Smoke. Smoke everywhere; flying into the dull air of the Trost District. Living shelters have been crushed. A few blood splatters left behind on ground; both human and Titan. Pieces left behind in dust and the essence of the living now deceased. Her dull but impressionable blue eyes looked, as she perched herself on one of the rooftops, already finding herself staring down at the unknown Shifter before her.

They just happened to cut the person out, and for the rest of her fellow warriors to terminate the remaining giants that surrounded the now-unmovable form, hunching over a giant boulder. A silent prayer came from her, right as the wind gently blew through her short white locks, and her green 'Wings of Freedom' cape.

She had to question herself: Just who was that shifter?

So far, nothing came up to anyone and, as far as she knew, she was chosen to perform such a dangerous task; one of the many reasons of joining the Survey Corps, right to the point of joining up with the Scouts. The task itself was confidential, but her secret wasn't. Commander Erwin was the one who found her in her Titan state, and just by that look in his eyes when she sprouted from her giant form, he spared her, and kept the secret between him and Captain Levi.

That's right, the Captain Levi; humanity's strongest soldier. That's not to say that Sarah was never in the same rank; she was just too valuable for anyone's expense.

A cold flare rose from within her soul, just as a roar came from behind her, while she stood atop the roof of a building. Sarah turned halfway around, and coldly looked upon a ten-meter, standing right above her. "Hmm", was all she said, while she narrowed her blue eyes, and slightly tightened her thin lips. 'I try to enjoy a nice moment of sightseeing, and this is what I see: A very ugly welcoming committee', she thought to herself amusingly before tightening her grip upon the swords in her hands.

Just as the giant was about to stretch out its hand, Sarah allows it to miss its mark completely, right as she launched a hook, and propelled herself around, right over its shoulder, where she was right above its nape. Turning her blades around, so they were outwards, she plunged herself right at its mark. A few of its blood splatters hit right upon her cape, right as she landed on the flat ground, before the giant corpse fell before her, right at her feet.

Her heart hammered away in her chest, the loud, staccato rhythm of it overriding everything else as she stared down at the smoking shell of the titan that had been controlled by Eren Yeager only moments earlier. Elena’s eyes shifted back and forth quickly, bewitched as one of his fellow team members began hauling him out of the steaming hunk of flesh. “He really did it,” she breathed, lilting voice barely above a whisper. She had been convinced just hours earlier when the Colossal Titan had broken through the gate that they would all die. But now, as she stared at the boulder blocking the breach in Wall Rose, she felt an unfamiliar feeling blooming in her chest.

Elena couldn’t be sure, but she thought it might be hope.

“Elena, look sharp!” her squadmate, a dark haired man by the name of Mark, warned as he landed next to her with a dull ’thud’. He knocked his shoulder against hers and jerked his chin towards the street where a seven meter class was steadily lumbering towards the boulder. “You go ‘round front and draw his attention. I’ll hit the nape.”

“Why don’t you be the bait?” the redhead snapped, trying to school her expression to keep the fear from her face. This was only her second time seeing a titan and her nerves had yet to settle.

“Cut the shit, Ral, and just help me take him down,” Mark ordered in a gruff voice, but his face was sympathetic. “Besides, you know I’m better with a blade.”

“Right,” Elena answered begrudgingly, shifting her weight as she anchored her hooks into the building on the opposite side of the street. “Wish me luck,” she said simply, knuckles going white as she tightened her death grip on her weapons and took a running leap from the ledge to propel herself into the titan’s line of sight.

The beast stopped, dead gaze locking on her as soon as she entered his field of vision. Elena could feel all the hair on her neck stand up the moment she felt his focus shift to her. “C’mon, Mark,” she whispered to herself as she landed on a perch just in range of the titan’s gasp. The titan only hesitated for a moment before shrieking and lurching forward, meaty arms outstretched in a bid to grab the compact girl.

Elena gasped before she quickly fired her hook into another wall and hurtled towards it, but the piece of the building she was attached to gave way, leaving her unanchored and plummeting to the ground below. She shrieked and tucked in on herself to better roll as she made impact, grunting when the jagged edge of a rock sliced through her left shirt sleeve and left a thin line of blood on her bicep.

The blue eyed girl jumped up and whirled around with an undignified squeak to face off with her foe, only to find it face first on the ground with Mark standing on the back of it’s neck. His blade steamed as the titan’s blood began to evaporate and as he pursed his lips to try and hold back his laughter.

