Chapter 5: The 52th Expedition
Today was the day the slayers would prove themselves. We would be going on our first expedition with the Survey Corps. The plan was to get to the old HQ behind Wall Maria then to kill the titans around the wall.
"It's still stupid if you ask me," Ace complained, "What's the point in us being here if we can't go out and hunt titans?"
"It's not about the titan kill," I replied, "It's the protection of the humans that's most important. Our goal in this mission is to make sure the humans complete their mission.
"But with the humans help we could kill so many titans," Ace argued.
"We know you have a sadistic obsession with killing titans," Slane butt in, "but your Alpha has given you orders, so follow them."
"Whoa Slane, what's gotten into you?" Ace replied.
"We're about to go out on a mission. You should take your role a little more seriously," Slane chided.
"Life's not fun when you're so serious," Ace commented, "Titan slaying is a lot of fun for me and no matter what they say, I will kill any titans that I can."
"That's fine as long as you don't use up your strength or cause you to break position," I replied, "After all, you don't want to wear yourself down in the middle of a crisis."
"Fine," Ace grumbled.
There was a knock on the door. Petra Ral popped her head into the door.
"Hey, the carts are ready for you," she said, "so when you guys are ready, just board them."
"Thank you Ms. Ral," I replied. I turned towards the two Alphas, "Gather your packs and board the carts. Make sure they do not shift until we are outside the walls. The scientists still want us to be a secret so we don't want to cost a scene."
"Roger that Alpha," Ace replied as he walked out.
Slane followed behind him and accidently bumped shoulders with Petra.
"Oops, pardon me," Slane told her.
"No, no, it's alright," she replied.
I went over and found Mira, Con, and Alph already waiting for me at the carts.
The slayers all boarded into the carts and laid down flat in order to make room for the others. Then, a couple soldiers put a blanket over the carts so that we would be hidden and disguised as supplies. I could feel the cart jerk as the horses began to pull and march forward. It wasn't long before I could hear cheering outside.
"Look it's the Survey Corps!" a child called out.
"Erwin! Kick their asses for us!" a man exclaimed.
"The titan's should fear when they see humanity's strongest riding out. Go get 'em Levi!" another man cheered.
"Ugh, will they cut it out already?" I could hear Levi groan in the cart next to us.
I peeked through a hole in the cart to see what was going on. I could see many people lined up to cheer for the Survey Corps. Something caught my eye however. Two boys and a girl about the twelve-thirteen or so, wearing Cadet uniforms. The girl stood mysteriously and confidently beside the brunette boy and the blonde. The blonde watched slightly uneasy but still brushing on a smile for his two friends. The other boy however was what intrigued me the most. His eyes were filled with such a fiery passion, but a strange odor rose from him. It was a familiar, light scent, but a nasty one.
"This is the 52nd Expedition outside the walls! Move out!" I heard Erwin holler.
With that the cart jerked and jolted forward as the horses started galloping.
"Be ready," I told the others, "This ride is almost over."
I kept staring outside the hole and saw the scenery instantly change from the town streets to the outside plains.
"Alright, show us what you can really do," Levi demanded us outside the cart.
"Our pleasure," I replied. I grabbed the cloth that covered us and ripped it off. I finger whistled, signaling to the other Alphas to do the same.
"Slayers shift!" I ordered as I jumped at the cart and ran alongside the cart. Each of the slayers' bodies deformed and reformed into their slayer counterparts. Mira, Con, and Alph jumped out the cart in their slayer forms and ran alongside me.
"You're only task is to protect the humans at all cost. Don't let a single titan lay their hands on them," I ordered.
"Yes Alpha!" they each replied.
