"Attention!"

The sun was hot on our skin, and already the leather of my jacket was warm and uncomfortable. It would be unbearable if not for the shirt that sat as a buffer between my poor skin and the harsh leather jacket - not that the shirt was much better. Honestly, it was somehow of worse quality than anything I'd ever worn or owned.

Hell, the one I'd changed out of this morning when given this uniform by Moses, while not a button-up, was incredibly soft and comfortable and more than that, it was breathable. But this one... Goddesses, this was stiff and awful and ugh.

I really hadn't anticipated that the clothes off my back, from the underground fucking city, would be of better quality than a military-issued uniform. Perhaps it was only wishful thinking on my part?

The jacket, despite being cropped, was heavy, especially with the thick, embroidered patches stitched onto them. When I was younger, I would wear El's occasionally, sometimes to mess with him but at other times because I knew he found it incredibly cute, but it was, of course, when I was a child and so the jacket would always be far too big for me anyway.

But still, it was hard to think that there was hope of moving around freely with something like this on to use the gear properly. Leather was stiff until worn in; perhaps once I wore it for a while, it'd feel better.

...That didn't forgive the piss-poor quality of the shirts, though. But once again, if they can afford a castle, then surely they can afford better shirts for their soldiers?

Apparently not.

Early this morning, not long after we'd all tucked into bed, deliciously, deliriously drowsy at long last, we'd been roused awake by Moses who led us to a storage room to rustle up some uniforms for us: shirts, pants, boots, and a jacket. Then we were brought to the armory to put the gear straps on, and shown where our gear would be stowed for our sets would remain the ones we brought with us.

So, you know. We stole them, and we got to keep them. Great!

They were old models, but with a quick look around the armory while we were in there, I realized with a start that they weren't too far off from what the rest of the soldiers had, the poor saps. I knew the Scout Regiment was the poorest of the three branches, even that was widespread knowledge underground, but they couldn't be that poor, could they? I mean, they had a fucking castle to train in!

But I guess everything I thought I knew had been wrong. I suppose, if anything, that it taught me not to assume anything about anything.

Regardless, after we were outfitted, we had the absolute privilege of meeting the current Commander of the Survey Corps: Commander Keith Shadis. My first impression of him was... less than ideal. From what I could gather from the brief interaction, it seemed he had a stick up his ass about as long as he was tall. Truth be told, I was sure of it; it was the only way to explain how grouchy he was. He was, dare I say it... more uptight than Erwin. Oh, yes.

But now, the Scouts were lined up before us, and we were lined up before them on a raised platform meant for superior officers to give orders for the day, make announcements, and the like - and apparently, to introduce street rats to the regiment.

Today, it might also just be where the four of us die, because just about each soldier here looked like they wanted to kill us, and if looks could kill, we would surely be back underground, though in a casket... Unless this regiment couldn't afford those, either?

Regardless, there could be no more than fifty soldiers before us, with Commander Shadis alongside us. This was... all that there was? There had to be more soldiers at the MP's base down in the city than there were here, in this entire regiment.

"I'm here to present four recruits who will be fighting alongside you," Shadis said, looking out at his soldiers.

I was standing, like Farlan, with my hands behind my back, a show of professionalism and respect, as best we could muster. Isabel had one hand sassily on her hip, and even more sassily, Levi had his arms crossed over his chest. We three were wearing our uniforms perfectly, but Levi... Well, he had taken to wearing his cravat, something that for as long as I'd know him, he'd owned but never worn.

"Now, you four," Shadis said, addressing us now, "introduce yourselves."

I opened my mouth to speak, but Levi spoke first, surprising us all. "Name's Levi."

"Isabel Magnolia," she piped up proudly, cutting in when I made to speak once more. "Nice to meet all of ya!"

"Amaya Ikeda," I said, smiling, effectively cutting Farlan off. "I'm honored to work with you."

And then Farlan, saluting the wrong way: "I'm Farlan Church... sir."

Only silence met our introductions. What a... warm reception.

Finally, Shadis broke the awkward silence as our voices faded out into nothing. "They will be assigned to Flagon's squad."

Flagon? Flagon. Was that what I heard? Oh, wow. What a fucking name. Please, say it again, let me know that you weren't joking.

"Take good care of them, Flagon!"

Oh, goddesses help me.

I didn't have to wonder long who this Flagon guy was, because he protested this order immediately. He had this ashy blond hair and a weird stubble of a beard on his chin, and really thin, expressive eyebrows. He had amber eyes which should have looked pretty in the daylight, but with the way he was so upset, they looked beady and dark.

"You're putting them on my squad?!"

"Is that a problem?"

"N-No," he spoke right away, not wanting to disobey a commanding officer. "I just thought surely they'd be placed under Squad Leader Erwin."

