"GAAAAAAAH!"

That was, more or less, the only thing that left Mylius' lips as he, alongside several other soldiers, flung themselves up to the top of Rose, with all of them landing awkwardly in a flash. Beside him, Sasha and Connie remained flat on their stomachs as they groaned out in exhaustion, and off to the sides, Marco was helping Jean back up to his feet with gusto.

"Off your knees, Mylius. A soldier never lets their knees hit the ground, not unless they've given up," instructed Rico, who was the first to recover from their successful evacuation from Trost. The bespectacled woman offered a hand down to the blonde as she said this, and after smiling up a little at her, Mylius took it and allowed her to pull him up.

"Thanks, ma'am…" smiled Mylius, with him wobbling a little on his feet as he said this, though he remained mostly alright as Rico lightly supported him up. His vision remained a little blurry as he tried his best to refocus it, and whilst doing so, he got a good look at the people around him, where his face paled a few shades when he realized that… "N-Not everyone made it…"

"It's to be expected, sadly. It's impossible to expect zero casualties in any given situation. Be glad that there were enough of us to report back here in the first place," advised Rico solemnly, with her patting his shoulder gently as she spoke. Mylius himself appeared to be very much unsure of what to respond to this with, but even so, he spoke nothing of it as he collapsed onto his but out of exhaustion. That sight caused Brzenska to chuckle lightly as she shook her head, though moments later…

"Captain Rico."

As if on cue, a new voice cut in, prompting Rico in particular to turn and spot another Garrison senior approaching them at a steady pace. The guy was tall, perhaps around Nac's height, with light brown hair and hollow cheeks. He didn't appear too noteworthy, nor did he appear all too concerned for Brzenska, but all the same, the platinum blonde soldier was familiar enough with him that she was aware that he was, indeed, worried for her.

With a light wave of her hand, Rico motioned for Mylius to stay as he was, and as he nodded, the platinum blonde woman moved over towards the soldier approaching her, with her stopping when she was directly in front of him before offering him a salute. The gesture was mirrored with little issue, and thereafter, she spoke.

"Captain Ian. I'm glad to see you alive, and in one piece," mused Rico as the man before her, Ian Dietrich, nodded at her words. They were genuine, as far as he could tell, and he accepted them with zero recourse.

"Likewise, Captain Rico. You led quite the team back. Larger than any I've seen thus far… you should be proud of yourself, for being able to do such a thing," mused Ian, with him almost smiling a tiny bit as he spoke. Rico flushed faintly at his praise, but even so, she spoke nothing of it as she glanced back to see several other Garrison moving in to escort the present soldiers down to recuperate.

"I didn't do it alone, though. Several of the soldiers present offered their assistance, and without their planning, we wouldn't have been able to make it this far," admitted Rico humbly. Ian hummed at this, with him acknowledging how most things involving the Titans had to be accomplished as a team, but even so. "Not just them, though… but we had some assistance from the Titans as well…"

And yeah… right as she mentioned that, Ian's initially delighted disposition was quick to morph into a look of shock, with his eyes widening rather intensely as he processed what he had been told.

"A… Titan?" echoed Ian, with him staring at Rico with widened eyes as he spoke, only to correct himself. "Titans… as in plural?"

A nod from Rico, which made the soldier before her flinch as he continued.

"I… do not mean to make this sound bad, my friend, but… have you gone mental? Titans… do not help humans. They consume them…" reminded Ian direly, only for Rico to nod firmly as she rebutted his statement.

"Yes, that much is true, but what I said is the truth; Titans did save us, Ian. Without their aid, we wouldn't even be standing where we are now," stated Rico firmly as she crossed her arms. Ian's response to this was to stare at her incredulously, but even so, he found no deception in both her gaze and her tone, prompting him to nod, baffled, before he crossed his arms, a sign for him to continue speaking, which she did. "The lesser of the two was an odd Titan that fought other Titans with its bare hands. It was capable of roaring, and the way it fought… it was… unique, in a way. It punched and kicked whenever necessary, and overall… it had no focus on us. It was just focused on the Titans."

"A Titan that fights other Titans… it brings to mind the Mechanical Titan from the Fall of Maria…" muttered Ian, with him recalling the reports that came in all those years prior. That odd Titan that fought other Titans to protect the fleeing civilians… it was certainly an anomaly, and now, another Titan similar to it has appeared… albeit without the Mechanical portion, anyways…

… and right as he said this, Rico let out a slightly strained giggle… before continuing…

"Funny you should mention that, actually, because…"

"... has the Mechanical Titan returned?"

"Yep."

"... fuck me."

"Is that an invitation, Captain Rico?"

And in response to Ian's well meaning but poorly timed snark, Rico promptly kicked her fellow Garrison between the legs as penance.

Some time later

Boosting from side to side in a somewhat frantic manner, Barbatos closed in on a pack of Titans with malicious intent.

