A little author's note before we begin: I am sorry to say that there are some original characters...To be honest, it wouldn't be easy to avoid them and still move the plot the way I want. They are SIDE CHARACTERS. Their descriptions and such are in the Annex under OCs.

German words are used...they are all swear words, but if you want to know the translation, they are also in the Annex under German words used.

Disclaimer: Didn't I already cover this in Chapter 1? Please! Don't make me say it again! It hurts!

Let's begin, shall we?...


Levi peered down from the open window, his eyes trained on the four men conversing below. He did not try to eavesdrop, but curiosity was tickling his mind, reminding him that if he just leaned forward, he would easily be able to pick up what was being said. He could tell by the crease between his brows that Erwin was unhappy about whatever it was they were discussing. The other three were unreadable. However, Mike's expressionless gaze suggested discontent, but Levi had yet to meet the man, so it was a toss-up. The other two men had their backs turned to him, the uniforms of the Military Police and the Garrison disguising their body language.

The teenager sighed, bored. Erwin had dragged him into this place, told him to stay, as though he were some kind of rowdy pup, and then left him alone to twiddle his thumbs. He had run out of things to do, unless he wanted to clean the room…again. Exactly what did that prick expect from him?

Bored and irritated, Levi disobeyed the first order given to him by his new commanding officer; he left the room. His boots clicked softly across the floor as he followed his nose to what he assumed to be the mess hall. Supper had yet to begin, but the savory scent of the food permeated the air. It was unfortunate that Levi would have to board up the hall to prevent anyone from coming in as he deep cleaned the dusty tables, greasy benches and dirt-ridden floor. He had no idea how no one had died yet from disease of suffocation by dust.

Squaring his shoulders to brace himself for the amount of work he had just placed upon his own shoulders, Levi set out to search for the supply closet. Instinct allowed him to find it in no time, flat. He grabbed everything he needed and marched back to the mess hall. He immediately took a bench and shoved it against the door. The sound of scraping alerted some to what he was doing, but Levi knew that the bench wouldn't budge until he was ready to remove it. Satisfied, he started to work.

Supper was ready an hour before Levi considered his work finished. His arms ached from the amount of scrubbing that was required to get the floor clean, but now he could eat his meal with the comfort of a mildew-free room. The chefs in the kitchen had assured him that the dishes had been cleaned thoroughly after every meal, and even thanked him for doing the chore most other soldiers chose to neglect. Unfortunately for him, his fellow soldiers did not share that gratitude.

"Freak." Levi's ears picked up the word from the quiet hum of constant chatter in the mess hall as the other soldiers murmured to each other and ate their meals. His constant scowl deepened, but other than that he chose not to acknowledge it.

"Why did we have to wait just so he could satisfy himself? Why couldn't he just eat outside?"

"Kleingewachsen mensch."

"That asshole had us listening to our growling stomachs for a whole hour after we were supposed to have our food."

"Who does he think he is?"

"Scheißkerl."

"Hi!" The loud and cheery voice cut through the mutterings surrounding him and drew Levi's attention to the woman who had just plopped down across from him. She was smiling at him, but Levi merely looked back down at his food, not really eating, but trying to seem as though he was.

"My, aren't you Mister Chatty? Is it okay if I sit here? I guess it doesn't really matter, since: hey look! I'm already here! How about that? I just wanted to talk, really. So it's true you're the new recruit? The 'up'n'coming' star of the recon corps'? Well, obviously. I mean, I know just about everyone here, and yours is the only new face, so who else could you be? What made you say yes to Erwin?" The woman leaned forward.

"Was it the bushy eyebrows? I knew it. It's always the eyebrows. I swear that man has some sort of superpower. Like, I wonder if he waxed them, would he lose his ability to command everyone? I mean he has to get that skill from somewhere, right? It has to be the eyebrows. No other explanation. Okay, perhaps his oh-so-manly 'you'll do what I say no matter what because even if you say no, I'll manipulate you so you do it anyway' attitude could have come into play. Oh!" She suddenly sat up.

"I don't suppose you heard what he was talking about with Nile, Mike and Pixis, did you? I was in the middle of an experiment, so I couldn't go say hi, and none of my kiddies were able to get close enough, but Erwin set you in the room right above where they were standing, so surely you heard something, yes? No? Pity. I guess I'll just bother Mike later. Speaking of which, has anyone given you the grand tour yet? Erwin should have done that when you first arrived, or gotten someone else to do it, but I assume he just plopped you in a room and left. That's exactly what he did, isn't it? Yup. I knew it." She then tilted her head a bit to the left, as though thinking.

