Age of Titans Chapter 19 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Age of Titans! With Wall Maria sealed and the Survey Corp not having any casualties, the next military operation is being planned out and prepared for. It’s time to start clearing the Titans from within Wall Maria and reclaim the lost lands for the people! But others have landed on Paradis already and have their own plans. If the two groups meet…how will that change things? Perhaps certain information will come to light far earlier than expected.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 19 – Next Operation, Encounter, Information

In the days since the widespread news that the breach in Shiganshina had been sealed and that the Survey Corps had returned without a single casualty had spread throughout Wall Rose and Wall Sina, a noticeable change had come over the population. Military recruitment had spiked sharply, bringing in significant numbers of new cadets to the Training Corps. Morale was increasing for the people, especially those that had once lived in the lost lands of Wall Maria. Newspapers had sold out necessitating double and even triple printings for the news coming from the military about the massive success of the operation and the incredible number of Titans that had been wiped out while the Survey Corps was sealing the breach of Shiganshina.

With such success and the massive boost to recruitment and morale of the people, it was quickly decided by Commander Erwin, with the approval of Commander in Chief Zackly, that a massive military operation to start purging Wall Maria of Titans should be carried out soon. Planning hadn’t taken too long with help from Commander Pixis who had the Garrison help with staging and supplies, along with Commander Dok ordering the Military Police to keep the peace in place of the overly busy Garrison soldiers.

Unbeknownst to Nile were the whispers of the people mentioning that it was the most work that any of civilians had ever seen the Military Police do. The entire brigade was learning what it meant to be run ragged for the first time and several that had been lazing around for years or even decades were now lamenting staying in the military for so long as they were worked from morning to night day after day.

None of them knew that Commander Dok was purposefully working every single MP as hard as possible to force out the lay abouts that were just leeching off the system. It was a subtle way, under the guise of preparing for such a massive military operation, to start weeding out the corrupt and the incompetent from the upper positions of the military. A regime change needed to be complete and total to prevent the ‘rot’ of the previous regime from infecting the new regime.

With practically every soldier within the Walls on the move and working day and night to get everything in place for the next operation, the largest in history (outside of the sacrifice of the 250,000 civilians years ago), certain things were missed, even by the most watchful in the shadows. One such thing was an entire book making facility that had been pieced together in a secret location under Pixis’s authority without a single written order being handed down. Materials for said facility were brought in secretly as well, mixed in with the various goods and materials that the Garrison was preparing for the large military operation.

The ones that were watching for the Assembly and the hidden king kept their eyes on the movements of the soldiers -especially the Survey Corps- and because of their limited numbers, they couldn’t watch everyone. The reports they did make were thorough, containing the movements of the Survey Corps and where soldiers were being stationed. But which supplies went where and what every load of cargo contained wasn’t considered to have the same importance as what Commander Erwin and the Survey Corps were doing.

-Secret Facility-

Multiple Garrison soldiers that were far more loyal to Commander Pixis than they were to the Crown, worked in secret to set printing plates with the words necessary to replicate the pages of the three books that had been found in Shiganshina. The book detailing the outside world and the life of Grisha Yeager under the country of Marley was going to be titled “Truth of the World: The Life of Grisha Yeager”. The book that described the history of Eldia (which had been further added to and fact-checked by Annie using the history that the Leonhardt Clan had kept hidden) would be titled “History of Eldia” and would not sugarcoat what the Eldians had done in their civil wars for power and how they’d destroyed entire countries with their fighting. It was to be a true history of their nation and people with no lies, the memories of their people would never be taken again. The final book that detailed everything else about the outside world, such as the technology that had been made in the last hundred years, what was known of the various nations of the world, and the ecology of Paradis, Marley, and the ocean around them would simply be titled “Geography, Technology, and Ecology”.

“I haven’t used a printing press in years.” Gustav, a longtime soldier of the Garrison, said to the others as he carefully set the letter blocks to spell out the next word that he was working on. He’d once been a worker in a newspaper company as a young teen, so he had the knowledge and experience to use one, but he was definitely out of practice since becoming a soldier.

Lyra, a rather cute woman that had medium-length brown hair, glanced over at Gustav. “We just have to set up the printing plates, right? It’s not too hard. But we need you to actually operate the press.”

