For the longest of moments, no one said anything.

How could they, really? It was already excruciatingly difficult to simply keep themselves standing as they stared up at the imposing behemoth of iron and steel standing before them, and as the seconds ticked by, the tension in the air only really intensified tenfold as the members of Team Rico kept their eyes locked onto the ever threatening form of the Mechanical Titan, with them refusing to take their eyes off it all the while.

"I… I-I thought that it was just a myth… a practical joke made up by the soldiers that were too scarred from the events of Maria and Shiganshina… n-never in my life would I have expected those rumours to be t-true…!" muttered Nac, with his eyes as wide as dinner plates as he flinched away from the Mechanical Titan, which remained mostly unmoving as it stared down at them in silence.

Its lack of aggression was something that had been noted down in the records, but considering what little was known about this Titan in particular, paired with its imposing stature and uncaring gaze, none of the soldiers present before it, junior or otherwise, dared to risk whilst anything around it.

"C-Captain… w-w-what're your orders…?" stuttered Mina, with her glancing over at Rico as she asked this, and as she spoke, the Mechanical Titan's head shifted ever so slightly towards her direction, causing her to squeak as she took a step back, only for Nac to step in front of her protectively, and moments later, Brzenska scowled as she motioned for her team to back up, slowly.

It wasn't attacking them, not yet at least, and she didn't wish to aggravate it into doing so, and as she backed her team up towards the far end of the building they were on, Rico bit her lower lip and waited for the right opportunity to issue her command…

… that opportunity came much faster than she realized as, within a minute, they reached the edge of the building, and moments later…

"FALL BACK!"

Rico swung her arm out towards her juniors, ordering them to do just that, before she leapt off the edge of the building they were on and began boosting towards the safer inner confines of Trost. Nac, Mylius and Mina wasted no time in following their superior, with them racing after her within an instant.

As they sped off, however, Mina did spare the Mechanical Titan one last glance, and as she did so, she found herself surprised, if a bit relieved, to see that it was not pursuing them. Rather, it simply stood where it was and watched as her group fled. Unmoving and stoic, it showed no signs of pursuit, which was probably for the best, but all the same…

"T-T-That… thing…! It's… it's not supposed to exist, right?! P-Please tell me that it was just a h-hallucination, please!" yelled Mylius, with him just barely controlling his terror over the current situation as he glanced over at his Captain, who remained uncannily silent as she led them to safety. Nac was the one to respond to the blonde's inquiry after some time.

"If it was a hallucination, Mylius, then it is one we all shared…!" rebutted Nac, with his voice holding no small amount of panic as he glanced back to confirm that the Mechanical Titan was not pursuing them. He was beyond relieved to see that such a thing had not happened.

"T-Then… how do we explain… t-that?! It's not supposed to exist! It was… i-it's just a myth! A hoax conjured up by the guys that survived the Fall of Maria and Shiganshina… r-right?! RIGHT?!" yelled Mylius, with him trying to get an answer to all of his questions as he began to lose whatever semblance of calm remained within him, and in response to this, Nac had nothing to respond with as, in truth, he had honestly thought the Mechanical Titan to be nothing more than a myth as well, though as for Rico…

"It is more than a myth, Mylius… the fact that we've seen it before our very eyes should tell you that much," stated Rico, with her tone of voice making it obvious that she too couldn't believe what she had just seen either, and by all means, it rubbed off on her fellow soldiers, who flinched at her tone, but all the same… "I've never had the… privilege of seeing it up close, but even so, there's no mistaking it… the size, the appearance and, above all else… its ambiguous motives… there's no doubt in my mind on what it is…

"We have just crossed paths with the Mechanical Titan…!"

And right as the team of four fled from him, Mikazuki Augus couldn't help but sigh a little as he adjusted his grip on his unit's arm controllers.

Granted, such a reaction to his Gundam was very much warranted; in this world specifically, one does not simply see a Mobile Suit and survive the experience without at least some psychological damage, after all, and in all honesty, it would've been weirder if they had remained behind to try and open up a dialogue with it. Sure, Mika himself did find it to be smart to work alongside these soldiers, but in truth, he had no way of communicating this fact to those that he's come across.

The last team he encountered, prior to Team Rico, had tried to kill his unit, after all, and it was only after Barbatos had slapped one of them out of the air (not hard enough to kill them, thankfully, but more than enough to force them out of the fight) did they think to leave the unit be, and all other teams since then had wisely left his Gundam alone, which was understandable, but it was also detrimental, considering how, again, working together would be the most beneficial course of action.

The fact that the unit's vocal synthesizers were damaged beyond repair didn't help anything in that department. The unit's throat had been damaged during the Edmonton battle, with Barbatos' vocal communication links having been crushed by the Graze Ein all those years back, meaning that Mikazuki could not speak through the unit, even if he wanted to. All he could do was show these soldiers that he meant them no harm, something that was much easier said than done, especially when they were so adamant on avoiding him in the first place.

At certain points throughout the battle, Mikazuki did consider exiting his unit's cockpit and using his true identity to perhaps convince them that his unit was friendly, but Barbatos' end of the Alaya-Vijnana system had constantly stopped him from doing so. Considering the hectic situation they were currently stuck in, Barbatos reckoned that to reveal himself now would only create more problems than they would solve, and, seeing some logic behind his words, Mika kept himself cooped up inside his unit's cockpit until further notice.

