"I can't believe that actually happened." Kiryuu said as he handed over the blue rubber ball. Jonah curled his eyebrows in confusion.

"Well obviously there's Tink with his failed invention, and now apparently the injured scout that was brought in committed suicide. But on a good note, I'm through with my afflictions of missing the cutout titan." Which was said with a less than halfhearted laugh. "That man must have seen some very disturbing things beyond the walls. But in any case we all need to be ready to see things like that on a daily basis if we wanna join the 72nd Battalion. Well I'm off to go look for Ava and Alois if you want to join me Jonah."

"We should try to find Alois first, considering he's always in the mess after hard training days like today." Chimed Jonah after they started to leisurely walk out of the Barracks. When they get to the mess hall they see Ava and Alois sitting next to each other. Zero noticed that the girl that had belittled him was sobbing by herself while eating her lunch. She perked up when she noticed Zero walk through the door. She got up and ran to him as fast as she could.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be so mean to you. I never knew how much work you put in with your squad. I could stand no chance against you or anyone in the top ten. I can't be anymore sorry!"

"No. I'm not accepting your apology. You can go sulk by yourself in that corner where you belong. I've worked my whole life to get where I am. I train day in and day out. And not what you consider training which is lollygagging and goofing around. I keep up. I work 110% everyday to follow and trying to surpass my squad while playing Catcher in the Woods, focusing on a little blue ball, while carving Titans, and maneuvering through the trees. So you can take your apologies and shove them up your ass." Kiryuu stormed away to the table where his two of his mates were sitting. Jonah stood in a moment of excitement, actually seeing Zero stand up for himself. Letting out a laugh as he walks away from the girl and sits with the rest of team.

"Mhm," Ava acknowledged as he told his story. Alois under normal circumstances worried her, but it was simply because he was more erratic than the other members of their team. He was fearless and had a devoted conviction that she saw in very few other cadets. A willingness to face certain death if it meant his blood got pumping. Usually, she would still chew him out for what he did. It was absurd, after all, that he would threaten another trainee's life or sanity simply for talking shit. People at the top were always envied and hated, their squad most of all considering they didn't stand out much in the actual training drills - only on test days and in their study during their "free time." When most trainees were writing home or resting up, they did additional drilling, real work that might actually prepare them for the future. People died on day one of military service all the time. None of her soldiers would.

She hadn't done more than push her food around on the tray when he stole a piece of it. The girl's head turned up venomously and she shoved the tray forward across the narrow table to him. It damn near dumped into his lap before it stopped, just barely resting over the edge in front of him. "Take it. Not hungry," She muttered absently, resting her head in her cheek and staring off to the side, her other hand drumming on the table. She was fighting the nausea bubbling in her stomach with every ounce of willpower she had, but she was thankful that at least this was subsiding. Just push it back, she reminded herself, you're a graduate now, you're going to be seeing the real world soon... Not staring at these walls for the rest of your life... It certainly helped, but a nagging feeling still rested at the back of her mind.

That could be them... It sang, or you... They'd been circling since she saw the scout lying in a pool of his own blood, but she just had to move on from them. One comment floated through her mind. It was only for the briefest of moments, but it stuck and shook her to the core. He was lucky; he got to choose where, how, and when he got to go. Who else can say they were so blessed?

She pushed her hand behind her ear and straightened up, swallowing her discomfort and forcing a seemingly sincere smile to her face. "Hey, Kiryuu, hope you feel well-rested," She said with a nod as the mess hall door slammed shut. A few other cadets went running out after some sobbing girl and she shrugged, "Too late for them to turn back now, whoever it is that's just now cracking under pressure..." She muttered, "Absurd." Right, it is absurd, so don't let it happen again.

-----

Jonah gave Kiryuu a little thumbs-up for his confidence. Good, he was starting to see himself as a warrior. He'd have to, because this shit wasn't going to be fun and games or pride for much longer. It was going to be bloody, loud, and cold... All the time. None of them could really boast knowing a scout from the 72nd Battalion, but there wasn't a doubt in his mind that they'd be less than forgiving of any of them for having hurt feelings. Out there it would be life or death. If you didn't think you could have your brother's back in even the slightest of ways, then you weren't cut out for it. The last thing they needed was for any of them to feel like they weren't up to it. A prophecy like that was certain to fulfill itself.

The dark-haired boy grabbed a tray for himself from the line and sat down about a minute after Zero did, taking the seat directly next to Alois. He wasted no time in digging into his own, looking to Alois with a mouth half full, "'R yoo 'onna ea' 'at?" He asked, holding his hand in front of his mouth to keep from spewing them. The girl rolled her eyes in disgust, but Jonah didn't seem to notice, too focused on lunch now that he could finally eat.