"How long were you in there before you finally left? Probably not long. Or maybe you lasted a lot longer than most others would have. I peeked in there earlier, and man, that room is spotless! I don't remember it ever being so clean! 'Course, I haven't been here very long, but still. You must have spent hours in there! Actually, no. Judging by how messy that room was and how dirty the mess used to be, and how fast you made this place all sparkly, I'm guessing closer to thirty-five to forty minutes. Am I right?"

Levi blinked. Did she even breathe once during that rant? He doubted it. He was able to follow her words, but even if he wanted to answer one of her questions, she left no room for him to cut in. Irritation bordered on amusement as he saw her expectant stare.

"About." Apparently, that was all he needed to say, because like a bridge over a river, his answer allowed the woman to hop from one topic to the next in a barely intelligible pace.

Levi noticed the angry muttering had all but stopped. He also noted that Erwin, the only person he knew here, was missing from the mess hall. It wasn't that Levi needed him there, only that it would have been nice if he, as this woman had said, at least showed him around or gotten someone else to do so before he left him alone, bored and with nothing to do.

"Arschloch." The murmur from across the room seemed slip past the woman's torrent to reach not only Levi's, but her ears as well. Her rant stopped mid sentence as she froze, her smile growing brighter but more terrifying as she slowly turned toward the unlucky speaker.

"I'm sorry," she said in her still cheerful voice. "Come again?"

The soldier, a man a year or two older than the average age of his comrades, fidgeted under her gaze.

"Excuse me, Hanji, but I wasn't talking about you." Hanji's eyes grew hard.

"Then who?" The soldier's eyes flickered to Levi, then back to Hanji. He did not answer. "I asked you a question."

"I don't see how it concerns you, sir."

"You don't see—? Be a grown-up man and own up to your actions! No. Better yet, be human and take responsibility. Look around you, Hal. These are your comrades. We just burned several of us yesterday, and lost even more. These are the people who will have your back and expect you to have theirs. Do you really believe that calling them an 'asshole' is really going to help them put their faith in you?" The man, Hal's, eyes narrowed at her translation of the old language. "Yes, I understand what you said. Choosing to speak in that old language does not mean others won't be able to, either. That goes for all of you. You need to grow up and not only take responsibility, but also learn how to instill trust within your fellow soldiers.

"And to all you other whining babies, look around you. See what you all are grumbling about? You are cranky because this man," she pointed at Levi, "decided to do the job every last one of us has been avoiding. Now I don't have to eat outside to avoid death by 'slimy gross stuff', as Clemens put it. I bet Mike and Erwin will also be joining us again, because Levi decided to pick up your slack. Be grateful, rather than spiteful, you pathetic bunch of ingrates."

Hanji turned back around to face Levi's unreadable expression and smiled as if she hadn't just chewed someone out.

"Whenever you're done eating, we'll go find the commander and yell at him, too."


(A few weeks later)

Levi woke up to pounding on his door in the early morning. He rose from his bed just as Hanji burst in, smiling and bouncing about as though the predawn light wasn't the only source of whatever level of visibility there was.

"Rise and shine, little Levi!" she sang, ignoring the heated glare directed at her from the nickname. "It's time to start the day. Let's go!" The woman grabbed Levi's arm and yanked him along as she turned and left the room as quickly as she had entered.

The teenager, though he couldn't care less what the other soldiers thought of him, thanked the fact that he refused to sleep in anything less than decent attire. He cringed at the feeling of his bare feet against the icy stone floors, but he was still able to hold onto some dignity as he and Hanji ran past their comrades on their way to breakfast, only slowing once they reached the mess hall. The vice squad leader released his arm to push open the doors, but grabbed it again to drag him to the table where Erwin, Mike and Clemens were already sitting. Levi took a seat a little ways away from the rest, but Hanji sat directly between him and the nearest person, Mike, making it seem as though Levi had only made space for her, versus trying to distance himself. Erwin smiled at him and asked how he was.

"Fine." Levi kept his reply curt, but Erwin didn't seem to mind. He nodded.

"Are you ready for your first expedition?" Levi scowled.

"How could anybody be ready to die when they weren't even allowed a proper rest?" Clemens started to answer, but his second cut in before he could.

"But, Levi, you went to your rooms early last night," Hanji said as she smiled mischievously. "What were you doing that you weren't allowed any sleep?"

"Hn." Levi looked away and down at the small plate of food someone had just placed before him. The roll looked edible, if a bit stale, but that could be cured by use of the pot of honey, and the bits of fruit were washed and unblemished.

"I see, I see," Hanji nodded to herself with a rare serious expression. "So you were scrubbing your underwear, again."

