A cold chill had swept up Mina's spine, with her frowning softly as she paused in her sit-ups, however momentarily.

The guards hadn't returned in a while, and the silence that haunted the entirety of the building she was in unsettled her. Walking up to the bars of her cell, Mina had considered yelling out to ask if everything was alright, though she stopped herself; best to not do anything to piss her captors off, she reckoned.

And so, with a sigh, she returned to the center of her cell and resumed her workout. Best to keep in shape and prepare for the worst, she reckoned.

The soldiers had panicked when it had thrown the rock at their flimsy supports, something that amused the Beast Titan greatly as it watched all but one of them retreat down into the outpost, and as it did so, the Titan stepped forwards and roared out towards the base.

All around it, Titans stomped out from the woodwork, with their dopey faces and unreadable expressions leaving much to the imagination, but even so, to a certain extent, they were all under the superior Titan's command, and taking advantage of this, the Beast Titan pointed towards the outpost with a spindly finger. This gesture seemed to unnerve the Elite up top quite a bit, though he didn't think much of it as he went back to observing the Beast's movements in contemplative silence.

"Lay waste to them, but leave one alive. Whichever one remains… matters little," ordered the Titan, with it maintaining its smile as it was aware that the lesser Titans would do as they were told… and if they didn't, it would force them to behave, and moments later, several of them swarmed the base of the outpost with reckless abandon, moving in to claw at the brick and mortar all the while.

From afar, the Beast Titan watched as Mitabi Jarnarch, albeit with some reluctance, fought desperately against the invading force, slashing at their hands and severing their fingers before darting away before he could be caught. The Elite was well aware of the fact that he was not made for this sort of work, and as such, he instead fought to keep the Titan's attention affixed onto him rather than the outpost. For the most part, he was doing a good job, but even so, he was but one man, and a single person could only do so much on his own.

Still though, whilst Mitabi held his ground against the Titans, the Beast Titan's gaze darted over towards a smaller exit by the base of the outpost, with it opening and allowing Nanaba, Gelgar and the younger soldiers to peer out within a moment's notice. The three turned to see that the Titans were all still distracted by Mitabi, and with a nod, they motioned for the juniors to follow them with haste. They did so without hesitation, and it didn't take long for the Beast to realize where their destination was…

'Clever…' thought the Beast Titan as it picked up another boulder within its grasp.

'But being clever won't do you any good!'

The thought of letting Mitabi do the work all on his own didn't sit right with either of the Elites, but even so, the situation they were currently in was very much a precarious one, and considering how they didn't have many options at the moment, both Nanaba and Gelgar had reluctantly allowed their Garrison ally to act as bait for now.

"C'mon, all of you, DOUBLE TIME!" urged Nanaba as she motioned for the junior soldiers to follow them out of the exit, where she and Gelgar led them to the horse stables by the far end of the outpost. Seeing them flee in that direction, Mitabi nodded firmly before he reached behind himself and grabbed ahold of a sack attached to his hip, and after ripping it off, he flung it over his head, allowing the sparkly Shining Powder to fall onto his person moments later.

"T-That idiot… with that many eyes on him, combined with the attractive nature of that powder…" muttered Gelgar as he paused briefly at that thought, only for Nanaba to grab his wrist.

"There's no time to consider any alternatives! We have to get these kids out of here, NOW!" ordered Nanaba, with her already knowing that soldiers needed to stick their necks out in for their fellow soldiers whenever needed. Mitabi's situation was certainly an extreme case, but even so… it was something that she had seen happen countless times in the past.

Not that it made it any easier to get used to…

"Kh… why're the Titans even attacking us, anyways?!" yelled out Connie as he flinched when a Titan punched the wall where Mitabi was once latched onto, only for the Elite to spin away from the fist and launch himself towards the Titan's face, stabbing his blades into its eye sockets all the while. "Weren't they all immobile at night or something?!"

"Might have something to do with that roar! You remember how weirdly the Titans acted in the 57th Expedition, after Annie roared?! This might be the same as that!" posited Mylius as he recoiled at the sound of a Titan's fist slamming into the tower's side once more. The heightened aggression of the humanoid beasts was a cause for concern, as Titans rarely got this hyped up, but that aside, the juniors and their superiors thought little of this as they rushed towards the horse stables.

