Trost district, year 850
Under threat from his own regiment Eren Yeager invokes his ability to transform
Saving Mikasa and Armin But striking fear into the hearts of his fellow soldiers
[Eren]: I've always been one of you
I'm human
Eren is not a foe of humanity
For Humanity's glory and what little time I have left to live
I will advocate his strategic value
That brave stand went unheeded but for the intervention of one man
Dot Pixis
The highest-ranking officer in the southern territory
Calm yourself
Surely sir, we could at least do these young soldiers the favor of hearing them out
I'll do it
I don't know if I can but I will
I swear
Excellently said you have the heart of a lion
Stand officers, up! We have a plan to flesh out
Wait we...we can't actually be moving forward with this is our linchpin strategy ?
It was just something I tossed out there
I was thinking the same thing
Except he seems like a guy who knows what he's doing
Has it all under control like we can't see the forest for the trees
But he's got a bird's-eye view
You think so
I do, either way though
We've got a whole other problem to address before we can get your plane off the ground
And my gut tells me that the commander is keenly aware of it
Which would be...
Titans aren't our only foe
Look sharp soldiers
The fate of mankind rests on your shoulders
Retake Trost !, are they kidding?
Someone up tops lost their marbles?
How they expect us to shore up the hole?
Is the brass is that out of touch?
It's a damn suicide mission
Lost cost no doubt defending wall Rose is the only real option here
Jackasses some bureaucrats pushing this through for the glory
I can't...I can't go back
We'll die
We all gonna die
I just wanna see my family
What the hell Daz calm down
[Lobov]: Stop shrieking like a sniveling coward
Are you trying to give me the impression you're a liability
Sir please, look at us
At least we gonna die and be buried in graves when we get slaughtered!
You too good to sacrifice yourself for the good of humanity soldier
Or do you prefer I cut you down right now as an example to your comrades
Do what you gotta do
I'll take it over being fed to a Titan like human can be any day
[Marco]: Get a hold of yourself
Let go of me...let go
I'm not going back to that nightmare
"You hear that?"
"Not gonna lie, he's got a point"
So, who do you think's gonna have a nervous breakdown next?
I don't know, but Trost isn't where I wanna go…
Come again
I...I was only kidding around, sir
Speak up
At the top of your lungs, make as much noise as you can, cadet
You think everyone else doesn't feel the same way about this stupid idea as you do
Now start a damn destruction so I can get out of here
And where exactly do you think out of here is
Look man I just want to see my daughter
We're all dead anyway right?
It's thought by many that before the Titans held sway
Mankind consisted of scores of different races different Creed's
All scratching and biting at each other for blood
It's not difficult to believe that second part
Some wise men or other is reputed to have said though understand I'm paraphrasing here
that "humanity required an enemy greater than itself just to survive"
What do you suppose he could have meant
This is the first time I've ever heard it, sir
I guess he thought we'd all join forces some wise man
I like the way your mind works you're almost as twisted and cynical as me
Well it's obvious to me the guy didn't have a clue what he was talking about
Come on here we are with an enemy greater than ourselves buried down and look at us
Exactly
If our species doesn't pull it together soon
Titans will be merely the instruments of our demise not the cause
[Hannes]: Eren!
Well I'll be damned
Wait...what? is he?
That little punk is telling me to get back to work
At least I can assume Mikasa and Armin are all right judging by his attitude
Still though...
Why in god's name is he with the commander ?
Care for a swig?
Yes sir!
[Daz]: If you gonna kill me, just do it and get over with
[Lobov]: Shut up, don't think I won't
ATTENTION!
Take note,
The blueprint of the trust recovery operation is this
Our primary objective is to reseal the hole
Yes you heard right
What's more it will be done manually
What?
That's impossible we just don't have the technology
As for how the task will be done
That's where this fellow comes in
Allow me to introduce cadet Eren Yeager
What the hell?
Don't let appearances deceive you
This young man is in fact the successful product of cutting-edge science
Fantastic as this may sound
Cadet Yaeger possesses the ability to fabricate and control a Titan body at will
Somebody tell me the commander is off his rocker
Cause otherwise, I'm just too thick to get what he means
Will you just shut up and pay attention
idiot
Recall the massive boulder roughly a lead from the gate
Having assumed Titan form
Cadet Yaeger will hoist said Boulder on his back
shove it to the hole and voila
And this is where you all come in
Your job will be to defend him
Yes defend the Titan against his own kind
What do you mean we don't actually need to fight them?
