The herd still approached. Dozens of Titans, maybe more, dragging themselves forward like bloated puppets.
The cannons atop the wall were nearly useless. Some had already been wrecked. Soldiers shouted orders, rushed to reload, scrambled to retreat.
Meeyn's red eyes swept across it all, expression unreadable.
"Not looking good for you guys," he muttered under his breath.
From his perch atop the wall, Meeyn watched the chaos unfold.
Down below, a Titan unlike the others was tearing through the herd. Where the pure Titans stumbled and flailed mindlessly. It crushed skulls beneath its fists, snapped necks, hurled bodies aside like broken dolls.
It was not like the others.
Attack titan?.
Meeyn's lips curled into a small, amused smile.
"Now that's interesting," he muttered.
Through the smoke and dust, he caught glimpses of the soldiers — trainees, by the look of them — rallying around the presence of the berserk Titan. He saw a girl with short black hair. Another boy, smaller, clinging to plans and desperate hope. Others, too, trying to fight, trying to survive.
The Titan — Eren's Titan — was starting to slow. The mindless ones swarmed him, pulling at his limbs, gnawing at his flesh. He fought on instinct, thrashing wildly, but it was clear he couldn't last much longer.
He rose again, weightless, the darkness cradling him as he drifted forward, gliding soundlessly toward a nearby rooftop where the cluster of cadets had been watching the attack titan.
The group was tense, talking hurriedly among themselves.
"What was that you were saying? Cuz I think it's a moot point now."
"All right, enough of this — let's leave while we can."
"We're lucky the ugly bastard didn't get bored — we'd have been next on the menu."
"Look, a Titan's a Titan."
None of them noticed the figure slipping silently behind them.
Then — with a crash — the Attack Titan finally collapsed to its knees below after killing an abnormal titan.
The cadets turned to watch as something extraordinary happened: the Titan's nape split open, and a human figure, steaming, tumbled free from within.
It was Eren.
The shock rippled through the group, disbelief freezing them in place.
And then, from right behind them — so close they could feel the breath of the words —
"Ohhh... did the guy just come out of a Titan?"
The cadets jerked around, hands reaching for their weapons, eyes wide with alarm.
Meeyn stood there casually, one hand in his pocket, a faint, lazy smile tugging at his mouth as if he'd been there the whole time, just enjoying the view.
"Relax," he said smoothly, tilting his head a little. "I just walked here. You were all too busy panicking to notice."
The trainees stared at him — the blood, the smoke, the impossible presence — their minds scrambling to process whether he was friend, foe.
Meeyn just chuckled under his breath, playing it cool.
"Man," he said lightly, "you guys really need to work on your situational awareness."
A tense silence hung between them, broken only by the distant crash of buildings and the guttural howls of Titans.
The cadets edged back instinctively, hands gripping blades they barely remembered drawing. The girl with short black hair — Mikasa, Meeyn recognized from memory — stepped subtly in front of the boy with the fading steam rising from his body. Protective.
He raised his empty hands in a lazy gesture of peace.
"Not here to pick a fight."
A few of the cadets relaxed by a hair's breadth, uncertainty flickering behind their eyes.
The boy — Eren — staggered to his feet below, supported by two soldiers who had rushed toward him. He was drenched in blood and steam, his legs shaking.
Meeyn shifted his weight slightly, the old wood of the rooftop creaking under his boots. He hooked a thumb over his shoulder, jerking it at the rooftop behind him.
"I was up there," he said casually. "Same roof you're standing on now. Hiding. Figured I'd see who came out on top — Titans or humans."
His grin widened, sharp and easy.
"Guess I picked the right team to bet on."
The cadets exchanged uneasy glances, still unsure what to make of him.
Meeyn just stood there, hands in his pockets, looking like he had all the time in the world. Calm. Harmless. Maybe a little too relaxed, considering the literal apocalypse happening around them.
Reiner Braun, tall and broad-shouldered, finally stepped forward. His voice was rough, but not unfriendly.
"Hey. You alone?"
Meeyn shrugged lazily. "Last I checked."
Reiner glanced over at Annie — the quiet, sharp-eyed blonde standing off to the side, half hidden behind another cadet. She looked at Reiner, then at Meeyn, frowning slightly.
"Annie," Reiner said, jerking his chin. "Take him with you. Help him get to the inner gate."
Annie's eyes narrowed just a hair, but she gave a small nod. No argument.
Meeyn smiled easily, like he'd just won a prize at a carnival. He gave a lazy two-finger salute.
"Appreciate it. Really," he said, voice light.
The group was already starting to move, retreating toward Wall Rose along the battered streets. Smoke still choked the air, and the distant roars of Titans echoed through the ruined city.
Annie fell into step a little ahead of him, quiet as a shadow.
Meeyn followed her casually, hands in his pockets, keeping a respectful distance.
"You always this talkative?" he asked after a minute, tone light, almost teasing.
Annie didn't look back. "Don't push your luck."
Meeyn chuckled under his breath.
"I'm just saying," he continued, voice low so only she could hear, "you save a guy's life, walk him through a burning city, you could at least tell him your name."
Annie shot him a side glance — quick, sharp — then looked forward again.
"Annie," she said shortly.
"Meeyn," he replied smoothly. "Nice to meet you, partner."
Another glance. This time a little longer. Suspicious. But curious, too.
They walked in silence for a bit, weaving through the broken streets. Titans roared somewhere behind them, but the noise was growing fainter as they neared the wall.
Meeyn broke the silence again, voice casual.
"You seem like the type who doesn't do anything without a reason," he said. "So... why help me?"
Annie kept walking, not answering right away.