Chapter 7: Revelations
A/N: Hope you're all ready!
A thousand miles away and five hundred feet below sea level, a fissure in the earth glowed with primal power. A deep sea volcano pumped magma into the ocean depths. Towering over this aquatic volcano was the saurian master beast himself.
For weeks, this undersea volcano had been producing heat radiation. It wasn't his favorite variety, but it had produced enough to fill in the gaps of his diet. But in two weeks' time, Godzilla would be forced to find another of these food sources, this one was about to die out.
As if to answer his call, a strange sense overcame Godzilla. He sensed another power source a few miles back. It almost reminded him of the plasma power he once thrived on. While in no immediate need to replenish his power, he had an immense instinct-driven desire to investigate. He lifted his body upwards, and swam in a crocodilian manner towards the beach he came from just a day ago.
Meanwhile…
The humans looked up at the massive brown reptile in front of them. While not gigantic like the other creatures so far, it was two and a half times the size of a bull Elephant. On its nose was a single horn. The creature's back had a hard carapace, like a turtle's shell, adorned with bony nubs. Its tail was as long as the entire body, supporting an ensemble of spikes.
For this, my friends, was Anguirus.
Nobody dared to move. Their lines had been cut, some of them were about to run out of steam while the rest were completely empty. Their only hope now was to avoid agitating this colossal beast.
"Stay still everyone," Mobilt cried out, "It might just leave if we don't do anything."
The behemoth watched the humans, its eyes large and wide like a child's. In fact, the way it watched them was almost like a kitten seeing a mouse for the first time.
It opened its jaws, letting out a sound like a donkey's bellow mixed with a honk. It flared its nostrils, catching their scent. It stopped, something caught his nose. He turned to face Sasha. He seemed fixated on her, leaning down in what looked like a pouncing position.
It looked like it was about to strike. The creature slowly inched over to Sasha, who tried to activate her gear. As it got closer she realized it was no use. Her tank was completely empty and her lines were too badly damaged. She was trapped, about to be pinned between a tree and a giant monster.
Eren couldn't stand idly by anymore. He wasn't going to allow another teammate to die out here.
"ATTACK!" yelled Eren, "ATTACK BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!"
With the last bit of gas he had, he launched onto the reptile's back, attacking with all his might. Mikasa, Connie, and Armin joined in, sacrificing their gear in order to stop this beast. But as they chopped and slashed the monster in vain, as the creature's carapace was too strong for their blades, the others just stood and watched as Sasha screamed.
"Come on!" Eren yelled, "We have to kill it before it kills her!"
"I... I don't think that's what it's doing…" Hange said, rather surprised.
The four stopped, leaning over to see a genuine surprise.
Sasha was indeed screaming, but not do to pain. Just shock. The creature slid its tongue back and forth against Sasha's body. The monster was…licking her? None of the Survey Corps knew what was going on.
An idea came in the form of something that Armin was kneeling in. he felt a squishy, wet sensation on his right knee. Looking down, he realized he was crouching on a gigantic white flake, covered in a thick clear slime.
He picked it up, feeling he had seen this somewhere before. Then he realized it; the slime had the same feel to it as an egg yolk did. And there's only one place yolk comes from…
"It's an infant!" Armin cried out.
"What?!" cried out Connie, Jean, and Eren all at once.
"This," he said, raising the flake over his head, "is an Eggshell. This thing is a hatchling."
This was quite a shock for everyone, except for Sasha, whom the creature continued to lick.
Meanwhile…
As they walked, the crystals became more frequent. Ymir stayed focused, while Reiner was still silent. He was shaken from his earlier experience, that thing in the fog with its bright glowing eyes.
What was it? Where did it go? All thoughts cruising through his brain. But above all, he couldn't answer one question that bugged him to death….
Why did it feel so familiar?
Those questions had to wait, as they encountered another obstacle; a tall, wall-like crystal formation. It made sense, as the structures became larger and larger as they went deeper into the woods. They had no choice, they had to climb.
