Chapter 30: Soldier.

It was like Shinganshina coming back to Gohan all over again when he observed the devastation of Ragoko, Connie's villaige. The helplessness that took his mind when he was unable to help those in needs, now returned. He was a fighter, a Super Saiyan who could destroy planets with ease, let alone the Titan, he had killed Cell for crying out loud. But in this moment ,he couldn't even walked properly and the moment he gone to this world he could even able to fly, much less turning Super Saiyan.

The Monkey Boy rested his back on a house and watched his teammates searched the village. Since they trusted Gohan's energy sensing and the fact that he couldn't sense any human in the area, the squad abandoned their search for survival, instead they searched for torches for the night and villagers' bodies.

"Hey, how you doing, Gohan?" Nanaba approached him.

"I'm fine. Albeit being injured!" Answered Gohan.

"I bet you can't sense corpse either, because we find none here." The veteran scout joined Gohan in resting her back on the same building. "Not even a speck of blood."

"Dead people don't generate energy. Could it be that they fled, that they evacuated before the Titans came?" He already doubted his questions.

"Didn't you say that you couldn't sense any survivor? C'mon, look at the desolations in this town. Why would Titans attack empty houses? And if the villagers escaped, why there are so many horses tied up in the town stables?"

Gohan smacked his forehead "I don't even know what the HFIL is going on anymore! A whole village just vanished."

"Oh , I almost forget." Then Nanaba realized something she almost forgot to ask him . "Do you sure about Mike?"

"Unless he can hide his energy, which is unlikely, I think he's gone." Nanaba flinched when she heard the confirmation, a valuable member of the Survey Corps had been killed in action.

"Well, I won't be the one breaking the news to Ilse!" Her mentioned about the suffer of the living made Gohan collapsed from the wall. "Oh ,shit! You okay?"

"Damn it, every times!" Nanaba brought Gohan back to his feet and sat him down as he ranted. "Shiganshina, Wall Maria, Trost and now here? Why do people just lose their lives the exact moment I'm at my most helpless state?"

"Wait a moment , didn't you save a ton of people back at Trost?" Retorted Nanaba ,her eyes widened when Gohan listed the district as one of his failures.

"Not everyone. Not the Garrison Vanguards. Captain Anton and the others. I could have saved them but…' He covered his face in disgust ,never in his live he hated him for being so useless right now.

"You can't blame yourself for something you can't control ,kid!" Nanaba shook her head, this kid just like to blame himself for everything.

"There is something I could've controlled." He slid his back down from the wall to sit himself right down. "When I was at the breach of Trost, after the rest of Vanguards were wiped out, I stayed and kept the Titans at bay. And then reinforcement arrived, one of them told me to fall back , so I did. But I shouldn't have."
"Why not?" Puzzled Nanaba.

"Because when I did, more Titans got inside, more people died,including the soldiers who replaced me. They would have lived if I'd stayed. No more would have laid down their lives if I hadn't blindly followed orders." He sighed as he had flashback of his first battle, his very first battle ever since he got stranded to this world.

"And Mike would still l be with us if he's listened to you?" Retorted Nanaba. "Answer me this: Do you think you would make better decisions if you were in their shoes?"

"I know my own limits and I know everyone else's . So, Yeah?" Answered Gohan to Nanaba frustration.

"Well, perhaps we should recommend you to Commander Erwin to be squad leader,then?" Replied Nanaba, Gohan did not know whether or not she was being sarcastic . "Well, actually, I wouldn't mind if you're our squad leader."

Gohan was about to reply her but then he cancelled the attempt when he saw others had returned. Their faces looked astounded, especially Lynne ,Gelgar and Henning. The recruits held one or two unlit torches on theirs hand, Gohan noticed that Connie's eyes were full of tears.

"Found something I didn't?" Gelgar shook his head when Nanaba asked.

"No sign of a carnage!" Said Gelgar,then he looked back to the recruits. "Anyone not have a torch? Time to move. We spent 'nuff time here. Let's head to the Walls and check on the breach."

"Hoover! It's your turn to take charge of Son, get to it!" Berthold nodded to Nanaba's order and went to help Gohan on his horse.

The Survey Corps gathered round in the Stohess District right after that heard the news about the breach in Wall Rose, most of them already on horsebacks . They couldn't believed it when they heard Tomas told them new, that humanity had lost another wall, they were losing lands day by days. The Survey Corps were low in morale, why could they not? It seemed that all their efforts were for nothing the exact moment Wall Rose was breached by Titans.

The Special Operation Squad , Levi's squad, however, had another thought on their minds.

"Okay, shouldn't Gohan be here by now?"Exclaimed Petra, she got all uppity when they heard the news and she saw no Gohan followed the four couriers to Sina. "What the hell's Mike thinking?"

"Yeah, if the Titans've breached Rose, the woundeds should be evacuated first." Added Oulo. "And the tailed freak is wounded, there's no reason for him not to be in Sina."

"Stop calling him that." Blustered Petra when she heard the word 'tailed freak'.

"My money is on the possibility that the Monkey Boy insisted to stay." The squad's jaws dropped when they heard their captain.

"Cap, why would he do that? Is he crazy? He can't fight with injuries like that!" Retorted Petra, she now worried for the boy's well-being more than ever.

