Corporal Levi stood next to Erwin on top of a nearby tree. The female titan was captured successfully. Levi's eyes lingered on his teams retreating forms until they were too far away to identify separately, the only visible thing standing out being a pink fluttering blur. Too many lives were lost in trying to lead the titan here. However, It was worth it in the eyes of his superior. He would trust the man that he followed for so long. His dark eyes swept across the titan. Someone was in there. He fantasized about gutting the human body residing within the titan. Levi was detached when it came to emotions, but that didn't mean he didn't care. He cared about his comrades more than anything in the world. More so than a captain should. "I hope they haven't pissed themselves." The man grunted. He took out a sword.

"Wait, Levi." Erwin stopped him. The blonde, taller man had different plans. He wanted the woman inside the titan alive. " Waves two and three, fire! Fire the spare rounds!" Erwin shouted. Explosions erupted as more wires shot out towards the female titan.

"Look at you titan, you wont be able to scratch an itch, you wont be able to make a single move, probably for the rest of your life." Hanji spoke like a madwoman, staring at the wires in a sadistic smile. "They're designed so that the more you try to move, the more immobilized your joints become, but how are we going to take the person out?" She asked staring up at the neck that was covered by the titans hands in a protective manner.

"We cut her out." Levi spoke. He used his maneuver gear to hop up above the titan and moved in for a strike. The titans hands froze into a hardened blue crystal. Levi's sword collided with it and broke. He frowned angrily. His advances weren't working and it was pissing him off.

"It can specifically harden parts of its body to form a shield, its similar to the armored titan, if we continue to use our blades will it weaken?." Erwin spoke out loudly. Levi grunted.

"Who knows." He responded, climbing on top of the titans head. Erwin called for someone.

"Get the explosives ready, blow her hands off." He stated with a hard face. The soldier gasped.

"But the amount we carry…it's enough to blow off what's inside." He commented while pointing at his neck. Erwin frowned.

"We will aim for the wrists first, she should come out on her own, go." The soldier nodded and motioned for the others to get the explosives ready. Levi scraped his foot against the titans hair, hoping to get as much dirt and grime on her as possible. He wanted to kill her.

"Hey…why not just come out? We don't have time to waste, so, what do you think will happen to you now? Do you believe you can escape? I wish you would consider all the trouble this is taking…" He stared at her head in hatred. The person that killed his people…Eldo…He wanted to just cut her head off. "As I recall you killed my troops in various ways, did you find it fun? Right now I'm having fun, I think you can understand me." He waited. The titan was silent. Not that she could talk anyway. "That's right, I wanted to ask you something, is it okay if we cut off you hands and legs?" His voice rose with the question. He was glaring daggers at her head. "They'll grow back right? I'm talking about your limbs not the titans, we need you alive after all." He rose his sword. He wasn't prepared for the piercing scream the titan gave. Everyone clamped their hands to their ears as the titan screamed loudly, angrily, making air swirl everywhere. Levi almost stumbled from her head. She screamed for a good minute, then stopped."Well that was a surprise…" He muttered. Hanji unclenched her hands from her ears, shaking from the surprise.

"Were those her…dying screams?" She asked shakily. Everyone waited. The titan showed no signs of screaming again. She was dead silent.

"Titans! Their coming from everywhere!" Someone shouted with a panicked face. Everyone gasped in horror.

"Ready those explosives now!" Erwin shouted. "Cart guard team, get ready!"

Titans appeared from all directions. It was no use, there were too many, and they were all headed for the female titan. Everyone retreated to the trees except Levi.

"You did something, didn't you, bitch." He muttered while kicking her head. He clenched his teeth and shot wires towards two oncoming titans and flew. He spun wildly, cutting the back of their necks swiftly with no problem.

"They're after the female titan! Protect her at all costs! We need her alive!" Erwin shouted. Everyone flew forward to engage in combat. It was chaos. Blood rained from the sky as titans were being cut everywhere. Erwin couldn't even see who was who. It was no use. They were outnumbered by many. The female titan was already being eaten. More blood rained, it was starting to smell. "Men! Retreat!" Erwin ordered. They couldn't protect her. "Get back in formation, we will depart now!" He shouted his voice strong and confident. They watched the female titan get devoured until she was nothing but a bloody heap on the floor, deformed and unrecognizable.

