Chapter 5

First Twilight


She had grown to hate the early morning light as it was basically a call to pull back.

Ilse followed the few scouts escorting her away from the dissipating carcasses of slain titans, the creature's faces frozen in what could come off as sadistic ecstasy, as if they had been more than happy to die.

Killing titans at night turned out to be an excellent decision as the American forces had lent them night vision equipment that allowed them to hunt the enemy in almost total darkness, and as titans acting in the middle of the night were becoming increasingly rare, the Survey Corps found itself taking advantage of night operations both to search and destroy titans as well as study them as much as possible up close.

Plus, it saved vital ammunition.

"How many kills?" Eld asked as the rising sun behind them was met with the eerie sound of the few not dead titans awakening.

"I guess five assuming that lost one got back up just now…" Gunther replied calmly as he hopped down from a roof onto the empty street.

"Three, team effort." Ilse replied glancing at Petra and Oluo who nodded.

"I only got one." Eld sighed.

"Well, there aren't that many left around here. It's a miracle we got to this spot before anyone else, even for the front lines."

"Yeah, I-"

They all stopped as the figure of Captain Levi soon appeared in front of them, hopping down from a tree alongside Hanji and that poor subordinate she dragged around everywhere.

"How many?" he asked, removing his NVGs.

"Nine, but that's assuming the last one I got managed to survive."

Levi gave a questioning glance as several other scouts moved away from the now soon to be dangerous town.

"Orders to pull back came before I could make sure it was dead, not sure if the smoke came from it dying or healing."

The captain nodded, remembering that the rules of engagement made it a point of keeping the soldiers alive. Even if night ops were beneficial and saved ammo, pulling back once the sun was beginning to rise was crucial in order to avoid casualties.

"Understood, so that leaves three alive if the American scouts were right… given the early risers, I say they missed one."

Two fifteen meter and two ten meter giants were standing just above the homes in what had once been a small town, searching for their prey.

Hanji grinned, prompting Ilse to ask "Uh… is-?"

The somewhat muffled WHOMP of a chain gun firing off in the distance stopped her question as she whirled around to stare at the reddish rounds slam into the face of one of the 15 meter titans.

She was somewhat confused until Kane's MRAP drove up.

"Oh, it's another field experiment…" Petra stated what everyone had already figured out.

Doctor Hermann hoped off with a pair of binoculars, observing the monster as its entire head simply crumbled after several shots from the 25 millimeter gun. The M2 Bradley IFV wasn't exactly America's most versatile or powerful vehicle in the Army's arsenal.

The armor wasn't all that great, it really couldn't transport that many troops, and to the annoyance of just about every one of its drivers, the damned thing didn't have any air conditioning.

It had served its purpose well enough during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, even surviving hits some Marine LAV-25s hadn't managed to recover from, but its survivability in urban environments during the War on Terror made it so that it was replaced with other armored vehicles like the MRAP.

The truth was that despite more than six thousands of them built and an ability to work well with M1 tanks, many knew that it wasn't the best suited for modern conflict.

Faced up against titans, however, it was a very different story.

The 25 millimeter M242 Bushmaster chain gun was a killer even for the 15 meter tall monstrosities as evidenced by the headless beast staggering about.

Its TOW missile system was just as effective as a sabot or HEAT round from a tank.

The titan continued to flail around, still standing, still moving, still alive, and still deadly.

"Ah, the damn things are…" he mumbled viewing the disturbing spectacle in the distance, writing down a note of the headless creature.

"Yes, fascinating but deadly little monsters, eh?" Hanji replied happily.

"Cockroaches..." the doctor mumbled.

"Huh?"

The doctor didn't reply as Kane called "Hey, captain! Commander Erwin is on the line for you."

Levi nodded and moved past the scientists.

"Are we heading back?" Hermann called.

Kane said "Well, most of the habitats and bunkers are done; I guess the giant cages should be here later today too, so I think we'll be heading back sooner rather than later."

Hanji beamed at that, saying "To think, just one month ago finding anything out about the titans was considered a fever dream!"

"It's really been a month, huh?" Ilse mumbled, glancing at the early morning sun in the sky as the Bradley IFV fired an anti-tank missile, easily putting the shambling giant out of its misery from 3,000 meters away.

The spyglass scanned the land in the horizon just as someone said "Hey, Hannes, you see anything?"

"Nope! Not a damned titan in sight… who'd have thought we'd see the day." The tired soldier said as he surveyed the land from his position atop the wall.

Another soldier, a rose insignia identified him as a member of the garrison, glanced at the bustling district behind him as loud bells announced the arrival of the sun to those that had failed to notice.

"Don't see why they decided to head out in the early morning hours. It would be safer at night if any of them are still around."

"Yeah, but you can't get much morale boost under the cover of darkness. Everyone is eager to see the famous 104th."

The first regiment of human soldiers to specifically train to begin taking the lands beyond Wall Maria back.

"That isn't wrong… hey; your kids are part of that division, right?"

"Not my kids, Hugo."

The other soldier scoffed, saying "Yeah, yeah, if you want to go send them off, I can cover for you here."

Hannes stopped and glanced at his friend.

"You sure?"

"Sure I'm sure! We have more guys up here now, so if that giant, skinless bastard tries anything…"

He tapped one of the old cannons positioned on the walls specifically to counter the Colossal Titan. They didn't compare to anything the new players were bringing in, but it was effective in its own right.

"Thanks, Hugo." Hannes said, running off.

The other man waved him away, glancing at the early morning sky.

"It's almost been five years, huh?"

Hannes hopped on a roof to get a better look at the bizarre mix of soldiers.

The barely out of training 104th was in the familiar garrison uniform moving amongst themselves in the cleared street, waiting for the order to move out in the horseless carriages the Americans had brought through.

Speaking of bizarre…

Some of the American soldiers milling about had green berets which were strange considering all the others either had a (albeit just as bizarre) helmet or a simple cap.

Odd…

He put his curiosity aside as he noticed a smudge of golden hair amidst the groups of cadets.

"Hey, Armin?" he asked aloud, hopping down from the roof, the civilian crowd stepping out of his way as he moved to the younger soldiers. Crowds usually kept their distance whenever the military moved around, but today they were particularly obedient, as everyone could see the intimidating black rifles the people from somewhere else carried with them.

Something about those made them even more intimidating than regular muskets, but Hannes didn't really care too much about it.

It wasn't like they were being pointed at anyone there.

He had been the one to care for the Shiganshina trio after their families died in the titan incursion half a decade prior.

He walked over to the almost glowing head of yellow hair only for someone to slam into him.

"Hey, hey, hold on there, friend! Who do you think you're approaching?"

It was one of the cadets.

She was grinning at him with some degree of confidence, but also hostility. Despite her thin frame, something about her gray eyes screamed "back off" in the same way he had seen an animal protecting its offspring.

"Relax, Cadet, I just want to talk private Arlert- oh…"

The yellow haired cadet had turned to look at him and Hannes realized that there was no way this was Armin.

The blonde haired girl smiled politely before noting the glare in the other girl's eyes and immediately sighing in disappointment.

"Ymir, you don't have to be so rude. Sorry for my friend, sir. Are you looking for Armin Arlert?"

"Yes, actually; sorry but- the hair… and height..."

"No, it's alright. He's a little ways down the street. Sorry for my friend here."

The dark haired girl named Ymir looked at the blonde in what appeared to be disbelief.

"Ah, thank you private… uh..."

The girl smiled again, saying "Private Christa Lenz, sir."

"Ah, I see. My friends call me Hannes, and-"

"Yeah, good to know, now scram! Your friend is down the road." The dark haired girl interrupted.

"Ah, yes… go beat those monsters back, private Lenz! We're all counting on you!"

The girl simply returned an awkward smile before turning to her friend.

