-Chapter 38: Trogs-


After their short engagement the scouts returned to unloading and taking stock of their supplies, as well as treating any that had sustained injuries during their confrontation. While most injuries were minor it was important to treat them quickly.

Hange was currently inside their makeshift medical tent further back from the camp, silently observing the scout that was being treated for the minor burns sustained during the battle.

That scout was of course Moses.

He had been the one to set a titan's head ablaze with his gifted blades, The Torches of Alaz Khan. While the act brought the titan down he failed to quickly distance himself, as such his close proximity to the flames resulted in his now reddened face.

Hange continued to observe as the medics brought wet rags and ointments to soothe his skin. While they had numerous training sessions with their new blades this incident, and Mav's cautious words, served well to remind her that the weapons they now wielded were a whole different beast to control.

She decided to leave the medical staff to their work and instead head on back towards the main encampment, where she spotted and approached her person of interest as he was currently scrounging through one of the supply carriages while humming a tune.

"Baya-baya-ba, baya-baya-ba, ba-baya-ba-baya-baba."

She didn't say a word as he continued to gear himself up, simply letting herself be enthralled with his humming. It was always a joy to listen to him, singing songs and tunes he'd heard throughout his long life.

"Ya-ya-ya-yaaaaa, ya-ya-ya-yaaaaaa-ya-ya."

In the time she had discovered a certain habit of his. Whenever there were lyrics he'd either speak or hum them out, and whenever an instrument came up he'd whistle it or mimic the beat. It was amusing seeing how on occasion he'd get really into whatever song he was humming.

Her attention shifted from his humming to the things he was actually strapping along his body. A rather large knapsack, his shotgun Lahkesis, a single shell bandolier, two sets of rope, a headpiece with a candle holder installed, and other adventurous looking necessities. "You sure you're gonna need a pickaxe?"

"You never know." He continued to strap himself with a large hand-crafted satchel, placing some equally large lunchboxes inside.

"Two lunches?" He stopped and stared at the container in his hand, taking her words into serious consideration.

"Your right. Should have brought four." She tried so hard to stifle her giggles. As he said that with no hint of humor or sarcasm. She'd be cut short as the commander's voice rang out across the H.Q.

"Everyone gather around!"

In seconds every able-bodied scout stood at attention, awaiting his words. Seeing them all present and accounted for he began his spiel.

"With our equipment and essentials set up we'll be going into the next stage of this expedition." He placed a map on a table set before him.

"As you all remember we marked numerous locations of interest in our last outing here. We'll be further investigating them for the next few days."

He pointed to an area westward on the map, marked with the word 'big cave'.

"Darius, Hange, your squads will explore the cave system that was located in the west forest. Miche and Dirk, you'll take your squads out to the old ruins…"

For the next few minutes he continued to assign either two or one single squad to their designated areas, till eventually his eyes turned to Hannes and his crew.

"Hannes, the guns will accompany the squads going further south into the forest. No use having our artillery with our giant supports here." The captain gave a thumbs up earning him an approved nod.

"Everyone know your objectives?" He received many confirming nods in response.

"Good, spread and move out!"


-oOo-


Somewhere west of the Southern Giant Forest

Taking the scenic route Hange and Darius' squads traversed through the thick and tall woodlands, traveling quite some distance away from their headquarters. Fortunately their trip was uneventful and lacking in any appearances from their titan foes, the only real danger being the tripping hazards along the undeveloped path.

For those reasons some looked at Maverick with some worry. Both Darius and Hange offered to lighten his load, but were denied, though he made it known that their concern was appreciated. He was no stranger to lifting heavy supplies, made a good living doing such manual labor, even before his first resurrection.

After some further traveling they eventually came across their objective. For a short distance away lied an odd looking hill. With Darius at the lead they walked around the lifted earth revealing a large stone opening.

"Here it is." Darius said, looking deep into the maw-like entrance to the cave. Maverick moved close to get a better look, scratching his beard as he took a gander.

"Certainty spacious… Could make for a temporary abode." He mused, his shotgun resting over his right shoulder.

"We did find some shredded bear fur and bones scattered about. Deer and other small animals mostly."

The large man nodded. No doubt a few members of the Ursidae family had made this opening in the earth a home. He'd certainly made more than plenty of caves like this good places to crash now and again.

