The First Battle to Retake Trost District

So Vasily was an entertainer? Huh. Odd, but it certainly fit his exuberant personality. It seemed like the shorter red-head was always smiling ear to ear. It was a bit unnerving at how intensely Vasily was staring at him though. He raised an eyebrow and Vass continued speaking before he could say anything. “But man! Exactly how tall are you? We don’t look too different, but the height difference – wow!” To his surprise, he stepped forward, comparing their height with his hand, a familiar action René remembered doing when he was younger. Vass’s head barely came up under his chin, and the other scout continued excitedly. “Like I grew up in a dairy farm – a few years that is. And milk is supposed to make you big, but now even my fifteen-year-old sisters are growing past me. And I’m not going to even mention my big brothers! But we really do look little alike. Do you think it’s that thing? Ugh, what was it called again – Vadoma told me about it once. It had a special name. Do… dope, not that. Dupe-something? Duppergouger! That’s what people who look alike are called! Although, something bad was supposed to happen when you meet one.”  

René could hardly keep up with how fast Vasily talked, he was smiling the whole time though. Vasily was such a pleasure to be around, always smiling and always ready to talk to somebody.  He chuckled, telling Vasily that he was around 5' 11" (180.34 cm). “I think the word you’re looking for is doppleganger. Dopple closely meaning double and I don’t remember what ganger originated from but I always thought of it as a person of some sort…”  There he was… spouting his knowledge onto this poor soul. He cut himself off before he could continue with all the random facts that were crammed in his brain. “I didn’t know you had family! I usually never ask anybody about theirs because most of the people in the Survey Corps don’t have anyone living left. Who’s this Vadoma you mentioned?”


Vasily either didn’t hear him, or had other pressing matters on his mind because he was suddenly stroking his chin in a pensive way, but suddenly Vass was poking his stomach carefully, “Are your guts bleeding out? I think you should have it checked. And I’m running out of gas, so let’s go together!” Turns out the blood he’d wiped on his glasses was his own. Though truth to be honest, his body was hyped up on adrenaline and he had no idea if his crash into that roof had done further damage. He turned his head away from Vasily, and spat the bloody phlegm that had building up in his mouth.

“You’re right, it’s probably better to be safe than sorry, especially if I’m going to continue this battle. Let’s hurry though, I really don’t want to have a run in with a titan on out way to the wall.”  The two of them took off, Vasily using his gas sparingly, smart of him to do considering they were closer to the middle of Trost rather than an outlying wall. Medical emergency stations and resupply stations decorated the wall at various intervals, their white flags signaling a safe haven to the injured. They landed atop the wall, and they started walking in the direction of the stations. René had insisted refueling Vasily’s gas would take less time, and so he loped behind the giddy acrobat in front of him. Thinking about the battle had René’s mind racing in many different directions at a high speed. Usually he would be worrying, but the initial nervousness that always accompanied him when entering a battle had worn off. Right now he was concentrating on not dying, and how to kill titans effectively. He supposed he and Vasily would become a vanguard team for the remaining mission. They worked decently together and René was surprised he hadn’t met Vass sooner.

As soon as their gas was filled up (René had realised his was low) and their blades disposed, Vasily forced him to go over to the Medical area. He stumbled over to where the medics were treating, or trying to treat some victims that had been withdrawn to the battlefield. Looks like it was still dangerous. He stepped around the working medics as carefully as he could, muttering apologies under his breath, before he finally reached a medic who looked unbusy. The said medic looked up and per their duty asked them what was wrong. René explained how he’d been knocked into a roof by a titan and ha possibly bitten his tongue. The medic sat him down, clearly annoyed that a case as simple as his had come here to interrupt whatever it was they were doing. “Open your mouth, I’ll check quickly.” René obliged, awkwardly so though. He’d never really had anything medically done to him, and he was always scared of doctors when he was younger. He avoided them whenever possible. He felt the medic’s fingers inside his mouth, feeling about for cuts or scrapes. It was the most disgusting thing he ever experienced and he fought the urge to snap at the medic’s hand. “Cut’s scabbed over,” the medic muttered finally withdrawing his sooty tasting hand. He wiped it on his pants. “Unbutton your shirt, I need to check if you’re bleeding.”  Such demands from a man who most likely never saw combat! There was nothing René could do however, and the quickest way out of the situation was to oblige, so he did so, his hands slipping over the pale buttons of his shirt, exposing his stomach and chest for the world to see. By now René’s cheeks were a light pink. He hated undressing in front of people, no matter how small it was. The medic’s eyes scanned his chest looking for something only a practised eyes could spot. “Take it all the way off please, you said you landed on your back?”  René nodded, slipping out of the shirt, exposing his lean muscles to the wind. He wasn’t unmuscled, but other people were certainly stronger than he was, and he was lanky, so his spine and ribs stuck out in places. Sure enough, as the medic walked around him, he noticed a piece of broken tile stuck in his side. It was barely the size of his pinky, and it wasn’t that deep. René hadn’t even felt it, but there was a rip in his shirt where his scouting jacket stopped.

Instead of panicking like René was occupying himself with, the medic busied himself with preparing to remove the object stuck in the side of this scout. Grabbing a spare pair of forceps, he grabbed hold of the object with them. “I’ll count to three and then I’ll pull it out and bandage it. The medic had had a long day dealing with the worst to the best of patients and he wasn’t in the mood to pamper every military member who came to him for help today. He saw this scout’s eyes widen, before he nodded, clenching his jaw. “1, 2.. 3” The scout tensed up a little, but other than that the tile was easy to remove. The fresh wound began to flow, and the medic stopped the scout from clamping a hand over it. Swiftly he wound a bandage around it and handed the shirt back to the scout. “You’re all good. Be careful to not let the bandage slip otherwise you’ll bleed out.”  And with that the medic turned to go back to his paper. René on the other hand was flipping out like a child would have. He yanked on his shirt, angrily doing the buttons up and then casting a glare at the medic. They had no reason to be so cold.

As two of them took off to head for the resupply station, Vasily remembered to save his gas. There was one time when he tried to get up a wall with none – it was a hassle, and in the end he just bummed a piggyback ride up.

“Oh, but you asked about my family! Or was it Vadoma? She is not exactly family, but she, Vadoma The Wise, used look after us a lot when we were still kids.” The wind whizzing past them must have drowned his words as there was no answer or recognition from René. So, they settled for companionable silence until they reached the wall, where René first wanted to get gas refilled and swords replaced before medical check-ups.

“Alright! Now that we’re done with that, let’s get you patched up! Hurry up!” He pestered his teammate to medical support, where they weaved between the injured soldiers and few medics for a moment before finding an unoccupied one. “Hello there! Can you fix my buddy?” René went on to explain what exactly had happened and the frowning medic had him sit down. Vasily as well flopped next to them to curiously follow the procedure. But his attention quickly meandered away: Not that he could see much anyway with the medic’s hands in the way and in René’s mouth. His gaze drifted to city of Trost. Beyond the veil of canon fire’s smoke titans’ heads were popping between the rooftops and colourful smoke signals drew lines all over the sky above. Now that he thought about it, they kind of reminded of him of fireworks. Oh, there is black one! In seconds a bunch of soldiers rushed over to the signal. But what he and René were supposed to do next? Or where exactly they were supposed to go? By the looks of it the broken gate had the most titans swarming around – so that must be where most of the action is too! He would ask René to go with him there later.

“Unbutton your shirt, I need to check if you’re bleeding.” The medic’s words snapped Vasily’s attention back to his immediate surroundings. Hesitating for a second René hastily unbuttoned his shirt. The medic scanned over his torso, but Vasily’s eyes were caught on his face and he leaned a bit closer.

“You’re blushing.” Vasily patted his bare shoulder accompanied by his easy laugh. “No need to be ashamed! You look good!” The medic gave an order to strip the shirt completely and resumed to check René’s back too. Apparently, they found something since they grabbed big pliers and told René to brace himself. “You can hold my hand, if you need.” But before René did anything the medic counted to three and pulled a bloody piece of… something. Vasily could not really tell, it was too tiny. With quick hands the wound was briskly wrapped, and René’s shirt returned.

