"You're an idiot!" Jean exclaimed.

"I agree with Jean." Armin folded his arms.

"You're dumb." Mumbled a girl with a steamed potato in her mouth.

"Why are you insulting me?" Jason asked her.

Jean threw his hands up. "Sasha's right! You can't go out there to learn how to use ODM gear. With the parameters Captain Levi has given you, you'll die for sure!"

Jason exhaled. "Listen, I know my way around military equipment. And flying isn't new for me. I'll pick it up quick."

Jean made a contorted face. He tried to say something but failed to articulate the words. He decided to pull his hair out in anger instead.

"Jason." Armin began. "This is too reckless. I don't know where you come from, but when people die here they stay dead. We've lost a lot of friends to the titans. I'm not ready to lose another."

Jason, glad that Armin saw him as a friend, reassured him. "I'm not going to die. Danger is something I'm used to. I promise I'll stay safe."

Eren, the green eyed boy from earlier, approached them. "Why are you doing this?" He asked. Jason turned to him. "To keep Jean and Armin safe. I owe them my life."

Eren examined him for a moment. "I'm sorry." He began, "It seems that I've misjudged you. It's just recently…" He looked down.

He looked unsure of himself. In the earlier conversation, Eren was the one defending those they suspected the most to be the titan shifters. But Jason was there when Reiner asked where he was in the formation, and when he broke out of the titans hand. And Armin was right about most things.

"I don't blame you." Jason began, "A friend of mine had someone close to her betray her as well. He was friends with her for a very long time. He started a war that killed most of her friends and many of my allies as well."

Jean, Armin, and the Potatoe girl were now paying attention.

"Like Hange said earlier, we don't have solid proof that Reiner is a traitor." Jason gave Eren a hard look, "But this is war. If you let your feelings get in the way, the enemy will have you right where they want you."

Eren looked at him wide eyed.

"Eren?" The girl with the red scarf intervened. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

Eren shook his head from whatever he was thinking about. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll stick with Armin and the others."

The red scarfed girl glared at Jason. She really doesn't like me. But her interruption reminded him of something.

"Oh! Before I forget. Eren, potato girl, can you take care of these two in my absence?" Jason gestured to both Jean and Armin. With the potato still in her mouth, the girl pointed to herself questioningly. Eren tilted his head.

Jean grabbed his sword hilt. "Forget the Captain, I'm gonna kill him myself." Armin stood in front of Jean. "We just saved him! We can't kill him now."

Eren asked, "You want me and Sasha to protect them? Why?" The red scarfed girl was also interested.

Jason looked to Eren and pointed to Sasha, "Well you can turn into a giant, and she's an archer."

The girl gulped her food. "How did you know?" she asked.

Jason held out his fingers. "The scars on your fingers. Those who pull on bowstring regularly cut themselves on their thumb, pointer and ring fingers."

Sasha looked at her right hand. The others closed in, looking at her scars. "He's right." Jean exclaimed.

"From what I can tell you're pretty experienced. Did you grow up hunting?"

Before Sasha could answer, Moblit called out to his new team. "Ackerman! Grace! We're heading out!"

Jason started heading out, "Anyways, look out for them for me. I'll be back as soon as I can." He ran towards Moblit. "Eren, be careful." The red scarfed girl gave her last goodbye, "I'll see you all at Wall Rose."

"See you soon." Armin called out to them.

The four scouts watched the team head out of the building.

Sasha lamented at her hand. "I didn't even notice I had these scars."

Levi, who had been watching the conversation from a distance, kept his thoughts to himself.

Jason was currently upside down. He was hanging from one of the wires stuck to the tree. This was the third time in a row this had happened.

Mikasa and Moblit approached with their horses. Even though they had left half an hour earlier to teach Jason the basics of ODM gear, Hanges team had already passed them on the road. Jason could see the torches lit in the distance. The three were about to be left behind in the dark.

"Jason!" Moblit yelled, "We have to keep moving. I don't want to leave you behind!" He kept riding.

Mikasa on the other hand stayed below him. Moblit looked behind him. "We'll catch up!" She called out to him. "Leave a trail for us to follow the main group!"

"Wha.. Ackerman!"

She had gotten out of her saddle and stood under the hanging demigod.

"Hello." He said awkwardly.

She had no expression on her face.