“It’s no--not funny!” she yelled, but the way her voice broke in the middle of that statement only seemed to amuse him more.

“I know, I know,” Mark seemed to apologize, holding up his hands in a universal sign for surrender. “But by the walls, you should have seen your face! You looked like you were gonna puke any second!”

Sarah looked upon the vapor that steamed off of the Titan's corpse with a cold glare. A part of her wondered where these creatures came from, and how she had managed to inherit the powers of Titan in the first place. But that last thing she remembered was a man telling her to "protect an individual named Eren Jaeger", and there was something else he said that was faintly heard.

The next thing she remembered was waking up from her Titan form with no memory yet with only one goal: Find and protect Eren Jaeger.

The flashback faded just as she heard the giant stomps of a walking Pure Titan, ahead of her. Having to stand in the open may not have been the best move, but as she was looking around for a spot to launch one of her hooks, she took notice of a few fellow Scouts in the distance, just on a building from above her standing position. Making a small smile, Sarah waved a blade back in acknowledgement, but the thumps in front kept her focused.

It was a smaller Titan-vermin; a seven meter. For her comrades to just stand there, it wasn’t what she wanted to see in a soldier. Oh, no. “Get our comrades and the townspeople out of here!”, she instructed, not wanting them to stand around.

The female waited for the smaller Titan to move closer, and just as this thing started to set eyes on her, she was already on the move. Launching a hook to a building, she propelled herself around it, and aimed for its Achilles. She watched the Titan get distracted, after spotting two cadets in the middle of the road; one young male and one young female, who appeared to be injured.

Before it could even launch towards them, a spike penetrated the giant's leg, allowing Sarah to pull herself towards her mark, and make a clean cut on the Achilles. This made it fall forwards, so its nape was wide open. With a flip in the air, Sarah striked, making a huge slice, before landing on the ground, slightly panting, before turning around to look at the two cadets. “Get to the gate; leave this to the Elites”, she told them...before more thumps sounded. Another Titan was just coming into view. “Quickly”.

Elena's relief was short lived as another seven meter, one that she hadn't even been aware of, came crashing down in front of them. The red haired girl was sure if her heart kept up it's frantic beating she would have a heart attack any second now. She saw the whirl of a survey corps cloak flash before the metallic stink of Titan blood filled the air as a woman sliced through the beast’s neck with ease.

The woman landed, breathing hard as she surveyed her kill before turning towards them. “Get to the gate; leave this to the Elites”, she ordered, snow colored hair rustling gently as a breeze cut through the corridor. Elena thought that it looked incredibly soft and her left hand twitched on reflex. The low, thundering echos of Titan footfall snapped her out of her daydreaming as another one turned the corner. “Quickly,” added the soldier, her tourmaline stare already fixed on the intruder.

“Y-yes ma’am!” Elena stuttered out, falling into a hasty salute. Mark followed suit before they turned away from their savior and anchored into a wall to set out towards where the Garrison Corps were stationed on Wall Rose. As they flew towards their destination, she couldn't help but turn back to catch another glimpse of the white haired woman.

“Hey Mark,” she yelled over the wind, turning away from the elite just as she got ready to face off with her foe. “Do you know who that was?”

“Of course,” he answered easily, his brown eyes cutting over to level a bewildered look at her before turning his attention back to the landscape before him. “Everyone knows who that is. She's Sarah Reinhardt. They say she was trained by Levi. She's one of the Survey Corps finest!”

“Oh,” Elena answered, her small voice being lost to the air that whoosed around them. They had almost reached the wall now. 'She must be strong then,’ she thought idly. 'I’ll have to ask Petra if she knows her, the next time we're together.’

Another gust of wind blew through Sarah's white locks. She trusted the chain of command, mainly because they saw her as a well-respected soldier, having to beequal in the same way they see Captain Levi, probably more on a statistical level rather than by personal means. Gratefully, they continued to help her remember what happened before her mysterious amnesia. From that moment onwards, Sarah held complete trust in them, as much as she silently did for her comrades.

The female launched a hook into a building, before making a twirl, past the hand of the reaching giant. From there, she propelled herself towards her mark, making a clean cut.

Right after the Titan fell, Sarah looked to the unconscious boy in the distance. What was so important about that kid? Why are the other Titans moving into his direction? Clearly, he was a shifter, but why were they all moving towards his position? Up ahead, she took notice of another one that another scout had seemed to blind.

