The tragedy that would be known to all as the Collapse of Trost had come to an end.

With the combined efforts of the three Military Brigades and the seemingly mindless brutality of the Mechanical Titan, the recapture of Trost ended within hours. The Survey Corps spearheaded the total recapture of the district, with their battlefield experience proving to be an invaluable asset, Garrison members hung back to calm the civilians who had been evacuated and to debrief the Cadets who had returned from battle, and the Military Police Brigade had settled internal disputes within the inner walls.

As for the Cadets, after being debriefed, they were given time to rejoin their evacuated families. Whilst some were ecstatic to be able to rejoin their loved ones, others were heartbroken by the loss of their families… or for most, for the lives of the soldiers and relatives who were lost during the recapture operation.

Of the many soldiers present, those who went by Petra Ral, Oruo Bazad, Eld Gin and Gunther Schwartz fought with great prowess. Even with the Mechanical Titan offering assistance, the four of them racked up a massive kill count, with Petra having attained the most confirmed kills of all the soldiers present, just barely surpassing Levi's count with a total of 58 kills. This caught the attention of Levi himself, who opted to keep an eye on the four of them in the foreseeable future.

Even so, the kill count of 58 was rather feeble when compared to the kill count of the Mechanical Titan. Though still largely unconfirmed, most speculate that it had fought and killed over two hundred Titans throughout the entirety of the Trost incident, and even then, many more claim that the total amount was much higher.

When all was said and done, however, and after the district had been wiped clean, the Mechanical Titan had ultimately been viewed as a threat. The soldiers had turned on it almost immediately out of fear, having thought that it would turn on them now that their apparent shared foe had been driven out of the district. Much to the relief of all present soldiers, however, the Mechanical Titan had not responded with violence. Instead, it had simply dropped to its knees… and went dormant.

When the sun had risen, the Cadets were called back into Trost, being required to fill in the roll of undertakers in place of their recuperating seniors. When they had arrived in the district, however, they noticed how a pair of massive tents had been erected near the gates of Trost. Though they were told to ignore them, the Cadets couldn't shake the feeling that they held some things of note…

"... and that concludes our report, Commander Erwin."

And at that, Erwin Smith simply nodded as he made eye contact with Levi Ackerman, who stood in front of his desk with both hands behind his back and a neutral expression on his face. Behind Ackerman stood Mike Zacharias, who, like with the shorter man in front of him, had both his hands behind his back as he listened in to the conversation, his expression nearly unreadable.

Currently, all three of them were within the Survey Corp Commander office, or more specifically Erwin Smith's office. Once the office of Keith Shadis before he stepped down, not much noticeable had changed since the former commander had left, though everything did at least appear a little older and more worn down, most noticeably the table, which creaked a little as Erwin leaned forward and rested his elbows onto it.

The Survey Corp commander had called Levi, Mike and Hanji in not too long ago to submit a full report on their cleanup duty in Trost. Rather unfortunately, however, Hanji had been preoccupied with… other things, so much so that she was unable to attend, though Erwin understood the reason behind that, as he simply waved it off when he was told that Hanji had slipped away and opted to just listen to Ackerman and Zacharias' reports.

Or specifically, Levi's report. Mike had not spoken much during the whole thing, only chiming in to correct a few details on Levi's behalf whenever he felt it necessary. Outside of that, he was stone cold and silent, as he usually was, though Erwin was fine with that. He had grown used to the sniffer's silence by then, and besides, he did need some time to ponder on several things all at once.

Though he had received several reports prior to calling in Levi and Mike, most of which being written reports offered to him by Garrison members who were present during the Collapse of Trost, most of them were rather vague and didn't offer much explanation behind the entire situation. The best that he had gotten was from none other than Rico Brzenska, who had issued a report in place of Ian. Her report had documented most of what happened during the Collapse, with the involvement of Eren Jaeger and the Mechanical Titan being his primary concern.

The reports, though with varying levels of believability, all primarily spoke of the involvement of Eren Jaeger, the human who could become a Titan, and how he had sealed the breach, the sudden reappearance of the Mechanical Titan, who had helped in more ways than one in ensuring mankind's first victory against the Titans, and the contributions of the various soldiers who had survived the ordeal, and the ones who had not made it.

The amount of casualties had exceeded triple digits, and yet, Erwin found himself relieved at that. Though their deaths could have been avoided in some way, he reckoned that it was better than having casualty amounts ranging in the quadruple digits. Outside of mild relief, however, the Commander didn't dwell much on their passing. There was a time for mourning and a time for focus, and this was not the former's moment to be brought up.

Eren Jaeger… he was truly a fascinating young man.

