When they were a good distance away from where they last saw the Mechanical Titan, the soldiers belonging to both Team Rico and Team… Annie, presumably, halted their retreat and took refuge atop the roof of a building, and upon landing, Nac had set Mina down, with the pigtailed soldier falling to the ground as her legs gave way beneath her.
Everything that had happened in the past few hours had struck her all at once, and with a shaky gasp, she found herself losing most of her strength as she collapsed before her friends and allies. Beside her, Nac more or less did the same as he fell to his knees in exhaustion, and moments later…
"Mina! Nac!"
Annie, sounding the most worried she's ever sounded since… forever, really, elbowed her way past Reiner, Bertholdt and Mylius before she skidded to a halt in front of her two aforementioned friends. Crouching down in front of them, the blonde watched as Mina lifted her head up to look her friend in the eye, and after some consideration on her end of things, the pigtailed soldier reached forwards and grabbed onto her friend's collar, something that shocked her at first, though moments later, she relaxed a little when she realized that she had been pulled in for a hug.
A shaky, tension filled hug, but a hug nonetheless.
"Annie… oh God, I… I-I… y-you don't know how much of a relief it is for me to see you…!" stuttered Mina, with her holding Annie close as she buried her face in her friend's neck. If she were anyone else, Leonhardt would've forced her off without hesitation, but as things were now, the young woman reckoned that she could live with Carolina holding her like she was a plush toy, and with a sigh, she gently reciprocated the hug, something that surprised most of those present, though Nac himself ended up smiling, if only by a little, as Annie responded.
"It's good to see you too, Mina… Nac, what happened back there…?" asked Annie, with her usually stoic voice wavering as some hints of unease came crawling up her throat, though she kept it mostly subdued as she watched the taller man pale a tiny bit before responding.
As briefly and cohesively as he could, Nac had recounted the events of the past couple of hours to the best of his abilities. Mylius chimed in on occasion, though Mina remained mostly unresponsive as she was still trying to unwind from most of what had just happened. Still though, the explanation given to them by the two was sufficient, and within a handful of minutes, Reiner, Annie and Bertholdt were able to piece together what had happened, with the large blonde shuddering lightly as he gave his comrades an uncertain look.
Mylius was able to pick up on that shared look between the three; it was a look of pure, unmitigated horror, and even if wasn't too familiar with Annie, he could tell that her expression was one of fear as well, but just as quickly as it had come, it vanished, with Reiner stepping forwards and grunting lightly as he spoke.
"Hrg… the Mechanical Titan, huh? The Ghost of Maria and White Devil of Shiganshina. It goes by many names, but that in itself is irrelevant… what is relevant, though…" began Reiner, only for Annie to cut him off.
"Is why it would reappear now," finished Annie, with her finally pulling away from Mina as the pigtailed soldier coughed and wiped at her eyes, and as she said this, Nac frowned and stood up on shaky legs.
"It doesn't really matter why it's here, really. What does matter is what its motives are," argued Nac, with him frowning as he forced down the queasy feeling he was experiencing in his stomach in favour of speaking with logic and intuition, and as he did so, the young soldier bit his lip and brought a hand up to his chin. "The Mechanical Titan is undoubtedly an intelligent Titan in its own right, why else would it have saved myself, Mylius and Mina? So with that in mind, we can assume that it has a motive of some kind; a reason to reappear when such a catastrophe occurs."
"An intelligent Titan…" parroted Bertholdt, with him seeming skeptical of Nac's words as he spoke. "That's… an impossibility, to say the least, but then again, the very existence of the Mechanical Titan should, in itself, be impossible, so who's to say…? The fact that it hadn't outright killed any of you when it first encountered all of you is proof enough that it has some form of empathy within it, but even so, it is still a Titan…"
"I… don't think that it's just a Titan, Bertholdt…"
Mina's sudden comment, aimed towards Bertholdt, came as a surprise to everyone present as, up till now, she had remained relatively silent, but all the same, they said nothing as they watched the pigtailed soldier stand herself up, with Annie supporting her up to her feet all the while. Once up, the young soldier glanced over towards her allies and continued speaking. "If it was, then it wouldn't have done… all of that. It's… not a Titan, but at the same time, it is."
"... you've lost me there, Mina," admitted Reiner, with him slouching his shoulders in confusion, to which Mylius chimed in.
"W-What Mina might be trying to say is that she believes that this… Mechanical Titan might be similar to the highly abnormal Titans that had breached Wall Maria and Shiganshina half a decade ago; the Colossal and Armoured Titans," translated Mylius, with him holding an index finger up as he spoke. Reiner and Bertholdt noticeably flinched at those namedrops, though it didn't stop the blonde from continuing. "The Mechanical Titan is clearly intelligent, something that is shared between the Colossal and Armoured, the former of which appearing only to breach the Walls of Shiganshina and, now, Trost, whilst the latter broke through the gates of Rose.