She’d managed to make her strike with little effort, while passing right by it; her swords steamed due to the creature's blood, as she landed on the ground, near its fallen head.

Running across the remaining stretch between the buildings and the now-sealed hole, Sarah jumped atop the unconscious body of the boy's Titan form, and took notice of the two cadets, and the unconscious host of the evaporating Titan. Sheathing one of her swords, that was now clean of blood, she crouched down, and stretched a free hand to the young Armin, really to help him up.

"Don't worry. All of us have it covered here. Let's get you somewhere safe", she said all of this softly, though it was rare, because of her cold exterior. But that didn't mean Sarah didn't have a care in the world for others.

The black-haired female cadet was hesitant to move, just tightening her grip on the unconscious boy. 'A dear friend, perhaps?', Sarah thought with her narrow, blue eyes on the girl. Clearly, all three were younger than her, but she wanted to know what had happened. Plus, she never heard about another Titan-shifter on these grounds. It was sad to say, but even though she was naturally stubborn, Sarah will stay back and wait for the outcome.

Elena watched the scene play out from top of Wall Rose with rest of the Garrison Corps and the few of the Cadet Corps that had been present when the breech took place. The damage done by the titans was expansive and the redhead honestly wasn't sure if the city would ever be able to truly recover. Commander Pixis had ordered all the seriously injured to be gathered up and treated, while the rest of the cadets were to sit tight until more information could be gathered and new orders could be issued. Elena was didn't want to steal the medics attention from those who really needed it so she sat at the precipice of the wall, her legs dangling over the side while she worked on stitching the wound on her bicep closed herself.

The were two abrupt 'thud' noises behind her and before Elena could turn to identify the sound her sister was there and gripping her arm hard, turning it this way and that way to see study it properly. "Petra!" the younger girl exclaimed, the corners of her mouth twitching up into a wide smile, despite the brief discomfort the other had caused.

"Just a scratch," Petra whispered, more to herself than anyone else, before releasing her sister and gathering her up into a bear hug. "You're not supposed to be fighting Titans yet, you street urchin," the older girl joked, but Elena noticed the worry in her sister's tone.

"Oi, brat," came a gruff voice and Elena turned to see Captain Levi, his sister's squad leader, standing just behind them and staring down below at the steaming corpse of Eren Yeager's titan. "What's going on here?"

Elena had interacted with Levi a handful of times over the past two years when she had gone to visit her sister, so she didn't bat an eyelash at his gruff behavior, but she was still a little awestruck anytime he spoke directly to her. "U-um," Elena fumbled, pulling out of her sister's embrace and holding a careful hand over the gash in her arm. "I'm really not sure, you should probably find Commander Pixis or--,"

"Tell me what you know, Cadet," he interrupted, steal eyes flicking over to acknowledge her before refocusing on what lie at the bottom of the wall.

"Yes sir," Elena answered, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. "The gate was breached by the Colossal Titan and The Armored Titan. We began to evacuate the civilians, but...," she hesitated, before admitting, "...it didn't look good for us. Then Eren Yeager, a cadet, urm--well--hmm--...he transformed...into a titan?" Honestly, saying it out loud sounded outlandish and down right ridiculous. The cadet fidgeted nervously, but Levi just nodded, silently waiting for her to continue.

"Then his fellow cadet, Armin Arlett, devised a plan for Eren to use his Titan form to plug the whole in the wall with a boulder," she paused here to gesture towards said boulder with her chin. "It worked and that's really all I know."

They were tired. It was clear in the sagging of their shoulders, the drooping of their eyelids, and the slowness in their responses. They were still on the battlefield, and there were still Titans dangerously close to them, even if the Scouts were steadily demolishing them. She sympathized that they were fresh soldiers; green behind the ears, and in their first ever conflict with these humongous beasts. Even if they had encountered them before, it was a whole ‘nother thing in having to fight them, and come out on the other side, victorious against the odds.

The white-haired woman helped the young blonde to his feet. He was the smallest of the trio, probably the youngest, but Sarah didn't want to jump to any conclusions yet. By the look in his big blue eyes, something told Sara from within that he wasn't exactly fighting-material. There was a youthfulness to him; a gentle, child-like soul. He was young; in his prime, at least, his short, somewhat-muscular build was evident that he wasn't really a fighter, but again, Sarah didn't want to underestimate him, or make guesses.