According to the documents presented to him by Keith Shadis, Eren was part of the Top 10 Trainees he had been assigned to whip into shape. Quite the energetic one, he was, being rather boisterous about joining Erwin's military brigade segment even after graduating and, in spite of his rather average skills all across the board, the young man had, in Keith's own words, climbed up the ladder with both hands tied behind his back through sheer willpower and determination alone. Such a thing could be used in the Survey Corps…

And likewise, the destructive potential of the Mechanical Titan was not to be ignored either.

The reports that were given to him, written or spoken, all agreed on one thing, and that was that the Mechanical Titan was a force to be reckoned with, and that in itself was putting it lightly. The most recent report regarding the Mechanical Titan was from Levi and Mike in regards to the cleanup operation of Trost, and if there was any report he could believe, it was a report from two of his most trusted men.

Levi's report was straightforward, as he had simply spoken of the ferocity of this mechanical monstrosity. It wielded its mace-like weapon and oversized longsword with trained precision, with none of its weapon swings being wasted. He speculated that without its assistance, the complete retake of Trost would have taken roughly three days, though with its assistance, they were able to do so within five hours. That in itself was incredible.

And then, there was Mike's little comment in regards to the 'Titan', or more specifically its scent.

Zacharias commented on how it held the scent of a machine, something that wasn't exactly surprising to anyone. Gas, metal, foreign metals… it was all there. Hell, it even held the strong scent of Trost. And yet… the man had also mentioned something… odd mixed in with all that.

He mentioned the scent of … a human? Mike admitted that he was probably wrong about that, but he thought that he caught the subtle scent of a person mixed in with the scent of the machine.

Though most likely a mistake on Mike's part, Erwin did take that into account and wondered… was it possible that the Mechanical Titan was like Eren Jaeger?

Was a human controlling it…?

"Erwin. Is something on your mind?" inquired Mike, acknowledging his commander's sudden bout of silence and the subtle change in his scent as Erwin blinked and made eye contact with the bearded man. To his credit, Mike did appear rather concerned, which was usually rather uncommon for him as he typically remained rather emotionless, though he quickly got over it as he nodded.

"Perhaps… no, it isn't important. Not yet, at least," assured Erwin, waving his hand as he offered a small smile, one that set both of his subordinates at ease. "Thank you for your reports, Mike, Levi."

His responses were simple nods from both as he closed his eyes and began pondering several other things. Not long after, however, he opened his eyes and glanced at Levi, who straightened himself out as the Commander spoke. "Levi, how is Eren Jaeger?"

"We still have nothing on him. The MPB have him held in one of their bases within Sina," replied Levi, crossing his arms as he spoke. "They have him under constant surveillance, and I don't think that even you can gain access to him until Zachary gives approval. Last I heard, he's still unconscious, which doesn't bode well, considering how the higher ups want him tried and probably hanged as soon as humanly possible."

"Hmph. I'm assuming Hanji tried sneaking in, only to get that warning?" quipt Erwin, to which Mike snorted while Levi offered a very small smile.

"As perceptive as ever," replied Levi somewhat sarcastically, shaking his head as he remembered that defeated look on Zoe's face when she had been told to sod off, only to smile widely when she remembered she could see the Mechanical Titan. Erwin couldn't help but chuckle at that as he nodded.

"Well, considering who Hanji is, it isn't exactly that hard to guess," joked Erwin, and to that, Levi and Mike allowed mild chuckles to escape their lips, giving Erwin a rather small amount of self satisfaction before he continued. "And regarding the two captured Titans and the Mechanical Titan?"

"The captured Titans are properly restrained. The Mechanical Titan's sword being stabbed through the shorter one helped quite a bit with restraining it. As for the Mechanical Titan, it's still dormant. It hasn't moved for the past seven hours since the end of the recapture operation," replied Mike, crossing his arms as he spoke more words than he usually did. "The holding site that was erected in order to conceal it is heavily guarded, but since it's in Trost, the MPB don't have too much control over who gets to view it…"

"And as such, Hanji is slobbering over it?" finished Erwin, smiling knowingly as both Mike and Levi shuddered a little.

"Indeed. Let's hope that nothing too bad happens," muttered Mike, shuddering at the thought of Hanji possibly causing an explosion within the containment site of the Mechanical Titan.

But of course, that wouldn't happen, yes?

After all, Hanji was better than this…

"You know that we were strictly told to keep all explosive ordinances away from the site in case the 'Titan' were to awaken and become hostile, yes?"

In response to that, Hanji groaned out loud as she leaned back dramatically, disappointed that her testing of the endurance of the Mechanical Titan was stopped by a measly set of rules. Pft, rules… who needed em? Rules were meant to be broken in the name of gathering more knowledge, weren't they?

So if they were to blow up the Mechanical Titan with roughly two hundred pounds of TNT, and if it were still standing thereafter, it would show that it was truly stronger than anything they had! These blasted cowards were just too narrow minded to see the brilliance of her plan! Hell, if it wasn't for Moblit, she would've brought along some handmade bombs of her own!