"Even if they possessed armour of the Armoured or the sheer size of the Colossal, a Titan that does not possess the intelligence to make use of these abilities effectively is no different from the common Three-To-Fifteen metres that graze the grasslands, which leads me to believe that the Armoured and Colossal, and now the Mechanical, Titans are all some offshoot variant of Abnormal Titan! Perhaps a specially evolved subspecies? Whatever the case is, these three Titans in particular show a remarkable level of intelligence, and by all accounts, we must be wary of two of them at least…"
"That… certainly is quite the theory, Mylius," hummed Nac, with him watching as the blonde in question blushed faintly at his words, with him hiding his blush behind his hand as he responded. Annie and Reiner got a good kick out of the blonde's embarrassment, though Bertholdt and Mina seemed particularly fascinated by his words, but nonetheless…
"T-Thank you, Nac, but my theories aside, what I mean to say is that the Mechanical, Colossal and Armoured Titans could very well be unified under a single category, with them being a class above an Abnormal. I am… unsure of what to call them, but that in itself is unimportant," stated Mylius, with him trying to not ramble on any further as he refocused himself and spoke. "What is important, however, is that, unlike the Colossal and Armoured Titans, the Mechanical Titan does not seem to be hostile towards us, and… should we encounter it once more, I argue that we should… try and communicate with it."
"C-COMMUNICATE WITH IT?! ARE YOU MAD?!" protested Bertholdt, with him holding his hands up to his head as he yelled this, and as he cried out, the others shushed him whilst Reiner spoke up in his place.
"It's a bit of a stretch to assume that you could even talk to a Titan, much less find one that's willing to hear us out, Mylius. I… suggest we try and not do something so risky," said Reiner, though right as he did so, Mina spoke up.
"Well, actually, we were trying to speak to it before the three of you butted in. It seemed… willing to hear us out; why, we're not sure, but whatever the case, it seemed to understand us… somehow," argued Mina, with her words causing Reiner to recoil in surprise as she said this, though before anyone could argue back against her…
DING!
… the sound of the bell at the very center of Trost could be heard, with its loud ring being audible throughout the entirety of the District all the while. Hearing it caused all the soldiers present to tense up, though moments later, some of their hearts were lightened when they realized what this meant.
"So the evacuation process is over… we can finally retreat!" cheered Bertholdt, with his heart flipping in relief as he acknowledged this, and with a grin, Reiner motioned for them to get a move on, though before that, Annie halted them.
"Most of us, at least… Mina… your Gear, you said that it was damaged, yeah?" began Annie, with her glancing down at the damaged Maneuver Gear that hung by her friend's waist. The tone of her friend's words had caused Mina to tense up slightly, though moments later, she loosened up when Leonhardt frowned and moved to check on her equipment. "Don't move."
"R-Right…"
And for a handful of seconds, Mina simply stood there as Annie crouched down and checked on her Maneuver Gear. Although she wasn't an expert mechanic of any kind, Annie was still great when it came to troubleshooting issues with Military Equipment, and after some fidgeting around, with her face so close to her friend's rear that Carolina could feel the warmth of her breath against her thighs every so often, Leonhardt sighed and stood up, with her shaking her head all the while.
"It's not good… several valves're busted; you're not going to be able to use that shit again. You can use the Anchors just fine, but without the thrusters, you'll be nothing more than a sitting duck," stated Annie direly, with her frowning as she eyed her friend curiously. Mina's face was weirdly red, though she thought nothing of this as she motioned for Nac to step forwards, which he did. "I reckon I don't need to tell you what I want you to do, yeah?"
"No siree, I'm on it, Ann!" smiled Nac, and without much issue, he scooped Mina up into his arms, eliciting a squeak of surprise from the pigtailed soldier all the while. Still though, although she was caught off guard by this, Carolina didn't exactly comment on it, with her having enough trust in her friends at this point, as she allowed Tias to hold her, and all the while, Leonhardt, surprisingly naturally, fell into the role of the de facto leader as she pointed in the direction of the Trost Refueling Station.
"We'll advance towards the Refueling Station. Bertholdt, Reiner, watch our sides. Mylius, you're the slowest," a pause as the aforementioned blonde pouted a little, though he knew that much was true, "so you'll be watching our flanks. Nac and Mina will be at the heart of the formation, and I'll spearhead our charge. Once refueled, we'll make our way out of Trost. Any objections?"
