Chapter 13 Trust

"Everybody ready? It's time to scram, lets move! Scale the wall! Rendezvous with the main forces!" Jean ordered, not waiting to see if anyone hesitated as he lead the charge out of the supply HQ. One by one the cadets began to fly out of the supply HQ, their bursts of gas giving them a happy cheer as they felt suddenly free again. As Armin stepped outside ready to fly, he paused when he noticed his friend stood still on one of the nearby rooftops.

"Mikasa? Mikasa!" He called, a growing concern pooling in his stomach as she remained unresponsive. He let his tethers fly and launched himself next to her with a burst of gas. "What are you doing, we have to get out of here!"

"Look down there." She hadn't turned to acknowledge him, still focussed intently on the sight before her, and as Armin turned he realised why. The Rogue Titan, which had seemed so unstoppable when they'd arrived, was crushed up against a wrecked home, a half dozen Titans swarmed over its exhausted body as they tore shreds of his flesh away with their teeth.

"Cannibalism?" Armin wondered in a mix of horror and disgust. "Can he not regenerate like the others?" The Rogue Titan let out an anguished roar, but it seemed to be the only protest it could manage as it remained slumped against the house.

"This may sound stupid but I was hoping he'd be the key for us. That he'd help mankind break the cycle, turn the tide just long enough to give us a ray of hope."

There was a burst of gas, followed by several others as Gohan and some of the other cadets joined them. As Mikasa turned to look she realised it was actually most of the cadets who had followed the monkey tailed boy, all still looking as terrified as ever, but finding themselves unable to leave his side even to try their hand at escaping.

Some had felt differently, and even now she could see the forms of several cadets climbing up the inner wall of Trost, a temporary safety now truly in their grasp. Gohan stepped towards the edge of the rooftop, his blood red bandanna and the way the others eyes naturally drew to him for inspiration, gave him a commanding presence among them as he opened his mouth.

"You're right Mikasa. If this Titan is different, then he deserves a chance to prove himself." Gohan drew a blade to emphasise his point, his cloak whipping up in the movement and wind. "I know what I'm going to do, but I won't force the rest of you to risk your lives on my hunch. What you do is up to you."

From out of the corner of his mind he saw Reiner open his mouth as if to say anything. Gohan hoped it was to agree with him, he'd always liked Reiner's sense of duty, and that might just be enough to convince him. The big man hesitated however, his eyes flicking to Annie and Bert who were next to him.

'He must be worried about putting anyone else's lives at risk.'

Whatever he was going to decide was cut off as Jean began his outburst.

"Are you out of your mind? We've got a path out of this nightmare and you want to stay?"

"I won't ask you to join me if you don't want to Jean, I know you've done more than enough today." Despite his disappointment that Jean spoke against his suggestion, Gohan really was proud of the man. For all his talk of saving his own skin, when the time came he'd shown he truly was more than that. He was a good person deep down. He'd heard the tales from the survivors at the supply HQ already, and even if he hadn't he could tell from the way Jean talked.

'We have a way out, not I.'

"This Titan is different, we know that. Just think of how valuable it would be to have an abnormal Titan on our side? We could learn so much from it? Maybe some way of understanding the rest of the Titans, and if we can understand them then maybe- no I know we can beat them. And even if we can't learn anything then- then we can at least get it on our side! How many more lives can we save with a Titan killer like that on our side?"

Gohan felt himself getting desperate. There was something welling up inside him that he didn't understand, but he knew he had to find something soon to give him hope that he could make a difference again.

"Do you hear yourself? He's not like a new friend." Jean remained unconvinced, and Gohan felt that emotion swell stronger and stronger. Whatever it was building to stopped as Armin gasped and pointed down the street at another approaching Titan.

"Oh no, it's the one that ate Thomas!"

A piercing roar filled the air as the Titan stepped around the corner, and into view of the Titan killer. With a new burst of energy, it suddenly tore itself free from the buildings debris and began to move forwards, the other monstrosities still hanging onto his flesh. Its arms began to rip, and finally tore off as the Titan refused to slow in its charge towards the one that had killed Thomas.

