The Return of Marco Bodt (Titan!Marco)

Chapter 8

The next morning Erwin shouted down the halls that everyone should be ready to leave in less than half an hour and of course, he got his wish. The scouts were lined up and prepared to go in just about twenty minutes.

"The strategy I came up with is that we split up into three groups. A left and right flank and a center. We'll spread out which will make it harder for titans to get into the formation and will minimize casualties," Erwin explained. "Does everyone understand?" All the scouts nodded in almost unison. "Alright! Everyone get in their positions and mount your horses! We'll be leaving shortly!"

Jean was positioned near the back of the center which surprisingly was the safest spot in the formation. He mounted his horse and wrapped his hands around the reigns ready to leave. Erwin mounted his horse and waved at us, signaling we were ready to go. The gate slowly opened until it got to a point where the scouts could leave without any titans entering.

Every horse broke into a gallop at its riders command, everyone riding in perfect formation. Everyone had been instructed not to engage in battle with a titan unless it was an abnormal. If any other titan was spotted they were to send up a red flare. Red flares were for when a titan was spotted near the formation, black flares were for when an abnormal was spotted, and a green flare was to acknowledge that they had seen the flare and action was being taken.

Jean didn't know how long they had been on their horses for when he could see the outline of a forest in the distance. The forest used to be a popular tourist attraction and was now their intended destination. Jean looked to the side to see multiple black flares from the right flank. He pulled out a flare gun and sent up a green flare. The right flank would take care of the abnormal and hopefully, it wouldn't make its way unto the center formation.

A few minutes later Jean looked over to the side to see that Reiner had set off a black flare. The right flank had failed to kill the titan and it had made its way into the center formation. Jean looked over his shoulder to see a titan sprinting in between the two lines of soldiers behind him. The titan had black hair that covered most of its eyes. Skin covered most of the titans mouth but in some places there was no skin, exposing its teeth. Unlike the Colossal Titan which was all muscle with no skin, this titan had skin but at its shoulders and a few random places on its forearms muscle was exposed.

The titan picked up its speed, completely ignoring the two lines of soldiers behind him and running through them towards him. Out of instinct, he broke out of formation to get out of the titan's way, when the titan changed its direction towards him. Great. Just great. Out of all these people to choose from this titan chose me. Jean thought to himself. Unlike normal titans, abnormals don't focus on eating any human that they see. Abnormals ignore most humans and go after a specific human. In this case, Jean.

There wasn't anything around that he could use to get away from the titan once he was off his horse but since it was an abnormal he had no choice but to kill it. He jumped off his horse and used his gear to maneuver closer to the titan. He went in to slice its nape when it lifted its arm up and blocked its weak spot, dislodging the grappling hook from its neck, sending Jean falling to the ground. Before Jean hit the ground the titan scooped him up in its hands and ran off with him.

"HEY! LET ME GO!" Jean screamed, pounding on the titans hand uselessly after having lost his blades which would have come in handy right about now.

Armin, who had been positioned near Jean, moved out of formation for a moment to relay a message up to Erwin at the front lines. The message was that they found a titan that was intelligent like the Colossal Titan and that it had taken Jean. It wouldn't be important to them whether or not Jean lived or was with them for that matter. What would interest them is that there was another intelligent titan running around unchecked.

A few minutes later Erwin sent up a flare signaling that a small group had broken off from the right flank to chase after the titan while the rest of the formation continued on their normal path. The strategy was to take Jean back and lure the titan back towards the formation.

Jean peered over the titan's fingers to see a group of ten scouts riding their horses towards him. He turned around to get a better look at the titans face. He could barely see the titan's chestnut-colored eyes through its black hair. The titan's face was set in a look of determination but Jean caught it looking down at the scouts that had come to his rescue.