The upbeat graduates could be heard from behind the walls of the Trost headquarters during the early night as a lively atmosphere spread across the mess hall. The 104th took to celebrating the beginning of the next chapter of their lives shortly after concluding the graduation ceremony.

"Cheers!"

"No more hunger!" Sasha excitedly proclaimed in a toast with her fellow cadets.

A cloud of depression lingered over the figure of Connie Springer, head buried between his arms and glued to the table. His entire body had gone stiff from the dreadful news as if encased in a layer of rust. Dread settled in the pit of his stomach like a bad meal, haunted by the revelation of his ranking even several hours later. Dark thoughts piled up like a malignant growth as he listened to their cheery discussions, Most were content with the Garrison, few were relieved to be Military Police, and none had brought up the Corps.

'How did this happen? All of that work... Three years for nothing, How do I explain this to mom and dad? ...Martin... Sunny... How am I going to help them now? Shit...'

He stared over his shoulders and watched their celebrations with contempt. He had sacrificed far too much to be met with a result like this. And yet, someone like Krista was able to reach his dream goal. Connie shook his head, pushing all of those negative thoughts away. He sighed, and resumed his sulking in the corner of the room, away from all of the hubbub.

Floch, Sandra, Ruth, Hannah, Gordon, and Franz were all seated together, enjoying each other's company and discussing their future. Gordon proposed a toast as the six of them raised their cups together.

"For the future!" They all spoke in unison except for Sandra.

"I still can't believe it's been three years, time flies doesn't it?!" Hannah said.

Franz wrapped his arm around her waist and grinned, pulling her closer. "I can, anywhere away from Shadis is good enough for me!"

"I-I wonder where they'll station us after we finish our assignment with the Garrison," Ruth said.

Franz mulled it over. "Depends on your score, the better you are the closest to the capital. Everyone here is in the top thirties so we are set!"

"I wouldn't be so sure, The Garrison has been saturated with troops ever since, you know..." Hannah trailed as she gazed up at him.

A smirk formed on Franz's face. "Let's not worry about that. Man, if only we scored higher huh? Isn't that right, Floch?"

"Yeah, sure." Floch answered absent-mindedly.

Gordon sent him an annoyed look. "Dammit, you won't even pay attention to Franz? When are you listening?"

Floch propped his elbow on the table and pressed his chin against his palm. "Oh but I do listen, I could give you a straight answer, but you wouldn't like it." He smirked.

"Honestly, you're so damn annoying. Why are you throwing away such a good opportunity? For the Survey corps of all things!"

"If you're that worried about me you could always join to keep me safe." Floch smiled.

"Tsk, as if. you won't have to worry about smelling Titan's breath any time soon anyway." Gordon replied.

"Huh?" Floch frowned, unsure of what the boy meant.

A stone-faced Sandra lingered her gaze on the redhead, eventually, amber met silver, and held each other hostage. Sandra removed her gaze from his a few seconds later and focused on her cup, seemingly unaffected by the conversation. She lowered her cup and her lips parted to speak. "It's his choice, let it be Gordon."

He momentarily frowned, before he put on a mask of enthusiasm. "Right, What about you Ruth? I can imagine It's going to be hell not to get beat up by Floch every day from now on."

"I-It's fine, those days won't be missed," Ruth replied, managing a strained smile.

Floch sighed. "Truth is.." His words catching everyone's attention, "I lost the right to join the Military Police a year and a half ago after my stunt with Annie, Shadis gave me an ultimatum, either disqualify or be kicked out of the program altogether. I only stood there among the top ten because I earned my right to, but in reality, my ranking was all for show." He confessed much to their bewilderment.

"So that means... Whoever is eleventh on the rankings will take your invitation to the MP's..." Franz deduced leaving Floch to hum in acknowledgment.

"I wonder who could that be?" Hannah spoke.

"Beats me, Good luck asking around though." Floch shrugged.

