F̷͚͈̼͝I̷͇̪͇͆̃͠G̶̠̺̘̾͆͒H̵̖̥͛̈́̒T̷̼́́́

F̵͖̺̙́̽̒͗̒ͅI̵̟̦̭̺̟̓Ģ̵̦̮̞̓̐̚Ȟ̴̎͜Ṯ̸̪̰̐̕

̵̨͈̰̲̦̌͛́̄͐̃ͅF̸̪̌͌̂̇͝Ȉ̵̥̮͍͚̮̞͘Ḡ̶̬̮̙́͊͗̍̅H̸̠̝̝̲̱͆̋̎̎́̆T̶͖̻̦͇̒͌͛͆͝

̶̛̜̣̬̙͖̆̒͂̾͘S̷̭̤̍̈́͒̋Ǫ̸̱̱̬̬̪̲͛͂͌́̍̿̐͗ͅ ̷̡͈͎̦͈̘̪̙̃͋̑̇M̷̢̦̳̻̞̲̗̓͊̿̽͗̉̋͒Ȃ̵͎͇͇̰͇͔̣͓̈́͋̈͘͝N̵̩̄̀̏̇͐͑̀͐Y̸̳̽̇̑̉͑̕͘ ̸̻̮͈͓͙̥̾͂̐̈́́̃Ṯ̶̡̬͙͉̙́̈̽́̾̏̀Ĭ̴͕̻̤̝̣͓͚̗̃̾̇͌̓͝T̷̡͎̲̚͝A̶̢̗͙͙͍̺͍͉̒̑͑̉N̶̟͔̞̲͔̏̾̊̐͝Ṣ̷̰̣̲̔͑̇

̶͚̼͕̐̋͗͝Ǩ̴̗̊͆͆͒͗̐I̷̧̨̧͖̹̜̞͚͇̠̿L̶̢͖̟̞̟͗͜L̷̗̑̉̑̾̈́̚̕͠ ̵̢̢͈̬̦͙̳̗̏̄̅͋̈́̅̇̀͜͠͝͝Ṫ̴̝̍̐͊͂̓̄̓̄̅͌H̵̨̘̲͂̇͗̔̔̈́E̴͇͈̜̻̓́̋͆̾̄͊͆̕͠M̴͈̟͕̈̌͌͂̑̓͑̕ ̷̨̧̹̟̮͚̖̰̭̻͑͐̏̀̈́̉̚̚ͅÁ̴͎̻̦̭̝͈͉̱̐͜L̸̻̱̫͕̪͇̤̹̞̈́͗͂̓̅̉̄̎̚͠L̶͓̞͋̊̾͌͐̓̚͝

̵̛͙͉̃̒̐̑́̚̚K̴̰͔͖͐̆̎̈́̏͘I̷̢̱̦̠̘̪̗͕̜͂̀̎L̵̫̘͚͓͒̚͘L̵̡̰̹̜̳̮̊̀͐́̋͐̊̚ ̴̢̨̡̽̅̈́̾̑̋̾̚T̶͎̟̳̼̪̻̳͍̮͕̐̊́̅̈͐͌̄̈́͌ͅH̵̜̠̣̞̟͎̎̈́̾͘͜ͅE̴̟͙̭̞̬̞͓͂̑M̵̡̞͖͓͉̘̫̠̻͉̞̻̰̾̋̅̑̓͐̇̑͋̈͘͝͝ ̸͙̰͚̥̺̈͊̒̎͌̈͋̽͝͝͝Ȁ̸̧̢͉̦͖̝͕͈͑̂̀͝͝Ļ̶̳͈̬̱̤͖̥̣̰̖̈̈́͐͗̂̈́͌L̷̬͖͒͒͛̐̃̌̏́̈́͆̋

̵̮̀̔̓̈́̍K̶͙̩̖̤̪̊̌̿͊̊̈̕͠Í̷̡̧͕͚̣̜̬̱͖̹͕͓͚͇͎͜L̸̢̢̛͖̰͕̰̦͉͙̬̤̬̯̈͐̓̏̀͛́̅̾̀͜͝Ĺ̸̡̨̧̼̩̥̰̑͋͌̇̔͒̉̄͑̈́̍̈́͊͘̚͠͝ ̶̠̰̰̟̼̱̬̘͍͎̰͙̰̈͌͌͂̍̈́̀̚͝͠T̶̼͉̙̟̱̙̮̳̫͖̥͈̥̣͑̉̊͗̓̄̈͋̊̿̀̆͂̌̇͋͠Ḣ̸̢̻̞̳̜̫͖̥̳̱͖̥̻̳̘̂̈́̐̊͒͒͋́̋̂͗̽̒͐̕̚͠E̵͎̭̰͂̾͜M̷̭̲̪̗͍͓̣̱̥̒̃͊̍͐́̈́̀̌̊́̚̕͜ͅ ̷̢̢̟͎͖͖͙̖̻̖̰̆͆͊̕ͅÀ̷̧͔̠̜̘͔͙̫̗̳̺̖̯̤̙̥̎̓͐̆̎̇̿̍͂͘͝͝L̵̡̤̺͉͔͕̲̙̠͈̗̻̘̲̟͖͈̠̑͗͊͊͋̋̈̈̀̃̈́͝͠L̵̛͔̠͕̲͉̤̗̥̠͂̆̉͐̅͂

"..."

"..."

Silence… that was all Mikazuki could really muster out at the moment as he observed this Titan from a distance. It was… different from the usual Titans that he had encountered for more reasons than one, and for all it was worth, these differences seemed to be positive, for a change.

For one, this Titan had an incredibly muscular build; standing at Fifteen metres tall, it possessed a powerful six pac and muscle bound arms that looked as though they could pack a decent enough wallop,, and that aside, it had a full head of jet black hair and knife-ears that made it stand out from most other Titans. Its lipless mouth was also worthy of note, though Mika thought little of it for now.

Rather, what he did find to be worthy of thought at the moment was how the Titan was currently combating other Titans with ruthless savagery. Roaring as it jolted towards its fellow Titans, this odd Abnormal threw punches and kicks as it fought back its fellow beasts, and from time to time, it would kill a Titan with very little issue, but all the same, its form was uninspired and its attacks were below average at best; they could not hold a candle to the Gundam's attacks… which, admittedly, was somewhat understandable, but even so…

'Why…? Why would an actual Titan fight against its own… unless…" thought Mikazuki as his mind came to a rather sudden conclusion, and as it did so…

AUDIO PLAYBACK

… a small pop up appeared on the optic-to-cockpit monitor feed, and moments later, just as the Alaya-Vijnana system had stated earlier, recorded audio played through it. Mikazuki recognised the voice as belonging to Nac.

"The (Mechanical) Titan has proven itself to be non-hostile and deceptively intelligent."

Certain parts of Nac's words were enunciated by the Gundam's internal speakers, more or less driving the point home as the unit relayed its thoughts to its pilot, and as it did so, Mikazuki winced a little as he stared over at the Rogue Titan with curiosity glistening in his eyes. Rubbing at his chin, Augus hummed lightly before speaking.

It feels impossible, but a lot of things that've happened recently feel that way to… so perhaps…" began Mikazuki, only for him to pause when the Rogue Titan abruptly turned to face his Gundam. Its sudden shift was more than enough to tip the unit's internal scanners off, and as it turned to face it, the Titan growled before glaring at Barbatos as though it had killed its mother or something. There was genuine hatred present in the opposing Titan's glare; hatred on a level that Mika had never seen in anything prior, be it human or especially Titan, and within seconds, it roared up to the heavens before it charged towards the Gundam, moving much faster than any Titan the pilot's encountered prior.

"..." curious, Mikazuki had his unit step to the side, narrowly evading the attempted shoulder tackle as this… Rogue Titan turned and attempted a haymaker aimed at Barbatos' chest. It missed, though several more were thrown at the Gundam, each missing by a large margin, though the mere fact that it was… fighting in such a way was more than enough to pique Mika's intrigue as he observed the Titan stoically. "What should I do, Barbatos?"

"..."

"Wouldn't it be easier to kill it?"

"..."

"I guess you're right…"

And with that, Mikazuki sidestepped one last punch from the Rogue Titan before he lashed one of Barbatos' arm units out and grabbed onto the back of its head. The sharpened digits of the Gundam dug into the Titan's scalp as it roared out in apparent pain, though moments later, Mika grunted before his Gundam dragged the Titan backwards and threw it towards the closest building; the force wasn't enough to kill it, but even so, on impact, the Titan was rendered momentarily immobile as it growled in pain.