“You’re all good. Be careful to not let the bandage slip otherwise you’ll bleed out.” With those parting words the medic turned their attention to a stack of papers. Vasily leaned over their shoulder to see what they were unto, but they pressed the papers protectively against their chest and scowled. “Was there something wrong with you?”

“Nope! I’m wholly healthy!”

“Right… Go on then.”

Vasily made sure to thank them before hopping back to his feet to wait redressing René. “Why you look so gloomy?” He looked a little huffy to Vasily, even though he just got treated. He paused for an answer before continuing. “Uh-huh. Anyway, what we do next? I want to go to the gate, but I saw a black flare go off on the West side – although it was a while ago already.”

Renn was weaving between buildings, mainly using the grappling hooks to get around and conserving his gas. It was a well-devised choice by the Snake to do so, as he knew that he can't easily determine how much gas he has and how much he'd be using.
König kept his eyes sharp, looking out for Cora and making sure he doesn't miss any Titans that may not be easily visible from a glance.
Thus far, Renn still remains on no Titan kills, despite all the opportunities he had to slay some. He wasn't focused on doing that, for that wasn't his goal.

For most of the time he had already spent in Trost, the Snake had no luck spotting his fellow Alpha and also found himself occasionally taking in the sight of the remains of the lost district.
He was caught up in one of these moments where he was looking around at all the rubble and the towering, monstrous threats that were Titans when he caught his name on the wind, being yelled from a not-so-far distance.

Renn looked over and spotted his objective, redirecting himself without hesitation to reach Cora as quickly as possible.
He managed to soon reach the rooftop that the female Alpha was stood upon and detached his grapples to descend to equal footing.
Unfortunately for König, he misjudged his moment and made a hard landing on the roof, hitting the tiles and stumbled slightly. He turned his stumble into a walk to play it off, managing to remain on his feet.

He marched his way over to the Wolf with an unpleased expression on his face. He didn't even acknowledge anyone else being on the roof as his concentration narrowed on one thing.
As soon as he was within an acceptable range to speak to Cora, Renn stated the one question that was eating at his mind.

"In what world made you think thisssss was a good idea!?"

Just after the soldier had asked her who the new person that was approaching them was a titan attacked them and Cora rolled out the way. As she hit the roof again she grunted in pain. Her crash landing had left her torso and legs heavily bruised, easily visible given she was more or less only wearing bandages around her chest and pants, no proper shirt or anything that covered her properly.

Cora got up and watched the soldier attack the titan. It did not go too well, he had probably tried killing it with dulled out blades, causing them to break and only hurt the titan. Nevertheless she was surprised he still attacked it evne though he fell down. But as the second titan came he flew up to Cora again. Cora looked at her own blades, they were a different model than what he was using, but they would still fit into the holder. She threw a pair over towards him and then jumped off the roof, grappling into the neck of the titan closest to them, circling around halfway but only to get towards the titan behind them, which was closer to Renn. So more important for her. She did the same as before, grappling into the neck, circling around, but this time she used the momentum she gained by circling around a few times to make herself spin in the air and once she had gotten close enough she cut through the nape. Too deep for her taste. The titan fell down and vanished into thin air as she used the same momentum from before to catapult herself towards Renn.

Cora landed on the roof he was on, detached the blades, threw them over the roof and replaced them in one fluid, continuus motion and angrily marched over towards Renn.
His facial expression was unpleased, perhaps a bit angry but anyhow nowwhere close to Cora's. She was furious. Her normally pale skin was now almost red and the contrast made her usual steel gray eyes even more piercing.

Renn asked a simple: "In what world made you think thisssss was a good idea!?", with is so usual weird pronouncation. Some part of Cora had missed this. But that tiny little thought had barely surfaced before it got crushed down, trampled and utterly eliminated by her anger.

Cora greeted him with a slap on his face, "YOU ASK ME THAT?! YOU ARE ASKING ME THAT! EXCUSE ME.", she recieved a slap of her own, which only ended up leaving an imprint on her face, but apart from that she remained completly unfaced.
"I HAVE KILLED MORE TITANS TODAY THAN YOU HAVE SEEN IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE! AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO JUST COME HERE? DO YOU PLAN TO GET KILLED?", she grabbed him by the collar, "If one of those titans does not end up killing you today. I swear it will be me after I see you the next time after this is over.", she was breathing heavily and let him go, sort of pushing him back.
Cora took a few steps away from him, ruffling her hair, which had now become a tad longer. To Renn she would seem alot healthier, the muscle mass which she had lost over the past months was almost back to where it had been. Instead of an unhealthy gray, yellowish colour of her skin it was now back to a white one. Yes, the bags under her eyes were still there, but those just seemed to be because of exhaustion and not because of whatever else the cause had been before.
She grabbed her head, staring at Renn, her eyes wide open and her expression something in between disbelief and anger.
"You have to get back. You have to get back behind the walls. What are you even doing here? Are you completly retarded? Did you fall on your head? Did your sister die and you suddenly have some sort of suicidal wish? Did I do something to you that makes you want to die in front of me as well? FOR FUCK'S SAKE RENN!", she marched over towards him again after spewing out questions and grabbed his hand.
"You are leaving now. And if I personally have to knock you out and somehow drag your ass away from this."

Beneath the last, dying gasps of the setting sun, a lone horse emerged from beyond the horizon. Galloping towards Wall Rose, the stallion and its green-cloaked rider raced towards the gaping hole in Trost's protective barrier, seeking an easy and familiar port of entry into the last bastion of humanity. Clad in a worn and refitted Scouting Legion uniform, the rider pushed his steed ever onward - away from the unpredictability and danger of the wilderness and towards the safe familiarity of iron and stone. His horse was of a fine breed, either nabbed off the black market or pawned off of one of Sina's repugnant aristocrats. Charcoal fur that felt coarse to the touch covered the beast, with piercing dark eyes and a luscious tail kept short to avoid any snagging or dragging. The saddle was constructed of dark brown leather, with satchels of books and papers held on either side and secured so as to not bounce against the horse whilst it galloped towards the Wall. Craning his head to look behind him, the Scout scanned the rolling plains he found himself in to see if any Titans were nearby and moving towards him. Thankfully, he thought, there weren't any within his vicinity, and that he'd be able to make night camp in Trost before slipping back into society the following day.

Then he heard the cannons. Then the shouts, the screams. The familiar screeching of cable and the exhale of pressurized gas. The thundering steps of aroused Titans eager for a meal, and the Scout's jaw dropped ever so slightly as his gaze was drawn skyward. Flares and smoke of every color he was taught to know in his military service polluted the sky, staining the air as sand does in water. Worrying thoughts began to flood through his head, but he knew the only answers he would get were past Trost's outer wall.

Was the inner Wall finally breached?

Had Titans penetrated all the way through Wall Rose?

Or, even more frighteningly, wa- THUD. THUD. THUDTHUD. THUD.

The rider's train of thought was cut short as he heard footfalls coming from behind him. Cursing aloud, he urged the stallion ever faster - Titans outside of the Wall had heard the commotion, and were coming to investigate. Hurriedly passing through the debris-laden outer wall, the Scout found himself caught in an eyes-wide-open trance as he processed what was happening. Although he was still a vast distance away from any cable-slinging soldiers, the cavalier stood still in the street for a moment as he forcibly snapped himself back to attention.


They were trying to reclaim Trost. The absolute madmen.


By now the evening sun had almost completely vanished beyond the horizon, but a sliver of it still remained. Shining out over the horizon, anyone with a lucky position and a good pair of eyes would see not only the setting sun cramming its last rays of red-orange light through the wall, but an ominously black silhouette riding into the edges of the carnage.

