Chapter 8

"Starr… please, that's not a toy…" Jeremiah was having a hard time trying not to palm his face at the energetic person's actions.

"What are you talking about?!" Starr shouted with a gleeful smile. "I find this extremely fun and amusing!"

Upon opening the barn doors, they discovered a beast of mythical proportions. The so-called aircraft that would allow them advances in aviation. Jeremiah had an inkling in what it meant. When conversing with the scientist, they described the ability to fly without needing the skill to use the maneuvering gear. Jeremiah thought such a thing to be impossible, but looking at the plane right now, just maybe they could make it work.

It looked like a bird, with a wing and tail. The only odd thing was the beak, which had a single stick that was stuck on the nose like a T. The stick was vertical and appeared to be able to move. Jeremiah didn't know what it's purpose really was.

Besides that one odd thing, the other one would be the person sitting in the mounted seat, playing with the buttons and gadgets as if it were a toy.

"Starr, seriously!" Jeremiah said like a father reprimanding a child. "Get off that, you could break something. Then what would we tell the aide? 'Sorry, we were playing with it?' Come on, get down."

"Bah, you're no fun." Starr reluctantly complied with Jeremiah and got off the plane. "What are you looking at anyways?"

"Notes." Jeremiah said as he opened a dusty journey. "Amazing… It appears they had a few prototypes. Their first was nicknamed a 'glider' and closely resembles a kite. They then added a device that would propel it forward… Ah, so that's what that front stick thing is called, a propeller."

"So, how did they come from an enlarged flying kite to this metal contraption?" Starr asked.

"Well, according to the notes, it looks like the first few designs couldn't get that high off the ground. The largest distance they could get was about ten feet off the ground. Guess this metal one would have allowed them to go the full distance over the walls… I wonder why they never finished…"

"Regardless, won't all these notes please The Führer? There sure is a lot."

The room they were in contained much more than just the airplane. A few tables with machinery, most likely to help build the thing, as well as notes describing past experiments as well as blueprints and schematics for items that were used to build the plane.

A goldmine for those wishing to learn more about aviation.

"Yes, I am sure this will help our scientists. However, we'll have to wait till sunrise to fire off a flare to signal the location. Not to mention we'll have to meet up with the others to show them the way."

"Well, guess we can rest." Starr said as she went out to horses to get their sleeping gear. "I feel a lot safer, and considering we haven't seen a Titan we can assume it's safe, right?"

"I suppose so…" Jeremiah said. "Although I would still like someone to keep watch just so we can leave as soon as the sun rises."

"Right Right, well, I call dibs on sleeping first!"

"Go ahead, I'd like to look at these notes first."

"Oh?" Starr said with a raised eyebrow as she came in with a sleeping bag, laying it out. "Does that stuff interest you?"

"I suppose. I don't know about the rest, but I mostly spend my free time with the facilities scientist. The head scientist is a little… eccentric, but besides that, I feel like they are all pretty nice guys…"

Jeremiah turned back when he got no response. He saw Starr laying in her sleeping bag fast asleep. Now that he thought about it, how long was he asleep when she was leading the horse? Looking at the moon, it had to be longer than the designated time they told each other.

With a sigh at her unusual behavior, he continued to look at the notes and research that were left behind.

Wilfred was awakened by the rough shaking of his shoulder.

"...hm?" Wilfred said half asleep, shooting up only upon realizing where he was. "Is there trouble?"

"No." Eren said. "The sun is just about to rise, so I need you to be on alert. We should be looking towards the mountains for a flare."

"Understood." Wilfred said as he started reequipping his gear. "What will you do?"

"Maybe take a nap, depends." Eren said half-heartedly.

"You should probably get some rest while the sun is still rising. The Titans may take a while to be roused, so you still could-"

"Help!"

Wilfred was cut off with a cry of help. Both him and Eren were both out of the wagon at record speeds, looking for where the cry of help came from.

