Chapter 10 The Angel of Trost

"Come now, take this seriously. Very well, yet another victory is mine." A small tap echoed throughout the room as the man slapped the black chess piece down. "Dear oh dear, one would think our monthly rolls would see at least some modest improvement in your approach to the game, Pixis."

"One would think so yes, clearly my brain is inferior to yours, Lord Wald."

Opposite him, the obese member of royalty chuckled heartily as he filled his hand with pastries from a nearby plate. "Such obsequiousness from the single highest ranking officer in the Southern territory." The man bit down on the five snacks he'd organised in his hand, gobbling cheerfully as he did. "Tell me, seriously, how can you hope to thwart the Titans when you-"

"Commander Pixis, Sir! I bring news!"

All those present in the room turned to look at the one who dared to interrupt Lord Wald. It was a young, blonde haired Garrison soldier who stood apprehensively to attention.

"I beg your pardon, young man, I-"

"The Colossal Titan is laying siege to the city of Trost! Reports say the gate has been destroyed!"

The sounds of shattered glass filled the air as Lord Wald dropped his wine in horror. For several seconds all was quiet as the man remained in stunned disbelief. The quiet was broken as Pixis stood up from his chair and drank heavily from the Wine bottle at the table.

"Ah, this vintage is worthy of your good taste. One man of action to another, I obsequiously accept it as a gift."

As he began to walk out the door, his two escorts bowed and turned to follow him, neither of the three slowing at the Lord's desperate questioning.

"Where are you going? Pixis, wait! You can't just march off! I command you to stay! Preparations must be made, assemble your troops and establish a Garrison around my estate, this instant! Damn it all, it's your sworn duty to defend us!"

Finally, the bald Commander halted and turned back to the man.

"Lord Wald sir, untold numbers of our brave comrades in arms are laying down their lives in defence of Trost as we speak. Including one very promising young cadet who I personally placed on the front lines."

"Commander, I'll go ready the horses, Sir." Interjected Anka before leaving.

"When the dust has settled, there may well be more graves than people to dig them. An astronomical number of lives snuffed out in a twinkling."

"Yes well, there's no help for it, is there? If it's their time… Besides, what earthly good can the presence of a man who persistently loses to me at chess do for them now? Why not remain where I can assist you?"

Pixis's remaining escort, Gustav, chose to interject. "Your Lordship if I may speak freely, should the commander actually face a Titan in battle, he won't feel compelled to play down his skill as he does with you."

The Lord gasped before growling slightly at the young man, who was spared the tongue lashing by Pixis' calm scolding.

"That's enough, soldier. Good day, sir, I wish you another opulently appointed day of sloth and tranquillity."

Once again, the aged Commander turned to leave even as the Lord begged behind him.

"Please don't go. Don't do this to me. Pixis, please I'm begging you! Pixis!"

The Lord's pleas faded into nothing as the Garrison soldiers left the estate, Anka heading over with three horses in tow.

"Here you are, sir."

"Thank you, Anka." He climbed his mount, but paused before he gave the order to ride out. "Anka, the boy I spoke with yesterday, Gohan Son. You met him before, didn't you?"

"Only briefly, sir, when he and Squad Leader Langnar from the Scouts entered Trost."

"Yes, I read the reports, such a…interesting background that boy has." He snapped his reins and galloped down the road, his two escorts following closely behind.

'And his military training scores…I've never seen a soldier as remarkable since Captain Levi. It would be a truly great loss if the Garrison were to lose a soldier of his calibre.'

Gohan landed hard on the ground just as another crash punctuated the air. He wasted no time in marvelling his work, for every Titan he killed there seemed to be three more to take its place. For all their hard work neither he nor the captain could stem the tide of Titans coming in through the gate.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the other Vanguard soldier slay yet another Titan before stopping on a wrecked building, its roof still somehow holding despite the deceased Titan that lay evaporating on top of it. Gohan made his way over to him and stopped next to the panting captain.

"Sir, they just keep coming."

"You're…" He paused and steadied his breathing. "You're right. Alright, we need to prioritise just the Abnormals. Everything else can be taken by the regular Garrison when they reinforce us."

"Where are they, sir? Shouldn't they be here by now?"

"They'll be assisting with the evacuation and organising at Headquarters. But make no mistake, Son, they'll be here soon."

"Yes…yes, Sir."

"Look."