Though he wondered why it had been seemingly abandoned. Bears shouldn't have had trouble finding food around these parts, considering titans don't consider any other animals besides humans as targets. It honestly rubbed him the wrong way.

A few theories popped into his head before he refocused on the current task. Hanging his strapped shotgun on his shoulder he took out a small candle for his headlamp, and with a snap of his fingers a small blue flame appeared and danced along his fingers.

No matter how many times they'd seen it, the sight of that enchanting yet dangerous azure flame was always a mesmerizing sight.

Lighting the candle he secured it on the holder of his headgear before taking a lantern secured on his belt and lighting it as well.

"He does know that his entire body glows right?" Muttered one scout to another. The other simply shrugged. Couldn't hurt to have the giant living night light glow a little brighter, especially when they were going into a dark and unexplored part of the outside world.

Taking out their enchanted blades the rest of the scouts followed him, all unanimously making him the lead explorer. Mav of course didn't mind, if anything he preferred it this way.

The inside itself was nothing spectacular, for Mav at least. His teammates however looked around them with varying degrees of wonder, as if they'd never even seen a cave before.

Hange of course was the most exited of them all. She immediately began to inspect every bit of the cave, from the vegetation growing on the walls, the bugs scuttling across the ground, and even the old bones left by its previous residents. As if these bits of nature would tell her the secrets of the universe.

They reached the end of the cave, or so it would seem, as Darius led the group into another opening leading towards the cave's greater interior, which brought that tingly feeling back in Mav's stomach.

"This is as far as we got. Didn't want to risk any of us getting lost in there, or worse."

Stepping towards the opening Mav maneuvered through the opening first, his double barrel firmly pointed at the teeming darkness that surrounded him. Taking a deep breath, he shouted out into the void.

"ECHO!"

"EcHo!"

"Echo."

"Echo…"

"Echo….."

"E..o..…"

A few tense moments passed as he continued to stare off into the darkness, listening for anything to respond to his cry, his comrades holding onto their blades a little tighter as well. Some seconds later he sighed in relief.

"Alright, nothings popping out." The others as well released some sighs as his grip on Lahkesis went limp.

"What were you expecting exactly?" Darius asked. Scratching his beard for a moment Maverick listed off just a few of the many dangerous creatures that could inhabit a cave such as this.

"Ehhh bats, bears, bandits, undead, falmer, crazy inbred cannibals. Etcetera, etcetera."

Some uneasy chuckles sounded from the younger scouts. There were always stories of bandits out in the countryside and forests making caves into their little hideouts, but inbred cannibals?

There were times some wondered if was just messing with them. But those who knew him longer knew the truth.

"Group up. Our combined glow will make traversing inside much easier."

As soon as he said that he felt a pressure on his right side. Looking down he saw his squad leader standing very closely by his side. Looking up at him she gave a small innocent looking smile. Though her eyes told a different story.

"You said to group up." Though he gave a sigh she could tell he secretly enjoyed the feeling, and vice versa.

With Maverick at the lead the two squads began their trip further into the cave. Their combined light sources greatly illuminated the area around them and the passage before them, allowing the scouts to wander with a healthy degree of safety.

Mav would occasionally mark a spot on the wall with a piece of chalk, saying it would serve to track which direction they were going, as well as provide a guide back to towards the entrance should any future explorers find themselves lost.

"So Mav, how experienced would you say you are when it comes to caves?" Darius pondered.

"Pretty experienced." He replied. "Spent a lot of time either exploring in my free time and made a pretty good living mining for materials."

He further elaborated once he saw the intrigued looks from Darius' squad mates.

"While I'm sure you all know about the lucrative business of mining, I personally know some people back then who'd make it a pastime of exploring caves. Squeezing themselves through whatever openings they could, just for the thrills. Called it spelunking."

"Sounds dangerous." Maverick nodded.

"Ohhh, it definitely was. You'd hear all sorts of stories throughout the years of folk getting themselves either lost or getting stuck and the caves, unfortunately for some it would become their tombs."

Some eyes went wide from that statement, looking around their environment with a new sense of carefulness. Reminded them that it wasn't just the titans that could snuff your light out in this world.

