Chapter 9: The Struggle for Trost part 1

After three years of training in the corps, the soldiers have learnt the skills they needed to take on the Titans. Upon graduation after all the gruelling training, they are to be assigned to one of the three regiments.

The Military Police Regiment. Charged with maintaining law and order among the population and serving directly under the king. The Garrison Regiment. Charged with reinforcing the walls and protecting the territory within them. And the Scout Regiment. Those who venture beyond the safety of the walls into Titan territory. And now after the fall of Wall Maria, they’re tasked with finding a way to reclaim it.

Most cadets hope for the relative comfort of the Military Police Regiment, but only the top ten graduates are given the luxury to choose.

On the evening of the graduation ceremony, the recruits of the 104th wait to hear the final grades they’d each be awarded. Some of them hoping that they make it to the top ten and soon join the Military Police.

As commandant Keith Shadis approaches the graduates, they all simultaneously salute their commanding officer. This was it. The moment of truth.

“Listen up! I will now announce the top ten graduates… Step forward when your name is called.” He looks over each and every one of his students one final time before making the big reveal. “Number 10, Sasha Braus!”

Sasha was slightly surprised to hear her name being called out. She thought for sure she wouldn’t make it due to her terrible first impression with the commandant and the potato. But she steps forward as instructed, choosing instead to accept it. She may be at the very bottom, but she still made it, and that’s all that mattered to her.

One by one, the next bunch of cadets called out stepped forward proudly and accept their positions.

“Number 9, Marco Bodt! Number 8, Jean Kirstein! Number 7, Eren Yaeger! Number 6, Michael Smith! Number 5, Annie Leonhart! Number 4, Bertolt Hoover! Number 3, Reiner Braun! Number 2, Mikasa Ackerman!” He pauses briefly before announcing the top graduate. “And the number 1 top ranking graduate is… Lazarus Averbach!”

Lazarus – and a lot of the others – were not surprised that he claimed the top spot. Though a lot of them were expecting Mikasa to be number 1. Maybe in a different life she was, but not this time.

The top ten graduates salute the commandant, awaiting his final speech before departing the training grounds forever.

“Take a look at the cadets before you. These are the top of your class! However, these results are based on scores during training. Whether you can put your skills to use in an actual battle is another matter all together. Those of you who didn’t rank should think long and hard. What can I do? What should you try to achieve? Tomorrow you’ll be asked which regiment you’d like to be assigned to! Choose wisely!… The 104th Cadet Corps is hereby disbanded. Dismissed!”

And so at last the ceremony was over. All of the graduates have cleared their stuff from the training barracks and are now forced to move to the main military headquarters within Wall Rose.

It’s been a few days since the ceremony ended. First time tomorrow, the cadets will be given their first official assignments as soldiers.

Lazarus was taking a stroll through the woods, thinking over what his next move should be now that he’s made the top ten. Deciding on whether to join the Military Police like Annie, or join the Scouts.

The plan was for them to make it to the top ten in order to get into the Military Police. Once inside, they’ll have access to the capital and have a much easier time finding the royal family, and in turn, find the Coordinate. But after three years of training with the cadets, getting to know them, and acting as a big brother figure to some of them, he can’t help but feel torn.

Reiner has the same problem, though his he felt is much worse. Despite his appearance, Reiners mind has become fragile, especially after what happened to Marcel. Lazarus couldn’t help but wonder how things would’ve gone if he were still alive. Would he have made it to the top ten too? Would Reiner feel less guilty? Right now, it was too much for him to bear.

A while later, Lazarus stumbles upon the cliff side area he brought Eren, Armin and Michael to. Whenever he felt lost or conflicted, he would always come up here and stare out at the beautiful view standing before him.

But he was surprised to see that he wasn’t alone. To the left of him was Michael sitting on a tree stump… without his mask and his hood down.

Lazarus was able to see his face that still carried the scars he’d obtained during the fall of Shiganshina. Something he was responsible for. His whole right side of his face was scarred, even patches of his hair were missing as a result of them.

