AUTHOR'S POV:
Eren along with Levi's squad were heading towards an old Survey Corps headquarters. All of them were on horses.
"The former Survey Corps headquarters. It's nothing more than a renovated old castle." Oluo said. "While it definitely looks impressive, it's so far from the Walls and all rivers that it's completely useless to the Survey Corps."
The group moved through the forest.
"The story goes back to the ambitious early days when the Corps was formed. Who would've thought we'd end up using it again to serve as your hideout?" Oluo explained.
Eren observed his surroundings with a bored expression. Then Oluo leaned toward him and spoke up.
"Don't get cocky, new blood,"
"Hm?" Eren asked with confusion.
"I don't know the deal with this crap about you being a Titan, but we can't have Captain Levi babysit-" Oluo was interrupted when the horse missed a step and he bit his tongue.
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"That's what you get for talking while riding your horse." Petra said, standing up before Oluo, who was sitting, tending to his injury.
"The first moments leave the most important impression. That newbie was scared shitless." Oluo said with arrogance.
Nearby, Eren was taking care of his horse.
"I think he was just stunned silent by how lame you are." Petra said.
"Still, it's all going according to plan." Oluo said, holding a cloth to his face, still trying to look cool.
"Man, you never used to talk like that. If by chance you're trying to imitate Captain Levi, you should really stop it. You two are nothing alike, but still..." Petra said, unimpressed.
Oluo smiled cockily at her and spoke up.
"Do you want to chain me down, Petra? You're still ways to go to be fitting for my wife."
"If only you'd bled to death from biting your tongue." she replied furiously. "You keep on boasting about how many Titans you've killed too."
"So what?" Oluo asked. "I've boasted about you guys too."
Eren was now looking at his new teammates.
'Those people are the Survey Corps' Special Ops Squad, commonly known as the Levi Squad.' Eren thought and looked at Oluo. 'He definitely is a weirdo...'
"You're pathetic!" Petra said to Oluo.
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Eld looked down at the ground and spoke up. "It's covered in weeds. It looks terrible."
"It's been disused for a very long time," Gunther said. "Inside, a sea of dust is probably awaiting us."
"That is indeed a severe problem," Levi said, approaching them. "We must sort it out immediately."
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Levi threw the window open, hair and mouth covered by a cloth. Then Eren approached him.
"We're done cleaning the upper floors." Eren said. "Where will I get to sleep in the building, sir?"
"Your room is in the basement."
"Hmm."
"I'll take a look around the rooms." Levi said and walked away. "You do this room, Eren."
"Yes, sir." Eren replied and started cleaning.
After a few minutes, Petra came into the room.
"You've got quite a despairing look on your face, Eren." Petra said with a smile.
"May be because... Everything that have been happening lately... It's too tiring to be honest..." Eren replied and continued cleaning.
"Hmm.. I understand." Petra said. "I'll be calling you Eren. Captain Levi does the same. Here, his word is the law."
"Hmm... I don't mind that, but do I really have a despairing look on my face?" Eren asked, looking at Petra.
"It's not surprising at all. He doesn't come across as the perfect, invulnerable hero people think he is, does he?" Petra said with a smile. "The true Levi is surprisingly short, irritable, violent, and hard to approach."
"That's not it." Eren said. "I was surprised how obediently he accepts the decisions of the higher-ups."
"Did you think that as strong as he is, he wouldn't care about rank or the chain of command?" Petra asked.
"Yes," Eren admitted. "I expected him not to acquiesce to anyone's words."
"I don't know the details myself, but I heard he was pretty much like that originally. Before joining the Survey Corps, he was a famous thug in the capital's underworld." Petra admited.
"But then, why?" Eren asked with curiosity, still cleaning.
"I don't know exactly what happened," Petra answered. "He was taken into the Survey Corps under Commander Erwin's hands."
"The Commander?"
"Yeah!" Petra answered.
Then Levi appeared behind Petra, scaring her a bit. She continued sweeping the floor.
"Good job Eren." Levi said calmly. "Now finish cleaning this room and you are done for today."
"Yes, sir." Eren replied and continued cleaning.
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Erwin was now in a room, drawing plans for the formation for the upcoming expedition while Mike was staring out the window, arms crossed.
"So, in thirty days, we're to go outside the Walls to build a stronghold for the supply chain?" Mike asked. "Not to mention we'll be taking fresh graduates with us too."
