"You don't know who is important to you until you actually lose them" – Mahatma Gandhi
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Mikasa propelled herself through the streets trying her best not to look at them covered with the remains of her comrades; she took a route around the armoury to avoid the bulk of the Titans which had begun to gather around it.
She focused on the black flare ahead of her, or rather the area it had come from as the smoke had long since evaporated, she flew through another street, keeping low to avoid any stray Titan's spotting her zipping about, but she was sure most were either by the back wall or the armoury but from what she'd learned Titan's were often unpredictable and the black flare had marked the position of an Abnormal, the most dangerous of all Titans.
"Cadet Akerman!" a commanding voice shouted abruptly throwing Mikasa from her thoughts, looking ahead she realised Lieutenant Ian had gotten ahead of her and stopped atop a building in the direction she was heading, "Don't you even try and get further!" he barked, his grip firm on his handles ready to spring off and cut her off again.
Mikasa eyed up a small alley on the left and thought to quickly cut through and escape Ian's line of sight, but the girl was smart, she knew he'd eventually cut her off and likely take her massively off course and maybe in the direction of the Titans while trying to get away.
Reluctantly she kept her course towards the building, Ian is of course an Elite soldier, the leader of the Garrison Elite squad, Mikasa was no match for him in terms of ODM skills, so it was pointless to even try and evade him.
Mikasa came to a stop in front of him and looked up directly into his eyes, she could tell he was angry, furious in fact but that was her own doing, after all she was the one who disobeyed his order to return to Trost.
"What the hell were you thinking of Cadet!" he snapped glaring at her "I gave you an order to retreat and you disobeyed me, you know this will have consequences when we get back" he continued not breaking his furious stare at her.
"Sir, I just couldn't retreat knowing- "
"Knowing your friends could still be out there I know" Ian sighed shaking his head, "Trust me cadet I know how you feel, do you think you're the only one to have those you care about left fighting the Titan's alone".
Mikasa look down a moment but didn't speak, her words lost to her a moment, "We don't always have a choice in this world Akerman, sometimes you just have to have faith" he said before swiftly looking around to make sure a Titan wasn't sneaking up on them, "Come on, we need to head back, the Titan's will be drawn to us soon" he beckoned to her
"Sir… my brother is out there…" she muttered stopping Ian in his tracks.
"Your brother?" he asked, a small tone of concern laced his words but he kept his serious expression.
"Eren Yeager, he's my step-brother really but I've been with him so long that he feels like my own blood" Mikasa muttered looking out towards the decimated Trost, "We grew up in Shiganshina together since we were children, and we've been inseparable since though maybe that was due to my insistence" she reached up to gently touch her scarf.
"When our home was invaded by the Titan's, we had to abandon Carla, Eren's mother in the rubble, we tried so hard to get her out but there was nothing we could do and a Titan was bearing down on up" Mikasa gripped tightly to her scarf as the memories flooded back, "She made me promise her that I would look out for Eren, that I wouldn't leave his side, and now I'm being asked to abandon him in a fallen city".
She looked back around to Ian, "I gave her my word that I would look out for Eren, it was her last wish before…" she trailed off not wanting to remember, "Please sir, along with Eren is my friend Armin Artelt, he's looked out for me since I first met him even though he isn't very confident with himself, he went out of his way to understand my fear of touch then he had any reason too".
Ian stepped up to her and she bowed her head in a begging fashion, "Please sir, I'm just asking that we look, I-I need to know if they are okay, I made a promise and I cannot go back on it, I cared for Carla too much to torture her soul like this" she begged to the Lieutenant.
Ian sighed as he looked down at her, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for the kid, he was a veteran of many years but he always had a soft spot for recruits who have just been thrust into this hell of theirs, maybe it was due to his own history of loss or maybe he just had a too kind heart but either way, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
"Akerman" he said after a brief silence between the two, "If we go to the flare source, what are you hoping to find?" he asked.
She looked up with a almost hopeful expression but hid it swiftly, "Just anything sir, just proof they got away, that they're safe or if the worst…" she didn't want to finish and Ian nodded in understanding.
"Well you already dragged us halfway there, we may as well investigate" he answered turning towards their destination missing the look of thankfulness on Mikasa's face, "We will avoid all combat, there's only two of us with no support, best not to take any risks".
Mikasa nodded taking a step to stand next to him, "Yes sir" she said readier her blades, "And thank you…" she added quickly.