The quick and hasty movements of the Gundam were more than enough to overwhelm the Titans that waddled towards it, with the unit brandishing its Longsword as it darted from target to target. From a distance, the unit's figure was naught but a blur as it moved quicker than the naked eye could comprehend, and with each strike it wrought onto a Titan, a minor shockwave was emitted through the sheer force behind its hits.

With great strength, Barbatos swung its Longsword towards a Titan, cleaving it from shoulder to hip, before boosting towards another and bisecting it at the waist. Before that one could even fall to the ground, however, the Gundam grabbed onto its chest, sinking its digits into its flesh, before it threw it at another one of its own, with the impact being more than enough to kill either all the while.

Thereafter, the Gundam boosted onwards, with its pilot being wary of the readings on his unit's radar all the while. Barbatos' sensors were still adjusting to the newer terrain that it was currently fighting in, and although it had not done so completely, not yet at least, the unit was still able to supply the pilot with some useful information.

Key of which being…

ENTERING CANNON RANGE. RETREAT IMMEDIATELY.

… that. Narrowing his eyes right as he heard this, Mikazuki frowned as he abruptly boosted his unit back, and right as he did so, the spot where it once stood exploded, causing him to scowl lightly as he turned towards the source of the blast.

The optical sensors of his unit were able to make out a smoking cannon atop the Wall of Rose, aimed directly at him and with several Garrison soldiers staring down at his unit with caution. In truth, Mikazuki couldn't really blame them for their caution, but all the same…

'Can't they see we're trying to help them…?' thought Mikazuki in annoyance as he glared at the cannon that had fired at him, and as he did so, he acknowledged how they had been firing at the Gundam whenever possible as he did his work. According to his unit, they had been firing at them whenever they entered their effective range, which seemed to be half a mile, and as such, he made it a point to stay out of said range.

It wasn't as though the cannons could actually severely damage his unit, though; damaged though it may have been, Barbatos was still a Gundam, and Gundams were sturdy machines. The unit itself estimated that it'd take several dozen shots before it succumbed to the damage, but even so… it was better to not take any unnecessary risks unless absolutely necessary.

Seemingly sensing his unit's staring, the soldiers up top were quick to back away, prompting Mikazuki to sigh in annoyance before he turned his Gundam away from them and went back to work on clearing out the Titans within Trost. Now that his friends and allies were out of the picture, he only really needed to work on thinning out the ranks of their accursed foes; Barbatos did a good enough job of that, but all the same…

'For every one we kill, two more take its place,' thought Mikazuki in annoyance as he sliced off a Fifteen metre Titan's arm as it reached for Barbatos, and as it did so, the unit swerved around to the back of the Titan before it adjusted its grip on its Longsword, with it now holding it underhanded, before stabbing it into the Fifteen metre's back. The blade entered through its lower spine before erupting out of the top of its skull, killing it in a near-instant all the while.

"..."

"I know. But it gets boring, killing so many of these without any effort. Even the Gjallarhorn Mobile Suits gave me more problems than these things," rebutted Mikazuki, with him finding Barbatos' quiet snark to be very much annoying. The unit 'laughed' at his words, though it otherwise 'said' nothing more as its pilot swung its arm unit forwards and buried it in a Fifteen metre Titan's chest. Said Titan didn't really seem to care about its injury as it swung its arms towards the unit's cockpit, though moments later, Mikazuki forced it down against the side of a building, and moments later…

BOOM!

… Barbatos' Autocannon opened fire, with the sudden discharge of the 170mm Autocannon shell causing the Fifteen metre's body to explode. Mikazuki barely even flinched at the sight as he watched the smoke clear, revealing the viscera that was left behind in the explosion's wake, and as it cleared, he raised the Gundam's manipulator up to stare at the dissolving blood atop it.

"You don't think…do you think that they'll be… scared of me, will they?" inquired Mikazuki, with him speaking directly to Barbatos this time as he spoke, and in response to this, his Gundam, who could essentially read his mind at this point, hummed softly, something that was accentuated by the whirling of its Ahab Reactors, before 'answering'.

"..."

"I know that they're my friends, but… I kept this from them for five years. It'll be a hard pill to swallow, and even so…" a pause, with Mikazuki crouching Barbatos down low before he boosted it towards the closest Titan, and upon doing so, he had his unit punch it straight in the stomach, causing a hole to form within it all the while, before the Gundam's manipulator digits wrapped themselves around the Titan's spinal cord. "If… when they find out about our connection… they won't be happy."

"..."

"... will they, though? Will they be happy if someone that they might think was pretending to be their friend just… jumps out of your chest and waves at them?" asked Mikazuki rhetorically, with him pulling back on Barbatos' arm controller as he said this, and as he did so, the Gundam pulled back on its arm, the very same one that was buried in the Titan's stomach, and ripped out its entire spinal column from there. Thereafter, it swung the thing around like a bat outta Hell, striking various Titans with it until it dissolved into nothing.

