Much to your expectations, the meeting was off to a rather rocky start, considering the fact that there were only three people in the large meeting room and one, as you were quite suspicious of, was most likely drunk. It didn't exactly help that the spacious air allowed perfect echoing, especially if one had a loud voice - which, undoubtedly, your higher-ups did, preeminently if they are tipsy. It wasn't as formal as you been expecting. This wasn't particularly unpleasant, considering the fact that you'd never quite enjoyed lengthy speeches or the like, but did have its disadvantages.

Like, for example, you really had no place to say anything.

Reassigning people, reading over new cadet's papers, examining the records of the next soon-to-be top ten...that was something for leaders to do, not subordinates. And sure, there were breaks every now and then when the two men would go off on one odd orbiter or the next (primarily prompted by Pixis), but perhaps in that sense you were even less qualified to state your speculations. It was a talk between two friends with an unnecessary 'plus one' invitation that had been imprudently squandered on you. You had stories, sure, but not ones that would suffice the scant, stale air in front of you.

Instead, you sat back against your chair, folded your hands in your lap, and kept your eyes positioned upon the ornate table between your trio. Never once had you appreciated the fine detailing of expensive equipage as effectively as you did then - the intricate, inundating swirls seamlessly flowing into and out of one another with no clear beginning or end. This managed to keep you occupied for a fair portion of time.

At least, it did, until someone's statement caught your attention. "Ah, yes - [y/n] has been a wonderful addition to the Garrison. Even if she doesn't always follow orders." It ended with rather boisterous laughter from your boss, which caused your head to jerk up. Pixis appeared to be midway through a drunken chuckle attack, and Erwin, to your amusement, sat like a young child who didn't get the jokes being told between adults.

Regardless, that last part wasn't inherently true. Yes, you'd stop him from drinking beyond his limit (which was surprisingly high, you'd learned), but that was about all the cases you were aware of.

Erwin noticed your rather abrupt attention. "This all may seem incredibly boring to you," he began, taking note of your expression, "but it's necessary for everything to function properly."

You simply nodded. Of course you were aware of it - half the time you were the one taking the full bulk of the paperwork, although whether it was because you didn't find late-night intoxicated Pixis capable enough of finishing it accordingly or because you preferred to see him happy rather than drowning beneath a sea of stationary and ink, you weren't quite sure. Nevertheless you'd grown quite familiar with all the precautions, and it was only then that you noticed the small stack of papers sitting amidst the center of the table.

"Come on then, [y/n], surely you've got something to say?" Think of the devil - of course it was Pixis who'd prompt your involvement.

For a moment you were back in school and the teacher was calling on you, demanding an answer to a question that you didn't understand, putting you on the spot in front of everyone else who were, of course, all silently judging you. Except this time it was your leader, and the only two people to hear your response were some of the few people who could have legitimate control over your life depending on what you chose to say. "Well, I -"

And it was then that your luck had an unexpected swing. A sudden knocking upon the wide wooden doors provided the perfect excuse, which you snatched up immediately. "Here, I've got it," you pardoned yourself from the table.

The short walk provided you with enough time to gather your thoughts, and you had begun to feel once more like your usual self as you were in the process of turning the polished brass knob.

You were mid-blink when something suddenly caught hold of your shoulders, shaking you straight out of your skin and beginning to shout something directly in your ear. Without a second thought you'd kicked the intruder off of you and snapped your eyes open. "What the hell?!" You demanded, narrowly swallowing an array of other words that had wormed their way to the tip of your tongue. The fire in your veins was quelled, however, as soon as you took in the full picture.

It appeared that your reflex had been stronger than you intended - or perhaps the receiver rather weaker than expected - but the man, clad in a Military Police uniform, was on his side, crumpled to the floor. It took him only a moment to regain his balance, and in even less time he'd spoken once more. "There's been a breaching!"

"What?" Even heavily drunk, Pixis still had innately sharpened senses. In a flash he and his fellow commander were at your side.

"Wall Maria - Zhiganshina - titans have made it through," he relayed breathlessly, a blank expression glazing his face with a sheen of pallor, shaking hands clenched into fists at his sides. "W-we need reinforcements, there are already casualties, and -"

Pixis nodded sharply, cutting the officer off. "My best soldiers will be on the scene soon," he declared without a hint of dread. "Have you gotten through to Nile yet?"

The terrified soldier shook his head, then began to mutter something intelligible. In the span of a heartbeat Pixis had turned to you. "[Y/n], get there as quickly as you can. Fill in for me until I can get there."