"I'm sure that he knows he can't fight. I think he wants to help by utilizing that stupid Ki Sensing." Replied Levi, commenting of the downside of his newfound ability.

"That does sound like him." Remarked Gunther. He lighted up his torch and then did the same to Petra's

"I don't care if he helps or not. Just want him to be okay." She stared at the fire.

Did not want to continue the conversation further, Captain Levi turned his head to see that Hange had arrived, following her was Pastor Nick. The captain rode to her direction as soon as he located where she was going.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Took longer to prepare than I thought." Said Hange as she and Nick got onto the cart that Armin, Eren and Mikasa were on. Just as she settled down ,she heard galloping to her direction and she noticed Levi got near the cart.

"Took you long enough! So he's coming too ,huh?" The Captain indicated to the pastor.

"That's correct!" Replied Hange .

"Hold up!" Gasped Armin when he realized who their new company was. "He's, uh. He's a priest from the Order of the Walls."

"I know! Ol' Nick and me are thick as thieves!" Giggled Hange as she held Nick with her arm. "It's fine. Makes about as much sense for him to be here as the restof us, don't'cha think?"

"Barring the Monkey Boy." Retorted Levi , staring daggers at the priest.

"Wait, that reminds me. Is Gohan in Wall Rose? Is he safe?" Eren stood up and ask his captain, it was obvious that many people worried about Gohan.

"We're about to find out." Levi turned his horse and joined his squad.

"OPEN THE GATE!"

Wall Sina sigil ascended as the gate of Stohess District opened. The Survey Corps readied themselves for the upcoming battle they would be facing . Their Commander, Erwin Smith, violently turned his horse around to give his inspiring speech to his men.

"The status of Wall Rose in unclear, but everything up to Ehrmich is safe. That's the route we'll be taking." He briefed them. "Let's move."
"Yes, sir!"

The soldiers said in unison and followed Erwin to departed from Stohess through the inner gate. They went full speed to the North where Ehrmich was. Torch lights illuminated the path they took as well as they determination. Horses and carriages disrupted the silence North of Stohess as the army rode out pass the houses within Wall Sina.

The time the convoy got out of the populated area that Hange decided to spill the beans to everyone on the cart. She told them all about the Titan in the Wall and that the Order of the Walls were withholding the knowledge regarding it.

"Wait, wait! Back up! You're joking, right?" reacted Eren after he heard the whole story. "This guy knew?He knew and he kept quiet?"

"Sums up where we are with him." Hange looked to her shoulder where The pastor was. "He's not willing to talk yet, but we'll see how he feels after a harsh dose of reality. Faith keeps him quiet. Firsthand experience, though?"

"To hell with that! No! We're doing this backwards!If this son of a bitch knows something and he needs to come out with it!" Said Eren angrily ,he stood up and leaned toward the priest. "Humanity's on
the brink of extinction and all you care about is keeping your oath?" The a sudden pain took over his head that made him covered his head and returned to his seat.

"Hey, take it easy." Said Mikasa with concerns. "You're not fully recovered yet."

"Why if my way doesn't work. We can always throw him to the Wolves. I think Lady Winters wants to get at the truth as much as we do." Said Hange. "Even a person like her wouldn't understand what he puts above the fate of humanity, either."

After leaving Ragako,the Southern team split up into two teams. One lead by Gelgar, another by Nanaba. They would spread out in different direction and reach to the Wall. Nanaba's team would search the west for the breach and Gelgar's to the east, and then they would meet up in the middle.

The search went on until nightfall . The Eastern Team:Gelgar, Gohan, Connie, Reiner, Berthold and Lynne couldn't find any hole on the Wall. They scanned they torches in every corner of the Wall but couldn't even find a single crack. Gohan told them there was no Titans near by so they took they time double checked every single inch of the Wall Rose in case that their teammates overlooked it.

"Son, I know that you told us not to worry 'bout ze Titans. But what's about Nanaba's team?" Asked Gelgar.

"There's none near her team or ours, sir. Anywhere else, however." Gohan extended his Ki sensing and relief when he acknowledged that the Western Team were safe.

"You just need to tell me about her team. There's no need to worry the rest about other location." Retorted Gelgar, as he noticed the fear in his soldiers' face. "Do you think Nanaba found anything on the other side?"

"Maybe you should ask her yourself, sir." Gohan pointed his good hand to the energy source he sensed,where from the darkness four torches emerged and it took only a few seconds for the Western Team to reveal themselves: Nanaba, Henning, Ymir and Krista.

"Found anything on your side?" Gelgar and Gohan shook their heads. "Found nothing on mine, either."

Nanaba's word astounded the group. If there was no breach on Wall Rose, where did the Titans come from? It was a question even Gohan couldn't answer, he shook his head when everyone looked at him.

"Well, maybe we just overlooked it?" Suggested Lynne.

"Not likely. Hole big enough for Titans to get through. No way." Retorted Henning.

"I suggest we have another pass, then." Proposed Gelgar.

"That goes without saying." Said Nanaba, then she had a glance at Gohan. "Problem is ,our horses can't take it any longer and neither can us. Our lights won't last forever. I suggest we find a place for the night, then we move back to the interior by sunrise!"

"Why?" Gelgar got curious by the last sentence his squadmate have said.

"It's not a good idea to stay in Titan infested area with unarmed recruits and a WIA." Motioned Nanaba to Gohan. "We should get him to a safer place , then we'll move on back to the Wall later."

