11:13 AM
Jean sat in defeat on the rooftop in downtown Trost, surrounded by the other trainees. He leaned back on his arms and observed the sky above, finding it fitting for the weather to be as awful as their current situation. He observed the masses around him and couldn't help but grit his teeth at his luck, his MP initiation ceremony would have been held in a few hours, had the colossal waited some more he'd have been out of this hell hole by now.
He frowned and leaned forward, his arms perched on his knees with his head hung low. Connie approached him from behind and walked in front of him.
"Jean! What the hell do we do now?"
"Absolutely nothing, they issued the retreat order but it's too late for us. Without much gas left... Yeah, good luck climbing the walls." He clutched the side of his head, eyes shaking with terror. "Nearly ran out of fuel just as they issued the retreat order too, our deaths are on those damn cowards in the supply team."
Connie frowned. "What happened to them?!"
"They're too terrified to move I guess, with all the Titans that are surrounding the place they're held up inside scared shitless. And the armory must be chock full of the little ones so even if we somehow deal with the ones on the outside we still can't get gas."
Connie's temper flared at his acceptance of their defeat. "Then we take a chance and fight them! It's all the same if we sit here and do nothing, and if we run we waste gas! Without our ODM gear, we are useless!" He spoke, tapping his nearly empty canisters by the end of his talk.
Jean's eyes rolled upwards to him, his mouth turned grim. "Look at you Connie, all fired up and determined, it's good to see you're no longer a blockhead. Take a look around, you think any of these people have it in them to throw their lives away like that?"
Connie's shoulder sagged, and his face fell. "So we're done for." He stated as fact.
Jean sighed and leaned back again. "What a stupid life this is."
"Hey! Someone's coming!" One of the cadets yelled.
The two of them turned to see a figure in the distance, soon enough they were able to recognize Floch from the hair. The redheaded boy descended onto the roof and observed his surroundings, finding that his classmates were worse for wear. He frowned as he walked past his demoralized comrades, from the distance, Annie, Reiner, and Betholdt were surprised to see that he survived the attack on the castle.
"What's the situation here?!" He shouted at them, but none replied. "Dammit! Anybody! Answer!" He grit his teeth in anger.
Marco walked up to him. "It's bad, we're all nearly empty on gas. Our commanding officers have either fled or died, so we're stuck between a rock and a hard place, nobody knows what to do right now."
Floch nodded. "I see, Marco. Help me get everyone's attention, we need to get off these roofs." Floch answered, his face lighting up with relief upon seeing his friends.
"Floch!" Gordon Shouted for him with Sandra, Hannah, and Franz in tow.
"Gordon, Sandra!" Floch shouted back at them.
The two immediately wrapped him in a hug as the boy pulled them closer to him, he waved and smiled at Hannah and Franz from behind their shoulders before they separated. His eyes wandered between them all and noticed someone missing, his brows knitted in a frown.
"Where the hell did you disappear off to?" Gordon questioned.
"We were worried about you so much..." Sandra muttered.
"Likewise, I'm glad you're all okay. Where's Ruth?"
When none had answered, Floch froze in disbelief.
"I'm so sorry, Floch." Sandra nearly cried.
Floch's lips momentarily quivered as his eyes moistened, but he took control of himself before his emotions could get the best of him. He gave a weak nod of acknowledgement before letting go of Sandra's hand, now was not a good time to grieve. He slowly walked past all of them and made his way further ahead after spotting Armin.
"Hey, Armin." He began, noticing him and Mylius both drowning in a fit of depression.
Armin jerked his head up, pulled from a trance. "F-Floch!"
"Where's Eren?"
Something in the boy malfunctioned at the drop of Eren's name, he clutched his head and frantically yelled at the top of his lungs. Rocking back and forth in his spot while mumbling incoherently.
"He's dead, dead! Because of me..." Mylius choked out, which prompted Floch turned to shift his gaze at him in bewilderment..
"What the fuck do you mean he's dead?!" Floch growled in denial, raising the boy by his collar.