The discussion eventually moved on to different topics with everyone doing their best not to bring up the sore subject again. Floch's mind drifted off to different things, like a certain letter he sent to a key individual several days ago at Ehrmich. Come to think of it, they should be arriving tomorrow if memory served him right. Floch decided to make sure, interrupting a conversation between Gordon and Franz. "Sorry, Does anyone know when will the Survey Corps be coming through town tomorrow?"

Those who didn't have an answer glanced around for the others, and those who did regarded Floch strangely. Hannah tilted her head, confused by his question. "What do you mean?" Perhaps it was instincts or a trick of the mind but Floch foreboded the worst when he heard that simple question.

"Their next expedition I meant, when are they coming?"

Hannah raised a brow. "What are you talking about? I thought you of all people would have heard already."

A knot began to form in his stomach.

"...Heard what?"

"It's been about a week since the Survey corps were suspended from going on expeditions."

His entire world came crashing down at the revelation, ice shooting through his veins. He quickly thanked her and removed his gaze, eyes reflecting nothing but pure terror as the voices coming from his surroundings are drowned out by his frantic thoughts. He ran the calculations in his head, if the wall were to be breached tomorrow morning then it would be nothing short of a disaster. The time it would take for the news to reach the Scouts' office in Ehrmich and for them to respond would take too long, far too long. That was an entire day of Titans pouring inside, an entire day of fighting within the streets of Trost, an entire day of Eldian blood being spilled everywhere, history repeating itself.

A dull pain built up behind his eyes as he contemplated his next move, this was bad, extremely bad.

"Goodnight, everyone."

Floch and the others watched Sandra retreat out of the mess hall, it wasn't until she took the last step up the stairs that Floch regained his senses. He exchanged a quick look with those remaining before he ran after her, knees nearly giving out as he stood up. He pushed his way through the confused crowd of cadets and hurried up the stairs leading outside.

"What's hish deal?" Krista asked, walking to their table with a wobble in her step.

"What's up with her?" Gordon asked in return, eyes darting towards the brown-haired girl.

Ymir grinned as she walked to them, resting her elbow against the blonde girl's head. "Can't hold her alcohol well, but tell you what, she's been holding up the conversation quite well."

"I can see that." Gordon grimaced as Krista collapsed on their table muttering incoherently.

"You can't beat them!"

The entire hall went deathly silent.

Floch came to a complete halt upon realizing there had been no trace of the girl anywhere outside, He sighed, giving up on the futile attempt to search for her. He leaned against the wall and ran his hand through his hair, momentarily exposing his forehead.

He needed to think... He needed to think.

'That letter must have reached them, they must come. I have to stop Bertholdt, or else we risk losing Trost a second time.'

Shit! He should have known better, he didn't think events would deviate that much now that he was more involved in things. Since when did the MP have such an obsession with shutting down the corps, especially this early on? He didn't count on this at all, made no preparations for such event.

He was about to make his way back inside to find his way to Ymir before the door slammed open, revealing a furious and teary Eren Yeager. Floch was about to follow him before Mikasa and Armin cut in front of him, The two of them shot him a passing glance as they caught up with Eren a few steps down the street. Floch watched them from afar, sitting down and talking amongst each other, he couldn't help but picture himself, Gordon, and Sandra in their place.

He continued to stare, lost in his thoughts and dread mounting by the second. He frowned, turning around and wandering off into the streets of Trost, each step growing louder in his ears as the inevitability of the breach dawned on him. He walked until his legs gave out and collapsed in an alley. Floch clutched his head tightly, a crazed faraway look on in his eyes as he gazed at the dimly lit cobblestone beneath his feet.

Floch, Sandra, Gordon, and a few other cadets are huddled together in an office inside of the headquarters, as a horde of Titans rampaged across the castle. The trio were cramped underneath a desk and could only listen in fear, as they hid from the monsters.

"Alright!"

Floch barely suppressed a flinch from one of the cadets' sudden disembodied shouting.

