"Ah!"

Marco was jostled into consciousness as he slammed against a wall. Or at least, he'd thought it had been a wall until he opened his eyes.

"What …?"

Marco fell forward, his face crashing against a deep-red surface which was lucky to have enough give to keep him from breaking his nose. He lifted his head in an attempt to make out the scene between the slits in whatever substance was holding him.

That's …

Marco froze. The towering figure above him; the creature with broad shoulders and covered in golden plates … there was only one thing it could be.

"Reiner …" Marco said.

The red flesh between the plates was blackened, steam steadily rising from the portion of Reiner's Titan which took the full blast of the explosion. The Titan's arm had been exposed down to the bone, he could see it overhead as the Armored Titan reached out.

Marco lost his balance again as the surface below him jolted. The cause had been the Armored Titan grabbing a clump of the golden hair atop the Female Titan's head. Its victim looked down, locking eyes with Marco. The Female Titan held the hand encompassing Marco closer to its chest in its effort to keep him from harm's way.

"Annie," Marco said. He cursed himself for being unarmed; his hands still bound behind his back. There was no way to help Annie. She had to be the one sacrificing herself to save him.

And I … Marco thought, wincing as the Armored Titan pulled back a fist and slammed it against the Female Titan's face.

It's my fault all this is happening.

"Fight back!" Marco screamed, getting to his feet. "Fight back, Annie! Don't get yourself killed trying to protect me! You're more important than that!"

The Female Titan's head rocked again from another blow. A shadow fell overhead as a giant hand descended. Steam billowed from the red, exposed flesh as it threatened to crush the Female Titan entirely.

"Fight!" Marco screamed, desperation in his voice as the Colossal Titan closed in. "Fight back!"

There was a roar. The Armored Titan went flying from a fist hitting its jaw with enough force to crack the gold plating.

Standing where the Armored Titan had once been was another Titan, steam billowing from the wound of splintered bones peeking through its knuckles. The muscular Titan let out another roar, rushing forward and ramming itself against the palm of the Colossal Titan. Whether from force or surprise, the hand was knocked back. There were burns across the muscular Titan's flesh from where it'd made contact. This didn't seem to matter; defiance shone in the Titan's eyes as it looked to the Female Titan over its shoulder.

The fingers against the Female Titan's chest loosened. Marco was able to clearly see the green eyes boring down at him.

"Eren," Marco breathed. His view of the Attack Titan was gone a moment later as the Female Titan shifted.

Staying on his knees was the only way Marco could keep upright against the sway of the Female Titan's gait. He felt the Titan put some distance between itself and the others before taking a knee among a pile of blackened rubble. The hand holding Marco lowered to the ground.

Marco's footing was unsteady as he stepped down. He stared deep into the impossibly large, blue eyes above him, golden hair falling like a curtain as if to shield him from the horrors of the situation they found themselves in.

"Annie," Marco said. He shook his head, struggling to find the words he needed to say … the words she needed to hear. "Annie, you–"

"Marco!"

Marco whipped about. A small object hit him with enough force to nearly knock him from his feet. He steadied himself as the object let out a wail.

"Thank the Walls!"

Celine squeezed Marco tighter around the middle, gasping for air through her tears and the folds of his shirt. "Thank the Walls! He must've known … that you were … you're here … I heard your voice, but … you weren't killed. Marco … you're alive. You ... You're still here."

The shadow overheard withdrew. Marco looked up as the Female Titan got to its feet. It stood still for a moment to take him in before turning away.

Most of the Female Titan's back had been covered in a crystalline substance, but patches around its calves and shoulders it hadn't been able to cover in time oozed like melted wax. It was a stark reminder Annie's quick thinking had been the only reason her and Marco were more than piles of ash.

The Female Titan's retreat transitioned to a run. The Attack Titan appeared to be trading blows with the Armored Titan while dodging under the wide swing of the Colossal Titan's arm. The Female Titan dipped under the Colossal Titan's swipe, the skin around its hand enveloping in crystal as it slugged the Armored Titan in the chest.