Or well… before that, Barbatos stabbed a Titan in the eye with the spinal column before kicking it back. Then did he consider that 'weapon' to be useless.

"..."

"I know that Mina and Nac are kind… but… are the kind enough to overlook how I've kept this a secret from them for so long? They'll probably think I've betrayed them or something…" reasoned Mikazuki, with him finding Barbatos' faith in Mina, Nac and Annie responding well to his role of pilot to be… appreciated, but all the same, he wasn't too confident in such a positive outcome himself. Still though…

"...!"

"?!"

… before Barbatos could respond once more to him, however, it abruptly warned the pilot of an inbound projectile coming at them. Mikazuki himself flinched at this, with him having acknowledged how he hadn't gotten close enough to the cannon's effective range just yet, though right as he thought that, a cannonball struck his unit directly in the shoulder, damaging the joint a tiny bit as Barbatos was sent staggering back from the unexpected blast.

"Grah…!" groaned Mikazuki, with him having been shaken up by the impact as Barbatos lost its footing, but even so, it recovered decently quickly as the Gundam set a foot behind itself to stabilize itself before it could land on its back, and upon recovering, its pilot grit his teeth together in annoyance as he turned to glare at where the cannonshot had come from. "Kh…"

That initial shot had no doubt been a lucky one, Mikazuki surmised, as there were several other cannon shots coming right at him from above. Most of them missed his Gundam, of course, but even so, several came close to striking it as the seconds ticked by. Barbatos had to dodge a few shots before they could land on it on a handful of occasions, and at one point, the unit had even picked up a Titan and used it as a shield, with it tanking a cannonshot decently enough.

And as they watched the Mechanical Titan throw aside its meat shield from atop the Wall of Rose, the soldiers all collectively shuddered as they watched it glare up at them, though moments later, it hovered away from them, well out of both the full range of the cannons all the while.

That being said, however…

"You fools! The monstrosity is over Fifteen Metres tall! HOW CAN YOU MISS IT?!"

Those were the words that erupted from Kitz Woermann as he glared at the Garrison gunner that was closest to him, with his sunken in eyes that would give even Keith a run for his money boring straight into the gunner's soul. A grimace was plastered onto his face as he leaned in close to fix his glare on the gunner, so close that his thick brown beard nearly brushed against the guy's face.

"S-Sir… with all due respect, a-at this range, it'd be a miracle if we could even hit it more than twice! Not only is it out of our effective range, but it's also moving faster than we can aim!" reasoned the gunner as Kitz groaned out loud and turned back down to glare at the mechanical monstrosity. By then, it had emerged from the smoke and was standing perfectly still, prompting his grimace to grow in size as he swung a hand out towards it.

"But it is stationary now! SO FIRE!" proclaimed Kitz as he pointed at it, and in response, the gunner nodded and fired the cannon. The sound of gunpowder combusting within the cannon could be heard as the cannon round was discharged from its barrel, tearing straight through the air as it closed the distance between itself and the 'Titan'.

And within the blink of an eye, the Mechanical Titan turned on a dime and swung its Mace-like weapon upwards, colliding it with the cannonball right before it could make contact with it. At first, the Garrison gunners thought that they were simply seeing things, as they assumed that the 'Titan' had been hit by the cannon shot, though they were quickly proven wrong when the Mechanical Titan leapt backwards, dissipating some of the smoke in the process, and began hovering away, out of cannon range completely. At the range they had been firing from, the soldiers had already been incredibly lucky to have been able to hit it thrice, but now, it was well out of the cannons' range, and cannonball deviation would make it next to impossible to properly shoot it down.

Regardless, the realization of it still being alive made Kitz growl rather stressfully as he pointed at the 'Titan' in anger, with him wishing for it to be wiped off the face of the planet right this instance.

"KEEP FIRING! DO NOT LET IT ESCAPE! I WANT THAT THING WIPED OFF THE FACE OF THIS WORLD RIGHT NOW!" demanded Kitz as he swung his arm out towards the fleeing Mechanical Titan, signaling for the gunners to open fire upon it, much to their horror. "DO YOU HEAR ME?! DO NOT LET IT OUT OF YOUR SIGHTS AND DO NOT LET IT ESCAPE!"

"But… sir! It's out of-" began a gunner, only to be cut off when Kitz swiftly closed the distance between himself and the gunner and seized his collar.

"I DO NOT CARE! DO NOT LET IT ESCAPE!" cut off Kitz as he shook the junior that attempted to reason with him with all his might, showing that he was not about to let the 'Titan' leave unscathed. The junior flinched as he was released. "THIS MECHANICAL TITAN OR WHATEVER IT IS COULD BE A DETERMINANT TO THE DEFENSES OF WALL ROSE AND AS SUCH, WE MUST SHOOT IT DOWN NOW!"