She grabbed one of her blades and threw it at the hook that was currently hanging him. Jason fell and hit his head on the root of the tree. Miraculously, he didn't knock out.

Moblit had returned to his original spot.

"Ackerman! Get back on your horse. Captain Levi ordered us to put the mission first."

She looked back at him.

"Him running after us on horseback is not going to help him understand how to use the equipment. Give me ten minutes sir, and I promise we'll catch up with the others."

Moblit gave an anxious face. He looked to the sky. Clouds were covering the moon. "You have five minutes! After that, we leave him behind as ordered."

He kept his distance on the treeline, and waited patiently on his steed.

The girl pointed at her knife that was stuck in the tree, "Grab my blade and give it back to me."

Jason didn't know what to think of the situation. He was alone with a girl that didn't like him, and possibly man eating monsters. Just another Tuesday.

He decided to ignore those thoughts and focus on the task at hand. Grab the blade.

He took a couple of steps back from the tree. Giving himself a running start, he jumped towards the blade, pulling the trigger that would release his right hook. Then he pulled the other trigger to give him the extra boost of air he needed. All of a sudden, he shot past his target and found himself hanging from another tree branch. This time his leg was tangled up in the wire.

The red scarf came under him again. "You used too much gas." She threw another blade, this time cutting the branch that was holding him. He fell again.

Jason sat with both hands holding his head.

"This was so much easier when I asked the winds to carry me." He lamented.

"You say that as if it's true." Mikasa walked past him. She grabbed the second blade and placed it back in the box on her hip.

"It is true!" He yelled to no one in particular. "I used to be able to fly, summon storms, call lightning strikes, and if I was in the mood, tornados too. Now I'm just moderately fast." He laid on the ground in frustration.

Mikasa was looking at him. Her face was upside down.

"You asked the wind to carry you?"

"Yes. They were friends with my Dad. Doing him a favor and what not." He waved his hand around like that was obvious.

Mikasa went back to the tree. "Well that's your problem. You are used to a certain type of 3D maneuvering."

Jason sat up. "You believe me?"

"No," She gave him a deadpanned look, "but I need something to work with."

She thought about it for a bit.

"Was gravity ever an issue for you?"

Jason untangled the wire from his leg. "Of course it was. I've fallen from the sky more times than I can count."

"No, I mean constant gravity."

Jason tilted his head. Then it hit him. When he used to have the ability to fly, he never had to worry about falling, at least not when a wind spirit was helping him. Wind spirits were always keeping him constantly afloat, so of course ODM gear felt off. I'm riding a bicycle without its training wheels.

"I still have my training wheels on!" He jumped up at the realization. He took a few steps back from his target. Mikasa, seeing the determination in his eyes, took a couple of steps back as well. Moblit kept his eyeline in the distance.

Jason ran towards the tree.

Remember the gravity pulling on you. Remember.. Gravity!

Repeating the same motion as before, he pulled the trigger to fire the grappling hook. Then he hit the other trigger to fire the gas from his left side. Too much air! But that's okay! Remember the gravity.

Jason pushed himself past the tree, released the right grappling hook and dived, something he was familiar with. He then pushed the trigger to release the left hook to bring him back to the blade. He landed back to where he originally stood, releasing the hook.

He stood up with a cheeky smile. Jason had attached the blade to his hilt without slowing down. He looked at his newly found sword. Mikasa, proud of her work, turned towards her horse. Jason, excited to fly again, pushed the triggers and flew past Mikasa.

"HEY!" She yelled at him. "You're wasting gas! Slow down!"

"GRACE!" Moblit yelled behind him, but Jason was too excited to listen to either of them. The demigod hadn't flown in over a week. He never thought he would miss it this much.

Armin was riding his horse through a particularly dark night. He was alone on the left flank with Superior Officer Nifa riding a few paces in front of him. The scouts were using the same formation they had used outside the walls, however, due to it being night time, the formation was on a much smaller scale. It was less likely for titans to attack at night, and this was the only way they could see the torches while riding.

It was for these reasons that Armin thought Captain Levi accepted Jason's request. But it was only after they left Ehrmich that Armin began to think otherwise. In Ehrmich, Armin had overheard a conversation that Executive Officer Moblit had with the Captain.

While Mikasa was helping Jason wear the ODM gear (she mostly just stood there), Moblit pulled Levi to the side.

