Attack On Titan: Left Behind
Chapter 4
-Year 845 before The Fall of Wall Maria, the 2nd day of Survey Corps 29th Expedition beyond the wall-
-Two hours before dawn-
It was still very dark outside, with full moon still hanging low and the presence of glittering celestial bodies still occupying the vast expanse of inky blackness. Most of the soldiers still had an adventure on their dreamland, but three most respectable members of Survey Corps were already fell back into real world, donned Survey Corps uniform — minus the 3DM Gear — and gathered in Erwin's bedroom. Levi sat on the chair and tapped his foot repeatedly on the floor, staring back and forth from Mike — who was making coffee at the corner of the room — to Erwin — who was staring at his map on the table — with boredom. If it were not Erwin who knocked on his bedroom, he definitely would smother anyone who dared to disturb him this early when he opened the door.
"Where is Hange?" asked Mike to Erwin, bringing a tray of mugs and flagon to the table.
"She's coming," said Erwin with certainty, didn't move his eyes from the map. The blond strategist was connecting dots and lines, drawing the route of his back up plan for today's expedition. "I already told her last night."
"That despicable bloody specs really got some nerves to make us waiting like this," Levi hissed with a strained expression, folding his arms.
Few more Levi's angry stomps on the floor later, the rusty door hinge creaked and the long-awaited soldier popped up behind the wooden door.
"G'night… Guys…" Hange greeted drowsily, yawning and scratching her head. Her typical ponytail was loosed, with the brunette strands fell messily on her shoulder and face.
"You're damn late, shit glasses," Levi berated crossly, his super-deep furrows on the forehead was creased to a point that it looked exactly like a miniature of Grand Canyon.
"Sooow — hoaaaaam — rryyy —" she yawned again and rubbed her puffy eyes. "I…slept really late…last night…" she said with eyelids half-opened while slumping on the chair between Mike and Levi. "Where is Moses?"
"I decided to not tell him in advance," said Erwin. "He's a soldier of chain-of-command. I don't think he will be okay with a plan to go behind Keith's back, let's keep him in the dark, for this moment."
"So, what are you scheming now, brilliant?" asked Mike forthright when Erwin put down his fountain pen.
"I modified the initial plan that I made for this expedition," Erwin began to expound, spreading the map in the center of the table so all of them could see it clearly. "My objective is still the same: we will prevent a breakdown in the formation and protect our supply wagons. We will act as decoy to halt their movement from the eastern forest," he tapped the green part that marked 'unknown territory'. "The decoy team will buy time for the main force to get out of the forest. We'll be divided into three group, one to north east, one to south east, and one straight to the east," he finished his explanation, pointing at three separated lines on the map. "Intercepting all the threats from every direction is the essence of this plan."
"That's very clever," Mike commented, nodding approvingly. "How many soldiers we're gonna need? We can't deploy too many and leave the main troops defenseless."
"Just the main member each of our squad, we will lead them directly. But for the secrecy of this illegal operation, don't let them know until we are about to commence it," said Erwin.
"We? Then what about the rest of our squad?" said Mike guardedly, sounded very concerned.
"Leave the command to your most trusted Team Leader in charge. Although, I'm sure there won't be any dangerous threats to main force if this works out," Erwin asserted with his usual confident tone of voice.
"But Erwin, we can't seriously abandon our squad and run for this," Mike reminded politely, tapping his fingers on the map. "We have our own responsibility as Squad Leader. Any soldiers from our squad can do this, instead of us."
"We have to overlook our squad, whether we want it or not. My initial plan was pretty much like you said: any soldiers could do this. But since we will us this unauthorized plan when things go awry, it can't be ordinary soldiers, Mike, it has to be us," Erwin insisted, looking successively to Mike, Hange, and Levi. "This operation is convoluted and almost impossible — I wish I had better plan but I didn't — meaning, I need the soldiers with most experience in fighting titans. The best fighters in the Legion."
"Are you waking me up too damn early like this just to tell me to do what I always do in expedition?" Levi summarized indifferently, shooting a disappointed look to Erwin.
"Yes, but this time, we need a full cooperation," Erwin emphasized the last word so slowly as if Levi was a toddler who learned to spell syllable, looking at the raven-haired man with stern look. "We have to work together if we don't want to screw this up."
After sparing another cold stare to his demanding blue eyes, Levi nodded almost imperceptibly. "Tch. Fine," he said with obvious dislike. "So, when will we execute this crazy idea?"
Erwin interlocked his fingers, wrinkling his forehead in silent for a moment then facing the brunette soldier. "Hange, what do you say about that? When is the right time?"
"I was reviewing my observation results last night," said Hange, suddenly lost her sluggish bearing and sleepy voice, prodding her glasses in serious gesture. "My assumption is they will come right at us once we enter the forest — humans attract titans whatsoever. To be honest, I recommend we pull this out before we enter the forest."
"That will be impossible," Erwin interrupted. "We can't do this while we're still in Long Distance Scouting Formation."
Hange rubbed her chin, staring at the map conscientiously. "So, the second best opportunity is after we deploy linear formation, I suppose."
"Very well, I trust your judgment, Hange," said Erwin then turned to Mike. "Alert me when the titans start moving from the east."
"That's what I always do in expedition," said Mike with subtle pride, sniffing the air. "After that, what's next?"
"We make a rendezvous point in here, from the left flank of our formation," Erwin pointed to a dot at the beginning of the three separated lines. "Once the target in our vicinity is already eliminated and the battalion already pass the forest, we will regroup, using signal flare, and trace our way back to the route."
"That's very tricky," Hange criticized. "I mean, for the time we execute this plan to regroup, we will be on our own in the forest…"
"Yes. We will be separated from the main force for the unknown amount of time, depending on the situation on the field. The worst could happen at that time. So please, be very cautious and don't screw up," Erwin stated uneasily. "Any questions?"
"My squad is in right flank. If I sneak to left flank without command, that will be very suspicious," Levi reminded.
"Don't worry about it, Levi. I'll send a messenger from my squad to inform you," said Hange.
"You're as twisted as usual Erwin, but is this will be alright?" said Mike. "I know you are destined to be a Commander by the time you were born into this world, but issuing order without Keith's permission is…not ethical. This can trigger conflict among the troops. If he find out about this and proscribe, what happen then?"
"I'll deal with that matter," said Erwin confidently, looking at Hange somewhat pleased. "Last night, you mentioned about his clouded judgment due to the stress he experienced. I think I can get advantage from his unstable emotion, with some talk and persuasion, then gently coerce him to cooperate."
"Oh you cunning smart man!" said Hange, chuckling at Erwin amusedly.
"Your sweet mouth always works like venom, he'll swallow up everything you say within seconds," Levi commented with an obscure smirk.
"There is no deceits a man named Erwin Smith can't do," Mike sneered.
"What a bunch of heartwarming compliments, thank you," said Erwin in sarcastic tone. Then his calm expression became stonier, and his voice was wobbly when he spoke again. "I have to remind you all that I can't guarantee our survival. We may end up dead. We don't know what will happen, how many enemies we will encounter, how long the fight will take, do we have enough blades or gas… Anything could happen in anytime." His voice became softer with every word he uttered. "Thank you for trusting me."
There was a pause of unpleasant silence following his gloomy speech. Erwin fixed his eyes on the map, avoiding the perplexed stares from his comrades. Though he was not telling it clearly, his stiff expression might implicitly depict how anxious he was about what will happen.
"What a hell of inspiring closing speech," Levi mocked sourly.
"We know what we're doing, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. We're ready," Mike assured firmly.
"Stop being melancholy like that, Erwin. It ruined your cool image." Hange clicked her tongue in displeasure. "Alright gentlemen, we should get ready for today's big event," she said lightheartedly, pulling a rubber band from her pocket and tying her hair.
"It's too early to have morning coffee, but we need all the caffeine boost we could get," said Mike, pouring the coffee from the flagon.
"You already made it? Today is my turn," said Hange, her eyebrow lifted.
"I will let you make coffee if I want to destroy my taste bud," said Mike calmly, getting a snide approving snort from Levi.
Hange elbowed the tallest man in the ribs, glaring waspishly. The freshly brewed dark liquid was steaming from the mug; the rich and robust scent of coffee filled the small bedroom. Levi quickly snatched his mug, placing his fingers at the rim.