Whilst it recovered, however, several more Titans stomped into view, with Barbatos' radar system lighting up in alert as they moved within range. Frowning lightly at this, Mikazuki had his unit raise its arm up and take aim with its Autocannon, with it firing a handful of rounds at a trio of Titans within range; thanks to the Alaya-Vijnana system, all three shots hit their mark, though before he could fire the third, the proximity alert warned its pilot of a few inbound Titans to his side, prompting him to turn and spot just that coming his way.

Ȟ̷̢̤̮̙͉͎̪͎̎u̷͎̥̥͇̦̻̝͍̳̗̯̿̽̊̔̑͝ͅͅȑ̶̡̛̺̹̮̰̬̫̊̐̈́̈́͑̊̑̂͑͜͝͝ṱ̷̭̺̭̼̿̈́͆͂̎̏̓̿̌͠s̴̰̃̓̑̿͋̀̇̔̃͗̏̕.̷̳͚̩̘̺̪̤͖̪̤͍̗̻͔̲̅͆̆̀́̕̕.̷̭͍̈́́͐̾͊̈́̅̽̌͋͑̐̈́͐͝.̶̡͚̹̟̣͚̬͉͉̭̦̓̄̄̌̉͛̄̅̄̈́̽̈́͠͝

̵̧͕̤̝̲̭̥̤̫̌̓

̴̧̧̳̭̻̜̼̞̌̓̽̓̓̕͝͝

̶̢̦̟̯̀̓̄̃̄̍̈́̄́̍̂͘W̴̢͖̤͔̞̮̲̬̤͎̬͍̰̫͌̾̃͆̀̽̆̕͜h̸̗̤̓͋͑̅͗̓̽́̔͒̓̋̂͘a̴͇̺̼̮̤̦͉̻̣͆͊ͅṭ̶̨̱̣̹̎͂̾̃̓͑̋.̸͉̮͎̼̘̅̏̋̂̐̅̔̏̈͛̉̇͝͝͝.̷̙̲̘̎̒̓̇̔̆̊͐͌̔̓͑͆͘͝.̴̝̜̓͋̒̽ ̵̬̘̗̖̬̮̦̓̑̂̓̆͂̍̀̈̚͝ĭ̷̬̞̓́̿́̚s̴̡̛̭͓̻̙̱̲̩͛̋̐͊͒̔̓͝͝ ̴̛̱͈͉̹͚̺̤̯͍̦̺̼͚́̾̓͆̂̍̑̔͘͘͜ț̴̡̰̙͇̪̞̤̪͓̱̳͍̓̉ḩ̶̧̙̦͓̖̦̞̟͇̔̑̇̐̚ȃ̶̢̞̼̹͉̝͕̕͜ṱ̵̡̮̥̿̃̎?̷͔͖̺̫̺͉͕̭̎̎̏̄̐

̴̨̧͈̰̹͓̤͓͎̥͈̜̼͍̊̔̏͗̽̊̏͝

̶̧̔̃̏̈́͆̈́̑̏̕͝ͅ

̷̯͚̙̗̞͈̼͚͍͙͂̅̀̂̈́̀̌͂́̓̋̊̕L̶̨̨̛͕̮͙̼̪͍̩̱̱̼̂̒͆̌̽̈́̄̾̕̚̕o̵̼̹̦̫̻̠̱͍͉̼͝ơ̶̪͇̻̂̓͛̽̽͛̿͒̌̅̿̎̉̽k̷̹̤̝̺̩̥̤̅̆̓͆̆̂͋̄͒̓̉͗̚̕͝š̶̛̟̺̹͊͋́ͅ.̸̹̻̳͋͋̾͂̃͋͊͜.̴̢̡̩̼̲̗̖͉̗̝̾̅̀̊̐͑̈́͛͗͆̑͆̂̚͜͜͜.̴̹̞̝̪̊̃̈̄̚͜ ̶̗̘̙̽̍̀̑͋̿͌̚ͅͅf̵̝͖̻̣̦̱̮̀̋̐͆̑́͂̓̌͗͘͘͝a̷̰̮̠̬͔̝͙̽̏͊̎̐̊̌̽͠͝m̸͍͑̈͗̈̈́̀̓͛̀̽̎̐̑͝ì̷͍̀̀̒͆͑͒̃͐̿͊͝ļ̴̜̦͓̥̜͚̙̗͇͒̈́͊į̴̩̫̬͕͓̹̼͚̩̤̝̬̀̚͜͝á̴͍̺̯̉͐͂͐͒̎̑̋͒̏̾͐͜ȓ̵̪̞̲̪̳̣̩̔̏́̽̚ͅ.̶̧̨̼̗̮̼̪̜̮̦̹̪̦̈́̏̾͜ͅ.̷̢̥͙͊.̴̢̹̣͇̝̙̝̮̠̘͚̥̇͐͗̍͊͌̆̏̽͛͛̆͝ͅ

̵̢̰́̆͋̈́̒̾̓͛̃͝T̸̛͕̹̜̳͚̼͎̳̒̋́̈́̑̍̉̎̿̈́͋͘͜͠i̵̢̢̛̺̝̳̤̥̤̤̟̼̗̜̓̆͐̽͋̈͗̚t̶͕͉̞͕͚̗̝̯̋̔̂̍a̴̱̝̓́̋̈́̋̀n̷͖̐͐̔̏̾.̵̩̞̎̇.̷͖͈̫͉͋͌.̶̬̘̦̞̯̠̳̠̯̎͗̑͂̐͝͝?̸̧̘͖̪̗̞͖̳̱̻̝̾̋̒̈́̇͆̆̃̆

̴̡͎̙̂́͛̾̋̓̓̄̏̀̅͠͝

̷͈̉͂̈̉̋́͜N̴̢̲͇͈͔͍͗̈́͆̉͘ǫ̵͔̗͎̲̳̹̼̬̤̟̈́̑̾̿̔͌̈́̚͠͠.̶̧͚͉̅̅͒̈́͊͋͛͊̀̚.̴̨̛͍͖̥͙̙̈́̅̉́̊̾̌.̴̻̼̙̯̯̘̖͈̘̰̓͌̓͐̀̕

̶̰̬̜͔͙̣̫̮͇̭̪͒İ̷̛̥̮̙͍̻͖̌̑̅͊̂́̊̇̔̀̈́͋t̵̙͎̟͕̹̳̟̂̓͋̎̈́̽̽̇̏̕'̴̡̬͚̪͚̫̞͔̭̕s̷̳̩̲̏̑̂̈́̚͠.̶̡̫̫̘̺̬̙̥̼̮͖͇̣̖͍̃̂̃.̴̧̧̛̤͈̯̯̰̱̭̎̓̑̅̒̓̄͒̋̇͗͘̚ͅ.̴̨̡̯̹̝̝̟͓̳͇̰̳̬̝̌̂̈́̔̑̈̈́̊͑̊͘͜͝ ̶̧̙̠̞̖̝͕͎͓̱̉͂͌̈́̅̈́̊͗̋̈́̎̈́̅̕f̷̛̬̻̜͇̙͖̪̹͇̞̩̆̒̀̆̏̋̏̀̽͌̕i̸̡̢̖̮̤̳̫͓̤̹̻̪̓̍̓̈̓͑̾̀̆͂͂͒̿ͅg̴̛̪̬̝̋̋͐͑̈́͛̿͂̂̋̂̿̔͘h̸̛̖̥̜̖̤̹̳̜̞̹͆̍̒̐͊̋̉͋͜͜t̶̨̛͖̼͎̫̻͈͍͙̘͕͙͗̽̒̑͘i̸͖͔͔̅̏͊͗n̵̨̨͎̜͚͕̫͕̽͂̊̉̒͛̏̎̀͝g̸̡̪̱͕͚̩̞̮̺̺̤̣̎̃͛̎͐̇͝ ̷̧̛̛̲̤̩̭͚͉͚̠̓̿͌̀̍̅͋̚͜ͅo̶͖͖͙̱̟̭͇͓̰͙̍͋͐͐̽̃͝t̶̨̢̻̩̹̙̞͑͋͊̊̋͂͛͝͠h̷̟̮͙̼̖̭̬͇̝̜̯̘͓͒͂̓ḙ̴̳̲̓͑̽̈̌̈́́̓͒̆̕͘̕̕͘r̵̡͈̺̭̮̱͇͉͎̗̫̈́̌̀ ̵̨̤̯́͋͂̀͋̀̀͂̀̚͝T̵̞̦͕͇̐́̂̆̀̈̀͑i̶̭̺̞͗̒́̓̽̾̅t̶̢̡̞̝̋̐̆̀̓͌̌̀̿ä̶̧̳̘͚̙͕͎̰̗́̈́̏͋͆̄̈́̍͗̎̋̿͝n̷̢͎̝̠͔̮̐͊͌̋̈́̅͆̇͘͘͜͜ș̵̡̟͉̳̹͉̥̭̾̽͗̍̋̄̈́͊̓̈́͊͂̈́͠ͅ.̸̡͍̹͚̳̭͇̝͍̼̏̎̑̚.̵̢̧̧̘̲͔͚̖̙̖̠̑̈̈͑̃̅͘̕͠.̶̨̧̮͇̠͈̠̰̤̼̳̗͖̬̽̾͐́͊̃̈́̀̐̕̚?̷̟͓͉̝̯̈́̇̍͆́̂͜͝

