I pick myself up, tired of wallowing in my sorrow. It has been a few minutes since I regained my mind and regrouped with my team. Once we were out of relative danger, we picked a spot to recuperate. In the moments I had been allowed, I rubbed my thumb on the carving Mina made for me. One of my best friends, Thomas, is gone. Mina, a girl that I cared so much for, is gone. That's when I remember Eren and Armin. I haven't seen them...and though it will hurt me to know their fate, I must know if they're dead or alive.

Ymir sees me stand, knowing exactly without a word to her, Christa, or Connie as to what I plan to do. "Hey, you're not thinking all your friends are going to come out of this alive, are you? Get your head out of the clouds."

I walk right past her before stopping. Whether motivated by grief, anger, or the feeling of helplessness to save the two people who trusted me most, I stopped to address Ymir's "concern." "I watched Thomas get eaten alive, and I had to watch Mina die in my arms. I know they're dead. As for everyone else, I want to believe it, but I know it's impossible.

Ymir nods. "Yeah, exactly. We're all potential Titan fodder, every single one of us. So how long do you think we're going to last in this, huh?"

"No, you misunderstand me." I turn to her, my eyes burning with stinging tears. "I want to believe the others are dead, but I know it is impossible! So that's why I'm not giving up. I can't save all my friends, but I'll be damned if I give up now!" I look to Connie, who looks back with a nod. I know he's with me. I face Christa, the young woman prepared for another bout with the Titans.

However, she's hesitant. "Elijah, are you sure you're ready to go?"

I shrug. "I'm pissed off, but besides that, I'm fine."

"Alright. We should assist the other units, especially the elites. Let's go!" We soar towards the rear of the city, taking much care to avoid any Titans. Everything is quiet until I see a golden flash in my right eye. I look towards it, gasping as I zip towards the person I am quite happy to see. "Armin!"

We land in front of him, yet despite my excitement to see him, I cannot say he's too excited to see me. He seems to be in shock, the only response he gives to our presence is "Oh…"

"Armin," Christa says, "are you okay? You look awful."

Connie looks around. "Aren't you in a squad with Eren and the others? Where did they go?" Besides me, only Ymir knows the fate of two of them, Mina and Thomas, but Christa and Connie are clueless. Though he brings up a good point, where is Eren? The last I saw him, he was lying on a rooftop. In fact, I realize that this is the same area where I last saw Armin and his squad.

Christa gasps. "Armin...You… You don't mean…"

"Isn't it damn obvious? They've been wiped out! Every last one of them! Except for this poor bastard."

"Shut up! Let Armin speak, okay?"

"This is no place for a chat. We're way too exposed. The Titans will eat all of us as well!"

"Why would they ignore Armin?"

"I don't know. Maybe they thought he was already dead or something. It was unfortunate they encountered Titans. I can't say much about Eren and his squadron if only Armin survived."

"You've said too much. I'm going to make you shut your mouth."

Christa steps between the bickering Connie and Ymir. "Both of you stop it right now! We're all in a state of shock. We saw our friends being killed like animals. You can't help it."

While they bicker, I kneel down to Armin. "Armin."

"I'm worthless. Why can't I just die?"

"Armin!" My stern tone gains his attention, and no more words need to be said between us. Eren is gone, it hurts me too, but I'm alive. He's alive. We got plenty of more fighting to do. I believe he realizes this as he takes my hand and stands up.

"Elijah… Sorry to be a nuisance." He passes me, still demoralized. "I'll rendezvous with the rear guard."

"Armin." He takes off, heading for the back of Trost. I want to go after him, but that's when Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie join us.

"This is no time for a rest, you guys! The Titans are closing in! Civilians are still at risk. If the Titans get past the rear guard, we're really gonna be in trouble."

Christa lowers her gaze. "I know, but…"

"Is something wrong," Bertholdt asks.

"We haven't seen Eren or the others. Armin is also acting weird."

Annie responds. "We haven't seen them either."