Galloping into what was once an inn, the Scout dismounted and quickly donned a set of bog-standard 3DMG with a practiced precision. After making sure no Titans would notice his horse and that it would be safe in the building, he crept out of the smashed-in entrance and positioned himself atop a nearby house.

What to do? What to do? What was he to do? The Scout grimaced beneath his green hood. He had returned from beyond the Wall to discuss research notes and his findings, not to get stuck in with yet another doomed operation. Crouching low on a roof so as to avoid being seen by either Titans or humans, the Scout pondered his next moves; they could very quickly and easily change the course of the slaughter he was witnessing. Worriedly looking back towards the light pouring through the hole in the wall, he knew he had to make his decision quick. If that hole wasn't closed in time, a ravenous flood of flesh and bone was going to flood through and undoubtedly overwhelm whatever forces were mustered, ironically attracted to the slaughter the soldiers themselves were participating in. He could end the problem here and now, but that would mean blocking his only reliable means of escape and relying upon the goodwill of a steeled legion out to kill him. Slapping himself in the head a few times, the Scout donned a pair of goggles to keep viscera out of his eyes and readjusted his hood. Muttering to himself, the Scout launched himself off of the roof and began hurriedly looking for something, anything, that could be used to plug the hole before it was too late for both him and the army slowly encroaching upon his position.

Shortly after his landing, a pair of blades landed at Anton’s feet. With quick inspection, he could tell that they were not the standard issue that he had been given, though he’d take what he could get. He called over to her, “Thanks,” before sheathing his equipped blades and locking in the new ones, giving them a brief test swing to ensure they were stuck tight. In the corner of his eye, he saw Cora maneuver into the air and make quick work of the titan bearing down on them with a series of motions that he could barely keep track of. When she landed, she switched out her blades fluidly before approaching the man who had landed beside them before. Before Anton could ask questions, he saw her skin flush red before the realization dawned on him that she was infuriated.

The man spoke peculiarly, “In what world did you think this,” the last word being slithered, “was a good idea?”

The speech was bewildering but, especially when he observed those in the Survey Corp, he found that the world was full of stranger people. Before Anton could offer warning, the woman gave a hard slap that boomed into the air, leaving Anton still with narrowed eyes, wary of her ferocity. When she began to shout, it took great self-control to not flinch at the venom in every word, “YOU ASK ME THAT!? YOU’RE ASKING ME THAT! EXCUSE ME!”

The man responded with a slap of his own straight into her face, leaving an imprint. Anton felt a shiver when he saw how unfazed she was and silently hoped that the conflict would end soon. He began to speak, hoping to dispel the quarrel, “Oy, we should quiet down a bit. There’s no telling if there are more titans in the area.”

His voice went unheard when she continued, “I HAVE KILLED MORE TITANS TODAY THAN YOU HAVE SEEN IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE! AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO JUST COME HERE!? DO YOU PLAN TO GET KILLED!?”

When she grabbed the man by the collar, Anton stepped forward and made his way within arm’s distance of them, stating out, “There’s no need for that! Calm down, both of you.”

His voice went unnoticed in the heat of the argument before she growled, “If one of those titans does not end up killing you today, I swear it will be me after I see you the next time this is over.” With a noticeable push, she released the man before ruffling her hair. Before Anton could relish the calm, Cora stated heatedly, “You have to get back. You have to get back behind the walls. What are you even doing here? Are you completely retarded? Did you fall on your head? Did your sister die and you suddenly have some sort of suicidal wish? FOR FUCK’S SAKE RENN!” and she marched toward the man in question, “You are leaving now. And if I personally have to knock you out and somehow drag your ass away from this.”

Having enough of the argument and knowing fully well how compromised they were in the present situation, Anton called, “Ma’am, that’s enough…” before he realized that he just challenged a woman with a venomous temper that could rival his own brother’s. Even still, he swallowed and held his head level to stare up at the taller woman. He held out a hand to both of them, calmly offering, “You both have a history. I can understand if there are things between you two that need resolving. But that needs to be put on hold until we’re clear of this situation. This sector is exposed and I have no idea of whether or not one of my guy’s made it to a resupply zone to the north. Until either he gets here with reinforcements, we’re relieved of this area, or the signal to retreat is given, this is where our focus needs to be.”

Anton looked between the two taller figures before spreading both his hands out and closing his eyes for a moment, pondering what else he could say to calm the two soldiers, particularly the woman, before him. Ultimately, he simply stated, “If nothing else, you could kill each other when my back is turned later on. Then there won’t be a witness,” he lightly snorted, “Does that sound good...? Both of you?”

Vasily had insisted on accompanying René to the medic’s quarters. Which was nice, but it was also a little embarrassing. The shorter scout had flopped onto the crate next to him. The most unnerving thing, had been that Vasily had complimented his physique. He’d never been very confident in it, but the compliment had only made him blush more out of embarrassment.

Vasily ran after him after he finished buttoning up his shirt. “Why do you look so gloomy?” René turned his head towards him, kind of grateful that he’d stuck around. The taller scout grinned, “I just really hate doctors, always pushing and prodding and they’re mostly pushovers. They make it seem like everything you do is wrong.” Vasily nodded in agreement, but then asked him about where they should go next. He mentioned a black flare, but also told him that it happened a while ago.  

“Towards the West, huh?” René reached up and scratched his chin. “We could go check it out if you want to. Honestly I don’t know if the titan was already dealt with, but Trost is still crawling with them so it probably wouldn’t matter where it was. We could just probably swing back into the fray and find some titans to kill, though that probably wouldn’t be the best course of action…..” He reached down to where his swords were stowed away with his extra blades, fiddling with a loose bit of rubber he’d found on the grip earlier. With the 3DMG on, it was a similar motion to putting his hands on his hips. René was puzzled. Trost was bigger than he had remembered, and with all the destruction and chaos around, he couldn’t make sense of his old stomping grounds.

Looking over at Vasily, his brow knit in a quiet, somber, concentration, he continued, “Just pick somewhere to go and I’ll follow you. Hopefully we can finish this operation soon… so many have died already, and it seem like there’s no stop the amount of titans we’re facing.” He waited for any sign of recognition from Vasily and eventually the scout took off from his perch. The two of them were back into the fray.

Up ahead, René spotted a red flare towards the right of the path they were flying. “Should we go help??” he yelled to Vasily. He’d stopped on a roof, his grappling hook secured safely into a chimney, and luckily so. He heard a splash when he landed, and he was positive it wasn’t water because it hadn’t rained in days. That only meant one thing, it was blood. He didn’t want to look down at it. Suddenly, he saw a hand reach over a rooftop not too far away. It’s fingers curled over the roof tiles and slammed down onto them, breaking them. It wasn’t a human hand, it’s width was about twice the size of René. A face slowly followed the hand, the glassy eyes of a titan staring down at the two scouts. “Shit… ,” muttered René. He looked over at Vasily, and shouted over to him that he’d distract it. He wasn’t sure who was closer to the titan, but if he had to guess he and Vasily were parallel from each other.

He triggered his gas, quickly unlatching his grappling hook from the building. Pushing down on the handle for the gas more, he leveled himself out with the height of the titan’s eyes and maneuvered towards the titan. That was when the creepiest part happened, the titan locked eyes with him. It sent chills down his spine, and he flinched as an arm flung towards him. He cut his gas, and plummeted towards the ground, twisting around to face an old building. Reflexively he activated the controls for a grappling hook, and it sank into the side of the building, which swung him into it. He’d managed to draw the titan’s attention, and he’d hoped Vasily had enough luck with killing it. Breathing out a sigh, he pushed himself away from the wall with his feet before he disengaged his grappling hook and activated his gas to get back to the roof where he’d last seen Vasily.

“Just pick somewhere to go and I’ll follow you. Hopefully we can finish this operation soon… so many have died already, and it seem like there’s no stop the amount of titans we’re facing.” Oh! This might be one of those times when he was supposed to offer comfort. But how exactly? Say he was sorry? But it was not Vasily’s fault they were dead: He did not kill them nor could have saved everyone. He turned to look at the wreck of a city. These things were always so baffling. Not that his new leadership position was too easy either. It was usually someone else, who did the planning and ordering around. Vasily did not even remember the whole plan… But the gate was supposed to be the key!