In response to that, the gunners atop Rose gulped as they reluctantly manned the cannons, though they were less than confident about being able to hit it.

'At this range, we won't be able to even hit anything that's as far away as that thing is!' thought one of the gunners as he placed a cannonball into his cannon and attempted to aim it at the fleeing Mechanical Titan. 'These cannons were made to hit stationary or slow moving targets at roughly Eighty metres away… this thing has to be at least triple that amount away from us and moving much, much faster than any regular Titan! There's no way we'd be able to hit it from here!"

And yet, the soldiers who manned the cannons, though they were mostly senior soldiers, were still at least one rank below Kitz Woermann, who held the rank of a Captain, making it close to impossible to disobey a direct order from him. If they weren't gonna be killed by the Titans, they'd probably be killed by their captain for disobeying one of his direct orders. Kitz did look like the sort of man who'd kill his fellow soldiers for insubordination, after all…

So, without at least some hesitation, the soldiers got ready to essentially bombard Trost as soon as Kitz gave them the order to do so.

And right as they got ready to lose their shots…

"Hold it!"

At that, all gunners ceased their aiming and turned towards the source of the new voice, and they raised their brows when they saw yet another pair of their Garrison seniors sprinting towards them. They didn't need any introductions to who they were, even if they didn't know them personally, and a vein popped up on Kitz's forehead as he watched them approach him and his gunner squad.

"Rico Brzenska, Ian Dietrich, why have you stopped the gunners from shooting down the Mechanical Titan?!" demanded Kitz as the two Garrison members came to a stop in front of him, both of whom were frowning deeply as they began to reply.

"Because firstly, sir, with all due respect… you won't hit it!" began Ian as he pointed a finger at the Mechanical Titan, which had halted its retreat by now and was keeping an eye out for any more cannonfire, only for it to turn towards a handful of encroaching Titans moments later. "At this range, the cannons are more likely to hit any random building than they were to hit the Titan itself! We're Garrison! We protect the Walls and the stuff that are within it, not tear it all down just to get one target!"

"Such is a necessary evil in order to make sure that the Mechanical Titan does not attempt to harm anyone!" reasoned Kitz as he pointed at the Titan in question, not noting how it was combatting two Titans at once as he continued. "The risk of this Titan attacking the civilians of Trost or even Rose is too great! As such-"

"As such, you would see fit to do nothing, Captain," shot Rico as she stepped forth, frowning at Kitz as she spoke. Kitz himself was a little taken aback by someone of a lower rank speaking to him in such a way whilst his Gunner squadron found some form of satisfaction from it, though before he could respond, Rico continued speaking. "Though you may view the Mechanical Titan as a threat, I personally, alongside several soldiers, be they junior or seniormembers, report that it has shown no interest in attacking anything human. In fact, this Titan seems more interested in attacking other Titans, and on more occasions than one, it has even saved the lives of our men, myself included, from the grasps of Titans.

"Moreover, this Titan in particular had made its presence known during the Fall of Maria, where it was reported to have helped hold off several Titans long enough for a majority of the civilians to evacuate. That in itself should be evident enough to show how it is on our side, or at the very least, a neutral participant in this war."

Kitz was taken aback by that statement, as were several other Garrison gunners, and rightfully so. Kitz himself, alongside a good majority of the soldiers present, had not participated in the Fall of Maria, not to a major extent at the very least, as he had mostly hung near the back and assisted the civilian evacuation process. So to him, the Mechanical Titan was nothing more than a fancy Abnormal, and a Titan that did not attack a human was unheard of.

And so, it was only natural for him to retort.

"Rico, have you gone mad?!" demanded Kitz, still not believing his junior as he swung his arms out to the side to show his bewilderment. Both Rico and Ian had to recoil backwards to avoid being smacked in the face. "The reports are clearly incorrect! There is no such thing as a Titan that does not attack humans, much less protect them, whilst fighting other Titans!"

"Really now? If that's the case, sir, then why don't you take a good look at what it's doing right now?" suggested Ian, with him motioning out towards the general direction of the Mechanical Titan, and in response to that, Kitz and Rico both turned towards its general direction once more… and when they did, the former widened his eyes in shock, awe and terror whilst the latter huffed in amusement at the sight.

While the Titan was rather far away from them, so much so that it wasn't entirely possible to see what it was doing without things being a bit blurry, the Garrison atop Rose were still able to see what the Mechanical Titan was doing with enough clarity. It was a fast one when it was moving out of range from the cannons, but Kitz quickly realized how much faster it was when it was in combat; with speed that seemed to be impossible for something as massive as it was, the Mechanical Titan dodged a lunge from a Ten metre Titan and, before it could land, grabbed its ankle and began swinging it around like a makeshift club. Several other Titans were knocked aside by the thing before the 'Titan' finally released its ankle, sending it flying straight into a nearby building.