"I'm not a baby. I can help." Objected Gohan so hard that he had to need Berthold to hold him from falling of the horse.

"Your part's done here. You won't be recovering any further if we keep you in the warzone. Like you've said before, we can't take anymore casualty." Order Nanaba.

The squad then notice that the moon was up, Gohan avoided eyed contacts with the moon in panic the moment he saw the moon light. Unaware of the boy behavior ,the squad paid attention a castle in the distance that got revealed by the moon light.

Gohan buried his face to Berthold as the squad galloped their ways to the castle, things would go from bad to worse should he got his eyes on the moon. He only knew that the squad had reached their destination once the clopping stopped.

"Not an ideal place for a sleep," Remarked Gelgar as he dismounted. "but I guess we can make do with it for one night."

"Yeah. And the moon's finally out, at least." Added Nanaba when she looked up to the sky and then to the recruits. "What's wrong,Gohan?"

"Can one of you lend me one of your jackets? I don't want the moonlight to touch my skin or my eyes in that matters." Said Gohan ,his voice was barely muffled by Berthold's shirt.

"Oh ,yeah, I've forgot." Said Berthold as he glanced at Gohan. "Gohan's allergic to moonlight. Better get him inside fast."

"He's what?" The veterans asked in unison.

"It's a rare condition!" The recruits answered at the same time.

"If that's so. Braun, Hoover, you two get him inside." Ordered Gelgar, he gave Gohan his jacket, which the Monkey Boy quickly covered on his head. "We follow you once we secured the horses."

Without any reply,Berthold and Reiner dismounted and then they helped Gohan down from the horse. They held each of Gohan's shoulders and started to carry him into the castle. The rest of the squad took no time to get their horses to the stable and secured them there and followed.

"Aren't any of you concern about Gohan right now?" Asked Eren as his carriage was still heading to Ehrmich. He took a glance on everyone in the cart. "He's out there in Wall Rose where those Titans are still roaming and none of you even mention his name."

"It might make no sense that I say this but the only reason he's not evacuated is that he chose not to." Answered Mikasa.

"But why?" Asked Eren.

"He must have thought that he can help." Replied Mikasa. "He can sense energy ,so I doubt he'd be facing any Titan."

"How can you sure that he won't?" Barked Eren.

"I can sense energy too, so I know what it's like." Replied Mikasa she put her hand on Eren's shoulder to reassure him. "He'd sense them from a mile away, he would be on horseback, so it's impossible for even one to reach him."

"Oh, I wish I can sense energy, too." Sighed Eren as he calmed himself down.

"The question is:" Eren and Mikasa turned their head to Armin as he spoke. "Why didn't he tell us about that kind of ability sooner?"

"Would you believe him back then?" Retorted Mikasa. "It was until I've learnt the ability that I believe him."

"Anyone would after he showed us the Solar Flare, and the Kamehameha." Replied Armin, reminding Mikasa of all Gohan's abilities that he'd shown before.

"The kame-what?" Hange and Eren found themselves asking the same question, they either heard or saw the Solar Flare so far yet they never had known anything about the other ability.

"He, uh, shot some sort of a light beam out from his hands, the light beam was so powerful that it melted a Titan's face and sent him from the ground to the Garrison HQ when it hit the ground." Explained Armin, gesturing Gohan's hand movement of the technique.

"The Reverse Version, he called it." Added Mikasa, also mimicking the gesture. "He did this back in Trost. Anyone at the HQ saw it."

"He promised me I didn't miss anything in Trost!" Exclaimed Eren.

"He's withheld too much information already." Commented Hange, then she looked at Nick to see that he was equally shocked, then she quickly turned to Armin and Mikasa. "Why didn't anyone of you reported this?"

"After seeing the treatment on Eren after his Titan Shifting was discovered. We've all agreed to keep Gohan's ki blast a secret." Answered Armin. "Until now!"

"Yeah, that'd be inconvenience if the Military Police or the Government or who-knows get ahold of such information." Hange nodded in agreement. Then the object she held in her hands got everyone attention.

"Section Commander, what's that rock on your hand?" Asked Armin.

"It's not a rock." The section commander showed the crystal-like object to the trio . "It's a hardened piece of skin left behind by the Female Titan."

"It didn't vanish?"

"No. This fragment broke off when Annie reverted to her human form. It didn't evaporate. Didn't simply go 'poof'. So that got me thinking." Hange then recalled to the reason why she had taken so long to joined the march to Ehrmich. "And when I compared it with a sliver of the wall, its texture and composition were,for all intents and purposes,virtually identical. In laymen's terms we're hemmed in by a barricade of enormous Titans. If my hypothesis is correct,the surface was constructed using consolidated Titan skin."

Armin, Eren and Mikasa's eyes widen as they listened to Hange's explanation.

"You're kidding me. That's what Armin was trying to say." Said Mikasa.

"So, then…" Armin tried to said something but Hange shoved her hand in his face, covering the bookworm's mouth.

"Easy. It's rude to steal someone else's thunder. As it stands, we'd be hard-pressed to find a rock big enough to plug Wall Rose. It'd have to be just the right shape and size, we just don't have a specific one yet." Hange painted a picture into the recruits' minds. "Picture Eren utilizing his hardening ability while in Titan form."