"One of them took out T-Thomas, and Eren ran after it to kill it! I didn't want to risk the lives of everyone else, I let him go by himself and he d-died too! It's all my fault, it's my fault!" Mylius wailed.
Floch grimly stared at their pitiful states, ice filling his veins as realization dawned on him. It was already over, Eren was gone. His gaze shifted towards the breached wall, what would be the point in fighting? The war was lost before it has even begun. Who knew where his Titan was now? He drowned out all of their noises and sunk deep into the pits of his mind, as he too fell into the clutches of despair.
"I'm gonna get you out of here safely. All of you."
"Armin, Mylius, get up, both of you."
The two boys were pulled out of their stupor and gazed up at him, he pulled Mylius all the way up before offering a hand to Armin. Floch turned around and saw that a freshly arrived Mikasa staring at them, her face buried deep in her scarf. It was clear enough that she overheard them from how lifeless her eyes looked. He looked around and took note of the few of the trainees who were following his every move.
"Everything will be fine, snap out of it. Now's not the time, okay?" He said as he squeezed Armin's shoulder.
The shorter boy frantically nodded his head up and down though he didn't look entirely convinced. Floch climbed up to the top of the highest roof above where Armin stood as the rest of them watched with intrigue, once he gained a vantage point over the surrounding area he spoke to the gathered cadets. "Alright! That's enough moping around! This area will be full of titans soon!"
Those who haven't been paying attention now turned towards his direction, his voice echoing out to the neighboring rooftops.
"Our chain of command has been broken, so I'll be taking charge of the situation. Check your gas levels, we will split ourselves into seven squads of five according to how much is left in your tank, each squad should ideally have a balanced distribution of gas! Once we have that sorted we will retreat to HQ immediately!" He hollered
"That's suicide!"
"The HQ is teeming with titans!"
"That's enough!" He barked, quieting them down. "I understand that you're all scared, but our alternative is to sit here and die! We're being slaughtered on the streets and the town is in ruins, to make matters worse there's a pocket of trapped civlians just east of here, to say that this situation is dire would be putting it lightly. We can't afford to idle around while they're advancing towards us!" His gaze shifted from one person to the next as they began to listen to him intently, some of their faces twisted in despair at his last few words.
"T-then it's pointless, what hope do we have if everyone else failed?! ... We're all going to die anyway!" Nack cried out from the crowd, for a moment Floch imagined himself back at Shiganshina with Erwin and the rest, a certain speech replaying in his mind.
"You're right, it's all pointless. No matter what dreams you had, no matter what you worked hard for or what kind of life you lead, all of it means nothing when you're in the stomach of a titan, we all die eventually." He clenched his fists as he spoke. "But is that enough to warrant laying your weapons down and surrendering to fate? Those comrades that gave their lives before you, what do you think they all fought for? A gate? A road? Were their deaths pointless then?"
Nack didn't know how to answer, Floch sliced the air in front of him with his hand and extended it to his side.
"They were not! They fought for us all, for humanity within the walls and they died for our sake! They gave up whatever dreams they had in the hopes that we carry on what they started, and now it's our turn to do the same and honor the sacrifices they made! Dedicating our efforts to their memories against this horror we face is the only way we can reject the cruelty this world subjects us to! We push through this hell and shoulder the burden so that humanity continues to prosper on the other side!" Floch unsheathed his sword with his left hand and extended his right palm invitingly towards the masses.
"Make no mistake! There can't be freedom without hardship, do not give up on yourselves just yet, as long as someone is willing to stand up and fight, as long as somebody's left to carry the torch, then none of these deaths have been in vain! Fight for everything you hold dear and do not give them that satisfcation of seeing bloodied and beaten!"
Passion burned in his heart as he spoke, his eyes steeled with determination and features fierce with rage. Sandra and Gordon gaped at him in awe, a fire steadily burned in all of their chests as they clung to his every word, those who have protested before absorbed his speech like sponges, a sliver of courage working its way inside them as they gained a momentary respite from this bleak battle.