The captain pointed towards the gate where another Titan was making its way through. This was different however, its eyes seemed to focus intently on them. The captain scrutinised it with his eyes whilst Gohan probed its Ki. Like the others, its Ki was not only a twisted abomination of a normal person's, but it was much higher, even greater than that of a regular Titan, though not by much.

"It's an abnormal, Sir."

"Yes, but what kind?"

They soon got their answer as it turned away from them, instead focusing on one of the destroyed barricades by the entrance. Bending down, it picked up the wooden frame and turned back to face them. As the sense of danger grew in Gohan's gut, the beast hefted it above its head and threw it towards them.

With a start, Gohan launched himself to the side, only narrowly missing the debris as it smashed into the building. As soon as he landed on the street another Titan made a grab for him, making him hop away desperately. More and more Titans seemed to close in on him, far more vulnerable now than he was on the street. He weaved between the monstrous hands that reached for him before launching himself back onto the rooftops.

He'd barely taken a step before he spotted another missile heading his way. He dodged again, but lost his footing and fell to his knees as a piece of debris smacked him painfully in the back. Looking up he saw his attacker ready another object, this time a boulder, in its hands.

'I have to get rid of that Abnormal before he hits me.'

Standing up, he waited for the next boulder to be thrown, darting directly towards the Titan as soon as its weapon left its fingertips. The rock smashed violently behind him into the building, caving in part of the roof as it did. When he reached the end of the rooftop, Gohan jumped as high as he could, only letting his hooks fly when he began to descend towards the ground.

Using the gas and some Ki to propel him forwards, he shot towards it like a bullet. The Abnormal raised its hand towards Gohan, its fingers splayed wide as it tried to grab him mid-flight. Using his Ki, he adjusted in the air and slipped between its fingers, landing softly on its arm. He pumped some Ki into them and let his blades slice along its arm as he ran towards its head. He slammed violently against its face, stabbing his swords deep into its eyes as he did so.

He hopped backwards, removing his swords and firing a single hook onto the top of its head. Swinging himself over the top of it, he slashed downwards and gorged a deep tear into its neck, letting the blood pour out by the gallons. It fell to the floor with a mighty crash, Gohan landing gracefully on the street once more.

'Done. Now where's…where's the captain?'

He hurriedly stretched out his senses, locking onto the captain's ki, not too far from him. Gohan's eyes widened in horror as he saw the man clutched tightly in the hand of a Titan, his body being lifted towards its hungry mouth.

"NO!"

He pushed himself forwards with all his might, flooding his swords with Ki as he closed in on it. He span through the air, his swords swinging dangerously as he chopped off the Titan's hand by its wrist. The hand and the captain smacked loudly onto the floor, Gohan swinging around the Titan and gouging out the back of its neck without hesitation. He landed by the hand and began to pry its fingers open to release the captain.

"S-Son…"

As soon as he had, Gohan saw the blood that soaked his clothes, a piece of wooden shrapnel embedded in his stomach.

"Get us onto the roof…"

Blood seeped out of his mouth as he spoke, his breathing having become pained and raspy. Gohan shakily followed his order, releasing the now dull blades from his grips, and awkwardly cradling the man in his arms as he launched them both onto the roof with the fewest Titans around. He held the man carefully as he choked and coughed some blood onto the roof.

"Son, I'm done."

"No, I won't let anyone else die."

"That's not exactly up to you now is it? Heh heh-"

He was cut off by some violent coughing. When he'd finished, he reached inside his jacket and pulled out three bloodied envelopes.

"I collected these from three of my men." He passed them to Gohan, who reluctantly accepted them, before reaching in and pulling out another one. "This one's mine, take it."

"No, no Sir, I can't. You have internal bleeding but I'll get you to a doctor, they'll fix you up and-"

"Gohan, how many Titans have you killed today?"

"Seven…seventeen, Sir."

"Seventeen? Wow…you're an amazing soldier, Gohan, never forget that…"

He went silent as his eyes began to dim, then finally closed forever.

For a while, Gohan merely held the man in his arms, before laying him down gently on the rooftop. He was gone. The last soldier of the Garrison's elite Vanguard now lay dead before him. He took the now four envelopes in his hand and stuffed them carefully inside his jacket, taking great measure not to damage them. As he stood up, he drew his second set of blades and faced the Titan horde who began to surround the building.