̷̬͙̰̫̻̹̹̹͉̜̬̪͐̑̾̍̅͆͑͘͘͝͝

̷̢̤̥͔̻̜͔̑̽͂̕͝I̶̢̳̅s̵̡̬̱̳̹͍͔̺̒̾̈́̈́̉͗̎̚ ̴̡̨̱̣̼̜̭͖̝͓͐̓̋̄̓̎̕͜ͅį̵̛̖̗̪͉̩̼̝̥̫͖̑̉̈́̅̃̅̇̾͒͝ț̸͚̼̱̐͒͋̓̚ ̷̛͔̠̬̻̦̐̃͋̓̏̽̑̒͘̚ą̵̛̥̹͈̫͉͙̦̥͎̠̥̓̋̇͌̏̏̓̓͐̐̕͜͜n̶̨̗̮̫͓̼̥͔̼̳̻͈͓͐̀ ̴̨̧̨̦͈̠͍͖̘̦̣̩̓̋̄̈́̅̀͝ä̵̳̝͚͎̓͒͌̕͜l̶͖̝̖̬͇̈́̃̃͋l̵̨̡̛͚̲͙͉̭̤͓̄͊̇͒́͋̽̚̚̚͜ý̷̢̙͓̞̟͓̯̻̺͖̽.̵̡̩̭̩̦͖͕̲̥͉͓͖͉̭͗̓͋́̂͂͜.̷̨͎̰͚̳̳̳̩͙̻̱̺͖̼̱̇̿̽̓.̸̲͓͈͚̠̰̗̺̤͙̜̠̥͑̑̆?̶̧̩̜̘͖̪̹͓͈̥̻̠̰̲̲̽̊̒

̶̢̛̝̦̮̼͉̩̻͇̗̦̈͑̈̄̔̽̆̈́̓̕ͅͅ

̵̢̼̹̝̳̀Í̵̢̻̺̤̥̟̰̯̬̪̖̥͖́̓̓̓͐̄̉̓͛͛̊͝͝t̷̢̨̮̍͆̿͑̂̀͒͛̀́̈́ ̶̖̩̇͆̒̾͋̏́̔̀̊͝m̵̨̮̗̣̝͓͕̯͇̋i̴̢̖͙̻͙͈̫͕̖͕͋͊́̈̔͜͝͝͝ḡ̸̡͓̩̱̬͎̹̮̜̱͚̜̯̲̮̃́̉͑̍̇͆̄̃̿̑̿͠ḣ̵͔̣̹̲̝̃͑͊͝t̴̳̣̙̱̪̠͇̭̱͎̃̅ͅͅ ̶̫͓̗̰͗̌̀̾̀͂͌̾̓̌̚͝͝b̸̢̡͓̠͔̣̜͓͎̻̬̤̮̆̌̌̀̚ͅe̸̟͈͙̬͔̰̦̥͖̝̦̘͑̈͑̅̿.̵̬͕̯͙̗͚̙͉͓̞͓̑̃̆́̇̿́͒͌͆̕͠.̸̢̛̩̼̲͚̻͍̱͈̟̦͇̟̱̿̆́̄͒͛̉̐̾͂̕͝͝ͅ.̷̧̫̙͓̻̘͕͇̫̺͌̄̇̌ͅ

̵̨̨̹̠̜͈̹̬̙͛̽̀̄̆̾͌͌͝

̴̡̡͓͙̖̪͓̖̗͖́̀͗̈́̔̔̉͐͛̈̌́̑I̸̘̽̀.̶̜̗̳̺̭͈̣̮͚͔́͊̕͠.̶̨͌.̴̧̗̞̝̰̙͓̗̜̱̗͙̪͒ͅ ̷̢̬̳̪̞̙̘͈͖̺̫͓̿̔͜ḑ̷̜̲͎̄ő̵̱̤͙̩̫̥̠̻͍̖̟͙͑̓̅̾n̵̡̻͖̲͓̫̹͓̠͙̔͒͑̈́̽̇͆̈́͐̊̃͆͝'̵̧̢̧̢̖̩͚͍̯̦̻̤͈̇t̵̡̫̠͖̭̞̹̜͉̗̪͎͑̀́̔̚͜͜ͅ ̶̡̯̹̣̓̅̉̆̕̚c̴̨̣͙̥̟̈́̀̓̓̒͂́̈́͜͝͝ą̷̰͖̖̺̞͈̩͈̱́̓ͅr̶̘͈̤̬̱̞̈́̈́̓̓̈́̎̾̿̌̏͊̃͜͝͝ę̶͓̺͎̬͉̰͉̘̯̘̿͜͝͝ͅ.̶͍͇͙̫̜͚̈́̒͒͑̋̕͠.̴̧͉̥̦̫̯͓̗͍̣̦̫̘̙̀.̵̖̭̳̗͇̀̎̓̿͠͠

̴̨͚̯̯͓̾̉͂̔͗͛̓̔͊͋̋͠

̵̡̠̳̱̻͋̿̅́͌̚͝͠I̴̛̛͎͔̜̯̹͈͔̎̌̉̑̊̐̐̈́̋́̑̈͜f̸̛͚̬̲̹̹̮̘̠̮̙̈̐̌̓̀̈́͐͂̕͘͜͜ͅͅ ̴̢͓̬̟͚̝̳̗̫̼̠̙̯́̀̀͐̇́͆͐̏̐͘̕̚͝ï̵̻t̴̨̢̫̖̎̽̍͑͗̇͛̀̑̉̐̋̈́̕͝'̸̰̥͔̐̊̃͒̀͑̄͌̈́͒̉̿̚s̷̨̨̱̲͇̮̱̳̲̰͉͎̦͚̄̆͑̊ ̸̨̲̠̼̜̟̫͖̲̠͓͊͆͆͆̍͂̅̈̍̐̕f̸͖̼͓̞͙̗̲̥͚̀͐̂͂̀̾̍̀̇̉̕̕͜͝͝ḯ̸͎͓̙̰̪̉͊̾̔̓͐̅͘g̵̗̫͙̃́͑̌͗̿̔̌̂̈̔͘ẖ̴̢̡̳͕̥̩͖̖̻͉̜͔̀̍̆̉̽̃̇̒̀̅͘͜͝͝t̷͉̹̠̅̽́̿į̷̧̹̦͔͓͎̮̺̟̬̞͕̍̋̌̀̉̽̉̐͝n̴̥̪͗̐͋̔̅̏͊̇̒̓̅̏̂g̵͍͎̭̮̣͖̓͋̀͜͝ ̸̙͎̳̄̔͌̒̓̎̐̃̅̅̕̚̕͠͝ö̷̗̼̹̲̲͌̽̽̅̀͋̌̕͜t̷͖̤̎̓͛́̍́h̵̢͕̥̖̰̙̜̩̺̝̟̱͆̐̽͛̽̑̋̈é̵̢̨̤͕̙̣͎̘͓͂́͂͒̈́̊̌͐͂̆͋r̷̨̛̞̹̻̯͇͇͙͚̬̘̗̮̬͊͆́̆̍̊͛͘͜͝͝͠ ̶̡̨̡̺͖̥͚͓̙̜̣͍̄͌͐͛͋͋̐͐͒͝ͅͅͅT̶̼̺͇̳̪͍̪͇͔̗̳̱̆̎̈̊͛̈͛̎̈́̆̉̕͠ͅḯ̴̹͍͈͙͍͎̠̠̔͌̾̅̕͠t̴̡̫̥̠͉͇̠̰̮͎͈̭̻͒̐̀̏́̈̊̔̿ą̵̡̧̛̳̪͙̼̖͙̺͍͔̘̓̏̈́̄ņ̶͎̳̟͇̙͖̠̯̠̦͙̹͆̌͜ś̵̥̻̱͒͐̇̈͋̇̌̏̊̈́̓͠͠.̶̨̖̱̹͍̗͒̈́́͒́̆.̵̱̜̞͈̌͊.̸̗̙̯͕̠̭͎̹̿́͂̋̐͆͋͠ ̶̨͍̖̬͉̱͕̻͗̈́̿̄̀ͅt̶̡̨̡͙̻͔͕͖̞̗̲̽͑̀̋͒͂̊̆͂̔̉͆̕͝h̸̨̳͍̗͎̝̠͉̣͂͑͝ȩ̶̡̧̡͍̺̹͕̰̝͉̳̗͓͒̌̚͠n̸̨̧͕̩̟͙͍͍̗̥͎̆͋̓͊͐̃.̸̖̆̄̌̾̽̄͛̒̌̚͝͝.̴̨̢̻̯̩̜̮̰̆.̸̡̨̣̭̹̙͎̞̦̤̋̅͂́̋̉̓͜͠!̵͔̮̹̜̪͎̏͌͋̉̔̕͝