"I will be assigning Erwin to support Expedition Command in maintaining the new formation outside the wall," Shadis said, explaining himself. "Because of that, he will have no time to look after new soldiers." I didn't miss it when Flagon sent Erwin an almost envious gaze. It wasn't hard to miss, what with Erwin standing right next to him and all. "Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Flagon said. "I understand, sir!"

"That's all," Shadis called. "Now, all squads, those who have anything to report will do so before heading to the training grounds for routine warmups. Flagon, your first duty is to show these four to the barracks. Have Sairam report to Randy's squad for now. Understood?"

The call from all the soldiers came at once, in a strong chorus accompanied by the slamming of their fists against their chests in enthusiastic salutes: "Sir, yes sir!"

—

"This is the military barracks," Flagon said. "As I understand it, you stayed elsewhere last night, but from now on, you're expected to rest and keep your belongings here."

We followed Flagon as he led the way through a room nearly completely trashed. The rows of beds weren't made and both linens and clothes were draped over the edges, tossed to the floor, or bundled in the center of mattresses. It was a pigsty, and that wasn't even mentioning the empty canteens, bottles, and other forms of trash littering the floors. If I found it nasty, then I could only imagine Levi...

Yep, he was reacting as expected. He was sneering at everything with disgust clear in his features. If this wasn't hell for him before, it was now.

"There's quite a few, huh," Farlan mused as we walked by several sets of bunk beds.

"Sweet," Isabel chimed. "So we all get to sleep in the same room?!"

"The women's barracks are separate," Flagon said.

"Aww, I wanna stay here, too! I don't want to be alone!"

"What am I? A man?" I asked incredulously.

"No, but you sleep with Levi anyway!"

My cheeks flared with heat as Isabel spoke, and Flagon glanced at me. "That won't be allowed."

"I wasn't going to try it," I said defensively.

"That's enough," Farlan cut in.

"Farlan," Isabel whined, "how could you?!"

"I don't make the rules!"

To the end of the room we walked. There was a set of bunks bare of linen, with only a mattress in each frame. "This bunk's for you two," Flagon said, speaking to the men. Levi stared at it, for a moment, then ran a hand along the frame, disrupting dust and dislodging specks of... something, maybe dirt, but maybe something else entirely.

Ew.

"I know you've spent your whole lives living in a trash heap," Flagon said accusingly, "but try to keep this place clean."

Oh, no.

Levi turned, his gaze deadly if only looks could kill. "What? What did you just say?"

Levi approached him, and despite easily being a head taller than the man approaching him, Flagon seemed to be intimidated by him. "Hey! Don't take that tone with your superior officer, you little punk!"

"Anyway," Farlan said, getting between the men with a forced smile, "don't worry, Mr. Squad Leader, sir! We'll keep it clean! Right?" He looked at Levi, but must have known he'd get no support from him because he threw a salute to his chest.

Flagon turned on his heel. "When you're done unpacking, come to the training yard," he muttered. "We'll beat you into shape, starting with a proper salute, Church."

He left, and slammed the door behind him. I sighed, letting my shoulders slump. "Thanks, guys. Now Isabel and I don't know where we'll be sleeping."

"I'm sure it's just across the hall," Isabel said unsurely, then took my hand as though to lead me away to find it, but I faltered and stayed rooted in place when Farlan turned to glare at Levi. "Levi, didn't I tell you not to cause trouble?"

Levi didn't meet his gaze long. He turned to the bottom bunk and started rummaging through the linens left dumped on the bed. "Didn't you hear how he talked about us? Like shit calling shit dirty."

"Levi," Farlan sighed as Isabel, realizing I wasn't moving, let go of my arm and started climbing up to the top bunk. "Military hazing is always vicious. If you draw attention over something like this..."

Levi scoffed. "They'll only treat you with courtesy if you act dull, just like them."

"Give it a rest," Farlan said. "You haven't forgotten why we're here, have you?"

"I remember."

"In that case, until we get our hands on those documents, we've got to do everything we can to avoid arousing the soldiers' suspicions!"

"What a pain in the ass..."

"It's clear we don't 'all agree," I said, "but let's not make this more difficult than it already is."

"But-"

"Stop bothering Levi, Farlan," Isabel said seriously, draping her torso over the side of the bunk to hang upside-down. "We can just beat the stuffing' outta all of them, like we do underground!"

"Quiet," Farlan drawled out. "Idiots should be seen, not heard."

"Hey," she protested, "who you calling idiot?!"

Farlan smirked up at her. "Fine," he said, indicative of an incoming challenge, "what's eighteen plus twenty-two?"

"Oh, honestly," I sighed, shaking my head and looking away.

"Uh," she dragged out, letting go of the bedframe - despite still being hung over it - to free up her hands to do the addition.