"No more…"

White hot vengeance burned in his eyes as he walked, letting a hook fly off into the distance as he flung himself towards them. As he soared through the air, he began to spin, letting his blades whip around dangerously as he landed on one of the outstretched arms of the Titan.

"NO MORE!"

He shot around its body, chopping pieces of it off as he whirled around it. It howled in pain before being silenced as the nape of its neck was cut out. His revenge not yet satisfied, Gohan launched himself at another Titan, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I want everyone to split into four squadrons as practiced! All squadrons are responsible for supply running, message relay, and enemy combat under the command of the Garrison regiment!" Captain Kitts Woerman shouted as loudly as possible as he addressed the line-up of recruits before him. "The intercept squadron will be taking the Vanguard. Cadets will be taking the middle guard, led by the support squad. Rear guard will go to the elites. I expect you all to man your posts knowing the advance team has been wiped out."

Gasps of panic and fear rose up amongst the cadets, many frightened by the mere notion that their elite soldiers had already been killed. For those of the 104th who knew however, their thoughts were on a certain monkey-tailed friend.

'Gohan…he was with them. He can't be dead. That's just not possible.'

'Gohan's dead! But he was the best of us, what hope do we have?'

'We're doomed! We're all gonna die today!'

Eren's thoughts were different, however. 'It's just like five years ago. Everyone believed he was dead, then he showed up again. I don't believe them. Gohan, I know you're alive out there, you'd best stay that way!'

"That's right! The outer gate is history, the Titans are in. This means, the Armoured Titan is likely to reappear. If, and when he does, the inner gate will also be history."

The green cadets began muttering to each other once more, each growing more distraught by the second.

"Is this real?"

"Please be a dream."

"God, what if the bastards manage to bust through wall Rose?"

"Quiet!" Barked Captain Woerman, snapping everyone's attention back to him. "Right, those in the Vanguard, be ready. The whole area is saturated with Titans. Your mission is a very simple one, defend the wall till the evacuation's done. Now, be aware all of you that desertion is punishable by execution. If it comes to it, lay down your lives. Dismissed!"

"Sir!" The crowd saluted sharply despite the horrific news, and split off towards their duties. Jean remained in the square for several moments, his head in his hands.

"Why'd this have to happen now? Just one more day and I'd be heading for the interior."

Next to him, one of the other cadets vomited heavily onto the ground as Christa calmly patted him on the back.

"You gonna be alright?"

He looked up at her only briefly, before throwing up once more onto the ground. Jean watched, sickened before his eyes narrowed in anger. As he walked off, he passed the many other cadets who were hugging the knees on the floor, many of them praying.

"Please no. Please no. Please no…"

He looked away, turning his frustration inwards before he was smacked out of his thoughts when he walked into somebody. His eyes locked with Eren's and he shoved him out the way.

"Move it."

Eren grabbed his arm, stopping him mid-stride. "The hell, man, what's wrong with you?"

"The hell kind of question is that? We're all about to be Titan chow, do you expect me to sing you a happy little song?" Only a few metres away, Mikasa stopped walking, having overheard the argument. As Jean raised his voice again, she made her way over. "You're loving this aren't you, you little psycho!? Of course you are, your whole life's aspiration is to be eaten! I was one day shy of shipping off to the MPs!"

"Jean, get a ho-"

"NO! Not all of us are suicidal."

"Damn it, shut up for a second!" Eren pushed Jean roughly up against the wall, the taller of the two lightly hitting his head against it. "We're trained for this, what do you think the last two years were about? We survived, we stared death in the face and we lived. Not everyone can say that, can they? Some people couldn't take it and either ran or were thrown out. Hell, some people actually died, but not us! Am I right? We powered through for two years, what's one more day?" Around him, several of the cadets who had been wallowing in self-pity looked up at him. "You can do this, Jean, alright? The MP will still be waiting for you tomorrow."

He let him go and stood back, Jean's eyes still widened in surprise before they narrowed with determination. "Shit." He turned and walked away from Eren. "On your feet, Daz, stop bawling."

"O…Okay…" Was weakly heard.

Having watched Jean leave, Mikasa walked over to Eren to speak with him. "Eren. If things take a turn for the worse, I want you to come find me, alright?"

"What? We're in completely different squads."

"Look, this is gonna get ugly, and when it does, the plan goes out the window. Come and find me so I can protect you."

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Ackerman! You're with me."

The duo's attention was drawn to Captain Ian Dietrich, one of the Garrison's elites who was standing nearby.

