I don't own Attack on Titan: just my OC's and the plot.
The Awakening
Chapter 19: Discovery & Doubt
849, January, Somewhere deep in the Marian forest:
Winter's grip on the land was absolute, as the cold wind blew through the bare trees and the snow carpeted the forest floor in an endless sea of glistening white. Overhead, the sun's light had been paled into a silver glow, as it tried to pierce the veil of grey clouds; and the giant trees, pines and spruces threw long shadows across the forest with their thick evergreen canopies, as their branches sparkled with icicles. All around not a sound could be heard in any direction, save for the distant cawing of ravens, crows and rooks, and the faint footfalls of deer's hooves as they moved through the glen, searching for something to eat.
This had been one of the coldest winters in living memory: quick to arrive and slow to let up, as the snow had fallen unrelentingly for three day's straight a few weeks past. Today though, the thick canopy of the evergreens had afforded some meager cover, shielding the forest floor from the worst of the thick blanket of snow; enabling easy access to the sheltered glens, dales and hollows that peppered this region of the forest.
Convenient for some, tricky for others.
As he cautiously leaned out from his hiding place to sniff the crisp cold air, Mike frowned as he picked up the scent of his quarry: "He's definitely been through here: probably no less than an hour ago" he spoke in a hushed voice, glancing over his shoulder at Erwin and Hange, as he pointed to the giant titan footprints less than several meters away. "Good, they're not far off now" the commander nodded, "Let's press on and see if we can close the distance a little more" he ordered, following Mike as the human hunting hound took point: "Three miles and fifty meters, I think we might actually be able to get real close to them this time!" Hange smiled in excitement as she brought up the rear. Erwin looked up into the canopy of the giant trees, and waved to Levi, who was perched way up high among the evergreen foliage, along with his squad: the captain waved back, and in single file the squad jogged along the huge branches of the giants, making sure to keep an eye on their friends down below, whilst trying to avoid the patches of snow and ice.
The long heavy snowfall hadn't worked in Mike's favor, as it had covered up most of the ambient smell of the titans. Not that there were many titans in this neck of the woods anyway: the scouts had only seen a handful on the way in here, and those few were far enough away that they posed no immediate threat. Leaving Erwin and his team free to enter the forest, to track the painted titan Shadow and his young friends, with Levi and his squad providing cover from above. But this time they were laying low and keeping quiet, sticking to the shadows of the bare understory and thickness of the canopy, and not using their ODM gear unless a regular titan were to come by: least Shadow's sharp ears would hear them coming.
With their hoods up to help camouflage them into the forest's evergreen foliage, and rag cloths stuffed into the slots of their scabbard boxes to stop their pairing blades from jostling about, the commander and titan scientist followed Mike as he tracked Shadow's footprints and faint scent. Down a bumpy incline into a narrow hollow, and as they came up the other side, Mike motioned for them to stop as he crouched down low and hid behind a large log. He pointed straight ahead, and there, standing by a large partially frozen waterfall some seven hundred yards or so away, was Shadow: his blue crystal spear propped up against the rocky cliff-face, while he took a few dainty sips of water from his cupped hands.
"There he is!" Hange grinned in a low whisper, "Hang on a sec," Mike held up his hand to shush her, as the sound of distant ODM gear could be heard fast approaching. From over the top of the waterfall, Magpie, Mountain Bluebird and her sisters appeared, and perched themselves on Shadow's arms, greeting him happily as they too reached for the waterfall for a quick drink. "So they split up right after they left us" Erwin realized, "Makes sense, being smaller means they can hide a lot quicker then he can" Hange reasoned, "This is the third time in as many encounters he's done this, which confirms my original suspicion," she smiled "He acts as the decoy for us so the kids can slip away without being followed; quite the protector isn't he?". "If this is their standard practice, then we'll need to start keeping one set of eyes on him, and another set on the children" Erwin thought aloud. "And just think," Hange smiled "If we manage to keep this up and go unnoticed, there's a good chance we could find their campsite".
"At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if we stumble upon their campsite" Oruo whispered in an irksome tone, as he tightened his scarf around his neck: trying unsuccessfully to keep the bitter cold at bay, "Hell, I don't think anyone lived this far back in the woods, even before the titans invaded Maria". "You could be right, we haven't seen another house or road for over five miles: this is proper wilderness out here, the kind no one has stepped foot in for a number of decades" Eld concurred in a hushed voice as up pulled up his gloves, "Makes sense, if I was trying to hide from both the scouts and titans, this is where I'd come" Gunther whispered; "Stow the chatter," Levi whispered sternly as he kept his eyes on Shadow, "That waterfall is the only reason he can't hear us, don't start getting blasé".
However, that same waterfall was also the reason the Levi squad hadn't heard Boar sneaking up on them: as silent and patient as a mountain cat, the tusked titan steadily inched his way through the canopy of pine and spruce needles, creeping along the thick branches and staying in their blind-spot some twelve meters away; how he hadn't been sighted sooner with such little cover was a real feat of stealth. The titan's shoulders hitched up and down as he managed to stifle his laughter: they thought they had gone unnoticed, but Erwin, Mike and Hange weren't the only one's with a second set of eyes watching out for them, and needless to say, the other kids were trying to keep their excitement in check too, as they quietly followed Boar through the giant trees.
After replenishing their water bladders and quenching their dry throats, the girls flew up onto Shadow's shoulders: the titan picked up his spear, and quietly snuck away into the forest, disappearing amid the giant trees and a tall wall of pines. When they could no longer hear the foliage being disturbed, Mike signaled for them to move, and together, the three veterans moved towards the waterfall and river, "He's going to be a bit harder to track, now that he's in the trees" Mike frowned, "It's okay, we still have his tracks" Erwin pointed to the giant footprints left in the snow. "Fortunately, that waterfall will cover the sound of our footsteps for a short distance" Hange pointed out.
Meanwhile:
Barely fifteen meters behind the three scouts, Ash, Rowan, Dale, Josefa, Jaye and Fox couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces, as they silently stalked after their targets: hidden amid a dark shadowed area of the pine trees with the power of their concealment stones for cover. Midnight too remained silent and unnoticed, also smiling as she watched the kids get into position to spring their trap. The scouts had walked right past her, and hadn't suspected a thing, and likewise the Levi squad hadn't seen anything from their lofty position.
Activating her powers, Hecate watched as Javorin's aura swiftly and silently flew through the forest, circling back around until he was behind the scouts, less then ten meters away from her with his charges in hand; glancing up into the canopy, she saw Herne was ready and in position, along with the rest of the kids. "So, on a scale of one to ten, how surprised do you think they'll be?" the three elder gods heard Elysia's distant voice echo across the ether, "Erwin will be zero for sure, he knows we're not that stupid" Hecate deadpanned, "The fact he knows we won't draw blood is also the reason he's being so bold" Javorin chipped in, "Everyone else though? The haughty-shorty squad for sure, Mike, since he hasn't picked up our scent, and Hange will just be elated as always" Herne grinned, "Seriously guys, we're gonna have to start upping the ante if the betting pool's gonna be fun anymore". "Only if Erwin up's it first," Javorin reminded him with a smirk, "he's still trying to dance to our tune, remember?".
Ash glanced over at Hecate, and signaled for her to make her move: "Either way, it is starting to get a tad repetitive" she smiled as she turned into her shadow-creature form, and silently moved towards the scouts...
Meanwhile:
As they reached the foot of the waterfall, the scouts proceeded to cross to the other side, hopping from stone to stone and bolder to bolder across the wide open stream, trying not to slip on any ice. Up in the trees, the Levi squad jumped from branch to branch across the close-standing giants, being careful not to lose their balance. As she brought up the rear of the squad, Petra glanced behind her to make sure nothing was following below, but when she faced forward again, she blinked in surprise as she saw a piece of parchment pinned to the back of Oruo's cloak. Scrolled across the paper, were the word's: Look up!, with an arrow pointing upwards. Confused, she glanced up, and saw Boar grinning down at her.
At the same time down below, Erwin Hange and Mike had just reached the middle of the river when they heard a loud guttural "RAWR!" bellow out from the canopy, followed by an outburst of panicked cries and angry curses. Startled and nearly jumping out of their skins, they glanced up in time to see the Levi squad scatter for the other trees on their ODM gear, as Boar swung out from the branches and chased after Oruo: effortlessly moving at a fast pace, much like a gibbon.
Before anyone could say or do anything, they nearly jumped again when they saw Shadow lying on his side by the riverbank behind them: as if he were reclining on a chaises lounge, and looking very nonchalant if not a little smug, while seated on his hip, Magpie, Mountain Bluebird, Yellow Warbler, Flame-coloured Tanager, Cuckoo and the Snow twins waved to them with cocky smiles beneath their neckerchiefs. The sound of creaking branches and a soft thump made the scouts look back across the river, where they saw Midnight reclining in much the same way, looking as equally smug: with Raven, Rook, Jackdaw, the Jay twins and Bullfinch standing on her hip, while up in the canopy, Waxwing, Goshawk, Swallow and Swift were laughing their heads off as they tried to keep up with Boar, all the while Levi, Eld and Gunther were chasing them, and Petra was trying to lure Boar away; but to no effect.
Mike was floored as he realized they were surrounded on both sides, while Hange was as stunned as she was impressed: the brief look of surprise quickly faded from Erwin's face, as he put two and two together, and relaxed with a small canny smile. "So, when did you realize we were following you?" he called out to the kids. "YOU KNEW?!" Oruo shouted in an incredulous panic as he darted overhead, followed closely by Boar and the rest of his squad, as the titan chased him around and over the river, "Of course he knew..." Mike sighed dryly as he shot Erwin a look of mild annoyance.
Since their encounter with the young titan hunters and the painted titans in the mysterious fog eighteen months ago, the scouts had been keeping tabs on the strange children: and likewise, the young hunters had been observing them too. Erwin and the other veteran's knew the kids were good at hiding, but they had not been prepared for just how proficient they were. These children and their titans moved like ghosts and smoke, silent and unheard: even Mike was unable to pick up their scent at times, and when they did show themselves, it was always in a place where they held the high ground. Where, if one of the scouts tried to chase them, they could bolt and get some distance quickly, before disappearing into the endless green of the forest. Even in the dead of winter when the trees were devoid of their leaves and the understory was bare, the hunters were still able to hide amid the white snow-covered landscape, and without leaving footprints to boot: it became apparent quite quickly that the forests were indeed their domain. There was not a single hollow, dale, glen, glade, cove or grove that was beyond their knowledge, no tree, bush or rock they could not use for cover, and no trail they did not know of. Even out on the open plains, meadows, grasslands and farmlands of Maria, they managed to silently stalk the scouts and remain beyond their reach: the rolling hills, timbered knolls, steep overlooks and winding river valleys provided just as much cover as the forest did, and the abandoned farms, villages and towns even more so.
But true to Magpie's word, the kids did 'check in' on occasion, albeit they made a game of it: sometimes approaching close enough to talk to the veterans whilst hiding in the foliage, and seeing if they could pick them out. Other times they'd tease the other scouts (often the rookies) into chasing them, and indulging in a game of cat and mouse, before vanishing from right under their noses. But it was the painted titans who were the trickiest to keep pace with: they were as stealthy and silent as their smaller comrades, which was incredible, given their size and bulk. Moving through the forest without making any noise, able to camouflage in amongst the varied pallets of the landscape, and even out on the plains they were near-impossible to spot. Theirs were games of a more simplistic enjoyment, often hiding amid the giant trees and letting the scouts come across them, or vice versa: sneaking up on them and seeing how close they could get before revealing themselves; it was as fascinating as it was startling (which delighted Hange to no end, and annoyed Levi in equal measure).
But that didn't stop Erwin from trying to get close to them, and to test the limits of their skills and abilities: he and the other scouts would indulge them in their fun, and over the course of their expeditions, they got to know the kids and titans a little better. Each of them were as skilled and proficient in the use of ODM gear as any of the veteran scouts: they had their own flare, their own style of hunting and fighting, and surprisingly, most of them lived up to their avian namesakes. Goshawk was certainly a fine example: as, like a goshawk she could fly through the narrowest of gaps in the canopy, able to outrun even the Levi squad. Swallow and Swift were almost impossible to keep up with, as they were the masters of fast flying, banking tight turns and sharp spins: able to pull off the most dangerous maneuvers with relative ease. The Snow twins and Jay twins were trickier still, as they were both able to fly in near-perfect synch with each other, and at dangerously close proximity to one another's twin: chasing one fast flyer was hard enough, having two was an even harder challenge, as they could split up, fly around the pursuer on opposite sides and pair up again behind them; it was a unique evasive tactic, and one the Levi squad had trouble keeping up with.
Though as engaging as these little encounters were, they were seldom prolonged and drawn out: and just as quickly as they'd appear, the children and titans would vanish just as swiftly; without trace or scent to follow. But every once in a while, they'd leave something for the scouts as a friendly gesture: little parcels of food wrapped up in leaves, crystal arrowheads, little wooden animals carved by hand, and much to Hange's delight, the painted titans left little gifts for her too. Namely more 'samples' for her studies; tufts of Boar's mane and even one of his tusks, more feathers from Angel's plumage, and pleated locks from Midnight's long raven hair.
On a few occasions, the scouts had stumbled across the aftermath of their hunts: mostly dead titans strewn about an area of the forest or plains with the poison-coated arrow's still stuck in their hides. At other times, the haunting song of the giant wind chimes could be heard echoing through the trees from miles away, and sometimes, the strange humming of the titan hunter's lure was heard too, followed by the booming thud of a titan falling down dead, somewhere far away and well out of view. These hunts were seldom ever witnessed in person, and the few times the scouts managed to catch sight of one, it was too far away to make out any details, or was too obscured by the landscape. The mysterious fog was only sighted once more during the Autumn of 847, far out on the plains some ten miles from Wall Rose, and far enough away from the gate of Trost that no one had reason to be concerned: many dead titans littered the ground near the area that day, and even the Garrison reported seeing it again.
Each month the kids and their titans would stalk the scouts through Maria, and on the return journey from their mission to establish the battalion route to Shiganshina, the scouts would make a detour through the forest to let them approach them. Through their brief interactions, the scouts learned just how intelligent and sentient the painted titans were: how much they learned simply by watching and listening, and how much they cared for their young charges. Likewise, the kids were as smart and canny as they were bold and fearless, they were as much at ease with their giant friends as they were any human. To the rookie scouts, they seemed crazy if not reckless, but the veterans could see it was more than an alliance of mutual understanding; they were a family, and they were a strong team because of it.
After several months of back and forth jesting on both sides, curiosity began to get the better of Erwin, and he started to push the limits by seeing if he could play the hunters at their own games. It started small at first, trying to out-maneuver them at their own tricks under the guise of mutual enjoyment, then trying to stalk them through the forest after they pulled their vanishing acts: between Mike's keen nose, Hange's quick brain, and his own tactical line of thinking, Erwin was confident that if they did this right, they could start to get a better understanding of how the hunters were so proficient in their stealth. So far, for the past three months now, it seemed to be paying off, as they had gone unnoticed by their quarry.
Until today...
Magpie shot her lines, and flew over to perch on a tall bolder in the middle of the stream, "Oh, since you decided to test your theory out three months ago," she grinned down at the commander as she made herself comfy atop the icy rock, "But hey, top grade for skill and effort: if it was anyone else you'd have certainly caught up by now. Not many people have the kinda patience it takes for a stalk like this you know" she complimented. "Then why not just surprise us when we first tried it?" Mike frowned: "We wanted to see how far you guys could get, and at three miles fifty meters, I'd say that's pretty decent" the girl smiled. "Told you" Hange smiled as she waggled her eyebrows at Mike in a rather smug tone.
"So why stop now?" Erwin asked nonchalantly, "Ah come on Erwin you know why" Magpie smiled mischievously, "Dad doesn't want you guys getting too ahead of yourselves, and three miles fifty meters is your limit for now I'm afraid" she shrugged, "So is your camp not far from here?!" Hange perked up, "Seriously, like we'd tell you" Bluebird called back. Midnight gently got up from her seat by the river and stood to one side of the trail, with the kids taking off and perching up in the trees: "See that? ..." Magpie pointed to the dark bleak forest beyond the river, "That's pure untouched wilderness for over thirty miles up in there: before the titans invaded Maria only the most seasoned hunters and foresters would risking coming this far; not another soul would be found for miles in any direction. Back then there were bears, wolves and even mountain cats to worry about, but with all those deep hollows and sheltered coves everywhere? Hell even the fifteen meter classes can hide with very little trouble. So for today, this is where you call it quits, turn around, and head on back to camp" she stated matter-of-factually.
"She's not kidding" Mike stated as he glanced down at the map he'd had tucked in his breast pocket: "There's nothing for over thirty miles in that direction, and over two thirds of the topography isn't even illustrated on here".
"But you know it like the back of your hand, right?" Erwin shot Magpie a knowing look: "As if you even need to guess..." the girl teased as she jumped to her feet and squatted down with her hand-grips at the ready, "By the way, smart move with the switch and bait: having those three other veterans stand in for you guys to keep us distracted while you sneaked away? Honestly, none of us were able to tell the difference until we were close enough to get a good sniff: that, and walking in the bare grass to leave no footprints was a good call. You're getting good at this" she grinned. "As are you" the commander smirked with a canny glint in his eye. "Yeah, you keep up the flattery like this, and I might start to think you're up to something" she replied in an equally canny tone. "Seriously Erwin, the whole 'keeping us guessing' routine is starting to get boring" Rook huffed as he flew overhead and up onto Midnight's shoulder, "You should try something a little more challenging" the Snow twins said in unison.
Magpie was about to add another quip, when the distant bellow of a titan made everyone pause and listen, then, another bellow echoed out of the forest not too far away: "...Well, we're done here for today" she sighed in disappointment, "We better go see to that" Raven thumbed over his shoulder, "And don't forget: if you can't read it on a map, don't risk it, okay?"
"Okay" Erwin nodded courteously, as he, Hange and Mike reached for their hand-grips: "-Hey, what about Levi and his squad?" Hange suddenly remembered, "Huh?, oh, yeah they'll be 'hanging around' with Angel about a mile back the way you came: You won't miss them, I promise" Magpie dismissed as she fired her lines and took off, "See you guys next month!" she shouted over the thuds of Shadow and Midnight's feet hitting the ground, as they jogged off into the forest, followed by the other kids. The scouts stood there as they watched them disappear into the endless white and evergreen, before turning around, shooting their lines, and heading back the way they came.
"Well, that was quite unexpected, I honestly thought we had the drop on them this time" Hange thought aloud, "Like we should be surprised anymore: let's face it, these kids practically have us by the balls. We've become too predictable, and they know it" Mike sighed in mild annoyance, to which Hange perked up "Which is why I believe we should up our game, and organize a plan to-
"-Hold on" Erwin interrupted as he came to a stop: Hange was about to ask what's wrong, when the sight up ahead made her eyes widen with surprise, before a smile and a giggle escaped her lips.
In a small clearing several meters wide, the Levi squad were tied upside-down by their cables: all dangling from the thick branch of a giant tree, with a rather delighted Angel perched above them, using her tail to gently knock Oruo and Levi back and forth. All the while Oruo was shouting profanities up at the bird-titan, who clearly seemed to be getting some fun out of this, while the rest of the squad merely hung there in a mix of annoyance and defeat. "Ahem!-" Erwin cleared his throat loudly, and Angel suddenly stopped and stared at him like a deer caught in a hunter's lamp light: "Your friends have gone to deal with some titans, I suggest you go back them up" he stated firmly, making it clear play time was over. The giant avian quickly flapped her wings and took off up through the canopy; the three veterans flew over to the squad, and started the process of getting them up onto the branch and untangling the cables.
"So I take it you all got 'tied up' with Boar huh?" Hange smirked as she pulled Eld up, "I swear, that titan's got a sixth sense or something: one minute we're chasing him, the next, he flips up over our heads, and then we're trying to stay ahead of him!" the blond scout huffed in annoyance, "Not to mention he's damn fast with those arms of his" Gunther added as Mike lay him across the branch. "He caught us, but it was those damn brats that tied up our cables! Now we'll have to cut them and wait for the supply squad to bring replacements!" Oruo fumed, "Actually, it would seem that won't be the case..." Erwin frowned as he inspected the knots. Recognizing what they were immediately, he tugged one knotted cable behind Oruo's back, and right away the knot unraveled and the cables fell away, much to the scout's amazement: "Wha-, you're telling me we were tied up with quick-release knots?!" he fumed even more. "Oh come on Oruo, you know they wouldn't leave us in danger" Petra deadpanned as Mike pulled the knot on her cables, "They wouldn't be so heartless as to tie us up so badly that we'd have to destroy our cables and risk being stranded". "Plus they did leave Angel in charge to ward off any titans" Gunther added, "Waxwing ordered her specificity".
"And now they're too far away for us to catch up: *Tch!* typical" Levi huffed in ire, "Actually they got lucky this time, there was a titan nearby so we had to cut our little meeting short" Hange smiled as she pulled the release knot on the captain's cables, "And you didn't try to follow?" Petra looked at the titan scientist weirdly, "Well? After that little run-around back in September, I figured it'd be best not to push my luck like that again: at least, not without a full-proof plan anyway" she sheepishly admitted, before perking up again, "Oh! And speaking of plans, I got a great one that's sure to produce results!"
"You can explain on the way back, right now, we better go back and make sure they didn't do anything to our 'decoys'" Erwin ordered, "Let's move out!": together, the scouts shot their lines and flew away, heading back to camp.
Meanwhile, close by:
Once the scouts were well out of sight, Tyto, Evrard and Carla quietly climbed down from their hiding places in the canopy, with three of Eraman's Ravens close behind: "A titan? This close to the river?" Evrard gazed at Tyto in concern, "Shadow put the concealment charm in place near their camp yesterday, they're in no danger Evrard" Carla assured him, "I know that, but we cleared out this whole area two years ago, and the surrounding forest all the way up to Handlerpass, remember?" the giant redheaded hunter pointed out, "We put a charm in place right behind the waterfall: there shouldn't be any titans anywhere near here".
Looking back the way the scouts came, Carla suddenly recognized the layout of the trees, "...You're right" she breathed in mild alarm, "We should go catch up with the children, make sure everyone's okay" she started to worry. "Ah come on Carla, you know they're a tough bunch: plus Shadow, Midnight and Boar have their backs, they'll handle the titan just fine" Evrard patted her on the back: "... Yeah, of course" she sighed in an uneasy tone, as her gaze wandered over the forest. "Are you okay Carla?" Tyto asked, hearing the hesitation in her voice, "Uh-...Yeah, I'm fine" she met his gaze, trying to seem confident: Tyto could tell she wasn't though, and made a mental note to talk to her about it later.
At that moment, Angel took the opportunity to sail down through the canopy and perch next to the hunters, she bent down to greet Carla with her usual nose-boop and friendly welcoming chirp: "I know sweetie, it's been a long cold day huh?" the white huntress smiled under her neckerchief as she stroked the bird-titan's rosy warm cheeks, "You seemed to be having a little bit too much fun with Oruo back there" Evrard smirked beneath his Red Boar mask, "Well, with that obnoxious attitude of his, I'd say he's well overdue for being knocked down a peg or two" Carla smiled, to which the avian nodded with a cheeky trilling twitter. "Well, we better catch up to Ratatosk, he and the rest of the Hunt will be-
Suddenly, one of Eraman's other raven's, Zeezee, flew down and perched next to the Grey Owl with a message tied to her leg: "Huh? Who's messaging us?" Evrard frowned in concern as Tyto untied the thin leather cord, and read the massage with worry laced in his gaze. "It's Warren's team" he announced, "They're trapped in a cove on the other side of the valley: all out of arrows, and the deer and bird titans are overwhelmed. Everyone's up in the trees and out of danger, but they need back-up right now". "What do we do? Grab Shadow and the others?" Carla worried, as she watched Tyto take out his notebook, and started scribbling out a few messages of his own, "We'll go on ahead and assess the situation, I'm writing to the Sparrowhawks for back-up, since Stormwing's on their team today: I'll also ask Shadow to bring everyone else too" he replied as he tore out the pages, folded and rolled them up, and tied them to two of the other raven's legs, before proceeding to climb up onto Angel's back, "Angel, you know what to do" he told her. The god-titan nodded, and speaking to the ravens in their own avian tongue, told them where to go, while Carla took point on her shoulder, and Evrard climbed up and took his seat behind Tyto.
"Let's go!" the Grey Owl patted the giant avian's back, and with a few powerful flaps of her wings the white bird-titan took off for their destination, with the two raven's heading off in other directions, and the remaining pair following close behind.
A few day's later, in the Hidden Land:
A rare day of sunshine banished the worst of the cold from the Hidden land, if only for a day or two, allowing both the human and god-titan residents a little time to get out and attend to their respective duties. All across the tiny kingdom, the endless snow blanketed the land and mountains, and parts of the lake were frozen over in ice thick enough to walk on.
On the island of Yggdrasil, the hot thermal springs that fed into the island's central lake provided a welcome respite from the cold, and a comfortable sanctuary for the islands inhabitants. The heat, which blanketed much of the island in a thick damp steamy humidity, prevented the snow from settling and provided a stable year-round temperature for many of the more exotic plants and trees to thrive; flowering and fruiting plants were also able to survive the depths of winter, providing food for many of the islands animals and insects, while the community gardens had been put to bed back in the Autumn, in preparation for the following spring.
It had been a productive year for the humans of the island, as well as those who lived on the mainland. The southern communal gardens had seen the completion of a huge glasshouse, as well as an atrium built into a section of the old temple ruins: thus allowing optimal growing conditions for more exotic fruits and vegetables; and in one of the meadows of the western forests on the mainland, a new tea plantation had been created, thanks in no small part to Shadow and his magical green fingers. A few large buildings that were situated near the hot springs at the base of the great tree, had been converted into a public bath house, as the hot water brought a welcome relief from the cold of winter, as well as sooth the aching joints of the island's more older residents. And on the mainland, the Celts, Rangers, and regular folk who lived among the forests and meadows bordering the lake, had been busy making some more permanent accommodations of their own. Cabins, cottages, barns, stables, and even communal lodges took pride of place in the tiny hamlets: and thanks to the help of the tree and animal-titans, what would have taken up to a year to complete (for an average-sized cabin at least), was accomplished in several weeks. Clearing out a section of land, preparing the foundations, lifting and shifting heavy loads, and acting as cranes and draft horses was hardly any trouble for them.
Little by little, the Hidden Land's community was really starting to establish itself more, and take on it's own identity: with the endless knowledge of Omnes Scientiam at everyone's disposal, people were finding new ways to improve their lives, both practically and personally. Ingenuity and creativity had room and opportunity to flourish, the freedom to be one's own person emboldened many, and the chance to try for something extraordinary wasn't inconceivable.
Down at Gustav's forge, a small crowd of people and god-titans were gathered around the back-end of the building, where Bemadette was in the middle of her latest 'project'. Standing on the roof of the building to get a better look, she scratched her chin as she eyed the bird-titan perched on the ground, a giant eagle-type avian-titan from the Golden Eagle clan. It's broad outstretched wings were so large that they easily covered several nearby cottages in shadow, and towered over the smithy by several meters: as the young blacksmith inspected the feathers, she turned to the titan's human partner and smiled, "Yeah, these'll definitely do". "You sure?" the young celt smiled, "Yep, primaries, secondary's, and the tail feathers. The biggest and broadest for maximum lift" she replied as she carefully stepped down the roof to the waiting ladder, and climbed back down to the ground. The celt then turned to his friend and instructed "You heard her Goldie, your biggest wing and tail feathers"
The eagle titan nodded, and carefully strode over to the side of the smithy, sitting herself down with her wings still outstretched: she lifted one wing up and began to pluck out the feathers with her teeth, letting them fall to the ground, where Bemadette and some of the crowd were waiting to gather them up. After a few minutes of careful plucking, all the necessary feathers had been collected, and the eagle-titan's plumage had completely regrown. The celt and his partner said their goodbyes, and Bemadette gave her thanks as she started to organize the giant feathers. "So, when do you think it'll be ready to fly 'Bem?" one of the kids in the crowd asked, "What kinda dumb question is that? She hasn't put the wings on yet!" another kid pointed out, "With any luck, hopefully by the end of next summer" she grinned, "Are you going to fly it?" one young woman asked, "I'd love to, but the engine's gonna need someone to keep an eye on it while it's airborne: to steer it, I'm gonna need someone else to be the pilot" she smiled.
"That would be us!" Brendis grinned as he and his brothers poked their heads out of the nearby window, "After the trouble you three caused with that auto-mobile in the city's mechanical museum, you can forget it!" Bemadette shot them a stern look, "I need someone responsible, and disciplined: not three idiots who're just looking for kicks! And besides, there's only gonna be room for two people, and I'm one of 'em!", "Aw come on sis! We're responsible and disciplined!" Bren shot back.
"Oh yeah?" Gustav frowned as he poked his head out of another window, "Then what was that stunt you pulled last month, trying to trick Midnight into turning Miriam into a toad?". The three brothers were silent for a moment as they glanced at one another awkwardly, while everyone in the crowd tried to stifle their giggles, "Well? It's not like it wouldn't have been an improvement" Brendis shrugged nonchalantly, "Eh, you got a point there..." Gustav shrugged offhand, before frowning "-Now why the hell are you three slacking off? Get back to work! You're still half-way through your punishment for that spider in Rosemary's teapot!". "And when you're done with your chores, make sure you're not late for ODM gear training, you know Red doesn't like to be kept waiting!" Bemadette added. "Bite me, you're not our mum!" Brendis scoffed as he and his brother's disappeared back inside the forge. Annoyed, Bemadette was about to shout something back, when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder: turning around, she was taken aback to see Rosemary.
"Being a mother and being a sister are two different things" she smiled with a wise glint in her eye, "It's usually a good idea to be one or the other". "Hey Rosemary..." the raven-haired girl sighed with a tired smile, relieved to see a friendly face: "I see you got the feathers for your flying machine hm?" Rosemary asked as she glanced over the giant feathers, most of which were over six to seven meters in length, "Yep, gonna start attaching them to the frame as soon as the glue's ready: are Pascal and West not with you?" the girl asked offhand.
"Oh, no they're still at the meeting, I guess they'll be running late today" the old woman replied offhand, "They've got some pressing matters to address".
Meanwhile, in the garden of the tree of knowledge:
"So he tried to 'bait 'n switch' this time eh?" Count Olaf glanced over at Ariana with a raised eyebrow, "That Erwin's certainly a crafty fox". "Tell me about it..." the girl huffed as she propped her head on her elbow, "I knew he's smart but geez: he's so unpredictable at times. If me 'an Clay hadn't gotten a good sniff of those decoys three months back, we'd have never have cottoned onto his plan"
"He's starting to cotton onto our tactics, that's for sure" Evrard pointed out, "While he may not know of the magics we use to stay out of sight, he definitely knows somethings up, and from what he and the other scouts have seen of the children thus far: he knows there's something we know he doesn't, and I think it's starting to irk him a little"
"He's not irked, just stumped" Pascal threw in nonchalantly as he peeled an apple with his knife: "A guy like that who's brain doesn't sleep for even a minute, isn't going to loose determination just because he hasn't got a clue yet: he's still trying to work us out, figure out how we can do what we do" he explained, before taking a bite of said fruit.
"Yeah, and he's kinda been asking about it, through all the little subtle 'hints' he's been dropping every month" Rowan sighed with air quotations, to which Dale elaborated "Look, this is a guy who doesn't ask questions unless he needs to, he knows that by letting us prattle on he gets a lot out of us: and suffice to say we're starting to run out of excuses and half-truths to 'cryptically hint' back". "He knows there's more to us than we're letting on, and the fact we're not telling him is starting to make him even more curious: more so than when we first introduced ourselves" Ash added: "So what are you saying? That Erwin might try something even bolder next time?" Warren asked in concern.
"Possibly, but I don't believe that's the biggest concern here..." Tyto sighed as he gazed up at the assembly of god-titans, with Queen Aurora seated in the center, between the roots of the tree of knowledge; he addressed her "Your Majesty, with all due respect, I believe our observations of the scouts is more or less complete: through Shadow and the other god-titans power to gaze into the life energies of others, and see their true selves, we have determined there are no wall cult or royal government spies within their ranks; we can say for certain now, that the scouting legion is officially above reproach. That being said, I believe now is the time to take our 'acquaintance' to the next level, and see what happens when they are confronted with the concept of magic"
The human council members all glanced at one another, a little unsure, before Tyto continued: "...We: all of us who reside here in your kingdom, know that magic is not just a concept or a different kind of science, but a fact of life in the secret workings of nature. This is a truth humanity has forgotten, and it is a truth we all must be willing to accept is part of our world. But before we can reintroduce this knowledge to the rest of mankind, we must first allow the scouts to see it for themselves".
"Rather bold for you, isn't it Tyto?" Dakota raised an eyebrow "Bryson, you're our scouting legion expert, what to do you think?", "We've already discussed this matter, and I concur this is the most sensible option for where we stand at the present time" the former scout replied. "Indeed" the Keeper added as he scratched his chin in deep contemplation, "Your observations have certainly proved that, at the very least, Erwin and his immediate circle of friends are not swayed or intimidated easily: and I confess I am curious to see how they would react to seeing magic in action", "If only to see Hange go off her nut" Jaye whispered to Rowan, who smiled and nodded in agreement.
"A pragmatic option, for sure" Remmel pointed out, "However, my only concern is, what do we do if they react badly? If the scouts see the god-titans using magic and they don't know what they're looking at: there's a lot of room for misinterpretation, and this has the potential to backfire on us if we don't handle it correctly"
"Which is why I wish to formerly request permission to step up our 'acquaintance' with the scouts, and begin the next phase of the endeavor. At the very least, we must be ready to answer their questions, and try to allay their fears..." Tyto bowed to the glowing white titan-goddess. Queen Aurora smiled, as she leaned forward a little and addressed the Grey Owl: "After such diligent and careful observations, it would be remiss not give the scouts a chance to learn something new of us: but change does not come easy, and it can hardly be predictable, even at the best of times..." her soft deep voice echoed through the humans and god-titans minds like a wind rolling off the mountains, "I understand, your majesty" Tyto hesitated, and immediately fell silent as she continued, "You have my blessing to continue the next phase of the endeavor. But remember. All things come to pass in their own time, and if that time is not now, then it will come when it is time" she stated.
"So, does that mean we get the go-ahead and put on a little 'magic show' for Erwin and his buddies?" Pascal asked offhand, to which Tyto shot him a dry look. "I don't believe the question of whether Erwin is ready to accept magic or not, is going to be an issue that will linger: but rather, what will he do when he realizes the bigger picture, is far bigger than he could have ever imagined?" the Queen coolly replied, "Do not try to force the matter: just let things progress at their own pace, and the rest will take care of itself" she smiled.
"So, that's a no?" Clay asked in confusion, :Think of it as a 'when the situation calls for it' kind of thing. We'll only let the scouts see us use magic, when the circumstances call for it: Shadow spelt out. "Very well then" Tyto bowed again, "If that is your wish Majesty, then we will abide by it" he stated. Glancing to his side, he could see Bryson didn't look completely comfortable with the ruling, and made a mental note to ask him about it later.
