~Elias POV; Earlier~

Since I was fixed up for the operation, I decided to come over to my friends and where Mikasa was. They were all just joking around and just talking trash, but then, Conny had to bring out the "serious question".

I snuck up behind them as Conny said this...

Conny: So, if Jean and Elias get into a fist fight, who would win?

I surprised them with...

Elias: If it was me and Shitstain, me with the first punch, hands down!

Mikasa hugged me as I shook everyone's hand.

Sasha: Hey!

Conny: You looking good!

Krista, on the other hand, hugged me out of nowhere.

Mikasa was furious and she looked like she wanted to kill Krista, but I subtly waved at her and she stood down, knowing that it could end badly if she hurt Krista, knowing how Bitchface, I mean, Ymir, was gonna take that.

Krista: Are you doing, okay?

Elias: I'll be fine, Krista. Don't worry.

Ymir: So, what are you doing here, blondie?

Elias: I heard that some of the new badass Scouts are gonna be a part of an expedition to find the path to Shinganshina.

Armin: That's awesome to here!

Reiner: Don't just stand there, show us the scar.

Elias: Alright.

I took off my jacket and started to unbutton my shirt to reveal the scar, which is about half a foot long and the stitches were just taken out a few weeks ago as it was healing up from me not moving it that much.

Elias: What do you think?

They all groaned and cringed while Mikasa was shaken up.

Conny: Definitely need to cover that up before someone gets sick.

Elias: Yeah. Right.

Jean: I've seen worse.

Elias: Really? What is that?

Jean didn't come up with anything after that and just kept his mouth shut.

I mean, Shitstain can't really come up with anything to feel better about himself. He talks when he should listen.

Elias: Well, we should get going. Erwin would want us to get packed up for the expedition.

Bertholt: Yeah.

We all packed up and looked to get going towards Calanth District in Wall Rose, but Levi had to come up to me with an angry look, like he always did.

Levi: Hey.

I looked at him as he said,

Levi: That takes six weeks to several months to heal, you know?

Elias: I'm fine, Levi. No big deal.

Levi: Really?

He then started to pat me on my shoulder very stiffly, making me wince in pain, but I grit my teeth and kept a straight face..

Levi: You're saying you'll be fine?

He then pat me again, this time even more stiff, making me grit my teeth again while I'm in pain.

Levi: Are you sure?

Everyone was going to take part in this operation and I'm not gonna miss it.

Elias: I'm good to go, sir.

He then took his hand off me and looked to start walking back to his horse.

Levi: You got guts, Heinrich, but just like your old man's, I don't wanna see them.

He then walked away as I cut the act and started holding onto my shoulder in pain, right behind Levi's back and I got onto my horse, Traveller.

Of course, Conny had to pull a joke.

Conny: The Captain seems to like you.

Elias: Like Sasha liking a piece of steak. Let's get going, huh?

Armin: Yeah, let's get going.

We all started riding towards Callanth, but on the way, Mikasa and I were riding our horses together and held each other's hands behind our friends' backs.

It was only a minute before I released and caressed her face a bit as we both smiled at each other.

Elias: You're looking beautiful today.

She blushed and smiled...

...while my hand is on her cheek, she grabbed it with her other hand, and kissed the underside of my hand, near the base of my thumb.

Mikasa: You know how to make me happy.

Elias: I try my best.

Mikasa: Well, how about yourself, besides having a bit of a scar?

Elias: Can't let you guys have all the fun.

Mikasa: I wouldn't really call it that. While you were out, Levi was trying to break us through the training and the meetings we had to go through. In fact, we almost lost everyone due to the briefing. Still can't believe you had to have him in Titan Killer Corps, and I'd bet Levi would kill to have us bend to him.

Elias: You know what I would kill for? Some decent food.

Mikasa: You just had lunch, E.

Elias: Hey, soup and water doesn't count!

She then smirked and said to me...

Mikasa: That's true.

We both laughed a bit as I find Mikasa laughing quite adorable in a way. I rarely hear her laugh, but it's quite cute to see that from her.

Mikasa: Maybe when we get our land back, we'll have a couple of steaks, just the two of us?

Elias: I'll drink to that.

~Later; Callanth District~

As the gates were risen up...

Erwin: Scouts, move out!

Elias: LET'S GO, YOU ASSHOLES!!!

The scouts cheered as we rode through the entrance and looked to take back Wall Maria, but as we rode past, Hange pointed out that we got a 10 meter Titan on the left.

I took it upon myself to fight as I got off my horse, flew around it, and sliced the nape, killing it in the process before I got back into my horse.

Mikasa: That was risky, you know.

Elias: Hey, we can't let any Titans deter us from reaching our goal. We gotta keep moving.