“Alright!” He hops back to his feet with renewed energy. “Let’s just go forward and kill all titans we come across!” Nods to himself happy with his call – as simple as it is. Vaulting of from the wall, René right at his heels, two of them joined the chaos once again.

Only moments later a red smoke flared ahead. René shouted wanting to help them. Vasily skidded to halt to change their course and René landed close by – in a massive sloshing puddle of blood. And was that a foot over there? A wild guess that a titan had dined here only recently! Yet he was startled from searching more body parts by an enormous hand slamming beside René. He shouted Vasily to kill it while he distracted the titan this time.

“Roger that!” Running off to get a clean view of its nape, Vasily attached his anchors to the titan and left the dull ground behind. During his short flight René was almost smacked by the giant again. It was a close one, but Vasily whistled at the swift evade.

The moment his blades bit into the steaming flesh he felt one sword jamming in place and heard a distinctly metallic crunch. Not staying with the beast Vasily flung off to nearby roof edge to gain distance. The collapsing titan had suffered a deep cut, but also half a blade stuck out of its neck. Unmoving and steaming – but not healing. Should be dead then!

He discarded the useless stub of a blade and drew a fresh one. Quickly glancing about his surroundings, Vasily spotted René on the same roof, where he was hanging from. “Let’s go to the red signal now!” Not waiting for an answer, Vasily bounced of the wall to gain enough force to swing up and ahead where they spotted the flare.

Looking over houses and down to streets Vasily spotted a small titan – three to five metres maybe – crouching low to the ground. “Lil’ one spotted!” Along a shrill whoop Vasily dropped height enough to look like he was going to faceplant to a building; if he were not to catch himself with his feet and 3DMG anchors. Letting go with his hooks he was falling on the titan swords poised to kill. One slash, and the titan’s body slumped to ground – and Vasily’s sword fell into two pieces again. “Oh man! I got to be more careful.”

Looking down at the titan Vasily called out gingerly. “Umm… René! Little help here!?” Before the titan lied a Scouting Regiment’s woman. She looked intact enough to be a live, if not for a chunk of missing arm and stark white bone sticking out of what was left of it. “Also – would you prefer to be eaten slowly or swallowed in one go?!”

Renn snarled, clearly showing his displeasure at Cora's words. He considered her being stupid for accepting this mission but her words had now just made him believe that her brain was more scrambled than he had thought.
All thinking escaped the Snake, however, once the female Alpha had mentioned his sister.

Instinct purely took control and König snapped his hand up to grasp Cora's neck. With a tight grip, he hissed his words, barely louder than a breath.
"Inssssssufferable. That's what you are. How dare you even mention the possssssibility that my sister could die."

The albino Alpha pushed Cora away and turned his attention towards the sky, clearly finding it more toleratable to look at.
"I don't know what'ssss worse; the fact that you sssssseeem to care or the fact that you're acting like you're more sssssuitable for this situation than I am."

Renn spat on the roof, realising the sudden venom behind his words and finding it distasteful.
"I agree with you, I will be leaving now. Now that I have found you, I can ssssssafely bring you back to the headquarters. I mean, after all you've been through, you're really just going to risk it and possibly get eaten by those stupid looking Titanssssss? Just because you've been getting better doesn't mean you're currently suitable for a mission as big as this."

It took a moment for Renn to realise he had no more to say, so he decided the next course of action would be the withdrawal. However, as he turned to leave, he noticed Anton stood at an arm's distance away.
The Snake's face purely fell at the sight of the Garrison member.

"Oh, a Rose. Were you the one rambling in the background? Whatever. I've got what I came here for, sssso we're going to be leaving now. My condolencesssssss if you die."
The last sentence was spoken in a bored tone and with that, Renn turned his attention to making his leave once more.

"Come on, Cora."

Cora was not exeptionally surprised at Renn's reaction but it still caught her off guard. His grip was tight, his fingers skillfully placed onto her carotid arteries and her vision would have shortly become blury if it was not for him almost immediatly pushing her away again after giving her his unwated opinion. If she was fully honest, she had not really realized what she had said to him. Neither did she care much, however, Renn cared incredibly much about his sister. Interesting. Good to know. Nec added it as a mental note.

Cora let Renn spew whatever he wanted to say. She disagreed with everything he was saying, but refrained from interupting him midspeach. Not because she was polite. But because she could barely contain her anger right now and took the half a minute of talking to calm down atleast a single bit. She more or less failed, given that with almost every sentence Renn spoke he angered her more.
The Garisson's words however did calm her down a bit. He suggested for both of them to just kill each other once this was done. A very good idea. A fantastic idea even.

Renn insulted the guy, visibly not giving a single fuck about what was going to happen to the guy.
He turned back around to Cora.
"Come on, Cora.", he said, the same bored tone as he had when he talked to the scout.

She stood there, glaring at Renn and not moving an inch. Cora scoffed loudly and put her hand on Anton's shoulder, gripping it tightly, hopefully without hurting him.
"Killing each other is a marvelous idea.", she said quietly. Cora took a deep breath, "However, he is right. I am under contract and I will stay here.", her voice was surprisingly calm and content.
She moved the garrisson guy behind her, getting him a bit out of the way and took a step forward. Her face was as close as it could get to Renn's without having to stand on tiptoes (which would have just looked ridiculous and not anyhow intimidating).
"You. You are calling me unfit to be a part of this mission? You? Do you think that is a wise idea?", she tilted her head slightly and moved it back to its original position, "I am more than suitable for this mission.", she laughed and took a step back, opening her arms to show him where they were, "THIS? I have MISSED THIS! How dare you call me unfit! I am the best fit, better than any. ANY. Of the soldiers here. And you? You want to call me back? Because you have some sort of protection issues? I am sorry, Renn, but I think, I might be old enough to decide myself whether or not I am capable of handing a situation like this!", her saucer-eyed eyes were glowing with anger and/or madness, it was hard to tell. Their grey colour made her pupils seem even smaller than they already were. She started laughing again, her voice cracking at points and sounding more like Vex/Nec at points. She suddenly stopped and took a step forward again, leaning in, "And seeming to care? Do you want me not to care? I can force myself to. But I'll be honest, Renn, the smartest thing you can do right now is to get back to where you came from, because if you anger me anymore I might actually stop.", she lifted her arm, pointing backwards into the district, "And who knows how many titans have heard us two argueing. I can leave you alone here, but guess who's going to be without any relatives within mere minutes of me leaving you here?", she smiled coldly, "So. Get your ass back onto the walls and leave this to the professionals."

Come on, come on come on come on COME ON!

Severin fumed as he soared between buildings, legitimately worried about his personal well-being for the first time in a long while. Being unprepared was one of Severin's greatest frustrations, and here he was three miles up shit creek without a paddle and a sinking canoe. Slicing past a Titan, the Rogue Shifter swung himself on top of a chapel and swung his head around in an attempt to find anything big enough for his plan.

And then he saw it.

The Rock.

His eyes widened as they took in the sheer size of the boulder he was witnessing. The thing was huge - it was larger than the hole in the Wall! Running a reinvigorated hand through his hair, Severin let out a bellowing laugh and zipped off towards The Rock. He had found what he was looking for and more! Rolling onto the top of The Rock, Severin tossed off his Scouting Legion cloak and removed the Survey Corps jacket he had on - such garments would only be incriminating. Now fully clear of any military insignia, Severin made a short prayer to whoever was listening and leaped off of The Rock.

An intense, fiery beam of lightning the color of the setting sun erupted in Trost, drowning out the cannons and heralding the arrival of a much more prominent threat. With a deafening, guttural roar, the Red Titan emerged from the ruined cityscape. In an attempt at communicating with the people who were no doubt staring at him with fear-struck eyes and weakened bowels, the Red Titan pointed towards the hole in the wall and then to The Rock. After waiting a few seconds for his attempt to possibly register, the Holy Colossus of the Sanguine Church hoisted up the gigantic slab of stone and began moving towards his objective.