"Well, that's the matter of the scouts taken care of," Ratatosk changed the subject, "Now, to the subject of the Hunt" he addressed the whole counsel, "As you all know, we have seen a sharp spike in the number of regular titans over the past three months: over the last two years their numbers were dropping at a steady pace, but then back in September, there seemed to be nearly twice as many as before, and this month's Hunt was by far the busiest to date: overall, we culled nigh on a hundred and sixty two titans, but very nearly suffered casualties, had Tyto not stepped in when he did" he gazed over at the Grey Owl, who nodded in concurrence. "It's true, we got overrun by a whole herd of ten meter classes and above: they just- came out of nowhere, which doesn't make any sense since we scouted the whole area that very morning" Warren added in a slight fluster.
"When we flew out before dawn, we sighted fifteen titans, all under the eight meter mark: by the time Stormwing, Silvester's team and Tyto's gang had finished off the last of that surprise herd, we counted over forty nine corpses" Tarka added.
"That doesn't make any sense" Evrard frowned in concern, "Did the tree-titans not sense their approach?" he asked, to which one of the other Rangers, a tall broad man by the name of Falk replied, "We did ask them about it, and they said the only way they could've missed them is if the titans had gone through the bolder field at the top of the valley, where the ground is thin and rocky, and no tree roots can penetrate"
"But that doesn't make any sense either" Bryson frowned, "Titan's don't typically walk up-hill unless they know there're humans to be found: they always stay on the flat or go down-hill". "I know, that's why we didn't post anyone atop the valley walls, we thought they'd take the path of least resistance and go through the valley, following the river; what were they doing up there? And where did they come from anyway?" Warren pondered aloud.
"Could they have been titans that migrated down from the north? You know, maybe some that escaped us the first few times we hunted up there?" Eraman asked?
"I don't think so" Dakota threw in, "There have been at least five other secondary hunts where we placed the baiting chimes in various locations, with follow-up culls to dispatch what was left. And the kill-tally's we got from them suggest that the titans numbers are well down in the double digits range. If any titans did come down from the north, it shouldn't be in the quantities we've seen of late"
"Well we know there can't be more coming in via Shiganshina, surely. The first thing we did before conducting the first ever hunt, was go back there and put a big-ass repelling charm in place next to the outer gate" Clay pointed out, "Hell, Shadow even buried it for good measure. There's no way any more titans can get into Maria via the breach"
"So where did all these titans come from?" Tarka frowned. Everyone sat in contemplation for a moment, before Bryson sat up with a startled gasp: fear laced in his eyes as something awful suddenly occurred to him "What if-..." he cautiously looked over at the others, who were now worried by his startled demeanor, "-The gate wasn't the only part of Wall Maria to be breached? What if there was a secondary attack somewhere else? Somewhere that wasn't identified during the rush to evacuate Maria?"
Everyone gazed at him in horror, "Holy Sina! Could that even be possible?" Count Olaf panicked, "It wouldn't be impossible if a second colossal titan were present" Dale reasoned, "Hell, the way it kicked in the gate, it was as if it were made of dry twigs: it would hardly be a challenge for a titan of the same size-class". "Not to mention there are large expanses of wall Maria the Garrison haven't patrolled in decades because they're so remote, a second breach could easily go undetected" Hazel pointed out. "Or maybe it could've been the same one?" Lucy suggested, "The way the colossal titan just upped and disappeared as fast as it did? Maybe he could've popped up somewhere else along the wall in a short span of time. And while Shiganshina was in chaos and the military's focus was on securing the inner gate, the titan could've created a second breach" Lucius added without missing a beat. "Given how many titans poured into Maria during the first year following the attack, it kinda makes sense" West threw in worryingly, "If they had another way in, it would account for the spike in their numbers".
"That's if there's a secondary breach," Ratatosk interjected, as he bowed respectively to the Queen, "Majesty, may I request to organize a party of scouts to head out and search Wall Maria, to confirm if there really is such a breach"
"Of course: begin your preparations as soon as possible..." she tranquilly replied, before addressing the rest of the gathering, "This matter is troubling, but we will investigate and rule out this possibility first. If such a breach exists then we will secure it, if not, then we will have to consider an alternative means of entry into Wall Maria. For now, let us handle one concern at a time..." she stood up, and as she reached out her arm, her staff floated towards her, and settled in her hand, "This meeting is adjourned" she stated.
Later that day:
The island was buzzing with activity as two large teams of bird-titans and their riders prepared to disembark for Shiganshina. Food, clothing and weapons were prepared and packed, while the human teams were shortlisted and given their orders.
From where they watched the activity at the Lodge, gazing down from one of the many high arboreal walkways in the trees, Ariana and Carla stood together, along with Mabel, Lawrence and Drake. "So the titans have another way into Maria?" Lawrence asked offhand, "We don't know that for sure" Ariana assured him, "It's just a precaution honey: better to check it out than leave it to chance" Mabel added, to which he nodded in understanding. "How long do you think they'll be gone?" Drake asked, "If the wind's in their favor, a little under a month: there's a lot of wall to cover and they've got to inspect every mile of it. It's straight forward enough: the two teams will set out from Shiganshina, one following the wall eastwards, and the other heading along the western half, hopefully by the end of the month they'll meet up somewhere over the far northern district of Isscal, and then fly south in a straight line over Sina and Rose" Carla explained.
"Do you think they'll fly right over the capitol, Mitras?" Drake asked, "Possibly, but it'll have to be a high altitude so no one spots them" Ariana replied as she gazed down at him, "Remember, as far as anyone in the interior is concerned, we don't exist: and that's how we're gonna keep it until we're ready to go there, okay?"
"I don't get it..." Lawrence frowned in a cold tone as he continued to watch the Celts and Rangers prepare for the long journey, "You guys keep saying that we're gonna go to the interior one day, that we're gonna go meet the king, and tell him we've discovered this place and the city of lost memories: that mankind doesn't have to stay trapped behind the walls, or stay stupid" he gazed up at her with an accusing stare, "But how can you do that, if you're so scared of the wall cult and the Disciples? You wanna save mankind but you don't wanna fight those who would kill you? What kinda dumb plan is that?" he frowned.
Ariana felt her hackles rise as she frowned in annoyance, "Lawrence, I never said-
"-It's not going to be that straight forward, sweetie..." Carla placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, Ariana stopped and calmed down, as Carla kneeled down to meet his gaze: "I know there's been a lot of talk going around: about how we're going to do this and what's going to be the best course of action to follow. One thing I can say for sure is that it will be anything but simple, and we're going to need help doing it" she told him: Lawrence glanced away in doubt, but Carla gently placed her hand on his cheek, and made him meet her gaze again, "But Lawrence, listen, you have to understand: this isn't about declaring war on the wall cult, we won't be going into the interior to purposely fight them; but we will have to be prepared to face them, and they will challenge us one way or another. This endeavor is about offering mankind a way out of being confined within the walls, about fighting back the titans with the upper hand and reclaiming the outside world: the city of Omnes Scientiam and all its knowledge was created for everyone to experience, not just us... I know it seems like a huge challenge, and chances are it's going to get more complicated before something good eventually comes of it all: but we can't loose hope"
Lawrence didn't say anything, and simply let his gaze drop. Mabel was about to say something, when three familiar voices interrupted; "Mummy!" Clemmy, Marigold and Phoebe yelled in delight as they came running along the vine-bridge that connected to the crystal platform they were standing on, followed closely behind by Bren, with Lily sitting on his shoulders. "Hey, we've been looking for you guys" he smiled as he took Lily off his shoulders, and placed her down on the walkway, "Sorry, we got a little waylaid" Mabel smiled as she approached to kiss him on the cheek, while the girls clamored around her in excitement, "Mummy mummy! We saw the queen of the lake!" Marigold exclaimed in giddy delight, "She was soooo big and pretty!" Clemmy pipped up, "We saw Queen Rhiannon and her entourage swimming by the eastern shore earlier" Bren clarified, "Oh really?" Mabel smiled, "That's a rarity" Ariana through aloud, "She's usually a private-kinda god-titan: must be heading to the city on official royal business or something".
"Lawrence can we go play?" Phoebe tugged at her big brother's arm, "I missed you" she whined, "Yeah, can we go to the place with all the pretty birds an' butterflies?" Clemmy pipped in, "An' go to the market and get fruit buns?" Marigold pleaded; with his stoic expression unchanged, Lawrence glanced up at Mabel and sighed, "We'll be back before dinner: see you later Drake" he waved off, and with the three little girls on his heels, he took off for the winding staircase that would lead them down to the forest floor. "Bye!" Drake called out, "You know the rules, stay away from the cliffs and don't go getting under anyone's feet!" Bren added, but the kids were already out of earshot.
As she picked up Lily and held her on her hip, Mabel couldn't help but pass a rueful sigh: "... He's such a serious child..." she thought aloud, "In all the time we've lived here, I've never seen him smile, not even once: part of me still wonders if I've missed something, that maybe I'm not doing something right?"
"It's not you Mabel," Drake was quick to assure her, "He never smiles, not even with me: it's just-, who he is. Or at least, that's how he's always been since-..." He hesitated, as the memory of being trapped in the cellar suddenly flashed through his mind: he could practically smell the blood as he tried to beat it back. No one had to ask what he was talking about: as they too remembered that day, "...You can't expect him to just, 'move on', and forget it ever happened" Carla solemnly pointed out as she lay a reassuring hand on Mabel's shoulder, gazing down at the forest floor as she watched Lawrence and the girls make their way through the lush undergrowth. "...None of us can..." she gazed back at the young woman with a small tired smile, "You're a fine mother Mabel, and you've done an exemplary job; you too Bren, no child could ask for a finer father. He's still dealing with it, and he'll be dealing with it for a long time yet: just be there for him when he needs you. Okay?"
"Of course..." Mabel forced a smile, before Drake suddenly perked up: "Oh! I just remembered, have you guys been to the new titan exhibit in the city?". Ariana smiled as she replied "Yeah, I saw it a few days before we left for the hunt: Claude and the other researchers have really done an amazing job putting it together". "Titan exhibit?" Mabel raised an eyebrow with an amused smile: to which Ariana explained "Claude and the researchers have put together an exhibit in one of the auxiliary galleries of the city, on the magical arts and sciences level I think? They've found so much historical stuff on the titan-shifters, that they needed somewhere to put it all. Luckily the Keeper was kind enough to loan them one of the spare galleries, and the place was so big, that they decided to make it into an exhibit for everyone to come and see". "Wow, sounds like quite the undertaking" Bren smiled, "You bet! It's the world's first ever titan museum!" Drake beamed. "Oh hell, could you imagine how crazy Hange would go if she saw that?" Ariana couldn't help but giggle: to which Carla nearly bent over laughing, "Oh my god, she would never shut up!"
"Huh, first time I've heard of it: but then, Claude has been spending a lot more time in the city than usual" Mabel thought aloud, "Oh, that would be because of the wax statues" Drake added, glancing up at Ariana, "While you guys were away, we went exploring some of the archives, you know, the ones dug out from way deep down in the mountain? And we found these huge life-size anatomical wax sculptures of titan-shifters in their titan bodies, plus modals of all the different kinds of titan-shifter types, and a whole crate-load of documents on them and their abilities. So we got some of the tree-titans to help us move them up to the gallery, and we've been cleaning them up and making the information plaques to go with each one. You two should really go and see it, it looks amazing!" he smiled up at his adopted parents. "Well, when we get some time to spare, we'll all go together for a family day out, I'm sure the girls would love to see it too" Bren smiled.
"Oh, that reminds me" Ariana suddenly remembered: "Didn't you say something about Derek's research team finding some new stuff on those white rose guys?". "Ah, you mean the order of the white rose" Drake clarified, "Yeah, they found more journals and personnel records in the archives last week, plus several crates of uniforms and equipment: now Derek's team has got so much stuff that he's asked the Keeper for some gallery space too, though I doubt they'll get it all set up in time to match Claude's".
"YOO-HOO! DRAKE MY BOY!" Claude suddenly shouted up from the ground, "Speaking of which..." Drake smiled as he leaned over the side of the platform, "Yeah Claude!?" he shouted back: "-THE NEW PLAQUES ARE READY TO GO UP AND GEOFFRY NEEDS A HAND WITH THE NEW VOLUMES WE FOUND LAST WEEK, CARE TO LEND US THAT EXQUISITE BRAIN OF YOURS?!" he smiled, "Sure! Let me just go and get my satchel!-" he turned to his parents with an apologetic look, "Sorry to love and leave you ladies, Bren, but duty calls!" he turned on his heels and ran for home, "Take a snack and some water this time! ..." Mabel called after him, before glancing down at Claude, "Make sure he's on the six o'clock ferry Claude! I don't want him missing dinner again!". "Absolutely! Oh!-and if your making those delectable dumplings again, save one for me please!" he called back, and then headed off in the direction of the harbor. "Well, the day's ticking away, I better get back to the forge before Gustav throws a fit" Bren smiled as he placed a kiss on Mabel's cheek and on top of Lily's head, and turned to leave "See you later, my darlings". "Later," She replied as she watched him wave to lily, and tried to coax her to wave back, "Say bye-bye to daddy", "Buh-buh dadee" the little platinum blonde waved as she began to get fussy, forcing her mother to let down on the platform. As she toddled off, weaving back and forth between the two sets of crystal railings on either side of the platform, the three females began walking along, heading in the direction of the Grey Owl's home-tree.
"I swear, that boy's getting a first class education just hanging out with Claude" Mabel smiled sheepishly, "Lawrence too: as well as all the other kids who love to read. He's a good influence on them, really getting them engaged; I sometimes wonder if he's contemplated becoming a teacher". "I'm not sure" Carla thought aloud, "Claude's always had more of that adventurous streak about him, too restless to be stuck in a classroom: though I will say, he's always had a knack for piquing other people's curiosity", "He managed to get Bren, Brendis and Brendan to take reading and writing seriously, that was a real accomplishment" Ariana pointed out, "To which I am most grateful: how Bemadette manages those three on a regular basis? Well, She's certainly got the guts for it" Mabel sighed in exasperation at the memory of trying to teach the three brothers the basic alphabet. "So have you, it's just-, those three have always been a handful. They've never had a constant father figure in their lives, and their mother-...well?..." Carla sighed ruefully, "Yeah..." Ariana nodded in equal ruefulness.
A sombre moment of silence passed between them, before Ariana sighed "...You know, Lawrence has a point; we can't face one problem and run from the other, they're both in the same place, ultimately stemming from the same source. And if we hope to change this world for the better, we're going to have to face both on the same level". "It won't be easy: given the horror stories many of the five hundred survivors of the failed retrieval op have relaid, it only confirms we're going to be in this for the log term," Carla nodded, before confessing her own opinion "Initially, I thought-, I believed, that the Disciples were the worst of them, the absolute of all their zealots. But from what many of the survivors have described, the problem is much more systemic, throughout society as a whole, and not just confined to the churches, Cornucopiam's and Sanctuary's: it permeates the systems that were put in place to protect us, to ensure everyone had the same equal rights... What an amazing lie, as if that was even true to begin with"
"And the worst part about it? there are many cultists that want out, but know what the penalty will be if they try to run away" Ariana added, "Their freedom must be taken into account too: there must be some way to liberate them without suffering reprisals from the cult". "It's true the cult's structure and system of control is harsh, even on its most loyal followers: but to entice the oppressed with the promise of freedom could risk causing more problems in the long term" said Mabel, "Huh? What do you mean?" Ariana raised an eyebrow, as did Carla. Mabel continued "Think about it, if you deprive a dog of its food long enough, and then one day someone comes along and offers it a piece of meat, who's that dog going to be loyal to? I'm just saying: the crown, the government and the cult could take our offers of generosity the wrong way, as if we're trying to buy off the citizens. And that's the last thing we need to be seen as: the queen said as much when she stated this endeavor must be founded upon by the willingness and selflessness to want to help and enlighten mankind, regardless of the labor and struggle involved; and to not built upon the backs of the oppressed, or the naivete of the gullible"
"Well? It's true, what we have to offer won't come for free, but the pay-off will be worth it if it means we can establish suitable settlements with land to cultivate beyond the walls, while at the same time not having to worry about the titans. We're not trying to con anyone here Mabel" Ariana reasoned. Mabel passed a heavy sigh, before looking Ariana in the eye, "... Ariana, I know Bryson, Breck, Gustav, Claude, Bren and Derek have said time and again that life is different in the interior: but believe me when I tell you, that's only the half of it. You have no idea what the people in Sina are like. Things are bad enough with the wall cult keeping everyone ignorant and blinded: the caste system leaves no room for free-thinking and open-mindedness, and the government keeps everyone below their class on a short tight leash. Those are the people we are going to have to try to convince, are in the wrong; what we plan to do, is nothing short of heresy and treason in their eyes"
"Yes but, technically isn't that what we're doing already?" Carla pointed out, "I mean, Mabel, we live on the doorstep of the greatest source of all human knowledge and wisdom: all of it pertaining to the outside world and ages past. By the government and cult's definition that whole city is an act of treason and heresy. Not least the heretics and traitors themselves, and they were busy dabbling in forbidden knowledge long before we ever came here..."
"But that's just it, Carla..." Mabel sighed as she picked Lilly up and held her on her hip, "We've been trying to think up ways to appeal to the citizens of the walls while also trying to defend against the cult and government: but I don't think we've given any real thought to the consequences our actions might bring" she headed off towards one of the large spiral staircases that snaked down the trunk of a nearby tree, "... You know, there was a saying I read in one of Drake's books: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I'm sure the wall cult thought they were doing the kingdom a noble service too, when they first started out"
As they watched Mabel and Lily disappear down the crystal stairs, Ariana and Carla both glanced at each other in concern , before slowly continuing onwards: "...You know? As much as I don't want to admit it, I think she's right" Ariana reluctantly admitted, "How the hell are we going to convince everyone what we have here is humanity's ticket to freedom, when the walled kingdom is practicality bound and gagged by the ones who rule it? War's out of the question, not that I would've opted for war in the first place, the idea of humans fighting other humans on such a massive scale is unthinkable, and just trying to convince everyone that Shadow and his kin are here to help will be a monumental task, even with Erwin's help... I don't know how we're gonna do this, but we can't keep procrastinating over this forever". "Yeah..." Carla nodded quietly as she thought about it.
The two of them talked a little while more, before Ariana headed off home, and Carla returned to her cottage. After settling in for the rest of the day with a nice hot cup of tea ('I still can't believe we have a tea plantation now' she thought offhand) she wandered to her bedroom, sat herself down in the fancy armchair by her bedside table, and picked up the novel she had been reading. As she put the cup and saucer on the table, she glanced down at the framed picture sitting next to the lamp, and turned it slightly as she allowed a small smile to tug at the corner of her mouth.
It was a drawn portrait of Eren, Mikasa and Grisha: a small gift courtesy of Poppy's budding artistic talent, and keen memory (thanks in no small part to Ariana, who gave it to her as a way to cope with loosing Eren and Mikasa). Grisha was central with Mikasa on his right, and Eren on his left, with both arms hugging the children warmly, and each with a smile on their face and a joyful softness in their eyes. It had been a true comfort to Carla, on the days when the hole in her heart hurt the most, and she longed to hold her family in her arms again. Thinking back to what Ariana and Mabel said, she glanced at the portrait with a heavy sigh: "... What are we going to do?" she glanced out the window as her vexed thoughts refused to go away. "...What am I going to do?"
It wasn't so much the wall cult and royal government that troubled Carla, she understood they would be serious adversaries to face when the time came, and was prepared to meet them head on if necessary: but what unnerved her the most, was the prospect of running into, or finding Grisha; and the revelation that she was still alive. Since first deciding to stay in the Hidden land and aiding the god-titans in their endeavour, it was the one regret Carla carried with her, after failing to save Eren and Mikasa. Knowing her husband was still alive and unaware of her 'not-being-dead' (as Jay put it), had often played on her mind during her moments of quiet reflection. She often wondered where he was, and where his grief at loosing her and Eren had left him: she liked to believe he moved on with his life, that maybe after a period of morning and lament, he was able to carry on, maybe even find love again. She often imagined him living in a large town or city somewhere deep in the interior, continuing his work as a doctor in a big hospital, or travelling from village to village, and at the end of each day he'd come home to his new wife, and maybe his children, and in moments of privet solace and rumination, he would think of her, Eren, and Mikasa, and the life he had to leave behind.
She hoped, at least, that was the case, as the thought of him wasting away in the pit of his own grief and despair was too much for her heart to bare. Marrying a new wife she could forgive, someone he could be happy with, someone to care for and be there for him; to be what she had not been in a long time. Carla also thought, at times, what she would say to Grisha, if meeting him again was unavoidable: after the discovery of the journal in the church basement in Shiganshina, she was resolute in her mission to wipe out the titans and help the god-titans restore mankind to the world, she knew she couldn't give that up; she had too much rage and grief left to burn. But was she selfish for not trying to find him sooner? Would he think her a heart-breaker? A cold-hearted woman who's love died with her son and daughter? She didn't want to believe he might think that of her, but then again, she knew well how grief has a way of changing a person to the point they're almost unrecognizable, and how, it had an insidious way of changing your outlook on life, and on other people.
To risk breaking his heart a second time was as painful as having to leave him behind, and as tears rolled down her face, she silently sat in her chair; watching through the huge circular window as the sky turned grey and the snow began to lightly fall through the bare canopy outside.
Dyeing was easy, it only had to be done the once: but to live with this much pain, sometimes seemed like a never-ending road where the horizon was nowhere in sight. Glancing back at the picture and remembering Eren, Carla remembered that fierce stubborn attitude of his, and as she remembered the tirades he used to give about joining the scouts and fighting the titans to obtain the freedom to roam the outside world, she couldn't help but smile as she imagined the lecture he would be giving her, if he saw her right now. Gently brushing her finger over his cheek, she mentally pepped herself up, and nodded in proverbial agreement to his argument.
"...Your right darling: keep fighting no matter what" she gazed out the window, "...I don't know how we'll get there, but we will..."
Outside the cottage, snuggled up warmly in her nest, Elysia watched as the Celts and Rangers departed for the Gateway Mountain, gliding on the backs of their bird-titan brothers and sister: she hoped and prayed there was no second breach, and that hopefully, the Scouting Legion would remain their only concern.
Meanwhile, In Trost district:
The snow was coming down thick and heavy as the carriage trundled along the country road, outside, the world was concealed in grey and white, with a silence that blanketed the land for miles around. As he reclined in the leather seat, Erwin pulled the flaps of his coat up to try to keep the heat in, and as he watched the silent white landscape roll by, he thought back to the meeting he'd had in Mitras, earlier that day...
The Military High Command HQ in Mitras, 7:00am:
As the Premier flicked through the pile of papers at a laid-back pace, the silence in the room added to the atmosphere that was starting to feel a tad constricting: for anyone else, it would have felt like being in a pressure cooker, but for Erwin, he already had a good idea of what was coming, and was somewhat surprised by Zackly's attitude. Then again, the man wasn't known for being a hot head; even under these less-than-conventional circumstances. Finally, he straightened out the papers and laid them back down on the desk, next to the other files all neatly lined up.
Lacing his fingers together as he leaned on the desk, Zackly gazed up at Erwin as he addressed him: "Well, it goes without saying that these monthly reports have been interesting reading material: your new 'acquaintances' have certainly been giving you the run-around"
"Only because they are in their element" Erwin stated, "And have studied our movements at great length"
"I'm sure they have," Zackly replied offhand, "And the only reason I didn't dismiss this whole thing as utter nonsense in the first place, is because I know you're not the kind of man with the imagination to come up with such fantastic tales: that, and those sightings of the 'titan-killing fog' were reported by too many of the Garrison to be dismissed as a drunken hallucination" the Premier leaned back in his chair as he let his gaze drop down to the desk, and all the reports laying before him, "...Plus, what would have been the point in such a fantastic lie?..." he smiled offhand, before stating in a more serious tone "This whole affair concerning the painted titans and these titan hunters has been top secret for the last two years: you and the scouts, myself, and only a small handful of other people know of their existence; keeping this secret has not been easy, and the backlash we would receive from the public would be nothing short of harsh. The very idea of titans aiding humans to kill other titans is simply too far-fetched: despite being four years gone, the loss of Maria is still being keenly felt"
"So why am I here?" Erwin asked, trying to stay on track. Zackly passed a deep frustrated sigh as he gazed back up at the commander, "...Because that same raw loss, is starting to ignite fears of the Armoured and Colossal titans returning to finish what they started. I don't need to tell you things are starting to get tight within this kingdom: three years of poor rain, extended droughts and crops turning to trash in certain areas are beginning to effect food rations, and that could potentially breed desperation in the populous. Though it is forbidden for the crown to take a roll in dictating the movements of the military directly, unless there is a direct threat to Mitras itself, the king's opinion must still be taken into consideration during any military planning (well, on paper at least)" he turned to gaze at the fireplace, and the flames licking up the chimney breast "To put it simply, there has been talk in the government of, maybe, just maybe, implementing a plan to capture one of these painted titan's, along with one of the hunters, and bringing them back to serve as the kingdom's 'guard dogs' in the event of another attack"
Though it barely showed on his face, Erwin was stunned: "Does such a plan exist?"
Zackly glanced back at him with an unreadable expression, "No, but I told them I know a man, who might just be able to pull it off". "... Ah, I see..." Erwin replied, putting two and two together. "Personally, I don't agree with it in the least: if this 'rogue's gang' are as proficient as you say, I dread to think what might happen if we incur their anger" the Premier frowned.
"They're aware I might be ordered to capture them one day, if it ever came to that" the commander stated frankly, Zackly looked at Erwin slightly taken aback, but didn't press the matter as he asked "... And if that day were to fall somewhere within the span of your next expedition?". Erwin's eyes flew open in surprise: a capture mission? To be arranged within a month's time?
Zackly got up from his chair, and with his hands held behind his back, he gazed out over the city of Mitras through the huge French windows: "With the completion of the battalion route this month, you now have the time to direct your men and resources into going after them more thoroughly, whether you decide to capture them or not I'll leave to your own discretion: you have the budget for additional resources anyway. Though personally, I believe such a plan is reckless, and counter-intuitive if these hunters and their titans are serious about wishing to serve humanity..." he glanced at Erwin over his shoulder, "Unless the whole kingdom witnesses a titan killing other titans in the name of humanity, an alliance between the scouts and these hunters is not a reality that will come to pass anytime soon. Until then, you are to proceed under the assumption that they are a possible threat to humanity; at least, that's what I was told to tell you. Whether you take that at face value, I'll leave entirely up to you Erwin"
Something was seriously off: why would Zackly be pressured into ordering a capture mission? The king was not permitted by law to interfere with military affairs, and by extension the government had no right to directly meddle either; but if they knew that, then why push the matter? Erwin knew Zackly didn't approve of this plan, the man was anything but stupid, and with all the reports he'd received over the last two years on the Scouts 'observations', it was a no-brainer that pursuing the hunters and painted titans was a fool's errand.
But for what purpose would capturing them serve? And the way Zackly had worded it, it was clear whoever gave the order had regarded the children and titans with a great deal of contempt: there was no way they'd be anyone's 'guard dogs'. But why? And why now? Was the threat of a secondary breach in Wall Rose really creating that much fear in the corridors of power? Were the government starting to let the fear of civil unrest over the food shortage push them into making a hasty decision? It was highly unlikely, the government were a lofty lot but they weren't foolish or reckless; but still, whoever gave the order must've felt the situation was dire enough to warrant this extreme measure.
He couldn't put his finger on it, but Erwin had this nagging sense that something wasn't right. Still, the situation was what it was, he had his orders, and despite Zackly's less than straight-forward phrasing, he had to follow them through. As the carriage passed through the inner gate and the city of Trost rolled by, he mentally prepared himself for the task now at hand.
Later that day:
As Erwin sat in his office filling out the necessary paperwork, Levi's distinctive knock-knock announced the Captain's presence, as he unceremoniously entered and sat himself down in front of the desk: while down the hall, Hange's distinctive crazy laughter could be heard echoing off the stone walls. "So, shitty-glasses just told me you approved her request for a capture mission" the Captain sourly stated, "That is correct" Erwin coolly replied, "Not that I lack confidence in your ability to get the job done, but do you care to tell me what changed your mind?" he shot back as he folded his arms, "Orders from the top: someone's starting to get nervous, and believes an addition to our 'counter-titan measures' will help even the odds against a secondary attack" Erwin stated frankly. Levi was silent for a moment, before frowning "Sounds like the pigs in Mitras are starting to loose their nerve: and their minds, if they think trying to capture even one of those painted shit's will be easy. Speaking of which: given our 'acquaintance' with the wild brats and their oversized pets, how do we know this won't go balls-up and land us in trouble with 'the rest of the family'?"
"We don't" Erwin replied bluntly, "But they've known from the start that this might be a possibility, and I'd be quite surprised if they're surprised. Besides, this is a good opportunity to 'change things up', and see what happens when push comes to shove; we've known them long enough to know they're not quick to anger or panic, and vice versa. Beside, with any luck, hopefully we won't have to drag this out: if we can pull it off right, we may be able to complete this mission peacefully"
"Peacefully; as in not engaging those shit-heads and ending up getting tied up in our own wires?" the Captain sarcastically remarked, "Tch!- yeah, that'll be the day"
Trying to get the drop on the painted titans and their little friends had proven to be quite an exercise in futility for the Scouts, not least for Levi and his squad: each time they would get them to hunt and chase them on their own terms, with very little opportunity to flip the odds in their favour. Every time, Levi and the squad would try something different, and every time, the hunters always seemed to be one step ahead: as if they knew what they were thinking. Midnight in particular, and her trio of Raven, Rook and Jackdaw (and sometimes Blue Jay and Stella's Jay), had quickly become the bane of the Captain's existence: ballsy, brazen and down-right cheeky, the four of them had a new prank for every time he went after them, and every time, they always got the last laugh. Now they had clearance for a capture mission? The squad were not going to like this, and no doubt he'd never hear the end of it from Oruo.
"They know how we work, and know we're as willing to push the envelope as they are: within reason," Erwin explained, "If we go after them we're going to have to be sly about it. They don't know the battalion route is now complete, and won't be expecting us to go looking for them right away: we can use that to our advantage"
"Okay, but do you at least have an idea about who we're going after?" the Captain sighed offhand, "Surly not the oversized black and white bitch" he frowned. "No, She's much too unpredictable" Erwin shook his head as he read over the papers, "Not Boar either: too fast on the ground and too nimble up in the trees, and the fact Angel can fly presents too many complications". "So it's the blue-eyed shit-head: hm, he shouldn't be too difficult, if we can get the drop on him quick enough"
"There's one other thing," Erwin looked him in the eye, "The capture is to include one of the hunters, to act as a go-between between us and Shadow: I don't think I need to tell you who I've short-listed to be caught"
February, somewhere deep in the Marian forest:
Spring was finally starting to creep in early, as most of the snow had melted in the unusually mild temperature, turning the once endless white landscape into a patchy network of green and white throughout the forest, and across the vast expanse of the planes beyond the treeline.
But it was still bitterly cold in the shadows and sheltered areas of the forest, and as the gang sat around the campfire with hot bowls of soup in hand and thick woolens and hides around their shoulders, the hours slowly trickled by as they waited for the Scouts to make an appearance on the main southern road, less than several miles away.
As he pulled his deer hide cloak up tighter to stave the cold away from his neck, Jay glanced up at Shadow, who was seated on the ground right behind Bryson and Tyto, with Ariana and the Willem kids sat nestled in his lap, and noticed how nonchalant he seemed, along with Midnight and Boar. "How the hell is it you three don't feel the cold?" the young hunter huffed in annoyance as he tried not to shiver, "Angel, I can understand, she covered in feathers, but you guy's? What's your secret?"
:Well?: Shadow spelt out with an amused smile, "Midnight's elemental power lies with water, so neither frozen ice nor burning steam bother her; Boar's control over fire affords him some natural warmth, and me? Well? The trees have to endure the cold of winter as they sleep, thus I endure as well:
"I don't understand why you can't use those fire powers of yours a little more often, like making this fire a little bigger" Belle shivered as she rubbed her gloved hands together, before holding them up to the flames: Boar brought his huge clawed hand up over the fire, and with his tattoos glowing in a bright golden amber, within a second the flames grew a little taller and hotter. :All things in moderation kiddo: he spelt out with his free hand, :Fire's not an element to be taken lightly, if you loose control for even a split second, it can get away from you; and trust me, it doesn't take much for a flame to become an inferno:
Glancing over at Bryson, and seeing the vexed look in his eyes as he watched the fire, Jay asked offhand, "What's bugging you? You haven't said much since we got here". "I was just thinking..." Bryson replied as he straightened up and sipped his soup, "The two scouting parties only got back the day before we left, and found nothing; no secondary breach anywhere along Wall Maria". "Yeah, but isn't that a good thing? At least we can rule out an external point of entry" Josefa replied offhand: "But then that leaves the question, how are the titans getting into Maria?" Bryson sighed as he poured himself another bowl of soup from the pot, "If it was only a few dozen that's one thing, that could be put down to being 'the ones that got away' so to speak, the ones we just simply haven't got round to killing yet. But both teams reported seeing tens of dozens of titans at certain points along the way: far more than we originally estimated. So if there isn't a second breach anywhere along the wall, where are all these new titans coming from?"
"It is very troubling" Tyto sighed in worry, "And it has me concerned about this month's expedition: keeping Erwin and his scouts in one piece is going to be a bit of a handful if those new herds start moving down from the north". "Speaking of the Scouts: despite all the shit the titans have been giving them, they must've finished that battalion route by now" Evrard threw in. "And if so, that means they're going to have a lot more time on their hands," Bryson frowned as he sipped his soup, "Most likely to go after us in a much more concentrated effort: and if that's the case, there's no telling what kind of stunts Erwin will be willing to pull. Which means the risk factor to our encounters is going to spike sharply". "Which is why this is a good opportunity to discuss the next phase of the endeavor" Tyto addressed the whole group, as he gazed up at the god-titans, "Now, 'introducing' the scouts to magics: does anyone have any thoughts as to how it might be best to proceed?".
As the group started brainstorming ideas, Ariana noticed Angel perched up in a particularly tall giant tree, just barely above the canopy with her eyes cast towards the western plains: while on the branch right below her, Pascal and West were keeping an eye on the eastern farmlands. She discreetly slipped out of Shadow's lap, pulling her cloak and scarf tighter as she left the warmth of her best friend's legs: she took her hand-grips and fired her lines, flying up to Angel's side, where she saw part of Carla's leg sticking out from under the bird-titan's wing "Don't you guys go falling asleep now!" she called down to the two former thieves; "In this cold?! You gotta be kidding!" Pascal huffed as he took a bite of his jerky, pulling his deer hide cloak in tighter. The white goddess chirped her usual friendly hello, and Carla slipped out from beneath the fold of her wing and landed on the branch; "Oh! It's cold!-" Carla pulled her hood over her head as she jumped up and down, trying to stay warm, "Then why'd you come out?" Ariana smiled, "Ah, even in the depths of winter it gets too hot under there," Carla patted Angel on the wing, "That, and it does get a tad suffocating too"; the bird-titan gave out a warbling chirp, as if to say: and yet you do it every winter.
