(A/N: Myehh, I lied, I didn't edit anything, just ignore the typos and etc. etc. etc. I'll fix it when I feel like it o3o So yehhh, here's a new chapter for ya [don't know what I'm going to type, so prepare yourselves] and...owo *tackles you* HUGGLES! XD Enjoy~! )
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"Everyone, after them!" Erwin commanded without hesitation, Levi was already riding after the figure.
"Wait! Heichou!" Eren quickly ran back to his horse and mounted it, kicking it in the sides and following after the Corporal.
Erwin quickly mounted one of the spare horses that the scouting group had brought, "Everyone, follow!" He ordered the other squads to follow him, "Scouting Group, spread the messages to the others about what happened, but their destination is still the mountains! I will send up a green flare when we arrive, signaling that as the place where all squads gather, understood?" The leader of the scouting group immediately nodded.
Everyone in the scouting group turned their horses around, kicking off and galloping away quickly, determined to spread the message, "Let's go!" Erwin shouted, too kicking his horse in the sides and barreling off after Levi and Eren.
Hanji and Mike quickly followed after him, triggering everyone else into following like a large, well-trained group of soldiers. Their cloaks with the Survey Corps insignia billowing out behind them, creating an impressive sight. Meanwhile, Eren had caught up with Levi at the front, staying alongside with the corporal as they both rode in synchrony after that disappearing figure. Due to whatever reason-maybe the rider was not familiar with riding horses or it was that Levi's and Eren's horses were high on energy-they slowly started to gain on the mysterious female rider.
Briefly, both of them saw the rider turn back-her face masked by the long, flowing hair-as if she had felt their presence closing in on her, "What do we do after we've caught up to her, Heichou?" Eren asked, his eyes focused solely on the rider.
Levi looked expressionless and didn't answer him, there was no determined look about him even though he had been the first one to chase after the rider. Heck, for all Eren knew, Levi could've been off in his own little world without paying the slightest attention to what was happening in reality, but that wasn't something that seemed like Levi would do. After a few minutes of silent chasing, Levi broke the silence by saying, "Oi, Jaeger, if it were up to you...would you follow her or capture her?" His tone sounded like he was asking something that was important, which Eren believed was.
"Umm...depending on the situation, sir, I would most likely capture her, since she could know her way around these areas very well. She may go on a route that would be unaccessible for us while she could cross it with ease on a difficult terrain." Eren didn't know how else to answer, but he was relieved at Levi's answer.
"You do have some sense in you after all..." That was the best anyone could ever get out of Levi. "Erwin only ordered for the others to followus, therfore, we are free...and so we'll go with your plan, Jaeger." Levi suddenly spurred his horse forth faster, surprising Eren.
He quickly urged his horse to run faster until he was even with Levi again, "What do you mean by my plan?!" He looked distressed, wondering what he had said that would probably get him into even more trouble.
Again, Levi didn't answer him, rather he now had a look of one who was concentrating on something, for they were gaining on the rider-fast. As if sensing them again, the rider turned immediately, and saw how close both Levi and Eren were to her. Due to how fast they had been going at, the mountains were no farther than a quarter mile from them, and that was what the rider seemed to have been depending on. Both soldiers visibly saw how the rider seemed to be more stressed out now, such as how she was crouching down on the saddle, as if urging the horse to go as fast as it possibly can with no restraint. "Shit, we're going to lose her!" Eren cursed, seeing just how many more leagues before the rider reached the mountains.
"Idiot, don't panic! Panicking just corrupts the mind of concentration and focus, and that's probably what the rider is feeling as we get closer to the mountains!" Levi snapped at Eren, who flinched back as if the words had physically hit him, "Besides...even if she does get away, we'd be able to see at least where she disappeared off to. And from there, we can work out some sort of tactic to follow after them, or what kind of place that's located around here that can host human civilization." The last part surprised Eren.
"Eh?! What do you mean?!" He was shocked, realizing that he had completely missed the biggest and most obvious fact.
If the rider was all the way out here-even if she was a Titan-shifter-then how have she survived out here all along with Titans roaming everywhere? For sure, there would be some sort of town or village with others like her, or at least other humans living around, and that could be a huge discovery for humanity that lived within the walls. "Are you serious? You missed such an obvious fact? Really? I'm surprised you really aren't dead yet, Jaeger..." Levi sighed with exasperation.
