[IC] Shingeki no Kyojin: Cleansing Amongst Man { Jack & Angel }

[AngelBites15]

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.

[FalloutJack]

This day had become a living nightmare.

Five years ago, at Wall Maria, everyone who survived would know exactly what this was like...because it was almost the same thing last time. The day would be quiet, uneventful, and then suddenly out of nowhere...the Colossal Titan stood towering over all, even able to look over the wall itself. That massive skinless creature looking down on humanity, and then there'd be an incredible impact, leading to the destruction of the outer gate. The appearance of the Armored Titan was not far after, like it'd been planned, to ram the inner gate and leave humanity open to the threat of Titans. But why? What was it all for? Why did they have to do this? As the horror show played out, then and now, generally nobody is asking these questions. They have more important matters to deal with now. Asking the question why was for scholars and the religious, and at better times than this. Except...some did both.

While some people, like Eren, were always focused on fighting and some, like Armin, were mainly thinkers by nature, there are those who seem to always pick things apart - tear situations down to their bear bones - and work to figure out how best to handle a situation on the fly. 'Thinking on their feet' is what they call this, or strategy, or just being quick-witted. Well, whatever you call it, some people had it, and some people had it more than they had interactions with other people.

She stopped her work and took a vantage point halfway up the wall to look over Trost. It was so much like Shiganshina, and they'd fought so hard to make this untrue. She had started the day here, showing off to the others with the equipment in her hands now. Admittedly, they were a bit heavy in comparison to standard Titan-Cutters, but the minor flaws were overcome by how effective a tool it was. One pass, one strike, and the Titan-Shredder destroyed the base of the neck, the weakpoint all Titans shared. Katherine hung off of the wall, feet braced and arms dangling, as she waited. Around her hands were a pair of reinforced leather gauntlets, which a trio of Titan-Cutter blades were attached. They were like claws, and they way they were situated even left you hands largely free. You just had to be careful when scratching an itch or something.

Today had been nothing but killing Titans and making sure survivors could get away. With the arrival of that new Titan, things had changed. Suddenly, there was an unknown fighter on the field, punching heads right off of their necks and roaring with an endless rage. It was frightening, and yet...invigorating. Wasn't it just what all humans felt at this point, towards the Titans? Wasn't it the rrage of every human being who fell prey to these things? It made her strike harder and faster, leaving heavy corpses lying as these thing continued to fight. She'd almost attacked it when it first appeared. Thank god Mikasa stopped her. It might've been the end of everything if she'd done that.

So now, the wait was over. What was she doing, just sitting here on the wall? Not just contemplating events of late. No no no... Her job right now was to clean-up the remaining Titans, and so she had swung through areas on her way here, making noise and calling out. One thing that all the regular Titans had in common: They were easy to lure to one place. If the cannons had been functional, she would've ordered a salvo right here, but the Colossal Titan wrecked them at the beginning of the battle. Now, people would see a solitary figure on a wall descend, a brown-haired fighter just drop towards a bunch of 5-7-meter creatures. You might call this wreckless, but it had all been worked out ahead of time. There were a few of them, and they'd been harder to spot while still in the city, but not so difficult now.

The very tallest one, she kicked off of the wall to get behind the head of and twisted to slash its neck apart. Blood spattered from the wound and it began to collaspe. The others clambered immediately, but she'd kicked off and quickly got to the head of the outer-most one of the group, leaning down to stab with both arms and slash out. It was easier to reach these points once you got to smaller ones, needing less force as well. She leapt out of reach of the remaining three and pendulum'd, adding a bit of acceleration as she ran the wall and jumped to get around their fat fingers and strike again. All she needed was the right height, to adjust as needed, and a bit of momentum. Soon, these ones were done, but there still might be more...

[AngelBites15]

Sara 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, Sara 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 Sara 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, Sara 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”.

Another gust of wind blew through Sara’s white locks. She trusted the chain of command, mainly because they saw her as a well-respected soldier, having to be equal with 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, Sara held complete trust in them, as much as she silently did for her comrades.

Her tourmaline stare was fixed on the giant before her, until she took notice of Kate in the distance, in the middle of the Titan’s path. Narrowing her blue eyes, the lieutenant launched a hook into a building, and propelled herself over the young woman. Dodging past its reaching hand with a twirl, and over its shoulder, Sara advanced herself towards her mark, before making a clean cut, with little to no effort.

[FalloutJack]

She once asked her aunt... Well, she asked her alot of things, but the two main ones were 'Why don't they understand?' and 'Why don't they stink?'. In the course of Titan-fighting, there had been a long study of everything a Titan does and everything a Titan is. It was how they knew that Titans were more active in the sun, that they were lighter than the bodies would normally be at that size, that even though they consumed human flesh...they didn't even DO anything with it. They also didn't stink while they lived OR when they died. Of course...any human remains that were discovered... That was different. Really, it was better that way. With a city full of the things dead, you didn't want everyone suffocating in the stench of an army of dead bodies.

