'Before its fall Wall Maria contained a third of what usable land remained to humanity. Five years ago, when humanity lost this territory, from behind their last two Walls, the people realise something. Humankind is fated to be extinct. Defeat was certain; the blade of despair pierced our hearts.

But then someone grasped that blade and winched, turned sorrow into rage and lashed out at the Titans, striking the monsters down with earthshaking force. When humanity first saw this, what was in their hearts then? In some soldier's pride, in others, new-found hope, and some found the strength to fight back. So if Wall Maria were taken back, what would the people feel then? Were they finally start to believe in mankind in the fact that we deserve to live? Would they see it last our fates are for us to decide? Would it be enough to give them faith? If we could reach Wall Maria and take it back.'

The Scouts had used Hiccup's idea to travel at night to lessen the chances of being devoured by Titans on the way to Berk. Of course, they had to adapt it when they encountered Titans capable of moving around at night, so they set out during the new moon.

The Scouts were currently on foot making their way through a dense wood; with luck, they would we Berk just before daybreak. Unfortunately, with only their lanterns to give them light, it made it quite difficult to check for the terrain, and Scout proved this by tripping.

"Whoa, steady," said the Scout as he tried to calm his horse.

"Slow down, make sure that the ground is lit," said Eret.

"Right, sorry, sir."

Eret turned to Gobber. "Will get there soon? It's just about dawn."

Gobber handed his land to a Scout and pulled out the map. "Well, once we get over this mountain, Berk should be close by."

"I'm sorry you have to get stuck with my horse," said Ragnar looking at Fishlegs.

"Don't worry about it; you should preserve your strength," said Fishlegs.

"I know, but still."

"We need you at your best," said Hiccup.

"So if we fail, would everyone back home survive the winter?" Snotlout asked.

Hiccup grimaced. "Yes, but only just. However, the next winter, I rather doubt it. Johann gave away quite a lot of food to Trost, which didn't help our supplies."

"So you're saying that if we fail here, it could lead to anarchy," said Snotlout.

"We all knew there was a food shortage, and it's been getting worse over the years," Hiccup pointed out. "The only way to survive is to get back the land we lost, or else civil unrest will destroy what's left of humanity."

"So no pressure or anything," said Ragnar.

Snotlout turned, and his eyes widened as he saw the shadow of a Titan. "Titan on the left! Everyone halt, like in the area!"

Scouts immediately shone their lanterns in every direction and drew their blades, but thankfully this Titan was just sitting there ideally.

"It's all right," said Valka. "I'm pretty sure he's asleep; it doesn't look like this is one of the new types that can move around at night. Just leave him be."

With that, they see their blades and continued moving.

"I can't believe we have to get back close to notice the thing," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, I agree," said Valka sharing his concerns. "But it's worth it; the moonless night is protecting us. Light from the moon is really reflected sunlight, and from what we can tell, that minuscule amount of reflected light is all that those new Titans need to move. It's good that we're using the new moon's cover; there's no guarantee that we won't have a reputed before. For all, we know that sleep might have been a moonlight Titan himself."

"I still like to know how those Titans developed that power," said Fishlegs.

"It could be a state of evolution; I mean, technically, they are living beings," said Hiccup.

"Possibly, but we still don't know how someone turns into a Titan," said Valka.

"Maybe the secret lies in my mother's cellar," said Ragnar.

"Among others," Hiccup added. "I'm still shocked that the MPs never arrested her."

"My uncle never filed a report when she entered the Walls," Astrid reminded him. "I imagine they came up with some sort of false story to explain her amnesia. Plus, it's pretty difficult to look good when you arrest the person that single-handedly stopped the plague. Mean they had to go around about way in order to kill Gulson when he stabbed them in the back."

"True," Hiccup admitted. "I still wonder what her plan was after she got the Founding Titan?"

"Maybe to fight back against the Titans?"

"Then why give me the power without giving me any kind of warning?" Ragnar frowned.

"I'm more curious on how you're able to access the power of the Founding Titan when you don't have any royal blood," said Hiccup curiously.

"It's a mystery to me," Ragnar shrugged. "I've been trying to use that power, but for some reason, the Titans don't seem to want to listen."

"Too bad, the mission will be a lot easier if you could use that power," said Astrid.

Ragnar had to admit that Astrid had a point; if you were able to control the Titans, they would have to do all this sneaking around. Plus, he would virtually have an army at his beck and siding casing counted Dogsbreath and Clueless.

"Hey, does this area feel familiar to anyone?" Fishlegs asked.

