"Not again... The Titans are coming through the walls again!"

  Vivienne’s breath caught, and she froze.

  "Fixed Cannon Maintenance Team 4, prepare for battle!" Eren shouted. "Our target is the Colossal Titan in front of us! This is our chance! Don’t let it escape!" He drew his swords and swung his ODM gear upwards.

  Vivienne wasn’t sure whether to be impressed by his courage or to think he was a complete idiot. Maybe she was just scared. Maybe she was a coward. Her legs had locked up at the sight of the Titan, her grip on her swords turning clammy. Eren didn’t hesitate. Why couldn’t she be like that?

  You trained for this.

  Then why did it feel like she’d forgotten everything the moment the real battle began?

  None of them had expected to face a Titan this soon.

  Vivi.

  Her uncle’s gentle smile flashed through her mind, and her eyes widened. She looked up.

  "We have to help Eren!" she shouted, pulling herself up with her ODM gear. Connie and Thomas followed without hesitation. When they reached the top, they drew their swords and stood ready to fight.

  There was no sign of the Colossal Titan—or Eren.

  As they edged forward, they spotted him hanging on the other side of the wall.

  "Eren!" Thomas shouted. "Did you beat it?"

  The look on Eren’s face said otherwise.

  "It was just like five years ago… It appeared out of nowhere and vanished just as suddenly!"

  Connie and Vivienne exchanged glances before peering over the edge of the wall. They had learned during training that there were different types of Titans, but they had never heard of one that could simply disappear.

  Vivienne’s grip on her swords tightened. Her heart pounded.

  "Sorry. I let it get away."

  "Why are you apologising? The rest of us couldn’t even move—"

  "Oi! There’s no time for discussion! The wall’s been breached. If we don’t patch it up quickly, the Titans will get in just like before!" Connie cut in, his voice sharp.

  "Connie’s right," Vivienne said, steadying herself. "We should probably look for a Commander and—"

  "What are you doing?"

  A Garrison soldier interrupted them, his expression stern.

  "The contingency plan for the Colossal Titan has already begun. Go to HQ!"

  The four graduates straightened into military salutes, listening intently. Vivienne was impressed—they had already set a plan in motion. Last time, the surprise attack had shaken everyone so badly that they had learned their lesson. They knew they had to act fast.

  There was no choice.

  "Anyone who made contact with it—don’t forget to report."

  "Yes, sir!" Eren and Vivienne responded in unison, while Connie wished his team well.

  The bells rang. Vivienne’s body remained tense. Panic spread through the streets, and all that could be heard were frantic screams and the thunderous footsteps of people desperately trying to escape. The Garrison Unit did their best, but how could they hope to calm an entire city when they knew they could die at any moment?

  The queue at the gate felt endless. The distant echo of cannon fire made her stomach churn. Were they already here? Had the Titans managed to infiltrate the city?

  "You trainees have all passed the final training exercise and are now fully fledged soldiers. We expect great things from you," an officer shouted.

  Hurried footsteps filled the room. Sweat trickled down Vivienne’s forehead as her trembling hands worked to fine-tune the controls on her ODM gear. When she finally succeeded, she took a breath and glanced over at Connie and Sasha, who were still adjusting their own equipment.

  "Give me your ODM controllers."

  They looked at her, slightly suspicious.

  "Vivienne, I don’t think this is the time to be messing with ODMs," Connie said.

  She opened her mouth, then hesitated. Who was she to order them around? It wasn’t like she was some expert mechanic. What if she messed something up? What if—

  No. Now wasn’t the time for hesitation.

  "No, but I’ll be damned if I don’t check your triggers and refine them a bit—so you don’t end up as Titan food. So hand them over, now!" she demanded.

  Connie started to protest, but Sasha snatched the controllers from his hands and passed them to Vivienne.

  It wasn’t difficult. It shouldn’t have been difficult. In the four years she had been here, she had taken ODM controllers apart and put them back together more times than she could count.

  But why did it feel so hard, so difficult, this time?

  "It’s okay, Hannah..." Franz placed his hands protectively over the girl’s shoulders. "I’ll protect you." They held each other tightly.