"Hey, it's not my fault your so warm and fluffy!" Carla playfully punched her on the wing, before turning to gaze out over the plains, and sighing in satisfaction: "... Looks like spring decided to come early this year huh?", "Sure feels like it" Ariana nodded, she was about to say something else, when she noticed the distant look in Carla's eyes "...What's on your mind?" she asked offhand. "Not much, just-... Well: this whole thing about how we're going to handle things, once it comes time to head into the interior. What Mabel said after last month's hunt has been playing on my mind: and I think part of the reason why there's still that underlining apprehension, is because, it's only now dawning on everyone just how far we might have to go to confront the wall cult. Many of the Celts and Rangers have the indignation to want to do it, out of a need to seek justice for their brothers and sisters that the cult 'purged'. The five hundred survivors are no different: they lost many family members and friends to the cult and MP's, either being sold into slavery, worked to death in the Cornucopiam's and Sanctuaries, or being forcibly drafted into the failed retrieval op; many of them are looking to seek some pay-back. And we're no different when you think about it: Ash, Rowan and Dale's parents, along with the Crow, Grey Owl, Red Boar, Raven and Black Hawk clans; and that journal, being kept secret for all those years beneath that church, not three streets from our old home no less; if the scouts had that information a lot sooner maybe my Eren and Mikasa, Ran, Skadi and Bestla would still be with us... And it's not just the cult, the royal government are as much at fault for letting things get as bad as they did, and the king's hardly blameless since he appointed them in the first place...". Carla let her gaze drop as she passed a heavy sigh, as Angel gently wrapped her wing over her: her best attempt at trying to wrap an arm around her shoulders, "... Honest to Maria Ariana, I don't know if I can face any of them without the need to kill them all... If we're to bring a more enlightened future to this walled world , it cannot be founded on the spilling of blood: and- ...I don't know how to see past everything that's happened: to put aside the pain and suffering, the cruelty and corruption that caused it all, to face the ones responsible for it all, and talk to them without letting my need for vengeance get the better of me? I just-... I don't know if I can do that?"
Ariana gazed at Carla with rueful eyes, as she remembered being in the same situation herself, once upon a time: there had been times when she contemplated telling Carla the whole truth about what happened up on the mountain, the day she and Eren rescued Mikasa from those human traffickers; about how he completely lost it when he stabbed those two men, and how he snapped at her soon after. But given how badly she took Eren's death after the day of the breach, and how she grieved for him ever since: Ariana couldn't bring herself to tell her the whole truth, least it might taint her memories of Eren, and how she wished to remember him. Passing a heavy sigh, Ariana turned to Carla and replied: "...You know...that day, when me and Eren rescued Mikasa from those traffickers: afterwards, I was so angry at him for being so reckless, so much so that-, I couldn't bring myself to completely trust him again; not in the same way I had before". Carla gazed at her in slight surprise, but didn't say anything as she listen to her continue "...I broke his heart, and he knew he'd broken my heart at the same time, without even realizing it. See, being best friends for so long, and knowing him as well as I did, he was the last person I expected to do something like that; and I guess that's why it hurt so much. And no matter how hard I tried to find a way around that and forgive him, I always had this feeling in the back of my mind of, 'but if he did it once, what's to say he won't do it again?'...I guess, what I'm trying to say is: it's easy to let our hurts get in the way of what's important, and yeah, It's damn hard to see past all that shit... In a way, that's why I had to step away: and realized that my path in life was going to take me down a slightly different route. Eren's too, and he kinda realized that as well... Maybe? As this endeavor unfolds, your path might take you somewhere else, somewhere different to what you had expected... and perhaps? That's not a bad thing"
Carla gazed at her with an unreadable look for a moment, before casting her eyes back to the plains, and letting a more rueful expression show in her gaze: "... Maybe your right... " She reached down beneath her cloak, scarf and shirt, and pulled out the dove pendant she always kept around her neck: "...How can I be the white dove that brings hope, when my heart is burning with vengeance?...". Angel let out a sad warble, as she gently patted Carla on the head.
On the branch below, Pascal gazed upwards as he eavesdropped in on the conversation, and passed a quiet rueful sigh: while back down on the ground, Javorin watched Carla's aura with concern as he felt her ruefulness and guilt ripple through the manna of the trees; and made a mental note to talk to her later. He was about to turn his attention back to the humans, when suddenly, a familiar presence echoed through the earth and tree roots...
The whole group were so knee-deep in their conversation, that nearly everyone jumped out of their skins when Shadow suddenly sat upright and gazed over into the forest behind him, his long elvish ears twitching back and forth as he tried to listen to something in the distance. "Shadow? What's up?" Tyto asked worryingly: the god-titan abruptly picked up the Willem kids and gently set them down to one side, before standing up and pacing off some thirty meters into the trees. Ariana flew down and perched on his shoulder in a heartbeat, watching as he frowned in concentration "What is it, the scouts? Titans?"
Behind him, Midnight and Boar came up alongside, and Shadow held one hand up to spell out :It's the scouts, they're over fifteen miles to the north: "What? Are they being chased by titans?" Ariana asked as she crotched down on his shoulder, :No, the nearest titans are over twenty five miles to the east:. Tyto and Bryson flew up onto the blue-eyed god-titan's shoulder, and the former scout frowned in concern "Then what reason do they have for being so far off course?". :I don't know: Shadow replied, :But something's different, they've got over a dozen additional wagons with them, plus about a third more the usual number of troops and horses:.
Tyto and Bryson both glanced at one another with sceptical frowns: Erwin was up to something. "What's that fox up to this time?" Tyto thought aloud. Sensing her powerful aura pique, Javorin reached out to Hecate's mind: "Seems like you already have an idea on how to handle this" he commented offhand, "I'll check it out tonight: better to be discreet than draw unnecessary attention" she replied with a small sly smile.
Later that night:
The bitter cold kept the land grasped tightly within it's icy talons, as a delicate coating of frost covered every tree, grass-blade and dead foliage, glistening like diamonds: while overhead, the crisp clear air shone with the radiant silver light of the stars, and a huge full moon that cast long black shadows across the forest floor; creating corridors of ebony so dark, that no light could penetrate them. It was so bright one could walk for miles without the need for a candle: but most stark of all was the silence, save for the occasional hoot of an owl, the soft footfalls of deer, and the infrequent banshee-like scream of a fox. Not a single wind blew in any direction, and all around the silence was as deafening as it was eerie; as if the very forest itself were frozen in place by the cold.
Mingled within that silence however, something otherworldly drifted through the trees like a fish in a reed bed...
In her shadow-form, Hecate was truly a thing of haunting terror, the kind that stalked the nightmares of the bravest of souls: blacker than black with glowing amethyst eyes, her form could only be described as a cloud of sentient ink diluting into water; shapeless with long cigar smoke-like tendrils that danced and weaved through the air. Formless, shifting between humanoid and animal according to her whim, and weightless as a cloud gliding across the sky. Moving with the swiftness of a bracing mountain wind and the silence of the moon, she weaved her way between the shadows of the trees, with the glow of the scouts distant auras as her point of navigation.
As she sighted their camp, she saw they were all asleep within their hammocks high up in the giant trees: no one was on guard duty tonight. And just as well, as she spotted the carts and wagons peppered amongst the trees, not too far from where the horses were hitched up, along with where their doused camp fires had been. As she glided towards the camp in a snake-like manner, the horses sensed her predatory presence, and immediately grew nervy: "...Hush, do not be afraid: I promise I won't eat any of you..." her voice softly echoed through their minds, and as they caught sight of her glowing eyes, they relaxed: "Praise be to the goddess of the night" one young mare spoke in the horse's secret tongue, as she bowed her head in respect.
The first thing Hecate inspected was the new carts, there were ten in total and unlike the wagons these didn't have a canvas frame covering them, and were a third the size larger. Deciding to take a closer look, she gently loosened the ropes keeping the tarp over one of the carts in place, and peeled it back to reveal six large barrels sat tightly together, each lid had seven holes in the top and each hole was lined with metal, and inside was a large spearhead-like projectile with a long coil of cable seated in the bottom. The whole thing reeked of gun powder, and at the end of the cart, a small hole had been drilled into the side and had six fuse cords trailing out. "A portable set of cannons?" Hecate mused to herself, as she put the tarp back in place and tied up the ropes, "What do you have in mind, Erwin?"
Scanning the resting auras of all the humans, she immediately spotted Erwin's, and drifted up to where he slept bundled up in his winter sleeping bag, cradled in his hammock; dead to the world. On the branch right below him she saw his satchel, and with a delicate feather-like touch, she slipped one long smoke-like tendril inside and began rummaging through his possessions. A folded up piece of paper caught her attention, and after gently slipping it out she unfolded it and read through the contents. "A capture attempt?" the goddess realized, "Well, this will certainly be interesting: glad you know how to up the ante, Erwin. We were starting to get bored..." she smirked to herself.
She took another minute or so to memorize the contents of the paper, then after folding it up, sneaked it back into the satchel: and as swift and silent as she had arrived, she was gone from the camp just as quickly; with no indication she had ever been there at all.
The following day, an hour or so after dawn:
The forests of Maria were an eerie place to be in winter, with no other titans in sight, the silence was strange and haunting: the glistening white of the frost and melting snow lit up the forest floor in a soft radiant glow, illuminated by a silver sun that hung in a dark grey sky; a solitary orb of cold light that peered through the dark trees like some unearthly spirit. Petra had to admit, as spooky as it was, it also hauntingly beautiful.
As she sailed through the trees, the sound of her ODM's pistons echoed for quite a distance, and in all directions: every five hundred yards or so she'd stop and listen, and wait to see if she could hear something. This strategy of breaking away from the rest of the Scouts and going out alone into the forest never failed to get the hunter's attention: she knew they were watching her, but from where? With hardly any foliage up in the trees and down on the ground, there weren't that many hiding places to choose from. "...Come on, where are you? ..." she whispered offhand, trying to keep her nerve.
The sound of a flock of birds taking flight out of a nearby tree nearly made her jump, and as the young redhead recomposed herself and rescanned the trees, the sound of an ODM approaching caught her ears, followed by the soft booming footfalls of a titan. Some five hundred yards away, she spotted Magpie weaving through the giant trees, while keeping pace below her at a steady jog was Shadow: scanning around the forest, she didn't spot any of the others, and took a deep breath as she turned and fired her lines, knowing full well they'd spot her; and sure enough, as she took flight again, she heard Shadow's feet pick up the pace.
"PETRA? IS THAT YOU?..." she heard Magpie call out, but didn't reply. Petra didn't feel good about this: after all the months she and the other Scout's had spent getting to know the kids and their titan friends, she felt like they were betraying their trust. She hoped that, after this was over and they were safely back behind Wall Rose, that she'd be able to earn Magpie's trust again: Shadow's too, if he wasn't too angry with them.
After being chased for a fair distance, with Magpie taking point and Shadow bringing up the rear some ten meters behind, Levi and the rest of the squad dropped down out of the canopy, and surrounded Magpie in a diamond formation, with Petra assuming her place by Levi. Looking around, the young huntress smirked as she called to them: "Seriously? The mid-air box-in maneuver? You guys tried this one six months ago!"
"Thought we'd try the new and improved version this time!" Levi called back, "Okay, but I'll just slip out again!" Magpie grinned beneath her neckerchief "-Hey Shadow! Cover me, bud!". With a sharp twist the huntress ducked down out of the formation and zipped away to the right beneath Gunther. The squad immediately turned in the same direction and tried to get back around her, but she only ducked down to the left and came up and around over Eld, making sure they couldn't box her in: Shadow put on a burst of speed as he reached out to grab the Scouts lines, but they were just as sharp in their turns as they narrowly avoided his huge hands, and stayed with Magpie as they tried to cut her off on both sides.
'Okay, I know this whole capture attempt puts the emphasis on keeping it quick and safe: but still, I'm terrified how this whole thing's gonna go down...' Ariana thought nervously as she tried to dodge and weave between the scouts; glancing back at Shadow as he kept trying to snag their lines, '...I just hope you know what you're doing big guy...' she glanced back up at Levi, 'And you guys? I'm sorry, but you need to know why capturing us just won't work...'
With everyone now moving at high speed, the chase was heading straight for a small clearing up ahead, and as Shadow tried to catch the Scout's once more, the whole situation was suddenly flipped on its head as they heard Erwin's voice shout "FIRE!" and the forest exploded in a cacophony of rapid-firing cannon blasts. The trees lit up as blast after blast flashed all around, and all Magpie could do was glance back as she saw her giant friend disappear into a cloud of black smoke; but before she could do anything, Levi blind-sided her at lightning speed, knocking her out cold with a swift punch.
"WOOHOO! YES! It worked!-" Hange hollered as she flew out from her hiding place and landed next to Erwin, followed by Mike, "-Wait..." Erwin stopped them. As the smoke dissipated, the creaking of cables could be heard as the giant form of Shadow reappeared, standing immobilized by the dozens and dozens of cables attached to the spearhead-like barbs now embedded in his flesh. They were all over his body, keeping him pinned tightly in place, with no slack to even budge an inch: the giant stood there in genuine surprise for a moment, before he spotted Erwin, Hange and Mike standing on a branch nearby, and shot them a sour look. "...Alright, well at least the cables worked" the commander sighed in relief, before addressing Hange, "But we've got to work quickly, the rest of the hunters will have heard the explosions, it won't take them long to pin-point our position. Get the restraints ready and make sure Magpie is safely secured". "Yes Sir" Mike nodded, and flew down to where the Levi squad were moving an unconscious Magpie into one of the wagons.
Flying a little closer to Shadow, Erwin hung suspended from a branch as he addressed the giant: "I'm sorry it's come to this, but I'm afraid you must lend us your strength now rather than later: I'll explain further when we get back to Trost" and with that, he flew back to his perch so as to keep an eye on him, while Hange and her team swarmed him, checking over the cables. "I'm really sorry we've had to do this Shadow, and I'm even more sorry we had to resort to using Magpie as leverage" she smiled, trying to sound innocent, but the look in Shadow's eyes told her he wasn't buying it: "But you needn't worry, I promise we'll take good care of her, and you of course my fine hansom friend: if you promise to behave and don't give us any fuss, you'll see her again when we get back home, okay?" she smiled sweetly, to which Shadow rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed huff "Oh come on now, it won't be that bad!" Hange waved off playfully, "Think of yourselves as being 'covertly' recruited: Magpie said you guys are fighting for humanity anyway, so look at this as an 'unofficial drafting'" she grinned, before flying off to see to her subordinates.
'Unofficial drafting? Well that's one way of putting it...' Javorin thought offhand. The blue-eyed god had to admit, this was one of the few times he was thankful to be a titan, as the numerous spearheaded barbs embedded in his thick hide were nothing more than pin-pricks, and more of a mild annoyance than a painful set of injuries; which afforded him the clarity of mind needed to assess the situation. '...Still, I got to hand it to you Erwin, you certainly know how to step things up a notch' he thought offhand as he felt Hange's squad crawling all over his back. Using his power to discreetly to 'see' through the energies of the trees, he watched the Scouts take Ariana behind him and place her in one of the wagons, a deliberate ploy to ensure he couldn't see which one she was in. And from one of the larger wagons, a huge set of spools containing extra thick cables emerged, no doubt to bind his wrists together, and if tied to his ankles with only so much slack, would restrict the gait of his walk considerably: thus preventing him from running away.
Studying the metal in the cables, he could tell they were indeed strong enough to hold a regular fifteen meter class titan in place: but being a god, Javorin would have hardly any trouble snapping the cables. In fact, he could quite easily free himself from his current entrapment by just taking a few steps forward: every cable in his hide would snap like old well-worn string. But that was not the point of this exercise, showing the Scouts they were woefully outmatched was the last thing needed here: despite their unofficial 'acquaintance', the Scouts had to be allowed to think they still maintained some measure of control, so as not to be too startled or spooked. After all, these humans were their best bet for continuing the endeavour, and to achieve that a mutual trust had to first be established. But it would take time and patience, and needless to say, multiple exercises in learning and understanding: and sometimes, to achieve that, one must be willing to present their belly (so to speak), and offer some form of submission on their part.
That being said, going to the interior was not an option the gang could undertake either: at least, not yet. And as he studied the Scouts all around him, Javorin decided now would be a suitable time to pull his next move.
Hange flew around to his front once again, this time accompanied by Levi and his squad: the smugness emanating from Oruo's aura was hard to miss. A pettier, more prideful god would have cursed him by now: but Javorin, ever the patient and understanding Overseer of mankind, took it in his stride as the Scout shot him a cocky grin. "Hehehe! Finally managed to get one up on you at last, you dim-witted so-and-so" he boasted with an equally smug chuckle. "Hey, don't be like that!" Petra shot him a dry look. "So..." Levi flew up and landed on his head, "...Are you going to cooperate? Or am I going to have to cut a limb or two off? I mean, they'll only grow back again, so it's no great loss to you, is it?" he asked: though the tone of his voice remained cool, the malice of the threat wasn't hard to miss; but studying his aura, Javorin could tell there was no great maliciousness present. But the threat to cut ff his limbs was real, and he knew it wouldn't take much to test the Captain's patience.
Glancing up at Erwin, Javorin's gaze softened into an apologetic look, before a more sly glint twinkled in his radiant blue eyes.
Erwin stiffened in alarm, as he realized right away something was about to happen. But before he could say anything, the Scouts tensed up as they saw Shadow suddenly begin to strain against the cables: the metal creaked as the cables keeping his jaw shut suddenly snapped, and he could part his teeth: they watched in alarm as they saw his tongue curl up against the roof of his mouth, and a loud shrill whistle filled the frigid air at a deafening pitch, forcing all the Scouts to cover their ears. The piercing trill carried far into the forest and out across the nearby plains, echoing off all the giant trees for miles around: and when Shadow fell silent, everyone was frozen to the spot in fear, wondering what just happened.
"Wh-, what the hell was that?" Moblit nervously lowered his hands from his ears, but Hange was just as equally thrown for a loop: Mike quickly flew back up to where the commander was perched, and informed him "They're coming, I can smell them!". "Which ones?" Erwin demanded, "Midnight and Boar" Mike replied: the commander's face reflected his alarm as he suddenly realized, "Only Midnight and Boar? But that means-
And as if on cue, at that very same moment, Angel dropped down through the bare branches of the canopy and began attacking the cables on Shadow's back, slicing them with her metal talons. While fast-approaching thunderous foot-falls announced Midnight and Boar's arrival, as they closed the distance to the clearing. "FRONT AND SECOND CONTINGENTS! STOP THEM!" Erwin barked. But to his surprise, the snow twins, Raven, Rook, Jackdaw, Waxwing and Goshawk flew out from beneath Angel's shoulder plumes, along with Mother Dove, all of whom wasted no time in pushing the Scout's off Angel and keeping them at a distance from Shadow.
The sound of ODM gear zipping fast overhead caught Erwin's ear, and he gazed up in time to see the rest of the hunters closing in fast: but this time, there were several older individuals he didn't recognize. And leading the charge was, what appeared to be a huge owl gliding swiftly towards them: but as the creature moved into view, he saw it was actually a person. Dressed head to toe in the colours of a grey owl, complete with a stylized owl mask concealing their face, the person's cloak was much longer than the Scouts own standard-issued cloaks, which seemed to closely resemble a pair of broad wings flapping as they sailed through the air; close behind he was joined by three similarly dressed individuals, one dressed like a raven, one as a hawk of some kind, and the other like a boar: followed closely by three other individuals whose faces were concealed, but not behind any masks. "MIDNIGHT!-" the owl boomed in a deep voice, and from right beneath him, the black and white female titan skidded to a halt. "SECOND AND THIRD CONTINGENTS! MOVE IN AND PUSH HER BACK!" Erwin barked loudly, and the Scouts all moved as one towards her: but at the same time, the kids and Mother Dove dropped down low as Midnight inhaled deeply, and in one huge puff of air she blew out a massive cloud of glowing purple embers which engulfed all the Scouts in one go. "-MOVE!"Erwin ordered as he and the remaining Scouts all hauled ass to get out of the way as the cloud dissipated through the trees, but were surprised when they glanced back up to see their comrades all fast asleep, dangling haplessly like wind-catchers swinging about on the breeze, completely dead to the world.
"What the-, she put them all to sleep, with a sleeping gas for breath?!" Hange gasped in shock, before that crazy smile returned to her face, "Oh, What a fantastic adaptation!". The hunters wasted no time in taking advantage of the Scout's stunned reaction, and quickly made short work of the cables keeping Shadow pinned in place: and within moments, the blue-eyed painted titan was free. Erwin realized the mission was now a failure, but before he could give the order to retreat, Levi and his squad shot overhead, heading straight for the owl.
But to both he and Levi's alarm, Mother Dove shot downwards from above like a peregrine falcon, and knocked the Captain hard into the side of a giant tree: "CAPTAIN!" Petra yelled in alarm as Levi quickly recalled his lines and flew back up. "-BAD MOVE LADY!" Oruo growled as he moved to cut her lines with his pairing blades, but to his utter shock, she turned sharply and smashed his blades with her own, shattering them like glass. The rest of the squad moved in to try and stop her, but in a series of lighting-fast turns, ducks and spins, she not only shattered their blades, but outpaced them enough to knock them out of the way, and out of the canopy. Levi didn't hesitate as he came at her with full force from behind, but in one swift turn she roundhouse-kicked him hard out of the way, and shot downwards to try and smash his blades: but the Captain wouldn't relinquish as he turned to dodge her, missing the Dove by mere inches, but to his annoyance she closed the distance to knock him again, so he couldn't replenish his blades. What followed was a high-speed dog-fight of knock-and-dodge: both attempting to dodge each other's attacks, while simultaneously trying to knock the other down or away.
Both the Captain and Mother Dove were moving at such a speed that they now appeared to be a blur of green and white, whizzing around in and out of the clearing with such skill and dexterity, that it left both the Scouts and Hunters gazing on in awe. "...How-, the hell can anyone move like that?" Eld nervously piped up as he watched the fight with baited breath, "It shouldn't even be possible at that speed!" Gunther gawked. The Commander too was both taken aback and impressed by Mother Dove's speed and skills: who was she? How did she learn to fight on a set of ODM gear like that? She had to be former military for sure, and a scout to boot undoubtedly. Was this the mysterious 'L' Magpie had mentioned? If so, she was truly something formidable. And as the two pro's continued their airborne bout, the rest of the Scouts were busy fighting off the hunters and titans: "This is getting out of hand," Mike huffed as he landed beside Erwin, "At this rate we'll be out of gas and blades before long", "I know, which is why-
"-ERWIN!"
But before Erwin could finish his sentence, the owl tackled him, knocking him off his perch with such force that the commander was winded as he fell to the ground, only just shooting his lines at the last second to stop his fall. Mike moved to stop the masked man but was blocked and deflected by the Jay twins: at the same time the Owl cut the commanders cables, dropping him several feet into a large patch of deep snow. Levi glanced to one side as he saw the owl standing over Erwin with a single blade drawn, and all at once he was furious: he broke away from Mother Dove's pursuit and made a beeline for the owl, drawing one blade and aiming so he could strike the man in the back. But at the last possible second, Mother Dove blind-sided him from the right, kicking him with such force that his hand-grips slipped out of his grasp, and the captain crashed into the snow-laden earth, tumbling ass over head before crashing into a log next to Erwin. Dove landed without loosing speed, and with her blades drawn she moved to strike the captain. All around, those who were able to witness the fight watched with bated breath and quickened heartbeats as the white huntress closed the distance at an unreal speed, "NO! STOP!" Erwin held up his hand in a desperate plea for mercy...
But in the few short seconds before she could make the killing blow, the owl suddenly boomed at the top of his voice "-ENOUGH!...".
The Dove skidded to a halt, the tips of her blades mere inches from the Captain's throat: for a tenth of a second Levi and Mother Dove locked eyes, and he could see she wasn't kidding around. There was a fierce ferocity in her gaze, the likes of which he'd never seen before: her pale brown eyes almost looked like golden amber as the sun pierced the clouds and shone down into the clearing, and they seemed to burn with a fire that promised punishment upon all who crossed her. "... Dove, enough..." the owl calmly ordered, and without a word the white huntress sheathed her blades, and stepped around to his side as she tried to calm her breathing. "THE REST OF YOU, KEEP THE SCOUTS WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM!" he shouted up to the younger hunters in the trees, "SURE THING DAD!" Raven called back: by this point the battle had been won and lost, and everyone had just been waiting for the captain and Mother Dove to finish their fight. The younger hunters kept the still-awake Scouts at a safe distance up in the canopy, while the new hunters flew down and stood by the Grey Owl's side as the commander and captain were allowed to get back up on their feet.
"I have to hand it to you Erwin, you certainly know how to up the ante..." the owl smiled beneath his mask, before his tone turned serious, "Now, where is my daughter"
Erwin blinked in surprise, "You're Magpie's father?", "And who the hell are you supposed to be?" the Captain shot the masked hunter a murderous look, "I am the Grey Owl: I am the Master Hunter of this forest". "Master Hunter?" Erwin echoed in confusion. The scene was interrupted as Boar grunted over to the group, pointing to a groggy Magpie who was just waking up, and climbing out of the wagon onto his back. "Ah good, all present and accounted for" the man in the raven mask spoke, as a flock of ten ravens flew to his side and perched at his feet and upon his shoulders. "Now, to the business at hand" the man in the hawk mask added, as a large black fork-tailed hawk swooped down and perched upon his shoulder, and Grey Owl addressed the commander "We know this day would come eventually, when the Scout's would be ordered to try and apprehend us in one form or another: but I'm afraid you're going to have to return home empty-handed. I'm sorry but we're not in a position to enter the interior just yet"
Erwin studied the man carefully, his mask didn't give anything away, but he could tell from his tone that he wasn't playing around: deciding to get straight to the point, he stated. "I'm afraid that's not going to cut it with the top brass anymore: you've already proven your existence, now, we need to know if your serious about wanting to save humanity"
"Is that you, or the top brass talking?" Dove frowned: Erwin replied "After all this time, you think I'd be this dense?" his cool gaze remained in place as he explained "The capture mission wasn't my intuitive: if it had been left to me, I'd have opted for a more peaceful solution, one that didn't require any of us to go through all this..." he gestured to the broken cables, and Shadow, who was busy picking the spear-headed barbs out of his skin, with Midnight and several of the kids lending a hand. "So why now? Why did the top brass think it necessary to try and capture us, as oppose to talking? Seems more like desperation than anything else" the Grey Owl observed. "Fears and concerns over a secondary attack by the Armored and Colossal titans have been growing recently: and those at the top deemed it necessary to try and add additional strength to our arms, by 'enlisting' your own" Erwin stated frankly, "And if you really are what you claim to be, then you'll lend your strength to humanity, and join us"
"Now wait a minute, what the hell makes you think-" the stranger in the boar mask was about to protest, but the stranger in the green cloak held his hand up to stop him. Through the eye holes in the mask, Erwin could tell the Grey Owl was studying him carefully, as if sniffing him up and down for any sign of deceit. After an uneasy moment, the Grey Owl sheathed his blades, and approached the commander to state "... With all due respect Erwin, a more peaceful solution would have been the better way to go; so how come your superiors, men who are supposedly 'in the know', seem to lack perspective on this matter? Demanding us to bend to their orders, as though we were nothing more than wild horses needing to be broken in? After all this time, and after all your indulging in our children's games and curiosity: do your superiors actually see us as potential allies? Or a liability that needs to be kept in check?"
An uneasy silence fell over the whole clearing: Hange and Mike were both taken aback, as were Levi and his squad; Erwin offered no excuses, and made no attempt to argue otherwise. From the very start he knew this would be the likeliest outcome of the mission, the question of how far the hunter's benevolence extended was the gamble here, and it would seem their well of understanding ran deep. The Grey Owl, passed a small quiet sigh behind his mask, and continued in a more sympathetic tone."... I can appreciate the position you are in Erwin, and believe me, you have my sympathy... Being out here, in the forests we call home: to not have the freedom to hunt and live so freely, is a bittersweetness we're forced to taste every time we come out here. No one can truly understand loss, until they loose something or someone most dear to them: but in the wake that follows, the fear that sets in can shape us in many ways. But, you don't have to be cruel, or a coward to face it. Sometimes, fear has a strange way of bringing us together, and making us realize just how much we all share in common; at least, that's what I've come to learn from loosing our home"
Erwin could see he was trying to make a point, but couldn't quite see what it was: he was about to ask, when Levi beat him to the punch "No offense, but what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"We stated once before that we're not enemies of mankind: and despite what's happened here today, that has not changed. We are here to help, and should the Armored and Colossal titans return, we will come to aid humanity any way we can; you have my word on that. However, if your superiors are operating under the assumption that we are a possible threat, then they're right to be cautious. We're not your enemy, but we're not weak or lacking in intelligence either; only a fool would blindly throw caution to the wind, drop his guard and offer himself up as an ally without question. That being said, it also works both ways: and we are not foolish to the fact that someone ordered our capture, despite it being plain to all but them, that this ploy was as foolish as a plan could get"
"Agreed" Erwin stated coolly, "So on that note, where do you believe we stand right now?"
The Grey Owl dipped his gaze as he pondered Erwin's question: he was about to reply, when Shadow suddenly perked up in alarm. His ears twitched back and forth as he gazed all around the forest. Whatever he was hearing, the other titans quickly picked up on it, as they too gazed all around with growing looks of surprise and dread on their faces. Seeing this, the elder hunters looked around, and stiffened the air with alarm. "DAD!" WE GOT A SERIOUS PROBLEM!" Raven shouted down from his perch high up in the canopy. Magpie quickly ran up to her father and blurted out "-He's right, I can smell them, at least a dozen approaching from the north!"
Erwin was about to ask what was wrong, but Mike answered for him "She's not kidding! I can smell them too! At least a dozen titans, and more are inbound!". Soon enough, the distant thunder of titan foot-falls confirmed it, and it didn't take long to realize more were coming from the south as well. "At this rate they'll be upon us within five minutes, maybe less" the Raven-masked stranger pointed out as his ravens took off back up into the trees, followed by the hawk. "What about the scouts, we can't just leave them!" Magpie panicked, pointing to the still-sleeping scouts who were all dangling by their lines, scattered about the canopy. "HANGE! GATHER THE REMAINDER OF YOUR SQUAD AND START WAKING THEM UP!" Levi shouted up into the canopy, but Grey Owl stepped in, "-BELAY THAT ORDER!" he boomed, before turning to the Captain and Commander, and insisting "That sleeping dust won't ware off for another good twenty minutes, and trust me, they're all in the deepest sleep imaginable: there's no way you'll be able to wake any of them up!". "Then what do you suggest we do?" Erwin demanded, "Have every able scout pull them up above twenty five meters and keep them safe until they awake, we'll lend you hand and sort out the titans: right now, you're in no position to fight" the Grey Owl stated seriously. As the vague outlines of the first titans began to appear in the distance through the trees, Erwin grabbed his hand-grips, and prepared to fly up to join the others, "It would seem we'll have to continue this discussion at a later date". "Likewise, for now though, just concentrate on surviving" the Grey Owl nodded, and took flight with the others close on his tail.
As Erwin and Grey Owl relaid their orders, everyone started grabbing a sleeping scout, and hoisting them up further into the giant trees, meanwhile, the painted titans readied to face off against the incoming hoards, that were now only minutes away...
"There's way too many of them to take out conventionally," Javorin realized as he used his powers to analyze the foot-falls, and through them, estimate the height and build of each titan, "And from the feel of it, there's got to be at least over thirty on each side; two thirds of which feel like ten meters and over". "Are there any more coming?!" Elysia worried as she spread her wings, ready to take off, Javorin sent his power out through the earth again, and sure enough, a third group was stampeding in from the east: the look on his face confirmed it. "-Shit!" Hecate hissed through her teeth as she positioned herself into a fighting stance, "If we're sticking to only fisticuffs and martial arts then we'll be here all day!". "And we can't afford to take our time either, in case Erwin decides to get clever again" Herne pointed out, "We need to do this quick!". Weighing up the options, and knowing there was no way out but one, Javorin heaved a heavy sigh as he turned to glance at the others, "...You thinking what I'm thinking?", "Like we even have a choice..." Hecate glanced back at him with an affirmative nod, Herne too, as he agreed in unison: "Wait a minute-, we're doing it? Actually doing it?!" Elysia squawked in alarm, as she quickly realized what they were talking about. "Full on magic-time kiddo," Herne confirmed with a sly grin, "That means, look before you shoot, use short controlled bursts, and for all-father's sake make sure no one get in the way!"
As he helped Mike retrieve the last of the sleeping scouts, Grey owl saw Shadow flash him a serious look, and holding up one hand, gave a sign which made the Owl's eyes widen in surprise, before farrowing into a serious look behind his mask. "What was that? A signal of some kind?" Mike frowned in concern, having seen the same gesture. "Yes, he's telling us to stay up here, it looks like this is going to get messy" he glanced over at the human hunting hound: "Oh boy! this is going to be such a treat!" Hange grinned excitedly, as she positioned herself at the end of a long sturdy branch, so as to get the clearest view possible of all four of the titans "All four painted titans fighting together as one! This should be good!" she shouted over to Erwin.
The Commander locked eyes with Shadow for a tenth of a second as he flew up into the canopy: for a brief moment, the titan regarded him with a respectful nod, as if lending his forgiveness for what happened earlier. Erwin returned the gesture, and made a mental note to not underestimate this titan for his accommodating nature.
"Herne, you help me take care of the southern titans, Elysia, you handle the eastern group, and Hecate, the northern ones are yours" Javorin ordered as he readied himself for combat, "Not a problem!" Herne grinned, "Fine by me" Hecate shrugged, "Let's get to it!" Elysia flapped her wings and took off with a determined caw that echoed through the trees.
Mike rejoined Erwin as he went to perch himself next to Hange, followed by Levi and his squad as the rest of the scouts remained with their slumbering comrades, while the younger hunters remained scattered throughout the trees. The Grey Owl and his entourage had retreated to a safe distance on the other side of the clearing, with Mother Dove standing guard at the end of a long protruding branch with her blades drawn, keeping a watchful eye on the Captain. "Captain, are you okay?" Petra asked worryingly, "I'll live" he huffed in frustration, "Right now, just make sure our people are out of harms way". "At the very least, we get to see these guys duke it out with their dumber counterparts" Gunther thought aloud, "And if Shadow can take on a whole hoard of titans single-handedly, what the hell are the other three capable of?" Mike concurred, "We'll see, but it looks like our blue-eyed boy's going to have to rely on only hand-to-hand combat to get through this, seeing as he left his spear at home" Hange smiled.
"HERE THEY COME!-" one of the scouts shouted at the top of his lungs, as the regular titans were now within range of the clearing. "Here we go" Levi frowned as he and the others braced themselves to the branch.
Within seconds, the clearing exploded as the painted titans launched themselves at the regular titans with full force: Shadow and Boar charged the group from the south, Angel swooped down at the ones from the east, and Midnight took on the northern herd single-handedly. The opening attacks were hard and fast, pushing the first line of titans back and into the others, making them topple over backwards and causing the rest to fall like dominoes: allowing the painted titans room and opportunity to maneuver. "Excellent! Just what I expected from our favorite titan killer!" Hange grinned as she leaned down over the branch to watch Shadow.