Quickly following up on that, it turned on its heel to grasp onto the wrist of a muscular Fifteen metre that attempted to grab its shoulder. The Fifteen metre only had a second to stare at the taller Titan's face before it launched its knee directly into its jaw, obliterating its skull and sending it tumbling back. Before it could fall onto its back, however, the Mechanical Titan shot its arm out and grabbed its wrist once more and pulled it towards it.

As soon as it was close enough, the Mechanical Titan pulled its arm back before blasting it forward, burying its entire forearm in the Fifteen metre's torso. The sound of metal tearing flesh was not heard by those atop the Wall, though several did wince at the sheer brutality of the 'Titan'. Their shock only grew, however, when the Fifteen metre's torso suddenly exploded from the inside, causing a rain of blood and gore that splattered the Mechanical Titan and the area around it.

"This thing… it's a monster!" proclaimed Kitz as he watched the Mechanical Titan, drenched in evaporating Titan guts and blood, turn to look for its next target, a Five Metre Titan, though by then, he had turned towards his juniors and stared at them in shock. "I do not see why-"

"Allowing it to run loose gives us the opportunity to bolster our defensive plans for Rose," explained Rico, clenching her fist to emphasize her words. Ian himself nodded in agreement as she continued. "This 'Titan' has not stopped its rampage. It does not tire, it does not feed, and it is not hostile towards humans. Furthermore, the Titans are noticeably attracted to it as though it were a human itself… an oddity for sure, but it keeps their attention on it and away from us… so I say; allow it to run loose, Captain. It is our safest bet in keeping the Titans away from us as we finish evacuating Trost."

And to that, Kitz simply grimaced deeply and groaned in defeat. Rico herself couldn't help but feel just a little satisfied when her superior motioned for the gunners to stand down and let the 'Titan' do its thing, and all the while, Ian huffed a little as he stared off the edge of Rose, with him seeming somewhat uncertain about this all the while, but all the same, he was willing to put his faith in Rico…

Ian's thoughts were quick to pause, however, when he took stock of how several soldiers were swinging in with an unconscious individual held in one of their arms. Staring down curiously, Ian called for Rico to come and have a look, which she did, and when she did, she widened her eyes and swung down without another word. Ian followed suit moments thereafter, leaving Kitz up top to contend with the amused looks from his subordinates; he was quick to notice their stares, however, as he turned to glare at them in annoyance.

"What're all of you staring for?! Get back to work!"

And as they moved on to do just that, Rico and Ian both swung in close and landed not too far from where the soldiers down low were at. Ian did not recognise any of them, but as for Rico, her eyes were quick to widen when she realized who they were, and likewise, two of the six currently conscious individuals took stock of her with familiarity in their eyes.

"Mina! Nac!?" called out Rico as soon as she was close enough to see who they really were, and in response both aforementioned soldiers widened their eyes as their small group came to a stop. "Annie, Reiner, Bertholdt, Armin and Mikasa too! I thought you were with the group! And who is that-"

"Well, it's a bit of a long story, ma'am…" explained Nac sheepishly as Mina offered an awkward nod; they both seemed too exhausted to say anything at the moment, and seeming understanding of their current dilemma, Rico found herself nodding as she motioned for them to save it for now. They could file their report in after they had gotten some rest.

"Let's save it for later, kids. For now, let's just focus on getting you guys out of here, alright?" mused Rico as she moved towards Mikasa to perhaps help her haul Eren up Wall Rose, only to raise an eyebrow when she refused to allow her to do so.

"I'll bring Eren back up," was all Mikasa said as she walked past Rico, who appeared just a little bewildered as she watched her junior scale the wall with her brother up the Wall, and moments later, her bewilderment only increased as she turned to face her juniors, all of whom appeared… sheepish, to say the least, as she asked them a question.

"Eren… Eren Jaeger? But wasn't he… dead?" inquired Rico, and in response, the group of soldiers before her all began fidgeting awkwardly, adding to the platinum blonde's confusion, though moments later, she sighed and shook her head with a tiny bit of annoyance.

"Know what… nevermind; we can save it for later. Just know that you guys have some explaining to do as soon as we're atop that Wall, alright?"

"R-Right, we gotcha, ma'am…"

"G-GUYS!"

The first few words of greeting as Mina, Nac, Annie, Bertholdt and Reiner had gotten were from Mylius, with him having bolted towards them the moment they were in sight. All the while, those around him could only stare at him in amusement, but all the same, no one said a word as they watched Zeramuski rush up to Nac in particular and engulf him in a decently powerful hug; he was… glad to see them all safe, to say the least.

Now that they were in a safe space, the soldiers were quick to disperse and recuperate for whatever future operations they would have. They were aware that they wouldn't be able to rest for long, and as such, they wanted to get as much of it as they humanly could before they were inevitably redeployed. Mylius was the first to… greet them, so to speak, as he rushed up to Nac and gripped his shoulders like a vice, seeming very much relieved all the while.