Michael eventually notices him staring and proceeds to quickly grab his mask and put it back on, along with his hood.

“What are you doing here?!” Michael raised his voice at him.

“I showed you this place remember? Calm down, man.”

“You saw it, didn’t you?” He asked shamefully.

Lazarus nodded and slowly approached his friend. Michael hesitates and backs away. Lazarus backs off, respecting his wishes. An awkward silence looms over the two soldiers that lasted for what felt like an hour. Until Lazarus finally decided to ask him about his scars, worried it might piss him off.

“You got that from Shiganshina, right?”

Michael nodded. He was hesitant at first, but he had grown to see Lazarus as a friend. He can trust him to keep his secret. He just wished he was the first one to see him like that.

He slowly lowers his hood and takes off his mask, gently placing it beside him. Readjusting his glasses, Michael turns his head to Lazarus, looking into his eyes. Not at all intimidated by his crimson glare like most people are.

“When the Armoured Titan charged through the inner gate, chunks of the wall flew towards me and my caretakers. They ended up getting crushed to death, whilst I barely got out with my body intact.”

Michael then starts to cough uncontrollably. Having his mask off for long periods of time causes his lungs to act up again, as they were still tainted by the tiny particles of debris. He quickly puts it back on before continuing.

“This mask was made to prevent that from happening. I don’t like wearing it, but I don’t have a choice. It is my curse.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Lazarus calmly replied. “I have some understanding-

“No!” Michael raised his voice again. “Don’t say you know how I feel, because you DON’T! That little cut above your eye is nothing compared to having half my face smashed in!”

Lazarus said nothing in response. Instead, he let his actions speak for him. He turns around and drops his jacket to the ground. He then lifts his shirt up, revealing his bare back to him. Michael was shocked to see that he too had a massive scar on his back. The scar covered his whole back and kinda looked like a pair of wings from his perspective.

“Like I said, I have some understanding of what its like to hide scars you don’t want other people to see.”

“How- How’d you get that?” Michael asked.

Lazarus took a deep breath before answering his question.

“There was a fire in my hometown long ago. An explosion was the cause of it. Nobody knew what started it, but it erupted into a huge fire that spread across many houses. My home was among them. I was seven years old when it happened. I got trapped under a beam, and the heat burned into my back, leaving me with this permanent scar… I survived but-

“Your parents didn’t make it?” Michael assumed.

“Something like that, yeah.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.” Lazarus assured him. “You didn’t know. And even if you did I’d still forgive you. Because that’s just the kind of guy I am, humble.”

Lazarus pulls his shirt back down and puts his jacket back on. He and Michael decide to talk about other subjects. Something more lighthearted. They both started off with a conversation about girls, which led to Lazarus teasing Michael about him and Sasha, and then Michael accidentally revealing that Sasha was the first one to see him without his mask. Lazarus started to laugh hysterically in response.

“Sasha saw your face before I did? When the hell did that happen?”

“Remember during our first night at the cabin I wandered off? I was walking over to the river to splash some water on my face. I brought my bowl with me, which is probably how she found me. She’s caught me as I dried off and we both just stood there in silence. Until she asked me if I was gonna finish my stew.”

Lazarus ended up laughing even more. But what did he expect from potato girl? She sees Michaels scarred face, and the first thing she asks was if he was gonna finish his food? This was all too much for him to process.

“What did you say?” He asked.

“I said sure you can have some. But you better not tell anyone, or else I’ll smack you with my spoon.”

“You threatened her with a spoon?”

Michael just chuckles to himself in response, satisfied that he proved that a spoon can be a deadly weapon in the right – or wrong – hands with Sasha.

“By the way, well done on ranking first in training.” Michael changed the subject.

“Thanks, but don’t sell yourself short. You made it to the top ten too. You should be proud of yourself… Maybe you winning the challenge for us was what gave you that spot.”

“What even happened back then? Why’d you lose focus and fall like that?”