"Isa," I said, looking up at her imploringly, "we practiced our arithmetic a few days ago."

"Shush! Take eight plus two, carry the..."

"It's forty, idiot," Levi said, knocking her in the head gently.

"Ow!" With tears in her eyes, she looked at him as though he killed her pet bird. "Levi, not you too!"

"You're such a pain in the ass, idiot," he muttered, making up for what he did with a pat to her head. I smiled at the sight, but crossed my arms over my chest.

"Guess we need more practice, Isa," I said.

"You don't need to know how to add to go on living anyway," she protested. "Let Farlan try to live on numbers instead of food and see where it gets him!"

Levi pressed the heel of his hand to her chin, shutting her up for now. "But Farlan," he said, getting back to business, "didn't you plan call for us to join blondie's squad?"

"At least give me a small margin of error. We made it into the Survey Corps. As long as we find it before the expedition outside the wall..."

"That's not the only problem," Levi insisted. "We've still got to take care of him."

"I understand how you feel, but that's..."

"Farlan. I'll go along with your plan, but I will kill him."

I almost wanted to ask why. It was not necessary. But it was a useless venture, because his mind was set on it and nothing short of death would stop him from doing it. "Fine," Farlan said quietly.

"But, before that..."

"No," I said in protest. "Don't say it."

"Clean around the beds. Don't leave a single speck of dust behind."

I threw my head back, letting a low groan out. "Come on," I sighed. "We need to head out for training, don't we?"

When my head rolled back around to face him, it was only to see him holding a broom towards me. "What," Isabel said, "now?"

Levi's stare was icy as it met all of us in turn. "You wouldn't want me to cause trouble, would you?"

—

Isabel was having fun riding her horse and practicing switching from the saddle to the gear under the watchful eye of one of the most skilled riders in the regiment, Farlan was working on hand-to-hand combat - though I think he was resting, now - with a different soldier, and Levi was being tested on his skills with the gear.

But I was stuck in a stable trying to find a horse that liked me.

"Kinda running out of options here," I said dryly, following the horse-master as he led me through the stables.

"Well," he said, "there aren't too many horses that don't already belong to a soldier."

"The soldiers take ownership of one?"

"Technically," he answered. "Your horse is your responsibility. You want a healthy charge to ride into battle, you need to care for it, just as you need to maintain your gear."

"I see," I replied. "But those few horses I met didn't seem too... interested in meeting me."

"That's just how they are," he said. "They've all got their own personalities and preferences, but I'm not sure what we're going to do with you if none of them like you." Then he smiled and looked back at me. "Strange that even a horse took a liking to that Levi character."

"Yeah," I said through a sigh. "Thank you for reminding me."

"We just got back from an expedition a few weeks ago," he explained, "so I think the horses you met are still too attached to their previous riders."

"That's too bad," I said ruefully. "The poor things."

"There is one horse," he said, "but you'd be hard-pressed to ride him."

"Why is that?"

"Since we got him, he hasn't let anyone near him. We need a whole team to even hold him steady so we can even fix his horseshoes and whatnot."

"Strange," I mused.

"Strange indeed," he agreed. "Actually, stranger still is how we got him. Some big guy in the Military Police command wanted to stand out, because he sent for a buckskin stallion. And he got one, sure as the sun rises in the east. But the animal hated him. So, he sent them to us I think in a fit of anger. Maybe he thought the horse would die sooner if he was in our care, I don't know."

"Seems to me that your charges are well cared for," I mused. "Especially if you go through the effort of caring for one that doesn't let you near him."

"These animals are my pride and joy," he said. "But funnily enough, I've got a good feeling about him today."

I couldn't say I'd ever seen a buckskin horse before, but when we reached his stall, what the horse-master said was true. He did stand out among the bays of the main herd. He had a tan, nearly copper colored coat that I'm sure shone like gold in the sun, with a black mane and tail that matched his muzzle and stockings.

"I call him Blackfoot," the horse-master said, stopping before his stall, "but if you can ride him, you can name him."

I noticed the way he kept a healthy distance from the stall door, and consequently, from the horse. I did not hesitate, and instead took slow, measured steps to reach the stall's door. The horse looked at me, its eyes dark and focused intently on me.

"Hello," I said to him.

The horse approached and I could hear the horse-master take a few steps back. "Miss, you might want to..."

My instincts told me I was fine. So I held my hand out, and the horse soon pressed his nose to my palm. I smiled and looked back at the horse-master. It seemed as though I found myself a horse.

—

"I can't believe you got such a pretty horse, Amaya," Isabel whined. We'd finally found a spot in the mess hall for the four of us to sit together at and eat our evening meal.

"Ah, well," I said with a dramatic sigh. "Prettiest horse for the prettiest one of us." Isabel pouted, and I patted her head to let her know I meant no ill will. "So, how was everyone's first day of training?"