Kate had to leave her spot, for now. She hadn't seen any more Titans in her immediate area and definitely saw others that were farther off, getting themselves killed by someone else. That white flash was unmistakable. Much as Katherine had her own reputation in the corps, so did this one. People talked about a light-haired elite, one often associated with Levi Ackerman. Since Kate herself was not always running with the elites herself - more-or-less doing what was known as a 'field study' of equipment and of Titans to watch her back - learning everyone's names ended up being done second-hand. Like, everyone knew the name, Dot Pixis, but not everybody's met 'im, you know? The descriptions, though, matched what she'd heard and even seen from like across a room. Lieutenant Reinhardt had been in town, which was probably why so many people's lives had been spared.

Beyond her skill, her rank, and the fact that she was there, though...you really couldn't tell much about her. She was there, she was good, she left an impression, but she'd had more words with random soldiers helping her in her studies than this woman. Not that this was on purpose, mind you. She was just busy. The war, the endless conflict, so much work...

Anyway, she had left her vantage point and swung along to different buildings, clattering across rooftops, and finally walking along the ground to attract attention. Titans sought out people, but if they didn't see people, they investigated noise. And sometimes, even if they'd spotted people, you could still get some of them to come if you were loud enough. That was why she ended up walking along the road, shouting "Titans! Fresh meat! Come and get it!", although she could've shouted anything and they STILL would've come. This was what bothered her, sometimes. They lived in a daze, uncomprehending. She could have said 'Makeshift catapult! Evil conquers all!' and it would've made no difference. She hated that these things existed and that they always had to go on a rampage. But more than that, she hated that they didn't even appear to know that they were doing it.

To those who ever worked with her, the sound of Katherine shouting was known to just be a distraction. In case someone didn't know, she always pitched her shouts not to sound like she was seriously in distress. So, if she went and shouted 'Help! Help! I'm lost and helpless!', it always sounded like she was kidding. The Titans never knew the wiser, it seemed. It was only noise to them. It was actually kind of depressing, though it seemed like the new Titan, the roaring Titan, ignored this. Did he know better? Well, still...it didn't seem her latest call-out was producing results. Probably better to move to a new area.

No sooner had she activated lines and swung up, though, then a smaller Titan began to reach over a roof. Wait, what? No, it was very simple. It hadn't been tall enough to reach over the building from the other side, so it had climbed, and now that it was on the (half-collapsed) roof, it was trying to gnab her out of the air! With a twist, the Titan suddenly had no fingers. It seemed to gawk at that as she aimed her next line right at the neck and closed the distance. The next few seconds would finger Katherine vigorously stabbing the neck into pieces with her claws. It took more effort this way, but then most people never used the tips of their swords, anyway.

[AngelBites15]

Right after the Titan fell, Sara looked to the unconscious boy in the distance. 'What was so important about that kid? Why are the other Titans moving into his direction?' As long as she had known the recruits inside the Scouts, only one had the kind of resources for this kind of scenario. Propelling herself in rapid speed, the white-haired woman dashed upon the rooftops, before coming across the one individual she had just bypassed, who started making noise, in order to attract their enemy. A clever maneuver; the more killed, the better.

“Bellows!”, Sara called out to the young woman, before gesturing to the shifter in the distance. Clearly, he was a shifter, but why were the other giants all moving towards his position? Up ahead, she took notice of another Titan that another scout had just managed to blind. “With me”, referring for the young woman to follow, before launching her hooks, and taking flight...in the direction of the Titan that was roaring in agony. With little effort, Sara made her strike while passing right by it; her swords steaming of the creature's blood. It's as if Sara didn't really need any backup, while staring death in the face.

Landing in the opening, Sara ran across the remaining stretch between the buildings and the now-sealed hole, before jumping atop on top the body of a recently-fallen Titan, and taking notice of two cadets, and the unconscious Titan-Shifter. Sheathing one of her swords, that was now clean of blood, the white-haired woman crouched down, stretching a free hand to the young Armin, in order 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 Sara 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?', Sara 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, Sara will stay back and wait for the outcome.

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, Sara 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 Sara 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'.

[FalloutJack]

Someone shouted her name. Usually, nobody had any reason to, that they left her to her own devices and got results. It was only when they wanted a change that someone said anything to her, or because she wasn't paying attention. Back in training, when she had still been new to everything, someone had disturbed her concentration while she was writing in her diary...and she just snapped and bit him. Not many altercations like that since. Not many people were dumb enough to startle her, anymore. Sara called her and her hand whipped out, thinking there was a Titan nearby or something. When nothing presented itself, she looked and saw who was talking.

She wants me to follow? To wh...? Ohhh...