  Vivienne forced herself to focus on the controls in her hands again. Time was her enemy, and she needed to work fast. A moment later, she handed the controllers back to her friends.

  "I have to find Armin."

  She pushed through the crowd, her breath shaky, struggling to stay calm. When she finally spotted the blond boy, a small wave of relief washed over her.

  "Armin!"

  He looked up. She didn’t need to say the words—he could read them in her eyes.

  "Let me refine your controls a bit."

  "Vivienne..." His voice was steady, but she could sense the tension beneath it. Vivienne didn’t want to imagine what he was feeling. This was déjà vu neither of them wanted to relive.

  I know.

  Her hands clenched into fists, her lips pressing together. Was it unfair?

  A desperate smile tugged at her lips.

  "I know this isn’t a good time. But I can’t go into battle without knowing there’s nothing wrong with your equipment."

  Armin’s eyes widened. Of course. He wasn’t the only one afraid of losing the people he cared about. He wasn’t the only one who knew that pain.

  He handed over his controllers, and she pulled a small tool from her inside pocket, working quickly to fine-tune his gear.

  Was it unfair that she only took the time for the people she was afraid she’d never see again?

  Her fingers hesitated over the controls. What if she got it wrong? What if she missed something—what if, because of her, Armin’s gear jammed at the worst moment? What if she was just trying to convince herself she was useful?

  She swallowed hard. She wasn’t Mikasa. She wasn’t Annie. She wasn’t even Eren, throwing himself into battle with reckless certainty. She was just… Vivienne. And what if that wasn’t enough?

  No. She forced the thought down. Now wasn’t the time. She had done this a hundred times. She had to trust her hands, trust what she knew. If she second-guessed herself now, she’d just slow everyone down.

  She adjusted one last setting and exhaled.

  She was no different from Franz in that respect.

  Her eyes flickered to the side for a moment.

  Jean and Marco were talking, she didn’t want to imagine how they both felt like. Trost was after all their hometown. And even Reiner’s face seemed heavy with pressure and desperation.

  Her gaze narrowed.

  She had always been so sad when her uncle left on his journeys. For someone who hated goodbyes, she had chosen the wrong profession.

  "Done."

  She handed the controllers back, and for a moment, they stood in silence. Before either of them could speak, the call to line up came.

  "Just follow your training! Break into groups! On the Garrison’s orders, you will resupply fighters, pass on orders, and kill Titans!"

  Vivienne’s fingernails dug into her palms. She still couldn’t believe how quickly everything had escalated.

  Worst of all, they had no choice but to use soldiers like her—fresh out of training.

  The Survey Corps had left that morning.

  They were on their own.

  An uneasy feeling twisted inside her.

  Why was the timing so bad? Why did an attack like this have to happen just when the Titan-killing experts were outside the city?

  Maybe it was the nerves, or maybe it was just the fear inside her. But she couldn't shake the feeling that this was all happening on purpose.

  "Garrison interceptors will form the vanguard!" a man with brown hair and a beard shouted. "The trainees, led by the supply team, will form the middle guard! The Garrison's elite force will take the rear. Also, messengers report that the advance team has been neutralised and that Titans have entered the city!"

  Her eyes widened, as did those of the people around her. Vivienne clenched her fingers even tighter into her palm. These were experts—soldiers who had fought and prepared for years—and they were gone. How were they supposed to survive as mere beginners?

  Vivienne shook her head. She had to suppress those panicked thoughts. She had to at least try.

  "In other words, the Armoured Titan could appear at any moment to destroy the inner gate!"

  Vivienne stared at the floor. They couldn’t afford to lose another wall. If this continued, then…

  "Silence!"

  The Commander’s final words to them were to fight to their last breath. Everyone rushed to their assigned groups. Vivienne felt a small sense of relief when she spotted Sasha in hers.

  "Don't worry, Vivi! We're not going to be Titan food!"

  Vivienne looked at her, slightly taken aback. Only her uncle had ever called her that. The potato girl's courage brought a small smile to her lips.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  They would survive.

  They had to survive.