They continued at a slow and steady pace, observing their new surroundings. The path would occasionally become rougher but thanks to their resident spelunking expert they were assured that he'd get them through.

And despite the dangers there was an odd sense of beauty inside this dark and dampening cave. Throughout the way some would stop to admire the many unique formations that appeared in the light.

Stalagmites, Mav would call them. He explained that it was a special type of rock that would form from droppings that fell off the cave's ceilings. Said they'd take many, many years to form and grow, the largest he knew grew up to seventy meters.

That little factoid caused some heads to turn. Seventy meters? That was bigger than both the wall and the Colossal Titan!

And this was not the only marvel in the cave. For along the cave's ceiling were other formations Maverick called stalactites. Now this was something that many could understand, as they knew them as the ceiling spikes that'd form on roofs and entrances during the cold winters.

Mav explained that there was a variety of things that a stalactite could form from. Mud, minerals, lava, sinter, and even sand. While some struggled to fully understand the specifics it was an enjoyable listen, deluding some of their previous uncomfortableness inside the cave.

They continued on for what seemed like an hour or so following the demigod as he marked the walls and stopped to answer any curious questions that arose. Till eventually the crew arrived at dividing path.

"Ahh boy." Mav had a feeling they'd run into something like this. "Alright well split up here."

"You sure Mav?" While the feeling in his gut said to keep the group close, he decided to bite the bullet.

"It'll save us on having to go multiple trips." From his pack he took out a coil of rope and chalk to Darius, praying this all wouldn't bite him in the ass later on.

"Once you run out just head back. No point in going any further without markers." The man nodded and secured the items on his person.

"Swell. Alright, see ya in an hour or so."

The two squads wished each other luck as they separated into their respective paths. As Darius' squad ventured into their side Mav had one little word of wisdom to share.

"Watch out for any movements in the shadows! You see something off just shout!"

The warning would echo for a few more times as the squad ventured deeper into the underground labyrinth.


-oOo-


Hange's Squad

Delta chose the right path and kept on chugging through the caves' seemingly ever expansive system. All the while Hange continued to stop and examine the local fungus and fauna that surrounded the cave walls or sate her own curiosity on the dangers Maverick once faced on his many spelunking adventures.

Which of course lead to him telling his squad a short little tale about one of the oddest yet deadly creatures he ever had the displeasure of encountering inside an enclosed space such as the one they were now traversing through.

A creature known and feared by all known as a Creeper.

His description of it was like something out of their collective nightmares. Coated in leafy looking green skin, four legs ending in sharp spikes used for stalking the land, and a ghoulish face that made it look as if it was in utter agony or in utter rage.

Looks aside what shocked them the most was how it attacked. For they were told that this monstrosity had the power to ignite and expand, turn itself into a walking bomb, and true to its name it had an infamous habit of creeping up on any poor wayward traveler it spotted. Not to mention what would occur if it ever got struck by lightning.

"Jeez can't even imagine dealing with something like that." Harold said, hardening his grip on his chainblade.

"Not many could, especially if you ran into one of them inside a cave like this. Best tactic for them was to just jab it repeatedly and quickly back off every time." Flashbacks to those days of old reappeared in his head, as well as the damn hissing.

"You wouldn't even know when it was right behind you, until you heard it start to hiss, and then boom! You either dead or deaf and crippled for the rest of your life." His words made the scouts look over their shoulders, as the darkness looked back at them.

"S-Suppose you were the latter?" Moblit mused.

"Yeah, my left ear never fully recovered after my first run in. My left leg also got pretty messed up from the blast, had to get taken back to a nearby village to get it amputated." A worrisome look formed on Hange's face, to which Maverick gave a soft pat in the back in response.

"No need to fret Hange, the village had a very good healer. Their carpenter also fixed me up with a wooden leg, so it was all good." His words seemed to calm her down back to her normal self as she quit looking so worryingly. Though the thought that her lov-dear squad mate, had received such an injury still made her heart pang.

"Plus, it all worked out in the end. The moment I died I got both my leg and good hearing back." Suppose there was that aspect as well, Hange mused.

"You ever lose your limbs again?" Rashad asked from behind.

His question went unanswered as their giant comrade continued to walk, ducking his head for the occasional stalactite. Rashad asked once again only to receive more silence, which should have answered his question.

