AUTHOR'S POV:
Connie stood before the Titan with disabled legs, holding some logs in his arms.
"Connie!" Reiner yelled, running up to him. "Are there any survivors?"
"No..." Connie replied as tears poured down his cheeks. "None at all." He continued to stare at the Titan. "It's all over... My hometown..." His voice wavered. "It's gone forever."
Reiner appeared to be affected by his words and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder while Bertolt watched cautiously.
"Hey!" Gelgar said, joining them with Lynne behind him. "Something's strange here." He looked around. "Has anyone seen any bodies around?"
Connie shook his head.
"No..." Reiner replied.
"I haven't." Bertolt said.
"How is that even possible?" Gelgar said. "Titans come and not even a single drop of blood?"
"Everyone must have escaped! It means nobody was eaten here. Including your family, too." Lynne said, smiling.
"I see... That's gotta be it." Connie replied.
"Yeah. It's unbelievable to think Titans ate everyone without leaving blood behind." Lynne said.
Gelgar didn't appear convinced. 'That's not all that's unbelievable. If the entire village was really evacuated, why would Titans obliterate these houses with nobody in them? But what really boggles my mind is the stables.'
The stables were full of horse.
'If they tried to escape without horses, their chances of survival would be slim.' Gelgar turned to face the others.
"Everyone got their torches? Let's move." Gelgar said and took off. "Our mission now is to assess the breach in the Wall!"
Everyone aside from Connie immediately followed him.
"Yes, sir!" Reiner said.
Slowly, Connie followed. He untied his horse and climbed up.
"Wel... come... home..." The titan on Connie's house said.
Mouth open, looking stunned, Connie glanced over at the Titan.
"Just now..." Connie trailed off.
Suddenly and loudly, Reiner shook him.
"Connie, hurry up! We're falling behind Gelgar!" Reiner yelled.
"Reiner? Did you hear that? That Titan just-"
"I didn't hear anything at all," Reiner responded strongly. "Enough with the chit-chat. Focus on the mission."
"But it... I think..." Connie struggled to find the words. "I don't know how, but... I think... My mom..."
"Connie! Do you understand the situation we're in?!" Reiner screamed, his head bowed slightly, eyes squeezed shut. "Hundreds of thousands of lives depend on whether we complete this mission or not! Your family might have escaped but it's not over yet! If you're a soldier, put the mission first!" That said, Reiner's horse took off running.
"Yeah... Good point." Looking determined, Connie snapped the reins and his horse neighed. "He's absolutely right!"
.
.
[7 Hours After the Titan Spotting]
4 scouts were on their way to the west.
"We're getting close to the Wall now, so there's no people living in the area." A scout said.
"Right. That didn't take us very long. Alright," Nanaba said. "let's head to the south."
"What for?" Ymir asked. "There shouldn't be any villages south of here."
"We need to find the location where the Wall was breached. We'll ride along the Wall from the west until we find it." Nababa said.
"But Christa and I don't have our battle gear. There's probably Titans roaming everywhere to our south. It's very possible we'll become Titan fodder." Ymir argued. "Let the two of us withdraw from the front."
"Ymir..." Christa said.
"You can't," Nanaba rejected her bluntly. "I'll need somebody to relay back a report. I know how you feel, but you signed up for this as a soldier."
Ymir didn't look thrilled about it but didn't disagree either.
The group rode beside a river with sheep on the other side.
"Ymir." Christa said. "I'm fine with putting my life on the line."
Ymir glanced at her.
"After all, I'm the one who chose to join the Scouts. But... it's not the same for you." Christa said. "The only reason you joined the Scouts was because "
"Hmph! You think I did it for you?" Ymir replied.
"Then why are you even here?" Christa asked. "You kept trying to convince me to join the Military Police. But then you gave that privilege to me. There's no way I'm good enough to make the top ten on skill alone. I'm sure if I asked someone, they'd say you deserved to be in it, not me. I don't know how you did it, but..."
"Why? Why would you go that far for me?" Christa's gaze lowered, her shoulders hunched. "Does it... have to do with my family?"