"Hey, Levi! Don't drink just yet!" said Hange, grabbing his wrist to stop him from drinking. "Let's have a toast first!" she urged, glancing to Erwin and Mike. Both of the blond men exchanged looks for a moment, shrugging then raising their mugs.
"No," said Levi flatly, pushing her hand away from him.
"Oh come on!" said Hange, seizing his hand again. "Please, Levi. This may be the last toast we have together…" she added with rather sad voice.
Seeing an almost imploring gaze in her brown eyes, Levi sighed and reluctantly raised his mug, much to Hange's delight.
"To the hidden knowledge that will unravel the world's mysteries!" said Hange exuberantly.
"To our brilliant, manipulative and cunning future Commander," said Mike with deadpan tone.
Erwin threw an amazed look to Mike and smiled vaguely, shaking his head. "To the counterattack of mankind," he said solemnly.
Everyone stared at Levi, waiting for the grumpy soldier to say something.
"Whatever," he said uncaringly, then clinking his mug with the others.
~SnK~SnK~SnK~SnK~
-Noon-
"Everyone, get ready to fight! There's only one target! Either we secure this ground as mankind's first stronghold beyond the wall or we done!" Keith's command finally soared to the air.
"Target approaching!" Erwin shouted, looking at the shadow of eighteen meters class titan ahead of them.
"Split into five groups! Now!" Keith raised his arm, gesturing the squad to deploy the formation. "The rest of the soldiers, defend the supply wagons!"
The battalion of Survey Corps dispersed into two directions; they split up in two rows, guarding the supply wagons from both left and right side in linear formation.
"Group one will act as a bait! Group two and three on standby! Group four and five will attack the target!" Keith shouted.
The eighteen meters deviant seemed to not regard the whole hustle and bustle around; it kept thumping idly, very slowly when the cavalcade of soldiers passed before it.
"All squadrons engage 3DM gear!"
The sound of penetrating grapple-hooks, reeling wire and activated fan mechanism filled the battlefield. Soldiers launched their selves to the air, flying between the trees, swirling around and trying to outflank the target.
"Hit it from every angle!" Keith commanded from the ground, spurring his horse closer to the deviant.
"Moses! Go for the neck! I'll cover for you!" Erwin shouted, swinging fast pass him.
"Got it!" said Moses.
Moses aimed to the higher braches, spiraling up over the treetops. The moment he was within the proximity of the Deviant, he dipped with blades on his sides.
"Taste the strength of humanity!" Moses shouted out loud, attacking the nape with rotational downward slash. His blades cut through the thick skin and butchered the chunk of the neck.
The Deviant fell with a loud thud, quickly producing steam. Moses propelled himself forward and landed smoothly, regrouping with Erwin and the other soldiers.
"Bad news! More titans are coming from the left!" Hange shouted from a tree, pointing her blades to the woods.
"How many!?" said Keith shrilly.
"Way too many Commander! Fast!" Mike informed, sniffing the air repetitively. "First wave are coming!"
Loud thuds were thundering consecutively, getting louder and louder when the shadows appeared from the eastern forest, as if the darkness were trying to engulf them. Then, the black shadows were converted into monstrous deviants, aggressive and deleterious, roaring threateningly, reaching their hands out to grab the nearest humans on their sight.
"All men! Attack! Now!" Keith's voice was competing with the noise of thunders. "Don't let them get to the supply wagons!"
The soldiers were intercepting them from every direction, like green bullets being shot at the same time, ricocheting wildly with extreme velocity. The hot, sticky bloods of titans were showering them as their blades carved into the flesh and sheared off the muscles. Not so long after that, the wave of next horde of titans — damn so many titans — was passing them, but instead of attacking, they just hurtling to the right flank, heedless the flying soldiers in front of their faces.
"What the hell is going on!?"
"They completely ignored us!"
"Shit! They went straight to the formation!"
"They are Deviants! They don't act normally!" Hange shouted from the air, swinging faster to chase a nearby ten meters class deviant.
"Don't chase them! Don't break our formation!" Keith forbid briskly, raising his hand. "The right flank will engage with them! All troops! Forward! We need to move as fast as possible!"
With that command, the soldiers touched down and mounted to their horses, following the Commander. But Hange — still hanging steadily high in the air — stared worryingly at the eastern part of the forest; from afar, many treetops were shaking fiercely, and trees were collapsing for no apparent reason. The eccentric scientist knew it very well: only titans could cause destruction in that massive scale, meaning many Deviants were dashing right to them.
"Erwin! I think the situation is like what I had anticipated! They moved from the east straight to us!" Hange affirmed, shouting out loud to Erwin below. "At this rate, we can't advance while protecting our formation if we don't slow them down!"
"Is this the right time to execute the plan!?" Erwin inquired in haste.
Hange released the anchors, swinging and landing swiftly on the ground. "Yes! Hurry up!" she demanded in panic, mounting on her horse.
Erwin rode his horse, galloping with its maximum speed to keep up beside Keith. "Sir! I need your permission to lead some soldiers to act as decoy!" he requested forthright.
"What are you talking about, Erwin!?" Keith yelled with bewilderment carved on his face.
"At this rate, we will lose everything if we don't counterattack! Trust me, Commander! I have a plan for this!"
"Are you scheming all of this behind my back!?" Keith berated, looked tremendously appalled and indignant.
"Commander, your main concern is the safety of your men, but mine is to make this mission successful! No matter what happen!" Erwin persisted, the flame of indomitable resoluteness blazing in his eyes.
"Look around you, Erwin! What do you think you will achieve by separating the troops in this precarious situation!?"
"Like I already told you last night!" Erwin reminded. "I will halt their movement from the eastern forest! It should buy enough time for the main troops to advance!"
"That's ridiculous! We don't have time for another round of your gamble!" Keith howled.
"There's no gambles without risks!" Erwin insisted pertinaciously. "Sir! If you're unwilling to take the risks then I shall take them on your behalf! If this mission fail, all the sacrifices we've made will be for naught! Either we all die here for something or for nothing!"
Keith's furious expression died out into a pensive look. His fidgety eyes were perfectly showing that he was conflicted between his own conscience and the decision of the subordinate he trusted with his life. Keith stared restlessly at Erwin then shifted his gaze to the cavalcade of soldiers behind him.
"Commander! I beg you! Have faith in me!" Erwin cried out, focusing Keith's attention again at him. "The fate of your men and the fate of humanity are in your hands!"
The Commander gnashed his teeth, and finally declared the order that Erwin was waiting for. "I believe in you! Take all the men you need for your operation!"
"Thank you, sir! I'll leave my squad to you! Lead the main force to the hill, Commander, I will make sure no titans get in the way!" said Erwin.
"Be careful Erwin!" Keith warned, spurring his horse faster.
"That went smoothly," said Erwin under his breath, smirking triumphantly. He pulled the rein of his horse, glancing to his fellow squad leaders behind him. "We'll commence Plan B!" Erwin shouted.
"We have Plan B!?" Moses shouted back, very confused.
"Yes, we have!" Erwin affirmed, turning to Moses with slight of guilty look. "Sorry I didn't tell you earlier about this."
"What the hell man!? A matter of life-and-death like this and you didn't tell me!?" Moses growled, galloping his horse next to Erwin
"All Squad Leaders will act as decoy! Choose your most skillful combatants in your squad to aid! All the enemies, we're gonna eliminate them!" Erwin drew his blades, heading to the left and separating himself from the main cavalcade.
"Finally!" said Hange, already plugging her blades in. "Nifa! Relay to the Team Leader of Team seven, he's in charge of fourth squad until I get back! Tell Levi to get here ASAP with his squad!"
"Yes, ma'am!" said Nifa with a very puzzled look, spurring her horse to the direction of right flank.
Hange glanced to her remaining subordinates, signaling them to follow Erwin. "Keiji, Moblit, Matt! Let's go!"
"You heard Erwin! Everyone, follow him!" Mike commanded to his squad members.
They were rushing deep into the forest towards the designated area that Erwin had planned. Once they arrived, all the soldiers dismounted and tied their horses to the trees, quickly activating their 3DM Gears. Mike was suddenly startled when his nose sensed the familiar smell of the titans.
"Erwin, many titans are already coming our way!" Mike yelled. His nostrils flared up, sniffing rapaciously.
"What direction!?" said Erwin.
"From north to south!" said Mike with absolute certainty. "They are coming fast!"
