-Chapter 16: Know Thy Giant Enemy-
~Year 846~
The new year had dawned, and despite the still colder than usual weather, the central government decided that now was the right time to commence the reconstruction operations of Shiganshina's outer gate.
The new gate design by the Garrisons' engineering corps was finally finalized, now they just had to wait for the factory cities to construct the individual parts and finally assemble the damn thing, the only problem was the existence of the giant man eaters that were responsible for destroying the gate in the first place. For while the sun was clouded, it still provided the titans with just enough energy to continue their never-ending pilgrimages towards the breach in the outer wall, all for the sake of consuming all of humanity.
Luckily the experienced Survey Corps had been on the defensive, dealing with any marauding titans that got too close to the breach, which allowed the Garrison to work on fortifying the entrance to the district. And many a scout were more than eager to sink their blades into the napes of their great enemy, especially those who were injured in the last expedition.
-oOo-
Moses maneuvered himself behind his lumbering foe with a hardened look, for he was eager to make up for the many months he was out of commission. Ascending towards the titans exposed nape, he pulled on the levers of his grips and squeezed his lower triggers, letting the compressed gas inside his main unit push him forward. And with a two bladed strike the nape was sliced off and the grinning beast was brought down.
However, his decent onto the ground was not soft one, as his footing was uneven, causing him to tumble across the field. He slowly picked himself up while retracting his anchors, tuning out the sounds of battle around him as began to mutter to himself.
'Stay a couple more days she said…at least until the new year…would have landed no problem…'
The scout continued to stew in his own anger, that is until a series of loud thumping's brought him back, turning around he saw a titan heading towards him with its arms stretched out. He grabbed ahold of his blades, ready for another fight, until a loud squeal sounded off causing bot man and titan to turn in the direction of the noise.
"SQUEEEEEEEE"
Seconds later the titan was tackled and skewered by the tusks of a large glowing boar. It used the titan to bash away at others in its way, before dislodging the squirming beast and proceeding to maul it. Moses was left stunned at the sight, despite being told it was an ally to the scouts it still sent a shiver down his spine to see it crash and tear its way through the horde, especially when he first saw the massive swine come out of a nearby forest and charge into battle. As he watched the boar tear into the titan's nape another scout on horseback rode up to him.
"Snap out of it Moses! Caesar got that one taken care of!" Of course the large swine had a name, for even the mounts of the scouts were active members of the regiment, and thanks to a certain superhuman, the boar was considered one. Moses huffed and whistled, calling out for his horse, Buckley. As he rode off, he took one last glance at Caesar and was surprised to see the swine look back at him, its single functioning eye glowing a blue ethereal light, just like its famed rider. He couldn't help but gulp down as he felt another chilling sensation, either from the glow, or from the steaming and bloody bits of nape that it had in its mouth.
He shook his head, trying to regain his focus. It nearly cost him his life once, so he made a promise to himself that it wouldn't happen again. Setting his sights on a titan that had caught a scout he began to stand atop his horses back, only to watch as a glowing spiked club flew towards the titan's head and shattered it like a rotten fruit. Before it could descend it suddenly went flying backwards towards the one who threw it.
Moses looked towards the figure who threw it, being none other than the so called "Titan Slayer", the man who had saved his life, and who had prevented the fall of Wall Maria. He watched in awe as Maverick caught his "morningstar", as he called it, with his glowing right hand, only to quickly throw it at another titan that caught his sight. He proceeded to do it a couple more times before throwing it at another and resorting to fight the titans with his fist, knocking the head off of one into the air.
Moses had only heard the stories from the other veterans about the supernatural abilities the glowing man possessed, so to see him in action was truly jaw dropping, a once in a lifetime experience. Seeing the giant of a man beat down one of those dead eyed monstrosities to a pulp sent him shivers. No wonder there was a growing following dedicated to him.
The sounds of laughter caused him to turn in the direction of a certain section commander who was following the large, marked man as well as her worried eyed assistant right behind her. Since he had returned to active duty the sight of the three together had been quite common, whether they were on the battlefield or back at headquarters. He could only let out an amused huff as he returned to the task at hand, remarking how at least there was another person that had the mental strength to handle the fourth squad commanders' eccentricities.
-oOo-
The skirmish had ended and once again the scouts had prevailed, minus a few scrapes and bruises there was luckily no fatalities among the regiment. So with no more threats at hand the scout prepared to head back into the relative safety of the Shiganshina district, all except Maverick who was currently messing with the last titan of the invading pack.
It was a long armed and potbellied 3-meter class, which like many of its kind had a large grin spread across its face with a set of crooked teeth, which now had a few missing, as it tried to pick itself back up after dealing with a sucker punch from its assailant. It didn't get far as its left arm was grabbed and soon the rest of its body was lifted into the air, before crashing back down into the ground.
Maverick's grip on the titan's arm hardened to the point where the sound of cracks was heard. He had an inquisitive look on his face as he swung the titan around a few times, before launching it across the field. Its arm ripped off as it flew, creating a trail of blood in the sky, before it skidded on the open field. Maverick's eyes narrowed as he slowly began to approach the incapacitated creature until a voice rung out.
"*Whatcha doing Mav?*" Hange, his fellow comrade in arms and superior officer approached him with a similar inquisitive look and speaking the language that he had taught her for the last couple of months. He would have complimented her on how more fluently she spoke, but there were other matters on his mind.