Before you'd had even a chance to respond, Erwin replied for you, a sudden intensity harbored behind his blue eyes. "Understood. You've got control over my men here, Pixis." And without another wasted moment, he'd pushed past the two others, blasting off on his 3DMG, which must have been ready to go all throughout the meeting. In a state of stupor you fastened your own gear on with rapidity, pausing without a second hesitation to grab the Military Policeman's gas supply.

He and Pixis would just have to figure something out. If titans had really broken the walls - and neither of them were immediately headed there - you needed it far more than either of them.

The pathway to Zhiganshina, much like the pathway to any place within the walls, was engraved in your mind. It was something every Garrison member needed to know - and Military Police soldiers, you'd suspected, too, although it appeared that none of the ones you'd ever encountered had spent too much time awake during their individual briefings. It was pointless to waste your gas here, now - even if you could get there quicker, chances were that the gas supplies there would already be depleted, and what good would you be as a fighter without your gear?

To be fair, that wasn't a question that you had the precise answer to. After all, you'd never legitimately fought a real titan.

Well - that'd be dealt with once you got there. For now, it was one foot in front of the other, snagging all the turns and shortcuts that you could remember. It'd take a fair amount of time to get there, but perhaps you could cut down on minutes wasted by utilizing every alternate route you could think of.

Okay. Okay. Just breathe. Not once did you ever expect your feet to be capable of carrying you such an expanse, but you didn't pause to ponder it. The burst of adrenaline in your arteries was no longer concentrated in your heart, but now your head, your feet, your entire body, your genetics. You were no longer fully aware of what you were doing. The only things remaining conscious in your mind were the altruistic assurance that your arrival would help bring an end to the terrors and the items in your peripheral vision that you pivoted around. A clear path ahead. Wind tousling your hair. Rhythmic pattering of feet beneath you, on stone, on grass, on wood, up walls, landing with a small thud on the other side.

Constrained chest and tight breaths.

A cycle of movement you weren't sure was ever destined to break.

Then a sudden sea of soldiers. Green unicorns, blue shields, and - yes - red roses. Blurs of bodies in the air, sounds of shouts and flares and gas tanks releasing their precious resources all around you. In a swift motion you became a part of the tsunami of scouts, deploying your hooks up the nearest building to land you a relatively safe vantage point from which to scope out the area. Your feet slid to a stop atop the brick roof. The inertia you had going wasn't much, luckily, and you skidded to a halt straight in the middle, only pausing to fix your posture and sweep your gaze across your surroundings.

What was once hope - so naive and pure, yet so childish and stupid - now sent your stomach churning into unadulterated unease. The bitter bile rising in your throat was combated only by your forced, audible swallows.

There was now a sudden sea of blood. Crimson fluid, brown uniforms, and - no - pale, lifeless, motionless bodies.

Without a second thought your hand was on your flare gun and you'd fired, red flare indistinguishable from the sheen of swirling smoke that hung too thickly in the air like a hand against your lips, forcing you to down your screams into nothing more than silence. Get it together. Come on.

What good could a flare do at this point, anyways? The giant beasts littered the streets like rightful owners, traipsing around the severed limbs that sprung from the ground like claret grass, searching for their next target. You were still a few blocks away. Some were still left fighting.

Nobody near the Garrison's station.

Nobody alive. At that point the roses on their uniforms paled in comparison to the scarlet of their own flesh and bone.

You were aware, amazingly, of the abrupt landing of multiple feet from all directions around you, causing a brief thundering that for a moment drowned out your thoughts, draining them down until only your primary objective remained, unblemished, amidst the maelstrom of chaos.

"Forget about trying the plug the hole." The words were dry and cold against your mouth and it took a moment for you to realize that it was you who had spoken in such an unfamiliar tone, such an estranged manner. "We've only got one goal right now, so listen up."

For the first time you turned, and also for the first time you realized just how much authority you truly had. Perhaps being close to Pixis did pay off, after all. A smattering of soldiers - Corps, Military Police, and Garrison alike - all stood around you, some with shocked faces, others bloodied with that of their enemies, their friends, or themselves, but all with the same spark of resolve behind their varied expressions.

Against the wall of attentive bodies, your eyes fell on only one face. It was the only one, after all, still familiar to you. Nobody had eyebrows quite like that.

A hush had encompassed the group, and you braced yourself for your loudest speech yet. It consisted of but two words. "Kill them."

Clear and concise.

And in a fraction of a millisecond, it was not only you following your orders, but dozens, maybe hundreds, of others soaring up into the sky before plummeting, peremptorily, towards their unpredictable fate.

Humanity's unpredictable fate.  

_____________________________________

I haven't updated in seventeen years please end mE -

Anyways.  Hopefully my schedule will be somewhat back to normal now, and, as always, thank you so incredibly much for reading!  I hope you enjoyed, and, as always, have a wonderful day~!

With love,
   - Petri ♥