"Look," Reiner commands, "there's no time for this now! Let's gather all the surviving troops together and do what we still can against the Titans!"

"I thought the vanguard was destroyed...but they're in the back. Are they still evacuating civilians?"

"Looks like it."

I turn to Reiner. "What's the plan?"

"We have to help the middle guard and try to stop these Titans!" Fine with me. We see a group of Titans ahead of us. Forgetting the strategy Eren and I originally made at the beginning of the invasion, I head forward by myself. My rage has displaced all rational thought, but my skills make up for it. With speed and tenacity, I solo three of the five Titans we were engaging, taking no care for my safety. Reiner and the others didn't try to slow me down as we crossed the city, taking on the Titans while assisting the middle guard.

"This is for Thomas," I cried while swinging underneath a Titan's crotch and launched myself skyward, freefalling my way down to cut the nape. "This is for Mina," I cried as I cut down another, starting from the legs up to the arms then the nape. "This is for Eren," I shouted as another Titan was blinded once I cut its eyes out before cutting its life.

I didn't know how much time had passed once I and my new allies regrouped, but apparently, we did a lot of work. Reiner, however, gestures me over to him for a private conversation. "What's up, Reiner?"

"Are you alright?"

"If watching all your friends die 'alright?' If yes, then I'm just dandy."

Reiner sighs at my sarcasm but lets the subject go in favor of a more important one. "How's the civilian evacuation? Could you check how things are going with the rear guard?"

"Rear guard?" That's where Mikasa is, and last we talked, Armin is heading there too. I nod, somewhat eager to join with Arckermann for some reason. "Yeah, I'll check things out."

Reiner pats me on the shoulder. "We'll take care of everything here. We're counting on you, Elijah"

Mikasa, please be alright out there.

"Asshole." I've made it to the back of Trost District, seeing a crowd of civilians blocked from leaving the city due to some dumbass "president of the merchant guild" trying to heave his 'precious' overstocked cargo through the Wall. Even at a time like this, a dumbass will still be a dumbass. From my perched position, I see a mother hugging her child, probably telling her that everything will be okay. Ymir's words from earlier start ringing in my head, that we're all just 'Titan fodder,' part of me wants it to be the truth, but as I watch that mother and her child, I'm reminded of another who lost his mother and father five years ago.

Even if Ymir is right. I want her to be wrong for as long as it's possible.

Footsteps to my right gain my attention. A Titan comes down the road, running quickly towards the crowd. However, it ignores the Garrison troops behind it. Titans are not picky about their humans, but some will ignore those nearby for a greater catch elsewhere. Sometimes they do things that are unpredictable. We class them "Abnormal" due to the abnormal behavior they exhibit. I prepare to jump in and take out the Titan, yet it falls before I can make my move, just a few meters from the civilians.

Its killer is Mikasa. She lands on the corpse's head, checking her weapons before noticing the standing witnesses to her kill. "What are you all doing?"

"Good timing," the merchant asshole says to Mikasa. "Make these morons push my wagon! I'll pay you handsomely."

If I didn't have the right mind, I'd beat this asshole until he can't walk anymore, but lucky for me, looks like Mikasa has something else in mind.

"Right now, my comrades are dying back there. I can't help your crisis. They are dying from fighting Titans."

"Exactly! It is your duty as a soldier to die for the survival of the citizens! Don't get high on yourselves because of the safety we had for the past hundred years!"

If that ticked me off, I know Mikasa is just as triggered. She steps off the Titan and walks through the crowd, blades still drawn. "I wonder if they understand the value of one person dying for the sake of someone else? At times, the death of one is necessary to save many."

The president apparently has friends as they step up to protect him as he threatens Mikasa. "Don't you dare! Your commander and I are old friends! One word from me and you'll be court-martialed!" The grunts come after Mikasa, only to meet my fists.

Mikasa keeps on walking, barely acknowledging me as she steps up to the balding merchant. "How will a dead body speak? As Mikasa raises one of her swords, the merchant realizes that she is serious, and steps back as her blade comes down.