  But how did you survive against an enemy you knew almost nothing about?

  Together with two boys, she stood on the rooftops, their gazes meeting in silent agreement before they nodded. Then, they leapt forward, swinging their ODM gear through the streets and buildings of Trost.

  They encountered the first Titans sooner than expected.

  "I knew we'd run into one quickly," Vivienne admitted, but her voice wavered slightly. "I just… didn’t think it would be this soon."

  Her fingers twitched over her triggers. This was it. No training exercises. No instructors watching her from a safe distance. Just her and a Titan that wouldn’t hesitate to rip her apart.

  What if I fail?

  The thought dug into her like claws, but she couldn’t let it win. She had to move.

  Her eyes scanned the streets, and she was shocked to see a man trying to hide behind a wooden crate. A Titan was slowly approaching him from the left. Vivienne wanted to scream, but no words came out. Instead, she jumped down from the roof.

  "Vivienne!!!" Sasha shouted her name as the others in their group stared after her in shock.

  Vivienne activated her ODM gear and shot forward, managing to grab the man just in time. The Titan's massive foot crushed the crate where he had been hiding.

  "Are you all right?" Vivienne asked, but the man only looked up at her, eyes wide with terror. His whole body trembled.

  Slowly, she turned—only to see another Titan looming in front of her.

  The man screamed. Vivienne stood rooted to the spot.

  Move…

  Move!

  Do something!

  Her hands trembled around the controls of her ODM gear. A vast shadow fell over her, but her feet refused to move.

  Was this it? Was this how she was going to die?

  "Vivienne!"

  Sasha soared through the air, her swords clenched tightly in her hands. Before Vivienne could even process what was happening, the potato girl sliced through the Titan’s nape. It crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.

  Heat rushed over Vivienne as steam rose from the dissolving corpse. Her body was frozen.

  "Vivienne! Are you all right?" Sasha asked, running towards her.

  Vivienne’s emerald-green eyes widened as she met her friend’s gaze. "I... I'm fine..."

  The two boys in their group landed beside her.

  "What the hell was that? Have you got a death wish or something?" one of them demanded.

  Vivienne’s lips parted slightly—but then closed again. She had only wanted to save the man. She had trained for this, spent years preparing to fight monsters like this. So why…? Why was it so hard? Was she really not cut out for this?

  "Unlike you, she wasn’t a coward. She actually saved someone," Sasha snapped, glaring at the two boys.

  Vivienne lowered her gaze, feeling a pang of shame. She was touched that Sasha was defending her, but deep down, she knew the boys were right.

  Vivienne’s fingers clenched around her swords, but the strength in her grip felt hollow. Her breathing was uneven, her chest tightening with every rapid inhale. She had frozen.

  If Sasha hadn’t been there…

  Her stomach churned. The thought of it made her feel sick.

  The man she had saved was still cowering on the ground, his hands clasped over his head. He hadn’t moved an inch. His terror was paralysing—just like hers had been.

  "Get up," she said, but her voice came out weaker than she intended.

  The man didn’t react.

  "Get up!" she tried again, louder this time. The desperation in her tone caught his attention, and he looked at her with wide, unseeing eyes. He was lost in his own fear, trapped in the same suffocating panic that had held her in place only moments ago.

  A bitter realisation crept up her spine.

  She had trained for this. He hadn’t.

  Yet in the end, she had been just as helpless.

  A hand grasped her wrist, firm but not forceful. She looked up to see Sasha, her expression unusually serious.

  "We need to move, Vivienne," she said. "More Titans are coming."

  Vivienne swallowed hard, her body stiff. But she nodded. "Right."

  Sasha turned to the boys. "Take him to the evacuation zone. We’ll cover you."

  The two hesitated but didn’t argue. One of them hauled the man to his feet, practically dragging him away as they launched their ODM gear.

  Vivienne’s legs still felt heavy, like lead, but she forced herself to step forward. She had to move. Had to do something.

  But the doubt gnawed at her.

  Was she really strong enough to survive this?

  She exhaled sharply and shot her wires toward the nearest building. The rush of wind against her face was a temporary relief, but it wasn’t enough to silence the fear clawing at her chest.