"What good is that going to do?"

The trio hidden underneath the desk were all startled as a shot rang out within the room, they stared into the wall with horror plastered on their faces. A few cry out in terror behind them, eventually nothing but muffled sobbing and a stream of blood spilling against the polished wooden floor could be heard.

"Humans cannot defeat Titans." - Thomas Wagner 850 AD , The night of the 104th graduation.

On the first day, 06:00 AM

Bertholdt found it ironic that today out of all days would he wake up feeling refreshed. He sat up from his bed and looked around from left to right with a steeled expression. He solemnly took in his surroundings. Ranging from the morning routines of the cadets in the barracks to the busy sounds of the streets outside. He made his way to the bathroom with a single thought in mind, all of this life in front of him would have to come to an end today, unfortunate but necessary.

He washed his face and stared into his reflection, briefly hallucinating his Titan form in the mirror.

A drowsy Tom walked beside him in the shared bathroom. "Morning, Bertholdt."

He didn't bother to reply, instead opting to nod in his direction. He doesn't bring himself to utter a name that will be brought to an end by the titans in a matter of hours. By the time Bertholdt finished getting ready for the day, most of the cadets were outside each doing their separate tasks. He joined their ranks and stood shoulder to shoulder with the people he was about to kill, trying not to think too much about the implications of what was going to happen to these people.

'We do what we have to.'

Bertholdt made it to the gates of the castle, he was greeted with the faces of his squadmates and a Garrison officer. Anders and Hilde whom he hadn't regularly spoken to waved, Ruth smiled and gave a good morning, Sandra looked off to the side with disinterest, and Forster burned a hole into his head. Bertholdt was taken aback by his gaze, his heart skipping a beat. But that intense heat faded as quickly as it came as he looked off elsewhere, and the officer initiated.

"Alright, The 35th, that's you guys. You've been tasked with aiding supply runs around the city for the next two days. Your current assignment will encompass all of our posts along the southern entrance. You'll find the entrance to the armory at the rear of the castle, that's where the ammunition caches, cleaning kits, and anything of the like are stored. We're not so cruel as to force you to carry around boxes around town all day, so feel free to take a carriage or two, unless you like the added challenge. Once you're done, report back to HQ for your next assignment. Now, go look busy and make humanity proud." The officer said with a hint of sarcasm, a clipboard in hand.

And so they set off in carriages to the front gate, where he would quickly find any excuse to slip out and begin their mission. They spent the better part of an hour loading the crates up and down for the various squads stationed along the wall. Soon enough, Bertholdt began to notice that he couldn't quite find a good excuse to slip away, and it was all thanks to a certain someone.

He cursed under his breath, as he glared at the back of Floch's head who was unloading empty crates from the lift. His frustrations mounting by the second as he found no window of opportunity to slip away and get this over with. His nerves were burning up like a long fuse, threatening to burst at any second as the stress increased. What the hell was the redhead playing at?

Floch turned around and motioned for him. The lift had already gone up by that point.

"Bertholdt, get the crates over here, make yourself useful."

"Right." Bertholdt tersely replied.

The Colossal walked over to the wall and leaned for the crates, finding them quite heavy. Strange, weren't these supposed to be delivered above? Perhaps they didn't need them, no matter. Bertholdt was about to walk back when his ears suddenly picked up on a strange sound coming from above, he looked up to find the platform descending towards him at an alarming speed. His eyes widened in shock, before he could move an inch someone had tackled him away from the danger as the platform crashed to the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust.

"RUTH! BERTHOLDT!"

Bertholdt coughed as he inhaled some of the dust, he looked down to see the redheaded girl's face pressed against his chest, unmoving. He frowned, while still in shock from what had just happened. Ruth looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes as she gazed into his, his breath caught in his throat at the sight.

"T-That was so scary, not even the Garrison is safe!" She nearly cried.

