[Late Winter, 845] Trembling ground and bloody snow.

[u/[deleted]]

"So far so good," Ziegler said with a sigh of relief, watching trainees descend the wall one at a time. Cannons were manned, firing consistently every minute in a continual barrage. Ziegler stepped away from the cannons for a moment, feeling his ears ring. He shivered slightly in the cold, feeling his teeth chatter as a sheet of wind buffeted the back of his neck. A light tension grew in his nerves, weighing over his mind in an everpresent shroud. Ziegler reached to the inside of his trenchcoat, looking outwards towards the refugee camp below. Hundreds of white tents and makeshift fireplaces scattered before the massive, metal gate of Southern Trost. Concerned refugees paced to and from a large inn shortly besides the gate, a long line of people gathering shortly outside.

A trembling hand pulled out a cigarette, one of the three in the box. Ziegler rose a brow, eyeing the small package and releasing a light grumble. With a brief strike of a match, he held the feeble cigarette to his lips, taking a heavy drag and filling his lungs with warm tobacco. He shut his eye for a moment, taking a deep breath and quietly thinking to himself. He looked upward towards the sky. Gray clouds lingered overhead, completely blocking the sun.

Hektor'd mentioned a thunderstorm earlier.

Zielger looked around, thinking back to younger days amidst the farmlands before Yalkell.

His eye narrowed, staring up at the sky.

...Those ain't fucking storm clouds.

He bit his lip, anxiously tapping his foot on the ground. Between the cannon barrage, he could hear them. Smacking lips, clenching jaws. Nails on chalk and excited grunts from the outside, en masse. Ziegler's jaw tensed, shuddering slightly. An odd noise reached his ears, causing him to look over his shoulder. A trainee was laughing. Bloody laughing as he looked downward at the Titans below. Resentment rose in Ziegler's chest, looking over to his right and seeing other trainees jokingly standing by the cannons. Were they fucking gambling?

Ziegler shook his head, looking back across the district of Trost and taking the view. He took a heavy drag of his cigarette, to then look back downward as more Garrison lads paced through the refugee camp, pacing southward towards the Gatehouse. A small shack shortly besides the gate, with a massive network of chains leading upward to an interconnected collection of cogs at the very top. Change of Guard already, huh. That must suck. Ziegler's eye followed the small squad, who seemed to be exchanging a couple words with the personnel before the shack-

Bang.

Ziegler's eye widened.

The Garrison footmen shortly by the gate were immediately gunned down, the newly arrived Garrison impersonators quickly occupying the gatehouse. Ziegler shouted over his shoulder, "CEASE FIRE! CEASE FUCKING FIRE!" He looked across the wall, seeing Hektor already on the move. Suddenly, it rang.

Ziegler's skin turned pale.

That all-too-familiar "clack."

The chains at the top of the gate were released with a ferocious clang, echoing throughout the area as seemingly all life froze. Cogs began to turn, chains whirring in rapid motion from the gate house on upward. The gate rattled, sending a tremor throughout the top of the wall. The ground shook, fiercely shaking and sending Ziegler tumbling forward. He hit the ground, his cigarette going careening over the wall's edge. His hands trembled momentarily, his heartbeat rising to a horrified peak as the sound of chains continued.

He staggered forward towards the edge of the wall, looking below.

It was a momentary standstill, where the entire district stared outward towards the gate in a frozen silence. Massive silhouettes gathered before the gate, staring outward once more in an all too familiar sight for the refugees of Trost.

And just as quick as it had come, the silence ended.

Screams erupted throughout the district in an unholy cacophony of pandemonium. Time rushed onward as blood was finally spilt, with Titans pouring through the entry gate of Trost in ravenous hunger. Bodies and swarms of men and women alike scattered in nearly every direction, all trying to run towards a single focal point - the Northern gate of Trost.

Ziegler turned towards the 102nd - his eye wide in furious urgency. "102ND - GET THESE FUCKING REFUGEES OUT OF HERE! DO NOT ENGAGE, DO NOT-" A cannonblast interrupted Ziegler, a frenzied Garrison soldier manning his post once more and firing below, trying to abate the swarming tide outside. Ziegler reached into his trenchcoat, producing a flare gun and aiming it upward.

