Author's Note

Gian, Bastian and Beth are characters made by me entirely and are set in the Shingeki no Kyojin (attack on titan) world, before the fall of wall Maria.

*Check below for some FAQs


Chapter 1 - The 47th Expedition

Shinganshina was one of the poorer districts in the walls. Situated on an outcrop of Wall Maria, they were most at risk from any titan invasion. The homes weren't the most lavish, but people still lived a happy life. The district was extremely busy today, as it was market day. Through all the bustle and commotion the tower bell started to toll. The bickering and the movement stopped and the citizens spread to either side of the road. From the distance the sound of hoofbeats on the central paved street became louder.

Brave men and women in green cloaks moved down the path in a disciplined formation. For some, the Survey Corps were a ray of hope, while for the others, they were a waste of taxes, which they felt could be better spent on the Military Police or the Stationary Guard.

Gasps and whispers of admiration could be heard through the silence. "That is Erwin Smith…Commander of the Corps!" From the other side one asked, "Isn't that Squad leader Levi? Humanity's strongest!?" But of course there were scathing comments such as, "Ughh…more food for the titans."

The soldiers proceeded down to the outer gate, ready to kick off the 47th expedition outside the walls. With one objective in mind: setting up a final supply checkpoint for the forward operations base, southwest of Wall Maria.

The last of the carts were brought into formation and the area outside the wall had been cleared of titans by the Stationary Guard's cannons and elite soldiers.

Bastian, meanwhile, was in the rear cart guard unit still holding on to Gian's horse. Gian was with his sweetheart, Beth, bidding her farewell. She was a rather tall and fit looking woman, with long black hair which ran down to her back and what Gian described as 'scary' green eyes.

"Don't do anything stupid out there," whispered a worried Beth, as she ran her hands down his arms.

"Oh, come on, you know me," Gian replied in his usual brash manner. Beth casually slapped him."Alright! Alright! I'm sorry, I'll look out for myself," the both of them kissed each other goodbye. Beth felt a little more reassured.

"Hey, since you have to move to Trost for a few days, you can stay at my home. I already told Mum, she's going to cook your favorite meal!" Gian remembered off the back of his head. "You can catch the afternoon ferry, tell them Bastian sent you." He confirmed.

"Ha! Thanks!"Beth's eyes lit up like a child's, she always loved visiting his house and spend time with his mother.

"See you soon," Gian planted one last kiss on her forehead as he turned and headed back into formation and mounted his horse.

"I'm not your stable boy, don't expect me to hold on to Winter all the time," said Bastian with a sarcastic grin on his face.

"Pfft, stop your whining already," Gian replied, trying to fake some irritation.

"Aaah it's market day today, I wish I had bought an orange to eat before we started off" Gian looked a little disappointed. Bastian reached into his saddle pocket and tossed an orange at Gian, he had bought one knowing it's his favorite.

Gian looked at Bastian with a starry eyed expression. " I….love you," he said with a smile, and tore away at the orange as if it was his last.

"Want me to tell Beth?" The both of them laughed out loud as Bastian poked a little fun.

He was this casual only around Gian, with others he was usually a very quiet person.

"So when are you asking Beth the big question man?" Inquired Bastian.

"Whaa- what do you mean exactly?" Gian made a poor attempt at looking puzzled.

Bastian smacked him on the back of the head "Don't play dumb with me."

"I will man, but once the expedition is done and we are back. But I'll need a ring; how the fuck will I choose a nice one?" Gian for the first time seemed nervous about something.

"Hey don't worry, I know this cool place in Karanese." Bastian started speaking louder "Im Sure PETRA can come with us on our next break and help us pick out a nice one."

GIan picked up from there. "Petra? Meh. She's got pathetic taste."

"WHAAAA? Hey, I heard that you, bastard." Shouted a scornful Petra, waving her fist.

"Awww, is little Petra angry?" Continued Gian.

"Ill bash your faces in when we get back!" she screamed back.

Petra, being relatively new to the corps , those two would always pick on her, however she owes her life to both of them as they had saved her from the clutches of a titan in her first expedition.

Mike , Bastian and Gian's squad leader couldn't help it and let out a comical laugh, However, he quickly became serious again "Alright sober up now, I don't want any nonsense."

Such levity was not seen in a Survey corps expedition in a very long time. Probably because their losses had reduced considerably thanks to the long distance detection formation designed by Commander Erwin Smith, and the last few expeditions have resulted in significant successes.

As the gates were opened, commander Erwin let out his signature battle cry "ONWARD!"

Hearing this all the soldiers behind him regained focus and embarked on the final stage of this objective.


Bastian and Gian were two of the finest soldiers in the Corps, despite being in the legion for only a year their titan kill scores were enough to rival those of some senior team leaders or even squad leaders (28 kills for Bastian with 9 of them solo and 33 for Gian with 15 of them solo), and their individual skill was only bested when they worked together as a fearsome duo. So renowned was their expertise in murdering titans that even Levi called them "Impressive" and Hanji would often express jealousy towards Mike for having both of them in his squad.