"You got to help!" The voice came from the East, and upon closer inspection, they saw a figure on a horse riding towards them.

"Theodore!" Wilfred shouted as he ran up towards the duo. "What happened! Why are you on only one horse? Where's Racheal?!"

Wilfred was frantic. When he only saw one horse, he feared the worst.

"Racheal's hurt! Real bad." Theodore slung off the horse with Racheal in tow, giving Wilfred a sigh of relief.

Only for it to be replaced immediately with worry at looking at Racheal. Her right arm seemed to be broken if the odd angle was any indication.

"You idiot." Eren came as he inspected the unconscious girl. "You didn't even give her sling before having her ride on a horse? That probably aggravated the wound worse."

Eren got to work as he tore off a piece of clothing. Gathering a stick, he placed it so Racheal's arm looked somewhat natural. Wrapping it around the stick, he made a semi sling for the girl.

"Looks like a broken arm." Eren said as he felt her body for injuries. "Aswell as some ribs… One, no, two broken ribs at least… I'm going to the wagon for some medical supplies, stay watch."

"Right." Wilfred said as he looked at Racheal. Her ragged breaths distracting him from his current duty. "I'm firing the flare. The one to call off the mission."

"No." Was Eren's immediate response.

"What?!" Wilfred turned to look at Eren with shock and anger. "You said-!"

"Look." Eren pointed to a location on a mountain. A column of green gas rose up into the sky. The signal they agreed to use if they found the location.

"Still, Racheal is injured!"

"Then she would have been injured in vain!" Eren suddenly spouted out. "We are so close, so close. You do realize if we don't retrieve this now, we will have to go out again. We would have to go through the Titans again. We may not be so lucky. You would risk the possible future lives of your teammates just because one is injured?!"

Eren had had enough of the weakness of Wilfred. He had started warming up to the man, but their ideas conflicted too much. He was a strong believer in friendship, while Eren would use any means necessary to achieve his goals.

Even if he had to sacrifice those close to him.

"So this is it, huh?"

"Nicholas… I'm sorry…"

Eren closed his eyes at the unpleasant memory of his past popping up.

"Despite that!" Wilfred grabbed Eren by the cuffs of his shirt. "Despite that, we can't risk the fact she may die out here if we delay any longer! Her ribs may have punctured a vital organ!"

"Get off me!" Eren grabbed Wilfred's arm. Copying one of Annie's move, he pulled on the arm while kicking his foot from underneath him, efficiently flipping him. Wilfred couldn't retaliate due to the surprise of the attack.

"Do you understand who you are speaking to?!" Eren looked down with disgust towards Wilfred. "We have to follow through with the mission, especially since we are so close!"

"But!" This time Theodore spoke up. "But she's hurt!"

Eren gave both Theodore and Wilfred a menacing glare.

"Fine then. We can call it off. But what do you wish to tell her when she wakes up? That the whole operation was a bust because of her? That we will have to venture the Titan territory again, risking more potential injuries and or deaths because we had to turn back because of her?"

A silence descended on them at the words that Eren had spoken. He wasn't wrong. But none of them were true doctors, and the fact that prolonging Racheal's treatment could lead to her untimely demise.

"Please…" A weak voice spoke up, shocking everyone around into silence. "Please… I don't want… the mission to fail… because of me…"

It took all her strength to say those word apparently as she immediately closed her eyes with a grimace.

The girl was in obvious pain.

"I'm going to the wagon to get some painkillers for Racheal." Eren finally said. "I'm also going to fire the flare. The one that signals for us to meet up, not the one for a retreat."

As Eren walked away, Wilfred clenched his fist and bit his lip in irritation. He, who was always the calm leader, seemed to be breaking down due to one injured teammate.

It appears Scott made a mistake on choosing who the leader of the Kräfte should be.

"The painkillers should be kicking in for her, so don't fuss too much." Eren said to the boy who kept taking glances at the wagon.

It had taken a while for everyone to group up if the testimony of the sun being over their heads was anything to go by.