Then, since they had been talking with much focus on the topic, the female rider had managed to reach the mountains before either of them. And from both Levi's and Eren's point of view from far back, it was like she rode straight through the mountain and disappeared. "What the...?!" Eren gaped at the scene, wondering what had just happened.
Levi narrowed his eyes, a calculating look on his face before he turned to look back briefly-Erwin and the others were just barely visibly, they were that far back away from them. "Tch...guess we have no choice...we have to stop and await further orders." There was bitter resentment in his voice as he said that.
However, Eren wasn't so bothered, rather he was just curious of where the rider had went, because it was impossible for humans to disappear through solid objects-or for any other living things. Both of them reached the mountain side within a few minutes, stopping their panting horses to a skidding stop before dismounting at the same time. Levi stumbled a bit as he dismounted from the horse, causing Eren to cough a little and turn away, he knew this wasn't the time to laugh, but seeing Levi drop down from such a height was comical at times. "What are you laughing at, brat?" Levi had a sour look on his face, which caused Eren to shut up immediately.
Sighing, Levi pushed ahead of Eren and approached the mountain, studying it to see where the rider could've disappeared off to. Eren looked at the ground, noticing how the ground around them was of only a dirt terrain, no grass or weeds at all. This was a big advantage because the dirt would leave imprints of anyone who would've passed by over it, and in this case the rider. Horse tracks were imprinted on the ground, which made Eren feel relieved that they hadn't been tricked with some sort of eye illusion, but the peculiar thing was that the tracks led straight into the mountain side. The area of the mountain side the tracks disappeared off into was completely covered by a heavy layer of moss, it was so thick from growing in peace in so many years that Eren automatically reached to touch it, wanting to see how it felt just out of curiosity.
Levi had come over after studying the mountain and finding no clues, "What are you doing?" Eren looked at him in surprise as he stroked the plants.
"This isn't the time to be doing something so foolish, come over here." Eren quickly obeyed, but as he made a move to walk over to the corporal, he tripped over his own feet as since he didn't turn properly.
The next thing he knew, he was falling backwards, against the mountain side, "Waah!" He knew the impact would be painful, but instead, he felt right through the mass of moss and disappeared halfway through it.
Seeing that, Levi quickly walked over to him, pushing aside the moss and finding Eren, "What did you do?" He quickly yanked Eren back onto his feet.
Now, they were in a long, dark tunnel that was massive, its opening having been concealed entirely by the moss, which hung like a thick curtain, "What the...?!" Eren rubbed his head, looking around them in surprise. Even Levi was too shocked for words.
Slowly, both of them proceeded through the tunnel, little rays of sunlight filtering through the moss and lighting their way dimly, "This is where the rider must've disappeared off to!" Eren quickly started running ahead, impatient to find the rider. But Levi quickly grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him back just in time.
"Wait! Don't do anything stupid! We're waiting for Erwin and the others, alright?" With that, Levi walked back out through the hanging moss, dragging Eren with him.
...
"So...this was the place you discovered? Nice work, Eren." Erwin praised Eren stiffly as the entire Survey Corps trodded into the massive tunnel way. It was big enough for everyone to fit through in rows of five each, but of course they just all crowded into the tunnel in an unorderly fashion. Luckily though that they had also managed to walk in with their 3-D Maneuver Gears strapped on, all prepared for the worst.
Some of the elites in the front and back lit up some torches, passing them around so that there was enough light for everyone. Earlier, after Eren and Levi had discovered the tunnel, they had waited for Erwin and the others to catch up, then the scouting groups had come back reporting that they had passed on the message of everyone meeting at that area once Erwin had set off a green flare. Some of the soldiers were to stay behind and bring in the horses after everyone else had gone through-they were taking no chances in leaving their horses out now that they were in an unknown territory.
Erwin, Hanji, Mike, Levi, and Eren were in the front, leading the massive crowd of three hundred soldiers, the walls of the tunnel echoed with the loud talking and muttering that they couldn't subdue with force of any kind. "This is so awesome!" Hanji was squealing in excitement while Mike sniffed around, making sure everything was safe.
"Hey, Eren!" Armin appeared in the front, Mikasa right behind him.
Eren looked surprised but quickly smiled at them, "H-Hey, Armin, Mikasa!" Without knowing why, he gave a nervous laugh before he was interrupted with the appearance of Christa, Ymir, Bertholdt, Reiner, Connie, Sasha, and Jean.
Levi sighed a little as the noise level became increasingly louder as Eren tried to fill in everyone on the details. Erwin noticed his irritation and smiled slightly, but he made no move to stop it. "This is a very interesting place... I honestly didn't expect this much on the expedition, but this is truly a huge discovery for mankind!" Everyone near them agreed with the captain's comment.