Mike choked. Then he laughed. He and Hanji of them seemed to make it their personal goal to poke fun at Levi's habits every day, each trading comments and smart remarks. This morning's comment was weak, they all had to admit, but it did its job in lightening up the mood. Even Clemens, the most mild of all those seated at the table, had to swallow his smile to throw a bit of his breakfast at Hanji.

"It beats living in a mess of my own filth day in and day out," Levi muttered so no one could hear.

The rest of the breakfast passed by with the same sense of routine as any other day. Erwin ate quietly, sometimes asking a question here or there, while Mike, Hanji and Clemens told stories of past misdeeds. Levi listened in, but refrained from adding his own anecdotes, much like every other morning since he had arrived.

It wasn't hard to tell who was nervous about the expedition scheduled for today. While the four ranked officers and Levi treated the morning like every other, the other soldiers and officers were not so indifferent. A few, the seasoned soldiers, ate their meal with a grim determination, either trying to enjoy the honey and bread, or simply trying to keep it down. Several were talking among themselves in hushed tones, talking rumors or exchanging pieces of gossip that most likely will not matter by the time they enter these walls again, assuming they return. And then there were the loud folk who, no matter what the occasion was, seemed to only get louder and more desperate as they seemed to want only to distract themselves from the reality that this could very well be the last meal they have together.

Soon enough, breakfast was over and it was time to prepare for the expedition. Levi walked to his room to change and put his maneuver gear on, while the rest stayed at the table to talk over the finer points of the strategy. He got dressed in an efficient manner, only having to pause when one of the buckles on his gear refused to latch, and then again for when he discovered a twisted strap after he had buckled it in place.

The morning sun rose to a high enough point in the sky for the rest of the world to even start to consider the day's beginning. The Survey Corps in its entirety waited outside with their individual horses for their commander to finish making certain every soldier had their flares and blades, plenty of gas and refills, their groomed and outfitted, and their instructions understood.

Levi was among them, his horse snorting and stamping the ground, ready to take off running and never stop. His rider couldn't agree more. The past few weeks with the Survey Corps had been boring and uneventful. He had gotten tired of being stuck in the headquarters, passing the days by doing nothing but cleaning what hadn't been touched in months, years maybe, or by getting used to riding Peppermint, a palomino stallion with a surprisingly self-righteous attitude. With all the time he has been spending within the small property sanctioned to this section of the military, it was a small wonder that the teenager was able to keep from shoving a mop up Erwin's ass and disappearing into one of the inner walls.

A small commotion rose from a little ways behind Levi, as one of the horses broke out into a full on run, leading several other horses. Peppermint snorted and tossed his head; Levi allowed himself to inwardly smile. His stallion would not stoop so low as to delay the real adventure by settling for a tiny jaunt like those idiot quadrupeds. Though he couldn't see her, Levi could hear Hanji laughing shamelessly at the soldiers hopelessly scrambling to recapture the beasts.

It took the upper end of two hours to rally the horses back and be sure everything else was in order. Once that was done, Erwin ordered everyone to mount up and ride out.

They were to exit Wall Maria through the Shiganshina District and continue straight on through for no more than four hours, avoiding as many titans as possible to avoid too many casualties.

"Any longer would be dangerous," Mike had once explained, "as horses were not able to see as well in the dark and that would be a problem when titans spotted them." Levi saw the wisdom in the plan, but if they avoided the titans, then there shouldn't be as many deaths as there have been. Hanji was the one to point out that titans were not entirely predictable and could not always be avoided. In the flat terrain outside the walls, it's a small wonder why they become easy pickings once a Deviant titan comes into play.

"Like plucking grapes off a vine," she had said.

Their procession was slow through the streets of Shiganshina. It seemed as though the entire district had no understanding of the terms 'move' or 'make way'. Some tried to call out to the soldiers as their rode by, but their words were lost in the wind or blanketed by others with the same idea. In many ways, Levi thought the entire thing insensitive, as though these people were celebrating their inevitable deaths as they walked toward their would-be executioners. It was at times like this where his hatred for people grew.

"Hey, what's up with the scowl? I mean, you always have that grumpy scowl, but now it's deeper than usual," Hanji asked. When had she come up beside him?

"Hn," Levi grumbled, tired of her company already.