"None whatsoever, Captain Annie," grinned Reiner as Annie walked past him, only to pause and elbow him in the ribs, causing him to stagger briefly as she grumbled.
"Good, now let's move out," groaned Annie, and with that, they were off.
Whilst retreating, however, Mina did glance over towards Annie as she spoke her mind; now that the whole debacle with the Mechanical Titan had been put to rest, the pigtailed soldier felt keen on asking about something as she and her comrades retreated, and with some reluctance, she called out to their blonde friend, and after she acknowledged her with a grunt, Carolina spoke her mind.
"Have… you seen Mika anywhere? He hasn't regrouped with us yet… and I… we're starting to get worried," said Mina, and as she said this, Annie's posture noticeably faltered as she wobbled a tiny bit in the air, and moments later, her head lowered briefly before she replied.
"No… we haven't, Mina… I'm sorry," apologised Annie, with both Mina and Nac widening their eyes at this admittance from the blonde as they realized what this might entail, though moments later, having noticed their disheartenment, Reiner grunted and spoke out to offer them some comfort.
"Don't be disheartened… I'm sure that Mikazuki's out there, somewhere, kicking some Titan butt with his head held high," assured Reiner, even if he didn't sound all too certain of this, and in response to this, the junior duo that had asked this question in the first place found themselves frowning as they recalled how Team Eren had been wiped out by the Titans, all except for Armin…
"I really hope so, Reiner…" muttered Nac rather darkly as he acknowledged his comrade's words…
Some time later
"I really… really do."
"HEEEEY! OVER HERE!"
"?!"
Flinching lightly when they heard the voice of Sasha Braus in the distance, the Team now led by Annie slowed their pace a little and turned towards where it had emanate from, and when they did, the small team saw Sasha standing atop a nearby building, with her waving both her blades in their general direction whilst jumping up and down in a frenzy. Her hastiness confused the soldiers greatly, though after some consideration, they decided to link up with her.
An idiot though she might've been, Sasha rarely ever did things for no reason, and if she was calling them over, then she no doubt had a good reason to do so.
As they drew closer towards Sasha Braus' location, however, Team Annie was quick to notice how there were several other Trainees and Garrison present as well. There were a multitude of familiar faces here, with the team being able to make out the faces of Jean Kirstein, Marco Bolt, Connie Springer, Christa Lenz, Ymir Fritz and Mikasa Ackerman amidst the crowd. Mina in particular noticed Rico Brzenska crouched by Mikasa as they examined the body of an unconscious individual, no doubt Armin Arlert, though she did not call out to her, not yet at least, as her team landed atop the building that Sasha was perched on, and moments later, Nac set the pigtailed soldier down whilst Reiner surveyed the small crowd before them curiously.
"Y'all headed for the Refuel Station?" asked Sasha, with her flashing her allies a sad smile as she spoke, and when they nodded, with Nac adding on the fact that Mina's equipment was heavily damaged and in need of a full replacement, the young soldier sighed in defeat before she shook her head. "Sorry to disappoint you guys, then… but you probably oughta avoid headin' there for the time being…"
"Huh…? Why's that?" asked Nac as he and Mina stepped towards Sasha, and as he asked her this, the bumpkin reached into her jacket and pulled out a spyglass; it was a mass produced one made for junior soldiers, but all the same, it did its job in allowing Tias to see further than he usually could, and after being rotated in the right direction, Braus showed him why he should probably avoid going into the refuel station at the moment, and when he acknowledged this… "H-Holy…"
"What's wrong? Did something happen to the Refueling Station?" asked Mina, with Annie joining her by her side as she spoke, and in response to this, Nac brought the spyglass down to Mina and allowed her to take it, which she did, and upon bringing it up to her eyes, her jaw immediately dropped at what she saw.
Titans… Titans were crowding around the Trost Refueling Station… and judging by how there was a small breach in its side, the smaller of the Titans had also breached it! Seeing this only made the pigtailed girl's stomach drop as she glanced up at Nac, and moments later…
"The Refuel Station… has been taken over by Titans…" muttered Mina, with her speaking just loud enough for her allies to hear, and upon acknowledging her words, Reiner, in a panic, took the spyglass from her and peered over at the Refuel station himself, with him trying to confirm whether or not his ally was joking. He was horrified to learn that she was not, and likewise, Annie stiffened when she heard this, and Mylius bit his lower lip as he approached Sasha uncertainly.
"Do we have any plans to take back the station? Surely, all the soldiers present have been planning for something, y-yeah…?" muttered Mylius, with him smiling awkwardly at his fellow 104th Graduate as he spoke, to which Sasha scratched her cheek meekly before she chuckled softly, more or less answering his question all the while.
"Er… about that…"
"..."