Reiner placed his hand on the structure, ready to climb. Fortunately, he had on a pair of gloves, protecting him from the crystal's burn.
"Let's just get moving." He said, paying no mind to the anomaly that just occurred.
At that moment, they heard an oncoming sound, like a hundred horses stamping their hooves at the same moment.
"Start climbing." Reiner said, giving a tone of authority.
They grappled their way up, barely missing the jaws of a new monster, one that emerged from the fog.
Just missing them by a hair, the beast revealed itself to be a grey theropod called Gorosaurus.
Meanwhile…
The Survey Corps had seen many unusual things today, but this was by far the most bizarre thing they had experienced in their lifetime.
Mobilt and Hange were examining the Shockirus corpses. Armin examined the creature's behavior as it chased Sasha, with Jean and Connie supervising. Thanks to Armin's suggestions, they deduced that the creature had for some reason bonded with Sasha.
"So," Jean complained, "Why exactly are we doing this?"
"If my theory is correct," he said, "Since this animal is still young, and most youngsters socialize by playing. So if we let it play for a while, it will tire itself out and let us escape."
His theory wasn't all that off. Anguirus chased Sasha, kind of in the fashion a pup would chase its siblings around the pen. Sasha on the other hand, didn't seem to enjoy having a large reptile chasing after her.
To her fortune, the creature started to doze off, laying down in exhaustion. Pretty soon, it would fall asleep.
Eren was distanced from the group, remaining silent for hours. Mikasa walked up to him.
"Are you going to just sit here all night?" she asked, "Think of what Levi would say to you right now."
"You don't seem to get it do you?" he said, becoming aggravated, "I'm not exactly in a good position right now."
"The mantises are dead," Mikasa reassured, "our mission is complete."
"Complete!?" he yelled, turning to face her with an angry glare. "We just found out that there's more out here than just them. Now we have more monsters living in here, ready to strike us when they want another bite to eat. The only reason we stood a chance before was because of me, and now look at me! My Titan form is GONE!"
He slammed his fist into a nearby tree. He hit it so hard he bled out. Mikasa could see what was going on; without Titans around to take his anger out on, he was becoming more vicious.
"Are you really going to let this get to you?" she said. "Don't forget; you are a soldier. All of that training, all of that determination, none of that should be gone just because you lost one weapon. Shifter or not, you're still Eren Yeager."
Her words were starting to sink in, but they were interrupted by Mobilt's call.
"Everyone, over here!"
The Survey Corps gathered around Hange and Mobilt as they held glass vials of odd liquids.
"We examined all three creature's blood samples." Hange said, "The Manits, the corpse-dwellers, and Sasha's new 'friend.' When we did, we came across this odd chemical in the blood; a preservative."
"You mean like in food?" Jean asked.
"Almost," Mobilt answered. "It's more organic than any I've seen. It seems that it allows cells to stay alive at least forty times the lifespan they normally could."
"Isn't it exciting?" Hange asked.
"That doesn't make any sense," Connie replied, "why would three completely different animals have a preservative in their blood?"
Sasha leaned against the Titan's body, too tired to remember the black swarming creatures inside. But that was the least of her worries at the moment…
Meanwhile…
The Gorosaurus chomped at the air, trying desperately to get the shifters climbing out of his grasp. They reached a point on the wall where the side was completely smooth. They couldn't climb anymore.
The creature stepped back, disappearing into the fog.
"Looks like he gave up," she said, "We have a smart one at last."
She was half right. The creature was indeed smart, but it didn't give up. It backed up, studied its distance, and ran forward. Gaining momentum, Gorosaurus leaped into the air Kangaroo-style, kicking the wall of Crystal with a mighty thud.
The force was enough to shake the wall, loosening chunks of crystal from the large mass. It repeated the process, shaking the wall as it struck again and again.
"Use the grapplers!" Reiner yelled. "It's our only option!"