Eren: Loaded question. Be straight with me. You think my friends have a shot at taking down a Titan?

Oluo: Really? I should certainly hope so, otherwise what the hell have they been training for? Besides that, I heard that Heinrich has killed almost a dozen of those things in Trost, so there's some hope. Regardless, listen and listen well. Prepared or not, you're all Scouts, which means the time is nigh to choke back those fears and—!

And Oluo bit his tongue AGAIN.

Ironic and it's karma coming back to bite him in the ass since he talks when he should listen.

As we made it out of the village, Erwin started to speak and point out the plan...

Erwin: Long range formation. Let's go!

We all split up, but before we did, Mikasa was next to me and we looked at each other with our hands

Mikasa: Be careful, okay?

Elias: We'll be back together soon enough. Stay safe.

Mikasa: I will. I love you.

Elias: Love you too, sweetheart.

I kissed her hand and held each other's until we moved apart, our hands slowly left each other's touch as we had to get this part of the plan done.

I was told that the Titans, both normal and abnormal, are gonna be out and about, trying to break up the formation and foil the plan.

What I was also told was that the front squad will be spotting squads and they'll see a whole lot of them. The second a Titan, no mater the other, lock and load, and they fire a red smoke signal, telling the other Scouts, "Hey, Titans are in town. We should move in a different direction", acknowledging their comrades by firing the same smoke signal back as it will repeat as many times as it needs to be.

Once Erwin thinks he has an idea of where the Titan is, he'll fire a green smoke signal, and at the time it's seen, the platoon has to reroute the original plan in a way that will work for all parties.

The reason is because the less titans we encounter towards our destination, the better as this is how evasion was done, and it's working in our favor so far, so to know what Erwin had planned out beforehand would make the expedition more easier for all of us, leading us to our destination, which is Shinganshina, our home, and hopefully we take it back into our own hands.

This may not be a foolproof strategy as the land is wild and there are plenty of places where the Titans can lie for an ambush, but it's necessary for us to take the risk going forward.

Before I could go on, I have to say that I remember reading something from my dad's journal last night and it had to do with leadership and planning out the process for missions. And me being the leader for the Titan Killer Corps, and he made very interesting points regarding this position.

This was something I plan on taking to heart because since I'm a leader for TKC, I want to make sure that I get everything right in regards to leadership.

However, I was near Armin, and I was feeling that something was off. It's been very long since the last red smoke signal and the formation's still all over the map.

Armin: Elias, do you notice anything off about all this?

Elias: Yeah, you're right. Something's wrong, and I don't like it one bit.

Armin: What do you think it is?

Elias: No clue. Whatever's going on, I'm pretty sure it's gonna—

Then, we heard a loud bang coming from the distance. We turned to see that there was...

Armin: Black smoke?

Elias: There's gotta be a Titan ignoring the outliers and making a b-line for the center. It's gotta be an abnormal. Fire the smoke signal, black.

Armin: Right.

Armin fired the black smoke signal as I saw Ness and Cis going after it.

I wanted to join them, but I knew they would want me to stay in the position I'm in, especially when I was near Armin, so I stayed.

However, I saw them both take down the Titan as Ness took out the ankles and Cis sliced the nape, much to Armin and I's delight!

Armin: Way to go! Nicely done, Ness!

Elias: Such badasses, right!

Then, I saw something in the distance, and it looked tall.

I then realized that something was wrong and it's not like any other abnormal Titan we've seen.

When it got closer, I couldn't believe what Armin and I were looking at as it was horrifying to see...

(A/N: Now, if I had shown even a single pixel of the Female Titan's whole body, Wattpad would probably JFK my ass the next time I step outside.)

I knew something bad was about to happen, so I yelled out to Ness and Cis...

Elias: Guys, get away!

Then, they were right beside the Titan and just as Armin fired another black smoke signal, it was really coming too fast!

Cis looked to attack it, but he was stopped and swatted away, dead in the process while Ness looked to attack instead! But the Titan just flung Ness into the ground with the wire with such impact to where he was killed as well.

Elias: Armin, we should get going or we're next!

Armin: Right!

We continued to ride off as fast as we could until the Titan came up to us.

We split up as soon as we started riding away from the Titan, but Armin had to speak.

Armin: Did that really just happen?

Elias: Yes, the fuck, it did! From the look of things, we're not dealing with an Abnormal. It's showing intelligence like the Colossal Titan and Eren. It's gotta be a human being wrapped in a Titan body!

Armin: But who? Why?

Elias: We'll worry about that later, but for now—

Then, the Titan stepped over Armin, with its foot in the air...

Elias: ARMIN, ABOVE YOU!!!

It stepped in front of him and then the other side as I barely moved out of the way!