Their leader softly chuckled while elbowing his arm. Maverick only continued to smile along as he kept his pace. Couldn't exactly lie to them, so keeping silent was the next best thing.

All the while that feeling in his gut continued to rumble. He'd simply strengthened his grip on Lahkesis in response. If anything happened, he'd be ready.

For the next few minutes they continued to move forwards and mark their progress along the surrounding cave's wall, until Maverick's pace began to suddenly slow down, nearly causing Moblit and the others behind him to collide with one another.

"You hear something Mav?" Hange asked while pulling on his jacket sleeve. A few short seconds passed before he spoke in a clear tone.

"Water"

"Huh?" He pointed further into the dark passage.

"There's water running through the caves, its close by." Wasting no time the squad traversed the trail at a quicker pace, still weary of any hazards along the way but a clear sense of intrigue was felt in all of them.

"Think I'm starting to hear it." Harold spoke. The others nodded and spoke out in agreement, as they too began to hear the sound of running water.

It didn't take long for them to discover the source as the moment they exited the long tunnel they arrived at a spacious opening. Following the sound of flowing water the scouts were met with the sound of splashes and a feeling of their shoes sinking into something moist.

Everyone but Maverick was surprised to see they were stepping in what looked to be the less deep end of an underground lake. Moving further in revealed that this body of water was much deeper than initially thought, as the level began to rise up and nearly overtake their shin-high boots.

Further beyond they could make out the sight of a waterfall, flowing a constant stream of water down into the lake. Patches of cavern vegetation was also spotted along the lakeside, giving this spot a sort of 'hidden oasis' appearance.

"Must be underneath one of the rivers." Maverick mused. Question was, which in all the nine circles were they exactly? Taking out a compass from his jacket pocket he attempted to deduce which direction they were in, while Hange and the others explored the subterranean water hole.

"Wow, to think that a place like this could exist all the way down here…" Harold spoke with wonder, a sentiment shared by the others in the squad.

"A nice little rest stop, right?" Hange nodded vigorously to Moblit's remark as she continued to take in everything that her glowing blades could provide.

"And just think of the practicality! If this system expands further, then we might just have ourselves an entire underground passageway!" Plans for the future were already beginning to form in her mind.

"If we can get this developed early then we can start transporting supplies and personnel in no time!" Turning she could see Maverick still looking over something in his hands.

"Watcha doing?" Looking down Mav presented her with the compass.

"Looking to see our current direction at the moment." Taking it she looked to see that the needle was pointed northeast. She took that knowledge into account for future expansion plans. Though before she could inquire further the sound of Abel and Keiji's screams sounded off.

"The hell/What the?!"

"Boys?"

"There's something in the water!"

"What?" Everyone stopped what they were doing to see what the two juniors were on about. Abel held his glowing blade over the water in hopes that whatever they saw would make itself known once more, with Keiji acting as his point man.

"There, look!" Seeing where Keiji was pointing, they could make out something in the water moving about.

"Just a- The hell?" This was the response of the others as the "something" was revealed to be a fish swimming along the riverbed, a very unique looking fish.

"Let me see!" Hange lightly pushed Keiji and Abel aside to get a better look at the odd-looking water dweller. "Ohhhh…"

And an odd-looking fish it was. While it maintained its distance from the light their blade's emitted Hange was still able to make out its appearance.

It was slender in shape, with a completely pale complexion, save for a few red markings along its body, and it eyes looked to be glazed over, or barely visible at all. To her the little fish looked rather sickly, yet it seemed to swim just fine.

"What's wrong with them?" Harold asked once getting a better look and noticing the little fish wasn't alone.

"Are they dying?"

"Never seen a fish that color before."

"Think they're edible?"

"Why don't you take one for the team Goggles?"

"Eh?!"

"Mav, your experienced. The hell are these?" Calmy walking up from behind the squad the man lowered down to see these odd fish.

"Oh, they're trogs."

His confident tone caused a bit of silence to pass among the group, as that was the first time any of them had heard of such a term.

"Say again?"

"They're trogs. Troglobites if you want to be specific." He explained. "They're animals that have adapted to live in underground and really dark areas, just like these caves."

