I was dead tired. Mike's leg took two whole hours to heal. It was much more worse than I expected, with the bone completely crushed and arteries was a difficult procedure, but in the end I managed to put it back together with immense concentration. I swiped my messy bangs away from my face and stared at my handiwork. It was like his leg never got injured in the first place, except there was a strange redness on his ankle. He would need proper medication if it got an infection from too much exposure to outside bacteria, and I didn't have that right now. I cursed myself for not grabbing my pouch before coming here. I was in too much of a hurry to remember to bring it...and now when I needed it the most. For now, Mike was just going to have to sleep through the swelling. At least his leg was good as new, it was crushed before...I was able to save it from being amputated and I felt relieved to know he didn't have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. I got up slowly and stared at the sleeping man displayed on the bed. I had to tear his pant leg to expose the flesh...but I was sure it wouldn't matter that much to him. He was alive. I wet the nearby cloth laying on the small table by the bed and dipped it into the bowl of warm water, then folded it and pressed it into his forehead. He really was cold...but thankfully Sasha's dad was nice enough to lend him a couple of sheets.

I turned to walk towards the door. My chakra was almost depleted, it wasn't a good thing if we ran into trouble, but...it was dark out. Titans slept at night so it shouldn't be too hard to avoid trouble. I opened the door and saw Sasha sitting with her dad in a nicely decorated table. They drank hot tea silently.

"I'm done, he'll be fine now." I stated wearily. They both looked up in surprise.

"Ah...that fast? You really did it, that's an amazing ability you have there young lady." Her father stated with wonder. He had watched me heal when we first set Mike's body down on the bed before I politely asked for privacy. He was making a fuss and I didn't want him waking Mike. Sasha explained to him my ability was part of being a titan and I was greatful. I really didn't feel like explaining my real story. He was surprised enough already.

"Yes, we will have to move on though, we can't stay here till sunrise...the titans will be roaming about." I muttered, propping myself into an empty seat. The old man offered me a cup of the tea and I accepted, sipping the delicious warm liquid.

"The others are outside ready to leave, I have to go with them..Sasha, why not come with us? You and your friend can can come with your leader back to wall sina." He offered hopefully.

Sasha shook her head. "We can't...I, we got separated from the others and it's crucial we find them, but take Mike please, we can't travel with him in that state."

Her father sighed, worry showing all over his face. "Alright...but please, be careful, It's hard to come to terms that you're a soldier with your own duties now... I'm proud of you." He stood up to hug her hard. I could see her huge smile as she moved to hug him back.

"I know dad...I'll be careful."

He moved away after a moment and opened the door outside to get two other men to help him carry the unconscious blonde in the room. Sasha and I watched as Mike's limp form was taken to a cart outside and wrapped in three warm blankets.

Sasha's dad looked back one last time before hopping on his horse to follow the others, who were already starting to depart. "Take care of each other, find the rest of your friends fast." With that, he lifted himself onto the horse and left, his body slightly jumped as the horse strode away to meet with the rest of the people. Sasha and I watched their forms from the door until we could see them no more. It was just the two of us now. Lost and alone.

...

Somewhere in the darkness of the night in wall Rose were two horses pulling a cart. Hanji sat beside Levi, holding a stone between tired fingers as she contemplated their had to drag Eren with them, weak from his last transformation and wrapped in a white sheet to keep warm. Mikasa and Armin sat on either side of him, staring down...deep in thought. The silence was uncomfortable...but it was a good thing. It meant titans weren't roaming. It meant they were safe for now. Despite being quiet, Armin was the one to break the silence.

"What are we supposed to do now?" The boy was worried. "Wall Rose got breached all of a sudden and now I...I don't know what we should do, even if we deliver Eren to the front lines, I doubt he could do anything anymore...and...why do we have a priest from the wall cult with us?" Armins blonde locks swayed as he talked, staring into the silent priest that had accompanied them.

Hanji smiled and wrapped an arm around the fragile man. "Ah that...well we're friends with Nick here now, see?" The three teens stared, unconvinced. Hanji sighed. "He knew about the titans in the wall, but till now has been keeping silent about that amazing fact. I have no idea why, but he seems adamant about keeping his mouth tightly shut where the secrets of the wall that he knows are concerned even if he has to die for it...apparently the members of his sect know a lot more things about the wall."

Now the teens looked surprised. Eren shot up, letting his sheet fall to the surface of the cart. "Huh? What the hell?!" He shouted.

Mikasa held him back. "Stay put! the after effects of your titan transformation aren't gone yet!"

"I was going to ask some other sect members but he chose to come with us out of his own will. The situation has changed so it seems after he witnessed all that happened, he's been having doubts if he should still follow the rules, so he wants to see the whole state of affairs with his own eyes." Hanji stated.