"You've been assigned to the rear guard on special orders, let's get moving."

"But sir, I'm a cadet, I'll slow everyone down."

"You're not being asked for a self-evaluation here, the mass exodus is falling apart. We need as many elite soldiers as possible to get things back on track." Without further explanation, he turned and began to walk away.

"Sir, with all due respect-"

"HEY!" Eren cut her off sharply with a headbutt. "You've been given a direct order, pull it together. Now! This is bigger than the two of us and you know it, we're on the verge of extinction here, have some damn perspective."

Mikasa was silent for a moment before she cast her head down in shame.

"You're right, I'm sorry. This whole situation just has me out of my head. It's just…what they said about the Vanguard. That's where Gohan was. He could be-"

"He's not. We all thought that after he saved mom, but he returned. Three years later he showed up just fine. Now look at him, he's the best Cadet the military's ever seen. Commander Pixis himself was trying to poach him for the Garrison. He's still alive, I know he is."

She grabbed his hand to stop him as he turned to leave. "Just promise, promise me one thing. Whatever happens, don't get yourself killed."

He looked her in the eyes, his face blank before roughly freeing his arm and walking away once more. 'I hadn't planned on it, thanks. No, I won't allow myself to get killed. Not until I taste what life is like outside of these god-forsaken walls.'

Gohan landed roughly on the ground, ejecting his third set of blades. Despite flooding his swords with his own Ki, making them sharper and more durable, in his rage he'd been repeatedly careless, intent on causing these monsters as much pain as possible before he killed them. They had to be punished, punished for all the people they'd killed.

Three Titans moved to surround him, each reaching out to grab him. Nimbly, Gohan jumped over the first hand, pulling himself up its arm with his hooks and gas. He whirled through the air and butchered the Titan's neck as he passed it. It wasn't the nape, but it had felt good. Once behind it, he reeled himself back in towards its nape.

Before he could reach it however, another hand moved towards him and wrapped itself around his leg. He slashed down in anger, chopping off the fingers in a spray of blood before turning back to his target. The Titan had turned around and was now throwing its hands out to snatch him out of the air. He quickly pushed as much Ki as possible out of his body to dodge, but was caught by the hand and smacked to the ground.

As he rose back to his knees, his Ki sensing screamed out in alarm and he shot a hook down the street. He pulled himself out the way just in time as the third Titan, a 12-metre, slapped the ground where he had been. He looked back in horror, no doubt in his mind that if he'd stayed he would have become a stain on the ground.

The ground shook as four more Titans approached from the street behind him, and two more reinforced his original three attackers. He leapt up onto one of the roofs with the aid of some of his fast depleting gas, and came face to face with the distorted snarl of a 10-metre Titan. He dived off the roof as its fist demolished where he had been.

It must have been an abnormal if it wasn't trying to grab him, which now left him surrounded by nine normal Titans of varying heights and a large abnormal. Slowly, they moved in towards him, backing him closer to the Trost outer wall.

'What do I do? I can't beat them all at once. And I'm almost out of blades! I could use my Ki, but I can't use that and the 3DM Gear at the same time.' He'd calmed down somewhat from the mindless rage he'd drifted into earlier, now being able to think somewhat clearly.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of multiple 3DM Gear users heading towards him. The abnormal was the first to react, turning around and plucking a Garrison soldier out of the air, crushing her to death in its hand as it did. Two more soldiers appeared from behind a distant building and hit the Abnormal simultaneously, one of them scoring the kill while the other distracted it.

More and more soldiers began to arrive, each Titan being targeted by several soldiers at once with many going down in moments. Gohan moved to join them before two Garrison soldiers landed in front of him. One of them, a red haired man in his thirties turned to face him.

"Cadet! What are you doing here!?"

"Uh, I'm part of the Vanguard, sir!"

"The Vanguard's gone, kid, we're here to replace you. Fall back to the Wall Rose exit and receive your new orders."

The duo headed off to fight as Gohan hesitantly turned away. A scream caught his ears as he made to leave, and he spotted a soldier being lifted into the air by his legs, the wide open mouth of a Titan below him.

Without thinking, Gohan immediately twisted on his heels and headed towards it.

"Cadet! What are you doing!?"

Gohan faulted, torn between his instincts and his orders. He watched as the man was dropped into its mouth, his pleas echoing as he disappeared from sight. Gohan's stomach sank as he watched the man's death, guilt and shame working into his mind.