To the big one, the shouter, the raging Titan. Ignoring blood that had gotten all over her - Titan blood mostly evaporates over time, right? - she launched her own hooks to reel in and follow. Notably, Katherine operated conservatively with her ODM Gear's steam pressure. She seemed to know the limits and the necessities for good control and acceleration, so she lasted longer on a supply than most others. Of course, you can't argue with the results of people who moved at breakneck speed and had a ton of Titan kills to their name for having perfected a number of techniques in taking them down, but that was their way. Kate saw the entire thing as simple logistics. You have a limited amount of steam-pressure, so you use it in the most efficient way...unless it's an emergency. Then, you worry about what comes later when you have a later.

When they came to the open area, though...where was it? He'd been here! He was RIGHT HERE! You could hear him bellowing all over town! He had more bellows in him - if you'll excuse the pun - than Kate did! The only thing around appeared to be three soldiers, apart from Sara and herself. Wait... No, they couldn't have killed it. Not when Mikasa was standing right there, the one who told her not to. Kate could see Sara trying to help them get an unconscious soldier up to his feet...and it all clicked together. The roaring Titan possessed of an anger for other Titans than humanly possible, the warning from Mikasa when she approached it, and then this wild talk she heard from others about using the Titan to help them seal up Trost... It all added up to...

"Eren..."

Eren was a Titan... Eren was a Titan, and he'd decapitated like a dozen other Titans that she'd seen alone! Why was this...? What was going on? A surge of possibilities, theories, potential answers went through her as she tried to catch up to the situation at hand. Others would think it shock, and maybe part of it was, but that was when she retreated in herself when she was just a girl. Now, her mind was just chugging away like crazy, trying to make sense of it all. Were Titans always people? Were people always Titans? What did all of this mean? No no no, not now! Mikasa had a bad look in her eye. She knew that look. They'd shared that look and made a bunch of bullies just start running.

Kate approached and Armin must've caught sight of her first. She hadn't even thought about how she looked right now, like some kind of buttcher. Frankly, the whole idea of cutting up giants made of flesh never appealed to Armin anymore than doing that to people or even butchers carving up meat. He was such a fragile sort of guy. Smart, but possessed of none of the rage or talent that Mikasa or Eren had. He was the cooler head of the three. Good lord, when she thought of how knowing these people pulled her out of her shell before the attack... You would almost say that they saved her life. Still, Mikasa was stubborn in regards to anything about Eren. Kate now crouched to meet her at eye-level, the shredders giving her balance, but posing no threat.

"We won't let anything happen. I won't. I promise."

If she was going to listen to anyone...

Well, okay, she'd listen to Armin, as well, but really...who better than your own friends?

[AngelBites15]

It was evident the Asian girl held the boy tighter once the two women began to approach them. Sara could observe that the girl was stubborn, and almost skeptical, about their intentions with Eren. In a way, that spark of capability within her didn’t go unnoticed. After the young woman expressed her willingness to help, Mikasa seemed to be able to finally cooperate, allowing her to get closer, having to see something quite familiar with the brunette before her. Sara made a mental note to keep an eye on the black-haired girl from afar.

At the moment, there weren’t many Titans remaining; most of them having to be extinguished by the recently-arrived Scouts, although that didn’t stop Sara from looking out for more, who might intend to sneak up on them. She was more than willingly to be Kate's extra set of eyes. It took some time, but after a few moments, the lieutenant was able to sheath one of her blades, and finally be able to take the boy, and hoist him under one arm. Gesturing to the wall, the Angel launched her hooks, and reeled herself up the wall, hoping that the others below would follow her lead. On her way up, Sara took notice of the ugly monstrosities, and the other Scouts on the ground, who’ve aided in their escape. Mindless things these giants were, preying the small and weak. Wiping out humanity being their urge; a compulsion never ending.

Making it to the top, the white-haired woman sheathed her other blade, before carefully and gently laying the body of the unconscious boy upon on his back, before shortly having to take off her cape, and wrap it, in order to place it underneath his head. The other two cadets were not too far behind, as they quickly kneeled by his side.

[FalloutJack]

It took a moment of intense not-blinking to convince Mikasa to calm herself. Many people had died today, annd so it was more than a little understandable that Mikasa's protective attitude towards Eren would come out. She knew these three almost as well as she knew each other. In a situation like this, with Eren caught in the middle of trouble, this is where they would always be. Still, something in the way Kate was trying to copy Mikasa's intensity must have seemed genuine and trustworthy to her, because she relented, and allowed Sarah to give a hand. A quick look around followed, to make sure nothing was trying to grab them, and then up they went, straight to the top of Rosa. As they did, Kathherine couldn't help but look down at the area of the now-sealed gate, which had originally been where the Colossal Titan sent his fateful kick. She saw-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm broken, sweetheart... Couldn't move if my life depended on it."