Gelgar himself was leading the charge there, with him getting ready to barge into the stables with reckless abandon, though before he could do so, however, he saw something out the corner of his eye, and upon spotting it, he widened his eyes immensely as he skidded to a halt, and moments later, he turned back towards his team and swung his arm out towards them.

"BACK UP! BACK UP!"

And right as he yelled that, a massive projectile crashed straight into the horse stables. Moments before, Gelgar was able to rush back and tackle Nanaba backwards before the shockwave of the impact could do it for him, and all the same, the junior soldiers were all knocked off their feet moments thereafter, with them being sent backwards a few feet all the while.

"Oof… you good, Nanaba?" asked Gelgar as he hastily got off his fellow Elite, who groaned softly as she shook her head, scowling as she accepted the pompadour haired man's help in getting back up to her feet, and thereafter, she grit her teeth together.

"No… I am not. What happened to the stables…?" asked Nanaba, with her peering past Gelgar as she asked this, and moments later, her question was answered when the dust settled to reveal a massive boulder laying atop where the stable once was. The lack of neighing horses made it rather apparent to them that the stallions once within the structure had been killed on impact, and upon realizing this… "Fuck…"

… yeah, that was one way to put it, and right as she said that, Nanaba turned back towards the junior soldiers and watched as they scrambled up to their feet, posthaste. Most of them seemed to have realized what had just happened as well, as they all had looks of abject horror plastered onto their faces as they stared at their superiors with uncertain expressions, though moments later, the blonde grimaced as Gelgar turned towards her with a frown.

"So… what now?" asked Gelgar as he unsheathed his blades, with him looking to the decidedly wider Nanaba for answers as he spoke. The blonde was… unsure of how to answer, prompting her friend to give some thoughts of his own. "We could always get these kids to run off on their own…"

"Out of the question! For them to just… run out into the dark is one thing, but the Titans here are already exhibiting abnormal movements by walking around in the dark! Who's to say that there aren't more like them within the immediate vicinity?!" protested Nanaba as Gelgar held his hands up to stay her wrath.

"Just a thought…"

"... we need to get these kids back into the building… and we must lock this place down. Nothing else matters but the safety of these greenhorns!" proclaimed Nanaba, with her swinging her blade out towards the side as she declared this, and all the while, Gelgar flinched as he turned back towards the crowd of Titans that were harassing Mitabi by the tower. There had to be at least twelve Titans there… could they even…?

"Can we even take on that many on our own, though…?" asked Gelgar as he glanced over at Nanaba uncertainly, to which his blonde comrade frowned heavily.

"No… but we can at least hold them back… just long enough for backup to arrive," responded Nanaba as she turned towards the battlefield and unholstered her Flare Gun. Loading an Orange Flare into it, the Elite hoped that the Gundam's sensors would be powerful enough to detect it in the dead of night as she aimed it skywards and fired, and all the while, Gelgar could only scowl as he watched it ascend.

"Can we survive for that long, though?" asked Gelgar, with him watching as the orange smoke ascended rapidly skywards, to which Nanaba offered no reply; even she knew that it was an uphill battle to actually make it through this situation, but even so…

"We can try… get those kids back into the base and have them lock it down! Whatever happens, they are not to leave it unless they know it's coming down!" instructed Nanaba, with her turning towards the battlefield as she said this. "I will support Mitabi in the meantime; I expect you to come aid us once you're done!"

"I… I got it, Nanaba… hang on!" began Gelgar, only for him to stop his comrade before she could swing off. Grabbing ahold of the curve of her elbow, Gelgar halted her charge as she turned towards him, annoyed at first, though when she saw the look on his face, the look that told her that, in truth, he believed that this could be the final time they'd speak to one another, her gaze softened as she allowed her comrade… her friend to link their arms together in a warrior's handshake. "If this really is how we're going out, then I just want you to know… it's been an honour and a privilege to have fought by you all these years, Nanaba Bündeln."