“Counting on you, Gustav.” Henry, another Garrison soldier that had served under Pixis for several years, commented lightheartedly to help ease the tension in the large room.

All of them knew that what they were doing would be considered treason by the current regime. However not a single one of them cared at all, as they knew the truth and were determined to spread it to everyone within the Walls. They were some of Pixis’s most trusted subordinates and ones that he’d personally entrusted to know the truth of the ‘Titan Soldiers’ and what they needed to fight for now. Their current task was of vital importance to produce these books in large numbers before the inevitable clash that would come between the current regime and the new future that the Commanders and Eren Yeager were fighting for.

“We’ll need to print thousands of these books to make sure that the information can’t be suppressed by the Interior Police.” Gustav said as he finished the printing plate that he was working on. “Running the press that long is surely going to break something though.”

“We can ask Commander Pixis for replacement parts to be sent now while everything is still able to be hidden by the commotion.” Lyra said as she carefully moved the printing plate that she’d just finished over to the large table where they were all lined up in the proper order. “No one should notice and we’ll be ready to fix the press whenever it breaks down.”

Henry raised his hand with a smile. “I’ll ask for the parts. Anka will be switching with me soon and I’ll be back on Commander Pixis’s escort detail.” Keeping the appearance of regular details and assignments directly around Pixis was the plan to keep anyone from the Interior Police from noticing anything amiss.

-Southern Wall Rose ~ Military Outpost-

“Bored…” Connie sighed as he looked up at the sky, watching a few wispy white clouds float by.

Sasha agreed as she looked up at the sky too. “Yeah. But a bit of downtime before the big operation starts isn’t bad.”

“By why do WE have to be stationed here, exactly?” Jean asked as he sat on a barrel of water that was next to the horse stables. “We’re practically in the middle of nowhere.”

“Hey!” Connie snapped at Jean. “My village is close to here!”

“Mine too.” Sasha said as she looked over at Jean.

Jean shrugged at them both. “Doesn’t change that it’s still in the middle of nowhere.”

Marco, who’d been feeding the horses in the stable, held up his hands as he came over. “Easy guys. We’re here to help with supply transport since we’re at a crossroads between Trost District, Krolva District, Ehrmich District, and Yarckel District. We should focus on our tasks here before we move to Wall Rose for deployment.”

Connie sighed, giving Jean a short glare, before turning away. “Ragako Village isn’t in the middle of nowhere.”

Sasha laughed at Connie’s defense of his village. “Dauper Village is totally in the middle of nowhere!” She knew that her remote village was quite literally ‘in the sticks’ as the saying went.

“Hey, Sasha, you’re supposed to be on my side here!” Connie shouted while pointing at the laughing woman.

“Get back to work!” Nanaba, a woman with short, light-blonde hair and a veteran member of the Survey Corps, yelled at the four of them from the rooftop. “Even if it’s boring, this stuff all needs to be done!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Marco, Jean, Sasha, and Connie said promptly as they jogged off to get back to the various menial tasks required of the soldiers stationed here.

Nanaba shook her head once and looked over at Mike, her squad leader and the de facto leader of this outpost. “Were we ever like that as new recruits, Mike?”

“Hm, maybe a bit.” Mike said as he looked towards the south. He sniffed the air, but nothing was coming to him. ‘Maybe I’m just paranoid?’ He’d been having an odd feeling every time that he’d looked to the south today. As a veteran of the Survey Corps that had survived since before the fall of Wall Maria, he’d learned to trust his instincts. ‘But I can’t just leave my post because of a hunch.’

Unknown to either Mike or Nanaba, Connie was making a plan of his own.

In the storehouse near the main building, Connie, Sasha, Jean, and Marco were organizing the newly delivered supplies after moving out the older ones that were being shipped out to Trost. While they were all working, Connie looked to the south again with some longing.

“Maybe I should sneak out tonight?” Connie said, mostly to himself, as he considered how fast he could get to his village.

Marco looked at Connie like he was crazy. “Connie, you can’t just run off! You’d be abandoning your post! You’ll get in a ton of trouble for that!”

“Do you really want to visit your village that badly?” Sasha asked with a grin. “I was told not to come home until I was respectable.”