Whilst Mylius had a minor breakdown over how they had literally zero plans to retake the Refuel Station (understandable, considering their inexperience, but still incredibly stressful and frustrating to him), Rico, from where she stood, had turned and made eye contact with the members of her former team rather abruptly. When her eyes locked onto Mina's, relief flooded her system as she made a mad dash to rendezvous with both herself and Nac, who remained where they were as Brzenska flung herself over to where they stood.
"Mina Carolina, Nac Tias, Mylius Zeramuski… thank goodness, you're all safe," sighed Rico, with her words coming off as genuine to Nac as he could feel the relief wafting off his senior's gaze. The platinum blonde's smile was wide as she bowed her head in apology to her juniors. "I… apologise for abandoning you back then. I should have assisted you in that fight, rather than running away like a coward…"
"N-"
"Yes, you should have, Captain."
Whatever assurances Nac was about to offer to Rico were quickly cut off when Annie snarked out a response of her own, with her glaring at Rico with, somewhat justified, fury. Although unintentionally, Nac had let slip how Brzenska had essentially abandoned her teammates to their fate back on the battlefield, and although she had her reasons to do so (Armin was being held by her), it didn't mean that Annie was about to let her off the hook so easily.
"As the most senior member of the team, no less its Captain, you should've prioritised the safety of your teammates over whatever you have in mind. You're a disgrace to your post, and I hope you never live down this shame," snarled Annie, with her neutral tone of voice cracking as some genuine hints of malice seeped into her voice, and moments later, Rico flinched as Nac and Mina moved to placate their blonde friend. Brzenska did appreciate this, but even so…
"Yes… you're right, kid. I… should've been more aware of my duties as a Captain, and for that, I can only apologise to all of you for what I had done. I will do better in the future, I promise…" muttered Rico, with her bowing her head lightly as she made this claim, and as she said this, Annie snorted, more than likely not believing her as she said this, before turning away from the soldier with a scoff, and as she did so, Mina hastily changed the topic as she swung her arms around meekly.
"W-Well, that aside, ma'am… Nac and I forgive you for all that, and we're sure that Mylius does as well," assured Mina, with her scratching at her cheek as she said this. She didn't sound all too convincing, but even so, Rico went along with it regardless, and thereafter, Carolina changed the topic with haste. "But that aside… is… i-is Armin alright?"
"Armin…? Oh, yeah. He only just regained consciousness. I thought it best to leave him alone with Mikasa… he seemed as though he had something to say to her, and I didn't wish to intrude on something so… sensitive," lamented Rico, with her glancing back solemnly at the blonde and the ravenette, with the former holding his face in his hands as he tried to contain his guilt over what had happened to the rest of his team.
Mikasa, for her part, seemed to be unresponsive to the blonde's words, with her crouching down to say a few things to her friend. None of them present could even begin to imagine what Ackerman was saying to Arlert, but they thought little of it for now as the Mina hugged herself uncertainly.
Mina herself was aware of the relationship Mikasa had with Eren in particular; although not similar to what she felt for Mikazuki, the emotions that the top 104th Graduate felt towards the now deceased young man were just as, if not stronger, than those that Carolina had towards Augus, and with that in mind, the pigtailed soldier couldn't even begin to imagine how the stoic young woman was feeling, now that she knew that her younger brother was KIA.
Rather abruptly, however, Mikasa stood up and turned away from Armin, with her moving towards the edge of the building they were on as she brandished her Anti-Titan blades, and as she did so, the scarfed soldier kept her back turned towards the blonde, who yelled something out at her as he held a hand out towards his dear friend… only to be silenced when Ackerman swung one of her arms out to the side and spoke.
"There is no need for you to feel concern over me, Armin…" began Mikasa, with her voice inaudible to all but Armin himself as she spoke, though as she finished this statement, she abruptly raised her voice, with her allowing everyone present to hear what she had to say all the while. "Because I am strong."
"... huh?"
Perking up when they heard Mikasa's declaration, the soldiers all around her turned to face her, with them watching and listening as the Ackerman kept her gaze on the Refuel Station, and all the while, she continued to speak. Her voice was bereft of both heart and soul as she spoke, something that concerned those around her as she continued.
"I alone am stronger than all of you here, and I alone will be more than enough to eliminate all the Titans that infest the Refuel Station," stated Mikasa. She spoke these words out of neither arrogance nor self assurance, but rather… she had said them almost as though they were fact. She was certain that she herself would be all that was needed to retake the station… and although it did seem like a tall order to put atop the shoulders of a single individual… "Every last one of you here is either spineless or incompetent, for not taking action now… for remaining here and hoping, praying that a miracle would happen… when it clearly will not.