All Hannes heard as he ran off was something along the lines of "What? He was obviously slobbering at the thought of you-"

The man held in a sigh.

Pretty as the golden haired private was, she was clearly too young for his taste.

He moved quickly through the crowd of young soldiers, noticing the excitement amongst all of them.

"What do you think we'll see out there?"

"I don't know, but I am really interested in Shiganshina. I hear the Americans were fixing it up like one of their bases."

"Armin?"

The youth was standing alongside the other two children he had cared for during those uncertain years after the outer wall fell.

"Hannes!" The soft spoken teen said with some excitement.

"It's good to see you." the stoic girl honestly; an ever so subtle smile on her face.

He stood there, noting how much they had visibly grown in the last few years, but he also noted something he hadn't seen in a long time.

Their eyes seem to have a small spark of hope again.

"Hey, Hannes? Hannes… Hey, you haven't been drinking again, right?" the far more serious Yeager said with a tinge of impatience.

Well, at least some things don't change.

"Who's that?" a friendly looking yellow haired man who seemed to be in peak physical condition asked.

"Hannes took care of us after the fall of Wall Maria. Come to see us off?" Armin said.

The older man snapped out of his trance and grinned.

"Yeah, I sort of expected you pipsqueaks to need some kind of pep talk before you head out into titan territory, but it seems you all have an overwhelming air of confidence. Send some of that my way, why don't you?"

All three of the youths seemed to have grown out of the weak children he had looked after just a few years prior.

Mikasa seemed more alive.

Armin seemed to be more talkative than the quiet child he had seen last.

And Eren…

"You've… certainly grown up. All of you…"

"We're going to start retaking the lands beyond the walls someday soon… I guess our goals are that much clearer now and we have to be ready to handle that responsibility, and we can't be weak about it. I know that much now."

Hannes was about to say something when a man started shouting orders, and a loud whistle rang out in the street.

"That the call to move out, huh?"

The Shiganshina trio nodded as the rest of their unit moved to the horseless carriages nearby.

"I…"

He threw his arms around the three of them, simply saying "Take care."

Once he let them go, Eren replied "Yeah, save something special for when we beat the titans back!"

The older man nodded and waved them away.

Don't die…

General Connor placed the strap with the brightly colored star spangled banner on his desk as he sat down.

Makes me feel like a target…

In truth, the United States Marines didn't use the typical red white and blue flag patches anymore, adapting to the battlefield by camouflaging the flag into the uniform.

However, whenever he went to the meetings inside the innermost wall, he needed something to identify him amongst the other military commanders whenever they visited the innermost wall together.

That was a fun meeting…

Standing around a bunch of rich men that wanted to discuss what one company could do cheaper than another company, who would buy what, what country could provide it cheaper, what company would do it better and where would said company install their base of operations within this world.

If Commander Pyxis and Premiere Zachary hadn't drunk most of the booze, Connor would have certainly forgotten to stay sober within the innermost wall.

The same place the incompetent Military Police kept eyeing outsiders as if they were aliens.

Something that was certainly annoying when none of them could be armed…

And again, having Old Glory big bright and visible on his arm was just asking to get accidentally shot if one of the idiots with the muskets got too aggressive.

A quagmire that was thankfully avoided.

Damn it, why can't I just stick with the grey colors? With the exception of some light presence from the NATO countries, this is entirely an American expedition.

Connor sighed, glancing at the top report on his desk.

Scratch that…

Technically, it was a multinational effort.

Both the Survey Corps and the scientific team assigned to study the titans had requested underground facilities be built, as well as cages to carry said beasts into their containment cells.

Most of the manpower to build the bunkers and underground facilities had been US troops, as well as a lot of the equipment being used came from a variety of US based companies.

That said, it had been a certain German construction company that had provided a lot of the refined materials needed to construct a single cage strong enough to hold a giant exceeding the size of a house.

Said steel had to be transported, and it had been a Greek company that had provided freighters to transport it straight to the cargo ports in New York Harbor.

And that was just some of the construction material.

Japan had offered engineers to focus on transforming parts of the Shiganshina district into a fully equipped modern military base, both to accommodate the teenaged soldiers as well as the military forces that would be stationed there, both American and Survey Corps.

It cut American engineers some slack as they analyzed other districts within the walls as they made plans to modernize.

American made solar panels helped power many of the facilities both areas required in order to function properly and US electric companies would eventually be responsible for bringing electricity to the local population within the walls, but it had been an American based South Korean company that had provided energy efficient computers that could be used in both Hill Zero One and the newly built base at Shiganshina.

And of course, then there were the materials needed to build said computers… among other things.

Many of the important components were delivered on Indonesian freighters that had dropped them off in California only to have them finish the trip to New York on a military cargo planes and trucks that used fuel provided by Saudi Arabia.

So on and so forth, the list of allies involved directly and indirectly in the American certainly made this mission a multi-national endeavor.

The list of involved nations would grow further if one sat down to study all the intricate details of the modern interconnected world.

The only difference here was that the US had made a point of only accepting material and personnel across the gate if it was from an ally or made in the US.

To say certain nations were angry would be an understatement.

He recalled the vocal protests at the UN just a week prior…

How dare Japan send men and material to a country that utilizes child soldiers?!

Germany needs to use its status on the world stage to condemn such actions! Have they learned nothing from their history?!

If the United States has the technology to wipe out the hostile creatures across the gate, why are we hearing of a program to train some of their soldiers- which, need I remind you, many are below eighteen years of age!

NATO should condemn any further military forces entering the other world, or else we could face a new age of western imperialism and genocide.

We at the United Nations Human Rights council request all nations cease supporting the establishing of American military forces until we can secure communications with the governments within the walled society; only then can we be certain the US isn't taking advantage of the lands beyond the gate.

Of course, NATO observers as well as Army officials had made it a point that the US military assets present were focusing on destroying the titan threat and training allied forces in the art of modern warfare as part of a mutually beneficial agreement.

A certain French politician had even gone as far to point out that the average age of military conscripts was just as young in some of the UN members that were formally protesting.

Of course, this didn't stop the arguments in the international stage.

On the one hand, it wasn't exactly great for international relations to have one corner of the planet glaring at another corner.

On the other hand, it really didn't matter one bit what any of the relatively small nations thought.

Unless China or Russia was willing to risk going to war over access to the other world, nothing would change, and the protesting nations knew it.

Connor was actually glad the two larger nations had been relatively silent on the whole situation, if not a little reluctant to speak about it publicly, seemingly satisfied with observing from afar to see how things played out.

Whether that was good or bad had yet to be seen, but the US had its allies, and even if full access simply wasn't possible at the moment for them, it wasn't like they were actively blocking other nations from coming through or sending observers.

Unlike a certain puppet ruler… or figurehead… or whatever the hell you are, Fritz.

He pushed the report on the international situation aside, taking note the warning from a certain representative.

"Avoid hostilities with the monarchy and the advisory as long as possible. The eyes of the world are upon all of us."

Yeah, so I have to go and ignore all of this until further notice.

He began to read the other report on his desk.

It was thankfully shorter.

"Military Police are notably divided down the middle… interesting." He mumbled as he read the report.

Two factions Identified as of yet:

Faction A: Military Police members who are in the military for personal gain. Of note, they allow crimes to go on as they can be easily bribed.

Faction B: no notable cases witnessed, but rumors refer to them as the Interior Police. Attempts at gaining information have proved challenging as little concrete information appears to exist. Currently investigating rumors, but all evidence suggests they are real and capable of compromising operations should cover be blown.

Priority has been given to investigating Faction B.

General Connor frowned.

First the reluctance to ask for help from a technologically superior force out of fear of changing their way of life.

Somewhat understandable, though a bit strange...

Then the evidence that the monarchy had committed genocide at least once in its short history.