"Then, lemme take you somewhere they can fix you!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No no no! Shut up! Shut up! This wasn't like back then! Things are different now! They can fight! They can kill! The Colossal Titan failed! The Colossal Titan... Where WAS the Colossal Titan, anyway? OR the Armored Titan? They were gone again, vanished just as quickly as they arrived. You couldn't get away that quickly. You just couldn't. Someone would see where you went, but those two seemed to appear and disappear at will...and boy did they have will. The only one that might've had even more than that was Eren, followed closely by Mikasa. Who was it that sounded the attack and charged the Colossal Titan as soon as it appeared? This boy, the one now resting atop the wall where it all started. Katherine looked around...then had to blink rapidly.

"Agh...how does she do that thing with her eyes...?"

Honestly, all that intense staring, just to get Eren up a wall where it was SAFE! That hurt! And the sun was still out and she didn't have anything to keep it out. No wonder Aunt Hange wore those glasses. She must've gotten eye-strain all the time, just like her own mother! So, cue Katherine irritably rubbing her eyes for a moment, thankful that there was no sign of another Colossal surprise today, before turning to face the others and pulling out her diary and pen. To be fair, this was not her original diary. Even after drawing and writing small in the original one, she had long ago run out of pages. This was Kate Bellows' Diary the 7th! She found an empty page, put pen to paper, and said...

"I want to know everything."

[AngelBites15]

Standing up, and turning her head around, Sara looked upon Kate with narrowed eyes. “You did good today, soldier. Or should I say, doctor, miss Bellows? Your creation seems to be boasting you well, out here”, she said, having to pass down her own words of praise, even though she didn’t keep her attention on the young woman for long, since the lieutenant gazed back up at the smoke-filled city. Her eyes then looked down upon the carcasses of both human and Titan, mentally passing honor down towards the human corpses, and discontent for the evaporating Giants.

Having to continue looking out, Sara looked at the other young woman at the corner of her eye, once she heard her say something under her breath. She didn’t need to question or acknowledge her, but she did use her observational nature to keep it in mind. Kate sure was something else, having to possess a talent for her curiosity and intellectual properties, like Commander Hange.

From time to time, the Angel, at least, tries to at least socialize with the other ranks, but with all of her time focusing on the war at hand, while trying to remember her past, it became a whole lot harder for her to talk casually. For the most part, Sara only spoke in the way that one would speak, while in the chain of command. She was just too business-like.

Two other Scouts, a male and a female landed nearby, and ran straight to the white-haired woman. “Lieutenant! The front line is currently helping citizens to the gate”, the male reported, while having to point to the gate. “Anya and I are here to help, and we’re not entirely sure what to do from here”.

"Then, by all means, help them. We can't have any more casualties, nor lose anymore of our forces", the white-haired woman recommended in her traditional cold but soft voice, before placing her gaze back on the unconscious boy behind her, by the time the other Scouts quickly departed. She then looked at Keira, her blue eyes laying passively yet expectedly upon her. "Bellows, tend to the boy, as well as his comrades. The Commander would want him alive and conscious".

As much as Sara didn't want to say, but she would much rather be ordered around by her cousin, considering that she quickly became part of his Special Operations Squad during her early military years. In truth, even though her respect for Erwin was considered faithful, she knew that the man was willing to put his soldiers’ lives on the line to reach a certain goal. In addition, even if the woman wanted to wait for the Commander or the Military Police, she also wanted to know who this boy was, and why he seemed to be so important.

With that said, the lieutenant leaped off the wall, having to spin in her downward descent, before launching a hook, allowing herself to dangle halfway upon the structure. Scanning the area for a few moments, Sara wondered how this all even started in the first place. No doubt that her comrades would have similar thoughts. Although, in her own mind, she wanted to remember what happened, before waking up in the body of a Titan. Lookin over at the closing gate, it became the signal telling her that everyone was safe.

Making a sigh, the lieutenant used her own weight to swing herself back and forth, and eventually give herself a mighty push, giving her the leverage to get propelled up the wall, as if in flight, and land before the brunette woman, and the kids. Safe, and together.

[FalloutJack]

Normally, when a person so so-saturated with thoughts that information passed to them will register and then quickly move on to the backburner, where naturally it would be later recalled. However, there was a part in how Sara addressed her that got caught, something she hadn't expected to hear. She called her 'doctor', and that actually halted her writing, mid-word, as she had been outlining the initial observations of the strange feral Titan. There'd been that slight flinch, then she liked to the Shredders sitting beside her and up at Sara herself in confusion.

"Doctor? No, no... I'm not anything like..."