"It was great," Isabel said immediately. "I didn't know riding a horse could be so fun! And it's not just fun for us, but the horses like it, too!"

I smiled, knowing her close connection to animals. "And what about you, Farlan?"

"Tiring," Farlan said. "They really can't believe that we're so good with the gear. I had to run drills for hours."

"You too?" I asked. "They had Levi doing that all day, right?"

Levi nodded, not looking at us, but something across the room. I didn't need to look, but I did anyway, following his gaze over my shoulder to see he was looking right at Erwin who was sitting and eating with the other superior officers.

They seemed to be having quite an... excitable discussion. With the way Flagon was speaking so animatedly (and clearly angrily), I could only assume he was talking about us. I wondered if we might not ever gain his trust.

Even Sairam, our only other squad-mate, chose to sit with another group of soldiers and not us. I knew most of these people had worked together for a while now, and many of them had met all the way back in the Training Corps, but we were to work together now, so it would do him well to get to know us, right?

I looked down at my food. As the horse-master told me, they'd only just returned from an expedition a few weeks ago, and one soldier did not constitute a squad. And there had been so many rider-less horses in the stables. I wondered how it felt for Flagon to lose nearly his whole squad, only for them to be replaced with... petty thieves. That's all we were, wasn't it? Street rats, thugs, criminals...

I sighed. I probably wouldn't be happy, either, no matter how skilled we were.

Someone kicked my shin and I looked up to find Levi, sitting across from me, already looking at me, silently asking me what was wrong. I shook my head, letting him know to let it go for now. I'd be fine.

All we needed to do was follow Farlan's plan. Once we did that... we'd be out of the way of these seasoned soldiers. We'd be out of their hair for good.

—

I sat up in bed, the blanket slipping from my torso and pooling in my lap. I looked around in the darkness, looking for... something, I wasn't sure what. There was this incessant ticking noise, one I hadn't heard before. It came in a regular pattern, one too consistent to be natural. I had to go find what it was.

If it was some kind of bird or something, I would kill it myself. I'd never get to sleep otherwise. God, I didn't even want to kill whatever it was. I just wanted to know that it wouldn't kill me.

I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and placed them on the floor gently. The wood was cold beneath my bare feet, but I could hardly bring myself to care as I eased myself to stand noiselessly. Isa was sleeping in the bunk above mine, snoring lightly. But her breath hitched slightly and I could hear her lift her head.

"Amaya?"

"Shh, Isa," I whispered. "Go back to sleep."

"Where are you going? To seduce Erwin to get the documents?"

I smiled, knowing her words were the result of her sleep-addled brain working very hard. "Exactly," I said. "I'll be back soon."

"Cool," she murmured, already lowering her head back to the pillow. "Have fun."

"I will," I assured her before leaving the room on silent feet. The sound was even louder in the hallway and I wondered if I shouldn't go get Levi. He was likely awake just as I was, but sneaking in there was probably not a good idea. So, I started down the hallway on my own, seeking out the source of that incessant ticking.

Down hall after hall I turned, and everywhere I went, it seemed to get stronger and stronger. But I found something far more interesting that drew my attention away from it. Instead of following the sound, I followed a stream of light cascading down the hallway through a door left ajar.

When I reached the door, I peeked inside but could not see anything from that angle, so I gently pushed the door open only until I could lean in to see. What I saw nearly made me scream. Because there, just on the other side of the door, was a person.

"Oh," I said sheepishly, holding my hands up defensively. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I was just up and wandering and... What are you doing?"

The person seemed to be doing some kind of science experiment, and she beamed upon seeing me. "Hi! Good morning!"

"It's the middle of the night," I said quietly.

They pulled something round out of their pocket, then nodded. "Well, sure, but it's one in the morning, so it's technically morning."

I ignored their confusing words for now and lowered my hands. "Can I... Can I come in?"

"Sure," they said happily. They had wild brown hair tied back out of their face and tired brown eyes, but ones that were terribly excited and happy, too. "I'm just finishing up some experiments. You're one of the new recruits, right? Amaya, is it?"

"Yeah," I said, closing the door behind me and kneeling down next to them. "That's right." I smiled; something about someone, anyone remembering my name when everyone else seemed to want us gone made me incredibly happy. "I'm Amaya. What's your name?"

"Hange Zoe," they said, taking my hand to shake it vigorously. I laughed lightly; their energy certainly was infectious. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Likewise," I said, then gestured to the science equipment laid out before them. "What are you researching?"

"Don't tell anyone," they said conspiratorially, "but I took one of the gas canisters from the armory. I'm studying it."

"For what?"

"To find ways to make it more efficient," they answered. "One of the biggest issues the military has is our limited supply of gas. It's harder to acquire than it is to use."

