Rein had imagined meeting them a thousand times, but never like this—not now.
The long-haired Titan clutched someone in her grip. The figure was small, no green Survey Corps cloak, no maneuver gear.
Not only was he not Survey Corps—he was just a kid, barely in his teens!
A child, out here beyond Wall Maria, in the middle of nowhere?
The boy had never seen anything like this. Terror froze him—screaming, thrashing like a bug, but his hands were pinned tight in the Titan's grasp.
Rein's gut twisted. "Stop!" he roared.
He meant to spare the kid, but it backfired. The Titan didn't flinch, and the boy? Passed out cold from fright.
Rein groaned, exasperated, and lunged forward, grabbing his "neighbor's" arm to halt her gaping maw.
"Good thing—" He exhaled hard, his eyes flicking aside.
"Holy—!"
His 10-meter frame jolted, leaping back in shock.
He hadn't expected this: three more kids—two boys, one girl—sprawled on the ground nearby.
They were petrified too, rooted to the spot.
The scene felt… familiar.
Wait—!
A thunderbolt cracked through Rein's mind, a memory flashing bright, searing from his spine to his skull.
Buzz~
His ears rang.
Four kids—three boys, one girl. One about to get chomped by a long-haired Titan.
It hit him like a brick.
This was them—the hometown trio!
Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie.
And the boy in the long-haired Titan's grip? That had to be Marcel—the Jaw Titan's holder.
The guy who lived forever in flashbacks.
Which meant Rein's dazed, next-door neighbor—the long-haired Titan—was Ymir!
Rein stood dumbfounded, staring at Ymir. Small world, huh.
"Reiner!"
Annie's sharp cry snapped everyone back.
Just like in the manga, Reiner's nerve broke. He bolted, kicking into teammate-sabotage mode.
"The warrior chief called it—this guy's a liability! Bertholdt, chase him down! I'll save Marcel!" Annie shouted, yanking a dagger from her pocket.
She was about to transform into the Female Titan!
It all happened in a flash—Rein barely had time to blink. Annie's blade was already swinging.
Right as it nicked her wrist, a green shadow streaked through the air.
Hiss~
That familiar maneuver gear sound. Those unmistakable Wings of Freedom.
"Drop that kid!"
The Survey Corps had arrived. Twin cables sank into Rein's back, blades flashing toward his nape.
Annie's dagger froze an inch from her wrist.
Rein let go of Ymir and rolled right, dodging the strike.
Hiss, hiss, hiss~ Gas jets roared all around.
It wasn't just one soldier—it was a squad!
The sudden chaos threw everyone off.
Annie, dagger in hand, stood like a statue, brain stalled.
Transform now, and unless she wiped out the Survey Corps, their cover was blown—mission ruined even if they got inside the walls. Don't transform, and Marcel gets eaten?
What now?
"Annie! Run! They'll save Marcel!" Bertholdt snapped into action, grabbing her and bolting for the trees.
Too slow—they'd been spotted.
"Captain, two more kids!"
"You two, after them! Rest, distract the Titans—save that boy!"
"Yes, sir!"
Two green blurs shot off.
Rein had figured he was the one lagging behind—how'd the Survey Corps end up trailing him?
Thud, thud, thud~
Heavy footsteps rumbled from behind the trees. Ten Titans burst out—they were still on the run.
"Scatter! Scatter!" the squad leader yelled.
The flood of Titans turned a messy scene into pure mayhem.
A couple even chased after Annie's direction.
In the chaos, Rein saw Ymir with Marcel, shoving him toward her mouth.
Poor Marcel was out cold, helpless.
Worse, the other Titans noticed him too. Greed glinted in their dull eyes.
They swarmed, ready to rip Marcel apart.
"Save him! Save him!" the squad leader bellowed, slashing at the Titans.
No one with a shred of conscience could watch a kid get torn to shreds.
But it was tricky. Save Marcel, and he'd derail Attack on Titan's whole story.
Butterfly effect—everything could shift, rewriting the manga entirely!
"What do I do?" He hesitated, torn.
"Fuck The kid My life is more important!"
Above, the Survey Corps squad zipped around, slashing to save the kid.
In the chaos, Rein got his first real taste of bloody.
Blood rained, limbs littered the ground, chewing filled the air.
He nearly gagged.
Only now did it sink in—he was in a savage, kill-or-be-killed world.
The Survey Corps was down half their squad. The Titans? Just three fell.
But with so many busy eating, Ymir—trapped in the center—finally looked up.
Half a body dangled from her mouth.