"Are you two okay!?" Sandra and their other two squadmates rushed to their side.

"Yeah.." Bertholdt managed to breathe out.

"Ruth?"

"I-I'm fine." She replied, standing up to dust herself off.

Bertholdt stared up at her, she quickly noticed his gaze and her eyes widened by a fraction. She quickly offered her hand to help him stand back up, it was only then that they both noticed his hand had been bloodied from the freak accident.

"Y-you're bleeding." She pointed out.

"It's fine, I'll get it looked at." He said as he stood up.

'Now's my chance.'

He only took a couple of steps away when Floch suddenly spoke. "Hold on, Ruth I think you should go with him too. Sandra, take them back to HQ and get them checked for any other injuries, we'll clean up here." He commanded.

The girls nodded and went along with Bertholdt much to his dismay, he cursed inwardly at Floch before begrudgingly being led away by Ruth. A crowd gathered around Floch and the rest, as his teammates moved closer to the damaged lift to inspect it. "The hell? The rope just snapped like that?" Anders said.

Floch glanced back at the lift as people kept gathering around them, his eyes narrowed with a glint of frustration.

'You'll die one way or another.'

"So this is wall Maria. It's so big and we've got to destroy It? Can I really do It?" - Bertholdt Hoover 845 AD, the day humanity received a grim reminder.

11:00 PM

Two figures stood in the dark in the seclusion of the top parapet of the Trost castle, both visibly irritated by the unexpected delay of their plans.

"That still doesn't answer anything, where the hell was he?!" Annie cursed, glaring at the frustrated Reiner.

"I don't know, It was supposed to start at ten sharp."

"It was supposed to? You wanted this, didn't you? Grow a damn backbone and look for him! Take some damn responsibility, that's your entire thing now, isn't it? Marcel."

Reiner gazed back at her with steeled emotions, though the fire that danced around in his eyes couldn't be mistaken, he took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Bertholdt isn't a baby that I have to coddle around, he's a capable warrior. Don't get it twisted Annie, we're all in this together now. It's your responsibility as much as it is mine."

"Take a few steps away from me, you and your empty words are making me sick."

"...In any case he'll come around, if not we'll find him. I'll even destroy that gate myself if I have to."

"Is that your thing now? Getting people around you killed for your benefit?" She hissed.

"You know that's not what I meant, our window of opportunity is closing."

"Stop arguing you two."

Both of their heads snapped in Bertholdt's direction, a mixture of emotions on their features. However, they both glare at him accusingly, visibly demanding an explanation from his side of things.

A vexed Reiner was the first to ask. "Bertholdt, where the hell were you?"

"Long story."

Annie clicked her tongue in frustration. "Please don't tell me you got cold feet after what we've already done, I can't deal with two half-assed bastards."

"No, not cold feet."

"Then what is it?"

"Forster."

On the second day, 05:37 AM

Two guards made their rounds within Trost's military headquarters, their equipment clanking in thythm of their steady steps. As they rounded a corner, one of the men picked up the scent of nearby smoke, he squinted towards the distance to find a light source coming from a nearby tower, the sun having yet to rise. They cautiously approached, opening the wooden door only to find a raging fire engulfing the room.

"Shit, sound the alarm! Fire! Fire!" The man called out as his partner nearly tripped on his feet running towards the bell.

The guards' cries echoed through the halls, alerting most of the troops stationed at the castle. The 104th cadets were jolted awake by the sudden commotion, as their superior officers rushed in, shouting orders at them and directing the young soldiers to the source of the fire.

"Cadets wake up! Fire at the castle, this is not a drill, fire at the castle, everyone up!" The supervising officer rushed in, waking everyone inside.

Floch sprang out of bed, quickly donning his uniform.

Jean struggled to slip his legs into his pants next to him as he called out to the boy. "What the hell's going on?" Floch was about to reply when a flash of orange from the windows caught his attention.

