Ever since they had managed to retrieve Ragnar from Dogsbreath and Clueless, Hiccup and the rest of his classmates were now members of the new Eret Squad. The main priority was protecting Ragnar and Historia, and to that end, they were hiding out in a small farmhouse.

Hiccup, Fishlegs, Heather and Snotlout had been out gathering food while everyone else was making the house presentable.

"Hey, Heather and even you can teach me how to hunt like that?" Snotlout asked as they entered.

"I'm afraid it requires patience," said Heather.

"I can be patient."

"When Titans fly," said Fishlegs.

"Let's not give them any ideas," said Hiccup as he brushed the mud off his shoes and Heather and Fishlegs followed his example.

"Hey, did you wipe the mud off your shoes before you came in?" Ragnar asked, looking at Snotlout.

"Are you kidding me?" said Snotlout. "Do you not see all this stuff we're carrying?"

"Hiccup and the others apparently had no problem," said Ragnar gesturing to the others. "And do you really believe an excuse like that is going to play with Captain Eret?"

"Yeah, it's bad enough we have to make a bed for you this morning," Tuffnut chipped in.

"You still need to learn to tidy after yourself," said Ruffnut.

"We're back," said Astrid as she and Historia arrived with some firewood.

Hiccup stared at Astrid, who was still recovering from their last mission. "Wait, you are outside chopping firewood?"

Astrid shrugged. "Got to stay in shape somehow."

"You got ground by a Titan; you should be in bed recovering."

"I already tried," said Ragnar. "She was doing situps first thing in the morning."

"Astrid, you're only human," Hiccup sighed.

"Sometimes we forget," said Fishlegs.

"You know it almost feels like we're back at the Cadet Corps, doesn't it?" said Heather as she replaced the food stocks.

"I still wonder why they chose us for this new Eret Squad," said Fishlegs. "I mean, I understand Hiccup and Astrid, but the rest of us?"

"Speak for yourself, Fishface," said Snotlout.

"There aren't that many veterans left; at least half the Scouting Regiment is now dead ones that survive are mostly new recruits or those who haven't seen much action," Hiccup sighed.

"I say there were more than qualified," said Astrid. "I mean, all of us have survived our encounters with Titans in one way or the other. Besides, you're effectively Captain Eret's second-in-command now, so you have a lot to say when it comes to the mission."

"I just feel overwhelmed," said Fishlegs. "Protecting Ragnar and Historia is an important mission."

"Look, let's get back to work before the captain gets back," said Ragnar.

"I think it's a little late for that," said Tuffnut.

He was right as Eret had just entered, and immediately all of them fell silent as Eret brushed off some dust off the table.

"I'm quite certain that I gave you enough time," he said, looking at them disapprovingly. Northern just looked at one another. "Never mind, we can discuss your failure at a later date. Ragnar… Valka wishes to get the experiment underway."

"Right, yes, sir," Ragnar nodded.

It was afternoon, and Ragnar was practising the hardening ability that Eir had shown them. Unfortunately, he was shooting at the hip, and they all watched as Ragnar transformed into an imperfect Titan.

"What's wrong, Ragnar?" Valka asked. "Get up! The future of humanity depends upon you!"

"Third time," Eret noted. "And his form has changed again, he's not even 10 m tall, and some of his body lacks muscle. Plus, Ragnar's lower torso is hanging out."

"I can see that," said Valka and then looked back at Ragnar. "Ragnar, can you still move? Give us a signal or something!"

"Clearly, he can only transform only a certain number of times a day," said Astrid.

"And certainly not back to back," Fishlegs added. "He transformed at least three times during the Battle of Trost."

"There's no response; we're done here," said Valka as she and Mason jumped down.

"Not the outcome we hoped for; we're still a long way from being able to use Ragnar's Titan ability to seal the Wall," said Eret looking back at Hiccup.

"Yes, we knew from the very start this would be like grasping at the proverbial straws," Hiccup agreed.

"The plan is strategically sound and simple in theory; all we need to do is get Ragnar there. This could still work, but it's going to depend on him."

"The experiment is over; all troops withdraw at once," Valka ordered.

"Withdrawing," said Olaf.

"Right!" Snotlout nodded.