̴̨̢̛̤̪̱̬̝̦̺͖͊̈́̂̌̄̊̐̆̋͛̒͠

̴̛͍̩͍̱͎̓͛̾̑̾͋̉͘͝Ţ̴̨̙̞͖͇̙͍̪̺̯̃̍͆̌͝h̷̼͙̗̮͎̄̅͑͊̎̇̈͒͐͋̈̚̚͝͝ͅę̶̨̧̯̺̦̒̽ͅn̸̢̡̻̩̩͖̯̩̒̀́̃̓̏͝ͅ.̶̗̮̲́.̸̡̱͇̭̣̙͕̟͙͍̰̔̉͊̆̕͝.̵̧̻̖̺̖̗̘̪͖́̋͝͠!̷̭̭̲̣͗̊̋͌͑͂̎̔͋͒̚͠

Mikazuki had thrown aside his Gundam's weapons some time prior; it was honestly a deliberate choice, as he had thrown them both at some Titans that were out of range a while back, and now, Barbatos was forced to fight fisticuffs against those that were making their way towards the refuel station.

It wasn't all bad, however, as the Titans around his unit were very much irrelevant when it came to power. They could not harm Barbatos, nor could they give it a good fight, and as such, the unit did not waste its time in giving them the dignity to die by its armaments.

And hell, without the unit's weapons, Barbatos was able to move about 10% faster! That was certainly a plus!

That aside, without much effort, Barbatos tore through the various Titans that stood against it. A Ten metre was killed with nothing more than a backhand from the unit, and a Five metre was kicked in the face, sending it flying within a moment's notice. A Fourteen metre that attempted a lunge towards the refuel station was halted mid-jump when the Gundam grabbed onto its ankle, and upon pulling it back, Barbatos swung it down onto a nearby building, demolishing it whilst also killing the Titan on impact.

A particularly dimwitted Titan (not that that was saying much, really…) thought it smart to charge at the Gundam whilst it had its back turned towards it, though it was quickly proven to be a bad idea when, without pause, Barbatos turned and caught the Fifteen metre by the neck. Flailing its limbs around as it found itself being lifted up and off the ground, the Titan was unable to do anything as the Gundam slammed its head unit directly against its skull, and on impact, it released the Titan's neck and watched as it flew backwards, splattering the ground with dissolving Titan blood and viscera all the while.

Whilst Mikazuki surveyed the area for any more Titans, however, one in particular was able to move close enough for an attack. It wouldn't have been particularly fatal, of course, but even so, it was able to get close enough to attempt a strike, one that would've been for naught as almost immediately, Barbatos spun around and aimed its Autocannon at it…

… though moments before it could fire, Mikazuki, at the behest of Barbatos itself, held back the shot, and seconds later, he saw why…

"...huh…?"

A hand was wrapped around one of the Titan's wrists, which had been raised and poised to strike at the Gundam. This in itself was more than enough to shock the pilot, though moments later, from behind the now restrained Titan, a new, and vaguely familiar face made itself known, and seconds later…

Ŗ̵̡̨̡̛̹͉̩̻̲͍͙̭͕̝̘̯̪̗͉̟̭̜̪͕̺͊͋̄̍͘̚̕ͅa̷̢̢̧̧̭̪͔̭͎͚̺̰̭̪͖̦͍͔̱͎̦̘̟̭͇̥͚͇̰͓̱̮̞͉̼̅͐̒̀͌͐̒̓̔́̕͜ą̴̨̛̹̯̼͈͈̻̜̼̞̼̝͈̰̤͓̱̣̪̖͎̺̬̰͎̣̪̣͖͙͚̲̉͊̑̈̍̐̅͂̓̏̉͆̏̀̈́͗̏̃͋̅̌͒̇͆́̏̐͆̇̇̍̓̈́͒̀̽̇͗͛͂̈́̋̏̋̕̚͜͝͝ͅA̶̧̧͔̗̤͕̠̮͇̝̺̮̫̬̫̫̺̠͇̯͚͕̳̣̗̻̥̻̮͈̦̞̠̓͊̽͒̀̇̿͜͜͠ͅA̵̢̜̮̭̙̮̥̗̳̺̠͇͍͍͇̯̩̥͆͂͆̈͊̍͌̑̔̈́̔̄͊͝A̵̛͓̩̱̫͉͙̯͗̒̄̐͛͗́̈́̄̊͋̋͋̈̋̉̊̍̄͑͘̕͝ḁ̵̢̢̲̰̹̙͈̭̗͍͕̝͎̻͍̝̩̥̣͈̙̝͕͎̖̲̫̲͇͍̙̟͔̣̪͈̹̩̟̰̿̏̄͂͋̌̎̓͆̉̽̈́͆̆̌̈̌̎̎̽̏̓̂̇̀̚͜͠͠͝ͅͅA̴̲̗̥͚͛̏͊́́̒̀̃̓̉̎̐͂̓̾͜͜R̶̨̛̰̭̺̳̘͚͍̻̦͓̟̝̲̭̦͔͔̓͑̈́͂̈́̇́̔̐̾̑̾̋̚͜ͅg̵̡̢̢̣͍͇̱̞͍̹̦̗̣͔̲̘͓̺͔̙̱̰͍̯͚̰̱̙̼͍̯͖̳̖̲͇̗̰̺̤̻̠̦͔̿͌̑͋̉̂̃̽͑̓̄̔̄̀͑̉̀̅̚͜͝Ģ̸̢̢̡̭̣̲̠͔̠̰̪̖͙̖͚͔̝͚̯̞̱͔͚̟̹̥̥̻̥̥̹̻̟̙͎̺̬̟̻͖̜̜̥̫̰̽̃͒̃͂̾͜Ģ̵̺̤͖̓̀̄̋͒̈́̇̄͌̌̑̋͆̌͐͋͒̀̀͒̆̍̃̀̆̚̚͘͝͝͝ͅG̴̨̡̛͉̻̱͚̣̙̲͈̬͇͎̹̫̺̈͌̆͆̇͌̈́͐́̐̎̽̀̌̀̎́̀̔̂̈͆̊̂̿̿̓͛̽̀̈́́̊̎͋̌͘̕̕͘͜͠͝͝͝ͅͅͅG̸͕͙͔̣̣̝̯̪͎̮͓͓̦̫͍̈́̒̈́̀͐̅̕ͅͅḨ̷̨̟̻̮̥̳̟̙̮̟̜̘͚͉̮̮̃͆̀̍̀̔̔͗̏̊̏̋͑͋̾͊͂̆̓͛͒̎͊̃̔̅̈́̍̚̕̚͘͘̚͘̕͝ģ̵̛̩̭̝̟̪̲̞̹͚͔͎̱̯̮͌̊͐̃̈́̾̽̓̌̅̓̂̒̚͘͠͝!̷͖̗͖̠̩͙͚͉̘͈̫̳̲̭̳̟͔͙̝̰̻̪̙̝̼̼̩̹͔͇̻̝̮̰̞̰͎̽̋́͜͜!̶̦̠̭͔̬̳̻̯̮̬͚̟̰̳͎̥͒́͌̅̍̇͛̀͋͐͛̚͜͜͠͝!̵̛̜͍͉͓͓͔̲̙̬̩͖̫̮͗͂̍̂̀͛̎̌̏͗̈̔͌̊͒̀̓̃̓̒́̀͂̈͋̚̚̚͘͝͝͝!̷͍̹͈͔̫̥̮͔̍̈́̉̎́̀̓̂̊̉͆̈́̍̂̿́͗̈́̆̏͒͂͋̽̍͒̑͌̎̓̃͗̍̀̂̂͌͊̕̚̚͘͠!̵̢̡̛̛̻̻͚̳̌̊̾̒̅̈́́̃̄̍̑̋̏̊̃͋͒͒͒̽̋̓͒͊̋̉̇̂͆̍̓̃́̅̄͊͋̾̚̕͝

The Rogue Titan lifted the Titan it had restrained in its grasp up and off the ground before slamming it back down behind itself! On impact, the Titan bounced from the sheer force behind its landing, and as it landed back down, it attempted to get back up… only for the Rogue Titan to lift its foot up and stomp down onto its head several times over.