"You won't be expecting this..." Javorin smiled as he activated his power...
Suddenly, Shadow's markings glowed a vivid shade of blue and his eyes glowed white: from out of his right hand, a strange blue glowing liquid sprouted and grew, forming the shape of his trusty spear. Hange's jaw practically smashed onto the branch, and the others weren't too dissimilar as they watched in amazement. "His spear-, it-, it grew from out of his hand? From the markings themselves?!" the titan scientist gawked as she watched the spear solidify, and Shadow got to work mowing down the titans, Spartan style: "What an ability!". "Indeed" Erwin concurred.
"-LOOK OUT COMMANDER!" one scout shouted in alarm, Erwin and his entourage looked down in time to see several titans trying to climb up the tree they were perched in; but in one quick powerful jump, Midnight quickly yanked them all off, bar one, who'd somehow managed to get within range of the Commander. Levi and his squad were about to go on the defense, when the black and white titan jumped again, and lunged at the titan with a loud feral hiss as she sank her fangs into the back of his right shoulder, then letting go in order to land. The titan paused as if in shock, and the scouts watched as the titan's flesh turned pale, then deathly grey as the bite wound turned black with necrosis: Hange gasped in amazement when she noticed the bright green fluid around the puncture holes, and the distinctive scent of sweet vinegar and cucumbers, before the beast finally fell to the forest floor, paralyzed and languishing. "The paralyzing agent that slowed the titans rate of evaporation" she realized, "-It's venom!, OH MY GOD! A titan with venomous fangs?! That's so fucking amazing!", "Oh great, as if I need another reason to worry about that black and white she-demon!" Oruo deadpanned in annoyance.
"Oh, I can give you a few..." Hecate grinned slyly as she cut through the titan herd with her powerful kicks and punches. And as she spotted the next lot closing in to attack, she opted for her preferred method of disposal...
With a screeching cat-like hiss, Midnight's purple eyes lit up in a stark shade of violet, and her fingers morphed into four-meter long scythe-like claws, while her hair began to take on a life of its own as it morphed into long tentacle-like bangs, and began to dance and wave about her like weeds in a river: grabbing the smaller two and three meter class titans like an octopus, and tossing them aside like rag-dolls. "OHOHOHOHO!" Hange's grin widened as she shouted across to the hunters "HOW CAN YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN HOLDING OUT ON US LIKE THIS?! I'M SO FUCKING JEALOUS RIGHT NOW!" she gazed down at Midnight adoringly, "-Oh my sweet Sina this is way too amazing for words!". But Midnight paid no attention as she quickly turned the titans into diced meat, virtually mowing down two thirds of the whole herd, leaving little for the others to fight. "Holy shit, she's a demon alright-" Eld swallowed hard as he tried to maintain his composure, "A titan-killer like that? Hell, you certainly made the right call in not trying to capture her commander", "Look at the smile on her face..." Gunther nervously thought aloud, "...If this is her idea of fun, I don't even want to guess what'll happen if she's pissed off"
The Scouts watched on in shock and awe as the strange fight continued: Boar's own marking's glowed a bright amber as his long mane of red hair suddenly burst into flames, and he was on fire as he burned his way through the regular titans, turning them to ash within seconds, and without settling fire to anything else. While up in the canopy the air rung with thunder, and lightning flashed through the trees as Angel's marking's glowed a bright shade of ice blue, and clouds formed from out of her flank plumes and mane, as she seemed to 'carry' around a miniature storm on her back. Her eyes glowed white as lightning leapt off her back, and struck every titan in her path, paralyzing and burning them black while her flapping wings seemed to create huge gusts of wind that billowed through the forest, knocking the titans off their feet; but strangely, not seeming to touch any of the humans. The scouts were at a loss what to think; frozen to their perches, no one dared to move as the four painted titans continued to fight the remaining regulars: back to back in a coordinated offense that kept them from the tree the Commander was perched in...
But then, the fight seemed to change in a heartbeat as one titan blind-sided Midnight in the back of her right knee, making her loose her balance and fall over backwards: everyone watched in horror as her arms pin-wheeled and her elongated claws sliced right through Shadow's left arm, and Boar right arm. The two males howled in shock as they grasped the stumps in pain, and staggered back as Midnight gazed at the severed limb in shock. "OH! My poor boys! Are you both okay?!-
But Hange paused in shock when she and the others suddenly noticed the colour of the titan's blood: instead of the typical human-like dark crimson, Shadow's was glowing blue, while Boar's was glowing amber. But no one had time to confound their astonishment as another titan made a lunge for Midnight; a big fifteen meter abnormal with an unusually huge gaping maw, that latched its teeth around the black and white titan's left arm and bit down hard, eliciting an annoyed hiss from the titan. She quickly sliced off her own arm and kicked the titan off, from out of the stump of her severed limb trickled a glowing amethyst liquid: but she paid it no attention as she quickly leapt to her feet and went on the attack. Within a matter of seconds, the limbs of all three painted titans regrew, complete with their markings intact, and continued the fight unfazed.
"Their limbs..." Hange tried to catch her breath, "They-, regrew in a matter of seconds? How the hell is that possible?!", "And what's up with that blood?" Petra pointed over to where the severed arms were lying on the forest floor, "What kind of titan blood glows?!" "Witchcraft I tell ya! Witchcraft!" Oruo fretted.
Suddenly, the Scouts heard a branch snap behind them, and turned in time to see one of the rookies and his still-asleep comrade fall to the forest floor, his cries of panic echoing through the clearing. Angel dived sharply with a sudden burst of speed, catching him on her back, and banking up again. But as she cleared the ground, a regular titan snagged the fuse cord to one of the auxiliary barrel cannon's, and the device fired a load of spear-headed barbs and cables into Angel's right leg. The bird-titan screeched in shock as the pain made her jerk, and caused her to stall and crash to the forest floor; where several titans were quick to run for her. "ANGEL!-" Mother Dove cried as she took off for her, and in rapid succession the white huntress danced her way through the herd, cutting them down in a display of grace and power, before rushing to the bird-titan's side, followed by the snow twins, Magpie, and the green-cloaked hunter. Magpie and the twins took the two rookie scouts and got them back up into the trees, while Mother Dove and the other hunter assessed the wound to Angel's leg. Erwin and the others watched as the titan got up on her one good leg, clearly in pain, but gritting her teeth with determination as she powered on through. They watched as Mother Dove took off, and with an angled attack, sliced the damaged limb clean off; within seconds, her limb regrew too, and took off to rejoin the fight.
Or rather, what was left, as the last few titans were quickly dispatched, and the forest floor was now littered with steaming titan corpses everywhere; Erwin stood up, and gazed across the clearing to where the Grey Owl and his hunters were perched, the two men locked eyes with one another, and as the steam grew thick and heavy in the air, they vanished from sight. As she flew past overhead, Mother Dove turned and gazed down at the Captain one last time, before disappearing into the steam, followed closely by the green-cloaked hunter. An uneasy silence filled the air as the forest grew still, and the sun finally pierced the clouds in full, lighting up the forest in a bright pale glow: and as the steam thinned out, the clearing became visible again, and both the painted titans and hunters were gone.
Gazing around to make sure they were gone for good, everyone cautiously breathed a sigh of relief, and gazed down at the dead steaming bodies. Hange let out a nervous laugh as she fell on her ass, and took her googles off and rubbed the sweat from her forehead. "Well?..." she anxiously grinned, "I'd say that was one hell of a show, wouldn't you?", "...That's one way to put it" Levi replied, his eyes still wide in amazement, as his brain tried process everything he'd just witnessed, "...Uh, Commander? What happened?" Petra asked as she sat down next to Hange, trying in vain to make sense of the whole thing. Erwin remained frozen to his perch as his eyes reflected his stunned surprise; locked in a state of bewilderment, never in his life had he felt like this, so taken aback by-... he couldn't put it into words.
In one moment the world seemed to flip upside down, as the impossible had suddenly become reality: and the only thing spinning around his mind right now, was the question; what exactly are we dealing with?
"Commander" Mike laid a firm hand on Erwin's shoulder, nearly making him jump out of his skin as his mind was sharply brought back to reality, "We better see to the others" he suggested. "Yes, of course" Erwin turned and gazed over as the still-asleep scouts, "We better start-
"-Uh, Commander?" Gunther interrupted, "What's up with those limbs down there?" everyone on the branch gazed down, and noticed the three severed limbs from Shadow, Boar and Midnight, plus Angel's leg lying only several meters away; the glowing blood having now pooled around them. "-OH MY GOD!-" Hange propelled herself at high speed down towards the forest floor, quickly followed by the others, and several of the veteran contingent. As she landed next to Shadow's arm, Hange was totally taken aback by the sight before her: not only had the limb not evaporated, but it was still hemorrhaging blood (albeit in a tiny trickle), as was Boar's, as the bright golden liquid dripped out of the tissues and bone, and soaked into the earth. "The limbs didn't evaporate?" Mike blinked in surprise, "-Whoa!" Eld leapt back in surprise as a vine slowly grew around his feet, and crept up his leg. From out of the huge pool of Shadow's blood, a rich plethora of trees, plants and flowers were growing at an alarming speed, and as the blood pool slowly expanded, the snow and frost around it melted away, and a thick carpet of fresh spring grass and mosses spread out rapidly. "... What the hell-" Levi gazed on in shock, "-Commander!" one of the other scouts pointed to Boar's arm, and from out of the glowing amber blood grew huge crystal clusters, some as tall as a wagon, and glistening in varying shades of pink and orange and vaguely glowing with a golden aura. Midnight's arm was a strange amalgam of purples with a eerie silver moonlight-like glow: while Angel's leg was an eye-catching blend of every colour of the rainbow, and as the colours gave off their own aura, a set of miniature rainbows began to manifest over the leg, almost appearing to wrap right around it.
"What is this?" Eld breathed in amazement: Erwin approached for a closer look, when suddenly all four limbs began to slowly contract, the elbows bending slightly and the fingers bunched together into loose fists, before the markings started to glow, and the flesh began to turn into crystal; seamless and smooth as glass with the markings still in place, and glowing with auras that resembled the colour of each titan's blood, from within as well as around the four limbs. "Wh-what?!" Oruo nearly choked, "They-, turned into crystal?!" Eld blinked in surprise. Erwin stepped toward to Shadows arm, and as he laid his hand over the now glass-like surface, he felt a strange thrum vibrate through his fingers: he stood entranced as a strange feeling filled his whole body, a feeling of calm and comfort, as if a giant heartbeat were reverberating throughout his whole being, as each muffled beat washed over him, he felt the tenseness and anxiety of the fight melt away, and a feeling rejuvenation filled his body, as if waking up from a long dreamless sleep, replenished and invigorated. 'Strange...' he thought, '...What kind of power is behind this?'.
As he stepped away and turned back to his comrades, the look on Hange's face told him what was coming next: she beamed with unbridled joy as she went about ordering her section to collect blood, plant and crystal samples, and rushed back to her horse to grab her journal from out of the saddle pack. Turning to Mike, Erwin decided to take the initiative, and ordered: "Gather your section and prepare the limbs for transport", "Sir?" Mike raised an eyebrow, "We may not have attained the trophy we originally came for, but I'd say we've got a few good consolation prizes. And besides, we've witnessed something profound here today: seen things that put our original analysis of our mutual acquaintances into a very different perspective. We need to know exactly what we're dealing with", "Yes sir" Mike nodded, and headed off to round up his men.
"And what exactly are we dealing with?" Levi frowned in concern, "How much crazier is this whole thing gonna get?". "...That remains to be seen..." Erwin sighed in exhaustion, "But I doubt it's going to be straight-forward"
A short time later, several miles deep into the forest:
The gang finally stopped running when they were sure no one was following, and the scouts were well out of range and downwind of their position. Stopping to let their human family slack their parched throats, the four god-titan's paused in a small clearing a few miles shy of their base camp: and as everyone shared their water-bladders, the tenseness of the situation began to give way to worry, as Magpie suddenly burst out in a fury of emotion "HOLY FUCKING SHIT THAT WAS INSANE!-" she fumed, "I knew this was a capture mission and I volunteered an' all, but-, fuck! Did that pipsqueak really have to knock me out like that?!"
"I have to admit, that was a bit hard-handed on the Captain's part" Eraman concurred in a calmer tone, as he attended to one of his ravens. "Speaking of hard-handed..." Pascal removed his neckerchief and bandanna as he stepped over to Tyto and Carla with a disapproving frown, "What the hell happened back there?! I know you said you'd take care of Captain haughty-shorty and his squad, but nearly slicing the guy's head off? When were you gonna drop the rest of us in on that little stunt?!". But much to his surprise, Carla didn't try to make any excuses or try to down-play it: she simply stood there like a woeful child, knowing she'd nearly taken things too far. Tyto removed his mask, and gazed at her with an unreadable look, as if trying to read her, while the rest of the group watched on in concern: "I know you said you'd handle Levi, and that you wouldn't hurt him, but-..." Tyto asked in a concerned, yet calm demeanor, "Carla, what happened back there? … What were you trying to prove?"
"Wait-, you knew she wasn't going to kill him?!" West suddenly realized, but Tyto glanced back at him with a knowing look, "Well, thanks for keeping us in the loop" the former thief deadpanned.
Carla passed a disappointed sigh, as she tried to get her thoughts in order, and voice them the best way possible "...I don't know? Exactly? ...I just didn't-" she paused as she felt her mind cloud over. What did happen back there? Where did that rage suddenly come from? Carla didn't like Captain Levi at the best of times, but what happened was bordering on overkill; sure he was going to attack Tyto, he had his blade drawn to strike him, but-
And that's when it hit her. That Captain was going to strike Tyto in the back: but, did he really intend to kill him? After all the intrigue and curiosity these past few years, was he really willing to sabotage the Scouts chance of an alliance with them? Did they really consider them a threat after all? Or, had she just blown the possibility for an alliance altogether, by attacking the Captain the way she did? Either way, her actions didn't help: and as the shame began to well up inside her, Carla couldn't think straight as her emotions got the better of her, and took off back to base camp with tears in her eyes.
"Wha-, Hey!-" Pascal readied himself to go after her, but Tyto stopped him: "Let her go," he ordered, as Angel took off after her with worry: "She'll be okay". "No, she won't..." Hawk sighed in frustration as he removed his neckerchief and bandanna to rub his scarred face, "She knows she fucked up back there, damn-near loosing it like that". "She only reacted that way because the Captain was gonna stab dad in the back!" Rowan angrily pointed out, "She was acting in self-defense! And I'd have provided back-up if given half the chance!" he glared over at his father in annoyance, "You know full-well that would have made things worse, Rowan" Tyto deadpanned at him, "Seriously Rowan? Chill for a minute: you know Carla can handle herself, even against haughty-shorty" Ash placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder as he came up behind him, to which Rowan was not amused.
"Look..." Bryson sighed, "Things got tense back there: we knew they were going to try to capture Shadow and Ariana, and we knew we'd have to go on the offense. Of course Levi was going to react the way he did, he's Erwin's second shadow, the guy's loyalty to him is as unwavering as it is unquestionable. But we knew that too, so let's not go splitting hairs on what we already guessed was most likely going to go down". "Yeah, but-..." Ashlyn hesitated as she handed Hawk her water bladder, "Bryson, Carla just gave the Scouts a full-on demonstration of how good she is, she damn-near beat the Captain at his own technique! They'll be terrified to come after us now!". Tyto stepped in, stating "Carla may be one of our strongest trump cards, but she's not our only one: and I very much doubt that fight will put Erwin off from trying to find us again..." he put his mask back on, and prepared to head back to camp, "Besides, they'll have other problems to contend with: once they get those severed limbs back to Trost" he took off, calling over his shoulder, "Come on back when your ready! I'm going to make sure Dove didn't wander off too far!"
The other's all stood there for a brief moment, before Dale broke the silence: "You know? As nerve-wracking as that fight was to watch, that's not what worried me the most..." he gazed up at the god-titan's with a serious frown, "Where the hell did all those titan's come from? We knew where the Scouts were setting up the trap, and cleared the surrounding forest in preparation for them. It should've been just us and them!". Clay interjected "We even put three repelling charms in place, each two miles from their position, just to make sure no titans would come up from the plains and down from the highlands: and the predawn count only turned up about half a dozen eight miles to the west of the trap site"
Ariana gazed back through the forest, as a sinking feeling of dread began to fill her stomach: "But then, where did they come from? We turned up nothing along Wall Maria, there's no second breach: so where are the titans all coming from?". Shadow kneeled down next to her with an equally concerned frown, and spelled out with his light-smoke :I don't know, but the fact we didn't pick them up until they were several leagues from our position is worrying. I didn't even feel them:
Everyone gazed up at Shadow in alarm; the god-titan's ability to use his power as a form of long-distant sonar, as well as 'listen' through the roots of trees, grass and other plants was the gang's best form of early titan-detection. Titans that were beyond the gaze and ears of a human many miles away, over grassland and plains, over hillsides and through valleys, and even on the other side of mountains: seldom ever escaped Shadow's notice; as well as all the other god-titan's who's elemental power over the earth afforded them the same basic trick. But what happened back at the clearing was unprecedented: Shadow never missed a titan that was wandering that close, never mind three separate herds charging all at once, and from three different directions too.
"Wait a sec..." Lucius frowned as the cogs in his head began to turn: he glanced up at Shadow and asked "You told us once that your power to 'hear' the titans approaching depended largely on the abundance of plants and trees in any given area, as well as the kind of ground the titans are walking on, in relation to the ground your standing on at the moment you hear them moving. If you couldn't hear them, then is it possible something in the earth could've been blocking the sounds of their footsteps from getting through?"
Shadow's eyes widened in a look of surprise for a moment, before his gaze cast downwards, flitting back and forth as he tried to think: his brows furrowing into a look of serious thought, before he held up his hand to spell out :It's possible, but the obstacle in question would have to be huge. Something that would cover several miles in diameter at least:
"Is there any kinda rock that can do that?" Dale piped in, :That's just it: Boar stepped in as he spelt out with his golden smoke-light :There shouldn't be. Between me and Shadow, our power over the earth allows us to 'read' every kind of rock, stone, gem, crystal and metal ore there is. Anything that is of the earth, is not beyond our sight or control:
"But if that's the case," Dale began to realize "And you couldn't 'see' or 'hear' through the obstacle, that can only mean it's unnatural in nature. In other words, it didn't originate from the earth: someone or something put it there"
Everyone stood there in silence for a moment, as they tried to comprehend what was being suggested: "What do you mean 'someone or something put it there'? Are you saying it could be something that humans built, Dale?" Rowan asked with a slight hint of apprehension in his voice. "Why not?" Dale glanced over at him, serious, yet also nervous, "Think about it: the city of Omnes Scientism was carved out of the heart of a whole mountain, the island of Yggdrasil has a town built into, around, and in the canopy of the trees, and let's not forget the walls themselves; they stretch for miles and miles, over mountains, through valleys, across plains, encompassing a whole kingdom within their circumference. If humans could build things like that, hundreds, even thousands of years ago? What else was humanity capable of?" he turned to one side, gazing down at the frozen ground around his feet, "...For all the knowledge and wisdom at our disposal, we still don't know what's really out there: hell, we don't know what could be buried beneath our very feet: within the walls of this very kingdom" He gazed over at everyone, "What knowledge was lost of those ancient times? What kind of world were we made to forget?"
"And if it's something that's allowing the titans to enter Maria undetected, then maybe this is something we should look into?" Gale threw in. "It would be prudent to bring this before the Queen and the Keeper: this is something they'll want to know about" Eraman concurred.
"But what about the Scouts? We still need to address the issue of introducing them to magic" Fox pointed out. :That's already been taken care of: Midnight spelled out.
"Huh? How?" the eldest of the young hunters blinked in surprise, to which Shyla smiled beneath her neckerchief, "I'll explain later, right now, we better get back to camp: the Hunt's way over in the Heide valley, and we've got a long trek ahead if we're gonna catch up to them"
"Good idea, we better get going" Bryson shot his lines, and took off back to camp, followed by everyone else, with the god-titan's bringing up the rear. "Do you really think there could be some man-made structure buried deep beneath the earth, that's been blocking your power this whole time?" Hecate asked offhand as Ash, Rowan and Dale flew up and perched on her shoulder, as she started to jog after the gang. "Maybe? Who knows? There could well be something we've missed; but I don't see how that relates to the sudden increase in the titan's numbers. If it was a tunnel that'd be one thing, even during the day a titan might have enough energy absorbed from the sun to able to trek underground for a long period of time without falling dormant. But how would you hide such a structure from a god that's got dominion over the earth?" Javorin thought aloud as he jogged alongside her with Ariana and the Willum kids on his shoulders, "Maybe that's it" Hecate glanced over at him, "We've been gone a long time: if it's man-made, it's something that wasn't built to avoid the eyes of a god, but something else"
"But if that's the case, what else can 'see' through the earth the same way we can?" Herne frowned in concern, "... What could be powerful enough to match a god?"
"I don't know: but whatever it could be, Aureia's going to want to find out about it" Hecate frowned.
Later that day, back in Trost:
The sight of the Scouts returning ragged and tired was nothing new to the people of the walled city: however, the sight of the strange crystallized titan limbs tied down to the beds of the largest carts drew more than a few weird and curious stares from onlookers. And as they entered through the gates of the military base, many of the MP's and Garrison troops couldn't help but wander over for a closer look. Hange wasted no time in promptly turning the base's supply depot into a make-shift laboratory, and having all four limbs moved inside: the titan-scientist was as giddy as a young girl who'd just been asked to the harvest festival by her sweetheart, as she feverishly rushed back and forth between her lab and the depot, collecting as much equipment as her arms could carry: aided by her assistant Moblit, and the Levi squad, who'd been assigned to keep an eye on the limbs and help Hange in any way.
Up in his office, Erwin wasted no time getting a start on the paperwork for the mission report: he knew the Premier was going want an explanation as to why the Scout's returned empty-handed, but it probably wouldn't be unlikely that he'd want to see the crystallized limbs for himself. Somehow, Erwin had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that this was not going to be as straightforward as the all the other times they'd returned home with 'samples' of the painted titans. What he and the scouts witnessed out in the forest was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before: and it was made all the more confounding that over two third of all the troops present were fast asleep.
Levi's distinctive knock at the door announced the Captain's arrival, as he came in and sat himself down at the desk across from Erwin: the look in his eyes left nothing to the commander's imagination. "I take it Hange's keeping your squad busy" he observed offhand, "And then some," the sour-faced Captain huffed in exhaustion, "Some of the guys from Mike's section have just finished rearranging the crates in the depot to make more room, not that the garrison are pleased about it: then again, they were all too busy gawking at the 'samples' to really concentrate on giving a shit". "Has the depot been adequately secured and cleared of all non-essential personnel?" the Commander asked, "I had a word with the garrison's section commander in charge, and he's promised not to get under our feet too much: Hange's wasting no time in getting to work, so be prepared for a shit-ton of data-reports by morning..." Levi replied.
An uneasy silence fell over the office for a moment, as the Captain thought about what happened back in the forest: glancing up and studying Erwin, he could tell the commander was deep in thought as he began writing the mission report. The cog's in his head going at full tilt as he tried to piece together what had been witnessed, while still retaining that stone cold poker face of his; calm, collected, yet his eyes betrayed his vexed thoughts. Deciding to hell with it, Levi let loose a heavy sigh, as he decided to air his thoughts: "... Erwin...I know this goes without saying: but just-, what exactly did we witness back there?"
Erwin paused in his writing and gazed up at Levi, he knew he didn't call him by his first name unless it was serious: since there was no real point in pretending to know, Erwin leaned back in his chair as he bluntly thought aloud "...I honestly don't know...I thought-, for a while I thought I knew, we all did: now I'm not so sure. But like I said, we will get to the bottom of this mystery, and try to get a better understanding of what we're dealing with". "After what we saw today, do you really think it's a good idea? For all we know we might be walking into a shit-load of trouble we're not prepared to deal with" Levi reasoned, "Maybe, but we won't know for certain unless we try: we'll start with the limbs, see what Hange turns up, and take it from there; we won't go rushing head-long into our next course of action". "Could've fooled me" Levi dryly scoffed, to which the commander ignored, "Whoever thought this capture mission would succeed doesn't have their head screwed on right: do we even know who Zachary got his order from?" the captain frowned, "Someone in the government I suspect, since he takes his orders from them and no one else: he is the Premier after all, he's the highest military authority in the kingdom".
"For sure, but if this person thought it was okay to order a capture mission under the assumption that it would succeed, what's to say they won't order us to go after the hunters again? And try for something more elaborate? They may not be so forgiving next time, and could well make a point of giving more than just a warning..." Levi pointed out, as the memory of Mother Dove came to mind. In all his time with the scouts, Levi had never come across anyone who even came close to matching his speed, dexterity and skills: save for Mike, and the special operations squad. But it wasn't just skill, speed and strength, it more than that: he remembered the look in her eyes; that fierce look of determination that held as much wrath as it did will. And for the first time in a very long time, Levi was faced with the prospect of having to contend with someone who could well take him on in a fight, and possibly win. He knew Erwin was already aware of this, having seen the airborne fight between her and him: and was probably thinking the same thing he was: "...Do you think, she was a scout at one point? Mother Dove I mean"
"If she was, she's one of the finest we've seen yet" Erwin commented, "Which makes me wonder: how does a scout that good slip out of the military and go AWOL? Someone of her calibre would've been a section commander by now. Someone of that skill-set would have drawn a lot of attention at some point" he contemplated aloud, "Which is why I'll also be sending a request to see recruit personnel files from the academy, going back at least fifteen years: whoever Mother Dove is, she's bound to have left an impression on someone, somewhere"
"For sure..." Levi nodded. He was about to get up and leave, when suddenly, something else come to mind; something he'd pushed aside and all but forgotten about, until now: "...Hey; you remember that old scuttlebutt that went around the barracks a while back, the one about the eyewitnesses from Shiganshina seeing a lone scout take off into battle against the titans? The day the Armoured and Colossal titans attacked?"
Erwin frowned in bemusement, "You think it might have been her?"
"Maybe? Who can say? I thought it was horse-shit at the time since we were nowhere near Shiganshina that day: but if she was military, and really went AWOL, and just happened to be in Shiganshina when the titans attacked, then the timing was-
The Captain paused as his mind suddenly put two and two together, gazing at Erwin in alarm: he saw the commander had come to the same conclusion, as his eyes were suddenly filled with the same look of realization, before turning into a serious frown. "...Indeed, suspicious..." Erwin stroked his chin for a moment, before looking Levi in the eye and ordering, "Levi, I have a new mission assignment for you and your squad, for when we're not out in Maria..."
Meanwhile, down in the depot:
"Unbelievable! We've only been back a few hours, and already we've gathered enough data to keep the scribes in Mitras busy for the next two years at least!" Hange grinned as she furiously scribbled away in her notebook, while Moblit placed another pile of notes down on the desk across from her, "If that, I doubt they'll be able to make sense of even half of what we've gathered" he sighed as picked up a fresh lot of sheets and freshly sharpened writing stick.
"He's right Hange, what the hell is anyone supposed to make of this? Magic?" Petra raised an eyebrow as she took notes of a sprouting tree that was growing out of a small beaker of Shadow's blood, "Because right now, that's the only thing that comes to mind here". "Oh nonsense!" Hange chuckled as she waved her off dismissively, "Granted we're dealing with an extremely bizarre phenomenon here, and no doubt there is some, as of yet, undiscovered biology at work, but magic? Please". "I don't know Hange?" Gunther sighed doubtfully as he took measurements of the fingers on Boar's arm, "That's not how some people might see it: not everyone's a scientist, remember?"
"Oh yeah, that..." the titan-scientist deadpanned in annoyance, before perking up again: "Still, it can't be denied we've made some great strides in last few years, thanks in no small part to our forest-dwelling friends; just think of all the secrets they could be holding out on us! If today is anything to go by, then what might we discover on our next expedition?"
"Probably nothing" Eld sighed offhand, Hange nearly choked as she gazed up from her notes in alarm, "What?!" she exclaimed in dismay, "-What do you mean nothing?!"
"Well? After what happened today, the hunters will probably keep their distance from us: and after the way we handled things, I wouldn't blame them" Eld explained with a sympathetic shrug: hearing this, Hange calmed a little as he continued, "For all we know? They may not want to approach us anymore, except to spy on us from their hiding spots. I hate to say it guys, but if there really was an alliance on the cards between us and them, it's fair to say that option's now well and truly flown out the window"
Hange sat there in surprise for a moment, before a look of sheer disappointment darkened her once beaming face: heaving a heavy sigh, her shoulder's drooped as she placed her quill on the desk, and she rubbed her forehead warily: "...Your right Eld..." she admitted woefully, "Granted, we knew the capture mission could fail somehow: but after that altercation between Levi and Mother Dove? there's now a good chance she'll never let any of the kids anywhere near us again. And to think, today could well have been the last time we ever see the painted titans up close" she despaired.
"You know, I still can't get over how good she is" Petra piped in, "The way she matched the Captain's speed, dodged his attacks and cut him off the way she did? She's got to be a former scout for sure". "Agreed, but someone as good as her? I would have remembered her for sure, even if she did attend the academy before we did" Gunther added offhand. "And if she really is former military, why did she leave? There's no way she'd have been honourably discharged, unless she had a career-ending injury of some kind" Eld agreed. "Unless she was dishonourably discharged for misconduct!" Oruo scoffed. "A talented ODM gear user like her being dishonourably discharged? It would have had to have been one hell of a misdemeanour for the military to let someone as promising as her go; beggars can't be chooser's, and the military doesn't let recruits as good as her go to waste" Gunther pointed out. "... Unless she wasn't military to begin with," Petra suddenly realized, "Huh?" Oruo raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Think about it" the red-headed scout explained "Remember all that scuttlebutt we heard about Captain Levi? About when he first got recruited by Erwin? He was a pro on the ODM gear right off the bat, and he wasn't military to begin with"
"Hey, yeah..." Hange suddenly snapped out of her depression, as she began to think aloud, "As I recall, Erwin recruited him from the underground district: they don't issue surface permits to anyone down there unless you got the cash to buy one, so Levi wouldn't have been eligible to attend the academy in the first place. So either he learnt to use ODM gear himself, or someone taught him. Either way, it's totally possible Mother Dove could have done the same"
"Learning to use ODM gear is one thing: learning to kill titans is a whole other kettle of fish" Eld pointed out, "How would you go about something like that outside of the academy? Without adequate dummy titans to practise on, how would you learn the basics of a standard attack, evasion and recovery?"
As she thought about it, Hange suddenly got a brainwave "... Unless, they had something better than a wooden dummy titan, they had the next best thing to a regular titan all along: and not just one, but four!". "The Hunters and Painted titans Training together? That would make sense" Moblit added as he thought aloud, "It could also explain how Magpie and Mother Dove are so good on ODM gear, since they're the only two hunters we've seen in action thus far; training to kill a regular titan would be one thing, but training with an intelligent titan is something on a whole other level". "That's true..." Hange pondered aloud, before her crazy smile returned, and grabbed one of her other journal's to write down some notes, "Holy hell! I can't believe I didn't think of that before! Thanks Moblit!"
Petra was about to say something else, when something suddenly caught her eye, across the depot floor near to Shadow's arm: "-Uh, Hange? Something's happening with that beaker of blood..."
Early the next morning, Trost:
As the sounds of the city stirred him from a dreamless sleep, Erwin rolled over on his back, and stretched his arms above his head, dispelling all the cricks and stiffness from the night's rest. But as his arms brushed up against the headboard, something else touched his skin. Blinking his heavy eyelids open, he stared up at the headboard in confusion; there were several small leafy twigs sticking out of the panels and posts. He lay there in dumbfoundedness for a moment, staring up at the foliage in further confusion, before his brain suddenly snapped out of its stupor, and he shot up and out from under the covers in alarm.
The twigs were not glued or nailed to the wooden headboard: they had grown out of the wood itself, and had not only sprouted leaves, but were laden with nuts too. Gazing down at the rest of the bed-frame, the commander was even more taken aback to see more foliage had sprouted, all along the side rails, and all over the footboard, and all four corner posts had grown into thick sturdy branches with crowns of thick greenery. "...What-..." was all Erwin could utter as his eyes virtually widened into the size of dinner plates. Gazing around his personal quarters, he was further flummoxed to see his wardrobe, chest of draws, and even the Ottoman at the foot of the bed had twigs and branches growing out of them too. And entwined around them, were thick bushes of ivy and wild honeysuckle with long snaking tendrils creeping up the walls and across the ceiling, covering half the room in a lush pallet of green: even the door, its frame, window frames and bedside table were covered in small twigs and branches.
Everything made of wood, had seemingly come back to life, and began growing of it's own accord. The sound of footsteps running down the corridor towards his room snapped him back to reality, followed by a fast rapping on the door, as Mike hurriedly burst into the room, "Commander! Wake up! We've got a situation in-
But the section commander stopped, as he saw Erwin sitting in his bed, staring at him in mix of alarm and confusion. "-Ah, I see you've already noticed" he nodded with a sigh of relief, "We've got a situation that really needs your attention" he added with hesitation.
Erwin was up, washed and dressed in record time before Mike lead the way from his quarters to the courtyard outside. The sight before them was chaotic and confusing to say the least: both the garrison and scouts were hurriedly rushing back and forth in and out of the depot, carrying crates and boxes that were sprouting twigs and small branches all over, while others were carrying chairs, tables, desks and other pieces of furniture outside, all of which were sporting their own greenery too, that had grown too tall and too thick to fit inside. Even the stables were in chaos as the wagons and carts were turning into saplings, while the horses had to be removed from their stalls while the troops tried to hack back the encroaching forest with their pairing blades: meanwhile, said horses were happily munching away on all the abundant leaves, while every human in the vicinity was trying desperately to clear what they could from out of the courtyard and building. Gazing upwards to the upper levels above the cloisters, Erwin was further astounded to see trees and bushes growing out of open windows, and along the top of the outer wall: and off to one side, he saw a handful of troops shoo out several squirrel's and birds from the foliage that was growing out of one of the rooms by the officer's lounge.
"It started last night in the depot" Mike explained, "Hange and Levi's squad observed some 'unusual' activity in one of the blood specimens taken from Shadow's arm: one of the table's started growing twigs and branches, so she decided to leave it be and see what happens. Then some time half an hour ago, this all happened..." he gestured to the whole courtyard, "We reckon the more advanced growth must have been going on throughout the night, but in all that time no one heard anything; everyone slept throughout the entire event"
"Where's Hange now?" Erwin ordered, but his question was soon answered as the titan-scientist emerged from the depot, carrying a large box containing Shadow's blood samples. "Careful everyone! Valuable specimens coming through!" she cried out as she tried to maneuver past some of the garrison troops, while Moblit was trying to clear a path for her: but then, one of the younger rookies tripped up on a stray tendril of ivy that was snaking up his leg, and fell head-long into Hange's side. Hange yelled in surprise as she fell over, the box went flying out of her arms, and the beakers containing the blood samples smashed on the paved ground, sending the glowing blue blood splashing everywhere. All at once, plants and trees erupted out from beneath the paving slabs, pushing them up and out of the way as a small lush forest burst forth with amazing speed, quickly covering the small section of courtyard in greenery, while all around, everything made of wood began growing faster and wilder, turning into trees and large bushes. Everyone scrambled to get out of the way, and further panic ensued as some rushed to start hacking back the trees before they grew too big and too thick for the pairing blades to slice through.