Alois wasn't going to try defending himself for what he'd done, even if he might explain his reasoning behind it. If you were willing to talk shit then you had best be ready to face the consequences for doing so, that was all there was to it. Fellow cadets were hardly exempt from his scrutiny, and anyone that insulted his friends especially were prone to getting a piece of his mind; considering all of his altercations with recruits it was something of a miracle he hadn't just been kicked out, though he assumed that was in part due to his skills. After all, how many people here genuinely wanted to go out and fight Titans? Sure, he'd never actually encountered one before, and he could very well buckle under the pressure, but he wouldn't know until he went out and tried now would he?

Something looked to be eating at Ava, not a Titan which was nice. Alois was anything but empathetic and so was a little completely lost, deciding instead to ignore it and pluck at her food for a snack. He'd done it plenty of times before and normally got a small swat on the hand, but this time around he got the entire plate thrown at him. Blinking owlishly as he stared down at the plate he glanced back at his friend, earnestly lost as to why she was so miffed. "You're not hungry? After all the training we did today?" he asked, tilting his head in confusion, "Riiiight. Look boss, you've gotta eat. Whatever's got you all tied up in a knot isn't a big deal, so buck up and eat." Pushing the tray away he smirked, leaning forward and laying his arms across the table, resting his chin on his forearm. He'd already eaten anyways, no sense in having more and getting fat or whatever.

If he and Ava weren't eating then Alois saw little reason to remain here, figuring he'd best just get back to their quarters and start getting ready for tomorrow. He didn't quite know what they had in store for the next day, and with their training at its end soon he figured something big would be coming up. Either that or they'd just review basics which would be lame as hell, he really didn't want to waste his time with those. If you couldn't use the 3D Maneuver Gear by now then you were hopeless, and had little to no business doing this line of work. Seeing someone take the seat beside him the redhead turned curiously to see who it was, smirking when he spotted Jonah beside him, mouth already full of food. "Not my food man, ask Ava," he responded simply, waving a hand dismissively as he sat upright. "You know... I'm kind of going to miss this place. I mean some of the other cadets are morons, and the instructors sound like a broken record now, but it's kind of fun. How many people do you figure actually will graduate?"

"Ava you really need to eat. You need to regain your energy." Zero said as he sat down at the table with the rest of his squad. He finally had a smirk on his face for putting that bitch where she belonged. He's worked too hard to not be in the top 10. Then to be ridiculed for it by someone who couldn't even make it in the top 50, unacceptable. But she's gone and now there's nothing to deal with. " Alright guys I'm off to go check on the mastermind who runs into trees." Zero giggled as he walked out of the mess hall. As he walked towards the barracks, he noticed Tink limping his way through the door and into the grass.

"Hey Kiryuu can you help me get to the mess? I'm starving and no one came by to give me any food when I was at the medical tent." said Tinker in a raspy voice.

"Yea sure, and there should already be food at the table everyone is at because Ava didn't eat hers, or Jonah threw it down his throat without even giving it a second thought. So who knows if it's still even there." Zero said while putting Tinks arm over his shoulders as a crutch. When they got to the table, first thing Tink said was " Are you gonna' eat that?" Jonah gave him an evil look because he was just about to take a stab at the spare food, but realized his buddy probably hadn't eaten since breakfast.

Weeks Later...

Ava made sure the saddle on her horse was nice and secure. In the last few weeks, they'd all been preparing to leave. The Survey Corps was... well, a bit more rough already than she had expected. Being the top in their class meant nothing. Sure, teh Military POlice only took that, but she'd already been told by a few of the veterans that they saw people from their own class, from a number one slot, get killed before an average guy. Her nerves showed on her face as she worked hard to concentrate on what was at hand but found it increasingly difficult. Tinker wasn't going with them... He'd enlisted Survey, but a special division recruited him and he accepted - something to do with mechanics and technology. He'd found his niche. Ava, on the other hand, wasn't so sure anymore... She did everything perfectly, just right. What if push came to shove and she couldn't stand up to the challenge? What if, on their first day beyond the wall, she died. Just like that.

"Hey, still having some jitters?" A voice called from behind her. Captain Jason Eldrich, an older man in his late twenties, approached. He had a long green cloak with the symbol of the Survey Corps on the back. However, over that symbol was the number '72' in white. It was against the uniform code, but after the 72nd was founded, the group was hardly held to the same standard. It would be pointless, considering how little time they actually returned to the city. He had short, blond hair that only came slightly over the edge of his forehead.