"... likewise, Gelgar Ausgenüchtert," nodded Nanaba, with her offering Gelgar's forearm a tight squeeze before they released one another, and thereafter, with one last nod of mutual respect, the blonde Elite swung into the fray whilst the pompadour haired soldier rushed to get the juniors inside.

The younger soldiers were, somewhat rightfully, unsure of what to do, and when they were told by Gelgar about the plan, they were very much skeptical about it, with Connie stating that they'd be running into the equivalent of a metal cage to perish in, but even so… they didn't exactly have any other options on the matter, and as such, they did as they were told. Along the way, a Titan had almost crushed Ymir beneath it as it turned away from Mitabi and Nanaba and charged at the retreating soldiers, though Christa was able to tackle her out of the way before that could happen.

The Titan had made another attempt at grabbing the two as they scrambled up to their feet, though its attempts were quickly halted when Gelgar leapt in and slashed at its fingers, severing most of them before reaching behind himself and pulling out a bundle of fireworks; they were thrown towards the Titan's face in an instant, blinding and disorientating it upon exploding, before the Elite turned towards his juniors.

"GO!" yelled the soldier, with Ymir scowling as she scrambled up to her feet and grabbed ahold of Christa. Slinging her over her shoulder, the freckled woman rushed towards the base, where Reiner and Mylius were both waiting for them, and all the while, the Titan that Gelgar had blinded lunged for him, to which he leapt away. "Barricade the place and hold down the fort! Leave the rest to us!"

And with that, Ymir and Christa leapt into the base, with Mylius slamming the doors shut whilst Reiner dragged a cabinet down over it, effectively barricading it all the while. It would more than likely do nothing to keep them safe, but it was better than absolutely nothing, he reasoned, and with that, the junior soldiers gathered all turned towards one another uncertainty.

"A-Alright… what now?!" yelled Connie, with him looking and sounding very much panicked as the sound of combat could be heard from the outside, to which no one responded to him, not at first, anyways, as they had no idea what they could even do to begin with; they were unarmed and unable to do anything to begin with, though before long, Mylius spoke up and posited their next course of action.

"... up! We should g-go up!" posited Mylius, with him motioning towards the stairwell leading up the final remaining tower of the base all the while. Hearing this, the others looked at him as though he were crazy, to which he defended himself. "L-Look, I know it sounds stupid, but going up is our best bet at staying alive! If we remain down here, we risk the Titans bearing down at us from above! If y-you recall, brick and mortar aren't exactly resilient to Titan attacks! We need to put as much distance between ourselves and these Titans as humanly possible, and the only way to do that is by heading up!"

"And how can you be so fucking sure about that, Mylius?!" yelled Connie, though right as he said this, the roof to the base abruptly shook before collapsing, prompting the junior soldiers to all scatter away from it, and moments later, a Fourteen metre Titan peered in and beared down upon them with uncaring eyes, causing all of them to freeze in horror at first, though moments later, Gelgar swung past its eyes and slashed at them, blinding it momentarily as it staggered back in pain.

To put it simply, that little moment had more or less shown the juniors present that, although not the best idea present, Mylius' suggestion was probably better than staying where they were, and with a scowl, Ymir picked Christa up as though she were a sack of bricks, slung her over her shoulder and turned towards the stairs.

"Well I don't know about you fucks, but the roof seems very inviting right about now, so C'MON!" yelled out Ymir, and to that, the other juniors followed her onwards in racing up the steps of the tower.

Sweat beaded down his face as he swung through the air, aided by two other Elites present, and with a scowl, Mitabi avoided a Titan's hand before swinging between its legs and launching himself up. Leaning down, the Titan stared between its legs as it attempted to pinpoint where Jarnarch had gone off to all the while, which opened it up to a strike from Gelgar that sliced deep into its nape.

"Well met," smiled Mitabi, with him moving on to avoid another strike from the Titans around them as he maintained their attention. Somewhat unfortunately, his supply of Shining Powder had been exhausted by now, so he had to work doubly hard to keep their attention on him as he swung through the air, something that was made quite apparent when he realized that more and more of the Titans were marching towards the base, seeming keen on bringing it down all the while.