As the Military Brigades held no intentions to work with his unit, the pilot found himself isolating his Gundam to various spots in Trost. High density regions where the Titans would wander around the most were favoured by him, as that was where the least amount of soldiers would be gathered, and it was here where he would lay waste to the invading forces with reckless abandon. There was no need to watch out for allies when he had none within the vicinity, of course, and there was an oddly liberating sensation behind being able to rip and tear into the Titan horde with little to no restraint whatsoever.

And then… all of that came to a grinding halt when, amidst his systematic evisceration of the Titans around his unit, Mikazuki came across the two people that he had been worried about the most in this whole invasion… Mina and Nac. Teamed up with a Garrison Captain that Mikazuki was unfamiliar with and Mylius, the two (or rather four) seemed to be in good condition, seeing as how they still had all their limbs intact, though moments thereafter, the feeling of relief at seeing his friends was replaced by an odd feeling of… melancholy when he saw just how they were looking at him.

Mikazuki was aware that they were looking at Barbatos specifically; it would be beyond crazy to think that they not only knew that he was piloting the Gundam, but that they could see him through the armour plating of his unit as well… but all the same, the stares they were indirectly giving him made the young man pause briefly as he subconsciously gripped at his arm controllers tighter, and although he had only paused for the briefest of seconds, those few seconds were all the team needed to retreat.

"... wait-" was all Mikazuki could really say before Rico, Nac, Mylius and Mina retreated away from his unit, though it wasn't as though they could hear him, and upon acknowledging this, Mika lowered his gaze towards the ground with a frown, and thereafter, he leaned back against the cockpit chair as he sighed softly to himself.

That final look that Mina had given his unit made the pilot feel rather… hollow, honestly. Again, he was aware that the look she had thrown back at him wasn't meant for him specifically, but even so…

'She looked so… scared…' thought Mikazuki with a frown, with him clenching his hands around the arm controllers with more force than usual. Truth be told, he was very much used to being looked at with fear for one reason or another, but even so, for someone that he cared for to do such a thing… for Mina Carolina to indirectly look at him, almost as though he would kill her… it had made the pilot's heart shudder a little as he physically recoiled from the sight.

And, from its end of the Alaya-Vijnana system, the Gundam picked up on these feelings that plagued its pilot's heart, and, somewhat surprisingly to Mikazuki, it began to send some data his way. Upon feeling the flow of data, Mika found himself perking up as he glanced down at his unit's main cockpit monitor, and moments later, he went silent.

"..."

"... I know that she doesn't know, Barbatos, but… the way she looked back at you… it…"

"..."

"... I know. I… shouldn't let it distract me. We have a job to do, after all… we have…"

"MINA!"

"?!"

And right as he heard the familiar scream via his unit's audio receptors, Mikazuki's irises dilated several times over when he acknowledged how someone he knew was most definitely in trouble, and in an instant, the initial wave of hurt that clouded his mind found itself dispelled without pause, and without even waiting for a second, the pilot stepped his feet down onto the leg steppers of his unit and boosted towards the source of the cry.

Team Rico continued to flee… because in truth, that was all they could realistically do at this point.

Rico herself, in spite of how she had never faced it up close, not until now, knew that the Mechanical Titan's effective range was ride, as the reports had all stated that it could cover a tremendous amount of ground within but a handful of seconds, and as such, she was unwilling to take any risks as she led her team deeper into Trost, and as she boosted onwards, the soldier did her best to focus her mind and to not panic.

To do so proved… difficult, really, but it was still doable, but all the same… the same could not be said for her fellow soldiers, all of whom were unable to hold back their nervousness as they boosted onwards alongside their Captain.

"C-Captain… what're we going to do now…?" asked Mina as she boosted up to Rico's side, to which the senior frowned as she pondered that question. It was… a good question to ask, really, and she had no proper answer to it just yet, but even so, Nac was quick to come to her aid, however intentionally, as he spoke up from behind.

"Our best course of action now would be to inform our higher ups about the Mechanical Titan's presence. They won't believe us, but they might believe you, Captain," stated Nac, with him keeping his voice as firm as he could as he spoke, and to this, the Garrison soldier nodded solemnly. Nac spoke the truth, really, but all the same…

"That would be our best course of action, but I myself worry that my fellow Garrison might attempt to attack it on instinct. For them to do so could potentially force it to turn on us, and when that happens…" stated Rico direly, and she didn't even need to finish that statement to get her thoughts through to her teammates; they had seen the carnage wrought on by the Mechanical Titan mere minutes prior, and they shuddered to imagine what it could do if it had a reason to hunt down the humans that had earned its ire.

"It… won't do that… right? I've read the reports, and what few I could find based on my clearance level… they all state that the Mechanical Titan had not harmed any humans whilst it was present in Maria and Shiganshina… surely the reports would not lie, yeah?" muttered Nac uncertainly, and at first, Rico seemed unsure on whether or not she should respond, though moments later, she sighed and glanced back at him, unimpressed.