"So I'll ask you, those brave cadets of the one hundred and forth, when I ask you to step forward and put an end to this nightmare, who among you will step forward and fight and who is content to allow this world to bend them to its will?!"
Floch was nearly out of breath by the time he concluded his speech, his intense gaze raked the unnervingly silent crowd of cadets, watching with a bated breath as tension mounted. He felt a rush of pride fill his chest as Sandra, Gordon, Hannah, and Franz were among those who stepped forward first, Connie, Sasha, Jean, and Marco followed right after, eventually, everyone on the roof was motivated to continue.
"We'll fight!" They shouted in unison.
Floch gave a tiny grin as he jumped down and walked forward until he was at the other end of the rooftop, speaking to them in the process. "That is what I like to hear! Everyone! Dedicate your hearts!"
"Our hearts and souls to the cause!"
He gazed at the castle, a million thoughts rushing through his mind. His eyes wandered towards the warrior trio standing on an adjacent roof, all of them now focused on him. He removed his gaze and turned his attention to the others. "Do as I've said earlier, organize yourselves and get ready to move out soon! Our first mission begins now!"
Eldia may have lost a devil, but unfortunately for the world, there were no shortages of those on this island.
"I Led Us All To This Point. I Kept Moving Forward, Even If It Meant Killing So Many Of My Comrades. It's Time I Take Responsibility For That." - Hange Zoe 854 AD, during the rumbling.
Mikasa stared out into the distance, lost in thought. Her heart ached for the loss of someone precious, life around her turning dull and meaningless. Black eyes reflect hints of sadness and grief. Eren was gone, the most precious person she had left in this world was gone and nothing could change that fact. What did she have left worth living for? Soon enough, she'll have nothing except a scarf that no longer held warmth in it. She frowned, one day his face will slip away from her memory.
She registered the footsteps coming up behind her, looking out of the corner of her eye to see the newcomer.
"Hey, Mikasa." Floch said.
She didn't bother to reply, He stood by her side as his keen gaze scanned the breached gate.
"I can't tell you that I know what you're feeling, but I've gone through similar losses today. I considered Eren a great friend, I had nothing but respect for him so to see him gone like this is difficult for me too." She studied his features from the side, before retracing her gaze back to the horizon. Seemingly uninterested in the nonsense he told to the rest. "Though I am not nearly as blinded by grief as you are, I recognize that look in your eyes."
"Leave me alone, spare me your words of consolation." She replied coldly.
"No, I won't. I won't pretend that I know much about you but I do know that Eren cared about you, more than anyone else here except for maybe Armin." He said, her eyes slightly lit up in surprise. "I also know that he worked hard to reach his dreams, and more importantly prove himself to you and the rest." His lips thinned as he glanced at her. "You're set on dying out there aren't you?"
Mikasa hadn't reacted, she continued to stare way into the distance expressionless though her eyes had a glint of discomfort in them.
"Knowing him, he'll never forgive you for it. You're strong Mikasa, you might just be stronger than all of us here combined, if there's anyone who's capable of carrying on Eren's dreams it would be you." Mikasa frowned, wishing him to vanish. "I know it's tough but we all have our responsibilities now, these people's lives are in my hands as well as yours. Many depend on us, including Armin. For Eren's sake and theirs, please, do not give up just yet."
Mikasa looked down at her feet pensively, Floch left her with some parting words. "We move out soon, do what's right, Mikasa."
The girl turned around and watched him retreat to the grouped trainees at the center of the roof, she anchored her gaze on Armin who was still curled up against the wall. Her eyes softened upon seeing him in that state, with Floch's words fresh in her mind she made her way towards him.
"Armin."
The blonde boy flinched, slowly rolling his fretful eyes up to meet hers. Tears pricked his canthus' at the sight of her, his heartbeats quickening with anxiety, he was nowhere near ready to have this conversation with Mikasa. How did he even bring himself to look her in the face?
