Cadet Jaeger?" inquired Pixis as he knelt down to look Eren in the eye, with him ignoring Mikasa's glare all the while. The young man in question blinked in confusion as he stared back at his superior, not quite getting the question, prompting Pixis to rephrase himself. "Can you seal the breach?"

In response to that, Eren simply bit his lip, not knowing how to answer such a heavy question. This was probably how it felt to have the entire world rest upon your shoulders, he reckoned, and it took him a while to answer properly.

"I… I don't know," admitted Eren, his tone reflecting his current uncertainty as he averted his gaze down to the ground. "I… I am just as clueless as the rest of us present here, sir. So, regardless of whether or not I am able to do it, I can't find it within me to answer you halfheartedly."

Whilst Mikasa and Armin both appeared downcast and disappointed, respectively, after Eren gave his answer to Pixis, the Garrison Commander himself simply offered a mild chuckle as he shook his head, an act that made everyone turn to him in mild surprise.

"Ah, I see. That is true," quipt Pixis as he nodded in apparent understanding, with his features softening a little as he did so. Before long, however, his expression hardened once more, catching everyone present off guard, as he spoke up yet again. "Hm, perhaps it was my fault, however. I simply asked you the wrong question."

"Sir…?" was the only thing that was able to leave Eren's lips before him and his fellow Cadets widened their eyes at the sudden change of Pixis' expression. His smile was gone now, and the gentle gaze he once had was now replaced with that of a stern glare that only a veteran Commander could master.

"Will you seal the breach, Cadet Jaeger, or will you not?" rephrased Pixis, his tone just as serious as his expression. Eren was quickly taken aback by his sudden seriousness, so much so that he was unable to concentrate on finding a proper answer to Pixis' inquiry. The Garrison Commander was quick to notice this, however, and in an effort to straighten his mind, he simply glanced behind Eren.

Following his gaze, Eren was quick to find himself staring into the interior of Rose. Staring at it, the Cadet was quick to understand what Pixis was trying to indirectly tell him, prompting him to widen his eyes in shock.

"I…" muttered Eren as he turned to look Pixis in the eye, a newfound glint in his eye as he spoke. "I'll do it, sir! I may not be certain if I can accomplish this goal, but I'll do it nonetheless!"

And in response to that, Pixis gave a nod of approval as he stood up.

"Very good, Cadet Jaeger," said the Commander as his expression went back to normal. The sudden smile was enough to show that he was back to normal, and it was enough to make Armin audibly sigh in relief. "However, I wish to ask about the Mechanical Titan now. Cadet Arlert, Cadet Ackerman. If you may."

"What do you wish to know, sir?" inquired Armin, with him sounding rather intimidated at such a question as Pixis offered a mild chuckle.

"I know the basics regarding the Mechanical Titan, so there isn't much I need to ask regarding its nature. However, what I do wish to know is the reason as to why you trust it as much as you do," answered Pixis with a slightly confused edge to his voice. "To trust Cadet Jaeger is one thing, but it is understandable due to the fact that you know one another. But to trust a Titan, no less one as poorly understood as the Mechanical Titan, to assist us in a mission as important as this?"

"We do not trust it, Commander," was the elderly soldier's immediate response from Mikasa, who sounded incredibly irritated as she glared at Pixis with a fiery gaze, with her no doubt irritated at how rude he was being to her friends. Armin, on the other hand, appeared indifferent to the whole situation, though he remained silent as Mikasa continued. "Even if we wished to eliminate it, we would be risking too much in doing so."

"I see. So you being carted back by the Mechanical Titan was out of your control as well, I surmise?" continued Pixis as Mikasa nodded.

"Indeed," confirmed Mikasa, earning herself a nod from Pixis.

"Very well. Then if you'll allow me, what exactly compelled you to add the Mechanical Titan into your plan, Cadet Arlert? To do so would be quite a risk, do you not think?" inquired Pixis curiously. And to that, the blonde simply chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck as he responded.