"I might able to patch the hole."Answered Eren.

"And then afterward we'll find out more about what Gohan's been hiding from us."

It was a chore getting Gohan up the Tower. The Monkey Boy grunted for every step he took,the movement alone hurt too bad, even with the help of the tallest two in the squad. In the end, Gohan ,Berthold and Reiner panted manically once they got to the upper floors, they were the last who got up although they had a head start from the squad.

"Never thought you were so heavy, Gohan." Panted Reiner who was helped up to his feet by Lynne.

"Search the building for supplies. Heck , we can even find you some ODM Gears if we're lucky." Ordered Gelgar as he approached Gohan who was lying still near the stairway just to find out that the Monkey Boy was already asleep. "Well, someone gets him inside. Looks like someone has already taken his rest."

They took half an hour searching and setting up a campfire in the middle of the room. They took enough time searching to notice that there had been someone in the castle long before they did. Exhausted from the long day, they eventually gathered around the campfire to rest.

"Am I the only one who is under the impression that's someone was here not long ago?" Asked Henning.

"A place this close to the wall?" Answered Nanaba with another question.

"It's actually a ideal place for criminals to take refuge!" Suggested Lynne, the scout then took a look at the sleeping injured soldier nearby. "Is it safe to have our Titan Detector sleeping like this?"
"Let him be. The boy spent many nights like this in Titan's Territory for two years. Also, the Titans don't active at night, so don't be worried!" Answered Nanaba. "Though I'd kill to have a hand on his horse though. That's thing is trained to response to voice commands, you don't even have to whistle for it, just call his name and he comes."

"Never thought of you as horse person!" A door cracked open, Gelgar came out of the storage to wiggle a bottle of alcohol. "Lookaa what I found!"

"Never thought of you as a drunk, either! Oh wait, you are! You even offered one to the Angel of Trost!" Retorted Nanaba, she chuckled when she glanced at Gohan.

"Well ,at least I have a drinking partner." Gelgar approached Gohan. "Probably's for best to let him have some sleeps, which you kids should do the same." He said to Connie, Krista, Ymir, Reiner, and Berthold. "There shouldn't be any Titans crawling around at this time of night, but we'll take turns keeping watch." He walked his way to the stair just to glance at Gohan for the last time. "We'd prefer if he does the part for us, but he's done enough for today. And also tomorrow. We're getting him to Ehrmich by daybreak."

"'Scuse me. Sir! What if it turns out that Wall Rose isn't actually compromised?" Krista stopped Gelgar on his tracks. "Where else could they be coming from?"

"It's our job to find out. Right after we get Son to a safe place." Gelgar retorted and moved up the stairs. "Commander Erwin said he has trained Captain Levi and a girl named Mikasa to sense energy." The recruits gaped when they heard their number two's name. "We'll bring either of them here when we get to Sina."

"I'm just saying. The situation isn't good, sure. But is it as bad as we think?" Krista continued.

"It is. Gohan sensed multiple Titans in the surrounding area." Retorted Nanaba, trying to avoid taking a glance at the Monkey Boy. "It's hurt to say this, but, I think he's right about Mike. We've lost him. A casualty has happened. So falling back is the option."

Squad Mike frown in distraught.

"Yeah, not a good idea to stay here when the situation is too dire. Not with you being so unequipped and an Injured in our care." Commented Henning.

"You have my votes on that." Added Ymir the moment she heard that they would leave in the morning. "Gohan was right about Connie's village too. We saw what happened there."

"Now, you mention it, there is something still bothering me." Said Connie, reminding the rest of Ragako. "That's Titan we've found on top of my house,say I'm crazy , but somehow, it reminded me of my mom."

"What did I tell you?" Reiner patted on Connie's shoulder. "It's just your imagination."

"Are you for real?" Sniggered Ymir,just a second before her sniggering bursted into laughter . "You actually think …. your mom might be a Titan?Oh, honey! As itty-bitty as you are? Please!We all knew you were dumb as a bag of rocks, but this?Whoa, man! This takes it to whole other level!"

"Ha-ha-ha. Very funny. Tone it down a little bit, a crucial member of the Recon Corps' trying to sleep." Sighed Connie .

"I'm not finished. If Mother-darling's a Titan, it's only logical to assume dear ol' Daddy is, too." Ymir continued to laugh. "Basic biology. Think about it. How else…"

"Okay,okay, I get it! Shut the HFIL up and go to sleep!" Connie lost his temper.

"Oh, 'HFIL'? You got that from Gohan?" Ymir laughed even harder.

The streets of Ehrmich were filled with hundreds of refugees from Wall Rose evacuating to Wall Sina, there were some injured people who had to be moved on carts and there were also children crying, wondering where their parents were. Those were the hundreds of people who now lost their home,and probably loved-ones . Their livelihood shattered, their hearts were torn and the people who not in Wall Rose would face a food and economical crisis.

"Move it, zealot." Gunther pushed Nick as the pastor stopped to watch at the refugees .

"We aren't there yet." Commanded Petra, her squad were charge for escorting the pastor once they arrived in Ehrmich.

"Maybe you expected to see something quaint? This is what happens when the walls give." Said Levi.

"And it had happened before." Added Oulo.