I picked up speed and caught up to the horses pulling the cart we had all jumped from. The first couple minutes were uneventful other than a lot of running. However, a titan was soon spotted coming in from the west. I sprinted over to it as it tried to grab unto soldiers riding by. The titan managed to grab unto two soldiers with each hand. Right as it was about to chomp down on one of their heads, I pointed my pistol at its frontal lobe and fired. The titan fell back on its behind stunned, letting go of its two catches. I jumped up to on top of its head and used it as a boost for my second jump. As I fell, I drew my double-edged sword and sliced deep into its nape. I landed using three of my limbs to hold myself up while the other arm held the pistol off the ground. The titan fell back causing a large gust to play with my loose items. A scream alerted me of another titan. I looked up and saw a titan about to drop a girl in his mouth. I started running towards them until a figure dashed past me. Mira sprinted towards the titan and leaped up with her claws out. With a ferocious roar, she dug her claws into the titan's nape and ripped it off. The titan dropped the woman in mid-air and sent her falling, until Alph jumped up and caught her. The woman's horse ran back towards its rider and allowed her to mount back on.
"June, get on a horse! Don't use up all you're strength," Slane told me as he gestured to the horse strapped to the side of him.
I hopped unto the horse and galloped forward, "Return to your pack. We can handle things from here."
"Yes Alpha," Slane replied as he reloaded his weapon and kicked the slayer he was riding, Ren, forward.
Right as he left, the sound of a flare firing drew my attention to the west. I finger whistled my pack to come close to me. Mira came first and I pointed in the direction of the smoke signal. Mira ran at full speed towards the signal.
"Woohoo! Aw man I never had this much fun in my life!" Ace cheered while jumping off of Elli's back in order to dive bomb a titan they were chasing. His fist made hard impact with the top of the titan's head and caused him to smash it completely to the ground, "Take that titan! I'm better than you!"
"Quit being cocky! You can never know what to expect out here!" Erwin snapped.
"Tell that to your men Commander. I have the right to be cocky. After all, a slayer as strong as me cannot be easily bested by a pathetic titan," Ace proclaimed.
"I now understand why June is constantly concerned for you. I'm surprised you've managed to live this long with that attitude," Erwin mumbled.
"Sorry did you say something," Ace teased, "I'm afraid I can't hear you."
"Focus on the mission!" another soldier snapped, "You're bragging is distracting to this whole squad. Shut up or get killed! You're chose!"
"Yeesh! You're all so boring," Ace replied with a yawn as he grabbed unto to Elli's claws as she flew above him.
Slane and Ren ran forward in fast speeds. Slane looked through the scope of his rifle and spotted a titan several miles ahead. He aimed towards its skull and fired, causing the titan to fall back. Charlotte sprinted forward in extremely fast speed and using her fangs, ripped off the nape. A man's agonizing cry could be heard from the east. Slane looked over and saw a titan begin to gnaw on his arm and slowly devour it. Alexander flew over and dug his claws into the monster's eyes. The titan dropped the man and grabbed its face in agony. Before the soldier could hit the floor, Alexander caught him with his claws.
"Alexander, take that man over to the injured wagon. After that, come right back here!" Slane ordered.
Alexander let out a small roar as he flew back to the rear in order to get to the wagon.
Levi and his squad rode through a forest that had crossed their path. With June's pack nearby, they had barely seen any titans, except for an eight meter class that ignored them due to not seeing them.
"Those slayers are useful," Eldo commented, "We haven't been attacked by any titan ever since we entered this forest."
"Let's hope they stick to stay. We may even be able to reclaim Wall Maria," Gunther replied.
Suddenly, an aberrant came dashing behind them at extremely fast speeds. Its lips curled up to reveal a bloody grin and its arms flailed behind it as it ran.
"Get out the way!" Levi cried.
His squad led their horses to the side, avoiding getting stepped on by the giant. The loud thumping of its monstrous footsteps was followed by a vicious roar. Mira chased after it with a predator's determination.
"Whoa, it's so fast!" Petra exclaimed.
Mira leaped unto the titan's thigh and crawled up with her claws. The titan howled painfully as it tried to hit off the slayer. Mira leaped up to its neck, avoiding its grasp, and dug her teeth into the monster's neck. Using her body weight, she pulled back on the flesh and ripped off the nape.
"Now that's just showing off," Oulou sneered.
Mira took her attention of her kill and on the squad. She sat down on her haunches and licked the blood of her paws. Levi rode his horse over to her.
"I really hope June won't mind if we burrow you," he commented, "There are a lot of hiding places for aberants to ambush us."
Mira growled at him in response.
"What's the matter with her?" Gunther asked.