"*Just testing something….*" He responded looking back at the incapacitated and deformed looking giant.
"Oh! A test?!" She beamed getting closer to the man, who simply continued to observe the last of the invaders for the day. He looked down to his hands, squeezing his fingers as if he was holding onto something.
"*It's body…it's not as heavy as I thought….*" He muttered, unaware that his companion froze in place. A look of shock formed on her face as she stared at her large comrade with a look that could only be described as the look one gives to another when they reveal an interest similar to oneself.
"*Don't even have to put all my strength into it, it's like I'm throwing a doll around. Have you eve-*" He didn't get to finish as the moment he turned around he was met with Hange's face, which was far closer than a few minutes ago, she was close for him to see the air leave her nose as she breathed.
"I made that exact same observation before I dedicated my life to research…" She said with bated breaths as she moved closer to her large statured comrade, just as her face began to blush.
"To discovering the unknown….to learning more about our enemies…." The blush on her face reddened as her eyes grew wider. "It all started with that single question…why?"
"Section Commander this is not the time!" Moblit spoke out trying to snap Hange out of whatever funk she was in, but it fell on deaf ears as she soon grasped Maverick cloak, bringing him closer to her.
"Your brain Mav, filled with so much experience and knowledge…" She continued to stare into his glowing blue eyes, as her lips curved into a smile.
"I-It's getting back up!" Moblit shouted as the titan Maverick had thrown slowly began to raise itself up, even the missing limb was starting to grow back. But Hange could care less about that at the moment, for her attention was entirely on the marked man, with her smile turning into more of a "Cheshire" styled grin.
"It's about time you used it for more than just stories…don't you agree?" She spoke in a quieter tone closing in on Maverick's face, to the point where their noses were centimeters away from touching. Maverick, who had remained silent through the entire ordeal simply gave the section commander a smirk and before patting her head as a response.
"*You read my mind Hanji*" Hange felt a sense of glee after hearing Maverick's answer, she had truly found a kindred spirit in the large man. However, she soon realized how close she was to Maverick's face and took a few steps back, the blush on her face turning even redder. Maverick simply chuckled at his companion's behavior, which caused her to giggle as well.
Moblit simply stared at the two with his mouth agape, had the two forgotten that there was still one more titan left to kill? Which mind you, had gotten up and was slowly approaching the three scouts. He was about to shout out to them, before another scout beat him to it.
"Oi you three, quit playing with that thing and kill it already! We're heading off!" Levi barked snapping the two scouts back to reality, well Hange at least. Maverick was about to make his way towards the lumbering mutant, until Hange placed her arm over his body, stopping him in his tracks.
"Oh, we'll be playing with it all right…" She stared at the 3-meter beast with lit up goggles, rubbing her hands together and giggling like a madwoman. Maverick looked to Moblit who had a worried look on his face, for he had enough experience to know what those giggles meant. He simply resigned himself as Hange began to run towards the commander.
"Erwin! I have a proposition!"
-oOo-
A while later, inside the interior of Wall Maria
"How'd I get roped into this…" Mosses uttered aloud as he held down the edge of a large net, followed by Nanaba placing and hammering an iron spike, securing the net in place.
For some reason, still unknown to him, the commander had allowed the titan maniac to drag the last titan of the invading pack back into the district in order to be "studied". Granted, thanks to Maverick, all they had to deal with was a jawless and limbless body, which was much easier to restrain. Still got them looks from the Garrison working on the outer defenses, but then again when didn't they get weird looks from them.
His musing was cut short by the few chuckles from his senior scout.
"There's more to the scouts than just killing titans, we also have to deal with Hange's whimsies." Nanaba said in a joking manner, as her eyes darted towards said scout, who was currently grasping the arm of their resident superhuman, trying to contain her excitement. "Thought you'd know that by now Moses." She gave him a smirk to which he shook his head in a dismissive manner.
"*Sigh* Still, don't know why the commander approved of this, we got bigger things to deal wi-"
The sudden appearance of a boot stomping on the spike cut him off. Raising his head, he was met with the unamused look of Captain Levi, who narrowed his eyes at Moses.
"Because he did, now quit whining." Was all he said to the young scout before walking away, leaving Moses short of breath. Walking up to Erwin he decided to actually get an answer from the man himself.
"So why did you approve this?" Erwin in response simply continued to look in the direction of the restrained titan, occasionally glancing at the ecstatic looking section commander.
"Maverick assured us that he would be able to keep the titan in check. Don't tell me after all these months he still hasn't proven himself?" He spoke in a joking manner, to which Levi crossed his arms and kept his gaze on the marked man in question.
"Suppose he has…" Erwin's eyebrows raised up, as he was surprised by what was the closest thing to a compliment said by the short statured scout. With a small smile forming on his face, he turned back to the two members of the fourth squad, chuckling at the scene before him.
"Besides, look at her. I don't think I've ever seen her this happy, not since Maverick first showed off his skills in the skirmish." The two men looked to their fellow veteran whose mannerisms and expression resembled that of a child first visit inside a sweet shop in Wall Sina.