Eren blinked several times. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, that's just weird you know?" He stared at the priest pleadingly. "If you know something please just tell us! What can be more important than preventing the annihilation of the human race?" The boy wasn't usually so polite, but he had to play his cards right with a man like him.

Hanji glanced at the silent man quickly before adding, "I wonder about that, the pastor looks like an honest upstanding person to me, that's why I think that maybe...just maybe there might really be a cause more important than preventing the downfall of humanity."

"Well from where I stand, this one seems to have some guts, but what about the other fanatics from their little sect? I highly doubt all of them can boast this kind of willpower." Levi muttered darkly. The man was in a dark mood, and the fact that he had to come out there in the cold dark night didn't make his mood any better. The cart rattled, the priest wore a blank face. Levi continued. "Oh well...there are lots of ways to make a person talk." He pulled out a hidden gun from beneath his coat. His eyes bore into the priests. "Do us all a favor and don't try anything that might result in new holes opening up in your body."

Hanji giggled. "Finally you talk, you've been really silent and moody Levi, worried about Sakura?" She knew that he knew what she was implying, and it was funny how seriously he always took it. She couldn't help it. His reaction was kind of cute, and it made her think if it meant something. She got excited just thinking about it.

He sent her a dark look. "Shut the hell up Hanji, not worried just concerned, they went off without any proper plan and haven't returned, She's a huge asset...we lose her, we lose half of our hope." Hanji smiled evily. She knew better. Levi was worried all right, his mind was probably filled with her. And it was pissing him off.

"Well she is strong...I'm sure she's okay...unless she got eaten or torn apart by a hord of titans." She watched his eyes flicker with a gleam of intense worry. She knew it. Sometimes the man was easy to read, but it took skill to notice it.

He changed the subject quickly. "On another note Hanji, it's news to me that you have a shady hobby of playing with rocks." He eyed the stone in her hand blankly.

Hanji looked down at the object. "Ah yeah...well, this isn't your ordinary rock, it's a piece of the female types hardened skin that was left behind."

Armin gasped. "It didn't disappear?"

"Nope! It got cut off of Annie's titan body when we tied her with ropes, unbelievable but...it didn't evaporate, and it didn't disappear." Hanji muttered excitedly. "And I had an epiphany, when I compared this piece to the broken fragments of the wall, the crystal composition and structure turned out really similar. In other words, the wall itself was made by the colossal type titans who became it's supporting pillars."

The trio had no idea what to make of the news. They were shocked. "So it's really...just like Armin said..." Mikasa murmured.

Armin cut her off. "Ah! Then...then..."

Hanji moved forward swiftly, pressing her hand to Armin's mouth, which resulted in a muffled cry from him. "Wait right there! Allow me the honor to say it Armin. As it is now, it will be difficult to plug in wall rose right? because there aren't any boulders huge enough...but what if the transformed Eren...could plug the breach using that titan ability to harden their bodies?"

Eren shook, clenching his teeth. He hated being the one to be depended on for things like this, he wasn't confident. "P-plugging the breach with my body?!"

"The material bodies are identical, so after you undo your transformation what will be left behind is a huge fossilized statue that wont evaporate or disappear, what if it could actually be possible? That's what iv'e been mulling over you know." Hanji exclaimed.

Armin nodded in agreement. "I think it is well worth gambling on that possibility, and if we could use that repeatedly...then even our chances of conquering wall Maria back will look brighter!" He paused for a moment, then continued. "The standard approach in use today required the scouts to bring a lot of raw materials first, so there was a need to have a lot of staff and to plan supply routes, any progress forward could be made only after establishing supply points along the way...that's the approach that would take twenty years to come to fruition, but if the need to bring carts along is eliminated, then I believe it may be possible to make a beeline for the shigansina district."

Hanji rose her fist to her chin deep in thought. "Hmm...I see, with a small group we could make it to wall Maria in no time."

"then...how about we carry the outside the wall operation at night?" Armin asked.

Hanji blinked. "At night?"

"Yes! Titans can't move at night!" Armin exclaimed. "I'm aware that torch lights aren't enough of a light source to run at full speed at night...but even at a slowed down pace, a small group has a chance to make it to wall Maria before dawn."

Hanji stared down at the rock, brown bangs falling from the gesture. "Even though our situation is as desperate as never before, there's still hope..."

"Yes...only." Armin glanced at Eren. "Everything rests on the gamble that Eren would be able to plug the wall...Sakura is more reliable in her titan state, but she's missing right now so we have to rely on him right now."

Hanji smiled. "I doubt he can give us a definite answer right now even if we ask, but still, do you think you could do it Eren?"

Everyone turned to stare at the boy. Eren took a deep breath before answering. "Y-yeah..."