The charge caught the killer Titan off guard, and before it could react it found a set of mighty jaws clamped around its neck, the shaggy haired Titan lifting its prey high up into the air before slamming it back down onto a short Titan which had began to approach. The short monster was crushed into oblivion under the weight of the Titan, which was then promptly raised again and flung against another 15-metre Titan, the two bodies crashing through a row of houses and disappearing beneath a cloud of dust and debris.

"Holy…"

The Abnormal tilted his head back and let out a final roar, this one defiant and victorious. The triumph was short lived however, as the Titans second wind faded, and it collapsed onto the ground once again.

"What was that you were saying? 'Cause I think it's a moot point now." Jean turned on his heels, whatever his thoughts on Gohans argument now discarded as he prepared to wipe his hands of the affair. "Alright enough of this, let's leave while we can. We're lucky the ugly bastard didn't get bored and-"

"Wait!" Gohan took a hesitant step forward as his eyes widened, a sensation in his mind he never thought he'd feel again. The Ki of the titan that he had watched began to morph as the body began to disintegrate, a new, familiar feeling rising from beneath its carcass.

He traced the sensation to its source, and before his very eyes he began to see the nape of the Titans neck fall away, revealing a body underneath. It was a teenaged boy, dressed in the familiar clothes that all the cadets wore. The boy rose, a giant sinew of muscle ripping away from his face, and confirming what Gohan was beginning to realise.

Eren Jaeger was alive.

Hours earlier…

"Heads up! The main unit of the Scout regiment is back."

As he sat atop his trusty grey steed, the blonde haired man made no acknowledgement of the rapidly growing crowd.

"That's right Commander Erwin. Did ya give those ugly bastards a thrashing?"

Among the crowd, the almost graduated recruits of the 104th trainee squad were watching in awe as more and more soldiers continued to pass by.

"Look its captain Levi! They say he's like an entire brigade unto himself."

The dark haired man in question gave a mere glance to his adoring fans before he muttered to himself. "Spare me please."

"That scowl will crush your fans. Not that it's any of my business, but from a public relations stand point you might want to lighten up." Unlike the myth himself, the woman riding by his side simply radiated cheer, something which seemed to have the opposite effect on Levi.

The man simply grunted dismissively, watching one of the scouts pull out of formation to go and chat to a small gathering of cadets.

'What is this, some big party?'

His eye twitched at the blatant disregard of the uniformity the scouts were trying to present. It was a bit awkward to do however, as the expedition itself was oversized for once, courtesy of several new recruits transferred from the garrison regiment. He didn't know how Erwin had manage to snag the new blood from Pixis, all he did know that Pixis had agreed to it, and the new blood hadn't.

They hadn't refused of course, otherwise what was actually a sloppy parade would be something closer to a riot. But the men and women who were joining them were uncomfortable to say the least, and were doing nothing to hide their displeasure.

"Petra! Over here!"

Levi felt his own displeasure rising again as the scout from earlier, Ilse something, called out to one of the people of his own elite squad. She too wandered out from the group to go and chat, and Levi made a mental note to have her scrubbing the floorboards top to bottom twice over when they got back. Such unprofessionalism was simply not appropriate for humanity's finest.

"Lo, the threshold of Titania, ugh can't you just envision the horrors in store for us comrades? I'm on pins and needles, if we bag an abnormal I'll burst with tears of joy!"

Speaking of unprofessionalism, Levi didn't bother to hide the look of annoyance he shot Hange. She really was a nutjob in Levi's eyes, and the fact that the gate was being delayed in opening would only give her even more time to blather on and on about how much she was looking forward to meeting humanity's nightmares. Honestly, her excitement was bordering on a fetish, and he was even more disgusted by how hard he found it to discount that theory.

An glance to the front of the party showed the garrison troops finally beginning to reign themselves in, and Levi knew they would be leaving soon.

"Petra! Fall in!"

"Y-yes Captain Levi."

His order had come out a little snappier than he'd intended, but the man couldn't find it within himself to care enough as Hange continued giggling to herself even over the sound of the gate raising.

"I think we bagged the craziest abnormal already."

"What, seriously? Where?"

The woman began to frantically look around until Levi grabbed a hold of her ponytail and twisted her head to face him. "I mean you."