"Yeah." Ymir replied and looked up at the sky. "It does." Christa's eyes widened. "Christa... Don't worry about it. The only reason I'm here... is for myself and nothing else."
"I see..." Christa replied.
Ymir was surprised to see Christa smiling happily.
"Thank goodness." Christa said.
.
.
[9 Hours After the Titan Spotting]
A Titan chased after a Garrison soldier toward a small cluster of houses. Cannons were lined up.
"The target has come within range! All cannons, prepare to fire!" A Garrison soilder yelled.
Behind the group, atop a stone wall, Kitz Weilman raise an arm.
"Not yet! Wait for the order!" Kitz said.
"Sir!"
The rider entered the fence.
"Fire!" Kitz ordered.
Cannons fired as the rider ducked to avoid getting hit. The metal balls flew above him and the Titan kept getting blasted away. Rico appeared behind it and took out the nape.
Rico slid down a roof and slowed to a stop.
"Did I get 'em?" Rico asked.
A fellow soldier joined her.
"You did it, Captain Rico! At this rate, they'll never break our defenses!"
The Titan lay on its belly, steaming.
"No... The Titans' strength is in their numbers. If they attack as a group, this line won't hold. But...what was it? Something isn't right." Rico said.
.
.
The sun was setting, casting orange rays in the sky. Three Garrison soilders were riding along the wall.
"This is strange..." Hannes said.
"Captain Hannes! Is something wrong?" A soilder asked.
"We haven't even spotted a single Titan yet. We've got to be getting close to the hole by now. And yet, doesn't it seem awful quiet around here? Hopefully, we can sneak in and out without stirring up a storm." Hannes replied.
.
Atop the Wall, a dozen or so soldiers stood around.
.
.
[11 Hours After the Titan Spotting]
A group of Scouts was riding slowly, holding torches.
Face covered with sweat, Gelgar led them, followed by Reiner, Lynne, Connie, and Bertolt.
'When? When will they show?' Gelgar wondered.
Aside from the soft sound of the horses moving, the night was silent.
Gelgar stared into the darkness with wide eyes. 'When will it happen?'
'Any second now, they could leap out of the shadows.' Gelgar thought. 'No...' He imagined his group completely surrounded by Titans. 'The closer we get to the hole, the more inevitable it becomes. Dammit.' He squeezed the torch. 'This is driving me crazy!'
Gelgar's heart thumped loudly for a second.
A torch appeared in the darkness from the opposite side. Then three more.
Nanaba's group stopped before Gelgar's group, looking equally uneasy and sweaty.
They stared wordlessly at each other.
"Did you follow the Wall here, too?" Gelgar asked.
"Yeah," Nanaba confirmed. "Where did you find the hole?"
"Huh?" Gelgar replied with confusion.
"We didn't find anything to the west. Didn't you find it your way?" Nababa asked.
"No... There's no hole this way either," Gelgar answered.
"Is it possible we missed it?" Lynne asked.
"No way," Henning replied. "Not a hole big enough for Titans to use."
"Should we go back and look again?" Gelgar asked.
"We'll need to." Nanaba said, Christa looking tired behind her. "but the horses and the rest of us are exhausted. If only we had some moonlight..."
"Yeah..."
On cue, the dark clouds drifted away and the full moon was revealed.
Gelgar saw something in the distance.
"What's that?" Gelgar asked.
Following the curvy dirt path, they looked at two towers on a small hill past the forest.
"Castle ruins?" Gelgar said.
.
.
Moonlight lit the rundown castle as the sound of hooves filled the air. The two groups approached the ruined castle.
"It looks like a mess but we can make it work for one night of rest." Gelgar said.
"Right. Luckily the moon is out." Nanaba said and dismounted from her horse.
.
.
Elsewhere, another group of Scouts traveled. Hange held a piece of crystal in her hand.
"Hange," Levi called her but she didn't reply. "Hey, Four-Eyes." He leaned forward slightly to look at her with Pastor Nick sitting in between them. "Are your hobbies so boring that playing with rocks is somehow fun for you?"
