synopsychic | [Video]

[An abrupt and shaky view of Flamegard, from a vantage point that is both moving very quickly and several stories in the air, abruptly appears in everyone's mind. After a short moment, Armin's voice, high pitched and shaking with fear and adrenaline, rings out.]

There are... at least a dozen dragons heading due west from Flamegard. Young, about horse-sized, and working together, which is unheard of.

[The image pans up to the dragons for a moment - sure enough, there are many large shapes in tight formation flying low in the distance. After a moment, the image pans down again, a flurry of limbs and wires and blades and buildings. Anyone familiar with it will recognize that Armin is using his 3D maneuvering gear.]

Most of Flamegard's knights are on an expedition to the Ash Wastes - we can't stop them here. And any other method of carrying a message inland would come too l-

[The voice cuts off abruptly as he lets out a pained and terrified shout and lurches to the side - landing on a rooftop and tumbling to a stop, which luckily puts out the flames that had begun licking his sides. Throughout the tumble and after he lands, it becomes obvious that he's being chased by at least one of the creatures. Too close to stop unless it wants to take a similar tumble, the creature flies quickly past, breathing another gout of flame. Armin jumps to the side, and then follows, flying back into the air before the creature can turn around for another pass.

He manages to stay behind it when it does turn, and it doesn't seem to see him following. Then one of the cables snags onto the dragon's exposed neck and it seems to rush forward as Armin moves in for the killing blow. At the last moment, he hesitates, crashing into the dragons wing as his stroke goes wide.

Both Armin and the dragon scream as the tumble to the ground, falling a ways apart. With obvious difficulty, Armin struggles to stand - but when he does, he sees the dragon trying to flee Flamegard, struggling with a bleeding gash in the side of his throat and a probably broken wing. The rest of the flight are now little more than specks in the distance. Armin collapses, blades clattering to the ground, his breath coming hard.

His breath gradually slows, and, eventually, he continues.] Any other message would come too late. I don't know what they're doing, but... we need to get the inland cities prepared.

Someone with the expedition, please... let Eren know.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Argh! I knew it! I knew it!!

[And here she is in Greengard, miles away, playing politics. What is wrong with people do they not get the whole man-eating monsters thing.]

Arlert-san! A-are they, did they finish any of the cannons??

Ah - I think they finished one...

One won't be enough when they're this fast!

[This is so bad. This is so bad. And she isn't there. She'd promised to look after Eren - ]

I'm sorry! I should've stayed! I'm sorry...!! [No time for this shit. Get it together. Crying never helps.] I'll warn Greengard. I'll make the Baron send help!

I know, but I'm not sure what else we can do. And I'm not sure how many knights Flamegard can spare, at least without allowing more dragons through.

It's no use worrying about what we might have done differently. Warn Greengard, and anyone else you can!

[She desperately wants to offer something, but it's hard to play tactician for a battle you're not there to see except through someone else's eyes.]

Are you okay? Is Jaeger-san there? Can you me more about what's going on? I, I don't think anyone there is trained in using the cannon!

I'm not in any immediate danger. [Which is his way of avoiding saying he's not okay.] Eren's with most of the knights in the Ash Wastes.

I don't know what's going on - I only saw the dragons a minute ago, and then one of them attacked me. I haven't had a chance to find anything out since then.

If... if it helps, I have been trained to fight with a canon, at least a little.

[Thankfully she doesn't catch on. Not in immediate danger is good enough. Assuming anyone's not in immediate danger considering that oh shit dragons.]

Okay good! Then, please stick around there until I come! I'll bring as many people as I can.

A-and... please tell me if you hear anything from the people with Jaeger-san...! [If anything happens to Eren she will just about die.]

Is it a good idea to come out here, though? I mean, the dragons are already on their way inland. Shouldn't we try to follow or intercept them?

[There's a small wave of surprise. He hadn't realized Eren and Sio were so close. However, there's no hesitation when he responds.] Of course.

But what if more of them are coming? I, I can help you make better stuff than just cannons! You need a proper defense!

[More than closeness, it's a sense of duty betrayed. Eren was her anchor in this Jaunt. She'd made a promise and now she isn't keeping it. It's driving her mad, her thoughts all shot through with a frantic scrambling to fix it.]

I mean, I t-think we have to try and do both. I've been told that even one nest that makes its way inland could be enough to tear the country apart...

If you can help build the defense, then you'll definitely be needed here. I'm not sure I'll be much use out here, though...

It's no good, if we can only cover one place, that'll never be enough... [Come on girl, strategize...]

Don't Flamegard have some kind of plan for this happening? It can't be the first time that any dragons got through!

I don't... I don't really know. It's not the first time dragons have gotten through, but it's the first time they've managed it with these numbers. If it were only one dragon, we'd have enough knights and guards left here to pursue and track it down.

But he don't have nearly enough to take down a dozen at once. Even if we still had all the knight who journeyed to the Ash Wastes, it might not be enough...

That... that actually makes sense. Because we're here now, so, maybe this is the reason...

Arlert-san, since you're the only one who's got training with a cannon, you've got to stay there, okay? Stay there and, and don't die. You're hurt so, you should stay on the ground and supervise the people who are shooting. That's important, okay?

[Video]

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