As he watched Petra fall back into line, Erwin finally gave the command to move out, the gate of wall Rose reaching the top of the gatehouse and allowing the light of the outside world to bathe those inside, amplified by the small tunnel that lay before them. With a snap of the reigns the scouts horses began to move forwards, and the 56th expedition began.

"One day…one day, you'll all just be a bad memory." The scouts protest was weak and futile as the Titan continued to chew on his lower half. He could feel the monsters teeth in his guts, the bones grating away against his intestines as the dim witted abomination chewed away idly. Never stopping to give him respite, or even be willing to finally put him out of his misery.

From his position high in the air in the Titans mouth, he could see the bloodied corpses of his comrades below. Some of them had been his closest friends for years, others belonged to the new recruits from the garrison who had joined them just this day. From the best of humanity, to the average person, it hadn't made a difference. They were all dead. Even him given enough time.

In spite of it all, in spite of the hopelessness of his situation, in spite of so many years of failure, he would not give up. Maybe it was courage, may it was desperation, maybe it was just his refusal to go down without a fight, his desire to get even some semblance of revenge on this creature, and all its kind, but the scout pulled at his last dregs of energy, and rose himself up to look the monster dead in the eyes.

"Mankind will slaughter all of you, mark my words the last ones standing will be us!" His ODM gear was destroyed, the cables ruined, but his blades were sharp, and with a final roar of hatred he thrust the sword deep into the creature's cheek. There was a moment of silence as it deigned to look at him, and then it bit down.

A blood curdling scream tore free from the scouts throat as he felt his spine sever, and the teeth sink deeper than it ever had before. This was it, he was almost at the end now. But he wasn't there yet.

"G-gorge while you can you bastard. Just wait 'till Captain Levi-"

A hook soared past the Titans neck, followed swiftly by a dark haired blur and a spurt of blood as the creatures nape was sliced cleanly open. Lifeless, the Titan fell down to the ground as Levi adjusted his footing on the rooftop he'd landed on. The man took no time to revel in his kill, turning immediately to look across the abandoned houses of the village, his next victims standing tall amongst the buildings.

'One on the right, two on the left.'

"Captain." The sound of returning hooks was swiftly followed by the sounds of Petra and the rest of his team landing next to him. "The reinforcements are here sir!"

"Good, tend to our comrade below Petra. You two, take out the Titan to your right. The pair on the left belongs to me."

With a flourish of movement Levi was already in the air and flying before Petra could argue with him. Elsewhere, the situation was similar as other teams moved in on their targets.

A pair of scouts darted apart as a Titan dived between them, the crash of a destroyed former home still not quite covering up the raucous laughter of Hange as she moved behind it. She landed elegantly on the tiles, spreading her arms wide in welcoming as a big smile graced her face.

"Don't be scared big guy, I won't hurt you, cross my heart and hope to die."

The Titan turned to face her, its face twisted in a crazed mix between a sneer and a smile, an expression incomprehensible aside from its promise to kill. Its hand raised high in warning that it intended to make good on that promise, snatching at the happy woman futilely as she zipped out of reach and began moving behind him.

"Hahaha, points for trying but you're a little slow on the up take, hiyah!" In one quick and experienced movement, she landed against the Titans neck, sliced, and pushed herself off without issue, another clean kill to her name as she landed untouched apart from the blood which had caught a part of her cloak, and was already beginning to evaporate away.

"See, bet you barely felt a thing."

She glanced down the street where another creature had been brought to its knees, this one more by a thousand cuts rather than any clean slice. She could see Levi off even further in the distance dealing with two on his own, which certainly didn't make the circus in front of her look any better. It was a group of some of the better former garrison members they had been given, five of them all buzzing like flies around the body of a 6 metre Titan.

Its legs had been cut to ribbons even in spite of its ability to heal, and it had been brought onto its hands and knees by the fierce assault. Two garrison soldiers ran in and cut its wrists, dropping the creature flat on its face as another soldier jumped onto its back, stumbled, but continued forwards and hacked off a chunk of flesh in the creatures' nape. It wasn't clean, but it did the job as a dying roar broke from its lips, fading into silence as the troops began to celebrate.

Hange let them celebrate in peace, they'd deserved it. The casualties so far had already been high, and they'd performed well enough all things considered, and at least had shown that they'd remembered their training. They'd kept their heads, worked together, killed a Titan, and survived to celebrate, that was more than some people got.