"..." no comment was made, even as Mikazuki watched the corpse of the stomped upon Titan dissolve into nothing, and as he did so, the Rogue Titan stood upright and turned to face the Gundam with its perpetual frown, and moments later, it leaned up towards it and snarled. Mika wasn't sure what to make of that gesture, but even so, moments after snarling at it, the Titan turned away from Barbatos and spotted several more Titans coming their way, prompting it to roar and leap into the fray.

All the while, Mikazuki could only scratch at his cheek as he wondered just how this day could get any stranger…

And, whilst distracted by the roar of the Titan, Mikazuki failed to notice how two figures were boosting into the refuel station until they had disappeared from sight.

Meanwhile

"Everyone, get in order! Rushing won't accomplish anything! Don't push one another whilst refueling, you'll only make things worse!"

With no small amount of agitation in his voice, Jean grimaced as he motioned for everyone to refuel and resupply their equipment in a somewhat orderly fashion. This in itself was not out of real need for harmony; far from it, really, but rather, it was because chaos would only slow things down. He'd rather not have his allies trip over themselves in trying to get their equipment back up to snuff, and for the most part, his comrades did as they were told.

"You heard the little man! All of you slow down and get your gear back into working order in an orderly manner! Rushing will only make things worse, after all!" added Rico, with her backing up Jean's words with some of her authority all the while. A Garrison though she might've been, she alone was no doubt the most experienced member of the currently gathered team, and as such, she knew what was best for these kids, and so, they listened to her.

Whilst the others were still working on getting themselves re-armed, Mina, Nac and Annie stood by the waysides; the trio had already gotten their equipment back by now, and as such, they took to waiting by the sidelines as their allies did the same. For his part, Nac couldn't resist a grin as he watched Jean take charge and order his allies around… without any condensation, for a change, and all the while, he couldn't resist voicing his thoughts out with a grin.

"Hoo boy… Jean's really taking charge, now isn't he?" laughed Nac in approval. Annie couldn't help but roll her eyes at this, with her finding her friend's optimism to be… somewhat dismissive of their current situation as she eyed him, unamused, though at the same time, Mina found herself nodding solemnly as she remained sat down on the ground.

"Yeah… he's great when it comes to leading by example. Especially when push comes to shove," agreed Mina, with her smiling in approval of Jean's actions as she hopped up to her feet with a grin, and all the same, Annie rolled her eyes.

"It's nothing spectacular. People tend to do what's needed of them to stay alive. Jean's more than likely doing what he's doing to keep his head on his shoulders, that's all," argued Annie, unimpressed as she leaned back against a wall, to which Mina and Nac both flinched; they were well aware of how pessimistic their blonde friend could get, and by all means, they didn't exactly approve of it, but all the same… they could never fault her for her pessimism. Someone needed to constantly remind them that the world wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, after all, and who better to do so than Annie?

Regardless, however, before either Mina or Nac could think up a response to Annie, a nearby door abruptly swung open. Spurred on by instinct, everyone present was quick to stand at attention, with their seniors moving into defensive stances as they got ready for the worst. Annie herself had moved ahead of her friends, with her ready to throw herself into the line of fire if the situation called for it, though moments later, they realized that they might've been overreacting when they took into account how they were reacting this way to a door being swung open…

… and seconds later, as if to amplify their embarrassment, two familiar faces ran in… or rather, a familiar face ran in whilst carrying the other familiar face in her arms, bridal style.

"M-Mikasa! Sasha!" cried out Armin, with him being the first to recognise the newly arrived duo as he rushed up to them with glee, and as he did so, Mikasa nodded and moved to put Sasha down. The Dauper resident, unfortunately, clung onto her like a lifeline, even after she had released her body from her grasp, and as she remained latched onto her, Arlert looked between the two in confusion, as did several others, before Ackerman sighed in amusement.

"Sasha, please get off me," requested Mikasa, with her sounding oddly gentle as she spoke, to which Sasha, somewhat reluctantly, released her grasp around her neck, with her falling to the floor moments later. She recovered astonishingly fast either way, though, and once she was back up on her feet, Armin rushed in and engulfed his raven haired friend in a hug, one that she recuperated with no hesitation.

"I was so worried for you, Mikasa…" muttered Armin, with him breaking the hug off as he took a step back, and to this, Mikasa simply nodded as she patted her blonde friend's shoulder. It was a simple gesture, sure, but even so, Arlert cherished it for all that it was as he pulled away from Ackerman, and as he did so, the ravenette spoke up.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Armin… but we don't have time for any form of long winded reunions…" stated Mikasa, with her sounding quite dire as she spoke. Armin, alongside several others that were familiar with the top graduate's mannerisms by now, shuddered at what the implications were as they glanced over at her worriedly, though before she could speak her peace, however…

"M-MIKASA AND I ENCOUNTERED A FUGGIN' INTELLIGENT TITAN!"

… Sasha beat her to the punch, with her grabbing at either side of her head as she said this. Upon hearing this, however, the reaction that they got from their allies was more… subdued than they had initially expected, confusing the duo all the while, though all the same, Connie ended up chuckling uncertainty before speaking up.

"O-Oh… you mean the Mechanical Titan, huh? Well, you don't have to worry about that! It's on our side!" assured Connie, with him offering two thumbs up as he said this; he didn't sound all too confident on this, but thus far, that aforementioned 'Titan' had been nothing if not helpful towards them, and Springer did not wish for that to change any time soon, but even so…

"The Mechanical Titan? Was that the cause of all the explosions and tremors Sasha and I felt along the way here?" asked Mikasa, with her seeming somewhat curious as she spoke. Hearing this made it abundantly clear to those around here that, when she had spoken of an intelligent Titan, she had not been referring to the mechanical one whatsoever, and with some hesitation in her posture and voice, Rico stepped forwards and asked her junior about this specifically, prompting her to answer accordingly. "It was a Titan, an Abnormal one… that appeared out of seemingly nowhere and killed another that had its eye on me."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers around them all took a moment to process what little Mikasa had given them to work with. In truth, the young woman knew just as much about this Intelligent Titan as they did, and likewise, she wasn't sure what to do with it exactly, but all the same…

"Seeing as how this Titan possesses some level of intelligence, to the point where it is actively targeting other Titans, I vote that we use both it and the Mechanical Titan as decoys to allow us to exit Trost more effectively," posited Jean, with him punching the side of his fist into his palm as he spoke. Hearing this made everyone present shudder at what he was positing, but even so, Rico did find his plan to be quite commendable.

"A sound plan, Jean Kirstein. Neither Titan seems focused on us in particular, and as such, we should take advantage of the attention they are diverting away from us and retreat as soon as humanly possible," agreed Rico, with her backing up Jean's statement with an approving grin. For his part, Kirstein seemed flattered that someone like Brzenska would agree with his plan, though he thought little of this as the platinum blonde senior swung her arm out forcefully. "All of you, finish up on your refueling! That includes both of you," a pause as she turned to face Mikasa and Sasha, "we leave within the next ten minutes! Am I understood?!"

"YES MA'AM!"

And with that… the soldiers went back to work refueling their equipment, with Sasha and Mikasa moving to get their equipment back up to snuff all the while. As they did so, however, the Dauper resident couldn't help but glanced around awkwardly as she found the lack of an extravagant reaction from her peers to be somewhat… unsettling, and after bringing that thought up with Armin, the blonde could only chuckle meekly as he scratched his cheek.

"W-Well… considering how we had a run-in with the Mechanical Titan earlier… and considering how it saved us…"

And it was safe to say that Armin needn't finish that statement before both Mikasa and Sasha got the implications.

Outside

To fight with a Titan… it felt rather surreal, to say the least. And yet, it wasn't too bad, all things considered.

Although incredibly loud, as Barbatos had somewhat unhelpfully commented on several times over, the Titan mostly kept to itself as it seemed to be, at least subconsciously, aware of how the Gundam could destroy it with but a swing of its arm, and although it wasn't exactly all that good when it came to actually defeating their adversaries, Mikazuki was never one to deny assistance from others, especially if said assistance came from a competent source, and with that, he gladly fought by the Rogue Titan's side with all his might.

The only real issue that Mikazuki had to contend with from time to time was how this Rogue Titan came very close to dying by his unit's hand several times over. Although likely not its intention, the Titan had a knack for getting too close to the Gundam's attacks, with quite a lot of them missing it by literal inches. On more than one occasion, Barbatos had to halt a killing blow as the Rogue Titan jumped in and began pummeling the Titan that he had initially been keen on taking down, something that, truth be told… annoyed the pilot more than he wished to admit.