Mike and Erwin quickly moved to get out of the way, but didn't get very far as some ivy and wild honeysuckle snagged them by the legs: "I daren't say, but this is going to take a while" Mike huffed as he ripped the creeping vines off his legs, "We already sent out troops to the surrounding woodlands near the city to see if they could get a hold of any foresters. Another lot went out to the iron-smiths to see if they could find any wood-axes and hatchets; at this rate we'll be all out of pairing blades before long". "Fine" Erwin agreed as he tugged at the last of the ivy, "But where did Levi get to?". "Oh, he's kinda holed up: somehow, a family of Hedgehogs found their way into his quarters last night and decided to set up home under his bed; he's been trying to shoo them out all morning" Mike replied offhand.
At that moment, a fox and a few pine martins raced passed the commander and section commander, being chased by a rookie garrison troop, while heading in the other direction, one of the scout rookies was chasing a small fallow deer and a few pheasants, "Sorry sir! Can't stop!" he quickly saluted as he rushed by. "That's another thing..." Mike gestured to the various woodland animals running around and being chased, while up in the canopy of the trees, a variety of birds were singing and flitting about: "We've no idea how the hell they all got in: they just seemed to appear at the same time the wood started sprouting". "Stay on top of it, and keep me abreast if anything else transpires" Erwin stated as he strode off in Hange's direction, "Will do" Mike huffed as he headed off to try and locate his squad.
After pushing his way through the thick greenery and tangle of panicking troops, Erwin finally found Hange still laying on the ground, tangled in a whole mess of vines and creepers, unable to move: while poor Moblit was ensnared by brambles , "Uh-, a little help please? Erwin?" Hange sheepishly grinned: the commander glanced down at her with a dry deadpan gaze, before whipping out his standard-issued pocket-knife, and got to work cutting up the vines and brambles. "Okay, so Shadow's blood kinda proved to be a little more 'potent' on ambient plant life than first expected" she smiled as she tried to rip away the vines with her one free arm, "That's an understatement" Erwin deadpanned, "But on the plus-side, think of the potential this could have for the agriculture of our kingdom: if we encounter a bad season with a poor harvest, like the one last year?, a few drops of this in the soil and we'd be up to our eyeballs in a harvest that could last the whole year! Maybe more! The question is figuring out how to control it: propagating the crops required and not just have random species popping up left right and centre" she elaborated. "One thing at a time..." Erwin replied as he cut away the last of the vines, and helped Hange back up on her feet, who turned to help Moblit up too: "Was there anything else you were able to glean from Shadow's arm?" the commander pressed her, "Oh plenty!" Hange grinned, "-But, suffice to say, it'll take forever to explain all the details: and I haven't even started on the other limbs yet!" she gazed around at the fast-growing plant-life, "The work kinda got a little side-tracked when-, well? This happened!" she gestured to the forested courtyard.
"ERWIN!?" a familiar voice interrupted: turning around, both Erwin and Hange were surprised to see commander Pyxis trampling his way through the thick undergrowth: upon finally reaching them, the commander whipped out his flask and took a swig of his favourite tipple, before addressing Erwin in a mix of confusion and astonishment "-Finally! I received a messenger before dawn, claiming that a forest was growing out of the base! The fact he wasn't drunk is the only reason I dragged myself over here: What the hell is going on?". Passing a quiet sigh of frustration, Erwin gestured for him to follow: "Let's go up to my office, I'd rather not talk about it out here" he turned back to Hange and ordered, "Help clean this mess up, and then get straight back to work on the specimens"
"Uh-, Yeah, right away sir" Hange nodded, and as the two commanders headed back inside, a commotion from the entrance to the depot grabbed her attention: from out of the huge double doors, the Levi squad emerged. Oruo was being chased by a small bear, Eld was trying to shoo out a small herd of deer, Gunther was trying and failing to grab a trio of squirrels that were running up and down all over him, all the while cursing left and right, while Petra calmly walked out with six baby rabbits in her arms. "Seriously guys? This isn't cannon science you know?" she huffed in exasperation as she set the bunnies down and let them scamper off, "Easy for you to say! You know how to sweet-talk rabbits!" Oruo shouted over his shoulder as the bear chased him out of the courtyard. "Well, at least the depot is cleared and secured," Eld huffed as he paused to catch his breath. "SOMEONE!-" one of the garrison rookies shouted from behind them, inside the depot, "ANYONE! I NEED SOME HELP HERE! A MOUNTAIN CAT GOT IN THE DEPOT AND FOUND THE BADGERS! THERE'S BLOOD EVERYWHERE!"
Petra and Eld gazed at one another in horror: both grimaced and sighed in exasperation. Hange couldn't help but sigh herself: "...This is going to be a long day"
Some time later:
Pyxis sat in his chair, staring at Erwin with his poker-face in place, meanwhile, Erwin simply returned his gaze with a look that relayed the incredulousness of the whole situation.
"You do realize Zachary is going to want to see all this in person, right?" Pyxis stated incredulously, "Hell, I just saw it for myself, and I still don't believe it!"
"I'm aware of that, which is why I'll be adding some additional recommendations to my report" Erwin replied. Pyxis let out the long drawn-out sigh he'd been holding in, and slumped back in his chair in exasperation: pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to think straight "...Titan's with powers never before seen by mankind; what are we getting ourselves into here? And who the hell thought it'd be a good idea to capture one of them in the first place?" he exclaimed. "That remains to be seen" Erwin added, "For now, we need to seriously reconsider our previous analysis of the painted titans: and possibly the hunters too, as there is no telling what they may be capable of"
Pyxis paused for a moment, before continuing in a more laxed but still wary tone "...Erwin, I don't doubt what you saw in the forest yesterday: you're a lot of things but a frivolous liar isn't one of them. But still, this is going to be a huge pill for the higher-ups to swallow, even Zackley will be hard-pressed to take this at face value. And then there's the conundrum of what the government's going to do when they get wind of this"
"I know, which is why I have submitted a request for a Priority-1 classification: eye's only for those concerned, and not to be submitted for royal analysis unless at the Premier's own discretion"
"Hm... Any other time I'd say that's a going a bit overboard, but given the 'unique' circumstances at hand, I'd say that's probably a safe move" Pyxis sighed as he folded his arms, "At the least, it'll help keep things from spiraling out of control..." the commander then stated in a more serious tone "But you do realize, having explained everything that's been going these last few years, I have to seriously question if your line of investigation into the hunters and their giant friends is really worth it. Don't get me wrong Erwin, the offer of an alliance is huge, humans fighting fire with fire is a bold and unconventional move, and one that could well turn the tide for humanity; but as the old saying goes, if it seems too good to be true, that's because it usually is. I'm not saying the hunters are a threat, we don't know that for sure: I'd certainly like to believe they're here to help; but given what happened yesterday, I'd say it would be more prudent to step back and think this whole thing through. At the very least, try to rethink your original plan"
Erwin sat back in his chair as he contemplated Pyxis's logic, he wanted to agree, but that familiar nagging thought in the back of his mind made him think otherwise "I agree, in as much the next expedition will be restructured differently: however..." he paused, before allowing his true thoughts to come to the fore "...There's still something about this that makes no sense, a question that's been vexing me for a while now... I'm sorry, but I really can't say more than that"
"...I see..." Pyxis sighed as he studied the commander, before letting his gaze drop, "Well, I guess we're just going to have to trust you to make the right choice: but then, I guess that goes for me too now..." he got up to leave, but stopped as he approached the door "Erwin..." Pyxis turned around and gazed at him, "Do you really believe they're here to help? Despite everything you and your scouts have experienced these past few years, you really think these hunters and their painted titans will come to help if humanity is faced with extinction a second time around?"
"I believe so, yes" the commander stated without hesitation.
"And is this you're latest gamble?"
"...Yes"
"Hm..." Pyxis couldn't help but smile, as he turned the door knob, "Whoever is smiling down on you, must either really love you, or hate you. Either way, I hope you're not wrong", and with that he took his leave, closing the door behind him.
Turning his chair to gaze out the window, which was surrounded by leaves and twigs growing out of the frame, Erwin contemplated his discussion with Pyxis, and had to wonder if indeed, he was making the right decision. This was by far, the biggest gamble he'd undertaken yet; and it all hinged on one person...
"Whoever you are..." he figuratively spoke to Mother Dove, "...I hope, we can still talk..."
Later that day:
It wasn't until mid-day when things had finally started to settle down, whatever strange power had caused the forest to sprout from all the wooden items in the base, seemed to suddenly cut out, and the trees, grasses and bushes stopped growing: leaving every available hand to start taking back the base. Pairing blades, axes, hatchets and saws felled the timber, and little by little the courtyard, cloisters, corridors and depot were cleared out, and all the woodland animals that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, began to flee the into the city.
However, the strange phenomenon hadn't gone unnoticed to the rest of Trost, as a large crowd of bewildered and confused onlookers were gawking up at the tall trees that were peering over the top of the outer walls, plus all the creeping vines and bushes that had covered the building's stonework in a rich pallet of greens. It was the gossip of the day in all the market squares and inns, as the trees could be seen from virtually all over the city. Some speculated it to be witchcraft of some kind, other's proposed that it was some kind of science gone haywire, while most just didn't know what to make of it; either way, the Garrison made a small tidy fortune in selling timber that day: which Pyxis promptly added to the base's budget, as the repair work to the courtyard's paving and walls alone was going to really pinch the military's purse-strings.
In the depot, Hange and the Levi squad had managed to clear out the last of the rampant flora, just as Levi stepped off the elevator: looking like he'd gone a few rounds with a whole hoard of titans. "Hey Captain, I take it you finally managed to get the hedgehogs to leave?" Petra smiled as she swept the last of the leaf-litter out the main doors, before Oruo and Gunther closed them shut. "You have no idea..." the captain grimaced, before straightening up, regaining his composure, and changing the subject "So, what's the situation?".
"Pretty good, we got things back in order, and Hange's just about to get started on the next lot of data-collection" Gunther replied, as the squad put their brooms to one side and headed over to where Hange was in the corner with Moblit, adjacent to the four crystal titan limbs with one extra long dining table serving as the main laboratory; stacked with her notebooks, journals, papers, microscope, and an assortment of other items one was likely to find in a doctors lab or apothecary. "Indeed," the titan-scientist grinned enthusiastically: despite the chaos of earlier, she was still as giddy as a little kid waking up to a birthday full of gifts and treats, "And despite things getting a little crazy this morning, fortunately the other samples managed to survive!" she gestured to the other beakers of titan blood, all still glowing with their aura's. She picked up one containing some of Boar's blood, and placed it on the table: suddenly, a small formation of crystals began to slowly grow from out of the golden blood; shimmering in hues of pink, peach and orange. Boar's arm was covered in them, particularly around the wound: some had grown up to a meter or so in length, and glowed in the same amber radiance that lit up the whole depot, as if it were illuminated by a thousand candles.
"What's with the glow?" Levi squinted, as his eye's adjusted to the light, "And are we going to have to worry about the whole base turning into a big-ass crystal beacon?"
"Thus far I don't think so, the crystals rate of growth is considerably slower than all the plants that sprouted out of Shadow's blood: those crystals on the limbs weren't there yesterday" Hange pointed to the limb, "I think it's safe to say that if they start to become unruly, we'll have ample time to sort something out"
"Hm," Oruo raised an eyebrow as he stepped over to the arm, and picked one of the loose crystals up off the floor for a closer inspection "Rather pretty, wouldn't you say? I'll bet all the upper crusts in Mitras would pay a fortune to own jewellery made from this" he grinned. Eld said something in reply, but Oruo didn't quite hear as a sudden sharp irritation in his nasal cavity forced his lungs to draw in a deep breath of air, and he abruptly sneezed, nearly doubling over, but managed to correct himself; "Ugh, excuse me..." he breathed in relief as he inhaled hard, his eyes still closed. Suddenly, he realized something was different "Hey, is it just me or is it a little hot in here?" he loosened his cravat, trying to let the air get to his neck: but the sound of Petra shrieking in terror nearly made him jump out of his skin, followed by the panicked shouts of the rest of his comrades, "-WHAT THE HELL?!" Eld gawked, "QUICKLY! FETCH SOME WATER! AND THE BASE MEDICS WHILE YOUR AT IT!" Hange barked at Moblit, "Take off your cloaks and try to douse the flames!" Levi ordered sharply "What?! There's a fire? Where?!" Oruo looked all around in a panic, only to nearly have a heart-attack when he realized he was the one on fire; his entire body was covered in flames that were reaching up and licking the ceiling of the depot.
Completely loosing it, Oruo shrieked in horror, throwing his arms up, and consequently the throwing the crystal up against the wall: and in the blink of an eye the flames went completely out. A stunned silence filled the depot, as everyone stared at Oruo in confusion and disbelief: "Wha-...What just happened?" the man blurted out in wide-eyed bewilderment. Hange cautiously approached, and inspected him up and down "...Unbelievable" she breathed in amazement, "You-, were completely covered in flames! But your clothes aren't even scorched, and your skin shows no sign of any burns!" she inspected his hands and face. "What the hell just happened?!" Petra gasped in worry, "Check the depot for any sign of the ignition" Levi ordered, "-Actually..." Hange interrupted as she quickly returned to the table to fetch a long set of metal tongs, and picked up the crystal Oruo had thrown, "I think you were holding it". "What?!" Oruo gawked. Hange explained "When you sneezed just now, I noticed a flash of light in your hand, the one holding the crystal," she held up his right hand by his cuff, "And although it was fast, I clearly saw the flames spread out from your hand to the rest your body, and the second this crystal flew out of your grasp, poof! The flames went out!".
"Wait a sec-" Levi blinked in surprise, not entirely sure he heard her correctly, "The crystal set him on fire, yet it didn't burn him?", "That-, make no sense what-so ever!" Oruo frowned. Looking at the crystal, Hange pondered for a quick few seconds, before grabbing one of the candles on the table and holding it under the crystal: "Hmm, doesn't seem to take to fire: which is weird, considering what just happened" Hange thought aloud with eyebrows furrowed, deep in thought as the cogs in her mind went full tilt, before she smiled "...Okay guys, stand by for any craziness, I'm making a bold call in the name of science!" she dropped the crystal into her free hand, and grasp it tightly: the other's flinched, half-expecting something to happen. "Uh, Hange? what're you doing?" Petra asked worryingly, "I swear, if some other crazy shit happens-" Levi was about to go off, but the scientist paid no attention as she stared at the crystal, trying to figure out what had triggered the ignition: but then, something seemed to occur to her, as she perked up at Oruo, asking him "Oruo, what were you doing when you were holding the crystal?"
"Huh?" he raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Was there anything you were doing in particular?" she pressed him: "Ah, well?" he tried to recall, "Not really? Only, just thinking that it's chilly down here, and that I'd rather be next to the hearth in the mess hall right now". "Huh..." Hange blankly nodded, before grinning "Okay! Everyone stand back!" she stared at the crystal again, and grasped it in both hands: imagining the mess hall fireplace, glowing nice and toasty with a roaring fire. "Okay crystal, I'm a little chilly, and need warming up!"
And with a spark suddenly jumping from the crystal onto her chest, Hange was suddenly engulfed with flames: everyone jumped back with surprised yelps yet again, and Hange let out a shocked squeak as she fought the urge to flail about. But to everyone's shock, and her's, she wasn't burning. The flames were dancing off her, as if her whole body were a candle wick, and yet her clothes and skin were completely fine, instead, her whole body was encased in a radiant amber aura, and her hair was dancing about as the flames carried them up into the air, as if she were being blasted by a strong wind from beneath. "WHAT?!" Gunther gawked, "No way..." Eld breathed, while a crazy smile lit up Hange's face. "Oh wow! It's hot, but it's not burning!" she looked herself up and down, "Guy's, this is INCREDIBLE!" she pumped her fists in the air, but as she did so, the fire burst outwards, nearly engulfing Moblit and the Levi squad, all of whom bolted for the depot entrance in an attempt to try and escape the now encroaching inferno, "HEY! PULL IT BACK SHITTY-GLASSES!" Levi barked as he and Gunther tried to unbolt the doors, "Wha?!-" Hange looked around, and was horrified to see the fire was spreading to the rest of the depot, and towards her friends, "WHAT?! NO! STOP!" she panicked, and in the blink of an eye the fire extinguished itself, and was completely out: with nothing seemingly being burnt, singed or even scorched, save for a few wisps of smoke trailing along the ceiling.
Everyone stopped, and gazing around in shock, cautiously breathed a sigh of relief: Hange gazed down at the crystal in her fist, and noticed her hand and arm were still on fire, while said crystal's aura was pulsating like a heartbeat; no, it was a heartbeat. Hange stared at the crystal in awe as she felt heat thrum up her arm, and course through her heart, as if an inferno were alight inside her veins, beating in synch with her own pulse, "...Whoa..." she breathed in amazement. But before she could say or do anything else, Levi paced over to her, knocked the crystal out of her hand, and sternly ordered "Okay, no one is allowed to touch that with their bare hands! Do not handle that crystal unless your wearing gloves or using tongs, got it?" he glared up at the titan-scientist, "Uh-, yeah, good idea..." Hange didn't argue; she stood there in confusion for a moment, before her crazy grin reappeared, "... A crystal that allows you to control fire? How wild is that?!", "Wildly crazy more like! Sweet Sina this whole place nearly went up in flames!" Oruo exclaimed in shock, "And yet it didn't, the whole place is completely untouched, and both Hange and Oruo are okay" Petra looked around. "What kind of power is behind it?" Eld frowned in vexation as he gazed over at Boar's arm, "Oh hell, I don't even know where to start?!" Hange suddenly realized as she ran her hand through her messy bangs, "Titans with powers are one thing, but their body parts being able to give off additional powers?! This is completely unprecedented, nothing even remotely similar even exists in the history books!", "I'm pretty sure if something like that had ever happened, we'd certainly remember it, shitty-glasses" Levi deadpanned dryly.
As Moblit reached over the table to grab the tongs, his elbow accidentally knocked one of the metal stirrer's off a pile of books, and it landed in the beaker of Boar's blood, "Ah, crap-" he cursed as he removed said stirrer, but was taken aback as he lifted the part that had been submerged: "...Uh, section commander?". "What now?" Levi huffed, striding over to the table, "This, it landed in the blood just now, but it-, well look" he showed the stirrer to Hange, who was quick to rush to his side. The stirrer was made of a low-grade steel, dull grey in colour, and yet, the part that had been submerged now resembled gold: bright yellow with a radiant shine. "Huh, it almost looks like gold" Eld commented offhand: frowning in bemusement, Hange gripped the tip tightly, and bent it back easily, to which the titan scientist gasped in shock "-That's because it is gold!", "What! The blood turned it into gold?!" Oruo exclaimed. "Quick! I need samples!" Hange ordered, "OF WHAT?!" he panicked.
A short while later, an array of different object's had been collected and dipped into the golden blood: everything from wood, wax, parchment, stone, leather and cloth, to fruits, bread, and even a small slice of cured meat (discreetly stolen from the officer's pantry) had been submerged, but all remained unaffected. The only substance that seemed to turn to into gold was metal: every metal that everyone could get their hands on, from coins to pairing blades was dipped and transformed, and before long, a quarter of the table was covered in glistening golden objects. "Talk about an easy 'get-rich-quick' scheme, there must be enough gold here to buy out half the supplies in this depot!" Oruo scoffed, "Hell, this could probably buy out the entire depot" Eld concurred. "Which is why we're going to keep this particular discovery strictly between ourselves and Erwin, if the rest of the base were to find out about this, we'll be up to our eyeballs in thieves trying to sneak down here in the dead of night, trying to dunk their blades and ODM gear" Levi stated firmly, before realizing what he just said, "Then again... Titan blood that turns metal into gold? I don't think many are going to take that horse-shit at face value, but still...", "-Yeah no shit!" Hange chuckled as she removed a copper-now-turned-gold spoon from the beaker, "Hell, if the rest of the kingdom were to find out about this, it would be chaos: hell, we might end up causing the economy to inflate to such a degree that it'll bankrupt the entire kingdom. So yeah, this one stays tightly under wraps..." she placed it down to one side, and placed the beaker back in its crate, "Okay, I think we got enough samples to be getting on with: while these dry off, let's start prep-work for the next limb on our list-"
Suddenly, a rumble of thunder grabbed everyone's attention: "A thunder storm? At this time of the year?" Hange raised an eyebrow, "Uh, Hange, what's up with Angel's leg?" Gunther pointed over to said limb. Everyone glanced over as the leg glowed in a myriad of colours, with rainbows appearing out of thin air and looping around the thigh and calf. "Rainbows? Indoors? How the hell is that even possible?" Hange frowned in bemusement, "Seriously shitty-glasses? A forest sprouted up from practically out of nowhere and you set your own ass on fire without being roasted, and this is surprising to you?!" Levi exclaimed, "By and large, I'd say our standard of what counts as surprising has drastically shifted in the last twenty four hours, captain" Petra pointed out meekly, "And by the way, you roast me practically everyday Levi, so, neh!" Hange added with a smirk as she stuck her tongue out at him, to which the Captain nearly smacked her up-side the head. The scouts watched as the limb's aura shifted, and clouds began to form out of mid-air above it, covering the whole ceiling, with raindrops beginning to fall.
"A rain cloud?" Petra blinked in surprise, but everyone jumped as a flash of lightning streaked across the ceiling, followed by a thunderclap "It's a storm! Quick! Everyone grab what you can and get it out of here! We must protect the research data!" Hange barked as she grabbed the table and tried to drag it to the entrance: but Levi pushed her out of the way and grabbed the table instead "I'll take this, you grab what you can!" he ordered as he promptly dragged said table and all its content's towards the doors (he wasn't called humanity's strongest, just for his ability to kill titans) while everyone grabbed everything they could, and began running back and forth in and out of the depot as the rain started to pour, and the thunder and lightning increased in intensity. "Shit! What the hell do we do?! The whole depot will flood at this rate!" Eld called over another thunderclap, "Protect the data! That's our first duty here!" Hange ordered as she grabbed another armful of papers and ran outside "-Keep the doors open! Then at least the water won't rise higher!" she called back. Sure enough, the water was now a few inches deep, and everything in the depot was drenched as the rain continued to fall, then, the wind started to pick up.
Meanwhile, outside: the rest of the base was confused; everyone was glancing up and around as they could hear thunder, but there was only thin cloud-cover today. "Hm?" Pyxis frowned in confusion as he inspected the sky, "Strange, we don't get thunderstorms at this time of the year, and firing practice with the cannons isn't until Thursday", "Indeed sir" his aid nodded in equal bemusement.
Around the side of the base where the depot doors were located, a few of the Garrison and MP troops were puzzled to see the Scout's 'science team' rushing back and forth out of the depot, carrying armful's of stuff, while one of their number was trying to keep a crowd of onlookers from getting too close. Realizing something was up, they rushed over to see what was going on. "Hey, are you guys okay-
One of the Garrison troops was about to ask, when another thunderclap drew their attention to the depot doors, and the full-on storm raging inside the building, complete with wind, rain, and dark clouds ominously hovering around the top of the doors, whilst the thunder and lightning was coming in sequence every few minutes. "The whole depot's flooded out, and we need to get all this somewhere safe!" Hange pointed to the table, now a mess of books, papers and other science paraphernalia, "Give us a hand and help us get this back inside!".
"Hey, is that gold?" one of the MP's noticed the golden objects on the table, but before the Scouts could say anything in reply, the crowd of onlookers heard the word 'gold' and instantly started to get twitchy: "Gold?! Where?!" a money exchanger blurted out, "Who's got gold?" an elderly gentleman cocked his head to the side to try and listen better, "-There!" a woman pointed to the table "THEY'VE GOT GOLD!" her husband yelled eagerly.
"Oh no..." Petra's eye's widened in horror, as the crowd surged forward, tripping and stumbling over one another as they greedily tried to get to the table. But Levi, in quick rapid-fire succession, knocked them backwards onto their asses: at the same time, Hange erupted "-ENOUGH!", getting the crowd's attention, and everyone paused as they gazed over at her, "This is property of the Scouting legion! Not a free-for-all for greedy money-grabbing thieves like you! Show some self-control, you wanna get arrested for theft of military property? In front of the military police?!" Hange gestured to the confused MP's standing next to her. The whole crowd turned white, and quickly got to their feet and ran for dear life, hoping and praying they weren't being chased.
"We better get everything back inside," Eld sighed with relief, "Especially the samples" he gazed down at the gold specimens. "Yeah. No shit..." Hange breathed as she regained her composure, "...I think that's everything" she gazed over the table's contents, and all the stuff lying on the ground around it; fortunately, nothing had been stolen. "Um? Would someone care to tell me what just happened?" the young Garrison rookie cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "Trust me, you don't want to know..." Levi frowned at him with a look that told him to leave it be; "Seriously though, that is gold, right?" another of the MP's eyed up the specimen's with an eager glint in his eye, "And if they are..." Levi approached him with a murderous look, "What's it to you?" he stared him down. "Uh-" the MP suddenly realized what it looked like, and hastily replied "Nothing! Just-, you know, you don't wanna leave that stuff out in the open is all; never know who might try to steal it!" he threw his hands up in defense; "Tch!-" the captain sighed, "No, you don't".
The MP was about to say something else, when Hange threw her arm around him, and sided up to him with a shit-eating grin "Say, why don't you do us a favor, and head on back inside to find a couple of our fellow Scouting buddies: tell them we need some extra hands to help move all this stuff back inside the base" she forced a look of innocence. "Well, why don't we help you out?" the Garrison rookie offered, "Oh any other time we'd happily accept, but I'm afraid this is all sensitive information: not the kinda stuff we'd like being spread around the base as idol gossip, and I'm afraid not just anyone can look at it; but thanks anyway" she smiled, before turning back to the MP and promptly patting him on the back, gently pushing him back in the direction of the base's main entrance, "Off you go! We need to stay here and make sure no one else comes snooping around!". "Uh, sure, hold on a sec..." the MP took off while the others brought up the rear.
"...What're the chances this makes the rounds at dinner time?" Eld quietly sighed in annoyance, "Eh, quite likely" Oruo huffed in equal frustration: Gunther was about to throw in his opinion, when he noticed Hange run off towards the entrance of the flooding depot, pick up a small empty crate that was drifting out on the rising water, and quickly came back and threw the gold specimen's inside, slamming the lid shut and taking out her pocket knife "Better these stay out of sight, than anyone else with sticky fingers get a peek and get any idea's" she frowned as she carved her initials into the top left-hand corner of the lid, "That was way too close". "Yeah, but what about that?" Petra pointed to the storm, as the nearby inhabitant's of Trost were watching the strange phenomenon in a mix of surprise and confusion, "We better get everything back inside, and quick" Hange worried, before breathing a sigh of relief as she saw Mike and his squad come running around the corner.
After hurriedly moving all the research data back inside the base to Hange's original lab, the Scouts waited for a break in the storm before proceeding to move Angel's leg outside the depot, and back up into the courtyard so as the depot would not incur any further damage from the flood and lightning (fortunately, none of the inventory was damaged as all the supply crates had been moved out to make way for the limbs beforehand). For the rest of the afternoon, the storm raged over the base with the rain falling only on the building: like the trees it too could be seen from all sides of the city, and the rumour mills were working overtime as everyone pondered and speculated as to what the hell was going on. Whilst inside, the base commander and other officers were nearly panicking over the strange weather; no one could offer any explanation as to what the cause was, and yet the Scout's commander seemed to be taking it in his stride. As he gazed out the window of his office, Pyxis huffed in annoyance as the rain continued to batter the glass panes "How the hell are we supposed to keep this quiet?" he muttered under his breath as he swigged another mouthful of his favourite tipple.
As the late afternoon slowly eased into the early evening, the storm began to loose its momentum and the clouds broke up, with double-rainbows cascading over the bases outer walls: a pretty, albeit still strange sight, considering the high cloud-cover was completely concealing the sun today. Back down in the depot, the last of the flood water was trickling its way out and into the street, and the walls and ceiling were slowly drying out. The main doors and the top of the elevator shaft had been left open so a constant breeze would be blowing through to help with the drying process; remarkably, all four crystal titan limbs were still intact and untouched, and with the storm now past, Hange ordered that a tarp be placed over Angel's leg so as to keep it from prying eyes, and to have guards stationed by it so as to further dissuade anyone from getting too curious. As she and Moblit inspected the depot, she gazed over at the one remaining limb left to be analyzed: Midnight's.
"Well? So far we've had a forest sprouting up out of Shadow's blood, fire-controlling crystals and blood that turns metal into gold from Boar, and a miniature storm courtesy of Angel's leg: all in the span of one day. What do you think Midnight has in store with her arm, Moblit?" Hange grinned as she eyed the limb up and down, to which Moblit nervously replied "Um, to be honest commander? I'd rather not speculate", "Heh, afraid you'll jinx it?" she grinned at him, "Ah I don't blame you, it's been a weird and wild day: certainly something new and interesting for the scribes" she sighed as she turned serious for a moment "Still... This is the only limb that hasn't displayed any kind of phenomenon, and given what we've witnessed already, I wouldn't put it past Midnight to have another new surprise hiding up her proverbial sleeve".
The sound of the elevator descending drew their attention, as Petra stepped out with a large tray of food and tea in hand, plus a bundle of fresh candles: "Hey there, I figured you guys could do with a quick bite, so I took the liberty of sweet-talking the cooks into letting me bring you something to eat" she smiled sweetly: "Aw thanks, what would any of us do without you Petra" Hange smiled as she took the tray, and sat it down on the large crate that acted as a make-shift table, with two smaller crates serving as seats, "I take it the whole base is still wound up over today's little events?"
"That's putting it lightly," Petra smiled awkwardly "Half the troops are in a panic and the rest just don't know what to think of it all: luckily no-one seems to have made any connections between the limbs and the weird phenomenon; not that I don't see how anyone would come to that connection in the first place, but still?".
"Even so," Hange sighed as she and Moblit sat down to eat, "If someone puts two and two together, there's a lot of room for misinterpretation here: we don't know what's causing all this, this power, or whatever's driving these strange things to occur. We've barely even began to understand it, never mind try to determine how this fits into the bigger picture of the mystery of the titans. There could well be new mysteries that lay afoot, and for the ignorant and superstitious, it'll be a ripe breeding ground for fear to take root".
"That's certainly true..." Petra nodded offhand, before changing the subject, "So, are you sure you don't want to wait for the captain and the rest of us? You know, for just in case you need back-up?" she gestured to Midnight's arm, "Don't worry, we got it covered! If anything happens we'll be out of here like a shot: besides, you guys have been through a lot today, you go back up to the mess and take a load off, we'll be fine down here" Hange smiled as she ate a mouthful of broth. "Alright, but if anything happens you come and find us right away, okay?" Petra warned as she got back on the elevator, and rang the bell to be hoisted up, "You bet, see ya later!" the titan-scientist waved good bye as the sweet red-head disappeared up the shaft: "Seriously though, we are going to bolt if anything happens this time, commander?" Moblit asked in all seriousness as he tucked into his bread roll, "Of course we will!" Hange waved off nonchalantly, "We won't even touch the limb unless absolutely necessary, just in case; honestly, considering everything we've witnessed thus far? it's not like we're unprepared. We're not going to get caught off guard this time, okay Moblit? " she stated reassuringly, to which Moblit warily nodded as he continued to eat. Hange gaped her mouth wide opened as she yawned "*Yawn*... Oh boy, a rich full day of scientific discoveries certainly wares you down: I'll be ready to hit the sack tonight", "You and me both commander" Moblit agreed, feeling a tad tired himself...
But unbeknown to the two Scouts, several meters away in the corner of the depot, Midnight's limb began to exude an ominous black aura: the dark shadows in the room seemed to reach towards it, as the purple hues of the crystal seems to ripple and shimmer, like ripples on the surface of a river.
Meanwhile:
As he sat in his office with a cup of tea sitting on the desk, Erwin was going over the initial research data Hange had collected over the course of the day: all the paperwork and journals were stacked on the desk while the specimen crates and boxes sat to one side by the window. A titan whose blood could cause a forest to spring up out of dead wood, while another had the power to create and exude control over fire as well as turn any metal into pure gold, and a crystal leg that had the power to induce a micro-weather event: it sounded like something out of a fairy-tail, and if the incident with the civilians outside the base was anything to go on, then it was going to be quite the logistical challenge keeping this data safe. Powers such as these were ripe for abuse, and if they fell into the wrong hands, there was a good chance the Scouts, the military, and maybe even the whole kingdom would be facing a whole new slew of problems: ones that outclass the threat of the titans considerably...
But the question at the forefront of Erwin's mind, wasn't what caused these powers to manifest, but rather, were they a by-product of the powers he saw the painted-titans display yesterday, or were they an extension of those same powers? As he pondered on it, he felt as though he were gazing up at the sun: a blinding source of great heat and light that lit up the world, and yet it was so far away and so bright he could not see it. One thing was clear though: these powers, as strange, powerful and mysterious as they were, they were only a part of the painted-titans mystery, and how did they fit into the mystery of the titans as a whole? To those of a blind ignorant and fearful superstitious nature, it would be easy to misinterpret it all as some kind of devil's influence or dark witchcraft: but the truth, he speculated, had to be so much more than what the eye see's alone. And he was confident Hange had come to the same conclusion by now: as crazy as she was, there was no way to fault her perception, even on the strange occurrences of today.
But then, you needed to be a little bit crazy to be a Scout in the first place: after all, one does not simply wake up one day and decide to willingly risk death to fight and kill titans on a whim. And one did not dabble in the field of science, and not expect things to get interesting at some point down the line.
Down in the mess, the regular flow of troops coming in for their much-needed dinners kept the hall busy and loud, with chatter and the clinking of knives and forks on metal plates. After the events of today, the hall was buzzing with gossip and chit-chat, as everyone from the rookies to the officers was swapping stories and offering opinions and speculations. Over to one side of the hall, the Scouts were trying to keep professional and straight-faced while they ate: being the ones who willingly went beyond the walls to face the titans on a regular basis, many of the veteran contingent had their professional reputations to think about; it wouldn't look good to see any of them loose their cool in the face of trouble, even when faced with the weird events of today. Meanwhile, the inexperienced rookies were all a fluster as they tried to figure out what happened: any gossip between the veterans however, was kept discreet.
