Sorry for the motherfucking wait. No excuses really. Life's a bitch, and then you on keep trucking. Here are 2 chapters for all the trouble, though they are definitely less riskrisqué than the last.

Chapter 28 – Notes From a Scout

Year 849 (The morning of the 49th Scouting Expedition)

~ Rin ~

"Thirty seconds until the gates are opened! All personnel prepare to depart!" Erwin bellowed from the head of the scouts, all waiting patiently at Trost's gate.

Well, patiently save for one.

"Geez, I'm tired of waiting…" Hange mumbled from Rin's left. They slumped forward in their saddle radiating boredom, then perked up suddenly and looked around Rin at Levi on her right. "Hey, Levi-"

"No."

Rin giggled, her Captain's pre-prepared answer tickling her far more than it did her friend.

"I haven't even said anything yet…" Hange said while slouching in disappointment.

"You want me to help you capture a titan, correct?" he asked just as flatly, obviously not seeking an actual response. "That's a waste of effort, I'll have no part of it."

Rin smiled at her friend as they slouched even further. "I'll help you Han-"

"No…" Levi growled loudly. "You won't."

Rin's smile dropped instantly and she started to grumble while crossing her arms, glaring ahead in irritation. Hange looked toward Miche, who was watching them in mild amusement from Hange's other side.

"What about you Miche?" Hange asked hopefully. "Want to give it a go?"

He shook his head slowly, clearly rejecting the invitation just as flatly.

"You guys are lame…" Rin said toward the sky, exhaling loudly.

"What can you expect Rin Dear, same old boring answers, from the same old boring men…" Hange said with a disappointed sigh.

The gates came grinding to a halt, shuttering and raining dirt from its bottom. Hange squealed in excitement, clenching their fist with anticipation as Erwin raised his blade into the air.

"The 49th expedition beyond the walls begins, now!" Erwin said as he turned his horse round toward the gate and spurred it on. "FORWARD!"

The scouting legion did as commanded and set off after their Commander, hot on his heels as he tore down the tunnel toward the sunlight on the other end. Seconds after they had cleared Wall Rose and were heading toward open land, Hange spurred their horse forward and streaked up past their lead like a bullet.

"Hange!" Erwin yelled after them in a stern tone, but in vain as the scientist was far too busy screaming in joy to hear him.

"Here I come titans! I'm coming to say hello!"

Rin shook her head as she watched the Commander and Miche follow after them and start corraling them back in line. Her own squad rode tight around her, also watching the display in disapproval while shaking their heads or grinning.

"Are they insane!" Oluo screamed from behind Rin.

"Four-eyes has gone completely off the deep end!" Levi hollered toward her over the sound of the horse hooves thundering, his expression clearly one of aggravation.

Rin shrugged back at him, having no real defense. Hange had been growing more and more reckless with every new scouting mission as of late. They just couldn't seem to handle the disappointment of returning each time with nothing new to contribute to their findings. As a result, they had become rather desperate, enough so to have started trying to lure titans in on their own for close-up observations.

Rin had already saved them once from a four-meter that had gotten dangerously close as Hange stared in awe and tried to speak with it.

The Commander wrangled them in swiftly and the three returned to line, then spreading out into formation shortly afterward as they rode past the city ruins. Though Hange fell back with their squad, Rin could see feel, and hear, them bursting at the were able to ride for some time with few encounters. Most of the titans within Wall Maria had gathered in the cities near to the walls long ago, just waiting for their opportunity to reach the people on the other side.

Coming up on a small abandoned village, Erwin called in the formation and steered them toward it. The scouts stopped in the town to recoup, many busying themselves refilling gas tanks and eating while they had the time. A small tent was erected swiftly for the officers to commune in, Erwin and a few others gathering inside. Miche took off toward a rooftop to keep watch while munching on a fruit bar solemnly.

Rin sat with Oluo and Petra just outside the commander's tent, helping restock their fuel. They were nearing done when Hange came storming through, shoving inside with Moblit following just behind them looking very distressed.

"There they go again…" Oluo muttered as the expected shouting started.

"Shut it Bozado…" Rin warned, feeling defensive.

"Why? They are completely insane Rin, ignoring it doesn't change that fact."

