Levi and Eren rode ahead of the main column of the Long Distance Scouting Formation before they reached a small township. Barely a few minutes behind them, pure titans wobbled to their location. Eren stood outside the town and bit down on his hand, the transformation burning his skin and a ball of energy engulfing him till the ten-meter titan stood up- or tried to stand on its misshapen legs before smashing into the nearest house with a pitiful roar. Levi quickly rode up to the titan, and stopped.
Its eyes held no intelligence and it extended a withered arm to try and grab him off his horse.
That's likely
He pushed off his horse and fired the hooks into the nearest building. Eren's titan crawled out of the rubble after him, even as Levi hopped off the roof he was on and cut off the fingers the nearest hand. He moved in an arc round the titan, the dust slightly pushing into his face before he reached the ankles and sliced those off too. He flashed towards the head and sliced off the skin protecting Eren from outside contact. A second more cautious cut released Eren's body along with the titan muscle attached all over his body. Eren tossed in his hands like a little worm. Adjusting his weight Levi landed on the highest roof he could find to await the incoming titans. Unfortunately, Erwin rode along before they did and joined him without a word; but Levi could tell disappointment beneath those bushy eyebrows when he saw it. He shrugged in answer to the unspoken question. Erwin knelt beside the unconscious shifter, conjured out a pinch of smelling salts and expertly thrust it beneath the nose of the boy. For a few seconds there was no reaction then Eren jerked and thrashed before his eyes snapped open. His first words were incoherent mumbles then he slowly came to himself.
"Sorry, I-"
"Don't worry about it Eren. We'll come back when you're stronger." Eren's face contorted in response like the angry little rascal he was, diving off the roof and biting his hand to trigger another transformation.
Erwin, you did that on purpose
One look and they knew this transformation was successful. Eren's Attack Titan stood at a rippling sixteen meters of muscle and rage. Steam billowed in thick white clouds from between his serrated teeth. His eyes closed and he clenched his fists waiting… Then with the awful screeching sound of metal on metal, crystal crackled across his hands and nape and he turned to the nearest Titan, thundering steps as he slammed one foot after the other into the ground beneath him. His first hook went straight to the titan's neck, delivered in brutal perfection with his stance unwavering. That titan toppled over without so much as a groan, then the next he brought low with a sweeping kick to the enemy's shin. A stamp, a satisfying crunch and the nape steamed off. That was two down, three more in sight and all of Wall Maria waiting for them. Erwin had a good feeling about this. Till he spied a green flare from the spotters against the twilight, He was meant to be riding ahead for a while not here watching titans kill each other. Regardless of the thrill the moment had passed and he nodded a farewell to Levi who was equally supposed to be on leave with his family and rode to rejoin his place in the formation. After all dear Shiganshina awaited them.
In the north-western part of Wall Maria, Grisha tossed in the wagon as they moved over rocky ground. His personal record of titans killed that afternoon was thirteen titans.
One for each meter of my titan
It had been worth it, anyway. The scouts seemed relieved not to battle their way through titans, attributing it to their being so far north of Shiganshina. The few that knew were probably holding back smiles within their positions in the arrowhead formation. The silence was undone by a black flare and Miche at the front fired a green in its direction, rallying the soldiers to converge and take out the threat. From inside the canopy, he could not see that far but he heard the sudden cry of dismay and someone hoarsely screaming. The wagon shuddered as the horses slowed to a canter before picking up speed again, a scout carrying another rode up to his wagon and Grisha reached out to pull the soldier in.
Well, I am a doctor
The scout already had greying hair and his eyes drooped as the doctor laid him over the soft flour supplies meant for Quinta's remaining populace. Grisha scanned over his body ignoring the broken wrist looking for discolouring and open wounds. Satisfied that there was no external wound, he opened both shirt and jacket looking for wounds, bruises or any indication of internal bleeding.
Thank goodness.
A splint and putting the hand at proper elevation was all the requirement to set him right. The scout was silent and nodded his thanks.
"So ya not goin' to cut tha hand off or anything?" He asked. Grisha felt the blood drain from his face. An amputation? For a broken wrist? The scout burst out laughing. "Civilian types are tha best!" It took Grisha the better part of a minute to realise he was being played and he relaxed his back against the canopy chuckling at such a ridiculous notion. The rest of the ride to Quinta and only twice did they have to move around the titans they encountered eventually running up parallel to the wall. Finally they spied the gate and Miche ordered them to end the formation before setting a slower pace. He wheeled his horse to face them.
"The situation in Quinta is unclear, I'll need someone to go up there-" he pointed at the top of the wall and his eyes turned to Grisha as the doctor hopped out of the wagon and gave him a knowing look, "-and fire a flare on what you see. Green if it's well ordered; red if it looks a mess; black for titans and uhh blue if you're not sure what you're seeing. And… take the Flag with you, stick it one of those cannons over the city. As a symbol."