That certainly made it easier to understand. As this new information processed in their heads the giant stepped further towards the lake, his glowing figure illuminating more of the lake, showing the group the many more types of 'trogs' swimming about.

"Generations of living in this environment have led to certain…changes, as you can see from these fish." As he continued to speak about their traits, such as their loss of eyesight and loss of skin pigmentation, the crew looked at the wildlife with a new sense of wonder. To think that these devolved creatures once lived up on the rivers above long ago.

"Must have been more than a dozen to look like this." Maverick chuckled as he placed his hand over Rashad's shoulder.

"Oh way more than that bud. Try a couple thousand gens."

Thousands of generations. To think that these creatures were surviving and thriving for so long, while their species was on the near verge of extinction for not even a fraction of that time, brought a certain sense of envy from some in the squad.

"Hey Mav, look, look!" Turning to the voice he saw that Hange had made her way near the waterfall thanks to some nearby rocks. Carefully making his way to her he leaned in close to the waterfall to get a closer look.

"Ohhh, a cave angelfish. Haven't seen these in a very long time." The sight of the three pink colored trogs made his brows raise up in surprise. The last time he ever saw this species was while vacationing back in Thailand and in other similar and alternate southeastern lands. Just how on earth did they make it here? Was their land a similar landmass?

Suppose he would just add this to his ever-expanding list of questions he had about his new homeland. Questions he'd get to the bottom of, once the giants were taken care of.

"How are they able to stay like that?" Hange asked watching with joy as the fish shimmied across the wet cave wall. Taken out of his brooding thoughts he informed his dear leader on these marvelous creatures, while taking a bite out of one of his prepacked sandwiches.

"Ah, well see they have these small little hooks in their fins that help them stick to the wall." She let out an intrigued "ahhh" as she unconsciously leaned into Maverick's body.

"And how do they eat if they can't see?" Once more he had a seemingly simple answer.

"They can sense the tiny bacteria that flows down that waterfall. Once they do, they just open wide and let it all flow in."

The two continued to observe the wall climbers, unaware of the intrigued look Moblit was giving them behind their backs.

Ever since the last winter he and pretty much everyone had noticed just how more…open, Hange was with Maverick. Maverick likewise didn't seem to show any hesitance to her behavior, if anything he enjoyed it. Clearly the two held a fondness for one another, which had only grown over time.

"Oi Moblit, watcha doing over there?" Moblit was surprised to see the man turn to him, as if he knew he was watching from behind. "Come take a look at them."

With a smile he began to approach, a notebook in hand to record their findings. Until one of their juniors called out.

"Uhhh, Mav, Sir?"

Hearing Abel's worrisome voice brought back that gut feeling as he turned back to meet the boy, who held something in his hands.

"I uhm…found this near the wall over there…" Slowly handing it into Mav's giant hands he took only a moment to examine the oddity before his eyes narrowed.

For in his hands was the broken remains of a wooden bowl. While age and decay had clearly taken its toll on it, the shape and form were still recognizable.

"Found some more by that corner over there, cups too." His squad mates looked at Abel with equally aghast looks. "Guess fish and bugs weren't the only creatures down here."

Maverick didn't respond as he practically cradled the bowl in his hand, as if it would shatter at any moment. He couldn't deduce this evidence for long as a sudden and spine-tingling noise echoed out across the cave.

"Aaahhh…."

"The hell?!" The squad turned in the direction of the feint voice which of course was in the direction from whence they came. There was no need to guess as to whose voice was heard.

'One of Darius' boys.'

Wasting no time Maverick quickly began to gather up his belongings and bring Lahkesis to arms.

"Pack it up people were going back!" He didn't need to tell them twice as everyone began to gear up and make their way back through the tunnel entrance.


-oOo-


Left side tunnel, a few moments later…

Quickly traversing through the marked path set by the other squad Mav and the others made their way through the tunnel, hoping to reach the other squad. All the while he cursed himself for even thinking that splitting the squad up was a good idea.

"Darius?! Darius!" Hange shouted into the dark void beyond, receiving no answer.

"Sound off Darius!" Maverick's abnormal vocals caused the cave around them to shake as his voice echoed all throughout the tunnel. His attempt bared better fruit, as in a few moments a response quickly sounded out.

"We're all here!"