Mike suddenly, stopped them briefly, "We're near the end of the tunnel..." He pointed far ahead of them, wear a faint circle of sunlight shined through to them.
Erwin nodded, a determined look now on his face, "Let's go!" He walked faster, the other higher-ups quickly following him while Eren still struggled to tell everyone the story.
Within a few minutes of fast-walking, they were at the end of the tunnel, where they were greeted by an amazing sight, "This is become ridiculous!" Levi looked exasperated at the sight before them.
"It's so beautiful!" Christa sighed, leaning against Ymir.
Laid out in front of them was a massive plain, the borders of the mountain on the far side completely lost, showing just how massive this area was, "This is...amazing!" Armin looked around at the sight.
There was a forest ahead of them, which they had to pass through first before reaching the plain, and it seemed very thick and huge, "What is this place?!" Eren looked around them, amazed while even Mikasa was moved by the sight.
"Everyone, be careful and follow me!" Erwin commanded, starting forward on the large trail that laid out before them.
As everyone was eager to explore, they made progress down the trail quickly and stood before the edge of the forest the next moment, adrenaline rushing through each of them once more. "Be careful here..." Erwin warned again. Then he used his 3DMG and swung himself onto the trees, "Mike, Hanji, you two are to stay behind and tell the soldiers behind that they were to follow the soldiers before them through the treetops until we reach the other side of the forest. And the ones that are bringing in the horses to be careful as they enter the forest, if needed they are allowed to abandon the horses, understood?" Mike quickly saluted, though Hanji was a bit reluctant, she wanted to be in front and see what there was to see in this strange land.
With that, Erwin turned and continued to swing through the trees, Levi quickly swung himself into the trees as well and followed after him quickly. Eren felt panicked for a moment when Levi disappeared from his side, "Come on, guys!" With no hesitation or waiting, he quickly followed after the two higher-ups, his friends following behind him closely.
While they were all having their fun, none of them noticed two other people standing off to the side, far away from the Survey Corps so that they wouldn't be noticed. It was the two hooded figures from before, one taller and the other shorter, "Shall I, Sis?" The taller one asked the shorter figure.
"Just chase them to the village, I'll be there to greet them...I've already gave instructions to the others if something like this was ever to happen..." The shorter one nodded in permission for the taller one to do whatever they intended to do.
Bowing, the taller figure sudddenly leaped down the ledge from where they had been standing at, tall brushes masking them just in case if they were any watchful soldiers from the Survey Corps looking around for anything strange. While the taller figure disappeared down the side and into the forest, the shorter figure leaped expertly onto other small ledges protruding from the mountain inside, then they disappeared from view.
As the taller one reached the forest, they landed on one of the trees before quickly making their way across, leaping from tree to tree with skill. Having been in this forest for a long time, they knew all the shortcuts and ways around the forest, which quickly allowed them to get ahead of Erwin and Levi, "Alright, trespassers...prepare to meet with something you'd never expect!" With Erwin and Levi just a few treetops away, the figure quickly jumped down from the tree, biting their index finger and disappearing in a bright flash of lightning from the sky.
When this happened, Erwin, Levi, and everyone else in the trees stopped, everything going quiet as the bright light subsided, "Was that...what I think it is?" Eren asked in a hoarse voice.
Everyone stayed quiet...waiting... *BAM* Suddenly, a massive figure appeared before them, crashing through the trees with force, it was the same exact one from before, the female Titan with the eerie-looking eyes and mouth...but Eren felt as if there were something different from it. "A Titan, watch out!" Erwin shouted, immediately everyone sprang into action.
Quickly, as since he was the closest, Levi swung himself high into the air just as the female Titan came barreling by, taking down most of the trees with it. He landed next to where Eren stood, who had settled himself higher into the trees, for he had been ordered to not get involved in any fights with Titan, even without his shifter ability. "Hey...Heichou...does this Titan seem different from last time...or is it my imagination?" Eren peered down at the female Titan, who screamed as it swiped away the soldiers.
Levi stood by him, blades ready, "What do you mean?" His tone wasn't curious or harsh, rather he was just speaking to Eren to keep calm in himself and Eren.
He shrugged, "For some reason...the first time it appeared...it reminded me a bit of Sasha, she's...one of my friends... I heard that she's a really good hunter since she used to live in the forest, and the female Titan from earlier reminded me like her because it acted like how a hunter would..." Levi turned to pay attention to him more, a strange look on his face.
