"How long do you think we will last out here? It's been a week and luckily we haven't lost anybody. I'm sure they are going to find us eventually." Levi states, referring to the Titan's. Commander Zoe Hanji ignores him however so that she can take count of her squad. After Historia and Eren were saved, the remaining Survey Corp members escaped outside Wall Maria. They agreed to test their luck outside of Wall Maria since it was Eren's idea.
"How are we doing on supplies?" Hanji yells, turning her head slightly to see the younglings behind her along with Levi and Erwin.
"We are low on gas so it would be best to avoid all use of our Three Dimensional Maneuvering Gear. Food supply is also low, so we should send Sasha and Connie hunting soon. Water is little to none." Jean reports while wiping his brow underneath the heavy sun.
"Hanji, I think it is time to give up and go back. We should form a plan on the way though. I'm sure we can think of something." Erwin suggests but Hanji turns sharply on her horse, facing the crowd of complainers.
"No way! We have already come this far. There is now reason to turn back now. I just know we will find something eventually. Have faith in me! Eren, any updates?"
"Just a bit further. I don't know why but my father's voice keeps saying something about a whole other unseen world beyond the fourth wall." Eren responds as he tries to dig deeper into his memories.
"You better be right or else we are going to have issues." Jean threatens with irritation, as if the two didn't already have problems.
"I know I am! You are lucky I learned to control the Titans to keep them away horse face." Eren remarks and before Jean could respond, the two adults in the front stop their horses sharply.
"What is it?" Sasha asks curiously, until the rest of the Survey Corps look up to see what is casting the large shadow. Stretching high into the sky is a large 50 Meter Wall, a fourth unheard wall.
"Oh my god… No way…." Armin whispers, too shocked to even move. In all of the books he had ever studied, not a single one mentioned a fourth wall outside of Wall Maria. "Are we… Are we going to cross it?"
"Brause, Springer, and Kirschstein! Get the pully ready! We are going over now!" Hanji orders while throwing herself off the horse, readying herself to help the others.
"What do the rest of us do?" Historia asks timidly, looking to Mikasa, Eren, and Armin.
"Tie the horses to each other so we don't have any problems loading them onto the platform. Erwin, just sit tight until we have everything in place." Hanji tells the crippled man who is already trying to help with the pully.
"I wonder what lies outside these walls." Armin gasps while bouncing on his toes, squeezing Eren's arm with excitement.
"Maybe it's the ocean. The three of us can finally fulfill the dream you created." Eren encourages while grabbing Mikasa's shoulder.
"Hey, don't leave us out of this!" Sasha declares while shoving some food boxes onto the platform. "We are part of a team now so we will do these things together as so!"
"I feel more like we are more like a family than a team." Historia admits and everybody pauses, the word family lingering in the air.
"You're right. We are a family now. We can only depend on each other from the moment we leave these walls." Eren says and the seven younger survey corps members look up to the wall with hope in all of their eyes.
"The platform is ready. We are going over now." Levi announces while motioning to the others. Once all ten members are on top of the platform along with the food, gas supply, and horses, they start the tense ascension towards the top. Upon reaching the top, they all look over the horizon with expecting eyes.
"Nothing out of the ordinary it seems." Erwin points out, the scenery looking just as it does anywhere else. Except, they couldn't help but take in the lack of Titans scratching at the walls or roaming the hills off in the distance.
"Could there possibly be a chance that the Titan's have been trapped inside of the walls? Could it be possible that there is civilization outside of the fourth wall?" All of them stare at each other, the idea bouncing around at lightening speed.
"I guess there is only one way to find out. Ready the horses! Transfer the platform to the other side! We are going to explore this new land starting now." Hanji orders, her voice a pitch higher than usual, probably from excitement or nerves.
"U-Understood!" Never have the members worked so fast to move everything into place for this expedition.
"Expedition number 164, most likely our final one. I must say, that number has quite the ring to it." Hanji jokes with Erwin who is barely paying any attention for he is to induced by the world his father had dreamt of.
Within minutes, the members of the 164th expedition are lowered to the ground, tainting the unexplored lands. Well that's what they believed anyway.
"Well, we are here. What do we do now? Where do we go?" Mikasa questions, while looking through the trees with her sharp eyes.
"We go straight West to where the sun is setting. If night falls and we have not found anything, we will rest for a few hours and then follow the North Star. We hunt if we must." Hanji announces and everybody follows her directions.