"I… I simply wished to make use of its strength, Commander. The 'Titan' is incredibly powerful, but as you know, it does not attack humans, rather, it only targets Titans, and as such, I believe that it can be relied upon to a certain extent to keep the other Titans away whilst Eren accomplishes his part of the mission," was the only response Armin could think off the top of his head. And it seemed to satisfy Pixis, to say the least, as he offered a nod before turning to stare out at Trost.

"That is as good a reason as any other, I suppose."

Some time later, at the base of Rose

"A plan to recapture Trost?!"

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

"As if we even have the tech to plug that damn breach!"

Those were but a small handful of the voiced thoughts which belonged to the assembled soldiers at the base of Rose. To say that the news of Commander Dot Pixis intending to send them back out to seal the breach in Trost had spread like wildfire would be a severe understatement, as within an hour of word getting out, all of the gathered soldiers caught wind of it, and nearly all of them were all against the idea.

Personally speaking, Mina and Nac found themselves… indifferent to the whole idea. They did have a vague idea of what the plan was, to make use of Eren and the Mechanical Titan to retake the district. But, as tempting as that notion was, they were rather skeptical of it actually working. As a soldier stated before, they simply lacked the means to actually seal the hole in Trost, and even if they did, and even with the Mechanical Titan factored into all this, the amount of casualties that would undoubtedly follow would be immense.

"You seem less enthusiastic about all this than I thought," commented Annie as she stood shoulder to shoulder next to Mina, who noticeably perked up a little at the sound of her friend's voice. Nac himself turned to Annie as well, and he forced out a small smile in response to her comment.

"The fact that they actually considered Armin's plan to retake Trost is, in itself, a miracle. But for them to actually want to pull it off… whatever it may be, and for them to field us to do so… it just makes me wish that they didn't actually listen," admitted Nac, prompting Mina to raise a brow at her taller friend. In response, Nac offered a weak chuckle as he turned to scan the crowd around him. Already, he heard someone screaming about abandoning their duties, and it was enough to make him bite his lip. "The mere thought of going back into combat has sent some of our comrades over the edge. And even with the Mechanical Titan fighting by our side…"

"I understand, Nac. You don't need to finish that statement," assured Annie as she offered a mild nod. Nac himself was ready to nod in response, happy with Annie understanding how he felt about the whole situation, before he heard several more yells in the crowd. Nac and Mina were taken aback by the amount of commotion that was caused, though Annie simply held a hand against her waist as she offered a mild snort. "Hmph. I wonder how long we'll have to wait before we see a rebellion spring up…"

"What…?" muttered Mina in disbelief as Annie turned behind and spotted a black haired Garrison holding a fellow soldier by the arms. He seemed desperate, and though she couldn't hear it, Annie could make an educated guess on what they were speaking of. "A rebellion… but why…?"

"Soldiers within the Military Brigades aren't as pure as you think they are, Mina. They're human, and they're scared. The Garrison especially. They weren't trained for this line of duty," explained Annie as she turned back to her two friends. "If they cause a big enough scene with the right amount of people, it will undoubtedly cause enough of an uproar that will open up an opportunity for them to escape."

"But where will they go then?" muttered Mina as she twiddled her fingers together. "They'll be branded as traitors… and they'll be hunted down."

"It doesn't matter to them," replied Annie as she shook her head, prompting her friends to blink incredulously, a sign for Leonhardt to elaborate as she sighed gently. "They're fearing for their lives now. They think this will be a repeat of Shiganshina and Maria, where both major walls fell simultaneously. Because of this, they want to spend what they think to be the last few seconds of their lives with those that they love…"

"And they'd even betray the Military Brigade to do so," added Nac with a frown as he shook his head. "It's so deplorable… and yet… I can't fault them for it. If I could choose, I'd choose to spend my last moments with you guys too."

"Us… all of us…" muttered Mina as she slouched over a little, and at that, Nac bit his lower lip whilst Annie refrained from making eye contact. Biting his lower lip as he rested a hand atop his friend's shoulder, Nac did his best to sooth Mina, and Annie, being who she was, was only able to watch on in silence.