Once Jeremiah's group had found the plane, Eren had fired a flare that signaled everyone to meet up. That in itself took awhile. Eren had to fire a flare periodically until it was confirmed everyone saw it. Jeremiah and Starr had naturally seen it, but it took four more flares for Titus and Helen to throw up their own to confirm they were on the way.

All of this was preplanned before they had even started the operation.

"Still, it's not like I can't worry about her…" Theodore trailed off as he looked into the wagon once again.

The current situation was that, while Jeremiah and Starr led a little distance away, each member of the elite group were station some distance away. Close enough where you could see them, but far away enough where you would have to shout to be heard.

This was all to prevent a Titan from sneaking up on them.

"Don't worry." Eren tried to comfort Theodore. "Trust in your comrade's strength. She has the will to go this far, it won't be dying out anytime soon."

"Aide." Jeremiah stalled his horse until it was near the wagon. "The path gets narrow up ahead. We won't be able to maintain the current position, however, Titans also won't be able to attack us from the sides, since the path curves up the mountain."

"I understand." Eren said. "The trail goes up the mountain like switchbacks, huh?"

The path, for the most part, curved up the mountain. From Jeremiah's report, some of the paths 'zigzag', or switchbacks, as Eren is used to calling them.

There were slight slopes, but it was big enough for a wagon to fit but narrow enough for a Titan to be unable to use as a road.

"Alright everyone!" He yelled out. "Form up!"

Doing as they were instructed, the Kräfte formed up to take the path that led to the shack that contained what they were out here in the first place.

The time past swiftly with no unexpected variables.

Eren was the first to reach the barn that contained the airplane, the others a step behind the aide.

Upon opening the doors, Eren couldn't help but give a twisted grin.

"It's much more advanced than I would ever dream of. It makes me wonder just who the Arlets were… I would have liked to meet them."

Eren turned around, facing the Kräfte.

"Jeremiah, I want you to look around and take anything that is of value. Whether it is notes or tools, I want you to document them and load them up in the wagon. The rest of you, help me load the plane."

And thus the Kräfte, excluding Racheal, got to work on loading the plane in the wagon. Jeremiah, on the other hand, went around picking up documents that seemed of value. Really, he picked up most of them, even the ones that seemed like they amounted to not that much. He then took time documenting the varies tools.

He had an inkling as to why The Führer's aide would have him do such a thing. He stated it before too, but it seemed like out of everyone he was the only one who took an interest in what the scientist and engineers were creating. So he had some idea on what the tools could function for, therefore making his reports the most accurate.

It was a tremendous effort, but the group finally managed to load the plane in the wagon. They had to disassemble the wings, putting them alongside the main body in the wagon.

"Are you sure it's alright to break it apart?" Wilfred had asked. "We really don't know how to put it back together…"

"It's fine." Was Eren's response. "What I had mainly wanted was the engine itself, the plane was just an added bonus. I trust our development team to create a different model. After all, this one was meant for just leisure purposes… In any case, we should all head back to Jeremiah and help him load up the extra tools. The ones we don't recognize may come to be of some use in the future."

With that said, the group returned to the barn, only grabbing tools and documents of necessity. Overweighing the wagon wouldn't be good on the horses or if they got into a chase with Titans.

Nonetheless, the Kräfte finished up loading the extra equipment. They made their way down the mountain without any surprises. Racheal woke up halfway through the journey and insisted she ride on a horse.

It seemed like she had gotten a little better, the sling and painkillers doing their job. They set up camp outside of the treeline where Wilfred and Eren had spent the first night when they had arrived at the mountains and split up.

A few days away, they would be safely behind the walls once again.

"Do you think they will be earlier than expected?" Scott spoke to Rommel as they stood above the wall, looking at the direction that Eren and the others had left for.

"It's been five days." Rommel said as he turned his head to the rising sun. "It's possible that he could return early, but this is the first time both him and the Kräfte have been in anything like this situation… Well, perhaps that wrong to say about Eren, seeing as his home was Shiganshina."