"Hehehehehe, it's finally happening Mav, it's really happening, can you believe it?! The last time the Survey Corps were able to catch a titan was more than eleven years ago!" Hange was rocking back and forth while grasping Maverick's right arm with stars in her eyes. For she never thought that the day that they would capture a titan would come so soon. Thanks in no part to her giant, superhuman comrade.
Maverick meanwhile could only chuckle at his superior's erratic and yet adorable behavior. Even as she squeezed his arm, he couldn't help but reminded of happier times as he glanced at Hange's beaming smile.
"Good thing we still had the nets lying around. Wonder if they'll actually hold it though." He scratched his beard while observing Moblit and the other scouts securing the mangled three meter. While the nets managed to hold Caesar, he was unsure how it would stand against the giant mutant, especially since the only reason it was to hold the boar down was the fact that it was unconscious and groggy, unlike the giant, which was very much active.
"Not to worry, it's made from the same material as our ODM wires. Our little subject isn't going anywhere." Hange reassured while patting Maverick's arm. "Plus, you made sure that it wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.~" She gestured to the titan, who's limbs had begun to steam, signifying that they were about to grow back.
"The nets' secured Section Commander." Moblit spoke as he moved around the titan, making sure he was a safe distance away from the creature. Just in time, as the limbs began top regrow, allowing the titan the use of its arms once more. The scouts backed away while Maverick kept his ground, his fist clenching as he watched the titan move around, struggling to move. It seemed that the nets were doing its job, as the three-meter class was unable to free itself.
Hange began to rub her hands together, as her goggles began to shine in the sunlight.
"Excellent~ Now we'll just have to give our subject a name. Mav?" She looked to Maverick who was still focused on the restrained beast. After a few moments of silence he blinked, realizing that all eyes were on him.
"Heh? Y-You want me to…" He began to say, only for Hange to answer the unspoken question.
"Of course! You made this all possible, so you should have the honor!" Maverick raised an eyebrow as he looked down at his superior, before huffing out air in amusement.
'Honor she says' "Alright uhh…let's see…" He eyed the restrained giant while stroking his short beard. His left foot began to tap at a slow pace as his mind tried to generate a name for the creature. Minutes passed as the scouts continued to look at Maverick, who's features began to harden as he honestly struggled to think of a name. In the end he eventually blurted out a name.
"Uhhh…G-Gimpy." Silence filled the air besides the sounds of the titans struggles. Eventually Moblit spoke, asking the question that was on everyone's mind.
"Gimpy?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yep." Was all the marked man said, not making eye contact with any of the scouts.
"Why Gimpy?" Hange asked to which Maverick sharply turned to her direction with an exhausted tone.
"*You put me on the spot Hanji, what did you expect? I can't just name something on the fly! This kind of thing takes time.*" He spoke in a raised tone, surprising everyone, especially when he spoke in his native tongue. The section commander could only snicker at her companion's reaction, even as he narrowed his eyes at her.
"Well, Gimpy it is then!" Hange then began to approach the now named titan, despite the worries of her assistant. She was only a few feet away before she lowered her head to meet the titan at eye level. "Hello Gimpy, are you comfortable?~" She asked in a rather sweet tone, receiving no response from the beast, other than some gurgles and hisses, seeing as its lower jaw had yet to fully reform.
"Great! We'll be running some tests on you, just to see what makes you special. I hope that's alright~" She said once more. And once again no response from the titan besides it trying to move closer to the bespectacled scout. She smirked at the trapped subject as she continued with her spiel.
"You should be proud, you're the first of many that will enter these walls. Not to eat, but to provide us with knowledge!" She exclaimed, signaling for the tests to begin.
And so, for the next few days the Survey Corps' lead researcher began a series of experiments on the now named subject, Gimpy. Throughout their tests it was revealed that he lacked any sort of pain response as he showed little to no reaction to physical harm, be it either stabbings, gouged eyes, or forceful removal of limbs. All he would offer was his signature titan grin and constant attempts to reach out for the bespectacled researcher.
As observed by both Maverick and Hange Gimpy's body was extremely light, as any removed limbs were easily abled to be carried with little to no issue. It also allowed the scouts to observe the regeneration of the lost limb which varied from nearly five to seven minutes.
Next was a test regarding how Gimpy would react to Maverick. Hange requested he perform some of the "abilities" he performed during the skirmish. The "warrior voice" as many called it, caused a change in Gimpy's behavior. His eyes, usually glossy and distant, were now focused entirely on Maverick, as if he had been finally woken up. He also showed to be more aggressive as he tried to free himself from his bindings, his mouth watering with perceived hunger and desperation. Maverick performed the voice again, this time in a more frightening and sharp tone, similar to what he had done to tame Caesar. Which lead to something very…interesting to say the least.
Gimpy stopped moving almost immediately, and shockingly enough he began to back away. His smile turned downward to a more quivering look, as he kept eye contact with the marked man, who began to smile back at the creature to its seeming displeasure.
This left Hange and the scouts completely shocked and wide eyed at the supernatural phenomenon. For this was quite possibly the first ever case of a titan showing signs of clear fear and panic. Whatever Maverick was doing was clearly working as even Hange, Moblit and a few other had backed away from him, for this terrifying aura had begun to spread.
"M-Mav…y-you can s-stop now…" Hange said in a meek tone, as if trying to contain the rising fear in her voice. Thankfully Maverick ceased and soon the aura disappeared, to the relief of the scouts.