I was about to help him up but the Titan crouched down as I rode around to see what it was going to do.

I wanted to attack, but something was telling me not to because Armin's hood was down and the Titan just lifted it up, as if she was looking for someone in particular.

After a while, she ran off, leaving Armin confused, but I wasn't having it!

I rode over to grab his horse and bring it back to him, but what just happened didn't make any sense. I don't know why it didn't kill my childhood friend, but sooner than later, we gotta find out its motive.

Elias: Armin, can you still ride?

Armin: Yeah, I can.

?????: Armin! Elias!

We saw Reiner coming towards us as Armin got back up onto his horse,

Reiner: This is full-blown Titan country, so we gotta keep moving. Let's go.

We chased after the Titan as we gotta try to kill it before it kills any more of our guys.

Reiner: I came here as fast as I could when I saw the black smoke. Nice ass for an Abnormal, you gotta admit.

I prefer Mikasa's ass, thank you very much.

Elias: Trust me when I tell you that it's not an Abnormal. It has to be a person controlling a Titan body.

Reiner: Wait. What?

Armin: We'll explain in a second. We need to fire off a signal to warn the others.

Armin started to work on the smoke gun while I held onto his horse lead, but it was damaged from the attack, but I heard a bang behind us.

Elias: Hey guys. Looks like Shitstain, I mean, Jean got us covered.

Jean: Why do you call me Shitstain?!

Elias: Well, you're a piece of shit sometimes.

Armin and Reiner started to crack up when I said the reasoning behind my nickname for Jean, but we heard another loud bang and saw that more yellow smokes were shot.

Reiner: Oh man, that's not good. The right-wing spotters have suffered too many casualties to carry on!

Jean: Yeah, apparently most of them were wiped out by a Titan ambush. I don't know how it happened, but it was that bad. Sons of bitches were lightning fast. The spotters didn't have time to react. Whoever's left is trying to hold them off, but that's means now there's no one on lookout duty. Talk about a setback, right? If we don't watch ourselves, we're all gonna get wiped out.

Armin: Wait. She came from that direction. Does that mean— Could she have led the Titans here like a commander?

Jean: Who, her? Why the hell's she running from us, by the way? Is she an Abnormal?

Elias: I wouldn't say she is. Armin and I still don't know how it's possible, but she's another human who's taken Titan form. Someone who has the same power as Eran.

Jean: Please say you're not serious.

Elias: As a late period.

Reiner: Really? What makes you guys think that?

Armin: Titans eat people, but they're not murderers. Sure, they kill us in the process, but that's not their intent, they just feed on instinct like any creature. This one was different. When the others went for her nape, she struck them down in cold blood. Swatted them like flies. She didn't eat them; she killed them and moved on. That's out of character, even for an abnormal. The Titans that took out the right-wing? I think she brought them here. Just like the Colossal and the Armored when they struck. I just know it. She's simply not satisfying bloodlust. She has it in for us, or perhaps more specifically, I think she's actually after someone in particular. At which point the question becomes who and why? Hey, wait a second, could it be Eren?

Reiner: Eren? He's with Levi Squad. They're spearheading the right-wing. Or, they were.

Jean: Wait, Levi's team? I'm pretty sure you're wrong there, big guy. My copy of the plan had them in the left wing.

Armin: That's odd because my copy of the plan had them at the front of the right-wing, too, which now that I think about it doesn't make any sense. Putting them at the vanguard like that wouldn't be smart strategically.

Elias: Mine was right-wing too, so something seems off about what we were given.

Reiner: Then where exactly are they supposed to be?

Elias: Come on, where else? The safest position in the formation. Which, I think, would be rear of the center rank.

Jean: Armin, Elias. Now's not the time to be chasin' our own tails about this! We've got to get word out how dangerous this one is; smoke signals aren't gonna cut it.

Elias: You're right, for once. At this rate, she'll cut down the command squad! We let that happen, the formation goes to hell and we all die!

Reiner: You got a plan?

Elias: More than a wing and a prayer. We've got to try and distract her so the platoon has a chance to retreat. If we're careful, from this distance we should be able to manage it and make it out alive.

Armin: She's  smarter than the ones we usually deal with. You can take our word for it. From her perspective, we're little more than insects. One swipe of that arm and we're all flattened.

Jean then started smiling about something as this is usually not like him.

Jean: Is that a fact? What a terrifying thought.

Reiner: Seriously. What have you done with the real Jean? No offense, man, but the only one I knew could only be counted on to look out for himself.

Jean: Your people skills need work. Believe me, friends. I'm still all about number one. I just don't wanna end up a pile of bones no one knows they're mine. Thing is, I get it now. I get what needs to be done if we're gonna survive this fight! And last I checked, nobody forced us to take on this position. Now are you with me or not?

