A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! Enjoy!

edited on december 21st, 2021 @ 11:35am

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𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝚆𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚈,
𝓣𝙷𝙴 𝙷𝚄𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚂.

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THE COLOSSAL TITAN FELL TO the ground, creating a huge explosion as everyone almost got knocked off the wall. Oliver was thrown back from his spot on the tree. He was on the ground as the Armored Titan bit into Eren's nape.

Bertholdt appeared from his nape carrying both Ymir and Simon. He used his ODM gear to attach himself onto Reiner as they both departed.

"Eren!" Armin shouted out.

In Trost District, a female Garrison soldier was walking up to "Commander. Wake up, Commander Pyxis. You'll get sick if you fall asleep here." She told him while slapping his back and getting him awake. She sat down next to him.

"I can't believe you drank all this. You're not young anymore. And I'd rather not spend my days changing your diapers." She informed.

"Being cared for by a pretty lady sounds all right to me." Pyxis stated as he opened up another bottle. "So? What's the situation?"

The female grabbed the bottle from him. "Patrols were sent out once the Titans were gone from the 1st and 2nd defensive lines, but any Titan sightings are few and far between." She replied.

"Hmm..." Pyxis trailed off as he took out a pocket watch. "If Hannes and the advance squad followed the wall without problem, they'll be returning any minute now."

"It would mean they met the unit from Krolva District and turned around halfway. And they couldn't have encountered many Titans, if any. If there was a hole in the wall, it would never work out like that.

Erwin then flew down. "Commander Pyxis." He spoke up as Pyxis gave a sound of response.

"Oh. If it isn't Erwin." Pyxis said as Erwin walked to him. "I hear you've captured one of those troublesome mice."

"Yes. Unfortunately, we were one step behind."

"Hmm... But at least it will get those goons in the interior thinking. Maybe they'll reconsider how important their stale beliefs and motives are to them."

"Yes, it appears they have. Look over there." Erwin said. "The Military Police have finally been forced into an area with Titans."

Jean was with the other Scouts who weren't near the wall.

"Can't believe we didn't see any Titans."

"Was there really none at all?" Jean questioned.

"Seems so. It's unusually quiet out there."

"I wonder if they're still alive..." Jean mumbled to himself.

"Can you believe it? I thought this was an emergency." A Military Police soldier said.

"Yeah. And everyone's just sitting around here."

"Hey, Levi. Where you hiding the Titans at?"

Levi turned around to face them. "Oh? You all seem so disappointed. Sorry... A shame you couldn't fight Titans today. If you're looking for another chance, there's plenty of expeditions outside the walls. How about we join forces and face some Titans together?" He shot back.

"Uh, well you know... We're busy with work on the interior..."

"The advance squad's returned! Inform Commander Pyxis!"

Everyone was gathered around. "I see... So there was nothing wrong with the wall?" Pyxis asked.

"Yes, sir!"

"As I suspected..."

"H-However, there's a bit of a situation! We were heading back to Trost to give our report when we ran into the Scout unit led by Section Commander Hange. Along with them, there were recruits from the 104th without their equipment. And it turns out, three of them... were Titans! And not just that... A superior within the Survey Corps is one as well!"

Levi slightly widened his eyes at this. "He can't be talking about Simon, right? He wouldn't reveal himself unless it was a life or death situation." He thought.

"What are you talking about?" Jean asked. "Are you saying there were more?! Fo-Four more of them?! Who was it?!"

Sasha was taken aback. "U-Uh, well..." She stammered.

Erwin placed his hand on Jean's shoulder. "Jean, relax." He said.  "What happened when their forms were revealed?"

"The Scouts engaged the Colossal and Armored Titan in battle. But by the time we joined up with them to fight... it was all over."

Dillon and Rachel were on the wall along with Hange's squad. They were sitting next to Oliver who got caught in the blast.

"He's so stupid I could almost laugh." Dillon commented.

"You know how he feels about Section Commander. That man did a lot for him from what I heard. Actually, Simon did a lot for us." Rachel spoke up.

Dillon scoffed. "And we just let him get taken away like that. How seriously pathetic is that? We were tasked to protect him. He picked us out singlehandedly and placed his trust that we would always have his back. And we failed him." He said.

"So, you're my squad, huh?"

"Nii-san. Don't be rude."

"Tch. I wasn't doing no such thing." Simon told his twin as he stood up. "You four think you got what it takes to protect me?"