"The fog is too thick," Ymir called, trying to make her voice heard over the gigantic clashing of Dinosaur claw and crystal. "We can't see the top of the wall. We won't know what to grapple to!"
The Dinosaur's kick seemed to be pretty strong, as it nearly kicked a hole in the gigantic crystal. They had to think fast, otherwise they would be in the belly of Gorosaurus. Then Ymir saw the damage on the wall.
"Wait for the thing to break it," she said, "then we'll go through the hole!"
"Are you insane?!" he called out, "We can't escape that fast."
"We're out of alternatives." She said.
He sighed. She was right, this was their only option. With only two more kicks, the hole was formed.
"NOW!" Reiner yelled.
They grappled onto Goro's back, propelling them forward. Once they received footing on the dino's skin, they ran as quickly as they could, launching another hook outside the wall.
Just missing the dino's jaws they were through. The landing wasn't all that soft, thanks to crystal fragments all around, but they survived with a few scratches and bruises.
"I think," said Reiner, catching his breath. "I think we lost him."
They heard another sound, like two stones grinding onto each other. They looked into the hole they emerged from.
Gorosaurus scratched and squirmed his way through the wall, like a lizard burrowing its way through soil. With one last thrust, the Theropod made its way through. Gorosaurus gazed at his prey.
Before it struck, something in the fog caught hold of its tail. It was a hand that somewhat resembled a human hand. It pulled Gorosaurus into the mist in one swift motion.
Ymir and Reiner watched as the silhouettes of Gorosaurus and this new humanoid creature struggled against one another. Eventually, the humanoid threw Gorosaurus to the ground, pinning him with its foot.
To their horror, the thing jabbed its hand into the Dinosaur's chest. The Theropod's body trashed a little as the thing pulled out what looked to be Gorosaurus's heart. The thing turned its head, glaring those large glowing eyes at the shifters.
The Thing tossed the corpse of its saurian foe, landing by their feet. The Gorosaurus's mouth bubbled with a bloody foam and a large crystal growing from the hole in its chest. The thing then slowly walked off, disappearing completely.
Meanwhile…
The Survey Corps had been walking for a good twenty minutes. Hange had ordered them to retreat back to Tanakibo to restock their supplies. Thanks to the battles here, their Grappling lines had been cut to ribbons, their food depleted, and at least forty percent of their men killed.
On the plus side, they had not seen any more mantises thus far. Also, they managed to capture one of the Shockirus. This live specimen will not only serve as proof to the dangers that dwell here, but also provide a good test subject for study.
But more importantly, they were able to get away from the spiky creature. Who knows what would happen if it followed them back to town. The citizens had enough to worry about already.
As they rode the last of their search horses, a pair of reptilian eyes watched them go by.
"What do you think Levi's reaction will be about all this?" Armin asked Eren, trying to get him to talk again. Alas, to no avail.
"If you ask me," Connie said, "He's going to be pissed. I'm betting he won't like knowing that there's more to this place than giant bugs."
A sudden thud prevented them from going any further. As they prepared for attack, a new monster arose from the wood.
A beast by the name of Varan crashed down, scooping two horses into his large mouth. While it chewed, the humans tried to fight it off with blade and tether, to little avail.
As Armin was flung away by the monster's tail, he landed on a large sack of supplies, probably fell off from one of the devoured horses. He rummaged through the bag and found what he was looking for; signal flares.
He took three of them, aimed carefully, and shot them rapid-fire at the beast. While it wasn't powerful enough to harm the gigantic monitor, it did engulf it in smoke. Frightened and confused, Varan decided it didn't want to fight off these tiny creatures. But it wasn't leaving without a door prize.
As it left the haze it snatched Sasha into his mouth. Still exhausted, all she could do was scream as the large lizard scurried off.
"NO!" Eren shouted.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, something rammed itself into Varan, knocking him into three large trees. The dust cleared revealing the attacker. It was Anguirus. He roared at Varan, signaling that he was not happy with a giant lizard taking off with Sasha.