"You survive best by always moving forward", she advised to Armin, before narrowing her eyes, and looking behind her at the dead Titan’s already evaporating steam into the air. She looked back at the smaller cadet, at the corner of her eye, and gestured to the wall before them.

The black-haired girl, who appeared to be around the unconscious boy's age, was on high-alert, even as she clung onto his form. The blade in her one hand was tight in her grip, and the fire in her grey eyes was ever vigilant and burning; a passion to which Sarah recognized, in relation to her own. There was a strength that the white-haired woman was able to determine. It looked as if Mikasa withheld a similar goal. However, it would appear that she made a vow that held the definition of 'die-trying'.

Plus, it was evident when the Asian held the boy tighter when Sarah began to approach her, in order to take the boy. If she could observe, it appeared as if the girl was stubborn to her intentions. In a way, that spark of capability within her would never go unnoticed. It seems that Mikasa was able to cooperate when she finally allowed her to take the boy, and hoist him under her one arm, right after she sheathed one of her blades. Sarah made a mental note to keep an eye on her from afar, even after seeing two cadets follow her from behind.

On her way up the wall, she looked before her, in order to see the ugly monstrosities; mindless things, preying the small and weak; wiping out humanity was their urge; a compulsion never ending. Sarah also looked down, below her, to see the other Scouts on the ground, who’ve aided in their escape.

As soon as the white-haired woman made it up the wall, she sheathed her other blade, before carefully and gently laying the body of the unconscious boy down on his back, taking off her cape, and wrapping it, so to place it underneath his head. The other cadets were not too far away, having to be quickly by his side. While she did these things, she heard the voice of the Captain himself. Turning around, she took notice of the same cadet she had to rescue not too long ago, who still appeared to be injured, and seemingly reporting to Levi.

Standing back up, the lieutenant gazed back at the city, watching the smoke, before looking down upon the carcasses of both human and Titan, mentally passing her honor down to the human corpses, and discontent for their murders.

---

---

It had been a long month since the battle for Trost and since that time the Survey Corps had switched bases to an old castle so that Hange could perform her experiments with Eren Yeagar away from prying eyes. This meant that all members were on cleaning duty to get the castle back up to Captain Levi's standards and after a full day of dusting and scrubbing floors on her hands and knees, Elena could say with the upmost confidence that she was exhausted.

"My knees are killing me," the redhead grumbled to herself, rubbing her hand gingerly over the offending sore spot. A few of her fellow scouts winced in sympathy, showing of their own 'war wounds'. One girl, a Sasha Braus, had a bright red hand print across her cheek from when she was tidying the kitchen and the cook caught her trying to sneak an extra ear of corn. Elena laughed, her voice lost in the din of the mess hall as everyone chatted or scarfed down their dinner. Elena was nursing a cup of chai tea while flipping through the pages of an agriculture book, her attention divided between skimming through it and half listening to her comrades.

A little after a month, since the Titan attack of Wall Rose, Commander Erwin had managed to pick out the top cadets from the training program, taking it as more of a graduating ceremony, as well as the initiation to become the newly-fresh faces of the Scout Regiment. As promised, Eren Jaeger was now within her and Captain Levi’s custody, having to be studied upon by Hange, while having to be free from the intimidations and distrusts of the city.

Having to sit in the main serving room, where all of the soldiers are, Sarah sat in the corner, by herself, and looked out the window, while taking a few occasional sips of her tea; her plate was already empty, so all she had to finish was the drink in her hand. The veteran still remembered her chat with Eren Jaeger before leaving the city, shortly before escorting him.

"Sometime today, the Scouts will be choosing the top Cadets from the training program, and all of us, including you, will be venturing back to one of other bases. From there, we will discuss on how you can prove your loyalty to our cause", she explained. "As you heard from the judge, you are to be supervised by me and Captain Levi. I'm sorry, but it's to ensure the safety of yourself and our soldiers. If you have any questions, it would be best to get answers from either me or him. Do you understand?”, the white-haired woman asked, hoping for the boy’s cooperation.

"Yes. Thanks for giving me a chance", he said, before clenching his fist once again, ready and eager. Having been through terrible ordeals, there's nothing really left besides giving his best.