Worrisome especially when they say that humanity is apparently on the brink of extinction.

Now a secret police force that operates from the shadows?

He grabbed a sticky note and a pen.

Be mindful of all Military Police forces, we may need to disregard the rule of not bringing our weapons into the capital.

If this report was wrong or just an exaggeration, then nothing would come of it… but if it was as bad as it seemed to be…

Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

A knock on his door caught his attention.

"General, the reporters are here for an interview."

"Oh, thank Christ. Bring them in."

For once, he was glad the press had arrived in the field.

"Whoa! Hey Armin what kind of flying machines are those?!" Connie half yelled as a pair of Harrier jump jets flew not too far from the hills behind the convoy.

"I think they're called Harriers. It's hard to tell from here."

So far the 104th had seen very little of the US presence as they travelled the relatively flat lands of Wall Maria.

"I don't care, look at those things! Wings like that could probably annihilate entire titan hordes just by flying into them!" an excited Thomas said rather loudly.

"Hell Yeah! Decapitated titan heads all around!"

"I don't think that would work… from what I read aircraft need a light metal in order to fly, so simply flying into a horde-"

"Come on, man, don't be a buzz kill."

Eren stared at the jets with some melancholy.

He doubted he could learn how to fly one.

Probably too complicated …

He then noticed that one of his comrades seemed kind of nervous.

He was about to say something to Bertholdt when Reiner spoke up.

"So, Yeager… how's it feel going back home?"

Eren blinked before shrugging.

"I guess I'm glad. I hear we'll use it as a base to push the titans back, so I guess there is some kind of… poetic justice to it."

"You think they fixed up the whole place?"

Eren shrugged.

"It was pretty badly damaged when it happened, but if they stick to the center, or on one specific area, I guess it could look better than it is. Of course, it's always possible the Americans have some tricks up their sleeves."

"That's what I want to hear, kid!"

Mikasa watched the older teenager.

Something about the way Reiner talked felt oddly forced.

She remembered the pair had experienced the titan invasion first hadn as they lived in the mountains and never got the news in time.

Was he putting on a strong front for them?

She felt some pity for her comrade.

She was sitting closest to the main cabin of the vehicle, where the driver was visible through the small window.

"This is Mother Goose, how we looking?" one of the men called into the box she recognized as the radio.

Immediately a voice cracked back, saying "Mother Goose, you are cleared for the remaining fifteen miles, be advised, cavalry will escort you the rest of the way."

"Cavalry?" she mumbled silently, only for Eren to suddenly speak up.

"What's up, Mikasa?"

"Oh, I overheard them say that a cavalry unit will escort us the rest of the way, but, I don't know if it will be American or-"

"It's going to be one of ours, miss. You guys see the tanks in the books?" the driver said, leaning in through the small window.

The cadets nodded.

"Then you're gonna want to see this."

The teens blinked, and almost as a single unit, promptly moved to the back of the truck, almost pushing Connie off the edge.

It was just open field behind them.

The cadets waited for a minute never hearing anything other than the sound of the truck's engine.

"Left, on the left. Six o clock, guys." the American called.

They turned and saw them.

Green mechanized vehicles.

American armor.

"Whoa…" someone said.

"M1 A2 Abrams. The Army brought them in during the first push a month ago." the driver called.

"Man, a gun like that… I bet the armored titan doesn't stand a chance!" Reiner said.

"Why bother with a tank when an aircraft might do the same?"

"Really?"

"The aircraft the Americans brought over are used to attack ground targets just like those tanks. Only difference is one does it from the ground, the other from the air."

Eren stared at the boxy vehicles following them.

Titan-killers…

He was looking at the spearhead of the reclaiming efforts.

A cruel smile manifested itself on the teenager.

Reiner noticed and said "Hey, man, everything okay?"

"Yeah, I guess it really hit me, even though I knew all along."

"What's that?"

"The titans are truly finished."

Everyone agreed.

No one noticed the look of terror in the eyes of three of the cadets.

Shadis noticed that the newly constructed outer gate had several painting on it, though what those were supposed to be confounded him. He recognized the flag of the Survey Corps as well as the flag of the Americans, but the others…

Colonel Parker simply pointed and said "Germany, Japan, United States, Survey Corps; basically the national flags of the people that directly worked on fixing Shiganshina."

"Ah, I see. Isn't Japan…?"

"Yeah, part of the orient."

"Do the people of your world know about…?"

"Yeah, but what it means is still being debated. Most people are worried about what we do here now that the titans within Wall Maria are almost gone."

"I see. What about capture operations?"

"Starting up pretty soon." he replied happily.

The older man nodded.

He took a breath and shouted "Alright, 104th fall in!"

It took a few seconds but the trained soldiers arrived and formed in record time much to their disdain, none of them got an immediate chance to look around much once inside and would have to wait if they wanted to see the otherworldly elements of the mostly rebuilt Shiganshina District.

Shadis glanced at Connor, who simply said "Right, I know you're all curious and want to start seeing what's new and what our world has to offer, but first things first! All of you are to report to the buildings behind me. Remember, red crosses are how we identify medicine and medics. Each of you will report to the large building with a red cross and receive a number of vaccines as well as give a blood sample. Now, you will all be vaccinated against..."

He began to read the list of illnesses and Eren heard some muttering behind him.

"Vaccines? Disease? I should have just… Damn it, damn it, damn-"

"Jean, shut up!" a girl hissed.

"Don't tell me what to-"

"Alright, fall out and follow lieutenant Troy over there. I expect you to be organized."

Eren slowed his pace and "accidentally" stepped on Jean's left foot as he moved past him. The teenager stopped and pointed at him in frustration.

"Ah! Damn it, Yeager! I am in no mood for-"

"Private Kirschtean, move your ass!" Lieutenant Troy ordered as he walked past the teen.

The frustrated teenager could only grind his teeth at the innocent look his comrade gave him.

"Damn you…"

All he wanted was to join the Military Police, yet somehow he had allowed himself to get washed away with the rest of the 104th and was now on the front lines of the war!

I should have quit then.

I should've quit when Yeager somehow managed to maintain the attention of the most beautiful girl in the regiment!

I should've quit the second the most beautiful girl in the regiment actively chose to keep up with Yeager and ignore any kind words he sent her way that first day- I mean what normal person does that?!

Never mind that, Jean! Just focus on getting through- What the hell is everyone staring at?

He had stepped inside the infirmary only to find everyone looking at… something he couldn't quite catch.

"Marco? Hey, Marco!" he whispered to the fuzzy head of dark hair in front of him.

The freckled teen turned with a questioning glance.

"What's going on?"

He simply stepped aside, letting him see.

First he heard the humming.

He didn't recognize the song.

But he didn't need to recognize music in order to recognize an angelic voice.

He saw the woman place a box of… something on the counter she was standing behind.

She was gorgeous.

Her skin seemed perfect, her hair, even tied in a bun like that, seemed to be a straight and naturally flowing light brown. Despite wearing the odd uniform of the American Army, she somehow managed to make it look attractive as it failed to completely hide her curves.

She looked young, but also mature.

Certainly older than any of them...

"Well anyway, allow me to introduce myself! I'm battalion Nurse, Karina Joy, my staff and I will be taking some of your blood as well as injecting mysterious fluids into your bloodstream that nobody on this side of the gate really understands." she said in a joking tone.

It was Yeager, of course, that had to ruin the melodious sound of her voice for everyone by suddenly saying "Excuse me, but what was that about mysterious chemicals and injections?"

The nurse laughed.

"Vaccines, private, I don't mean to worry you. See, we have found a way to prevent diseases by injecting-"

"E-excuse me…"

All the boys once more turned to Yeager who had almost childishly raised his hand, interrupting the battalion nurse.

Nurse Joy raised an eyebrow and asked "Yes?"

"Do those have side effects?"