"Regardless, you really care about him. The Führer, I mean." Scott said as he looked at the landscape below the wall.

"He saved my life." Rommel said. "Not to mention, he practically revived the Rommel name. To be honest, if I were a more proudful man, I would have distain and jealousy towards Eren. A man younger than me, yet achieving goals that far out stripe even my father's."

Rommel shook his head as a grin started to form.

"No." Rommel continued. "I believe in him, so therefore it's only natural to care for him. He saved my life and helped me achieve bringing the Rommel's name from the brink of death. Plus, his ideals… His charismatic nature, it's hard not to follow it, wouldn't you agree?"

Scott only response was to continue to look at the landscape.

Could the boy really achieve what he desired? The path that laid ahead of him was a gruesome one, Scott was sure of that. There is no doubt that Eren had the physical ability to do what he has said to do.

No, what Scott was worried about was his mental.

At times, it seemed like Eren himself didn't want to do it.

He seemed… tired.

Like he was going through the motions of something he has already done.

Rising in the ranks, gaining followers, overthrowing a government, becoming their ruler... And than…

Scott gave a sigh.

It was best not to think of these things. Eren had some pride. Pride in his own abilities. If he promises to rid this world of the Titans, then he will do so.

Scott swore fealty to him because he knew the boy could do it.

"Yeah." Scott finally said after a long pause of silence. "I suppose he does have that kind of skill mastered."

"I see them!" Theodore voiced his glee at the sight of the large structure. "Finally, the walls!"

It had taken some time, but by abandoning the formation and only resting at night, they had ran the horses most of the time towards the walls.

It had only taken a day for them to reach the walls.

"Don't get carried away." Eren shouted over the noise of the horses. "Titans could still be in the vicinity!"

The formations was tight, with a Kräfte on each side.

All seemed to be going well.

Of course, its when things are at its best, that it drops expediently.

With the walls insight, Racheal, tired and hurting from her injuries, eased up on the horse's reins to allow her some respite.

The change in shift went unnoticed for some time, leaving Racheal a few paces behind the wagon, and consequently the others.

Theodore noticed her first.

"Racheal!" He shouted as he looked back at her. "Keep pace with the wagon!"

Whatever the response was, he never heard it. Right at that moment, the group past a significantly large boulder. They saw it for the briefest of seconds. The Titan was of the small class, perhaps two or three meters tall.

If all of them were together, they could have simply past it, letting it follow behind them as they have Wilfred or another experienced member take care of it.

However, that was not the case.

Racheal's mistake of easing the riding to allow her a brief moment of rest from the hard riding would turn out to be her last.

She didn't even scream as the Titan bit down on her upper half. Tossing its head back, it swallowed her with an audible gulp that those of the Kräfte could never forget.

After that moment, all hell broke loose.

"One casualty confirmed!" The guard on the wall with a pair of binoculars spoke.

"What?!" Rommel said as he ripped the viewing tool from the guard's hand. "Why? Now of all times, why is there so many?!"

It was like breaking the floodgates. Upon the first Titan's attack, much more burst through treelines or behind some boulders where they couldn't be seen.

"Ten… fifteen… No, twenty?!" Rommel ground his teeth in apprehension at the new situation. "Why now? Why so many? Shouldn't they all be distracted by the outer districts?!"

"I believe I have the answer for that." A voice that Rommel had become familiar with spoke up.

"Hugo Schmeisser." A man with green eyes and brown hair exited the elevator as he took a position near Rommel. Bringing out a spyglass of his own to look at the situation.

Hugo was, in all sense, their leading scientist as well as the head engineer. The man was a genius, creating the first airgun that used compress pneumatic pistons to release the bullet.

It was his take on using the rather abundant gas than the usual gunpowder that is common in guns within the walls.

He was a genius.

"It is because you stayed up here for an entire week that you attracted the attention of such beast, really."