From the point of knowing his name, Sarah felt her obligation beginning to tick in her subconscious; that meant she had to keep a close eye on him, almost constantly. It was the last thing that she recollected from her past, leading her to believe that he was the key in helping her remember. As far as Sarah heard, Captain Levi wanted the boy to sleep in the basement.
Even though she didn't completely agree, it became reasonable for the wellbeing of their troops; the lieutenant gave a sigh of exhaustion at the realization, rubbing her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Elena was midway through ’The Growing Season of Wheat’ chapter of her textbook when she heard her fellow scouts at the table heatedly discussing who they thought was the strongest amongst the Survey Corps. “It’s obviously Mikasa,” said one of the newer members, a boy named Jean. Some people had taken to calling him, ‘Horse-Face’ which Elena thought was a mean but strangely accurate moniker.

“N-No,” answered Sasha, struggling to get the words out around a mouthful of food. The handprint on her cheek still bloomed red against her olive skin. “It’s Captain Levi. Everyone knows that.”

“I think it’s Sara,” added Mark. At the mention of the white haired woman Elena couldn’t help but perk up, abandoning her book completely in order to invest her full attention to the conversation. “You should have seen her at Trost. She cut through those titans like they were nothing!” he exclaimed.

“She looked like an Angel,” Elena said to herself, but the others at the table seemed to have overheard her. They all stopped talking and stared directly at the redhead, causing her to face to heat up in embarrassment. “I just mean, um, the way she flew the air and stuff. And, y’know, her hair is white and it looks like a halo almost, when the light hits it.”

There was silence at the table while everyone continued to stare. Then Jean’s lips turned up slowly into a smirk that could only be described as mischievous. “You got the hots for Reinhardt, Elena?”

“W-What? N-No!” the redhead stuttered out, face flushing full on crimson at this point. “I only meant that--well, when she was using her omni-directional gear it looked like she was flying, like really soaring, and it was prett--,” Elena cut herself off when she realized she was only making it worse, her teeth clinking together audibly as she shut her mouth.

“Sure, Sure,” said Jean, sly smirk still ever present. “Reinhardt and Ral, sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I~” the other scout sang, only to be interrupted by Elena lurching across the table and slapping her hand over his mouth to shush him.

“Shut up!” she hissed, glancing around wildly to make sure no one heard him. Jean chuckled before pushing her back, raising his hands in surrender.

“Alright then, Red, prove me wrong,” he challenged, pointing across the mess hall to where Sara was nursing her own cup of tea. “Why don’t you go talk to her? If you can make it ten minutes without blushing then I’ll admit I was wrong and take your next bathroom cleaning assignment. What do you say?”

Well, honestly, who could turn down a chance to get out of latrine duty?

“You’ve got a deal,” Elena replied with conviction, slapping her hand against the other scout’s outstretched one. As she pushed her chair away from the table and stood up, however, Elena could feel her heart beating faster than before. ’Calm down,’ the girl told herself as she crossed the room to where Sara was seated alone at her table. ’What’s the worst that could happen?’

“Hello,” Elena said in a surprising even voice when she finally reached her destination. Thh redhead could smell the dark, soothing notes of the other girl’s tea. “Do you mind if I sit with you, ma’am?”

Reinhardt was out of her Scout gear, only leaving the pants and boots on, while her vest was retired, revealing the white, sleeve-less t-shirt she wore underneath. Her pale arms, like the rest of her, nearly blended in with her short, snow-white hair, added with some muscle in her arms, given that she’s clearly had plenty of exercise, in order to keep her body well-toned.

Leaning back in her seat, with one leg pulled up on the seat, the white-haired seemed to be quite distant in her thoughts, while nursing the cup of tea in her one hand. However, it was interrupted by the sound of someone speaking. Looking to her right, the lieutenant took notice upon a younger red-haired female standing nearby.

It then hit her, it was the same girl she had saved during the battle of Trost. What could she be wanting from her? At a time like this? Now was the time for everyone to get settled in, and take rations. However, to hear what she had asked, Sarah gazed at her for a few seconds, almost scanning her, with her blue eyes, before momentarily closing her eyes, and turning her gaze away.

“I suppose you can”, she responded with her usual cold yet soft voice. Sarah didn’t bother to add the word ‘soldier’ to the end of that sentence. She was too exhausted to deal with being professional, after having to handle and train, as many of the new faces as possible. “Damn it”, she whispered to herself, feeling the exhaustion crawl through her.