Adam began to charge, swords drawn and ready for anything. This was his chance to avenge the countless lives lost five years ago...

The Colossal Giant reared back, bringing up an enormous rotted green hand, and began a huge swipe along the walls where Adam stood. With quick instincts, Adam shot up into the air with the gas from his gear, just as the Giant's hand swept past him. Adam flew up until he was way above the Giant's head. He watched in horror as the cannons that had lined the walls flew in broken pieces down to the ground far below.

He...took out the cannons! Adam thought in disbelief. The times when he kicked a hole in the walls...that wasn't an accident either. These actions are on purpose! That thing has intelligence!

The Colossal Giant turned its head and looked directly at Adam with its soulless black eyes. It reached out a dark green hand to grab him, but Adam shot a grappling hook on its shoulder and whizzed away before the Giant clasped its hand.

Adam soared right past the Giant's arm until he passed its neck. Shooting the hook again, he latched onto it and zipped forward. He drew his sword ready, and slashed.

The moment his sword touched the green flesh, before he could make an actual mark, hot steam began to burst from the small cut. Adam was blasted back, but forced himself to hold on as his hook was still firmly planted in the neck. He forced himself to draw forward again, and raised his swords once more. He brought them down, and slashed through empty air.

Adam hovered in the air in shock as the steam dispersed. The Giant was nowhere in sight. There was a moment of deafening silence as all the steam cleared, leaving nothing. Adam snapped back to his senses as he began to fall, and quickly shot a hook at the wall again. It pulled him forward, and he firmly planted his feet on the side of the wall, holding on with the hook in place. He stared down at the ground in shock, where only two huge footprints remained, proof that the Giant's presence hadn't been an illusion.

Jordan's anxious face appeared over the top of the wall. "A-Adam, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine," Adam called back up, "But he's gone!"

Adam shot a hook over the top of the wall, and soon stood on the top of the wall once more. "I'm sorry..." He muttered to Jordan, looking down. "He disappeared before I could finish him off..."

"Don't apologize!" Jordan insisted with wide eyes. "You were the only one brave enough to actually go after that thing!"

"Um, guys!" Jerome called. "Not sure if you noticed but the wall's kinda been kicked in again. We gotta act fast before any Giants get in!"

"Hey, cadets!" A voice called as a red-caped duck hybrid landed on the wall with his gear behind them. "The operation for protecting the city is in action, you're all expected to head to report to the Garrison headquarters!"

Adam, Jerome and Jordan all saluted hastily.

Meanwhile, down below in the city of Trost, townsfolk were screaming and running for their lives in the streets below towards the gate to the inner wall. The city had instantly been sent into evacuation mode, and all citizens were to exit the city immediately. Red-caped soldiers dotted the areas, shouting orders for people to bring with them only what was needed for survival, and to file through the inner gates as neatly and efficiently as possible. Netting and barriers had been placed along the hole in the outer walls, and they would hold for only so long as the advanced teams of experienced soldiers were lined against the walls, prepared with the task of driving the approaching Giants back from the hole.

~*~*~

Further in the walls, in the headquarters of the Garrison, panicking cadets and newer soldiers were scrambling around, trying to get their gear prepared for battle. They were to protect the city and kill any Giants that made their way into the walls while the advanced soldiers fought them off from outside.

That plan, however, had failed horribly. The advanced soldiers had been completely wiped out, and it was up to the cadets to split into squadrons of four to take out all Giants in the city until the evacuation was finished.

Jason was crouched on a side of the wall, shakily filling the tanks in his gear with gas for flying. Adam and Ty were beside him.

"T-this is really bad, isn't it?" Jason asked. "There's a hole in the wall, we're going to be overrun with Giants again, just like last time! This won't end until either we give Trost up to the Giants, or we find a way to plug the hole for good-and we all know which options' more likely! It's all over as long as that hole's still there!"

"Jason!" Adam exclaimed. "Stop it. You're too busy thinking about the past. It's not going to turn out like it did five years ago!"

"Adam's right," Ty chimed in. "Things are different now, and the soldiers know now how Giants fight. We're stronger, and it won't end the same way just yet."

There was a silence.