"Oh…heh, sorry."
Hange had decided to conclude today's test with another measure of how long Gimpy would last with no sunlight. As previously known, the titan's primary source of energy was sunlight, without it they would become immobile due to the high amount of energy they needed to move. In Gimpy's case he showed a surprising ability to stay active for at least ten whole minutes, before falling into a comatose like state.
As his movements finally ceased the scouts packed it in and retired for the night, minus Hange who was still adamant to continue.
-oOo-
Hange's lab, inside Survey Corps Headquarters
The lab of Hange Zoë. A medium sized room dedicated to the research and study of humanities greatest enemy and asset. It is in this room where the titan maniac would spend countless sleepless night attempting to unravel the mystery behind the titans, evidence being the numerous papers strewed across the room and on the walls. Notes written atop of other notes, sketches and drawings of multiple titans and of Maverick's many markings, and theories and hypothesis' either crossed out or still pending further research. One would mistakenly believe the room to be the den of a madwoman or a homeless…or both.
The door to the lab was suddenly kicked open as Hange excitedly walked in, with her assistant and superhuman comrade in tow.
"*Sigh* Another day of fulfilling research!" Hange exclaimed as she stretched her arms hearing some satisfying cracks in the process. Maverick chuckled to himself, while Moblit slowly nodded as the late-night tests have completely screwed up his sleep schedule.
"Yep…" Maverick muttered, before feeling something press into his torso. Looking down he saw his commander being rather…familiar with him, as she was hugging his body. "*Hanji?*" He asked the woman, who hid her face from the large man.
"I can't thank you enough Mav. I don't think Erwin would have approved if it wasn't for you…" She raised her head, and the marked man was surprised to see the expression on her face. It wasn't one of her usual crazed looks or one of obsessive fascination, instead there was a smile. An honest to God, genuine, beaming smile. And the blush on her cheeks topped if all off.
Maverick was left stunned. The way she was smiling at him, set something off in his brain. It set off something in his hearts as well, as he felt some skipping beats. A warm smile slowly began to form on his face, as he placed his hand atop her head in a comforting gesture.
"*Chuckles* Think nothing of it Hanji, just doing my part.*" A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she stared at his glowing eyes. Moblit meanwhile stayed silent as he watched the two have their little moment. Despite his drowsiness a smile formed on his face as well, as this was honestly the first time he had seen the section commander show affection to anything other than the titans.
Seconds later she detached from the large man, dusting herself off as she made her way across her lab.
"Well, with all the notes me and Moblit got. We can get to the next step of our research!" She said causing Moblit to release a tired sigh and a few muttered words. She removed her goggles in exchange for a pair of glasses as she walked towards the corner of the lab.
"And that would be?" Maverick asked, as he watched his companion bring out a small chalkboard from the corner.
"We theorize!" She exclaimed as she spun the chalkboard onto its other side. "With all of our notes and your experience, I'm sure we can get to the root of the titans!" Her eyes once again sparkled as she got into her "researcher" mode.
"First, we write down all that we know…" Hange pulled a small chalk board form the corner, wiping off whatever scribbles were there before. She then proceeded to jot down a list regarding the many characteristics and general information about the titans, with the other two, mostly Maverick, putting in his own two cents in. While most of it was already known information it was important to have their bases covered.
Gimpy's reactions to Maverick were the real highlight of their study session, as it left both Hange and Moblit completely stumped on both how and why the subject reacted in such a manner. In the end Moblit simply just wrote it off as another of Maverick's many gifted abilities, dubbing it Maverick's "terrifying presence."
"Alright, I think we've got everything down." Hange said as she took a step back from the board eyeing all the traits they had managed to record. Maverick took a look at the final result and couldn't help but frown.
"A bit of a short list…" He muttered, with the other two member of fourth squad sighing in agreement.
"Well, the scouts of the past cared little for research, focused more on just trying to kill them off rather than looking into their origins." Maverick could only huff out air in response, for he could relate to such feelings. At times wanting your enemies dead as quickly as possible was a good tactic, especially with his strength. However, there were times he valued knowing more about the foes he faced, how they operated, who was in command of who, their reasons to fight, and of course how to make their lives absolutely miserable.
"Knowing your enemy always goes a long way." He said as he looked at the list, as both Hange and Moblit gave him some amused looks. "Heh, something you had to learn yourself?" Moblit asked, while trying to keep his eyes open.
"Call it a personal belief, the situations in my lifetimes have only reinforced it since then." The two scouts gave knowing looks in response, as they recalled of the many threats he faced and situations he spoke of for many months.
They stayed silent as they watched their large statured comrade examine the list of traits. One could only wonder what exactly the experienced mark man was thinking, if his hardened look was anything to go by.
"These traits…more like mutations than anything natural, add the fact that they're all practically universal amongst each and every one of them is definitely more than a coincidence…"
The gears inside Maverick's mind churned as he searched through his memory vault, trying to think of what he had faced in the past with traits similar to the giant man eaters he was dealing with now. As he continued to stare at the list on the board, his eyes widened as memories began to flash in his mind.