"Come oooooooon!" whined Hanji, stepping past the Garrison she was speaking to, much to his and several others who were within earshot's chagrin, though Hanji didn't care to notice as her eyes were fixed squarely on the most noticeably thing within this containment site.

The Mechanical Titan.

How beautiful it was… and how interesting!

Even as it knelt in the middle of the containment site, unmoving, dormant and, admittedly, rather mundane, Hanji still found it to be extremely interesting, so much so that she had ignored the two captured Titans held in the other containment site in favor of having a much needed closer look at this one! One couldn't blame her, however, as to see the Mechanical Titan up close was quite literally a once in a thousand lifetimes experience while she had seen many 'regular' Titans in the past.

"I… I'm sorry for my Captain's behavior. She gets like that some time," apologised Moblit as the Garrison shook his head, only to gasp when Hanji bolted forward and moved to stand in front of the Mechanical Titan. Likewise, Moblit gasped and rushed forward after his Captain whilst the Garrison who were present in the site all went on alert. All soldiers who were keeping an eye on the thing were ordered to have their maneuver gear equipped in case it were to awaken and become hostile, and without much hesitation they unsheathed their blades and went on the defensive.

Up at the wall closest to the containment site for the Mechanical Titan, a pair of gunners aimed down at the Titan in case it were to become active. Sure, it had remained inactive for the past seven hours, but none of them were willing to take any chances with this monster.

"Oooooh… it's cold… not surprising!"

Of course, Hanji had no such reservations in regards to getting up close to it, as evident by how she had rushed up to it and squished the side of her face against the white knee armour of the Mechanical Titan, smiling as she did so whilst everyone gasped in varying degrees of shock..

'Gently', Hanji knocked her fist against the plating of the 'Titan', only to recoil as her fist impacted metal. What an oddity… Hanji had knocked her fist against alloys before in the past, but the 'skin' of the Mechanical Titan just felt so much… harder than the alloys she had hit. Hell if anything, she thought that it was likely stronger than even the alloy they used to construct their Anti-Titan blades, if the report regarding how Oruo being unable to slice through its nape was to be believed.

For most, that one piece of info would probably terrify them. And yet, to Hanji, it only served to fuel her undying lust to learn more of this unit.

"H-Hanji! Get ba-" began Moblit, only to pause out of shock when Hanji launched the wires of her maneuver gear up onto the Mechanical Titan's chest. Several gasps of shock were heard as Hanji swung herself up onto its blue chest to get a closer look at it, and Moblit himself nearly had a heart attack when his Captain did that. "HANJI!"

"Yes, Moblit?" replied Hanji casually, her voice filled with the innocence of an child as she launched herself up right in front of the Mechanical Titan's face, though Moblit had heard that tone enough times to know that nothing good usually came of it, and that thought was proven right as Hanji smiled and leaned in close to peek into the mouth vents of the 'Titan' out of curiosity. Moblit shuddered as he watched Zoe slide her fingers into the mouth vents and peek into it. Half of the people present thought that she would just lose her fingers right there and then, though much to their shock and possible relief, she didn't.

Instead, she simply tugged on the mouth vents of the Mechanical Titan, wishing to prove a theory of hers right by possibly removing its white mouthplate. Rather unfortunately she was unable to do so, with the captain almost falling off after her fingers slipped from the vents. Everyone who saw her lean back gasped and took a preemptive step towards her, though to their relief, she kept herself on its chest as she sighed in either relief or disappointment.

"Damn. There goes my theory about armour," muttered Hanji disappointedly as she shook her head and stomped her foot down onto the blue chestplate of the Mechanical Titan, with the reverb that followed being rather loud, just enough to make several of the soldiers around them shudder. Of course, with Hanji being Hanji, she didn't exactly notice the loud reverb of the blue chestplate unlike everyone else present.

Hell, even Mikazuki couldn't help but frown a little deeper than usual as he cracked an eye open, glancing up at the top of the cockpit when he heard someone stomping above his head.

Groaning a little as he sat up and pushed himself off the cockpit seat of his unit, Mikazuki rubbed his eye with one hand while his other tapped against the cockpit monitor rather absentmindedly. He wasn't connected to Barbatos' AV system at the moment, though even without a direct connection, the Ahab Reactors of the Gundam were still keeping the unit active, and in turn, it kept the monitor active, though the optical sensors were deactivated due to the Gundam going into a 'sleep mode', so to speak.

At the moment, the monitor was alerting him to a mild weight that was present atop the chest unit of his Gundam, though he didn't need the warning to tell him that, especially when he could hear the person atop Barbatos' chest without much issue. Without much hesitation, he reached his hand towards the monitor and tapped it, in turn causing the unit's optical sensors to power up, and once they were active, Mika quickly realized that the offender who was atop his Gundam's chest was none other than Hanji Zoe.