"Hange, your squad will handle the northeast! Mike, head straight to the southeast! Moses' Squad and me will handle everything in between! Once the ground is clear, we will rendezvous at this point!" Erwin instructed briskly.
"Got it! See ya later guys! Please don't die!" said Hange heartily, quickly soaring to north with her squad members, breaking her way through the rain. "Damn it! I can't believe Erwin really pull this out!"
"Ma'am! Did Squad Leader Erwin plan this beforehand!?" a soldier with goggles behind her yelled.
"You bet, Matt! Very amazing and risky, right!?" Hange choked, sounded half amazed and half disbelief. "But in this predicament, this is the best thing we can do!"
Hange's Squad moved straight to the northeast in a great rush of anticipation. And as Mike's extraordinary olfactory sense had predicted, what lied ahead of them was a deadly combat zone. Though no titans were in sight yet, the sounds of titans' footsteps were echoing in every direction, trapping them with jarring noises.
"Oh! Look at that kid!" Hange screeched fervidly, not quite sure if she's drooling or the raindrops were accumulating way too much on her jaws. "Now that's a very interesting Deviant!"
There was a fifteen meters deviant, hiding and peeping between trees, with stomach bulging like it could explode in any seconds. Hange flung forward in full speed, chortling ecstatically with her usual deep-toned maniacal laughter.
"Squad Leader! This is not the appropriate time to collect samples for experiment!" Moblit reprimanded sharply, barely keeping up with her.
"Good Lord! I really really want to dissect that glorious belly and take —"
"SQUAD LEADER HANGE! STAY FOCUS TO OUR OBJECTIVE OR YOU WILL DIE!" Moblit screamed, now sounded intensely terrified.
Hange snapped out of her euphoria, looking absentmindedly at Moblit. "Oh yeah! Right! Erwin's plan!" she reminded herself. "You and Matt will distract the titans! Keiji and I will do all the butchering!"
They charged to the titan and speedily surrounded it to coordinate crushing attacks. Moblit gave an assist with slicing the inner thigh and Matt performed well-aimed attack to blind the eyes. Hange shot her grapple-hooks at its neck, readying her blades at her sides.
"I really want to dissect you, you know?" she cooed with disappointment. Her eyes were still glinting with enthusiasm. "Well, maybe next time."
She spun around its head and landed gracefully at the nape. Her sharp blades pierced to the thick flesh, splattering all the blood at her. The big monster fell down as she leapt to the nearest branch, wiping her bloody goggles with her sleeve.
"Squad Leader! More titans are heading to us!" Keiji forewarned, pointing his blades at the direction of main source of thumping noises.
Raising her blades up in the air, Hange fired the grapple-hooks toward the upcoming titans. "Everyone, on your position! Prepare to engage them!"
~SnK~SnK~SnK~SnK~
"It's moving toward you, Gelgar! Watch out!" Henning shouted from the treetops.
"Piece of cake!" Gelgar exclaimed.
The last enemy was fifteen meters class titan chasing him from his behind. Gelgar swiftly propelled from the ground right to the titan and slashed the calf in flash. While Gelgar distracted the titan, Lynne and Henning flung from both sides of the titan and cut the triceps, making the big arms limped. And before it could react by the sudden attack, Nanaba spun from the height in downward motion and delivered the last blow to severe the nape. The enemy collapsed helplessly, being defeated by great coordinated teamwork.
"Thanks guys! Nice assist!" Nanaba squealed.
"Is it over, Squad Leader!?" Lynne screeched to Mike.
Afar from them, Mike — who just slaughtered six titans singlehandedly — sniffed the air scrupulously. "This area is clear! Let's get moving to rendezvous point!" he ordered.
His subordinates followed him and flew through the piercing raindrops.
"I'm glad you're fighting with your cool-headed mind right now," said Mike to Nanaba.
"Come on, Mike! I'm not that stupid!" said Nanaba irritably. "I was distracted yesterday, it won't happen again!"
"I always know you work better in team," said Mike.
"Are you saying I can't fight solo?" Nanaba accused.
"You can, but you are showing your most potential working in team," Mike clarified.
"Whoa, Squad Leader, Nana isn't the only one who's good in teamwork," said Gelgar. "My assist was top class!"
"Yeah, Gelgar. That's very impressive," said Nanaba, smiling at him.
"Hey, Gelgar! If you can kill more than six titans this time, I will buy you drink when we're back!" Henning shouted in challenging tone.
"Hahaha! Man, you are gonna regret yourself for saying that!" Gelgar shouted back superciliously.
"Hey! We're in the middle of expedition! Forget about your stupid drinking match!" Lynne bristled stoutly, frowning at her comrades. "Be more serious, guys!"
"I wonder if they can stop thinking about booze just for one minute," said Mike, sighing wearily at the scene of Lynne, Henning and Gelgar bantering about their drinking habit.
"You picked the most drunkard men in the whole Legion for your squad. It can't be helped," Nanaba reminded.
When they arrived at the designated place, Erwin and Moses' squad were already there, waiting for the all the squads to gather.
"How was it?" asked Erwin hastily as Mike landed beside him.
"The southeast is clear," Mike informed. "My nose tells me everything is under control, so far."
Not too long after that, Hange's squad appeared from the forest.
"Is everybody still alive!?" yelled Hange as she landed with her squad.
"Seems like that," Moses confirmed in relief.
Mounting on their horses, the decoy teams were galloping fast, breaking through the forest to reach the route on the southwest, led by Erwin. Since they couldn't use flare gun in the rain and dense white fog began to form, they relied on Mike's nose to track their way back to the main force.
"This went better than I thought," said Hange with satisfaction, looking at Erwin.
"This operation is not over yet, not until we pass this forest and regroup!" said Erwin. "Everybody, stay alert!"
"So, is it not over yet?" said Moses, looking around. "I don't see any titans near us."
"No. It's not over!" said Mike suddenly in strained voice, very alert. "There are more to come, still far away, but definitely move to west, ten titans, minimal, but I could be wrong," he sniffed again then glanced to Erwin. "The rain is masking up their smell."
"It won't end soon," said Hange confidently. "The Deviants can perceive humans' presence — I'm not sure how — but I presume they will keep coming from the eastern forest, unless the main troops are already too far away within their range."
"I thought we already bought enough time for the main troops to flee," said Erwin, looking at Hange with apprehensive look. "Something is happening and slowing them down."
"I guess the weather could be the problem," Hange began to speculate, gazing to the cloudy sky, "maybe the —"
"Squad Leader Hange!" called a loud yell. Nifa appeared from the bushes ahead of them with worried face. "I have relayed your message to the Leader but Captain Levi's whereabouts is unknown!"
"What do you mean with 'unknown'!?" Hange yelled with confusion.
"The right flank is completely in a shambles! I couldn't find anyone from his squad!" Nifa shrieked, her soft voice almost inaudible in the midst of rainstorm.
Erwin's eyes widened upon hearing the news, staring at Nifa. "What happened to the right flank!?"
"I don't know, sir!" Nifa piped, galloping next to Hange. "But it seemed the titans managed to cause serious damage to the right flank formation!"
"That sounds terrible," said Mike, losing his calm voice for a moment. "And there are more titans coming."
"Guess we have to fight on our own then," Hange groaned anxiously.
"What should we do now, Erwin? Wait until they get closer to us or what?" asked Moses.
Three of them were looking disconcertedly at Erwin, waiting for the blond man's command.
Erwin was pondering ideas in his head, quickly assessing their situation. A slight of quandary flashed in his eyes for brief seconds, then he stared at his fellow squad leaders with his usual composed countenance. "Commence plan C," he said vehemently.
"We have plan C!?" Mike, Hange, and Moses yelled in unison, staring in utter astonishment.
"Yes! Four of us, we will intercept with the upcoming titans! We will attack them first before they get closer to the main force!" Erwin said firmly. "The rest members of the squad will keep up with the main troops with Nifa leading the way. Defend the rear of the formation with your lives and don't let any titans breakthrough," he glanced to the other soldiers, and after that, the blond man steered his white stallion direction to the east.
"Gelgar, I'll leave you in charge here," Mike commanded.
Hange gave a hard look to her squad. "Do your thing, Moblit. Please be careful," she said somewhat worried.
Keeping up with Erwin, they hurriedly swerved and followed him, tethering their horses and switching to 3DM Gear. They altered their course every now and then according to Mike's guidance, flying nimbly among the leafy branches.
"I can't believe you still have plans left in your head!" Hange shrieked.