Lazarus sighed. He did promise his team an explanation. Marco, Connie and Sasha weren’t here, and have probably forgotten by now. He obviously can’t tell him about his visions, fearing that he might put two and two together and discover his true identity.

He thought it over quickly. He finally decided to use a piece of the story the old man from the north village of Wall Maria shared with him and his comrades when they fabricated their backstory for him, Eren and Armin. But he would merge that story with the fire story he shared earlier to make it sound more believable.

“When I saw you wrestling with Reiner over the flag I guess it reminded me of the trauma I experienced during the fire. I saw two people fighting just like that. One of them was my dad. The other, I assumed was the arsonist responsible. I blacked out before I could see what happened next. I never saw my dad again when I came to, so we assumed he was killed right then and there.”

Michaels face saddened in response to that extra piece of backstory. He places his hand on Lazarus’s shoulder and pulls him into an embrace. Lazarus returns the gesture, though he didn’t do it with a smile this time. He felt horrible for lying to him like that. Annie had warned him and Reiner of what would happen if they got too close to the enemy. It only makes it harder for them to kill them.

The two friends continued to converse in the night, until they both agreed to call it a night and head back to their barracks.

“Thanks for this, Laz. I really needed that.”

“No problem, buddy. And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone I saw your face.” He rubs the side of his cheek. “I already know the consequences of what’ll happen if I do.”

Both boys laughed one last time and ended things off with a respectful handshake. Both of them are going to be assigned to different squads tomorrow, so it’ll be some time before they’re able to hang out again. They both wave to each other as they return to their assigned barracks.

Some time earlier, Reiner, Bertolt and Annie were sitting around a deserted field area outside of the campsite awaiting the return of their leader, wherever he may be.

Annie was growing impatient. After all the trouble she’d just been through in the capital she didn’t need this. As much as she cares about Lazarus, even he has the goal to piss her off every now and then.

Reiner and Bertolt were afraid to even say anything to her, fearing that she kick them in the head if they say the wrong thing.

But luckily for them, they were spared the thought as Lazarus had finally arrived at the meeting point.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late, I was-

“Off playing with your new friend?” Annie interrupted. “You’re supposed to be our leader, Lazarus. Yet you keep fraternising with the enemy. Keep this up and Marley will start to question where your loyalties lie.”

“Knock it off, Annie!” Reiner defended him. “Lazarus knows where his loyalties lie, and he knows who his friends are. He hasn’t let us down before, and I doubt he will ever.”

Lazarus sits down next to Reiner and gives him a small smile as a thank you. Annie rolls her eyes at Reiner’s defence.

Focusing on what they’ve gathered here for, Annie begins sharing with them what she was able to discover in the capital.

“Well, while Lazarus was hanging out with his masked friend and you two were sleeping like babies, I was crawling around the capital sewers. But I hit my limit, almost got caught.” She turns to Lazarus. “Let’s cut our losses and take what we know back to Marley. At this point I bet they’ll be happy to hear anything.”

“No.” Reiner interrupted. “After five years they’ll be expecting a lot more than just a few scraps of information.”

Bertolt remained quiet as the rash arguing between Annie and Reiner went on. Lazarus quickly puts a stop to it by revealing what their next move should be.

“I know you want to go home, Annie. But Reiner’s right. Marley won’t be satisfied if we come back empty handed. We have to complete the mission no matter what.” He then reveals his crystal sword necklace to her. “I also made a promise to my friend that I would find him. I’m sorry Annie, but we’re not leaving here without him or the Founding Titan.”

“How do you even know he’s still alive?” She questioned him. “He could’ve died when we breached the walls, or even before that. When are you gonna accept the fact that this friend from your past is gone?”

Lazarus was slightly hurt from Annie’s words. Though she does make a good point. Lazarus doesn’t know his friends name, whereabouts, or even what he looks like. Whatever it was that caused his blackouts, it really didn’t want him to find him. All the more reason why he must find the Founding Titan, so he could undo whatever’s been done to him.