"Well, what do you expect us to do?! Running headfirst into that station will only get us killed!" argued a random soldier present, with him waving his blade wielding arms around as he said this. "Are you so adamant on just running to your death, kid!? Because if you go inside that place, you'll-"
"Die? Good… such is the way of life. If I fail to accomplish my mission, then I die. But if I succeed… then I will live. Unless I fight, I cannot win, and unless someone does something about the situation that no one is trying to solve… all of you will remain here to die a coward's death."
And with those final words uttered, Mikasa hopped off the edge of the building she stood on and made a beeline for the Refuel station, determination etched into her face as she advanced onwards fearlessly. Her words had left the soldiers in a state of uncertainty as they stood by with apprehension, though not long after, Nac grit his teeth as he took a step forwards and unsheathed one of his Anti-Titan blades.
Nac understood that not everyone wished to risk their lives, but even so… Mikasa's message was made abundantly clear to them, and even if she had spoken in an admittedly crude manner, Tias understood the sentiment behind it. They had to keep moving forwards, even in the face of danger, if they wished to survive. There was no way to alter the past… to alter the steps they had taken to reach where they were today, but if they just kept pushing onwards… and if they continued to advance forwards, through the fire and into the darkness… then they might find the light at the end of the tunnel, should they have the spirit to do so.
'If you run away, you'll only gain one, but if you keep moving forwards, even in the face of adversity… you'll gain two!' thought Nac firmly as he raised his Anti-Titan Blade high up into the air, aided by his natural height, to gain his fellow soldier's attention, and upon gaining a good few stares through this act, the man spoke.
"OI! ARE YOU GUYS REALLY GONNA JUST STAND AROUND?! ESPECIALLY AFTER WHAT MIKASA TOLD US?!" proclaimed Nac, with him swinging his blade to one side as he spoke, with the swing placing some emphasis behind his words as he yelled out at the top of his lungs. Annie and Mina were taken aback by the authority behind Nac's voice; rarely did he ever carry himself with such strength… and as for Mylius… he found it rather…
'H-Hot…'
"IF WE STAY WHERE WE ARE, WE'LL INEVITABLY BE FOUND AND KILLED BY THE TITANS! DO YOU WANT TO DIE BY JUST STAYING HERE AND DOING NOTHING, LIKE A FUCKING VEGETABLE?!" continued Nac, with him raising his Anti-Titan Blade high up into the sky once more as he spoke. "OR WOULD YOU RATHER FOLLOW MIKASA'S LEAD AND FIGHT FOR YOUR CHANCE TO LIVE?! EVEN IF WE FAIL, WE'LL STILL DIE MORE VALIANT DEATHS THAN IF WE DO JUST SITTING AROUND HERE!
"SO… ARE ALL OF YOU JUST GONNA STICK AROUND LIKE SOME CIVILIANS?! OR WILL YOU TAKE UP ARMS AND FIGHT?! LIKE A SOLDIER!"
And, in response to the man's words…
MOVEMENT DETECTED
MULTIPLE ENTITIES, HEADING NORTH
IDENTIFIED: MINA CAROLINA, NAC TIAS AND ANNIE LEONHARDT TO BE AMONGST THE CROWD
CALCULATED TRAJECTORY: TROST REFUEL STATION
ALERT: REFUEL STATION HAS BEEN OVERRUN WITH TITANS
SUGGESTION: PROVIDE ASSISTANCE
(optional OST - DOA (Dead On Arrival))
"I never knew you had it in you, Nac…"
"S-Sorry… I was mostly running on adrenaline back there."
"Don't be sorry, you did good."
And, for all it was worth, Annie's praise was more than enough to make the ravenette's cheeks flush lightly as he boosted onwards alongside her, with several dozen other soldiers advancing towards the refuel station alongside them all the while.
Nac's little pep talk, in addition to Mikasa's initial statement, had done a number to rile up the fighting spirit of the despaired soldiers, and upon finishing what he had said just a few minutes prior, they were all up and ready to fight their way into and through the Trost Refuel Station. Some were reluctant to do so, of course, but all the same, they pushed onwards regardless, either out of hope that they'd be able to survive this or just the fear of being left alone to be eaten.
Mina, sadly, had to be held by Nac as he swung them onwards, slowing him down quite a bit and lowering his offensive capabilities by a large margin, though as compensation, Annie hung close to the two and stuck by them like glue. Mylius hung close to them as well, and up front, Reiner and Bertholdt were assisting the weaker soldiers in their retreat, with them pairing up with the likes of Sasha, Connie, Rico and Jean to do so.