"What?" Rommel said as he looked at Hugo. "Are you saying that the reason why so many Titans are here is my fault?!"

"Yes." Hugo said with cold calculation. "Really, the reason they have those outer districts is to attract Titans to them. I can't believe someone like you would miss that, by theory, if you gather a group of people near a wall it would attract attention."

"But why didn't we see them before?" Scott said with a frown on his face. He was more concerned with what the guard said earlier, but an explanation as to why they didn't notice twenty Titans was important.

"Tell me Scoot, would you report of a fly buzzing around outside?" Hugo said as he continued to look down that. "Well, in any case, I only came here to get a first look at the device our grand Führer brought back."

"Hans!" Rommel yelled at a nearby guard. "Is this true, did the men not report any sightings of Titans?!"

"S-Sir…" The man seemed to hesitate. "It's true, we did see Titans, but we thought that was normal! Being the territory we lost to them…"

"You fools." Rommel brought a hand to his face as the reality of the situation set in. "But I'm the biggest one out of them all… Even Eren didn't foresee this happening. We knew so little of the Titans and their behaviors. The lack of knowledge… It was our ultimate demise…"

"Naturally." Hugo said as he lowered his spyglass, collapsing it and pocketing it. "Knowledge is power in this world. But not to worry, it seems like always our leader has a plan. Why, he's already implementing it. This way, he can bring back the device, as well as his life, unhindered towards the wall."

"What? What's the plan?" Rommel said. All it would take would be to look through his own pair of binoculars to see what was happening. However, a deep part of him knew what Eren had already done and didn't want to look.

"It would be best to see if the elevators are operational and prepare to lift the wagon and horses up when the time comes." Hugo gave off a cold smile as his answer.

It had happened before.

He had gotten arrogant and had lost a devasting battle in his past life. Although he had recovered, the sting of defeat was still felt today. Considering who it was by, the spike of defeat never left his chest.

"What's wrong, my dear son? Had enough of playing around?"

"Father?!"

Eren bit down on his lip as the distasteful memory of him being defeated by the man he loathed the most. However, this was not the time to think on past battles, but rather, form a plan that would secure the safety of the device they carried.

He had to think of a way to distract the Titans from pursuing them even farther. The lift would take some time to pull up, giving the Titans the opportune time to pluck them from the elevator.

"Racheal!" His answer came as the form of Theodore. "We have to go back and save her!"

"Don't!" Jeremiah grabbed the reins of Theodore's horse from keeping him from doing anything rash. "She's gone, we have to move forward!"

"No." Eren's cold voice broke the argument that was about to brew. "It's possible to save her."

The declaration was absurd. Everyone saw Racheal eaten before their eyes. It was hopeless, she was lost.

However, that only applied to those with common sense. Not those living under the delusion of hope.

"Go back and save her." Eren looked at Theodore with an unreadable expression. "Cut open the belly of that Titan and save her. You love her, don't you?"

Theodore seemed to ponder the statement. It was a brief second of hesitation, but it was quickly replaced with determination. Slapping Jeremiah's hands, he pulled the reins of the horse, reversing its direction. He was heading towards the horde of Titans.

"You son of a bitch!" Wilfred was the first to realize what Eren had done. "You played with Theodore's emotions! Racheals as good as dead, we all saw her bit in half by that Titan!"

"Than you better go save your delusional friend."

Tears began to stream down Wilfred's face at the cold-hearted response. The death of Racheal, as well as Theodore if he didn't do anything, hitting him with realization.

"Damn it!" Wilfred did the same as Theodore and turned towards the Titans.

"Guys!" Starr said. "You're all gonna die!"

Even though she said this, she still pulled on the reigns of her horse, following after her teammate and leader.

"Starr! You fool!" Jeremiah, perhaps because he and Starr had grown closer hadn't wanted her to charge at the Titans by herself. "Damn. There's no helping it."

Eren looked around to see who had remained.

Oddly enough, it was only Titus and Helen.