Levi interupted. "It's not about if he could do it or not." His eyes bore into the younger males blue ones. "DO IT, you must do it, you have no choice. You're aware of the situation we're in, at this point the legion can't do anything other than doing their damnest, so make sure you succeed."

Eren gulped and nodded. "Yes sir! I will plug the breach without fail!" He slumped back in his seat after the outburst. He thought about it...if Annie could do it then so could he. His fingers curled around the lone key that hung in a necklace under his neck. "I'm fed up with not knowing what the hell is going on, first i'll plug wall rose, then I'll plug wall Maria, after than the basement...if what my old man said about every answer being there is true then there should also be some clues there about his where-a-bouts as well, all the answers...are there...I know, when I reach there, I will finally learn where I should direct the anger boiling in me..."

Hanji looked up. "Hm? The hermiha district, we're almost there." They were close to the wall now.

"Our stop then, this is as far as the pastor and I can go with you, I'll leave everything to you, you are the members of the scouting legion specially selected by Erwin after all, I trust you get your role Armin? Keep coming up with ideas with Hanji like you always do." Levi instructed bluntly.

Armin straightened. "Yes sir!"

Levi turned to Mikasa. "Use your every ability to protect Eren."

Mikasa nodded. "Yes sir I will!"

Levi paused. "I'm not sure why you're so attached to Eren, but remember to control yourself, don't make another blunder...when we regroup back to headquarters I want to see you in my office, I'm not too happy about seeing your face right now...If you're going to be in the legion you have to understand the meaning of COMRADE, leaving Sakura stranded in the river at night is something a backstabber will do, expect punishment."

The dark haired girl flinched, eyes wide in confusion. "H-huh?" She mouthed. Eren shot her a questioning glance, Armin looked down.

"No time to talk about it now, we can do that later, now go." Levi turned his head to show he was done with the conversation.

"Y-yes sir..." Mikasa muttered, eyes still wide in confusion. They each got out of the cart with Levi pushing the priest forward roughly. He really was in a cross mood, and deep down he knew Sakura was a huge part of it. Where the hell was she? She was ALWAYS missing, why couldn't that brat just stay still on one place for a minute... 'Idiot' he thought. Getting separated with the rest. It was also Mike's fault. He was their captain. He should have kept them together. Now he was starting to regret resigning so early, but then he could never know this was going to happen, he wasn't a damn psychic. He shoved the priest towards the full streets of the town, half hoping to see the familiar pink withing the handful of people walking. It was hopeless...and he didn't even know why he should worry so much, especially about only one person who he didn't even know for that long. It disconcerted him. The priest paused, gawking at the crowd of lost civilians. Levi's foot pressed hard against the mans back, shoving him forward.

"Keep walking, I don't need you getting lost and making extra work for me." Levi muttered harshly under his breath.

"Wh-what is this?" The priest sounded shaky. He watched the sad people walk by aimlessly.

Levi sighed. Maybe now the fanatic might finally open his eyes to the truth. "What else did you expect, of course things are not going to look pretty and bright, the wall has fallen after all." The old man spotted a crying child and felt his heart surge with sympathy. He reached out, instinct taking over, wanting to comfort him.

Levi stopped him by gripping his shoulder hard. "Hey, where the hell do you think you're going?" The priest stopped. " The reality looks somewhat different than the pretty illusions you pictured to yourself while in your little sect eh? These are the faces of those whom you are trying to cast away, take a good look at the people who lost their homes, they're anxious and really insecure right now, but suppose your wishes come true and the lands within the wall get swarmed with titans...the last expression people will wear on their faces wont be this. The end will be the same for everybody, everyone will lose their lives and get devoured alive but not before experiencing the worst that is imaginable, All the humans together, no exceptions."

Levi waited. The priest was silent and turned away from the crowd. Levi did the same, eyeing Hanji and the brown haired brat. They were already making plans. He wanted to do the same, to go out and maybe hope to run into a certain girl, but the blasted man was anchoring him there. He hated it, and he hated it more that he would go out of his way to look for brat number two. It made him confused, and Levi hated being confused.

He could hear Hanji talking to Eren. "The lands beyond this point are now titans territory, Eren are you well enough to ride a horse?"

The boy nodded. "Yes, I'm more or less back to normal."

Hanji turned back to see the priest. "I'll be with you in a sec, just hold on." She made her way over to the silent pair, standing just a distance away from the old man. Her arms spread out. "Well? Did you...perhaps have a change of heart?" The man said nothing, it made Hanji lose it. "There's no time anymore! You realize that right?! Decide already if you're going to talk or not! I'm begging you!"

"I cannot tell you anything, I expect the other members will not talk or change their minds either" He murmured sadly.

Hanji turned away in a huff. "Well thank you! Going to all this trouble just to tell me no in the end! That helped us tons!"