"We almost had her I could taste it…" Erwin muttered to Levi, who was hanging by his gear to a tree. The darker haired man whipped at his bloody cheek.

"Just look at you, don't tell me…"

Erwin was disappointed in himself. "The enemy was willing to sacrifice everything, I didn't expect her to destroy herself along with the evidence by making titans devour her." He had failed, He was beyond disappointed. For Erwin, failing was a major blow to his spirit, but he would never show it. No, he was strong, calm, and reserved, but Levi…always knew what Erwin felt, and he could see it now.

"All our talk at the court martial and this is what happens, if we return empty handed, who knows what will happen to Eren or us, Sakura will be put in suspicion too, they will be nervous with the prospect of having an outsider with us given the events today." Levi spoke. He thought about it. Will she be killed? Probably. Even he couldn't save someone from the king. He would decide to torture her for information. Levi scowled. Erwin would try his best to defend her, because, he knew, his superior was interested in her. He boasted about the pink haired girl too much. He couldn't understand why. Erwin was a lot like Levi, he was not a man of emotions, so whether his interest in the girl was because of her skills or whether it was a romantic thing, Levi couldn't tell. Still, he found she was indeed strong, being the only one to be in par with him. They needed her, but still had yet to show her worth. Why was she so important to Erwin anyway? It pissed Levi off to see him hide his emotions so well. Was she worth it? They knew Eren was. They didn't know squat about Sakura, yet Erwin acted like she mattered a lot, in his own reserved way. No one would notice it, but Levi knew better. It was creepy really, considering Erwins age. He watched the blonde man for a reaction. He showed none.

"We will worry about that later, our priority now is getting home without casualties, for now…we leave as soon as the smoke clears up, it could interfere with our flare signal" For a brief second, Erwin held sadness in his tone. It made Levi wonder if he heard him right.

"I'll go get my team." Levi stood against the tree to leave.

"Wait Levi, refill your gas and tanks." Erwin instructed.

"There isn't time, I think I have plenty, why?"

"That's an order, follow it." Erwin spoke blankly. He was in no mood to argue.

"Roger." Levi muttered with a frown on his face. He turned away from the taller man. "I trust your decision." A blue flare was shot up, signaling the others that it was time to leave. Others followed, signaling that they saw it. It was a roger. They were going home.

"What are those explosions? There trying to capture it…That was Erwin's plan from the beginning right?" Eren's voice echoed throughout the forest. He looked worried, we all did. We had finally reached the middle of the forest and stood on top of the trees, waiting for orders. Explosions were heard over and over again. "There's someone inside that titan isn't there, I can see why he didn't tell the new troops…, but why wouldn't he tell you? When you've been in the survey corps for so long…" Eren trailed off.

"Shut up!" Oluo shouted from where he stood, clearly offended.

"Are you saying the commander and captain doesn't trust us?" Petra countered. Eren turned to her.

"But that's what it means!" He shouted defensively. I stayed silent and leaned against my tree.

"Petra! Rip out his teeth!" Oluo howled in anger, swinging his sword towards Eren.

"No, Eren's right, I think there was a reason the commander couldn't trust us, and there's only one reason for that, there's someone who can become a titan, or a spy helping them in the survey corps." Gunther gasped, making me jump. The man was so quiet the whole time, I never really noticed him.

"Are you sure?" The dark haired quiet man asked.

"Yes, I think the only soldiers who were told of the plan were those who stayed alive for the past five years." Mike finished.

"I see…" Gunther whispered.

"That has to be it, see Eren, that's why." Oluo sneered his way.

"Yes, that makes a lot of sense." Petra added. "He's assuming that five years ago, when the first wall fell, a spy infiltrated our ranks, and that's how he narrowed down the possibilities." She assured Eren, who for a moment had a clueless look on his face. Oluo stared at me suspiciously. I frowned and averted my eyes. He was on to me…

"Then you think the spy killed Sawney and Bean?" Mike asked. Petra rose her head.

"Back then, the commander asked me about that…" I gasped. Erwin knew all along that's why he asked Eren that question during Hanji's mental freakout. Eren and I exchanged knowing glances.

