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

edited on august 27th, 2021 @ 1:30pm

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𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙴𝙴,
𝓕𝙸𝚁𝚂𝚃 𝙱𝙰𝚃𝚃𝙻𝙴, 𝙱𝙰𝚃𝚃𝙻𝙴 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚃𝚁𝙾𝚂𝚃, 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃 𝙾𝙽𝙴.

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EREN AND JOSIAH RAN ACROSS the top of the wall and the Colossal Titan swiped it's arm at them. They jumped to avoid it. Josiah watched as he took out the cannons.

"He was after the fixed cannons! It's no coincidence it went for the gate either... This thing really is... sentient!" Josiah thought.

"I'll attack from the right while you hit it straight on. It can't avoid both of us. It moves slow." Josiah told Eren as he only nodded.

The Titan reaches for them, but they both managed to escape as Eren flies up and lands on it's back. Josiah used his ODM gear to connect himself to it's neck.

Just as Eren and Josiah swing their blades down they get hit in the face with steam, obstructing their view. But that didn't stop Eren. He was serious about cutting this Titans life short.

The smoke cleared, Eren and Josiah were hit with a gust of steam as they realized the Colossal Titan had vanished. "We missed?" Eren asked himself as he looked over at Josiah, who just shrugged.

Eren latched his gear onto the wall to prevent him from falling as Josiah did the same. Eren looks around but it was too late. The Titan had gone.

"No... The Colossal Titan vanished?"

"Damn it! He got away!" Josiah growled.

"Eren! Josiah! Did you defeat it?" Thomas asked from up above.

"No! It was the same as five years ago... He appeared out of nowhere, and vanished just as suddenly!" Eren replied.

"That thing is really pissing me off! And not in a good way!" Josiah stated.

Eren and Josiah regrouped with Connie and Thomas. Both of them seemed unharmed by the attack.

"I'm sorry. I let him get away." Eren apologized.

"Why are you apologizing? The rest of us couldn't even move—" Thomas began.

"Hey, there's no time for discussion! The wall's been breached. If we don't patch it fast, the Titans will get in like before!" Connie interrupted.

"What are you doing? The contingency plan for the Colossal Titan has already begun." A Garrison soldier from the wall informed. "Get to HQ! Anyone who's made contact with it, don't forget to report!"

"Yes, sir!" Everyone shouted as they saluted.

"Best of luck to the advance team!" Connie exclaimed.

A bell rings off in the distance and Josiah spotted the civilians running to evacuate.

"It's happening all over again. Just like five years ago..." Josiah thinks to himself. "So much for history not repeating itself."

Josiah shook the thought away as he followed the others to HQ where they will regroup and come up with a plan on what to do next.

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"You trainees have all passed the final training exercise, and now are full-fledged soldiers. We expect great things from you." A Garrison soldier informed.

They all had managed to make it back to HQ. Josiah was filling his gear up with gas and looks over to see Franz and Hannah making promises to each other.

"It's okay, Hannah... I'll protect you."

"Franz..."

Hannah gives Franz a smile and proceeds to hug him as Josiah tried not to gag out loud. He predicted that their love won't last long by the time this was over.

Josiah looked over at Armin who was struggling with his gear. His whole body was trembling with fear as Eren was trying to calm him down.

"Armin! Calm down... Things are different now. Humanity won't be defeated by Titans anymore!" Eren tried to reassure him.

"Eren's right." Josiah added as the two looked at him. "The best we can do is make sure what happened to Shiganshina doesn't happen to Trost."

Eren nodded in agreement with what he said. "I'm sorry." Armin sighed. "I'm all right..."

By now, the Titans had already entered and were probably devouring civilians. Josiah clenched his fist at the thought of it.

He didn't want people to lose their homes. He didn't want children to be orphaned.

He didn't want Trost to experience what Shiganshina experienced.

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"Just follow your training! Split into groups! Under the Garrison's orders, you will resupply combatants, relay orders, and kill Titans!"

Everyone grouped into the middle of an empty courtyard away from the Titans.