"I don't give a rat's ass what you think, I told you to shut your mouth" Rin growled, standing up straight suddenly in a challenging way, Oluo doing the same to met her so that they stood inches apart. "I won't be putting up with any shit talk about Commander Zoe in my presence. Not unless you want a busted lip to go with your swollen tongue!"

The two stood toe to toe for a moment, Petra looking between the two in boredom as she continued to refill their gas canisters. She had grown rather used to their fighting over the months and rarely intervened anymore unless they got especially rowdy.

As if on cue, Erwin cam striding out of the tent along with a few other scouts. Hange rushing after with a flustered Moblit in tow still.

"Wait, Erwin!" Hange said as he walked away, clearly ignoring them.

"Its no use Commander Hange…" Oluo said, glancing over his shoulder at them. "We put our lives on the line just trying to kill the dam things, there is no way we can take one alive-"

Oluo turned toward Hange while still speaking, but was snatched up by his collar rather threateningly, cutting off his words. Hange lifted him clean off the ground and let him dangle while looking intently into Oluo's eyes. Rin and Petra exchanged a terrified look between the two of them, never having seen the scientist this worked up before.

"Think about it Oluo, lets's say Levi is coming at you and he is dead set on killing you," Hange said in a low scary voice, conjuring another threatening image to go along with the already aggressive situation. "What would you do? Can you fight him and survive?"

"Of course not…" Oluo gasped, the fear evident on his face. "Hey, I can't breath."

"Want me to tell you how you can win that fight?" Hange continued, paying no heed for the man's complaint as they grinned deviously. "You do your homework. The place he works, the food he hates, his taste in women, the number of times he takes a piss. You find out everything you can about him. Once you know him, you can find a weakness you can exploit. If you don't do that before a fight, you'll die for sure."

"Commander Hange!" Petra exclaimed as Oluo started to turn a little blue.

"Squad Leader! You're going too far!" Moblit yelled.

Hange huffed and looked very disgruntled, then released Oluo. Letting the man collapse to the ground on his ass while foaming at the mouth.

"Ah, my bad…" Hange said with an easy-going smile, sounding not in the least bit apologetic. "But you get my point, right?" They started to walk away as if they hadn't just choked the man within an inch of his life.

"Squad Leader!" Moblit scolded as he rushed after them.

"Fuck, they dam near killed me…" Oluo muttered, hand at his injured throat as he glared. "That bitch is insane. They belong in a nuthou-."

Rin, who stood just behind him, punched him the top of the head, making the man chomp down on his tongue mid-sentence. He yelped and grabbed his bleeding mouth, giving her a hateful glare over his shoulder.

"You know, you are part of the scouting legion…" Petra said, her hands going to her hips as she joined in scolding him. "So, you could do something about that barbaric way of speaking."

"Wuh? Why dew I gwet whe Wecture?"

"Because it was your big mouth that put you on the ground to begin with, so shut it!" Rin snapped, raising another fist threateningly. "You should be more respectful to a Squad Leader."

"Sawys tha woman who wis cwonstantly disrespecting our very own Cwaptain!" he hollered back, pointing at her accusingly as the bleeding slowed.

"That is not-"

"Are you all done with restocking?" Eld asked, walking up the short stone staircase leading to the town's center.

"Y-yes Sir! We are almost done!" Petra responded quickly.

"Good, we are supposed to be heading out soon," Eld said sternly, eyeing Oluo. "They are almost done with securing this town as a supply base."

"That's a relief, I hate when we stay in one spot for too long during the day…" Rin said, truthfully growing antsy.

A flurry of movement on top of the buildings across from them caught her eye, and she looked up just in time to see Miche disappearing over the other side of the roof with a worried look on his face. Suspicious, she moved past her squad a few paces toward the buildings. All of them pausing and looking in the same direction as she, only even further confused as they had not seen The Section Commander looking frantic.

A moment later a red flare burst over the edge of the roof with a pop, streaking into the air.

"Shit…" Rin muttered, already sprinting off toward where Leon was tied nearby.

"There's movement in the forest!" Miche bellowed out.

"All personnel, prepare for combat!" Erwin ordered. His voice reached Rin's ears just as she reached her horse and practically threw herself into its saddle, startling the poor guy.

"Squad Leader! It's too dangerous to go alone!" Moblit screamed.