“I get what you’re saying. But I know he’s here somewhere. I can feel it. Whoever possesses the other necklace is the one I’m looking for. For now though, I will make finding the Coordinate my top priority.

“You have a plan?” Bertolt asked.

“Yeah. We breach Wall Rose. It’s the best chance we have of smoking out the Founding Titan.”

“It also means killing a lot of your new friends” Annie bluntly pointed out.

Lazarus walks over to Annie and kneels down in front of her.

“I keep telling you, Annie. The cadets aren’t our friends, they’re devils. But it can’t hurt to gain their trust. By pretending to be their friends, they’ll be willing to share any vital information. So I wish you wouldn’t act so standoffish. It’ll only make you seem more suspicious.”

Annie looks away from Lazarus and the others. He could tell that she was exhausted after everything she’d been through. She had to do all the hard work while the boys were pretending to be friends with the others.

“You’re exhausted. I’m sorry I laid so many burdens on you, Annie. Please get some sleep… Maybe it’ll be best if you sit this next mission out. Let me and the guys focus on breaching the wall.”

Lazarus goes over the plan on how they’ll do it. Like last time, he will assume Titan form and use his scream to summon the Titan’s that ingested his spinal fluid to gather outside the south side of Wall Rose. Then Bertolt will kick down the outer gate using the Colossal Titan. Once the Titans are inside, Reiner will breach the inner gate. After that they wait for a reaction from the king. If this doesn’t force him to summon the Founding Titan, then nothing will. This plan had to work, the future of the world depends on it.

With their meeting adjourned, the Warriors begin making their way back to the campsite. Bertolt however decided to stop as a thought that had been on his mind for some time finally forced him to address it.

“I- I keep having this dream.” The others stop and look back at their tall but quiet friend. “Where I see that man from the mountains who hung himself. He must’ve been planning to do it. So why did he tell us his story first?”

The others weren’t sure how to answer that question. The man who hung himself was the man who told them the story that they’ve adapted as their own when people asked where they came from. Had they not stumbled across his camp after they breached Wall Maria, they could’ve broken their cover.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Lazarus spoke up. “If we hadn’t heard his story, who knows how long until the devils found out the truth about us. It’s because of him that they see us as one of them. Think of it as his final good deed for humanity before ending it all.”

Bertolt nodded in understanding and followed the others back to camp. Lazarus – despite his occasional doubts – was determined to finish the mission and recover the Coordinate. It angers him so much that the royals haven’t done anything in the five years that passed since Shiganshina fell. It’s as if they didn’t care for their subjects and were willing to let them all die if it meant keeping the Founding Titan out of enemy hands. If that were the case, then Lazarus wouldn’t feel bad at all when the time comes for him to eat them and take the Founder for himself.

“Sorry Michael. I hope you don’t end up among the pile of corpses that’ll appear once we go through with this.”

The next day the graduates turned soldiers were assigned their first official assignments by the Garrison Regiment. They were all sent to the city of Trost on the south side of Wall Rose, the town where Michael was from.

Speaking of whom, Michael was standing atop of the south wall just over the outer gate alongside Eren, Sasha, Connie, Marco, Thomas, and Mina. Their group was tasked with performing maintenance with the wall mounted cannons, such as cleaning them out, making repairs, and restocking ammunition.

Everything was peaceful at the moment. Almost too peaceful for Michaels liking. They’re on the south side of Wall Rose, they should’ve seen at least a few Titans roaming around. But nope, not a single Titan was anywhere to be seen. He wasn’t sure if he should be glad or worried.

“What do you mean you’re joining the Scouts?! What ever happened to joining the MP?”

Michael was snapped out of his thoughts when he started to overhear a conversation between Eren and Connie.

“Relax, a guy is allowed to change his mind if he wants to.”

“I think your speech really lit a fire under him.” Mina commented.

“His temper tantrum had nothing to do with it!” Connie shot back in denial. “The reason I’m joining is because of Lazarus. Something he said to us when we lived together in that cabin stuck with me. He’s just so… cool!”