In the corner of the hall, next to the windows that looked out over the courtyard via the cloisters, the Levi squad sat with Mike and his squad, as they ate and took a moment to get their bearings back. "Man, my head's still spinning: how the hell are the top brass going to take any of this seriously?" Eld huffed as he took a bite of his bread roll, "Yeah, I bet the research reports are going to make for some very interesting reading this time around: more-so than our monthly expedition reports" Gunther added ad he took a mouthful of broth. "I still don't understand, who the hell okayed that capture mission, thinking it would work? Whoever's going over the mission reports in Mitras, you'd think they'd have come to the same conclusions we have by now" Nanaba added offhand. "'You'd think', being the emphasis," Mike noted as he took a swig of his drink "Recalling every minute detail in the mission reports is no substitute for being out in the field and witnessing what we've seen first-hand; don't forget, the people that make up the top brass were selected from the highest-ranking graduates that succeeded in climbing the ranks and keeping their heads down: many have never even seen a titan never-mind seen one devouring a human; so to try and expand their minds and imagine what these painted-titans can do, is going to be quite a stretch" he further explained. "Trying to convince the top brass this isn't a whole bunch of bull aside for a moment, where do we go from here? What's our next step going to be?" Tomas thought aloud with his head propped up on his elbow, "We don't know, and until Hange's finished her analysis of the limbs and their powers, it's too early to say" Levi replied curtly as he sipped his tea, "Frankly? I think it'd be better if we leave the hunter's alone: for the time being at least". "Where do you think they stand with us now?" Petra threw in "I mean, we certainly ticked them off, trying to kidnap Magpie and Shadow an' all, but they stayed and kept us safe from the titans: they didn't have to do that, but they did; doesn't that count for something?". "Eh, probably a well thought-out ruse to make us drop our guard," Oruo scoffed confidently as he adjusted his cravat "They're playing the long game, sooner or later they know we'll 'cross paths' with them again, and when the time's right, they'll strike"; "And how the hell is that supposed to work? Especially now after what happened yesterday?" Petra shot back in annoyance "They know we didn't drop our guard to begin with, and neither did they, and especially not now" she sighed in disappointment "Now they'll never trust us, not the same way they did before".
"You could be right there, but maybe that's not such a bad thing?" Mike offered, "Whoever okayed the capture mission clearly doesn't have an understanding of the painted-titans, at least, not in the same way we've come to know them. If the same fool thinks the same plan will succeed a second time around, then at least the hunters will be keeping their distance and not giving us a chance to get close again. But then, they already had some idea that we were going to come for them eventually, so it's not like they didn't make a plan of their own to prove their capability". The rest of Mike's squad blinked in surprise, "Prove their own capability?" Gelgar echoed in surprise "Are you saying Shadow purposely let himself get captured?": "Tch!- You only just figured that out?" Levi scoffed, elaborating "Considering how proficient they are at tracking and toying with us, you really think they wouldn't have a contingency for if we came after them? Whoever they are, one of them at least, subscribes to the same tactical philosophy as Erwin: and given how intelligent those giant shits are, I wouldn't put it past them to have a few other tricks we don't yet know about". "Still though, those powers they used to fight the titans? How come we've only seen them now? Why not any other time we've seen them in Maria?" Eld thought aloud, "Good question," Mike concurred as he reached for the water jug, and without looking, poured himself a refill, "And you can bet your ass Erwin's already twigged that something's up about that..."
But as Mike pressed the tankard to his lips and took a swig, no water came out: looking down into the tankard in confusion, he saw there was no water at all. He frowned in bemusement, pretty sure he had managed to pour the water without spilling any, as there was not a drop spilled onto the table. A sharp gasp from Petra caught everyone off-guard, but before anyone could ask her what's wrong, everyone immediately noticed what she was staring at...
Floating about a meter above the table, was all the water and tea in the tankards and cups, and even the broth was beginning to loose all influence from the pull of gravity as it drifted up above their heads. Floating weightless in mid-air as round wobbly globules and spheres, the liquids seemed to swirl and twist through the hall, as if following the flow of a slow-moving stream. Before any of the Scouts could say anything, the hall was suddenly filled with the surprised gasps and panicked cries of all the other troops, as their beverages were now airborne too. "What the hell?! What is it this time?" Oruo panicked, while Levi only frowned, knowing he'd probably have to go and check on Hange.
At the same time, back down in the depot:
Hange woke up with a jolt, and gaped her mouth wide open in another big yawn, "Huh? Did I nod off?" she took off her glasses to rub her tired eyes, "Must be more tired than I thought...", "You weren't the only one commander" Moblit replied he stretched his arms up over his head, "I thought I was the one that nodded off, but I woke up a few seconds before you did just now". "Hm, maybe we better call it a night? It doesn't do anyone any good to be running on fumes" she sighed in disappointment, standing up to stretch her legs "I'll go tell Erwin we're done for today, and pick up where we left off first thing in the morning".
Moblit was about to agree, when he realized something felt off: gazing around the depot, he suddenly noticed something was very different about their surroundings. "Uh, Hange? Is it just me or should the depot be a lot darker with all the candles out?". "Huh?..." Hange gazed around the depot in confusion, and sure enough, all the candles and lamps were out: and yet, she could see well enough through the dim light coming from the open doors. But that's not what grabbed her attention, as she gasped in horror "-WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LIMBS?!" she yelled. Moblit's eyes widened in shock, as he too saw that all but one of the crystal limbs was gone: only Midnight's arm remained, which was glowing in a soft pale silver light, much like starlight. "What-, who-, where did they go? Who took them?! And how the hell did the thieves sneak past us without waking us up?!" Hange raged, "And why didn't they take Midnight's arm?" Moblit pointed out, "Good question, but right now that's not relevant!" Hange frowned "-Where the hell did those limbs go?!" she angrily huffed as she ran out of the doors and gazed around the nearby buildings, only to stop in her tracks as she realized something was very wrong with the scene before her...
Silence
Nothing but perfect and total silence filled the air as Trost lay shrouded in a hazy fog, dimly illuminated by the fading twilight: everything seemed to be dull and devoid of colour, except for a sight pale shade of blue tinting everything that still in the light, while the shadows gave way to an oppressive darkness. The city sat still and unmoving: not a soul could be heard in any direction, nor any animal for that matter, and even the wind had dropped completely, exuding an eerie and otherworldly feeling that didn't feel natural for a place as busy as Trost. Running up to Hange, Moblit too was taken aback by the sudden shift in the cityscape, "What the hell? Where is everyone?". "No idea... Hello?" Hange shouted out, only to hear her call echo around the buildings, "HELLO!" she shouted louder, but instead, heard her shout echo off the walls themselves, "...There's no way there could have been an evacuation drill, not at this time of night, and not without us being woken up by the commotion of all the people being funneled to the inner gate" she thought aloud, started to feel a tad unnerved, "This doesn't make any sense". "What about the base? I don't hear anything, do you?" Moblit worried.
Checking her pocket-watch to see how long they'd been napping, Hange frowned in further confusion as she noticed the watch had stopped, "That's weird, I could have sworn I wound it up before chow-time..." she thought aloud, before suddenly getting an idea "-Ah! The mess hall! Everyone should be finishing up in there by now! Come on!" she ran around the outside of the building, heading for the main entrance: as he ran alongside her, Moblit noticed there were no lights in any of the windows, in fact, none of the surrounding buildings had any lights in their windows either. And the silence felt so unnatural, it just wasn't the kind of silence you hear in the middle of a city: but he pushed it aside as they ran through the main entrance and into the courtyard, only to see no one was around, even the horses were not in their stalls or by the hitching rails, and there were no carts or wagons parked up either. "Okay, this isn't right," Hange frowned, "Where did everyone go?" Moblit worried as he gazed all around the courtyard, "And more importantly, why are we the only ones left?" Hange pointed out as she wandered over to the mess hall.
Gazing out the window, one of the younger scouts said offhand,"Oh, here comes section commander Hange", hearing that: Levi, Mike and both their squads looked out the window, just as Hange and Moblit were nearing the door. But something was off about them, they were both encased in a blue-ish silvery aura, and devoid of all other colours except various tints and shades of blue; the other people standing in the courtyard stopped and stared at them in confusion. "Oh great, what's shitty-glasses got herself into this time?" Levi deadpanned in annoyance, "From the looks of it, turned herself and Moblit into walking talking fire-flies" Oruo frowned, trying to imitate the captain as usual. They watched as Hange and Moblit strode in through the open door, and gazed all around the room: "Hange! Over here!" Petra called out as she waved to them, but amid the confusion of all the troops in the room still gawking up at all the floating liquids, it seemed they didn't hear her; "What's with them?..." Eld frowned in concern as Hange and Moblit continued to look around the room, seemingly looking for something else entirely, as they hadn't seemed to notice the huge globule of broth floating right in front of them. Another soldier, seeming to be totally oblivious to them stepped out and closed the door behind him: but as the Scouts got up from their seats to head over to them, Hange and Moblit both turned, and walked through the closed door, their mass seemingly intangible as they strode through the solid oak door. The Scouts froze in horror as their jaws dropped, eyes widened and a chill ran up their collective spines as their brains tried to process what they just saw: "Did-...Did they just-, walk through that door?!" Gunther sputtered out, "I-, I think so?!" Gelgar nervously replied, "GH-GH-GHOSTS?!" Oruo was practically shaking in his boots.
After recollecting his composure, Levi frowned as he strode over to the door, swung it open, and watched as Hange and Moblit wandered off into the middle of the courtyard: where there was now a small group of other soldiers, all frozen in fear, as they too had witnessed the same thing he had. "Captain Levi?" Commander Pyxis noticed him as he walked out of the offers mess with his aide in tow, "What's up with you? You look like you've seen a ghost"
"I don't get it, there's no sign of anyone leaving in a hurry, plus, why are all the doors open? ..." Hange thought aloud as she gazed around the courtyard: sure enough, all the doors were open, but there was still no one sign of anyone else being present. "Plus, there doesn't seem to be any indication of where everyone headed" Moblit pointed, "So it seems..." Hange pondered aloud as she placed her hands on her hips "Hm, okay, let's run down the list of possibilities and try to come up with a plan on what to do next..."
Pyxis stared at the two ghostly figures in wide-eyed silence: he quickly downed the last of his flask, and sighed under his breath "I picked a hell of a day to pass up the whiskey". By now the other Scouts had filed out of the mess hall and were now standing around Hange and Moblit, trying to figure out what had happened, and how to get their attention. Mike tentatively reached his hand out to tap Hange on the shoulder, but to his shock, his fingers only grabbed at empty air: "They're not solid, plus, I can't smell either of them; it's like they're not there at all" he finally managed to collect his composure. "Their lips are moving, a-and they can clearly hear each other, but we can't hear them" Petra pointed out as Hange and Moblit talked to each other in a silent conversation. "I don't get it, what happened to them?!" Nanaba fretted, "Is it one of the limbs again? And if so which one?" Eld thought aloud, "Setting yourself on fire through the use of a crystal is one thing, but this? How do you reverse this?!" Gunther worried, "If it's reversible at all?! What if they're stuck like this, forever?!" Oruo added, still shaking in fear. "And how the hell are we supposed to get their attention, if they don't even know we're here?" Pyxis finally collected himself as he reached out to try and grab Moblit by the arm, only for his hand to go straight through him. "Hang on a sec..." Mike suddenly realized, "We can see them, but they can't see us: we can't hear them either, but they can clearly hear each other; it's-, almost as if they're in some whole other world, one in which none of us exist"
"So how the hell do we help them? If they don't know we're still here?" Levi sighed, now worried for the welfare of his friends. Suddenly, Hange seemed to get an idea as she beckoned Moblit to follow her inside: everyone followed in hot pursuit, trailing them a few meters behind as the two glowing spectre's headed up the stairs; Where're they going?" Petra asked offhand, "I think I can guess" Levi frowned.
As he continued going other the paperwork, the sound of hurried footsteps made Erwin look up at the door: "ERWIN! IF STILL YOUR IN THERE, DON'T FREAK OUT!" Pyxis shouted, his voice laced with worry. Erwin frowned in bewilderment, and was about to get up to see what was wrong, when suddenly the ghostly figures of Hange and Moblit passed through the closed door and stepped into the middle of the room; the Commander nearly jumped out of his chair as his heart skipped a beat, and stared in shock for a few seconds as the two scouts seemed to be talking to one another: their lips moving, but no voices could be heard. The handle turning and the door creaking open drew his attention for a moment, as Pyxis, Levi and Mike cautiously peered into the room, and spotted the two figures continuing to talk.
"Um? We've got a situation here" Mike gestured to the two scouts, who both turned on their heels and walked out the office. Everyone stepped out of their way as they walked down the corridor towards Hange's lab, and Erwin on his feet in a heartbeat as he took off after them.
"So Erwin wasn't in his office, but then, why would he be? If no one else is here then why would he still remain too?... " Hange thought aloud as the gears in her mind were going at full speed, trying to explain the sudden disappearance of everyone, as well as all the other strange things they'd encountered thus far "Okay, so clearly the Armored and Colossal titans haven't attacked, as we've seen no titans or any evidence there of. All the lamps and candles are out and yet we are somehow able to see just fine in this poor light, as well as the dark in some places. There's no evidence of everyone leaving in a panic, or anything to suggest their direction of travel: no notes or anything. And why has the whole city been evacuated? Since that's the only explanation as to why Trost seems like a ghost town tonight?". "Commander?..." Moblit interrupted, as something suddenly occurred to him "Do you think the theft of the limbs might have something to do with any of this? I mean, I know it sounds weird, but-, we both seemed to nod off and wake up at the same time: if someone slipped something into our food or drinks that would make sense, something that would knock us out just long enough for the thieves to come in and grab the limbs"
"Huh, that might explain us dozing off at the same time" Hange pondered his idea, "But it doesn't explain why the thieves would move so quickly? Not when we only just got the limbs here yesterday, and we haven't even concluded the initial analysis yet: even if they saw all the weird phenomenon going down over the course of the day, I doubt they'd have been able to put two and two together so quickly. And why take big a risk on such unknown entities? If it were Boar's blood I can understand, being able to turn any metal into gold is a crook's dream come true, and-. She stopped suddenly, as a look of realization filled her eyes "...Wait a minute, what if it was Boar's blood they were after? And taking the two other limbs was meant to serve as a ruse to throw us off?". "It's an idea, but it doesn't explain why they left Midnight's arm behind: plus, stealing the limbs out of an active military base in the middle of a walled city? That would be a monumental challenge to pull off" Moblit pointed out. "Unless it was an inside job..." Hange frowned as she elaborated "That one MP seemed a little eager when he eyed up the gold specimens, when that storm forced us out of the depot, not to mention all those 'bystanders-nearly-turned-thieves', how do we know one of them wasn't connected to a criminal gangs in some way? And may not have a connection on the inside? Think about it. Theft of military property is a real problem, everything from food rations to ODM gear showing up on the black market has increased in recent years, and half the time its the work of corrupt MP's earning some easy coin on the side; they just wheel the stuff outside the base and hand it off to the buyers. How do we know that MP, or one of his buddies didn't decide to seize the opportunity to make a small fortune, and let his criminal buddies know where to find the limbs?"
"It's a good an explanation as any," Moblit thought about it for a moment, "But if that's the case, how did they get the limbs outside without anyone in the base seeing them? Even if they were disguised as military personnel, wrapped the limbs up in tarps and loaded them onto the back of a big-enough cart, how would they have transported them without triggering their powers?". "That's a good point" Hange nodded in agreement, "Plus, why would they leave Midnight's arm behind? Unless they couldn't get all four out together?". "There's that possibility too..." Moblit nodded. Hange sighed as she stopped and gazed out of a nearby window, "... But all that's going to have to be put on hold, until we can try to figure out where everyone went...I don't know about you Moblit, but almost feels as if we're in a whole other world, one where we seem to be the only two people left"
"You just left them on their own?" Levi glanced sideways at Petra as he and his squad followed Erwin and Pyxis, heading for the depot: "She assured me they'd be fine, if anything were to happen they'd get out of there and come and find us" she explained worryingly, "Petra, this is Hange we're talking about, you never leave that crazy bitch by herself for even second, not even to study a turd never-mind a titan". "Forget that now" Erwin stated, "Our first priority is to ascertain what happened: Mike's team are tracking them so at least we won't loose them: of course, if they wander off the base, keeping the existence of the crystal limbs confidential is going to be the least of our problems". "Two ghosts wandering the streets of Trost? I don't know if there's enough beer, mead and wine in all the bars and inns to get the whole city drunk enough to legitimize that cover story?" Pyxis threw in. "That's if they're ghosts, we don't even know if they're dead yet" Levi pointed out as they rode the elevator down into the depot. The first sound that greeted them was the deep baritone of Hange's snoring echoing off the stone walls (for a woman of her build and size, it was surprising how and why she snored like a bear gargling tar): but the sight that greeted them, was anything but ordinary...
The depot was filled with a soft silvery light emanating from Midnight's arm, as the limb glowed in a myriad of purple-ish blue hues rippling throughout the crystalline structure, while at the same time, a pitch-black aura surrounded the limb that seemed to ripple and flow like water in a stream: the shadows in the depot moved about as if they had taken on a life of their own, swimming and floating through the gloom, resembling creatures one might only see in a nightmare, whilst all the water in the depot was floating about in droplets and globules. Drifting in the air above the arm, suspended in a deep blue aura that encased their entire bodies like cocoons, Hange and Moblit were fast asleep, completely dead to the world and drifting as if they were floating in water.
"What- ...the hell?" Eld blurted out nervously: "Wh-what k-kind of witchcraft is th-this?!" Oruo stuttered in a near-panic. "Uh, Erwin? What the hell do we do? What's even going on here?" Pyxis lightly tapped the commander on the shoulder, "And what the hell's happened to Hange and Moblit?" Gunther pointed to said scouts. Despite his gut telling him to stay sharp, Erwin took a deep breath and stepped out of the elevator, and walked towards Midnight's arm. As he stepped across the still-wet stone slabs, the shadow creatures swam towards him, and encircled him like hungry fish: seeing they were somewhat translucent, Erwin held out his arm and waved it through them; the creatures dissipated like smoke, and the blackness quickly retreated back into the gloom of the depot's unlit corners and shadows. More creatures approached, and were quickly dispelled as Erwin made his way across the depot: "Whatever these things are..." Erwin spoke as he swung his arm through a large snake-shaped shadow, "They're not solid, nor do they appear to be aggressive: it seems they're just reacting to our presence". Levi wasn't so sure, as he replied "You know that for a fact?", to which Erwin turned around and stated, "No, but at this point, I'm willing to take the chance if it means we can retrieve Hange and Moblit safely: plus..." he pointed to the still-lit lamp sitting on a nearby crate "They don't seem to be fond of the light: so for now that's something we can use if they turn aggressive"
Sure enough, the shadow-creatures were completely avoiding the glow of the lamp and candle light: taking one of the lamps from the elevator and holding it up to light the floor in front of them, Levi and the others briskly chased after Erwin, as he came up alongside the crystal arm. Gazing up at the sleeping forms of Hange and Moblit, Erwin couldn't quite hide his bewilderment, as he stared up at them in a mix of surprise and confusion: "This is crazy. We saw them outside, and yet, they never left the depot; how can they be in two places at once?" Gunther thought aloud as he stared up at the two Scouts. Erwin frowned as the cogs in his mind began to grind at high speed, trying to make sense of what was happening; but the only thing he could come up with was, "... It's almost as if they're being 'projected' somehow: as if their minds and bodies have been separated, and the two are now independent from one another" Erwin glanced at the arm. "Given what we saw outside, that makes the most sense, somehow" Levi warily concurred: to which Eld piped up "But if their minds really are separated from their bodies, how do we get them to 'merge'?". "Wait a minute..." Petra suddenly realized, "We don't know what triggered this, how do we know we're all not susceptible too?".
Everyone froze in fear: gazing at Midnight's arm, there was now a dire sense of urgency, as everyone suddenly felt there was now a time constriction to their being here. Thinking back to the events leading up to this, Erwin turned to the redhead and asked "Petra, when did you last see Hange and Moblit?", "Um? Just before I went up to the mess for dinner: I thought I'd bring them something to eat first" she recalled as she pointed to the two plates of half eaten food sitting on a nearby crate "That must have been a little over half an hour ago" she added. "And how long had they been in the depot before then?" the commander pressed, "They were still finishing up with Boar's blood samples before I brought them their food, that was nearly an hour ago sir" Petra replied. "So the limb didn't start acting up until the time between that crazy weather and the first sitting for mess" Levi realized "But why now? And why did this limb remain dormant all day?" he thumbed over to Midnight's arm, "Come to think of it, why did the limbs all behave in the ways that they did? It's almost as if they took turns to let each other have a go 'expressing' their powers; in a weird way" Petra reasoned cautiously, "You seriously think these things are still alive somehow?" Levi frowned dubiously, "Well why not sir?" she further reasoned, "I mean, given what we witnessed yesterday, the painted titan's regenerative abilities far exceed their regular counterparts: and given what we've seen today, it's evident that they could well be more than just titans, as we understand them; maybe their regenerative abilities go far beyond just healing wounds and severed limbs. Maybe the limbs and the powers therein are able to function independently from their bodies?"
Levi and the rest of the squad stared at Petra in slight surprise: "Heh, looks like Hange's craziness rubbed off on you my dear" Oruo smirked, to which she shot him a dry look. Erwin gazed at the redhead as the cogs in his mind suddenly stopped: "Maybe you're right..." he thought aloud, "The way these powers have 'expressed' themselves: either there's a different trigger for each one, or...
The commander was suddenly interrupted as the ghostly figures of both Hange and Moblit entered through the depot doors, followed by Mike and his squad. "Sorry sir, but we-. Mike and his team suddenly stopped when they caught sight of the sleeping Hange and Moblit floating above Midnight's arm: Mike looked back and forth between the 'ghosts' and the apparently still alive Scouts "Uh-, Erwin? What the hell am I looking at here?" he just about held it together as he scooted around to Erwin's side. "Trust me, you're not the only one" Levi huffed, "And as fascinating as all this theorizing is, it doesn't get us any closer to figuring out what the hell's going on, or if it can even be reversed": he gazed over at Erwin, "You reckon their minds and bodies have been separated somehow, so how do we go about getting them back together?".
"You know what? Since we're already up to our eyeballs in off-the-scale craziness here, I'm going to throw in my two copper pieces: how about we try waking them up?" Pyxis threw in: "What?" Levi frowned in disbelief, "How can you be sure that will work?" Erwin frowned in equal concern: "Well? For starters, we know they're both alive, and from the sound of that snoring fairly okay" the Garrison commander pointed to Hange and Moblit, as they drifted right above him, "What if they really are being 'projected' from their bodies, and are existing in some kind of 'dream land'?" he pointed to the two 'ghosts' "They're surrounded by the same blue glow, maybe that's the connection? While the body lays dormant, the mind is still awake and free to roam, albeit completely unaware that it's been separated; maybe if we wake them up, their minds will return and they'll be whole again? At this point I really don't see what we have to loose" he reasoned.
The scouts all glanced at one another in wariness, "Fair enough..." Erwin nodded in agreement, "Levi, Petra, help me get Hange down: Eld, Oruo, Gunther, you grab Moblit" he ordered. "Doesn't look like they're leaving any time soon" Mike commented as he saw Hange and Moblit's ghostly forms sit down on some nearby crates, seemingly still neck-deep in pondering over their predicament, albeit now looking a little more worried than before. "Good, then we can observe what happens next" Erwin replied as he climbed up some of the larger crates to grab Hange's cloak and pull her down: Levi grabbed her under the shoulders while Petra supported her head. Eld and Oruo lifted Gunther up on their shoulders to grab Moblit's leg, and lowered him down to the floor; all the while everyone else stood by, looking back and forth between the 'ghosts' and the sleeping Scouts, waiting to see what happens next.
"Hange? Hange wake up!" Erwin shook Hange by the left shoulder, she jolted slightly but didn't wake up, at the exact same moment 'Ghost Hange' suddenly grabbed her left shoulder and jumped up off the crate in shock.
"-WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT WAS THAT?!" Hange yelped in surprise, "What?! What is it?" Moblit worried, seeing the look of fear on her face, "A hand! I felt a hand grab my shoulder!" she looked all around the depot, growing more worried as she wondered if they were really alone.
"Holy hell, I think that kinda worked! She grabbed the same shoulder you did commander!" Petra blinked in surprise as she watched 'ghost Hange' continue to panic, "Hange! Can you hear me?! You need to wake up!" Erwin shouted down at the titan scientist. 'Ghost Hange froze, and gazed around in worry; "I think she knows something's up" Mike realized, "Maybe one more hard shake ought to do the trick". "In that case..." Levi stood over Hange, and with a firm hand, smacked her hard across the face.
At that same moment, 'ghost Hange' froze as her body and aura collapsed into a ball of pure white light, and the blink of an eye, zipped across the depot and into her physical body: Hange woke up with a gasp as her aura suddenly dissipated like a candle being blown out, she sat bolt upright and stared straight ahead in a dazed stupor. 'Ghost Moblit' was freaking out as he frantically looked around for Hange, to which Levi wasted no time in striding over to his physical body and promptly smacking him across the face too: his ghostly form turned into a ball of white light and returned to his body at an unreal speed, at which point he awoke abruptly too. "Sweet Rose, it actually worked!" Pyxis tried to maintain his composure, as he quickly pulled out a different hip-flask, and downed a swig of his favorite tipple.
"Wh-, Erwin? What the hell?..." Hange gazed up at him, then over Levi, Mike, and their respective squads, as they all stared at her in surprise and alarm: she stared dumbly back for a moment, before her brain started to catch up "...Wait, I was asleep the whole time?" she realized with shock. "You both were" Levi replied, at which point Hange noticed Moblit lying on the floor between Eld and Gunther, "-But, that makes no sense; it was so real, so vivid: I could've sworn I was awake the whole time"
"What did you dream about, that seemed so real?" Erwin asked, everyone stared at him weirdly for a moment, before listening as Hange tried to recall: "...Well? Me and Moblit were sitting down here eating dinner, when we dozed off at some point, but when we woke up the entire city of Trost was deserted. We thought it could be an evacuation drill, but when we checked the base, we found the whole place was deserted too"
"Wait-, you dreamed that too?!" Moblit sat bolt upright as he stared at Hange in shock, "I remember-, we checked all over the place: the mess hall, the commander's office, your lab-
"-then the barracks and livery, before coming back here" Hange interjected without missing a beat, her mind now spinning in confusion, before the scientist in her began to reawaken: "Holy hell, it's almost as if our dreams were in sync with one another, so much so that we were sharing one and the same dream together," she thought aloud as her crazy smile returned. "Actually shitty-glasses, you're only half right" Levi interjected, "Huh? What do you mean Levi?" Hange blinked in surprise; from there, the Levi and Mike squads, Erwin, and Pyxis relaid everything that had happened.
And when they were done, the shriek from Hange's elated joy echoed far and wide around the city of Trost.
Meanwhile, at the same time, in the Hidden Land:
On the island of Yggdrasil, gathered together inside the great tree, at the nexus of the nine realms where the Bifrost assented from the earth up into the cosmic ether. Aureia and her sister Asteria, Jarus and Quetzathena were watching the Scouts via one of the many magical pools that resided within the colossal timber; and had been watching them for the better part of the day.
"Well? The cat's truly out of the bag now" Quetzathena smiled "Though I have to say, I'm not surprised Oruo was the only one to nearly hit the nail on the head: even if it is 'witchcraft'"
"Well, it's not like we expected them to loose their heads: between Erwin's calculating line of thinking and Hange's unconventional approach to science, the Scouts know how to keep it together" Jarus thought aloud, "Still, as far as things go, I'd say they took it rather well; relatively speaking of course".
"Relatively speaking..." Asteria pondered aloud, "The world has not seen our kind for nearly half a millennium: the word 'titan' had a completely different meaning when we last roamed the earth, and humans did not cower behind walls as vast as these..." she turned to Jarus, "Given everything we have learned of this new world, and how much has been lost, I'd say we are well and truly 'off the scale' with what is relative in the minds of these people, compared to our standard, of what we consider to be the norm"
"Asteria, dear" Aureia smiled as she placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, "We taught the humans how to read and summon magic once, we can do it again: yes it took us a thousand years of careful diligent labor, but it was a long-term investment that paid off for the better part of ten thousand. The first step is never the easiest, but someone has to tread it"
"And if anyone understands what it means to play the long game, it's Erwin Smith" Quetzathena pointed out, "If anything, I'd say today's little 'display' has given him some serious food for thought," she watched as Erwin sat alone in his office, seemingly contemplating the day's events with a vexed look in his eyes.
"True" Jarus watched the commander with his one keen eye, "Even from here I can see the realization of what's transpired dawn upon him: whatever path he thought the Scouts were set to tread alongside the 'titan hunters', he has now realized is going to carry far-reaching consequences and implications. And now, despite his own dreams, and the ambition and conviction to see them through: even I cannot be sure what path he will ultimately take now"
"Give him time," Aureia advised, "He'll need it: for the next phase of the endeavour to have any chance of succeeding, we're going to have to make our most dangerous gamble yet. Erwin will come to realize this too, and when he does he'll know what needs to be done; it's unavoidable..." she watched the pool as the image of Erwin dissipated in the shimmering ripples, until he was gone from sight.
May, somewhere in Maria:
The month of May had brought an early summer to the kingdom this year, as an unseasonably long stretch of warm weather had banished the mildness of spring into memory: and made the nights uncomfortably humid, much like tonight. As he lay in his sleeping bag, staring up at the stars through the cracked mildew-coated window, waiting for sleep to relieve him of the day's rigors: Erwin thought back over the events of the past few months.
After the strange 'occurrences' caused by the four crystallized titan limbs, it was decided that they would be relocated to a more secure and discreet location: the Scout's former HQ, ten miles north of Trost. After Premier Zachary had been informed of what happened, and decided to see the limbs in person, it was also decided that any further attempts to capture one of the painted-titans would be shelved for the time being; until any further data could be gleaned on how best to try again.
Erwin however, had other ideas: the strange events of that day had left many unanswered questions, some of which posed even bigger, far-reaching implications if they turned out to be true. By this point it was now clear that what happened in the forest back in February was no accident: at least, the limbs being abandoned with no protests from the hunters; they left them there on purpose. And what followed, was a 'demonstration' of sorts. For all the craziness it caused, it made sense in a strange way: and Erwin was confident that the hunters would not have let them take the limbs, if they knew they would cause harm.
The hunters had proven their point, they were not what they appeared to be at first glance; and now, the bigger picture seemed to be so much more vast and mysterious than before. This was not simply a case of a strange group of humans working alongside a strange group of titans, there was something much bigger at play here, something far beyond the realm of mere human comprehension. For the first time in the longest time he could recall, Erwin felt as if he were being given a glimpse into a whole other world, one that existed just below the surface of the one he knew: somewhere strange and unknown, and yet, had always been there, just beyond the reach of his field of vision.
But for all the promise of new discoveries, and another step forward on the path to finding the truth: there was also the hesitation that came from the familiar fear of the unknown. Erwin could see it in the eyes of his Scouts, the rookies in particular had been wary of the hunters from practically day one: and the veteran contingent wasn't much different. He was leading them into new territory, but where were they heading? And what would be waiting at the end of the road?. For all the indications that the hunters meant no harm, and their titan counterparts were equal in their benevolence: there were just too many unknowns to warrant any further attempts to investigate them. And after their last encounter Erwin decided to play it safe, and instead, focus on reconnaissance for the eventual recapture of Wall Maria. The last two expeditions of which, had taken them alongside the southern Marian river: far from the vast green wilderness of the forest.
However, the feeling that eyes were watching them at a distance, had never left any of the Scouts: they knew the hunters were still observing them, and were no doubt aware of their abrupt change in behaviour and direction. But avoiding the forest for three months didn't just serve as a 'cooling off' period between the hunters and Scouts, Erwin was playing yet another hunch: and had speculated that if the hunters really were concerned for their welfare, that they might just risk sneaking up on them again.
As he continued to stare up at the deep indigo sky, the soft breathing and snoring of the other Scouts filled the rooms of the abandoned guest-house: the town they had chosen to camp in was one of many stops on the route to Shiganshina, not far from the river, and not too far from the forest...
Then, a familiar chill ran up the commander's spine, the kind that told him he wasn't the only one awake here...
Sitting upright, he craned his head up to look out the window, and glancing down into the town square below, he saw a single light in the window of the inn on the opposite side of the square. Knowing the Scouts keeping the night-watch were all on the perimeter of the town, and knowing no scout under his command would dare to drink on the job: there was only one other possibility as to who it might be...
Quietly as he could, Erwin slipped out of his sleeping bag, slipped on his boots, slipped into his ODM gear, and silently made his way out the room. Hange's loud baritone snoring covered the sound of his footsteps adequately, as he made his way down the stairs, relying on memory and scant moonlight to navigate the darkness, until he finally stepped outside into the silent windless night. As he walked across the town square, he saw no one else was around, and no indication that something was amiss.
He cautiously stepped the inside the inn, and immediately noticed the single lit candle sitting on the far end of the counter: half-way down from which, the dark form of a giant owl seemed to be perched on a bar-stool, looming over the bar with its wings hunched forward and head down. Erwin very nearly gasped in shock, until he noticed vaguely through the dark gloom, the human legs propped up on the stool, and the gloved hand holding a small half-full glass on the bar; next to which sat an opened bottle, and a very familiar looking owl mask...
"Either you've got feet of clay..." Grey owl spoke as he took a sip of his drink, his face concealed by his hood "...Or you've been busy with other things of late"
Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, Erwin stood in the door as he replied, "Busy is an understatement"
"I'll bet..." Grey Owl smirked as he downed the last of his drink, and with his hood still up, donned his mask: before slipping off the stool and turning to face Erwin "Those limbs must given you and your Scouts quite the run-around"
"So you did leave them behind on purpose" Erwin smirked slightly, "Of course we did, but I'll bet you already figured that out before the month was even out..." Grey Owl smirked behind his mask, "In any case, I assume you've taken certain measures to assure they won't be 'mishandled' in any way?". "Yes, they've been taken to a secure location, one only myself and handful of other people know about: even the king and royal government are not permitted to know" Erwin stated.
"That's all well and good; but I think you've already surmised, that's not the reason I'm here... " Grey Owl stated in a more serious manner. Erwin cautiously stepped inside, making sure to keep a distance: and with a look in his eyes that told him he understood, he stated "... Firstly, I wanted to apologize for what happened the last time we met: first impressions are always important, and what happened would never have come to pass if the choice had entirely been mine"
"Water under the bridge," Grey Owl dismissed, "Sometimes, first impressions aren't always what they seem: sometimes it takes a while to really get a feel for someone". "Exactly..." Erwin stepped closer, "And I know now, you're far more than what you appear to be..." an uneasy silence hung in the air for a moment, before Erwin got straight to the point "... There are things in this world that, on the surface don't appear to make any sense; and most people's first reaction would be one of fear. But sometimes, despite the facts that lie before us, the truth is far stranger than fiction, and it takes an certain kind of courage and daring to want to find it. We had been labouring under the assumption that you and your giant friends were something that was not so dissimilar to us: unconventional as both our forces may be, we believed it was something that was relatively straight-forward to pursue... Until..."
"... Yeah" Grey Owl sighed, knowing exactly what Erwin was referring to "That's why we left the limbs behind. Granted the whole thing with the titans showing up out of nowhere was not planned, we never intended for anyone to be in any danger: but somehow, life has a way of throwing shit in your way despite your best-laid plans, and the end-result of that fight turned out to be an opportunity: for you, to glean a little more 'truth'"
"And what is the truth?" Erwin pressed him.