Rin steered Leon toward his voice, just in time to see Hange scampering into their saddle. Before anyone could do a thing Hange was tearing across the yard with no mind for their lieutenants' protests, causing a thick knot of fear to form in Rin's gut.

"I'm going ahead Erwin!" they screamed as they streaked past him and out into the fields, headed toward the forest.

"Hange, WAIT!" Erwin yelled after them, but it was far too late.

"Fucking fuck… get back here you fucking psycho!" Rin snarled, then spurred Leon after the mad scientist. Flying past Erwin just as he was turning back to face them.

"Rin NO! Dam it!" Erwin cursed. "Levi!"

Rin tore after Hange as fast as she could, but they still reached the trees before her. She followed after them desperately, not wanting her friend to face any of the monsters alone. Even if they were voluntarily leading them toward their deaths at the moment, it was all in the name of science.

"Hange!" Rin called as she started to gain on them. But she was ignored rather pointedly as they only continued to glance about the forest frantically, obviously looking for the source of the disturbance.

"OH! Found ya!" Hange exclaimed suddenly.

A medium-sized titan with short blonde hair appeared through the trees as they came upon it suddenly. It turned toward them with an almost tortured expression, watching in interest as Hange zoomed past it boldly while shouting. The beast took off after her, Rin pulling sharply on Leon's reins in order to not run into its feet.

She followed close behind the two, watching in mounting fear as the titan swung at Hange and they dodged it while laughing as if the whole thing was some kind of game. Hange rode between two trees that sat too narrow for the titan to pass through, and it collided face first with the trunk of one in a thunderous fashion.

Rin veered around the creature as it fell to its knees, catching up with Hange as they came back around for their quarry.

"What the fuck are you doing!" Rin screamed in fury. Hange blinked at her as if noticing she was there for the first time.

"Rin? Why did you follow me?"

"Because you're being unbelievably stupid right now!"

They were forced to start running once more as the titan lumbered to its feet at came at them. Now Rin and Hange rode side by side, trying to stay ahead of the giant monster behind them. Though it wasn't proving immensely difficult, as the thing was a total klutz.

"What is wrong with this thing? It's like it's got brain damage!" Rin hollered as it collided with yet another tree. "You think that collision with the tree could have knocked it silly?"

"I've never known them to get dizzy!" Hange yelled back, also intrigued by the thing's odd behavior. "Let's lure it out into the open and see what it does! I want to see if I can get it to follow me back to the wall!"

"That's not going to happen Hange!"

Nonetheless, they led the thing out into the field on the other side of the forest, where it chased them just as gracefully for a few yards. But was distracted when a red flare shot into the air near its head.

"This way moron!" Levi called as he led the rest of Rin's squad to cut between them and the titan, obviously trying to divert its attention.

"Hey! Stay out of the way!" Hange screamed at them in anger.

The beast stalled for a moment, unsure, then continued thundering after its original targets.

"That right! Keep it up!" Hange yelled in happiness, Rin shooting them a death glare from her saddle.

"You are acting insane!"

The thundering of giant footfalls slowed, and Rin looked over her shoulder once more to see the titan looking around in confusion as if lost.

"Uh, what!?" Hange exclaimed as they both veered their horses around sharply.

The titan stood for only a moment, then turned and high-tailed it back toward its original treeline in an almost panicked fashion.

"Hey! Wait up!" Hange called, spurring their horse after it.

"Hange, DAM IT!" Rin screamed as she was given no choice but to follow. "Levi is going to kill us both!"

They trailed the titan back through the trees, the thing literally running from them, much to Rin's total bemusement. Hange called out to it multiple times, but it ignored them and only continued its frantic pace. It wove through the trees aimlessly, would pause as if to think, then it would change direction and start running again.

"What the fuck is this thing doing?!" Rin called.

"I have no idea!" Hange said back in excitement. "But it seems to be heading toward a specific place!"

"Can they do that!?" Rin asked, not only confused by the idea but honestly scared. Hange didn't answer her though, only continued after the thing diligently as it followed some chaotic path through the trees.

It broke through into a clearing where the ground was littered with white flowers and an enormous tree sat at its center. Rin and Hange pulled their horses to a stop, watching the titan slow its own pace and come to stand in front of the tree. The titan stood tall and still for a long moment, with its head tilted back slightly as if starting up at some idol of worship.