However, Armin decided to encourage this, saying "You really are, though. How often are you studying?", knowing already that the answer was 'All the time'. He might've been trying to encourage her, but the fact was that she didn't want to be reminded just now of her mother, a true genius. Somewhere in all the paperwork, Kate had a rank and/or title. She didn't really acknowledge it. She assumed that when it was important, people would listen to her because she hopefully made sense, and beyond that...didn't really want authority over people. She responded to Sara quietly.

"Th-thank you. I'm just trying to do my duty."

She again looked expectantly at Armin, bidding him to speak. This time, Mikasa gave him the nod and he began to articulate it, starting from when Eren practically dove into the mouth of a Titan to save him. Kate tried not to let this register, but the way her eyes darted to the unconscious boy and back to Armin, especially when he then said that Eren was eaten in front of him... No one could fail to register just a little surprise. The only reason Sara wasn't catching this was because Armin was keeping his voice down and a pair of scouts had called her attention for a moment.

She wrote down feverishly, almost tearing the page several times. Sara gave her an order to tend to Eren and she simply nodded before the white-haired fighter took a dive from the wall. She wanted to reinforce the others, make easier the evacuation of people from the area. Nothing either of them said accounted for Eren's transformation into a Titan. No other person in recorded history transformed into a Titan when eaten by another Titan. They just died. Why, apart from his overwhelming rage, was Eren so special? It was impossible, a wall of ignorance to the whole thing as thick as the wall they sat on now.

"I don't understand. He couldn't do this five years ago. What's changed between then and now? What did he do?"

He couldn't just wish it, no matter how much he hated the Titans. Mikasa chimed in "He became a soldier. That's all.", stating that there was no difference between him or anybody in training, nothing except the things that made him Eren, which alone were not enough for this... Eren was always like this, even as a Titan. He gave shape to his Titan form, but he sure as hell didn't make it himself! Kate stood up, feeling frustrated.

"Soldiers don't just become Titans, and neither do people! Something had to be done to him to make it happen! Someone has to be responsible for this!"

This outburst come right as Sarah was actually returning unexpectedly to the top of the wall...

[AngelBites15]

Even while she was dangling on the wall, Sara continued to have thoughts on the boy that they had just managed to rescue. She remembered Kate saying his name under her breath, but then the lieutenant felt the need to figure it out herself on who exactly he is, and why he was important. That time will come when she starts to interrogate him, later on. For the safety and benefit of her comrades, it was necessary for her to find as much intel as she could, so that she could share it with them. They needed to know what they were up against, and how they should prepare themselves for possible future conflicts that might surround it. Her facials relaxed at the thought, while her hair gently blew in the breeze, before looking back at the other kids, who remained by the boy's side, and observed Kate for a moment, having to see the young woman, standing up, and...panting?

Now that is a bit unusual, especially since the brunette was calm, just not too long ago. If she was having another fit, Sara had to make sure to keep her under wraps, as it was something she did, for quite some time. Even if the ordeals were violent, the white-haired woman was more than willing to take a few hits, if it meant to keep the girl calm. She narrowed her blue eyes, non-intimidatingly, at her, having her to give her the sign to settle down. However, Kate wasn’t really too far away to another, who fell victim to the same fate.

The rest of the day behind Wall Rose was normal, although it became dark rather quickly. The other Scouts were spending time to themselves, while the cadets have tried to process through what they had just seen in their first battle. Seeing a giant Titan, who seemed to be able to cooperate and give humanity their first ever victory, wasn't something for them to expect in the crisis that they were currently a part of, along with the rest of the world.

If she was being honest with herself, Sara didn't exactly approve of the whole Military Police Brigade. As far as she knew, they were the most-controlling out of all of the military branches. As a result, she didn't favor them, even though her own presence seemed to be rather intimidating to them, so thankfully, they backed away from her, in response. It wasn't hard for her to get into the dungeons either, since the MPs didn't hesitate to give her its location upon request. It was the place where they decided to keep the boy captive. Strangely, she almost expected to find Miss Bellows down there, checking on him from time-to-time upon Commander Erwin's order.

The lieutenant turned a corner, down the hallway, hoping to find the boy conscious.

[FalloutJack]

When she saw Sara looking at her like that, Kate realized just how far she was pushing this. She had gotten to scary qualities with that outburst, like she wanted to beat someone's face in because things didn't make sense. She couldn't stand that. Her life had been led out of the darkness by those willing to stick around her and that which could not break, like math and logical sense. Everything that happened had some sort of cause or trigger to make it happen, and that was the truth. Nothing supplanted this, because even if you couldn't find the cause...that didn't mean it wasn't there. Titans operated in the sun because the light gave them energy. Cannons fired because of black powder. Everything falls to earth because of gravity. Titan-people MUST be able to change for a reason. Otherwise, everyone would do it!

And they didn't all do it...right?