Why was that not a surprise?

Via Barbatos' optical units, Mika watched as Hanji stomped her feet like a child after apparently failing to pull his unit's mouthplate off, having apparently not noticed the light green glow of his unit's optics. It was rather amusing, to say the least, especially when she had almost fallen off his Gundam's chestplate, though if he were honest, he probably would've preferred her to have fallen off if it meant that he'd get some peace and quiet.

If the Gundam's internal clock was to be believed, Mika reckoned that it has been roughly seven hours since the end of the cleanup operation of Trost, and roughly seven hours ago, Mika had gotten a much needed nap. Piloting the Gundam, while certainly not as taxing as combating Titans with maneuver gear, still took quite a toll on the ace pilot, so much so that he needed some time to cool himself down. A mixture of getting used to Barbatos' mechanisms all over again and the stress of worrying about his friends had caused him to become much more exhausted than he had expected, more than enough to make him take a short nap.

And to be awoken from it by Hanji, of all people, was rather irritating, though then again, her antics were rather amusing… so much so that Augus reckoned that he could overlook this…

"Hanji, get off that thing!" proclaimed Moblit pleadingly, much to Hanji's chagrin as she rolled her eyes and leaned in close and turned back to Barbatos. Curiously, she tapped the optical unit of the Gundam with her index finger, apparently having noticed the mild green glow they had, in turn making her finger appear massive on Barbatos' heads up display. Mika himself flinched a little at that.

"Come on, Moblit! Where's your sense of adventure?! Your pride and role as my assistant should help you see that the Mechanical Titan is a truly beautiful subject matter!" whined Hanji as she leaned back and smiled. Moblit noticeably shuddered at that, and he seemed ready to continue dissuading her once more, though before he could, a newcomer stepped in.

"Hanji… please calm down," insisted the newcomer as she entered the containment site for Barbatos. Upon noticing them, Hanji blinked and waved towards her and the soldiers that came along with the newcomer, leaning a little to the side as she did so and inadvertently allowing Mika to have a good look at who the newcomer was.

Mika didn't recognise her by name, though he did at least recognise her by face. He had fought by her side during the recapture operation, and though he didn't exactly remember her being exactly impressive when compared to Barbatos, as a regular soldier, Mika reckoned that she was above average.

"Commander Petra!" proclaimed one of the Garrison who guarded the site, saluting a little as the newcomer, Petra, walked up and waved him off, and as she did so, she stared up at Hanji, who was still atop his Gundam's chest, and raised one of her brows.

"At ease, soldier. Hanji! Are you trying to get yourself killed? I know you're a fan and all, but we aren't supposed to get too close to that! Orders from the higher ups!" proclaimed Petra, crossing her arms as Hanji sighed and rolled her eyes. And to everyone's shock and Mika's amusement, the bespectacled woman backflipped off the Gundam's chest unit and landed on the ground with trained precision.

"Party pooper," quipt Hanji, rolling her eyes as Petra shook her head.

"Whether you like it or not, we need you elsewhere," retorted Petra as Hanji brushed herself off and approached the shorter woman. When she was by Petra's side, Mika noted just how short the ginger was. If anything, she seemed to be shorter than Levi! Who knew that was possible? "The cleanup operation may have been successful, but we now have to contend with the bodies of the deceased that litter the streets of Trost. The Trainees have already been dispatched, but we'll need more hands there in order to maximise our efficiency. You seem capable enough, so you may as well offer some help. "

"Oh… right…" was Petra's response from Hanji, who slouched a little as her enthusiasm faded just a little. That change was rather jarring, even for Augus, who raised a brow as Hanji shook her head violently, biting her lower lip as she propped her glasses up higher onto her face. "Well, lead the way, Petra. I go where I'm needed, and evidently I'm not entirely needed here at the moment."

"You'll get your chance to experiment on this thing after the higher ups decide on what they wish to do with it," assured Petra as she nodded and led Hanji to where she was needed. "For now, just focus on doing your job, alright?"

"Yeah, gotcha," was all Zoe said before they walked out of sight. With the two gone, the Garrison that surrounded Barbatos remained on guard for a short while, presumably worrying that the Gundam would just come to life attack them at any second, though as the seconds passed, they calmed themselves down, and not long after, they were off doing their own things.

And as for Mika, he simply crossed his arms and leaned back against his cockpit seat.

To have been woken up was one thing, but what Petra had just inadvertently told him… about Trainees milling about Trost and recovering the bodies of the deceased… it didn't sit well with him, and it was enough to help him shake most of his lingering fatigue away.