"All of us…" muttered Nac as he gave Mina's shoulder a mild squeeze. And at that, Mina raised her brows and turned towards her taller friend, who offered her a comforting smile. "Mikazuki's alive. I'm sure of it. Being MIA doesn't mean that he's dead, y'know? That, and he's the most capable out of the four of us when it comes to surviving out there… no offence, Ann."

"Ever the optimist, huh?" snapped Annie sarcastically as Nac offered an awkward chuckle, taking it as her taking no offence to him unintentionally insulting her skills.

"It's part of my charm," responded the tall guy as Leonhardt rolled her eyes. His optimism was annoying at times, though she would be lying if she didn't admit that it was, indeed, part of his charm…

And for a brief moment, everything seemed… calm. Nac's optimism seemed to lighten Mina's mood just a little, as she gave a small smile, having apparently forgotten about their current situation, and Annie, admittedly found some happiness in seeing her twintailed friend loosen up.

Not long after, however…

"ATTENTION!"

A single word. So simple, yet it was yelled out at such a high volume that, despite its speaker being over fifty metres away from where they stood, it was still more than enough to silence all who stood at the base of Trost. Hell, even Mina, Nac and Annie all immediately stood at attention as soon as that order was made, and they, alongside their fellow soldiers, turned their attention up to see Commander Pixis quite literally standing on the edge of the Wall as he stared down at them.

"...he's got some good lungs on him…" muttered Annie under her breath in an almost envious way as Nac offered a mild nod in agreement, a bead of sweat sliding down the side of his face as he did. Several more followed when the Commander continued, with Pixis' commanding tone of voice being more than enough to make both Tias and Carolina dismiss Annie's apparent joke.

"I shall now brief you on the upcoming operation to retake Trost!"continued Pixis as the soldiers remained silent, mostly stunned into doing so as, even though they did expect this, the mere confirmation of it was enough to shake them up. Before Pixis could continue with his briefing, however, a rather loud explosion could be heard from inside Trost, loud enough to cause everyone to wince. Pixis, on the other hand, remained quiet as the explosion in the background died down before continuing.

"The goal of the operation is to seal the breach in Trost!" continued Pixis, eliciting several gasps of terror from the crowd. Even Annie found herself raising her brows in apprehension as soon as she heard what the Commander just said, and several others voiced out their objections, all of which went unheard by Pixis as he continued speaking. "As for the means to block the breach, I shall now introduce one of the two elements which we shall make use of!

"Eren Jaeger of the 104th Trainee Corps!"

At that, those who didn't know of Eren's powers were, rather justifiably, taken aback. Murmurs began rising in the crowd, most of which regarded the mental state of their current Garrison Commander. Hell, even the few who knew of his power appeared rather apprehensive of all this, and it stayed that way as Eren Jaeger walked up to stand shoulder to shoulder with Pixis, offering a rigid salute as soon as he was by his side. "Eren Jaeger is the product of a secret Titan transformation experiment carried out by the Military Brigade! He possesses the ability to summon the body of a Titan and control it at will!"

Upon hearing that, several soldiers began screaming out about the absurdity of what the Garrison Commander just said, and Nac swore he heard Connie admit that he didn't get any of what their Commander had just told them, only to be shushed by Ymir as Pixis continued speaking.

"The second element shall be the Mechanical Titan!" continued Pixis, his voice not wavering for a second. And as if to add some dramatic flare to his words, as soon as he had finished that sentence, a loud boom could be heard from Trost, and a massive cloud of smoke could be seen in the background. Whilst the soldiers at the base of Rose stared at it, agape, Pixis simply ignored it. "The Mechanical Titan itself has proven itself to not be a threat to mankind, viewing its fellow Titans as enemies! As such, it can be counted as an ally less provoked into attacking us!"

"I… I'm not getting where the Commander is getting at…" admitted Nac as he stared up at Pixis, and Mina nodded in sheepish agreement as they turned to Annie, wondering if she had any insight or possible words of wisdom to provide them. Upon noticing them staring, Leonhardt offered a raised brow which showed that she was just as lost as they were, though thankfully for them, Pixis continued before their confusion got out of hand.