Jean scoffed at Sasha’s words. “That’s because you’re a wild woman.”

“Everyone said that a midget like me could never become a soldier.” Connie said as he continued looking to the south. “But I ended up a high-scoring cadet, joined the Survey Corp, and took part in the expedition that sealed Shiganshina, and now I’m part of the soldiers being deployed to start taking back the lost lands.” He let out a small chuckle. “That’s why I want to go back to my village and lord it over them. I don’t have to rub it in… But I want to, while I’m still alive.”

“Connie…” Marco could understand his friend’s feelings. They’d all seen the horrors of Trost together and even though it was vastly better than anyone had expected thanks to Eren, Mikasa, Annie, Ymir, Sasha, Krista, and Armin intervening with their Shifter powers, there had been visible casualties and that blood and death had left an impression on all of them.

“You can count me out.” Jean waved Connie’s longing off. “I’m not helping you go AWOL. I’m not gonna be punished because you’re homesick.”

Connie rolled his eyes at Jean. “Didn’t expect you to, Jean.”

“I’ll go with you!” Sasha said with a smile. “Does your village have good food?”

There was an audible smack as Jean facepalmed.

“Sasha!” Marco cried out, looking at her like she was crazy.

“Well…we’re a farming village…” Connie thought the food he’d grown up with was alright. They’d rarely ever gone hungry at the very least.

“Can’t wait to try some!” Sasha beamed at the thought of getting to eat some more. Meals while deployed at this outpost weren’t exactly the most filling.

Jean had to speak up at this point. “Are you two stupid? We’re subordinate to Squad Mike right now. You know, Squad Leader Mike? The guy that seems like he can smell when anything is amiss? You’ll be caught before you ever reach your village, dumbass!”

Connie waved Jean off this time. “You don’t have to come! I can make it there just fine by myself!”

“What, are you going to transform and run there as a Titan? You don’t think EVERYONE will notice that?” Jean pointed at factually.

“I’m not stupid, Jean! I’d just borrow a horse for a couple of hours!” Connie shot back.

Marco shook his head. “That would be even worse! That’s theft of military property! You know just one of the specially bred military horses costs more than most people would make in years, right?”

Sasha hummed thoughtfully. “But if we brought them back, then it’s not really theft, is it?”

Jean pinched the bridge of his nose. “The higher ups aren’t going to look at it that way, you idiot.”

The conversation was dropped as one of the members of Mike Squad came by to check that the work was being done. But it was clear to all four that Connie and Sasha were both still thinking about visiting Ragako Village tonight.

-Trost District-

Construction of a large elevator for horses and wagons had been completed in record time with the help of engineers, carpenters, and stone masons…along with hundreds of soldiers doing whatever labor was assigned to them. The construction had been declared an important military requirement, and so with just Commander Pixis and Commander in Chief Zackly’s signatures, the order had gone through without having to be passed through any higher bureaucracy. As it stood now, all that was left was gathering all of the supplies and for an extended excursion into the lost lands of Wall Maria to begin the extermination operation against the Titans that were now trapped between Wall Maria and Wall Rose.

“Are you sure you should carry that much?” A merchant man asked, blinking in shock as Mikasa hefted four large sacks of horse feed, two over each shoulder.

“It’s fine.” Mikasa said as she turned and walked towards the large elevator without any struggle.

Eren stepped up next to move more of the feed for the horses that were being taken over the wall. “I’ll take four too.”

“E-Eren Yeager?!” The merchant exclaimed in shock at actually meeting Eren of all soldiers in person.

Eren nodded to the merchant. “Yes. I’ll take these four.” He moved to pick up the sacks of feed.

The merchant looked bewildered. “B-But, sir! You shouldn’t be doing menial labor, should you? You’re the hero of the people! You were instrumental in sealing the breach in Shiganshina! Without your Titan power we’d all still be hopeless against the Titans beyond the Walls!”

“None of that would’ve been possible without the Survey Corps.” Eren said as he easily hefted two sacks of feed over each shoulder and then stood up straight without a bit of strain. “The whole point of taking back Wall Maria is for the benefit of everyone in the Walls.” He gave the merchant a nod and a smile. “That includes merchants like you, the carpenters and engineers and stonemasons that designed and built this elevator, the baker, the butcher, the journalist, the doctor, the housewife, the laborer, the children…everyone.” With his piece said, Eren turned and headed over to the large elevator to drop off the feed sacks.