Ian glanced to her, "Don't thank me yet, once we're back I expect there to be a meeting with the Captain, so we're both in the shit regardless" he muttered "Now come on!" he ordered leaping from the roof and engaging his ODM Gear swiftly followed by Mikasa repeating the actions.
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They remained close together as the zipped over the streets, trying to keep to smaller alleyways that only the shortest and thinnest of Titans could get into, and while it wasn't easy to move through them, it was far better than moving in the open, even if the Titan's were distracted elsewhere there was always the risk of wanderers.
It took them a bit longer going the hidden route, but it was ultimately worth it as they encountered no Titans on the journey and soon, they arrived in the rough area the flare had come from.
It was a horror scene, pieces of Cadet's and Garrison Soldiers were litters on the roofs and streets, not one building was completely intact, some had completely collapsed or had large chunks missing from the sides.
It was safe to say they were firmly in No Man's Land.
"Sorry Akerman, but I doubt anything's made it out here" Ian muttered regretfully looking over his fallen comrades bloodies faces, "The Titan's don't stop until everything is consumed" he sighed looking down to her.
"Can I just look around; I have to know" she begged not facing away from the carnage.
"Okay, you have a few minutes, but be careful" he warmed before beckoning her onwards and immediately beginning a street-by-street search for any evidence of Eren, but hope was beginning to fade as they passed a collapsed tower.
The area they scoured ultimately all looked the same, bloodied bodies and broken buildings, they checked over the bodies but none of them matched, though they did sometimes recognise who they were.
"How many…" Mikasa muttered feeling horrified as she walked through the street littered with bodies, her heart sunk in her chest as she saw a she recognised earlier in the day, a male garrison solider, she'd seen him talking happily with his squad mates in the armoury just hours ago but now the remains of his face wore a look of pain and horror, "How many could have died…" .
"This is the price of being a solider" Ian muttered walking beside her, "There's no peaceful end for us in this life, this is just how many of us will go" he answered with a grimace, "I don't think he made it, I'm sorry" he said looking down to her.
"That can't be, he has to be here, he has to be alive!" she exclaimed boosting back up to a roof to get a better view with Ian quickly following her.
She looked around only seeing more of the same, complete and utter carnage but she refused to give up and ran along the roof to look over more streets for any sign of a cadet's badge and desperately checking the few bodies she found but not finding Eren among them but recognising all of them from her detachment.
"Akerman, you have to stop" Ian said sternly trying to break the girl from her delusions but he couldn't seem able to get though.
"No he had to be here!" she exclaimed in desperation returning to the roofs and continuing a fruitless search, "I know he's alive, I can feel it!" she continued running alone the roof tops.
Ian ran after her knowing he had to stop the girl before she ran into danger but she was getting more and more lost in her own mind as she search desperate to find her brother but Ian knew what the reality was.
"Mikasa stand down!" he exclaimed but she didn't listen just kept running leaving Ian no choice.
He pulled out his blade and looked over it before firing a hook and anchoring it into a chimney ahead of them and using the smallest amount of gas fired himself forward to catch up to the faster girl.
She didn't notice him allowing him to turn his blade to it's side and crashing it into her legs as he passed taking them out and sending her crashing into the roof tiles.
Swiftly he stopped and approached her, holding his blade out to her as a warning as she faced up at him, "When I say stop you stop, understood cadet!" he warned with a glare, she was beginning to irritate him greatly at this point and make him just want to drag her back to the walls, kicking and screaming if need be.
Mikasa nodded her head and rose herself to a kneel, "I'm sorry sir…" she muttered brining a hand up to nurse her chin that had gotten badly scratched when she fell, "I just…".
"I know, you made a promise" he answered sheathing his blade again, "But look around Akerman, look how far we've come" Mikasa did as told and realised they had moved far south of the town, "We're in the Vanguard lines and look around, they were massacred".
"I know how you feel and I'm sorry, but if they advanced this far into combat they had no chance, there would have been too many Titan's, there was nothing they could of done and there is nothing you can do now" he knelt down to her level to look her in the eyes but she looked down to avoid him.
"You don't know what it's like, I promised to protect him, to be there with him until the end, to always be there when he needed me most just like he was for me, I owe him my whole life and when he needed me I was nowhere for him, I left him to die alone, so how can you know what it's like!" she snapped shooting her head up to look at him but instead of a shocked or annoyed face she only saw one of pain.
The Lieutenants eyes stared right at hers without flinching, letting her get it all out but she could see he hurt too.