"After he transforms into a Titan, Eren Jaeger will pick up the giant boulder that is located close to the breach in Trost! He shall then bring it to the breach and use it to seal it! Your mission shall be to protect him as he carries out his duty! Make use of all that you have! Your Maneuver Gear, your Anti-Titan Blades and most importantly, the Mechanical Titan, to ensure that he sees this through! The future of the Trost District lies upon the success of this operation!"

And at the end of his briefing… there was silence. The soldiers at the base of Rose dared not utter even a single word as they let what Pixis just said sink in. Nac found himself biting his lower lip as he thought of the possible outcomes of this plan that Armin managed to make up, only to stop when he realized that most of the possible outcomes he thought up ended in either death or failure. Meanwhile, Mina felt her face go rather pale as she acknowledged how this was roughly on par with a suicide mission for everyone involved in it.

As for Annie… she found herself taking a step back. It took another two for Nac and Mina to notice that she was backing away, and it made them turn towards her with raised brows.

"Annie…?" muttered Nac in apparent confusion, only for Leonhardt to turn on her heel and motion for them to follow her lead. "What…"

"We're leaving. There's no need for us to participate in this suicide mission," explained Annie as she gestured for them to follow along. She was quick to raise a brow when they didn't follow, however, and she was quick to follow it up with a sigh as she shook her head, with her recalling just how… idealistic her two friends still were in spite of all that they've been through. "Look, if we stay and fight for this lost cause, we'll surely be killed. Best to just hit the road before that can happen."

"But… what about our duties as soldiers? We're Cadets, but it doesn't mean that we can just walk away when we're needed!" retorted Mina as Annie raised a brow, though she didn't know if it was in irritation or confusion as he just continued on speaking. "And what about Trost? We can't just abandon our home like that!"

"We can, Mina," responded Annie almost instantly as she clenched and unclenched her fists, her response being more than enough to make her two friends widen their eyes in shock. "Trost is just a district, just as Shiganshina was. We have no obligations to risk our lives for it. So I say; let it fall."

"N-Nac… help me talk some sense into Annie… please?" pleaded Mina as she turned to her taller friend, with her hoping that her more level headed and logical pal would come to her aid, only for her to slouch over a little when he saw that he appeared indecisive as well. Taking advantage of that, Annie lowered her brows and spoke up.

"You get it, don't you, Nac? You know it's a lost cause. If we participate in this mission, then we'll most certainly be killed before its conclusion. So what say you? Will you follow Commander Pixis's orders blindly, or will you act out on your own and retreat?" inquired Annie calmly as she crossed her arms. Her light blue eyes locked onto her taller friend's brown pair as she narrowed them in an attempt to get her point across to him, something that ended up stressing Tias out quite a bit as he shuddered.

"I… I-I don't know…" admitted Nac as several soldiers around him began dispersing, having already considered this whole plan to be fruitless. The tall guy was inclined to agree with them… but even so… "I… I really don't know what to do here…"

"M-Mikazuki would've wanted us to retake Trost!" blurted out Mina out of seemingly nowhere, and the mere mention of their missing friend's name was more than enough to make them go silent. Seeing that as an advantage, Mina attempted to press on. "He would've wanted us to reclaim our home… and-"

"He wouldn't have wanted that, Mina. Mikazuki's smart. He knows when something is lost and when it's time to back down," retorted Annie as she turned to see several soldiers being stopped by Garrison members from leaving, a sight that made her grimace a little. "Like now. We don't have much time left. So come on…"

"ARE YOU PREPARED, DESERTERS?!" bellowed the distinct voice of Kitz Woermann over the commotion, with him speaking loud enough to catch the trio's attention as they turned towards his general direction. They just barely saw the man himself wielding his Anti-Titan Blade whilst threatening the soldiers that wished to desert, and the sight alone was enough to make Mina and Nac widen their eyes while Annie remained silently amused. "I SHALL CUT YOU ALL DOWN HERE AND NOW!"

And yet, before he could do so…

"HEED MY WORDS!"