"Wha-." He choked out, both him and Kirsten rushing over to the window alongside a couple of others.

"What the hell?!" Jean breathed out as he witnessed the flames consuming one of the guard towers.

"You there, get the fuck away from the windows and move it!" Their superior called out as they rushed out of the room.

The cadets, still groggy from sleep, sprang into action, grabbing buckets and other tools to help extinguish the flames. They worked together to contain the fire, their coordinated efforts making quick work of the raging inferno. Floch passed another bucket to Gordon, who in turn rushed to pass it to the next person in line. He caught sight of someone moving away in the corner of his vision, turning around to catch a glimpse of Annie leonhart in the process, his blood froze as he suddenly realized the absence of Bertholdt hoover.

"Gordon, cover for me!" The redhead hissed into the boy's ears before making a run for it.

"H-hey, wait! Where are you going?!" Gordon called out before being chastised by one of the nearby officers.

Floch rounded the corner after her, finding no trace of the blonde except for one of the back entrances to the armory. He rushed towards it, pausing at the top of the stairs and staring down below into the darkness, he squinted in search for a glimpse of the girl before his blood ran cold. Without warning, a pair of hands pushed him down, his eyes widening in shock as he let out a small gasp. Floch barely managed to cover his head in time as he fell into the abyss, his head smacked hard against the concrete at the bottom where he found himself losing consciousness, the last thing Floch saw before the dark claimed him had been the door closing and taking all of the remaining light with it.

"They're inside!"

"RUN!"

*JANGLE*

"PLEASE! NO! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!"

"AGHHHHH!"

*CRASH*

*THUD*

Floch's eyes snapped open, a violent thudding behind him bringing him back to consciousness. He sat up and crawled away from the source, all while engulfed in the dark. His only source of light had been the slit underneath the door in front of him, fear momentarily gripped his heart at the sight of blood leaking underneath the door. He quickly stood up and made his way up the stairs, only stopping halfway through to clutch his throbbing head.

"Fuck..." He muttered under his breath from the pain.

Floch felt something wet on his fingers, he could only assume that it was his blood. He dropped to his knees and desperately attempted to soothe that splitting headache that ate at him. He had to go find the others-

"SOMEBODY! HEELLLLLPP!"

Floch looked over his shoulders down below, intensely gazing at the door. His face contorted with frustration at his predicament, the thudding of the titans roaming across the armory growing louder in his ears. He looked up at the door where he originally came from, a scowl forming on his face as he began to realize what had happened.

Without a second thought, the boy rushed downstairs, to his surprise the door had been unlocked. Floch took a second to scan his surroundings, eyes anchored on the half-eaten corpse and the set of keys that lay in front of the door. He poked his head around the corner then immediately dragged the corpse inside once he made sure no titans were next to it, wasting no time to remove the ODM off of the dead body.

Floch drowned out the commotion behind the door as he donned the gear, an expression of anger and dispair on his miens as he was forced to listen to the screams of the dying soldiers on the other side. He quickly walked out to find three titans, all between the heights of three and four meters. Behind them were now five cornered members from the supply team, desperately swinging anything they could find laying around at them.

"NOO!" A woman shrieked as a titan took hold of her and began stretching her limbs apart

To their awe, a set of ODM hooks attached to the ceiling, as a cadet jumped in and took out the titan in one fell swoop. She fell to the ground and crawled away from them, her face stained with blood and tears, she hid between the gas tanks and watched the unfolding battle with a whirlwind of emotions. Floch jumped down from the wooden beam above and attached his ODM hooks to the back of another one's neck, instantly killing it with a clean slice upon reach.

Floch gasped in shock, the final titan unexpectedly pouncing on him, he attempted to maneuver around it's fingers, Floch found himself nearly slamming against of the beams inside the tight area of the armory. His hook failed to attach properly as he fell to the ground with a grunt, his head heavy as if it were glued to an anvil. He tried his best to stand up but his movements were that of a drunkard as a throbbing headache got the best of him.