“Wow…” The merchant breathed out, amazed at how Eren thought and what he’d said. “That’s a real hero. No wonder so many are willing to follow him over the Walls.” He turned to the next soldier that was approaching to move more of the supplies that he’d brought and sold to the military. But he was definitely going to share what Eren had said to him at the pub tonight, and again at the inn he was staying at here in Trost.

Unknowingly, or perhaps unconsciously, the merchant would further echo a growing sentiment among all of the civilians that had met or even just heard about Eren Yeager.

“Why can’t we have a King that cares about ALL of his people, like Eren Yeager does?”

Elsewhere in Trost, Annie was looking over the vast distance that could be seen from atop the wall. The blonde’s sharp blue eyes were drawn to the horizon, but she wasn’t sure exactly why. It was just an odd feeling that she hadn’t been able to shake for a while.

“Hey! Leonhardt! Help unload the elevator!” One of the Garrison Squad Leaders called out, waving Annie over as the elevator had just reached the top of the wall, heavily loaded with various supplies for the upcoming operation.

Annie walked over to the elevator quickly, falling in line with dozens of other soldiers. All of the supplies were being stored atop the wall in preparation to lower them over the other edge where the second large elevator was almost finished being constructed. The safety of the workers was insured by not only all of the cannons on the wall, but well over one-hundred fully armed soldiers with ODM Gear. There was, of course, also Eren, Mikasa, and Annie herself incase more Titans than expected started showing up…but that hadn’t happened so far.

“We need more stone in the construction area!” A soldier called out from the opposite side of the wall.

The Squad Leader waved to the other soldier to show that he’d heard them. “Got it! We’ll request some be sent up with the next load of supplies!” He made a quick note on the clipboard he was carrying.

“This would be so much easier if we still had the gate.” A female soldier a few places behind Annie said to her friend behind her.

“Yeah, but the gate was destroyed and sealing it came first. What can we do except go over the wall now?” The other female soldier asked while she rolled her shoulders a bit to loosen them up.

‘Maybe we can rebuild the gate in the future?’ Annie thought to herself as this entire project had been required because they’d sealed the destroyed gate with crystallized hardening. ‘I’ll mention it to Eren later.’

-Krolva District-

The movement of hundreds of soldiers filled the western outer city district just like in Trost as supplies were being delivered by the wagon load. The District was abuzz with talks about the upcoming expedition and how it was different from any other that had happened before. Rumors were going around about how soon it would be before they could open the gates again and people could head back into Wall Maria to farm and raise livestock. Alleviating the shortage of food, especially meat, had been on the forefront of the peoples’ minds for years.

“No, no, no! You’re not hearing me!” Hange said to a portly merchant that was leading a small caravan of wagons. “This area is for food supplies for the soldiers. You’ve brought thick canvas, rope, wooden tent rods, and other materials for shelters, right? Those are going over to the third station area.” She pointed to her right. “It’s the area with the wooden sign marked with a ‘3’.”

The merchant harrumphed a bit at needing to take even more time before he could get paid, but moved along anyway after getting a few less than friendly looks from several of the members of Hange Squad.

Ymir chuckled as she carried a wooden box filled with preserved foods for the soldiers about to go on the long expedition into the lost lands. “I’d hate to be in a leadership position right now.”

“Be nice, Ymir.” Historia said as she looked at Hange waving the next merchant wagon forward. “It must be exhausting dealing with so many supplies coming in.”

“Such an angel~” Ymir cooed at Historia, leaning over to place a quick kiss on top of Historia’ s head.

Historia moved a half-step away with a cute little smile and lightly pink cheeks. “Ymir… Stop that.” It really wasn’t the time for such things. She adjusted her grip on her own box of rations as they walked towards the staging area near the gate.

The soldier in charge of the staging area stopped them as she looked at her clipboard for a second. “Which rations do you two have?”

“Dried mushrooms and vegetables.” Historia answered, allowing the older woman to lift the lid of her box and do a quick visual inspection.