A mansion deep in the forest…
A city overrun with the dead…
Mutated monstrosities of varying sizes and shapes…
A village in the mountains of Spain…
A white and red colored octagon…
And a blonde-haired jackass…
"*For fuck sakes*…" Maverick cursed under his breath, however it wasn't as quiet as he wanted, as the two scout were able to hear him. They also noticed the shift in Maverick eyes, which could only mean that he had made a connection and most likely had a solution to their titanic problems.
"Got something Mav?" Hange asked, to which Maverick responded by backing up from the board and exhaling a bit of air through his nose.
"Maybe…it's a theory right now, but these traits remind me of monsters I dealt with a while back." Hange let out a cheer, not noticing the unamused look on Maverick's face as he started to scratch his beard.
"Hah! Of course it does!" She exclaimed. However, her little celebration was didn't last long as Moblit tapped on her arm and gestured towards the large man. As she turned, she finally noticed the look on his face and her smile turned soon turned downward.
"You mind if we end it here Hanji? Gotta write some stuff down for a bit in my room." Hange took out a pocket watch and noticed it was quite late in the night. Although personally she thought they could stay awake much later, the look on Mav's face pretty much told her that it was best to stop for today. That and Moblit looked like he was about to pass out.
"Also, can either one of you get the commander and everyone else gathered in the lounge room tomorrow?" The two looked in confusion before Hange said that she would, not before asking why of course.
"Sure…but what for Mav?" Hange asked inquisitively to which Maverick looked back and gave the woman a wide-eyed look, catching her off guard.
"Cause they're gonna want to hear what I have to say…" Was all he said before exiting the room, leaving the two with perplexed and, if they were honest, a bit worried.
-oOo-
The following morning, inside the lounge room
The commander and the rest of the scout regiment were gathered inside the lounge, talking amongst themselves concerning the recent news. Many were upset to be woken up so early in the morning, however their irritation turned to surprise once they heard the reason. For it seemed that their resident superhuman had an idea regarding the origins of the titans. Once told where to be many of the scouts rushed to dress themselves and report to the designated meeting area, the commander himself included.
The doors to the entrance suddenly opened revealing the members of squad 4. Everyone went quiet as they watched the three made their way to the center, while pushing three covered-up boards. Everyone gave some questioning looks as with the two members took their seats near the center.
"Well Maverick, I must say I'm impressed. Didn't expect to have a report so quickly." Erwin remarked as he watched maverick push his covered board in the center. He noticed the marked man looked as if he had stayed up all hours of the night. One could compare his current look to how Moblit looked almost every other day.
"You can thank my previous lifetimes sir, helped connecting the dots quicker." He spoke in a somewhat exhausted tone, as he smoothed his hair back. causing some eyebrows to raise up.
"Hmm, of course…" Erwin muttered, bit concerned as to Maverick's current tone. He eyed Hange and Moblit noticing their intrigued looks. Had he not told them about his discovery? If so, why?
"Connect the dots?" Miche repeated, as once again Maverick lingos were unknown to a majority of the scouts, minus his squad mates. With a nod Maverick confirmed what a few had speculated.
"So, you got an actual idea of how those filthy things came to be?" The moment Levi said those words did the entire room go silent. Had he done it, had Maverick really deduced a possible explanation for the existence of their greatest enemy? Voices soon began to erupt from the other scouts wanting to confirm what they just heard. With a simple glowing hand gesture did Maverick calm the crowd down.
"It's a theory at the moment…but based on these specific traits, we might be dealing with something I have dealt with in the past." He said all but confirming that he had done it.
"Is that why you gathered all of us here? As well as not telling your squad mates as well?" Erwin asked once more, to which Maverick nodded his head, which was of course followed by.
"Yes, because this is something you all deserve to know at once." The scouts stared at their large comrade with surprised looks, not wanting to interrupt.
"But before I start, know this. What I'm about to tell you will be…uncomfortable, to say the least. Maybe might even lead to some of you to…rethink about your choice here in the regiment…" This came as a very big shock to many of the scouts, some concerns as well. What kind of information did he have that would cause a scout to rethink their choice in the regiment? Even the second and third strongest soldiers, who often shared looks of uninterested boredom raised their brows at what was said.
"Were all ears Maverick…" Erwin eventually said, allowing Maverick to begin his report.
"Alright…So yesterday we listed down all the traits that we found Gimpy to have." Maverick removed the cover to the first board, revealing the list his squad had created. All looked attentively at the list, despite how short it was.
"To no one's surprise these traits are shared universally amongst all the giants, down to their ability to regenerate and that their supposed weakness is the nape. And it's always the same, one meter long and about ten centimeters wide. Very specific, don't you think?" The mutterings began once more. Some voiced out their agreements, others looked to have had their eyes open, as they realized that the titans indeed had shared traits. "It's almost as if they come pre equipped with these certain traits…"
"What are you getting at?" Levi said, with a raised eyebrow. Maverick responded by leaning closer to the halfling, his glowing eyes zeroing in on him in specific.
"These giants aren't normal so to speak." A few seconds passed before Levi huffed out air in response.
"*Hmph* We had that figured out a long time ago." He said in his usual monotone look, while rolling his eyes. Maverick's features hardened in response, seeing as the halfling didn't fully understand.
"What I mean is that they're not a natural creation. Gimpy for example, his proportions are all off, he shouldn't be able to move around so quick, much less be able to support himself." Some of the scouts had looks of confusion on their face. Many were still unaware that the testing subject corralled inside the Wall was given a name. Some found the name amusing, their chuckles were silenced as Maverick continued.