"Take it in, holy man. These are the faces of human beings who've lost everything they ever beings you and your kind abandoned, incidentally." Levi continued , making a point in to the wall priest. "Hard to look at it, I'd imagine."

"And there also the ones who goes face to face with those things." Petra said angrily, her squad got absolutely livid when Hange told her about the Wall. "Even a boy from Wall Sina knows the magnitude of the situation so bad he joined us."

"Yes, and all would in vain just because the church had their ways on things." Remarked Levi as he put his arm across Nick's shoulders. "The Titan would just swoop in and wipe us out. Sending us to, what does Gohan call it, Petra?"

"Home For the Infinite Losers." Nick gasped when he heard the answer.

"Insensitive, but a very good point. When it happens, we're all losers." Levi gave have smile.

The Special Operation Squad then walked their ways to the barrack that Hange and the rest were. Levi , his squad and Nick came in just in time for Hange to finish her briefing to everyone there. And then she noticed Levi's squad and Nick.

"So? Seen the light yet, by any chance?" Hange approached Nick who remained quiet after her questions. The silent only fumed Hange. "Oh, goddamn it! Make up your mind! This isn't some spiritual test! Lives are on the line! Do you want me to take you to Lady Winters?"

It took an exact three minutes of silence for Nick to take in all the thing and came to a decision.

"Alas! I have no choice. Neither myself nor the others are at the liberty to disclose the truth."

"That's about it! Can we fetch Gohan now?" Petra reacted before Hange did, but the later was taken aback when Nick continued.

" I'd offer my help if I could,but a duty as great as this one is beyond me. The Order of the Walls abides by the sacred will that commanded us to obey." Hange waved her hands in disappointment as she thought she would get an answer. "However, I can give you a name. A girl the divine wisdom instructed us to monitor. The one who has enlisted to the Survey Corp. A child with the name of Krista!"

Everyone of the 104th Cadet who was presented in the room were stunted when they heard the name. It was the name of the smallest girl in their class. She was at the front line.

Then the door behind them open as Ilse's squad and Sasha entered the room. They already wore they ODM Gears and Sasha looked like she was holding a scroll.

"Squad Leader Ilse Langnar reporting for duties." Everyone turned their attention to her and Sasha, and Ilse squad: Barbara Winchester, Verena Kock, and the siblings Kathrin and Lelo Makarov.

"You were with Mike, where's Gohan? Why he isn't coming with you?" Screamed Petra when she saw her friend came.

"He… uh , insisted to stay." Petra became speechless when she heard the answer.

It was this time that Sasha cleared her voice and remember what she had to do. She did as what she had rehearsed.

"I was sent to give a message to Commander Erwin. Who, then, entrusted me to deliver this to you, Section Commander!" She handed Hange the scroll.

"Okay then,excellent work." Hange complemented her and traded the scroll for a potato,to which Sasha rejoiced and took a bite.

Hange read through the reports that Erwin had delivered. She gathered every around once she finished it. The scouts didn't need to sense energy to feel the thickness in the atmosphere in room as they saw Hange staring at the papers.

"Four-eyes , can you hurry up? We're on a time schedule here!" Said Levi as he lost his patience.

"I was finally able to get my hands on the background report I requested for Annie Leonhart." She finally spoke.

"Get to it! I've got a wounded teammate in the front line." Rushed Levi.

"There were two other cadets in the 104th who hailed from the same region. Berthold Hoover and Reiner Braun!" Nac, Jean, Mina, Eren, Mikasa , Sasha and Armin's eyes widen as they heard the name from Hange.

"Due to the chaos of the incident in Wall Maria, all their records are either spotty or missing. However, during the far-range scouting formation,their unit was given false information." She continued explaining the counter-intelligence plan used on the 57th expedition. " They were given that Eren was in the right wing."

"The Female Titan attacked on the right wing!" Added Armin which puzzled Sasha.

"What? What does that mean?"

"It's possible that they passed on that information to Annie."

"Why? Why would they tell Annie?"

"Hey , wait a minute! Armin, you can't just …." Eren grabbed Armin by the shoulder just to be interrupted by Hange.

"I totally agree. Coincidence doesn't establish relationship. So I'm asking you how these three interacted during training?"

"We know Reiner and Berthold came from the same place but, they've never shown to be close to Annie." Answered Armin.

"Yeah, I didn't see the two talking that much to Annie either." Added Eren. "Not that Annie talked that much to anyone in the first place."

"When she ate, Annie would always alone and munch on food by herself ." Sasha tried to remember ,then clapped her fist to her palm. "I've got something! She is rumored to like sweets though she looks so grouchy!"

"Wait, she paid a lot of attention to Gohan Ki training!" Nac figured something.

"We all paid a lot of attention to Gohan's training!" Retorted Mina.

"Yeah, that's what she only interested in." Confirmed Mikasa.

"Guys. What are we doing?" Protested Eren. "Yeah, sure. Berthold never has a lot to say. But Reiner's like everyone's big brother, y'know?You really think he's capable of lying to us?"

"Eren does have a point. Think about it." Agreed Armin, he recalled on the expedition. "Reiner fought the Female Titan with everything he had. Almost got himself squeezed to a bloody pulp in the process." Then the blond nerd realized something.

"What's wrong?"

"He burst free of her grip at the last minute. Afterwards, though, Annie changed her course. In fact, she ran straight toward where you were." Armin continued; he then remembered another detail. "And he cursed the moment he realized that you were with Gohan and Captain Levi, he was terrified actually."