"You really think I don't understand, look around you, I know the name of every member of the Vanguard because I chose them for this duty, I selected everyone of them knowing the hell they would face as first contact" Ian said calmly.
"Some of them were new but showed promise, some long standing veterans of the Garrison and a few were old friends of mine, people who I go back to my own cadet days with and I chose them for this duty, I chose them to be sent to their deaths".
"Each one has a family, whether that be a mother and father, a brother or sister, a son or daughter, a husband or wife, each one of them has someone waiting for them to come home, but after today I'm the one who will be visiting those family's personally to tell them I sent their loved one to their death, I sentenced them to die alone when I promised to get them home".
"So do not think for a moment I don't understand your feelings, I have felt loss for 11 years, everyday I feel the weight of those who die whether they be my comrades in the Garrison or old friends in the Scouts, the feeling of pain and loss is something everyone in these walls knows well and for some, it's all they do know".
He stood back up and pulled his blades out, "Learn this lesson well Akerman, cause you're not the first to lose someone you love, and nor will you be the last because this world, is just that cruel" he muttered before beckoning her to stand.
"I understand sir…" she whispered pulling out her own blades and swallowing a lump in her throat, "How do you keep going though, when those you love are gone?" she questioned unable to face him, her eyes fixated on a blood patch which had stained the roof tiles and been dripping down to the street below where the remains of three Titans were still evaporating though not much was left to go.
"You continue to fight, in honour of their memory and all they sacrificed" he answered taking a serious expression, "They wouldn't want you to give up, not until the very end, and when that does come, make sure there is someone else, to carry the touch of their and your memory" he nodded to her.
She nodded in understanding and prepared to move out but as they did, something caught their eyes.
In the distance, a clear white smoke signal flew into the air piercing thought the small puffs of steam coming from the evaporating Titans.
"A resupply signal?" Ian said surprised to see one going up now, "It's coming from the church, why would someone still be out there?" he questioned aloud.
Mikasa looked at the smoke rise and she couldn't help the feeling of hope rising in her chest but she had learned not to expect too much now, "The church, isn't that the centre of town, maybe they got stranded there?" she suggested trying to keep the hope out of her voice.
Ian looked round at her, "It's only logical but why would they even be there in the first place, the church isn't a priority point… unless…" he muttered as a realization formed in his head, "Of course, the Church is one of the tallest points in the town other than the Armoury on top of that it's an open field, no why a Titan could sneak up on them there and even if they got close, anything but the tallest ones would have to climb up the building leaving their nape vulnerable" he said feeling quite impressed.
Mikasa nodded and looked onto the church in the distance, having to fight every urge to just rush over but knew the Lieutenant could easily take her down again, however he did notice her desire to investigate the distress, "You want to investigate don't you?" he asked glancing to her.
"Yes sir" she said almost sheepishly but trying to keep a disciplined tone in her voice.
"Well it's your lucky day, I think we should to, I won't abandon anyone out here if I can help it, we should at least investigate the situation and help them if possible if not, we can secure the area then retreat and come back with appropriate reinforcements and supplies" he said quickly checking his gas and blades to which Mikasa copied.
"Come on, lets help those survivors!" he ordered leaping from the roof being swiftly followed by Mikasa.
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"You idiot what are you doing!" a cadet shouted running up to another to snatch the flare gun out of his hand, "This is our only shot of getting the attention of wall patrols and you may have just thrown it!" he snapped at the other.
"But I thought I saw a unit passing in the distant districts, I thought they…" the other tried to reason but the first didn't care.
"No one is left in Trost, the damn retreat signal came out, the only ones still here are in the same situation as us you utter idiot!" he snapped but before they could continue to argue a single cadet got between them.
"Knock it off both of you!" Marco exclaimed pushing them away from each other, "The last thing we need now is infighting, focus on defending against the Titans instead of against each other, we need to work together now more than ever!" he exclaimed snapping his head between the two.
Both slowly walked away to other ends of the roof as Marco let out a sigh of relief and rubbed his temple getting frustrated with all the fights that were taking place due to their isolation.
The sounds of ODM gear caught his full attention however and he snapped his head towards the sounds ready to discipline more people for foolishly using their equipment now.
But the two people who landed on the church roof were the last people who needed to be disciplined, in fact Marco was willing to let anything slide with them, "Mikasa! Lieutenant!" he exclaimed running up to them both though no others made a move too, seemingly not caring about anything.
Mikasa immediately locked eyes with Marco as he approached, immediately running herself towards him to close the short distance, "Marco! Is Eren here!" she immediately exclaimed not giving him a chance to greet them, she needed her answered now and couldn't wait any longer.