Michael then decides to get in on this talk.

“I feel like he’s been having that affect on everyone.”

“Tell me about it.” Mina spoke up. “When Thomas and I were going through a tough time with the commandant, he came on over and gave us some inspiring words of advice.” She then starts to blush slightly. “Hey Michael. You’ve gotten pretty close to him lately. Do you think he’s seeing anyone?”

Michael chuckles to himself. It looks as if Mina has developed a little crush on Lazarus. It’s as if he has bewitched the entire group.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Mina. But I think Laz has his eyes set on someone else.”

“Really? Who?” Eren asked, his curiosity being peeked.

But before Michael could reveal the name, Sasha interrupts them. Her face carrying a look of mischief and hunger judging by the drool that was leaking from her mouth.

“Hey, can you guys keep a secret?” She giggles mischievously as she pulls out a big chunk of meat that was hidden behind her jacket. “Cuz I totally helped myself to the officers pantry!”

Everyone’s jaws dropped at the sight of the meat Sasha was dangling in front of them. Everyone – especially Michael – was at a loss for words.

“Sasha! They could throw your ass in jail for that!” Eren panicked.

“I- I can’t believe you actually did it!” Michael stuttered. “I gave you that dare as a joke but- I didn’t think you’d actually go through with it!”

Everyone then turns their shocked gazes at him.

“You told her to do this?!” Eren panicked again.

“Hey, I didn’t think she’d be crazy enough to do it!”

“It’s Sasha, what’s did you expect?!” Connie backfired.

Michael walked right into that one. He was right. He should’ve known better to assume that she wouldn’t do anything when it came to food.

Sasha begins to drool uncontrollably as she starts prepping the meat to be cut. The thought of how many sandwiches she could make with all that meat was enough to send her into a crazy hunger induced state.

Meat has become rare to obtain ever since Wall Maria fell. If any of them get caught with it, they’re all screwed. But that didn’t stop the others from wanting a piece of that meat for themselves. One by one they gather around Sasha like a flock of vultures circling a dead carcass, desperate for a taste of some meat.

Everyone but Michael and Eren were crowding around Sasha, watching as she began slicing it up. As tempting as it was to try a piece, they didn’t wanna risk getting in trouble when they only just joined the military.

“Hard to believe it’s been five years, huh?” Michael muttered to him.

“Yeah. Look at us. Ready to stand tall again.” He turns to him, addressing him properly. “You still joining the Scouts?”

Michael turns to face him too. “Damn right! I still want to become a Scout so my dad doesn’t have to worry about me anymore. I’ll no longer be lingering in the back of his mind and unbalancing his focus… Once I join, all of his focus will be on reclaiming Wall Maria and winning the fight against the Titans.”

Eren responds with a respected smile and fist bumps his friend and comrade. The two of them continue to watch and listen to the others as they start devouring the meat they were given like a pack of starving wolves.

Everything seemed fine… Until Michaels ears started to pick up the faint sound of a roar. A roar that sounded awfully familiar, as did its location.

His eyes shot wide open and his head quickly turned to the sky. He was shocked to see that his eyes have just confirmed what his ears heard. High above in the sky, the Winged Titan was circling around the city of Trost.

“It’s… back!”

Eren – wondering what he was talking about – also looks up at the sky. This time he was able to see it too. But due to the distance between him and it, he can only make out a few details. Details like its human-like arms being stretched out, and its massive bat-like wings flapping. Michael was right all along. The Winged Titan does exist. And if its here, then that means the Colossal and Armoured Titans might not be far behind.

They then hear the sounds of a faint rumbling that came from beyond the outer gate. They both turn towards the direction of Wall Maria’s lands and were shocked to see a huge gathering of Titans heading in their direction at a really fast pace.

“Titans!” Eren warned the others. “We got Titans coming this way!”

The others quickly stop what they were doing and look out for the incoming Titans. Some of them were scared, wondering what they should do next. But others were calm. They were safe atop the walls. None of the Titans can reach them.