Titus seemed unfazed by the encounter. He did seem distant from the squad as a whole, but it was interesting how he wasn't even fazed by Racheal's death or the fact that his team charged towards the horde of Titans.

Helen seemed the exact opposite. She seemed zoned out, with wide and dilated eyes. As if believing that such a thing as death could not befall one of them, and this very incident broke her beliefs.

Regardless, they were the only two who remained with Eren as he continued toward the walls.

It was a necessary sacrifice. They would buy him enough time to haul up the wagon with the equipment stored inside it.

Perhaps all of them would survive if they were lucky. They could ride their horses to the wall and use their gear to scale it out of harms way from the Titan. The horses were of little matter, they could even retrieve them after the sun went down.

"Rachel!" Theodore screamed as he sliced the fingers of the Titan that made a grab for him. "Where is it?!"

Theodore, in a mad frenzy, was, for the most part, ignoring the Titans. His one objective was to find the beast that dared swallow Racheal. He had to find it. He had to. If he could slay the beast and pull Racheal from its stomach, then maybe…

"Hurg?!" His line of thought was broken as he was grabbed. He tried to break free, but the strength was too much. It would have been his demise if Wilfred hadn't zip across and killed the Titan that grasped him.

"Stop it Theodore!" Wilfred yelled as he hooked on to another Titan. Using it as an object to fly around to dispose of three Titans surround the one, finishing it up by slaying the one he used as a pseudo-tree for his maneuvering gear.

"But! We can save Racheal!"

"Knock it off!" Wilfred spat out as he landed near Theodore, surveying the location and Titans. "The aide lied to save his own skin! She's dead! Give it up and come back to the walls, would you really believe Racheal wanted you to throw away your life like this?!"

"You know nothing!" Theodore shouted as he sprung back in action. He had seen the Titan that had eaten Racheal, and his focus was solely on it. "She saved me, but I couldn't return the effort! Due to my incompetence, she was injured! And because she was injured… It's my fault!"

Theodore ran towards the Titan with swords drawn, his eyesight pointed directly at the bulge that was its stomach.

"Theodore! No!" Wilfred tried to reach out to him, but was interrupted by a swiping hand of a Titan.

Dodging the Titan's hand, he counterattacked. Running up its extended arm, he sliced at the nape, killing it. He looked back to Theodore to try and stop him, however…

Theodore ran directly towards the Titan. He was mad, drunk on the rage that fueled his efforts, he didn't see the hand that grabbed his foot. Looking at the Titan that was hanging him upside down, he gave a growl.

"I don't have time for this!" Theodore was about to cut the finger that held him, but it was too late.

Another Titan came up and bit into his chest that was just about to strike the Titan that held him.

It bit deep, tearing off his whole arm and some of his chest.

Theodore gave a gurgled groan as blood rushed up his throat and out of his mouth.

As more Titans joined in at the attempt of getting a bite out of Theodore, the man who suffered it all could do nothing but watch as he was bitten and torn apart. Soon the light faded from his eyes as everything became dark and the excruciating pain disappeared.

Wilfred witnessed the sight of Theodore's unsightly demise. He was brought to his knees as tears once again poured down his face.

"T… Theodore…" Wilfred sat there, paralyzed by witnessing one of his teammates get devoured alive.

He didn't notice the Titan who squatted near him. He didn't even react to the arm that began to close in on him.

Only a brief rush of speed and the feeling of being grabbed by normal hands awoke him from his shock.

"Snap out of it!" The face of Jeremiah filled Wilfred's view. "We've done enough! The wagon as already reached the destination and is being pulled up! It will be out of reach by the time we even get there!"

"Oh…" Wilfred could barely respond to the information that Jeremiah was giving him. "Where's… Where is Starr?"

After gaining his bearing and looking around, he noticed the carefree brunette was nowhere to be seen. It was at this moment that Wilfred saw the tears streaming down as he let out a choked sob.