"Plan!? More like fight them all and hope to not die!" Moses yelled, smirking at Erwin. "But not bad at all!"
"When necessary, we must willing to take the big risks, and be prepared to lose everything! I do mean everything!" Erwin uttered unequivocally. "How about you all!?"
Erwin looked at his comrades one by one: Mike sniffed in his odd way that Erwin deduced as an approval; Moses dipped her head in a stalwart nod; Hange stared at Erwin with vibrant sparkles behind her goggles.
"Looks good!" said Erwin. "Mike, what's the direction!?"
"Ahead of us, not too far!" said Mike. "We will encounter them soon!"
The four Squad Leaders, the strongest and most competent combatants of Survey Corps were reeling the wires in and launching the hooks continuously. Each one of them knew exactly what was going to happen: they might not survive; the air they're breathing right now might be their last; in the next seconds they might die.
They knew very well what lied ahead of them was a gate to hell.
But even knowing all of those perilous risks, they keep moving forward steadily to face and exterminate the enemies. No trace of fear and hesitation were perceptible on their faces. Indefatigable fighters, defenders of humanity, flew through the thunderous rain and turbulent air like released arrows, with unflinching determination etched upon their very brave souls.
These are the people who had sworn to give their hearts for the greater good of mankind's welfare and had dedicated their lives to reclaim what had been lost from humanity.
The oaths had been spoken, so the actions must be taken to fulfill them, at all cost.
They had nothing to lose.
"Fighting together like this, really brings the old memories," Hange croaked all of sudden, giggling with happy face. "The last time we fought together was…two years ago, I think."
"I'm sure it's longer than that, Hange," Moses chimed in, swinging beside her. "Erwin and I already became Squad Leader at that time."
"So, was it four years ago?" asked Hange confusedly, looking at Mike. "I remember I was in the same squad with you, Mike."
"Four years ago? You mean, the expedition when I retrieved you from titan's stomach after you foolishly jumped into the mouth to see what kind of digestive system they had?" said Mike simply.
"What are you talking about!? I already forgot about it!" Hange retorted, darting a very irate look.
"Relax, no one will ever forget about it," Mike assured, smirking teasingly. "Especially when you looked so clammy in that nasty slime and smelled like garbage for the rest of the day."
"Shut up!" Hange fumed, and Mike replied her tantrum with snigger. "You promised me you would never talk about it again!"
Moses roared with derisive guffawing until he ran out of breath, even Erwin's lips quirked into a weak smirk when he turned his face to Hange.
"Oh please not both of you too!" the brunette soldier shouted hotly, glaring to Moses. "Stop laughing God damn it!"
"Sorry — Hange — now I remember it — it was — very — ludicrous —" Moses panted pleadingly between his laughter. "Man, I miss this kind of moment. We've been very busy with our duty as squad leader, let alone attending meetings and working on reports. We rarely have time to hang out."
"And in my case, I'm too busy with my experiments. I even forgot when was the last time we went to bar together," said Hange.
"You're a workaholic, Hange. I'm a squad leader and my drinking schedule is just fine," said Mike.
"Yeah, because Lynne and Nanaba always help you with the reports, so you, Gelgar and Henning always have time for that stupid monthly drinking contest," said Moses, sounded a bit jealous with him.
"Or is it a date with Nana? You usually go out with her on days off, right? Right?" Hange pried excitedly. "I'm sure I saw you two in Trost last month, walking out from your favorite bar, but she never admit it were she and you!"
"I'm not confirming that," said Mike tersely in his calm demeanor.
"Whoa, Mike! You and Nanaba still sneaking out for secret date!?" said Moses in shock. "I thought you two are already together!"
"My mouth will remain silent," said Mike conversationally, leering to Hange. "I'm not gonna tell you anything. You will spread another gossips to every corner and person in Legion. Nanaba hates them."
"I'm telling the truth! Not gossips!" Hange corrected. "You can't blame me for enlightening people!"
"We really have to drink together after we get back from this, just like the good old days, and you have to tell us everything, man!" Moses demanded.
"Or make him drunk enough so he will spit everything out!" Hange sneered at Mike, laughing with Moses; the tallest Squad Leader just exhaled wearily to see his comrades' nosy habit.
"We can reminisce the old days and interrogate his love life later!" Erwin sharply cut in. "Fifteen titans are in sight! Commence diversionary tactics!"
The swarms of titans were greeting them in the clearing. Erwin took the lead, while the others dispersed the formation to surround the titans. Having the longest comradeship for years in Survey Corps, they worked together as a formidable team. Their movements were so well coordinated that they appeared to be reading one another's minds as they positioned themselves among the monsters and executed devastating assaults without single strike missed. The strong chain of trust linked them together as one, making them relying on each other as if they already knew what they had to do.
The fighting pace became faster, but deadlier and more brutal. Cutting, slashing, dodging, swinging between the lethal grasps, everything happened in the blink of an eye, even so, they had the upper hand as the gigantic monsters fell one by one.
Another fifteen minutes of fast and furious massacring scene later, there were only three titans left. Mike gave a perfect assist by soaring close to the ground, cutting the achilles tendon of three titans successively. Hange and Erwin dived from the sky, severing the napes as fiercely as possible. Moses was flying high above and launching the finishing blow on the last titan. Four of them embedded the hooks to the trees, panting breathlessly and looking at their hard-earned outcome; the carcasses evaporated rapidly and hindered their visions with thick steams.
"Guys! I'm running out of blades!" Moses yelled with obvious frustration.
"Are there more, Mike!?" Erwin cried out.
"Yes! They are coming from —" Mike shouted but his voice was drowned by bloodcurdling howls.
Four titans were running straight to them, hands grabbing horridly to savor the mouthwatering preys.
"WHERE IN THE WORLD IS LEVI!?" Hange hollered desperately at top of her lungs as she reloaded her blades. "Damn it! Where is that titans dicing machine when we need him the most!?"
The closest titan tried to slam Hange but the only thing it hit was the tree trunk, debris of woods and branches scattering everywhere. The spectacled soldier aimed her hooks to the next tree just before the gigantic hand broke her spine. She dodged the next savage attack, hurriedly swirling up and severing the napes in marvelous precision.
Meanwhile, Mike and Erwin were working in impeccable coordination to bring down three titans. With no blades left in the scabbard, Moses was circling around the titans, trying to draw its attention while Mike and Erwin butchering the necks; both of them succeeded to kill the monsters, but Erwin broke his last blades.
The last enemy, twenty meters class deviant were charging to Erwin with fists held up high, and vigorously smacking the tree where he embedded his hooks. Erwin escaped the sudden attack by mere inches and flew to his side, the same moment the titan chased him and stretched its mouth open right before him.
"ERWIN!" Moses shouted.
Moses was literally racing with the cruel fate as he propelled himself to Erwin and kicked him downward.
"Moses —" Erwin panted as he fell down, eyes dilated in dread.
It was like the time froze and everything moved in very slow motion; their eyes met, and Moses smiled to Erwin as if he was very glad that Erwin was saved. Split seconds later, the time was back to its normal speed and the titan maw closed with horrifying reverberation.
The three squad leaders was petrified when they witnessed their comrade was trapped and got crushed between its brick-sized teeth, bursting violently into bloody rain.
"MOSES!" Hange screamed frantically.
Mike and Hange launched their hooks at the monster; both of them sliced the cheeks at the same time, severing the muscles that supporting the jaw. Erwin aimed his hooks to the mouth and reached out, desperately trying to save Moses, or rather, saving what is left behind of him…
An arm.
A part of what used to be Moses' right arm, swaying and splattering blood, was the only thing that he managed to salvage from its maw.
The attack was successfully evoking more predacious reaction from the deviant as it became more aggressive toward them. Erwin jumped back and tried to keep the distance. Mike embedded his anchors, coming to realization that his last pair of blade was already dull. Hange evaded the crucial assault, frustrated with the busted blades in her hand.
They didn't have any blades to fight.
Without weapons to eliminate the enemy, all they could do just swinging around to dodge the brutal aggression. It's only a matter of time before the gas running out and they lost their mobility…
It was pointless to prolong the battle. No matter what they would do, the result was clear: they're all gonna meet their ends here. Erwin and Hange already maintained their distance, while Mike was the closest one to the titan. Before the tallest soldier could flee, titan was running to him and grabbing his leg, ready to devour him.