"What happened to your hands?" Celine asked, grabbing Marco's attention. She'd been inspecting him for injuries, zeroing in on the strip of leather binding his wrists.

"I'll tell you later," Marco said. He looked back at her over his shoulder. "Can you get me loose?"

A knife from Celine's belt made fast work of the restraints. Marco rubbed his wrist for a moment before looking up.

"This place isn't safe, Celine," he said. "There must be people who need …"

Marco's voice fell away.

Nothing stood at the top of the hill where the headquarters building had once sprawled against the horizon. Fires burned in all directions, blocking out the stars and turning the sky black. In the distance he could make out a few skeletal remains of buildings, but nearby was little more than piles of crumbling bricks and smoldering wood beams.

"There …" Marco said, sounding less sure about what was about to come out of his mouth than he had a moment before. "... There must be people out there who need help. Are you in a condition to provide aid?"

"Who gives a shit about that?!" Celine said. She snatched Marco's arm, her grip squeezing his wrist nearly as tight as the restraints had been. "We need to get as far as we can! That giant one … its legs aren't even above ground, and it's still taller than Eren and Annie by a long shot! Those two are going to die! We need to find somewhere safe while the big one is distracted. If the wall comes down … we need to figure out somewhere to go. We need to–"

"I know you're scared, Celine," Marco said. This was the first time he'd seen Celine slip – fear drowning out her headstrong nature. It disturbed him how much she looked like a helpless child.

He leaned down to level her with a furrow to his brow. "You're not acting like yourself. The sister I know would never run. My sister would look the Titans in the eye and tell them to fuck themselves."

. . .

A spark shone through the panic in Celine's heart. Her grip on Marco's arm loosened.

"You just swore," Celine said.

"Was I wrong?" Marco said. He held Celine's gaze, unblinking.

Celine looked over Marco's shoulder. She watched as the Female Titan pushed the Attack Titan out of harm's way, its leg being crushed under the palm of the Colossal Titan for its trouble.

"Those bastards," Celine said. Her lips pulled back in a snarl. "Those vermin … When they get ripped out of those Titans … I'll cut them open like fish. This is my home. No one does this to my home, you hear me?! I'll kill you, you filth!"

"Celine!"

Marco gripped Celine by the shoulders. "We're members of the Military Police, tasked with protecting the people. We need to help where we can."

Celine studied Marco's face, matching his resolve. "Fine," she said, turning away. "From the top of the hill I was able to see the fires spreading south through the neighborhoods. We'll head that way."

"I'm staying here."

Celine looked back to Marco, wondering if she'd misheard. She reached out as Marco began to back away.

"Oi!" Celine said. "Marco!"

"I won't do anything risky," Marco said. He turned away, jogging in the direction of what used to be Military Police Headquarters. "Others with ODM gear should be here soon! I'll fill them in on the situation! Just get yourself away from the Titans!"

"Get back here, idiot!" Celine shouted. She moved forward, Marco immediately spinning on his heel from the sound of crunching gravel underfoot.

"I promise I'll be okay, Celine," he said. "So please get to safety. Do that for me, alright?"

Celine grit her teeth. She took a step forward. There was a pause as she second guessed herself. Her eyes tracked Marco as he turned around a pile of debris and disappeared from sight. She took a deep breath, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"I'll never forgive you if you die, Mr. Seventh-in-his-class! Do you hear me?! Never! So don't … Don't …"

Her hands fell limply to her sides. Celine fought to keep down the panic building in her chest as she took shallow breaths.

"Shit … You make cowards like me look really bad, you know?"

Rubble slid underfoot as Celine turned on her heel. She ran south, shooting glances over her shoulder to take in the scene unfolding behind her.

They better be able to protect him. Eren and Annie … those kids … do they really stand a chance?