"Correct… it had not shown any aggression against humans during the brief period where it assisted us in Maria and Shiganshina. That much is true… but this behaviour belies a different issue altogether," stated Rico, with her frowning lightly as she spoke with a bit of concern in her voice. Her juniors picked up on this as they boosted alongside her, and moments later, she elaborated. "The ability to distinguish friends from foes, to choose to attack what we assume to be its own kind and defend a weaker species from them… it proves that Titans, or at least those that are incredibly abnormal, such as the Colossal, Armoured and Mechanical Titans, are capable of complex thoughts.

"The Mechanical Titan itself has saved the lives of civilians on more occasions than I can count, and it has protected them on numerous occasions as well; it displays empathy, something once thought impossible to be seen in Titans, and furthermore, it displays a level of benevolence that I've not seen since…"

"An intelligent and benevolent Titan… it seems almost… absurd to think about," admitted Mina bluntly, with her tone of voice sounding very much skeptical about all this as she spoke. Nac and Mylius agreed with her on that, and all the while, Rico nodded in agreement.

"Aye… but benevolence aside, however, the Mechanical Titan is no doubt an intelligent specimen all on its own, and seeing as how it has spared our lives back there, an act that it no doubt deliberately chose to perform, we can safely assume that, as of now, it holds no aggression towards us," stated Rico calmly. "However, I fear that, should we relay its existence to my superiors, they will attempt to hunt it down, thus goading it into retaliating. For humanity's sake, such an outcome is… less than ideal for obvious reasons, and as such, I am… reluctant to speak up about this for the time being."

"... that's a fair enough argument, ma'am, but even so, the truth will have to come out eventually, yeah? I personally doubt that we were the only ones to see that Titan head on; others atop the wall and with us on the battlefield have no doubt seen it as well, be it from a distance or up close and personal," stated Nac, with him frowning lightly as he said this, only for Rico to shake her head as she glanced back at him.

"Aye, but their words will likely not be believed, not as easily as my own, at least," stated Rico, sounding somewhat confident in herself as she spoke. "I myself am a moderately high ranking Garrison member on my own; my word is given more credibility than most of the others. If I tell someone that the Mechanical Titan is present on the battlefield, they will usually listen, more so than if any other Garrison soldier tells them, at least."

"I… I see… alright then. Well, whatever choice you make, Captain, I'll leave it to you. We'll follow your orders throughout!" mused Nac, with Mina and Mylius both nodding firmly in response to his words as they boosted onwards, though as they moved deeper and deeper into Trost, the team of four was quickly halted when Mina, by the back of the gang, spotted a head of blonde hair atop a nearby roof, prompting her to gasp as she veered towards it without warning.

Nac and Mylius were the first to realize that Mina had broken off, prompting them to pursue her in an instant, and Rico followed soon thereafter. At first, Brzenska was annoyed to see her teammates essentially abandon her without another word, though moments later, she realized why they had done so in the first place, especially when she saw Mina landing atop the top of a roof, stumbling awkwardly all the while, before she rushed over to check on the unconscious blonde laying atop it.

"A-Armin?!" cried out Mina as she skidded to a halt by the blonde's unconscious body. She had confirmed it to be unconscious after she checked for a pulse, and after sighing in relief at this, the pigtailed soldier watched as her comrades moved in to check on Armin alongside her. Rico arrived last, somewhat predictably, as she crouched by Arlert's unmoving form, and all the while… "Why… w-why is he out here? Shouldn't he have been evacuated by now? Him… alongside the rest of his team?"

"Kh… hey! This isn't funny you guys! Come out already…!" yelled out Nac, with him scowling as he looked around the general area in annoyance. He had expected Eren and his team to just pop their heads out of thin air after he had said this, though as the silence stretched on, a heavy pit found itself forming at the base of his stomach, and moments later, out of the corner of her eye, Rico saw something that made her stomach curl in on itself, and moments later…

"Save your breath, Nac Tias. Eren's team, barring Armin Arlert, have been eliminated," stated Rico, with her looking away from what remained of a single junior soldier's body, laying on the ground with their head removed from their shoulders, solemnly. Nac widened his eyes at this as he processed what he was just told, and as he did so, he clenched either side of his head and shook it violently.

"No… no no no no no…! That's not right… I… I-I refuse to believe it! Eren can't be dead… his team can't just… they… t-they're not the best, but they're not the worst either! If they worked together, they could've made it out of this in one piece! So where are they?!" cried out Nac in denial, with his mind trying to convince him that his fellow 104th graduates were alright, and as he spoke, Tias' eyes darted around frantically. "Where are you guys…?! This isn't funny… this ISN'T FUCKING FUNNY! COME OUT ALREADY! COME OU-"

"N-Nac, please…! Lower your volume, you might-" pleaded Mylius, only for Nac to silence him as he turned towards the slightly younger man with a look of utter denial.

"NO! I'M NOT SHUTTING UP UNTIL EREN AND HIS TEAM SHOW THEIR FACES! I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS! I SIMPLY REFUSE!" cried out Nac, with him gripping at his hair as he attempted to make heads or tails of their current situation. His mind had accepted the fact that Team Eren had been all but wiped out, all except for Armin, but even so, his heart… "It can't be true… it CANNOT be true! I simply refuse… I REFUSE!"

"ENOUGH!"