"Right," I said in agreement. I wondered if maybe I shouldn't say this next part, but I did. "That's doubly true when you have to steal it."

"Oh, that's right! You're from the underground city!"

"Mm-hm," I hummed. "We stole our gear but we also had to steal gas whenever we could."

"Wow," they said, considering it. "You stole from the MP's?"

"Yeah," I said, smiling widely. "We're both thieves, then. I won't tell anyone, don't worry. But why are you in a closet doing this?"

"The commander doesn't... endorse this kind of thing," Hange said. "I have to hide it, but nothing is going to stop me from doing what I can to help humanity."

"Wow," I said, every other word failing me. "That's incredible, Hange. Do you need any help?"

"I can use all the help I can get," they said, grinning. "I'm almost done for the night, though. But tomorrow I'll be working on re-pressurizing the gear and the vents to try to maximize output while minimizing input, if I can."

"I'd love to help however possible," I said. "Besides... I don't know how well I'll sleep with that awful ticking sound."

"Hm? The ticking?"

"You hear it, don't you?"

"Of course."

"Do you know what it is?"

Their gaze turned deadly serious then. "Only those who have experienced death firsthand on the night of a full moon can hear that sound."

My eyes widened and I thought it over. "I'm sure I've seen death on just about every day of the month," I considered.

"Oh goodness, you took me seriously?!" Hange laughed then, a loud sort of guffaw that might get us caught if we weren't careful. "I can't believe it! Listen, I made it up. It's a clock."

"What the hell is that?"

"You don't know what it is? Or... did you not have them underground?"

"Not that I know of."

"Look here," Hange said, retrieving that small object again from their pocket. It looked incredibly delicate, and when they handed it to me I realized it was making the same, although fainter ticking noise, and a pair of hands seemed to be able to move around the circle. "This is a pocket watch. It tells the time."

"That's what the sun is for."

"It's a more accurate way of telling time," Hange clarified. "Not that you'd have the sun to rely on all the time down there, would you?"

"No," I said, somewhat embarrassed now. "We just kinda had to... guess."

"I see," Hange said. "How interesting! Well, I can teach you to read it, if you want."

"Read it?! It's only numbers!"

"And hands,'' Hange said with a warm smile. "It's not that bad. If you can teach yourself how to use the gear and steal from the MP's, you're smart enough to pick this up real quick."

"Ok," I said unsurely. "But only if you don't mind."

"I don't," Hange said happily. "I love to learn, but I also quite enjoy teaching. So, how about it?"

"Alright," I said, smiling now. "Yeah. Teach me to read... time. Goddesses, that sounds so weird!"

"Doesn't it? You'll enjoy it though." They stood, enticing me to follow suit. "Let's go find that grandfather clock you've been hearing. It'll be easier to learn on a bigger clock, anyway."

—

Several Months Later:

It was summer, but it was clear that autumn was on its way. There was a chill on the wind and in my bones as we awoke early in the base, got our gear on, filled the supply cart, tacked our horses, and met in front of the base to get in formation. We lined up by squad, with the vanguard and command unit up front, and with the rest of us following.

When everything was prepared, Shadis gave the order, and we headed out. We rode through Wall Rose and then its southern district Trost, then through Wall Maria. For a few days we traveled, and finally we arrived in Shiganshina.

Shiganshina's outer gate was, apparently, the last gate we had to go through before we would finally leave the safety of the Walls. For months we had trained for this. For years I had dreamed of doing this... maybe not with the Scouts, but leaving these three Walls all the same.

As we waited, still and quiet, save for the noises the horses made and quiet chatter among some of the squads, I tightened and untightened my grip on the reins of my horse to ensure I was focusing on something. Over these past few months, we'd been ridiculed, criticized, and made to look like fools in front of the rest of the regiment... but we were here.

I couldn't help but be nervous, and my mind couldn't help racing with both excitement and dread. I'd been told the beauty of leaving the walls, but also the survival rates of these expeditions.

Flagon had told us that among our squad, odds were that only half of us would likely return. He was also sure to mention that as seasoned soldiers, he and Sairam had a higher chance of being among those that returned.

As though that was terribly motivating.

I looked ahead to Flagon, who sat securely in his saddle and remained unmoving. Sairam beside me sat similarly, not daring to even chance a glance at me.

Isabel was smiling and talking quietly to her horse with a bright gleam in her eye and a childlike smile on her face. Of the four of us, she was the one who defended us the most. She was downright aggressive about it; if someone so much as looked at us wrong, she would get up in their face and demand an apology. And truthfully... people looked at us wrong often. She also, conversely, was the one to brag about us the most, to anyone who asked and to everyone who didn't.