"M-Mikasa I'm so sorry... E-Eren was- It's all my fault If I could have been just fast eno-" He cried out.
Mikasa cut him off, kneeling down and firmly squeezing his shoulder, she gave him a reassuring smile, albeit a weak one. The two of them gazed deeply into each other's eyes, Armin's breath now caught in his throat.
"It's alright Armin, I don't blame you for what happened. It wasn't your fault, all I care about now is to make sure you're safe." She said.
The boy gaped at her, tears openly streaming down his face. "M-Mikasa!"
The girl pulled him into a hug and patted his back, he did his best to not sob on her shoulders but his emotions got the best of him. By the time he released all of his pent-up emotions Floch began to rally everyone around to move, the two separated and focused their attention on the newly appointed leader.
"Those of you who are still not in a squad hurry and find your team! Mikasa come over here, Armin too!"
Marco waved at them from next to Bertholdt, Reiner, and Annie. "Mikasa, Armin. Our squad is one man short, join us!"
Armin nodded and stood by his side with Mikasa as everyone Now gathered in front of Floch and lined up shoulder to shoulder.
"Now that we're all set, our current objective is simple! Squads one to five will be moving in a wedge formation with Mikasa spearheading the charge, The remaining two squads and I will guard the rear. Remember your training, only engage if you have to, and never do it by yourself! Conserve your fuel, no flashy moves, no heroics, your only goal is to survive! The rear squads will make sure to cover for anyone who runs out of gas along the way! Any questions?"
Jean stepped forward. "Yeah, what the hell do we do about the titans at HQ?"
Floch turned to him. "I've taken care of most of them there before arriving, that gave the supply team a window to fortify the castle with canons, though the armory is still full of them. I am unsure of how many there are now but there shouldn't be much resistance outside, if they deem it safe enough then expect canon support once we reach the premises." He said leaving most surprised at the information.
"You told us earlier that there were pockets of civilians left behind, are we doing anything about that?" Sasha asked.
Floch hummed. "Let's worry about that when we're at the castle. Now, be ready to move! Mikasa, on your go!"
Mikasa nodded, she held Armin's hand and squeezed it one last time, before she set off for HQ. Armin watched her jump away and steeled his emotions, hardening his resolve for the upcoming battle as he mentally prepared himself.
"Squads one to five, GO!" He barked as they started following after Ackerman.
Mylius, Gordon, Hannah, Nack, Mina, Sandra, Franz, and the three other remaining cadets watched the squads leave with bated breaths, waiting for Floch's order. A few shared looks with each other, while some closed their eyes to pray.
"Squad six and seven, MOVE OUT!"
Floch and the remaining cadets launched forward, not so far behind the others. The redhead kept a close eye on their formations, determined to protect everyone under his command. His eyebrows knitted with anger, watching the backs of the warriors with silent seething rage. He had nobody but himself to blame, all the deaths that happened today were due to his lack of foresight, the least he can do now is make sure they weren't in vain.
"Floch! Right flank, someone's gas ran out!" Franz called out alerting the boy.
Floch's attention diverted towards the mentioned direction to find one of the squads frozen on the rooftops looking down at the street, he scowled seeing them standing around doing nothing before he spoke. "Keep moving, I'll handle it!" He yelled.
Floch detached from the formation and flew over towards the fallen trainee, his eyes narrowing with alertness seeing two cadets recklessly charging the titans to assist them.
The fear-stricken Tom cried as the titan pulled him closer to death, body jerking with terror upon realizing that it was the end, he bit his lip in a pathetic attempt to brace himself for death. Any more hope left died out when his two other squadmates were caught trying to rescue him, he closed his eyes when the teeth were about to shut down on him, ultimately failing to accept his demise.
Jean stood there frozen in shock, his mind urging him to help out yet his body refused to move an inch off the roof. He gritted his teeth and frowned, where did all that courage go? Did he already discard all of that passion Floch delivered, as he sat here watching his friends die? His ears perked up hearing another person rush down to help, he tried to scream at them to stay back as well but the words died in his mouth when he realized it was Floch this time.