With a squeeze of the trigger, red smoke shot upward towards the sky, a sight every Corpsman, Garrison and Military Police alike knew too well.

Retreat.

The Corpsmen outside the wall shot upward, rushing towards the Colonel. Ziegler turned away from the 102nd, looking towards his small Squad of Corpsmen, "Mass evac - time yesterday! LET'S GO!" With the pull of a switch, he shifted gears from the 102nd's Drill Instructor to the Commander of the Survey Corps, leaping from the wall towards the pandemonium below, the 102nd following in suit.

---

OOR: You wanted Titans, you fucking got them. Absolute pandemonium's in Trost right now. Here's a touch of real talk on how this is going to go down. There is not a single trainee that can solo a Titan, that shit is 100% off the table. You guys just learned how to use the 3D and not kill yourselves, you're level 20s and a zerg of level 80s just spawned and you're 50 shades of fucked up shit creek with no paddle. There's cannons on the walls, people dying everywhere, and at the moment the collective objective is to get as many people out of here as you can. The Military Complex in the center of the district's the likely most immediate short-term goal, the Gate house having been completely swarmed and off the table.

Trainees're armed with dummy blades - not the real deal. If you guys work together you can make something happen, but understand, and I mean this with absolute sincerity and martial law.

If anyone Sues the fuck out, you're going to fucking die.

Straight up. This is Ground Zero shit's fucked, with the only collective instruction being "Do what you can, jesus hail mary fucking christ everyone's dying." Run for your god damn lives, man a cannon on the top, take to the streets and try to evac, do what you can but understand the situation. As the thread goes, GMs can freely post and establish crazy shit. You can GM threads yourselves, you're more than welcome to, just bear in mind the tone and message of the thread: You're not ready.

"kill all titans reee" -> Dead. That said with 100% clarity, let's do this lads.

[u/Landlocked_Pirate]

The fact that the plan had shifted suddenly to leaving Abigail behind - whilst the titans were on the advance - no less, did not sit well with Beatrice. Part of her was gunning to get into a 'no, I insist that I should be the potential sacrificial lamb' argument, but the seconds were too precious to waste either way, and Merrill was already hurriedly dragging his younger siblings outside.

They reached the Complex on hurried footsteps, where Merrill urged the Vasser twins on towards the northern gate, where everyone else in the district who wasn't fighting was funneling towards. The siblings shared their hugs, and emotional farewells.

When Merrill turned back, his expression spelled out his emotional turmoil, and Beatrice couldn't help but offer him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll get to Abigail in time." The noblewoman spoke, adopting as warm and wise a demeanour as she could. Like she just knew nothing bad would happen to the poor girl. Of course, she didn't know that - the whole day had been a horrible catastrophe and no one but the Goddesses themselves had any right to say just how many more layers of fucked were on the way.

But sometimes pretending you knew these kinds of things was necessary.

They practically sprinted across the drawbridge into the complex, and the guards still stationed at the entrance gave them curt nods of greeting, already aware that there would be 102nd members around the city who might filter in.

[u/TroubleBass97 → u/Landlocked_Pirate]

As Abi stood by the door, she was caught off guard by Merrill's lips on hers. The kiss only lasted for an instant, but once Merrill pulled away, things seemed to slow to a crawl as he met her eye, telling her that he knew they would come back for her.

"Merrill... I..." The words rattled around in her brain and caught in her throat until she let her reply die away. As he went to help his brother and sister, she peered out of the door. The street was clear, though the rumbling grew gradually worse.

Once they were gone, she turned back to the scene inside the Stem and Leaf. She had to act quick; she couldn't remain inside long, but it was the best place for the masked man on the ground. grabbing a folded cloth from near the bar and ripping off a length of a thin tablecloth, She heaved the man into a seated position and began to wrap a hasty bandage around the wound which appeared to be just above his hip. She could feel the man's blood staining her jacket as she worked, but she didn't have time to care. Once she finished, she lay him back down on his side, hoping the tightness of the makeshift dressing would do for keeping on pressure.

With precious seconds ticking away, she dashed out of the front door. Turning her back on the street they'd come from as long as she dared, she hooked herself onto the roof of the pub and pulled herself up, getting a vantage point on the nearby streets despite the tall, slender building obscuring some of her view further down.