With that, they began cleaning up all evidence of their presence.

Eret looked at Historia. "Head back to the house with Ragnar; I'm going with Valka's group. We're headed for Trost."

"Sir," Historia nodded.

There was a lot of mystery about Historia, and they knew she was important as Mildew had explained as much.

It was night when Eret reached Trost and immediately informed Stoick of Ragnar situation.

"I see, another failure then," he said. "Imagine if it could work, we could have plugged the hole in Berk in less than a day."

"What we need is information," said Eret. "It's not like there are books on the subject that would make things too easy. We do have Christa… No, Historia Tradesman. Maybe she can give us some insight into the nature of the Walls."

"I did some digging and found a report about her life before the cadets," said Stoick. "The illegitimate daughter of Johann Tradesman, hers was not a happy childhood. Johann is the key to all this somehow. I would be a regional Lord know the secrets of the Walls?"

Eret had no idea, but he did know that this secret could reveal several skeletons in the closet. If so, then they would fight with everything they had to keep them from knowing the truth.

Meanwhile, Mildew was hiding out in a safe house in the city; he had been given a new identity out of fear that the church might come after him after telling them everything he knew. Then he heard a knock at the door.

The next morning, Hiccup and the others were waiting in the house for further orders.

"You should still be in bed," said Astrid and Ragnar made his way downstairs.

"I'm okay; I did sleep throughout an entire day," he said. "Besides, it's my fault that the plan got shelved, so the least I can do is help."

"It wasn't your fault," said Fishlegs. "At least we got a handle on what your limits were; that's some progress."

"All I care about is getting a chance to bring down the Beast Titan," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, that hairy bastard took everything from us," Ruffnut nodded.

Everyone looked to the twins rather concerned, though no one could blame them and considering that their entire village had turned into Titans and all of them were dead except one, who was their mother.

"Perhaps it's time to switch lookouts," Fishlegs advised.

The twins nodded and left to take over from Snotlout and Heather, who was standing watch.

"I think I better get some more firewood," said Fishlegs leaving the two of them on our own.

"Must be nice," said Christa to Ragnar. "You and the others know what you want, even though it won't be easy to get. But with Ymir gone, I've lost my purpose; I don't even know what fighting for anymore."

"Saving her is something to fight for," Ragnar offered.

"Maybe," she said. "At the time, I had no idea watching what she was saying; I just wanted her to be safe. Since then, I've been thinking. When she left, Ymir chose her own path; I have no right to change that. She doesn't need me too."

"It's about time that you finally started talking again," Ragnar smiled, and she looked at him. "You got here. You told us your story, but then you just kept your mouth shut. Stopped smiling too."

"Why should I bother?" she said, and Ragnar blinked. "Sorry, but the sweet little Christa you knew… well, that girl is into me any."

"Oh, I'm sure she still in there," said Ragnar. "No one can act that nice without being sincere. I mean, clearly, one hiding your honesty. And you shouldn't worry about Ymir just yet as a part of me that still thinks…" He stopped when he remembered a conversation between Ymir and Clueless. "How could I have missed that?"

"Valka and the others are back!" said Heather's voice. "We're meeting in the main room!"

Everyone then gathered within the main room and began to discuss the recent events that happened at Trost.

"Now, what's this about?" Eret asked.

"I'm sorry, Pastor Mildew… he was murdered," said Valka.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Today in the Trost barracks," Valka explained.

Valka and Mason had gone to see Mildew to get some more information, only to find that he was murdered in his own room and MP standing watch.

Valka tried to get a better look, but the MP commanding officer pushed her aside.

"Hey, messing with our crime scene scout?" he said disrespectfully.

"Don't get any closer."

"This isn't your jurisdiction, a simple robbery-murder," said the commanding officer shutting the door. "There's been a string of them lately."

"I'm not buying it," said Valka. "His nails were torn out."

The commanding officer then grabbed roughly. "Which unit are you in?"

Mason then grabbed his hand and squeezed it, forcing him to release her. "Section Commander Valka… 4th squad and a XO Mason Gulson."

"You know your whole ranch is garbage; being high rank doesn't make you smell any sweeter," he spat. "Listen, that man was not killed by a Titan. One person killed another; this isn't Scout business."