"You were an i-inspiration, Nac!" affirmed Mylius as he offered his ally a thumbs up, to which the man blushed. He was unused to such intimate praise, but all the same, he nodded in appreciation to the blonde's words as he continued boosting onwards.
"Thanks, Mylius, but-"
"INCOMING!"
"HUH?!"
Right as she heard that yell emanate from a soldier ahead of them, Annie glanced forwards to see a Titan lunging straight for them, with it being part of a small pack that was wandering around the area around the Refuel Station. Its lunge had caught her and her friends/ally off guard, but even so, she quickly recovered from her initial stupor and veered out of its path alongside the others, where she watched it land behind them with an unsavoury boom.
"T-That was too close…" muttered Mina as she clung onto Nac's body with a frown, to which Mylius shuddered.
"W-We're not out of the woods just yet, you guys!" alerted Mylius, with him spotting several more Titans ahead of them, having missed their opportunity to grab onto several soldiers that had passed them by, now turned around to focus on the inbound quadruple. Mylius himself paled several shades when he saw how there were five Titans focusing in on them as they drew closer, but all the same, Annie boosted ahead, undaunted. "A-Annie?! What are you-"
And as he yelled this, Annie's eyes narrowed as she darted in to clean this mess up.
One of the five Titans before her, Twelve metres in height, attempted a swipe at her, though Annie was able to expertly weave under its attack before she fired an anchor towards the Titan's face. It didn't even have time to acknowledge this before Leonhardt reeled herself in, slashing at its eyes as she did so and blinding it momentarily, causing it to recoil in pain.
Whilst it remained blinded, Mylius swooped in and attempted to finish the job, and as he did so, Annie carried on ahead, with her spotting another Titan swinging its arm out towards her as she advanced towards it, though rather than outright dodge, the blonde instead narrowed her eyes and repositioned herself mid-air, and as she drew closer to the Titan's arm, she activated her thrusters in an incredibly specific way, causing her to spin wildly, much like a top, and cleave into the Titan's arm. The Titan itself watched on with a hollowed gaze as Leonhardt cleaved her way up the length of its arm, only to stop at its shoulder, where she rocketed behind it and launched both her anchors towards its nape and boosted herself towards it, slashing at it in an X pattern moments later.
"H-Holy-"
"FOCUS!"
As Annie yelled out her order towards Mylius, the young woman kickflipped off the back of the now dead Titan's neck, and right as she did so, one of the three remaining Titans in their way launched an arm forwards and struck the spot where she once was, punching into the already dead Titan's back before it turned around to see Leonhardt circling around to its side. As soon as the back of its neck was in her sights, the blonde narrowed her eyes and held her blades out to her sides, and upon doing so, she fired off her thrusters and began spinning vertically like a top, with her launching herself towards the back of the Titan's neck all the while.
"HMPH!" grunted Annie as she cleaved deep into the Titan's nape with minimal issue, and as she did so, and as the Titan fell to the ground, the blonde soldier halted her spinning and planted her feet against the side of a building she was about to crash into, and seconds later, aided by her thrusters, Leonhardt kicked off its side, sending herself soaring skywards, where she found herself on a crash course towards the grasp of the second-to-last Titan standing in their way.
Grimacing at this, Annie held her blades tightly before she swung them at the Titan's outstretched hands, severing its fingers and allowing her to slice at its face. She carved into one of its eyes as she did so, blinding it on one side and causing it to recoil, before she circled around it to strike at its nape, though before she could do so, however…
"A-Annie, on your six!"
"Kh?!"
… the final Titan that was standing in their way lashed its arm out to grab at her! Having been too focused on her initial target, Annie was unable to see it swing its arm out at her until she had been caught by it, and within moments, she was brought up to its face, where it parted its lips and got ready to-
"THROW ME!"
"HUH?!"
"JUST DO IT!"
Before Annie could be shoved into the Titan's maw, however, Mina issued a demand to Nac, who, despite his understandable reluctance, threw her at the Titan that was holding onto Annie, and after a powerful spin, aided by his thrusters, Tias tossed Carolina straight at it. His aim was a bit off, but even so, he was able to toss his friend at it with passable accuracy, with Mina herself colliding with the Titan's face moments later, and as that happened, the pigtailed soldier stabbed one of her Anti-Titan blades into its eye, blinding it and forcing it to recoil all the while.
"Mina?!" yelled out Annie, shocked to see what was going on as her friend smiled at her, though moments later, she was tossed to one side as the Titan holding onto her swung its arm out and unintentionally threw her, though she was able to recover relatively quickly mid-flight and launch one of her anchors towards it, and moments later, the blonde soldier reeled herself in and slashed at its nape, downing it in an instant.
Meanwhile, Mina was snatched out of the air before she could hit the ground by Nac, who held her in his arms rather awkwardly as they closed in on the Refuel Station.