A figure sped through the buildings past her, followed by five others in close formation. A titan which had been prowling the streets further began to turn towards them, the lower half of its face slack with sagging rolls of flesh, yet its eyes were focused in an instant. It tracked the lead figure as it split off from the group, turning it in one direction while the rest moved into place behind it. It was a standard tactic, but not one usually effective enough to kill the Titan before the bait was killed in one way or another. It moved closer as the lone scout landed on the rooftop and stared defiantly back at it, the Titan unshaken by their determination. Before it suddenly froze.

The Titan stopped still with an arm outstretched, its face unchanged save for what could almost be a different kind of intensity in its eyes. It shook, its knees bending even as its body fought against the new desire. The arm fought harder, shifting back and forth as the empty hand gripped the air and squeezed, the flesh in its hand tearing violently.

"L-lllaaaadddyyyyyyyyy-" The cheeks were slack but the mouth bit hard, the words still slurring through grit teeth. No matter how many times she heard it from one Titan or another, Hange couldn't stem the excitement that whirled within her. It wasn't a natural voice, twisting up and down in pitch as unused vocal chords woke up for the first time. And then…

SLASH

The nape of its neck fell with one clean swipe, and whatever resistance the Titan had been putting up disappeared as its life ended. Another successful test, though Hange still felt a pang of sadness that it had come to an end so soon. For all the years since they'd learned of Ilse's unique encounter, there had been so depressingly little they'd been able to gain from it. They'd repeated what had happened that day, and found a startling 72% chance of identical or at least similar reactions.

The Titans would hesitate, freeze, try to bow and worship her as "Lady Ymir", or at least that was the most they would do. There were varying levels of reaction, none of which surpassed the name, and none of which lasted. After time, even the most reactive Titans would snap out of it and try to consume Ilse, a risk that had naturally limited their possibilities for experimentation. Curious as she was, even Hange wouldn't push that far, even if a certain someone hadn't made his objections perfectly clear.

She could make out the figure of Mike landing next to Ilse, a closeness that spoke of his concern even if he wasn't one for real public displays of affection. In the time they'd spent repeating their experiments the two had become close, and after results had reached their limits and pushing further had become too dangerous, it was decided to make use of her another way, by putting her in a squad and taking advantage of her occasional ability to distract for combat. The fact that it had been Mikes squad, well, Hange certainly hadn't had anything to do with that little decision. A mischievous smile graced her face as she remembered that discussion with Erwin, a smile which faded as she looked around the village once more.

Around the corner she could see Petra and Levi knelt by the body of a dying scout. It was a sad yet all too familiar sight in their line of work, though what wasn't was the sight of Commander Erwin and his command team moving through the city on horseback.

He shouldn't have been so close to the front, not unless it was important, and so Hange moved her team closer as the scout finally breathed his last

"Levi! We're pulling out."

"Sir?" Asked Petra, a hesitant uncertainty in her voice that Levi didn't share.

"What do you mean? You damn well know we can push further. My men didn't die to pave our retreat."

"There's a swarm of Titans moving north, they're bearing down on the city." They all realised what that meant quickly, and Hange found her usual smile disappear. "It's just like five years ago. Something tells me this is going to be bad. For all we know the walls already been reduced to rubble."

Erwin didn't realise how prophetic his words were considering the nightmare which had unfolded in Trost. So many people had been killed, slowly and horribly by remorseless creatures that slaughtered without reason, an insatiable hunger to devour.

Eren Jeager remembered that hunger. Remembered disappearing inside the Titans mouth, his outstretched arm ripping in two as the Titans teeth clamped down on them. He remembered its belly, a pool of blood, bodies, and debris. Countless corpses of the garrison regiment floating inside, horrified eyes staring eternally back at him, the dying girl disappearing beneath the fluid as she begged for her mother to save her.

He remembered training, learning anything and everything he could only for it all to come to naught. He remembered asking why, begging for some kind of reason for it all to make sense.

He remembered the hatred. The poisonous bile that welled in his stomach, that set his nerves on fire and caused him to scream. To thrash and fight, to never give up and to kill. To kill every Titan he could, every Titan that existed, to rid the planet of their curse. He had to kill them, he would kill them. He'd kill them all, every damn one of them.