Marco looked at her and his hopeful smile faded, he could see just how desperate she was to get an answer and part of him was afraid to give her one; the truth was he knows exactly what happened to Eren and his squad, he knew every detail down to the darkest parts.
He felt pity for them, while he had it easy they had gone through hell and now he had to relay it back to Mikasa, the person who would take any bad news about Eren poorly.
"Mikasa.. I'm sorry…" he said putting his softest expression and Mikasa's face turned from demanding to sorrowful, "Eren he's… been badly injured" her sorrowed looked turn to one of concern.
"Badly how? Where is he?" she wanted to immediately go and find him but Marco blocked her path.
"Mikasa listen…" he paused to find the right words but while thinking Mikasa spotted an all too familiar blond behind him, it was Annie and she was resting on her knees next to where the roof was raised higher so a small stone wall with a glass pain window was present.
But it wasn't Annie that got her attention, it was what was resting on her knees, it was the head of a young boy with dark brown hair and very pale skin, his eyes were closed almost peacefully, as if nothing was wrong, completely oblivious to the world around him, she couldn't see anything but his head as another cadet was blocking the rest of his body but she didn't need to, she could recognize his face no matter how it looked.
"Eren!" she exclaimed darting around Marco and heading straight for him, ignoring Marco's attempts at warning, she only had one focus and that was Eren, nothing else mattered until she was sure he was okay.
A small smile graced her lips as she approached him and saw his chest rising slowly, the fact he was still breathing was enough for her but as she got closer, her slime faded and returned to a look of worry.
In one look she understood everything, why he was so pale, why he was unconscious and why so many were caring for him.
It was his left leg, the whole limb was almost entirely gone, part of his upper thigh remained but below it was red stained bandaged wrapping his remaining stump where small bits of steam were emerging from the sides, "Ereh…" she muttered her childhood name for him as she covered her mouth in shock and fell to her knees as Marco and Ian approached.
"Mikasa I'm sorry, we're not sure what happened…" Marco said feeling remorse for his friend as the two cadets, Annie and Christa who had been looking after Eren looked around to her.
"I'm sorry Mikasa" Christa muttered getting the girl to face her, "I've done what I can but I could only scrounge up so much, without a proper medical facility there's no way to treat a severed leg" Christa looked to Eren with regret feeling helpless, "The best I can do is make him comfortable".
Indicating to Annie who had her own look of remorse as she kept his head still, "I'm sorry…" she muttered glancing at Mikasa.
Mikasa looked her up and down, slightly surprised to see Annie helping in such a way, "Why is he…".
"I wanted to help in any way I could, this was what Christa suggested" Annie said honestly for once not caring how she appeared to others.
Slowly she looked over to Mikasa and shared a rare moment of peace between them, "As Marco said, we don't know what happened to them, we can't get anything out the rest of them" Annie muttered indicating to the wall.
Mikasa hadn't even realised but leaning against it was a small shivering blond boy, his head held tightly in his hands and fingers buried deep into his hair, he'd brought his knees up tight to his chest as he hid his face from view.
Next to him was a ash blond boy who's left side was splattered in blood and he hugged his knees while muttering inconsistently to himself.
"Armin… Milieus…" Mikasa muttered getting up to walk over a kneel in front of Armin first.
"Armin, are you okay?" she asked getting as close as she dared but he didn't move, "It's Mikasa, please Armin look at me" she said a bit more firmer to make sure he heard.
His shivering stopped as he slowly peaked his head up to peer at her, "Mikasa…" his soft dry voice squeaked, "You're here…" he continued sounding almost gleeful but he wouldn't lose his scared tone.
"Yes I'm here Armin, are you okay?" she asked as softly as she could to hide the urgency in her voice; he slowly nodded as Mikasa went to ask another question, "Can you tell me what happened?".
Slowly Armin looked up more so she could see his full horrified face; he took a few moment to answer and when he tired he began to stumble over his words until one came out clearer than the others, "…Abnormal.." he muttered before her voice became hoarse again.
Conny slowly walked up behind Mikasa and offered a small waterskin to her, "Here, there's still some left" he said beckoning to Armin.
She nodded and took the water before slowly taking the top off and offering it towards Armin, he tentatively pulled a hand from his head and took the waterskin.
Drinking the small amount that remained he now began to breath more steadily, "Armin, can you tell us what happened exactly?" Mikasa asked slowly.