"Wait!" Mikasa's sword hovers just at his throat, the stare she gives daring him to make another threat. As he shakes, the merchant sighs and orders his men to remove the wagon, thus allowing the people to escape through the inner gate.

Mikasa and I stand together in silence, watching the civies pass. I notice the mother-daughter pair stay behind, the little girl waving to me and Mikasa. "Thank you, miss!"

"Thanks to you, we'll live. We are forever grateful." Mikasa gasps but says nothing as she sheathes her swords and salutes with her fist over her heart. I do the same, then we leave the pair behind.

"You handled that well, Mikasa."

"Thank you for jumping in when you did." Is Mikasa...actually giving me thanks? I didn't even know she was capable of so. I smile to myself as she continues talking. "What brings you to the rear?"

"Reiner asked me to check up on things back here. Now I see." I intentionally leave out the other happenings. I don't even know if Eren is dead, only Armin knows the truth. I sigh as I feel a drop of moisture land on my head. I look up, seeing rainfall from the sky. Great way to raise the mood.

We join with the rest of Mikasa's team. The leader, Ian Dietrich, congratulates her on handling the situation well. "Thank you," she responds. "However, I attacked too hastily so my blades are now dull." She ejects the blades. "I'll do better next time."

Ian frowns. "What on earth have you lived through to be so nonchalant? I mean-forget it." He turns to me, standing behind Mikasa. "You. Middle guard cadet?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, you're here now. Help us protect the civilians. Though...the middle guard couldn't hold them off?" I step away to prevent myself from answering that, Mikasa following behind.

"You coming with me?"

"Yes. Let's take care of everything here first and then head over to Eren."

You better be alive, Eren. "Yeah, let's do so."

The evacuation is successful as the inner Wall closes and the withdrawal signal is given by the bell. I watch the decaying Titan corpses while Ian comes to Mikasa and me. "That's the squadron, Ackermann and Everett. Let's scale the Wall."

I consider it, but as I look to the city I remember my comrades that I left behind in the middle. "With all due respect, sir, I am assigned to the middle and my squadron is still out. It is my duty to go back." And hope they are indeed still alive. I step away, but apparently, I am not alone.

"I will go with Elijah and help the vanguard withdraw." Despite Ian's protests, we head off to the center of Trost. I look to Mikasa, knowing her true goal is Eren. Still, I remain quiet. What can I tell her, that Eren is dead? She'll know the truth eventually, right? It is wrong of me, but as long as she thinks Eren lives, she will fight on. She does not need to sink in the hole that I'm in, not right now.

"You're hiding something from me, Elijah"

"If we get out of this mess, you'll know soon enough."

Back on the front lines, we place ourselves on a steeple and spot other Garrison soldiers standing on the rooftops. "The hell are they doing?"

"They must have heard the withdraw signal. So why are they not climbing over the Wall?" Mikasa turns around, gasping as she nudges me. "Look!" I look to our left, seeing in the distance the Trost District Headquarters...surrounded by Titans.

"Let's go!" We head towards the HQ in a frenzy, hoping that the soldiers scaling the Wall would see the swarm and try to help us liberate it. But before we made it, we spot our fellow cadets sitting on nearby rooftops together. Among them is Armin. He sits by himself, possibly still in the shock I last saw him some time ago. Still, no signs of Eren. And now Mikasa is with me... We land with Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, and Marco, though. Bertholdt is the first to see us. "Mikasa! Elijah! Weren't you two with the rear guard?"

I nod. "The evacuation is completed as you asked of me, Reiner." He nods his acknowledgment.

"Annie," Mikasa says. "I know how bad things have gotten. I know I'm pushing forward my personal concerns, but have you seen Eren's squad?"

My former squadmates look to me for a moment before Annie answers. "Some squads made it back. But I don't know about Eren's."

"I think Armin is over there," Reiner says. Mikasa immediately leaves for Armin, while Reiner looks back to me. "You didn't tell her?"