In the next millisecond, a green flash hurled in front of him, slashing the fingers and extricating his leg, freeing him from the monster's grasp.
It was Nanaba; she swooped down out of nowhere, maneuvering upside down behind the titan and brilliantly slit the thick flesh on the nape with one powerful attack. She landed in haste next to Mike who was sprawling on a branch.
"Are you okay?" asked Nanaba, brushing her fingers through his blond hair, blood tainting her palm.
"Little cuts, I'm fine," said Mike, smiling. "That was a brilliant execution."
"I told you, I could fight solo."
"What happened with defending the troops?"
"Gelgar ordered to reinforce main force, but I remember your blades and gas are running low because of the previous fight," she explained while helping Mike to stand up. "So I tracked down the horses and found you all here."
"You broke my chain of command!?" said Mike, his voice shaking.
"Yes, to save your life," Nanaba replied lightly, beaming. "You can't penalize me for that, right?"
"Nana! You saved us!" Hange squeaked, landing near them and hugging the blond woman. "I thought we were done for!"
"So, is it done?" asked Nanaba to Mike.
"I don't smell anything," said Mike, sniffing. "Maybe the main troops already out of forest."
"The rain seems to chill out a bit. The signal flare may work," said Hange. She pulled out gun flare from her jacket and shot to the sky.
Thunders were no longer booming and the wild rainstorm started to simmer down, still showering the earth with heavy rain but not dropping painful bullets of water like before. The blue smoke soared to the cloudy sky, and they waited full of hope to see any signals from the other soldiers.
"Blue flare confirmed!" Nanaba exclaimed, seeing wisps of smoke rose into the air far ahead of them.
Overly relieved, they landed to the ground and approached Erwin, who was staring at the steaming carcasses.
"Erwin! The main force made it through the forest alive!" said Hange.
"Good then," said Erwin.
"Erwin," Mike panted, "you're the most genius man I ever met in my life."
"It's not gonna work without all of your help, and sacrifices…" Erwin muttered quietly, walking closer to the white steam.
"Oh God! Is that —" Nanaba gasped, clasping her mouth with shaky hand.
Erwin knelt on the ground, before him, a bloody shred of mutilated human arm lying helplessly. He picked it up with trembling hand. All of them quickly looked around, searching for another pieces of human flesh they could retrieve. Suddenly, Hange burst into muffled snivels and slide her goggles to her forehead, mopping her eyes with her sleeve while Nanaba wrapped her arms around her shoulder.
"I guess this is all that left of him," said Mike, handing over the tattered, blood-spilled green cloak to Erwin then turning to Hange. "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay! Sorry — I'm just —" Hange spoke with a voice choked with tears, burying her face into her hands. "Moses — he — damn it!"
"Pull yourself together, Hange," said Erwin softly, wrapping the arm with the cloak; his expression was stony as if the algid temperature was freezing him from skin to bone marrow.
"Yes! Yes. Yes… Trust me… I'm trying my best right now, Erwin, but —" Hange looked at Erwin and bit her lip, seemed very frustrated because she couldn't control the excessive tears that spilling from her brown eyes. "Didn't he just say…we would drink together after this…just like the good old times? Now he's —"
She didn't finish her sentence as she buried her face again into her palms. She didn't want to utter the word, because she knew it would cause more painful stabs to everyone's chest, and especially Erwin's.
Erwin clutched the bundle in his arm, staring at the bloodstained on his cloak; it didn't evaporate, because it wasn't titan blood. It wasn't his either. It was Moses' blood, from the split second when he vanished and turned into spatter of blood…
A moment of reverent silence slithered in the air and the atmosphere of bitterness and sorrow were almost tangible.
Everything had a price. It said people couldn't get something without tossing away something they already had. People had to sacrifice something to get something new, that's how the way it worked.
Sounded very simple, right?
Simple, but it's not easy, because the price that needed to be paid requiring the sacrifices of human lives.
And this time, it was the live of their comrade.
Deaths were not something unfamiliar to them. As veteran soldiers who had fought against titans for many years, they had witnessed uncountable deaths. Deaths greeted them every day. It always happened over and over again.
Dying was easy, but coping with someone else's demise was a living hell, and definitely something they would never get used to.
How could they get over tormenting experience like this: their friend was here minutes ago, bantering and laughing with them, and the next moment he met his end in tragic death right in front of their eyes?
How could they get used to something so hurtful and traumatizing?
But they had to, willing to or not, they must do it.
They had to fight. They had to raise their blades again and fight.
No matter how emotionally decimated they were, they didn't have time to succumb to grief and misery, because mourning was not going to help anyone or anything.
Because their fight was not over yet, so they had to be strong and move on.
After what seemed hours of silence, Erwin beckoned to his comrades. "Let's regroup with the main force," he said weakly with the same emotionless face.
"You can't face your subordinates like this," said Nanaba to Hange, tenderly patting her back.
"Yeah, right. Bursting out like this… So pathetic of me," said Hange with more stable bearing, wearing her goggles again.
Four of them were heading back to their horses and galloping toward the blue smoke. The rain was getting lighter with the gray clouds rolling away. The surrounding area seemed very safe; no titans were within sight though Mike kept sniffing vigilantly. They finally arrived at a clearing, just before the edge of the forest. Dismounting at once, they were thunderstruck by the devastated circumstances. The main troops of Survey Corps were absolutely in awful condition: destroyed wagons; injured soldiers with broken arms and legs were lying helplessly; stack of what it seemed to be corpses were piling up on the ground.
Without further ado, Nanaba dashed to medics' wagons, barking orders to the corpsmen.
"Squad Leader Hange!" Moblit called loudly, rushing to her. "Ma'am, the fourth squad succeed to guard the logistics wagons, but there are some serious damage within the squad."
"How many casualties? We got all the bodies?" Hange asked, fighting to keep her voice casual and calm, quickly heading to her squad with Moblit.
"Erwin, you did the best you capable of. It's not your fault," said Mike, tapping his shoulder then walking to his squad.
Erwin breathed out a long, heavy sigh, tightening his clutch to the bloody bundle in his arm. "He died under my command… Of course it's my responsibility," he said contritely after Mike was not within earshot.
Erwin walked to his squad with halting steps. Many dead bodies of his underlings were lined up on the ground, covered with bloodstained gray cloth. He stared at them one by one as if he was paying his earnest apology with very remorseful gaze from his eyes. "Your sacrifices will not be in vain. I swear, I will make your deaths mean something," he said adamantly in low voice.
"Squad Leader Erwin, may I have the information of the deceased?" said a soldier to him, holding a clipboard.
"This is the remaining of Moses, Leader of the 3rd Squad," said Erwin, handing over the bloody cloak. "Please take care of him. I'm counting on you."
"Yes, sir," the soldier received the bundle, scribbled something on the clipboard and walked away, leaving Erwin alone, who was still gazing blankly at the corpses.
"Erwin," Hange called to him, already standing beside him. "I'm done checking our troops condition, I gotta say this is very bad."
"We didn't anticipate the weather would be this ruinous," said Ewin, didn't seem able to tear his vacant stare away from the corpses.
"Yes, the bad weather was really affecting our troops' performance," said Hange. "Most of the left and right flank was annihilated. It seemed the titans that went through us in the beginning caused a significant damage to our formation."
"Which means, we're commencing the plan too late," Erwin concluded bitterly. "We should had commenced it before we entered the forest."
"Yes, probably, but this doesn't make any sense," she hesitated. "I mean, Levi was in the right flank… Cloudburst is not gonna stop him from dicing titans."
"Where is he now?"
"I don't know."
Disconcerted, Erwin slowly turned his head to her. "He's not here?"
"I haven't seen him," said Hange tremulously.
"NO! MICHAEL! PLEASE HANG ON! NO! NOOOO!"
Erwin and Hange turned their heads to the plaintive cry that coming from the medics' wagon. Both of them approached the wagon, recognizing the devastated-looking soldiers were members of Levi's squad. They saw two soldiers kneeling on the ground; the female soldier was crying and the badly injured male soldier was gazing with despondent stare at two dead bodies in front of him. Erwin looked keenly around, realizing the raven-haired man was nowhere to be seen.
"No… Michael… Rudolf…" Flora moaned into her palms. "It can't be…"
"Josef, Flora," said Hange softly. "What happened to your squad? Where is Levi?"
Josef seemed losing his ability to respond as though his soul had left his body. Flora looked up to Hange with reddened eyes.