Mitabi found himself cursing the Titans' instinct to head towards areas that were most populated by humans as he took stock of this, with him boosting in to try and get some of their attention onto him all the while. Closing in on them, Jarnarch grimaced as he got ready to strike, though before he could do so, he paused when he caught a glimpse of the junior soldiers through one of the many windows of the base tower.

They were ascending the tower, something that confused Mitabi at first, though moments later, he realized that it would've been for the best; the Titans could very easily break into the base through its top, and if one of their bodies were to fall upon it… the Elite didn't even wish to know how that would go, and with a small nod of approval, Jarnarch found himself silently praising his junior's course of action.

At the same time, however, the Elite had taken stock of how a multitude of Titans were gathering around the tower as they ascended it. Seeing this made him scowl as he acknowledged how the sheer volume of Titans could very easily topple the thing, and as such, he quickly boosted in and made his attempt at halting their progress.

Reaching behind himself, Mitabi grabbed ahold of a string of Fireworks before he threw them towards the tower; upon impacting its side, they exploded into a blaze of light and sound, disorientating the Titans that were hugged up against it and allowing Jarnarch to close in on them with minimal issue. With a scowl, he managed to down a single Titan with a swing of his blades, though the others recovered before he could do any more than that, much to his dismay.

"Tsk!" scowled Mitabi as he veered back to put some distance between himself and the Titans, and as he did so, a few pulled away from the tower in favour of lashing out at him, something that made him shudder, though he did wish for this as it got their attention away from his juniors. It didn't make the whole ordeal any less harrowing for him, though, as he boosted in to maintain their attention, and all the while, Gelgar swung by him to offer support.

Thanks to his superior experience, Gelgar was able to speed past Mitabi as he closed in on the first Titan, a Ten Metre, and slash at its fingers as it attempted a swing at him. Thereafter, he maintained his momentum and followed it up with a swing at the Titan's eyes, which blinded it momentarily as it brought its hand up to its face, and as it did so, its other hand flailed around as it attempted to feel around for Gelgar.

Inadvertently, the Titan had turned its back to Mitabi, who grinned as he swung at its nape with both his blades. On impact, his weapons, carried by his momentum, passed through the Titan's neck like a hot knife through butter, killing it in a near instant, though all the same, right as he had downed it, the Garrison Elite gasped when he saw the other Titan, a Ten metre, lunging for him from behind the one he had killed.

Before it could grab ahold of him, however, Nanaba, descending from above, collided down with the Titan's nape with the speed of a cannonshot, and in an instant, she slashed into the Titan's nape with both her blades in an X shaped manner, killing it in one fell swoop. Her momentum had forced the Titan onto the ground as she killed it, and thereafter, she boosted up and hovered by Gelgar and Mitabi with a frown.

"Thanks for the save, Nanaba!" thanked Mitabi, to which the blonde nodded, though thereafter, she turned towards the base tower and narrowed her eyes when she saw that the Titans seemed to be crowding around there specifically. It didn't take long for her to realize why, though, and with a scowl, she, alongside the other Elites, boosted into the fray with their blades held at the ready.

As they did so, a Titan managed to slam its head into the side of the tower, blocking the path for a few of the younger soldiers and cutting Mylius, Bertholdt and Reiner off from Connie, Ymir and Christa. Turning its gaze towards the former trio, it smiled as it got ready to make a move, though before it could do so, Nanaba swung in from an unbroken portion of the wall, entering through the window, and stabbed one of her blades into the Titan's eye, causing it to recoil back all the while.

The blonde Elite didn't even need to speak to her juniors as she leapt back out the hole in the wall, with her knowing that they knew what to do, and credit where credit was due, they had continued their ascent up the tower without a second thought; there was no time to thank their superior, nor was there any time to linger around and twiddle their thumbs. They had to move!