"Continue." Was his only order.
"Well...I can't really explain it but...the female Titan from the first place seemed like a...hunter type of Titan...but this one right now is acting too rashly and bold...not at all like the one from earlier..." Eren rubbed the back of his head as he was unsure of how to explain.
Levi looked deep in thought for a moment, "Hunter...Titan..." He mouthed the words to himself quietly before a tremendous hit shook the tree they were standing in. The female Titan had rammed itself against the tree while running away, it seemed as if the entire Survey Corps was following after it, including Erwin.
"Let's go!" Levi jumped down the tree in the next moment, Eren quickly following him as he always had.
The female Titan ran quickly through the forest, occasionally dodging the trees while looking back from time to time, as if it were checking to make sure the Survey Corps were still following after it, "Troops, get ready! We're following after it!" Erwin shouted.
"But, sir! We're nearly out of the forest, and the Titan doesn't look like it's stopping!" One of the elites shouted.
"Why are we all following after it again?" Connie asked Eren as he and the others swung up next to him.
Eren paused for a moment before answering, "I guess it's because...the Hunter Titan is believed to be a Titan-Shifter...?" He couldn't believe how stupid he sounded as he answered Connie's question. It wasn't like him at all.
Connie looked confused, "The Hunter Titan?"
"I'll explain later, we have to follow after everyone!"
Suddenly, from far off, there came the sound again: A single note that sounded as if it were played by a flute of some sort, and the sound of it held some sort of deep meaning to it.
Erwin suddenly looked behind him, skidding to a stop on one of the tree branches, Levi quickly landing next to him, "What is it?" He asked Erwin, looking back as well.
Everyone else noticed how the leaders were stopping and quickly halted themselves, landing on different levels of the same trees to make room, the female Titan however didn't stop, it just continued to run through the forest. "Wait...is it just like from before...?" Erwin muttered to himself, looking back at the forest.
Besides the thudding sounds of the female Titan's footsteps and everyone's rapid breathing, there was no other sounds...then suddenly, hundreds of horses' hooves hitting against the ground was heard. After that, it was followed by the appearance of the herd of horses, three hundred of them running at breakneck speed after the female Titan. Without hesitation, Erwin immediately swung down and landed on a horse, "Everyone, follow me!" He rode off on the horse, leading it away from the stampede and after the female Titan.
To everyone, this expedition was getting stranger and stranger, completely out of the Survey Corps's purpose, but there was no hesitation now. There were yells heard all around as soldiers jumped down, somehow each landing on a horse without getting trampled before riding off after Erwin. In no time at all, the entire herd of horses was back under the control of the soldiers.
Pretty soon, they were all after the female Titan in a massive crowd of flutering cloaks with the Wings of Freedom insignia on them. They broke free from the forest's clutches and were out on the open plain, the grass underneath making a pleasant, rustling sound despite everyone trying to ride their horses as fast as they can to gain on the female Titan. Having taken too long in mounting the horses, the female Titan had managed to get far away from them, but they could see it perfectly in the distance, running in even paces now that it wasn't pursued as closely as it had been in the forest.
"Where is it headed?" Armin shouted at no one in particular, just wanting an answer. But it was like everyone already knew, including himself.
The female Titan was obviously headed back towards wherever it had come from, but now it wouldn't be able to shake off the Survey Corps, for they were very persistent on accomplishing their objectives.
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"Get ready, soldiers!" Erwin shouted an hour later, all the energy in the entire force was still high after such a long ride.
The plains had been larger than they anticipated, and the female Titan was still far ahead of them, not seeming to have tired down in the slightest. But now, they could all see it slowing down a bit, which they concluded was because that it was reaching its destination. Everyone had a grim, determined look on their faces as they advanced upon the female Titan as it slowed down more and more, seeming to have some sort of difficulty in stopping in time due to its massive size and the force of gravity upon it.
Ahead of it, they could see another forest standing, but the other side of the mountain wall border couldn't be seen, "Is this it? Are we finally here?" Connie complained, rubbing his backside as if he were some old person while the others looked determined.
As the Survey Corps were far behind it, the female Titan had slowly reached the forest, coming to a complete stop and turned to watch their progress, "Is it...going to degenerate?" Eren watched it closely, his grips on the reins becoming tighter.