Catching a glimpse of a dead body whilst in combat as one thing, but it was usually just that, a glimpse. A person would typically disregard it in favor of surviving the battle at hand. But to recover the bodies of the deceased, to stare into the dead, unblinking eyes of a friend or even just a fellow soldier that shared their bread with you…

That was usually enough to change a person.

And with that in mind, Mika couldn't help but shudder when he acknowledged the fact that Mina, Nac and Annie would be a part of this. Leonhardt herself would probably make it out fine, all things considered, as Mika reckoned that Annie had seen a dead body on more than one occasion after all due to her allegedly being from Shiganshina, but for Mina and Nac…

He could only pray that they'd make it out alright.

This was… horrific.

With a mask over her mouth and her eyes wide with horror, Mina needed all the willpower within her to keep herself from vomiting right there and then.

The Collapse of Trost and the subsequent retaking of the district had undoubtedly left several hundred casualties in its wake, but Mina didn't think that it was this bad. Then again, she had spent a majority of the battle fighting by the Mechanical Titan's side, and those who fought close to it seemed to have a lesser chance of being KIA.

Likewise, those who fought further away from the Mechanical Titan were more likely to be eaten by Titans. The 'Titan' was a wall, so to speak, an unyielding, unflinching monster that defended all that stood by its side, intentionally or not, and those that strayed too far from it suffered the consequences, IE death.

Entering Trost was quite the… terrible experience, to say the least. The air smelled of blood, and it was so thick that it threatened to suffocate the masked Trainees who stepped foot into the district. And yet, the scent of death was nothing compared to what emitted it.

Bodies… there were so many of them, stretched out for as far as the eye could see. All unmoving and torn apart in one way or another, the bodies of the deceased Trainees and soldiers littered the streets of Trost. A majority of them were mutilated beyond recognition, though a small minority remained recognisable, though if anything, that only made things worse.

An example of just how much worse it was came from none other than Mina, who had found herself kneeling in front of a fellow Trainee… or what remained of her, at least.

Mina didn't recognise who the corpse used to be by name. Even so, enough of her body had remained, just enough for Mina to recognise the deceased soldier as a fellow Trainee that she had been teamed up with from time to time. She showed great promise during her Trainee days, promise that had been snuffed out by this tragic event…

"I… I'm sorry that we… no… that I couldn't save you," apologised Mina as she squeezed the cold forearm of her deceased comrade, frowning behind her mask as she forced back tears. No… this wasn't the time for crying! Not while she had a job to do… and not while surrounded by the deceased.

"M-Mina… don't stall, please," came Nac's voice from behind her, with that being enough to snap Mina out of her mild trance as she turned to see Nac holding a figure wrapped in white cloth in his arms. Said cloth was stained red, and Nac's eyes appeared to be rather watery as he held onto it, though he kept his voice steady as he continued speaking, squeezing his eyes shut to hold back the tears that he'd shed after all this was said and done. "We have to get these bodies to the carts… their families deserve to at least have them back… for a proper burial."

"R-Right… I hear you," assured Mina, not even bothering to hide her anguish as she glanced back at the deceased Trainee. Half her face had been bitten off, and though she was reluctant to do so, Mina slowly extended her hand out to shut the remaining eye on her deceased Trainee's face. It was the least she could do, she reckoned, as she began to wrap her body up in a white cloth.

'I didn't think it would be this bad… when I signed up for the military brigade,' thought Mina as she tightened the cloth around the deceased Cadet's body. As she thought that, she rubbed her eyes rather absentmindedly and forced down her tears. 'I didn't think it would be this… horrible… that so many people would die like this…

'What if… what if he… no… that's not possible. He would never fall to the Titans…'

Elsewhere

"I… I'm sorry…"

Annie couldn't help but mutter that out as she glanced down at the body of a deceased soldier.

She didn't want to accept it… but the realization was quick to set in.

Their height was almost perfect, their overall body mass was about the same, the blue innerwear was almost spot on… and they were missing a head, left arm and part of their upper torso…

Following the realization… came the guilt. The guilt that had settled in so quickly that Annie felt her knees quiver, and before long, she dropped down onto them, her eyes widened beyond belief as she stared at the deceased body laying before her.

Denial was quick to settle in as she buried her face in one of her hands. This… couldn't be him, right? This… couldn't be Mikazuki… he was too good to die a fool's death! He was part of the top ten, above even here, for crying out loud!

There was no way he'd die like this!

And yet…

And yet…

"I… I'm sorry…"

Annie couldn't stop herself from repeating that one word.

"I'm sorry…"

This couldn't be him… she knew it! This had to be someone that looked similar, and yet… the grief had settled in Annie's heart before she could even process that one thought, and she found herself weeping silently into her hands as the deceased body of who she presumed to be Mikazuki Augus laid before her.

"I… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

Apologies were meaningless, but it was the least that she could do…

After all, she was the one who did this to her dear friend…

"I'm sorry…"

Hours later

Approval to enter Eren Jaeger's holding cell came a little earlier than expected, though that was to be expected, he supposed.