Mylius wasn't the only one that was in need of comfort, though. Sasha Braus had broken down some time prior, with her having passed out atop Christa's lap as a line of drool fell from her lips. When asked, Lenz stated that the bumpkin had been bottling up all her stress in regards to the Trost incident up until the moment they were safe, and after she realized that Mikasa was not with them after they had evacuated, she straight up had a panic attack before fainting atop her lap. It… wasn't the best look for the Potato Girl, but then again, considering their current situation, none could blame her for passing out in the first place!

Well, none except Ymir, anyways, as she seemed annoyed that Sasha was laying atop Christa's lap, though she spoke nothing of it as she stood by Connie, who grumbled about the whole situation. He paused in his complaining when he saw Reiner and Bertholdt return, however, he was quick to sigh in relief as he waved out to them, a gesture they mirrored with little issue.

Mylius himself had been torn between remaining calm and breaking down at a moment's notice; his uncertainty over the survival of the rest of his team hung over his head like a cloud of miasma, and he felt both survivor's guilt and hope for his allies survival gnawing away at his chest with every passing second… and evidently enough, when he saw his entire team return, all in one piece no less, he was elated to the point of charging straight into the one he was closest to and wrapping his arms around him; almost as though he would disappear should he release him.

"I… I-I thought you guys were dead when you weren't with us after the evacuation…!" admitted Mylius quite plainly, and upon hearing this, Nac flinched as he scratched the back of his neck, and as he pondered a response to his words, Mina jumped in to help him out.

"H-Hey, Mylius, I… it's good to see you too. We're fine, trust me," assured Mina as she laid a hand on Mylius' wrist, prompting the blonde in question to slack his shoulders just a little as he gulped, breathing rather heavily as he released Nac and rubbed his upper arm rather awkwardly. Moments later, the blonde leaned back before he wiped a handful of the tears that were on his face; Mina herself winced at that as she stepped forward and placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Are… a-are you…?"

"I'm fine. Just… overwhelmed, is all…" admitted Mylius after lowering his arm. He offered a shaky smile that barely masked his nervous demeanor, and upon noticing this, Nac found it prudent to perhaps drag him off to the side and console him, leaving the remaining members of his little group to do whatever they wished.

Reiner and Bertholdt both took a seat on the table that Jean and Marco were on, both being relatively relieved that they survived the ordeal. Meanwhile, Mina and Annie claimed a corner to stand in and stood in silence for a long while. They remained in solemn silence for quite some time, though not long after, Leonhardt began to notice her friend fidgeting quite a bit as she sat by her, something that made her frown as she was quick to piece two and two together..

'She's not taking this well, especially now that we have time to think about things without needing to worry too much about our safety,' thought Annie as she watched her pigtailed friend fidget. Though subtle, Leonhardt did notice the mild shake of her friend's hand as she clenched it into a fist, and likewise, she took stock of the mild quake in her shoulders, prompting the blonde to raise a brow in acknowledgement.

Annie did wish to perhaps help lighten her friend's mood. Though it wasn't obvious, the blonde did care deeply for those who were close enough to be considered 'friends', and when it came to Mina in particular, the blonde would… reluctantly, admit to loving her enough to wish for nothing but the best for her, and as such, she felt the urge to perhaps reassure Carolina on their current situation. After all, that's what friends were for, after all… and yet, Annie found herself lacking the courage or the experience to do so.

Unlike Nac, she was never one to speak in a comforting way. Whenever she spoke, she would simply state what she thought to be the truth, however brutal or heartbreaking her words may come out as. As such, she had a feeling that even if she did try her best to reassure Mina on their current situation, she would only end up making things worse, and as such she kept her lips sealed for now.

Not that it really mattered, really, as…

"Hey… Annie…?" began Mina after a short while of silence, prompting Annie to perk up and stare down just a little at her pigtailed friend, who was now rubbing her upper left arm rather uncomfortably. The blonde noticeably winced at the expression Mina was making as she stared at her; that frown that was on her face couldn't be deeper even if she tried, and for all it was worth, Leonhardt found it disheartening as she listened to her friend continue. "Are you, y'know… alright?"

"...yes. I am," assured Annie, confused as to why Annie asked her that out of seemingly nowhere. And, before she could stop herself, she blurted out; "Why did you ask?"

"Well…" muttered Mina as she tightened her grip on her upper left arm a little, biting her lower lip as she scrambled for an answer or perhaps a lie. Meanwhile, Annie mentally yelled at herself for asking such a ridiculous question, though before things could get too awkward, Carolina sighed and nodded in defeat. "I… I just want to make sure you're alright. That… you're not hurt and all that, you know…? Things have been… hard, recently, and I just… I just wanted to make sure that you're holding up alright…"

"Hmph, you were always more concerned over others more than you were yourself, Mina," muttered Annie, with her allowing a small slither of a smile to worm its way onto her face as she pointed that out. Mina, however, didn't change her tired expression as she crossed her arms and deepened her frown, and at that, Leonhardt mentally sighed and took a gambit as she shifted down and sat by her dear friend's side. "Mina, what's really going on here. Tell me, or else."