"...S...Sorry..." Jason muttered. He stood up and fumbled to attach the gas tanks back to his gear. "I'm okay..."

"Meet you upstairs," Adam muttered to Jason, who nodded and headed up the stairs to the main floor of the headquarters, where the cadets were to form their groups of four. Adam, Jason and Ty obviously planned on joining a squadron together.

Adam and Ty watched him go. Adam went to fill his tanks, but Ty stopped him.

"Adam," Ty said quietly, stopping Adam in his tracks. Adam turned around.

"Adam, we all know that this is going to get ugly, and fast," Ty said, taking a step forward. His eyes were wide and urgent. "As soon as things get that way, I want you to stay by me at all times."

Adam blinked in shock. "W-What?! I'm not a kid, I can take care of myself! In the squad, we all have to watch each other's backs, right? I'm in the top ten, too, you know!"

"Ellis. You're coming with me," A voice called from behind. The two boys turned around to see a red-caped soldier-an elite, obviously-standing behind them. "On special orders, you've been assigned to a squadron of elites to help guard the inner wall and the people evacuating. Let's get moving."

"But, sir!" Ty protested. "I'm only a cadet, I'd slow the group down!"

"Only a cadet that's one of the best soldiers we've had in years," The elite said sternly. "This isn't an option, it's an order." He turned around and began walking the other way, making it obvious he expected Ty to follow.

"But Sir-!" Ty called out, but Adam pulled him back. "Ty, that's a direct order you just got!" Adam protested. "He's right-you're better off with the elites. Like I said, I can take care of myself! Stop thinking about yourself and protecting me-your goal should be to protect the city!"

Ty's eyes widened, and he solemnly looked down at the ground. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Adam turned around to walk away, but Ty spoke again, and he paused.

"Just promise me you'll survive."

Adam stood there for a moment, without looking back at Ty. Then, he silently continued walking. I didn't plan on dying today, thanks, He thought sourly as he went the way Jason had gone.

~*~*~

Adam and Jason stood on top of a house's roof, overlooking the emptied city. In the distance, a couple of dark green silhouettes could be seen over the rooftops. Behind the two were the other two members of their squad, Jordan and Tiffy.

Adam glanced over an saw Jason quivering.

"Hey, look at it this way," Adam said. "Today, if we can prove our worth with all the Giants we can kill, who knows how fast we'll rise in ranks?"

Jason blinked, then gave a determined grin. "Yeah. I'll be with you all the way."

"Hey, don't save all the pride for yourselves!" Tiffy teased with a smirk. "The rest of us'll be getting a share of the glory, too."

"Yeah, we all get bragging rights after this," Jordan said determinedly.

"Good!" Adam agreed. "Now, let's head out!"

"Yeah!" The squad exclaimed, and took off on their gear, blasting past houses and shooting their wires at buildings to pull them in to accelerate forward even faster.

Adam was dashing along a rooftop, when something caught his attention and he turned. More Giants could be seen now, near the outer walls they were approaching.

"There's so many of them!" Tiffy exclaimed, following Adam's gaze.

"Look out, we've got a Giant approaching!" Jordan exclaimed, just as a dark green beast ahead jumped up to try an collide with the cadets, who frantically swerved to the sides. The Giant instead collided with a nearby cobble tower.

Jason sloppily fell onto a nearby roof where Adam and Tiffy had landed, letting out a small cry of pain on the impact, but quickly recovered and whipped around to stare at the Giant in surprise.

The squad watched in horror as the Giant moved its head to the side to peek out from behind the tower, Jordan hanging from its mouth. There was a long moment of terrified silence as the squad watched, frozen in terror.

The Giant lifted its head back and swallowed.

Adam began to tremble violently as the dark green beast got off the tower and lumbered away. "H-how...You...HOW DARE YOU K-KILL MY FRIEND!" He blasted off, full-speed towards the Giant. "Adam!" Jason called. "Wait, stay with the group!" Tiffy exclaimed, and the two followed him helplessly.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!" Adam screamed. "Y-YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"

He zipped past the houses of the city towards the Giant, who turned around and leapt up again to clasp its teeth around Adam's leg. It bit it off instantly as Adam kept flying forward in the gear, who faltered and slammed into the rooftop below, tumbling wildly until he weakly skidded to a stop, one hand dangling weakly off the side of the roof.