He watched in amazement as he swept down and killed the titan holding Tom, before taking down the two other titans that had their backs turned to him. All of the cadets scrambled to the floor in shock, barely believing that they had been saved. Jean released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, a wave of relief washing over him.
"You're okay, Breathe," Floch said, comforting the boy. He turned to the other two cadets and called out for them. "You two over there! Is your equipment functional? Can you move?"
"I'm hurt, B-but my gear works just fine!" One of them called out.
"Okay! Jean! Get the hell down here, Hurry!" Floch shouted.
Jean twitched in surprise before he jumped down to help.
The other girl stood up in a daze, looking around the streets with confusion, and ignored his words. Floch walked over to her and firmly held both of her shoulders, she jumped in fright and gazed back at him like a deer in headlights. He slapped her cheek and slightly shook her back and forth, her head recoiled in pain as the stinging sensation brought her back to the real world.
"Wake up! Are you okay? Can you still move?" He asked her.
The blonde girl didn't reply, though at least she was now aware of everything around her. Floch frowned and immediately kneeled to check her gear to find that it had been damaged. He turned around to see that Jean had already caught the memo and had Tom on his back. He removed it off of her then stood up and looked at her dead in the eyes, she flinched as she held her stinging cheek.
"You're okay now, I need you to stay with me. You're going to get on my back and hold on tightly okay?" He said giving her free hand a reassuring squeeze.
She dumbly nodded her head up and down, Floch urged her to climb onto his back, which she did without difficulty. The three cadets were taken away from the street before more titans could arrive, and Floch made sure she held on tight as they made their way to HQ. Before long, Floch and the last remaining squad were in sight of the headquarters, rushing for safety.
Without any warning, a member of the squad was taken out by a Titan mid-air and turned to a bloody paste. Floch frowned, ordering the remaining two to stay away from corners. The girl buried her face in his nape and began sobbing, much to his dismay. Jean called out for him, and the boy slightly turned his head around to see that a titan was running after them.
He looked on apprehensively, knowing full well they weren't able to outrun it with people on their backs, and the only person who could help was injured. He frantically looked around, cursing as he scanned the surrounding streets. They couldn't go left or right without encountering another Titan along the way. Their only option was to keep going forward and hope they reach the castle before it could catch up.
"KEEP MOVING AND FLY LOW!" He hollered.
His mind raced as it neared them, what to do? What to do? He couldn't let her die to save himself, he couldn't! Or could he? She wasn't important enough in the grand scheme of things for him to risk his life... No! What the hell was he thinking?! He vowed to protect them, they were his responsibility, It was nothing short of revolting that thought like that could be entertained.
"IT'S GETTING WAY TOO CLOSE!" Jean screamed at him.
"SHUT UP AND KEEP GOING!" Floch barked back.
Jean and Tom both looked back, only to be shocked to their core at seeing the titan reach its arm for them. Suddenly, two explosions could be heard in the distance, mere moments later the titan fell to the ground as two canon balls eviscerated it. Now within range, the group looked back towards the castle to find the supply team and a couple of cadets waving for them.
Floch took note of the number of steaming corpses surrounding the castle, undoubtedly the combined effort of the canons and Mikasa. They all landed on the roof of the headquarters safely as trainees surrounded them. Floch gently set the girl down before he turned to address the gathered crowd, Jean fell to the floor with Tom panting heavily, in disbelief at his survival.
"Someone give me a report!" He barked.
"Squad four lost someone on the way here, they were ambushed by an aberrant..." Marco spoke with a hint of sadness in their voice.
Floch clenched his fists. "I see, make that two then."
Connie stepped forward, trying to uphold morale. "That's not so bad! We could have lost way more."
The cadets around them shared a look between themselves, feeling uneasy about the situation.