The flag of the Survey Corps had been Grisha's idea, if government officials held control it would be a sign of their military coming to rescue them if not it would be a clear indicator to any other party they weren't here directly under the King or as MPs at least. The scout who had gone up fired a green flare and Miche dismounted.
"My squad will come with me to meet with the authorities here, Gelgar please carry the doctor up with you. Sieg is in command till we get back, hold the horses and mount the Wall if there's trouble with titans." Grisha wasn't listening to the last few words after hearing he was to be 'carried'.
"Couldn't I just ride through the gates with the rest of the troops?" Sniggers and chuckles broke out among the scouts as they realized he was reluctant to be carried up to the wall's full height. On rope. Attached to someone else. Miche was smiling with the rest of the troops and he jerked a thumb towards Gelgar.
"He's got a good grip." Gelgar nodded enthusiastically then dropped the water satchel he was holding unto the earth with an obvious slip. Whether he meant it or not, the water inside leaked out through the cap much like a human, bleeding to death. Without realizing it, Grisha's hands were shaking of their own accord made worse by his undignified splutter when Gelgar lifted him by the waist and fired the ODM anchor on his side. The scouts were openly laughing now and most tried to at least cover their mouths as they watched them lift off the ground. Miche and the rest of the squad followed behind them till they reached the top of Wall Maria.
The scout who fired the flare was looking down on the city and people congregated below them staring at the rippling flag and the soldiers beside it. Without a word Miche leaped down and Gelgar adjusted his grip on Grisha and followed after them. Instead of reasonably stopping once they reached ground level, they stuck to their gear and adjusted to flying over the streets to the large barracks. Grisha had his eyes tightly shut after the first few turns disoriented his mind so he heard rather than saw the new addition to their team. The resident soldier took them in an opposite direction and when Gelgar spun mid-air, Grisha decided he disliked this new person. When they landed almost a full minute later, the scouts were gracious enough to help him land on his feet instead of his knees.
The first thing that struck him about the resident garrison was their age. All of them were as young as the military could allow them to be. The second was how unusually few there were. Coupled with the obvious joy at their presence and these were impressionable minds looking for relief.
They are understaffed and untrained.
Miche patted a few shoulders as he moved through the band of soldiers. A male soldier gave a salute and spun around without waiting for a response almost sprinting to the inner building of what was probably the town hall. As they passed through the corridors, Grisha spied town residents standing outside the hall with cheerful dispositions. Neither the young soldiers nor the townspeople he could see looked starved or hungry. Still, the people pointed in the direction of their rippling flag and glanced at the gates.
Ah. It's freedom they're expecting
As they reached the door of the commanding officer established by the standing guard, Miche paused to slip on a bolo tie and hook up his ODM Gear handles. Grisha's hair was already in a sorry state and tugging down his coat was the most he could do before they were ushered into the presence of two young-
Best not to repeat that mistake after Levi.
Two officers. Both belonging to the Garrison and both very relieved to see troops here to help.
"Section Commander Miche Zacharius, Survey Corps."
''Acting Commander Rita Iglehaut, Quinta Garrison.''
"Ma'am! The Survey Corps has brought gas, blades and food supplies for relief. Requesting permission to enter Quinta?" Personally, Grisha felt all that formality was laying it on thick, his position supported by the young gir- officer's hesitation and stiff nod. Lynne and a trainee exited to admit the remaining scouts in.
"Might I ask who you represent, sir?" Rita turned her eyes on the only civilian in the room, unfortunately Grisha. Miche stepped between them and explained;
"He's a doctor who volunteered to come beyond Wall Rose with the scouts, among other more administrative issues." Her face softened and she nodded to him.
"Truth be told, there's quite a number of things I could use your help with especially sensitive topics that I'd like to discuss in private."
Here we go again
A/N: Grisha and Miche make a stop at the Western city of Quinta in a mini-Arc of this story. Originally, I'd quite forgotten that Quinta was the Western city of Wall Maria and that was the whole reason for giving its plot to the Northern Survey Corps. I noticed a guest asking the mission/ purpose of the Northern Survey Corps btw. And no, the Northern Survey Corps won't stay inside. With the presence of Eren and Grisha's titans Erwin has decided to tackle the problem from two fronts. Miche is in charge of the Northern division but as a subordinate of Erwin. The smaller Northern Scouts will clear the titans in the north while the larger southern scouts will clear the incoming titans in the south. The Assembly agreed because it splits up the scouts and should supposedly reduce their effectiveness. But it won't. Plus with the presence of two shifters Erwin now sees the Wall Maria Reclamation Operation as unnecessary and he has a few ideas to save those lives.
As always leave a review and help point out any discrepancies or errors!
Looking forward to That Bright Dawn!