"I'll kill you all."

That, was what he remembered. What he didn't remember, was how he ended up against a wall, Armin at his side, Mikasa and Gohan to his front, and row after row of swords aimed squarely in his direction.

"Did you catch that he said he said he's gonna kill us!" Erens eyes swung towards the voice, an MP with his blades drawn and his body tense.

"There's not much more you can make of that, son of a bitch wants to eat us. You watch!"

'What the hell are they talking about… What is this, why are all their blades pointed at us? Those are meant for taking down Titans, what's going on?' His eyes roamed across the crowd before him until they finally settled on a familiar man, the same one who'd given them their orders right at the start of their mission. Only now, his eyes were sunken with terror. 'And what's with that look? Are they terrified… of me?'

"I want all you cadets on standby."

The officers voice echoed over the throng of troops all gathered near the entrance to Trost, a mishmash of cadets, garrison troops, and even the occasional MP who looked like they wanted to be anywhere else even if they hadn't actually seen any of what was waiting just beyond the wall. For the cadets of the 104th training corps, it was at least a chance to get their bearings as Connie finished recounting their tale.

"If we hadn't found the gas we'd have never gotten out of Trost, basically we got lucky, that's it."

Christa began to apologise, saying that they'd been ready to run supplies out themselves before they'd all been ordered back. Even Ymir seemed uncharacteristically sympathetic as she softly asked about the other survivors.

"Thank god we had Gohan. If it hadn't been for him I don't know if any of us would have gotten out."

"Did you say Gohan?" A soft female voice caught their attention from the side, and the group felt their spirits rise as Mina forced her way over, still alive though now sporting a set of bandanges wrapped around her head.

"Mina! I'd heard you survived but, what happened?"

"We pulled out with the gate squads after Gohan saved us. He was supposed to come back as well but turned around to look for you all." Mina's eyes focused with determination. "Please, where is Gohan, is he ok?"

Connie felt his hearty quicken as he saw Milieus, Nack, Hannah, and Franz all join with her. He looked towards Jean who was sat staring blankly into space, only breaking to take the occasional heavy swig from the water pouch he'd been given.

"Gohan's ok, he made it in after us with the group Jean led."

Mina let out a sigh of relief before she turned to her fellow cadet. "Hey Jean, what happened, where is Gohan?"

"I'd tell you if I could, but they slapped us with a gag order."

"You're joking right? That's nuts!" The cadets almost stumbled in disbelief.

"They're nuts if they think people aren't going to talk. Word'll get out, and when it does… Well that is, if we survive." Jean muttered, grumbling about it all in his mind. Ever since he'd been separated from Gohan, Mikasa, Armin, and Eren, people had begun to talk about all sorts of rumours.

There were confused mutterings amongst the both the cadets and the garrison about what people had seen. Some were about Eren, that he had been pulled alive from the stomach of a Titan, or that a Titan had shrunk down and was hiding amongst them as a human. Others had been about Gohan, stories about an angel with animal like limbs appearing from the will of the Walls to protect them like they had for so many years before, or that Gohan wasn't actually one person, but a whole team of elite Titan killers that the garrison had been keeping secret. Either way, the rumour to catch hold the strongest was that Trost had a guardian angel.

He obviously didn't believe that. Gohan was incredibly talented and that was that. His little hero complex was going to get him killed in the end, and who knows how many with him. He caught movement from the corner of his eye, Mina pushing her way through the crowd even as she swayed and clutched at her head. She was going to get herself killed trying to do something heroic he could tell, and it wasn't just her. Some of the others that Gohan had saved, either in the Cadets or in the Garrison were beginning to get agitated as they began to whisper about Gohan and ask where he was. Mina was clearly going to look for him, and others were starting to tag along.

'Damn it Gohan, look at what you've started.'

Jean watched the crowd begin to move as people shouted about possibly sightings. And after a moment, Jean stood up and followed.

"You've got to hand it to the engineering corps for putting the heap of rancid Titan corpses to good use I suppose." Hannes stared down over the edge of the wall, a crowd of Titans reaching up at him over the bodies of their brethren, completely undeterred by the dozens of cannon barrels that stared back at them. Not that human technology had proven itself effective against them so far. "Still just a barricade though. We can't get too comfortable, stay on your toes, whatever happens next it's bound to happen here. This is the proverbial line in the sand."