'Or else nothing,' added Annie mentally as she frowned deeply, knowing that she probably screwed up on trying to get her friend to tell the truth by making such a blatant threat to her… though, much to her relief, however, Mina didn't seem to acknowledge the unintentional 'threat' Leonhardt had made as she perked up and shook her hands defensively, with her seeming somewhat put off by the blonde's apparent worry and close proximity to her.

"W-What exactly do you mean, Ann?" inquired Mina somewhat nervously as she attempted to ease Annie's suspicions. In response to this, Annie quirked a brow upwards, prompting the pigtailed soldier to sweat just a little as she scrambled for a follow up. "It… erm, you see… the day's stressing me out and…er… I just need some time to unwind, I guess?"

"Nac's proven to me that stress can be lessened by talking to others about it," pointed out Annie, who jerked her thumb towards the boy in question, who was still consoling Mylius. The blonde had definitely seen better days, considering how he still had his face buried in his hands as Nac patted his back assuringly, with him whispering words of encouragement into his ear as he did so. The sight of that made Mina bite her lower lip just a little before she turned back to Annie, who continued speaking. "So you can talk to me if you want to, Mina. We're friends, right? We can talk to one another about things like this."

"Well… alright, look," began Mina as she sighed and sat down on the ground, frowning as she laid her back against the wall. Annie herself took a seat beside her twintailed friend as well, listening as intently as she could. "I… I… i-it's just… the whole ordeal with Trost… I… I've seen so many of our friends die… so… s-so many of them… and I… I didn't think about it at the time, but now… I…"

"It hurts to think about it, yeah? To think about how they won't be coming back," stated Annie, with her keeping her voice soft spoken as she said this. She was the type to deliver some harsh truths to those around her, but considering their current situation, and also considering who she was talking to, Leonhardt would rather not do such a thing to her friend, and with some uncertainty, she spoke to her as kindly as she could.

Evidently, she hadn't minced her words all too perfectly, as evident by Mina's obvious wince.

"... yeah. They're all… gone. Dead. And I… I-I can't stop thinking about any of that…" admitted Mina bluntly, with her burying her face in her hands as she spoke. Annie took stock of how her friend was beginning to hyperventilate as she said this, though before she could fully realize this, Carolina continued. "S-So many of them are just… g-gone. So many… we… we… w-we trained with so many of them… we made friends with some of them… a-and I knew most of them by face, i-if not by name… and now… they… t-they're…"

"Gone…" muttered Annie, with her saying this as she raked her fingers across the ground beneath them. A tiny bit of dirt gathered in her palm as she did this, and thereafter, she raised her hand up and allowed the gentle breeze to blow the particles off her hand. "Scattered to the winds."

"... yeah. That's one way to put it, I guess," huffed Mina, with her watching as the dust particles scattered amidst the wind, and as it disappeared, the girl frowned as she spoke. "But even so… for all our friends to be… KIA… that's one thing… but I… I'm also worried about…"

"About Mikazuki?" muttered Annie, with her concluding Mina's words as she spoke, and to this, the young woman nodded lightly as she intertwined her fingers uncomfortably. For a moment, she remained silent, allowing Annie to speak up all the while. "Mikazuki's a tough nut to crack, you know? It'll take more than a few Titans to take him out."

"I… I know, Annie… but… even with the Mechanical Titan covering our flanks, there's been a massive upsurge in Titans within Trost. Like… a freaking lot, to the point where I… I-I doubt that even Mika could stand against them for long," admitted Mina solemnly, with a shadow falling over his eyes as he said this. Annie herself flinched lightly at her words, though she said nothing as her friend continued. "Considering how we've not seen him since the very start of the invasion, I'm starting to think that he… t-that he…"

And before she could even finish that statement, Annie had shut her up with a firm yet gentle thump to the top of her head, a sudden 'attack' that made the pigtailed girl squeak in surprise as she held onto the top of her head with widened eyes. Surprised, Mina blinked and turned to stare at Leonhardt, who in turn eyed Carolina with an annoyed look.

"Shut up… just… shut the fuck up about that, Mina," grumbled Annie, with her not willing to entertain the idea of Mikazuki being dead as she glared at Mina with an annoyed look. Mina noticeably flinched under her gaze, however, prompting Annie to soften her glare, just enough that the pigtailed soldier could look her in the eyes without flinching away for a change. "I get that you're being realistic and all that, but Mika's abilities… they kind of defy realism. Have some hope in him being alright, alright? That's the least you can do right now."