Slowly, other Titans began making their way towards him.

After a snarl from Renn, he lunged forward and grabbed Cora by the neck before hissing, “Inssssssufferable. That's what you are. How dare you even mention the possssssibility that my sister could die,” before pushing her away and turning his attention upward, “I don't know what'ssss worse; the fact that you sssssseeem to care or the fact that you're acting like you're more sssssuitable for this situation than I am.” He spat onto the roof before finishing, “I agree with you, I will be leaving now. Now that I have found you, I can ssssssafely bring you back to the headquarters. I mean, after all you've been through, you're really just going to risk it and possibly get eaten by those stupid looking Titanssssss? Just because you've been getting better doesn't mean you're currently suitable for a mission as big as this."

When Renn’s gaze fixed on Anton, the garrison soldier felt a chill run down his spine but managed to keep himself standing firm and held the gaze. After a look of displeasure, Renn stated boredly, “Oh, a Rose. Were you the one rambling in the background? Whatever. I've got what I came here for, sssso we're going to be leaving now. My condolencesssssss if you die,” before turning back to his former target and stating, “Come on, Cora.”

Anton, between being the youngest and most favorited child in his house and his silently prideful nature in general, felt compelled to curse and mutter under his breath but managed to vent his anger into a single huff through his nose before turning his head to check for titans. He mentally noted that the latest wave must have been expended, though who knew when the next would come. With some lingering curiosity, he turned to Cora to see how she would act.

The woman’s stare did make him avert his gaze for a moment with how ferocious it came off, before she scoffed and gripped his shoulder, whispering, “Killing each other is a marvelous idea.” She took a deep breath and stated, “However, he is right. I am under contract and I will stay here." She began to shift Anton so that he stood behind her. He was grateful for this when she began her menacing reply, “You. You are calling me unfit to be a part of this mission? You? Do you think that is a wise idea? I am more than suitable for this mission," before laughing and throwing her arms apart as if to present a grand spectacle, “THIS? I have MISSED THIS! How dare you call me unfit! I am the best fit, better than any. ANY. Of the soldiers here. And you? You want to call me back? Because you have some sort of protection issues? I am sorry, Renn, but I think, I might be old enough to decide myself whether or not I am capable of handling a situation like this!”

When Anton moved to her side and peered up to her eyes, he saw the tinges of madness and ferocity within them and felt himself tighten his lips with an anxiousness to leave the two be. When she started laughing, her voice cracking and sounding as if she weren’t herself. “And seeming to care? Do you want me not to care? I can force myself to. But I'll be honest, Renn, the smartest thing you can do right now is to get back to where you came from, because if you anger me anymore, I might actually stop. And who knows how many titans have heard us two argueing. I can leave you alone here, but guess who's going to be without any relatives within mere minutes of me leaving you here? So. Get your ass back onto the walls and leave this to the professionals.”

At that moment, an immense and earth-dimming bolt of lighting struck the ground to the south before the worst had come to show. As the massive figure of the colossal titan rose up from the ground, the fiery winds of its steam throwing bits of rubble through the air. As its limbs, torso, and eventually its head formed into shape, the beast let out a terrifying roar that briefly threw Anton’s composure out the window. He began to breath heavily, seeing faces in the orange light and smoke, before he brought a warm palm to his forehead and breathed. Drawing the blades Cora gave him, he observed the titan for a brief moment before pulling out his flare gun and firing a black smoke signal into the air, looking to the north walls for a responsive signal flare to give them their next order.

He turned back to the colossal titan to find it pointing at the southern gate and something else in the distance, though, with how far way they were and all the obstructions between them and said subject, Anton could not see what it was. An idea immediately clicked in Anton’s head that, in contrast to its previous encounters, the titan was actively trying to communicate with them. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he looked between the two people beside them, quietly asking, “Are you guys seeing this?”

When the massive beast crouched over and extended its arm forward, Anton felt himself choke on his breath when he saw the massive boulder in its hand. The idea clicked away at his head before he managed to put the message together in his head, shouting to his two allies, “That thing is going to plug the hole in the gate!” before firing an anchor into a tower nearby to get a better view, his mind contorting between scared shitless and elated beyond belief. Then he saw titans in the distance, diverting from their paths to advance toward the colossal titan. Anton reach into his coat to produce a scope and eyed the situation from afar. Across the district, titans were diverting from the established defensive and offensive lines to follow after the colossal titan. He began to think aloud, “Trailing him? No, no purpose to that. Attempting to eat him instead? Potentially but unlikely, haven’t seen or heard of titans eating one another. Following its orders? Viable, it roared and now they come to it. Though, why would it try… It pointed to the gate and something else- the rock… Are titans retreating in fear…?”

Then a new idea clicked in his head. If the titans were advancing to their colossal counterpart, that meant their backs were to all of them. If given the command, the offensive line could make an effective counterattack on all the titans. Seeing no more reason to scout the area, he fired an anchor onto the roof he was just on and swung his way down and landed near his two allies. His voice came out quick and precise, “I’m not sure if that titan is hostile, but there is an opportunity here. If command gives us the order from the north gate and we are to attack, the titans back to us. Under orders, to feed, mindless wandering; I don’t know why but they’re heading toward the colossal titan. Point is, we can do some extremely lethal damage to their numbers. We’ll need to be careful, of course. Abnormals may still be lying in wait for us. If we’re to advance up that street, we’ll need to take it slow. We also won’t know if the titans will revert back to advancing on us once we get close. This might be a clear tactic of ‘open the gate and ambush the enemy’ but, with due caution, we can avert it. My suggestion, miss… I don’t believe I’ve caught your name, likewise for you, sir,” Anton cleared his throat, “Miss, I suggest you take the vanguard, directing us to primary titan targets and groups. I’ve seen your strength and technique, balanced and aggressive. Call out abnormals in the alleys or if titan behavior changes. Sir, you and I will handle the middle guard and will deal with abnormals on our respective sides. I haven’t seen you in action, but you look strong and you had skill to get here. One of my guys, Heffner, left a bit ago to retrieve reinforcements and resupply. If he’s smart and not a shit, the former can be debatable for me at times, he’ll take up the rear guard and follow after us to either advance on the titans or the colossal. Either way, his path will collide with ours.”

With a deep breath, Anton finished and looked between the two of them, unsure of how they would respond to someone inferior to their strength approaching them with a plan of that magnitude. Regardless of that, it was even more debatable whether or not command would give the order to advance.

He’d finally found Vasily, who was standing on the ground, looking with wide eyes down at a dead titan. He called out tentatively, “umm… René! Little help here!?” He landed quickly, sheathing his swords. “What.” Looking at Vasily, he seemed at a loss for words, and so René turned, following his line of sight, which ended at a dismembered Scout’s body. “Shit…” He walked over to her, swallowing back the bile that rose in his throat. Her arm was missing, the pearly white of it shining through the mess of her blood. He lowered his ear to her mouth to listen for breathing, which thankfully was ragged but still there. “Do you think we could-” He started to speak slowly, unsure of the whole situation, but Vasily cut him off unexpectedly. “Also- would you prefer to be eaten slowly or swallowed in one go?!” He turned away from the injured Scout for a moment, raising an eyebrow. “Where the fuck did that come from???” He’d never heard anyone ask him how he’d prefer to get eaten before, but poor Vasily looked so nervous he thought it was better to just deal with the question and attempt to calm him down. “Personally…”, he huffed as he picked up the injured Scout, keeping a hand around her waist, the other dragging her uninjured arm across his neck. It would be easier to carry her this way. “I don’t care either way since we’re all going to die one way or another sooner or later... but I’m sure it’d be less painful to be swallowed whole.” He grinned at Vasily, “let’s move her to safety shall we?”