The whole scene was rather surreal compared to their usual dealings with them.

Then abruptly, the thing began to bash its head into the tree, so hard the whole thing shook with the force, dislodging hundreds of green leaves, and the bark on its trunk splintered. It did this repeatedly, as if under some immense emotional distress.

"What?" Hange gasped, climbing down from their saddle and starting to move toward the titan. "What's wrong? What are you doing? Is this where you wanted to go?"

"Don't get too close!" Rin shouted, snapping from her amazement at the sight of Hange creeping steadily closer.

The titan turned and lunged at Hange, smashing its fist into the ground where they had been only seconds before. Hange zipped up into the trees, cackling joyously. Rin pulled Leon back toward the edge of the clearing as Hange's own horse skittered into the trees.

If the scientist wanted to get themselves killed, Rin could try to stop it all she wanted. But she wasn't about to get Leon smashed because Hange wanted to play house with monsters.

The titan clenched its fist and stared up at Hange, obviously anguished at having lost its meal. Hange dropped to the forest floor several yards away and once more started to approach slowly. Their face was sweet and open, trying to sound comforting.

"What is it? I'll hear you out."

"HANGE!" Rin screamed, suddenly fully convinced she was about to watch her friend die.

No matter how she tried, Rin couldn't get them to listen and pull back. But fortunately, the thing didn't move for them, only stood staring at the commander as if listening. Something Rin had never seen a titan do before.

Anchors found purchase in the back of its neck, and Oluo swung in for the kill. His blades drawn back and teeth bared in a deadly grimace.

"Oluo don't!" Hange demanded; their voice full of authority.

The man faltered in confusion, which gave the titan just enough time to snatch him from the air. Rin shot off her grapples and flew at the thing quick as lightning, but Levi beat her to it. He severed the titan's arm with a devastating blow, then spun back in gracefully to slice out the entire back of its nape in seconds.

Rin slid to a halt in the dirt near Hange, the titan collapsing onto its face while steaming. Levi landed nearby to them, immediately looking at his bloody hands in disgust. He pulled a rag from his pocket and started to scrub the stuff off, even though it was evaporating even as he did so.

"Are you ok?" Levi asked flatly. The question aimed at Oluo, who still lay in the now limp grasp of the titans severed arm, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Captain…" he blubbered gratefully. "I'll follow you forever!"

Hange walked toward the decaying titan and fell to their knees in sorrow.

"This child was to be an important specimen…" they mumbled sadly. "If we could've captured him, then humanity might have taken the next step forward…"

"Hange…" Rin said as she walked up next to them, putting a hand on their shoulder. Though she felt bad for her friend, the dead titan was the least of her concerns. "You almost got Oluo killed…"

Levi marched up to the two of them and shoved Rin to the side roughly, then grabbed Hange by the collar. He hauled the scientist up until their faces were only inches apart.

"Shut up you four-eyed bastard!" he snarled. "If you want to end up as titan shit, I won't stop you. But don't you dare endanger the lives of my men!"

Rin had been about to tackle Levi when he had grabbed Hange, but his words made her take pause only seconds before doing so. Finding his anger suddenly very justified, as the scientist had just put them all at great risk on an insane whim.

Hange blinked up at Levi with their mouth agape for a moment, then closed it and smiled. They seemed to be clearly amused despite the Captain's expression promising violence.

"Titans don't defecate…" Hange said smartly. "They don't have a digestive system."

Levi stared blankly, blinking for a moment in confusion, then his face clouded with rage once more and he shoved the scientist away from him aggressively.

"Take it easy Levi!" Rin snapped at him, stepping between the two. "The thing was acting funny! I saw it myself."

"We all saw it act funny, that's what they do you fucking idiot" Levi growled at her. "You're going to get yourself killed following after this lunatic like that. If you do that again, I'm not likely to come save your ass."

"No one asked you to do that in the first place!"

"Wrong as usual Sato! Erwin did!"

"Ummmm Captain…" Petra mumbled, her voice shaking slightly.

"What!" he snapped, then noticed Petra's unusually nervous demeanor and calmed his tone. "What is it?"