"Shit." Cried out the soldier, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a flare gun. He fired a red flare into the air before turning back to see Gohan still stood by him. "Fall back to the Wall Rose exit or I will execute you for insubordination!"

His voice snapped Gohan out of his stupor as he numbly began to walk away.

"Uh…yes Sir."

He turned and fired his hooks. Leaving silently as his body began to feel the weight of what had just occurred.

'They're dead. I could have saved them. I should have saved them. These soldiers, they're going to die. I should stay and help them, but…I was ordered not to. Should I blindly trust them?'

Despite what his upbringing had taught him, the last two years he'd spent training in the military had repeatedly drilled into him one thing. Always listen to your commanding officer. Gohan clenched his eyes shut as tears threatened to break through, despite how much he so desperately wanted to help them, he continued on. Heading straight towards the inner gate.

"Look at it this way, Armin, it's a golden opportunity." Eren said to his best friend, attempting to soothe some of the boy's obvious nervousness. "I mean, if we prove our worth as soldier's right here? We'll rise up right through the ranks, before long we could even be leading our own regiment. We could bypass rookie status altogether." He flashed Armin a confident grin as he felt the blonde's hopes rise.

"Sounds good, I'm with you all the way."

"Now now, boys, you're not the only ones in your class. Save some of the glory for the rest of us." Interrupted Mina's soft voice, bringing the duo's attention back to the rest of their squad.

Thomas chipped in as well. "Good luck beating us to the punch a second time, Eren. No head starts for you this round."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Listen up, whoever kills the most Titans gets bragging rights."

"Heh heh, better not fudge your scores."

On the rooftop next to them, one of the senior Garrison soldiers called out to them. "Squadron 34! The Vanguard needs support!"

"Right." Eren turned back to his squad. "Give them hell!"

As one, Eren, Armin, Mina, Thomas, Nac, and Mylius moved through the town. Soaring high above the streets with confidence.

Their confidence began to slowly disappear as they eyed the front of the Trost district, and the dozens of Titans who walked unabated through it.

"There's so many of them."

"The new Vanguard's been completely overwhelmed."

"I don't believe this, those guys always talked so big!"

'I thought things would be hairy, but this?' Eren thought to himself. 'This is insane. Gohan…please be safe.' His thoughts were sharply cut off as he spied something strange in front of them.

"We've got an abnormal!" The lanky Titan leaped towards them. "Pull up!"

The Titan smacked face first into the church tower. Clouds of smoke and dust billowing out from the impact.

The squad landed roughly onto a building, with Eren only just managing to grab a hold of the ledge. Their eyes filled with horror as they watched the monster that had attacked them reveal its face. Thomas Wagner stuck halfway inside its mouth.

The cadet was frozen in pain and terror as he begged to his friends. "Oh my god. Please, help me."

Without further waiting, the Titan tilted its head back and swallowed him whole.

"You bastard!" Eren leapt towards it, thrusting himself forwards with a burst of gas.

"Eren!"

"Wait, stay with the group!"

Armin followed only a moment later, the rest of the squad hesitantly following.

"Get back here!" Screamed Eren, oblivious to his squad behind him. "You're gonna pay for killing my friend! You're not getting away. You're not getting away!"

He let out a final war cry as he raised his blades, intent on reaping his vengeance on the beast that had murdered Thomas.

He was instantly stopped when an abnormal jumped up from between two houses, and tore his leg off in one bite. Eren smashed painfully into the roof tiles, blood occasionally spurting into the air as he tumbled across them.

"Eren!"

"Oh god no!"

As his squad came to rescue him, a 10-metre Titan stepped onto the street and snatched Nac Tius out of the air. His whole body disappearing underneath the Titan's palm.

As the remaining squad watched in shock, Mina was suddenly jerked backwards as her wires were pulled by a curious Titan. With a slight scream, she smacked dangerously into the side of a building, falling unconscious and laying still on the floor.

Mylius was grabbed mid-air by another Titan, his top half struggling furiously against it. Its blood-soaked face looked down on him as he screamed in terror.

"Argh! Don't, please stop! I don't want to die!"

Armin fell to his knees and gazed at his best friend's motionless body, petrified. He couldn't watch it, and he remained transfixed on Eren.

'Why? Why? My friends are being devoured and all I can do is watch.'

Armin remained frozen still as he heard the thumping grow nearer. Looking to his left, he saw a bearded Titan make its way towards him, and slowly pick him up by his jacket.