"Aw, don't be like that! Hey! Do you think we'll see a 15 meter class today? Or maybe we'll see bigger? I mean, just because no one has seen any taller titans and lived to tell about it doesn't mean they don't exist. Wouldn't it be cool to see a 20 meter? Or a 30 meter? Who's to say they can't get to be bigger? That would be terrifying, but I mean, it is kind of strange how they are only within a specified height range, don't you think? That can't be all there is. Do you think maybe one day, we'll find a titan house? I can only imagine how huge that would be! My father used to read me this REALLY old tale where there was a giant––not a titan giant, though he ate people, too––who lived in a castle in the clouds and had a golden goose, and a boy named Jack had to–"

"Hanji."

"–climb up there with a magical beanstalk that was somehow strong and tall enough to allow him to do all that, and–"

"Hanji."

"–well, I forget most of what happened, but anyway, what I was saying was–"

"Hanji!"

"–that maybe their houses will be like the giant's castle and–"

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, WOMAN!"

"Hey! Look at that! You do speak words!" Hanji's face threatened to split in half from the grin plastered all over it. Levi knew her goal was to get him to react in some way, and she sometimes succeeded. That still did not stop him from wanting to smack her hard over the head every time she opened her mouth. Levi took a deep breath to calm himself from his minor outburst before addressing her again.

"Shouldn't you be with your squad?"

Hanji shrugged and straightened herself in her saddle.

"Nah, I'll be riding with you, along with Baner. Clemens, Hal and the others will also be spread out in the formation. That way, even if one side of the formation gets attacked, not everyone with our squad's special skills will be taken out."

He hummed, irritated, his mind still stuck on the fact that for the next eight hours, they'll be riding together. He then mumbled, "Titans take me now," under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Don't worry about it." Hanji hummed, suspicious but didn't question him further. Before them, the horses had come to a halt as the soldiers up front waited for the gate to rise and release them out into the world.

"Are you ready for this?" the vice squad leader asked, leaning forward to watch the gate bearing the crest of Wall Maria rise.

"I don't have a choice, now do I?"

"Nope. Let's go!" And with that, the entire procession began to spill out of the gate into the open plains of Wall Maria's surrounding terrain.

Levi did not know what he had been expecting. As the horses flew out of the gates and their riders directed them to their positions, Levi took the opportunity to look around. The rolling grass hills and sparse trees were not like his mental pictures when he thought of the 'outside.' Weren't there supposed to be ruins of a past civilization somewhere? What happened before the walls rose? And what about after? Obviously, titans came and kept coming, but if the world was inhabited by the human race before the titans, where was the evidence?

"Yo, shorty!" Hanji called, knowing it would get Levi's attention. He scowled at her. She merely grinned excitedly and pointed. In the distance, he could see a forest and more grassy hills, but nothing out of the ordinary.

He frowned. There had to be something she was pointing at. She wouldn't have pointed if there were nothing to see. He squinted and understood what she was referring to.

Coming from the forest was a large figure, a titan. Its giant naked body clumsily navigated its way out of the trees. That was all well and good, but what Levi would have expected and what he was seeing were two opposite ends of the same stick. Where the titan was anywhere from eight to fourteen meters tall, judging from the body proportions, the trees stood taller. Much, much taller. Levi's eyebrows shot up in surprise before he forced them back down, but it was too late. Hanji saw it.

"Amazing, isn't it?" she called as she reached for her flare gun. "That's apparently what happens when you leave entire forests untouched for a century, or two! It kind of makes you wonder what the world was like back then, yeah?"

For once, Levi had to agree. Before the walls were built, what was life like? What would it have been like to live in a world so overrun by people, but also so free and spread out that if one wanted, he could easily travel to a place where he was unknown and start fresh? He was cut off from his musings by the sounds of Hanji's red flare followed by several others shooting skyward. Then, the entire formation began to turn as one, and they rode away from the titan and the forest with the colossal trees.

The next two hours of riding was rather anticlimactic, in the eyes of Levi. They had had a few near encounters with the titans, but none attacked and they steered clear of any groups. Peppermint trotted on tirelessly, the rhythmic beating of his hooves against the grassy terrain keeping time with his breathing. It was amazing, this sense of freedom.

But Levi knew that there was also danger. The euphoric feeling of not being surrounded by solid walls did not overshadow the fact that this tactic was not 100 percent. Clemens had told him the story of the last expedition, and how they had lost enough soldiers to make up an entire platoon, and came back with almost as many bodies.

"That's what happens when an Abnormal takes interest," Clemens had explained. "They aren't predictable, like most other titans are, and they do a lot of damage if they aren't taken out quickly."

Hanji had gushed about how she wished she could have at least seen the thing, but she had been on the opposite flank of the formation. Clemens had tugged her ponytail and reprimanded her for her lack of sensitivity for the dead, but his tone was not harsh. Levi suspected that he, too, wished the same, but said nothing. He only rolled his eyes, thinking how that entire squad was an odd, suicidal bunch.