The shout from Rico was more than enough to silence Nac as he turned towards her, and as he did so, the bespectacled senior saw that the taller guy's eyes were stained with tears as he tried to find a way to rationalize what was going on around him. Brzenska frowned heavily at this; Nac had no doubt been taught that death could come for a soldier at any time, hadn't he? If so, why was he acting this way? Why was he acting as though this was not an expected outcome… why…

'How… naive of him,' thought Rico in realization, with her shutting her eyes in annoyance as she thought this, and moments later, she exhaled sharply before swinging her arms out by her sides. Nac watched her every movement without taking his eyes off her, and moments later, she continued.

"Nac Tias, I do not know about the specifics behind what you were taught by Keith Shadis, but I do know this; all soldiers are trained to know that, at any given point in their lives, death can and will come for them, one way or another. You know that just as well as I do, and as such… why can you not accept the truth?" asked Rico, with her voice just as hard as her gaze as she narrowed her eyes. "Why can you not accept the fact that Team Eren has been all but wiped out?

"Is it because of naivete, or perhaps a sense of hopeless optimism? Or rather, did you assume that being a soldier would be easy? That when, on the verge of death, a miracle will suddenly sprout and save you from certain doom? If you think that way… then you should just leave the battlefield, now. Such childish thoughts are not to be shared around in the military. This is no play, nor is it a book nor a fantasy for you to live out, boy. This is reality, and miracles do not happen in reality, so get your head out of this fantasy that you wish to live in and see the world for what it truly is… and WAKE UP!"

And as she finished that statement, Rico shoved her way past Nac and moved to check on Armin alongside Mina. as she did so, Tias remained quiet as he bit his lower lip harshly, with his mind trying to accept the fact that the realities of being a soldier wasn't quite as colourful as what he had thought up during training, and all the while, Mylius offered him a tiny bit of support.

Nac… appreciated Mylius for that, though he spoke nothing of it as he watched Mina gently pat Armin's chest. The blonde was still out cold, and he'd probably remain that way for a while, which was unfortunate, but…

"He… we'll have to carry h-him back to base… ma'am…" stuttered Mina, with her words catching Nac's attention as he glanced her way. Much to his dismay, the man saw that his pigtailed friend had been crying as she checked on Armin; having overheard all that Rico had said to him prior, Carolina's similar views on what she thought to be the life of a soldier had been shattered beyond repair, and considering how… hollow her gaze appeared to be, Nac silently wondered if she'd ever regain that glint in her eyes that he was very much familiar with any time soon.

He hoped that she would… but that was besides the point, really. Upon acknowledging what Mina had said, Rico stood up and cradled Armin in her arms. Once she was up, she motioned for her team to rally around her, with her issuing her orders to them all the while.

Simply put, they would continue to retreat back to the main Trost base, but they'd have to be careful along the way; they not only had an extra body to take care of whilst en route, but the soldiers might have to deal with some Titans along the way as well.

"Titans are oftimes attracted to loud noises… something that someone might've forgotten about," scowled Rico, with her glaring at no one in particular as she said this, but even so, Nac still shrunk a little under her gaze as she spoke, and moments later, the ground beneath them rumbled ever so slightly as they got ready to retreat, and on instinct, the team turned on a dime to see… "Speak of the devils and they shall appear…"

Three Titans, all of which were stumbling towards them rather lazily. Seeing them encroach upon their position was more than enough to make the young soldiers flinch with panic, though as for Rico, she thought little of it as she motioned for her team to get a move on.

"If we move out now, we won't have to contend with them," stated Rico confidently, and with that, Team Rico nodded in response to her words before they moved out. Their Captain led them on, unsurprisingly, and she did a good enough job at it, all things considered, but all the same, they were noticeably lagging as they retreated, something that Brzenska noticed quite quickly as she glanced back at her fellow soldiers.

Nac's mood was no doubt heavily soured by this rude dose of reality smacking him in his face, and if her attitude was anything to go by, Mina was experiencing a similar epiphany to that poor guy as well. Mylius… he just seemed out of it, really, and for all intents and purposes, Rico could understand why. Their naive worldview in regards to their new occupation had just been shattered, after all, and they would need some time to recover fully from this, but all the same…

"Hasten your pace already… you're not helping anyone by lagging behind, all of you," scolded Rico lightly, with her motioning behind herself and over at the Titans that were pursuing them. From where they were, the trio could see that the three Titans pursuing them were still hot on their tails, and due to them lagging a little, they were catching up to them rather quickly.

"Y-Yes ma'am…" responded her team rather pensively. They were still trying to recover from… well, some obvious matters on their end, but all the same, they knew that they wouldn't be recovering at all, should those Titans behind them catch up, and with that in mind, they redoubled their efforts at retreating and pressed on with twice as much vigor.

As the seconds ticked by, the Titans pursuing them grew smaller in size, something that Mina confirmed as she glanced back towards them, though as she did so, however…

"...?!"

… Mina's momentary lapse in concentration caused her to realize too late that one of her Maneuver Gear Wires had suddenly grown tense, and in an instant, it was yanked backwards, in turn pulling her backwards as well. With a scream, Carolina was sent careening backwards a good distance before she crashed onto the ground, where she rolled to a painful stop whilst moaning painfully.