However, the Titans that were all racing towards the wall all came to a sudden halt. They all just start to stand there, staring blankly at the outer gate, not even looking up at their prey.

“They- They’ve stopped?” Thomas said in confusion.

“Why would they come running towards us only to give up as they were closing in on us?” Samuel asked.

This was bizarre behaviour, even by abnormal Titan standards. During the lecture they’d received on Titans, they learned of some types of Pure Titans that can act in unpredictable ways, which led to the term “Abnormal”.

But this didn’t appear to be random, not to Michael at least. The way they all stopped at the exact same time, it was as if they’d just been ordered to stop and are now awaiting further commands. But if they’re being controlled, who’s the controller?

Michael looks up at the sky again. The Winged Titan was still in sight. But this time it wasn’t circling them. Instead, it was just hovering in place, staring down at them… Then it all came together. These Titans were ordered by the Winged Titan to come here and stop just outside the gates. Which meant that the Winged Titan was unlike the mindless Pure Titans. It had intelligence, and the ability to command Titans to do it’s bidding.

“It was him!” Michael pointed up at the sky. “The Winged Titan is back! It’s right there, see?!”

Everyone else looks up at the sky and confirms that Michael was telling the truth all along. They were all shocked at the very sight of it. They didn’t need to properly see it up close to be afraid. Now that they know that a flying Titan existed, it was enough for them to be terrified.

“Holy shit! It DOES exist!” Connie spoke up.

“We’re so sorry we didn’t believe you, Michael.” Sasha says regrettably.

“What is it doing?” Eren asked rhetorically. “It’s just hovering up there, staring at us. What’s it waiting for-

A sudden bolt of lightning comes down from the sky and strikes the ground a few feet away from from the inner gate. The lightning wasn’t what startled the cadets, it’s what came afterwards that did.

In but an instant, the Colossal Titan appears before them, standing taller than the wall. It’s menacing shadow loomed over the cadets, who were all to frightened to even react to what they were seeing.

Just like before, the Colossal Titan raises its leg back and brings it back down fast, kicking out the outer gate, sending tons of debris, and people hurtling backwards from the impact.

The cadets all attempt to attack it, but they were all knocked off of the top of the wall by a huge blast of hot steam. Michael, Eren and the others use their ODM gear to save themselves from falling to their deaths by firing their anchors into the wall.

Among the group, Samuel was severely injured from the blast, causing him to let go of the trigger and fall.

Without thinking, Sasha raced down the wall and fires one of her anchors into his leg, stopping his descent just in time.

“I got you! Try not to move, understand?!”

Michael and Eren catch their breath on the side of the wall, relieved to see that everyone else was still alive. But all their hopes vanished once they noticed the massive hole in the wall.

Just like five years ago, the dozens of Pure Titans that were patiently waiting to make their next move, began entering Trost through the hole.

The people of Trost begin to panic and make a run for it as the Titans start to wander inside. The Garrison soldiers stationed there make an attempt to keep the number of casualties to a minimum by taking them out with their ODM gear.

Michael’s anger started to flare up once he realised why the Winged Titan ordered those other Titans to stop. It was waiting for the Colossal Titan to appear and break through the wall, allowing the others to get in. This was not random. It was a planned out attack, just like Shiganshina.

“That bastard!” Now it was Eren’s turn to get angry. “That coward is just sitting up there and enjoying the show! I’ll kill him for this!”

“Believe me Eren, I want nothing more than to make him pay. But there’s no way to reach it. It’s well out of range for ODM gear. I hate to say it, but we have no way of fighting it.”

This only made Eren even more angry, even though he knew he was right. The Winged Titan was behind the attack of his home. It was the reason his mother was eaten alive. The fact that it was completely unreachable only deepened his hatred… But, there was still one other Titan that he CAN reach.

Without a moments thought, Eren engaged his ODM gear and began heading up the wall.

“Eren! What are you doing?!” Michael shouted.