"I mentioned that you might be rear of the center rank, but there's no way she could've heard me."

"Huh,interesting! Did Reiner particularly interested in Eren's location?" Asked Hange, to which Armin had a flash back .

"I only brought his position up in the first place because Reiner asked me where I thought Eren might be.
Once he broke free,the Female Titan stood there staring at her palm,possibly transfixed by something he'd carved onto it with his blades." Armin continued, but then he was interrupted when Eren screamed at the top of his lung.

"What is wrong with you people?The man's been with us from the beginning!"

"That's enough!" Ordered Hange, she instructed them. "If we cross paths with the pair in question,don't give them any indication of what we've discussed."

"Oh my god!" Ilse and Sasha found themselves speaking the same thing. The last time they'd seen Reiner and Berthold was when Gohan was with them.

"I ordered Reiner to carry Gohan." Said Ilse. "He's sharing the same horse with that bastard when I left."

"You did WHAT?" Yelled Petra. "You meant you left him behind with the Armored Titan and the Colossal Titan?"

"That comes our next topic. Which I want everyone to remain composed." Hange then turned to another page of the files, the scout widened their eyes the moment she changed the topic when the Monkey Boy's name was uttered. "Unlike Wall Maria. Wall Sina has its records on its citizens intact. Where we can't find the papers of the man who claimed he from there. Gohan Son."

"Hey, Four-Eyes! What're you implying? Are you putting the Monkey Boy in the same brackets with the Armored Titan and Colossal Titan?" Glared Levi at the Section Commander. "Because I won't let you cross that line."

"Yes, with all due respect, Section Commander. You're talking about the Angel of Trost here!" Ilse angrily approached Hange. "The man who saved countless lives there and mine before that!"

"Yeah, we're talking about the man who almost died saving my mother! The man showed Annie what for, and why would he bother train the captain if he is in cahoots with the Titans? " Eren founded out that he wasn't the only one objected the section commander proposal . "Yeah, maybe he lied about where he came from, but that didn't erase the deeds he's done for humanity!"
"That's true, he saved my life too, who gives half a crap that he lied about being from Sina." Mina then looked at her comrade. "One , two , three. Who here got their lives saved by Gohan." She raised her hand which Nac, Armin, Oulo, Ilse ,Petra, Oulo and Gunther followed suit. "See?"

Though being bombarded with objection from many people ,Hange remained her composure .

"You didn't let me finish. I didn't say Gohan has anything to do with the Armored and/or Colossal Titan. I'm he has something to hide that may jeopardize humanity." She turned to Ilse. "Do you remember the 56th expedition?"

"Wait, what?"

"During the 56th expedition into the Titans Territory , the Recon Corp found totals of 11 treehouses ranging from North to South . Ilse Langnar recognized one ,said tree house was 20 mile from two others that are closer to Wall Rose."

"Wait, closer to Wall Rose?" Asked Eren.

"Yes, the closest only takes 3 hours on horseback to get to Wall Rose ." and the rest of the scout gasped as Hange went into details. "And for a matter of facts,Gohan Son has a horse since the day Wall Maria was breached. The question is, why was he so close to return to civilization, yet he decided not to until three years have passed?"

The entire room were deafened by silence, no one had an explanation for boy delayed returned to civilization. They just shook they head every time they worked their brain on it. What was a good reason for a boy who stranded in the wilderness that plagued by Giant monsters whisl he had the mean to commute back to civilization?

"I'm listening?" said Levi.

"I'm asking you cadets the same question I've asked you about Berthold and Reiner." The Section Commander continued . " Did Gohan do something particularly odd during his years of basic training?"

"Not anything other than what you've already known." Eren remarked. "His Ki, his tail, his head band, the solar flare. He's a rather opened book once it comes to oddness. "

"His appetite, the one that exceeds Sasha." Answered Mikasa. "That he needs larger portions than normal people."

"Five times. He said he burns energy quicker than ordinary people." Added Armin.

"Which is legit because he's always in good shape from all the food he eats." Added Jean. "I don't think you're missing any ."

"If you count the fact that he was always on top of the class in everything, there's that." Added Sasha.

"Although he's always sleep earlier than everyday at least once a month." Said Nac.

"Not at least once a month, precisely once a month." Corrected Mina. "It's because of his rare condition."

The Veterans took noticed on the last statement when they were getting bored by the bombardment of the information they had already known.

"Back it up a bit!" Ordered Hange. It was certain that the one that wasn't from the 104th didn't not know anything about the said condition. "What rare condition?"

"It's an allergy or something!" Said Mina.

"Yeah, it's definitely an allergy!" Add Nac.

"I believe he called it the Lunar Allergy." Said Armin.

"The Lunar Allergy?" The veterans never heard about such a condition anywhere.

"He's allergic to moon light, it occurs every full moon." Explained Eren, he scratched his arm to demonstrate. "His skin would be badly rash, he'd be hard to breathe and if he looks directly to the moon, his eyes would be blinded contemporary."

"Did anyone of you see what happen if he touched the moonlight? Or looking directly at the moon?" Asked Hange.

"Never, really."

"We didn't know anything about this." Gunther was the one who told them.