Valka looked at him suspiciously. "You're with the First Interior Squad."

The MPs started to look a little nervous. Clearly, they hadn't expected Valka to recognise their branch.

"Funny what other capital MPs doing down here in Trost?" Mason asked curiously.

"What's so strange about it?" said the officer. "Somebody has to get the real work done while you people run around playing soldier."

Valka took note of his hands and narrowed her eyes. "That's pretty tough talk coming from an MP."

"What you say?"

"Well, it's no secret that you guys spend most of your time lounging around rather than working."

The commanding officer then immediately grabbed the helm of her shirt. "And what makes you think you know us so well?"

"Observation," she said and began twisting his hand, forcing him to release him. "Now, if you excuse me, we've got some real work to do. Oh, and if you capture the culprit, tell them something for me. You may feel what you did to him was justified, perhaps even righteous. Well, I don't give a single shit what your motivation was. I promise you, I will personally see to it that you are tortured, and the horrors visited upon you will be greater than any that my friend suffered. Yes, far greater. Now be a good soldier and pass it along, and we'll leave you to it."

Valka then left with Mason leaving behind two very confused MPs.

"The pastor, you think they killed him?" Mason whispered.

"Yes, I do," said Valka with her eyes filled with fury. "That man's name was Jail Buckson; the skin on his fist was split open. Mildew was tortured by the Military Interior Police and then murdered."

Valka finished explaining everything to Eret, and his squad and all of them just looked very solemn.

"I figured the church would want to get their hands on Mildew once they knew that he was cooperating with the Scouts," she said. "That's why I hid his identity and had him stay in the barracks. I never imagined they would use soldiers to kill him. This was my fault; I should have been more careful."

"They tortured him, presumably for information," said Fishlegs. "Did they just want to know what he passed on to us?"

"Most likely, but these are the interior MPs we're dealing with, so you can bet there's something deeper at work here," said Eret and then looked at Valka. "Now, how many nails were the good pastor missing?"

Valka looked confused.

"How many?" Eret repeated. "You saw, right?"

"I only caught a glimpse of him, but all the nail beds I saw were empty," she said.

"People who talk after one," said Eret. "If they don't rip out more, won't make a difference. I'm impressed; I think highly of Mildew, but whatever his faults, he stuck by his beliefs until the end. Which means they have no idea that we know about the Tradesman family."

"Clearly, we're not just dealing with that cult," said Hiccup. "They've been reading for years about not tampering with the Walls; I thought it was because of the religion. However, the revelation that there are Titans inside the Walls tells us they never wanted us to find out about them. However, if the MPs are involved, that means the government is in on this possibly all the way up to the king, I bet."

Eret nodded. "If the government is up to something, then we've got a target on our backs."

Suddenly the door opened, and a redhead Scout by the name of Rosa entered.

"Captain Eret, I have a message from Commander Stoick," she said, handing him a note. "I went to tell him about pastor Mildew, but he gave me this and sent me off."

Eret looked at everyone. "Get your gear, now! We're leaving; make it look like we were never here."

Everyone looked at him, surprised.

Roughly half an hour later, MPs began storming the house; there had to be at least 30 of them all armed with rifles.

"That was close," said Tuffnut. "What if they had caught us? Would they rip our nails off?"

"I wouldn't think about it if I were you," said Hiccup and looked at Eret. "How did my dad know they were headed here?"

"The government has passed down some new orders; there has been a freeze on all Scout activity outside the Wall," Eret explained. "We're to hand over Ragnar and Historia."

"Captain, I didn't have time to tell you, but some MPs went for the commander right after I left him," Rosa informed him.

"What? Like you some kind of criminal?" said Valka.

"They've brought this find out into the open, no more working from the shadows," said Eret.

"They're going to protect them was secret at any cost, but why?" Valka frowned. "And what exactly are the after Ragnar and Historia for? They don't want them dead, so what are they planning?"

"Who knows, but they want these two, and they're not being subtle about it, which makes lingering here dangerous. We'll move Ragnar and Historia to Trost."

"We're taking them to the same district where pastor Mildew was just murdered?" Mason stared.