“We may not be able to take out the Winged Titan. But we can go after the Colossal! He’s the only one powerful enough to break the walls. We kill him, and this battle is as good as over!”

With that said, Eren reaches the top of the wall and stands face to face with the Colossal Titan. The two of them stare into each other’s eyes. Eren thinks back to when he last saw it five years ago, back when it kicked out the outer gate, resulting in his mothers death. Now the time has come for him to take vengeance on it, the Armoured, Winged, and any other Titans that stand in his way.

The Colossal Titan begins to make its move as it pulls its massive right arm back, ready to swat at him.

“Eren, look out!” Michael shouted as he uses his ODM gear to tackle Eren off of the wall moments before the giant Titans arm came into contact with the wall and smashes all of the cannons atop it.

That action alone has convinced them that like the Winged Titan, the Colossal was also intelligent. The same thing they assumed for the Armoured Titan too.

“Eren, we have to retreat!”

Eren pushes Michael away and fires an anchor into the Colossal’s arm.

“I won’t let it get away! I’m gonna kill this giant bastard!”

Eren runs across its arm until it reached its shoulder. Using his gear, he flew around its back until he was nearing the nape of its neck. But as he got close, the Colossal Titan started to emit another burst of steam, blowing him backwards. The heat was too intense for him to handle, but he attempted to fight through it and go for the kill. This only led to the steam increasing in pressure.

Soon, a huge cloud of steam completely covers the Colossal Titan until it was completely engulfed. Eren fought with all his might to get through the clouds of steam and swings both blades to the sides.

Unfortunately for him, the Colossal Titan was nowhere to be seen. It vanished without a trace in no less than a second. He had failed.

Michael rushes over to him and helps him get back onto the wall safely. The others soon join them, all them confused as to what just happened.

Michael explains the situation to the others. He then looks up at the sky and was shocked to see that the Winged Titan had also vanished. The sky was completely empty. Not even a single bird occupied it.

The others started to panic over what they should do next. This is the first time they’re forced to deal with actual Titans. No amount of training can mentally prepare them for the responsibilities they have to tackle as soldiers.

A Garrison soldier soon arrives on the scene and orders the group to fall back and give them descriptions of what they’d just witnessed. With a salute, Michael and the others all head deeper into Trost to fill in the report.

Unbeknownst to them, Lazarus and Bertolt were hiding underneath the hole, using the lingering steam as cover. Both of them were fully equipped with ODM gear and began to sneak back into the wall.

A Titan spots them approaching and begins to charge at them with murderous intent. Bertolt panicked slightly while Lazarus stood his ground. He raises his left arm towards it.

“Stop!”

The Titan suddenly stops in its tracks and looks down at the two Warriors.

“Ignore us and go after someone else!” He ordered.

The Titan obeyed his command and started to wander off in the opposite direction. Bertolt let out a huge sigh of relief. If Lazarus didn’t have that ability, he would’ve been Titan food. Not that it mattered to Lazarus, because of his immortality.

“What do we do now?” He asked his leader.

“Now we wait. If the king doesn’t react then we’ll have no choice but to breach the inner gate as well… For now we lay low. We rejoin our squads and await further instructions.” He thoroughly explains.

Bertolt nods in agreement. He and Lazarus then go their separate ways, hiding all evidence of their involvement in all this.

The evacuation of Trost was already underway. All the citizens were guided through the inner gate by the Garrison Regiment. The hole was blocked off by a massive net, preventing any more Titans from flooding in. Whilst those that did get in were being taken out by the soldiers, both experienced and new.

All of the cadets are preparing themselves for battle. Now was the time for them to put all that they’ve learned from training to good use.

The plan was to split all the soldiers into three squadrons. The Garrison soldiers will be focuses on the vanguard. Cadets would take the middle guard led by a support squad. And the rear guard would go to the elites.

Even with all the remaining cannons they had, the Titans numbers weren’t even close to being fully depleted. What’s worse was the fear that the Armoured Titan could appear at any moment and breach the inner gate.