The battalion nurse smiled and said "None at all aside from some soreness and maybe some swelling where we administer the injection. They're quite harmless."

"So… it won't make me forget things?"

Again, everyone turned to stare at the teenager, now more than a little concerned.

Huh… maybe Yaeger really was a medical experiment…

"Did… somebody give you an injection before that caused you to forget stuff?" Reiner asked.

"Sort of, a little after the wall fell, I kind of remember my dad injecting me with something and then blacking out. Don't remember anything after that."

Nurse Joy blinked, saying "Your father had a syringe like this one?"

She showed them an incredibly tiny plastic tube.

The teen shook his head.

"I remember that it was bigger and… metallic…my dad is… was… a doctor, so it could have been something he was testing."

The nurse blinked once again before saying "Well, no… it shouldn't make you black out or forget anything. Certain medications and drugs can have such a side effect, or worse if it turns out you are allergic to it… in fact, the first thing you all need to do after this is provide a blood sample to make sure none of you are allergic to our medicines."

"Uh, Nurse J-" Connie began before the nurse cut him off.

"Please, call me Karina. I-"

"Oh, no! Fraternizing with the cadets is strictly forbidden, Nurse Joy. You will each refer to her by her title." Troy said loudly, appearing almost out of nowhere.

Karina simply smiled and nodded.

"Good call, Lieutenant… now, mister… Springer?"

"Ah! Yes, sorry, but… how will you take our blood without… wounding us?"

"Oh, well have a seat! Let me demonstrate!"

With the service concluded for the day, Pastor Nick was more than happy to see his growing congregation head out with satisfied looks on their faces.

His church had been growing since news of the reclaiming of Wall Maria came a little over a month ago, and he was glad to see so many accepting and pledging their servitude to the goddesses.

Today was different, though.

He sighed as he saw the short woman, kneeling by the altar, and dirty cloak covering her features as she seemed to be praying desperately to the statue of the three goddesses.

Normally such display of faith would warm his heart, but he was worried.

There had been whispers of secretive residents, and he was not deaf to them.

"My beloved, I believe you have atoned enough for today. The doors will open once more for the service in the evening, but I'm afraid I must to ask you to…"

He stopped dead in his tracks as he finally heard what the woman was saying.

"Veritas vos liberabit. Veritas vos liberabit. Veritas vos liberabit. Veritas vos liberatib… ever Heard that one, sir?"

The abrupt way she stopped speaking gibberish and made it so that he could understand her startled the pastor.

"That accent… is… are you from the more rural areas in-?"

He stopped, understanding beginning to reach him.

He whirled around in time to see the doors to the church be locked in place by more people in dirty cloaks.

Nick slowly took a step away from the intimidating figures only for the woman to stand up and remove her cloak.

She was certainly short, young as well.

He could have mistaken her for any other girl in the innermost wall, given her short, wavy blonde hair and seemingly expensive dress.

"Aint gonna lie, pastor, all those wall worshippers cough their money up better than the folks back home. And as someone from the Bible-belt, that's saying something!" the woman said, smiling.

For a moment he wondered if she was some con-woman, trying to rob him from whatever fortune his new followers brought him, perhaps one of the dwellers of the underground city.

But that accent…

"Now, Veritas vos liberabit… ever heard of that?"

He shook his head before asking "who are you people and what do you want? This is sacred ground and stealing from the goddess will only bring misfortune upon-"

The woman let out a loud, disappointed sigh.

"Well, apparently Latin never developed properly in this reality… whatever. Thought it would sound kinda cool… look, Father Nick, I'm going to skip to the point; you were visited by two MPs recently. They asked you a question, you gave an answer. Do you recall what that was?"

Father Nick stared at the woman for a second; suddenly saying "You're with the Americans! What in the world are you trying to pull?! I thought the-"

"Answer the question, father." One of the men behind him interrupted him.

The man had a recognizable accent, which worried the old man.

Was this woman a rogue agent?!

"I don't know what you people are talking about." Nick growled back.

The woman nodded, glanced at the men behind him, and extended a hand.

"What are-?"

One of the men handed her a tiny black box with several buttons on it.

A voice the father recognized came from it.

"Father Nick…"

"Oh, captain Sannes… is everything alright?"

"I want to know of the girl."

"Of course. My last observer noted that she has formed several friendships with her squad mates, but nothing abnormal to report."

"How… how did you…?"

The woman shushed him.

"Excellent… now that the Americans are finally out of the capital I want a list of all their members that arrived into this congregation as well as all other churches. We cannot have any leaks."

"I doubt they know anything, but I will ask my fellow followers for assistance."

The woman pushed a button and the recording stopped.

She smiled sweetly before asking "What information are you afraid of leaking, Pastor Nick?"

The man was speechless.

The American frowned and said "Who's the girl making friends?"

The man said nothing.

"Ma'm, no offense, but time is limited." Another of the cloaked men said.

"Come on, Father Nick, you don't want to keep a girl waiting, do you?"

The man did not reply.

For the first time since making eye contact with the woman, Nick saw her frown.

She groaned, placing the recorder into a pocket and pulling her cloak over her head.

"We all want what's best, Father. But if you aren't going to help us now, then we'll have to drop by again."

Her pale blue eyes turned to look at him as if a predator had found its latest meal.

"If you actually want to help us just give us a call, have a chat, maybe tell us the truth. We'll be watching."

She walked past him and he finally spoke up.

"What did those words mean?"

"Ah?" the woman asked, seemingly with little patience.

"You spoke in a language I didn't understand… what were you saying?"

"Oh, Veritas vos liberabit? It means the truth shall set you free."

"I see…Come back here tonight, right after service is over."

The woman returned a crooked grin that made the older man worry he may have just made a deal with the devil.

"Remember that if any of you feel sick or anything don't be shy about dropping by the office!" Karina said, waving the last group of cadets out the door.

"Will do! Thank you Nurse Joy!" the last of the cadets called as he exited the infirmary.

She waited for the door to close.

The door closed and she heard the noise of the cadets dissipate as they moved on.

She slammed her head into the counter and let out a muffled screech that startled on her subordinates.

"N-nurse?" a young man asked.

"Not now, Kyle! God damn Troy! He can't be so dense! He did that on purpose… Oh, God, he did it on purpose!"

"I-"

"Do you know how long it took for people to shut up about me being the God damn Nurse Joy?! I'm a God damn nurse in the God damn Army, not some pink haired little veterinarian that does…" she stopped, took a breath, and lay back on her chair before saying "Whatever…"

"Sorry, about that. We can't choose our names, right?"

"I'm over it, Kyle. Just drop it… anyway, what do you think of that kid and his father's amnesia syringe?"

"He was probably just looking for attention."

"Do the people here even know about syringes?"

The subordinate stopped with a look of uncertainty.

"Actually, we didn't see any while sending aid in one of the districts. They had liquid medicine; they had bandages, but… I didn't see any syringes."

"Huh… maybe they're just in limited supply or… new. Or the kids made it up…" Karina frowned.

"Kyle, when you get the chance, send a radio call to Hill Zero One and ask them if our closed off friends have ancient syringes. It's probably nothing, but let's cover our bases."

Her subordinate nodded.

"Now, this would be the library. We have been working on translating historical material as well as any instructional book that could help you all understand the tactics of modern war. That said, this is our proudest achievement." Troy announced as he lead a large contingency of cadets through the library.

Four Desktop computers had been installed just below some windows in the converted floor of what had once been the Garrison fort, prompting curious stares from the teenagers.

Troy tapped the closest computer and said "We have all sorts of information on these babies, ranging from our own world history, to our modern weapons. You can access these during your free time and keep in mind, the information on here is vital to your growth as a modern army. Now, that concludes the tour of the main building, I will give you a half hour to look around, get yourself acquainted with the area here. After those thirty minutes, everyone meet up right by the entrance so that we can continue your briefing."