Ava looked back and sighed, returning to her saddle to make sure she had all of the bags hooked up. "Yeah... I guess so..."

"Don't worry about it. The others just... they don't want you to get a big head from your placement in class. Plenty of them didn't choose the 72nd, they were assigned to it. Some of the cockier kids in training ask for this post, and they have a tendency to think they're better than they really are. So, just don't forget... You'll be going up against a new kind of enemy. You've never actually faced a Titan before, as much as you've trained for it. The real thing is completely different..." He shook his head, "Levi's squad tracks their skills... Don't know if you guys have heard of them... Don't do that. Don't count them. You'll use that to identify yourself and it'll make you passive. I've known people who tried to count, and it's all they cared about, we're not out here to exterminate like they are. Our job is to expand and search, just remember that, okay?"

She nodded, "Aye, sir. I will. Thanks, Captain."

Jonah held out his palm with a small white cube to let the horse in front of him take it happily. He gently ran a hand over the side of the horse's face. Nearby, Sanja was doing much the same. Neither seemed to be really worried about death... Not that they weren't afraid of the Titans, anybody would be, but Jonah was already at peace with losing his life. He'd come to terms with it a long time ago, he wouldn't beg for life. The Captain had moved to the front of the battalion and his voice boomed over everything.

"Aaaalright, folks!" He shouted with a grin. It looked painful, living with everything that he'd seen and still putting on this brave face for his comrades. Maybe he'd learned to deal wit hit... That's what a leader did, wasn't it? "We're gonna be heading out soon and we'll be gone for a few months, at least. It's the same thing as last time, sure, but for the new people, I'll go over some ground rules. There's going to be a lot of camping and you do not go anywhere without one of your comrades. Always stay with the group, report everything and anything you find. For those of you who are new - you make it through a few weeks, excellent. You're going to face some incredibly hard times, but you're also going to see some things that even the other units of the Survey Corps could never even dream of. Day one is going to be a long one - we don't stop riding until we're really clear of the city. The Titans infest the world, but most of them are closer to us here, so we can't camp until we're quite a ways out. Then we'll sleep in shifts for each site. You pair up on your own. Nobody is to be left alone. Now, I don't give two shits if you hate the person next to you - you will fight to the death to make sure that they stay alive. This battalion is built on trust, even if you don't care for them, they're still your brother or your sister. If I see any of you neglecting the others, so help me god I'll make sure you spend the rest of our deployment in hell. Do I make myself clear?"

"AYE-AYE, SIR!!" The entire crowd of veterans shouted. The small number of new recruits looked around at each other, but didn't exactly respond.

"Alright, saddle up, we're leaving soon!"

Ava patted her horse before looking to Kiryuu, who would have been readying his equipment too. "Hey, Kiryuu, you ready to roll out? We can't turn around once we get past those walls..." She observed, one hand on the reins of her horse as she approached.

Jonah, on the other hand, was already standing directly beside Alois, looking a bit more liberated than he ever had before. He grinned at his buddy, "Alois, we're finally gettin' out there." He was more confident, probably, than he should have been, but he was excited. For the first time since he childhood, he was facing real danger. That was the thrill. "Ready?"

"Hell yes!" Sanja chimed. Jonah flinched slightly - he hadn't realized that she was exactly nearby. Her squad while they were training had excluded her near the end of their time, so she joined theirs when she found out they were all interested in the 72nd. She was strange, but Jonah still didn't know her so well that he could say anything about her beside that. "Finally, we can go somewhere! See these things for ourselves..."

Attention from a majority of the squad members turned back to their captain at the front. Everybody was starting to climb onto their horses when a man in a Garrison Corps uniform came sprinting by and spoke briefly to the captain. Nobody knew what they were saying, but it was clearly a messenger. Ava, Sanja, and Jonah all mounted up while they spoke, only vaguely aware of what was happening at the front.

So this was finally it, huh? No more mundane lessons, no more wasting time with frivolous endeavors like graduation ceremonies or introductions, they were finally heading out into the world. Everyone knew perfectly well what awaited them beyond the walls, and yet Alois couldn't find it within himself to care; to be more exact he couldn't find it in himself to be worried. If he made it then hooray, and if he died then oh well, it was all a part of life. People died sooner or later, it just varied on whether it was of old age or becoming some giant monster's mid-afternoon snack. Frankly Alois just didn't fear the potential of death, not if it meant he actually got to live. Being stuck behind the walls, living in fear and uncertainty, that wasn't living. Animals locked up in pens lived like that, not humans, and like hell he'd spend his entire existence as a caged up animal.