"So that's what the question meant…" Eren whispered.

"If we could have answered it, we could have participated in this mission properly," Mike said, scrunching his nose with his fingers. I tensed. He better not do his sniffing habit now of all times.

" I knew, but I didn't say anything, do you know why?" Oluo asked. He was boasting again.

"Why?" I asked.

He turned to me. "What you don't know? Well I would expect that from the likes of you, you have yet to reach my level." His voice was low and forced. He was trying hard to not speak in his usual tone. My eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Hey…are you trying to copy Levi again?" Petra asked, her face showed no amusement. "He would never say something like that, and his voice is not ugly like yours." Oluo growled.

"Do you think the commander was wrong?" Mike asked suddenly. We stayed silent. "Eren, Sakura, you two don't know it yet, but the reason Erwin Smith is entrusted with humanities hope, the survey corps, is because he can make decisions that others can't."

"Just look at how much captain Levi trusts him." Petra exclaimed proudly, almost gushing. I smiled. Eren looked down frowning. He was thinking very hard about this. Many people died…all because we weren't told what this mission was about. It made Erwin look bad. He could have avoided trying to take it down. Eldo would still be here… I looked around. No one was bringing him up, and I'm sure no one wanted to. A scream made us all freeze. It was so loud the air swayed wildly. We stared at the direction the screams were coming from.

"What the hell is that?" Oluo shouted. We waited until they died down. Silence never sounded so peaceful.

"What are they doing to it…" Eren muttered. He was gazing at the path we came from.

" She probably got frustrated, it sounded like the scream of a cornered animal." Gunther stated.

I sat down next to petra. "When this is over, you're going to tell Levi about your feelings okay?" I whispered to her. She blushed.

"Just don't back out on me, you have no idea how much courage this is going to take." She squeaked out shyly. I grinned.

"Not a chance!" I elbowed her playfully. I enjoyed playing cupid, I wanted to see Petra have what I wanted, but couldn't.

"I can't believe you talked me into this." She groaned, throwing her head back nervously. A shot was heard. We looked up curiously to see the line of blue smoke in the sky.

"All right! We can go home!" Oluo shouted happily. Mike took out his own flare gun and shot it upwards.

"Let's go" He commanded while sniffing the air. I gave him a confused look. What was he sniffing the air for?

"You heard the man." Oluo said smiling. "Let's go see what the bastard inside that thing looks like."

We arranged our gas tanks to make sure they were full. It seemed we were going to use the gear to get back. I slumped my shoulders nervously. I could use the gear well, I just didn't want to space off and accidentally hop from tree to tree. "Will we really see who the spy is?" Eren asked.

"It's thanks to you." Petra exclaimed smiling. Eren frowned.

"I didn't really do anything" He remarked.

"You had faith in us, this is the result in your choice to trust us back then, making the right choice isn't easy."

"Hey don't spoil him Petra, what did he do, he was pathetic, he was just whining the whole way here, even pinky over here had more balls." I couldn't help but smirk. "Well, coming back on your first expedition is pretty good, but it doesn't count until the mission is over, listen kiddo's! the mission lasts until your home in bed!"

I pouted. "Jeez I know that…"Eren stated. We shot forwards on our gears with mike leading the way.

"Eren! Oluo! You pissed your pants and cried on this mission! After today, you will be all grown up now! Sakura! Congratulations on holding it in!" He shouted cheerfully. We stared disbelievingly.

"Ahhhhh! Shut up! What if pinky stops respecting me!" Oluo shouted. I burst out laughing.

"I never respected you in the first place!" I responded.

"Shut up, shut up! I killed way more titans than you! Way more you idiot!" He shouted angrily. I bit my lip to stop my laughter. It was so easy to rile him up.

"Kill count is not what makes a great soldier!" Mike retorted. Oluo bit into his sleeve, fuming.

"All of you shut up! This ain't no picnic! You're outside the walls! By the way…I never pissed myself on my first mission!" Gunther yelled. A pop sound erupted in the air. Green smoke.