Mina was lifted into the air, slowly returning to consciousness as she looked into the wide, deformed eyes of the Titan who'd grabbed her wires. She screamed at the top of her lungs as it lifted her head towards its mouth. Then she screamed again when she was suddenly dropped to the ground.

The Titan let out a wail as it collapsed to the floor, Mina still trapped in its now dead hands. Out of the corner of her eyes, Mina saw what she could describe as an angel, its bright, white, halo still distinct despite his drab cadet uniform. The teenager grew smaller as he zoomed down the street towards Mylius, its blades flashing in the sunlight.

Mylius sent one final prayer to God as he neared the Titan's jaws. Its teeth were just about to rip him in half when he saw sunlight glinting off of something metal, then the Titan's hand was sliced off by a soldier's sword. The blood soaked monster was swiftly dealt with as the nape of its neck was cleaved into pieces, no sounds escaping its lips as it fell to the floor with an almighty crash.

The Titan that gripped Nac's bleeding body in its hand saw the 'angel' coming towards it, and swung its free arm to grab its prize. Nimbly, Gohan darted over its arm and dove directly towards its face. He used his Ki and pushed himself to the side to skirt around its teeth as it gnashed at him. Firing a hook straight into its neck, he shredded the beast's neck with a flurry of Ki enhanced swipes.

Dropping to the ground, he cast his eyes around the street where they were in and froze. Further down the road stood another Titan, its mouth open and its hand empty.

'Who…who did I miss?'

Before he could find out, more powerful thuds could be heard as three more Titans seemed to appear on the street, as if they had oozed out of the buildings themselves. Looking at the people he'd rescued, Gohan felt his worry grow.

Mina was stumbling around as she tried to stand up, the blow to her head having left her dazed and confused. Mylius was desperately trying to scramble out of the dead Titan's hand, though from his repeated cries of pain it sounded like he'd broken something, most likely his leg. Gohan's Ki senses told him that Nac was still alive, but barely, and his Ki was dropping steadily.

As the first of the new Titans closed in on Mina, Gohan dove forwards, enhancing his speed with his gas and Ki. He landed next to her and grabbed a hold of her, launching them both back the way he'd come, just in time to narrowly avoid the Titan's hand as it smashed into the building she'd been resting against.

They landed roughly by Mylius, whereupon Gohan instantly drew his blades.

"Gohan? What are you-Argh!"

He screamed in fright as Gohan sliced through the hand, the fingers falling off and freeing him. Gohan wasted no time in talking and simply wrapped his arm around Mylius, Mina under his other, and shot them both towards where Nac's body was encased.

He dropped them both, with Mylius crying out as he put pressure on his leg, and ran up to the motionless hand. He sheathed his swords and pried the clenched hand open, Nac bloodied, and still bleeding, from dropping out to the side. Gohan grabbed him before he hit the ground and studied him carefully. His Ki was almost non-existent, and the blood had nearly stopped flowing from the gashes across his body.

'No…He's gonna die…'

Gohan narrowed his eyes in determination and laid his hand on the cadet's chest. He'd never done it before, and it was only a theory, but it was worth a try. He pulled the Ki from his body and flooded it into Nac.

Gohan dropped to his knees with exhaustion, beads of sweat appearing onto his face. He heard a noise though, a small, light breathing. He looked closely at Nac's chest and was relieved to see a soft rise and fall.

"Gohan! What do we do!?"

It was Mylius, having hobbled over to him with some help from Mina. The girl herself was still swaying on her feet, though she'd steadied somewhat. Behind them however, the three Titans were closing in quickly. Gohan felt panic begin to swell in his chest, he had to get them to the wall Rose gate to be healed, but there was no way that he could carry all three of them. None of them were able to use their 3DM Gear, Mylius' broken leg would stop him from landing, let alone hamper his abilities in the air, Mina was too dazed to fly, and if Gohan left Nac alone for too long he feared he would die.

"We have to run. Back to the gate!"

He laid the unconscious man in his arms and began heading down the street. Mina and Mylius both looked at him in confusion, before snapping themselves out of their stupor and rushing to follow him.

They rounded the corner, all four Cadets sprinting as fast as possible. Moments later, three sets of Titan footsteps came thundering behind them. Mylius was hobbling along as fast as he could, mainly thanks to Mina supporting him the whole way. Even Gohan was only stumbling along, his forehead drenched in sweat and repeatedly threatening to drip into his eyes and blind him. He'd been exhausting himself by constantly feeding his own Ki into Nac, not to mention that the constant fighting he'd been doing that day had also done its part to drain him.