"Heading towards the interior will be worse; with Trost in a panic, it should be easy to slip in," Eret explained. "And if things do go all to hell, we can use these in the city."

He then gestured to the ODM gear.

"That's true," said Hiccup.

"We don't know the identity of our enemy yet; I have an idea on how we can change that. Valka, I'm going to need you to lend some of your squad."

"No problem," said Valka. "I'll go after my husband. Mason is with me; the rest of you will go with Eret."

"Roger!" they said.

"Valka," said Ragnar; rushing towards her, she mounted her horse. He then handed her a note. "Here… I remember a conversation between Ymir and Clueless; I wrote it down for you. It's all there."

"Thank you," she said, tucking the note away. "I'll take a look at it later."

She and Mason then mounted their horses and galloped off.

Observing the house from afar were two figures, one a middle-aged man the other a young woman.

"Rather quick on the move, aren't they?" said the woman.

"Ha, the kid is disciplined. I'll give him that," said the man.

"An acquaintance of yours?"

"An old one."

Eret and his squad were able to enter Trost without difficulty, just as he predicted. Currently, Eret was walking down the street with his squad minus Hiccup and Astrid.

"Try to not walk clustered together," Eret advised. "We'll stand out. Ragnar… Historian… just act normal."

"Why is the Royal flag hanging everywhere?" Snotlout frowned.

"Today's must be the anniversary of the king's coronation; once a year, they hand out extra rations to celebrated," Fishlegs explained.

"May I have your attention, please!" said a voice.

They turned and saw two MPs on a podium looking down upon the townspeople.

"King Flitz has heard the hardships in Trost; he is donating the Royal families reserves," said the MP, and everyone's eyes widened. "Form a line; there's plenty to go around!"

Upon hearing this, the townspeople were immediately pleased.

"Thank goodness!"

"Long live King Flitz!"

"All that food, and he's just giving it away?" Ruffnut stared.

"It's not as if he needs it all," said Eret. "Easier to control people when they're not starving."

They then continue to make their way down the street, but they were being observed.

Meanwhile, at Meridian, the king and his counsel had gathered to discuss recent events.

"Handing out those rations depleted more than 60% of the reserves; that's a steep course just to raise morale, Lord Johann," said a nobleman. "Quite steep."

"It was necessary; we had to do something to improve the public's opinion of the Royal family," said Johann, who looked like a sleazy businessman. "Now we just need the other pieces of the puzzle, and the sooner we have them, the better."

The nobleman in the military uniform then turned the MP. "The Military Police failed us again?"

"I'll return at once; we'll continue the hunt," he assured them.

"No," said Johann. "We will soon have what we need; things are in motion now."

They then turned their eyes to King Flitz, who was an old man, and he just sat listening to them in silence.

Meanwhile, Eret and the others were making their way through Trost when Eret suddenly heard something.

"Behind us! Look out!" he yelled.

They spun around and saw a wagon heading towards them, and no sooner have they jumped out of the way than two men grabbed both Ragnar and Historia.

Ruffnut's eyes widened. "Astri—" Heather then quickly elbowed her. "I mean Christa and Ragnar! Those bastards are running off with them!"

Heather wasted no time and began to follow them.

The real Ragnar and Historia were hiding in another wagon; the two men had just kidnapped Hiccup and Astrid.

"With this really work again?" Ragnar asked, looking troubled. "Hiccup's green eyes will give away, and Astrid was a foot taller than you are. I just hope they can pull it off."

Hiccup was tied to a chair and watched as one of the thugs groped Astrid, who was doing an excellent job of keeping her temper. Under normal circumstances, she would have already broken the guy's arm, but there was a limit of just how much of this she could take.

"Yes, so nice," said the thug. "Let me hear just how much you like it. Well, how's that? Feels good, doesn't it? Come on, I'm dying to hear that sweet voice."

Hiccup was totally disgusted by this display. 'I hope the others hurry up; Astrid looks as if she wants to kill the guy.'

"Just give me one little moan, lovely, you know you want to," said the thug.

Eret was on top of the building waiting for Heather's report.

"How's everything going inside?" he asked.

"If we wait much longer, Astrid is going to blow her disguise," Heather warned. "She's getting groped."

"Then I'm impressed she's lasted this long," said Eret.