"The abnormal, it all started with that…" he muttered, so quiet that only the present few could hear "…it jumped from a roof ahead of us, we barely had time to react… we thought we'd all gotten out of the way but… Thomas was too slow…"
Mikasa gasped as she heard this but it didn't stop Armin, "It ate him whole, we couldn't do anything but watch… Eren got enraged and charged to try and kill it that was when another jumped from between the buildings… it got his leg…".
"Nack tried to get us to retrieve Eren, but as we charged… Nack was taken out by another Titan, before we knew they were swarming us and I froze up…" he muttered regret filling his voice, "I don't know what happened after… its all darkness to me…".
"Thomas… Nack…" Conny muttered stepping back in shock, they all suspected that they were dead but they couldn't be sure, not until it was confirmed.
Silence fell over everyone as this thought processed through them all, realising that this was real and not some dream, their comrades and friends they'd known for years, were just gone.
"Marco Bodt isn't it?" Ian asked looking over to the young boy who nodded in confirmation, "He said that they were swarmed by the Titans, who the hell got them out of there?" he asked knowing how bad situation must have been.
"Well sir… he got them out…" turning he pointed his finger towards the end of the church where a single figure stood.
Ian hadn't noticed him yet, having been too focused on what was going on with Mikasa, but now it was all making sense to him, why so many of these cadets had made it to this position, why such a number of Titan bodied were around the church itself, and who the hell was able to pull Eren and his squad out of such a hopeless situation.
Standing at the end of the church roof was a single man, he was tall, easily the tallest there and his black hair seemed to be partly tied back in a small bun behind his head with the rest allowed to droop over the left side of his face, coving it almost entirely.
His uniform was mostly the same, boots, white jeans and a black shirt underneath his jacket which was the difference, on his back, he wore the Wing of Freedom, the mark of the Survey Corps but he wasn't just any member all blocks of his white wing were coloured gold, the mark that only two members of the Corps wore, that of a Captain.
Ian knew exactly who he was, even at just a glance, he hadn't seen him for years but had heard he had been hold up in Trost Hospital one of the first locations evacuated in the attack, so of course he would of jumped to the defence once he heard.
"Sky…" Ian muttered not looking away from him but the man himself was too focused on the Armoury to notice, "Did anybody see what happened?" he asked turning back to the cadets.
"Yes sir, he took my squad with him when he went" Christa said standing up, "We were one of the first he encountered in the field, and just so happened to be near him when the flare went up, he took us with him to investigate".
"What happened exactly?" he questioned and Christa moved to answer.
"Well I'm not one hundred percent sure myself" she began to answer, "When we arrived, we saw the carnage going on, and the Captain just shot off, jumping over Eren he took out the Titan holding Armin before we'd even reached the nearby roofs".
"Then just as quickly, he took out the one holding Mina and completely cut the one holding Milieus to pieces, we barely had time to catch them before they hit the ground" she said in a almost amazed tone as she recalled the events witnesses.
"He then ordered us to get the survivors to the roof of the church, he then went around and gathered what survivors he could to bring here" Christa answered as she looked to her fellow cadets before tuning back to help Eren the best she could.
"Three kills, in such quick secession…" Ian muttered looking back to Sky.
"You mentioned Mina? Where is she?" Mikasa asked looking around to the others.
Christa looked over to Ymir and beckoned her to show Mikasa where, and with a sigh she indicated her to follow, around the corner of the raised roof they came to a small figure leaning against the wall, Ymir walked up to her and prodded her with her foot but got no response the small girl only continued to shiver in place.
Ymir shook her head with a sigh, "She's been like this since we got her here, nothing we try can get through to her" she said, a hint of annoyance in her tone.
Mikasa walked up and knelt next to the small girl herself, the immediate small of urine filled her nose, looking her up and down she saw the wet patch between her legs as she shivered, her hair was all matted and clump together was an almost glossy texture over it all, "What happened to her?".
"The same as the other two, she was almost eaten, although the one that tried to eat Mina got her whole head in it's mouth, had the Captain been any later, well…" Ymir answered honestly while crossing her arms, "Anyway looks like it's just broken her brain, as I said, nothing gets through to her, she's worse off than the other two".
Ymir walked away without a look back as Mikasa stepped around to get in front of Mina so she could see her, her arms wrapped around herself and her eyes were wide, she was in a pure state of shock and nothing was getting through to her.
"Mina… it's me Mikasa…" she tired but the was no acknowledgement, the girl just continued to shiver in place.