Nac took notice of this immediately, with him turning his attention behind himself to see that his friend had been flung back. Widening his eyes at this, Tias quickly noticed a Titan that was holding onto a Maneuver Gear wire, Mina's Maneuver Gear Wire, as it stood between two buildings; its smaller stature had made it virtually invisible to them thanks to the height of the buildings in general, and upon seeing this, and upon seeing the Titans pursuing them divert their attention towards Carolina, Nac's eyes widened to their limits as he twisted his body around hastily.

"MIN-"

And before he could even move in to help his friend… Nac himself was seized by a Titan as well. From the sides, a Twelve metre behemoth abruptly darted out of the shadows, with it launching itself forwards and ensnaring the aforementioned man in its hand within seconds. Mylius and Rico were caught off guard by its sudden appearance, though whilst the latter focused on evacuating their unconscious ally from the battlefield, the former saw his ally being taken and swiftly darted to help him.

"NAC!" cried out Mylius as he swung into the fray, with him displaying an uncharacteristic level of bravery all the while. As he did so, Nac coughed up some blood as he felt himself being restrained by the Titan, who knelt down and held him up to eye level as it opened its jaws; no formalities were needed, as it seemed keen on just finishing its meal as quickly as possible, though the blonde soldier behind it wasn't willing to let it do anything of the sorts.

With a cry of rage, Mylius swung in and slashed at the Titan's nape; his attack was mediocre at best, and it didn't do much more than nick its weak spot, but even so, being sliced at such a crucial spot had caused the the Twelve metre to release Nac, prompting him to fall towards the ground within seconds, though thankfully enough, Zeramuski was able to circle around and snatch him out of the air before he could become a stain on the ground.

"M-Mylius… thanks for the assist, bud. Really saved my skin back there," grinned Nac as he gently punched Mylius in the chest, to which his fellow 104th graduate smiled, though moments later, the black haired man's eyes widened once more as he remembered Mina, prompting him to turn and see… "No… nononono…! Mina, we have to!"

And then…

Pain surged through Mina's system as she slowly but surely rose back up to her feet. Bringing her arm up to her waist, the young woman felt herself scowling as she felt every last part of her scream out in agony; falling from an unreasonable height was one thing, but to be thrown towards the ground was something else entirely!

"Gh…" groaned Mina as she slowly rose up to one knee, only to glance up to see that the Titan that had landed her in this situation to begin with was already leering over her. Widening her eyes when she saw it, Carolina abruptly fell backwards and scrambled away from it; trained or not, the primal fear that came with being cornered by a Titan still held strong, and as she scrambled away from it, the pigtailed soldier reached for her blades, which were within arms reach, and seized them.

Hastily, she pressed down onto their triggers, with her attempting to take flight and get herself out of here, though much to her horror, when she had pressed down onto them, nothing had happened! Nothing more than a soft hiss could be heard from her Maneuver Gear thrusters, and as she realized this… the dread sunk in as Mina turned back to see the short, albeit still much taller than her, Titan stomp closer.

"No…" muttered Mina, with her backing away in terror as her blade-wielding hands shook with terror.

Is it because of naivete, or perhaps a sense of hopeless optimism? Or rather, did you assume that being a soldier would be easy?

"N-No…"

Another step forwards, with the Titan advancing upon its helpless victim as she took another step away from it. The gap between them only lessened, even with Mina's best efforts…

That when, on the verge of death, a miracle will suddenly sprout and save you from certain doom?

"N-No…!"

As she staggered back, a shadow abruptly loomed over her, causing a chill to go up Mina's spin as she slowly turned back to see the three Titans that her team had been initially fleeing from, now looming over her with various inhumane looks on their faces. Seeing them had caused the girl's eyes to widen further as tears fell from her gaze.

If you think that way… then you should just leave the battlefield, now. Such childish thoughts are not to be shared around in the military.

"M-MINA!"

With a groan, Nac, injured but still not out just yet, boosted towards his friend at top speed, with Mylius by his side all the while. His shout was not acknowledged by his friend, though as she watched the Titan that had landed her in this predicament reach down and grab her.

In her state of shocked panic, Mina didn't even have time to move before both hands of the Titan seized her body, lifting her up and off the ground in no time.

This is no play, nor is it a book nor a fantasy for you to live out, boy. This is reality, and miracles do not happen in reality, so get your head out of this fantasy that you wish to live in and see the world for what it truly is…

As soon as the sensation of being lifted off the ground was felt by her, Mina's eyes abruptly widened as her mind raced to process what was going on around her. As it did so, a scream tore itself from her throat as she attempted to break free from the Titan's grasp, though even with its diminutive (by Titan standards) stance, it was still strong, and it held onto her firmly as it brought her closer to her mouth.

"N-No… stop…"

"MINA!"

"P-Please… PLEASE!"

"M-MINA!"

"STOP IT…! PLEASE…!"

AND WAKE UP!

And with a scream, Mina squeezed her eyes shut, and suddenly…

BOOM!

(Optional OST - Mobile Suit Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans OST 1)

In but a matter of moments, a massive figure crashed down into the fray, with it landing atop one of the three Titans gathered around Mina all the while. On impact, it crushed one of them beneath its feet, turning it into a fine red mist all the while.

The Titan that had been holding onto Mina's body was sent flying backwards, into a building that promptly collapsed in on itself, as the aftershock of the newcomer's arrival was too much for its lightweight body to withstand. Its grasp on Mina loosened enough to the point where she was flung from its hands, prompting her to be sent soaring skywards all the while, with her landing on the ground moments later.