Apart from this, they were also extremely close friends and confidants, and shared an equal dedication towards humanity, many recruits often mistook them for brothers, although they looked nowhere near alike. Bastian was heavy and well built, owing to his past as a wrestler and has brown hair cut in a neat crew style. Hanji often teased him for being "fatter" than Mike.

Gian on the other hand, was a lot more lean and shorter but is at the peak of physical fitness and has jet black hair parted neatly on the left and was the best user of the 3D Maneuver Gear in his entire trainee batch.


For this expedition Mike's squad was assigned the rear guard for the cart protection unit, surrounded by the vanguard up ahead, consisting of Commander Erwin, Levi, Hanji and her squad, the left and right flanks as well as the formation's rear guard, their aim this mission was to avoid titans and get to their destination as soon as possible with minimal losses.

As the legion rode out, individual squads spread over a large area and took their positions as per the long distance detection formation.

the aim of this tactic is to maximize visibility in order to spot titans early, In the event of a titan being spotted a RED flare is fired, and every subsequent soldier who sees the flare, fires his own, when this information reaches Erwin he fires a GREEN flare in the direction he wants the formation to move in order to avoid the titan.

Every soldier who sees the flare fires green, to once again, spread the information. However there are Aberrant type titans who posses some intelligence, are faster than usual titans and tend to avoid outer flanks in the formation and head towards the centre to cause as much chaos as possible, In such an event a BLACK flare is fired and soldiers in the immediate vicinity try to take it out as quickly as possible.

"These carts contain infrastructure, weapons, artillery, supplies. Everything we need to finally set up our forward operations base, Escort the carts, make sure they reach the rendezvous point even if it means your lives!" Mike gave his impromptu briefing.

"Understood Squad leader!" his soldiers replied.

It wasn't long before the first titans were sighted and red flares began to line the sky as Erwin replied with his own green flares to adjust directions. "Eld fire the replying flare, son." Asked Mike, as he sniffed out an oncoming downpour.

An hour into the expedition Bastian felt rain drops on his face.

"Oh man, now, of all times," He said with a dejected tone

Gian looked up with worry, as the heavens opened up, "Four days of sunshine before this, and the day the expedition begins, it rains, talk about bad luck, a fog is building up too."

This was a heavy disadvantage for the long distance detection formation, as Titans are extremely tough to spot in such conditions, and by the time they are, they are deep within the formation, and have to be dealt with no matter what.

Lack of visibility also makes it tough to see flares, at this time protocol is to assign 1 rider from each unit as a messenger in a sort of an information relay system, this does weaken the formation a bit, but keeps vital information circulating through.

"Damnit, I can't see shit, Titans can creep up on our asses and we wouldn't even know!" exclaimed Darius, Mike's senior team leader.

During this time, Moblit, a member of Hanji's squad rode back down to the cart guard unit, with a new set of orders from Commander Erwin.

"Squad leader, we're switching to secondary protocol. a group of titans have been spotted approaching from the west, the centre column will move through the forest of giant trees coming up ahead, the right flank is bracing for action as we speak, we need to spread the word to other columns as well."

"Understood Moblit, proceed to the left flank, Eld, you are our fastest rider, spread word to the rear guard, then join with Darius in reinforcing the right flank. Gian, Bastian and I will continue to escort the carts." Mike gave his set of orders to his squad.

"This shit only happens when you're around." Gian taunted Bastian with a mix of frustration and humor.

"Right, so you're calling me the rain God now? Fine, I can live with that." Replied Bastian.

"Focus men, this is no time for chit chat." Mike grabbed their attention once again, as he sensed a foul smell in the air. Two flares popped up from the rear guard, but this time they were the dreaded color…black. Mike hated being right all the time, as he was barely able to spot the flare round through the fog

"Aberrant type titans, approaching from the rear." Declared Bastian. as he could see the silhouettes of the titans charging at them.

"Six in visual range, 500m away, moving fast!" Added Gian as the titans sped towards their direction, their gigantic footsteps would've intimidated most other soldiers, not to say they weren't afraid, but they trusted each other, which caused the fear to disappear.

In the midst of the impending chaos, and the heavy rain, Bastian looked towards the northwest direction and caught a glimpse of what looked like a feminine titan, he felt as if it was moving away from the formation rather than towards it.

"Squad leader, I think I saw…a titan that looked like a woman…" Bastian spoke with a surprised tone. "It's as if it's retreating back." He added

"What?" Mike raised an eyebrow, not understanding what Bastian just said.

"Wow you're so devoid of sex that you're imagining lady titans now, that's just great." Gian tried to dismiss Bastian's claims.

"Ya I'm probably seeing things, this weather ain't helping." Bastian looked down and cleared his head

"Gian, Bastian, arm your swords and switch to 3D maneuver, its time for action." Commanded Mike, as the group of titans came within engaging distance.

