Chapter 1: Snowfall
Erwin
In thirty seconds, the gates of Karanes would open, and the 57th Expedition Beyond the Wall would commence. Erwin clutched the reins of his horse a little tighter and prepared for the moment when the heavy iron portcullis finished rising. With a screech, the gate clanged to a stop.
It seemed at that moment everyone held their breaths, especially the recruits from the 104th Training Corp. The outside was peaceful. The sun shined brightly, and birds chirped cheerfully. It would have made a relaxing scene except for the fact that the buildings were in disrepair and empty, a ghost town.
"ADVANCE!" Erwin Smith, commander of the Survey Corps, shouted at the empty town, his bushy eyebrows furrowing together. A war cry followed, mingling with the loud clobber of the horses galloping on the cobblestoned road. The 57th Expedition had begun.
The rhythmic thuds slowly calmed Erwin as they finally exited the small ghost town. From there, he gave the shout to form the Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation. Immediately, the column efficiently spread out across the green, flat, rural landscape.
A couple of hours passed before red streaks bled into the clear, blue sky and then yellow. That blasted color. Shouts and yells blended with the snorts of the horses.
"An unusual abnormal is slowly making its way into the center of the formation, killing soldiers left and right!" A messenger frantically shouted to Erwin.
Squad Leaders Hange Zoe and Mike Zacharias looked at each other nervously. If this did not go well, Erwin's plan could backfire and the Survey Corps would be reduced to nothing. The messenger looked to his commander for the retreat signal.
Instead, Erwin lifted his flare gun, pointed it to the sky, and fired a green flare east. Turning towards his comrades, Erwin Smith spoke for the first time since the expedition started.
"Do not be fazed by this news. Keep your mind on the real reason. Remember what I told you before this mission?"
And with those words, the squad leaders banished all thought of failure. Both of them had to trust Erwin on this. No matter the danger. No matter the risk. No matter the number of casualties, capturing and revealing whomever was in the Female Titan was of vital importance.
He then turned to the confused messenger. "Relay this message to the rest of the formation. Quickly!"
Jerking the reins of their horses, the squad leaders followed the fading dust of their commander's horse.
They entered the Forest soon after. The 80 meter high tree trunks loomed ominously over them, and the branches casted eerie shadows. The foliage above was so thick that it seemed to blot out the sun and suffocate the tiny humans trying to enter into their domain.
"From here, the center of the formation will be the only ones entering the Forest. The rest shall loop around," Erwin quickly ordered, knowing that the message would be passed on swiftly.
They continued to ride into the dark, menacing thicket until the entrance disappeared. The light was only trickles slipping through the many layers of leaves and branches, weaving a thick blanket of a canopy. Finally, Erwin stopped. He dismounted his horse and looked at his apprehensive comrades.
"Now, I am sure my colleagues are wondering what my plan is." They all looked at Erwin curiously. Secretly, he wondered if the plan was going to even work in the first place. "In a few minutes supply carts will be arriving here soon. Inside are the cannons for the Special Target Restraining Weapon. We are setting up the trap for the Female Titan."
"Alright! Now that's what I'm talkin' about, Commander!" Hange whooped loudly, doing a little victory dance and spinning around.
Just a few minutes ago, you were doubting my amazing plan. Erwin silently thought to himself, while rolling his eyes.
"I can't wait to get my hands on this one. I wonder who lies underneath the nape?" She creepily chuckled, her hands rubbing together sinisterly and her glasses glinting. The soldiers who were closest to her moved away quickly, thoroughly freaked out by her behavior. Noticing the reaction, Hange quickly pulled herself together and put on a bright smile, albeit a still slightly creepy one.
The supply carts soon began to roll into view. Erwin gave an order to assemble the trap, and the soldiers quickly obeyed his command. They grabbed the cannons and climbed or used their 3DMG to get to the tops of the trees. The barrels were soon placed on every branch of two tall trees, two soldiers manning each.
Then came the high-pitched sound blast given to Captain Levi Ackerman, signaling the approach of the Special Operations Squad and the Female Titan.
The soldiers tensed for the advancing monster hurling towards them. They held their breaths as Levi's squad thundered passed with the Female Titan close behind. With a yell, Erwin ordered hundreds of bolts to be shot into the Titan causing the colossal being to be stuck right where he wanted it to be. Its hands were clamped tight over the nape like that would stop them from cutting whomever out. Levi zoomed up onto the branch Erwin was on and landed gracefully next to him.
"I'm just impressed you managed to lead her to this spot," Erwin praised the bored looking captain. He was relieved that his prickly comrade was alright, not that Levi needed anymore people worrying about him. He could take care of himself.