"How's your leg, sir? Any better?" Heather asked.

"I can move well enough," Eret assured her. "Now then, did you notice? These kidnappers are obviously rank amateurs. Why wouldn't they use professionals for a job like this?" Eret didn't wait for an answer rose to his feet. "You can handle this on your own. I'm going to make my way to Ragnar; come and meet up with me once you're done taking out the trash here."

"Yes, sir," Heather nodded.

"There's one more thing you should know, just in case. Tell Hiccup and the others to…"

About 10 minutes later, the ringleader of this little gang entered the warehouse with a second man.

"You're sure about this?" he said, looking at Hiccup and Astrid. "These are the two we're looking for?"

"Yeah, they fit the description we were given to a T," said one of the thugs.

They then walked past some crates where Heather had taken out the guard.

"Where is the guard?" their boss asked.

Heather then quickly launched around and slammed her needs of the jaw of one of the thugs. She then quickly grabbed the second thug and tossed him over her shoulders.

"What the hell?" said the ringleader as the man next to him pulled out a gun.

Hiccup and Astrid then sprung into action; Heather had made sure to cut the ropes, tying them to the chairs. Astrid then quickly punched the man with the gun so hard that he was sent flying. Fishlegs then emerged from behind crates and assisted Hiccup with tying the men up.

"Don't even think about moving," said Hiccup.

Astrid then pinned the ringleader down onto the ground. "Snotlout, these four really all of them?"

"Yeah, that's all, no one else in the area," said Snotlout.

The ringleader then reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun, but Ruffnut stepped on his hand before he had a chance to use it.

"I wouldn't if I were you," she said.

Tuffnut smiled down at him. "Now, be a good boy and stay quiet."

"Right, let's get these guys secured," said Hiccup.

"Once we do, we have to meet up with the captain," said Heather.

"What do you mean?" Fishlegs frowned.

"Those were his orders; he left a message too."

The wagon containing Ragnar and Historia came to a stop as they came across a large number of people.

"You there, out of the way!" said Olaf.

Eret joined up with Rosa, who was standing watch.

"Captain," said Rosa.

"Well?" Eret asked.

"The roads crowded, but I've seen nothing unusual," she said. "It's not far from Commander Alvin's from here, so I think with good, but how is the double body mission?"

"A success."

Rosa noticed his troubled expression. "You don't seem very pleased about that."

"I'm not," he said as he felt something off. 'Something is wrong; Military Police can't be behind this. They're too careful of the reputation to use amateurs; this is more like… they know the wagon would be followed and a support team wouldn't be far behind.'

"Captain, the wagon is almost on the move again," said Rosa as the crowd began to disperse.

"Rosa… you've heard of Grimmel the Grisly?"

"That mass murder in the capital? The one who slipped the throats over a hundred MPs? Of course, but I always feel that he was just an urban legend."

"The stories are all true; he's no legend."

"Huh?"

"I lived with him back when I was a kid."

"Yeah, very funny, Sir," said Rosa smiling at him awkwardly. "This isn't really the time to be making jokes."

'That's right, he wouldn't care about using amateurs,' Eret pondered. 'The team would trail the wagon from both angles; they would choose a spot high up somewhere with a clean line of sight.'

Unbeknownst to him, directly behind the figure climbed onto the roof and aimed a pair of pistols at both him and Rosa.

Eret's eyes widened. "Rosa!"

The man behind and then fired, and while Eret was able to duck in time, Rosa was not as fortunate. Two seconds later, he quickly hit behind the chimney and then Kyle was shot by an unknown assailant. His body then slid off the roof and landed in front of a mother walking with her child; upon seeing it, she screamed.

Eret was horrified as he turned towards the assailant, a middle-aged man with pale skin and short grey hair.

"Long time, Eret," he said. "You gained a few extra muscles since the last time I saw you."

The barrels on his pistols then shot out, and he quickly inserted two new ones. Then seconds later, more assailants wearing similar gear appeared all around the rooftops. The man then fired a cable of the chimney and shot right up into the air until he was facing Eret upside down.

"But all those muscles, I'm going to help you now, boy," he said.

Eret then quickly drew his sword and glared at him. "Grimmel!"