As they ascended, Mitabi, Nanaba and Gelgar all worked their hardest to stop any and all of the Titans from halting their advance, with them slashing at the hands of their titanic foes with reckless abandon. At one point, Gelgar, having been caught by a Titan, was freed by Mitabi, who slashed at the Twelve metre's wrist, only for Nanaba to swing in and grab ahold of him before he could fall to the ground. After nodding at her in thanks, the pompadour haired Elite was thrown back into the fray, where he sprang into action with a scowl on his face.

All the while, though…

"Kh… more Titans inbound!" yelled out Gelgar, with his eyes widening in horror as he saw several more Titans emerging from the woodwork. Overall, they had brought down six Titans in total, though for every one that fell, another would arrive to take its place. "We're going to be overruned at this rate!"

"Keep your chin up, Gelgar! We'll-" began Nanaba, only for her to pause when she heard a yell from the sidelines. Turning towards the source, the pair of Elites widened their eyes when they saw that a Titan had been able to break through one of the tower walls and had been able to grab ahold of Mylius from within, and now, the blonde found himself being pulled out of the base's interior and out into the open before being brought towards the Titan's face…

… something that neither soldier would allow happen, as, without a second thought, the duo boosted in towards the Titan that had ensnared the blonde and zeroed in on it with matching scowls. Nanaba, being the more agile one between the two, swung in first and slashed at the Titan's wrist, striking at a major tendon and forcing it to release Mylius, before spinning around and throwing a Firebomb at the Titan's face, causing its head to burst into flames momentarily, whilst Gelgar swung in to snatch Mylius out of the air, and upon doing so, he swung them both all the way up to the very top of the base's tower and set him down with a frown.

"You alright, kid?" asked Gelgar, to which Mylius nodded shakily, much to his relief, though there wasn't any time for them to exchange any more pleasantries as the Elite leapt back into the fray. At the same time, the other juniors present burst onto the top of the tower, with all of them looking incredibly winded all the while, though they'd be mostly safe for now as they huddled up.

"Tch… they won't last for much longer… without any new blades or fuel, it's only a matter of time…" began Ymir, who scowled as the bleakness of the situation began to dawn upon her, though before she could finish that statement, the tower itself began to shudder, in turn causing her to pause.

"Don't jinx it, Ymir!" scolded Connie, with him grimacing as the ground beneath them shook with the force of a tidal wave, with its cause being a Titan that was attempting to scale the side of the tower, only for it to be halted when Nanaba had swooped into sever its fingers, causing it to fall back towards the ground in an instant. "The last thing we need right now is someone jinxing this whole situation!"

"Oh fuck you Connie!" proclaimed Ymir in annoyance, and as she said this, the tower shuddered once more, in turn forcing everyone to their knees as they braced themselves against the tremors. Reiner himself scowled as he peered over the edge, only to grimace when he saw that Mitabi seemed to be losing himself to fatigue; he cursed himself for being unable to aid them in some way, though at the same time, his pupils dilated when he saw something else in the distance… "I mean… it's not like this fucking situation could get any worse, no?!"

"INCOMING!"

And much to her dismay, the situation did, indeed, get worse, as signaled by Bertholdt's horrified shriek, and seconds later, the world around them suddenly began tilting.

Nanaba's vision felt blurry, and as it refocused itself on the world around her, the blonde had brought a hand up to grab at her face, only to pause when she felt nothing pressing against it.

'I… w-what… what the…?' thought Nanaba, with her cloudy vision focusing in on her hand as she thought this. Strange… she couldn't see it. Had that collision been so intense that her vision had worsened to the point where she could not see something that was a part of her? Possibly so, though whatever the case, the blonde's gaze trickled down towards her right shoulder, and when it did…

"...!"

Her eyes widened in horror at what she saw. The fabric of her sleeve had been torn to shreds, and in place of her shoulder was nothing more than an opened wound, bleeding onto the grass below her like a faucet. It took Nanaba all but two seconds to realize that her right arm had been lost amidst the battle, and upon realizing this, her eyes widened in horror as her irises dilated in shock, and as she processed this realization, the blonde found herself unable to react as several Titans closed in on her.

'How did this happen…?'