The thunderous voice of Commander dot Pixis came up once more, and that in itself was enough to silence all who were speaking and make every desserter stop in their tracks. As lighthearted as he usually was, Pixis was certainly quite a scary guy when things were serious…

"Those who desert now shall go unpunished!" proclaimed Pixis as Mina, Nac and several others widened their eyes in shock. Hell, even Kitz gave a gasp that was loud enough to be heard by nearly everyone, though Pixis didn't stop for a moment as he continued on speaking. "The moment a soldier gives into his fear of the Titans, they shall never be able to face them ever again! So heed me, and know that if you have succumbed to your fears, then you should leave!"

Those words were enough to cause a large majority of the soldiers to step back, all thinking that they could leave scott free. Even the loyalists felt their resolve weaken as they contemplated the choice of living to fight another day or to risk their lives in this operation. Such was the case for Rico Brzenska and her fellow Elites, who were unsure of what Commander Pixis was getting at, exactly as they stared between themselves in confusion.

As for Annie, however, she simply saw this as her chance and motioned for her friends to follow her lead. At that, Nac bit his lip and appeared willing to do as Leonhardt requested, though Mina was quick to grab him by the sleeve, quickly stopping him in the process.

"Nac…" muttered Mina as she looked at him with a pitiful expression. Nac was quick to bite his lip harder, almost enough to draw blood as he felt himself pondering on his next act… though fortunately for him, Pixis was quick to follow up on his statement.

"And if you wish for that same feeling to reach the hearts of your brothers, your sisters, your family, or your loved ones, then you may leave as well!"

And at that, Annie felt a knot grow in her stomach as she slouched her shoulders further down than they already were. Nac himself was quick to widen his eyes in realization as well, and the thought of abandoning the Military Brigade was quickly ejected from his mind when he realized what Pixis was talking about.

"...not… that…" muttered Tias as the mental image of Ms Carolina, the one he saw to be his own flesh and blood mother, being lifted up towards the gaping mouth of a Titan came to mind. Just thinking about that was more than enough to harden the Cadet's heart as he grimaced and reaffirmed his stance to partake in this mission, with him clenching his fist tightly all the while "A-Anything but that… we've already lost one family member… w-we can't… we can't turn back now when we stand the chance of losing another!"

Annie was quick to widen her eyes at the sudden energy that Nac seemed to be radiating after he allowed what Pixis had said to sink in. Mina herself was quick to notice it as well, though unlike Leonhardt, she found herself smiling just a little as she held a hand out towards the blonde, with her keeping her expression firm and resolute all the while.

"Come on, Ann… we have to do this… for mum… and for Mika," encouraged Mina as Annie pursed her lips. This was not what she had to do… not what she was told to do… and it was what she feared would happen all those years ago. And yet, even with all that in mind, Annie was unable to stop herself from taking a step forward and grabbing Mina's hand.

"...whatever," was all she could spit out at that point as Mina offered a mild smirk.

"Let us remember what happened four years ago!"

"During the Wall Maria capture operation!"

With a single swing of his Longsword, Mika sliced straight into the chest of a Fifteen metre Titan. The cut wasn't enough to bisect it, though Mika didn't exactly care as he noticed the massive cut he had given its chest. Without wasting any time, he had Barbatos release its Longsword for the time being and grab onto the Titan's sliced open chest, and, without even using much force to do so, the Gundam it rip it right open, in turn exposing the Titan's insides. The Fifteen metre fell back thereafter, and Mika had his unit step down on the nape as soon as it hit the ground.

"I am confident that I need not remind you all that to call it a 'recapture operation' is nothing short of a joke! It was nothing more than a desperate attempt to dispose of the unemployed refugees which were unable to be fed!"

Disregarding the Longsword for a brief moment, Mika had Barbatos slam its fist over the head of a Ten metre Titan. On impact, the fist pulverised the Titan's skull, though Mika was not content with doing just that, as he followed it up with an Autocannon shot which ripped through the Titan's body and impacted the ground beneath it.

"We told ourselves that it was not the case for one sole reason; by sending those people to their doom, we would be able to survive more efficiently within the narrower confines of the Walls! Such a sinful act is borne from all of Mankind, including myself!"