With Erwin's rank of Commander, and the fact that he wasn't Hanji, taken into account, entrance into Eren Jaeger's holding cell would have come sooner than later. According to his report from the MPB member who had told him about his ability to visit Jaeger, the Cadet would be sent to the Military Tribunal Zachary had readied within the next few hours, and if he wished to have a few words with him, he'd have to go quick.

And as such, Erwin had wasted no time in heading to the specified MPB base that held Eren Jaeger, with Levi accompanying him all the while. It was unnecessary, but the Ackerman wished to see this apparent 'Titan Shifter' with his own two eyes as well. Erwin saw no reason to deny that request, and as such, the two departed to meet Jaeger.

Upon arriving, Erwin Smith had been given something peculiar; a key. According to the MPB that had given it to him, the key had been around Eren's neck, and following protocol, they had removed it from him. The Survey Corp commander reckoned that he could perhaps question Eren regarding its significance, so he brought it along with him.

The meeting had gone much smoother than anticipated, all things considered, having taken roughly thirty minutes to complete, with both Levi and Erwin now making their way out of the Cadet's holding cell.

Eren Jaeger had proven to be an interesting young man, much more so than how Keith had described him, though his single minded goal of just slaughtering the Titans did leave some things to be desired. All soldiers joined the military brigade of their choosing for personal reasons, be it for money or just bragging rights. Those who joined just to slaughter Titans typically lasted only a week or two.

Even so, Levi did admit to seeing something in the guy, so perhaps there was some hope for Jaeger after all…

Of course, it would've been nice if Jaeger had told him about the key that was confiscated from him, though rather unfortunately he seemed to not know what it was for either. The Survey Corp commander attributed it to him still feeling rather worn out, so he didn't dwell much more on it, though he did keep the key by his side for now…

"So, what are your thoughts on the child, Erwin?"

Blinking as his name was called, Erwin paused briefly and turned towards the one who had called him. Likewise, Levi turned towards the newcomer as well, and both couldn't help but raise their brows in apparent surprise when they took note of the black haired man who was approaching them.

The soldier was one that was recognised by both Survey Corp members, and he looked just as they remembered, with his thin mustache, goatee and the standard issue MPB uniform. To anyone else, he would've been their superior officer, more specifically the Commander of the Military Police Brigade, but to Erwin, the man who stood before him was just a friend.

"Nile," greeted Erwin as he extended a hand out to shake his fellow Commander's hand. In response, Nile Dawk nodded and accepted the handshake, and after it was broken, the two commanders eyed one another briefly before nodding. "I take it that you are here to bring Eren to the tribunal?"

"That assumption would be correct, but I will admit to holding the envoys back for just a little while to allow for your conversation with the Cadet to happen," admitted Nile with a rather sly smile as Erwin smirked.

"You have my thanks, Nile," thanked Erwin with a nod. Nile responded with a nod of his own, though before long, he continued speaking.

"I would like to know, Erwin, what is it that you see in Eren Jaeger?" inquired Nile curiously. In response, Erwin crossed his arms and thought about that question, though it didn't take him long to find his answer.

"Simply put, I see potential in him," replied Erwin, prompting Nile to raise a brow as the Survey Corp commander continued. "He is erratic and perhaps a little unhinged, but you too have heard of what he is capable of, yes? His abilities could very well turn the tide of this war against the Titans in our favor."

"You are placing bets on some dangerous things, Erwin," pointed out Nile with a frown as Levi shrugged in apparent agreement. "Even so, I do see what you wish to do. Exploiting limited opportunities in order to gain better results is what separates us Commanders from regular soldiers. Likewise, placing bets on a potential weapon as strong as Eren Jaeger is something that only a Commander would be brave enough to do."

"You could put it that way," muttered Erwin with a nod as he crossed his arms. "Humanity is in a tight spot now, and even with our first victory against the Titans in Trost, morale is horribly low. I was hoping that at least one beacon of hope would be enough to rekindle the flames of determination in our troops."

"You speak as though Eren Jaeger is not the only 'beacon of hope' that you wish to attain," pointed out Nile thoughtfully, and to that, Erwin chuckled.

"The Mechanical Titan is, in itself, a beacon of hope as well. Call it misplaced optimism or perhaps even some form of foolishness, but I believe it to be on humanity's side," explained Erwin, to which Levi nodded a little in apparent agreement. Meanwhile, Nile simply raised a brow, prompting the Survey Corp commander to continue. "Following the end of the complete recapture of Trost, a majority of soldiers who fought by Eren Jaeger and the Mechanical Titan seem to view them as saviours of sorts. Having them in the Survey Corps could very well spark some much needed confidence in my men and in the eyes of all who believe in our cause.