Hannes looked to his side and noticed the faraway look in his comrades' eyes. As far as he knew, the man hadn't actually fought any of the Titans yet, it was why he was still on the walls instead of far below with the other panicked soldiers.

"Hey, something wrong?"

"Sir, my apologies I completely agree. I'm just a little preoccupied about my friends in the vanguard. There was a messenger on the way to HQ with this look on his face."

He didn't need to explain, Hannes knew what that meant immediately. Perhaps it was his sobriety giving him a new sixth sense for these things, or maybe it was that he'd seen what happened when the Titans breached the walls before.

"Kid, difficult as it may be you've got to wrangle your mind to stay focused on what's here in front of us."

"But that's just it sir, there were these rumours going around. People talking about some part man part animal saviour which had been killing Titans." Hannes' eyes widened as he realised there was only one person those rumours could belong to. Just how many people existed with a mutant monkey tail? "I don't know if I should hope sir, but do you think-… do you think that it might be real? A-and that my friends might be ok?"

Hannes turned away, complicated feelings welling inside him. He wanted to reassure him, give the man hope that his friends were fine and therefore he should focus on his job without distraction. But it was cruel. This wasn't the world they lived in that good deeds were ever good enough. The vanguard had been smashed, so many now dead within the stomachs of Titans.

'Mikasa, Eren… I know you two will be ok. You two won't die this easy you tough little bastards.'

He didn't doubt it for a second as he heard the sound of feet running towards him. It was some garrison soldier he'd not seen before, looking mildly winded from his sprint.

"At ease soldier, what's the rush?"

"Hah, hah, sir! Captain Woermann is requesting any troops you can spare for the crowd sir!"

"The crowd? Shit, the evacuation is supposed to be well underway, are they surrounding the wagons, what's going on?"

His thoughts drifted to Carla who was likely still among the rest of the civilians. He'd gotten her out of harms way fast, but orders were to move the civilians to the inside of wall Rose and move them deeper in by priority. A crippled middle-aged woman might receive a lot of pity, but that wouldn't be enough to have her moved to safety before a farmer or a blacksmith.

"Uh, no sir! It's not the wagons, it's a bunch of civilians and soldiers who are threatening to revolt. Apparently there's some commotion over one of the final squads that pulled back from Trost!"

That caught a lot of people's attention. It was one thing for a crowd to panic and begin forming a mob, it was a whole other thing for their fellow soldiers to do it. And if there was any group of people capable of causing such a commotion he knew who he'd bet his money on.

"Shit, Eren…"

He remembered Carlas words, her asking him to promise to keep her children safe. And he had promised, swore that he would do whatever he could. And now, now there was something he could do.

"Shit. Alright Brian, you hold position here with the rest of the platoon. First and third squad, you're coming with me."

"Cadets Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, Gohan Son, and Armin Arlelt! The four of you have jointly committed an act of high treason! Whether or not the swift execution as a result depends on you!"

The captain had completely lost it. He was sticking to the military terms and procedures, but the man's eyes showed how completely at breaking point he was, not helped in the least by the sounds of arguments and shoving that could be heard from behind.

"Any attempt to move from where you stand now, anything I deem that looks the least bit suspicious will be met with cannon fire! Do not test me! Answer carefully, Eren Jaeger, what exactly are you? Human! Or Titan?"

Gohan flicked a glance to behind him as Eren continued to sit dazed on his knees. Whatever had happened to him had completely blanked out the build up to their being surrounded, and now the boy was confused and lost. Gohan wanted to take the chance to explain, but everything was on such a razors edge he didn't know if he could take the time to do so or not.

A glass bottle smashed behind the captain, a frightful cry escaping the captain as he turned in surprise. "Damn it! Lieutenant, go hold that crowd back now!"

The man by his side nodded quickly and grabbed a few extra hands as he turned to face whatever was behind them, out of Gohans' view from the lowered platform against the wall where they waited. The noise had gotten closer now, and several of the soldiers watching them had begun to glance behind themselves. Time was running out, either the captain was going to snap or the mob behind him would force him to.

"I'm sorry sir, don't understand!"