"I… a-alright, Annie," muttered Mina, with her surprise still maintained as she acknowledged how determined Annie sounded as she said this; she was being completely serious when she said that Mikazuki was alright, and in truth… it was a nice change of pace. Leonhardt always did come off as too realistic for her own good, so much so that she had all but forgotten how to be optimistic as a result… so to see her showing some optimism was nice, to say the least. "I… I'll hold onto hope for him being alive…"

"Good."

And upon saying that, the two young women went silent. Their silence was very much a companionable one, with Mina leaning into Annie's shoulder for some comfort as the seconds went by. The blonde did, admittedly, find some comfort in this gesture, not that she'd admit to it, but even so, from where he remained by the sidelines, Nac could see that Annie was very much enjoying the moment.

Annie's response to this was to glare at Nac with a look that promised death, death and even more death if he spoke of this to anyone, and to that, the ravenette held his hands up in a placating manner as he nodded in acknowledgement, and thereafter, things went back to some semblance of normalcy as Mina leaned closer into the crook of Annie's neck, with her quite enjoying the warmth of her friend and the closeness between the two of them all the while.

"Hey, uh… Annie? Could I… ask you a question?" asked Mina, with her keeping her face buried in Annie's neck as she asked this, and upon hearing her speaking, the blonde perked up as she glanced her way, and after giving an affirmative grunt, the pigtailed soldier spoke up. "The… Mechanical Titan… it… do you think it's like… Eren?"

"Like Eren… you don't mean…?" tried Annie, with her already seeing where Mina was getting at as she spoke, to which the young woman nodded.

"Yeah… y'know… a human controlled Titan or… whatever. Do you think that… you know?" smiled Mina with a small smile, and as she said this, Annie hummed softly as she considered the possibility.

Intelligent, has an apparent vendetta against other Titans and also protective of humans… Eren, whilst as a Titan, showed these traits quite a bit, albeit to a lesser extent than the Mechanical Titan, which frequently went out of its way to do what a human would perceive as being morally right. Why it did so was anyone's guess, but if she were being honest…

"It's… possible. Very possible, but we can't confirm it completely, not without more evidence to back that theory up," stated Annie as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, with her heart thumping hard against her ribs as she considered the somewhat worrying implications that came with the Mechanical Titan being just like Eren. The fact that they weren't aware of who was controlling it, if it were truly like Eren, only made things more concerning for her, but not long after, Mina commented on something that made Leonhardt develop some goosebumps.

"What're the odds that… that Mika's controlling it?" asked Mina as she glanced up at Annie curiously, to which the blonde fixed her with a bewildered gaze. Opening her mouth, she took a moment or two to consider her words… only to ultimately shut her mouth when she realized that there was some merit behind that suggestion.

The Mechanical Titan fought in an aggressive and overpowering manner, very much akin to how Mikazuki would fight in hand to hand training. Its movements were fast and agile, and the way it shifted its body around was similar to how Mikazuki would bob and weave around the training field. The way it protected others… it wasn't too similar to Mikazuki, honestly, as outside of herself, Mina and Nac, he rarely ever went out of his way to protect others unless he was obliged to do so, but that being said…

'It did seem keen on staying close to Mina and Nac in particular…' thought Annie, with her eyes narrowing as she pieced a few things together. Truth be told, all of these connections to Mikazuki were… fickle at best, but even so… 'It shouldn't mean anything… but it's all still worth considering for now…'

And right as she thought that, Annie opened her mouth to respond to Mina's initial comment, though before the words could leave her lips…

BOOM!

… a powerful explosion rocked the area they were in, and in an instant, the soldiers present all got up and turned towards the source of the blast, with their weapons held at the ready all the while. Mina and Annie were amongst the gathered soldiers as they got up and rushed out into the open, where they brandished their blades with uncertainty, and moments later, they saw a cloud of smoke rising high into the air.

"W-What's going on…?! Is the wall breached?!" yelled out Mina with concern as she stood by Annie, who narrowed her eyes at the implications as she shook her head. As she did so, Nac and Mylius raced over to their side, with them looking equally as concerned over the current situation as they did so, and as soon as they were there, Leonhardt spoke up.

"No. There's no debris or wall chunks falling, and considering how small that smoke cloud is… I'd wager that something else's happened," stated Annie flatly, with Nac adding on by pointing one of his blades towards the top of the Wall, the one closest to the rising cloud of smoke, before speaking.

"One of the cannons… its pointed down. Do you think…?" muttered Nac, only for him to be cut off when he heard the sound of Maneuver Gear thrusters activating. Turning towards the source, the small group of four saw Jean, Marco, Reiner, Bertholdt, Ymir and Christa all moving to get a closer look at what caused the explosion, and although he was reluctant at first, he was quick to follow them when Mina did as such.

Annie, being who she was, was the most reluctant to follow, but even so, she eventually relented and pursued her friends, with her hoping that this was nothing more than a misfire and nothing more…

… knowing her luck, though…