As if to answer his question, the female Titan suddenly fell to its knees, going limp completely before a massive cloud of steam bursted out from its body, completely covering it, "What the-?!" There were surprised shouts from the other soldiers as they didn't witness this when it happened the first time. The next moment, the steam cleared away and the body of the Titan was gone, and so was whoever had been controlling the body. It was official for those who had witness the female Titan the first time, that this was a Titan-Shifter that they were dealing with.
"No hesitating now!" Erwin urged his horse faster, pretty soon coming upon the forest with the rest of the Survey Corps in tow. However, he didn't dismount, rather he kept riding through the forest with his 3DMG on, even though it would've been faster with the 3DMG.
Gradually, they all entered the forest and was consumed by the dim light of the biome, causing Erwin to order everyone to a slow trot, "Be careful, soldiers!" He warned everyone once more, which some were getting a bit tired of.
Occasionally, many were startled as actual deers and other animals that they haven't seen in a long time-or their entire life-wandering around and passing by, staring at the Survey Corps soldiers blankly before continuing on. "What is this place, seriously!" Ymir looked around with Christa while Sasha drooled at each meat-packed animal that came wandering by.
"Hold on...I hear something..." Mike said to Erwin, his nose twitching slightly. Erwin nodded and motioned for the others behind him to come to a stop, causing a chain reaction.
Slowly, he and the other higher-ups, as well as Eren, Armin, Mikasa, and the others started forward again, ordering the rest to stay back. Quietly they went, the horses' hooves barely making any sounds on the ground, even Connie was trying to look quiet and be sneaky for the first time. Levi rode just slightly ahead of everyone, making sure there were no dangers before waving the other Survey Corps members to follow them. Only the quiet rustling of many hooves and gentle shaking of reins could be heard, everyone was completely mute, not daring to even cough or sneeze.
Then, the next moment they emerged into a massive clearing...and an entire village occupied the area, obviously populated seeing how there were loud voices heard from it as well as people strolling around leisurely. None of them seemed to be looking nervous, despite being so far out away from the walls where humanity could be assured to live on at, rather they all looked like they were having an enjoyable day. There were even dogs seen to be running around, playing with one another while their owners worked away with others in harmony, the only strange thing about the village was that they were dressed in peculiar clothing. A woman walked by with seemingly a piece of cloth of some sort wrapped around herself, gold strips on it while her hair was hung down in little braids with beads, another woman was wearing the clothing that of a noble would wear in Wall Sina, but her's was somehow more...fancy.
Suddenly, some of the villagers caught notice of them, and the next moment a ringing alarm could be heard. The entire Survey Corps immediately went on guard, many of them gripping the handles of the blades, getting ready to pull the trigger and swing out of the way of danger.
"INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS!" Everyone in the village started rushing about, dogs were barking and running around, though none made any hostile advances towards the Survey Corps.
People were running around, holding strange-looking weapons of sorts and passing it to each other, then they slowly proceeded to encircle the Survey Corps in a half-circle, none of them proceeding into the forest. "Stay calm, soldiers!" Erwin ordered, his own horse rearing with fright as the villagers directed their weapons at them, making loud sounds as they did.
Suddenly, a group of people made their way through the line of defense made by the villagers, entirely composed of strangely-dressed women. In the lead was a small girl, dressed in fine clothes like a noble while her hair was tied in some weird sort of buns, sticking out from both sides of her head. Her bangs covered her right eye, and it never seemed to move with the wind to show her right eye underneath. Despite being small, there was some air of superiority about her, "How have you come to find us?" A look of fury was on her delicate face, the other women around her had their arms crossed and looked just as angry as her.
"I am the leader of this village, Tsunami Arow, and I demand to know why the Wings of Freedom of the Walls are here!"
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(A/N: I already warned you I would be adding an OC, don't judge DX Tsunami Arow is used in many of my fanfics these days, so don't judge, don't judge ._. I'll be publishing her story soon-of how she came to be...
ANYWAYS, HOPED YOU ENJOY THIS CHAPTER, AND SORRY I STARTED TO GET SUPER SLOPPY IN THE MIDDLE, BECAUSE I FELT DAZED AND HAD ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT I WAS DOING! No, seriously, what the hell was I doing? I first started watching SnK again since I needed inspiration, then I got distracted with other animes and stuff happened ._. I need help...)
PLEASE, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, LEAVE A FAVE AND REVIEW! ALSO, PLEASE DO FOLLOW BOTH THIS STORY AND ME! MANY MORE FANFICS COMING YOUR WAY!
~~~This is Tsunami signing off~~~