Farlan looked excited. He sat straight and tall in his saddle, looking around as though we were only out for a leisurely ride. He looked confident, too, but there was this underlying nervousness in his eyes that was plain as day for me to see. I cleared my throat to get his attention, and successfully got it. I sent him as reassuring a smile as I could to him, to which he responded with a smile of his own and a nod. He knew that I knew he was nervous, and he was thankful for the reassurance, for as much good as it would do us.

Through the training, he had been the most level-headed and somehow the best at keeping Levi in line. For the most part, he behaved, and kept as low a profile as he could. Truth be told, we were going about this whole thing similarly. Just as he didn't want to stir up trouble, neither did I.

Oh, and... we hadn't gotten those documents, yet. His plan had been to secure them before this expedition so we wouldn't have to go on it. But we hadn't. Perhaps that was why I was so worried. When things did not go to plan for us, they really did not go to plan. When things went wrong, it was a sure thing for them to go from bad to worse.

That and the low mortality rate...

I'd had a bad feeling about this plan from the start. It had gone away during training, but now it was back.

I looked at Levi. His eyes were focused straight ahead and he was not wasting the energy to pray or talk or worry about anything other than what was sure to come as soon as the gate before us was open. He looked calm, but he was getting antsy and was taking in his surroundings with a keen eye, I could tell.

The plan had not worked out, and the longer we were with the Scouts, the more likely we were to die out in the field. He wanted nothing more than for us to finish the job, collect our reward, and get the hell out of here because this... fighting Titans, I mean... was not in the original job description.

Levi, while he worked hard at the training and combat and such, was not above getting smart with the higher-ups. He was quick to tell them off if they harassed us, just as Isabel did, but he was altogether more likely to let his actions do the talking for him. Honestly, it was reassuring to know that even up here, Levi was still Levi. He'd always been a guy to prefer actions over words, for they said more than words ever could.

I wanted to reach out to him, to say something, but chose against it, especially when Commander Shadis finally spoke.

"Open the gate!"

Then, again: "Open the gate!"

The shifting of chains and the low groan of metal and wood moving met our ears, but did not drown out the words of the commander. The noise did, however, wake up the people living nearby. They left their homes and leaned out their windows, all looking, all whispering amongst themselves, all jeering.

"Today, we take one more step forward! Show me what you learned in training! Teach them the power of the human race!"

The gate opened and was locked into place with a solid, booming thud accompanied by the rattling of chains.

"All troops... Advance!"

Shadis yanked back on his horse's reins, and the animal reared back with a loud whinny. The rest of us prepared to move, and his words were followed by cheers and shouts and the excited neighing of the horses. Strider - my buckskin horse - shifted beneath me, ready to run.

It seemed now that Farlan allowed himself to voice his concerns. "Hey," he said uncertainly, shakily. Shadis brought his horse to a walk, then a trot, then a gallop, and all his soldiers followed suit. As the way was cleared before them, more and more soldiers began to charge, to follow. "Now would be a great time... someone... Someone tell me this isn't happening!"

"Well," Levi spoke, still not looking anywhere but ahead of him, "it certainly is hard to believe..." He paused, pulling back hard on his horse's reins, "that humans from the underground could set foot outside the walls!"

Smiling now, I kicked into Strider's sides and urged him onwards. He met the pace of the rest of the herd quickly, and with a quick glance around me, all four of us had done so without incident.

This was it, then.

I focused now on the shrinking distance between myself and the gate. The ornate portrait of Goddess Maria sat proudly on the gate, overlooking us all as Scouts raced towards it. The herd narrowed as the soldiers streamed through the gate, and all too soon, we followed Flagon as he passed under the gate.

Dark, dirty brick was all that was inside, and for the brief moment I spent within the wall, echoes of hooves clopping on the brick and whinnies and shouted orders coming from the other side bounced back and forth in a strange cacophony of sound.

And then... brightness. It was disorienting for a moment, but only for a moment. The sound of Strider's hooves were no longer as pronounced when he hit the dirt, and I forced my eyes open as soon as I could. The formation began to spread out, and I directed Strider to follow after Flagon and Sairam.

Only then did I allow myself to look around.

Oh, wow.

"Whoa!" Isabel shouted. "Amazing!"

"Yeah," Levi agreed. "It's not bad."

"From one cave to the next," I said to him, calling back to his own words. "But now we're free!"

There were rolling hills as far as the eye could see, and this beautiful sky of blue - the very same as Farlan's eyes, and of Levi's in certain lights - with puffy white clouds rolling through it. A flock of birds flew with the regiment, and far in the distance I could see a mountain range, one that stretched far higher than I had ever thought could exist.

I knew how far deep you could go underground, but to know you could also climb so far up...

"This is terrible," Farlan sighed. "I never meant to leave the walls. If we'd followed the plan, we would have grabbed them and snuck away by now! Where's that bastard Erwin hiding...?"