Nanaba's fatigued mind recalled fighting… things weren't going well, but she still fought… when suddenly, Mitabi had yelled something out to both herself and Gelgar. She wasn't sure what, but moments later, the sound of rock impacting concrete could be heard.

'How…?

The Elite had blacked out momentarily thereafter, with the sound of someone in the distance screaming out her name in horror having brought her back to reality. By her sides, her Maneuver Gear remained attached to her hips, barely operational, and her blades were all but shattered as they laid uselessly close-by.

'H-How…?!'

Turning weakly to the side, Nanaba found herself staring at the tower that she had been tasked to protect. She had hoped to see it still standing, to see that her efforts at defending it were not all for naught, though much to her horror, upon turning to face it, the one armed Elite widened her eyes in dismay when she saw that it had… collapsed.

No longer standing tall, the tower of the abandoned base had collapsed from the impact against it, and rather weakly… oh so pathetically, Nanaba had made an at reaching out towards it, to call out for the soldiers that were once atop the structure, to ask if they were alright despite knowing that they were well were not…

Alas, she wasn't able to do any of those things, as, right as she began to shift towards what remained of the tower, she heard several stomps approaching her, prompting her to turn towards its source and see something that made her heart stop for the briefest of moments.

From all angles in front of her, Titans began moving in to close her in. Adrenaline gushed through her system as this happened, though it served to her detriment as tears began staining her eyes; she had lost a great deal of blood and, unbeknownst to her, had also suffered a strong blow to the head when she had landed. She wouldn't be able to think straight for a long while, and in a state of panic, Nanaba scrambled away from the Titans as best she could whilst hyperventilating.

A single Titan had reached down to grab her, causing Nanaba's irises to dilate in horror as it did so, though before it could do so…

SHNK!

… Gelgar leapt in from the sidelines and slashed at its fingers, tearing them apart with what remained his blades all the while.

Comparatively, Gelgar seemed less injured than Nanaba in that he still had all his limbs attached to him, but even so, his attire was completely ragged and, unseen to the blonde, he was fighting a losing war against a heavy concussion, something that made it difficult for him to even stand, let alone swing a sword, as he stood in front of her defensively.

"G-Gelgar…" muttered Nanaba, with her mind being just cohesive enough to recognise her friend as he stood in front of her defensively, with his presence bolstering some form of bravado within her as she pulled on the wires of her Anti-Titan blades and reeled them in. Grabbing a hold of one of their handles, she used what remained of its blade to prop herself up into a kneeling position, though she didn't manage to remain that way for long as she collapsed almost instantly.

Gelgar himself scowled as he kept his focus on the Titans ahead of them; he was bruised, injured and likely suffered from a multitude of internal injuries, but he wasn't beaten just yet. If he was going down, then he'd take just a few of these Titan fucks down alongside him.

Closing in on them from all sides, the Titans all smiled, almost mockingly, as they got ready to make their move, with Gelgar very much accepting his fate all the while… though moments later.

"Hold."

The Titans abruptly halted in their movements as a new, unknown voice rang through the air.

(Unknown… to all but two, at least…)

Widening their eyes in confusion when they had heard it ring out, Gelgar and Nanaba felt their jaws drop when they saw the Titans surrounding them abruptly halt in their movements and back away, and when the one closest to them had moved aside, appearing to almost cower as it did so, the injured Elites were greeted with the sight of the Beast Titan.

Having never seen it prior, both Nanaba and Gelgar were left speechless at the sight of this Titan before them. Lanky limbed, exceeding Fifteen metres and with the fur of beast all around its frame, the Beast Titan was certainly a sight to behold, and as it sauntered up to the two Elites, it brought a hand up to dramatically inspect something it had between its fingers.

They didn't see it at first, but it was the engine of a Maneuver Gear… the very same that belonged to Mitabi.