*THUD* *THUD*

His eyes widened in shock, he slowly looked up to see the last titan reach for him. Fear gripped his heart and everything came to a halt as he stared at its menacing figure. He could do nothing but watch helplessly when it wrapped its hand around his body, the bug-eyed titan curiously examined him for a moment before bringing him to its jaws.

In a last-ditch effort, he reached for one of the swords dangling from his hips and stabbed it into the roof of its mouth, preventing its jaw from shutting down on him. To his relief, the titan tried to bite down to no avail. Three of the supply team members rush to his rescue, hitting the titan in the back with empty canisters and stabbing at its heels. The titan was momentarily distracted and its grip on him lessened, An idea suddenly rushing to him.

He reached for his gas canister and slid it out of its holster, unscrewing the lid with both hands until it was loose enough for the gas to hiss out. His hand searched the inside of his jacket and pulled out a flintlock pistol. Floch kicked the titan in the side of its jaw causing it to focus its attention on him again. Without further hesitation, he threw the canister inside of its mouth and detached the handle from the blade. He aimed down the sights and with the pull of the trigger, the bullet shot towards the canister which slid down its throat.

In a mere instant, the canister lit on fire and began to hiss out blue flames. At that moment the titan paused and looked down at him in confusion. An explosion rang out within the supply room and it dropped on its stomach. Floch hissed in pain as some of the flames licked his face, the others came to his aid while one of them ran to kill the titan while it was down.

"COME ON! GET UP! MORE OF THEM ARE COMING!" The woman he rescued shouted at him.

Floch stood up with some help, they rushed him to the elevator. Barely managing to flee at the last second before a pair of three-meter titans entered the armory. The five survivors breathed a sigh of relief around him as they lifted to safety. Floch's eyes had been closed shut from the pain at this point, though he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He turned in their direction. "Thank you so much, we all owe you our lives." The woman said.

"...What happened?"

"You don't know?"

A man spoke up next to them. "We were fucking distracted by the flames, some of the guards stationed at the southern entrance rushed to the castle when the colossal attacked. We barely had enough people to hold the initial wave, all of our contingencies failed, this is Shiganshina all over again."

Floch could barely contain his rage as he listened.

"I think there's still fighting out in the streets, but it's getting worse by the minute. The frontal assault team fell, the vanguard either died or fled the carnage and now as far as we know It's just the cadet corps and what's left of the supply team out there. That coward Kitz and his goons alongside all of the Military Police officials have abandoned us to die in this castle." The woman added.

"And the rear guard?" Floch asked.

There was a long silence.

The woman helped him stand when the lift arrived at the top. "Let's get your face patched up, it's the least we can do for you."

10:38 AM

Floch stood next to the window of the infirmary overlooking the chaos unfolding, parts of the city had been lit on fire as several fifteen-meter class Titans could be seen roaming around. He took his eyes off of Trost and momentarily scanned his reflection, a bandage now wrapping around his head and top half of his face. He covered the windows with the curtains before turning to the other five occupants of the room.

"Any plans?" The woman, Elise, asked.

"I'm going to scavenge for an extra canister outside, are the canons in this castle functional?"

"Should be, what do you have in mind?" A blond man asked.

"Good, then I'll need you to get them prepped and insalled on the parapet."

"Are you out of your mind? What the hell are you suggesting?!"

"You're all immobile and useless without your gear now that they took over the armory, I can't leave you behind and neither can I leave my friends out there. The plan is simple, I'll rally all the remaining troops for a full retreat and you provide us support with those canons, we handle the titans in the armory then resupply and all of us leave."

"You're asking us to suicide out there! The titans have climbed up the castle!" A supply team member shouted.

Floch looked at him from the corner of his eye, his gaze stoic and unflinching. "I'll clear them out, count on it."

The supply team exchanged uneasy looks with each other but agreed nonetheless, they had no other choice. "If you pull it off without becoming titan food, then... then yeah. Sure, we'll do it!" Elise said.