There's an easier way
Sorry, I know it's not my place to interrupt I mean no disrespect
It's alright, just go on with what you were saying
Right, thank you sir
See whatever else is going on around them
Titans are generally drawn to large groups of people
If enough of us collected in the corner away from the breach
We could lure the Titans out of Eren's path
He could be discreet about moving the boulder
He also won't have to slow his pace while we fight the others off of him
And since the Titans will all be in one area
We can pick them off by a cannon fire without incurring casualties of our own
Now I'm not suggesting we leave Aaron defenseless that'd be too risky
We'll need a modest band of elites to act as his bodyguards
There's no way of knowing how many Titans might come through the hole while he's trying to patch it up
His security detail will need to be able to handle them
Easy enough I think
We can retool the plan around that
Thing is we're making a huge assumption here
Namely that Eren even in full-on Titan form is strong enough to move the rock
I mean to be perfectly honest there's very little reason for us to suppose he can
I have my doubts, serious ones
As do i
Sending people to their doom on a whim
Isn't the tactic I'm fond of
Uncertainties killed too many already
But the commander's right we must do this
Agreed we're working against the clock here
Titans are still lumbering into trust as we speak
They're already maybe more than we can handle frankly
The longer we wait the worse our chances of success become
And it goes without saying
The better our chances to bust through wall rows and wreak untold havoc
There's something else too
Even the bravest of us can indefinitely bottle our fear
Not before something gives
The kid could live to rock that big
Is this real?
Is he saying we finally having advantage?
They're lying
I'm not gonna be drawn into sacrificing myself for this crap
What is this possible to you people
You expect us to live and die by whatever the hell comes out of your mouth
He mean he's a human weapon?
Come on they're obviously full of it
We're being played
This is not how I'm going out good luck to the rust of ya
I'm out of here
Me too
Yeah, screw a bunch of this
So help me God I'll execute you on the spot
The hell with you, my family gets the time I have left
This is getting out of hand
I know if we don't act now the whole thing will break down
Traitorous, I'll kill you where you stand
Desertion is answered by death
Anyone wishing to leave will by my personal order not be charged with treason
Those who have seen a Titan firsthand will not be expected to revisit such horror again
Whomever this applies to, you may leave with my blessing
Additionally anyone with family or loved ones they would spare from the same trauma may also leave
The crown will continue to recognize your service
Thank you and good luck
Daddy
I couldn't live with my self
My daughter is my all
Daddy is coming sweetheart, Don't you worry
Now think back four years ago
Namely the operation to retake Wall Maria
I bring it up because you all deserve to have your suspicions confirmed
Officially we labeled it reconnaissance
But in fact as most of you probably know
It was little more than a purge a thinly disguised exercise and population control
We knew this in our hearts of course we did
Yet we turned a blind eye
We supported the state-sponsored myth because the deaths of our fellow human beings
Allowed us to survive
Pure and simple
The guilt is ours we share the blame all of us
The citizens of wall Maria sustained themselves on the wholesale slaughter
Of the refugees who'd flown to us for help
But turnabout is fair play is it not
If wall Rose succumbs the population will fall by a whole other order of magnitude
The lands comprising wall Sina wouldn't support half the people now living
If we're wiped off the face of the earth
The culprits will not have been the Titans let me assure you
No no
We'll have done it to ourselves
If the line isn't drawn now it won't be drawn at all
If we must die
Let us die here
I don't know if I'll actually be strong enough in Titan form to lift that rock in the first place
But
I'm sure as hell I'm gonna try
maybe this is naive we're running on false hope but so what
I have to power through for them for all of us
My role
No
My duty
Is to make false hope real
Good you're all here
You have one mission and one mission only
Protect Eren Yeager
Any risks associated with this operation are yours to eliminate
Which I'm sure you'll surmise means out of everyone your jobs are the worst
Our success of failure will depend on you
In fact it's safe to say the fate of mankind will reflect your own
Sir, may I ask something?