"Must be because he told us not to tell anyone, or you wouldn't let him join the military." Answered Eren. "It only once a month so…" The Cadets' eyes widen in realization. So did the Special Operation Squad.

"Cap'n , Gohan does go to sleep early ,every fullmoon." Informed Petra on the months the Monkey Boy spent with SOS. "But does that happen to do with…."

The cadets of the 104th in the Recon Corps ran of the room. To which the veteran scouts chased after them, not knowing why they did it. The cadet rushed to the door and burst outside of the barrack to see the clear sky, with the full moon set upon it.

"He wasn't hiding anything from us." Said Eren as he looked up to the sky.

"He was protecting us." Said Mikasa ,also gazed to the sky.

"From himself." Armin also looked at the sky.

"That was never an allergy!" Jean banged his head on the door.

"Okay, what're you guy on about? That he's a werewolf?" Asked Hange, puzzlingly following their gazes to the moon.

"More like a weremonkey." Said Oulo just before getting a kick to the leg by Petra. But the thing he said set something up in Levi.

"We have to go ." Ordered Levi "Get on your horses, now!"

Gohan couldn't recalled the last time had such a deep sleep like he was now. He became a heavy sleeper the moment he got up to the upper floor of the tower. The sleep was not just deep ,it was dreamless. Sleeping was one of the best ways to hurry his healing. His body and mind could rest so his metabolism could focus on repairing his fractured muscles and bones with the aid of his Ki. The only thing and the only one who could wake him up was himself. Even if everything collapsed on him we would continued sleeping until he wish it. All the conversation that had happened did not even disturb him for one moment ,and neither did the action. The boy was thought to stay asleep until he wasn't.

"Guys, how long did I sleep? Is it morning yet?" Gohan rubbed his uninjured eye as he opened it, to see that there was no one around. "Guys?"

He then got up when he sensed it, multiple Titan energies surrounded the castle. He still sensed that his comrades were still in the castle, some of them were fighting. He searched for his crutch, struggled to get up on it as they knew they were not knowing what they're dealing with. Amongst the Titan, he could sense it again, the Titan he had warned Mike about. It took three failed attempts for the Strange Monkey Boy to get up on his feet with even with the help of his crutch, well his unbroken foot, the fourth attempt barely had its success.

"They're in the tower!" There was one inside too. Its power level was low, but the people he sensed near it were unlikely to handle it. "Get down here and help me!"

"Crapbaskets! It's Reiner!" Gohan limbed as fast as he could to the direction where his friends' energies were. Reiner, Ymir,Krista, Connie and Berthold were being attacked.

Gohan knew he was getting closer and closer to his friends, but the Titan was even much closer already. He cursed his leg cast for obstructing his movement, though he well aware that it was helping his leg bones to heal. He came up with a new tactic, he pressed the crutch hard onto the floor so it could act as a fulcrum and he held it tight and pole vaulted forward. He landed on his left foot as he smirked at the fact that he had gone further than walking with the crutch. He repeated the process as he went toward his comrades.

Then he heard it, something sounded like a crash. Gohan fastened his paces ,adrenalin ran through his blood masked the pains from his quick movement.

It took approximately twelve vaults for Gohan to reach the doorway to the staircase where he finally met up with his friend. Dust was flying around in the place used to be the door downstairs which wreckage shattered ontop of a 3-meter Titan lying in its entrance, Gohan noticed a canon was lying about which must had the thing that created the noise. Ymir, Connie and Krista were standing on the stair while Reiner and Berthold crouch near said door.

"How long have they've been here?" The recruits widened their eyes at him when they heard.

"Gohan, get your ass back inside." Ordered Reiner.

"About time you wake up!" Spat Ymir.

"Yeah, you guys should get back up here,too!" Gohan motioned his head behind him. Then he sensed it, a second Titan energy in the building. "Another!"
Another Titan showed up behind Connie, the short bald man gasped when turned to look at his attacker. Reiner shoved Connie away before the Titan could grab him, but it locked it jaws into Reiner's arm instead.

"Reiner, no!" Screamed Krista as she rushed down to help, just to be stopped by Ymir.

"ENOUUGH!" With a fit of rage, Gohan lunged from the stair straight down to the Titan, separated it from Reiner. Both the Titan and Gohan rolled through the steps and went straight down to another floor.

"Gohaaaan!" His friends frantically followed him

The Titan landed on his face,exposing its back. Before it could start to recover, Gohan leaped to it by his only good leg and held the creature down with his own weight. The monkey boys raised the fist that was not bandaged up of his, he focused all his energy into it and landed it right onto the Titan's nape. He kept repeatedly punched the nape, until his hand got tired.

"Enough playing spectator!" He ceased punching the Titans ,but he didn't stop there, he then proceeded to headbutt the nape,unawared of the shock of his friend who witnessed his ferocity. "I am Son Gohan. I am a soldier! I am the son of Goku! I am Mr. Piccolo's Pupil! I am a defender of earth! I will not sit idle and watch people die! Not again!"

With each sentences , blood splattered every time Gohan headbutted the Titan. Reiner and Connie were rushing to the manic soldier to grab him, but they stopped the moment they saw steam came out of the Titan's weak point. They and Krista, Berthold, Ymir froze at where they stood. They'd never saw or believed that anyone could kill those monsters with barehand.