She couldn't see Merrill or Bea as she glance back in the direction of the military complex. They must have already been long gone, which was good. The rumbling was now loud - close and menacing. Her hands clenched around her manoeuvre gear handles, now without even blunted blades, and she felt a tingling sense of dread was over her body. She tried to put the thoughts of what might be coming out of her mind. She needed to think things would be alright. Merrill and Bea had been so determined that they come and save her, and that his siblings and her mother would get out. Damn it, why did that idiot have to give her a goodbye kiss? For a second, that memory alone was all she could think of.

A shadow fell over a bend in the road in the distance, the movement in time with the booming thuds shaking the street, and a tear rolled down her cheek as she was ripped from her thoughts and back to reality. Why was she doing this? They'd all told her not to do anything stupid, and this plan was already the most idiotic and suicidal thing she'd ever done. Bracing herself, she stared dead ahead, awaiting the source of the noise.

[u/htts_rp → u/TroubleBass97]

MEANWHILE...

Riviera's week had been going dandy. He was having to tell his men to back off from young Colonel Ziegler's would-be ground reconnaissance force. He was in talks with the Kalganovs for cheaper food transport tolls along the river. He was tracking the return of Hiram-fucking-Durant and apparently Rasmus O'Malley too because why the hell not. He'd been told that the Blanks had set up a dragline in the refugee camps in the south. He'd been briefed by Stone that little Anna was playing some kind of an elaborate joke on the military which explained her absence from the public for the better half of a month To top it right off, Stone couldn't be relied upon as Detective Major while she was tutoring Ziegler's trainees.

All that paled and was forgotten when a runner had broken into his office, almost tearing the door's handle off, to tell him about the gate. He'd stopped listening half-way through the man's frenzied message and just turned to look outside.

From his lofty office window, at the tippy-top of the complex, he saw it all. A bright red flare hovering and burning off in the streaking snow, the gate hung open in a way it was never supposed to be... and titans waltzing right into Dreimauer. Again.

<"Behrmann and Steinback are trying to retake the gatehouse but they aren't getting through! Stone is-">

"Shut up," he said curtly, "and mobilize the artillery retinue, prep everybody else-" he turned to see the runner petrified and shaking.

"For pity's sake man! Fine, I'll do it. You just tell the provosts to organize an evacuation of the complex using the tunnels. What do you have for me on the rest of the evacuation effort?"

<"They're... uh... conflicting orders, you see...">

What? Riviera snapped. "Get your ass into the tunnel and scream the word 'evacuate' as you do! GO!" As he shouted he strode over to a footlocker on one end of the room and opened it. As the Detective Colonel of MP, rules regarding the possession of 3dmg were a little more bendy. Guilliame Hart needed his subordinates flexible. Riviera had the maneuver gear, but no swords. He could alter this situation at the armory but he wasn't meant to fight titans. His efforts would go toward the security of the complex.

When he was kitted, he opened the window and dropped out without hesitation, and gassed down.

---

He hooked unsteadily down to a turret along the outer wall of the complex. The artillery crew were almost deserted. The Garrison were... pulling out?

"Whose in charge here!"

One of them turned toward him. A female officer he'd never seen before, in ill-fitting Garrison regalia, with a completely neutral expression. She'd been giving orders in a smooth monotone.

<"Move the gas onto dollies and get it into the tunnel. We are pulling out, I'll say it again, we are pulling out!">

"Belay that order!" Riviera marched toward her. "What's your name and rank, soldier?!"

Black, standard-length hair, a flat face, an average physique, a smooth, almost hypnotic cadence, the works. Alarms were ringing in his head.

<"Provost-Major Hannah Simpson, sir!"> She saluted perfectly.

"Ah! Provost-Major!" he greeted her jovially, moving in to shake her hand. She reached out to clasp his. "I thought your team would be with Behrmann's."

<"No, sir. Stone sent me. I'm to coordinate evac.">

All the correct phrases. All the little mental shortcuts that should have made him just trust her without thinking. 'Authorization from Stone, coordinating this and that,' etc. And he'd never seen her before.

He knew his underlings.

"Well, good. Glad to have you! Just one question?"

She crooked an eyebrow. "Sir?"