Of course
Are you certain about this ? pinning our hopes on Yaeger I mean
Rico don't
I'm sorry I assume we all have our doubts
Sir please, with all due respect the kid's abilities are an unknown quantity
We don't have the first idea of what he will or won't do
If he can't lift the rock or worse he goes rogue
A lot of lives will have been lost for nothing
You make a good point
Perhaps we ought to just give ourselves up to the Titans willingly
Personally the idea makes me sick
I'm a sore loser
You'd think I'd be used to it I've been stuck on the losing side since day one
I'm a stubborn old fool though
Just once I'd like to know what victory feels like
Even if I have to resort to extreme measure
Naturally sir I'm sure we all feel the same way
Then I suppose we'll just have to wait and see
The boy's abilities may be an unknown quantity I'll give you that
But I'll take it over the known quantity of our options
Sir, it's time to get the decoy operation on its feet
Ian Dietrich, Rico Brzenska, Mitabi Jarnach
You are the garrison regiment's best and brightest
win this one for Humanity
Sir
Excellent
Ian I'm assigning you squad leader
on-site contingencies will be yours to deal with
But Sir that is
I have no objections
Neither do I
Please sir I'm not competent enough
now now
You appreciate alcohol do you not?
Sir?
You know a good vintage you know a shoddy one as well
So there it is
Sir
I'm so sorry Eren
I was just talking out of my head it wasn't my intention for you to be pulled into all this
Stop apologizing the fact is you have a gift for strategy and you know it
I believe in you Armin
Eren, I really think I shou-
You're not coming with me
You're on the decoy squad period
No way I'm not leaving you alone
I won't take another chance
Knock it the hell off
Get it through your head that I'm not your responsibility
You're not my mother
Ackerman, I want you on the squad that will be providing Yaeger with backup
We'll need your skill
Hop-to, let's get this started
See ya Armin, don't die on me okay
Yeah you either
Let's get this straight right now
whatever you are all I care about is you getting that rock in place
We count on you
Yes sir, I won't let you down
You're absolutely sure you're gonna be all right to do this?
I got it
Seriously
How many times you want me to say it you just go do your job and I'll do mine
Look now's not the time to be playing house
Come on it isn't like that
I'm gonna say what we're all thinking here
The fact that the fate of mankind depends on a little brat like you
Doesn't make me hopeful
All of you, stop it right now
We're about to be in range of the giant boulder
I'm not seeing any Titans nearby
The decoy strategy must be doing the trick
Don't be a hero
Just focus on luring the Titans to our corner of town
If you don't need to, don't engage
Something I want you to be aware of Yeager
Make no mistake
More than a few of our comrades are going to die today trying to pull this off
Their bloods on your hands
I'm talking friends, captain's, lieutenants, peons, yes they are soldiers
They are prepared to die
But remember every one of them is a flesh-and-blood person
Steady
Hold position
Get ready
Scatter
Every one of them has dreams, hopes, fears
Every one of them has a name Alyusha, Dominique, phine, Isabelle, Ludwig
Martina, Guido, Hans, they're not pawns they're people
Some have been living together like family since their cadet years
This may well be the end of them
Whole families snuffed out in a moment
Whatever you think your mission is Yeager
You're first and foremost concern today is making sure their deaths mean something
Whatever happens you keep that lodged in your mind
Take everything that comes with deadly seriousness
Right
This is happening
I'm going to do this
Not once in this century of Terror has mankind risen above the Titans
Their every Craven, bloodthirsty advances left a wake of inestimable loss for us
Live taken, territory abandoned
However
Should we succeed we'll make history
Today is the day
Lands taken by our greatest enemy will be reclaimed
This is the place let's do it
For the first time we will know what it means not to run
But to meet the Titans head-on and win
We've got green smoke sir
The elite squad has commenced the operation in earnest
Now it may seem an insignificant part of land
Compared to the vast tracts of former glory long abandoned
But as a symbol, as an idea,
Trost regain shall stand as our reclamation of pride and hope beyond measure
A leap greater than we have ever taken
Granted in terms of proportion
It's not easy to see how he'll manage to lift it
But in terms of sheer well
He's got this, I know he does
Eren?
The Trost recovery operation has begun
As his comrades fall by the dozens
Eren's rampage goes horribly awry
but just as it seems the operation has ended in failure