  Sasha flew beside her, glancing at her from the corner of her eye.

  "You know, back in training, I had moments like that too," she admitted.

  Vivienne turned her head slightly, surprised. "You?"

  Sasha let out a breathy chuckle. "Yeah. Back when I thought I could just run away and live in the woods forever."

  Vivienne wanted to say something—wanted to ask how Sasha had overcome it. But before she could, a bloodcurdling scream cut through the air.

  They turned just in time to see another Titan crashing through the remains of a house, its hungry gaze locked on the civilians trying to flee.

  No time to think. No time to hesitate.

  Vivienne gritted her teeth and readied her blades.

  This time, she would move.

  This time, she had to.

  They continued to move forward—the heavy thud of footsteps on the rooftops, the sharp hiss of ODM gear cutting through the air, the desperate cries echoing in the distance. Vivienne stayed close to Sasha.

  She dared to glance to the side—and immediately regretted it.

  A cadet was caught in a Titan’s grasp, their screams piercing through the chaos. Vivienne watched in horror as the Titan’s jaws closed around them. Her breath caught, and she quickly snapped her head forward, pressing her lips together.

  Was this what hell looked like?

  The group had successfully escorted the man to a safe zone before immediately returning to their orders. So far, so good, Vivienne thought. But the thought barely had time to settle before a massive hand came out of nowhere—along with one of her group members.

  A bloodcurdling scream tore through the air.

  Vivienne turned just in time to see the boy thrashing helplessly in the Titan’s grasp, tears streaming down his face.

  She froze.

  There was no time.

  Move.

  Without thinking, she shot forward with her ODM gear. She had one chance.

  The swords felt heavy in her hands. Her heart pounded. She gritted her teeth and swung.

  With a sickening thud, the Titan’s severed hand crashed to the ground—along with the boy.

  Vivienne barely registered the impact as she landed beside him. He sat trembling, eyes wide with shock.

  She looked up.

  The Titan was already advancing.

  Panic surged through her, but her body moved on instinct. She grabbed the boy’s hand and fired her ODM gear, yanking them both into the air just as the Titan lunged.

  Could she kill one of them?

  She didn’t know.

  But right now, only one thing mattered—running fast enough not to find out.

  Vivienne’s breath came in sharp, uneven gasps as they swung through the smoke-filled streets. The boy’s grip on her arm was tight—too tight—but she didn’t shake him off.

  Not yet.

  Not while the sound of the Titan’s guttural roar still rang in her ears. Not while she could still feel the heat of its breath chasing them.

  She spotted a rooftop ahead and angled her trajectory, yanking the boy with her as they landed in a rough stumble.

  "Are you hurt?" she asked, not daring to look back yet.

  The boy didn’t answer. He was shaking violently, his hands clawing at the ground, trying to ground himself. His face was pale, lips parted as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

  Vivienne swallowed hard.

  There was no time to comfort him.

  A shadow loomed over them.

  Her pulse spiked.

  She spun, ODM hooks firing in the same breath. The cables latched onto the closest building, and she vaulted back into the air just as a massive foot came crashing down where they had been standing.

  The impact sent cracks spiderwebbing across the stone.

  She heard Sasha shout her name from somewhere nearby.

  Vivienne twisted midair, eyes locking onto the Titan as it turned its head—slow, unnatural—following her movement with dull, hungry eyes. Its mouth hung slightly open, strands of saliva dripping from between its jagged teeth.

  The boy was still on the roof. Too frozen to move.

  "Vivi, get out of there!" Sasha’s voice cut through the noise, sharp with panic.

  But Vivienne wasn’t thinking about herself anymore.

  She was thinking about the cadet below her, paralysed in fear.

  She was thinking about the way the Titan was still watching him.

  Time slowed.

  She fired her hooks again, aiming lower this time.

  Her blades were steady in her hands now. Not heavy. Not anymore.

  The Titan lifted its foot.

  She shot forward, cutting through the air.

  She wasn’t fast enough.

  She wasn’t fast enough.

  "Vivienne!"