"The credit goes to the rear squad members who gave their lives fighting her. They bought us time," Levi curtly responded, his tone remaining indifferent in contrast with his words.
Erwin looked down at Levi with his eyebrows raised. "Is that so?"
"It is."
"Well, thanks to them, we get to see who's inside this one's nape," Erwin responded, nodding in agreement.
Levi scoffed before responding. "Let's just hope that they're not pissing themselves inside there."
Down below, an ecstatic Hange ordered more bolts to be fired at the Titan, taking advantage of its regenerative abilities to weaken it further.
"FIRE!" Hange shouted, waving her arms wildly at the Titan. A dozen more bolts entered the muscular body further entrapping it. Smiling gleefully and cackling like a madwoman, Hange continued her cruel torture.
"How do you like that? Now you can't scratch a single itch or move a single muscle. And you probably never will again! The more your wounds heal, the stiffer your joints become!"
In response, the Female Titan glared at the maniac laughing and dancing at its pain. It's eyes stared daggers at its assailants but, underneath, Erwin could sense the fear. The panic of being the predator trapped like prey. The paralyzing feeling of helplessness.
Looking at Mike and Levi, Erwin nodded, and they proceeded in flying towards the Female Titan. In two quick movements, Levi gracefully struck the Titan's hands, only to find both of his blades shattering and the hands clearly not cut open. Instead, they seemed to have turned into a diamond like substance.
Looks like she can overlay parts of her body with a tough layer of skin. A characteristic that closely resembles the so-called Armored Titan. Erwin mused, his bushy eyebrows furrowing in deep thought.
But as quickly as it formed, the hand returned back to its original state.
But unlike the Armored Titan, it seems she can't maintain that toughness. Will she weaken if we keep attacking her with vertical maneuvering gear and swords? After pondering on that thought, Erwin finally decided. There's no time to test it. Therefore...
"Keiji, prepare explosives. Blow off the targets hands," Erwin said to a soldier.
"Yes, sir! However, there might be a chance that our standard artillery could take out everything on the inside," Keiji explained.
"Then let's attempt to sever the wrists instead," Erwin responded.
"Alright, you heard the Commander. Fire an all-out salvo on my signal!" Keiji shouted to his men.
"Understood, sir!" They responded in unison.
Erwin turned towards the Female Titan only to find a furious Levi yelling insults and threats of he was going to do to the human pilot when he or she was revealed. He was waving his blade around wildly in front of the Titan's eyes. From the outside, it would have made a funny sight. Short Levi vs. the massive, hulking Female Titan. But Erwin knew all too well that the vertically challenged soldier was not bluffing and, from the looks of it, the Female Titan did too.
The Titan was clearly distressed. Well, as distressed as anyone who was on the verge of a painful torture session followed by dissection by a very pissed off and short mosquito. That was expected of anyone who angered an already standoffish and cold Levi Ackerman. That's what Erwin Smith expected of someone who was the cause of Levi's fury. What Erwin was not expecting was the monstrous roar that followed.
In fact, 'roar' was an understatement. The beast screamed. Howled. Yowled. Shrieked. Erwin even swore he heard it yodel. The sound blast rocketed through the forest, surprising quite a few birds and most of the soldiers. It seemed to rock the very trunks of the massive trees, sway the earth, and cause an unearthly rumble from beyond.
Just as Erwin thought the scream was over, a blinding light exploded right in front of him, enveloping him, the Female Titan, Levi, Hange, Mike, and all the veteran soldiers into its folds. Unlike the Female Titan's scream, the light was painful. It sent Erwin's body on fire, burning and clawing its way through him like a savage animal. His limbs and insides were exploding and all he could see was white. Someone screamed in agony around him-no-everyone was screaming. He just didn't realise that he was howling in pain too. Then it stopped.
Erwin was jerked violently, and his sides were crushed in a-what? A snowdrift? Snow? A soft feather landed on his cheek, its coldness tickling him before it melted on Erwin's warm flesh and was replaced by another. Erwin tentatively opened his eyelids, an action that seemed to take all of his energy. All he could see was white and suddenly Erwin was afraid that he was still in that horrible light with his comrades screaming and crying in pain.
"Titan! Titan!"
The cry was so quiet it was almost indiscernible at first but became clearer and clearer as the voice became louder. Out of nowhere, Levi's urgent voice filled Erwin's head.