"Garrison intercept forces will form the vanguard! Trainees, led by the supply team, will comprise the middle guard! The Garrison's elite forces will form the rearguard. Also, messengers report that the advance team has been neutralized."

Everyone gasped. That means the Titans were already in.

"The outer gate has been compromised, and Titans have entered the city. In other words, the Armored Titan may appear at any time, to destroy the inner gate!"

"No way..."

"You're kidding..."

"If we lose Rose, too..."

Everyone was whispering amongst themselves. "Silence!" Josiah turns his attention to the instructor.

"As we speak, the vanguard is engaging them. We have but one objective in this fight: to defend Wall Rose with our lives until the evacuation is complete! Also, as you are all surely aware, desertion in the face of the enemy is punishable by death. Mark this well, and fight to your last dying breath! Dismissed!"

Everyone went to get in their squadrons. Josiah found Jean doubled over as he approached him.

"Why today? As of tomorrow, I would've been in the Interior..." He mumbled.

Josiah smacked the back of his head and he stands up. But relaxed when he saw the brunette.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"Stop thinking about yourself for once. This is no time to be selfish. Civilians might die today, and I'll be damned if I let their home be destroyed too. No one was there to save Shiganshina, but Trost has us." Josiah said. "Once this is over, you'll never have to see a Titan again."

Jean stares at him while the two both turned to see a guy throwing up. Christa was rubbing his back.

"Are you okay?" She asked. The guy looked at her, said nothing, and threw up again.

Jean scoffed and walks off as Josiah followed him. He collided with Eren. Jean puts a hand on his shoulder, pushing him out of the way. "You're in the way." He said.

"Hey, Jean... What's wrong?" Eren questioned.

"What's wrong?" Jean shot back. "Unlike you, I don't have a death wish!" Jean grabs Eren's collar and pulled him closer.

Josiah looked over to see Mikasa in the background as he continued to listen to Jean.

"Since you wanted to join the Survey Corps, I'm sure you're ready to become Titan food anytime! But I was to go to the Interior tomorrow!"

"Calm down!" Eren told him.

"I'm supposed to stay calm and die?" Jean asked.

"I swear, I'm going to punch this guy one day." Josiah thought.

"No!" Eren pushes Jean against the pillar. "Don't forget those three years of hell we endured!"

Jean looked taken aback. Eren was right. They didn't spent the last three years sitting on their asses. "Whether Jean likes or not, he was being trained to kill Titans. He was being trained to be a soldier. Not sit in an office all day." Josiah thinks to himself.

"In the past three years, we almost died so many times... Some of us really did die. Some ran, and some were kicked out... but we made it! Didn't we? So we can make it through today! You'll survive today, and go to the Interior tomorrow, right?" Eren said, releasing him.

Jean's face was nothing like before. Now it was filled with shock. "Eren must have a thing of drawing attention to himself. Everyone's watching us." Josiah noted.

"Damn it." Jean turned around. "Let's go, Daz! Stop sobbing!"

Jean walks over to Daz, who was sobbing. Josiah was amazed at how everyone was coping. Him, Eren, Armin, and Mikasa had it easier because the four of them witnessed the exact event happen five years ago.

"Eren." Mikasa approached him. "If things take turn for the worse, I want you to come find me, alright?"

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

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

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Eren's voice became harsh.

"Ackerman, you're with me." Ian ordered Mikasa. "You've been assigned to the rear guard on special orders. Let's get moving."

"The rear guard? That's mostly for experienced people. Well, she was the top of our class, but still. And special orders? It sounds like someone wants her there." Josiah thought.

"But sir! I'm a cadet! I'll slow everyone down!" Mikasa's voice sounded panicked.

"You're not being asked for a self-evaluation here. We need as many elite soldiers as possible to get things back on track." Ian turned and walked away.

"But sir—" Mikasa is interrupted by Eren standing in front of her and pushing her back.

"You've been given a direct order, now pull it together! This is bigger than us and you know it. We're on the verge of extinction here. Have some damn prospective." Eren told her.