He wasn't surprised when every single one of the cadets surrounded the desktops, not one of them certain of how to use them, so they simply stood around eyeing the information on the screen.

Troy winced.

Where the hell is private Ackerman?

Mikasa hadn't followed the cadets who were swarming the computer, choosing to follow one of the men nearby who was measuring an entrance that had no doors yet.

The man seemed to feel like he was being watched so he turned and was startled to see the emotionless stare of her eyes.

An oriental…

There was an awkward silence before the Japanese man said "You are the… Mikasa Ackerman, yes?"

The girl nodded, asking "And you are from the orient, correct?"

The man smiled awkwardly, nodding before saying "Nihon… Japan."

"I see… how are things over there after the world war?"

"Uh… quite good, actually. Japan is a… how do you say… economic power across the gate. Very peaceful, too. Nara- my home city has many beautiful historical sites. I think there is a book where you can read more, though."

"I see…" the girl had many other questions, but was suddenly silenced when Eren called.

"Mikasa! You have to see this! There's- um…" Yeager was unsure of what to say to the older Japanese engineer.

"Um… you two should probably run along. I do have to finish some measurements, but it was nice to meet you, Mikasa-san, Jā matane."

At the confused stares of the teens, the man simply smiled and said "That's Japanese for see you later."

"Uh… right. See you, later?"

Mikasa simply nodded and the man took his leave.

"Well, did he answer anything?" Eren asked suddenly.

"It seems that people like me really are living prosperous lives over there." Mikasa said quietly.

"That's good." He replied, not sure what to say.

It was certainly odd knowing that they were no longer the last humans remaining on the face of the planet, but Mikasa was probably the last of her race, so to see more was something Eren wasn't sure he could comprehend.

"Did you want to show me something?" her voice snapped him back to the present.

"Oh, right! Armin figured out how to use parts of these gadgets the Americans brought in. it's not only a moving picture of the ocean, but of a warship."

She wasn't sure why the warship was a factor in calling her, but she didn't question it.

Until…

"Hey, Mikasa, should we nickname you The Battleship?" Connie said as she approached the group of cadets surrounding the glowing screen.

There was a voice speaking in a language she didn't understand, but by the time she approached the screen to see what the fuss was about, a new voice came that she could understand.

There was a man visible on the screen placing a hand on what appeared to be the back of a cannon.

A huge cannon…

The man with an English accent said "The Mikasa was equipped with fourteen of these six inch guns, the rate of fire was six rounds per minute, and had a maximum range of nine kilometers. The gun crew consisted of ten men and a gun captain…"

"Oh, a range of nine kilometers, eh, Mikasa?" Thomas said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Quiet, we can joke about Mikasa secretly being a warship later." The stoic Annie said with narrow eyes.

Mikasa was uncertain of how to feel that a warship from the other world coincidentally had her name, but she was far more amazed in actually being able to see the moving picture on a screen.

She was about to ask how they could understand what the other man had been saying earlier when she noticed that the moving picture had changing letters on the bottom that were written with their own alphabet.

They translated these for us…

The moving picture then showed the man was outside in front of a gigantic gun, buildings and other boats visible behind him as a pair of people walked around.

"…earlier on, we saw the first of these huge twelve inch gun turrets, the first being on the stern and second one now being on the bow of the ship. The crew were incredibly well protected by German designed Krupp, armored steel plates. With a rate of fire of one round per minute and a range of fourteen kilometers, they were extremely accurate guns. The accuracy was mainly due to the English designed Barr and Stroud of Glasgow rangefinder, but…"

"To think that this is a one hundred year old warship in their world. Incredible." Annie mumbled.

Troy smiled behind the cadets.

They would have access to learning tools beyond the imagination in this world.

To think we almost didn't bring those computers along…

He glanced at his watch.

The other cadets should be…

Out in the supply depot of the fort a table was set out and the other half of the 104th stood around it, staring at the odd weapon on display.

Ymir picked up the wooden rifle and raised an eyebrow.

"How are we supposed to fight titans with these?"

Commandant Shadis took it away from her and placed it back on the display table.

Sargent Roy smiled at the deed and said "Because it fires these."

He pointed to the box of ammunition next to the rifle and pulled the lid open.

Large, shiny casings of .458 Winchester sat neatly on the table.

"Now, keep in mind that this rifle was modified from its World War Two variant in order to fire these, but given the lower recoil and its status as a semi-automatic rifle, it is probably the best weapon at scoring a titan kill that isn't chambered in .50 BMG, these rounds."

Sargent reached into his pocket and showed the ammunition used in the anti-material rifles.

"When will we begin… training with these?" a worried Bertholdt asked.

"Tomorrow morning. For now we want you all to get settled. We can meet the rest of your friends in the morning." The sergeant said, glancing at the weapon.

The man was a fan of older firearms, missing that he never got to test the old M14, only knowing that a buddy with "The Old Guard" had used it once.

He was honored to begin assisting in the training of a new army with a new twist on an old American rifle.

The thing was even wooden!

Soon, the M1 Garand would see action yet again.

The city streets were still mostly wrecked, weeds growing through the cracks, and moss covering the shattered bricks and stones that had once made up small homes.

Eren stared in some restraint as he recognized the old homes.

The Humvee came to a halt and the American driver said "sorry, we have to walk it from here."

The three cadets exited the vehicle with a single American, leaving the other one to stay by the vehicle.

Most of the district within the wall had been fairly cleaned up, but a fair chunk of it remained as it had after that day almost five years prior.

Mikasa almost unconsciously lifted her scarf up higher as a cool breeze moved through the narrow street.

The four humans moved around the empty street, the American leading with a slung over rifle as almost silent chatter came from the radio on his shoulder.

"So… this is really important to you two, huh?" the third cadet asked.

He was met with utter silence.

"Sorry…"

"No, its fine… I just didn't think I would get here so soon."

Reiner nodded at Eren's words.

"Careful around here…" the American soldier leading the trio said, pointing at the crushed home.

A large bolder was supported on wooden beams that looked like they could give way soon.

"We're waiting on some supplies to fix this area soon, but it's been a challenge." The soldier sighed as they passed through it.

Not even German workers could have this fixed in a month…

"Most homes were already in bad shape back then… I don't know how many died when the rocks hit their roofs." Eren breathed.

It was one of the poorer districts after all.

The shockwave of the colossal titan alone probably knocked some structures down.

How many had been trapped like his mother, forced to struggle uselessly as their inevitable fate announced its arrival through slow, booming footsteps?

Eren felt his fingernails dig into the palm of his hand, almost breaking the skin as he tried to push the painful memories away to little avail.

The third cadet turned and vomited suddenly.

"Reiner, you okay?"

"Y-yeah… just… I'll be fine."

"Look, Reiner, I appreciate you coming along, but you don't have to, really-"

"No, call it a… I don't know… selfish request. Got curious after hearing your story." he replied, forcing a smile.

The other two cadets gave him a seemingly understanding look.

Clearly he was worried about them. The older teen had witnessed a titan incursion himself so they understood that this wasn't easy for him.

But they soldiered on.

Walking slowly through the ruined district, they observed the shattered monuments of the tragedy that happened there.

For the two previous inhabitants of Shiganshina, the streets became more and more familiar until…

"Up… there…" Eren said and moved past the American, Mikasa hot on his trail.

The soldier stopped as he looked at the crushed remains of a home.

"God damn…"

It looked as if the giant piece of the wall that slammed into it had rolled over it before stopping suddenly, not caring for whoever lived there.

The two teenagers ran up to it and stopped to look at it.

"It's… smaller than I remember." Mikasa breathed suddenly.

The American didn't notice Yeager wipe his eyes before saying "Should be over here… come on."