A simple shoulder tackle, one that was unassisted by Barbatos' boosters, was enough to send a Fifteen metre Titan flying backwards. Mika was sure that the tackle probably cracked more than a few ribs but didn't think much more of it as he had Barbatos rocket it's manipulator forward and grab the Titan's wrist before it could fall back. The Gundam was quick to pull back on the Titan's arm, causing it to jerk forward towards the unit, and it was quickly obliterated when Mika launched his unit's knee at its torso. On impact, the Titan's back exploded outwards from the force of the strike, splattering blood and bone onto anything close by in the process.

"Conflict did not erupt back then because the people of Maria were considered a minority. But what about now? Should Wall Rose fall, then throwing away merely a fifth of mankind's population will not be enough! Wall Sina can support only half of Rose at best, and if mankind falls, then our defeat will not be caused by the Titans!"

Turning his unit to its side, Mika had Barbatos reach its arm unit out towards the Wrench Mace, which was buried in the side of a building after having been thrown at a Titan some time ago, and grabbed by its longest handle. After ripping it out of the building, Mika had the weapon's 'snout' shift open. Despite the amount of damage that it had sustained back at Edmonton and the four years of neglect, the weapon's snout was still able to open itself up, and thereafter, Barbatos clamped the opened jaw of the Mace down on the torso of a Thirteen metre. Despite its broken appearance, the weapon was more than capable of crushing the Titan's torso in its 'mouth', and it did so with little issue, with blood, flesh and bone becoming visible as the Titan was squashed in its maw.

"No, our defeat will be brought upon by ourselves! We cannot die within the Walls, not like this! Given the choice, die here, as the soldiers who gave their all to retake our land!"

Sighing to himself, Mika had Barbatos open the jaws of its weapon back up, in turn allowing the dissipating Titan to drop onto the ground, and had it turn its head unit to the side. As it did so, Mika, via the cockpit-to-optic visual feeds of his unit, spotted an approaching Seven metre Titan. With a roll of his eyes, Mika opted to just wait for it to get close enough for him to pummel, something that, admittedly enough, was starting to get a little repetitive, to say the least. There were only so many ways you could kill a Titan with a Mobile Suit, after all, and it got boring incredibly quickly, and though it was a strange thing to admit, Augus was really hoping for something… unexpected to happen to spice things up.

And in a rather ironic twist of fate, his little wish ended up coming true, with it doing so in the form of a sudden blur that whizzed past the Seven metre's nape. Upon noticing it, Mika blinked, leaned forward in his cockpit seat and paid more attention to what had just happened, and at that moment, the Seven metre fell forward onto its face, allowing Mika to see that its nape was cut open by what was most likely an Anti-Titan Blade.

'...they're resuming combat?' thought Mika as he saw the soldier that had taken out the Seven metre Titan land on a nearby building… and he was quick to widen his eyes when he saw who she was.

"Annie…" muttered the pilot as the blonde in question wiped some of the evaporating blood off her cheek. She was quick to turn towards Barbatos, seeming completely devoid of fear as she snorted and glared at it, and likewise, Mikazuki found himself smiling a tiny bit at his friend as he nodded at her… not that she could see the gesture, anyways. Before long, however, Leonhardt was joined by several other soldiers and Cadets who reentered the battlefield, though out of the several that entered the fray, only two of them stood out to Mika as one of the few whom he had hoped to not see return. "Mina… Nac…"

"A-Annie, slow down!" protested Nac, something that was picked up by Barbatos' local comm links as Mika turned its head unit towards the Cadet in question. Via its optics, Mika could quite easily see that the group of soldiers and Cadets that stood on the building before him were mostly ones that he could recognise. Aside from Annie, Nac and Mina, Mika took note of Reiner, Bertholdt, Mylius, Sasha, Connie, Jean, Marco, Armin, Ymir and Christa.

"We can't afford to slow down, Nac. Not when we're tasked with sticking by that thing," retorted Annie as she pointed her Anti-Titan Blade towards Barbatos, prompting Mika to raise a brow. Tasked to stick by Barbatos? What exactly did she mean by that…?

"I know, but we still need to be careful! Keep an eye out for any signal flares, alright? Keep at it, slow and steady. Eren's Titan form may be strong, but we don't know if it'll be able to carry that boulder to the breach, especially when Titans are pouring through!" replied Mina direly, inadvertently catching Mika up on their apparent plan as he quirked a brow up higher onto his face.