"Son of a bitch is playing innocent. Answer me damn you, evasion will get you nowhere! Don't try and stall and pretend ignorance! You won't stand a chance, you'll be blown to hell before you can assume your true form!"

"What true form?"

"Please, loads of us saw it happen! You emerged from the carcass of a fallen Titan in full view of your comrades! A creature of unknown origin, ability, or allegiance has infiltrated wall Rose and that creature is you! Under the circumstances, your being sanctioned by his majesty is neither here nor there. You're a risk, and I am well within my rights to eliminate! I will not let this situation stand! Every moment I squander over your supposed innocence puts us all in further jeopardy by attack from the Armoured Titan! Hell, for all I'm aware you're a tactical diversion precisely for that purpose! I'm sorry, humanity's fate hangs in the balance I cannot waste any more time or manpower on you. Do you understand!? My conscience will not falter to watch you die!"

"Nor should it, as soldiers they all know the price of their position." The small woman beside the captain had begun to speak. Her white hair and glasses only emphasising the coldness of the tone which she spoke with. "If they're this committed to defiance under threat of death, so be it. They won't be persuaded, and as you say it's just a waste of time."

"Eren! Mikasa!"

It was a woman's voice from behind the captain, the shouts of several soldiers as they were shoved out of the way drowning beneath the cacophony of the riot finally breaking through. The final reserves of the guard turned about to engage as Gohan caught sight of Carla Jaeger hobbling forwards on makeshift crutches, eyes wide as she locked on her children.

"Eren! Mikasa!"

"Mom!?"

Eren stood quickly, wanting nothing more than to rush to her, and the captain finally snapped.

"Fire!"

Gohan wheeled about to look up at the wall where the cannon resided, waiting to see sudden flash of cannon fire that would signal almost certain death for his friends. It didn't come, and from such a distance all Gohan could see was the blurry figures of several soldiers grappling with each other.

The lack of action caught them all off guard, and what had been their best chance to flee disappeared as the remaining MP's raised their guns instead. Gohan finally moved, a hand giving Mikasa an unnecessary push as she too began to move towards Eren, the blades she'd been wielding dropped to the ground as she opened her arms to grab Eren. As she wrapped him up in her arms the necklace around Erens neck came free.

All of a sudden it was like time was moving in slow motion for Eren. He could see the light flash against the droplets of sweat that glittered in the air, he could hear the guns begin to boom as triggers were pulled, and he could remember the words of his father, the last words he'd ever heard from him.

"Eren. Behave while you're gone and I'll show you what I've been working on in the cellar." He remembered that day, when Grisha had left for work and their lives had changed forever. He remembered how he'd shown him the key with a promise of answers. Then… he remembered a forest he'd never seen before, at a time after that day which he had forgotten.

"Listen to me, it's vital that you keep this key on you at all times. Whenever you look at it, let this thought flood over you. I must return to that cellar."

His mind pulsed in pain. Memories resurfacing as they fought against something which sought to keep them suppressed. There was a bottle of fluid being sucked into a needle by his father.

"I'm going to give you a little something to make you forget for the time being. I'm sorry, I wish there was more times to explain all this." There had been tears in his eyes when he said it, deep regret mixed with determination behind those metal rimmed glasses. "When the time comes… know that you must reclaim wall Maria and head for the cellar. It won't be pleasant, but in my heart I know that what I'm doing is for the best." He came closer, tears still streaming as he raised the needle.

"When the ability confuses you let their memories act as a guide." The needle moved, and the memory of that place disappeared even as the voice continued. His body now acted on impulse, and pulled Mikasa by the hand towards Armin and Gohan. "Eren! One day the truth will come out! I swear to you… The journey will be a painful one, but it is yours to make!"

He could see the musket balls coming towards him, Gohan shielding Armin behind him as he and Mikasa approached from behind. "Mikasas' life! Armins' life! Gohans' life! Everyones' life, hinges on you being able to control this power!" Erens arms wrapped around his friend, a hand went to his mouth, and he bit.

Lightning sparked through the air, a flash of light hiding the group from view. Steam billowed as bone, muscle, and flesh formed themselves out of nothing around them all. The MP's shots disappeared into the smoke, the crowd going silent as the dust began to clear, and a fully formed top half of a Titan appeared before them.