"I am impressed, really. I had expected to have killed you all with that blow, but here you stand, alive. Well, perhaps not stand, though I believe you both understand what I mean with my words, no?" smiled the Beast Titan, with it speaking perfectly, almost uncannily so, as it crouched down to better look Gelgar and Nanaba in the eye. Seeing such a Titan up close horrified the duo as the pompadour haired man took a step back and pointed his Anti-Titan blade up in the ape's direction, something that amused it greatly. "Oh please… you cannot kill me, Eldian. Look at you, battered and broken; you are subject to my every whim now. Both you, your friend… and those youngsters that you once fought to protect. A shame what happened to them, I say."

And as it said this, the Beast Titan glanced towards the tower that once stood as the primary point of defense for the Elites, in turn causing both Elites to flinch at their failure to defend it all the while, though moments later, the Beast's gaze seemed turned back and onto the two of them in particular as its smile widened a fair bit, causing them to shrink into themselves all the while.

It took Gelgar and Nanaba all but a handful of seconds before they realized what the Beast Titan likely was, and at the same time, they paled in horror at what the Titan could do to them at a moment's notice. It was already capable of commanding the other lesser Titans around it with ease, so if it so chose to…

"I can see that look in your eyes, Eldian. The look of an inferior being when it meets a higher power. I relish in it," smiled the Beast Titan as it glanced down towards Gelgar and Nanaba once more, causing the two to flinch as it spoke. "It is the job of the inferior to serve the whims of their superiors, so tell me… what did you offer to the Mechanical Titan to make it serve you?"

'Mechanical Titan…? Barbatos?' thought Gelgar hazily as he tried to piece together what this giant ape was saying. It was difficult, considering how his mind was still recovering, however slowly, from that concussion, but even so, he wasn't able to form a coherent thought quickly enough before the Beast Titan hummed softly and spoke.

"Come now. Answer my question; I know that you understand my language, so tell me, what did you offer to the Mechanical Titan to have it fight by your side?" asked the Beast Titan, with it narrowing its eyes as it spoke. "Power, perhaps? Money? Stature? Fame? How were you able to have it align with you, I must ask."

"I… we never asked him to side with us…" muttered Nanaba, with her frowning as she said this. Raising a brow inquisitively when it heard this, the Beast Titan watched as the blonde Elite stood up weakly, only to collapse once more onto her knees, before she continued. "Mikazuki fights with us… of his own volition! Because he… h-he has something to protect! It was never about money, power, stature or fame… it was always because of…!"

"Love."

Speaking that word out as though it were a curse, the Beast Titan's smile faded as it stood up, seeming… unimpressed by this revelation all the while. Glancing down at the two Elites with a sullen expression, the giant ape's lips went thin as it stared down at the Maneuver Gear held in between its fingers, and moments later, it continued.

"So even the inheritor of the Machine is susceptible to such a novel concept. Such is to be expected, I suppose, but to be swayed by the love of our former oppressors? I know of no greater disgrace…" mused the Beast Titan, with its words confusing almost everyone present as they watched it speak to itself, though moments later, it clenched its raised hand into a fist before speaking in a tone that held hints of anger. "But… it matters not… and likewise, your lives matter not as well. I bid you all farewell, dear Eldians, and should you be reborn, I pray that you find yourselves becoming people whom I could consider my own. Farewell."

And with that, the Beast Titan stepped back and, with a growl, ordered for the Titans to swarm Gelgar and Nanaba, who were the only ones left to strike down at this point. From behind Gelgar, Nanaba reached up and grabbed his shoulder, with her using him as a prop to help her stand, and once she was up, she leaned against him and discarded the broken blade that she had in her Maneuver Gear handle.

As it clinked uselessly against the ground beneath them, Nanaba slammed her Maneuver Gear handle into one of Gelgar's sheaths, surprising him at first, though moments later, she pulled it back out and held in her hands a half-broken blade. Her eyes were blurry and unfocused, but even so, she was determined to fight until the very end, regardless of what fate had in store of them, and as she stood, defiant until the end, Gelgar glanced back at her with a prideful look in his eyes.

If they were to die here… then he knew of no one he'd rather be with than his dear comrade.

"N-Nanaba…?"

"Gelgar…"

"Things are looking bad…"

"... indeed they are…"

"..."

"..."

"... it's been an honour, Nanaba."

"Likewise, Gelgar…"

Cliffhanger!