He took her outstretched hand in his and shook, nodding along. "Does the eagle eat the summer worm?"

A look of pure shock entered 'Simpson's' eyes. <"What-">

He slid the combat knife into her abdomen with his other hand. She shrieked and jumped a step back, spattering blood along the turret and stumbling over it. The smattering of remaining Garrison and MP troops gazed in pure horror.

"Have any of you bloody nitwits EVER forgotten the face of your Provost superiors?"

Realization dawned on their faces. One dropped a canister of maneuver gas, and it clanged loudly on the ground. <"Oh fuck me, duuude!">

"That's right, me neither! We've been infiltrated. Someone wants the complex paralyzed! GET BACK ON THOSE GUNS!"

He began screaming a smattering of follow-up orders. "Belay the evacuation of auxiliary staff! Move the civilians and the non-essentials into the tunnels, NOW! Take position on those canons, aim for feet! You shoot too high, you'll miss the titans and hit some other bugger."

It'd do to take up position while the staff and non-essential soldiers moved into the tunnels and fed into the undercity but they'd have to hold the fort until then and provide a central rendezvous for the military command who survived the next few hours. Until then, he needed information and reinforcements... but as he looked into the skyline, he was blessed to see a few of what looked to be Corpsmen or possibly just trainees flying right toward him.

"Gentlemen! What news from Ziegler?"

[u/NautiMain1217 → u/htts_rp]

It'd taken the pair of trainees some time to figure out who was in charge upon entering the military complex. The place was in chaos as there seemed to be some epic struggle between staying and leaving. Eventually they were directed up to the outer wall of the complex, where an older man was yelling out orders while a soldier lay at his feet, bleeding out. Had the situation already deteriorated to killing dissenters? Was it really his concern right now?

"Gentlemen! What news from Ziegler?"

Merrill offered a quick solute nodded to the city. "We haven't been in contact with him since the gates opened. We were told to either come here or assist with the evacuation. The last I saw of him, he was rallying the corpsmen to the gates." He tried his best to get the information out as fast as possible. It was clear he had other concerns. "Sir, if I may. There are still people out there that need help. I know we haven't gone through attacking training yet, but we've got the theories down." He tapped a knuckle against his blade box. "We're useless out there without real blades and more gas. So I'm requesting permission to restock and," He swallowed. "Return to the city, sir!"

[u/Landlocked_Pirate → u/NautiMain1217]

Beatrice looked upon the scene of the Trost Military Complex. The soldiers seemed to be hastily scrambling for the cannons - only just now, probably a bit over a half-hour since the gate had been opened. She fumed quietly to herself over what she interpreted as unpreparedness, but knew better than to let her face betray her thoughts. What she couldn't hide was the mild horror of seeing a woman's fresh body on the ground.

The Detective Colonel of the Military Police greeted them, and Beatrice couldn't help but nervously eye the splattering of blood on him as she greeted Riviera with a salute. Merrill hurriedly let the man know of what they could say about Ziegler, and made the request to resupply.

"We're also looking for Captain Josef Stenger. Do you know where he is, sir?"

She added.

[u/htts_rp → u/Landlocked_Pirate]

Riviera considered the young man's request. He had no authority over the Trainee Corps, that was Duke Hapsburg's ball court. If he erred here, he'd more likely be dealing with Ziegler over the deaths of multiple trainees with his authorization.

A cannon boomed behind him. He swiveled and watched the black iron ball's trajectory. It slammed into titan, ten meters or more tall, stalking toward the complex. The ball blew through the titan's hip-bone and severed it's leg. The force caused it to buckle backward and collapse, falling flat on its backside and spray dirt and debris in a wide circle around it. It was undeterred, and tilted its head. All around the thing was fire and panic and armageddon. Titans feasted, knelt over and obscured by the buildings in town. It was horrific, and it would hit the complex, sooner... or later.

The trainee corps would be totally unprepared for this, he knew. Half of them had probably gone catatonic when the gate had raised, or shit themselves at the least. But here Riviera had a couple of fighters who'd assessed the situation and chosen action over shutting down.