"Y-You're right, I'm sorry." She apologized as she frowned. "This whole situation just has me out of my head."

Eren turns to walk away, but Mikasa grabs onto his sleeve. "Just promise—promise me one thing. Whatever happens. Don't get yourself killed." She said.

Eren rips his arm out of her grasp and walks off, leaving her to sulk. Josiah placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about him, Mikasa. He'll be fine. He's a strong person. As much as I hate to admit, probably even stronger than me. He'll get through this." Josiah tried to reassure her.

"Are you on his squad?" Mikasa asked.

"Unfortunately, no. I'm with Jean. I know you grew up with him, but just trust me, alright?" Josiah responded. Mikasa just nodded and walked away.

Josiah headed off to join his squad members, thinking about things. He smiled as his mind wavered off to his two childhood friends.

"It's funny. Those three actually remind me of how I was with Clay and Soren. Eren, Armin, and Mikasa. They all have a close bond with one another. Just like Clay, Soren, and I. Hopefully, their friendship will last a lifetime and not be cut short like mine did."

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"Hey." Jean walked up to the brunette. "They need us to cover for the supply depot so we can clear a path."

"Roger." Josiah responded.

"What's up with you?" Jean questioned.

"Nothing. My mind isn't in the right place." Josiah answered. "I'm trying to think of happy thoughts to keep myself from having an anxiety attack."

Josiah takes off to help clear the Titans that were in the way of the supply depot. Jean following behind along with two other cadets.

He spotted a Titan as it was devouring one of the cadets. "It's eating Thomas..." Josiah thought, watching as the Titan finished him.

"Josiah? You alright?" Jean asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"I just witnessed Thomas getting eaten..." Josiah mumbled.

"Come on, we have to keep moving." Jean told him.

"Right..." Josiah agreed before following Jean. In his vision stood a Titan with gray hair. Josiah widened his eyes. The Titan had looked familiar.

"That's... the Titan that ate Clay!" Josiah thinks to himself. "But that was five years ago! What the hell is it doing here?"

Josiah took out his blades as he flew in the air. He connected his wire to the back of the Titan's neck and sliced it's nape, sending the Titan's now lifeless body to the ground.

He spotted a small black haired boy trying to get away from two Titans. Josiah latched himself onto one of the buildings and narrowed his eyes. He connects his wire to the back of the Titan's neck once more and sliced it's nape, sending it to the ground.

Josiah landed on a roof of an evacuated home. He takes a look at his ODM gear. "Shit. I'm starting to run low on fuel." He cursed to himself. "Can't worry about that now. Gotta save the kid."

He connects his wire to the back of the second Titan's neck and sliced it's nape, sending it to the ground as Josiah landed on it's now lifeless body.

"You okay, kid?" Josiah questioned as he walked over to him. The young boy only nodded.

"Peyton!" A male's voice shouted. Josiah looked up to see an older male — The boy's father, Josiah guessed — running up to them. "Thank the heavens you're alright, Peyton."

"I'm alright, Pa." The young boy named Peyton replied. "This man saved me."

"Thank you. I owe a great debt to you." His father thanked him.

Josiah smiled. "Just doing my job, sir. Now if you excuse me, I have to meet up with my classmates." He said. The father and son nodded as they watched him take off.

"He's so cool, Pa." Peyton commented. "I'm gonna be like him when I'm older."

His father chuckled. "You do that, son. Now let's go, your mother already evacuated. It's time to join her." He said as the two headed off.

Josiah regrouped with Jean as he was on a roof. The other two cadets weren't with him, so they most likely got eaten. "We need to clear this side of the city." He informed as Jean nodded and the two took off, slicing down every Titan that was in their way.

They needed a good spot before they ran out of fuel. "The supply headquarters should be in view soon." Josiah thought.

The two of them soon reached their destination. "Hey!" Connie called out as his team approached them. "We're good to retreat."

"One problem, Springer. We don't have enough gas to get us back." Josiah pointed out.

"The supply depot is trapped at HQ." A passing cadet informed them.