The priest hung his head low. "This was...this was a grave decision for me, the burden we carry is heavy, our pledge had been existing for generations, and we can entrust the secrets of the wall only to certain blood relatives, none of us can tell you anything, however I can tell you the name of the person who can reveal those secrets to you."

Hanji's eyes narrowed. "Shifting the responsibility to someone else to protect yourselves and your organization huh?"

"Yes...five years ago, that person has been dragged into a strife between her relatives , which caused her to go into hiding under an assumed name, the girl herself does not know anything yet but...she has the right to choose to speak publicly about whatever she does know, I heard she joined the scouting legion this year, her name is...Christa."

Everyone gasped in surprise. Mikasa's eyes narrowed. Armin blinked in disbelief. "Huh? Her of all people?" Eren exclaimed.

Hanji looked at him. "Huh? what?"

"Go find her, She might know the truth denied even to us only...it is up to her to decide whether or not to tell you what she knows. Revealing her name is the only compromise I can afford to make, the rest shall depend on you." The old man murmured.

Hanji's teeth clenched. "That girl...If she's from the 104th trainee squad, this means she's on the very front lines right now...

Eren suddenly sprinted away. "Let's hurry! We need to get to the breached wall fast!"

"Wait a sec!" Hanji shouted. "I still don't know all of the new members by memory so could you umm..."

"She's the most petite!" Eren shouted back. The others followed him.

"She has long blonde hair, and she's pretty!" Armin yelled.

"She's the one that hangs around Ymir a lot!" Mikasa hollered.

Hanji stood dumbfounded. "Ymir?" She whispered. Levi sighed.

"Any idea where the pink haired brat might be?" He asked.

Hanji shook her head, then gasped. "In the front lines too, The first group did head out to the south first...we wont see any of them anytime soon, we can only hope they're okay."

Levi nodded, a feeling of unease in his heart. He didn't like the feeling, that girl was poison, making him feel things he never felt before. Even so, he wanted everyone to be safe, He could only hope...

...

Christa and Ymir followed their squad leader tiredly. They have been riding on horses for a while now and had no idea what was going on with the others. They were getting isolated from everyone.

The man beside them spoke out. "This area is close to the wall, so people don't live here."

"Right looks like we're done with our mission sooner than expected." The squad leader paused, her blonde locks swayed with the wind. "Now lets head south.

Ymir frowned. "But why, no one lives to the south of here anyway."

The blonde looked back at the brown haired girl. "We need to determine which part of the wall got destroyed...we'll run along the wall from the west side searching for the breach, we'll help the south squad and locate it faster this way."

Ymir clenched her teeth angrily. She was not okay with this..."You haven't forgotten that Christa and I aren't fully equipped for battle did you? The lands to the south of here are full of titans, there's a good chance we'll become their snacks. Please allow us to withdraw."

Christa gasped. "Ymir?"

"I can't." The woman stated. "Anything might happen, I want to use at least one member that could be used as a messenger, just in case, I understand how you're feeling but you chose to be a soldier so brace yourself. Everything depends on our performance during these initial stages."

Christa smiled. "Ymir, I want to try my best in the situation we're in, because it was my choice to become a scout...but...in your case it's different isn't it? The one who chose to join the scouting legion...was me not you."

Ymir growled. "You?! HUH? I'm here for your sake is that what you wanna say?!"

Christa flinched, hurt. "Then why are you here?! If you have no reason to stay here you should escape!" She yelled, tears forming. "I knew it...My abilities are not nearly enough to earn a place in the top ten of the trainee squad...If you ask any of them, our classmates would answer that you should have been in the top ten instead of me, I don't know why it turned out like it did but...You always urged me to join the military police, and you even tried to make it so that I had the privilege to choose to be with the MP. Why...Why are you willing to do such things for me?"

Ymir stayed silent. Christa sighed. "Is it because...of my family..." The blonde muttered.

"Yeah that's right...but Christa, rest assured I'm here for my own sake." Ymir stated smiling. She was sweating nervously.

Christa returned the smile. "I see, what a relief to hear that." Ymir stared, unsure of what to say. They rode in silence the rest of the way.

...

Deep in the forest, Sakura and Sasha shared a horse.

"Think the others came yet?" Sakura asked outloud.

Sasha shrugged. "I hope so, if they did then this would be over quick."

"I wonder if Connie is alright, but surly the others went with him" The pink haired girl mused.

"They did, Reiner and Bertholdt I mean." She responded.

It was night time already, They were sure the titans were immobile. Still, Sakura wanted to find the others as soon as possible. Sasha had insisted they go south to find Connie, and that was where they were heading now. The pink haired girl sighed in frustration. She could only hope The rest were okay...They rode in silence as the night air swayed around their retreating forms.