"Exactly as you surmised," Grey Owl elaborated "Truth is stranger than fiction, and it does indeed, require a certain kind of courage and daring to want to find it. But I have found, in my experience at least, you have to have both an open mind and an open heart to truly learn; truth can be a subjective thing, everyone has an idea or belief in what 'truth' is. Some are willing to amend their beliefs in order to accommodate it, while others, would readily kill to defend their version of it. Either way, it depends on what you believe"
Erwin dropped his gaze in thought for a moment, before asking "...Is it a truth we are ready to know? Either way, this world will not change for the better if we do not do something to gain the upper hand on the regular titans"
"And that right there, is the reason you, this entire kingdom, are not yet ready" Grey Owl stepped forward as he explained "The mentality of being prepared to fight tooth and claw, and regarding the world as your enemy: its been drummed into every child who was ever born within these walls, and even my own children have not been exempt. Of course the world is not easy, and seldom does there appear to be goodness in spades: but that does not mean you have to return one's cruelty with your own. Not everything in this world is out to get you, and not every stranger is your enemy, no matter how mysterious or different they may be"
"So, are you a stranger to this kingdom?" Erwin asked with a raised eyebrow, "Technically no: I was born and raised here in Maria, as were the rest of my family: but our clan is descended from another ethnicity, like the Asians but different. We have a different belief system, a different way of living, we do things others in this kingdom are not accustom to: by and large we're technically outsiders. And yet, Shiganshina was our home, and the people that lived within its walls were our friends and family: we were welcome in each other's homes, sat down at each others tables, ate the same food and drank the same wine, laughed, talked and cried together. We are different, but we are human, the same as you and everyone else. We lost our home the day the titans attacked, and like many others that year, we too mourned and buried our beloved dead"
Erwin stared at him in surprise for a moment, before pressing him further "You're-, descended from another kind of people?". "Another culture, yes" Grey Owl clarified, "But the fact we're different made us targets for some, and we went to great measures to conceal our identities, passing ourselves off as citizens of this kingdom, and for a long time it actually worked: after the attack on Shiganshina we were forced to flee into the forest. But ours is a culture of hunters and nomads, so surviving in the wild is hardly new to us: but the titans didn't make it easy; even with Shadow, Midnight, Boar and Angel to watch our backs"
"You (your children I mean) said before that you couldn't enter the interior because you have enemies there, and that simply knowing their name and asking around would draw their attention in an unsavoury way. Let's say for the sake of this conversation I take you at your word on that, how much of it is true, and do they pose a threat to the people of this kingdom?" the commander asked with a serious frown; to which Grey Owl sighed, and replied"... They are the kingdom: its monarchy, it's governance, its civil enforcement, but the head of the serpent lies in its religion: its ruled this kingdom from the shadows for the better part of the last hundred years, always pushing the status quo with great prejudice and cruelty, with impunity from those who're supposed to protect the population. They claim to know what is best for the people, when in truth, they treat them no differently to cattle; commodities that can be brought and sold with little or no regard for their freedom or rights as citizens"
The head of the serpent lies within its religion
Erwin's eyes flew open as he put two and two together, but his poker-face returned as he asked, "That's quite an accusation: do you have any proof to back it up?"
"We have witnesses; hundreds of them" Grey Owl stated seriously"People who've suffered their cruelty first-hand, and lived to tell of it. I cannot tell you where they are, for now: we're not willing to send them back only to be captured and accused of heresy, or worse. And many are not willing to step foot in the interior anyway, despite the fact they still have family and friends living there, and we can't risk them being used as leverage; so for now, the kingdom must believe they are dead"
Erwin studied the Grey Owl for a moment, before asking "...I assume you wish to attempt some kind of action against this 'serpent'? If so, you realise what means, don't you?"
"Which is why you and the Scouts are our best option, if we're to have any chance of saving humanity. Our goal is not simply to wipe out the titans, they are but a symptom of a much larger problem: one that stems far back into history, and one that is not so straight-forward; not at a glance, and not in depth. The 'truth' is but the start of the path, where will it take us in the fullness of time? I don't know. Mankind may go down a road that takes us all into a future that'll be fraught with mystery and danger, more unpredictable than what we know now; but at least, there would be hope, and a chance to build a better future: and I know that hope cannot come while mankind remains under the heel of the ones who would see us all in chains, if not worse" Grey owl paused a moment, as he let his gaze drop in thought "...But, like I said, we are a different people from a different culture, humanity may not look kindly upon strange humans that live and hunt alongside intelligent titans: we would look like an invading army, regardless of our intentions no matter how benevolent they may be: but with the Scouts, the pinnacle of human ingenuity and endeavor, to speak for us, we would at least be heard, and not dismissed as untrustworthy strangers"
"No" Erwin stated flatly. Grey Owl blinked in surprise, "...What?". Erwin explained "I understand what your saying, and I believe you are, for the most part, honest in your intentions: but you cannot rely upon us to merely speak on your behalf"
"What do you mean?" Grey Owl pressed him, his voice somewhat betraying his surprise: "For what standing we hold in the military and the reputation the Scouting Corps carries as the spearhead of humanity, us returning to the interior with you and your 'family' would raise a lot of questions: and some might be inclined to speculate your true intentions for coming into the interior so willingly, especially when it's been noted that you've been unwilling in the past. Simply pleading your case to the people and taking action with us as your allies won't be enough: the question of your allegiance would be moot" Erwin told him seriously, "...The people need to see you for themselves, they need to know that you are honest in your intentions and willing in your commitment: but above all, they need to know you're willing to fight for them, just as you fight to protect your family and those in your care..." The commander stated in a cold honest tone "...You need to earn the trust of mankind itself, to have the people of the walls bare witness to you and your family's endeavor: to offer undeniable proof of your willingness to offer up your hearts, and to fight for every last man woman and child that lives and breaths within the walls"
Grey Owl stared at him for moment, his eyes concealed by the darkness behind his mask: Erwin got the impression he was somewhat surprised, as he warily asked, "...What are you suggesting? That we put innocent lives on the line, just to prove a point?"
Erwin frankly replied "If that's what it takes to prove once and for all that you are an ally of mankind, then yes: it would be a step in the right direction". Grey Owl let his gaze drop, as a heavy sigh escaped from under his mask: "...When we first started this, we knew we'd have to make some hard choices somewhere down the line. I just didn't think one of them would be having to make a deal with the devil"
"Grey Owl, I wouldn't be suggesting this to you if I didn't think you could do it" Erwin replied. Grey Owl was taken aback, but didn't reply as he listened to the commander explain "These past four or so years you've been letting your children indulge their curiosity with us, you and the rest of your family have been silently watching us: testing us, looking to see if we had the same care and concern for our fellow man as you do, that despite our differences in culture, our hearts beat as one. Why else would you have saved us from all those titans, why would you stop to help us from being attacked when we were so vulnerable, and why would you be standing here now?".
Grey Owl remained silent, as Erwin further elaborated "... Grey Owl, I know you would not have taken up this fight without knowing that sacrifices would be inevitable, and I know you're not naïve: how else could either of us have come this far, and be standing here now? We are here, because those that came before us gave their lives to ensure we had a chance to carry on, to keep fighting, and to ensure their deaths were not in vain. Every life given was not a waste, and no one wishes for a pointless death. I don't know who's memory you fight for, but I know you and your whole family fight with purpose and conviction. You may not be soldiers, you may not even be true citizens of this kingdom, but you are human, and you have what it takes to prove that... I only ask, that when the time comes: when humanity is facing it's darkest hour, and hope seems like a distant memory, that you keep your promise, and fight for mankind with everything you got"
The Owl gazed at Erwin, before letting a small chuckle escape his lips: composing himself, Grey Owl replied in a half-hearted tone "Well? What can I say? You certainly don't disappoint," he stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Erwin, we have no intention of ever turning our backs on humanity: when that time comes, we'll give our everything, and more. But I want to ask something of you too..." Erwin blinked in surprise as Grey Owl honestly, and in a soft fatherly tone asked "... Please, don't let yourself become a demon, just to beat the devil at his own game; I've seen too many good people become the very thing they hate, just to try and escape the road their fate has chosen for them. You either die a hero, with some form of honour and dignity: sacrificing yourself so that something better will eventually come, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain: hurting all humanity just so that you may save your own... Your heart is in the right place (morally dubious as it may be), so be sure to keep it there, okay?..."
The Grey Owl then turned, and walked into the darkness of the shadows, "Okay ..." Erwin replied honestly, before stopping him "-Wait...". Grey stopped, and listened as the commander asked, "One more thing: it goes without saying, your giant friends are far more then what they appear to be. So, what are they, exactly?"
"Gods, maybe?" Grey Owl shrugged with a small chuckle "Search me if I know Erwin, honestly, your guess is as good as anyone else's; but after all this time, after witnessing all the incredible things they can do, there's only one thing that matters the most... They're family, and that's all that really matters at the end of the day, as far as I'm concerned... Until next time..."
"Until next time..." Erwin bid him farewell.
Grey Owl quietly strode past the end of the bar, and into the other room adjacent, snuffing the candle out as he walked by; the second the flame went out, his footsteps fell silent, and he was gone. Erwin quickly took out his pocket matches and relit the candle before striding into the room, but looking around, he saw the man had completely vanished; as if he'd never been there to begin with. Blowing out the candle and stepping outside the inn, Erwin gazed up at the moon and stars, and allowed a small smile to tug at the corner of his lips...
'Well, that was certainly interesting' he thought to himself...
A short time later, somewhere deep in the Marian forest:
The wind kicked up as Shadow flew down through the trees in his elemental form, with his human family carried in his powerful updrafts: after finding their camp, he rematerialized back into his titan form and placed them on the ground, while Midnight, Boar and Angel flew down and turned back into titans from their avian disguises. After spitting out their concealment stones and becoming visible again, the humans gathered around the god-titans: the atmosphere in the group was somewhat tense, as if everyone was waiting for the other shoe to drop: Clay was the first to break the silence "Well? Bit of a tight squeeze into that inn, but I take it we all heard everything?"
"It goes without saying," Bryson sighed offhand, "But it's safe to assume both us and Erwin are now on the same level"
"For sure. The Keeper's speculation was just about on the mark" Falken added, as he tended to Evernight "In which case, throwing him that hint about the Wall Cult was probably not a bad idea"
"Maybe, but will he take that hint and keep his mouth shut, that's what I'm worried about" Evrard threw in skeptically, "Dad, seriously?" Hazel crossed her arms as she shot him a sideways glance, "I think after all this time, a guy as smart as Erwin isn't going to push his luck unless he knows he can afford to: he'll handle it the way he sees best, okay?"
"At least letting him take the limbs was the right call" Tyto threw in as he removed his mask, pulled back his hood, and ran his fingers through his hair as he gazed up at Shadow "Letting the Scouts get a glance of your powers, even residual in nature, made him realize the truth of the matter is far more than what it seems, and forced him to reconsider whatever he was originally going to pursue"
Shadow nodded in agreement, holding up a hand and selling out :That would seem to be the case, his intentions have somewhat shifted in regards to us at least. Even if the Scouts are not yet ready to accept magic as a reality, they are now asking the right questions, and that's a good start:
"Well? It's as good as start as any" Carla shrugged, before her expression turned serious, "...But still, what he said about earning the trust of mankind: he didn't mean what I think he meant, did he?"
"You mean waiting until humanity comes under attack from the titans again?" Dale piped up, dropping the other shoe "Yeah, pretty much" he sighed dryly. Everyone stared at him in a mix of shock and annoyance, to which Dale flinched in surprise, "Wait a minute-, you mean to tell me none of you picked up that hint?!"
"Don't be stupid, of course we picked it up!" Fox frowned in ire, "It's just-, you know, fucking insane!" he fumed.
Well it's not like we didn't expect any less of the Commander, Fox" Bryson pointed out, "And as uncomfortable a prospect as it may be, the man has a point: if we're to gain the trust of the public, we need to be seen doing something unquestionably heroic. An act of sacrifice that no one can refute: even if we die in the process, the fact we're willing to risk our lives for others under such dire circumstances would be something the public would look upon favorably"
"Maybe..." Hawk thought aloud as he folded his arms, "... He's really willing to risk entrusting us with the survival of mankind, just to get the public to side with us? Its a hell of a gamble, but the pay-off would allow us the chance we need to continue the next phase of the endeavor" he reasoned.
But Rowan was not so sure, as he threw in his concern "... I'm not saying I don't agree, but, how do we know it'll work out for sure? Say for the sake of the conversation we do this, the titans attack one of the walled cities and humanity's in peril, we show up, help the military fight back, win the day and everyone hails us as hero's. How do we know the Wall Cult won't do something to twist that to their advantage?"
"That's a risk we're going to have to take, Rowan" Tyto laid a hand on his son's shoulder, "Along with everything else entering the interior entails: we can't keep procrastinating over this forever, and Erwin is now waiting to see if we'll hold true to our promise; that, we cannot back down from"
Rowan let his gaze drop as a look of unease and uncertainty reflected in his eyes: seeing this, Ariana approached and gently laid her hand on his other shoulder; her eyes filled with worry for him. "... Rowan? What's this really about?" she asked tentatively: he glanced up at her, letting out a sigh as he confessed "... Did it ever occur to anyone that this goes both ways?" he turned back to his father, "It's not just the people of the interior who's trust needs to be earned, but everyone within the Hidden Land too"
An uneasy silence hung in the air for a moment, this wasn't new to anyone, but no one interrupted as Rowan continued: "... Us Celt's, the Rangers, the survivors of the failed retrieval op: everyone we know has lost their homes, their families, even their very identity as humans because of the Wall Cult, and all their lackey's in the Royal Government and MP's. Hell, even all of us standing here have a reason to hate them. We may be wanting to help the rest of humanity survive the titans, and the people of the interior might well welcome it for all I know? But what I do know, is that there is not a single person among the five hundred survivors that will stick their necks out for anyone within this walled kingdom. And whatever family they might still have back in the interior, have probably died in one form or another by now; if not by being worked to death in the Cornucopium's and Sanctuaries, then by being mistreated or worse by their master's, since many of them were sold into slavery or prostitution... How can we do this, and live up to Erwin's expectation's when we know our own people won't be willing to back us up?"
"... Why do you always have to be the one to see the worst in others, Rowan?" Shyla approached him: Rowan was taken aback as she looked him in the eye, holding his gaze with an unreadable face as she told him " … Despite the circumstances of your past, and how far you have come, why must you always assume people are going to let you down?".
Rowan thought about it for a moment: she had a point, he wasn't confidant in trusting other people, especially those he didn't know all too well; but then, he was especially uneasy with the idea of having to distance himself from someone he'd known all his life, who betrayed his trust in a bad way. Thoughts of Eren flashed through his mind, as he remembered the day he and Ariana returned home with Mikasa in tow. After learning of what happened up on the mountain, and learning of what Eren had done, Rowan was furious: beyond livid when he heard of what Ariana was forced to do because of him; even if it was to save Mikasa. Before, he was simply one of Ariana's friends, who he'd tease to no end: but after that day, Rowan wanted nothing more than to throttle Eren to death. The only things stopping him was Carla: after everything they'd been through together, he didn't want to break her heart; she was far too good for Eren anyway, even if she was his mother, and she loved him regardless of what happened. And Ariana of course, despite what happened between them, she and Eren eventually made up, and they were still on talking terms; she forgave him. But Rowan could never forgive Eren: knowing he forced his little sister into that fight, forced her to become a murderer (even if it was in self-defense), he felt nothing but rage towards him. Fortunately, Dale and Ash managed to reason with him enough that he was able to recognize the consequences of whatever might come of wanting to take revenge. So, Rowan bit his tongue, and kept his temper bottled up deep down inside: he never spoke to Eren, would not speak of him unless needed to, and would refuse to be anywhere near him.
What happened that day took everyone by shock, but what Rowan couldn't fathom, was just how much Eren had changed in the few years leading up to the incident: sure he was hot-headed and spouting off about the titans at any given opportunity; it was annoying more than anything, and the grown-ups chalked it up to him simply going through a 'phase'. No one expected he would do what he did, the sheer level of violence and savagery involved; and that was what hurt Ariana: Eren didn't just force her to fight and kill, he broke her heart. And for that, if there were no limits, Rowan would have lead him up into the forest, take him to somewhere no one could hear him scream, subject him to the worst torture humanly imaginable, and then...end him...
But it wasn't just Eren, he was simply one of many humans in this world that Rowan feared: the kind that hated what they feared, that would beat you down and grind you into pulp before ever wanting to hear you out; all for the littlest, insignificant differences that don't even matter in the long run. And if Ariana's best friend, who she had known her whole life, could be capable of turning out so bad, how would the rest of humanity fare?
Rowan gazed back at Shyla, and simply replied "...Because no human is perfect: and not everyone is capable of loving another. Or, forgiving one another; and I'm no acceptation..." he elaborated, "Don't get me wrong, I know there are good people in this world, and not everyone's gonna see us as a threat. It's just-, what do we do to try and change the minds of the one's who don't want to listen?"
:Nothing: Shadow spelt out, his eyes reflecting a rather 'whatever will be, will be' attitude :... Some people are so set in their ways that they won't ever change, no matter what you say or do. But for some, while its not possible to change their minds, it can be possible to open them:
"Open their minds? How?" Rowan raised an eyebrow, to which Shadow smiled, :Oh, I have my ways, and I've been told I can be quite the people person at times:
"Oh yeah, absolutely riveting to listen to in conversation" Pascal sarcastically sighed, to which everyone couldn't help but chuckle, and Midnight playfully punched her cousin in the shoulder. Tyto smiled as he held Rowan's gaze, "He's right son, some people don't change no matter what. And there's no point getting worked up about it", "But-. Tyto stopped him, and added "-Rowan; there's something my Grandfather once said that's always stuck with me, a little pearl of wisdom you might benefit from too. No matter how much you plead, the mountain will not move out of your way: have the strength to carve your own path through its rock, and be wise enough to know where to go". "Huh?" Rowan stared back at him in confusion, "What does that mean, dad?" Ariana asked. "It means," Tyto smiled, "To accept the things you cannot change, to have the courage to change the things you can, and have the wisdom to be able to tell the difference"
"Is that ol' Celtic wisdom huh?" West smiled offhand, "One of many your great grandfather never got to tell you himself " Tyto sighed as he gazed at Rowan with a tired smile, "Listen, Rowan, I can't promise anything: and you know that. Yes, Some will look upon us and see enemies, others will see intrigue, and others will see fellow human beings; but regardless of what they say or do, it won't change what we'll be there to do. And who knows? You might just be surprised". "Yeah, so quit laying on the negativity already!" Belle grinned as she threw her arm around him, "We got your back all the way, so stop your belly-aching okay?"
Carla couldn't help but smile as she pulled back her hood and removed her bandanna and neckerchief, watching the family as they horsed around Rowan, much to his annoyance. As she thought about Tyto's pearl of wisdom, she gazed up at the stars through the trees, and thought back to her musings on Grisha and Eren, as well as Captain Levi. "Hey, that's a real treat" Ariana smiled, "Huh? What is?" Carla blinked in surprise, "Seeing a smile on your face again" Lucy added as she and Lucius approached with Ariana in tow, with Angel stepping over the other humans to kneel down beside her: Carla couldn't help but smile more as she hugged the twins by the shoulders, and Angel leaned down to nose-boop her on the top of her head with a happy chirp. "...You know?" She gazed down at the children, "Tyto's right, some things you just can't change: painful as they may be". "... Still having regrets?" Ariana asked offhand, having a good idea of what she was referring to.
Carla thought about it for a moment, before confessing, "I think, if I'm being honest with myself? The one regret that stands out the most, is that I didn't tell Grisha, Eren and Mikasa about Angel sooner..." she reached up to stroke Angel on the nose, to which the bird-titan warbled sadly, "I know they'd have loved you, and maybe if they knew about you sooner, Eren and Mikasa might still be alive; but, back then I made a choice I believed to be the right one, and I have to live with that. But I can't let it get in the way of what lies ahead; not anymore. I'll carve out my own path over the mountain, and I'll go wherever it takes me... When we reach the interior, I'll find Grisha, and I'll tell him everything: you, the god-titan's, the Hidden land, everything, all the way back to the very beginning; and I'll accept whatever he decides to do with that knowledge, and me..."
"You sure about that?" Ariana asked in concern, "Yes, I've decided I-
But Carla stopped as she glanced over at Ariana, and gasped in surprise: Lucy, Lucius and Angel turned to see what she was looking at, and all gasped in equal shock: "Guys? What it is? What's wrong?" Ariana suddenly worried.
"Ariana-, your-" Carla pointed at her face, "Your right eye! It's glowing!"
"What?!" Ariana stared at them all in confusion: she quickly pulled out one of her crystal pairing blades, and gazing down at her reflection in the shiny glass-like surface, saw much to her shock, that her right eye was indeed glowing a bright vivid shade of electric blue. Angel chirped in alarm, grabbing everyone's attention, and it didn't take them long to realize the emergency at hand; "What the hell?! Ariana What happened to your eye?!" Clay blurted out in shock, "Freaky as it is, it looks kinda cool" Belle smiled, to which Gale sternly elbowed her in the gut.
Shadow was quick to lean down and take a closer look, his eyes glowing as he activated his power: scanning her up and down for the source of the glow. "Uh- Bro?" Herne worried, "...It's okay, it's not her" Javorin sighed with relief, before concern laced his mental voice, "But it's-
"-Shadow?" Tyto interjected worryingly, "What's going on? I thought you said the blood you gave Ariana to restore her eye wouldn't carry any of your powers over to her". :Technically it didn't: Shadow was quick to clarify, :But a god's blood, even residing in the body of a human, and cut off from the main host over a period of time, is still latent with vestigial magical energies. The glow is not from a power awakened within Ariana, that wouldn't be possible even with the amount of blood I gave her; the magic is reacting to something else, something that's stimulating it, albeit weakly:
"Stimulating it?" Hecate frowned in concern, but before she could say anything else, she felt a ripple in the darkness of the forest: something was close by, and it wasn't human, animal or titan...
Ariana was about to say something else, when Midnight suddenly sat upright with a look of concern in her eyes. Everyone turned to where she was looking, and it didn't take them long to spot whet she saw...
Standing at the edge of the clearing just a few meters past the treeline, was a figure watching them, so concealed by the shadows that they appeared to be solid black: they seemed to be short, with a very emaciated, almost skeletal frame that hardly seemed to have any fat or flesh on it. The stranger seemed to be staring at them, unmoving, and seemingly unfazed by the presence of the god-titan's.
"Uh, guys? We had our concealment stones in the whole time we were at that town, right?" Pascal whispered softly, trying to hide the alarm in his voice, "No one knew we were there". "And we checked this whole area before setting up the dreys, I didn't smell anyone" Jaye whispered back in equal concern.
:Guys: Boar discreetly spelt out on the ground as his mane began to stand on end, :Don't panic, but that's not a human:
"Huh? But what is it?" Ashlyn asked worryingly.
"Uh, hello?" Carla called out without thinking. Suddenly, the figure, still in a standing position, darted away into the forest in the blink of an eye, moving at an unreal pace for any living creature, nevermind a human. The undergrowth was not disturbed, and no scent could be smelt. The humans nearly jumped out of their skins as it took off, to which Midnight quickly got up and spelt out :You guys stay here, I'll go sort it out. But stay sharp, just in case we need to move:. But before anyone could stop her, she was already transformed into her shadow-creature form, and moving through the trees like a sentient cloud of ink.
"What the hell-" Ariana tried to get her bearings, looking back down into the crystal pairing blade, she saw the glow in her eye slowly die out, until it was back to normal; "...Whoa, was that what my eye was reacting to?" she thought aloud. "-Boar, what the hell was that thing?!" Hazel nearly freaked out. "Yeah, do we need to get ready to bail outta here or what?!" West concurred. Shadow and Boar both looked each other gravely, while Angel pestered them for an answer: "Guys, seriously, what the hell did we just see?!" she panicked.
"Something I hope we wouldn't run into" Herne sighed warily; Javorin explained, "That was a wraith: the spirit of a human that died under violent circumstances, or in a state of extreme rage, fear or sorrowful despair. The potency of the emotional trauma left in the wake of the individual's death turns the spirit into a hollow shell of who they were in life, the spirit is then compelled to feed on the emotional energies of the living just to sustain itself. They prey on fear, anger, pain and suffering. Human agony personified. Running into one is never a pleasant experience"
"But-, Hecate's got it covered right? Sending the dead on to the afterlife is her thing, she is technically a death god" Elysia worried. "Kid, one wraith is hardly any trouble for the goddess who laid waste to the ten thousand demon legions of Ptolomea and Judecca" Herne replied offhand, "But still, the fact we just saw one is a little surprising, if not concerning"
"Given how many people died during the failed retrieval op out here, this is surprising to you?!" Elysia shot him a look, to which Herne looked her in the eye, and stated in all seriousness, "Elysia, how long have we been hunting titans, and how many corpses and bones have we found out here? If there was any haunted ground nevermind any wraiths wandering about, we'd have sensed it a mile away: the stench and taint of poisoned manna is not something you forget. Wherever that wraith came from, it wasn't from Maria, it came from somewhere else!"
Elysia stared at him in shock, while Javorin glanced back at his brother, "First titans appearing out of nowhere, now wraiths? Something's going on for sure, and I don't like it"
"No shit bro," Herne sighed in frustration, "And you can bet your giant ass Aureia's already sensed it too"
Meanwhile, back in the Hidden land:
Standing atop the peak of the great Eastern Mountain: a bright glistening star in humanoid form, Aureia stood with her staff in hand, gazing past the northern mountains, watching Wall Rose as the moon lit it up like a line of chalk stretching from one side of the horizon to the other. From her lofty perch, she watched and listened disquieted as the energies of the earth and sky rippled and flowed unnaturally, and uneasily. Echoes of something dark and malicious were stirring on the other side of the wall, but it would not reveal itself, it could tell her eyes were upon it, and it would not let her see it.
Her eyes narrowed sharply as she continued to watch it, maintaining her vigil with careful scrutiny...
Down inside the mountain, sequestered in his private quarters: Jarus silently floated above the floor, his legs crossed and his hands pressed together as he meditated with his one golden eye open. With his body remaining in the physical world and his mind stretched out into the ether, he gazed out beyond the physical confines of the mortal plane, and out across the span of time: carefully studying all the intricate patterns of cause and effect; who, what, where, and at what time that was to come into play...
Then, one thread of fate caught his eye, one that was tied to Carla's, and ultimately everyone else's: as he focused on it to get a better look, a face and an identity transpired, and he couldn't help but be surprised...
"... Eren? ..." he blurted out offhand: and with his eye still trained on the boy, he couldn't help but smile "... Hm, of all the unexpected twists, you were the last one I expected. It's nice to be surprised every once in a while... Where've you been these last four years?"
Several hours later, elsewhere:
Screaming and cries of panic were echoing all around, as smoke and blood filled the air.
The booming thuds of giant footsteps approached, while countless hundreds stampeded towards the inner gate.
Her horror-filled eyes gazed down at him one last time, as the titan clenched her in its fist, and lifted her up to its blood-stained maw.
Then, the street disappeared from view: consumed in a giant fire blast that swallowed up everything around it, including her, and the titan.
As Hannes tried to push his way through the crowd, they found themselves being carried along in the stampede: like a river laden with meltwater, fast flowing and unstoppable in its strength and volume. No one could stop, and no one was willing to, knowing that it meant death.
Then, suddenly, just up ahead as they ran out onto the main street, several smaller titans rounded the corner, causing the crowd to scatter and panic even more: the brutes charged into the panicked hoard and started snapping up victims like terriers wiping out a nest of rats. Blood, guts and limbs were flying about and screams of desperation were quickly cut out, as Hannes managed to rejoin the remaining crowd; but just when it seemed like there was a clear path, another, much larger titan suddenly blind-sided them. The monster reached down and grabbed a handful of people in both hands, including an unlucky rookie Garrison troop.
In their desperation, some of the people grabbed Eren's jacket, while other's grabbed Mikasa's cardigan, and the rookie, screaming at Hannes to help him, somehow had his uniform jacket slipped off over his head as Eren and Mikasa tried to grab a hold; but to no avail. The titan's strength was too much, and as it lifted its victims up to its gaping jaws, Eren and Mikasa's hands slipped, and the jacket, cardigan and uniform fell to the ground, landing in a puddle of blood...
"Eren?"
As the city went up in flames, and the silhouettes of the monsters loomed over the rooftops and darkened the streets, something caught his eye...
"Eren?"
A white dove soaring high, followed by a magpie.
"Eren!"
Eren woke up with a gasp, half-surprised to see Mikasa looming over him with a concerned look on her face: for a moment he forgot where he was, or what he was doing in a sleeping-bag, laying alongside a still-sleeping Connie and Sasha in the woods; until it came back to him, and he yawned as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. "Ugh, Mikasa? What's wrong?" he groaned, "You were fidgeting in your sleep: were you having a bad dream?" she asked in a motherly-like tone.
He looked at her confused for a moment, thinking back on said dream, as the memory of that day came back to mind with painful clarity: "... Guess I was" he admitted sheepishly in a quiet voice. But before Mikasa could console him further, one of the other cadet's broke the peace: "CONNIE, SHASHA WAKE UP!" Nadine shouted down at the two cadets, virtually right next to their ears, both of whom jumped out of their sleeping-bags and scrambled around in a panic before Sasha tripped and fell over into a nearby bush, while Connie went head-first into Reiner's gut, accidentally headbutting him, and causing him to trip and fall over Bertholdt, who was just about to slip out of his sleeping-bag. Nadine, the ginger redheaded blue-eyed trouble maker that she was, nearly keeled over as she laughed hysterically; much to everyone's annoyance.
"What the hell Nadine?!" Eren snapped at her, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" Connie fumed as Mikasa helped him and Bertholdt up onto their feet, while Armin and Marco helped Sasha up "Yeah! Someone could've been hurt!" Sasha concurred angrily. "Hahaha! Aw come on guys, can't a girl get a little fun in around here?" Nadine laughed as she calmed down and straightened up, "Not when it involves sending half the camp into chaos," Reiner shot her a reprimanding gaze, "The Commandant and other officers may not be here, but we're still required to treat this exercise as if it were for real: show a little more professionalism and exercise some self-control" he added sternly. "Ugh! Whatever, dad" she added sarcastically, then paced off back to her sleeping bag to gather her kit together.
"What the hell's up with her?" Jean discreetly thought aloud, as he came up alongside Marco "Two years she's been training alongside us, and not once has she even tried to shape up". "Uh-, Well? Everybody gets through the training in their own way, maybe its just her thing, you know?" Marco nervously suggested: "There's trying to cope, and then there's being a straight-up jerk" Eren frowned in annoyance as he gazed over at her, before glancing over at Marco "Besides, you're the team-leader for this exercise Marco, say something to her!"
"Uh-, Yeah, I'll go and have a word with her..." Marco sighed in anxiousness as he walked over to her, and discreetly pulled her to one side, out of earshot of the others. "Eren," Mikasa grabbed his attention as she gently took his hand, "Don't let her get to you". Eren sighed in annoyance, and got to work packing up the camp with the others, "... Man, I'm just glad this exercise is nearly over, two days stuck out in the sticks with her is enough to test anyone" he thought aloud, "Tell me about it" Connie huffed, "Maybe we should try hunting something to have for dinner tonight? It'd make a nice change from field rations" Sasha suggested, trying to lighten the mood, "You can cook?" Jean asked offhand, "Of course I can! It's a piece of cake!" she smiled.
"Hey, what was all that shouting about?" Ymir asked as she, Krista and Annie returned from the river with some of the horses in tow, "Oh, just Nadine being Nadine, Marco's sorting her out right now" Armin replied as he approached, "Are we good to go?". "Not before breakfast!" Sasha replied as she eagerly rummaged through her kit bag, searching for the jerky she 'acquired' from the officer's pantry, but when she found the small bag that was supposed to be holding it, she found to her horror, that it was empty, "Wh-wh-what?!" she stammered in shock. At the same time, Marco reached down and pulled something out of Nadine's bag, "Nadine, why have you got this meat with you?" he dumbly asked her.
Sasha's head snapped in the direction of Nadine, who looked like a deer in a hunter's lamp light: the look in Sasha's eyes was that of fury as she jumped to her feet and chased after the now-fleeing cadet, "YOU UNSCRUPULOUS THEIF! YOU DIDN'T EVEN THINK TO OFFER ANYONE ELSE A PIECE?!" Sasha raged as she chased her up into the woods, with the rest of the cadets watching on. "Hey come on you guys! Stop it!" Krista shouted after them anxiously, "Guys! We need to do something about this!" Bertholdt worried, "Like what?! You know how Sasha gets when someone comes between her and food!" Connie frowned, "She shouldn't have stolen it to begin with" Annie pointed out in her usual dull tone, "I say we start a new pool: how badly will Braus beat the shit outta Walters" Ymir smirked, "That's not helping Ymir!" Krista punched her in the shoulder, "What? Might as well make the most of it, if she carries on with this kinda shit and she'll be booted out of the academy in no time," Ymir replied.
It was then Reiner decided to step in "You guys get the horses saddled, we'll take care of Nadine and Sasha: Eren, Jean, Connie, Bertholdt, I'll need some extra pairs of hands" he stated, before leading said cadets up into the woods to fetch the two girls, who Marco was trying and failing to stop.
Time passed and the eventful morning lazily slipped into a calmer afternoon: after finally catching Sasha and Nadine, it was decided they would be split up. Nadine would ride with Reiner, Bertholdt and Marco up front, so as she'd be watched at all times, while Sasha would ride with Connie and Krista in the rear, and everyone else would space out between them. With the acceptation of Eren and Jean occasionally trading insults and bickering like old women: Ymir and Krista arguing over one or two little things, and Armin and Marco trying to keep the peace, the rest of the trek went along relatively smoothly. For the rest of the day they followed the river up into the foothills of the Gruen highlands, a vast area of lush green forest peppered with wide open areas of scrub, and a sizeable lake at its heart, right at the foot of the Green mountain; less than ten miles from the south-eastern side of Wall Rose.
As the afternoon waned into the evening, and the sun began to kiss the western horizon, the cadets found a small sheltered grove on the north-western shore of the lake, with plenty of room for a campsite and a place to hitch up the horses close by. They wasted no time in preparing to bed down for the night, and everyone had their assigned chores. "For the last time, I'm sorry okay?" Nadine huffed as she helped Sasha gather firewood, all the while under Reiner's watchful gaze, "Did it ever occur to you that if you asked nicely, I'd have given you a slice?" Sasha shot her a look, "From the way you scoff down your food? I figured I wouldn't even get a look-in!" Nadine shot back, "Well, I may love food but I'm not that greedy! We share and share alike, and if you ask, you'll receive!" Sasha retorted matter-of-factually; "Alright you two, quit your belly-aching and make up already," Reiner told them both, "We've still got another two days to go before we head back to the academy, and you two fighting like cats and dogs ain't gonna help".
"Man, and I was really looking forward to some meat in my rations tonight" Connie sighed under his breath, "Me too" Bertholdt replied discreetly, "It's been nearly five years since I've had a slice of beef". Connie blinked in surprise, "Really? How'd you get your hands on that? Beef was expensive even before we lost Maria", Bertholdt smiled, "Back when me and Reiner lived in Maria, my dad had a friend who was a farm-hand on a cattle ranch, the boss used to pay them in meat as well as money, and every now and then he'd share some cuts with us".