Meanwhile, both Nac and Mylius were also sent soaring backwards by the aftershock, forcing them to land on the ground in awkward tumbles. Nac himself flinched as a few of his minor injuries were exacerbated by the fall, with Mylius checking up on him moments later, though right as he assured him that things were alright, though…

PSHHHHH!

… the sound of steam being ejected from vents, mechanical vents, could be heard at the epicenter of the impact point, prompting both Nac and Mylius to turn back towards it and see…

"The Mechanical Titan?!"

… that thing kneeling at the heart of the small crater that it had formed on impact. Its eyes remained glassy and lifeless as it slowly but surely stood back up to its maximum height. The steam being ejected from its vents had dispelled most of the smoke that once surrounded it, giving the three junior soldiers a good view of the Mechanical Titan as it stood, and moments later, its gaze lowered to regard Nac, Mylius and Mina, with the former two only just realizing that the latter was situated the closest to the 'Titan' standing before them… not by choice, of course, but even so…

"MINA!" cried out Nac as he took a step forwards, only to pause when he saw a silhouette moving behind the Mechanical Titan, with its form obscured by the still remaining smoke around the white devil. Widening his eyes at that, the man flinched as he watched it reveal itself to be a Titan, Fifteen metres tall, that made a beeline for the larger eighteen metre mechanical behemoth, though right as it was about to reach it, however…

SPLAT!

… the Mechanical Titan swiftly spun around and swatted it to one side with one of the weapons that it held in its hands; an odd, damaged Mace-like contraption. The armament, although heavily damaged, still proved to be an effective physical hitter, as, on impact, the Fifteen metre Titan was eviscerated, with its body exploding into a fountain of blood, gore and viscera as what remained of it was sent soaring in random directions, shocking the junior soldiers present with its power all the while.

"H-Holy…" began Nac, and seconds later, another Titan made an attempt to lunge at the Mechanical Titan, though before it could get close, the much larger of the two dropped its Mace-like weapon, which landed on the ground with a thud, before it shot its now free arm forwards and caught it mid-jump.

As the Mace-like weapon hit the ground, a minor shockwave was created, and it was more than enough to send Mina back quite far back as it hit her. Gasping as she was sent airborne for the briefest of moments, Carolina winced as she suddenly felt herself landing atop someone, prompting her to turn and see Nac, having caught her… albeit at the cost of himself falling onto his back.

"T-Thanks for that, Nac," smiled Mina in appreciation, eliciting a nod from her friend as he got them both up, though seconds later…

SHNK!

… the sound of a sharpened pierce of metal stabbing into flesh reverberated through the air, and moments later, the attention of Nac, Mylius ad Mina was redirected back towards the Mechanical Titan, where they all widened their eyes when they saw that it had just stabbed its secondary weapon, a Sword that was very much unlike their Anti-Titan Blades, into the stomach of the Titan it had caught mid-lunge, and, moments later, it released its grasp on the stabbed Titan before jerking its Sword wielding arm to one side.

As it did so, the junior soldiers all widened their eyes when they saw the Mechanical Titan, in a single swift motion, slice the Titan in half with its Sword, and, as the upper half of the bisected Titan remained aloft for the briefest of moments, the Mechanical Titan swung its Sword once more, this time swinging it upwards at an angle. Its swing cleaved into the Titan with great force, and at the angle it had been sliced at, the much shorter, organic Titan's body was cut from waist to neck in no time flat.

Three entire parts, belonging to the very same Titan, all fell to the ground moments later, with all of them dissolving into nothing as the Mechanical Titan lowered its weapon, and as it did so, it glanced back towards the junior soldiers, a gesture that caused them to panic briefly as they stepped back and bored their arms. Mina was having, understandable, difficulties as she had recovered from two entire tumbles within the past few minutes, but even so, she remained steadfast as she brandished her weapons at it.

"W-What should we do… it's… friendly, right…?" asked Nac, with him taking a step back as he spoke, to which Mylius flinched.

"I… think it is, but-"

STOMP

Whatever Mylius' words would've been, they were quickly cut off when the sound of a Titan stepping towards them could be heard. In a moment of panic, the three juniors turned to see the Titan that had once haggled Nac was now stomping towards them, with it holding a hand out towards the three as it drew closer, and for the briefest of moments, they found themselves ready to fight, until-

BOOM!

The sound that they heard moments later was deafening, and it made the trio widen their eyes in shock as they covered their ears from the literal ear-splitting sound that just reverberated through the air. It took them some time, and even then, their ears were still ringing as they tried to readjust, but as they did so, the three junior soldiers found their eyes widening in shock when they saw that the Titan that had been staggering its way towards them was no longer drawing near…

The reason? Well… it might've had something to do with that gaping hole in its neck…

Behind it, a portion of the ground a good few metres away from the Titan had been demolished by whatever force had torn through its neck, and as it fell, the junior soldiers, in spite of their current issues with sound, were able pick up on the sound of metal shifting against metal, prompting them to turn and see the Mechanical Titan lowering its arm. Equipped below its forearm was an odd, rectangular thing that had a barrel attached to it; said barrel was currently smoking, and it didn't take long for the soldiers to put two and two to realize why this was the case.