"We…. Probably…. Should …. Get … Upstairs…" Panted Gohan as he crawled away from the disintegrating Titan carcass. The boy was still breathing heavily when he checked on his teammates. Unnoticed by him, his head bandage had fell off.

"Gohan! Your… your right eye! It is healed!" Stuttered Krista. In response the Monkey Boy touched his right eye to confirm it, not that his vision already done that for him. His right eye, which had been destroyed by Annie, had returned, though he could still feel the scabs on his face.

"That's new." Remarked Gohan.

Connie and Ymir barricaded the door with two wooden poles. Gohan couldn't be sure if those would stop the Titan, but he didn't worry about that much, he could only sense the Titans outside. Gohan then looked at Krista, who currently tending to Reiner's wound; she poured a bottle who he guessed it was rum to Reiner's arm and torn a part of her skirt to use as a makeshift bandage.

" What do we do if another one gets in?" Asked Connie as he secured one bar with a hammer. "Not like we can find another canon lying around, am I right?"

"Probably. Lightning won't strike twice." Answered Berthold.

"There is no more Titan getting in…. yet." Gohan had their attention. "Does anyone have an explanation how they can move during the night?"

"I've no fucking ideas!" Answered Ymir. "No one does."

"Well, that's a downer!" Exclaimed Gohan before limping to Reiner. "To make matter worse, we down to two injured in the team. Things only got from bad to worse the longer we stay here!"

"And we can't get out of here if we wanted to. And we do." Replied Reiner as he stood up. "But don't sweat,Gohan. We're soldiers, we have eachother's back is what we do. We'll make it through."

If Gohan did hear it, he didn't show it. He looked to of the window atop and had a glimpse of moonlight outside, which he got his explanation.

"Oh, Kami! It's the moon! Of course!" His remark puzzled everyone.

"What ,Gohan?"

"How the Titans can move without the sunlight. Moonlight is just the sunlight reflect into the moon. Which is both terrifying and fascinating at since the solar pan…." His explanation was cut short as a whooshing got the scouts' attention and then Gohan no longer sensed the Horse after a crash made it impact. "Oh, for love of Kami!"

And then the recruits heard another impact ,right on top of them. The recruits rushed upstairs while Gohan fell down to his hand as he noticed the absent of the Ki of his two comrades.

'Henning, Lynne. What happened to you?' The feeling returned once again ,the helplessness as he watch or rather sense everyone around him died. 'There must be a way'. He looked at the window to find his answer. The boy threw away his crutch and crawled on the stairway with his two good limb, despite only using his left arm and leg he went with a speed of a cheetah. 'The reason how the Titans can be active in night, the same reason got us to this situation will be the one that gets us out.'

Connie was the first one who got on the top of the tower and he was the first one who saw Nanaba and Gelgar put the bodies of Lynne and Henning neatly down.

"They're gone. Died instantly on impact." Said Gelgar.

"It's it!" Connie realized something, he ran straight to the battlement. " The one that made a B-line for the wall!Hairy son of a bitch is randomly…." The he gasped the moment he saw more Titans coming out from the forest. "Head ups, guys. We got twice as many as before!"

"You must be shitting me!" Said Gelga.

"It's like they're timing these attacks as some part of a larger strategy." Exclaimed Nanaba.

"That's very likely!" Replied Gohan as he joined them.

"Gohan, get back down!" Ordered Nanaba.

"No, you won't make it!" He limped to the edge of the tower and took a look on the Titans below. "That titan on the Wall, the one that killed Lynne and Henning, is the one that killed Mike. Its power level is too high for any of you to handle. Not that's you can handle the regular ones down there either!"

"What'd you mean? That we're screwed?" Asked Gelgar.

"Fortunately , I still have one last trick up my sleeves. A last ditch resort." He looked back to his teammates as he reassured them. "The upside is it certainly will kill all the Titans down there and the one that's on the Wall! The downside ,however, is I have a high possibility to kill you,too."

"How high?" Asked Berthold.

"Very! So I want to run as fast as you can while I transform!" He answered.

"Wait! Transform? You're a Titan too?" Asked Connie.

"Uh, not quite! Something like that! Tell the reinforcements to bring me fresh clothes." He turned his back to them. Gohan took a deep breath before he stared directly to the moon.

"Gohan? What're you doin'?" Concerned Connie, but the monkey boy responded by shaking his body and lowering his posture. The scouts' eyes opened wide when Gohan arched his right arm so hard that the splint and the cast broke off. They even noticed that his fingernails had been sharpened into claws. And then they saw his eyes had turned completely red when he turned to face them, and his teeth were converted into fangs.

"THiS iS NoT eVeN My FiNaL FoRM!" Said Gohan with an animalistic voice before leaped off the tower.

Fur started covering his entire body as he was in midair . His body became bigger and bigger as he was free falling, tearing of his clothes and bandages. His mouth and his nose gradually but not slowly enlarged to form a snout. His toes elongated to transform his feet to a pair of prehensile feet. Gohan shook the ground and the Tower as he crashed onto the ground, sending the Titans below fell from their feet and the people above to lose their footing. The scouts had to hold tight to not fall from the tower.

The Oozaru quicky switched his posture from crouching to standing. The creature was 30 meters tall, towering all the Titans before him. It let out a deafening roar that was so loud that the district of Ehrmich could hear it.

Next Chapter: Showdown of the Beasts