Another flare signal scratched the sky, red smoke billowing out from its path. A titan had been spotted on the Eastern flank. Shortly after, a green flare streaked upward and to the west, instructing all soldiers to turn the direction of the formation slightly in that direction. Levi did so, ignoring Hanji's disappointed exclamation and Baner's reply. Instead, he focused on the ever-approaching forest of trees that towered over even the titans. Up close, Levi could only be more amazed by their sheer size, captivated to the point where he almost failed to notice the form eyeing him and his team from within the thick shadows.

The titan was easily 11 meters tall, his eyes emotionless as he sat and stared at the approaching horsemen. Even when Levi shot off a red flare, he did not do so much as stir. It wasn't until he glanced at the titans hand did he discover the source of the seeming disinterest.

His palm hung over the ground, fingers curled downward in a grotesque formation, like spider legs. Levi's eyes narrowed to see what the titan had captured. At first, he saw nothing. But then he glimpsed the figure, minuscule beneath the monster's hand. Levi's eyes widened at the appearance of a child, several years younger than himself, imprisoned outside the walls by a titan.

Confusion and disbelief coursed through him, before one right after the other, Levi shot off a black flare, signaling the deviant titan, and a purple flare. It was the best way he knew to let the rest of the Survey Corps know of the child's presence.

Hanji immediately steered her horse to ride alongside Levi, who nodded to the titan. It didn't take long for her to notice what he had. She didn't hesitate and started riding in the opposite direction of the titan. Aiming her gun at the closest group of soldiers, she fired a purple flare, barely missing the head of one, while Baner rode up to Levi to start talking strategy.

"How many titans do you think there in those trees?" he asked, his voice strained as he attempted to hide his panic.

"I think just the one, but there could be more hiding in there," Levi mused.

"So should we just leave the kid, or–" Baner's words faded as Levi glowered at him. "Okay, so we are definitely going to get him. How?"

Hanji returned with three soldiers: one looked angry while the other two serious. She answered, "We'll charge from four sides, using the trees as a way to gain altitude, and take him down. If we only manage distract him so he releases the kid, one of the remaining two will grab him while the other covers. Either way, we'll get him out."

"How the hell did a kid get this far out from the walls? And why isn't he dead?" one of the recruits demanded.

"What if there are more of those naked monstrosities?" queried another.

"There's no time to think about that now. Let's deal with this problem first. Now, Levi, since you're new and have one of the fastest horses, we'll have you on the ground with Edda. Moblit, Simon, Kurt and I will strike. Simon, you go from the East, Kurt from the West. Baner, you sneak around and come at him from behind. I'll attack face on. If there are more titans, try to go without them noticing. If they do notice, get out of there and signal us with blue. Good luck to you all. Now let's move it!"

Hanji finished her instructions and turned her horse to the titan, drawing her blades. The other three attackers followed suit and spurred their horses into a breakneck speed, each going far to the side before circling back to attack from their assigned corners. Levi and Edda waited for Hanji to shoot a green flare and all four to start in on the Deviant before each spurring their horses into a gallop.


Dearest reader,

Hello! How are you doing? Anything new and/or exciting happen in your life? You don't have to answer that...

Thank you for reading this far into my story! Like last time, I hope this wasn't too confusing. I know my style of writing isn't the easiest to read, for various reasons. Haha...yeah. Sorry...I also really hope that all the OCs didn't turn all of you away. Remember that this is SnK, so you won't have to put up with them for too long :(

I am SUPER excited for this next chapter! UNFORTUNATELY, I am a student with exams coming up. I am lucky I was able to get this out within a month of the last chapter.

As a matter of fact, if you enjoyed this fic, you should all really thank my BETA (who has asked to remain unnamed, but I'll pass it on), who literally sat in my room and made me focus, and then edited.

Please, by all means, feel free to leave a review or drop me a pm if you think something needs clarification, or if you just feel like telling me what you think. Hey! Even if you just want someone to talk to, go right ahead. Either way, I'll try my darnedest to get back to you as soon as I can.

Thank you for reading! :)

Until next time,

~Clumsy Owl

A very special thank you to all who REVIEWED, FAVORITED, and/or FOLLOWED! It really means a lot to me!

Not so human: It's good to hear you're doing well :D As to who killed them...well, that will just have to wait. Sorry ^^ I hope this chapter didn't disappoint.

Pink Blood: I am so sorry for making you wait a whole month! I do plan to see this one through for a looooong while. :) I hope it remains in your good favor.