"If we even get any new recruits that is." Erwin replied
Mike turned to him. "In my opinion, this is far too hasty."
"Eren's current position is a temporary thing. We must quickly and smoothly prove his usefulness to Central." Erwin said, tapping the paper with his pencil. "Otherwise, sooner or later, the Military Police will make another move to-"
"Can't you take that mask off at least for me, Erwin?" Mike asked.
Erwin turned to him, smiling. "You're really good at sniffing out things like this, Mike."
Mike sniffed loudly. "Too bad you have no scent whatsoever."
"I'll tell you when the time is right." Erwin replied and turned back to his work.
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Inside the old Survey Corps headquarters, the Levi squad were were sitting at the table, drinking tea. It was now night time.
"We'll probably be ordered to stand by for a few more days." Erd said. "But I heard we're supposed to be going on a large-scale extramural expedition. And we'll be taking the new graduates with us as well."
"Is this true, Erd?" Gunther asked. "Isn't it awfully soon? Even considering that they handled this last Titan attack quite well."
"I heard those kids' pants required multiple washings to remove the shit-stains," Oluo said and smirked, holding up his teacup.
"Is this all true, Captain?" Petra asked.
"I'm not involved in making our plans." Levi replied calmly. "It's Erwin. He's likely considering far more variables that might occur to us."
"It's true that we're in an unprecedented situation," Erd said. "On the one hand, we lost the Maria reconquest route that we established through huge sacrifices, but on the other hand, we got an unexpected ray of hope." He said and turned to Eren.
Eren was still listening to them curiously. After a moment, Eld spoke up.
"I still have trouble believing it. You can 'turn into a Titan,' but what's that mean, Eren?" Erd asked.
"My memories from that time are quite hazy. It felt like a selfless, dreaming state. It can be triggered by hurting myself. Like, if I bite-" Eren explained and held up his hand then froze. 'Wait, how do I know this?'
"You guys know all of this too. We couldn't get any more out of him than what's written in the reports." Levi said, holding up his cup by the rim. "She won't stay put though. Her meddling could even kill you, Eren."
"She? Who?" Eren asked curiously.
Then, a loud slam was heard.
Petra then removed the wooden bar and Hange entered, one hand on her forehead.
"Good evening." Hange greeted and held up a hand. "Gentlemen of Squad Levi! Have you made yourselves at home in the castle?"
"You're early." Levi said and sipped his tea.
"How could I stay put now?" Hange replied with excitement.
"Squad Leader Hange?" Eren asked, a bit surprised.
"Sorry for the wait, Eren." Hange apologised. "I'm charged with experimenting on the two Titans we caught alive in the city. I want you to help me out with tomorrow's experiments. I came to ask permission for that."
"An experiment? What am I supposed to-"
"What else but that totally awesome thing you do!" Hange said.
She was flushed with excitement. Her were eyes wide and sweating and a mad expression was covering her face.
"Hmm.." Eren said, looking down. "I can't give you permission myself. I don't have authority over myself, you see."
"Levi, what are Eren's plans for tomorrow?" Hange asked, looking at Levi.
"Cleaning the garden."
"Okay then, it's decided!" Hange said and clutched Eren's hand. "I'll be counting on you tomorrow, Eren!"
"Yes, ma'am. But what exactly are these experiments on the Titans?" Eren asked.
"Hm?" Hange said, tilting her head up.
"What exactly are these experiments..." Eren repeated.
"Stop that. Don't ask her." Oluo whispered fiercely.
"Ah, I knew it." Hange said, staring at Eren with a dopey expression. "You just had this expression like you wanted to know."
Levi stood up without a word and walked away, his squad following silently after him.
Eren looked confused but didn't say anything. Hange then let go of Eren's hand and took Gunther's vacated seat.
"Were you that interested? Then I've got no choice." Hange said with excitement. "I guess I've gotta tell you what I know about those pretties we caught earlier."
"First," she began. "we repeated the experiments we'd done each of the five prior times we had Titans to play with."
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"Hello." Hange greeted a tied up Titan while soldiers stood a few feet behind, ready to intervene if necessary.
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"First, we attempted communication."
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"How are you feeling? What's your name?" She asked.
The blond-haired Titan was sitting on the ground, a dozen thick, black cords wrapped around its neck and big nails were embedded through its shoulders and its arms to keep them pinned to its sides and the ground.
"Does it hurt anywhere?" Hange said and leaned in, less than a yard from its face.
"Squad leader, you're too close!" Moblit said with worry.