Kill stealing was very much a frowned upon practice, after all… though regardless…!

"Good grief," muttered Mikazuki as he swung his unit's recently reacquired Longsword towards an approaching Fifteen metre Titan, cleaving it from shoulder to hip with but a single swing. His next swing was an upwards slash that bisected a Ten Metre lengthways, with both halves of the Titan splattering onto the ground before long. Turning the head unit of his Gundam down, Mika noticed the Titan he had cleaved from shoulder to hip attempting to crawl towards his unit, and after giving a mild snort, he stomped down onto its nape.

Following up from that, Mikazuki had Barbatos aim its Autocannon at the closest Titan, a Five metre, and, assisted by the Alaya-Vijnana system, fired an Autocannon round straight at it. Were it a Mobile Suit, the shot would've damaged a small bit of it at best, but as things were now, it had obliterated the Titan in but an instant, with the 170mm Autocannon round punching a massive hole through its neck and demolishing the ground behind it moments later. The Titan fell back not a moment later, dead.

INCOMING

"?!"

A sudden jolt of Barbatos' chassis caused Mikazuki to flinch in shock, and within the blink of an eye, the cockpit's heads up display warned him of something latched onto his Gundam's back. Grimacing, the pilot had his unit turn its head around just enough to see a Titan, somewhere around Twelve metres if he had to make a guess, latched onto Barbatos' back, with it attempting to grab the unit's cockpit all the while. Before it could, however, the pilot had his Gundam jerk its head to the side and stab the Titan in the eye with the still intact side of its v-fin, causing it to recoil just enough for Mika to rip it off his unit's back and slam it down onto the ground.

The Titan did attempt to get back up, with the slam having been strong enough to kill it on impact, something that relieved Mikazuki quite a bit as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, and all the same, the 'teasing' that came his way, courtesy of Barbatos, did not help his situation one bit.

'That was the first one that got the jump on us,' thought Mikazuki as he leaned back on the cockpit chair, only for Barbatos to send a small burst of data his way. For once, the pilot was caught off guard as his cheeks flushed in apparent embarrassment, and moments later, he spoke. "Shut up…"

As he said that, Mikazuki had Barbatos toss aside its Longsword and grab a hold of its Wrench Mace with both manipulators, and moments later, it used its damaged but still functional jaws to clamp down onto the head of a Ten Metre that attempted to rush it. The pressure applied onto the Titan's skull was immense, but it wasn't enough to crush it completely as Barbatos lifted it up and off the ground before it began making use of it as a makeshift weapon to knock aside several other Titans.

Three entire Titans were swatted aside by the pseudo weapon that was the Ten metre's body before the Titan's neck finally gave way, with the flesh and bone falling apart before its head ripped itself off its neck, with it sending itself flying towards the closest building all the while. Mikazuki watched as the corpse buried itself beneath the rubble as he finally threw aside the Titan's mangled, dissolving skull, with him huffing in amusement all the while.

"..."

"I know… but… it would've been nice to have a bit of a challenge, Barbatos."

"..."

"... sorry. I didn't mean to imply what you thought I was implying."

"..."

Moments later, however, whatever amusement still remained with Mikazuki's system, alongside the minor 'conversation' he was having with Barbatos, was brought to an end when he sound of a door slamming. Curious, the pilot turned his unit around to get a good look at the source of the sound, and moments later, he saw that the door to the Trost refueling station had swung open. It was almost enough to make him smile, though he refrained from that, even if the corners of his mouth did twitch just a little upon seeing the door swing open.

Though… whatever ghost of a smile that was once present on his face was quickly squashed when he took stock of how a Fifteen metre Titan was rushing towards it alongside a Thirteen and Three metre that followed it closely, something that made him scowl as Barbatos let out a mechanical growl.

"Not on my watch…"

The preparations made to leave the Refuel Station took less time than one would assume, with Rico and Jean coordinating the soldiers and directing the lesser experienced ones on what to do as they made haste.

Judging by how the supply room kept shaking every so often, alongside that roar that was allegedly from this Rogue Titan that Mikasa and Sasha had told them of, their window of opportunity to escape without issue was growing short, and as such, they had to hurry. Within five minutes, they were prepped up, and at Rico's command, the doors to the station swung open, and at her mark, the soldiers made a beeline for it, with all of them charging straight towards the Walls of Rose without a second thought.

Between Annie, Mina and Nac, Leonhardt was the first to leave the station, with Carolina following close behind and Tias being the last. All three of them held onto their Anti-Titan blades rather tightly as they boosted out, with Jean leading the recently graduated 104th Trainees onwards all the while.

"C'mon, double time! Let's go, let's go!" proclaimed Jean, with him swinging one of his arms forwards as he encouraged his comrades onwards shakily. He hoped to scale the Walls with minimal casualties, and even if it was most likely an impossibility, it was still something to hope for as he boosted out of the gates of the refueling station. "Everyone, be ca-"

And before he could even finish that statement, Jean cut himself off when he saw a Fifteen metre lunging towards him with its jaws open, ready to clamp down onto the young man all the while. It was too close for him to dodge it effectively, and by then, all he could really do was to just watch in terror as it drew closer to him with each passing millisecond.

Right before the Titan could consume him in one fell swoop, however, a massive chunk of metal came crashing down onto, flattening the Titan and kicking up a massive amount of smoke in the process. The ensuing shockwave caused Jean, alongside several others, to be sent flying backwards, with Kirstein himself landing rather harshly on his back, though he recovered rather quickly and realized that he had landed in front of a Three metre Titan.

"WHOA-" cried out Jean in shock as his vision and hearing slowly recovered from the initial impact, though right as he did so, a massive metal hand sprung out from the smoke and grasped the Three metre by the head. Wasting no time, the hand raised the Three Metre up into the air and slammed it down into the ground, splattering its entire body along the side of the pavement and dispelling most of the smoke, revealing the Mechanical Titan to the soldiers, who were all rightfully awed by its imposing stature.

"H-H-Holy shit!" proclaimed Jean as the Mechanical Titan stood itself up and swung its Mace straight at a Titan that was coming at it from behind, obliterating it in one fell swoop. Following up from the swing, the 'Titan' slammed the snout of its Mace down into the ground, embedding it firmly into the asphalt, before using it as leverage to raise itself up into the air to kick an approaching muscular Fifteen metre with both of its legs, with the attack sending it flying back into the building closest to it, decimating both the Titan and the structure in the process.

All of that happened within the span of five seconds… so it was safe to say that most of the soldiers present were beyond shocked at what they just witnessed, though at the same time, others, who were more situationally aware, raced past the Titan and rushed up to make their escape.

"Get up, Jean!" proclaimed Marco as he rushed towards the soldier in question and hauled him up to his feet. That seemed to stir Jean out of it rather quickly, as, after giving his friend a quick nod, he got back up to his feet and began retreating from the battlefield, though he did spare one final glance at the Mechanical Titan before departing. His thoughts were mirrored by those around him; just what was the Mechanical Titan…? And what did it intend to accomplish by doing what it was doing…?

He'd have to wait for quite some time to get an answer, unfortunately, as in an instant, Jean refocused on leaving the battlefield. Rico lingered behind to oversee most of the evacuation efforts, but all the same, she too fell back alongside Sasha, Connie and several others, with all of them very much eager to leave this warzone as soon as possible. And yet, amidst the chaos that came with their evacuation efforts, all of them missed how a single individual didn't seem keen on leaving just yet, and Armin was the first to notice her standing atop the refueling station, peeking out at something…

Without much hesitation, Armin swung up to her side, with Bertholdt and Reiner eyeing him curiously all the while. Annie watched from a distance, frowning as she watched the blonde idiot nudge his overly tall friend before the two swung up after Arlert. The blonde soldier was quite clearly wondering just what the whole fuss was all about up top, though moments later, Nac yelled out to her without warning, and seconds thereafter…

"ANNIE!"

"Huh-?!"

… Mina's slightly taller body crashed into her own, sending the two of them spiraling to one side as the foot of the Mechanical Titan crashed down just a little too close for comfort to where she once stood. In truth, it had ground itself to a halt mere seconds before it could crash into the soldiers, but even so, both Mina and Nac had been unwilling to take any chances with it as they rushed towards Leonhardt before that limb could get any closer, and evidently enough, the former got to her faster.