Worse still, was that despite having a gap when they'd first ran off, the Titans were almost upon them. Their big lumbering forms had kept them slower than what would be expected, but their tremendous strides and limitless-like stamina had kept them hot on their heels.

A terrified scream pierced the air, a loud crashing swiftly following. Casting his eyes back, Gohan was horrified to note that one of the Titans had just made a grab for Mina and Mylius, missing and hitting the building next to them instead.

'Darn it, they caught up! I've got to do something!'

Taking one last look at the crimson covered cadet in his arms, Gohan sent a burst of Ki into him and laid him gently on the ground. Turning back to face the incoming Titans, he drew his final set of blades and let his hooks fly. As he passed Mina and Mylius, he swung his swords around viciously, carving up an ankle of each Titan and making them stumble.

He was quite fortunate that they were all lined up, otherwise slowing them down would have been much more difficult. He fired one of his hooks off again and flew between their legs, hacking apart their other ankle and dropping the three to the floor. As he passed in front of the last one however, it slapped its hand down on the ground to try and crush him. While it missed, it still made a small shockwave that sent Gohan tumbling to the ground.

"Gohan!"

He stumbled to his feet and grabbed Nac once more, pleased to find that his Ki hadn't dropped significantly in the time they'd been separated. When he turned to leave again, he was shocked when he saw the Titans already trying to rise again, steam surging from their shredded ankles.

'No no no no. This wasn't supposed to happen! They were supposed to stay down longer, give us enough time to escape!'

Gohan put it down to his inexperience and prepared to charge in again, this time to finish them.

As it turned out, he didn't have to, as three figures appeared from atop the buildings and slew the Titans. They were three Garrison soldiers, two male and one female, the female looked very familiar, especially with that red scarf of hers.

"Mikasa!"

"Gohan! Y-You're alive!"

He let a wide smile cross his face, and for a brief moment she did likewise, before one of the soldiers coughed for their attention.

"I'm Captain Ian Dietrich, where's your squad soldier?"

"Um, I'm Cadet Gohan Son, sir, I was part of the Vanguard!"

"The Vanguard!? Weren't they wiped out?"

Gohan looked down in grief. "Yes sir, they're all gone. I was holding position when one of the soldiers told me to fall back here for new orders."

Ian looked thoughtful for a moment, cupping his chin with his hand. "Well if you were with the original Vanguard then it's best you stay here, we need all the elites we can to keep the evacuation on track. What about your friends?"

"Uh, well I just saved them, sir. They're all injured, especially this man."

He showed the unconscious Nac in his arms, and the soldiers grimaced at the brutal sight.

"The gate's blocked with evacuees, kid, no one's getting through there. And as far as I know we've got no doctors. Abel, I want you to take him over the wall. Try and do it out of sight if you can, we don't need the extra panic. Someone did it earlier and the crowd began demanding we do the same to everyone."

"Yes sir!"

The soldier, 'Abel', ran over to Gohan and gently lifted Nac out of his arms. He jogged down the road before he turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

"And the rest of you, you don't look critical, what squad were you all in?"

Mina took the opportunity to answer, a weary Mylius still resting against her.

"Squad 34, sir! Assigned to the middle guard."

"Squad 34?" Mikasa stepped forward hesitantly. "That's Eren's squad."

Gohan looked at the two wounded Cadets in shock. He hadn't seen Eren at all. Did that mean he was...?

"Where is he? Where's Eren!?"

"Ackerman! Calm down!"

"H-H-He got bit…by a Titan." Mina answered tentatively, Mikasa's eyes going wide as she felt her heart break. "He wasn't eaten, but I don't know what happened to him."

"I…I'm going to find him."

Mikasa pivoted on her heels and began sprinting away, firing her hooks and flying off into the distance.

"Ackerman! Get back here now!" Screamed Ian, his voice rich with anger.

"I'm going to help her!" Shouted Gohan as he made to follow her.

"NO! I need all elites to hold here! We have to get these civilians out ASAP!"

"B-But…"

He stayed rooted to his spot, unable to decide.

'I have to help her! If Eren's out there I've gotta save him! But…I have orders…'

He stepped back slowly.

'Mikasa…please be safe.'