"Do not falter now! The hard part is over, do not allow those deaths to be in vain!" Floch shouted. "Gather close! we're moving to the next objective! Marco, Armin, Jean, I'll leave you in charge of figuring out a way to retake the armory, Take everyone except squad seven with you, Mikasa, you go with them as well! The rest of us will guard the outside, once you clear it out, refuel and switch with us, Is that understood?!" He added.
"Yes!" The teams shouted in unison before rushing inside.
Floch sent one last look towards Armin, he did remember it was thanks to him that they managed to resupply. If he was anything like he used to be the first time around then he trusted him to secure the armory again. Gordon, Hannah, Sandra, Franz, and another cadet stayed behind as per his orders. "Hannah, Franz, take these two somewhere safer, they're not fit to fight," Floch said pointing to the cadets he rescued.
The couple nodded before moving to help the two injured trainees inside, Floch briefly watched them leave before he went towards the rest of the supply team who had been watching from afar. His team followed him, and the two locked eyes before the woman spoke.
"Good to see you're alive, Forster." Elise nodded.
"Any issues?" Floch asked.
"Oh we're fine, we did some target practice on the tiny assholes below then held off a couple of them before your wonderful teammate with the scarf showed up. Though we only managed to set up two canons under such short notice, so not all sides are covered. Good thing they haven't entirely wrapped around the other side of the town yet, we'll be able to leave with no problems!"
"Ahh, unfortunately, we can't leave just yet."
She frowned at this, the others who overheard them were alarmed. "What the hell do you mean?!"
"The situation changed, there's a pocket of civilians trapped south of here near the Townsquare. We will be gearing up for a rescue mission, so I'm afraid we'll still need your support." He explained much to their dismay.
Elise wanted to protest, but she quickly remembered how she and the rest felt when their superiors abandoned them in the castle. She sighed, cursing this awful day before bitterly accepting the change of plans. "Dammit... Alright then, we'll help anywhere we can, all of us owe you our lives after all." She sighed, the others weren't entirely happy but knew that they had a duty to fulfill.
"Let's do our best," Floch said. "Once we get resupplied we'll be using the carriages in the back to transport the civilians into the castle, there are seventeen of them in total held up in a basement right behind the Townsquare."
"Why would we bring them back? Why not go straight for the gate?"
"Too risky, they won't open the gates for us. Best I can do is send word beforehand and have them lower some of the elevators for us, I wouldn't want to bring a bunch of non-combatants to a meat grinder without a guaranteed exit." Floch explained.
"Good thinking, alright then let's do this." She replied and he gave a nod in return.
Floch turned back to his friends, Gordon and Sandra started back at him with admiration, both shaken yet willing to press on. He smiled at them fondly, denial lingering On his mind. Was Eren truly dead? He should be here by now, in his glorious titan form. Each passing minute did nothing to soothe his anxiety. As much as he'd love to lie to himself, he was nothing without him. He could recruit as many people as he'd like, and overthrow governments to his heart's content but the writing was on the wall, Eldia's future is once again uncertain. They run the risk of the warriors standing unopposed, of Hizuru and Zeke's pragmatism aligning against their interests. The clock was ticking now, and it was only a matter of time before they get a taste of the full consequences.
He gritted his teeth in frustration, it'll be a nightmare to retake Trost. There was no other option than to rescue the civilians and withdraw. He didn't wish to destroy whatever confidence these kids around him still had, god knows there's barely any, to begin with. The effects of his speech would eventually wear off. Realistically speaking, their only hope now were the scouts.
Just how many people would have to die under his leadership until then?
A hand touched his shoulders after some minutes of deep thinking. "Floch, what's on your mind?" Sandra asked from behind.
He sighed. "Many things you'd be better off not knowing."
Sandra frowned, guilt eating her up. "Floch, About Ruth..."
His mood soured at the name, removing her hand from his shoulders. "Drop it, we'll have all the time in the world to speak later."
The girl respected his wishes, though she looked somewhat defeated. "Of course."