With orders received from Kitz Woermann, the cowardly second in command of the Garrison Regiment, the cadets manned their posts in the centre of Trost, ordered to cut down any Titan they come across.

Many of them were completely consumed with fear over the whole thing. Some of them have even lost the will to fight.

Lazarus and Mikasa were given special instructions from Ian Dietrich to join the rear guard, as they were among the elite in their corps. As a result, the Warriors were separated from their leader.

Michael’s group were soon given orders to assist the vanguard as their numbers were depleted.

Lifting everyone’s spirits, Mina and Thomas encourages the others to start a little contest to see who can get the most Titan kills. The winner would get bragging rights for a week. This gave the others enough motivation to actually do this.

Michael was the one to lead the charge, targeting the nearest Titans. Remembering his training, Michael flies past the Titan, avoiding its lunging arms, circles around it, and finally flies in behind it and slashing its nape with his blades.

The Titan was killed instantly and its body hit the ground face first. It’s body began to rapidly evaporate in a plume of steam. Even the blood that stained Michaels blades and clothes evaporated.

“Nice! My very first Titan kill.” He muttered to himself.

He was very pleased to see that all his training had paid off. But now was not the time to celebrate. There were more Titans heading their way. He can brag about it after they’re all dead.

The others were faring well with their own Titan kills, except for Eren and Armin who hadn’t managed to slay one yet.

“Heads up! We’ve got an Abnormal!” Eren warned the others.

A tall, skinny, blond haired Titan was standing atop a house. From the way it positioned itself, it looked like it was ready to leap at them.

Panicked, the squad quickly breaks formation and scatters as the abnormal leaped towards them, mouth wide open.

At first it seemed like a close call, until Michael notices that Thomas was missing from the group. Scared of what must’ve happened, he slowly looks back towards the abnormal that was clinging to a tower, hoping that what he was thinking was not what actually happened.

Sadly for him, it was true. Thomas was hanging from the mouth of the abnormal, weakly begging his friends to help him. Everyone was frozen with fear as they watched their comrade be swallowed whole by the Titan.

Afterwards, the Titan walked off in the opposite direction, seeking new prey. Enraged, Eren chased after it, hoping to avenge Thomas by killing the abnormal. Michael quickly goes after him, fearing he’d get himself killed, with the others following his lead.

As Eren closed in on the abnormal, another Titan jumped up from underneath him and managed to chomp his left leg clean off, causing him to crash.

“Shit! Eren!”

Michael picks up speed in a desperate attempt to reach him. He was so focused on helping Eren, that he failed to notice a large fifteen meter Titan come out from an alleyway and swing its huge hand at him.

Michael didn’t have enough time to dodge, and ends up getting knocked backwards by the Titans palm, sending him crashing into a clock tower. His body went right through the clock face and conveniently lands on a huge pile of sacks filled with flour which end up cushioning his fall.

His body was still intact, but he ended up suffering severe head trauma. His vision started to become blurry, and his body motioned side to side as he crawled over to the windows to see what was going on, like a drunk man.

Out the window, dazed and confused, he could see more Titans closing in on his entire squad. Though concussed, he could understand the horrors that were unfolding before his eyes. His entire squad, including Mina, were being devoured by the Titans. And it looked like Armin was gonna be next, as a Titan with a beard slowly picks him up and hangs him over its open mouth.

“Ar…min…no!” He weakly uttered as he slowly reached out the window.

Armin didn’t even try to struggle. It would appear that he too had lost the will to fight. The Titan soon lets go and Armin was dropped down its gullet.

Until out of nowhere, Eren jumps in and saves him at the last second. With all his strength, he throws Armin out of the Titans mouth, and allows himself to be eaten in his place.

It was at that moment that Michael was starting to lose consciousness and collapse to the hard wooden floor. Was this it? Was this how he was gonna die? Unless somebody finds him, his hopes of being reunited with his father will die with him.

To Be Continued