"Did a titan do that? But it c-cant be…"

"What are you talking about?"

Petra slowly pointed toward the massive tree, clutching her cloak protectively with her other hand. They looked where she directed to see a massive hollow in the tree, obviously not formed by the titan but instead having been preset for some time. And inside the hollow, was the delicately placed body of a long-dead scout, missing only its head.

"What the fuck is that!" Oluo squeaked. He retreated to stand beside Petra, looking equally as uncomfortable as Rin felt.

"I have no idea…" Levi muttered as Hange started to move toward it.

They climbed up into the hole so that only their lower body was sticking out, and rummaged about for a moment.

"The emblem, it's from the 34th Expedition…" Hange informed them.

"That's the Expedition we lost Finely on…" Eld said thoughtfully. "An entire wing was wiped out, that was a bad mission."

"That was about a year ago," Hange said. "The soldier's name was, let's see… Isle Langnar."

Rin watched as Levi moved forward and pick something up from the ground at the base of the tree. He held up what appeared to be an old leather journal, worn down by the elements but still in relatively good condition.

"I can't believe it, why would a titan do this?" Hange asked, pulling their head out of the tree and looking toward the Captain. "Levi, what is that?"

His eyes widened in shock as he flipped through the pages. "It's the fruits of Isle Langar's labor…"

"What?" Rin asked in confusion, moving forward to peer at the little book in his hands.

"Let me see!" Hange demanded as they ran forward and held out their palms eagerly. Levi handed it to them hesitantly, as if not wanting to let go of it. Hange flipped through the thing for a moment before their eyes went wider than Levi's. "Do you think this could be real?"

"I can't see why someone would bother to write it down out here if it wasn't…"

"What the fuck is it!?" Rin demanded, growing irate.

"Yeah, tell us Captain!" Oluo demanded. "I just almost died for that stupid little thing!"

"Its… an account, of Langar's last days alone."

"Wait, last days?" Gunther said. "Like out here? In titan country?"

"Yeah, from the little bit I just read, it seems like she got stranded when her wing was wiped out. With no gear and no horse, she tried to run home."

"Holy shit.." Rin muttered, filled suddenly with immense respect for the long-dead soldier. "What a bad bitch… she got so far."

"Yeah she did, almost made it back to the wall it seems" Eld agreed, also sounding impressed. "We got fairly far out on that mission. For her to have made it all this way on foot… that's amazing."

"It's not fair she died so near to her goal…" Rin said, looking toward the headless corpse in the tree. "She almost made it."

"That's not all either…" Hange muttered as their eyes scanned the journal feverishly. "If what I'm currently reading is correct, then we may have just found the most important piece of information concerning titans in our known history."

The group stood and looked at The Commander in awe, blown away by the prospect of their words. Basking in the beauty of their efforts having yielded something worthwhile after so many years.

"What else does it say?" Petra asked eagerly.

"I don't think I should say just yet…" Hange said as they closed the book and tucked it into their jacket. "Not until I read it thoroughly and run it by Erwin, he will know what to do with information like this. But I think we should head home, this mission is a success with this finding alone and we can't risk losing it."

"Well come on then" Levi ordered. He whistled and Calia came running from the trees, ever faithful. He took her reins in his hand as she approached him and he held his hand out for her to kiss, which she of course did. "I'm sure Eyebrows will be relieved to know that neither of you got chomped on."

Rin whistled for Leon, who still stood at the edge of the clearing where she had left him, staring flatly at the lot like the lunatics they all were. At her call though, he spurred forward eagerly, kicking up flower petals into the air as he trotted through them. Rin side-eyed Levi as he climbed up into Calia's saddle, watching his face and trying to gauge his thoughts. But as usual, he was almost impossible to read, other than the obvious tense set to his shoulders.

Hange on the other had gone completely docile, grinning and hugging themselves tightly where the book sat in their jacket. The scientist barely spoke a letter even as they all climbed atop steeds and set off once more, but they never stopped making those satisfied lunatics smile.

Rin had a few ideas about what could be in the book; a basecamp location, an exploitable weakness, an origins story, the list of possibilities went on endlessly. But she was unsure of what could make Levi look so perturbed while reading the thing, not to mention the overall creepiness and oddity of what had just happened.

What the fuck was in that journal?