Mira glared at Levi and pinned her ears back.
"I think it might be Captain Levi," Petra commented, "Whenever Mira sees Levi in her slayer form, she turns aggressive for some reason."
Mira's ears shot up and she lifted her head up to the sky. A raindrop landed on Levi's cheek as the tiny specks on the ground became soaked with water droplets.
"If this rain gets worse it's going to be a problem," he muttered, "Let's keep moving and head to base."
"Yes sir!"
They all began to ride off. Levi looked back and saw Mira was still sitting on the ground. He finger whistled, catching her attention, and gestured her to follow them. Although reluctant, Mira did so.
After an hour of riding, my pack and other soldiers were able to make it to the HQ. It was a small abandoned village close to the river. We were lucky to have arrived when we did, since the sky went dark and it began to rain. The rain would've interfered with the flare signals and then we would have a huge problem on our hands. However, there was still a problem I came to realization with. Mira and Levi's squad had not returned yet. If they were all together, it would be an extremely bad thing for Mira. The sound of horses coming into the camp drew my attention away from my thoughts. Four riders came in, Petra, Eldo, Oulou, and Gunther. They all wore worried expressions on their faces. That's when I noticed Levi and Mira weren't with them.
"Where's Mira?" I asked them.
"There was a landside near where we were riding caused by the rain," Petra answered, "Levi and Mira are both trapped under it."
"He told us to keep going and to get them when the rain stopped," Eldo continued, "Neither of them seemed injured, so I think they will both be alright until then. Titans can't get to them buried under those rocks."
Levi peeked out a small hole in the rocks and could see a titan walk past, unaware of their presence. He looked over at Mira who sat huddled in a corner, shivering from the cold and glaring at Levi nonstop.
"Glaring at me isn't going to make me disappear," he commented, "We're both stuck here whether you like it or not."
Mira growled slightly but then went quiet as her body began to twitch and shiver. She cowered in the corner and clawed her head in pain. The pain was torturous and Mira wanted to scream terribly, but she knew it would draw the titans near so she whimpered quietly. That was when she felt something warm wrap over her. She glanced up at Levi who wrapped his cape around her and slowly backed away.
"It may not help much, but at least you won't freeze," he said as he leaned back against the stone.
Mira still twitched slightly, but the cape brought an extreme amount of warmth and allowed her cold, exposed body to warm up. She tucked her hind legs and tail into her body and embraced the warmness. The pouring rain showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Levi glanced at the slayer and saw she was slowly drifting to sleep. Seeing as he would have nothing better to do, he closed his eyes and relaxed as well. When he opened his eyes, the rain had finally stopped. He tried to stretch his leg until noticing a weight on it. He looked down and saw Mira, resting her head on top of his leg. She was fast asleep. Levi sighed in relief, knowing that the slayer wasn't out to hurt him anymore. He stroked her head and just as he suspected, her skin was rough and dry. Levi peeked out the hole and saw nothing. That's when a titan's ankle flashed into his view. His heart skipped a beat from the sudden surprise. The titan was extremely close. It moaned loudly, waking up Mira from her sleep. Mira stood up and bared her claws out, standing in front of Levi. The titan kicked the giant rock on top of their trap, revealing them from their hiding spot. Mira grabbed Levi by his collar and jumped out into the open with him. Levi was tossed aside; when he looked up he saw Mira and the titan having a stare out. Mira was growling with her ears pinned back, guarding Levi in a protective stature. The titan lumbered over to her. She dashed towards it and jumped up as it threw its arm down at her in order to grab her quickly. She used the titan's arm to run up to its nape. When she reached the nape, she dug her front claws into it. Right as she did so, the titan grabbed her hind legs and attempted to throw her off. However, Mira was anchored with her claws. The titan's strength outmatched her own and it ripped her off and threw her hard against a tree. Mira was able to rip off the nape, but her ribs broke during her collision. Mira's body twisted and turned painfully as she was unable to control it. She shifted back into a human and screamed in pain as her broken bones broke apart even more. Knowing her scream would've drawn more attention, Levi carefully lifted her unto his shoulder and used his 3DMG to get to the HQ, soaring as high as he could in order to avoid getting confronted by more titans.