I look away, biting my lips. "I can't tell her something I don't know is true. Armin is the only one who can and who should." I step after Mikasa, knowing that if I cannot bring myself to tell Mikasa that I think Eren is dead, how can he tell her he knows Eren is dead? As I get there, she kneels in front of Armin.

"Armin. Are you hurt? Are you okay?" His only response is dropping his head lower, to hide his face more from Mikasa. I catch my breath, swallowing it back down in fear. No, Armin, tell her. She stands up, searching around. "Where is Eren?" Armin begins to hitch his breath as tears drop from his eyes. Mikasa either doesn't see it or ignores it in annoyance of Armin's attitude. "Armin?"

I step up. "Mikasa."

She turns to me, beginning to panic. "What have you been hiding from me? Do you know where Eren is?"

Before I can respond, Armin looks up, tears streaming down his eyes. Mikasa's face gravely falls as Armin kneels over. "We… The cadets of Squad 34... Thomas Wagner, Nack Tierce, Milieus Zeremski, Mina Carolina, Eren Jaeger… These brave five upheld their duties. They died valiantly on the field of battle! I am so sorry, Mikasa! It should have been me that died. I… I couldn't do a thing. I'm useless."

Mikasa, her face void of emotion, turns back to me, seeing my own fallen expression. I do look back at her, and in her eyes, I see that she understands why I didn't tell her. She just lost Eren, but I lost Eren, Mina, and Thomas. Unlike Armin, however, I knew where to direct my grief. She kneels back down to Armin, taking one of his hands in hers. "Armin. Calm yourself. We haven't got time for you to get emotional right now."

"Huh?"

"On your feet." She helps him up, and with that business done, she steps beside me. "The headquarters."

"Right."

"Marco, if we get through the Titans at headquarters, we can refuel our gear and everyone can get back over the Wall. Is that correct?"

Marco ponders Mikasa's suggestion for a moment as she walks past him. "I...guess so. Even with you leading the attack, there's just too many of them."

She turns around sharply. "I can do it."

"What?"

She draws a blade and holds it up. "I am strong. I am stronger than all of you. I am very strong. I have the ability to slay all of the Titans that block our path! All by myself." Despite Mikasa acknowledging her skills rightfully superior to everyone, I know her words are nothing but air. Someone is too overconfident right now. Or just feigning it, because Mikasa, you are hurting right now. "Either you are just not as skilled as I am or you are all spineless cowards. It's really too bad. All of you just sit here on your hands and wait here. Sit here and watch."

A cadet girl speaks up. "Wait, Mikasa. What are you saying?"

"Are you going to take them out, the two of you, by yourselves?"

"There's no way."

"If I can't beat them, then I die. But if I win, I live. The only way to win is to fight." With that, Mikasa looks to me before leaping off. I smile to myself, knowing the reason she spoke that way was not to flaunt her skills but to make our comrades feel inferior enough to join her. I let the others handle themselves as I tend to Armin.

"What's too bad is the way you try to motivate people," I overhear Jean say. "That's supposed to help us? This is your fault, Eren!" He raises his sword and his voice. "Hey! We weren't taught to let our comrades fight alone! You all will really become cowards!" With that, Jean, Connie, and my other friends head off. You've come quite a way since I first met you, Jean.

"Armin." Armin looks to me, his eyes dry but his face still wet. "Wipe your face. Use that sadness against those monsters. Eren didn't die so the rest of us could cry over it. He gave his life away so you can live his dream in his place!" I walk ahead, turning to the other lingering cadets. "You heard the girl! I've killed more Titans on my own than all of you combined, and so has Mikasa. If we can't beat them, we die. and I'd rather die than just sit here and feel like the rest of you sorry shits." I activate my ODM gear, chasing after Mikasa. I passed Jean and my other squadmates, while they tried to avoid fighting, giving me more titans to bring down.

"Elijah!" I turn to Armin, who is pointing up to Mikasa, at least two blocks to my right. "Mikasa is using too much gas!"