"And even with the issue of morale out of the picture, the raw power displayed by both is not to be ignored. If we can even make use of a single one of them, I am confident that victory will follow soon after."

"As verbose as you always are, Erwin," joked Nile with a smile as he crossed his arms. And right then, he was called by a fellow Military Police member, who waved at him as he called his name, prompting the Commander to sigh. "Well, it seems as though the hour of judgement is upon Young Jaeger. If you intend on recruiting him, then I wish you luck, though know that though I am not completely against you recruiting him, I will not side completely with you. Strong as he may be, his berserker spirit is still a threat to us all."

"Worry not, for I already have several counter arguments to all that you have," assured Erwin with a confident smile, and to that, his fellow commander chuckled.

"May the best commander come out on top!"

And at that, the two Commanders shook hands, a sign of a challenge accepted from Erwin.

Several hours later

Mika was never one to succumb to boredom, and yet, he would be lying if he claimed to not feel it tug at his heart.

For the past few hours, Mika has done nothing more than simply sit in Barbatos' cockpit in near silence, waiting (as) patiently (as he could) as the hours passed. Whenever he got hungry, Mika would simply grab one of the rations he had stored in Barbatos' cockpit and have a bite. Likewise, whenever he felt thirsty, he'd just eat a raisin. As dry as they were, Mika reckoned that the remaining juice in them would be enough to keep him hydrated.

While he sat, Mika found some entertainment in watching the soldiers mile about around his Gundam. They were all on high alert, which was understandable considering what they were guarding, though their heightened amount of caution did lead to several amusing outcomes, including a particular incident where two soldiers nearly stabbed one another after walking into each other with their eyes glued onto Barbatos.

Outside of the occasional accident, however, Mika found himself growing extremely bored. A small part of him really wanted to just open up the cockpit and reveal himself, though that was probably not the best idea.

Experience has taught Mika a thing or two about timing, with badly timed plans often failing spectacularly whilst perfectly timed ones were near perfect when put into motion. As with plans, Mika revealing himself as someone who was not of this world to the people of the Walls had to be timed just right. If he revealed himself too soon, things could get messy, and likewise, if he did so too late, things could end terribly as well. He needed to bide his time and wait for his opportune moment…

A moment that came after several hours of mostly nothing, and after Mika failed to fall asleep for the third time in a row, when a newcomer arrived. By all means, newcomers were nothing special, as they came and went very often, with at least five newcomers having come and gone in the past few hours. However, Mika's attention wasn't caught by the fact that someone had arrived. Instead, it was caught by what they had said.

"I see. Eren Jaeger's session has ended, yes?" inquired one of the Garrison who had greeted the newcomer. In response, the guy nodded, and now that he was looking at him more closely, Mika noticed how the newcomer was none other than Rico Brzenska, who, unlike her fellow Garrison members, didn't seem to be put on edge by Barbatos in the slightest. If anything, she seemed… respectful of it? Mika did notice her glancing at the unit from time to time, and her occasional glances did reflect the apparent respect she had towards the unit, and perhaps by extension, towards him.

"Yeah. Eren Jaeger's being moved to the Survey Corps," confirmed Rico as she crossed her arms and brushed past the Garrison that had greeted her, taking a step towards Barbatos as she spoke. They did try to stop her, though she continued speaking before they could. "But now we have to contend with the Mechanical Titan."

"Erm… what exactly do you mean, Commander Rico?" inquired the soldier. Likewise, Mika raised a brow, curious as to what Rico was talking about. "Does the Tribunal wanna judge the thing too? If so… we may need a bigger court."

"No, not like that, at least," replied Rico as she rolled her eyes and glanced at the soldier. "After Jaeger's trial, Captain Hanji Zoe put forth the idea that, like Cadet Jaeger, the Mechanical Titan is also in possession of a human that controls it. It is unconfirmed, seeing as no human has emerged from it thus far, but Zachary believed it enough to send me, of all people, to have a look."

"Well, bad news, commander. No human's popped out of the damn thing. We've been keeping a close eye on it for the past few hours. It hasn't even moved!" proclaimed the Garrison soldier, and at that, Mika couldn't help but smile just a little as he tapped on the cockpit monitor of his unit a handful of times until he found a specific command on it.

'Well, I guess now's as good a time as any…'

And right as those words left the soldier's mouth, something… rather unexpected happened.

At first, only a few noticed it, Rico included, prompting them to turn and see the Mechanical Titan's eyes flash a powerful shade of green for the briefest of moments. Such a brilliant shade of green was hard to come by, and many were caught off guard not only by its sudden appearance, but also by just how… beautiful it appeared. Even so, as soon as the others noticed it, it didn't take long for the soldiers to ready their weapons.