"Yeah. That's right." Hange replied and held up the crystal. "But this is no ordinary rock. It's a hardened fragment of skin left behind by the Female Titan."
"Huh?" Armin said, shocked. "It didn't disappear?"
"Right! Annie reverted from a Titan, but it's still intact even though it broke off her body. It didn't evaporate. It didn't disappear." Hange replied. "So I thought, 'What if?' When I compared it to a piece of the Wall, its pattern and composition were practically identical."
She continued. "In other words, the Wall is a barricade of humungous Titans. And if I'm right, it's constructed of hardened Titan skin." Beside Hange, Pastor Nick bowed his head and she glanced at him.
"That's exactly what Armin was saying..." Mikasa said with wide eyes.
Armin gasped. "Th-Then-"
Hange slapped a hand over his face and pushed him back.
"Let me finish, Armin." Hange said. "As it stands, we'll be hard pressed to fill the role in Wall Rose. That is unless we can find the perfect boulder to plug it."
She was still holding Armin's face. "But if... But if Eren in his transformed state, can use the Titans' hardening ability to seal the hole in the Wall..."
"Use me... to seal the Wall?" Eren asked.
"It should be made of the same material," Hange said. "And seeing how the hardened section won't evaporate, even after you revert from a Titan... it's possible..." She removed her hand.
"I think it's well worth the risk to try," Armin said. "And assuming it really does work, reclaiming Wall Maria is feasible, too. Up until now, we've had to transport a large quantity of materials and supplies. That's why the need for outposts past the Wall limited our progress."
The group continued to ride.
"But if don't have to accommodate for supply wagons... we could quickly make our way to Shinganshina. What if we carried out our plan at night?" Armin suggested.
"At night?" Hange repeated.
"Yes. During the night, when Titans can't move." Armin explained.
Hange brought a finger up to her chin, thinking.
"I see... If the group was small enough, you could sneak all the way to Wall Maria." Hange said and looked at the crystal. "The current situation is as bad as it gets, but... we still have a glimmer of hope."
"Yes, but remember..." Armin said and glanced at Eren. "...it all depends whether Eren can seal the hole or not."
"I realize asking this hardly seems fair, but... Think you can do it?" Hange asked him.
All eyes turned to Eren, who didn't reply.
After a few seconds, Levi spoke.
"It doesn't matter what you think. You have to. There's no other choice. We're out of options. Our forces are struggling so desperately, there's nothing else they can do. You have to succeed."
"I will!" Eren declared. "I'll do whatever it takes to seal the Wall. Whatever it takes..." He said more softly, remembering his destroyed hometown and his father's key. "The basement..." He took out the key. "My dad's basement... If what my dad said was true, we'll find the answers to everything there."
"It's Ehrmich District," Hange announced when they neared.
.
.
Pastor Nick walked down the steps and froze when he saw the flood of refugees in the street.
"Hey," Levi said and kicked him, "keep moving. You'll end up like a lost little kid."
"Th-This is..." Pastor Nick stuttered.
"What did you expect to see?" Levi asked.
Faces full of despair, men, women, and children walked, carrying their meager possessions, whispering quietly.
"This is what happens when the Wall falls." Levi said.
Pastor Nick looked ill, stumbling away, but Levi stopped him, hand on his shoulder.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going? Take a good look at the faces of people who've lost everything." Levi said.
They walked with lost expressions.
"The faces of everyone you and your people abandoned. If your church's wish comes true and Titans come flooding through the Walls, we'll all be gobbled up in their stinking mouths and die the most miserable way possible. All of humanity, digested as one." Levi said.
.
.
Soldiers walked around the courtyard, with barrels and crates grouped around them.
.
"Once we leave Ehrmich, we'll be in Titan territory," Hange told Eren as they walked, holding a clipboard.
"Eren, think you can ride a horse?" Moblit asked when they stopped in front of him.
"Yes. I feel fully recovered now." Eren replied.
"Yours is ready at the west lift. Let's hurry," Moblit said as they moved toward Armin and Mikasa.
Levi and Pastor Nick arrived and they paused to watch them approach.