Floch nodded as he unsheathed his ODM swords once more and made his way out of the room as everyone closely followed him to the halls, he grabbed a chair and looked back at the gathered supply team. "Hide yourselves, this will attract them. Once I do my part you all make your move, don't engage until we're back." He ordered.

They scattered at his words, he wasted no time and broke the window sending the chair crashing to the street below. Floch ran like hell and flew out of the window into the outside, a titan that had climbed up into the castle lunged at him but he dodged it, leaving it to crash down below into the neighboring buildings. He launched his ODM hooks to the top of the tower as he scanned the area.

'Five spare blades left, just enough gas to deal with these guys and get to the others. Three big ones climbed over the walls of the castle, three medium below, two tiny ones near the entrance to the armory...' Floch thought to himself just as he looked behind him to come face to face with a titan that was peeking at him from the edge of the castle roof.

Floch jumped away, doing a front flip in the air before attaching his hook to the side of the castle, he flew near one of the climbing titans before setting on another easy kill. He swung by like a speeding bullet and sunk his blades deep into the nape before detaching his hook and twisting his body in the air to avoid the swatting hand of another one.

Elise and the rest of the supply team watched with bated breaths, a newfound drive igniting inside of them watching a mere cadet clear the way for victory. All of them suddenly received a punch in the gut when Floch flew by the windows and got caught by one of the few remaining Titans on the street below. However, to their absolute relief, he managed to slice its fingers to free himself from captivity.

"Come on you oversized bastards! This way!" Floch shouted at the group of titans as he led them as far away from the castle as possible.

10:51 AM

Floch hid behind a chimney as the horde of titans dispersed, moving out of cover once the coast was clear. The more that he ziplined across the now ruined town the more that his emotions ran wild, the boy composed himself with great effort. He came to a halt upon noticing several bodies scattered below, majority being soldiers, many from the cadet corps. His heart sank, seeing that the corpses were unrecognizable, his friends could very well be among them down there.

His brows knitted into a frown when he descended to look for spare gas. His ears perked up at an incoming sound, his eyes widening in shock at the aberrant that was close to crashing into him. He retracted his wires at the last possible second and shot forwards. The Titan flew past him and crashed into the building behind him.

He landed on top of a bell tower and observed it, this was another Eldian coming after him, a mindless creature now. He couldn't allow it to live, it could pose a problem for the others during their retreat. Floch shot his hooks over its head and lunged at it, just as it launched itself the redhead detached his wires and corrected his trajectory. He sliced its nape at an angle while mid-air without bothering to confirm his kill as he heard it crash again.

A voice interrupted him as he made his way to the deceased soldiers. "HEY! SOLDIER! WE'RE OVER HERE!"

Floch froze hearing the voice, he searched for the source only to find a man leaning out of a window in the building opposed to him, frantically waving at him. He wasted no time, immediately jumping towards him and entering as the man shut the window behind him. "Oh thank god! I thought there would be some soldiers around if those jumpers are acting up! You have to help us!" The man pleaded.

Floch scanned the room, there were only three people in it, two men and a woman. And the other man looked to be old, that wasn't good.

"Is this everyone?"

The three exchanged looks between each other, an unsettling atmosphere descended upon them, and they turned back to him.

Floch walked down into the basement with uneasiness as the man ahead of him gently pushed the door open to not disturb the occupants behind it. Floch's eyes widened in shock at seeing the number of people holed up inside, men, women, and children. All of them brightened up considerably at seeing him, naively thinking that the military had come to rescue them.

"How many are in here?" Floch asked.

"With the three of us included, seventeen."

The man looked down at the ground and clenched his fists. "We were starting to setup for that stupid parade when the Titans attacked, the town square was in chaos. Thanks to the incompetency of your fellow soldiers and the stampede, not all of us could evacuate safely."