As Varan struggled to get up, the young monster charged in again, causing Varan to lose his grip on Sasha. Fortunately, her reptilian guardian had caught her in his paw. Thankfully, she was out cold due to shock.
Varan was enraged at this point. Multiple human-sized enemies were one thing, but a single opponent about half his size, he could take on easily.
Varan rushed in, snapping his jaws in Sasha's direction. Anguirus caught Varan's face with is other claw, pushing him away. Anguirus placed Sasha down as Varan came in for another attack. He performed an uppercut using his horn, slicing into Varan's belly. Varan retaliated by pounding on Anguirus's body.
The spikes on his back weren't developed yet, so they weren't enough to keep Varan from repeatedly beating him. Anguirus hunched over, hoping his shell could keep the lizard at bay. He fought back by biting the only thing close enough to him; Varan's leg.
Varan screeched in pain as he struggled against Anguirus's jaws. Varan continually struck Anguirus with his tail. This was painful for Anguirus, but he wouldn't allow Varan to harm Sasha.
The humans turned around to the sound of thundering hooves. Three figures, cloaked in Charcoal-grey robes, thundered in on horseback. They lept over Eren Jean and Armin, landing abruptly. Once they were close enough to the Kaiju, they dismounted.
"Who the hell are these idiots?" Jean shouted, "Get out of there NOW!"
But they ignored him and focused on the two colossi fighting. In unison, they crouched down onto the forest floor.
No one knew what they were doing, but Eren could hear it. The same song he heard last time he was in Titan form filled his head. This time, Varan and Anguirus seemed to respond. Varan backed away from his young opponent and slowly retreated into the forest. Anguirus reared, standing proudly as Varan disappeared. Anguirus bent down, pushing Sasha with his nose to see if she was ok.
The Survey Corps made their way to the hooded figures.
"Alright," yelled Mobilt, "This area is off limits. What are you doing out here?"
The strangers flipped their hoods to reveal themselves. Two of them were women none of them recognized, but the third one was familiar enough.
"Miss Saegusa?!" Cried out Eren. "What are you doing here?"
"We wanted to help," she said, "It's our city too you know."
She turned to her assistants and gave them their orders.
"Lora, Moll," she said, "check her for any injuries."
Moll and Lora nodded and rushed to Sasha's aid. As they examined her Anguirus came closer to the group, practically at Miki's feet. He crouched down with his face to her level.
"What's he doing?" Connie asked.
"Maybe he's found a new favorite." Smirked Jean.
"Simple Telepathy," Miki said, placing her hand on the saurian's nose. "I told him she would be safe with us. Right now he's curious about me."
"You mean you can talk to that thing?" Jean said in disbelief.
"Anguirus." She said.
"What?" Jean asked.
"His name is Anguirus." She replied back. "He just told me."
"Hold on," said Eren, piecing everything together, "You were in my head yesterday. It was during the Mantis attack. You drove off them off."
"You could hear that?" she said with a curious look on her face. "That's never happened before. I don't try to use my powers on other people."
Maybe it's because I'm a Shifter, Eren thought.
"I don't believe any of this," Jean continued. "If you can really control these things, then prove it. Make him do something."
Immediately, Anguirus scooped up Jean with his nose, his jacket caught on his horn as Angurius lifted him into the air. Everyone laughed. Admittedly, after a long day of fighting and terror, they needed this.
"So," she said, "have you boys gotten rid of the Mantises yet?"
"We have," Hange said. "But as you can observe, there's more here than just giant insects. All we found out is that most of them contain a preservative chemical in their bloodstream. But unfortunately, more of these creatures are popping up. We have no idea where their coming from."
"Maybe one of us does know," Armin suggested, gesturing at Anguirus.
Miki nodded, realizing exactly what Armin was talking about. While she placed her hand on Anguirus's face, her assistants had their prognosis. Sasha had been knocked out cold. Other than a broken arm she was fine. Thankfully, they had medical supplies with them in order to treat such things.