"Captain, why are you allowing this? Even if it is night time, if somehow a titan appeared…" He didn't finish his thought.

Levi narrowed his eyes at Moblit.

"It's not impossible for one to teach themselves how to use our equipment. It's how I learned."

Both Armin and Moblit were shocked. "I had no idea sir."

"Listen, Moblit." Levi began, "If you think there is any chance that he can learn quickly, you give it to him. He may not look like it, but he's a trained soldier. Probably more experienced and trained than all the new cadets combined."

Levi then pointed at him. "But don't misunderstand. I really did mean it when I told you to leave him behind. You and the girl's life are more important than some idiot's temper tantrum. You understand. I'm leaving it to you to make the judgment call."

Moblit nodded his head. "I'll do my best sir."

Armin, back on his horse, wondered what the captain meant by his words.

It took Armin and the others three years of training to master this equipment, and even then some were better then others. Mikasa and Jean were the best at using ODM gear. Now that I think about it, Reiner, Annie, and Berthod were also really talented at using the equipment. Maybe, like Jason, they had prior training?

Even so, it took all of them three years to master it, just like the rest of us. What makes Jason so different?

"Armin. Armin!" Nifa turned with her peach colored bangs.

"Yes!" He looked up, noticing her serious expression. Officer Nifa was always nice with the new cadets, and was one of the few veterans that called them by their first names. But now was not the time for pleasantries.

"A titan, on our left! We'll take it down!" She pulled out her blades. "Please act as a decoy!"

"Yes ma'am!" Armin saw the titan approaching. Luckily, it wasn't an aberrant, but it looked to be eight or nine meters tall. Surprisingly, Armin wasn't shaking. He thought he would be scared, but he felt he was ready. He had heard that the most important thing for a Scout is to survive their first expedition. And our first expedition was insane.

Before they got in position, the two heard a yell from above them. Armin looked to the source, and was shocked by what he saw.

With the moon light illuminating the night sky, Armin saw a body flying into the air. The body was accelerating into the sky, using the gas from his ODM tank. He was yelling in elation. As he cut off his gas, he flipped in midair. Armin then saw the face of this mad man.

Jason began diving towards their general direction. He whooped as he fell. Then a wire shot out of his equipment onto the titan that was approaching the formation. He then increased his speed aiming for his target with only one blade.

Where is the other blade?!

Armin couldn't see the attack on the titan, Jason was too fast. When he landed, it felt like a thunderbolt had hit the ground. Smoke was covering where the titans head used to be. The head had rolled a couple paces away from Jason and the body. He had decapitated the body. Above the nape.

"Change of plans! Grab the kid!" Nifa doubled back to finish off the titan. Armin turned around and tried to reach Jason. Jason, noticing Armin, waved to him.

"HEY! I did it, Armin! I…!" The headless titan grabbed his left arm. Jason looked back. The titan was about to throw him, but Jason's reflexes were too quick. He cut the fingers grabbing his hand with his blade and ran straight to Armin.

Officer Nifa jumped out of her saddle and successfully cut the nape of the monster with a natural efficiency. She landed behind the carcass that was steaming away. Jason slowed down and looked behind him. Armin rode up next to him and offered an arm.

"Juno's feathers! These things are hard to kill." He climbed the horse. "Thanks."

Nifa returned to her horse and rode up next to them. "I would give you a hundred lectures on how you almost killed three people just now, but we don't have the time. We need to return to the formation." She rode ahead.

Jason chuckled nervously. "I can already hear the lecture Levi is going to give me."

Armin rode after her. "You think this is a joke? We.. you could have died!"

Jason stayed silent.

"I'm sorry." The boy paused, "Percy and Leo used to joke all the time. I guess… I guess I just missed that."

Armin rode quietly through the night. He kept forgetting that Jason had lost his home when he arrived here. He thought about what his life would be like without Eren and Mikasa. He shook his head at the thought. I don't want to think about that.

He looked behind him, ready to reconcile, until he saw his face closely. Jason had a bunch of scratches and a bruise on his left eye.

"What happened to your face?!"

Jason looked back with electric blue eyes, one of them now swelling up. "I suggested to Mikasa I try and carry her to help me learn how to use ODM gear (I seem to fly better when I carry people)." He exhaled, "She did not like the suggestion."

Armin looked at him, mouth agape. His gaze returned to the road.

"You are either the dumbest person alive, or bravest person I know."