"C-captain Levi… He…he… He f-f-fell to…t-the gorge…" said Flora tearfully between her hiccups.
"HE WHAT!?" Hange bellowed, eyes widened in frightened. "Dear God! Don't tell me he is dead…"
"How could that happen?" asked Erwin with his composure but his voice sounded very aghast.
Flora was too hysterical to answer, sobbing noisily Michael's body. She parted her lips and tried to compose a sentence but only snivels and hiccups came from her mouth. Hange knelt beside her, gently patting her shoulder to calm her down.
"The Deviants broke through the formation, attacked the right flank," said Josef shakily, with vapid eyes fixating at Rudolf's corpse as he recalled the moment. "We disbanded the formation to counterattack, and then… One of the titans picked up the trunk and threw it right at us, but Captain Levi saved me and, and… The trunk hit him… He was unconscious by the impact, falling to the gorge…"
"Alex tried to save him, but she also fell to the river. They got caught up in the current, being drifted away. We don't know where they are now…" Flora continued, eventually transforming her snivels into more understandable words. "After that, the right flank was in chaos…"
Hange and Erwin exchanged desperate and perplexed looks; both of the humanity's strongest soldier and the best new recruits in Survey Corps were presumed dead? Even in Erwin's most fucked up scenario, that possibility was next to impossible.
After learning the wretched truth of what happened, Hange and Erwin trudged downheartedly toward Mike and the Commander.
"Erwin, Hange, what is the situation of your squad?" asked Keith throatily.
"Terrible," said Hange.
"I'm afraid my squad is no longer able to function properly," said Erwin rigidly.
"Commander," called a soldier who just came hurriedly, "we're almost done with tending the wounded, checking our supplies and identifying the casualties. Here are the reports, sir."
"Thank you, Pere," said Keith, receiving the clipboard.
"Total casualties are one hundred and three soldiers, twenty seven were severely injured, thirty two have moderate injury, forty two were KIA but we only managed to retrieve twenty three corpses, and two are MIA," said Pere, facing Erwin. "Captain Levi and Cadet Ritter are nowhere to be found."
"I see," Keith spoke grimly, staring at the report papers with pensive look.
"How about our logistics units? How bad was it?" asked Erwin to Pere.
"Forty percent of our provisions were lost, however, the supplies for the resupply station are not severely damaged," Pere confirmed.
"Erwin, this is going far out of our hands…" Hange said in an undertone. "Very awry."
"Commander, what should we do now?" asked Mike.
Keith clenched his fists and gave the papers back to Pere. He stood up straight, walking steadily to the throng of soldiers.
"All men, on your position! Tend the injured soldiers and get them on the wagon immediately! We will retreat to Dieburg Fortress!"
~SnK~SnK~SnK~SnK~
-Night-
Daylight faded away as the sun feebly attempted to shine just a while longer. Twilight fell from the skyline, with vivid color of scarlet and orange radiance gradually disappeared. The sky went darker as the dusk finally blanketed the atmosphere and brought the nighttime into the universe. Myriad celestial constellations were shining bright like diamonds; their delicate glows accompanied the full moon that glistening palely between clouds. The noises of nocturnal creatures were taking over the world, like chirping crickets, the sound of flapping wings of bats, soft hooting of owls coming from the forest…
And speaking about the forest, the woody vegetation area now looked ten times more dangerous than it was on daytime. It was black as coal, dreary and ghastly, with tall shadowed pines stretching up like arrows into the sky. Treetops and branches swayed alarmingly in a chilly night breeze. Not forgot to mention titans, mostly Deviants, inhabited this forest.
Logically speaking, no human being in right mind would go there in this situation.
But there were two soldiers of Survey Corps standing cautiously near the rear, under the shady shadow of beech tree. How unfortunate for them, they had no other choice but venturing into the darkness of the woods if they wanted to face another sunrise.
"Are you sure this is the place?" asked Levi as he looked around.
Beside him, the new cadet read the map in her hands. She examined their surroundings carefully: glancing to the massive waterfall behind them before rolling her eyes to the dense forest in front of them then facing her unconvinced captain with a confident nod.
"Yes. We're standing right here," Alex showed him the map, tapping on the paper with her finger on the words 'Titan Falls', "and the hill is here, so…" she pulled straight line from their supposedly position to the little triangle mark labeled 'Rotwand'.
She opened the compass, moving it to the left and right until the magnetized pointer hold still to a specific direction. "We're heading that way," she pointed to the random spot of bleak forest.
Levi's furrow crinkled deeper at the direction of her index finger and stared at her, clearly not sure with her judgment. "If you screw up, we both will die," he reminded.
"I know what I'm doing," she said with a confident tone as though she did something like this every day, already making her way to enter the forest. She stopped when she noticed the raven-haired man was not following her. "Are we going or not, sir?" she asked, turning to him with a slight confused look.
Levi froze on his spot, squinting his eyes and folding his arms. "How can you be so sure?"
"The hill is located southeast from here, and that is southeast," she tried to convince him, showing the small compass.
"You'll just get us strayed in wilderness of titans."
"I'm using map and compass, Captain. I'm not randomly pinpointing our direction."
"Give it to me," said Levi, reaching out his hand.
The girl handed over the map and compass. "You don't trust me, do you?" she guessed.
He unfolded the map, but his stern glare didn't move from her hazel eyes. "No," he uttered hastily then read the map.
"Sir, to be honest, I think they retreated to Dieburg Fortress," said Alex boldly with a tone of acceptable politeness in her voice. "I'm the one with the compass and map, I could have left you here and head to north if I wanted to."
Levi rolled his eyes from the map and glared at her again. "You have some guts, for threatening me with insubordination," he said gruffly.
"No, I'm just saying there are many things I could do instead of following you."
"Listen, brat," Levi took few steps forward, standing in front her face in menacing gesture. "I don't care what you're capable to do. If you want to see another sunlight, you have to go to Rotwand Hill with me."
"What if I don't want to go there?" said Alex lightly in the same polite manner. "What will you do, sir? Knock me out and drag me there?"
"Are you asking me for a fight?" he asked with expressionless face, but his voice was very intimidating.
"What I'm trying to say," Alex tried to correct him, slightly raising her tone of voice, "I don't want to go to Rotwand Hill, but I will follow you because I trust you."
The raven-haired man blinked; his cold glare turned into more benign look. "You don't have to trust me," he said while giving back the map and compass. "I don't know whether my choice is right or wrong. You should make a choice from yourself. So if you want to head north, just do it."
"That's not what I'm talking about," said Alex, pushing his hand away. "Yes, I want to head north, but my point is —"
"Choose what you will regret the least," Levi demanded sharply. "Which one will you choose?"
"No, I just —"
"We can argue all night here, or we can argue while heading to Rotwand Hill, which means you have to follow me," Levi interrupted impatiently. "Are you going with me or not? Decide now. We're wasting our time."
"Alright. Lead the way Captain. I'll follow you. You can keep the map and compass," said Alex, exhaling sorely. "We're going to the direction I told you earlier, right?"
Levi shot another frigid stare as he walked pass her; Alex smiled victoriously behind his back. After the last meticulous examination of their surrounding, they entered the forest. Petrichor smell greeted them with damp leaves rustling over their heads, showering them with soft drizzle. Levi trod lightly and carefully, trying to make as little contact with the mud as possible.
"Good thing the full moon is showing up," said Levi, glancing up to the moon shining through lattice of leaves.
"Now I get it why we moved at sunset. Walking around in darkness without any threats is so much better than fighting endless horde of titans."
"Tch. Know your enemy better before you attack, rookie."
"I will, Captain. Once we regroup, I will ask her to tell me more about them!" she said happily.
Levi leered at her with a faint revolted expression. "Her? Don't tell me you are going to chitchat with that lunatic again," he complained.
"Squad Leader Hange is really interested in them. I never met anyone who could be so detail in explaining subject like that. She really loves her job, doesn't she? I bet she has studied titans for years," said Alex, sounded very impressed. "She's probably gonna be envy with us if we find Deviants in this forest tonight."
"You don't have to tell me that. It's very obvious. That freak probably dying to live in this forest to satisfy her crazy obsession," said Levi tartly.