"What?" I turn to Mikasa, seeing that she is moving too fast. Armin's right, she's using too much gas. If she runs out... I knew she wasn't right in the head, even in my own recklessness I conserve my gas and blades. While I want to catch up with her, I'll be expending my own fuel too much for that cause.

That's when it happened. Mikasa's gas went out, and the girl collapsed out of the air and hit the top of a building. I watched as Armin went after her, leaving me with the other cadets.

"Elijah! Jean! You lead the rest forward! I'm going after Armin!"

I shake my head. "No, I'll go after him!"

"Don't be stupid! There are still titans everywhere! They'll need your abilities!" Connie's right. After Mikasa, I'm one of the strongest fighters. Connie knows my abilities firsthand, so if he trusts me to lead, then I trust him with Armin and Mikasa.

"Alright, go! Jean, Sasha, with me! Let's go!" Connie departs while Jean and Sasha join my side.

"HYYAAHH!" My blades cleanly cut the nape of a Large Abnormal, much like one of the Titans from earlier, it proved to take all of us to beat it, but it came at a cost.

I'm now one of the few cadets with enough gas to make it back to HQ, not including the possibility of combatting the Titans. As we regroup, I stand with Reiner, looking at the HQ as if it is an unreachable goal. "We're not going to make it. I don't think all of us can."

"Daniel! I'll save you!" A cadet flies over us to the street, apparently trying to save another. I stroll over to Jean's still body, watching the unfortunate deaths of three cadets. Jean closes his eyes and, based on his gritted teeth, begins to beat himself up over it. He did tell them to stop, but besides that, there's nothing else he could have logically done. I let him know that by gripping his shoulder.

"Elijah. Please tell me you have a plan?"

I wish I could tell Jean and the others that I did have a good plan. I would take the current cadets who had enough gas to the headquarters and try our luck. However...I said nothing because how much of a plan is that if it gets us killed? So no, Jean, even I do not have a plan. It makes me rage inside. I must say it. It is our only shot. I turn to everyone, holding my sword. "Those that have enough fuel, we must continue. Those that do not, wait here."

Reiner, Bertholdt, Sasha, Annie, Jean, Ymir, Marco, and Christa are all that remain with me. Too few to fight, too many to sacrifice. As he walks up, Reiner pegs me a question. "If we're really going in, this is our chance. You ready?"

Before I answer, I look down at the Titans. They're so preoccupied with eating the foolish cadets that they haven't noticed us. "They haven't noticed us," I say aloud.

Jean then rushes off along the roof... "Let's go! Make a break for HQ while they're distracted!" Deeming it a plan better than my own, I follow after Jean, the others joining in. We run along the rooftops before we have to use our gas again, and I command everyone to conserve as much as they can for as long as possible. While we're in flight, I try my best to clear the way, but some Titans are spared from death. I hope my friends avoid them because I am not looking back until we stop.

And we don't stop until we lunge ourselves through the windows of the fortress. Jean and I are first, followed by everyone who survived being caught by the Titans. It wasn't many, but it was much better than what I had planned.

"Elijah, we…" I turn to Bertholdt, who looks surprised that we actually made it. "Have we… Have we made it, Elijah? Is this the end of the road?"

I shake my head, then I turn to everyone. "We survived this far. I'll be honest, I came close to death many times today even I almost lost hope." I bring my hand up to my neck, touching the carving and the jewel lightly. "We've already lost so many along the way, but...perhaps our training is finally paying off. Either that or we got lucky. Doesn't matter which it is, it better continue for all of us. Now that we're here, let's investigate as to where the supply team went." I look at Sasha, winking at her. "I think we still have that special dinner to consume."

As Sasha begins to pant like a dog, Bertholdt smiles. "We never did get around to that dinner of meat we promised ourselves, did we?"

In the moment of respite that we have, I think of Mikasa, Armin, and Connie, wondering if they're okay. Then I think of a potential miracle to please happen, a miracle that gets me and my comrades out of this.

It comes in the form of Jean bringing a man from under the table and punching him in the face.

But i can't help but hear something in the distance. Was that...a gunshot?