"That's probably the signal from captain Levi, Lets meet up with the captain! Cut the chatter till we get back!" Mike shouted. He stood on a tree and shot a green flare upwards. Signaling the Sasuke clone where we were. We sped forwards in silence this time. Petra and I stayed at the far back to chatter about her crush to the clean freak. The forest became a blur as we sped up. After a while, I noticed someone hovering in midair, trying to join us. "Ah look, there's your man." I elbowed Petra, who turned bright red and hissed at me to keep my voice down. I giggled.

"Corporal!" I shouted over to him. Seeing Petra act in front of him was too funny, I wanted to make them travel together. Gunther gasped. "No that's not! Who are you?!" I froze. The mystery person twisted around and flew towards Gunther, swords raised as they slashed him open. We all reacted too slowly.

"G-Gunther! What? Why?!" Eren shouted while following the silent man as he fell and crashed against a tree. His wires were the only thing keeping him suspended as he twirled in circles in midair. Lifeless.

"Eren!" Mike and Petra shouted. I looked around wildly for the culprit who turned back on us. It wasn't Levi… Oluo and I were the only ones looking for the bastard. The others went after Eren.

"Where is he?!" I shouted. They disappeared without a trace.

"Gunther! Gunther! Hey!" Eren hung on his gear, suspended in the air and yelling at a hanging corpse.

"Eren don't stop!" Mike yelled. He swept down and took Eren by the waist. He threw the boy forward. Eren used his gear to avoid falling.

"But Gunther!" He shouted while looking back with wide eyes. The mystery person appeared behind us.

"There he is!" I shouted.

"Who the hell is it?!" Oluo hissed angrily, sword raised.

"Protect Eren! Dammit what do we do!" Petra yelled.

"Mike! Where do we go! There isn't time to reach the horses!" Oluo tried to position himself between the person and Eren without getting too close. I took out a kunai and hurled it towards the persons face. I wanted to know who it was. He moved quickly, avoiding my weapon and scaled the air faster.

"Head for headquarters as fast as possible!" Mike responded. He sniffed. His eyes were wide with disbelief. He knew who it was.

"Is it from the female titan? Or someone else?" I asked. He didn't respond.

"Damn you! Come at me! I'll kill you even if it kills me!" Petra shouted with rage. She stopped scaling and hovered in the middle, ready for an attack. The person retreated quickly, until he was out of sight. We waited, the air moved slowly, it was almost as if time had stopped. I could hear my blood rushing through my veins in anticipation. An explosion erupted, red lightning flew downwards, causing the trees to rattle. I gasped, my mouth hung wide open at the sight.

"I knew it, Its coming!" Oluo shouted. Petra whimpered. We didn't have our horses. We were doomed. The titan ran at full speed, the ground shook with each step she took.

"Damn you! This time I will defeat it!" Eren shouted. He brought his hand to his mouth.

"Stop it! You and I will keep going to headquarters! The others don't know our situation." Mike shouted. He turned to Petra, Oluo and I. "You three, buy time, Try your best to defeat it!"

My stomach flipped. Was Katsuyu my only choice after all? Eren clenched his teeth. The titan was advancing quickly." I'll fight too!" Eren argued.

"No! This is the best move…" Mike stated helplessly. "Your power is too risky!"

"Do you doubt us idiot!" Oluo hollered. I swallowed. I was being cornered into giving myself away.

"Do you? Don't you trust us?!" Petra asked, her eyes wide. Eren bit his lip and lowered his hand. With a glance at me, he sped forward. "I believe my squad will be victorious!" He shouted. His words did it. If I had to use my power, I would. Eren was depending on me.

"I won't let you down!" I shouted. Mike turned to us. "Sakura, I know your new, but try to understand, do what you can, your death will mean something to humanity, it will give us hope! Good luck! Petra! Oluo!" I couldn't believe my ears. He was wishing us good luck and good bye. He was convinced we were going to die.

"Shut up! We're going to kill that thing and meet up with you afterwards! Hurry up! Get Eren to safety!" Oluo shouted at him.

"Right…" Mike advanced onward while the three of us stayed behind side by side. The titan advanced on us, running and ready to kill.

"Let's go!" Oluo howled. The three of us adjusted our gear and rushed forward, ready to take this thing down once and for all