It was a weird awkward silence, but I gotta give Jean some credit. He's really growing and starting to act mature more than I thought.

You know what? I think I'm gonna keep the "Shitstain" nickname for him, but use it less until he does more of something that makes me let him know that he's earned my respect.

After that, Armin started to pull over his hood, wanting us to do the same.

Armin: Pull your hood all the way over so it covers you. She won't try to kill you if she can't see your face!

Elias: Yeah, you're right. If she's looking for someone specific, she won't make us go "bye-bye" unless she knows for sure we're not them.

Reiner: Good idea. As far as she knows, any one of us could be Eren underneath this get up. That's actually kind of an encouraging thought. Hey, you never know, maybe we'll get lucky and she'll be nearsighted to boot.

Reiner and I did the same, so did Jean, but he said this about Armin, in front of him...

Jean: Not gonna lie, Armin. The way you clung to Eren like a security blanket all the time used to really creep me out, but I always knew you were brilliant.

Armin: Uh. Okay, thank you. Not exactly sure how I ought to take that, but thanks.

Jean: And Elias. We may not have gotten along the first few years, but it's safe to say that you're a badass, especially when you got that wound on your shoulder and you're still fighting. You got my respect for that.

Elias: Well, thanks. Appreciate that.

Jean: And that war cry, "let's go, you assholes"? It's pretty funny, keep that as a part of who you are.

Elias: I just might.

As we rode close to the Titan, I just noticed something about her. She must've been running all this time and might be exhausted. That could be used to our advantage because we still have enough energy to take her down and find out who's controlling her.

If she speeds up, we're basically gonna lose her, so we have to make it quick or it's not gonna go well because if we're not quick enough, she'll just make it harder for us to take her down.

Reiner and Jean went on one side as I went with Armin on the other, considering that he's not suitable for combat and is more of a mad scientist than anything.

I mean, if I went over the reasons for why I trust Armin so much, there would be a scroll reaching as far as the ocean that Arlert has mentioned plenty of times, but that's just me mentioning half of those reasons, give or take.

Just like that, Jean fired a cable but she turned it didn't connect, but the Titan was about to collide with Armin!

I got off Traveller, sped up, using the gas I got in the tubes, pushed Armin off the horse and the Titan collided with me as I flew back a ways away from my friends!

I thought my wound had been split open again as I was in such pain and agony that I couldn't really move. It was so painful.

Armin: ELIAS!!!

I really couldn't move as I felt Armin running towards me, but I started to feel something on the top of my head.

I touched my head with the tips of my fingers and it was wet. I saw my fingers and it turned out to be red. I then looked at Armin, who was terrified and looked to fix me up the best he could.

Elias: Armin, DO NOT let Mikasa know about what just happened. She'll go crazy!

Armin: I definitely won't, knowing how she'll react since you're her boyfriend.

Elias: Look, Jean!

Jean finally hooked a cable into the Titan and looked to take her down, but she was protecting her weak spot!

Reiner: Jean!

Armin: JEAN! DON'T LET THAT SUICIDAL MANIAC DIE IN VAIN!

And just like that, she stopped.

It was as if what Armin said had triggered something.

However, Coconut had to keep going...

Armin: SHE DID IT! SHE'S THE ONE WHO KILLED HIM! I TOLD HIM THE RIGHT WING WAS SUICIDE BUT HE WENT ALONG ANYWAY! AND NOW HE'S DEAD, THANKS TO HER!

Jean got down onto the ground and Reiner looked to attack her, but of course, Armin had to keep talking...

Armin: SHE CRUSHED MY BEST FRIEND, I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES! HIS ENTRAILS WERE STUCK TO THE BOTTOM OF HER FOOT!

Reiner fired one of his cables onto the nape, looking to slice her down and make her pay, but she immediately caught him with her hand!

I thought this was it. My best friend from the cadet corps and in the scouts was gonna die.

Then, she stuck out her thumb and smashed his head in.

I think this is it for him. After all this time spent in the training years and everything else.

All of a sudden, I heard some struggling and Reiner cut the fingers off that bitch and flew over to us!

After that, he picked me up on his shoulders and just carried me!

Elias: Reiner, I can run.

Reiner: You're hurt, man. We gotta get you some help. Besides, the odds are that bought the platoon more than enough time. I say we follow suit and get outta here! If she doesn't have an appetite for people like you say, Armin, I'm guessin' she's not gonna follow us.

Then, I felt rumbling and it turned out that she's running away, much to our delight, but something's more off than I thought.

Reiner: Alright! Looks like she's in retreat! Poor thing's running home with her tail between her legs!

No, that's not what's happening. From the look of things, she's headed for the center rank. And there's one person who I know she's looking for...

Eren.