As Annie and Mina fell to the ground, with the latter landing atop the former, the Mechanical Titan's eyes flashed green before it tossed a chubby Fifteen Metre Titan up above its head and, while it was still in the air, grabbed it by the head before crouching down and slamming it down onto the ground at full force, causing the Titan to explode into a messy splatter of gore and coating the surroundings in a thick layer of quickly dissolving Titan guts on impact.

"Gah!" cried out Mina as she shielded herself from the inbound smoke, and at the same time, a Ten metre Titan managed to worm its way behind the 'Titan' before making an attempt to jump onto its back, though before it had a chance to do so, the Mechanical Titan balanced itself on one of its arms and lifted its entire bottom half up to kick the Ten Metre straight in the head, causing the entire head to fly straight off its shoulders and fly off to parts unknown. The Mechanical Titan promptly flipped itself back onto its feet and picked up its Mace, seemingly oblivious to the awed gazes the remaining soldiers were giving it all the while.

"Holy crap…" muttered Mina as she remained atop Annie on all fours, and as she said this, she slowly got off her friend's body and crouched in front of her. Her friend… seemed to agree with her sentiment, honestly, as she nodded dumbly at what she had just witnessed, with the blonde, grimacing internally at its immense strength and apparent combat prowess, though before long, she shook her head and watched as her pigtailed friend got up and offered her a hand, one that she did not brush off as she accepted it with little issue.

"Holy crap is right… this thing can really move…!" yelled out Nac as he rushed over to his friends, only to be momentarily stopped when the Mechanical Titan came a little too close for comfort once more. Still though, it didn't seem to be coming so close to ending them intentionally, and as such, they didn't hold it against it as they spoke. "Are you two alright?!"

"As alright as we can be, Nac…" muttered Annie, only for the three of them to stagger backwards and away from the Mechanical Titan as it slammed a smaller Titan into the side of a house. The trio flinched at the impact, which cleaved the structure straight in two, before the dissolving heap that used to be a Titan went limp and began dissolving, and as it did so, the blonde scowled uncomfortably. "We should get moving…"

"Well, yeah, but still, why're they still up there for…? Is something going on?" asked Nac, with him glancing up at Armin and the others as he spoke. Beside him, Mina flinched as she suggested going to check on them, and although hesitant at first, the oldest and tallest of the team nodded as he moved to investigate. Annie made an attempt to stop him, though it didn't go anywhere as Mina followed suit moments later, prompting her to groan before she promptly did the same.

'These damn kids, I swear…'

"Armin, what's going on?" inquired Mina as soon as she landed beside her friend, with her noticing how agitated everyone looked as they stared down at… something. Reiner, Bertholdt, Mikasa and Armin said nothing as well as they kept their gaze glued onto a figure beneath them, and likewise, the voices of both Mina and Nac, and subsequently Annie herself, found themselves lodged in their throats when they saw what they had been looking at.

To say that it had caught them off guard… would be an understatement.

"The Titans… are eating another Titan?" muttered Mina as she stared down at the sight of several Titans biting into the body of one of their own, with it appearing to be in quite a lot of pain as several other Titans, ranging from Fourteen metres to about Three, tore it asunder with their teeth. Its appearance on its own would've been enough to spark some confusion between everyone present, but this…? "But…"

"That's the Abnormal Titan that Sasha and I ran into earlier," hummed Mikasa, with her speaking rather inquisitive as she observed the massacre occuring down below, prompting Nac to huff slightly as he brought up a more pressing situation.

"I see… odd, though… it… cannot regenerate?" muttered Nac curiously, eliciting a few surprised noises from his fellow soldiers as they too realized that it was not regenerating from its injuries, and as the realization set in, Annie spoke up in her usual deadpan.

"If it could, it probably wouldn't be as injured as it is," grumbled Annie, with her sounding less than impressed as the Rogue Titan roared out loud in apparent pain. Beside her, Reiner raised his brow in confusion as Bertholdt turned to stare at where the rising cloud of smoke that Mechanical Titan was probably hidden within.

"In that case, what about the Mechanical Titan?" muttered Bertholdt warily, his voice only catching Reiner and Annie's attention as they turned to see him appearing just a bit hopeful. "It… doesn't seem to be able to regenerate. It's got quite a bit of damaged parts that seem to be permanent, so maybe…?"

"Does it matter, Bertholdt?" grumbled Annie as she crossed her arms, prompting Bertholdt to frown deeply. "These Titans don't concern us in the slightest. We should just get moving."

Upon saying that, Annie turned towards Mina and Nac, intent on telling them that they were leaving. Before she could do so, however, Reiner gave a grunt that caught almost everyone's attention, and Annie herself couldn't help but cringe a little at the thought that came to her mind.

"I disagree with leaving this thing behind, Annie," countered Reiner as he eyed the half eaten Titan with a slight glint in his eye. "Even if it's just a one off case, I believe that it'd be a good idea to keep it alive for research purposes. Who knows what we could learn about it? Even if it's just a little, it'll be better than learning nothing, which is what we'll be learning if we let it be ripped to shreds."

Annie winced just a bit at that before getting ready to retaliate with her reasoning of getting the Hell out of there. However, before she could, Armin stepped forth and made his voice known.

"I agree with Reiner," piped up Armin somewhat confidently. Beside him, Mikasa gave a mild nod, prompting Annie to wince harshly as she turned to eye Mina and Nac, partially hoping for them to agree with her, though rather disappointingly, they appeared to agree with Reiner as well.

"Same here," agreed Nac as he held his Anti-Titan blades, prompting Annie to slouch a little in disappointment as she eyed her friend. "It's best if we learn as much as we can to gain a tactical advantage in this whole ordeal. If we capture this thing in its current state and study it, we may be able to gain a tactical edge over the Titans. As for the Mechanical Titan… I don't think it's really possible to capture it at all, so this Titan in particular is our second best option."

"Well, it seems as though we're all in agreement regarding this," said Reiner with a smirk as he held his blade handles tightly, much to Annie's silent infatuation as he spoke, though he blatantly ignored this as he continued. "We'll help clear out the Titans surrounding it first, then we'll figure out the rest from there."

Off to the side, Annie grimaced as she crossed her arms, sighing deeply as both Mina and Nac walked up to her. Mina herself gently placed a hand on her friend's back, prompting her to turn and look her friend in the eye.

"Hey… Ann. If you're not feeling at your best, you can retreat first," offered Mina with a small smile, surprising Annie as she raised a brow. Upon noticing that, Mina gave a slightly uneasy chuckle. "You've probably been through a lot more than what Nac and I have, so we understand if you wanna-"

"I'd rather not," replied Annie almost instantly, grabbing her Anti Titan blades and sighing just a little. Nac raised a brow at that as Leonhardt turned to stare him in the eye with a somewhat stressed gaze. "I'd rather not leave you two behind… especially with Mikazuki still MIA."

Annie's words were spoken in her usual deadpan, but even so, there were obvious hints of affection hidden behind her neutral tone, and as she said this, Mina and Nac's cheeks flushed faintly as they tensed up at what they had heard, though moments alter, the former rubbed at her cheek with embarrassed delight whilst the latter grinned and lightly punched his friend in the shoulder, which, humorously enough, caused him more pain than it did her!

"Heh, you do care about us!" teased Nac with a mild smirk, with him rubbing his now sore wrist as he spoke, prompting Annie to roll her eyes with a scoff.

"Whatever…" groaned Annie as she got ready to leap off the building, though before she could do so, the Rogue Titan rather abruptly took a step forward, seemingly ignoring every Titan that clung onto it as it focused its gaze on a singular Titan that was approaching it. Its sudden movement caused the Cadets present to stop their advance and stare at it in shock.

Amidst his distress, however, Armin was able to turn towards the Titan that the Rogue Titan's gaze had focused on, and when he did, his eyes widened when he realized…

'T-That's the Titan that killed-"

"It's moving this aggressively in spite of its injuries?!" proclaimed a baffled Nac, with him in turn cutting off his friend's thoughts as the Rogue Titan charged straight at the Titan it was glaring at. As it moved, the other Titans that clung onto it began to fall off its frame, though two of them that were clinging onto its arms held strong, so strong that they inadvertently ripped both of the Rogue Titan'sarms off as it charged onwards, causing a myriad of gasps to erupt from the spectating group all the while.

And yet, the Rogue Titan paid its injuries no mind; instead, it single mindedly charged at the Titan, which seemed to not notice its approach until the very last second, and by then, it didn't have any time to react as the Rogue Titan lunged forward and bit its nape.

The Rogue Titan'sjaw wrapped around the smaller Titan's neck, and it held strong. That one act was enough to cause the soldiers who were watching its movements with their jaws agape… and their shock only grew as the Rogue Titan lifted the Titan in its jaws up into the air, supported upright by nothing more than spite and hatred.