They managed to get her to the base of the wall where a team of medics was resting, and they immediately took her from him, yelling amongst each other about who was supposed to do what. They placed her in a stretcher and then hauled her to the top of the wall. René shaded his eyes from the sun with his hand, watching the stretcher ascend along the wall before turning back to Vasily. Wordlessly he patted the other scout’s shoulder and then used his 3DMG to get himself off the ground and onto a nearby rooftop where things were safe. He breathed a sigh of relief, looking around at the scenery, and then came a clap like thunder and a bright like seared his vision. He opened his eyes quickly, and withdrew his swords. “What was that?” He engaged his gas and grappled onto a higher building so he could see farther. And that was when a chill ran up his spine. He could feel the blood drain from his face as his eyes locked with the figure he had shown Cora. The figure he had dreaded seeing was right in front of him, The Red Titan. “No fucking way…” He was convinced he would have fallen had he not been anchored into the building’s wall. “Vasily… are you… are you seeing this?” He wasn’t sure where the younger scout had gone, and he couldn’t rip his eyes from the scene around him. The Red Titan was pointing at something, the hole in the wall. And then his arm shifted, shedding blood, now pointing at something René couldn’t see. “We have to get closer!” There it was. Vasily probably thought he was some sort of raving suicidal idiot by now.

He didn’t wait for Vasily to answer him, and instead flew through the streets of Trost, eyes tracking the Red Titan the whole way. That was when he spotted smaller titans coming out of the woodwork, more were appearing everywhere. As he prepared himself to drop to kill one, he noticed they were converging on the Red Titan. “What is happening… he muttered…” Looking at the titans and where they were coming from, he noticed a small group of people standing on a roof. He spied the rose symbol of the Garrison, and someone with white hair and pale skin. But between the two of these people stood someone he recognized and someone he was relieved to see. He gasped, and swung wide, deploying a grappling hook into one of the nearby buildings before he swung down onto the roof, skidding to a halt besides the group. “Cora! Hey! Did you guys just see the Red Titan?!?!?!” He stopped realizing he might have walked into a standoff situation. Everyone looked pissed off. “Uhh… fine morning ain’t it?” Not his most eloquent moment. Shit, everyone looked like they wanted to tear his head off, but at least they weren’t Rac scary. Nobody could be Rac scary.

He stood not stock straight, but certainly not slouching. His red hair all tousled from the wind, and his goggles laid against his chest as he waved at the group of, now that he noticed, mostly Garrison members. He half-hoped that Vasily had been right behind him the entire time so they wouldn’t have another party member crashing down at any moment. Despite thinking he looked fine, René’s outwardly appearance was in truth, much more messy. The wound from the piece of shrapnel has soaked through the bandage and his shirt was beginning to blossom with blood, his jacket’s right shoulder was dripping with the injured scout’s blood, and if his eyes were any wider people may have thought he was a mad man. If people looked closely, his boots were stained up to the ankles with blood. “What exactly is happening here?”

Now that he noticed it, most of the people here were staring at him, and it made him squirm. The person with white hair was much more scary than he thought, he had a twisted face, and roving scars over his left eye and across his neck. His eyes were a burning red, and he was taller than René, which was quite imposing to him. He scooted away from that man slightly, closer to a Garrison troop and Cora, whom he already knew. The Garrison member was shorter than he was, and he had brown hair and kinder green eyes. He looked much friendlier than the white haired person. His face was round, and in the middle of his forehead was a mark. Overall, the rose looked younger than he did. He scanned everyone’s faces now, letting out air that he didn’t realize he was holding in.

Renn smiled and shook his head, giving off a slight chuckle.
"I never knew you could be ssssssso despicable Cora. However, somehow, it'ssssss not surprising. Everyone is despicable in some way, after all, right?"

The Snake's somewhat light-hearted moment plummeted almost instantly when his expression suddenly changed to a rage-filled glare, showing murderous intent. In the midst of his anger, Renn didn't realise he had lost his Snake lisp facade.
"I'd love to re-evaluate where we stand against each other right now, honestly I would. I'd be more than happy to go at each other's throats just to prove who's right but I don't want to ruin your chances on helping with this 'important mission' by killing you. Not even going back to headquarters and taking it out on Driscoll would help calm me down at this point either."
He cut himself off, giving himself time to think on what he could do now to make himself feel better. In his pause, however, the gold bolt of lightning struck and a huge Red Titan rose up. The Garrsion member also proceeded to handout orders which, in turn, made Renn angrier.

"Damn Rose, who do you think you are to give me demands!?"
Every word that escaped from albino Alpha was now spat with harsh venom.
"I'm not apart of your goon squad, don't forget that! I'm not even apart of her goon squad, either! So, if one more person thinks they can get away with telling me what to do from now on, I'm going to cut out their tongue!"

At that point, a Scout had landed on the roof. Great, more insufferable people to have to deal with.
“What exactly is happening here?”
Both a dumb question and a dumb greeting. Renn had had enough at this, especially when he noticed the Scout moving away from him.

"Tsk, whatever. I'm sure these morons will catch you up on what to do and what's happening. I just need to kill something."
With that, König unsheathed the swords from his 3DMG and grappled off into the broken district.

Neither the lightning that hit the ground, the tiny little garrison guard, Rene's sudden appearance nor his dumb questions struck her as much as Renn did the moment he ventured off into the district.
Yes, the titan suddenly appearing was imposing...but...Cora knew about the titan after all. She knew quite a bit more than anyone around right now. She was confident in his ability to do what he thought he was fit to do. And if she'd be quite frank she did not care much about what exactly he had planned. She could see it, and the garrison guy also explained it. Then Rene showed up and greeted her with his usual demeanour. Perhaps a bit oblivious to what was happening around him? Well, the perhaps should probably be cut. She smiled weakly at him before staring at Renn in complete disbelief. Time seemed to have somewhat stopped around her. She could see him grapple away and her mind was torn between things she was supposed to do. Mr Garrison was not entirely wrong, she should just go out and kill a few titans. That was also her contract. The same thing she had thrown at Renn just moments before....but that goddamn idiot had just decided to go kill himself. And. And while Cora was incredibly mad at him, she did not really want him to die just yet. After all, he'd still have to listen to her scolding him for what he had done today.

Cora wished that instead of Nec and Vex only being in her head she'd just be able to tear them out of her body. Copy herself, so she could do everything she wanted to do. Grab Renn, knock him unconcious, bring him back safely. And while doing that also finishing her contract work.

So instead of doing all that she just screamed loudly, something along the lines of 'Kindly go fuck yourself Renn', just in a more violent and direct manner. She just went after Renn, or well, in his direction. To catch up to him, she did use a bit too much gas, but not that much as to get into trouble within a short time because she'd had run out. Cora quickly executed the titan closest to Renn right now.
"If you do die, I'll torture your sister", she hissed as she flew past him. Cora just hoped that would be enough to keep him alive...for now. After all, while she did care about Renn, she also cared about her contract. And logic said that this was more important to the general...wellbeing? Cora was atleast telling herself that over and over again to continue what she was doing
.
Apart from that she just hoped that he'd not try to kill her now, and realize that she'd never torture his sister and this was just an awkward and not very reasonable way of her telling Renn that she cared about him. She did not want him to die. She did not want to torture his sister either. She would not. But she also did not want to leave her place right now. Cora was in her element. She loved the wind blowing through her hair, the titans dropping dead. Just...everything about this.

She'd fight Renn afterwards. If she would still be alive by then, because while she herself did not realize it, the anger she felt right now caused her to be a bit more reckless. And Cora had always been a bit too uncareful when it came to using 3DMG and fighting titans. She enjoyed it too much, went over her limits at any given point simply to increase the pleasure she got out of it a bit more.
Cora flew through in between the buildings, sometimes disappearing as she let herself fall down to the ground, catching herself right before her body would have hit the ground and she'd have met her inevitable death. Nec was screaming internally and Vex cheered for her. Neither were heard by Cora.
She cut open the tendons of a titan and swiftly ended the suffering she had just caused before she finally landed on top of a roof, right next to one of her men. She gave him a few orders, he disappeared and from the top of the walls you could see a bunch of Cora's men, making their way through the district like fleas through the fur of a dog. Cora would have to tell that little garrison guy that he'd never give orders to her again later on, but he had not been totally wrong with what he had suggested.