"Shit." An officer said as he observed the town with his telescope.
"What do you see?" Elise asked.
"There's a heavy concentration of ten to fifteen-meter class Titans near Townsquare, they seem focused on something there!" He warned.
Floch's ears perked up. "Do you see anything unusual?"
The man shook his head. "No, just behaving like your average titans to me, as average as a titan can fucking get anyway."
Disappointment washed over Floch. "I see."
"HEY! Titans coming from the rear!" A cadet shouted.
Everyone became on high alert, Floch, Sandra, and Gordon ran to the other side as Hannah and Franz rejoined them. The supply team hurriedly began to push and drag the canons to the other side. Floch leaned over the edge and scanned the surrounding area, seeing three nine to fifteen-meter titans coming towards them. He looked to his side, noting that everyone looked tense.
"How's everyone doing on gas?"
"I'm all out..." Gordon groaned, tapping the empty canister.
"Nearly the same here." Hannah and the cadet said.
"I can still push some more," Franz replied.
"Still good enough," Sandra said.
Floch closed his eyes in thought, mere seconds later he opened them with a clear goal in mind. "Gordon, help the supply team. You, Hannah, Stay back and wait for a good opportunity to strike. Franz, Sandra, you're with me, I'll take them head-on, you two try to lure them closer to the walls of the castle for the others to strike at." He barked.
They nodded and all ran in different directions, Gordon began pulling the canons with the supply team as Hannah and the cadet stood on the edge of the roof. Floch, Sandra, and Franz jumped down and flew towards the three titans, The redhead slipped underneath the first titan as the other two flanked the sides. The titan was slow to reach for him as Floch took out its legs from underneath it, it fell to the ground with a thud missing its Achilles' tendons.
Floch peeked at his left side and barely managed to avoid getting stomped, its foot leaving a small crater on the ground. He cursed under his breath, the maneuver costing him a great amount of gas. Sandra scowled and jumped towards it, slashing its face before it began to chase after her. Hannah and the cadet shared a look as they readied themselves, Sandra was about to launch upwards over the wall when her gas suddenly ran out.
Grey eyes widened in terror as one last pathetic hiss of gas signaled her lack of fuel, she descended fast to the ground and swung towards the wall lacking any control over her trajectory. Sandra cried out in agony as she slammed harshly against the side of the wall, her head swirled as she dangled from the side, barely registering the monster that approached her.
"Shit." The cadet next to Hannah muttered.
"SANDRA!" Floch cried out from the opposite side of the street before he rushed towards her, racing against the titan.
Hannah's eyes went wide as saucers as she tore her gaze away from Sandra and up towards the rest, finding Franz to be struggling against the clutch of a Titan.
"FRANZ!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, alerting Floch in the process.
Time seemed to slow down for Floch as he weighed his options, two choices now presented before him. He could trust the others with Sandra's life, and save Franz. Or he could make sure Sandra would be okay and take a chance on the supply team rescuing Franz. Floch frowned as he flew in the air, he sent a look towards the supply team to find them nowhere near ready to deploy, with that in mind Floch made his final choice.
Franz didn't even think to scream as fear consumed him, his breathing was erratic by the time he was close to dying. He was surprised when the Titan suddenly went limp, He braced himself as it crashed against the ground. Franz freed himself from between its fingers before making a run for the castle, he looked up to see Floch flying back towards Sandra, inwardly grateful for saving his life. Hannah was more than relieved to see him safe before she focused her attention back on the nearest Titan.
"We need to save her!" She said to the cadet.
"I'm with you!"
The two trainees jumped down towards the nine-meter titan with a war cry. The titan looked up with its creepy smile, sending chills down their spines. The cadet faltered, ultimately paying the price when the titan swatted at them with its hands and sent them crashing to the side. Hannah couldn't do as much damage as she hoped for, before being forced to retreat.