"So that means they're surrounded. Just our luck." Josiah thinks to himself.

"Hey, Jean! What should we do?" Connie questioned.

"There's nothing we can do..." Jean mumbled. "They finally issued the order to retreat, but without more gas, we can't climb the walls." He held his hand to his head. "So we're all going to die... because of those damn cowards."

"The supply team... What happened to them?! Were they wiped out?" Connie asked, turning to them.

"No. They're all a bunch of wimps who would rather hide out than save lives." Josiah answered as he snorted. He was furious. Most of his friends were devoured and he might lose more all because the supply team were hiding in fear.

"I can see why..." Jean sighed. "But abandoning their mission to resupply us, to hide inside HQ? Unbelievable."

"Not to mention the Titans are surrounding the place. Which means we can't just get the gas ourselves." Josiah added.

"Then we must take a chance, and try to destroy the Titans around HQ! We won't be any worse off than sitting here... the Titans will be here before long! And if we keep running, we'll just waste the gas we have. Without the use of our Maneuver Gear, we really are done for!" Connie punched his ODM gear as he explained the situation they were in.

"He does make a good point. We can't sit around here waiting to be devoured." Josiah thinks to himself.

"I'm surprised to see you using your head for once, Connie." Jean stayed sitting on the roof while the rest of them scanned the area.

"But do you think we can do that, given our numbers here? Most of the veterans in the vanguard were killed. Which of us trainees could lead a suicide mission like that? Well, even if someone could, we can't fight the Titans. I bet the gas supply room is chock full of 3-to-4-meter class Titans. Obviously we can't refuel with them around."

Josiah looked over to Connie, who looked scared just now.

"So we're doomed?" Connie muttered.

"What a stupid life... If I'd known this would happen, I would've told them." Jean rubbed his hair on the top of his head.

"Are you seriously thinking about Mikasa at a time like this?" Josiah questioned, disappointment in his voice. "You really don't know when to give up after you've been rejected."

Sasha's voice was soon heard. "Let's do it, guys! Come on, stand up... if we all work together, we'll be fine! I'll take the lead." She said.

No one was paying attention or moving. Most have their heads in their hands, sobbing. Others are staring off into space, scared out of their minds.

Sasha gives up and looks over, immediately running to a blonde haired boy. "Is that Armin?" Josiah wondered.

"Armin, let's all..." Sasha stopped when she saw his face.

Josiah looks around and realizes Eren nor Mina were in sight. "Armin, what happened?" He asked. Armin doesn't respond and just stared.

Josiah spotted Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, and Marco. The four of them were talking. He turned his attention back to Armin. He didn't say anything or didn't even move.

"Mikasa? I thought you were with the rearguard."

Josiah looked up to see Mikasa. "Annie!" She shouted, approaching her. "I have a basic idea of what's happening. And I'm sorry to involve my personal feelings, but did you see Eren's team?"

"I didn't see them, but no one's made it up the walls." Annie replied.

"Actually, Armin's over there." Reiner added, pointing to his direction.

Mikasa rushed over. Everyone glanced Armin's way, wondering why she was there and why Armin looked terrified.

"Armin!" She exclaimed, kneeling down beside him. "Armin, are you hurt? Are you okay? Where is Eren? Armin?"

Armin looked up quickly, tears rushing down his face. He was whimpering. Josiah finally realized what had happened, and it seemed Mikasa did as well.

"The members of Trainee Corps team 34..." Armin leaned forwards. "Thomas Wagner, Nack Tierce, Milieus Zeremski, Mina Carolina... Eren Yeager!" He started crying.

"These five died valiantly in the line of duty!"

Mikasa looked at Armin, no words were spoken. The others around them were still listening. The looks of remorse showed on their faces.

"There's no way..." Josiah thinks to himself. "Hell, I might be biased but Eren is the strongest person I know. There's no way he'll let himself be devoured like that."

"No..." Sasha muttered.

"Team 34 was almost wiped out, then?" A cadet questioned in disbelief.

"If we try to face the Titans, the same will happen to us." Another spoke.