Mikasa let out a regretful sigh as stood to walk back only to step in something, looking down she saw the was a trail of sick sliding down the roof tiles, looking back to Mina she saw there was still some traces left around her mouth, "I'll get someone to help you" she knew Mina wouldn't notice but hoped something would get through to her.
Walking back to the group Mikasa looked over to Christa, "Mina's been sick, is someone able to help her clean up?" she asked and got a small nod from the blonde who stood taking a small handkerchief with her.
As a quiet exuded over the group it was swiftly broken by a single loud voice.
"This is just great isn't it!" Jean exclaimed pacing up and down the roof, waving his hands frantically getting the attention of the survivors, "Here we are trapped in the middle of a Titan infested town with no resupply and no other ways out!" he continued making those nearby nervous.
"Jean, please calm down" Marco tried to get through to him, but the eccentric boy didn't care, being lost in his own panic now.
"No Marco, I shouldn't be here, I should be safe behind the wall, but I'm not, because I got dragged out here by you and that blond muscle head Reiner for that bitch" he pointed an accusatory finger and Annie who simply ignored him not caring for his tantrum.
"Jean that was out of line" Marco tried to assert authority, but it was futile, even Reiner tackling him wouldn't do any good to shut him up, he was too far gone now.
"Oh was it, well I don't care Marco, I'm going to die out here along with every last one of you because that bitch dragged us all out here because of her precious suicidal idiot who would have died anyway had she been here or not!" he continued not caring how loud he was.
"Stow it, Cadet!" Ian said walking up to him, "I don't care for you personal feelings but your no use to anyone losing your head like this!" he tried to reason, knowing he may have to use force if he didn't calm down soon.
"No Lieutenant, we're going to lose anyway there is nothing we can do so what's the point, this is how we all die, alone and forgotten about, no one is coming, no one cares, this is it, this is all we have and what we have is absolutely fuck a-!".
He was abruptly cut off by a fist connecting deep with his stomach keeling him over, then a hand touched his shoulder pushing him abruptly backwards straight into the wall and before Jean could catch any sense the bottom of a dark brown boot use pushed into his face, pinning his head sideways to the wall.
"What-" he tried to say but he couldn't finish as the edge of a blade came into view showing his own reflection along with the boot and the face of the owner, but who he saw wasn't Lieutenant Ian, Marco, Reiner or even Annie for that matter, not one of the people who he'd been insulting were the one to pin him down; no the person he saw was far more terrifying.
"Shut up…" the cold voice of Sky pierced through Jean's heart like a cold dagger, the man had been virtually silent until now, and now Jean had annoyed him to the point of action.
No one else dared make noise, all eyes were fixated on the situation unfolding, in a flash Sky had taken Jean completely down and now stood, his right boot placed firmly against his face and right blade easily able to run perpendicular to him.
"The Lieutenant is right, you're no use to any of us losing your head like this, especially no use to me" he twisted his blade slightly to emphasise his point making Jean let out a small whimper, "Now I plan to get as many of you out of here alive as I can, but I need full cooperation from all present, but if you want to continue sitting here, complaining and drawing the attention of the Titans, I have no problem leaving you behind, to save those who want to escape".
"Is that understood cadet!" Sky put a bit more pressure of his head making Jean reach up to grip the boot with his hands.
"Yesh, sir…" he answered, the pressure on his face slurring his words.
Without a word, Sky pulled his boot away and sheathed his blade then turned to walk away, "Ian a word" he said beckoning to the Lieutenant who nodded and followed leaving Jean to clutch his face in pain though no one came to his aid most still frozen in place.
Mikasa watched them go before looking back down to Eren and kneeling beside him looking over his entire body.
"We cleaned him up as best we could" Sasha said kneeling next to Mikasa, "Luckily the Titan blood just evaporates all on its own, did some of our jobs for us" she smiled and gave a little laugh but stopped when Mikasa glared at her, "Sorry…" she muttered rubbing her hands on her knees awkwardly.
"What about his leg?" she asked indicating to the small wafts of steam still coming from small gaps between the bloodied bandages.
Sasha looked down confused and realised that Mikasa was right, there were still puffs of steam coming from his leg, "Oh, it must be more, that damn Titan blood goes everywhere, it'll do him no harm, as I said it'll evaporate itself eventually" she smiled to Mikasa who gave no immediate response.
Sasha looked down feeling a bit hurt, "Thank you Sasha" Mikasa acknowledged looking around to her, "For helping Eren when I couldn't" Sasha couldn't help the small smile on her face at the praise.