  A deafening crash.

  Dust and debris exploded into the air as the Titan’s foot came down. For one sickening moment, Vivienne’s breath caught—had she been too late?

  No.

  The boy had rolled at the last second, throwing himself clear of the impact. But he wasn’t moving fast enough.

  The Titan loomed over him, its grotesque face twisting into something almost… curious. As if it were fascinated by how small and helpless he was.

  Vivienne’s heart pounded in her ears.

  Move.

  Her ODM hooks hit their mark, and she propelled herself downward, slicing through the air like an arrow loosed from a bow. Her blades caught the Titan’s wrist as it reached for the cadet—carving deep, severing tendons. The creature let out a low, guttural groan, its fingers twitching as its grip faltered.

  "Get up!" she screamed at the boy, landing hard beside him.

  He flinched, finally snapping out of his daze. But before he could stand, the Titan lunged again—its massive arm swinging wildly, sending Vivienne skidding backwards across the rooftop. The momentum nearly sent her over the edge.

  Shit—

  She barely managed to fire her hooks in time, anchoring herself before she fell. The rooftop tilted in her vision, her chest heaving.

  Too close.

  Way too close.

  A blur of movement from the side—Sasha.

  The potato girl spun through the air, her blades gleaming in the smoke-filled light. In one swift motion, she slashed through the Titan’s eyes, blinding it. The creature let out a distorted wail, its head snapping back as it stumbled.

  "Vivi, we have to go!" Sasha shouted, already adjusting her cables to retreat.

  Vivienne’s fingers tightened around her swords.

  They could run.

  They should run.

  But as she watched the Titan writhe, steam hissing from its wounds, something inside her burned.

  I have to end this.

  Before she could second-guess herself, she moved.

  A sharp twist of her body, a perfectly aimed hook—she soared upwards. The Titan’s neck was right there, vulnerable, exposed.

  One clean strike.

  That was all it would take.

  She gritted her teeth, raised her blades—

  The Titan turned.

  Vivienne’s stomach lurched. It was fast. Too fast. The moment she had accounted for—its blind, sluggish movements—was gone.

  A massive arm swung toward her.

  Vivienne barely had time to react. Her instincts screamed at her to move, but the Titan’s arm was already coming—too fast, too strong.

  A shockwave of air slammed into her as the enormous limb struck. Her body twisted violently, her grip on the ODM controls faltering. The world blurred. She was weightless—then, suddenly, she wasn’t.

  Pain exploded through her back as she crashed against a rooftop. The force knocked the breath from her lungs. Tiles shattered beneath her, and for a terrifying moment, she teetered at the edge before rolling onto solid ground.

  Her vision swam. Her chest burned as she gasped for air.

  Move, get up, MOVE!

  The Titan was already recovering, its sunken eyes locked onto her.

  She tried to push herself up, but her limbs felt sluggish, heavy. The impact had rattled her brain, left her body unresponsive. She could only watch as the Titan took its first lumbering step toward her.

  This was it.

  No.

  Not yet.

  A shadow flashed above her.

  Sasha.

  The potato girl’s form shot through the air, blades glinting in the sunlight. With a ferocious cry, she spun and drove them deep into the Titan’s nape.

  A shudder. A low, guttural groan.

  Then, silence.

  The Titan collapsed forward, its massive body hitting the street with an earth-shaking crash. Steam billowed into the air, engulfing them both in a suffocating heat.

  Vivienne coughed, trying to blink away the haze. Footsteps pounded against the rooftop. A second later, Sasha was at her side, breathless but grinning.

  "Well? Are you going to keep lying there, or do I have to carry you?"

  Vivienne let out a weak laugh, wincing as she sat up. "You’re not strong enough to carry me."

  Sasha smirked. "You don’t know that."

  A gust of wind blew away the last of the steam, revealing the battlefield once more. The screams, the fighting—it hadn’t stopped.

  Vivienne clenched her fists. It never stops.

  She turned to Sasha, determination hardening her features.

  "Come on," she said, standing on unsteady legs. "We’ve got work to do."

  Together, they shot back into the fray.