Gathered up just outside of one of the massive gates, the 72nd was making preparations for their long, arduous journey. No one knew for certainty what awaited them out there, no other group ever traveled as far as they were planning. Plenty of assumptions had been drawn, from abandoned cities to simply vast swathes of nothingness, to perhaps even the home of the Titans themselves. Whatever the case may be it was bound to me a monumental expedition, one that could very well have significant implications for humanity... If they made it back. The Survey Corps were hardly known for their longevity, and that was in regards to people who traveled within sight of the walls; the 72nd intended to leave civilization entirely, there was no telling what risks and dangers they might face outside. No one really would know until they made the trip, and it was possible that no one will ever find out, depending on the success or failure of their mission.

Having been shooting the shit with other cadets while waiting, Alois was quick to clam up and hear what their captain had to say. It was just as he'd expected, a bit of a pep-talk and trying to instill a sense of duty and order, the same crap they had been fed since signing up. The redhead couldn't care less about it, be it the camaraderie, friendship, he hadn't joined for that; killing titans was his sole motivation, though if pressed he would certainly stick it out for a fellow member if need be. If someone out here died, especially one of his friends, he would be damn certain that the titans knew exactly how he felt about them. He'd cut them to pieces and feed them to one another if it came to it, see how they liked being eaten.

"Eh... What's that?" Alois asked, glancing over at Jonah curiously, getting lost in a fair bloody daydream. They were going beyond the walls, for the first time ever, was that even a question then? "Of course I'm ready! I've done enough training for ten fucking recruits, I'm ready to sink my blades into the real thing," the redhead remarked, grinning as he got himself up onto his horse. Hearing another person chiming in he glanced over at Sanja, letting out a laugh and giving her a thumbs up of approval. "Now that is what I like to hear! Let's make these bastards regret ever messing with humanity!"

Everyone was ready to get a move on, so what was the holdup? Grumbling incoherently under his breath Alois pulled at the reigns of his horse, leading it around the group just in time to see the captain and messenger approaching his group. Raising an eyebrow he halted his mount in place, meeting the uneasy gaze of the messenger before turning his horse back and following them. "What? What's going on...?" Alois asked, impatient and wanting to just get a move on already. Neither man said a word to him which was infuriating, prompting him to follow along still until they stopped back with his group of friends in particular. Raising an eyebrow he stood with the group, keen on hearing what the deal was. There couldn't be anything good if the brass was coming back to them, though Alois couldn't imagine what in the world they were here for.

"Listen up, your squad isn't going out just yet. Something's come up and they need some more bodies to help," the Captain began, addressing the squad of Ava and those in the immediate vicinity, "Trost is under attack again by titans, and as things stand we're at a stalemate, more or less. Efforts are being remade to drive them back but they need support, especially if intelligence is right about this..."

"We've had sightings of more titans converging on Trost, and they're going to end up encircling the troops, which we can't have. This order comes from Pixis himself, he wants you all to head to Trost immediately and support the troops there. If you can, kill the titans trying to reach the district proper, at any costs. He says... Consider this your first mission as Survey Corps."

"I know you're all still green, but this is how things work around here. Newbies or not you're going to see action sooner or later, and at least you'll be doing it here, surrounded by comrades. I don't have to say it, but I don't want any of you trying to play hero out there, you hear me? A dead soldier is no good, so if you've gotta die out there be sure to bring one of those bastards with you. Reduce the enemy numbers by as much as you can then fall back, if you do your jobs then few if any will reach Trost. Understood? We can't afford to send everyone, so it'll just be you 15, that's all. I'll let you figure out how to split up, just be sure to remember your training and you'll come out fine."

Had he heard that right? Were they actually being sent on a mission? Odd that they hadn't heard anything up until now, yet Alois wasn't going to question it. To think they weren't even going to have to go beyond the walls to fight titans, he was absolutely thrilled at that idea. Some of the other green soldiers around him were exchanging nervous glances and conversations, but Alois felt like he was on cloud nine right now. "Titans... We finally get to fight some real, living titans..." he mumbled, trembling in anticipation as a wide grin plastered itself on his face. He and his friends were more than ready, they'd kill all of the incoming titans no problem. He didn't care much for the bragging aspect of it, but he was damn ready to show that all of their training had paid off, the training they had done as a group, not from the instructors. Their communication and cohesion as a force was unmatched, of that he was certain, and Alois couldn't wait to put it to the test.