"ADAM!" Jason screamed from where he stood on a rooftop on the other side of the street.

"Oh, god!" Tiffy exclaimed as she flew towards them on her gear. While she was distracted by Adam, a Giant grabbed the line from her grappling hook. Jerking backwards with a cry of surprise, Tiffy halted midair and was slammed against the wall of a house. She let out another yelp of pain, and fell weakly to the floor below. She barely struggled as she was grabbed by the pair of dark green hands, and up to the mouth.

Jason watched, trembling and frozen in fright, then stared again at the unmoving body across from him.

W-why...? He thought to himself weakly. He fell to his knees. I-I can't move...my friends are all dying...

He shakily looked over as a Giant approached the house where he sat. It grabbed the collar of his uniform jacket between two dark green fingers, and dropped him into his mouth. Jason's screamed in terror rang throughout the area, reaching the ears of Adam nearby.

Jason...

"Adam! Adam!" Jason exclaimed happily, running up to him. Adam was sitting boredly on the stone stairs by the river, near his home. In Jason's hands was a large, old-looking book. "Look what I found!" He exclaimed happily, and held out the book for Adam to see. It was old and worn, and the cover had ancient symbols written on it, the symbols you see in Enchantment Tables.

"I found it in my grandpa's attic," Jason explained happily, crouching down and setting it on the grass.

"Geez, don't scream so loudly," Adam advised.

"Heh, sorry," Jason apologized. "But, look! This book is about the outside world!"

Adam blinked, baffled. "Jason, stuff about the outside world is illegal! You could, like, go to jail for that!"

"Yeah, but seriously, this stuff is amazing!" Jason exclaimed, his happy mood not brought down at all. "Look," He said, opening the book. "Did you know there's different kinds of worlds out there? They're called biomes! They have all sorts of different thing in them-there's one where it snows all the time, so much the ground is covered in it, one full of sand as far as the eye can see-even one where giant mushrooms grow! There's even a species of mushroom cows that live there, too!"

"This could all just be fiction," Adam said uncertainly, although he had perked up with interest. "Mushroom cows? How does that even work?"

"I dunno, but if this was fiction do you think my grandpa would be hiding it?" Jason asked with a big grin. "And it's not just biomes- there's even different dimensions entirely!" He flipped through the book to a page with pictures depicting a strange world with flying creatures.

Jason pointed to one of the pictures. "This one's called the nether!" Jason explained. "There's no sky-there's a tall roof made of red stone called netherrack! It makes up the floors and walls, too!" He pointed to another picture of a floating, smoking creature. "And there's huge dark castles with these things-they're called Blazes and they shoot fire! And don't even get me started on The End dimension! It's actually in space! With the beautiful stars and everything, I bet! Just imagine how much there is on the outside!"

Adam looked through the pages, captivated. "Imagine, all this..." He breathed with wide, excited eyes.

Jason looked up at Adam. "Okay, you gotta promise on your life not to say a word about this, but my parents are gonna sneak out of the walls to see for themselves."

"They'll get to see all this!" Adam said jealously.

"Yeah! And one day, we should do that, too!" Jason added brightly. "We can have adventures, like whoever wrote this book!"

Adam struggled to get up once again. Jason screamed as he began to slide down the Giant's throat, tears streaming down his face. He let out a startled cry as Adam's hand reached out and grabbed his wrist. Adam had flew into the mouth, and was holding the jaws open with the other hand, and his leg. Adam growled with the effort, but shakily dragged Jason up, and threw him out of the Giant's mouth with every ounce of strength he had. Jason slammed into the roof, and whipped around. "Adam!" He called.

Adam was struggling to pry the Giant's jaws open more. in attempt to escape.

"Jason..." Adam muttered, shakily reaching out a hand. "We have to see the world, right? To see...The End..."

Jason blinked back tears, and lunged forward with an outstretched hand. "ADAM!"

The Giant's jaws clamped shut. Adam's arm went flying.

Jason stared in silence as the Giant swallowed. Then, he screamed. He screamed in agony, loud enough it felt as if the entire city could hear. Jason screamed until the Giant walked away, until he could scream no more.