"Hello." She greeted the second Titan with the brown hair.
It was tied up and pinned down as well, lying on the side of its face.
"Isn't the weather wonderful today? Are you hungry?"
It's head surged forward and it attempted to bite Hange but she jumped back in time.
"Whoa-whoa, that was close!"
"Squad leader, it's too dangerous!" Moblit yelled.
Hange again inched toward it and was forced back when it tried to eat her again.
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"But for me, interacting with the Titans was so enlightening that it made me completely forget my everyday fatigue."
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"A long, long time ago, there was a tribe who ate people." Hange said, walking back and forth before the two titans. "They weren't Titans like you. They were humans."
She continued. "They hid out in caves in the mountains, attacked travelers who happened to tread the roads nearby, robbed them of their valuables, killed them, and ate their flesh."
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"She's started another one of her naming ceremonies," One soldiers said. "What did we end up with last time?"
"Chicacchironi and Albert." His friend replied.
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Hange continued. "They kept up their resistance for 25 years. During that time, over 500 people became their prey. That might be more than the humans you guys ate. They also experimented with various ways of preparing their meals."
"Turning the buttocks into steaks," Hange continued. "Cutting the thighs up into cubes and cooking a stew with them. They minced, kneaded, and fried the hard meat.
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The soldiers around her looked ill. One of them was almost ready to throw up.
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"Out of fat and innards, they even made sausages. That's right. They knew the concept of 'cooking.'" She stood and pointed at the Titans, "That's how they were different from you."
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One soldier was puking in the background.
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"But then those cannibals made a mistake, and they were all caught and executed." Hange said. "The men were castrated and had their hands and feet severed, left to bleed out. The women and children were burned alive after they'd watched the men die."
"That's the same as you. You made the mistake of attacking humankind, and you were caught. So I'll name you after the man who led that clan." Hange said.
"You're Sonny," She said, pointing to the blond-haired Titan then she pointed towards the brown haired titan. "You're Bean."
"But don't worry," Hange said and smiled. "I won't have you executed. Nice to meet you, Sonny. You too, Bean. Let's try to get along."
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"Thus I named the 7-meter class Bean, and the 4-meter class Sonny."
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Soldiers used tents to cover the two Titans.
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"Next we tried denying them sunlight. The Titans are clearly less active during the night. These experiments tried to prove that they gain some kind of power from the sunlight."
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"There was a huge variation between individual Titans." Hange observed. "You've worked hard, Sonny Good night. See you tomorrow."
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"Sonny's activity dropped an hour after we denied them sunlight. In contrast..."
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"You really like to stay up late, huh, Bean?" Hange said, sitting on the ground. "It's okay. I'll stay here with you."
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"Bean stayed lively for three hours."
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"They always manage to surprise me," Hange told to Eren, who was listening carefully. "They don't need water or food. They have vocal organs, yet they don't need to breathe. All they need to stay alive is sunlight. To be honest, I'm curious what would happen if we denied them sunlight completely, but they're such valuable experimental subjects, I can't risk them dying."
"We killed the previous captures by accident. I accidentally hit the nape of the neck when we tried cutting their heads off," she said sadly.
Eren just nodded. He was listening to her carefully. He found her experiments interesting.
"Their names were Chicacchironi and Albert. They had such beautiful smiles. I feel bad about what I did to them." She said and remained silent for a few seconds. "I don't want that to happen again... I'm sorry."
"Squad leader Hange..." Eren said quietly.
Suddenly, Hange was in Eren's face. "And then, I moved on to the next stage, testing their sense of pain by actually touching them!" She looked up, fingers twitching, a crazed expression on her face.
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"Hwaaaaahhhhh!" Hange screamed as blood and steam coming off the Titan's eyes as Hange had dug a spear into its eyes.
"Squad leader, you shouldn't be the one screaming." Moblit said, who was standing by her.
"How could I not scream, doing this?!" She snapped at him. "Bean is in so much pain!" She had tears running down her face. "Don't give up, Bean! Hang in there!" She ran at it, spear in hands.
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Eren stared at Hange with an curious expression.
"We had to confirm whether they had any weaknesses besides the nape of the neck." Hange said. "It was really tough work."
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"Sonny? I just pierced your heart." Hange said, wiggling the spear stuck in the Titan's chest. "Doesn't it hurt? How does it feel?"
The blond-haired Titan just stared stupidly at her.
