(Chaper and collage by IlluminatiSistersXOX)

LUCAS

"He's going out of control!"

"What's happening to him?!"

"Where's the Celestial Titan?"

"Snap out of it, Dad!"

"HE MUST BE STOPPED IMMEDIATELY!!!"

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I sat up and rubbed my eyes after waking up from a dream that felt way too real. Then I noticed the other Society members getting ready for training, so I began to do the same.

When I was completely in uniform, I looked underneath my bed and pulled out an indigo scarf that I somehow managed to bring with me to this era. It brought back a lot of memories from last summer, both good and bad. I sighed and decided to put the scarf around my neck before heading out to the training area with the others.

Wisteria was standing in the middle of the training area with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. "I've never met anyone who could pull off indigo as well as you, Cadet Powers," Wisteria cooed.

I raised my eyebrows at her and said, "Uh...thanks?"

Wisteria chortled a little before announcing, "Alright dweebs, listen up. Today is your last day of training before I, as well as the rest of the scouts, choose six of you to join us on our next expedition. Mia, Henri, Lucius, Meghan, Gina, and I will be evaluating all of you today to see if you have proven yourself worthy of fighting for us. If you do not make the cut, you will stay at Headquarters and clean up until the expedition is over. Understand?"

Everybody nodded.

"Good. Now find a partner and begin training."

Michaela gave me a devilish smirk and ran over to me immediately. I smiled brightly, but on the inside, I was worried that this would be the last time I would ever see her, even if we both failed to make the cut.

Michaela and I began fighting, and to her surprise, she won most of the fights. "Stop going so easy on me, Dad!" Michaela insisted. "Don't you want to make the cut?"

In all honesty, I didn't care if I made the cut or not. I just wanted to stick with Michaela. I knew that eventually, we would both be forced to fight the titans. But since so many incredible soldiers were eaten, I wanted to do everything I could to make sure that nothing bad would happen to Michaela.

Out of the fifty matches we had, only twenty-two ended in a victory for me. I did go easy on her at first, but after she figured this out and became frustrated, I stopped and tried not to lose to her.

Gina said that the results for who made the cut would be announced after dinner. I had no doubt that Stella and Nathan would make the cut- they were just too good to spend the day cooped up in Headquarters when they could be killing titans with the rest of the scouts.

Tiffany and Devon weren't bad, either. Devon seemed to be dodging attacks quicker than the speed of light, while Tiffany became quite skilled with her 3DMG gear.

Stephanie and Tristan, on the other hand, looked like they could use a bit more training. They weren't bad, but since they were partnered up with Nathan and Stella, they had a hard time beating them.

Before dinner ended, I saw Gina taping a list to the wall, and in an instant, everybody rushed over to see if they made the cut. I read the list silently before giving the other cadets a chance to read the list.

CADETS OVER THE LINE WILL ASSIST THE SCOUTS ON THE NEXT EXPEDITION:

1.) Nathan Rogers
2.) Stella Rogue
3.) Devon Brody
4.) Michaela Powers
5.) Tiffany Hassibor
6.) Jared Trigger
_______________
7.) Lucas Powers
8.) Phoebe Wells
9.) Tristan Wells
10.) Stephanie Trigger

I groaned and walked away from the list before anyone else could. I wasn't just upset because I didn't make the cut. I was mainly upset because Michaela made the cut and would be forced to kill titans without me.

Michaela seemed overjoyed that she made the cut. She and Mia were jumping up and down, squealing their heads off in the middle of the cafeteria. I forced out a painful smile and tried to act cheerful for her sake. I wanted her to know that I was proud of her. But when we went to bed that evening, it was hard to tell whether or not she knew I was scared for her.

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The next morning, the entire cafeteria buzzed with excitement as the cadets who made the cut prepared for the expedition. "I'm a little nervous, but I'm also really excited!" Stella told Meghan.

"Just be careful out there, Cadet Rogue. You're one of our best soldiers now, but that might not stop you from getting eaten," Meghan said to Stella, putting her hand on Stella's shoulder. Stella nodded and smiled.

Meghan's comment kept echoing through my brain. She was right. Stella was one of the best soldiers here. And if she could get eaten by a titan out there, any of the cadets could, too- including Michaela, my own daughter.

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"Michaela!" I called out. "Michaela, wait up!"

I ran up to the front of the formation where Michaela was getting ready to ride outside the walls on her new horse. "Dad?" Michaela answered, hopping off of her horse. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be back at Headquarters with the others!"

"Michaela, I don't think you should go on this expedition," I blurted out.

Michaela gave me a puzzled look. "Dad, I made the cut. I don't have a choice. Besides, I want to do this. If this is the world I'm going to be living in for the rest of my life, I have to at least try to make it a better place."

"But if your life ends today-"

"Dad," Michaela cut me off. "it won't. You've seen what I'm capable of. Last summer, I defeated an all-knowing brain demon, and I hadn't even finished high school. If I could do that, I know that killing a few titans will be a piece of cake."

I pulled Michaela into a tight hug and whispered to her, "I just don't want to be separated from you again."

Michaela looked up at me as if she had something to say, but she didn't know how to say it. "I don't, either, but it's not like I-"

"Okay, enough with the cheesy display of affection, Cadet Powers. Michaela, come with me. Lucas, Heaquarters isn't going to clean itself," Wisteria grunted.

"Wisteria, I know I didn't make the cut, but I didn't fall short by much. Would it be okay if-" I began, but Wisteria stopped me.

"No. Look, I know why you're asking me this, and I totally get it. You want to stick with your daughter. I understand. But she made the cut, and you didn't. If you wanted her to stay with you, you probably should've gone harder on her yesterday." Wisteria glared at me and grabbed Michaela's arm, pulling her away from me.

Michaela hopped back on her horse but before she left, I approached her one more time and softly said to her, "I'm...I'm so sorry, Michaela."

Michaela gave me a sad smile and answered, "Me too."

Before I knew it, she and the other scouts were gone. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't being myself to do it. It was starting to rain outside, so I put my hood over my head and watched the scouts fade away into the forest, far away from the walls.

I heard that there were much more titans today than there normally were. And I didn't care how hard anyone convinced me that Michaela would be fine. I didn't care if I was being overprotective. I didn't care if anyone discovered what I really was in this world.

I glanced down at my right hand and muttered, "I've been her bodyguard before, and I'll gladly do it again- whatever the cost may be."

In seconds, I wasn't an ordinary cadet anymore. I was someone- or rather, something -completely different. Everything that occured after Michaela left was just a blur to me. I could only remember looking down at my hand and trying as hard as I could to keep myself from crying.

But I wasn't a regular cadet any longer. And once I realized what I had become, it didn't take long for the other cadets to realize what I was, either.