'It has RANGED ARMAMENTS as well?!' thought the three in near perfect sync as the Titan behind them fell onto its back, and as it did so, the Mechanical Titan held its Sword underhanded and stabbed it into the ground. That gesture had caught the trio off guard, but all the same, outside of shielding their faces from the aftershock of the gesture, they simply watched as the 'Titan' knelt down to better look them in the eye.

"What… is it doing…?" asked Mylius as the 'Titan' knelt down, to which his comrades were unable to answer. "We… should stay on guard. We don't know what it's capable of…"

"Yeah, but… we do, don't we?" argued Mina, with her lowering her weapons as she kept her eye on the Mechanical Titan. Although lifeless and without emotion, there was still something oddly assuring about the 'Titan's' current presence with them as it observed them in silence. It was probably due to how the thing had saved her back then, but whatever the case was… "I don't think it'll hurt us, though…"

"H-How can you be so sure about that, Mina?" asked Mylius hesitantly, to which Nac too lowered his weapons, with him seemingly agreeing with Mina all the while. He didn't seem as confident about all this as she had been, but even so…

(optional OST end)

"Because if it wanted us dead, it would've already killed us ten times over by now."

"Hmph… smartass."

Mikazuki's words remained unheard of by Nac, but even so, they were spoken as a sign of endearment as he offered his friend the faintest of smiles, a sight that was unseen by him as Mylius tensed up at what he just said. Mina giggled lightly in agreement to this, and moments later, the blonde was forced to agree with Tias as he exhaled sharply and threw his sword-wielding hands down and towards his sides in a rare show of frustration.

He was putting his faith in Mina and Nac's hands, it would seem. It was, admittedly, not the smartest thing to do, but even so, there are certainly worse individuals to put one's faith in, Mika supposed.

"It's pretty obvious to me that this… Titan's smart, so… it should be able to understand us. I hope…" continued Nac, with him motioning towards the Gundam as he spoke. Thereafter, he leaned in towards Mina and whispered to her, a gesture that was made null and void thanks to Barbatos' powerful audio receptors. "Do you think that it can understand us, Mina…?"

"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out, yeah…?" mused Mina, with her stepping past Nac as she spoke. Mikazuki had to commend her for that; Mina was certainly brave, and as she did this, in spite of her shaking figure, the young woman still maintained her composure as she blurted out. "Uh… hey there, mister… Mechanical Titan…? Can… you understand what I'm saying?"

And in response to this, Mikazuki could only really snort, with him sighing as he pondered how he should respond to this. Nodding along and playing into his friend's current dilemma would certainly be amusing, sure, but even so, it would be illogical (and not to mention mean) to not do the opposite. Mina, Nac and Mylius now all seemed to trust his Gundam, now that it had saved their hides, though this trust was frail, to say the least.

In order to gain their full trust, Mikazuki would have to reveal himself to them, a decision that was made relatively quickly as he reached for his unit's cockpit control and got ready to press down onto the open cockpit hatch option…

Though right as his finger hovered over it, however…

INCOMING HOSTILES

"?!"

And right as she asked that question, Mina widened her eyes when the Mechanical Titan abruptly began to move, with it shifting itself upright before glancing behind itself. This sudden movement confused the soldiers at first, with them unsure of why it had turned away from them so suddenly, but moments later…

SHNK!

… a blur darted past the 'Titan's' face, with they swung their Anti-Titan Blades at the Mechanical Titan's cheek armour all the while, though somewhat unfortunately, on impact, the newcomer's weapons only snapped in an instant.

Seeing this, the newly arrived soldier scowled before they rotated around and swung their broken Anti-Titan Blades towards the Mechanical Titan's face, with them disengaging their blade stumps and sending them flying towards its face moments later. The initial plan was to strike at its eyes with their blade stumps, though before they could connect, the 'Titan' raised an arm up and shielded its eyes from the projectiles, which bounced harmlessly off its palm, leaving behind only the smallest of scratches all the while.

"Kh!" snarled the newly arrived soldier, with her landing in front of Mina, Nac and Mylius as she swapped out her blades for a fresh set, and as she did so, the trio recognised her as-

"A-Annie?!" yelled out Mina, with her shock being very much apparent as she recalled Leonhardt being a member of the rear guard, and as she called out to her, the blonde grunted in greeting.

"Focus," scolded Annie lightly as she held her blades out in an offensive manner, holding them out against the Mechanical Titan without fear. Her gaze was hard, even as she stood against the seemingly invincible behemoth before her, though before she could make her move, Nac stepped forwards to halt her.

"A-Annie, wait! The Mechanical Titan has proven itself to be non-hostile and deceptively intelligent, so please lower your arms before you force it to grow more aggressive!" urged Nac as he stepped towards Annie, who scowled as she swung one of her blades towards her friend, holding the flat side of the weapon in his direction to stop him from taking another step forwards.

"I don't know what delusions you're currently experiencing, Nac, but you must've gotten hit in the head quite violently to believe that this… thing is an ally," stated Annie, with her eyes narrowed as she held her blades. Outwardly, she didn't seem all too shaken by the Mechanical Titan's presence, but Nac and Mina, both of whom were all too familiar with the blonde's quirks by now, were able to sense that she was very much agitated at the very least and, at worst, she was horrified by what stood before her.