"Yes, sir!" Oliver, Dillon, Rachel, and Alastrine exclaimed.

Oliver stared at his leader's features. "He's really pretty..." He thought, blushing as he did so. He looked over and saw a gold wedding band on Simon's right ring finger.

"Married, of course..."

"Sir, I don't mean to intrude, but are you with someone?" Dillon asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm married to my childhood friend, actually. Have you heard about Levi?" He asked.

"C-Captain Levi?!"

Simon nodded. "He's very protective of me. Well, I suppose that's because Sean and I were the first friends he had. So if anything happens to me, I'll pray for you." He replied as Rachel shivered at the thought.

"I trust you four to protect me, and always have my back. From now on we're known as Squad Simon." Simon continued. "Can I trust you to have my back?"

"Yes, sir!"

Oliver opened his eyes and was met with the cloudy sky. He suddenly sat up quickly and took a look around at Hange's squad who was still unconscious.

"Oh, Oliver. You're awake."

Oliver grabbed Dillon by the collar. "Dillon! Where's Section Commander?!" He questioned.

"Oliver, calm down! You shouldn't be moving!"

"We don't know how badly you're injured!"

Both Dillon and Rachel's words were ignored as Oliver looked over the wall and only saw the aftermath of the battle.

"Where is he?!"

"Simon was taken away." Dillon told him. "Eren and Ymir, too, by Bertholdt and Reiner."

"Eren, he... he lost to the Armored Titan. It's been five hours since then." Rachel informed.

"Is anyone... Is anyone chasing them?" Oliver asked.

"No..."

"Why not?!"

"All of the horses are on the other side of the wall. In order to rescue both Simon and Eren, we have to wait for lifts to come so we can move the horses. There's nothing we can do." Dillon explained.

"Section Commander Hange and the other officers are too injured to move. To even send out a small scouting party, we're going to need more soldiers than this. We're not enough. Understand?" Rachel finished.

"Yeah..."

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"They're here!" Mikasa informed. By now, most of Hange's squad was awake.

"Hey! Isn't that...?"

"Commander Erwin! And the Military Police!"

"I never thought they'd ride along the wall." Armin pointed out.

"That's probably the quickest route." Historia said.

"Christa... I'd prefer if you stayed back, but..." Armin trailed off.

"No matter what you say, I won't. I refuse to wait here when Ymir was taken away. You two should know how I feel." She informed.

"Christa has a point, Armin. We have plenty of reasons for chasing after them. One of which I still can't believe... That Reiner and Bertholdt are our enemies." Connie added on. "I've gotta hear it straight from their mouths."

Erwin stopped his horse as Moblit walked up to him. "You made it, Commander Erwin!" He said.

"Is the situation the same?" Erwin asked.

"Yes, sir!"

"Good." Erwin said. "Deploy the lifts!"

Moblit felt someone grab his leg. "Hange?!" He exclaimed.

"Moblit... G-Gimme a map."

The Scouts were deploying the lifts as everyone surrounded Hange. "It might be a long shot, but theres a giant forest here. We should head straight for it. Though, it's not like they have a way to hide the Armored Titan's footsteps, but... I think that's where they're headed." They explained.

"Why's that?" Erwin asked.

"It's a gamble, but even if they have the strength to change into Titans, the other Titans outside the wall might still be a threat. Especially after all that fighting. They might not be as bad off as Eren, but I'm sure they're exhausted. Like how Annie was out cold for a while. Let's assume for now that their destination is somewhere outside of Wall Maria. Considering the distance they'll have to cover, we can assume they'll need to recover their stamina." Hange explained.

"Which means... they'll want to rest somewhere where Titans are unable to reach them. At least until nightfall when Titans can't move."

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"Dad, what are you doing?"

"You have to trust me, Simon!"

"Stop!"

"Whatever you do, son. Don't trust anyone but the Ackermans!"

At an undisclosed location, Simon opened his eyes. He saw that he was surrounded by trees as he jolted up.

"Okay, bad idea. My head is killing me. I guess this is the result of not using my Titan form in years." Simon thought. He looked over to see that Eren and Ymir were also awake.

"Seems you're finally awake..." Simon looked up and spotted Reiner and Bertholdt on top of the tree branches from above.

"...Section Commander."

Meanwhile, the scouts were getting ready to head out. "We have until night! If we reach the forest before nightfall, we still might make it in time!" Hange informed.

"Let's move!"

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A/N: Another chapter is done! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 1724 words.