"It does," said Astrid as she looked around. "I think this is where we went to get firewood."

"I see the bottom of the mountain!" said a Scout. "There are signs of a trial ahead!"

"Looks like we're close," said Hiccup as he looked to the others.

"I'm pretty sure I can hear the river," said Astrid.

"We've made it back after all that's happened," said Fishlegs breathlessly.

"Yeah, this is the first time we've seen it since we fled as kids," said Ragnar as they emerge from the forest. "Our hometown… Berk."

They could see the Wall and the houses in the outer city behind that was Berk District. The sun was just beginning to rise, and everyone quickly mounted their horses and charged down the path towards the gate.

"There could be Titans anywhere, so keep your guard up!" Stoick ordered. "This operation has officially begun! All troops which ODM gear!"

With that, everyone immediately jumped off their horses and activated the ODM gear, ensuring their hoods covered their faces.

"We must seal the gate to Wall Maria and the one to the outside world," said Stoick. "With that achieved, Berk will be isolated, and we can kill the Titans inside. The enemy will predict this plan and counter it by targeting Ragnar, but all 100 of our soldiers will keep their faces covered with hoods. By the time the foe can locate Ragnar, he will have plugged up the outer gate."

Ragnar reached the top of the Wall, and he looked down into the district; the buildings had been reduced to rubble, and vegetation starting to grow. However, despite how it looked, Ragnar could remember playing down in the streets five years ago.

Hiccup and the others soon joined him, and they too had similar feelings when they saw the old home.

"Don't stop!" Eret yelled as he ran past. "You get to the outer gate!"

"Right!" said Ragnar following him.

Hiccup and the others began to follow them, but Hiccup came to a stop and notice something on the ground.

"What's up?" Fishlegs asked, noticing that he had stopped.

Hiccup bent down and saw ash on the ground, and it was quite recent. 'Ashes, from a kicked out fire?' Hiccup instantly waved at his father. 'They're here! And they're close! Dogsbreath and Clueless!'

Astrid had joined up with Ragnar they began making their way to the outer gate. As they flew across the city, Ragnar looked down at the city.

'My old houses around here somewhere,' he said. 'We're so close to everything we left behind. And today, we're going to take it back, even if it's the last thing we do.'

Valka and Eret had already reached the outer gate and were now on the lookout.

"I know what overdue for some luck, but how is it that we have not seen any Titans yet?" she said.

"We still have to continue," said Eret.

"Right, we have no cause to call it off," said Valka as she pulled out a flare gun. She then pointed it into the sky and fired off some green smoke, and other Scouts began doing the same thing.

That was the signal for Ragnar to close the gate. 'We can do this together; today is the day that we take back what is ours!'

Ragnar then launched himself into the air as high as he possibly could and soared over the Wall. He then bit down on his hand as hard as he could and transformed; he then landed inside the gate and began to harden. Astrid and landed on top of his harden Titan and brought him back to the top of the Wall.

"The enemy could strike at any second!" Valka yelled. "Stay on the lookout!"

"Right!"

"Is your ODM gear secure?" Astrid asked once they reach the top.

"It's fine," said Ragnar checking his gear. "That said, it seems that I managed to lose my cloak."

Astrid then pulled off her own folk and gave it to him.

"Thank you," he said, pulling the hood over his head.

"How's it look?" Eret asked.

"Looks good over here!" said a Scout firing a green smoke flare.

"Yeah, our end is plugged too!" said another Scout firing a smoke flare of his own.

"We pulled it off," said Valka and then turned to Ragnar. "Ragnar, you okay?"

"Not even tired; all that training has paid off," he said.

"We shouldn't waste time then," said Valka. "Everyone, head to the inner gate and keep your faces hidden!"

All of them then started to make their way towards the inner gate.

"Still can't believe I actually seal the gate; it seemed way too easy," said Ragnar.

"Believe it, and personally, I wouldn't complain that it was easy," said Astrid.

"Ragnar's right; we're not even close to finishing," said Eret. "You can plug up the gate as much as you want, but they can bust open later. Until we've killed Dogsbreath, Clueless, and whoever else may be with them, the operation to retake Wall Maria won't be over."

"Sorry," said Astrid.

Stoick and Dagur could see the signal flares indicating that the outer gate was now sealed.

"Looks like the outer gate was closed off successfully, but something feels wrong here," said Dagur. "The enemy should have attacked by now. Right, Stoick. So why have we seen a single Titan yet? Is it possible they just want ready to fight us?"