"You're a fucking lunatic at times, you know that?" snarked Nac as he held his friend close, to which she grinned whilst Annie and Mylius moved up to join their friends/allies in advancing onwards. The blonde very much agreed with the ravenette as she eyed Mina with a fond yet disapproving glare, though moments later, her gaze softened a little when Carolina glanced her way and smiled gently.
"Well, if it's to save any of you, then I'd gladly do it all again," assured Mina, and, for all it was worth, hearing this made her friends' hearts flutter quite a bit as they boosted onwards.
Jean Kirstein was amongst the first batch of soldiers to make it to the Refuel Station unscathed, and moments later, several others joined him. By his side was Marco Bolt, who wasted no time in rushing onwards and assisting their injured, and after a few minutes, Annie, Mina, Nac and Mylius all trickled in after their comrades.
"Cutting it a little close, don't you think?" grumbled Annie, with her having landed in a crouch whilst the others stumbled and fell onto their sides upon entering, though moments later, another blonde soldier walked up to Nac and offered to help him up, prompting the man to look up to see Reiner standing over him. His smile was relieved, if a little strained, and with a smile back, Tias accepted his help and allowed himself to be pulled up to his feet.
"Don't be like that, Ann. At least we made it, yeah?" hummed Mina encouragingly, to which Annie huffed, though moments later, Nac, now back up on his feet, scowled and counted their ranks.
"We made it… but a lot of other soldiers did not," muttered Nac, with him flinching when he counted that just a little over half of their initial numbers had made it here. It haunted his soul to know that so many had died along the way, and even if he couldn't have done anything to change this outcome, guilt still clawed at his stomach as he punched the wall closest to him with a grimace. "Damn it all!"
"Nac…" muttered Reiner, with him setting a hand atop the aforementioned man's shoulder as he said this, though before he could continue, Annie stepped forwards and nudged the hulking blonde to one side. He had good intentions, though he didn't know Nac as well as she did, and after a brief few seconds of silence, the young woman opened her mouth to console her friend…
… only to snap it shut once more when a loud boom became audible. Widening their eyes at this, the soldiers present all turned towards where that sound came from, with Jean moving towards the window closest to its source with no small amount of trepidation. Behind him, Connie and Armin remained tense whilst Marco motioned for the rest of them to hang back, and as soon as he reached the window, Jean Kirstein peered through it and-
"GAH! GET BACK GET BACK GET BACK!"
The ash blonde soldier promptly yelled for his fellow men to get away from where he was standing at, and moments later, the windowed wall he once stood by exploded inwards, with the head of a Fourteen metre Titan bursting through it all the while. Jean was sent stumbling onto his front as he tried to distance himself from it, though it didn't really do him any good as, upon recovering, he shifted himself onto his back and turned to see the still alive Fourteen metre staring right back at him.
"WHAT THE FU-" cried out Jean as the Fourteen metre opened its mouth and attempted to push its head deeper into the room they were in. Behind him, Marco and Nac both sprung into action, with them brandishing their blades as they rushed in to strike at the Titan's face, though before they could do so, however, the Fourteen metre suddenly halted its movements, and not a second later, it found itself being pulled back out of the Refuel Station, having been dragged out by an unknown force!
"W-What in the-" began Marco, with him halting as he, alongside everyone else present, paused to stare at the hulking metal behemoth that had inadvertently saved Jean from that Fourteen metre, with Nac, Mina and Mylius being the only ones that weren't outright horrified at the entity standing before them. As for the others, though…
"No way…"
"Is this… f-for real…?"
"That can't be legit… that… t-that thing was just a hoax, r-right?!"
"This is just a dream… it's just a dream… y-yeah…!"
"Holy fucking shit…"
And, for all it was worth, the reactions that Barbatos had gotten with its entrance were very much amusing to the pilot seated within its cockpit. Mikazuki himself couldn't resist a small snort of amusement as he watched the soldiers, namely Marco and Jean, frantically get up to their feet and scramble away from the Gundam, though conversely, Nac himself didn't move one bit as he eyed the unit curiously, and moments later, the pilot huffed and turned to survey the area around them.