The American grimaced as he watched the cadets begin to dig into a pile of rubble.

"It… wasn't even like this back in our village. Never this… bad." the blonde cadet mumbled with unease as he slowly stepped forward.

"Sorry..." the American breathed, unsure of what he or anyone could say to help.

He observed the destroyed home for a few seconds before moving up to help the other two teens dig through the rubble.

They were quick, but delicate in their efforts, Mikasa collecting some otherwise undamaged plates and utensils in a neat pile.

This was the kitchen, so the entrance should be…

"Found it… I think." Reiner said as he lifted a wooden board that appeared to be a door.

Under it was a large hole in the ground, stone steps led into a pitch darkness that was made all the more noticeable as the sky turned orange.

The American took a deep breath before saying "Well, looks stable enough… we only have a few hours of daylight left and you guys need to be back at the main base before sunset. Let's hurry this up."

Taking out a single flashlight, the soldier moved along with the cadets into the darkness, the beam of light giving them a fair view of what was in front of them.

The steps went down for a few meters before turning into a short hallway that ended in a wooden door.

A well-built iron lock kept them from opening it.

"Huh… you said your dad gave you a key for it, right?" Reiner asked.

Eren didn't reply, nervously taking the key from around his neck and swiftly entering it into the lock.

"Yeah I think- huh?"

He moved it left.

Nothing.

He moved it right.

Nothing.

He tried again and again, yet it didn't budge no matter what.

"I don't… understand…" he said, his voice almost breaking.

The soldier frowned, and said "Let me try…"

No, the key didn't open the lock, it didn't even go all the way in once he got a good look at it.

"Eren…" Reiner asked then.

"Yeah?"

"Whatever is in there must be really important, right?"

The teenager nodded.

"Okay… let me try." Reiner said.

"Be my guest, this key doesn't work on the lock. Maybe-"

CRASH!

In one swift motion, Reiner had slammed the side of his body into the wooden door, shattering it off its hinges and knocking it into the room.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" the American shouted as he looked to the roof above them.

It didn't cave in.

"Cadet, communication! You could have killed us if it had collapsed the upper structure! God… never do that again… and no one speak a word of this to the Commanding Officers, clear? Cadets?" he asked, angrily.

"Yes sir…" Yeager and Ackerman said.

"Yes sir, sorry sir…" Reiner replied bashfully.

"Right… damn it, it's even darker in here… come on."

With a flashlight being their only source of light they entered the silent room.

The room was certainly an office, a wooden desk surrounded by a large bookcase filled to the brim with what appeared to be medical journals.

"See anything overly important? Cause I can't read any of this…" the soldier said, eyeing the books.

"It's all medical stuff… some of it looks kind of important, though." Reiner noted as he moved around to study the desk.

He almost tripped on a metal cup of sorts.

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

He cursed the fact that the American was mostly aiming the torch at the bookshelf so that the two cadets could sift through the journals of their family.

He picked it up and placed it on the desk, looking it over as best as he could in the limited light.

He saw some papers and began to look them over.

"Other than an old cup, this desk just has some notes on experimental flu treatments." Reiner said after a minute.

Mikasa moved to look at it herself, smiling slightly as she recognized the cup. She picked it from the desk as she remembered handing it to Grisha the night before the catastrophe.

They had been such a humble, but happy little family.

Eren frowned thinking hard to himself.

"This doesn't make sense. Dad said this was incredibly important stuff down here!"

The American asked "Like what?"

The cadet stared at the ground, saying "I don't know… he said he would show me this room when I was ready, I thought it was… important."

Mikasa spoke softly then, saying "Maybe doctor Yeager wanted you to become a doctor."

"Huh? Why would-?"

The teenager stopped before he could finish the sentence.

The world outside is a nightmare, Eren.

Yeah, I know! But it has to be better than this life!

He remembered his mother begging him not to join the scouts, he remembered her begging his father to scold him some more in a vain attempt at changing his mind…

Scold him? Dear, please think this through. Mere words won't hold back the boy's curiosity. Eren, behave yourself and I'll let you in on what I've been doing in the cellar. Agreed?

"Did… was that his goal? To convince me never to… never to join the scouts? Did he think I would become a doctor instead?" he growled.

He forced the angry tears back.

"Maybe he was worried about you. My friend had his mom take him to a shop to encourage him entering the same line of work… sorry, kid."

"No, I'm sorry… I feel like i wasted all your time."

Mikasa begged to differ. She found the few items they recovered to be of immeasurable value.

But she knew her adopted brother didn't want to hear it right now.

They left the destroyed house after that, picking up what little they could bring back.

For the two cadets, it was wholly unfulfilling.

The closure they expected to find simply didn't exist.

At least from the looks of things...

"You think the weak point is due to their nervous system being placed on the very nape of their neck?" Hanji asked as Doctor Hermann as he typed something into the marvel of technology Hanji had now come to recognize as a laptop.

"I don't know… I was thinking that it could be similar to cockroaches, where even cutting off the head they can still bring oxygen to their vitals and live on for days after the fact. The Bradleys destroyed its head, but just like you said, it continued to move. One of our priorities upon capturing one will have to be…"

"Oh! Do you plan on using your… uh… X-Rays?" the scout asked with some excitement.

The third member sitting at the table calmly ate what the Americans called a hamburger. Life was good for the subordinate who could now relegate the mad scientist and her ceaseless questions to other patient minds.

"I don't really see any other means of safely analysing their internals without it."

The Survey Corps scientist grinned from ear to ear.

One step closer to uncovering the truth of the titans…

"So… how soon can we begin the capture operations?" Hermann asked.

"Well, there is an eight meter titan that has apparently resigned itself to the forest not too far from one of our old resupply posts… an abnormal type. What do you think, Moblit?"

As the scientists turned to look at the other scout, the young man simply nodded, more than delighted with the food the American cafeteria would serve.

"Well, if it's in a forest, it may cause some problems."

Hanji scoffed.

"It's the only titan for miles, and all we have to do is sneak in late at night, use a helicopter or something to locate it… the second we find him we can tie him up and drag him to a cage! Easy!"

The cafeteria doors opened as Ilse and the trio of Americans that followed her around walked in.

"And that's why we call noodle incidents noodle… incidents… um…" Jake said as he saw the grin on Hanji Zoe.

"Hey, guys! How do you feel about a little titan hunting?"

Jake smiled awkwardly.

"Nope! I got guard duty at the armory!"

"Cockroach…" Matt and Jake said, deadpanned.

"A dutiful cockroach, don't get eaten!" he said, doing a one-eighty and disappearing through the door.

"Oh, what a shame. I suppose Kane and his men will have to back you up." Hanji said.

The soldiers sighed.

Ilse smiled slightly.

"Well at least we got to shower today." she breathed out.

"Yeah, can't wait to get my newly clean boots dirty again… God damn it all, send some burgers my way!" Jake said.

Matt said nothing.

The doors to the church were closed then and pastor Nick stood by the altar, silently praying for guidance.

"Wow, cozy in here." the dreaded accented voice of the American woman sent a chill down his spine.

"Evening Pastor Nick! Give any thought to our offer?" she asked, a bright grin on her face as she did so.

She was alone.

"I have." He said simply after a moment.

They were silent.

The American said nothing, staring at him with a patient smile.

"We are safe as we are. For the past one hundred years humanity has lived within the walls in peace. It was the Survey Corps that brought the attention of the Colossal and Armored titans if you asked me. Truth can set you free, madam, but the consequences of doing so can be just as disastrous as the lies. Until it is necessary to reveal the truth to you, I will keep it with me."

The patient smile didn't disappear once he finished talking.

The woman simply said "A simple no would have sufficed. Jesus… well, we figured you would say that. shame, really."

With that she turned and headed for the door.

Then she stopped.