"Squad Leader." Moblit said, "we should hurry."
"Give me a minute, Moblit." Hange replied and ran back toward the duo. "Have you had a change of heart yet?"
Pastor Nick didn't reply, lowering his gaze.
Hange took a breath and stepped in his personal space, yelling.
"We don't have time for this! You know, don't you? Will you talk, or won't you? Make up your mind already!" Hange yelled.
"I cannot say anything. The other believers are the same as I, and that will never change." Nick replied.
"Well thanks for nothing! We're so grateful for the help you've been!" Hange said and stomped away.
"It's too great a decision for a single person to make." As Pastor Nick talked, a Scout led Sasha. "The Order of the Walls must always adhere to the sacred will we're bound to obey."
.
"This way" A Scout gestured.
"Sir! Thank you!" Sasha replied.
.
"Whose will?" Hange asked. "God or something?"
"I cannot say anything. However, I can inform you of a name, who under their sacred will, we were instructed to monitor." Nick said.
"Monitor?" Hange asked.
"That person joined the Survey Corps as of this year."
Eren, Mikasa, and Armin straightened at his words.
"Their name is..."
"Excuse me!" Sasha said and entered. "104th Trainee Corps! Sasha Blouse!" But she was ignored.
Armin's mouth fell open.
"Her?" Eren said with wide eyes.
"Who's that?" Hange asked as Sasha joined them.
"Um, this is for you, Squad Leader." Sasha approached her.
"You must find her at once." Pastor Nick told them. "Only she... She may know the truths which even we cannot perceive."
Sasha walked behind Eren, Mikasa and Armin and leaned on her tippy-toes to see what was going on.
"That is all the information I can share," Pastor Nick said. "The rest I leave in your hands."
"If she's in the 104th," Hange said. "then she's deep in the front lines right now.".
"Let's go!" Eren said and turned and began to move. "We need to hurry!"
He bumped into Sasha, knocking her down.
"Wait!" Hange called out.
"Ouch..." Sasha said.
"Sasha?!" Eren asked.
"Really? You're just now noticing I'm there? I'm hurt." Sasha said.
"What are you doing here?" Mikasa asked.
Sasha gasped, snatching up the paper and standing before Hange.
"Upon my arrival, I gave my report to the commander! Afterwards, I was entrusted to deliver this message to the squad leader!" Sasha said and presented Hange the paper, head bowed.
"Message? Thank you. Good work." Hange said and slapped a potato in her hands and ran off.
.
.
The scouts were getting ready. Mikasa was helping Eren.
"So, who is this girl in the 104th?" Hange asked, watching them get ready.
"She's the smallest one of us all." Eren answered.
"She's got long golden hair." Armin added.
"She's always hanging around Ymir." Mikasa told them.
Hange made a surprised sound and even Levi looked mildly interested behind her.
"Ymir?" Hange asked.
"That's right," Mikasa said.
.
.
"Everyone understand?" Hange asked, standing at the head of the table.
"Yes!" The Scouts replied.
"We've got to go!" Eren said and moved first.
"Calm down, Eren," Levi said. "You all listen, too." Mikasa turned to face him. "We're going on our own ways now. The rest is up to you. Erwin may have thrown together your squad, but everything's riding on you. Got it, Armin? Work with Hange and combine your knowledge."
"Y-Yes, sir!" Armin replied.
"Mikasa, I don't know why you're so attached to Eren, but use the utmost of your ability to protect Eren at all costs." Levi said.
"Yes, sir!" Mikasa said. "Of course!"
"And finally..." Levi said and shoved off the wall. "Eren, learn how to restrain yourself. Don't succumb to rage and lose sight of the goal. We can't afford another mistake."
"Yes, sir!" Eren replied.
.
.
The soldiers rode in the night, some carrying torches to light the way for others.
Using the light from Moblit's torch, Hange was reading a small notebook.
"There's a tower nearby where we can assess the Wall." Hange informed. "It's in an abandoned castle to the southwest. We'll ride to Utgard Castle."
'New surprises are waiting for us...'
______________