"Don't worry," Levi said, "I'll do something about the Titans."

"I don't care how good you are," Farlan argued. "These are Titans!"

"Don't you trust me?"

"It's not that I don't trust you, but..."

"Heh, heh, heh," Isabel cut in mockingly. "Farlan, you're trembling, ain'tcha?"

"Can't we focus here?" I asked. "Look at where we are! We're beyond the wall! In only a few months, we've gone from rats trapped underground to soldiers leaving the walls! Don't you get it? But as exciting as it is, it's terrifying too, so keep a look out for Titans!"

"If you're too scared, leave it to me," Isabel proclaimed proudly. "I'll take care of those Titans lickety-split!"

Farlan frowned. "You poor little..."

"Stop the chatter! The Titans aren't as soft as you think!" We all turned and looked now to Sairam, our squad-made. He still didn't like us, by the way. "How many elite soldiers do you think have been eaten by Titans?! You think a few punks from the underground have a chance against them?"

"Hey," Isabel said seriously. "You say that, but... if I end up beating the Titans, then doesn't that make all them elites lower than punks?"

"Isa," I hissed. If we were supposed to rely on Sairam today, pissing him off was not the way to go.

"Wh-" Sairam spat out, only to cut himself off. "How dare you!" He then shifted his hold on the reins of his horse, making to move closer to her, but Levi got between them before he could. "You little- What're you lookin' at?!"

"Sairam," Flagon barked. "Cut it out!"

"But Squad Leader-"

"Calm yourself! We have to prepare to drill the new formation! Titans could show up at any time! Don't disrupt the ranks!" He looked at Levi, then, something strange in his pointed gaze. "Real battle's not like training."

Levi tutted and that... seemed to be that. Goodness. I shared a look with Farlan, knowing he was thinking the same thing. We'd all be humbled, real quick. We just had to wait for-

"Titan spotted!"

We were racing by a forest, and from its shadows now came a Titan. "At 10 o'clock! One 15-meter class in the forest!"

"Oh, fuck," I muttered, taking in the sight of it. It really was naked, it really was huge, and it really was disgusting with its uncanny, human-esque figure... and it really was terrifying. It looked human, but it wasn't.

"It's coming this way!"

"It's close," Shadis shouted. "We can't just slip by. There's no choice! Engage! Vanguard, with me!" He veered off the road, and a few soldiers followed diligently behind. "The rest of the force, keep advancing to the supply point!"

The vanguard approached the Titan and the main forces continued onwards. "Don't let it out of the forest! Switch to maneuvering!"

Only... a second set of footsteps joined the first, one far closer now. Several shrieks rang out as a second Titan appeared, leaning out from behind a tree. "There was a second Titan hiding! 20-meter class, heading this way!"

"We'll draw it away," said a soldier of another advance squad. "Rear guard, increase speed and shake it off!"

"Lead it into the forest!"

"Hey, over here, you big half-wit!"

"Oh, god," I murmured, watching as it actively ignored the soldiers going for it.

"What's wrong?! It's not following!"

"Oh, no, this one's... it's an Abnormal! Going your way!"

"No good! The column's too long! The wagons are wide open!"

This was pandemonium and my heart leapt up into my throat. I knew what was about to be said before it was even uttered.

"Flagon's squad! Close distance and fight to the death!"

Flagon addressed us then. "Don't let the Titans near the wagons!"

Sairam leapt from his horse once he was close enough to the titan, as did Flagon and the soldier who had gone after it initially. I veered off the road to help, running on instinct and instinct alone. But... the soldier was caught in the Titan's hand and I gasped for whatever good that would do.

More soldiers went to dive in for its neck to cut its nape while it was distracted trying to eat the soldier in its hands. One flew in too close to its mouth, and...

May the goddesses lay his soul to rest.

Blood poured out between the Titan's teeth and it spiraled out in ribbony rivulets as the soldier's limbs flew to the dirt. "Quite a big guy, isn't he," Levi mused, and I had half a mind to ask him how the hell he had it in him to make quips right now.

"Damn it! It's started running again," Flagon called. "Sairam, follow me!"

"Yes, sir!"

The rest of us followed diligently behind, but Levi surged ahead. He wasn't planning on... oh god, he was. "Levi!"

"You little punk," Flagon shouted at the same time, drowning out my call.

"What're you doing?!" Sairam shouted, too.

"You said I shouldn't underestimate the Titans, right? Then why use these half-assed tactics to fight them? Isabel, Farlan, Amaya... let's go!"

"But..." I trailed off. This was no time to be cowardly. This wasn't a game, we could lose our lives here. But I'd be damned if I let someone else that I loved die.

I was not there to save Caden.

I was not there to save El.