Annie meanwhile still with Eren's head on her legs was staring at the steam intently, "I could of sworn we cleaned his wound thoroughly…" she muttered to herself unable to tear her eyes away until a loud voice broke her from her thoughts
"Alright come on kids, time to stop moping!" Ymir called out from nearby.
Looking over, they saw her walking up to Armin and Milieus, "Your both still in one piece so enough of this misery" she commented using her foot to try and budge Milieus, "There's no use feeling sorry for yourself".
"Ymir knock it off!" Christa exclaimed walking back from tending to Mina to see Ymir harassing them.
"Come on Christa, they've been sitting her huddled up hours now, we need to get them on their feet or we're going to have to carry them out of here" she retorted, and while her reasoning was sound her methods weren't exactly the most effective.
"Let's start with you Milieus" she commented prodding him further but he wasn't budging which only infuriated Ymir more, "Come on you idiot just get up" she snapped a bit more harshly then she meant.
"Ymir, leave him alone!" Mikasa snapped stepping up to the girl ready to forcefully move her off if necessary, "Do you have no respect what so ever!" she snapped knowing her history in the cadets.
"Honestly no I don't, people who sit here crying about what they can't change irritate the hell out of me, and right now they are dragging us down by being dead weight" the freckled girl snapped back not being intimidated by Mikasa.
"Now come on!" she snapped reaching down to grab Milieus by the arm and hoist him up.
But as she tried his arms darted out of her grip and buried itself into his head, "Just leave me alone!" Let me die!" Milieus mumbled out, tears beginning to form in his eyes.
"Oh enough of this, come on" she grabbed his arm more tightly this time, but as he pulled him up she wasn't quick enough to dodge the lunch Milieus made for her getting on top and pinning her to the ground as he held tightly onto her collar.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Milieus screamed with a terrified whimper, "Look at me, this blood is not titans not one drop, it all fucking Nack's, I was right beside him when he was swatted from the air" he cried tears pouring from his eyes as he remembered.
"I watched as Thomas was swallowed whole while begging me to save him, the I watched Nack splatter all over me before the Titan devoured what was left and I could do nothing, my best friends where eaten fucking whole so don't you tell me to just fucking let it go, I had to just watch… just watch… and watch… and watch… " he began to repeat himself in horrified delusions, his mind being trapped in the moment as tears dropped from his eyes covering Ymir's shirt who watch wide eyed.
Slowly Reiner and Franz came over to pulled Milieus off and rest him back against the wall leaving him to stare intently at his blood soaked hands his eyes wide and still muttering to himself.
"Shit… I'm sorry alright…" Ymir muttered slowly getting up and walking away.
Mikasa looked around first to Milieus then to the other injured, slowly setting her eyes back on Eren's bloodied bandages "We need those medical supplies now" she muttered to herself not being able to tear her eyes from Eren's missing limb.
"Mikasa what do you mean?" Sasha asked almost missing her mutterings though she was standing beside her.
"Eren's leg will just get worse, he needs medical supplies from the Armoury" she said pulling her blades from their sheath, "I'm going to push through and get them" she added beginning to walk to the roof edge.
"What, you're crazy!" Sasha shouted running after her in an attempt to change her mind, "There's no way you can beat them Mikasa!".
"I have to try" she answered not being dissuaded by Sasha's warning, "If I do nothing then Eren is going to die".
"But-"
"No but's Sasha" Mikasa snapped round to face Sasha as she neared the roofs edge "I thought I had lost Eren and now I've found him again and I could very well lose him now, I will not let that happen!"
She looked back to the Armoury with a focused look, "I'll kill all the Titan's if I must, nothing will get in my way I swear!" she answered with determination in her voice.
"And what if you don't, what if they kill you like they have so many others!" Sasha exclaimed getting the attention of those around them, "We can't lose you!" she continued getting close to Mikasa.
"And I can't lose Eren!" she shouted back getting eye to eye with Sasha, who backed up slightly, "Nothing is more important to me than him right now, I will fight for him when I have to and I will die for him when I have to!".
Silence fell between them are all around for that matter as Mikasa stared Sasha down until the girl back away slightly, now feeling she had made her point Mikasa turned to face the Armoury.
"Here I was hoping you were the smart one…" a dark voice rung out beside Mikasa, shooting her head to her left she saw Sky standing there, his body face towards the Armoury with his arms crossed then turning his head to face her, his drape of hair moving slightly in the wind, "Seems I was wrong, you're just an idiot" he scolded his only visible eye conveying no emotion.