Floch grit his teeth in frustration at seeing their failed attempts, he pushed harder on the button and expelled more gas to reach Sandra faster. His blood suddenly ran cold when he could no longer feel anything pushing out of the device on his lower back. He began to lose momentum, soon enough descending to the street. Floch groaned as he crashed to the ground and rolled, with Franz quickly coming to his aid.
"Floch!" Franz hurried next to him, bringing him back to his feet.
"Don't worry about me..." He grunted with a wince.
His eyes fluttered open as he stood up, and both boys froze in shock as they watched the titan bring Sandra up by her jacket. The brunette remained clueless as she hung in the air, faintly registering the feeling of freefalling and the screaming around her. Floch stood rooted to his spot, forced to watch his childhood friend die all over again.
Floch's eyes widened in surprise, two figures sped towards the Titan with one of them grabbing Sandra mid-air and dragging her away from harm. In mere seconds the titan was shredded to pieces, and it wasn't long before it collapsed to the ground. Mikasa Ackerman stood above its corpse triumphant as she looked over to Floch and Franz, relief flooded the boy as they both limped their way towards her. Two canon shots flew over their heads and struck the titan that Floch had incapacitated earlier, as more cadets began to rush outside to defend the castle.
Jean landed back in the courtyard behind the supply team as he gently set the unconscious Sandra down. He stood up and walked over to the edge, sending a quick look to the supply team as they showered the incoming Titans with canon balls as fast as possible.
"Get the charge ready! You! Load up the ball after him and secure it!" A garrison officer yelled at Gordon and another cadet.
"We came just in time." He muttered to himself before rejoining the fight.
Hannah ran to their side and helped the limping Floch make his way inside, a couple of other cadets joined Mikasa as some of them ran to help the other injured trainee bleeding on the floor.
"Over here!" Connie and Sasha shouted from below by the entrance of the armory.
"Close the gate!" Connie shouted.
Floch sent a passing glance to the cadets lowering the iron gate, effectively sealing the entrance to the armory. They reached inside to find some of the trainees still in the process of refilling their canisters, Franz and Hannah sat him down against the wall and rushed to refill as well, with Sasha remaining by his side.
"You don't look so good. " Sasha noted as she worriedly scanned his body. "H-hey, can you still hear me?!"
"I'll be... fine...how did it go?" Floch managed with growing difficulty, suffering from his headaches once more.
"Uh... I Uhm... I almost got us all killed b-but don't worry about that! Thanks to Armin and the other guys we managed to clear the armory without any losses!" She nervously laughed, averting his eyes.
Floch released a dry chuckle, fatigue catching up with him. "Great job, Glad you didn't die again, you always were my favorite of the bunch..."
Sasha cocked a brow in confusion. "Huh?"
She looked down to see that Floch had passed out, her breath caught in her throat as she proceeded to panic.
"F-Floch! Please don't die! Oh god! He's dead, He's dead!" She cried out as she shook his body.
"Sasha!" Connie rushed to her side and froze upon seeing Floch's limp form.
She looked up at him with tears beginning to fill her eyes. "I-I think he's dead! He told me his last dying words!"
Connie's eyes widened in shock as he looked at Floch's corpse, he kneeled to check his pulse to make sure, and he pressed his fingers against his neck before he sent Sasha an annoyed look.
"You moron, he's just unconscious."
Sasha breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness, I would not have been able to handle the guilt."
"Come on, let's get him somewhere to rest, Sasha."
Sasha looked at his unconscious form suspiciously, somewhat intrigued by the last comment he made. As far as she knew, she's never died before. Though she didn't dwell on it too much, she doubted the boy was in the right state of mind so she chalked it up to fatigue and confusion. She gave him one last look, contemplating something in her mind before Connie snapped her out of it.
"Come on Sasha, Help me already."
She looked over to Connie, regaining her usual exuberant attitude.
"Right!"
A few more titans entered through the hole in the gate and made their way into the town, slowly taking over the entirety of Trost as they searched for hosts to consume.
From underneath the debris of a nearby wreck next to the gate, a bloodied hand momentarily twitched.