Moving on! Eventually, the next stage was going to happen. Someone would have to take Eren away. This was the part that Mikasa and Armin dreaded, but when they even showed the inclination to interfere, Katherine stopped them with "You must let this pass. We have to make them understand.", and the way to do this was to get the facts, the truth. Kate didn't believe Eren was hiding this. She didn't believe he was capable off hiding anything.

So! Where does that leave us? Well, they couldn't do anything with him until he awoke, and damn-well nobody was touching him while he was asleep, because this...had been where Kate would actually pull some rank. As soon as someone even tried to lay a finger on him before he reached the dungeon, or even as they were locking him up, Kate hit them with a "You know they'll want to know everything about him, study everything they can. He has to stay alive for that, and what comes after.", and then if they asked what she meant by later...they just got this glare like 'Isn't that enough for you, already?!', aaand they'd decide to go.

As a result, Kate WAS down there in the dungeon. It actually made sense, keeping him here. The other Titans grew lax and lazy at night. It'd be hard for him to get the power of the sun down here, and there was hardly enough room for him to do anything other than crush himself in these walls, anyway. Of course, that would crush her too... They'd let her wait for Eren to wake up down here, thinking she'd terrorize him because...apparently, some people seeing her at work were afraid of her. They thought the Shredders were just plain vicious, when they were more useful. Anyway, he did awaken, and as soon as he realized he was in chains, he was more than a little frantic, like he didn't know what was going on. Did he not?

"What...? Hey! Can anybody hear me?! HEY!!"

"I'm right here, Eren. Stop shouting."

The dark didn't help, sitting in the shadows as she'd been. Katherine stood up and approached the cell.

"I need you to talk to me as though your life depended on it."

"Why? What's happening?"

"Your life is in danger, like I said. Don't you know why?"

"How could I? I've been out-cold since I...!"

He looked at her, uncertain, trying to fill in the blanks. He told her he'd saved Armin, tried to get out, but the Titan's mouth snapped shut on his arm- He suddenly looked at his own, expecting it not to be there. From there, he was hopelessly confused, because he didn't remember anything properly after that. He said he must've gotten out, been wrong about his arm being bitten off. He must've been... He still had it here! Kate wrote in her diary, trying to understand. Was he in a daze like all the other Titans? No, it couldn't have been... That thing was Eren, alright. To hold that kind of rage, trying to tear apart the other Titans with his bare hands? Kate interrupted him now, and this was where Sara would come in, overhearing his confused words and the brunette setting him straight.

"Eren, you grew to a height of 15 meters and slaughtered a bunch of Titans. And if you don't know anything about that, you're in alot of trouble. More than you've ever been through in your life."

[AngelBites15]

Sara took notice of Kate in the distance, having to already succeed in doing her timely “check-ups” upon the boy. If her eyes were that good, the lieutenant could probably see a slight trace of exhaustion within the young woman's eyes. The least she could do, was let her rest, but knowing the girl’s drive for knowledge, and knack for constant thinking, Sara could probably guess that one request wasn’t going to be enough. Or so, she thought...

"Stand down, soldier”, the platinum-haired woman said, more as a suggestion, and less of a warning. ”Breathing into him, very quickly, isn’t going to help him think clearly. Careful and patient steps, miss Bellows”, she recommended, having to show her usual consideration and advisement for the other recruit, as she often shows to everyone else in a professional matter. However, shortly before putting her eyes on teen in the cell, she spoke once again, towards her, at the corner of her eye. "And, Miss Bellows? Great work today", she said, her eyes narrow as ever, yet making a thin smile appear on her lips.

Then, the white-haired woman turned back to the cell. Pulling up a chair from behind her, that was leaned up against the wall, Sara sat upon it, and looked at him with rather curious yet interested eyes; narrowing them a little more, as if she was examining a subject. “You're in the underground dungeons of Military Police Headquarters. As far as I heard, the MPs are placing you on trial”, she commented. “My name is Sara Reinhardt, one of the lieutenants to Commander Erwin of the Scout Regiment, and this is Katherine Bellows of our Research and Development team. As ordered, our Commnader wanted answers, and I intend to gather”, she told him, rather gently, reminding herself on the amount of trauma that he may have endured.

“I believe we should start here: What is your name, soldier?”, she had to gather this information slowly, and let it come from his own mouth, so it would be accurate for court.

[FalloutJack]

She never even heard her coming. Sara was fast and quiet and professional...and that caught Kate by surprise now. She could've flinched when the Lieutenant walked in, telling her to ease off. She actually might've done, and there would've also been some kind of response that started with 'But...', but that sort of died on her lips as she understood that she hadn't sleeped, hadn't rested, and hadn't done anything but work on this ever since she was presented with the evidence of Eren's current being. It was too much, too quickly. She couldn't put it down, at least...not until Sara reminded her that she was pushing too hard. She thought that the seriousness of things would sharpen Eren's wits. When things got serious, so did he, but...no. Sara was right. Kate gave her a quiet nod of understanding and backed away from the cell. For a moment, she looked down, irritated with herself by the mistake she made, but then she heard Sara again and she sort of stared a moment.