"I'm sorry, Mikasa..." Armin sobbed. "Eren... He sacrificed himself for me. I... I couldn't do anything! I'm sorry..."

"Armin." Mikasa kneeled down and put her hand on Armin's hand. He raised his head. "Calm down. This isn't the time to get emotional."

"Eh?"

"Now, stand up." She lifted Armin up. "Marco, if we eliminate the Titans swarming HQ, then we can refuel and climb the walls. Isn't that right?"

"That's right, but..." Marco looked at her who had now walked away from Armin and towards the others. "But even with you here, there are too many..."

"It could work." Josiah stood up as all eyes turned to him. "With Mikasa and I with you guys, we can make it work." He added as Mikasa nodded her head.

"Huh?" Marco looked at them.

"All you got to do is trust us. We didn't spend the past three years doing absolutely nothing."

Mikasa raises her blade in the sky as Josiah did the same. "Out of this group, Mikasa and I are the strongest ones here. If we have to do it alone, then so be it." Josiah stated.

"You are not only weak, but you are spineless cowards." Mikasa pointed her blade at the group. "I am disappointed in you. Just stay here... stay here and watch."

"Hey, Josiah, Mikasa! What are you saying?!" A girl gasped at them.

"You're going to fight all those Titans by yourselves?!" Another yelled.

"There's no way you can do that!"

"If I can't, I'll die. But if I win, I'll live." Mikasa said. "If I don't fight, I can't win."

Mikasa took off. Josiah stayed behind a bit waiting to see if their fellow classmates would follow. "What's disappointing here is your vocabulary..." Jean spoke up. "Was that supposed to be an inspirational speech? This is your fault, Eren!"

"I'm sorry, Jean. Did you want a fucking heartwarming, motivational, speech? As you can see, we're trying not to die right now. So take what you get." Josiah spat at him before taking off to follow Mikasa, attaching his hook to a building.

"Listen up! Were we trained to let our fellow soldiers fight alone?! Do you really want to become cowards?!"

Josiah turned his head to see Jean raising his blade into the air and took off, Connie right behind him.

"Come on, coward... Wimp... Idiot!" Josiah heard Sasha's voice, making him chuckle a bit at her choice of words.

"My comrades may be loud and chaotic, but I'm glad I met every single one of them." Josiah thought.

Sasha joins, then the others shortly followed. Josiah quickly caught up with Mikasa, his fuel running low at this point. He could hear the war cries of his comrades behind him.

Mikasa ended a Titan's life as Josiah hooked his wire onto the nape of the second Titan and sliced it, sending it to the ground.

"Hurry! Follow Mikasa and Josiah! We do this fast." Jean ordered the others. "We need to storm HQ before our gas runs out!"

"Both Mikasa and Josiah are amazing, though... How do they move so fast?" Connie wondered out loud as he watched them.

The light-brown haired male glanced over at Mikasa, finally realizing something. She was going too fast and she was using too much fuel. At this rate, she wouldn't make it.

Josiah sliced another Titan's nape that was in his way, still keeping Mikasa in his line of vision.

"I get Mikasa's still in the state of shock ever since finding out about Eren... hell, it left me shocked too. But at this rate she'll—" Josiah thought.

As if on cue, Mikasa falls out of the air. Armin goes after her without hesitation. "Damn it!" Jean shouted out.

"Jean, you take over and follow Josiah. I'll go after Armin!" Connie yelled at Jean.

"I will, too." Jean countered.

"What are you doing? The Titans are still out there! We need your skills!" Connie informed.

"Place your trust in him, Jean! I can't lead everyone back to HQ alone!" Josiah added. The bald headed male gave him a look of appreciation, to which he nodded as he took off.

"Don't let our comrades die, Springer! Or you'll have to answer to me!" Josiah shouted after Connie, loud enough for him to hear.

Him and Jean continued on to HQ with the other cadets behind them. Josiah let out a deep breath as he looked forwards.

He hoped he had enough gas to get him to HQ.

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

Word Count: 3950 words.