Floch hummed as he gazed at the people, doing a double take as he noticed a familiar looking girl. A blonde girl cried in the corner of the basement with her knees hugged against her chest, he walked between the people sitting around him until he made his way to her. He kneeled in front of her and introduced himself with the intent of confirming his suspicion.

"Hello there, what's your name?"

The crying girl tilted her head back from her knees and stared up at him. "I-I'm L-Louise." She sobbed with a hiccup.

His face lit up in surprise. "Hello, Louise. My name's Floch, what's wrong?"

Her face scrunched with grief, her cries intensifying. "Mama... She- She's..."

Floch's eyes softened, he pulled the young girl into a hug and patted her back as she bawled her eyes out. "I'm sorry to hear that, I'm gonna get you out of here safely. All of you."

He let go and ruffled her hair a little bit, before pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her face clean. Admittedly it was strange seeing the contrast between this Louise and the one that had been part of his Yeagerist movement. He always appreciated the energy she brought to their ranks, and her devotion to their cause was a great bonus as well. But seeing that she had lost her mother in this new world, worried him immensely.

"Keep this handkerchief and take this," Floch said, pulling out the empty flintlock pistol. "It'll keep you safe from the Titans."

She sniffled and inspected the gun in her hands. "H-How is this going to keep me safe from them?" She asked in evident confusion.

"Dumb question, this signifies you're under my protection, should be enough to make them second guess themselves." He smiled.

She blew air out of her nose and a weak smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Alright.."

"Good, I need you to stay strong for me, okay?" The eleven-year-old nodded her head up and down in response as he pated her on the head.

He walked back up the stairs so that everyone could see him, he didn't need to announce himself as everybody was already focused on him.

"I need you all to remain calm and wait here for a bit. As it stands right now, I won't be able to safely evacuate you all on my own." Protests suddenly filled the room. "However! Help will shortly arrive! I need to rally my comrades and reorganize before we come rescue you! Rest assured I will not allow you to be left behind! All I ask is that you lay low and remain hidden and safe until then!" He explained in a tone of authority that the people in front of him had no choice but to go along. with

"Sir, what's your name?" Floch asked the man who brought him.

"Kurt, How can I help?"

"Listen, our HQ is overrun with Titans from the inside, we'll have to deal with them first before we can come help you."

"How much time will it take?" The man frowned.

"Somewhere between one to two hours, more or less." Floch explained in hush, the man's eyes slightly widening.

"I see... do your best then." Kurt somberly spoke.

"Stay put. Keep the door shut and don't let anyone out of here until we come back."

With one final look, the man closed the door leaving the boy to get back out there.

two hours earlier. 8:15 AM

Sandra's eyes fluttered open as she woke up to the sound of screaming and fighting, she sat up with a groan, wincing at the sharp pain shooting from her back. She had no recollection of what occured prior to her passing out, She gasped in fright , mortified eyes scanning the carnage ahead of her. The worst had happened, to her city as well. A couple of hundred meters ahead of her the Garrison were in combat with the Titans, it felt surreal to watch them for the first time.

Sandra froze in terror, as they slowly approached. She looked around to look for her teammates and soon enough received her answer. Many of her comrades lay dead around her, as the only proof of their existence was a blood trail, mangled limbs, and organs squished together. Her heartbeats quickened as bile rose to the back of her throat, she desperately looked to her other side to find Ruth.

Her breath caught in her throat, and tears burned as they streamed down her face.

Ruth's bloodied hand stuck out of the debris lifeless, blood pooling underneath.

RIP Ruth, it's been fun.

Hello, hope you're having a good day/night

Anyway here's Trost! Next chapter some of your favorites might or might not die, expect some Floch speeches, more "cat and mouse" games as one reviewer described it and more tension rising between the cadets.

Also the average chapter is about 6k words long, however this ended up becoming bigger than that so I've ended up splitting it into two parts, so part 2 will be released either tomorrow or the day after.