Is she angry with me or...just trying to help?

No, there was just a hint of a smile. She hadn't expected that. Katherine started to return the smile, and then they both got back to the matter at hand. Eren had not started any sort of shouting match or gotten belligerant when he was talking with Kate. He probably wasn't going to start now, but one thing that he knew was that it wasn't likely that the Brunette was going to lie to him. She might not have ever told a lie in her life, simply because she'd be bad at it. Or rather, she wouldn't stand for it, because people not believing her when she spoke the truth of things was simply unacceptable to her. So, Sara explained what was going on and...well, she must have known about their connection back where it all started in Shigenshina, since she introduced Kate to him.

When asked Sara moved on and asked his name, he hesitated only because he didn't know how to place this new woman, and then answered with his stance stiff and upright, "Eren Jaeger, ma'am.". Kate remained silent, as her part in this was now essentially finished until she was asked some piece of information or she needed to interject something. There was no rumor or information at all on how Sara Reinhardt interrogated people. Usually, there wasn't anyone for a Titan-killer to question like this. Kathering waited for the time in which she would be needed now.

[AngelBites15]

Sara was patient with every one of the people who served in the military, with the exception that there will be consequences if one is not committed with their duties. Throughout her time of militaristic action, it was quite rare rare for the Angel to externally smile - especially if something or someone had managed to amuse her, or to pass off some sort of strength to them. For that, there was a smile on the inside, as she watched Miss Bellows’ slight attempt to return the gesture. In some ways, the Angel was really quite proud of the young woman’s talented efforts to gather as much knowledge as she could within their squad, as well as her drive to help the Scouts move forward. That’s what made Kate rather valuable, and useful to them.

These thoughts lingered inside the lieutenant’s head, shortly before she heard the boy respond to her question. Having to remain sitting in her chair, her leg crossed over the other, she then crossed her arms upon her chest. Her narrow, blue eyes looked into his own. “I believe it”, she said simply, and she did, as if she had faith, as well as the feeling in her gut that told her that the boy was more valuable than he initallt seemed. In truth, the discovery of his identity made her stiffen on the spot. ’That name. He’s the one; the individual I was meant to seek out. He’s the answer to everything’. After some time, Sara calmed herself, momentarily tearing her gaze away from him, and closed her eyes. She then remembered Kate saying the same name under her breath, earlier, during the battle. “I see now”, she finally said, after a moment. She hoped to get some answers from the recruit next to her, considering that she may know more about Eren, than everyone else.

Opening her eyes, Sara looked back at the prisoner, having to stand up from where she sat, and kicked the chair with her foot, letting it slide across the floor, and back to the wall behind her. “What happened out there?”, she was back to her cold yet soft voice.

[FalloutJack]

Eren reported the facts as he knew them, starting from the sudden appearance of the Colossal Titan, as it had five years ago. (No mention of the theft of meat, of course.) The way he spoke, it would be clear to Sara that he was a former resident of Shigenshina, and had seen Wall Maria destroyed and the initial invasion of the Titans, firsthand. He knew that skinless horror, he'd seen that armored juggernaut, and he'd watched the town of his birth get consumed. So, he ordered the attack on the Colossal one as soon as it appeared, though it seemed like it was smart enough to defend itself from having its weakpoint struck. Once it had done its part - smashing in the gate - it was gone, like the last time.

The description of events continued as pretty much as Kate had heard from him earlier, except that Eren was a bit less informal, phrasing it more like a report. He was less disoriented, even if he was still confused. Kate herself remained perhaps just as confused. There was no explanation, as of yet. If it wasn't for his apparent shifting ability, you'd just classify him as an Abnormal, an Irregular, and be done with it. But no, he was uniquely dangerous, wasn't he? Like the two who started the invasion to begin with. Eren stopped once he finished the part where he pulled Armin out of a bearded Titan's mouth. It was practically a superhuman feat, doing that. The fact that Armin had still been coherent later was nothing short of miraculous, given what happened. Still, Eren stopped and he looked between Sara and Kate right now.

"I don't remember anything properly after that. I thought I must've cut my way out, continued fighting. I don't know what happened. What she said..."

He was becoming agitated again. If either one of them had to guess, it would be that Eren must have seen or thought or dreamed something in all of this, some kind of disturbing imagery or even memory relating to this. He was trying to make sense of things, but the sense wouldn't come. It was at this point that Kate spoke up.

"May I tell him what happened now?"

After all, it's not like he wasn't seen...