As for Rico, however, she remained passive as she watched the Mechanical Titan intently, and she admittedly tense up after noticing its fingers twitching a little as the seconds went by. She acknowledged that it seemed to be awakening from its long bout of dormancy, and though she did acknowledge it as an ally of sorts, Rico too rested a hand on the handle of her Anti-Titan blade just in case, though when the Mechanical Titan's head lowered itself down, the soldiers calmed down just a little.

They almost immensely went back on the defensive, however, when steam was abruptly ejected from the golden vents on the body of the 'Titan', with enough force to send a handful of soldiers off their feet and onto their backs.

Rico, however, remained steadfast as she held an arm up to shield her face from the steam. All around her, the Garrison scrambled to ready their defences, though Rico mostly ignored them as her ears perked up, having heard the sound of metal shifting and gears turning being emitted from the Mechanical Titan. This typically signaled that it was activating, and yet… there was no indication of it standing up.

"Get those cannons ready!" proclaimed a nearby Garrison, only to be shut down by Rico, who waved a hand to the side as she belayed his command by virtue of being a higher rank than him. Not only was opening fire on the Mechanical Titan a bad idea, but her natural soldier instinct told her that something… unexpected was about to happen.

"Belay that order! Stand down, all of you, now!" ordered Rico, grimacing as the soldiers around her widened their eyes at that order. Though several were reluctant to do so, they were rather trusting of Rico, perhaps too trusting, as they stood down at her orders, though they did have their Anti-Titan blades unsheathed as a precaution. As for those who were still reluctant to follow her orders, they were forcibly shut down by Rico's cold glare and instead focused on the possibility of the Mechanical Titan attacking them.

What had happened after the steam had settled, however… they saw that the Mechanical Titan was still inactive. It looked just as they remembered it… only with the center of its blue chestplate shifted downwards… and how a young man was standing atop its chest.

'A… child…' thought Rico, her bespectacled eyes widened as the young man glanced down at the soldiers beneath the Titan, his expression unreadable and his gaze as firm as even the hardest of alloys.

The young man that was standing on the now opened chest of the Mechanical Titan, with one hand holding onto an unfamiliar green jacket that was slung over his shoulder while the other hung lazily by his side. His black hair flowed gently with the wind, and his cold blue eyes locked onto Rico's silver pair, and at that, the Elite couldn't help but shudder at how stone cold the guy's gaze was, though her surprise quickly faded as the gears in her mind clicked into place.

"So, this is the one that was controlling the Titan this whole time, huh…?" muttered Rico to herself as she eyed the boy who stood on the opened chest of the Mechanical Titan curiously. Despite being surrounded by several Garrison members and with a cannon pointed down at his 'Titan body', the boy didn't appear scared.

If anything, he didn't seem to care, something that surprised Rico… just as much as it intrigued her…

"Very interesting…"

So we're finally getting down to it.

Short chapter by my standards, but a short one was probably needed for some breathing room between the previous few combat orientated ones.

I don't have much else to say at the moment. Internship is still pending and I'm not sure if I'll get one, but for now, I will thank everyone who has wished me well!

Regarding reviews not from the update chapter before this (that's probably deleted).

UndeadLord22: well the truth is more or less out now so…

starscreamer11: the HG Kimaris Trooper is aight. Not a personal favorite but it's good

daggercload000: well, who knows? The lads behind the Walls are a rather paranoid lot

N1cok: why thank you

Luard: why thank you! I'm glad you feel that way

Touhoufanatic: Hanji is always a blast to write

Dead34156: first, thanks. Second, I was making a joke regarding your pfp

Doctor Snake Eater: no worries I'm mostly fine

Kilo8: well Ruby would probably go nuts around Barbatos so…

Boyzilla: well I'm glad you enjoy this story! Regarding Mika and Barbatos, the cat is mostly out of the bag now, but I'll keep Annie's fate a secret for now…

blacksoul123: honestly I'm afraid of disappointing some with the reveal. Hyping something up to this degree isn't exactly healthy

Blitza: well I'm glad you feel that way. There are a few errors my proofreader and I will need to iron out but I thought it was aight

Dandaman5: ah shucks. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy whatever comes after!

Rein Tenebres: well, I'm glad you enjoy the story, and here's the next chapter!

MachineOmega: man I could really go for some donuts now…

RedSazabert: firstly thank you, and secondly she's fine. I ain't pulling a Carla Jaeger here

TrueForenStalkr: ah shucks. Thanks! And who knows, perhaps I may write a bonus chapter with that…

Guest: well I for one am glad that you enjoyed the filler!

pt1oef: granted, pitting most things against a Gundam would be easy mode. And for the second review you gave, yes there is more, and Hanji really is the best

Haris Muqri: no worries. This story is, embarrassingly enough, my magnum opus, so it ain't being discontinued

That's more or less it. I'll see you guys in the next chapter.