And, evidently enough, Mika had left Barbatos rather dormant as he looked towards his fellow Cadets, and before he could change that… several of the soldiers present noticed how the unit was staring directly at them, and before long, someone commented on it.

"Hey… uh… is it just me… or as the Mechanical Titan staring at us?" inquired Mylius, having apparently noticed Barbatos' optics fixed on them before anyone else did as he quivered a little under its cold, lifeless gaze. A large handful of the Cadets and even their seniors noticeably shrunk under Barbatos' glare as well, and Mika couldn't help but snort in amusement at that.

'They're trying to seal the breach with a boulder that Eren's supposed to carry… and they want us to help them defend him as he does so,' concluded Mika mentally as he cracked his knuckles. This was certainly a new development, though admittedly it wasn't a bad one. Sealing that breach would most certainly be a good thing, and with that in mind, he grabbed Barbatos' controller units tightly and had his unit blast out a massive amount of steam, cooling it down for the upcoming battle.

The sudden burst of steam was enough to make the soldiers gasp in shock, though at this point, Mina, Nac and Annie were used to it. Still, they lifted their arms up to shield themselves from the steam, and by the time they were able to lower their arms, they widened their eyes when they saw the Mechanical Titan burst out of the steam and slam its shoulder straight into an approaching Titan, obliterating it with little issue as the 'Titan'quite literally boosted through its opposition.

"W-Whoa!" proclaimed Connie as the Mechanical Titan was quick to grab its massive sword and cleave a Titan from hip to shoulder with a single swing. Another was practically wiped off the face of the world when it brought its Mace down upon it, obliterating it under its weight. "That's… a lot more brutal than what I've heard."

"A-And a lawt moar efficient!" added Sasha, with some hints of her proper accent shining through as she gulped. "Wha' happened? It wasn't actin' like that befer' we came!"

"What are the odds of it hearing what we said and actually wanting to help…?" offered Marco offhandedly, only to gain himself a handful of bewildered stares as he shrunk a little. "Just saying… after all the stuff that's happened today, it can't be the most outrageous thing you've heard, right?"

"Kid's got a point…" admitted a Garrison on the team, though before they could turn to give him a bewildered glance, the sound of a building caving in snapped them out of it.

"I'd hate to cut this short, but could we just, y'know… get on with the mission? Please?" pleaded Bertholdt out of seemingly nowhere. Reiner offered him a somewhat understanding glance as the taller guy gulped.

And to his surprise and immense relief, the rest of his group went along with his suggestion.

So how's everyone holding up in self isolation? I'm doing fine, minus the talking to myself incidents I've been having.

On a serious note I do hope everyone's doing fine. Things are tough, but practice social distancing and you'll be fine. As for me, I just really want that SDCS Lupus Rex.

Anyhow, we're reaching the end of the Trost arc. After several chapters, we're here. And I can't wait to write the reveal. But till then, I'll keep in touch.

Review reply time

MachineOmega: I'll agree on that. The MG Barbatos is my new favorite Gunpla

Touhoufanatic: I'm glad you think it's fine. And to see how they react to it, stay tuned!

Raven Mordrake: it's… uh… best to not think about the amount of Titans

Starscreamer11, NNN11ght and noobie53: well have another chapter!

jan2dumlao: I took heavy inspiration from 'A Slap on Titan' for that. Had some fun writing that end bit.

Guest: I'm glad you enjoyed it and that you enjoyed my 'A Slap on Titan' reference.

N1cok: I probably ought to mention that this guy mentioned a lot of logical inconsistencies that me and my proofreader failed to notice. I managed to correct two with an edit, but the third will be acknowledged in a future chapter. Till then, thanks for bringing them up!

Guest: well I'm glad that I'm helping you through quarantine!

Have you guys ever fought and killed a Raging Brachydios 21 times just because you want it's weapons? Yeah, that's what I've been doing during quarantine.

Have a nice day.

Edited on 30/6/2021 to fix a few continuity issues and wording.