"But I think her idea is brilliant! If we can observe them in their natural habitat, then maybe we can learn something new about them!" Alex continued to chatter, seemed talking to herself. "Or maybe catch one and bring them to the wall, but…the collateral damage of that process will be too much to handle. That doesn't mean it will be impossible to do though, if engineering division could make a wagon big enough to carry three meter class titans then —"
Levi stopped abruptly and turned to her, grabbing and shaking her shoulder. He deadlocked his eyes on her as if he was examining her for something very contagious, tilting her head to left and right. "What did exactly she do to you last night?" he inquired.
"Huh? What do you mean, sir?"
"Did she brainwash you? Poisoned you with drugs?" asked Levi, now checking her lower eyelids.
"No! Of course not!" Alex denied briskly. "Why do you think she did that?"
"Because you're starting to talk like her," Levi grumbled, turning his heels. "The last thing I need is mini Hange who can't keep her mouth shut."
"I just think her theories are interesting," said Alex, walking beside him again. "We don't know much about them because we never spend enough time to observe, right? Maybe spending few days in this forest will bring us new —"
"For the sake's of my sanity, please, stop, talking," Levi interjected, somewhat pleading to her. "Get rid that fucking stupid idea from your head, don't even bother to think about useless rubbish like that."
"But, sir, you said I need to know the enemy better. The more we —"
"Oi. Not everyone is passionately interested in giant naked humanoid creatures," he snarled harshly with more revolted look graven on his face.
"Okay then… I'm sorry, sir." said Alex quietly, finally getting the fact that her captain was clearly disgusted with the talk about titans.
"Keep walking, rookie. Don't you dare roaming around in this forest."
"I'm right behind you, sir," she said, and this time she's literally behind him.
Crackling sound of breaking twigs accompanied their footsteps on moist soil. The night trip was not a bad idea; everything seemed way too tranquil and deserted compared to the atrocious bloodbath that happened few hours ago. It felt as though the nighttime were providing them with absolute guarantee of security as they strolling with ease, until the auburn-haired girl gripping Levi's elbow very hard.
"There's something over there," she whispered, her eyes darting a very wary stare.
Levi turned to her eyes' direction only to see endless darkness. "I don't see anything."
"Four titans. Coming to this direction," she whispered, already holding her handgrips.
"How did you know?"
"I hear them. Their footsteps."
Levi eventually heard movement, muffled thumps that sounded so distant but definitely getting louder. "You're right! Come on!"
They sprinted with all their might, scurrying through dense bushes and trees. The blaring noises were after them and they could feel the earth-quaking tremor shaking the ground.
"Switch to 3DM Gear! Now!" Levi shouted.
"Yes, sir!"
In brief moment after they launched the hooks and flew forward, a Deviant jumped from above and almost squashed them flat under the soles of its feet. More titans were emerging from the blackness, four titans, like Alex had predicted, pursuing them aggressively.
"Captain! They almost keep up with us!" Alex shrieked.
Levi looked back and gnashed his teeth; the closest titan was just ten meters behind. "I'll take care of this! You go forward!" he ordered.
"You can't possibly fight with that injury!" Alex protested harshly, her blades drawn at her sides. "Leave the fight to me!"
"I can't let an amateur fight alone!" Levi yelled.
But she was absolutely right. His left shoulder kept throbbing painfully, even a simple maneuver to propel himself forward putting an unbearable strain on his wound. It felt like shards of broken glass were piling up inside his flesh and tearing his joint apart every time he moved.
Pushing the agony aside, Levi plugged his blades in. "Go! That's an order!"
"No!" she persisted. "With all due respect, Captain, I am the best soldier of my class! I will eliminate all the titans! And that's not a bluff!"
"It's not the time to brag about your rank among the amateurs!" Levi snapped angrily.
"Sir, I can fight! You have to trust me!" Alex helplessly implored. "Give me the order to attack!"
Levi was about to kick her to knock her out so she would retreat from battle, when their eyes met. Her hazel eyes eradiated a ferocious look — the same one he saw in their fisticuffs — showing her avidity and courage to fight. His gaze was ping ponging from her fiery stare to the running beasts behind them. Realizing how dire the situation was, Levi gave her a nod of assent.
"I'll distract them, you handle all the cutting!" he finally commanded.
"Got it sir!" she shot her grapple-hooks upward, flying higher and concealing herself among the lush greenery.
Levi aimed his anchors forward, flying provokingly in front of the titans. "This way, you damn bastards!"
He lured them away and successfully gained their attention. While they're busy swinging their arms to smack Levi, Alex hurtled from above, firing her anchors to the nape and severing the flesh in one rapid swoop. She hunted the next enemy, moving toward the three titans, making a fast flight to reach the necks. Her blades danced in the dimness as she came face to face with the giants and launched audacious assaults without hesitation. Alex went on her ballistic mode, flying seamlessly and dodging the life-threatening counterattacks with swift moves.
It was a successful surprise attack. She carved the last chunk of titan nape and put an end to the fierce battle. She embedded her anchors to the trunk then screamed when she turned her head to Levi.
"Sir! Behind you!" Alex shouted frighteningly, firing her hooks again.
Levi was standing on the branch on the opposite direction far from her. Apparently, the hellish ruckus attracted other titans in the near vicinity. Five Deviants jumped from his back like as though they had planned an ambuscade. He reversed the handgrip in his right hand reflexively, the sharp edge now facing upward. With all the exertion and endeavor to endure his excruciating pain, Levi flung to the enemies and engaged them in combat.
Alex was hanging in the air with jaw dropping when she witnessed Levi maneuvering with 3DM Gear in his top speed.
That very moment, she fully understood why he was worthy to be dubbed Humanity's Strongest Soldier.
The raven-haired man was utilizing his gear to its maximum potential, hardly looked like he was using the grapple-hooks or the wires at all. He moved so skillfully, ricocheting in indescribable velocity that he looked weightless and unsupported. Spiraling up to the height as if there were invisible wings fluttered on his back, he reloaded his blades in the midair and plummeted with a huge spurt of speed. Levi was twirling brutally to the neck of titans with his sharp blades swirling around him, slashing everything that blocking his way. He effortlessly accelerated from the ground to the air, swinging back and forth, changing his direction without difficulty as though the universal law of gravitation didn't apply to him.
The fight ended in less than a minute, somehow looked like one-sided mass slaughter. Titans were falling with cacophonous thuds that shook the ground and trees like an earthquake. Levi fired his hooks and flumped himself on a branch, looked he barely able to stand up.
"Captain Levi! Are you okay!?" asked Alex, landing in front of him.
"I don't think so…" he grimaced, leaning his back on the tree and panting heavily.
"Is it your shoulder again?" asked Alex worryingly.
Alex started to take off his jacket and unfasten the straps on his chest. She carefully unbuttoned his white shirt because Levi grunted in pain even with the lightest movement on his shoulder.
"How could titans move at night?" asked Alex, still struggling to take off his shirt.
"Almost two hours passed after sunset. Maybe some deviants could stay longer," said Levi. "Four eyes said they have different habits compared to the usual titans, but that lunatic never mentioned something like this."
"Maybe it's never happened before?" said Alex, sounded too enthusiastic.
"Maybe. We should wait for few more hours, just to be safe," said Levi, glancing at his aching shoulder. "How is it?"
"This doesn't look good…" Alex commented with concerned tone, touching his swollen shoulder tenderly. "I'll redo the wrapping. You shouldn't fight again until this heal properly, sir."
"Don't tell me what to do," said Levi coldly.
Alex cocked her eyebrow. "I'm suggesting it for your health."
"Then what? Leaving all the fighting to greenhorn like you?" Levi snorted.
It was dim but Levi could discern her expression went stiff and her eyes were striking an upset look to him.
"What?" asked Levi, getting irritated with her unmoved stare.
"Why were you insisting to keep me away from the fight, sir?" she pouted indignantly. "I know my appearance is too childish, and after today, you must be thinking I'm a total idiot with uncontrolled hyperactivity… Well, maybe I am, but I'm not useless in fighting," her voice became more hoarse, seemed like she's trying hard to keep her manner of speaking as polite as possible. "I can fight, probably much better than most soldiers in Survey Corps."
Levi averted his eyes from her. "I'm your superior, your life is my responsibility," he said matter-of-factly as though it justified all of his actions.
Alex crinkled her forehead, looked very confused and disturbed. "Is that the reason why you said you're not gonna let me die?" she asked with a distraught look.
"Maybe," he replied shortly.
"Why are you like that?"
"If you're asking me because you prefer to be let out alone to roam in this forest without supervision, you are really a suicidal brat."