"Then there's the fact that they all lack reproductive organs, they can't, nor do they show a desire to breed. How have they been able to replenish their numbers for the last hundred years hmmm?" No one spoke up, allowing him to continue.
"Lastly there's the fact that they seem to only go after humans. We tested it by placing me and a sheep next to Gimpy. Every time he went for me, completely ignoring the sheep. We tried many other animals, and it was always the same thing, humans. It's like they're programed to only go for humans." Besides Hange and Moblit, no one knew exactly what the word programmed meant, but it was clear by his tone that it was not a good thing for the titans to be programmed to only attack humans.
"What is all this entail Maverick?" Erwin spoke, his voice filled with apprehension. Maverick sighed as he walked towards the second board and uncovered it, finally revealing what he had held off from them.
"The titans are B.O.W's…" The scouts shared looks of confusion as Maverick revealed the contents of the second board, which consisted of the native letters B, O, and W, with smaller writings around. Also included was a sketch of the captured titan, with arrows pointed at specific parts of its body.
"The hell does that stand for?" Levi asked, with others voicing out their confusion as well. Maverick was more than pleased to inform them as he said rather flatly…
"Bio, Organic, Weapons…" He said each word out slowly and with a raised tone, making sure that everyone could hear him clearly. Looks of shock formed on the faces of the scouts, both veterans and youngbloods alike. Moblit shared this look as well, even the titan maniac herself couldn't help but have a conflicted look on her face.
"M-Mav, a-are you suggesting the titans are-" Hange began to stutter out, to which the man in question responded quickly.
"Created, the titans are a byproduct of some twisted experiment. Most likely meant for military use." There was silence for a few seconds, before voices of disbelief and concern began to ring out inside the lounge room.
"W-What the fuck…."
"No, n-no no! That can't be right!"
"Someone made them…these monsters…"
The voices continued, before the coughs of the commander silence everyone. Erwin slowly turned to the marked man as he wished to confirm something.
"And you said you dealt with something very similar, no?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows. His inquiry was confirmed by a nod from Maverick.
"I have experience dealing with bioweapons, yes." The voices continued once more, with one voice greater than the rest.
"And you decide to tell us this now? You could have said something before instead of all those-" Levi began his critique of the marked man for holding out on valuable information, only for the large man to interrupt him.
"Like I said, it's a theory. I'm basing this on what I've seen from them." The two scouts stared each other down. Levi's glare against Maverick's narrowed look. One could almost see electric sparks arc between the two, as the two men burned their gazes to one another. Seconds passed before the smaller of the two slowly began to sit back down with a click of his tounge.
"But it doesn't discredit what we've all seen from them. Once again, near instant regeneration, their absurd agility at times, their use of alternate sources of energy, removal of reproductive systems to keep them from their instinctual needs." He listed out once again gesturing with his hands as he numbered out the traits.
"Mix those altogether, and what we have ladies and gentlemen is the making of a highly effective super soldier! Think about it!" He exclaimed pointing at his head. Some scouts followed, looking down at the floor with contemplative looks, while others shook their heads in denial. Calling the titans soldiers was far too much of a stretch.
"You've lost your mind, there's no way tha-" Levi started to say, until once again he was interrupted, not by Maverick, but by the bespectacled section commander.
"No, Mav is onto something with this…i-it's actually making some sense." Everyone turned to look at Hange as she rubbed her chin in contemplation, with her own look of deep contemplation.
"Those qualities do sound like something a soldier would need." Moblit remarked. Maverick immediately snapped his finger and pointed at his comrade.
"Exactly! An unstoppable killing machine, with no desires other than to kill the enemy. Ohhh I know plenty of militaries who would kill for a soldier like that."
Everything went absolutely dead silent when Maverick said that. Something clicked in their minds when he mentioned a military. A military was made up of soldiers, and soldiers were usually conscripted…
"Maverick, a-are you saying that-" The words left Erwin's mouth as Maverick gave the commander a neutral look. He slowly breathed through his nose before delivering the gut punch.
"The B.O.W's that I dealt with came in a lot of verities, but there was one trait many shared. Many of them were made from mutated humans, used as nothing more than unwilling test subjects."
There were no words to describe how the members of the Survey Corps felt at that moment. Only by the looks of absolute horror and pale faces could express what was going through their minds.
"I believe the giants here follow a similar creation…" It was then when the flood gates burst open as a wave of voices cried out.
"Oh God….no…"
"I-I feel sick…."
"W-Who would do something like that?!"
"N-No, no, no, no, no…."
"We really have been…killing…."
These were but a few intelligible sentences that could be heard by the marked man, as many were still left shocked at what he said. Some scouts simply stared at the floor, others hid their head inside their hands, other just started to scream out in denial, there were those who had to excuse themselves from the room, either to relieve themselves or just to process their thoughts in private.
Eventually Erwin had ordered his assistants to retrieve the few scouts that left, in order to get things back on track. Many were still struggling to process the information though.
"B-But then if they're supposed to be soldiers, t-then why are they like this. Why have they killed almost all of humanity?!" Came the roaring voice of Moses.