"She…" Jeremiah grit his teeth as he closed his eyes in a grimace. "Damn. That idiot! She! AGH!"

Jeremiah let out a scream as how he recalled her hanging limb from a Titan's mouth. He recalled slaying the beast and sitting beside her.

He recalled the midsection of her body completely torn beyond recognition.

He recalled how she moved her mouth in a desperate way to say something, but unable to due to the Titan destroying her lungs.

He recalled how she moved her lips three times.

He recalled the smile afterward.

And he recalled just what the words she wanted to say were.

'I love you.'

It was silent on the wall. No one spoke. No one dared to break the mood.

"What a wonderful specimen!" Hugo broke the silence with gusto in his voice. "I would have loved to meet the makers of such a device! To use the piston gas to create an explosion generating friction and turning it into kinetic energy to move the device! Wonderfull! Marvelous! Extraordinary! I will admit that I was also on this path considering it is similar to the design for the Tanks!"

Hugo continued on his explanation to himself, despite the gravity of the current situation.

"However, where the pistons on the tanks move the wheels on the treads themselves, it is slower and consumes more energy. But this design will not only allow us to upgrade the tanks to become faster and efficient but also develop even more things that were deemed impossible! This will be quite the boon, I assure you my friend!"

The statement was directed toward Eren, who was also inspecting the device. It had taken seven days, but they had done it. They had retrieved the airplane and from Hugo's explanation, not only would they be able to achieve aviation, but upgraded tanks. Even automobiles didn't seem too far off in Eren's mind.

However, Eren was cut off from such thoughts when he was violently yanked from his collar. He came face to face with Wilfred, whose face was that of pure anger.

"You…" He was barely able to contain an outburst of anger. "You lied to Theodore. You told him he could save her! You told him he could rescue her despite all of us seeing her die!"

"Tsk," Eren let out an annoyed sound. "A necessary sacrifice. If he had kept his wits like Jeremiah than maybe he would have survived. In fact, you would have died to if it wasn't for Jeremiah. I wonder who is the real liability for the Kräfte."

"You! Don't avoid the subject! What did we fight for! What did we die for! This piece of metal?!" It seemed like Wilfred was at his breaking point.

It was Jeremiah who stopped him. He grabbed Wilfred and forcibly held him back as he began throwing punches and kicks. All of them were uncoordinated, his wrath overtaking him.

"Stop it… just stop it…" Jeremiah said in a defeated tone. "Please, what matters is that we collect the device we were sent out to get. By the sounds of it, it will allow us to progress further in the research department."

"Jeremiah!" Wilfred looked betrayed at his friend's actions. "Why… Even though Starr… Why do you defend the same man who practically sent Starr and Theodore to their deaths! Why? They died for a piece of junk! They died for equipment that was already in the process of being made! Their deaths were in vain-!"

"I won't let you spit on their deaths like that!" Jeremiah finally burst as he threw Wilfred on the ground. "It would have taken years to create something like that plane has! Thanks to Racheal, Theodore… and Starr, we have this! I won't let you tell me they died for nothing, for a piece of junk! This will lead us to the future, and they should be glad that they could have died for such a noble cause!"

Tears streamed down Jeremiah's face as he gave ragged breaths due to his unexpected outburst.

"But... The aide!" Wilfred tried to come up with an excuse. Anything to put the blame on something, he justed wanted to direct all this hate he had somewhere, but Jeremiah's facts came crashing down.

"Look at it this way." Titus sat up from his position. "If it's anyones fault, it is their own."

"What?" Wilfred seethed out. "Does the coward who ran have anything to say?"

"Oh my," Titus gave a sigh at Wilfred's statement. "Yes, I ran. I knew what the aide was doing and decided that you three would have been enough. If I had gone, I could have died as well. I was thinking logically. The device came first. And yes, because they were weak, they died.

"Racheal was injured and allowed a moment of weakness to rest her wounds, leaving her behind us for the Titan to attack unimpeded. Than Theodore, who couldn't handle her death, ran off filled with nothing but rage."