I would not allow there to be a need to save anyone else, even if that meant...

"Shit," Farlan shouted. "If I'd known this was gonna happen, I'd still be back there drinking sewer water!"

"Farlan," Isabel said, "shut up and get ready!"

"Wait, you're still rookies!"

Strider charged ahead valiantly. The other three were talking strategy, talking about the Titan's weird ways of moving, but why waste time talking about it? I saw the way it moved. They seemed to come to some sort of consensus, but I was already moving. "Amaya, what the hell are you doing?!"

That voice was Levi's, and I heard worried shouts come from the others as I leapt off my horse. I shot out a wire, hooking to its knee, then to its back, climbing steadily higher.

"Amaya," Farlan called. "This isn't the plan! We had a..."

Levi shot out a wire into its spine, but I already moved out of the way and landed now against the back of its head. I grabbed a fistful of its hair, making it look around confusedly. As Levi sliced lines down its back and landed against its lower spine, it lifted its arms to swat me away. I leapt upwards, hooking to its head and using a bust of gas to swing towards its face and, after drawing two blades, landed on the bridge of its nose and stabbed them into its eyes.

As the Titan cried out in pain, I swung away and not even a moment after, Isabel and Farlan leapt off their horses and sliced through its knees. A light burst of gas ensured I had a soft landing in the grass, and I watched as Levi swung upwards, slicing clean through its nape.

I whistled for Strider as Flagon and Sairam slowed their horses near me. "No fucking way," Flagon muttered under his breath."

"Oh, man, that was awesome!" Isabel cheered.

"You both did well, too," Levi told them as I mounted my horse.

I hadn't noticed Erwin stop to watch us, but he did. I didn't have it in me to approach him when Levi rounded to face me. "Amaya," he said sternly. "What the hell was that?"

"That was me trying to help," I said. "It wouldn't do you three well to be whacked out of the sky, right? I took care of its vision."

"You were to help me distract it," he stated as though it was fact, "not go off on your own!"

"I wasn't listening," I said. "I didn't want to leave your fates in the hands of a Titan, so I did what I thought would help best."

"You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"So could any of us," I spat back. "What, am I just supposed to trust that you'd kill your first titan on your first try?!"

"How does that justify what you did?"

"Cool it, you two," Farlan said, pulling Levi back by the shoulder to get between us. "We did it, right?"

"Right," Isabel said in agreement. "Let's not fight!"

"What happened here was impressive," Erwin spoke now, much closer than he was a moment ago, "considering it was your first time. But you three used too much gas. You need to be extremely conservative out here." He looked at me. "Amaya here seemed to pick up on it right away. She used the Titan and momentum to her advantage. That is better than brute-forcing your way where you need to go."

Oh. I certainly hadn't expected that, but I was grateful all the same. I realized then that we didn't even have a chance to relish in our safety, in the fact we'd killed our first Titan. "Thank you, Squad Leader."

Levi sneered briefly at me when I spoke, but then his glare returned to Erwin. "You're expecting me to take priority of my equipment over the lives of my friends?"

"You're performing a lot of unnecessary movements," Erwin said evenly. "Are you beginning to have doubts? If you are, that'll be the death of you soon."

Levi's eyes narrowed and I knew he wanted to say more, but he chose - wisely, in my eyes - to hold his tongue. "Damn him," Isabel hissed when Erwin rode away. "He'd better watch his back when he's alone!"

"Shh," Farlan hushed her. "He'll hear you!"

"You four," Flagon said now, "back into formation! We've idled here for too long!"

"Sir, yes sir!" As usual... It was only Farlan and I who called back to him. Some things wouldn't change, and I was sure that as soon as Levi got a moment alone with me, he'd bring this whole thing up again.

But he would not make me falter in my conviction, in my decision.

All of this... to steal those fucking documents. So many plans, backup plans, contingency plans, counter plans...

First, we hadn't captured Erwin according to Lobov's plan, he'd caught us. But as the messenger for Lobov said, Erwin had brought us to the Scouts with no other option than death. Farlan, of course, made the plan to steal the documents to blackmail Lobov after getting our reward in order to ensure we weren't made into targets.

All of this... and for what?

We were risking our lives for something we were saving money for anyway.

We'd fought a god damn Titan today... all to rob a civil servant and blackmail a noble.

I'd had a bad feeling about this from the start.

—

We spent that night in an abandoned castle, maybe another base, lost to nature and to the mercy of Titans. The vanguard had gone ahead to clear it of Titans, but it had been a long, long night.

Still, I managed to find some rest.

That was a story for another time, however.

For now, as we headed out at dawn in a wider formation meant to utilize the long-range scouting formation, I could see rain clouds forming on the horizon.

That bad feeling went from bad to worse and the rain... I didn't know it yet, but it was an ill omen of what was to come.