"Erwin! Commander! We must get out of here. There are-"
The rest was warbled garbage that Erwin didn't bother to listen because he was too tired, too cold, and in too much pain. He felt numb, displaced, detached from reality. It was like he was a different person. At least Levi was back to his normal, cheerful self. God, everything seemed so foggy and confusing. Wouldn't it be better if I could just sleep? Hehe, then Levi or Hange or Mike would have to take command. Now that would be something worth seeing. Yes, I think I'll just sleep… I'll sleep for an eternity...
Levi
"DAMN YOU, ERWIN! DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME! ERWIN!" Levi yelled at the unconscious body in front of him. Growling in frustration, he punched the snow, sending flurries flying everywhere. The wind howled in response but nothing came from the seemingly lifeless Erwin.
Levi's heart thudded loudly; his breath came out in short gasps. An unfamiliar, cold feeling entered his body as he stared at Erwin's body. Erwin couldn't die. He couldn't!
Grunting, Levi hooked his arm around the half buried torse of the falling commander. His half-frozen fingers screaming in protest. Even with gloves, the bitter cold was still able to cut into his hands. As if on cue, the an icy gust blew over the two. Oh, what Levi would have given for a nice fur coat, hat, and thick gloves and boots!
Suddenly, a loud CRACK disrupted Levi. Looking up, his eyes widened and he quickly rolled out of the way as a large, gnarly branch crashed right where Levi was just a few moments ago and dug its frozen, sharp fingers deep into Erwin's right leg.
"ERWIN!" Levi shouted. He dashed towards the trapped body. He fruitlessly tugged at the sharp claws. However, they only seemed to dig deeper into the muscular calf. Blood oozed slowly out of the large punctures.
A dark shadow fell over the wooded area making the enclosed space push in even more. The temperature suddenly dropped, an unholy silence followed. It was as if the wind had died and was replaced by a stillness. The only thing moving was the faint puffs of steam coming from Levi's mouth and the barely noticeable rise and fall of Erwin's chest.
Fear knotted in Levi's chest for the first time in his wretched life. It was pure fear, the type that made grown men break down and start to wail and scream. Even though Levi was not most men, it still took every drop of his willpower to prevent himself from collapsing into a pathetic heap or getting the hell out of this fucked up forest.
He cautiously swiveled his head around. Levi's eyes reported nothing out of place. No Titan was lurking behind the branches. No rabid animal was waiting in the shadows. But he could swear that he saw something in the darkness of the trees. Something evil. Something cold. Deathly cold.
Turning back to Erwin, Levi continued to try to pull out the branch out of Erwin's leg. His heart pattered and punched at his ribcage. His hands shook so bad. He could feel invisible eyes burning holes into his back.
Fuck it! Unsheathing his vertical maneuver blades, he promptly started to hack into the mangled leg of the Commander. Adrenaline and fear boosted his speed. Blood splashed onto the white snow, giving birth to a thousand scarlet flowers. Levi's blade cut through layers of hard muscle and sinew until he hit bone. An animalistic roar erupted from Levi as he smashed through Erwin's tibia and fibula. More hot blood spewed out of the now amputated leg, spraying the trees, the ground, and Levi with the crimson liquid.
Levi quickly started ripping strips of his shirt and making a hasty tourniquet before dragging the still unconscious Erwin out of the wooded clearing.
He was fully aware of the slowly approaching thuds of Titans. Even in this godforsaken hellhole, those bastards still plagued humanity. Levi's best chance for survival with Erwin was to avoid the Titans and meet up with survivors and find someplace for shelter against the cold.
He fumbled for the pouch beneath his 3DMG. Where was it? Levi's hand brushed against cold metal. Ah ha! He pulled out his flare gun and dug his hand deeper to find a purple colored flare. Levi inserted the ammo and pointed the gun to the sky and fired.
A stream of purple shot to the sky. It broke through the dark treetops and the gray clouds above. Levi scanned the surrounding clouds for any sign that his beacon was seen. But the only thing he saw was a-wait. What?!
A massive wall made entirely out of ice loomed over the forest. It easily topped all three Walls, even if all three were stacked upon each other. A gigantic beast standing proudly at 213 meters. And that was just a rough approximation. What sort of world have we landed in? What monster must be kept out to build this hulking piece of ice?
Levi was so deep in thought that he at first didn't even notice the purple flare in the distance. Smirking triumphantly, he breathed a sigh of relief. He and Erwin were not going to die alone in this twisted, haunted forest.
It took many hours before Levi and Erwin were able to reach the meager few of what was left of the Survey Corps. Out of the 300 that left Karanes, only 67 had survived. The rest were either dead, lost, or left behind. But miraculously, almost every trainee that joined the Survey Corps were here. Why doesn't this surprise me? I bet those little brats don't realize how many people died saving their sorry little asses.