"Anything yet?" Mikasa asked.
"Nothing yet," she said, "I might have to dig into his instinctual half."
She remained silent with her eyes closed. She looked as if she was confused.
"I…It's hard to describe in words…" she said. She gestured to Moll and Lora, who took her hand. They in turn stretched out their free hands, looking to the Survey Corps.
"Link hands," said Lora, "and close your eyes. It'll show you what she sees."
At this point, no one had the strength to argue about this. They formed a human circle, linked all the way to Miki herself.
The moment everyone closed their eyes, images began to appear.
They saw a vast, near tropical landscape, full of exotic plants. The wildlife was just as strange. There were two species they recognized; Kamacuras and Varan. Other creatures included dinosaurs, gigantic insects and large birds. Each of them foraging, hunting, and interacting in their own groups.
Then time began to shift, like the images were on fast forward. The land became colder and colder. The animals buried themselves beneath the earth, just before the ice covered everything. Time moved forward again, as the ice melted, giving rise to different kinds of plant life. The creatures once buried emerged from the ground to forage and repopulate as if nothing happened at all. As the images progressed, the cycle repeated. Again and again, the creatures would bury themselves to avoid some kind of climate change or natural disaster, one of which was a meteor.
After about twelve or fourteen times, the cycle stopped. The imagery went to black. Suddenly, an orange light appeared in an immense burst. All the while, a voice screamed in agony.
It burns! The voice yelled, IT BUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRNSSSS!
As the light died out, formations of crystal began to spring up at all angles. In the center, a pair of blazing eyes glared in rage.
Anguirus backed away, cutting the connection. Perhaps he was too frightened of the images to continue.
"What…was all that?" asked Mikassa.
"I Don't know," said Miki, trying to pull herself together.
There was a silence in the forest, except for the gasping by the humans. This silence only lasted for two minutes until it was interrupted.
"Wait…The preservative!" Armin said.
"What do you mean?" asked Hange.
"Alright," Armin said, "you know how insects and reptiles hibernate during the winter?"
"Go on." Said Mobilt.
"What if the creatures here do the same," he continued, "but instead of months, these creatures sleep for centuries?"
"And the preservative keeps them alive long enough to wait for entire climate changes!" Hange said, almost tearing with excitement. "They must've been doing this for generations. Incredible!"
"But wait," said Eren. "If that's the case, then why now? Why now of all times to awaken?"
Everyone paused on this.
"Maybe they didn't choose to awaken now." Answered Armin. "Perhaps something woke them prematurely?"
Armin's theory just opened the door to new dangers. If he was right, then they wouldn't be safe until the source of this disturbance was found.
Meanwhile…
Yimr and Reiner continued walking, following the path the thing had taken. After half an hour, something in the fog stood out.
It was a massive tower, over thirty stories high and composed of the familiar crystals. If it weren't for the thick fog, it would have towered over the forest.
"More crystals?" asked an annoyed Reiner.
Ymir came in closer, examining it.
"This looks old," she said, "not ancient, but a lot older than what we've seen."
"You think this is the source of our problems?" he asked.
Just then, the Thing had reappeared. It looked down upon them from 190 feet, with the same glowing eyes.
Reiner attacked in blind rage, swinging his blades at the clossus's foot. Ymir stayed quiet, like she had seen a ghost.
"Ymir!" he said, "Why won't you-?"
Before he could receive an answer, the Thing had picked Reiner up, slowly bringing him to its face. The creature was scrawny, with barely any skin attached to it at all. All over its body, purple crystals emerged from its flesh. But Reiner's reaction of horror came once he saw the face. That humanoid, near-skeletal face. That familiar face, one he would never forget…
"Berlot?!" he said in shock.
To be continued…
AN: I didn't say I'd give away ALL the answers, so here should be enough till' next time. Next Chapter: more secrets revealed!