"S-Since when…?!" proclaimed Bertholdt in terror at the Rogue Titan'sabsurd display of strength. While nowhere as impressive as the mountain-splitting, acrobatic feats of the Mechanical Titan, the Rogue Titan's ability to lift a Titan up into the air with its jaws was nothing to scoff at either, and it earnt it some shocked looks from the soldiers close to it as it remained upright and armless.

As it held the Titan up in the air, however, the Rogue Titan's exposed rib cage could be seen cracking beneath the weight. It wouldn't be long before it completely collapsed, though the Rogue didn't seem to notice.

The only thing it did notice was how a handful of Titans were approaching it.

Turning its gaze to its right, the Rogue Titan wasted no time in using the Titan it had ensnared in its mouth as a makeshift club to squash an inbound Five metre, crushing it on impact. Not relenting, it swung the Titan at another approaching Fifteen metre, sending it flying towards a building in the process.

"H-Hey… muttered Armin as the Rogue Titan opened its mouth, dropping the now deceased Titan down to the ground in the process, before roaring up to the heavens, seemingly oblivious to its injuries, and all the while, the soldiers present could only really watch on in shock as the blonde continued to speak. "What was t-that about helping it again…?"

And right as those words left his mouth, as though speaking a curse, the Rogue Titan collapsed down onto the ground, creating a mild earthquake in the process. Everyone present winced at its collapsed form, with Armin flinching faintly as he watched this happen, though thankfully, no one called him out on this as they collectively winced.

"It burnt itself out…" observed Nac, with him more or less speaking the obvious as both he and his allies stared at the collapsed form of the Rogue Titan with a mix of awe and caution. So many things had happened today… the invasion of Trost, the confirmation that the Mechanical Titan was more than a myth… and now this. It was overwhelming, to say the least, and Mina had to do quite a bit to keep herself from breaking down.

As she stared at the Rogue Titan, however, Mina, alongside everyone else present, couldn't help but notice… something emerging from its nape. Thanks to how there was quite a lot of steam pouring from the back of its neck, none of the present soldiers could see what was emerging from within it… though before long, the vapour dispersed, allowing them to spot the silhouette of a human emerging from within, and moments later...

"...?!"

… as intuitive as ever, Mikasa had been the first to realised what… no… who had emerged from the Titan's nape, and by then, she had sprinted off the edge of the building they were on, ignoring Armin, who had called out her name, and the shocked stares of her allies all the while. Arlert himself would've followed suit, though he found himself rooted to the spot as he watched what was going on before them.

"I… I can't believe it," was all Armin said as everyone watched Mikasa land on the ground, and moments later, she leapt onto the back of the dissolving Titan's back and grabbed ahold of the young man that had emerged from its nape, and upon doing so, she held him close and called out his name, barely holding back tears all the while.

"E-Eren…!"

Her hug was gentle yet firm, with her worried that, should she release her younger sibling's body, he'd disappear. Whilst holding him, Mikasa did her utmost best to keep her emotions in check, though such a task was nearly impossible to accomplish as, whilst holding him close, her eyes instinctively began to start welling up with tears as she confirmed that this was indeed reality and not a stress induced hallucination.

Eren was indeed alive… he was being held in her arms, and he was not missing any part of him that was important…

As a final measure to confirm that this was indeed reality and not a stress-induced hallucination, Mikasa lowered her head and began listening in for a heartbeat… snd as soon as she heard the gentle thumps of her brother's heart, she broke down into tears, ignoring everything around her as relief flooded her systems, including her fellow soldiers who swung down to check on both herself and her brother.

"H-How… how is this even possible…?" was all Armin could mutter out as the minor tremors in the background lessened in intensity, though this was mostly ignored as the soldiers all gathered by Eren, who was still unconscious as they crowded him. Mikasa herself remained ignorant as she kept herself glued to her sibling, though at the same time, Arlert gently grabbed onto one of Eren's arms and observed it in shock. "Even his limbs… they… t-they…"

Whatever Armin was about to say, however, was quickly cut off when Annie let out a grunt, and upon hearing this, everyone present turned to see a Titan wobbling towards them from the sidelines. Seeing its approach made them all flinch as they fell into combat stances, with Mikasa herself glaring at it as she held one of her Anti-Titan blades as a warning; she had lost her brother once, and she'd be damned if she lost him again… though before anyone could make a move, however…

BOOM!

… the Titan quickly found itself eviscerated when the much larger form of the Mechanical Titan crashed straight into it, with it decimating it with very little issue. The soldiers present all gasped as they shielded themselves from the aftershock of the impact, with Mikasa using her own body to protect Eren from it all the while, though moments later, the shockwave died down, allowing them to turn and see a weaponless Mechanical Titan staring down at them in silence.

A few moments of silence promptly came and went, with neither side speaking a word as they kept their gaze locked onto one another, though before long, Nac was the one to break the silence as he absentmindedly offered the Mechanical Titan a thumbs up. It was always in his nature to be a good chap, after all, and even now, he couldn't help but offer it some thanks as he shakily muttered a…

"T-Thanks for the save…?"

… and upon hearing what he said, everyone present turned to face him incredulously, with even Mikasa giving him a look of bewilderment as he blushed heavily at what he had just done, though much to their shock, rather than dismiss or attack them, as quite a few of them had, admittedly, been expecting it to do, it instead… nodded at them, something that caught them off guard as they watched it glance behind itself.

Its eyes flashed green once more, with it raising one of its arms up and firing a blast from that black box beneath its forearm at a Titan. The soldiers all flinched as they covered their ears from that obscenely loud sound, with a good majority of them gasping as they had been unaware of the fact that the Mechanical Titan was in possession of ranged armaments, but either way, after firing that blast, the 'Titan' turned back towards them and swung its arm towards the innermost sanctums of Rose, and as it did so, Mina glanced towards where it was pointing towards before she realized what it was ordering them to do.

"We… w-we should go, now!" said Mina, with her moving to help Mikasa up to her feet. As she did so, everyone present flinched once more, with the source of their discomfort being the Mechanical Titan itself, which continued firing more shots from its forearm cannon as it kept its back turned to them. "There're more Titans closing in on us, no doubt… and I… think the Mechanical Titan's buying us some time to flee!"

"How can you be so sure about that, though?" asked Reiner, with his apprehension being very much apparent as he spoke, to which Mina flinched. She… couldn't be completely sure, honestly, but even so, as she helped Mikasa and the still unconscious Eren off the back of the latter's dissolving Titan body, Nac stepped forwards and spoke for her.

"We can't, but we don't exactly have many options open to us, now do we?" commented Nac, with him waving a hand to his side as he spoke. "Remaining here won't do us any good… so it's best if we ran before we run out of luck!"

"Of course, if any of you wanna stay and die, it's your choice," added Annie snarkily, with her jerking a thumb towards the Mechanical Titan as she spoke. Neither Reiner nor Bertholdt, or Armin for that matter, were keen on doing as such, and with matching flinches, the duo shook their heads, signifying that they were on board with the idea of fleeing as well, much to Leonhardt's delight. "Thought not. C'mon, let's move."

"Can you hold him on your own, Mikasa? Or do you need help with-" offered Nac, with him offering to help her with Eren if she wasn't feeling up for it, but even so, she was quick to ignore him as she hightailed it out there with her brother, holding him close all the while, and as she retreated, her allies followed suit soon thereafter. "Tsh… rude!"

"I thought you'd be used to it by now, Nac," snarked Annie, with her acknowledging how this wasn't the first time Nac, or anyone else for that matter, had been blown off by Mikasa prior to now, and to that, the older and taller soldier could only grumble as he sighed in annoyance.

"C-Can it…"

And with that, they boosted in the general direction of Rose, with them fleeing the battlefield with as much gusto as they could manage.

And as the dots atop his unit's radar disappeared from its range, Mikazuki couldn't help but sigh softly as he refocused on the more imminent threats that were standing before him.

He had hoped to escort his friends and allies back to Rose, honestly, and by all means, he had also wished to reveal himself to them at the time, but even so… there had been a worrying amount of Titans closing in on their location, more or less ruling out the option for now, and as such, he settled on directing them to flee the area whilst he held the Titans' attention.

It was… saddening, to know that he wouldn't be able to tell his friends the truth, not yet at least, but all the same, it would've been worse if his choices led to them dying, one way or another. And with that in mind, the pilot simply scoffed and went to work tearing apart the Titans.

Whilst doing so, however…

"..."

"Yeah… Eren came out of that Titan's nape…"

"...?"

"No. He's the first known person to be able to do this."

"..."

"That doesn't make him an enemy."

"..."

"Good. Now focus; we have actual enemies to deal with all around us, Barbatos."