Titus walked off after saying his piece.

"Scott!" Wilfred looked toward their instructor. "Surely you have something to say about this?"

"I'm sorry." Scott said nothing for a long time as looked away. "I should have trained you harder…"

"No…" Wilfred lost his will to continue the argument. "Why…"

He repeated this as he slammed his fist.

"Why." A slam.

"Why." Another slam.

"Why." The sound was muffled by the red liquid that was beneath his hand.

"Why." He had stopped feeling the sting of pain on his knuckles a long time ago.

"Why." He was met with a hand that clutched his.

It was Helen.

"Please stop it."

"Wha…" Wilfred looked around. Lamps were placed up to illuminate the walkway of the wall. Scott, Rommel, Hugo, the plane, even the aide had disappeared. It was also dark out.

With only a few of Rommel's guards, it was just him and Helen upon the wall.

"What…"

"The rest already went back to the facilities… They tried talking to you, but… Well, Jeremiah went by himself back into the Titan territory despite everyone's protest. He… wanted to find Starr's corpse and bury her…"

"I… I see…" Wilfred got up. "Helen… you…"

"I know." She got out a bandage and began wrapping Wilfred's fist. "I ran, along with Titus. I… barely even realized what I was doing… I was afraid."

She gave a choked sob as she continued her sloppy job of bandaging Wilfred's torn up knuckles.

"It's amazing, how facing the Titans change you. You, who were once so cool-headed and calm. You were so collective, yet the Titans broke you down to this state… And I'm no better."

Helen gave a chuckle.

"I was so haughty. To be honest, I was nothing but a prostitute in the underground cities. I tried to make up for my lack of street experience by pretending I was high and mighty… but when I saw everyone face those beasts… I thought how pathetic I was… I couldn't even go back and fight with you guys…"

Helen left off with that statement. Long was she done covering Wilfred's hand, but yet she still held onto it with a slight tremor.

Wilfred gave her a glance, and began to despise himself. He was the leader, how could he break down like that? The aide was right. He would never become a great leader.

"Helen." Wilfred grasped her hand and pulled her in a hug. "I'm sorry, for letting you all down as the leader of the Kräfte."

They stood like that for some time, only letting go when they decided it was best for them to head down to the facilities once again.

"You can see the stars." Jeremiah said out in the open. He laid down near a mount of dirt. It was broken up, and the sudden contrast of dirt to grass was an obvious hint as to what the mount of dirt was.

A rock near its head served as a grave marker.

"I wonder… did your parents name you that because they one day believed you would leave the underground to see them?" Jeremiah pondered out loud.

He closed his eyes as memories of the girl he just buried past through his mind.

"Honestly, I don't know if I truly loved you…" He spoke out loud. "Truth be told, during the battle my mind was solely on my brother. It's what got me through. However…"

Jeremiah gave a sigh as he got up. It was dark out, but if he looked up he could see the faint glint of light that were the lamps on top of the walls.

"Maybe if we had given it a try, I could have fallen for you." He smiled as he walked towards the walls. "Yeah, I may have found your personality as a nuisance, but I didn't hate it."

He reached the walls. Looking back at the stars, he said his last fare wares to the woman who confessed to him on death's door.

"So?"

"Yes, the device will help with research in regards to aviation exponentially.

"Good, we lost three of the Kräfte to retrieve it."

"I assure you, my Führer, the deaths of those who secured the airplane will not be in vain. Why, with such advancements, the cost of their three lives may save thousands!"

"Thousands, huh?"

"What is it, my Führer?"

"No, I was just thinking it didn't save thousands… but rathered doomed millions."

"Millions? But not even that many live in the walls?"

"Regardless, I will return to my mission. I leave this equipment in your hands, Hugo."

"Of course. I will not fail you."

'Saved a thousand you say? Well, I wanted this specifically for combat purposes, so…

'Those three died for a device that is going to be used to kill others