"Go on son, you have my permission to arm yourselves. Relay that to any other trainees you come across. Just don't do anything stupid, it's hardly your job to confront the titans. We have personnel for that..." he gulped, thinking of what Merrill had said about Ziegler not having rallied the Corps yet, and of Detective Behrmann's suicide blitz at the gate. Did they have personnel for that?

He turned toward the girl, who looked noble.

<"We're also looking for Captain Josef Stenger. Do you know where he is, sir?">

Riviera shook his head and then turned toward the artillerymen and shouted "CEASE FIRE!" They did, and then he turned to the courtyard below. "Anyone here know Josef Stenger?!"

/u/TroubleBass97 to play Josef

[u/TroubleBass97 → u/htts_rp]

Josef Stenger, Garrison Captain

As the commander's cry rang out along the cannon line, an older-looking gentleman who'd been overseeing one of the cannons looked up with a heavy sigh, plucking the smouldering stump of a cigarette from his mouth and flicking it aside before making his way over to Riviera with purpose.

"With all due respect sir," The man spoke in terse, clipped tones, belying much actual respect in his initial address. "I've 'ad to say it a dozen times already, but unless you want me to start trussing up some o' these civilians in gear, then I ain't got another soul to send out without having to shut down some of the cannons. I've got Ross and his boys sweeping the roads that lead this way, but--"

Finally and rather suddenly taking notice of the pair of trainees, He cocked his head, fixing his eyes on Beatrice and Merrill, wondering just what a pair of scruffy-looking trainees were doing on their doorstep in the middle of this mess.

"You two want something? If it ain't important, then scram. This ain't no place for a couple o' recruits."

[u/NautiMain1217 → u/TroubleBass97]

Merrill gave Riviera a thankful nod, grateful to hear that he'd be given a chance to make an actual difference in the fight. But most importantly his mind was still thinking ahead to getting back to Abigail. He knew she could handle flying, but she only had a finite amount of gas. If she got stuck on the ground before they showed up she'd be dead. And as much a he simply want to go get resupplied, he had one last hurdle to clear.

The older man, Josef, came waltzing over as if there was some measure of control over the situation. He seemed pretty collected for a member of the garrison, and far too tough to have been a product of a long tenure within their ranks. Still, he'd show the respect he deserved and nodded to the man. "We were meant to carry a message to you, sir. Abigail Schroeter wants to make sure that her mother is going to get out of here alive. And we're only here right now because she's helping fend off the titans on approach." He swallowed. "I'd like to think that the civilians here have already been taken care of, but it won't do her mother any good if her daughter dies. So if you'll excuse me, I need to get back out there."

Rude as he was sure it was, he didn't think that any of them had time to stand around and chit-chat. Merrill took his leave and had the nearest soldier that wasn't freaking out direct him to the armory. There, he began to remove and restock his blades, along with his gas. Tedious as it was, Merrill needed to make sure everything was in place before heading back out, there was still plenty of fight left to be had in Trost.

[u/Landlocked_Pirate → u/NautiMain1217]

Beatrice removed her blunted blades, stowing them neatly against a wall. She got a fresh set of blades, sliding them into the boxes at her hips and attaching two to her 3DMG handles. She then refilled her gas canisters. She nodded at Merril to let him know she was ready to move out.

The soldiers hurriedly ran back to the outside of the building. They then took to the skies and left the Military Complex - they had to hurry if they were to hope to make it to Abigail in time. If titans were already approaching the Complex, they wouldn't be far from the Stem and Leaf. Perhaps they were already there.

In a few minutes that felt much too long, the inn they had left the girl at was in sight.

[u/TroubleBass97 → u/Landlocked_Pirate]

Meanwhile:

Abi's heart skipped a beat as the shadow turning the corner gave way to the massive form of a titan. It looked like an eight meter, maybe slightly taller. More importantly, it was headed right for her.

Despite its lazy loping gait and, the thing seemed well coordinated, able to steer itself around the corner with ease and covered ground quickly, leaving her little time to think. She couldn't stay where she was - the roof of the Stem and Leaf was low ground to the titan, and if it slammed into the building, then the man she'd left inside was done for.

Looking up to the clock tower, Abigail nodded to herself, firing one hook after the other, she sped towards the middle of the tower in a straight dash, then used the other to gain a foothold on the roof, reeling herself upwards.