"We can hope, considering what Hiccup found," Stoick frowned.

Hiccup soon returned from his inspection at the base of the Wall. "I looked into it; it was clear that someone was camping out on the Wall. I found cups and a cold pot on the ground, near where I spotted those ashes. They were drinking something like black tea. There were 3 cups, and they all have the same black liquid within the bottom. So I would say there were three people camping out here at least."

"Did you say three?" said Fishlegs as he rushed over to join them.

Stoick looked at Hiccup. "Was that are completely cool to the touch?"

"Yes," Hiccup nodded.

"That's troubling."

"Agreed."

Dagur looked at the two of them, confused. "Why's that?"

"We charged here at full speed on horseback," said Stoick turning towards the forest. "Even switched ODM gear. Had they notice our approach by sight or perhaps by sound, they couldn't have had more than two minutes to react, but apart over flame wouldn't have cooled in at short of time. They had to know that we were coming for at least five minutes or more, which tells me they've had plenty of time to prepare for the arrival."

"There's no way; how do they know?" Dagur asked.

"It's possible they had a scout in addition to the three on the wall," said Hiccup. "We have to make the assumption that we have many enemies, and they could be anywhere."

"And here I thought three were bad enough," Fishlegs moaned.

"You need to sharpen your focus on the enemies that a nearby; I trust you, son," said Stoick looked at Hiccup. "With that mind of yours, you have saved us from disaster from countless times. Now do it again; we are in dire need of your help."

Hiccup's eyes widened.

Stoick then signalled to a number of Scouts. "You can take any number of soldiers as you need; if the enemy is hiding near the inner gate, find them."

Soon all the Scouts nearby assembled around them.

"As of now, you will obey my son's commands," Stoick announced. "He will tell you how to proceed."

Hiccup was understandably quite nervous with all the pressure that his father was putting on him.

"Understood!" said the Scouts.

"We searched the wall primitive thoroughly!"

"What are your instructions, Hiccup?"

Hiccup looked at them. "We will send one group to each side of the Wall, search the interiors of any buildings near the gate. If you find something by of an acoustic shell. Does that work with you?"

"Understood!"

The Scouts immediately moved out, following his commands.

Fishlegs looked at Hiccup. "If it had been me, I would have broken down with all that pressure."

"Believe me, I was quite close," said Hiccup, and the two of them went off to help with the search.

Dagur looked at Stoick. "Don't you think you're putting too much pressure on him?"

"He's my son; I know he can handle it," said Stoick. "He has proven himself and has become one of our greatest weapons that I know."

"Ragnar is on his way to plug the inner gate," Dagur reminded him. "What now? Should we halt the operation until we find the enemy?"

"We continue," said Stoick. "We will lose a prolonged campaign in enemy territory. To prevail, our only chance to win is to win a decisive battle. With that in mind, even if all has gone according to the enemy's plan so far, we simply have to deal with it. In any case, we aren't the only ones who are hiding something."

Hiccup was thinking frantically. He knew that Ragnar was on his way and would be here at any minute.

'What do I do?' he said. 'Ragnar is on his way to seal the inner gate; if the enemy is here, we need to find them before he does it. Wait, why would they let us plug up the outer breach without a fight? Why can't we find and no matter how much research? They knew we'd come; they must have; if this is a trap and we fail here, then it will really be over for us. They always catch us off guard by using Titans and their powers in ways we can't predict and always have the advantage because they know so much more about Titans than we do.'

His eyes then turned towards the Wall. 'Hold on…' He then remembered that they had discovered Titans inside the Walls. He then quickly pulled out his flair and fired an acoustic shell gaining everyone's attention.

Everyone quickly stopped searching and joined up with Hiccup on top of the Wall.

"Did you find them, Hiccup? Where?"

"The Walls, everyone scoured the Walls!" Hiccup commanded.

"But we already searched all around them?"

"There isn't anywhere to hide on the Walls!"

"They're not hiding on the Walls that hiding inside them," said Hiccup.

"Inside the Walls?"

"Yes, look for a small cavity that someone can hide out in. It may be covered."

"How do you know that this exists?"

"It's a hunch," said Hiccup.

The Scouts just stared at him.

"Damnit!" said one of them, grabbing his shoulders. "Do you have any idea what kind of situation we're in? We don't have time to waste upon your hunches!"

"Just think about it!" said Hiccup brushing his hands away. "The enemy always gets the better of us by using Titan powers in ways we could never have imagined! If we restrain ourselves to tactical reasoning, then we will never be able to gain the upper hand!"