Step.

Step.

Step.

The Red Titan's footfalls thundered throughout Trost, shaking the ground and leaving imprints in their wake. With the boulder on his back, the Red Titan found himself a miniature Atlas - bearing the weight of the world upon his shoulders as demons swarmed around him. The chunk of stone had been heavier than Severin anticipated, although his progress was steady. Unfortunately, the surrounding Titans seemed intent on stopping it. From the corners of his eyes, Severin took note on soldiers zipping around in their maneuver gear and grunted as the boulder cut into his back.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Luckily for the Red Titan, the boulder all but covered his nape, shielding him from any would-be attackers. Steaming ichor splattered onto the earth, leaving a trail of crimson divinity covering the streets. Severin had no concrete knowledge of what actions the Scouting Legion and Garrison would make - only hopeful assumptions and intuitive guesses. Shaking his head, the Red Titan glanced forward towards the hole in the Wall. He still had a long way to go.

Step.

Step.

Step.

From the sounds emanating behind him, Severin was sure there were Titans closing in on his flanks. Quite the uncomfortable position to be in, especially with a handicap as large as the boulder. Utilizing what precious little flexibility he could muster, the Red Titan risked a glance behind him to assess the situation.

Three Titans were slowly making their way down the boulevard, slipping constantly on the oozing blood of the Red Titan. Frowning, Severin realized he'd need to fight them eventually. When the Red Titan returned it's gaze to the task ahead, it found an Aberrant leaping forward.

"WRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!" the Titan screeched as it flew through the air. Lowering his body at the last second, the Aberrant slammed into the boulder and arched in a sideways spiral - crashing into a row of buildings along the walkway. The boulder, aided by a buildup of ichor and the momentum of a Titan, jumped into the air for several meters before slamming into the ground with a deafening THUD. Quickly, the Red Titan adjusted into a combat stance.

Step.

Step.

Step.

The Sanguine Colossus, as the Church called it, towered over the other Titans. As they lumbered forth, the uncoordinated beasts were met with a steely resolve and a life of experience. The first of the four Titans barely got within arm's reach before it found itself face-to-face with a roundhouse kick; a hotel three blocks over suddenly had a very large head embedded into it's ceiling. The second Titan roared continuously as it advanced, bellowing out a war cry until a jab to the throat silenced it and a strategic grab removed it's nape. With the two closest Titans gone, Severin quickly moved to take care of the Aberrant before it could get back up.

Step.

Step.

Step.

As the Red Titan approached the settling dust of the once-intact buildings, the Aberrant rose up again. Shifting it's weight between it's two legs, the beast swayed from side to side before screeching again. But when the Titan jumped into the air for a second attack, it found it's quarry much more prepared. A single, powerful head-on punch stopped the Aberrant mid-air and sent it reeling away onto the cobbles below. As it grunted and wheezed, the Red Titan crushed it's neck beneath it's foot.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Back...To...The Boulder...

Step.

Step.

Step.

Finish...Fighting...After...

Slowly hoisting the boulder back onto it's back, the Red Titan left the final Titan to stumble around in the mess of gore and viscera as it resumed trekking towards the Wall.

The situation shifted considerably: Cora and her, for lack of better word, acquaintance had broken off to engage in other affairs and Anton was left with a new arrival. Needless to say, the plan he spouted before would have to be thrown out and replaced quick. The sounds of the colossal titan stomping around behind him weighed in the pressure that he was beginning to feel. Throwing in the fact that Heffner had yet to arrive with either a resupply or reinforcements hammered in the seeds of despair beginning to take root.

Anton breathed before briefly pinching the bridge of his nose and thinking for a brief moment. His mind cleared and rebuilt his plan from the ground up. Passing one final glance to the north end of the district for any sign of a signal, he blew air out of his nose and turned to speak with the new arrival: a member of the Survey Corps.

“Well… I suppose introductions are needed. I’m Squad Leader Anton Wernich, Garrison.”

He paused briefly to listen for any greetings from the scout. Another thunderous step from the colossal titan behind him reminded him that he was short on time.

“I need to speak frankly. We’ve got no signal on how to proceed from command so I’ve made a call. I’ll be advancing on colossal titan, hopefully to see what exactly its doing. From there, take whatever action that might be needed: cut the nape… somehow entrap it, or communicate with it. If you can come along, I’d appreciate it mightily. Otherwise, spread word to all lines that the titans across the district are moving toward that giant. Ergo, most of them should have their backs to us and should be ripe for the picking.”

He waited for a response.

René was tempted to go after Cora and the taller albino soldier, but he was afraid of how he would react, especially after he heard him say “Tsk, whatever. I’m sure these morons will catch you up on what to do and what’s happening. I just need to kill something.” Cora screamed rather loudly, and he winced, shying away from her before she left to chase after that white haired soldier. He was almost positive that the guy was some sort of mercenary of sorts. Maybe he was from The Pack, considering how Cora barely gave him a moment's notice. Not that expected attention, especially in the battle-field where… you know… people were trying to not die. His attention was refocused on the situation when he heard the Garrison soldier introduce himself as Anton Wernich. A squad leader too.

“Ah. Pleasure to meet you Anton. I’m René Alfons.” He was going to say his rank and follow suit, but he cut himself off once he realized he had forgotten exactly what rank he was. Stupid. He glanced at Anton briefly before his eyes returned back to the Red Titan. He was mesmerized by it. The glowing red eyes, the blood falling from it and spattering against the ground in steaming clumps. Anton interrupted his fearful admiration by clearing his throat and he half wondered how long he had been staring at the titan.

“I need to speak frankly. We’ve got no signal on how to proceed from command so I’ve made a call. I’ll be advancing on the titan, hopefully to see what exactly it’s doing. From there, take whatever action that might be needed: cut the nape… somehow entrap it, or communicate with it. If you can come along, I’d appreciate it mightily. Otherwise, spread word to all lines that the titans across the district are moving towards that giant. Ergo, most of them should have their backs to us and should be ripe for the picking.”

René nodded pensively as Anton spoke, rubbing his chin with his hand. “I’ll stay and help. I don’t think any of these are bad options but… this is the Red Titan we’re going against. I hate to say it, but there’s no way in hell we’re going to cut that titan’s nape. It’s surrounded in scalding blood that’ll burn you if you touch it. So many have tried attacking it… but those titans around the Red Titan… we can probably takes those out.” He paused, noticing there was some dust on the roof. Waving the others over, he crouched down and drew a circle in the dust. “That’s the Red Titan, and there’s other smaller titans around it… right?” He traced several smaller circles around the bigger circle. “We don’t know where they are… and I have no idea how many people we have… but if possible we can split into three teams or groups. Have two of those act as a pincer force to kill the titans around the Red Titan and then have the other group stay back and watch our backs in case there are abarrants or if we need backup.”

He stood, pushing against his knees and looking Anton in the eye. “We don’t have any time to waste. We need to move quickly, especially to see what the Red Titan is doing. I’ve never seen titans attack each other before… we could use this to our advantage.”

And that was when he noticed Vasily was missing and a pit of dread opened up in his stomach. He felt himself pale and was hoping that the other’s would mistake it as nerves due to the Red Titan’s appearance. What if he had lost Vasily? What if Vasily wasn’t even alive? Shit… shit…
He turned partially so that he could face the way he came and still face the conversation. Was it even the way he came? All of the houses looked so similar, broken roof tiles and smashed bricks and the walls peeled back into silent gaping screams.

What if he’d gotten eaten? No…. there… there wasn’t any way that could happen. Ridiculous. Vasily was a trained soldier and was prepared to deal with the threats of the job. But then again… trained soldier died all the time. Eaten or not.