"I wonder what we will find." Armin hums happily, his blond bob glimmering underneath the fading sun.
"If there aren't any Titan's in this wall, wouldn't it make sense to try and move the remaining population here? After all, just because the Military Police are dicks doesn't mean the innocent civilians should suffer." Jean questions and everybody nods in agreement.
"How do you propose we bring them here? It's not like the military police is going to believe us in the first place. They'll take Eren and kill him the moment they have the chance. Then how will they get to this new wall?" Levi demands and the agreement immediately dies out.
"So we just stay here in paradise and leave everybody else to die away? Is that it?" Eren yells with irritation, memories of his mother and childhood swimming through his mind.
"Would you like to join them Eren? We only have the choice of moving on and I'm taking it. If you want to go back, then do it. We don't need you if there aren't any Titans here." Levi spits and realization dawns on the boy. They were right. Eren was no longer needed if this world didn't have any Titan's. In fact, the only Titan in this world would be… "Stop thinking that way brat. I was joking."
Mikasa grinds her teeth together in order to prevent herself from screaming curses at Levi for being such a dick, but in the end, takes a deep breath and gives Eren a sympathetic look.
"Hey, what's that up there?" Connie asks while squinting, trying to see past the wood. It seemed as if there was some sort of light from up ahead, most likely fire light.
"Wait… Is that…"
"Civilization?!" They all gasp at the same time, jerking their horses to an immediate stop. A thick tension runs through the ten of them as they stare at the two story wooden building in front of them.
"People… Living here… That couldn't possibly be true…" Armin murmurs while clutching the reigns tightly. "Wouldn't that also mean that there really aren't any Titans here?"
"The only way to find out is to go see, correct?" Hanji says and then jerks on the reigns of her horse, causing the majestic creature to spur forward. "Do not act hostile whatsoever towards them unless they attack first. As far as we are concerned, we are the enemies. If they do not speak our language, I will attempt to communicate with them."
"Let's demount our horses so we do not scare them off." Erwin suggests and Hanji agrees to do so. Once off the horses, the group make their way closer towards the building. Just as they reach a clearing, a bunch of small children run out of the building towards their direction.
"Woah! Strange people with big horses!" One of the kids yell, just as the children come into full view. Every single 104th member freezes as if a shot of ice had been injected into their veins. Below them are they faces of their fellow allies that had been killed at Trost, only at a much younger age.
"Mina! Don't call them strange! That is rude." A blond headed boy who is Thomas Wagner's exact nine year old replica scolds but the girl with ebony locks held in two pig tails continues to look up at them with adoration in her wide slate eyes.
"What… What is going on?" Armin chokes out as his chest begins to constrict, painful memories of past events replaying in his mind. The three confused adults turn around, only to be met with absolutely petrified expressions. "They look exactly like our dead companions. Down to the name… Down to the face… Only their age is much different."
"Hey, brats, go get an adult." Levi orders and they all immediately point to a girl with bright orange hair.
"Hannah! Go get Marcelle or Petra!" Mina orders and this time, it is the adults to react to the familiar name.
"No way… This can't be happening." Eren murmurs as trembles start to run down his body. "Where are we? What the hell is going on? Why are we seeing all of our dead friends?"
"Eren, stop screaming. You are freaking out the kids." Mikasa states sharply even though her own heart is pounding rapidly in her chest.
"That's what we wanna know too. Why do you look like our dead friends? Are you their parents?" A small white haired boy resembling Mylieus questions and all breathing hitches. That is, until Armin the genius put two and two together.
"Guys, I don't think we just stumbled onto a fourth wall." All eyes go to him. "I think we just crossed into a parallel universe were all our dead friends are alive. That would mean our universe holds all of their dead friends. Our souls are simply being transferred from universe to universe over and over again."
"You mean our parents, our friends, and everybody else that have died are here?" Eren asks as he starts to feel his eyes grow misty.
"That could be a possibility… But we don't know how large this world is. It is only chance that these children are all together the way they are. Or it could be chance to them the way we are all together." Armin concludes, just as a taller figure in a white dress and sun hat runs out of the house with Hannah in tow.
"Marcy! Marcy!" The kids chant, turning away from the strangers so that they could go towards the mysterious girl.
"Calm down children. All of you go inside while I deal with this, alright?" The girl coos gently, her voice smooth like water in a river.
"Okay!" They all sing while racing each other towards the building. The girl looks after them for a little bit before turning around. However, when she does, both parties freeze.