"Cart column! Follow the Vanguard towards the forest of giant trees, we will buy you time to distance yourselves from the titans." Mike made a tough but necessary decision.


Using 3D gear in flat open fields was difficult with very few targets to hook on to and pull yourself toward. But Mike, Gian and Bastian were perhaps 3 of humanity's strongest soldiers, and they had full faith in their own abilities and each other.

"Split up, cover as much area as you can, break the titan group into a manageable size!" commanded Mike, showing his military genius again.

"Roger!" both of them shouted back in unison

Gian smiled gladly as he had the chance to slaughter a few more titans, while Bastian had a burning determination in his eyes whenever he had the chance to prove his worth to humanity.

As the first titan blindly ran into Gian's hook range, He took off of his horse, using his gas exhaust as a boost,And planned out his maneuvers to kill the titan in his head.

Ah, I have been thinking of this maneuver for a very long time, time to put it to use.

Hook the chin, gain momentum, be wary of titan hand trying to grab you, dodge.

He adjusted his direction by using his exhaust to avoid getting caught, a maneuver that would have caused an ordinary soldiers' muscles to start aching, but Gian being incredibly fit could perform such feats of stamina without tiring. Then he caught up with his train of thought.

Reach eye level, take out the eyes. He detached both his blades and sent them flying right into the titan's eyes, it groaned in pain as it grabbed its eye sockets.

Hook the forehead, carry forward circular momentum, pull back hooks, re-equip blades, and position behind the nape, hook slightly above the nape. His 3D gear whizzed as he pushed it to it's limit.

AND SLASH! In one smooth motion he managed to circle over the titan's head and give the nape a clean cut.

The titan's hulking body fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Bastian's 3D maneuver style was a lot less cerebral and was based more around brutal speed using his heavy weight to gain superb levels of momentum and not giving titans time to react at all.

he used the branch of a tree to circle around and fly skyward, gaining altitude and positioning himself diagonally over a crawling titan that was approaching Gian.

It was a fast moving target, but he managed to latch his hooks onto the back of it's head, as he sacrificed altitude for speed.

"Don't look up!" He shouted as he slashed out the titan's nape and landed smoothly.

Mike in the meanwhile used himself as bait to bring three titans behind him.

Once both his men had regrouped after their respective kills, he turned his horse around, leaped off of it and launched both his hooks at two of the titans which were in front, speeding through between them to proceed to the 5th titan.

While giving Gian and Bastian the easiest 2 kills of their lives as they managed to slash the titan's napes conveniently from behind. Mike meanwhile made quick work of his own target.

Finally there was just 1 titan left, but it was a big and fast 15m class. Gian had landed on the ground after his previous kill and faced the Titan from the side.

He started thinking again. If I go for the neck I'll be a sitting duck.

He spotted Bastian who was still in the air after his last kill. They nodded at each other, and Gian tapped his neck, signaling Bastian to go straight for the titan's nape, it was a risky strategy, but Bastian knew Gian had a plan.

Hook the ankles, release maximum turbine exhaust, stay close to the ground, avoid titan's grabbing arm,

Butt stinging from being dragged OUCH! He tried to ignore the pain as he neared the titan's feet.

Swipe out the tendons! The titan lost its balance and started to fall to the ground as he managed to tear both the ankle tendons in one swipe.

Where the hell is Bastian?

As he looked up he spotted a fast moving object and then titan blood spilling out from the nape. Bastian had hooked the titan's neck just a few seconds after Gian hooked on to the ankles and they killed off the titan in perfect harmony

The three soldiers regrouped in the middle of a field of evaporating titan bodies, called their horses back and proceeded to rejoin the formation and continue with the mission.


Author's note

*Here's a couple of FAQs put in through review and PM requests!

FAQ: What is a Titan?

A: A titan is a humanoid creature which can be anywhere between 3 to 15 metres in height, their only motivation seems to be devouring humans. The only way to properly kill a titan is cutting them at the nape of their necks, any other damaged part will regenerate in minutes or even seconds. they usually have very little to no intelligence. to defend themselves from the titans, the humans shut themselves within 3 gigantic concentric walls : Maria, Rose and Sina

FAQ: What are the survey corps?

A: also called the Scouting legion or the Recon corps, these handful of soldiers are tasked with human expansion and progress outside the safety of the walls, this branch of the army attracts only the most dedicated of soldiers. Ohh and did i mention they wear sexy green cloaks!

FAQ: What is 3D maneuver gear?

A: It is a piece of equipment that Steampunk-spiderman would use, it enables humans to move in three dimensional space using hooks to grapple at certain surfaces and thrust themselves forward using a turbine gas exhaust, Also 6 pairs of swords are kept in the sheathes attached to the hip. I don't really know how else to explain it, if you want details you can check on the wiki site for attack on titan :P. Every soldier usually has his own way of using it to kill titans.