It was a relief to all, for they had assumed the worst had occurred. Making their way through the tunnel path the squad arrived at a large opening much similar to the one they found on the right.

Darius was there to greet them, though the look on his face at the moment was less than comforting.

"We heard one of you screaming, what happened?" Sighing he directed them to one of their junior members, who was currently sitting down on a rock while being treated by the squad's medic.

"Konrad…stumbled down a lower section of the cave floor." Maverick held a worried look and was about to see to the poor scout before Darius' stopped him.

"He's alright, he managed to hook his anchor on the ceiling and stop himself just before he could hit the ground hard, but…" He shook his head, for it was still difficult to put into words.

"Just, see for yourself…"

Doing just that the members of Delta walked towards the seeming edge of the ground, while noticing the many remains of cups and bowls along the walls of the cave just like their side.

While the others held shocked looks Maverick himself wasn't nearly as startled. For this was a sight he wasn't unused to, having experienced such sights many a times.

Making it to the spot Maverick decided to go first, to which a sudden sinking feeling began to erupt inside him, as he had a strong feeling about what lied below. With careful steps he descended down the path, until his feet collided against a skull, a human skull.

"*Sigh* God…"

"Mav? What's do you see?" Hange asked with a weary tone. Slowly turning around Mav showed his squad mates what had been discovered, his glowing body illuminating the surrounding skeletal corpses surrounding him. It was more than enough for them to let out a few horrified gasps.

For they had found clear proof that they were not the first humans to descend this cave.


-oOo-


Forest H.Q sometime later…

Hange and Darius' squads returned from their trip to the underground, with many noticing the less than pleasant looks from the scouts, including their resident giant, whose glow seemed dimmer than usual.

Though once they made their report to the commander, it was quite understandable why they had returned in with such dower moods.

"A suicide pit?" He repeated, believing to have heard Maverick wrong. He received multiple nodding heads from his teammates in response, confirming it. The other squad leaders in attendance looked quite shocked as well.

"How many?" Erwin asked.

"Counted three dozen skulls all together Sir." A sigh left Maverick's lip as he revealed a rather unpleasant detail. "A dozen of them were…smaller than the others."

The gathered scouts were left in silence, with some even clutching their hands over their hearts. Erwin felt his heart drop slightly as well, but managed to keep his emotions, and tone in check before inquiring further.

"Have you deduced any possible causes?" Taking out something from his satchel Mav presented a few shiv-like stones and a cracked ceramic bottle.

"Found some sharpened pieces of stone and rocks near some of them. Also found these small bottles around the pit."

Erwin inspected the makeshift knife, while Miche took the bottle and took a whiff.

"Eugh."

Whatever contents was once in there was certainly both foul and toxic. No doubt made with whatever these poor souls could scavenge from their 'home.'

"My deduction? These people hid in the caves to escape the titans and took refuge." Mav took one of the shivs, running his fingers along the short edge while he talked, his voice taking a more morbid tone.

"Of course they couldn't sustain themselves for long, and so they…went out on their own terms."

There was complete silence among the gathered, as they silently agreed with Mav's assessment. While it a saddening thought to think, it was certainly the most likely cause of these people's demise. Erwin himself couldn't think of any other reason. Though he knew long ago the government would exile high ranking criminals (and troublesome individuals) outside the Walls, what Maverick and the others discovered was certainly not the same situation.

"Unfortunate." Erwin finally said, his tone remaining as neutral as he could. "But it might possibly to coincide with Miche's discoveries."

All heads turned to the tall scout who presented a wrapped object onto the planning table.

"Found these on the ground near the ruins."

He gestured for Maverick to unwrap the cloth, to which he was surprised to see something from both his worlds ancient history, as well as a tool he once used long ago in the colosseums and battlegrounds of that old empire.

"A Spatha?"

Despite the rust along its broken blade, and the clear wear and tear from being exposed to the elements for God knows how long, its knobbed hilt and circular pommel were still recognizable. Even some markings along the blade were visible, no doubt this had to be wielded by a high-ranking soldier.

"Along with some other weapons and remains scattered around." Miche presented a broken spear point, as well as another short sword in slightly better condition.