"Annie, please…" pleaded Mina, with her holding a hand out to her friend as she spoke, though right as she did so, a loud yell from behind the Mechanical Titan caught her attention, prompting everyone present, including the 'Titan' itself, to turn and see Reiner Braun, alongside Bertholdt Hoover, swinging in. The former looked very much pumped up for a fight whilst the latter looked horrified, which wasn't all too surprising, but all the same, they came barreling into the fray with seemingly nothing to lose.

"Take THIS!" yelled Reiner as he aimed a swing at the Mechanical Titan's eyes. The attack ultimately failed, as the 'Titan' was able to lean back just in time to dodge the strike, though as the muscular blonde retreated after his failed attack, Bertholdt swooped in and took aim at the thing's face with his Flare Gun, and moments later, he fired.

At such a range, it was impossible for even the Mechanical Titan to look away quick enough before the Flare exploded into a flash of bright light. Within the 'Titan's' chest, a certain someone recoiled at the sudden explosion of light as the mechanical behemoth took a staggered step backwards, not quite falling, but still stomping back a fair bit, giving the junior soldiers enough time to retreat.

"Let's move, NOW!" ordered Annie as she motioned for her fellow juniors to escape alongside her. Mylius was quick to follow her lead, though as for Mina…

"I… my gear… it's been damaged, I-"

"No time for that! C'mon!"

Before Mina could even finish her sentence, Nac scooped her up into his arms and leapt into the air, where he carried the both of them away from the battlefield, and away from the Mechanical Titan, alongside their fellow juniors. Whilst retreating, however, Mina, who was able to stare past Nac's shoulder thanks to how he was holding her in a bridal-esc fashion, frowned lightly when she saw the Mechanical Titan, having seemingly recovered from its briefly stunned state, glance over at the retreating juniors.

Its gaze betrayed nothing as it stood silently, watching as the juniors fled the scene, but if the clenching of its fists was anything to go by, it seemed to be somewhat angered by their escape. Concern flooded the pigtailed soldier's heart as she acknowledged this; would it come after them, she wondered?

Thankfully enough, it did not, as, rather than pursue them, the Mechanical Titan simply moved to retrieve its weapons, and thereafter, it turned away from them stoically before moving to a different location in Trost, and as it did so, Bertholdt glanced back at it and sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness… it's not giving chase…" muttered Bertholdt, with him sounding very much relieved as he said this, and all the same, Mina couldn't help but agree in spite of an odd, lingering sense of guilt that remained at the pit of the stomach.

"Yeah… yeah…"

And as the junior soldiers retreated, Mikazuki watched on in silence as he clenched his fists tightly around the arm controllers of his unit. He had one good chance to reveal himself to the military brigade, and to his friends… and it had been taken right from him… by another friend of his!

A small part of him wished to give chase, but he knew better than to do so; to pursue would only make them retreat faster, and he'd rather not pile up that level of stress onto his friends… and in truth, considering who it was that had butted in in the first place, Mikazuki reckoned that he could understand why she had done so in the first place.

Hell, if he was in her place, Mikazuki would've no doubt done the same thing as Annie… not that it made things any less annoying for him, of course, but all the same, the pilot still couldn't help but feel somewhat let down as he watched his friends retreat into the inner confines of Trost.

Whilst they retreated, Mikazuki, through the audio receptors of his unit, picked up on the sound of a body shifting through debris, prompting him to glance down and spot the Titan that had once held Mina in its clutches wiggling its way out of the building Barbatos had (accidentally) launched it into. It seemed to be struggling with this, and the pilot slowly but surely walked his unit up in front of it, with him yanking the Gundam's Longsword out of the ground all the while.

With a blank stare the Titan glanced up at the Gundam with its ever dull and lifeless eyes, and moments later…

SHNK!

… the Titan's head was swiftly removed from its shoulders as the Gundam swung its Longsword at its neck, decapitating it in an instant and slicing apart the building it was leaning against all the while. The Titan's head dropped onto the ground several metres away from where its dissolving body stood, and as it fell, Mika sighed and rolled his shoulders absentmindedly.

"Hmph…" grumbled the pilot as he rolled his neck a little, with it making a few satisfying pops all the while, though right as he did so, the sound of a bell being run by the heart of Trost could be heard, a sound that Mikazuki was quite familiar with. It was spoken of during a lecture as Trainees, and Nac always made sure that he was well informed on all the lectures that he slept through.

"It's important information, you know?!" argued Nac back then, with him attempting to get Mikazuki (and Annie, to a lesser extent) to pay more attention. He never did, though the older man always did keep him up to date on all that they were being lectured on, and in this case… whenever they were in the middle of a Titan invasion, and should the plaza bell be rung, it signified that it was time to retreat.

A sensible use of the plaza bell, Mikazuki reckoned, and even beyond that… he was just glad to know that his friends and allies would be out of the danger zone for the foreseeable future.

As for himself, however…

HOSTILES INBOUND

… he had his own roles to fulfill, and now, as the first hints of rainfall began to make themselves known to the soldiers within Rose, Mikazuki had his Gundam move to pick up its Wrench Mace, and upon doing so, he turned to towards a few nearby Titans and sighed to himself in annoyance.

'Back to work… I guess…'

And with that, the Gundam resumed its self-appointed duties.