Based on the unit's internal scanners Mikazuki saw that the Trost Refuel Station was infested with a multitude of Titans, all of which were small enough to wiggle into the place without much issue. Barbatos could deal with them with no issue, though Mikazuki had his concerns when it came to it accidentally toppling the entire structure if he attempted to do so, and that aside, the Gundam had other concerns to deal with at the moment, key of which being…
MULTIPLE HOSTILES DETECTED - ESTIMATED AMOUNT, FOURTY
ENEMY TYPE - TITANS
SCALE - THREE TO FIFTEEN METRES
THREAT TO SELF - MINIMAL
THREAT TO ALLIES - DANGEROUSLY HIGH
ARRIVING FROM ALL SIDES - BOXING IN THE REFUEL STATION
RECOMMENDATION - EXTERMINATE ALL TITANS BEFORE THEY GET CLOSE TO THE STATION
"Ah. Thanks, Barbatos," hummed Mikazuki as he processed the data that his unit had just shared with him, and as he did so, the pilot took stock of how Nac had taken a few measured steps towards Barbatos, and all the same, the likes of Mina, Rico and Mylius did so as well, garnering them some confused demands from their allies all the while.
In spite of their concerns, however, Nac was able to push down their concerns with a few words of his own.
"Look… I know this sounds… absurd, alright? But I think this thing's friendly…" stated Nac, with him motioning back towards his fellow soldiers whilst also keeping his gaze firmly locked onto Barbatos as he spoke. Smart, Mikazuki thought, and as he said this, several soldiers protested this, prompting Mina to speak up this time.
"Hey, look, if it wanted us dead, then why is it just standing there?! It saved me a while back, and it only just saved Jean as well! If it were our enemy, then why would it do something like that?!" protested Mina, with her swinging her arms about to accentuate her point as she spoke, and moments later, she turned back towards Barbatos and offered it a surprisingly warm smile. Said smile had caught Mikazuki off guard momentarily, and although it did seem a little strained, there was an undeniable hint of warmth buried behind her grin as she continued. "It came to our aid more than once, and it protected us on occasion as well… what it just did is proof of this, so… I… I trust it!"
"You… trust it?"
"To consider a Titan an ally of sorts… have you gone mad?"
"They've lost it."
"What maniac thinks that they can trust a Titan?!"
"I-"
"I trust it as well."
"?!"
The speaker of these words was noneother than Jean Kirstein himself, with him frowning as he took a step towards the Gundam. His expression and tone made it apparent that he was horrified, but all the same, he kept his brave demeanor up as he frowned heavily and glanced towards Barbatos. His eyes met the unit's optics with a level of bravado that was quite foreign for someone like him, and moments later, he continued.
"Nac's always been the kind of guy to see things where others do not. If he trusts this… 'Titan', then so will I," stated Jean with an air of finality, something that shocked most of his fellow soldiers as he spoke. Nac, Mina and Mylius, though, all seemed glad that someone was on their side for a change, and considering how he was a part of the Top 10, more were willing to trust his judgement over Tias'. "And besides… it saved us, didn't it? It saved us… and it isn't attacking us just yet. If that doesn't show just how… passive it is, then I don't know what will."
And to that, there was silence, with the other soldiers all pausing briefly as they stared over at their fellow man with apprehension. All of them seemed to want to say something, though they weren't able to find the words to do so as they opted to just… stare at Jean, Mina, Nac and Mylius with uncertainty.
Rather abruptly, however, the Gundam's radar system spiked as several Titans found their way into the vicinity of Barbatos' close range detection sensors, prompting Mikazuki to abruptly turn it away from the soldiers within the refuel station, startling them all the while, and back towards the perimeter around the site. Mylius himself was startled into leaping backwards a little, something that the pilot did not notice as he tapped the main cockpit monitor several times over.
'... fifteen Titans are within fifty metres of the refuel station. Thirty five more are about to join them…'
OBSERVATION - THE CLOSEST TITANS ARE DUE SOUTH.
ESTIMATED TIME NEEDED TO ARRIVE AT THE REFUEL STATION - TWO MINUTES
RECOMMENDATION - ELIMINATION, POSTHASTE
'I intend to do just that,' thought Mikazuki with a huff as he turned to glance back at the soldiers staring up at him via the hole in the wall, and after some consideration, he offered them a small nod via his unit's head, a small sign of solidarity, before he boosted his Gundam into the fray, shocking the soldiers within with just how swift the unit could be, and as it boosted off into the distance, the soldiers, junior or otherwise, could only watch it depart with shocked looks on their faces.
"Holy shit…" came what sounded like Connie's voice from the station, with the awe in his tone barely masked as he spoke.
"Yeah… holy shit indeed," agreed Armin, and right as he heard this through his unit's audio receptors, Barbatos flew out of range to detect their comments, eliciting a huff from its pilot all the while.
Was it wrong for him to garner some satisfaction from the reactions his allies were giving his Gundam's presence? Probably, but either way… Mikazuki would take his victories whenever they came, and by God, if victory meant that he got to see the face of a friend that was staring up at Barbatos like it was the second coming of Erwin Smith… then Hell Fucking Yeah he'd take it.