"I take it you understand that keeping this a secret is vital to your continued survival, correct?"

"Is that a threat-?"

"Take it however you want. We know where you are, we know who you talk to, and we know when you do so. We'll find the truth eventually, Nick. You can run over to your friends at the Military Police or… perhaps the Interior police would be more competent? Regardless, nobody will believe you, and you will have no proof that our meetings ever happened."

Pastor Nick stared back, unflinching.

The woman sighed, and said "If you change your mind, give us a call."

Then she disappeared into the darkness of the dimly lit street beyond the church.

Veritas vos liberabit…

"I pray we never need people like you..."

Pastor Nick was entirely ignorant of the dark haired woman sitting on the top window of the church, staring down at him.

Not good, Nick. Not good at all…

The ethereal woman lifted her thumb to her chin, a look of worry on her face.

She glanced at the SAS operatives exiting the alleyway as the American met up with them.

Hopefully Kenny will be smart enough to let you all know.

A gust of wind blew form the east.

As soon as it passed her form disappeared, leaving no trace of her ever being there.

In the darkness of the night, even with the full moon, no one would have seen the figure with jet black hair floating through the air in the district.

And even if they somehow saw her, would anyone believe them?

With a look of sadness, the woman made her way back towards the fields of Wall Maria, quickly disappearing into the pitch darkness of the gate, unseen by anyone.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Armin said solemnly, waiting for his friend to answer before even attempting to take a bite of the steak that had been served with his dinner.

"I don't think it matters anymore." Eren sighed.

The trio went silent for a second, Armin breaking it.

"Maybe we should just focus on the future now. I mean just look at all the information, all the knowledge that is right by our fingertips now!"

"Yeah, but if anything it reaffirms what we have to do. I can focus solely on that now."

Kill every last one of them…

"Maybe you missed a spot." Armin suggested.

The grumpy teenager glanced at him saying "Doubt it. But even if you're right, I doubt it would be anything that would change much. I think dad simply wanted me to be a doctor instead of risking my life to explore the nightmare of a world that exists beyond the walls."

From outside the fort, the looming structure stood silently in the moonlight.

"And for the first time in a century… humanity is finally ready to begin taking back what's ours." The teen said, looking at the stars beyond the walls.

"Yeah… I think our parents would be proud… all of them." Armin suggested.

"Maybe your parents, mom would probably be worried sick."

"I think my parents would be proud." Mikasa said then.

"Well, I suppose you're right. There are other Orientals working with us now so I think they would want you to get in touch with your culture-" Armin started but was cut off.

"I think my parents would be proud to see me succeed regardless." The girl said, the slightest hint of irritation in her voice.

"Regardless, we're actually going to be the first humans to begin taking land back from the titans."

They eyed the mostly dark district, admiring the rays of moonlight making the environment feel homely rather.

It was as if hope had been restored after living through so much despair.

But not too far from the Shiganshina trio, three warriors hid in the shadows.

Frustration, anger, and fear was high amongst them.

"It's probably a coincidence."

"Damn it, you heard it the same as me, Eren Yeager must secretly be related to all of this!"

"Ah yes, lucky us, we just accidentally stumbled upon one of the lost titans, right? You think it's the same one we lost or the other one?"

The strongest warrior balled a fist and said "I don't hear any of you coming up with ideas! How exactly do we get away from those flying vipers?!"

"I thought they called them cobras…" the girl said.

"I thought they were called helicopters."

"Focus! Any better ideas or are you just wasting time?!"

Silence.

"We surrender ourselves." the girl said with little emotion after a moment.

"What?"

"Coming clean doesn't sound so bad." the third warrior said as he shook slightly.

They were at the spot where they singlehandedly murdered countless of civilians.

It was taking a toll on them.

The three were silent for a second.

The strongest warrior spoke up.

"We all read the same basic material, they clearly despise people who kill civilians, and like it or not, in their eyes the Paradis Devils are civilians, civilians that they are warming up to. What do you think they'll do when you two come clean? You think they'll just tie you up and throw you in a cell?"

Maybe we could strike a deal with them, hand you over… you seem to like it here just-

Before the girl could finish her thought the other warrior spoke in a low tone that hid anger and resentment.

"Well what exactly do you suggest we do? You don't want to retreat, you don't want to stay here… what do you want to do-?"

"Their flying machines cannot stay in the air all day, we saw them land to refuel a few times, just like ships, and they aren't even out during the night… we need more information if we plan on striking them."

"Again?" she asked, a dread in her voice.

"As a distraction. Obviously these weapons will stop any titan invasion eventually, but not before it buys us a chance to test my theory on Yeager… and escape unnoticed."

They were silent.

"Even if I'm wrong, we can at least infer that the gate opened up because of the founder, it must have… but if I'm right, then we may be able to get one titan back to Marley, as well as vital information on the weapons and tactics of these outsiders."

The other warriors were silent.

"You guys have any better ideas?"

Silence.

"Good. That's good… We know some of what they can do on paper, let's see what they're capable of in the field. Observe what you can, find out what you can… we meet again in one month."

"You sure that it's in there?" Kane asked on the radio as he watched the dark forest through the green glare of his NVGs.

"Affirmative, heat signature shows him lying down about fifty or so meters from your position." The radio crackled back.

Kane silently cursed the eerie silence in the dark woods surrounding them as he tightened his grip on the M4.

"This would be easier with a tank…" he muttered.

Ilse turned her head to look at the Marine but didn't say anything.

At that point she was just searching for any distraction from the dark forest. In spite of the full moon above them, under the trees it was not exactly easy to see without night vision goggles, and even with them the whole place felt eerie.

The small formation of Americans and Survey Corps scouts pushed deeper into the somewhat dense forest, the scouts in the front, a position that would be the most beneficial given that their gear was meant for engaging the enemy up close and would give them the speed to escape on time.

The Americans stood behind the scouts, M4 carbines at the ready with several M203 grenade launchers to support them.

But if the titan was asleep or unmoving it wouldn't come to any engagement.

According to the drone the scientific team was manning out in the field, where the scientists were safe should the beast wake up, were monitoring them as a helicopter at the FOB made its way to their location in order to drop the large cage on it.

Kane nervously held the assault rifle tighter as the forest around them began to thin out.

"Okay, we're getting to a clearing; he should be just up ahead." Jake whispered.

Levi, who was on point, slowed down slightly before making the others stop where they were.

"It's not here." he said.

The radio crackled to life, Hermann saying "Not possible, the heat signature shows it twenty meters ahead."

"Doctor, Levi isn't lying. We don't see him." Moblit said as Hanji scanned the area in an almost obsessive manner.

Ilse moved up slightly, saying "Hey, you guys see that?"

Matt moved up and lifted his NVGs to look through the scope of his M4.

It was a small field of silvery flowers in the middle of the forest.

That was pretty enough in the moonlight as the flowers seemed to reflect it and almost seemed to glow in the darkness.

That wasn't what unsettled him, however.

"Is… is that a throne?" Petra asked silently.

Just beyond the moonlit field of flowers, several large rocks had been visibly moved from their resting place on the ground, dragged, and placed in a manner similar to a throne or a chair.

A pile of sticks sat on it, with a small moss covered rock on their top.

It looked like a doll.

"Hermann, we have no visual on the titan, but… it looks like it lived here… like it built a-"

"Ma'm! Get back here!" Moblit called.

Hanji had started to press forward slowly.

Levi breathed before saying "Great… damn it, let's move forward… slowly."

Kane nodded and signaled to the other Americans to be ready for an engagement.

Team Levi and the Americans pushed into the field slowly, just behind the Survey Corps scientist.

The woman walked up to the structre, no longer worried as the titan appeared to not be there.

"It… really does look like a doll. What does this mean?" She mumbled as she went into a deep thinking process, trying to understand the possible reason behind the humanoid construct.