"These have to be our ancestors! Why else would this stuff even be out here?" Dirk took the words out of everyone's mouths. Upon further discussion the common theory shared by all was that these must have been those unlucky to escape the titans, and either chose to fight to the bitter end or as Mav said leave the world in their own terms.

Though both Erwin and Mav chose to keep an open mind on the matter, as there were still plenty of land beyond them to explore, ripe with evidence of this world's possible ancestry.

"Anything else to report?" Hange stepped up to inform the commander of their other findings.

"We found an underground lake inside the cave. And the path beyond only seems to go further." Readjusting her goggles she continued on, her voice lacking any of her usual upbeat or elated tones.

"I purpose that we continue to explore this cave system Sir. We could use the network to traverse the land and send supplies and troops whenever necessary." The commander scratched his chin, contemplating the pros and cons of this possible venture. As usual she presented him with a very lucrative but time-consuming idea.

"Certainly promising. Though it will take time before we can fully map out this new system. I imagine you didn't venture further after your discovery?" The members of Hange and Darius' squad all nodded.

"We'll put this idea in the backburner for now, at least until we can further develop this base." With that Erwin requested the reports from the rest of the squad leaders before concluding their little meeting.

Maverick remained quiet as he walked alongside his squad mates, as after the meeting there was a gnawing thought in his head that told him what needed to be done straight after finding the pit. While he didn't sense any wayward spirits, it was important to do this if they were ever going to utilize the cave in the future.

Heading to the supply cart he picked up a few more candles, a bottle of water, and some pieces of wood and nails that were originally meant for the construction of their tree forts. All the while his squad leader curiously watched him.

"You going back Mav?" Turning his head he gave her a firm nod.

"Gonna go exorcise that section of the cave, before I close it off." Hange nodded as she kept pace with him. Until he was stopped by the others who looked rather concerned.

"You okay?" Moblit asked. He received a long sigh and nod from the giant, his glowing eyes half lidded.

"Yeah….just, it's always a sad sight to see. Especially the younger ones."

The others voiced their agreements. Some in the squad still couldn't get rid of that dreadful feeling once they saw the many skeletal remains, nor the feeling that they were being watched. Some even thought the skulls followed them as they moved.

"Can't imagine what those poor babies went through." Hange said while holding her arms together. She hoped that their end was quick and painless. The others felt similar sentiments as there was no worse thing that a child's suffering, especially due to events beyond their control.

"You gonna be fine by yourself Sir?" Keiji asked.

"That was the plan, unless any of you wish to join me?"

Of course they would join him, they all said. Not only would it allow them to glimpse into one of his more faith bound abilities, but the act of purifying an unhallowed ground was always better with friends, at least they believed so.

A small smile formed on Mav's mustached face, as it brought him comfort to see that they wish to participate in his endeavors. While he could do this by himself, it was nice to know someone had his back.


-The Titan Slayer: A Study-

Powers and Abilities

-Azure Flames: Thanks in part to the blessings of many fire deities Maverick holds an ability to turn himself into a living inferno by summoning and wielding an enchanting yet dangerous blue fire from either his fingertips, hands, arms, and eve spew it from his own mouth based on some eyewitness reports. Based on multiple studies the flames base heat temperature tends to vary depending on their use, be it used to light a campfire to burning down entire acres of land. The highest heat temperature recorded to date holds up to three thousand degrees Celsius.

-Exorcism: With the blessings of the Almighty Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and other similar high ranking deities Maverick holds the ability to cleanse and purge areas that have either become infested or hold high concentrations of impure or malevolent spiritual forces by evicting them through the use of ritualistic chants and items or invoking the names of the holy powers above.

While generally used for devious and demonic spirits, lost or generally noncombative spirits are also affected, as this process can allow them to be communed with and assisted, finally being able to be put to rest and ascend towards a higher and peaceful plane of existence.


A/N: I should have said this in the last one, but I'm currently vacationing with the family, so updates might be a little slower than usual. Not to mention having to re-read the chapter for the sake of finding any errors in spellings and what-not.

Anyways, it seems that the scouts have uncovered a very shocking clue about the possible history of their land. What other shocking discoveries will they uncover the more they explore the outside world? Will these findings allow the Survey Corps to fill in the puzzles and find out about the truth about why they're here? Will I actually be able to pull this off? Time will tell.

Until next time.