"Eren!"

Ah...

Even opened his eyes slightly, squinting against the glaring sun. A pair of crystal blue eyes met his gaze.

"Armin?" He slowly sat up, wincing as a jolt of pain bolted through his head. Something hot and sticky trickled down his forehead but he paid no mind to it. He scanned the destructed town as Armin helped him up, searching for Mikasa and the others. He spotted Jean and Sasha working together to kill a 13-meter titan but he couldn't recognize the other soldiers.

"Where's Mikasa?"

"I don't know. After you got flung off by a titan, I went after you and Mikasa tried taking it down and- ah! There she is!"

Frantic, heavy footsteps told him that she was drawing near. Even jerked around and was startled to see her drenched in blood from head to toe. What was even more astonishing was that Mikasa completely ignored him.

"Armin, there are too many of them! My blades are worn and I don't have much gas left. Many people are dying. Do should we do?"

"Ah..." Armin stepped back, clearly overwhelmed. "Eren, can you still use your titan powers?"

Eren clutched his side tightly. The wound was inflicted by a titan bite and it hurt like hell, but he knew it would heal soon. Besides, that wasn't enough to stop him from trying to save his comrades.

"I-"

"Eren, you're hurt!" Mikasa exclaimed, lifting his hand and trying to take a better look at his injury. "It's bleeding a lot. Are you still able to fight?"

Anger rose inside his chest. "Of course," he growled, wrenching away from her grasp. The last thing he needed was Mikasa fussing over him, not right now. He lifted his hand and bared his teeth, but an earsplitting boom made him falter from biting down.

"They're firing the canons!" Amin exclaimed.

"I thought they were already running low on gunpowder," Mikasa mused.

"Hey look!" Eren cried, pointing to a group of titans sliding down the wall. He stared at them, speechless with both perplexity and utter disbelief. "Did they possibly come from the outside? How did they climb over?"

"Never mind that." Mikasa rested her hand on Eren's arm. "If you're as fine as you say you are, then we should get moving. Let's go, Armin."

"R-Right..."

Eren cast a last fleeting glance at the small group of titans, wondering how they were able to get over the wall. Were they abnormals with intelligence? As the canon hit the titans, destroying the wall along with them, he thought he saw something dark fall from inside the wall,but a heavy screen of smoke and dust blocked his sight, leaving him uncertain and doubting what he saw was real.

"Mikasa, did you see that?"

"Hm?" She glanced up from replacing her blades. "See what?"

His gaze lingered on the smoke, waiting for it to clear. "Ah no, it's..." His eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. "Look, on the ground!" He pointed to what appeared to be a big, long wooden box lying in the grass among the immobile titans, almost resembling a coffin. Amin stepped in beside them. "What on earth is that...? Where did it come from?"

"From inside the wall. I saw it fall out when the canon hit the titans. Why would anyone put a box in the wall? Should we go check it out?"

"We should tell Hange first," Mikasa suggested. "She'll know what to do."

"I'll go," Armin offered. "You and Mikasa help the others fight off the titans. I won't be long." He stepped off the building and took off before anyone had the chance to speak.

Fast forward

"Well, well... what on earth is this?" Hang murmured, stepping in to inspect the box. "Why is it lying here?" She wiped at the dust that caked the wood. "This must be at least fifty years old." She gaze travelled up to the giant hole in the wall. "You said it fell out of there, correct?"

"Yes," Armin replied. "At least that's what Eren told me. He said it simply fell out as the canon ht that part of the wall." He hesitated. "You don't think... there are other secrets that lay inside, and we were just lucky to find one of them?"

"Maybe." Hange leaned in and blew of the layer of dust. "Hm... what is this?" She slid her glasses onto the top of her head. "There are words carved into the wood, but I can't read them. Are they in a different language? Say, Armin, can you read this?"

"Eh?" Armin glanced around from his guarding position. "Me?"

"Yes, come here." She beckoned him without looking around. "There are foreign words encrypted on here. I was thinking you could help me decipher them." Amin took one swift glance at the words and shook his head. "I've never seen words written like this before. It is definitely a language we don't use anymore."

"I see. Should we open it?"

"You mustn't, squad leader!" One of the soldiers implored. "It's far too risky!"

"He may be right," Armin agreed. "The words on there could be a warning. I think it's too dangerous to impulsively open it. Why would it be stored inside the wall otherwise? Someone clearly doesn't want us to open it. I suggest we take it back to your lab and further examine it."

"Hm... you have a point..." Suddenly she smiled and straightened. "Ah, well, it can't hurt to take a peek!"

"Wha? Wait!"

But Hange had already pulled out the bolt and opened the lid a tiny bit and peeked inside. Suddenly she reared back with a small startled cry, unnerving all of the soldiers and sending them into disarray.

"What is it? What?" They asked.

She regained her composure, stepped forward again and opened the lid all the way and instantly everyone crowded around to see what was inside that startled her so much.

Inside was a young woman.