As she opened her mouth to retort Sky closed the distance between them with two steps and now looming over her, "Tell me what do you hope to accomplish, other than feeding those Titans over there?" he asked coldly staring into her eyes.
"To get medical supplies for Eren… sir…" she added quietly on the end as she noticed Ian standing where Sky just was, a disappointed expression across his own face, "He needs them urgently sir".
Sky loomed over her more giving off an intimidating aura, "I know that Mikasa, how did you think you were going to accomplish this feat, charge in there full of emotions, let your anger guide your actions, the only thing that'll do is give you the same results as Eren over there if not worse!" he said indicating towards him.
"And so you're happy to die, tell me what will that accomplish then, a minor distraction to the Titans maybe, we're all the same to them when we're devoured it doesn't matter how you're feeling" he continued not giving her a second to give a response, "You're death would mean nothing to them and everything to us, distracting them with your body will change nothing, none of your comrades here could likely capitalise on your death and the Lieutenant and I do not need an emotion prone girl to throw her life away just to take out a Titan!".
Mikasa winced back feeling the harsh truth of his words, "Say you even did make it, how do you expect to get back out, 5 meters are likely inside the gas room and courtyard, how do you expect to take them on your own with no supplies not to mention the extra Titans you would of drawn in your charge" he was right, it may all go well in her head but in reality everything would be different, exactly what her fellow devoured cadets had learned the hard way.
"You're a talented soldier Mikasa, but don't go throwing your life away at the first opportunity of glory, especially when there is no need; as us Scouts learn, you only have one heart, don't waste it" he finished and slowly Mikasa sheathed her blades and stepped away from the roofs edge.
"Sorry sir, I lost my head for a moment" she apologised as she stood next to Sasha who gave a relieved smile.
Sky nodded to her accepting the apology before facing the rest of the cadets, "Everyone ready your equipment, we're beginning our attack to retake the Armoury" he revealed finally.
Looking over the shocked faces Sky knew he would have to convince them already, "But sir, how can we?!" Daz exclaimed looking towards the Armoury himself, "There's so many Titans over there and we don't have the supplies to take them all!".
"I know, but we have no other choice" Sky insisted, "We have to use what supplies we can and hope we'll all make it".
"But can't you just take them out sir!" Conny piped up from the back, "You took out three when saving Eren!".
"That was different, those were three Titan's who were distracted by trying to eat your comrades, all of these ones will be alert" Sky answered almost coldly, "An attack by all of us at once is the best and only way".
"B-but its suicide!"
"We're so screwed"
"I'm going to die in here!"
"No way am I going towards the Titans"
Jean keeled over and clutched his head, "No, no, no, this isn't happening, I've got to wake up and be at home soon, this has got to be a fucking nightmare" he mumbled under his breath.
Sky listened as the sounds of panic broke out among all the cadets before taking a breath knowing what he had to do.
"CADET'S LISTEN IN!" He shouted getting all their attention making silence return to the group, Sky knew he had only one chance to persuade them, everyone of his next words had to count.
"Is this what you're fallen comrades would want?" he questioned looking around to each one there, "Is this what Thomas and Nack would want, for you all to sit here and wait to die, they died so that you could live, the soldiers in the Vanguard died so that you could live, your fellow Cadets have died so that you could live, so that you all could be here with me right now, do not let their sacrifices be in vain!" he grasped all their attention.
"This is the only option for us all, to move forward, to push away the Titan menace and secure our escape, if we are to remain here we will surely die in time, whether that be by our own hand or by Titan, remaining will only mean certain death!" a few cadets began to stand.
"There are no reinforcements, the people to your shoulders are all we have, now I will do my best to get us all to the Armoury but I cannot guarantee we all make it, but those of us who don't will forever be remembered by your comrades just like the already fallen will be, every last one of them!" a few more stood.
Sky pulled his blades out "Every one of you is now a soldier, this is your life now and that will never change so do not forfeit what you have now by giving up, keep fighting for your loved ones, keep fighting for your fallen comrades, keep fighting to escape this hell, keep fighting till your last breath!" the last few cadets stood including Armin and Milieus.
"Those of you who wish to follow me to escape, reply to my command with a salute!".
All cadets who could put one hand behind their back and their other balled up in a fist over their heart, "Sir Yes Sir!" they called out in unison.
Sky looked to them all and nodded satisfied he convinced them all, "Good, now gather around, I'll lay out the plan, and then we attack".
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