"No, I mean why —"
"Will you stop inquiring me with unnecessary questions and shut the hell up, annoying brat!?" said Levi cuttingly, frowning and darting a very annoyed glare at her.
The girl shut her mouth surly, bandaging his shoulder gingerly but her face still looked as confused as before. She helped him to put back his uniform, and Levi mumbled a small "Thanks," which she replied with a bitter smile. They waited patiently as the evening grew darker, sitting on the branch in very long undisturbed quietness. After what felt like an eternity of awkward silence, Levi ordered to continue, assuming it was safe enough for them to stroll again without encountering another titans.
They went deeper and deeper into the forest, walking vigilantly until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so dense and close. No light could penetrate the thick foliage — the stars and moon were no longer visible — making the environs pitch-black.
Then out of the blue, Alex yelped stridently and slammed her face to the muddy soil, accidentally tripping on bumpy roots.
"Watch where you're walking, brat," Levi chided, grabbing her by the cloak.
"Sir, I barely see anything," Alex sputtered, propping herself to get up.
"We need to make torch. Still have the lighters?"
Alex handed him the lighters. Levi quickly made a small torch with twig and a little piece of green fabric from her cloak, also using the volatile fuel from the lighters to set up the fire. In return, Levi gave his handkerchief to her so she could clean the mud stain on her face.
"Hold my hand," said Levi, offering his right palm, while his other hand holding the torch, "so you don't trip again," he quickly added when she was about to open her mouth to ask.
The weak flame shone alone in the sea of darkness. They walked very closely to each other, twisting and jerking at every unfamiliar sound, which turned out to be the noise of startled small animals rushing along the forest floor to a hiding place. They tried to maintain their steady walking pace in order to reach their destination before dawn. It was a long — felt like hours had passed since they entered the forest — and exhausting journey. Levi occasionally checked the compass to make sure they're not lost.
All of sudden, Levi squeezed Alex's hand very tightly, halting her step. "Do you hear that?" he asked alertly.
It was vague, but audible; series of guttural noises like someone was being throttled while trying to breathe, rumbling uninterruptedly.
"Yes… It's coming from there," said Alex, pointing the curtain of hanging vines and the tangled branches ahead of them.
"What is that sound?"
"Sounds like…umm…snoring?"
They stared at each other, exchanging very puzzled and alarmed looks.
"Should we go there?"
"We have to, it's southeast," said Levi, looking at the compass.
"Okay…" Alex squeaked weakly.
Striding very warily, they broke through branches and vines. The eerie noises were enveloping them from every corner. With only relying feeble light from the torch, it was too dark to see anything outside the little sphere of light. They continued to walk further, ignoring the noises, when the clouds above their heads parted and the moon peeked again, illuminating the pitch-dark area with soft glow. When their eyes caught the views of their surrounding, Levi let out a very exasperated sigh and Alex drew a shuddering gasp, tightening her clutch on Levi's arm and hiding behind him.
"God damn it… Is this hell?" said Levi, looking around in utter vexation.
"Are they…sleeping, sir?" Alex whispered with bated breath.
They stood in the center of clearing. The faint ray of moonlight was gleaming over the open area, revealing an obnoxious, hair-raising, unearthly sight that looked like…titans sleepover party. The monstrous titans, too many to be counted, were sleeping peacefully under the silvery moonlight; some were lying on the stomach and some others were rolling to sides and scratching their tummy. There were five titans piling up against each other; the fifteen meters class was acting like a big, comfy mattress while the other smaller titans sleeping on its body.
After a short moment standing in pure bewilderment, the two soldiers were tiptoeing very slowly between the monsters, holding their breath as if the titans would wake up upon hearing their frenetic panting.
"If they wake up, we will be done for. Be careful and don't roam around," Levi warned deadly. "You hear me, rookie?"
Levi felt his heart jumping from his ribcage and rolling rapidly to the ground when he turned around and found out that his subordinate was nowhere near him.
"Where the hell is she!?" he hissed, very outraged.
He held the torch high over his head, trying to see as far as possible to find the annoying girl before she ended up dead.
"Oi! Brat!" Levi suppressed his overly wrathful voice into a low-pitched whisper. "Where the hell are you!?"
"I'm over here, sir," came a soft whisper.
Levi strode to her voice with a lot of detours as if he was walking inside tricky labyrinth. He finally found her in a condition he never ever imagined. Alex knelt in front of a face of titan, which its head was twelve times bigger than her body size. She shoved her hand to the nostril as though she was trying to pull something from the inside.
Trembling with fury, Levi snatched her head, gripping it tightly. "Do you have a death wish, stupid brat? Want me to make it come true?" he whispered menacingly in her ear.
"Captain, this titan is not breathing!" Alex whispered back, apparently not perturbed by Levi's vicious threat at all. "Here, sir, try to feel it!" she grasped Levi's hand from her head and shoved it to the nostril.
"What the hell!?" Levi snarled, harshly pulling his arm and wincing in disgust. "What the fuck is wrong with you!?"
"They don't need air to live! This is so weird!" Alex whispered dramatically.
"Enough! We don't have time for this!"
She completely ignored him because her attention was too focused with the strange phenomenon. Her curiosity was evidently aroused as she trotted noiselessly to the next sleeping titan and stared unblinkingly at its face. "This one is not breathing too! It's not snoring!" she chirped with a great jolt of excitement.
"I've had enough of this shit," Levi grumbled petulantly through his clenched jaw. He wrapped his right hand around her waist and picked her up, shouldering her tiny figure on his right shoulder.
"Captain Levi! Please put me down!"
"Like hell I will," said Levi curtly, scurrying among the restfully sleeping monsters.
"Sir! Please! I can walk on my own!" she pleaded while fighting to extricate herself from his muscular arm.
"Stop resisting brat!" Levi hissed irritably. "If I put you down, you will stay here and spend all the night watching they sleep.
"Umm… You got it right, sir," Alex admitted embarrassedly.
Levi murmured a long collection of nasty swears. He carried her at ease and swiftly passed the clearing, squeezing his way through the sprawling gargantuan limbs and entering the gloomy forest. When the sounds of snoring titans were no longer hearable, he put the petite girl to the ground and scowled at her with irritation.
"I'm really gonna kill four eyes for contaminating your brain," he growled.
"Don't kill her, sir. Her study is a hope for humanity," said Alex seriously which made Levi scowled even more darkly.
For the next one hour of walking, the dreary forest seemed to be friendlier as the trees became less dense. The weak flame finally extinguished but since the spaces between trees became wider, the patches of starry sky could be seen through canopy of leaves and gave them sufficient illumination to see the path.
"We almost reach the edge of this forest. The hill is probably a few miles away," said Alex. "Sir, are you sure they are there?"
"They are there. They have to be there," said Levi firmly, he could not bear to contemplate the alternative.
They walked out from the last shadowy tree and reached a vast and open savanna. On the land very far ahead of them, there was a landform that protruded above the surrounding terrain. It looked like a small lump on the verge of the world.
"That must be the hill," said Alex, rummaging her satchel and pulling out a small collapsible brass telescope. "But I don't see a castle or anything on that," she said a bit worry while gazing through the telescope.
She passed the telescope to Levi, who also didn't see any buildings.
"We need a better view," he said, firing his hooks and climbing up a tree with Alex following him behind.
They leapt to the highest branch. Levi adjusted the telescope and focused his gaze, jamming his eye to the lens.
"Fucking hell…" he cursed with shaky voice.
"What is it, sir?" Alex asked curiously.
Levi didn't say anything; he was completely paralyzed as if his body was made of marble stone.
"Captain," Alex whispered, feeling uneasy with his prolonged silence. "Sir, what's wrong?"
He lowered the telescope slowly, clutching the brass way too tight until his knuckles going white. He slightly turned his head to his subordinate with ashen face. For the first time since the day she met him, Alex saw incredulity in his gray eyes as though he didn't believe what he just saw.
"Captain Levi… What do you see?"
A/N: Sorry for not updating for two weeks, I've been busy preparing my graduation.
It's 30th March, so happy birthday to me and Eren Jaeger! (yes, we share the same birthday :D)
kittylover195678: Thank you! I'm so glad if you're willing to help me out. I'll send you a PM. :)
KasukeHagase: Thank you so much! Wow, I'm so flattered :3 *shed tears of joy*. I'm trying to stick with my weekly update schedule, but...college is a cruel place (눈_눈) I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D