[AngelBites15]

Sara watched and listened, as the teenager across from her began to recollect on what he remembered. All of it sounded like an experience that was way too similar to that of her own, except for the fact that she lost all memory of what happened, before Erwin and Levi found her in the nape of a Titan. In a way, she found herself having to relate to Eren, in regards to having the same problem in trying to remember what had already occurred. It was clear that he was forgetting one little detail in his story; something Kate seemed to already know. Perhaps the lieutenant could allow her to help him, by simply summing it up.

Her arms crossed upon her chest, the white-haired woman kept her blue eyes upon his form, as if to scan his features, and detect any sort of abnormality to him. By hearing the names of the two cadets, "Armin" and "Mikasa", Sara looked back at the memory of the other teens who were seemed to be attached to Eren by the hip, and by what she heard from a witness, the girl called "Mikasa", who held his unconscious body, was also attacked by him, shortly after he transformed.

Looking to the young woman next to her, Sara simply nodded, giving her permission to speak.

[FalloutJack]

Upon receiving her approval, Kate turned to Eren and used her fact-telling voice. This was the even-toned one that seemed to detach from the world and speak what is known. Carla Jaeger used it a couple of times when Eren had done something wrong and she needed to know what it was. So then, she looked over her notes and then spoke them to him.

"Eren, Armin reported you having been eaten by a bearded Titan, and then somebody else saw a 15-meter Titan burst from such a creature later on, and that was the first time that everyone in Trost heard it roar. From there, it was witnessed in beating the life out of any Titan within range, and even taking a few swipes at anybody too close. It appeared to be completely out of control, a berserk sort of Irregular. Even still, it didn't seem to pursue humans nearly as much as Titans, and for some reason any nearby Titans wanted to devour its flesh. After removing a number of the creatures had been taken care of, because a Titan that was keen on killing its own kind was too good to give up, it was decided to use this Titan to seal the gate of Trost with a large stone, a plan which was successfully carried out."

Kate's hands fell to her sides as she began to speak normally, once more.

"I didn't see all of this, myself. I was too busy killing any Titans that might be nearby. However, the facts and even the admittance of your friends lead up to the conclusion that you somehow became a Titan shortly after being eaten."

The whole time, Eren's features became both more intense and more shocked, like he was living a nightmare. What he was being told did not make anymore sense to him than it did to others. This idea of a human being turning into a Titan was terrifying, as though the enemy could be standing right next to you and you wouldn't even know. It made alot of people worry for that reason, and because it would seem fairly likely that the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan had to BE somebody. What's worse, though, Eren thought this fill-in of the gaps almost made some kind of weird sense, like he should know it to be true somehow, and yet...and yet how could it?

"You have no memory of any of this, do you?"

"I don't...think so. I don't know... I honestly don't know anything!"

Katherine's shoulders slumped, head lowering down, as though defeated.

"He was in a daze, just like all the others..."

[AngelBites15]

"I have also heard, Yeager, that you have attacked cadet Mikasa, as well", she told him. "If you are still wondering, she was unharmed", her voice was reassuring him, while keeping the same face and position. "You may not approve of my decision, but I had to turn you over", she said with obligation within her voice. "She and cadet Armin will be attending your trial tomorrow, as they were witnesses". There was silence between the two of them for a while, until the lieutenant sighed. "Listen, Eren, my Commander wants you reinstated into the ranks, while the MPs demand for you to be disposed of. It will be a battle between the regiments, when it comes to deciding on your fate", Sara explained, with expectation in her eyes.

"But, we have a plan; one that I need for you to trust us on", her blue eyes were piercing into his own, with a bit of glint in them, almost godly.
"I can't tell you what it is, but Commander Erwin hopes that it will ensure your survival".

[FalloutJack]

That was one fact thhat she wanted to withhold from him. She didn't want Eren to hear that, as well, righton top of everything else. But now, he had and Kate said nothing when his eyes searched her for some kind of confirmation or denial. It was better that she didn't speak. She'd already said that he seemed berserk and even in a daze. It couldn't go worse than that. Well...except for the fact that the MPs wanted him dead. Stupid, short-sighted idea... People were already calling the Battle of Trost the first human victory over the Titans. They'd stopped the Titans from crashing through the second wall. They couldn't just kill him. He was too important.

Hence, the plan... Katherine had no idea what it was. She hadn't been told anything, and nobody had had the chance any, since she'd been doing her job, down here. This was all Sara's game, at this point, or rather it was Captain Erwin's. They were gonna find a way to keep him, to battle the titans and maybe retake Wall Maria. Just think... If they could take that all back, and then somehow take on the Titans who caused it all... Not only would that be a great human achievement, but they might finally get some answers.

At any rate, Eren seemed to believe Sara's words - something in the way she said it or that powerful look in her eye - and he agreed to...well...basically hang in there, really. All he could do was not go flipping mad and turn into a Titan or something. That'd get him killed. Katherine was going to wait until the two of them were out of earshot, though, before asking what this plan actually WAS.