Struggle For Trost(2)

Today was finally the day of graduation for the training cadets. A joyous and vibrant mood could be felt in the air, punctuated by sounds of laughter and lively discussion.

It was a landmark moment for the new soldiers, they had survived and made it through the years of hellish training, and freedom was finally in their grasp.

A stable future lay ahead for most of them who had already decided on joining the garrison, or the military police for the top 10 performers.

"Hey, Armin." A familiar voice sounded near the ears of a short figure with blond hair, who was currently sitting in front of an empty table, seemingly deep in thought.

"Eren! Mikasa! I haven't seen you in ages!" Armin exclaimed excitedly as he quickly put down the cup of liquor he was about to drink, greeting them.

Ever since Mikasa and Eren graduated early to join the survey corps, he had felt so lonely without them by his side.

They had always been together since childhood, such a prolonged separation was a really weird feeling for him.

"So … are you sure , you want to join the survey corps? Armin?". Eren asked as he and Mikasa sat down together opposite him..

"Yes… I've been thinking about it. I may be lacking in physical strength. But I can make up for that with my intellect! I'll put it to good use in the planning division. " Armin replied, his eyes filled with resolve.

The image of his grandfather flashed across his mind.

He could still recall vividly how he placed his hat on his head, before turning away, fading away along with the other refugees as they slowly disappeared beyond the walls.

He had made up his mind long ago, though this would be putting himself in great danger. Even if he had to die, it was okay, as long as he was useful.

"How are things in the survey corps now for you? Eren? I heard you're an officer, and a small squad captain now ." Armin probed, not wanting to dwell any more on the painful memories that emerged earlier.

"Oh, just killing titans and carrying out some minor mapping missions. We returned from one recently." Eren answered, taking a glance at Mikasa beside him.

"Mikasa's in my squad, but she's always so reckless." Placing his hand on his forehead, he shook his head.

"I'm pretty sure you're the reckless one right?" A burst of small laughter left Armin's lips. He had been with Eren since childhood, how could he not know what his character was like?

"Exactly. " Mikasa interjected, nodding her head several times. It seemed as if she had been waiting for someone aside from her to tell that to Eren all along

"Come on! Armin!... Aren't you supposed to be on my side?" Eren made a disappointed expression as his shoulders sunk a little.

"I am, that's why I am saying Mikasa needs to be by your side to protect you" He continued.

"But still… "

"You've become incredibly strong, haven't you Eren? I hear you're now called the Flash Blade. To think you would have such a nickname due to your speed and impressive titan killing skills." Armin smirked as he continued to drink again from his half-finished cup of wine.

"It's a good thing. That means I'm closer to my goal of exterminating every single titans and breaking free of these walls. I`m not going to let the hundreds of thousands of sacrifices that humanity has made ... be in vain." Eren nodded as his thoughts started to wander.

The figure of the armored titan and colossal titan slowly surfaced in his mind.

He was definitely going to kill all the titans, especially them.

=======

The next day after the graduation ceremony and celebration, it looked like apocalypse had descended upon the peaceful and bustling city of Trost.

Its streets were littered with corpses, broken houses and abandoned buildings lined the empty pavements, there was not a single person that was not running in the direction of the inner gates.

The colossal titan, just like in Shiganshina, had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, breaking the outer gate of Trost.

Titans were right now swarming in through the hole in the wall, like water gushing out of a dam.

"We have to stop them here no matter what, if they break past us the civilians will be in great danger. The evacuation is not yet complete! " Squad Leader Darius was barking his orders frantically while gesturing his men to head in different directions.

He was in charge of the garrison soldiers stationed at the final defense line, if the titans broke through them, the evacuating civilians behind them would be within their reach.

"Where is the rear guard overseeing the evacuation? What exactly is that slowpoke Ian Dietrich doing!!" Darius's mind felt like it was going to explode any second as the burning questions within him continued to remain unanswered.

His soldiers were simply supposed to oversee the evacuation of the civilians, while the rear guard would keep the titans away from them.

But right now they were nowhere to be seen!

Since the last 10 minutes, titans have started to appear more and more frequently in his vicinity, and he had to allocate soldiers originally assigned to handle the movement of the civilians to deal with them.

As a result, this made the whole evacuation even slower, aggravating the already dire circumstances they were facing.

Furthermore, the appearance of titans so close to them only added to the panic of the already terror-stricken civilians - many who saw titans for the first time.

The situation was like a powder keg, threatening to spiral out of control any moment at the tiniest spark.

"We can't hold out much longer. The titans just keep coming…"

"2 … 12 Metre Classes right ahead! 300 Metres from the WES-T-T! . " A soldier shouted, fear and tension palpable in his voice.

"This is bad, 12 Metre Classes, and two at the same time? I don't have anybody in my squad capable of handling such a matter ."Darius frowned as he quickly made a heavy decision, knowing that it might cost his life.

"I will engage … eh...?" Darius's actions came to halt as he saw 2 figures flying past him at an incredible speed towards the 2 titans, their green cloaks fluttering in the air.

=====

SPLAT SPLAT

2 cutting sounds could be heard, followed by 2 large 'Thud' sounds.

The two approaching 12-meter class titans, unlucky enough to run into Eren and Mikasa were dispatched in one swift motion by the duo as their figures zipped past them.

Eren was currently observing the chaos unfolding before him, and at the moment it looked extremely grim.

The situation was worse than he thought. Not only was the evacuation being delayed. The vanguard team was wiped out too.

The inexperienced garrison soldiers, many of who faced titans for the first time could barely offer any meaningful resistance. They were either paralyzed by fear or hindered by their inability and inexperience to use the ODM gears they had to fight the titans.

"Mikasa, we have to split up. We can save more civilians this way. There is only so much area we can cover if we're together. "

"No Eren. I don't want to … "

"It's an order. Ackerman. Go now. " Eren raised his tone.

Mikasa's body quivered a little, struggling between her desire to be by his side, as well as following the instructions of the one she loved, before painfully coming to a conclusion.

"Please stay alive... Eren... " Mikasa softly spoke as she raised the scarf further up to cover her face before flying off, complying with the order reluctantly. No one could see her expression hidden beneath it.

Eren knew Mikasa cared for her and wanted to be where he was. But the situation was currently really getting out of hand. They had to do what they could to save as many lives as possible.

He was after all an officer of the survey corps. He had to play his part to the best of his abilities to save as many lives as possible.

The other squad members had already been deployed by him to different areas of the city to assist in the defense of Trost.

Raising his head, he continued flying onwards, straight to a 10-meter class titan headed in the direction of the inner city gates.

Whizz

SPLAT

The poor titan did not even see the figure that killed him. It was over in a blink of an eye.

By the time Eren's figure had flown past him, he was already dead.

"They are so far inside already? What in the world is the rear team doin… "

Eren's mouth paused, stunned by the horrific scene he was greeted by.

His eyes were glued to a titan standing amongst the numerous corpses that littered the floor a distance away.

Blood-stained garrison uniforms decorated the destroyed payment, expressions of horror and anguish could be seen on the lifeless faces that were being greeted by the unforgiving rays of the sun shining on them.

The destroyed maneuvering gears and blades scattered all around as well added to the impending feeling of doom.

"Save… me" A muffled cry sounded out followed by the sound of bones breaking.

A gigantic titan that had just finished crushing his final unfortunate victim to death turned around and met Eren's enraged gaze.

It was the armored titan.