"Hiccup's not wrong," said Fishlegs. "I mean, the original Eret squad got killed because they fought against the enemy like they would against normal Titan."

"But still—"

Stoick then fired a red smoke flare, gaining everyone's attention and at the same time signalling Ragnar's group to halt.

"That's the signal to halt the mission," said Astrid.

Valka looked at everyone. "Everyone stand by at the top of the Wall!"

"Understood!"

Ragnar had no idea what was going on, but he didn't like the looks of this.

Stoick turned to face the Scouts.

"There are times to be stripped and times to be flexible, uphold the principles of your vows," he said. "Do what it takes to win, follow the change of command and keep your eyes fixed on the path of victory."

"Form two groups again and check the Wall surface!" Hiccup ordered. "Start your search from above the gate. Go, quickly!"

The Scouts just stared at Hiccup, and then they jumped into action.

"Right!"

Hiccup looked at Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, go inform my mother and Captain Eret of the situation."

"All right, good luck," said Fishlegs and activated his ODM gear.

Hiccup and the Scouts began checking the wall using their swords to feel the surface. From there, Ragnar on the others could see them, and they would be confused about what was happening.

"What are they doing?" Tuffnut frowned.

"It looks like they're tapping the Wall," said Ruffnut.

"I don't know what's going on, but this doesn't seem much like a surprise attack," said Snotlout.

"I wonder if Hiccup found something out," said Ragnar.

It was then that Fishlegs arrived.

"Fishlegs, what's the situation?" Valka asked.

"Hiccup leaves of the enemies inside the Walls," said Fishlegs.

"What?" Snotlout stared. "Has he lost his mind? They're completely solid and near unbreakable."

"Don't forget the enemy has Titan powers, and we know that the Walls are hiding something inside," Fishlegs pointed out.

"It would be an ideal place for an ambush," said Eret. "Just stand ready in case anything happens."

Hiccup and the Scouts were tapping their swords against the Wall.

'In a position, they'll be able to react from, no matter where Ragnar might appear,' said Hiccup. 'A position from where they can see everything that happens. If there is a hiding spot like that, that it must be within the Walls. Assuming that the enemy does not know that we're aware of the Titans in the Wall, they would have every reason to think that this would take us by surprise. It all adds up.'

A Scout opposite Hiccup then tapped a portion of the Wall, and it sounded hollow. He then immediately pulled out his acoustic shell and fired, gaining everyone's attention.

"Right here! This part of the Wall is hollow!" he yelled.

Then suddenly, a split second later, he was stabbed in the chest by a sword. Everyone's eyes widened when they saw emerging from the hollow section, which had been hidden by some wooden planks painted to look like the surface of the Wall, was Dogsbreath.

"Dogsbreath!" Hiccup yelled.

Dogsbreath emerged outside and saw him, but before he could make a move swooping down from above was Eret. The moment he saw the sort, he quickly moved out and then dived down at Dogsbreath, plunging his sword right through his neck before he had time to react. Eret began running down the Wall and then plunged his sword through his chest.

He looked at Dogsbreath saw that his eyes were still moving; he then quickly detached the blade that he had plunged into his neck and pulled the other blade from out of his chest. He then put as much distance as he could from Dogsbreath as he hit the ground.

"Shit!" said Eret as he joined up with Hiccup.

"Captain?" Hiccup frowned.

"What are these guys made of? A blade for the neck and the bastard still won't die!"

Dogsbreath then suddenly started to transform, and lying there on the ground was the Armoured Titan.

"Keep your eyes open!" Stoick yelled. "We still need to find his allies!"

Then suddenly there was a series of explosions from all around the outer city and when they turn they saw an army of Titans at their back and leading them was none other than the Beast Titan.

Then they witnessed the Beast Titan grabbing a large boulder and then tossed it like it was pitching the ball, and it was only towards them.

"Incoming boulder! Get down!" Stoick yelled.

The boulder then slammed right into the entrance of the gate, frightening the horses and the new recruits try to calm them down.

"Looks like he missed," said Dagur.

Stoick shook his head. "Not, so that was a well-placed shot. He blocked off the entrance."

When the dust finally began to settle, they saw that he was right; the gate was completely blocked, leaving no way for the horses to get inside the district.

"There's no riding through it now," said Stoick. "They have is all but surrounded; they plan to target horses, block our escape and slaughter us. The enemy hopes for the same thing we do, to win this conflict once and for all."

Stoick then drew his sword. "It's our side, or there's now! We can let the Titans crush us or bring them crashing down!""K