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"Compared to Bean, Sonny was a lot quieter. He hardly reacted at all."
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The Titan just groaned.
"Hm?" Hange said and moved forward. "What was that?"
The Titan again tried to eat Hange, but she dodged in time.
"Squad leader, fall back!" Moblit yelled.
"Haha," Hange laughed in delight, clutching her stomach "That was really close!"
"You're gonna end up actually dying!" Moblit said in a panic.
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"Bean isn't very good at expressing himself. He just keeps trying to bite my head off. Hange explained.
"Um, Squad leader..." Eren said.
Hange looked at him curiously.
"How can you stay so carefree in front of the Titans?" Eren asked. "They're our natural enemies, who drove us to the brink of extinction. I'm sure you've had to face their threat a number of times before yourself too."
"That's right." Hange replied. "I've had countless comrades killed by them right in front of my eyes." She continued. "Back when I joined the Survey Corps, I fought them, fueled by hate. But then one day I realized It was when I cut off and kicked the head of a 3-meter class. It was light. Unnaturally so. Their bodies are light."
Eren looked at her in surprise.
"Normally such huge bodies shouldn't even be able to stand and walk on two legs. It's the same with every Titan. Their cut-off body parts were much lighter than they should have been for their size." She recalled holding up the Titan's severed arm. "I heard that when you turned into a Titan, that body appeared out of thin air. I considered that maybe the things we see are not the things that are actually there."
Eren's mind flashed to his two transformations.
Hange poured a cup of tea and placed it before him, then poured one for herself.
"I tried fighting the Titans out of hatred for decades. Now I want to try looking at them from a different point of view than everyone else. It might prove to be futile. But still, I'll do it," Hange said seriously and Eren just nodded.
'Since I entered the Survey Corps, all I get are surprises.' Eren picked up the teacup and took a sip. 'It's not just Squad Leader Hange. They're all weirdos... It's like a haven for freaks.' Eren thought. 'But it's also a group of people who demand change.' Eren thought. 'This is the Survey Corps.'
After a moment, he spoke up.
"Squad leader Hange, would you be so kind as to tell me more about your experiments?"
"Really?" Hange asked with excitement.
"Yes. I think it might prove useful in tomorrow's experiments if I learn as much as I can."
"Right." Hange said and nodded, cheeks pink in delight. "I did skip over some of the details in my summary earlier. Let me tell you everything then. It may end up taking quite a while though."
"That's fine." Eren replied with a smile.
"When we first captured a Titan, I made a hypothesis" Hange started.
The night turned into morning.
"So you've learned nothing new from what I told you, right? You should have learned all this as a trainee. You knew it all, right?" Hange asked, still joyous.
"Yes. I leaned a lot of new information. Thanks." Eren said.
Although he was tired, he was still energetic. He carefully listened to Hange all night.
"So let's go over it again, and this time I'll add my personal opinions and assumptions!"
Eren just nodded at her proposal.
"First of all, the Titans-"
Suddenly, Moblit threw open the doors and barged in.
"Is Squad leader Hange here?!" He shouted. "The experiment subjects... Both of the Titans were killed!"
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Hange cried out as two skeletal Titan remains steamed.
"Sonny! Bean! This can't be for real!" She said, clutching her hair, falling to her knees. "Someone tell me I'm dreaming!"
Eren watched, wearing the hood of his cloak. The Levi squad was beside him.
"Those experimental subjects were very valuable," Gunther said. "Was it a soldier?"
"Yes." Erd said, looking at the Hange. "The culprits are still unknown. Both Titans were killed before sunrise. When a guard spotted them, they escaped using their 3D Maneuver Gear."
"So it was a premeditated move by at least two people?" Gunther said and frowned.
"Check it out! Squad Leader Hange is losing her shit," Oluo said.
Petra narrowed her eyes and immediately jabbed her elbow painfully into his ribs, making him cry out.
"What just..." Eren muttered.
"Let's go," Levi said. "This is the jurisdiction of the Police." He walked away.
"Yes, sir." Eren replied but didn't leave.
Erwin approached him and leaned in, speaking quietly,
"What do you see there? Who do you think is the enemy?"
"May be... One of us..." Eren replied, unsure.
After a moment, Erwin spoke up.
"Sorry, it's a strange thing to ask." Erwin said walked away, joining Levi.
Eren watched as Erwin left with Levi. He glanced at Hange, who was still crying, one more time before leaving.
'May be... The enemy is after me...'
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