"No doubt there are some flaws in their design. Their low intelligence and the fact they can't move at night being some examples. Most likely whatever experiment they may be part of has gone wrong." Maverick paced around the center while he explained.
"An experiment gone wrong?" Miche repeated, which made Maverick rub his bearded chin as he continued to think.
"Maybe. Maybe some nation long ago was trying to play God, fucked it up, and now the rest of humanity is paying the price." The scouts once again were left utterly lost and quite honestly angered at the notion. The thought that some bastards long ago were responsible for their troubles was for lack of better words, a horrible feeling.
"Which then leads to something more disturbing." Now he was just rubbing salt in the wound. What could possibly be worse than the idea that the have spent their entire military careers slaughtering what they thought were nothing but monsters.
"If your people have been dealing with these giants for a hundred years…then maybe something, or someone, out there in the greater world is making more of them, at a constant rate."
Guess there was something worse. Not only were the titans at some point possibly human, but that they were still being created as the marked man proposed.
"B-but their flaws…." One scout tried to say.
"Yes, they have flaws, but that doesn't mean they're effective, nonetheless. They've been able to keep you from traveling outside these walls, no? A clear case of quantity over quality." At that point Hange, who had been unnaturally quiet through all this, finally voiced out another interesting point.
"Wait, what about the Colossal, a-and the Armored titan?! Mav, you said the Armored ran for the inner gate, right?" The large man's glowing eyed glowed brighter in realization. Indeed, he had seen the armored one take a running start before trying to ram through the inner gate. And reports said that the 60-meter kicked down the outer gate, a normal one would have simply rammed through, just like the armored one.
"That I did." He began to mutter to himself, before Moblit made himself known as well.
"There's also the abnormals Maverick! Our expeditions in the past have seen them signs of greater intelligence!" Maverick massaged his marked temple in response to this reminder.
"Right, so there are some who clearly have more smarts than the rest, even capable of some basic tactics." This of course caused the scouts to talk amongst themselves once more. If what Maverick said was true, then they were dealing with a far greater threat than some unnatural man-eating monstrosities.
"Commander, what do you make of all this? Erwin's other assistant, Peer, asked. The commander could only look at his clasped hands in response as he was still processing all that Maverick said. He had delivered the scouts exactly what they wanted, a possible origin on the titans. He never thought it would be as shocking as what was just presented though. Not even their most dedicated researcher could have thought of something so...ludicrous.
"*Sigh* You've certainly given us a lot to think Maverick…" Erwin muttered as he slowly lifted his head to meet the large man at eye level.
"I'm sure I did." Maverick looked across the room seeing the reactions of everyone present. A sea of distressed looks was all that he saw, even his peppy section commander wasn't in a cheerful or excited mood. Not entirely surprising. "Sorry for…not bringing this up sooner, honestly was a bit worried how'd you all react. Not an easy thing to think of." Erwin raised his hand stopping the large man from continuing.
"No, despite the severity of these theories you've given us something close to an answer to the titans origins. Something we've been fighting and dying to discover for decades. Whether your theory holds merit or not, doesn't change the fact that the titans are still a threat to humanities continued survival. We must all remember that!"
"The scouts looked to their commander with either neutral, surprised, or resigned looks. As shocking as Maverick's theory was, as far as the rest of humanity was concerned, the titans were an ever present evil.
"Should we inform this to the premier and the rest of the branches?" His assistant asked. Erwin remained silent for a few moments before speaking in a firm tone.
"No." Confused looks formed on the faces of the scouts, while Maverick narrowed his eyes towards the commander. The commander quickly tried to alleviate the man's suspicions.
"I understand Maverick, but as you've said so yourself, these are theories. And theories are not something we can present to the higher ups. Which is why we will need more evidence to credit these theories." Erwin turned to Hange who was still in her own little world, however the mention of evidence brought her back almost immediately.
"D-Do you mean that-" She didn't get to finish as Erwin confirmed her thoughts.
"Hange, as of today I am authorizing more titan research operations. No doubt you'll need more subjects for further study." Her lips quivered as her eyes began to sparkle. With a cough however she pulled back her excited look in exchange for a more serious expression.
"Y-Yes sir!" She exclaimed as she stood up and performed a salute.
"Moblit, can you keep her in check?" The commander asked. The assistant slowly got up from his chair and performed another salute, as a resigned look was on his face.
"I'll give it my all Commander." He said half-heartedly, which received a few chuckles from the scout. With a nod Erwin turned to the large statured man in the center.
"Maverick, I trust you can keep these operations safe and under control?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Maverick gave the commander a nod and a thumbs up gesture.
"Of course, sir." With a satisfied nod the commander turned to the rest of the regiment.
"I believe this concludes our meeting, no? If there is anyone who is still…troubled, with the report, then you are free to use your time as you wish. For the rest of us, we shall return to our tasks at hand, dismissed." With that the scouts began or rise from their seats and make their way towards the double doors. Erwin watched as each one left, eying their faces as they passed. He spotted Levi, kept his head lower than the rest as he walked rather quickly to the exit. Lastly were the three members of Squad 4, the largest of them lowering his head as he passed through the door.
Which now left only two, surprisingly. For Miche had chosen to stay alongside Erwin, no doubt wanting to speak to him in private.
"Didn't seem to take it well…" Was all he said, for he too noticed the halflings behavior. With a sigh Erwin spoke in agreement.