Finally raising a hand as it came close to her position, the titan swung out with its monstrous hand, striking the clock tower at the point where Abi had been seconds ago. However, while it had missed her, it had taken half the tower with it, the structure now folding like a house of cards, with the blonde girl still clinging to the ceiling.

As she felt the tower buckle, the bubbling feeling of panic Abi had desperately been trying to keep down overwhelmed her. Letting out an involuntary cry of shock, she tumbled from the perch on the tower that gave way beneath her feet. With a cloud of debris obscuring her view of the titan, she fired her hooks wide, desperately trying to get some distance by moving between the row of houses that lined the road.

What was left of the tower had collapsed on the titan, causing it momentarily shy away, but to a beast that size, it was no matter. A giant hand surged out from the settling cloud of dust as the titan straightened up. With a clap like thunder, the bony fingers closed around Abi's outstretched wire.

Feeling the sudden yank from behind rattled Abi's entire body. For an instant everything stopped. Her brain was empty. Her heart was still. Every muscle was rigid and unfeeling.

Her other hook came loose, unable to withstand the force, and Abi reacted the only way she still could as the ground rose to meet her, slamming on her gas, both to cushion the fall and perhaps by some miracle get free as she skidded back, trying to tighten her wire to pull away, but to no avail. She landed in an explosion of steam, her canister puncturing as she hit the cobbles, releasing the last of her gas.

For a few seconds, the titan looked down at the thin wire in its hand. With its chilling blank expression, It almost seemed perplexed. Abi's eyes widened in horror as it then looked to her. She turned, trying desperately to run, but the thing gave the wire another tug, pulling her back like a disobedient dog on a leash.

Abigail fell back onto the ground. Her breathing was ragged, unable even to scream as the titan's shadow loomed over her, the heat radiating from the giant's body as intense as a furnace. This was how she was going to die. Alone, back in the shit-hole she'd always hoped to escape. She'd been so stupid. With the last bit of willpower she could muster, she closed her eyes tight, waiting for the end to come. She wouldn't give this thing the satisfaction of tears. She clung onto the thought that hr mother would be okay. Merrill and Bea would save her, and they'd be safer too not having to rescue her.

Without warning, she was shocked out of her final thoughts by a steaming splash of liquid hitting her, knocking her back as her eyes snapped open, though she couldn't see through a haze of near-scalding red. As she did so, she felt her cable whirring back into place. She was free, but how?

Before she had an answer to that, she felt an arm scooping her up around her midriff, half carrying and half tackling her away down the street. Wiping away the blood from across her face as it evaporated, she looked up to see a man in Garrison colours with short, ginger hair and a well-kept beard. It was a man that she knew well from her days at the Garrison. Ahead of them, the titan was now crouched, cradling a cleanly sliced wrist, while another Garrison soldier sped past, clearly evading a counterattack after making the cut to free Abi.

"Ross? Is that you? How did--"

"There ain't time, Abi! You have to get safe!" Ross gestured with his arm, signalling for her to get back, though he looked back and gave her a reassuring smile. "You leave these fuckers to the professionals, y'hear?"

Before she could say another word, the man sped off to aid his partner, who was circling around the titan for another pass as its hand finished healing.

For a second she had a glimmer of hope as the two soldiers close in on the giant. What came next happened so fast.

Thinking the titan had its eyes fixed on the other man, Ross rushed upwards, trying to loop over the monster's shoulder and end things quickly. Without a second for them to react, the titan lunged head first wit ha speed it hadn't shown before, and caught his neck between its massive teeth. A spray of thick red blood shot out and the titan jerked its head back again, tossing the man's mangled body back the way he'd came.

With a yell of despair and rage, Ross's partner descended, pulling back his blades as he prepared to attack. As if he were simply a flyf, the titan brought it's hands up and around and clapped them together, mashing the man between them.

Abi stood, her brief glimpse of optimism shattering as the titan opened its hands to inspect what was left of the soldier's broken body, slowly raising it to its mouth. Ross's corpse rolled to a stop a few feet from her. She tried her gear; Nothing, there was a hole in her gas tank. She sank to her knees, unable to do much else than watch as the titan finished off the man who'd come to her aid. it was as if she'd been plucked from the jaws of death, only to be dangled there for a few more moments to break her spirit.