Titans didn't climb after all.

And it was the middle of the night, so even if it had climbed a tree, it was most definitely asleep by this point.

"Hanji!" someone screamed.

Unlike the soldiers behind her, Hanji had stopped looking above her.

She glanced up and saw the giant, wide eyed and still, looking right at her.

Despite every other example that she had witnessed to that point, this titan was still awake.

Even the titans encountered during nighttime had only been awake due to them purely lasting longer, but never had one lasted beyond midnight!

Well, learn something new every day. Oh-!

The beast dropped from its perch, almost crushing her.

Hanji stared at the large face that looked like it was struggling with itself.

The loud sound of automatic fire was followed by the creature's left eye popping like a grape.

"The damn thing was hiding up in a tree! It's fully awake!" Jake shouted into the radio as he dropped an empty magazine from his carbine as Kane began to fire at it, less to pop the other eye and more to distract it.

The monster rolled back, away from Hanji, covered its unhurt eye and lunged at the Americans.

Levi was on it like a laser guided missile, chopping an arm off with almost impossible ease.

The monster, falling to the floor, looked, almost by accident, at Ilse Langnar just as its right eye exploded into nothing by another burst of 5.56 rounds.

"Jesus… okay, it's subdued!" Jake said into his radio, lifting up his NVGs.

"C-copy! Helicopter is only five minutes out!"

Kane glared at the scientist and was about to speak up when-

"Did you want to get yourself killed, Hanji?!" Levi shouted after two seconds of silence, picking up the girl by the collar, shaking her slightly.

"…no." the woman said.

She had screwed up, too confident after the previous month of success.

"You know titans are still the reason we were at risk of going extinct! You should know better than to underestimate them! Never make me repeat this!" the man shouted back before dropping her harshly and turning to glare at the unmoving beast.

Kane stared, surprised by the outburst f the relatively stoic man.

Huh, maybe the guy really does have some-

He raised his rifle as the beast lifted its head slightly, once again turning it towards Langnar.

"Eyes are still out, hold your fire until-" he said but a low, guttural voice interrupted him as it chilled the blood of everyone in the area.

"Lady… Ymir…"

Hanji blinked, turning to her subordinate before asking "Um… H-hey, Moblit… is… that-? Am I crazy or… or did that titan just…?"

Feeling uneasy, Ilse said "Did… did it just speak? To me?"

Upon her speaking, the titan used its still able arm to move towards her, only to bow before anyone could react.

"La…dy… Y…mir… the… the people… they…"

"Y-you're… huh? What people? What are you talking about?!" the girl demanded, feeling an eerie sensation flow through her.

Matt nervously moved his hand towards the trigger on the M203.

Levi positioned himself so that if it tried anything he would access the nape with ease.

"Easy, easy now…" he said regardless, noting that his team was preparing to attack as well.

"C-captain?"

"Ilse, stay calm… this just proves how important it is to take-"

The unearthly shriek of the monster sent everyone's senses into overdrive.

"The People, they- The people, they- they-they-they-they-"

It was all the humans could understand before the beast began to babble before outright screaming to the heavens.

Its eyes had regenerated and the monster was, to the horror of the humans, attempting to claw them out to little avail, blood dousing the silver flower underneath its overgrown head.

Ilse took a single step back only for it to manage to grab her.

Oluo reacted first, either out of panic or for being closer.

He cut its arm almost cleanly, ripping away the muscle, causing it to fall uselessly to the dirt, Ilse on it.

The girl used her gear to retreat a fair distance, as did the member of the Levi squad.

The second the two were clear Matt fired a high explosive grenade, destroying most of the monster's head.

The creature fell to the ground, its still regenerating arm as well as its still attached arm reaching in random directions, its left leg kicking, all coordination lost.

Not dead, but no one would call its existence living.

"Jesus Christ, Hermann, where the hell is that helicopter?!" Kane demanded as the others stared nervously at the creature.

Nobody spoke, nobody wanted to repeat it.

Nobody except for Hanji.

"So… uh… Anyone know anything about an Ymir?" she said, almost jokingly.

The sound of someone vomiting nearby was the only response she got.

Kane shook his hea and walked up to the young Army private.

"Take it easy, boot… good call." He said, patting the eighteen year old on the back.

Matt nervously wiped his mouth on his sleeve before standing up straight, and looking at the monster.

"Jake…" Matt said then.

"Y-yeah, man?"

"That thing talked… and if it talked… then we can assume it built that… scarecrow looking pile of twigs and dirt thing sitting there, right?"

Hanji nodded then.

"It… said something about people…" Ilse mumbled her hands shaking.

"Titans seem to sometimes show some mild semblance of thought… but this one outright talked… and bowed down to Miss Langnar." Jake added.

Levi felt his jaw clench.

Is fate toying with us? What the hell is this?!

"I don't know about you guys, but… I think ya'll just caught a huge break in finding out the truth about the enemy…" Matt finally concluded as the sound of a Chinook could be heard in the distance.

What could be caught could be analyzed.

What could be analyzed could eventually be understood.

What could be understood could eventually be explained.

What could be explained could eventually be conquered.

The question was how long it would take to do.

Better put, how many more had to die before it was done?

The uncaring silence of the dark forest offered no answers.


A/N: First things first, special thanks to ian12091995. He suggested the US military bring computers to teach the cadets stuff about our history, something I hadn't thought about. I mean, it's so simple, just download some videos, pack the computer on a truck and ship them to the base. Easy way to teach the cadets about our world history while introducing them to new technology!

Also, I don't want to come off as demonizing anyone, but I thought it would be realistic to at least include the types of opposition the US (and its allies) would receive in a scenario like this. Didn't name names, but if it felt like too much of a straw man please let me know.

Now, for the Reviewer Response:

Guest- Will the 104th cross the gate and visit New York?

Perhaps…

Guest- Could Dina be turned back into a human?

Good question. I am actually waiting on the manga to answer that question, because whether our science could do so is still an uncertainty given the nature of Ymir's curse and the nature of titans themselves. Assuming US forces captured her, the only way to turn her back (that is known as of October 2019) is to feed her a titan shifter, something I highly doubt would sit well with the American leadership. Certainly something to think about, though...

Guest- Could the US find a cure for the curse of Ymir?

I was considering this when the latest manga chapter came out and I have to ask… do we even know if the curse is real? Ymir was killed by a spear, and every titan shifter after her has been devoured before dying naturally. I believe Eren Kryuger mentioned it, but I would like to have more details before making it a major part of the fic.

Guest- does the story take place in present day 2019?

Sort of, I decided that the Gate opened up sometime during the early fall of 2018 and US forces entered the gate sometime during spring 2019. I settled on those dates as they were the time between me coming up with the story and actually sitting down to write chapter 1.

Guest- Showing movies to the 104th?

I don't know if the US would have many movies preemptively downloaded on the computers, but I don't see why they can't show them one movie on a special night given their age.

Guest- Will Sadera appear later on?

I'm sticking to the Gate exclusively connecting the Attack on Titan world to our own, but why the Gate opened there and not in Sadera and Ginza is something I could address alter on, though it may not be a major plot point.

ObamaCare- Will the basement be found early.

Yes… the truth and what's in it are a different story, though.

Guest- suggestions for future fics and story events.

I appreciate all suggestions and recommendations, but I must say that I like to take my time writing. I uploaded chapter 1 before finishing another fic, and I regretted it, so while I may not reply to all suggestions, know that I do appreciate you taking the time to review my fic and five me suggestions.

That said, thank you all so much for reading! This was a shorter chapter thanks to classes starting up, hopefully it was still an enjoyable read. As stated earlier, reviews and suggestions are appreciated, I love to hear the feedback form you guys, and if it ever seems like something feels off, please let me know!

Thank you all so much for reading!