"YOUR DAD'S FRIEND GOT PAID IN MEAT?!" Sasha shouted excitedly from across grove, "How-, the hell does she pick up on things like that?" Bertholdt blinked in surprise, "Are you kidding? Anything to do with food doesn't slip by her, it's like a sixth sense or something" Connie shrugged.
Before long, a couple of campfires had been prepared and lit, and everyone was sitting down to eat: the rations were cooked and shared around, and the conversation soon turned to other things...
"... Wow, I haven't seen a moon like that in a long time" Marco smiled, as he gazed up at the huge full golden moon that was just peering over the side of the mountain; painting the lake's pale blue waters in a trail of gold. "It does look kinda big tonight" Armin commented, "Kinda like Jean's head" Nadine smiled, to which everyone couldn't help but chuckle, "Ha ha very funny" Jean sarcastically replied, "She wouldn't be wrong," Eren smirked "Maybe you made it jealous?" he added, to which everyone bar Mikasa and Annie laughed. "Actually, you know what that moon reminds me off?" Sasha suddenly piped up, getting everyone's attention "When I was little, my dad would sometimes take me out into the forest on a night like this, so he could point out the calls of all the different night-time animals; but he said to always be careful, because if you disrespected the forest and its animals in any way, the Celts would come for you"
"The Celts?" Connie raised an eyebrow. "You've heard of the Celts?" Reiner asked in surprise, "You know them too?!" Sasha perked up, "Of course, my old man and his old man used to occasionally trade stories about them: I knew they used to live in Maria, but I didn't think people had heard of them here in Rose". "Hang on a sec, what's a 'Celt', exactly?" Ymir asked, "Yeah, can't say I've ever heard of them" Eren said offhand, "Huh? But you, Armin and Mikasa came from Maria: you've never heard of them?" Bertholdt blinked in surprise, "Not really" Armin shrugged, "Oh that's right, you three city kids used to reside in Shiganshina, I guess tales of the outside beyond the walled city used to be few and far between huh?" Reiner smiled, "Well? Its not like we used to get out much?" Armin couldn't help but smile sheepishly. "I've heard of them" Mikasa threw in casually, "You have? When?" Eren blinked in surprise.
Everyone listened as Mikasa recounted, "... Years back, when I was little, there was a neighbor who lived at the foot of the mountain we lived on: he was a hunter, and used to regularly hunt for deer and elk in the forest, but he kept a coup of chickens for when times were lean. Then one summer, a fox started raiding the coup, and night after night the chickens were taken; he was at his wit's end, when one night he heard a scream outside his house. He looked out the window, and saw a huge wolf standing in his garden by the coup, it had the fox in its jaws: terrified, he reached for his gun and headed outside to confront it, but when the wolf saw him, it did something he never expected to see. The wolf stood up on its hind legs, clutched the fox in one of its front paws, and ran out of the garden; like a man, running on two legs. Too horrified to stay there he ran all the way to our place and pleaded to be let in, seeing how scared he was, my parents let him stay the night, and in the morning he told us everything that happened. He insisted that the wolf was a Celt, and he knew so, because his grandmother had told him about them years ago: I don't if what he saw was real or not, but I do know he was genuinely scared; and something had terrified him that night"
"Whoa, really?" Connie stared at her in amazement, "A wolf by itself is scary enough, but a wolf that can run like a man is way scarier!" Krista anxiously thought aloud, "So, what are these 'Celts'? some kinda boogie-man or something?" Nadine smirked. "Maybe?, who knows?," Reiner explained "Legend has it, (the way it was told to me at least), was that they were the people that used to live in the forests of Maria, but not just in the areas that hunters, trappers, and woodsmen used to frequent, I'm talking about the really old parts of the forest, the kind that hadn't seen humans for years, even decades at a time. They weren't like the criminal gangs that used to prey on others for money, if anything they went out of their way to avoid people, especially in the towns and cities. They weren't like us in any way: instead of living in houses, they lived in the forest itself, and would follow the herds around regularly, and made everything they needed from hides, leather, bone, wood, sap and stone. No one really knows who they are or where they came from: some speculated they weren't even humans at all. Some stories say that they were a kind of witch who were able to turn into animals through the use of magical hides and pelts, some say they were the spirits of the people that got lost and died in the forest, and some even say they were some kind of spirit that could appear as a human or an animal, depending on their circumstance... Either way, they're the reason I used to spend a lot of nights gazing out my bedroom window, watching the forest to see if could spot one." he smirked.
"Really? I never heard that version before" Sasha interjected, "My dad and grandpa used to tell me they were the guardians of the forest, the spirits of fallen hunters who watched over everything that lived beneath the trees, and that if you did anything to anger them, they'd come and punish you"
"Sounds like the kinda thing parents tell their kids to make them stop misbehaving" Annie commented offhand, "Yeah, I don't buy it either" Jean agreed.
"So how is it you heard about them, Reiner?" Marco asked, to which Bertholdt replied, "My dad and Reiner's dad: when they were both our age they were out in the woods one night. They'd seen signs of poachers near our property the night before, and so they went with their dads and a few of their uncles to try and catch them in the act: they thought they'd found them when they heard a commotion coming from a meadow, but when they got there, they saw it was a boar and a wolf standing off against each other. My dad shone the lamp at them, and they both froze: and then, much to their surprise, both the boar and the wolf stood up on their hind legs and ran off like humans into the forest. Needless to say, they didn't go hunting for a while after that". "Yeah, every time my old man told that story, he always had that look of fear in his eyes; the kind that told you he wasn't bullshitting around" Reiner added.
"The thing I don't get is, if they're trying to pass off as animals, why would they get up and run like humans? I mean, if they're trying to sneak around without alerting anyone, why would they suddenly break their cover like that?" Nadine pointed out, "Actually, that's a good point" Armin agreed as he thought about it. "So, whatever happened to the Celts?" Krista asked, "No one knows" Reiner shrugged, "Some say they died out decades ago, but if some had survived, they're certainly not alive now..." he dropped his gaze down to the fire. "... Yeah..." Eren sighed offhand. "Well, whatever the case, its a good little campfire story: definitely got that country-folksy feel to it; but I have to say, its not the weirdest thing I ever heard" Nadine smirked slyly.
"Oh yeah? then what is?" Sasha challenged her, to which Nadine's smile grew bigger, "...I could tell you guys, but you'd have to all swear to secrecy, to never tell another living soul what I'm about to tell you. And it ain't no story, it's the real deal, and I know so, because there are people who've seen it first hand" she grinned. "Yeah right," Eren scoffed, "After hearing all the bullshit you like to spout, how do we know this isn't another one of your stories?", "For once, (and I can't believe I'm saying this) I actually agree with Jaeger on this one," Jean reluctantly agreed, "You and the truth don't exactly go hand in hand Nadine". "No no I'm serious!" she quickly tried to persuade them, "It's not my story, I swear, I heard about it from my brothers: Alex and Brook who're both stationed in Trost, Charlie who's stationed in Chlobra, and Marcus, who's all the way up in Nedlay". "They're all in the Garrison, right?" Marco suddenly remembered, "Yeah, they keep in touch regularly" Nadine added, before explaining "And suffice to say, some really weird shit's been going down these past few years. Like the titan-killing fog"
"The what?" Eren stared at her in disbelief, "I know, I didn't believe it at first either, but both Charlie and Marcus swear up and down that its true, and the fact no one's allowed to drink on the job anymore makes it that much more credible" Nadine reasoned, "Okay, humor us: what is this 'titan-killing fog', exactly?" Sasha challenged her.
"Okay..." Nadine recounted, taking on a more serious attitude, "It started small at first, just scuttlebutt going around from a handful of Garrison troops that had been patrolling along the top of the wall, doing routine maintenance checks and surveillance on the titans. They reported sighting a huge column of fog that looked like a giant dusk-devil: it stretched way up into the sky, and all the titans in the vicinity were drawn to it like moths to a flame, pulling them inside. But, when the fog moved across the land, the titans that had been drawn in were dead; killed by something that was hiding inside the fog. Apparently this happened a number of times, and the fog was seen everywhere: from Chlobra to Nedlay, to Krolva and even Trost; the sightings became so frequent that the commander of the southern Garrison himself went to check it out, and apparently he saw it too. Everyone in Trost saw the fog as it passed right by the wall, and when it left, there were dozens of dead titans in its wake"
"A fog that kills titans?" Jean scoffed "Yeah right". "It's not the fog that kills them, it's whatever, or whoever's hiding in it that's doing all the killing" Nadine corrected; "Still though, if its real, what kind of power could control weather like that? Or any kind of weather for that matter" Armin thought aloud, "That's what everyone's still scratching their heads over: no one's come up with any logical explanation," Nadine shrugged, before adding, "But one other strange thing has been noticed: in all the areas where the fog's been through, no titans have been sighted, and any that come along stay away from those areas: it's like they're being repelled by something, and no one knows how. In any case, tens if not dozens of military personnel have seen this fog, including the commander of the southern Garrison, and several other high-ranking officers: that's kinda hard to refute"
"Providing your brothers are being honest that is" Reiner pointed out skeptically, "Hell yeah they are! But that's only what Charlie and Marcus reported: the one that takes the cake is what Alex and Brook overheard" Nadine grinned, "Overheard?" Mikasa raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, you see, in the Trost barracks Alex and Brook's bunks are in the farthest corner of the room, right beneath the air vent that leads into the Scouts barracks next door, so they overhear everything the Scouts gossip about after lights out: and needless to say, they always have plenty to talk about the night they get back from an expedition" she explained, "Such as?" Eren pressed her in a serious tone.
"Well? ..." Nadine grinned, "From what I gather, the Scouts have been working on something big these last few years: a 'covert investigation' into some strange goings-on. Apparently, they're not the only one's who're in the titan-killing business these days: some years back, while out on an expedition they discovered a new species of titan in the Marian forest, one that's highly intelligent, is covered head to toe in strange markings, and hates the taste of human flesh, apparently"
Everyone gazed at her in a look of disbelief and amazement: "A titan that doesn't eat humans? Really?!" Connie exclaimed, "Seriously?" Eren deadpanned in annoyance, "Pull the other one Nadine" Ymir waved off. "Yeah I know, I didn't believe it either" she waved off, before adding matter-of-factually "But don't you guys think its weird, that in the last four years the Scout's mortality rate has dropped to zero?". Everyone paused, and listened as Nadine continued, "Between that fog and these new 'intelligent' titans: the titans numbers have been cut by over three quarters, and the Scouts haven't lost a single soldier since they showed up, where as before, their mortality rate averaged at thirty percent per month: thirty percent, you gotta admit that's pretty steep"
"Yeah..." Armin breathed in amazement, to which Nadine added "But the titans are only half the mystery: apparently, when the Scouts came across them, they also discovered a party of humans hunting and killing alongside them. Humans and titans, working together to kill other titans; now that's pretty wild" she grinned.
Eren frowned at her, "I don't believe you". "Believe me or don't believe me, I'm just recounting what Alex and Brook told mum, and in turn wrote to inform me" Nadine shrugged casually, "...You said, the titans were covered in strange markings?" Reiner asked curiously, "That's what my brothers said they overheard the Scout's science team talking about," Nadine glanced over at him with an equally curious look, "Why?" she asked offhand: both Reiner and Bertholdt regarded each other with surprised look, before Reiner admitted, "...That story, might not be so far-fetched,".
"What?!" Eren exclaimed in disbelief, "Hang on, hear me out..." he elaborated, "When me and Bertholdt first arrived in Trost with our families, we were placed in a refugee camp just outside the city, along with a number of other people who'd managed to get out of Shiganshina district shortly after the first breach. And while we stayed there, we overheard some of the refugee's talking: apparently, they were in the city when it happened, and they claimed that when the titans were pouring in through the first breach, three strange titans appeared out of nowhere and started fighting all the other titans, killing them one by one, even several at a time. But unlike the other titans, their bodies were covered in strange markings, and one was even reported to look like a female,"
Unbeknown to the other cadet's, Annie's eyes widened in amazement, but was quick to hide her surprise as she and the others listened...
"I don't know if it was true or not, and I wasn't comfortable asking you guys, in case the whole thing brought up bad memories: Maria only knows I don't like to think back to that day either..." Reiner explained, as he gazed over at Eren, Mikasa and Armin, who all gazed back at him in surprise, "Well? Its the first time I've heard about it," Armin confessed, "But then, we were some of the first to get out of the city after the outer gate was breached, so it's not like we stuck around to see what happened". "Yeah, I figured as much," Reiner sighed, "I'd been curious, but I didn't want to seem insensitive by asking upfront"; "Oh, it's okay," Armin waved off, "...Still..." his mind thought back to other things, "Everything kinda got lost along the way that day, even if the rumors were true, the idea of humans and titans working alongside each other is a hard concept for people to grasp". "That's an understatement," Eren frowned. "But even if it's true, would they join us in trying to liberate mankind from the titan's hold on this world?" Armin thought aloud.
"Apparently, that's what the commander of the Scouts asked, when they first ran into him" Nadine replied.
"What?" Eren blinked in surprise, "Yeah, that's what Brook heard," Nadine sighed, "Not only did the Scouts discover these 'rogue' titans and humans, but spoke to them too, and apparently, they hate the titans as much as we do: but for whatever reason, they refuse to come back to Trost with them"
"Really?" Connie raised an eyebrow, before an idea came to mind that made him smirk, "So? Maybe they're Celts?" he joked, to which everyone smiled, "Ha ha very funny Springer" Nadine waved off, "Well? Whatever's going on, I guess some of us are gonna find out one way or another: but still, don't you guys think its amazing that our stories line up like that? there's gotta be something to it!"
"Maybe you're reading to much into it" Jean smirked, "Intelligent titans, titan-killing fog? Either the rumor mills are starting to get drunk again, or you're just playing us all, again; I don't buy it for an instant". "Neither do I..." Eren added with that familiar murderous look in his eyes "... A titan is still a titan, and the only good titan is a dead one: and just who the hell in their right mind would willingly side with those monsters anyway? Considering how many thousands died trying to flee them, and how many more died during the failed retrieval op, what excuse does anyone have to offer for siding with mankind's greatest enemy? ...I don't believe it for one second, and if they really are out there? Then they're as good as dead when I finally join the Scouts, and give them a taste of my blades" he fumed.
"Question..." Nadine smiled slyly, "If these titans in the forest are the same ones that were seen in Shiganshina, and they really did kill all those titans, and all the hundreds that have been pouring into Maria since that day, doesn't that technically make them an ally of mankind?"
"Yeah, I mean, crazy as it sounds, a titan facing off against another titan would be a huge advantage on the battlefield" Reiner reasoned.
"For sure, but it's no guarantee they'd become our ally just like that" Armin reasoned sheepishly, "They must have a reason for wanting to keep their distance, and maybe, the fact that titans are so reviled and feared is the reason they won't approach the interior"
"Maybe? But there's only one way to know for sure: join the Scouts and go see for yourself..." Nadine smiled as she stretched her arms over her head and got up, "Well, this has been fun, but I'm ready for some shut-eye, 'night guys" she waved as she headed over to her sleeping bag. The rest of the group decided to call it a night too: doused out the fires with some water, and retreated to their sleeping-bags for some much needed sleep.
Time passed, and Armin woke up from a dreamless sleep: gazing up at the night sky, he saw the moon was now high overhead, and the sky was peppered with big fleecy clouds gently sailing by. He turned on his side, trying to get comfortable, but the night was too warm and humid, and he just couldn't stay cool enough to nod off; that's when he noticed someone sitting on a long bolder next to the water's edge. Sitting up to get a better look, he could tell from the outline of their shoulder's and head that it was Eren. Quietly slipping out of his sleeping-bag, he walked over to the bolder, and sat down next to his friend: "Too hot to sleep?" Eren asked offhand, "Yeah, who can get comfortable in those things anyway?" Armin smirked as he gazed back at the others, who were all still asleep.
The two friends sat in silence for a moment, before Armin began to get the feeling that something was on Eren's mind: "... You okay?" he asked, "Sure, why?" Eren dismissed, "Was it the dream?" Armin asked offhand, "Huh?" Eren glanced at him, "This morning, when Mikasa woke you up: you looked like you were having a nightmare, you had a look on your face I haven't seen since- ….
Silence again, before Eren reluctantly sighed in defeat, feeling as though his heart were clenched in his chest: "...First time I've really thought about it in a long while, never mind had a nightmare about it..." he thought aloud in a quiet voice, as his tone turned sombre "...I still regret, not being able to save her: my mum; I still regret not saying I love you before she died...And Ariana..." he felt his heart sink, as the memory of her came to mind, and that one unusual dazzling blue eye of her's gazing back at him.
Armin reached under his shirt, and pulled out the crystal dagger pendant she'd given him years before: as the moonlight sparkled and refracted through the amethyst, he thought back to the events of that day "...She was going to join us you know" he thought aloud, "Huh?" Eren snapped out of his ruefulness for a moment, "Ariana" Armin replied sombrely, "Earlier that day, I was helping her deliver some groceries, and she told me she'd finally made her mind up. She was going to join the Scouts". "She was?" Eren blinked in surprise, "Why didn't you tell me before?". Armin merely shrugged his shoulders and sighed, "I don't know, exactly? It just-, didn't seem to come up. We've been so busy these past few years, nothing else really seemed to be important... But..." Armin held back his tears as remembered her, "... The week after you and Ariana rescued Mikasa from those human traffickers, she and I talked: I knew she wasn't going to come to see the ocean with us, and I confessed my suspicions as such; she knew too, and she was okay with it. She told me that she wanted to help everyone else reach the ocean too, and we made a promise to remember one another: I gave her my book about the outside world, and she gave me this..." he showed Eren the pendant with a small smile.
Eren gazed down at the crystal dagger, holding it between his fingers for a moment, before handing it back to Armin, "But then," he continued, "When I ran off to go and find you and Mikasa to tell you, I bumped into those guys: one thing led to another and-, well? You know...". "Yeah..." Eren sighed, before a genuine smile crossed his face, "... You know? She'd have made a great Scout", "Definitely" Armin smiled, "She'd have loved the ODM gear: and knowing her? She'd have probably flown rings around Connie and Jean" he couldn't help but chuckle, "Now that would've been something to see" Eren smiled. "Personally?" Mikasa interjected as she sat down beside them, "I think she and Sasha would've gotten along, seeing as she was a hunter". "Yeah, that's true" Armin nodded, before asking her "You couldn't sleep either?". "None of us can with this heat" Ymir threw in as she and Krista came up alongside them, "Plus with you guys yammering? Guess we ain't sleeping anyway" she huffed, "Oh-, sorry" Armin apologized sheepishly.
"Your girlfriend was a hunter?" Sasha popped up behind Eren with Connie in tow, "Did she use a bow like me?" she asked eagerly, "She was a crack-shot with a bow and arrow: as I recall, she killed her first deer when she was only six" Mikasa replied casually, "Seriously? That young? She must've practically been out in the forest everyday" Connie blinked in surprise, "She was out in the forest everyday, if not every other day" Eren commented before shooting everyone a look, "And besides, haven't you guys ever heard of privacy? It ain't polite to eavesdrop!", "Aw come on, it sounded like you guys were getting to the good stuff" Ymir joked, "What was she like?" Krista asked curiously.
"Ariana?" Armin thought aloud with a smile, "Huh, she was: caring, friendly, adventurous, intuitive, had a hell of a sharp nose, knew how to read animal tracks and human footprints. Now that I think about it, the forest was practically a second home to her: she was always much happier there then in Shiganshina". "More at home in the forest than in a city? She was a hunter alright" Sasha smiled, "Yeah, and a damn good one too: she'd take off up into the Marian forest for hours, if not a whole day from sun-up to sundown: and she'd always come back with something to eat. No one was ever short on food when she and her family were around" Armin joked, "Hell, considering how skilled the rest of her family were, I'm amazed the whole forest wasn't wiped out" Eren smiled.
"So, whatever happened to her?" Ymir asked offhand; the three friends were silent for a moment, before Eren replied quietly, "...She didn't make it out of Shiganshina...". "Oh my god, I'm so sorry Eren" Krista began to tear up, to which Eren explained, "...None of us know what happened to her, exactly: I thought I heard her shouting at one point when I was trying to save my mum, but there was so many people yelling and screaming, that I don't know if it was her or not... In any case, we didn't see her on the barge, and we couldn't find her in Trost when we arrived with the other refugees"
"Wow, I'm sorry guys" Connie quietly said, before offering a small smile "You really think she'd have been able to fly rings around me?", "Well? She'd have certainly been able to sneak up on you: she had this real knack for being stealthy, and you wouldn't know she was there until she was right on top of you" Armin smiled. "You know?" Eren said with a thoughtful look in his eyes, "Even though she wasn't as smart as you Armin, she somehow always seemed to know what to do: even when things were looking shady, and you couldn't be sure what was going to happen next, she had a real instinct for being able to suss what was up", "Yeah, she did" Armin admitted, "Wow, she sounds like she'd have made one hell of a Scout" Sasha thought aloud, "A skilled hunter with instincts and intuition is not to be messed with, but a scout who could hunt a titan with those qualities? She'd have been something dangerous". "Dangerous? I thought that was your thing Mikasa? Considering how that sparring fight with you and Annie went the other week" Connie threw in, "Thanks" Mikasa replied plainly. "Hey, show some respect!" Sasha lightly elbowed him in the gut.
"You know? Crazy as this sounds," Armin thought aloud, "Some part of me never really believed Ariana died", "No?" Krista blinked in surprise, "Really?" Mikasa gazed at him in slight surprise, "I know, it's weird: but-, ... Sometimes, every once in a blue moon, I get this feeling she returned to the forest: and that she's waiting there for us to come home. It's silly I know, but I guess? That's how she'd have liked to have been remembered; forever wandering and exploring the forests of Maria"
"Maybe she became a Celt?" Sasha offered, "Ugh, not this again" Ymir scoffed, "Well? She was a hunter, maybe she really did go back to the forest? Who's to say her spirit doesn't wander there, along with the rest of her kin?" Sasha reasoned.
Eren was about to say something else, when he noticed movement a little ways up into the woods: standing up to get a better look, he noticed right away who it was. "Nadine!" he called over as softly as he could, trying not to wake up the others, "Where the hell are you going?!". "Can't a girl take a shit in peace? And turn your eyes away ya pervert!" she snapped back as she paced over a small ridge, and out of sight of the camp. "She better not be up to something" Ymir sighed dryly.
At that moment, a large cloud passed over the moon, and plunged the whole land into pitch black darkness: no one could see a thing, and everyone remained where they were so as to not trip over anything or anyone. Not even a minute had passed, before a strange feeling began to fill the air, and Sasha spoke up nervously "...Uh, guys? Is it just me or did the bugs just suddenly go quiet?"
Sure enough, as everyone strained their ears to listen, nothing could be heard: no animals, no insects, no wind, it was so deathly silent; the kind of silence that wasn't natural for the night at this time of year. And then, the air began to chill, until it was almost as if a frost had settled on the ground: "Holy shit! Why's it so cold all of a sudden?" Connie shivered as he rubbed his hands together to stay warm, "Yeah, it was sweltering just a minute ago!" Sasha shivered as well. But then, another sound filled the air: the rustling and crackling of dry leaves, despite there not being any wind; and a horrible smell began to waft on the air, assaulting the noses of all present. "-Gha! What the hell just died?!" Connie quickly covered his nose with the end of his sleeve, "I don't know, but it smells like carrion!" Armin commented as he nearly gagged. The scent in question was an eye-watering amalgamation of rotted carrion and rancid meat, puss-filled wounds and gangrene, sewage, and a few other things that no one could put their finger on: it hung so heavy and thick in the air that it was like breathing in soup, and made everyone sick to their stomachs.
Then, the sound of trees being broken and snapped to pieces could be heard a mile away on the other side of the lake, along with what sounded like giant footsteps running at an usually fast pace: something huge was crashing through the forest, running parallel to the lake shore. The hairs on the back of everyone's necks stood on end, and Eren in particular, began to feel a familiar mix of fear and anger well up from deep within: he knew those footsteps by heart, but what would a titan be doing here within Wall Rose? Not unless...
'Was Wall Rose breached?!' he thought in a panic.
But before he could voice his alarm, the footsteps suddenly cut out, and the whole lakeside and forest fell deathly silent again: no one moved or spoke for the longest time, as they tried to listen for whatever might be coming this way. "You guys, what the hell was that?!" Connie whispered nervously, "No idea, but I'm pretty sure it was anything but good!" Sasha whispered back in a panic.
The moon suddenly reappeared, and lit up the land once more, but the sight that greeted the cadets, took them all by surprise. All the trees were dead, their leaves all fallen off and turned greyish green, and their trunks and branches were black with a foul-smelling gooey tar-like substance oozing out from between the bark. All the foliage in the undergrowth had died too, and the soil had turned to a dry ash-like dust; as if an inferno had raged through the woods, while the entire lake was pitch black, with the water having turned into a thick tar-like sludge with hundreds upon hundreds of dead fish floating on the surface. Everyone looked around in horror at the devastation, all at a loss for words, and utterly confused as to what just happened.
"What the hell?! ..." Ymir was shocked, "What happened to all the trees?!" Krista panicked; "What the hell killed everything?!" Connie gasped, "I don't know," Eren anxiously replied, "But stay sharp". "What-..." Annie rubbed her eyes as she sat up and gazed around, "What happened?". "Will you guys keep it down! Some of us are trying to sleep here!" Jean snapped as he turned on his side and tried to go back to sleep "WAKE UP DUMBASS AND TAKE A LOOK AROUND! WE GOT AN SITUATION HERE!"" Eren snapped loudly: that woke the rest of them up, and Jean, Reiner, Bertholdt and Marco were stunned when they saw the dead forest all around them. "What the-, what happened to the trees?!" Reiner gasped, "No idea! One minute everything was fine, the next it's all dead!" Connie panicked.
"Where's Nadine?" Marco asked worryingly as he got up out of his sleeping-bag. "She went to take a shit somewhere over there" Ymir pointed to the small rise just beyond the camp, "I'll go check" Mikasa strode over to the area she saw Nadine disappear into. It wasn't that far, barely ten meters or so away from the camp, and it made no sense that she couldn't spot her: with all the undergrowth and canopy now dead, the rest of the forest floor was visible for a good half mile at least, and the road was up the side of a large slope that was too steep to climb. "Nadine!..." Mikasa called out, but no answer came, "NADINE!..." she called louder, but no one replied. As she took a few steps further, Mikasa suddenly heard a splash beneath her feet: gazing down, her eyes widened in shock...
"-GUYS!" she shouted out, and everyone came running: "What is it?! Did you find her?" Marco asked anxiously, "Look..." Mikasa pointed at the ground in front of her, and everyone gasped at the sight of the pool of blood. Specks and splatters of it covered the nearby ground and rocks, scuff marks on the ground indicated the victim struggled hard as they were pinned down, and tufts of familiar red ginger hair were snagged on nearby twigs and branches. "Nadine?! Oh my god what happened to her?!" Krista cried as she clasped her hands over her mouth, while tears streamed down her fair face, "How could she have been attacked? I didn't hear anything, did you?" Armin began to panic as the sight of the blood filled him with dread; "G-guys, the trail leads over there!" Sasha pointed to the drag marks, that indicated the victim had been taken to a small sheltered area over by the shore, where the slope met the cliffs and towered high above the ground.
"What do we do?" Bertholdt nervously tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "We go after her, there's a chance she might still be alive!" Eren stated firmly. "And how do we know her attacker's not still with her? For all we know she could be dead!" Jean argued back, "And what if she's still alive?" Eren shot back, "Come on! She needs our help!". "Marco, your team leader, what do we do?" Bertholdt asked: Marco froze with fear as he tried to think straight "Uh-, well? I-: I don't know, if we-"
"Okay!..." Jean sighed in frustration, "Let's just go around the cliff there and see what we can see", "Is that a good idea?" Krista worried, "We didn't hear her get attacked, or anything else to suggest something was up! For all we know, whatever did this might be waiting for us to split up so it can pick us off too!" Armin pointed out. "I agree, this doesn't feel right" Annie threw in. "Then let's spilt up into two groups," Reiner suggested, "Half of us will go around the cliff while the rest remain where we can see them". "Yeah, that sounds like a plan" Armin agreed: "O-okay," Marco tried to stay calm, "Reiner, Eren, Jean, Connie, Armin, you guys are with me: the rest of you stay here and keep your eyes on us" he ordered. "And half of you keep your eyes on the slope and the top of the cliff, that's the only other two blind-spots here" Armin pointed out, "Got it" Mikasa nodded, "Yeah, sure" Annie added.
Carefully, the boys walked around the side of the cliff, following the drag and blood marks, and dreading of what they were going to find. The trail brought them to the entrance of a large cave where the lake flowed in, and the sound of a waterfall could be heard some distance into the gloom: "...Nadine?" Marco called out into the cave, his voice echoed some distance down the stone walls; no reply came back.
But something could be heard moving around in the blackened water, something large and booming as the water sounded like it was being violently kicked up: then, whatever was down there, sounded to be climbing up the waterfall, until it stopped just short of the moonlight; concealed by the pitch blackness. Its heavy breathing sounded as if it had fluid in its lungs, as every breath was laced with a sickly bubbling sound, along with a slight agonized groan.
"N-N-Nadine?" Connie called out nervously.
At that moment, a huge pair of red glowing eyes shot open, and stared down at the cadets like a pair of hot coals; burning into their souls as it filled them with abject terror. With yells of fear they all bolted back to the others: not stopping for anything as they dragged their friends back up to camp and headed for the horses: "What the hell happened?!" Ymir demanded, "Did you find Nadine?!" Krista pleaded: "No, we found something else!" Eren fretted as he unhitched his horse and mounted the saddle, "Yeah and it didn't look friendly!" Connie added as he quickly clambered up into his saddle, "Wait-, we're just going to leave Nadine?!" Bertholdt panicked, "Of course not!" Reiner frowned, "But we need help: I don't know what we saw back there, but we're not equipped to deal with it, not like this! Our only chance to help her is for one of us to ride back to the academy and get help"
"And just what did you guys see, exactly?" Ymir folded her arms, refusing to budge: at that moment, a loud guttural anguished roar echoed at a deafening pitch out across the dead lake, and all the way up the mountain slope; rattling the blackened trees and making the black water ripple. Everyone scrambled up into their saddles as the horses began to panic, but fortunately no one was thrown, and no one looked back as they galloped hell for leather through the forest.
The next several hours went by in a blur of panic and dread: instead of taking the trail marked out for the exercise, the cadets took the direct road back to the academy, which took just a little under an hour to complete. When they returned, they told the night-watch guards of what happened, and the alarm was raised: within the hour, half the base plus additional MP's were deployed to the lake to try and find Nadine and her mystery attacker, while the cadets were ordered to write out reports of the incident. Needless to say, it wasn't straightforward, as no one heard what happened, and no one got a good look of what was hiding in that cave.
By the time the sun began to come up, Armin had just finished writing out his report, and had been dismissed: joining the others outside near the mess. Everyone was tired and exhausted, as they had steadily come down off their adrenaline rushes: the base was still buzzing as more MP's had been called in, and the other group that had been out on the same exercise elsewhere had been located, and ordered to return to base immediately. As they sipped on their drinks, the cadets gazed over the parade ground as they watched the sunrise, trying to make sense of what they witnessed...
"...It doesn't make any sense..." Armin thought aloud. "Who, or what could move in such a way that makes hardly any sound at that close proximity?". "I didn't hear anything: that's what's so freaky about it" Connie concurred, "And what the hell can kill an entire forest and blacken a whole lake like that? And at that speed to boot" Sasha nervously thought aloud.
"We left her behind," Eren fumed as he clenched his fists, "I don't know what the hell that thing was back there, but we should've stayed and at least tried to push it back! We could've distracted it somehow, maybe even rushed it if we'd have drawn it out into the open! Nadine could be dead because of our cowardice!". Enraged, Jean whipped around and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up onto his feet "-ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO YOURSELF?!" he blew his top as Eren tried to wrestle out of his grip, "-God only knows what the hell that thing was! And none of us were about to stick around to find out! If you wanted to rescue her so badly why didn't you stay behind and try to fight?! You heard the roar on that thing, it was damn-near ready to charge! GOD YOU'RE SO FUCKING ARROGANT! YOU'LL JUST LOOK FOR ANY EXCUSE TO DIE, WON'T YOU?!"
"OKAY, ENOUGH!-" Reiner barked as he pulled them apart and shoved them away from each other, "What happened, happened: we can't take it back now no matter how much we want to!" he stated bitterly, before sighing in regret, "... The fact is we don't know what the hell happened back there: there's no logical explanation, and it's scary as all-hell. But fighting over it won't bring us any closer to finding an explanation"
Jean and Eren glared daggers at one another, but didn't say anything, and merely folded their arms as they looked away in opposite directions: "... You know what sucks the worst?" Ymir sighed in equal frustration, "... Since we were the only other people there, and Nadine was a known nuisance to everyone, how long do you think it'll take before the higher-ups begin to wonder if we had something to do with it?"
"Wha-?! No way! How the hell can you even think that?!" Connie exclaimed incredulously: "-Terrible as it may sound, she does have a point Connie" Armin pointed out, "We were the only other people present when Nadine disappeared, and have no evidence to back up our claims; until they find her or her kidnapper, or something else that clears us of any wrong-doing, we're all under suspicion"
Everyone looked at one another in shock: this wasn't happening, how could it be happening? As everyone tried to maintain their cool (or at least enough to not snap at one another), Eren gazed out up at the sky as he thought aloud "...Does this mean they'll suspend us from training?"
"...I don't know ..." Armin confessed anxiously, "I just hope, we get some kind of answer soon...", "... Yeah..." Reiner sighed.
"...You know?" Marco sighed, changing the subject slightly, "This whole thing has made me realize I'm not cut out to be a squad leader", "Really? You seemed suited for it" Eren glanced at him in slight surprise, "No, I think Jean would be much more suited for the job" he smiled over to his friend, who gazed back at him in surprise. "What?" he blurted out: "Him?" Eren blinked in surprise, before his frown returned "Leave me out then".
Marco couldn't help but smile, "You'll understand, one day" but his smile dropped as he thought about last night, and the future that lay ahead, "For now? I just hope, if we all get the chance: who'll know what kind of soldiers we'll turn out to be?"
Well howdy peeps! :) Once again, another long-overdue update: thank you all for your patience, and I'm sorry for really dragging my heels this time; I hope you enjoy this enstallment, beceause next time promises to be full-on action, as we head to Trost; I think you all know what that mean, so please stay tuned and don't forget to R&R before clicking off.
BTW: Just so some of you don't go thinking that I've fallen off the edge of the wolrd yet again, I'll be taking a break from writing the next chapter to catch up on some much-needed plot development and world-building, as well as revisiting the first and second seasons of the anime: this will cover the rest of July, and a good two thirds of August. I'll be looking to start writing the next chapter some time in late August, if not a little earlier, depending on what time allows: and I'll be working on the chapter every other day. Hope that helps, and again, thank you for your patience & putting up with my sloppy update schedule. :) See you all next time!