He didn’t have time for this!! He had to focus on himself for once. Guiltily, he focused his attention back towards Anton and the Garrison. He would come back for Vasily if he was able to. If the scout had been eaten…. He at least hoped that he had been in his desired way. Swallowed or Chewed it didn’t matter. They all died eventually.

Renn was too hasty due to his displeasure at the situation that he didn't notice a titan approaching near him. He was lucky to have Cora kill it as she pursued him in anger, or else he would've most likely been its snack.
The Snake struggled to mask the sudden fear, and shock showed through his eyes.
He was surprised that something so big and clumsy can be so easily missed. This was mentally noted by Renn, and he managed to gather himself to keep aware of everything from now on.

His newfound mental stability was soon broken again as Cora flew by with her 3DMG whilst shouting, "If you do die, I'll torture your sister!"
The snowy-haired Alpha was soon once again fueled with anger. He was a fool to trust her. Now threatening the one thing he worked so hard for. The one thing he would have hoped she would have helped protect.

Renn's eyes fell upon a tall stumbling Titan nearby and started beelining in its direction. He thought over how Cora just killed that last one and settled on the conclusion that he just had to cut the back of the neck.
König gave an angered scoff, "ssssseems easy enough! Is thissss really all the Sssscouts have to do?"

Once getting close enough, Renn anchored onto the titan which definitely drew its attention.
To manage constantly manoeuvring around the titan and keeping out of reach was, sure enough, a struggle and it made opportunities to attack very slim for the Yarckel Alpha.
There were many times where he had to use gas to get out of the way of the titan's reach, at the last minute and he was sure that he was already running low on gas.
Renn had missed his attacks on several occasions, either cutting the arm or the shoulder, but eventually, he had managed to cut the assumed weak spot of the titan and, because of his enraged state, he used enough force to luckily kill it.

König was exhausted after his first titan encounter and heavily landed on the ground with his feet. He looked at the greatly blunted blades of his 3DMG and snarled, however, he decided not to throw them away just yet.
The Snake looked up and around at his surroundings, which were mostly buildings in various damaged conditions, some looking more destroyed than others.
"Tsk, what do I do now?"

Renn's eyes settled on the big Red Titan carrying a boulder that towered over the buildings in the distance and decided it was a good idea to figure it out from there. So, he started walking.

The wind blew through Cora's now rather short hair as she flew through the air. The debree and dust annoyed her a bit, but she could ignore it. While flying she coordinated some of her mercenaries which started to clear up more space.
The group secured quite a large part of the district, also aided by the oozing titan to which most others were drawn. With them being the frontlines and getting rid of the bigger titans the military started to spread more into the district, following them steadily and doing their final job at clearing the streets and thus securing them.
There was only one abnormal, a small titan that was running fast through the streets, it's size made it hard to catch but also less dangerous as it could barely destroy houses yet alone eat alot of soldiers on its own.
Cora and one of her own circled it, flying around its head, while Cora was distracting it, her soldier cut its nape swiftly, the chunk flying away and it landed right in front of her feet.
She nodded and decided that the space they had cleared right now was enough for her to be able to go towards her...friend. More or less.

She had heard the hug thump that came from the oozing titan before, it had just shouldered the boulder again as Cora started to head into his direction. The titans around her ignored her completly, good for her, yet...extremly odd to see.

While making her way over towards the red titan she did look out for Renn, but was unable to find him. Her anger had in no way subsided and she was torn in between wanting to see him and start a proper fight and not wanting to see him to not start said fight. Cora was unsure of it. Heavily so even.
Yes, he did not understand her but...some part of her still cared about him. Which was not necessarily the best thing that should have happened. Atleast in Nec's opinion.

Cora slowly got closer to the red titan, watching over him by slowing down some of the bigger titans that were approaching him. Cutting their tendons, blinding them, anything thta was swiftly done and would give him more time. She made sure to appear above the buildings, seen by alot of people, but she kept her safe distance from the red titan. The last thing she needed was somehow being tied to a terrorist by helping him.

The Bleeding Titan marched towards the Wall, slick pools of steaming crimson trailing behind him. He could hear the Titans approaching him from all sides, see their crooked necks and wicked forms hunched behind buildings and rubble. Behind dripping blobs of blood falling from his monstrous brow, the Red Titan's searchlight eyes caught notice of a small figure off to his flank cutting down encroaching Titans. The man behind the monster instantly recognized her.

Corra.

Exhaling a dense cloud of fog, the Red Titan grunted and shifted the weight of the boulder on his shoulders to regain a firm hold on the stone. This was getting difficult. Not much longer, and he'd have to set down the rock and get a new angle to prevent blood pool-up from completely erasing any chance of friction between his fingers and the porous stone.

As he marched, the Titan noticed a multitude of military personnel leaping around, although he couldn't quite determine where. They hadn't bothered him yet, which meant that they were either too scared to attack him or had gotten his message. Deep inside, Severin hoped that if they were the former, they had at least understood the latter.

The boulder shifted ever so slightly in his grip, and the Red Titan grimaced at this unexpected and unwanted movement. The blood was pooling up. Eyeing the streets beneath him, Severin gauged he had approximately three blocks to go before he'd need to set down the rock and relocate his grip. Scanning the area around him, the Red Titan noticed several Garrison members who had pushed too far up ahead of their comrades cowering on the roof of a building - and a small horde of Titans pushing up against it's walls in vain efforts to reach them. Within the Red Titan's nape, Severin frowned.

Can't go around...No time. Must...go through. Clear Titan cluster... Quickly.

The boulder crashed into the paved roads once more as the Red Titan rolled his shoulders and curled his hands into fists. Standing upright once more, the Titan grunted as previously unfelt cuts and scrapes from the boulder digging into it's back began to announce their existence. Steam trailed faintly upwards as the wounds began their infamous healing process, and slowly knit themselves back together.

The Bleeding Titan had acknowledged the approach of the Titan group whose attention had been grabbed by the falling boulder, but he had taken a few moments too many to prepare himself for the upcoming combat. A sharp pain erupted into Severin's mind as one of the taller ones leaped up and latched its jaws into his chest, clearing away any brain-fog with the resounding call of danger. Snapping into action, the Red Titan crushed the skull of his aggressor between two massive fists before hastily flinging away the corpse and stepping backwards.

There were more than he'd thought, more than he'd seen. Easily fifteen or so Titans between ten and fifteen meters. Roaring mightily, the Red Titan brought his fists down once more as the horde clogged the streetways and shambled towards him. An eruption of reds and whites ensued. A leaping figure caught his attention, arcing above the rest of its compatriots. A twelve-meter aberrant, by the looks of it. Skittering across the tiled roofs like a bug from Hell. Severin estimated he had roughly twelve seconds before impact, and returned his focus to the more urgent matters of the remaining Titans crowding around him in the road. As he fought, a pain in his calf shot up through his leg.

BEHIND ME! SLIPPED BY WHILE LOOKING AT ABERRANT. KILL... KILL... KILL!

The Red Titan roared with pain as the ten-meter viciously tore at the colossal figure's leg, its nape crushed as the Titan fell onto a knee and brought a very clearly destined fist swinging down with it. Risking a quick glance back, the Titan grimaced at the sight. A good portion of the muscle was missing, and he'd need time to regenerate. Time he didn't have. A pair of teeth sinking into his forearm brought his eyes back up front, where the remaining eight Titans were pushing up against him. Luckily this Titan's jaws and teeth weren't strong, as they hadn't fully penetrated his outer skin. Still hurt like hell, though. Letting out a guttural yell, he reached forward and closed his fist into the closest clump of hair he could find and yanked whatever was attached over and behind him, lessening the pressure on his strained muscles. A loud CRASH rang out as one of the Titan's flew into a small shop a block and a half away. Exhaling deeply, the Rogue Titan leaned back a bit and relied on his other arm for support until he could stand back up. Another Titan latched onto his hand, and for the first time in a while, Severin slowly began to enter a panicked state.