Levi frowned as a surprisingly grim-looking Hange strode over to him.
"How is he?" He looked up questioningly with a hint of anxiety. Hange responded with only a slight shake over her head.
Levi was worried. Yes, he, Levi Ackerman, Humanity's Strongest, was in a nail-biting fit. Not that he would actually bite his nails. That was absolutely disgusting. But it felt like one of those "nail-biting" situations. Hange's response did not make it any better.
"I fear that if we don't get him the right medicine or back to Wall Rose, Erwin may die. Fever is setting in, and the medics are worried that if we can't stop the infection, then the Commander is going to die. He also isn't waking up."
After a long pause, the Hange continued, "Levi, where the fuck are we? I am pretty sure the Forest of Giant Trees was not snowing and the shadows were not conspiring to kill us. There's something sinister about this place."
"Heh, yeah, you could say that," Levi muttered. "What I'm more worried about is the lack of Titans. They should be roaming around here. 67 is enough for at least one Titan to find us. Something is luring them somewhere else."
Hange looked at Levi, "Hey Levi, have you seen the wall south of here. It's massive. It could top off all three Walls stacked on top of each other."
Glaring at Hange, Levi said between clenched teeth, "Yes, Shitty Glasses. Of course I saw the big ass wall looming over us. And where are we?"
Levi gestured to the dilapidated "village" behind him. It was quite filthy, and only had four small huts built around a sheepfold and a dry well.
Ignoring Levi's annoyance, Hange cheerfully answered, "Well, it seems to be an abandoned village built by the natives. What's most interesting about this village is that." She pointed to the overgrown white tree above the village.
It's large trunk towered over the settlement. It was at least eight feet in diameter and had branches that reached for miles. So much that they trapped the village beneath its canopy. Its blood red leaves contrasted against the smooth white bark. But what was most startling about it was the gruesome face carved into the trunk.
It had a bloody, jagged mouth large enough to swallow a sheep whole. Ashes and red sap painted the walls of the hollow, and the remains of what looked like human bones were slowly rotting inside. Even the trees here had an evil intent.
"What the fuck," Levi breathed out softly.
"Haha! I know. This place is full of surprises!" Hange smiled back at him. "Well, I'm gonna check up on Erwin. If the medic says that the Commander is stable enough for travel, Mike and I are planning to lead the survivors south towards the Wall. We might stumble upon some people and actually get a hold of where we are and how we can get back to Wall Rose. Anyways, see ya."
"Yeah, bye," Levi looked back at her retreating form. Shit! He forgot to ask her about something. Even after being so closed to being revealed, the Female Titan still eluded them. She was probably the reason why they were in this godforsaken place.
Shivering, he started to head towards the small clearing where the survivors had set up the tents. Soldiers glumly nodded at him as he walked past. Fierce yelling attracted Levi's attention. He turned around a corner to find the Jaeger brat gesturing wildly with wide fearful eyes to his blonde haired friend, Arlert.
"What seems to be the matter here?" Levi interrupted the boys' conversation.
"Please, sir. M-my sister, Mikasa Ackerman, sh-she's gone. I fear that she may be dead. I would like to go back into the woods to look for her. Please, Captain Levi," the boy begged with tearful eyes.
"Eren, I'm worried about Mikasa too, but you need to think rationally. A lot of soldiers died or got lost. And it's already dark. You're only going to endanger yourself! It's too dangerous," Armin cried out, tugging on the green-eyed teen's sleeve.
Sighing, Levi responded, "I agree with Arlert. Many people died today. Wait until tomorrow to look for her. Everyone has had a traumatizing day. Rest up. If we can, we'll send out squads to search for others. Otherwise, tomorrow we are heading south."
Levi turned to leave the to stunned boys but paused. "There is also a chance that she wasn't in the range of the blast and escaped. Mikasa could also be dead. There are other things out here than just trees, wild animals, and Titans." With that, he strode away, leaving Eren and Armin even more anxious than before.
Mikasa Ackerman. Top of her class. A prodigy. What a shame to lose her. Levi thought as he stared at the fire. The flames danced and crackled under the moonlight. They created flickering shadows over Levi's face. Mikasa Ackerman. Reiner Braun. Bertolt Hoover. Those three are the only recruits missing. Why could that be? Hmph, maybe I'm thinking this over way too much. But still… So many questions. No answers. I just hope that something good can come out this.
Levi shook his head to clear his mind. Why was he so confused? He looked up at the sky. Thousands of stars stared back down at him. He chuckled bitterly. How could a place like this be so beautiful yet terrifying?
A/N: Please review! Thank you!