"No doubt. How about you Miche?" He asked his long-time comrade. Miche responded by taking a deep breath., before lowering his head.
"I….don't know. Part of me wants to deny it all…t-the other half….can't find any fault." Erwin was honestly a bit surprised by the slight stutter in his friend's voice. There were few times where Miche had shown any emotion in his voice, the rare times being when he was out in the field, killing titans. So, to hear the tall blonde stutter was rare.
"I-I mean look at this." He said gesturing at the boards that were left behind. "How can you deny this? Not to mention the m-man who was saying all this!" Erwin eyes widened at the raise tone. Miche realized it as well as he soon coughed into his hand, trying to calm himself down. Erwin approached his comrade, placing his hand over his shoulder.
"Why don't you take some time off, let your mind calm itself." Mich nodded keeping his head lowered as he slowly made his way out the door. As the door closed, it was now the commanders time to reflect on the report.
A grin slowly formed on the commander's face, for Maverick's theory had rekindled a fire inside of him that he extinguished some time ago. While this theory was shocking of course, there was little doubt in his mind that it held merit, considering the individual who had told them. And while he did wish to reveal this to the other branches, he knew that a report such as this would no doubt cause havoc inside the Walls, perhaps lead to some…extreme reactions from certain higher authorities.
He supposed they would have to prepare for such a situation. But that would have to wait, the titans came first, plus he was sure Maverick would have something up his massive sleeves. As his thought wandered, he looked towards the three boards, approaching the first one that was presented.
He eyed the writings on the board, all in the native language of the people inside the Walls, and the rather detailed sketch on the second board that accompanied said writings. He was impressed, the lessons with Hange were truly paying off from the looks of it. Or perhaps his memories of the Japanese language had returned to the superhuman in full. Either way his penmanship was clear and readable, that's all that truly mattered in the end.
He smiled at the drawing of the titan affectionately named Gimpy. It truly was, as Maverick wrote on the board; "A mockery of biology." The long arms and stubby legs, mixed with the bulbous head would surely make the creature immobile, but if Maverick's theory was right. then he assumed that whatever experiments the beast went through made up for its disabilities. Then he noticed the third board that remained covered.
'What have we here?'
Suppose he forgot to present whatever he had on the board, couldn't blame the man. His theory resulted in quite a hectic scene, no doubt some details were forgotten in the chaos. He removed the cloak and his eyes widened at the sight. For it was yet another drawing of a titan. At least, he believed it to be a titan.
It looked to be a somewhat human looking figure, if it weren't for the creatures' hairless body and clearly visible veins surrounding said body. As well as the rows of sharp teeth and pupilless eyes that were featured on its face, and not much else.
"Regenerator?" He muttered as he read the name of the supposed creature, followed by its traits. As he read them, he couldn't help but compare it to the titans as well.
Next to it was another odd-looking thing, he couldn't quite describe it as it was something entirely alien to him. The closest he could compare it to was a spider, even then it was a stretch. Even the name was an oddity to him.
"Pla-ga?" He muttered once more, not sure if he pronounced it correctly. Following an arrow drawn next to it, it seemed to be connected to the regenerator somehow. Reading further revealed it to be, as Maverick wrote, "A parasitic lifeform responsible for high regenerative abilities, also major weak point!"
"Fascinating…" Erwin turned the board around, revealing another creature sketch, which was similar to the regenerator. It had a similar body structure, however the main difference were the numerous spikes that adorned its body, as well as the sharp toothed mouth that engulfed its face.
"Iron…Maiden?" The name was all that Erwin was able to get until the sound of heavy footsteps quickly approached. Turning around he was met with the large figure of Maverick as he ducked under the double doors.
"Forgot the….boards." He said as his glowing eyes met those of the commander. Scratching the back of his head he began once more. "I uhhh…forget to bring them back to the lab." Erwin could only chuckle in response.
"That you did. You also neglected to show this board as well." A groan escaped Mavericks lips as he approached the commander. "Quite the detail you paced on these creatures." Maverick looked at the drawing with a narrowed gaze.
"Are these the so-called bio-organic weapons you compared our titans with?" Maverick nodded as he crossed his arms, recalling the time he found himself having to face the parasite infested weapons.
"I'd like to know more about them, if you could indulge me." Erwin asked looking up to the marked man. "Long or short version?" He remarked. Erwin stayed silent for a few moments before speaking once more. "Keep it short, if you would." With a long sigh Maverick once again began another tale.
"I encountered them when me and another agent were sent to a remote village in a place called Spain…"
A/N: Hello again readers! We're starting off the new year with another great change in the story. The scouts having a close idea as to the origins of the titans! Originally, I was going to have Erwin deny Hange her titan capture operation, similar to how he denied her in the OVA, but scrapped that idea.
I'm sure some of you might think it's way too early, but that's kind of the point with this story. With an OP character like Maverick around, changes are bound to happen, and will happen. The Survey Corps of this story will be very different from the original regiment, with Maverick at the helm of those changes.
Another important note unfortunately updates to this story will be rather slow, as college has started up again. And with this being my (hopefully) last semester, all my focus will be on trying to pass. So, for the foreseeable future, this story will be on the backburner for a while. I will try to write whenever I have free time, that's all I can promise.
Until then, read and review!