“Got it.” The woman wrote on her clipboard. “And you?”

Ymir opened the lid to show the contents of her box. “Hard tack, ma’am.”

Seeing the squares of dried bread, the woman barely hid a look of annoyance at the nearly block-like bread. “Alright.” She wrote the new deliveries in and added them to the ones already in the staging area. “Drop them off in their designated locations.”

Historia and Ymir headed into the staging area and followed the signs posted next to each wagon to drop off their boxes.

-Southern Wall Rose ~ Military Outpost ~ Night-

Two figures slipped towards the stables in the early hours of the morning.

The guard for the stables had dozed off on one side of the stables and was lightly snoring.

“Shhh…” Connie whispered to the horses as he and Sasha approached them.

“We just need two of you to come with us for a short time.” Sasha smiled at the horses that were the furthest away for the sleeping guard outside. With a grin she pulled out some leafy greens that she’d saved from dinner and fed the two horses while slowly leading them out of the stables.

Connie hefted the first saddle as quietly as he could and placed it on the closest horse’s back. After years of training, Connie was an expert at saddling a horse quickly. “Good girl, good girl.” He whispered to the first horse for allowing the saddling without a sound.

Sasha petted the two horses, keeping them occupied while Connie saddled up the second one. In only a short time both horses were ready and Connie took the reins of one while Sasha took the other. Leading the horses out of the outpost wasn’t too hard given that the walls all around the buildings were damaged and crumbling from years of neglect. As soon as they were outside, Sasha put her foot in the stirrup and threw her leg over the horse, sitting in the saddle perfectly.

“Let’s go.” Connie said as soon as he was sitting upon his horse properly. A slightly press of his heels into the horses’ sides and the horse started to walk in the direction that Connie indicated with the reins.

“Shhh…” Sasha whispered to her horse as it lightly snorted and let out a sound.

In only a minute the two were galloping away towards the south, heading straight for Ragako Village.

A few hours later, as the sun was rising, Mike had woken up and gotten dressed for the day. The earliest risers of Squad Mike usually handled breakfast for the squad and their temporary subordinates, mostly because it just made things easier and they were used to doing it. But in only a short time after entering the mess hall area of the outpost, Mike knew that something was up.

Food was starting to be cooked by the other early risers, the smell was wafting through the air, but their was no sign of Sasha Braus. That girl never missed a meal, nor did she sleep in late once the smell of breakfast started filling the air. Sniffing the air twice, Mike shook his head once and narrowed his eyes.

“That bad feeling from yesterday is worse now.” Mike muttered to himself as he took a quick walk through the main building to see if he could find the wayward Sasha. There was a chance that she’d fallen ill or something and as Squad Leader it was Mike’s responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of his subordinates.

More and more soldiers were getting up and dressing in their uniforms now and still Mike saw neither hide nor hair of Sasha.

“Has anyone seen Braus?” Mike stopped two female soldiers as they were heading for the mess hall.

“No sir, not this morning.” Both women quickly answered with proper salutes for the Squad Leader.

“At ease, go get breakfast.” Mike sighed as he headed for the female dorms.

Nanaba, who’d been walking down the hallway, stopped as she saw the look on Mike’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t find Braus.” Mike said quickly and simply.

“She’s not already in the mess hall?” Nanaba raised an eyebrow.

Mike shook his head. “Can you check the female dorms?”

“Right.” Nanaba turned around and jogged down the hallway, disappearing into the door of the female dorms. Only a second later she came back with a serious look on her face. “The dorms are empty.”

“Damn it…” Mike sighed as he motioned for Nanaba to follow him.

The two were quickly in the mess hall and Mike immediately went over to Marco and Jean.

“Sir, good morning, sir!” Marco stood up and saluted properly.

Jean was on his feet half a second behind Marco. “Good morning, sir!” He also saluted Mike crisply, despite the early hour.

“Enough of that, where’s Braus?” Mike asked directly, practically string into jean and Marco’s souls.

Marco’s eyes widened and he even briefly looked around the mess hall.

Jean groaned and barely stopped himself from cursing. “Sasha… Connie… You idiots.”

Mike’s gaze grew sharper. “Answer, now.”

Marco spoke up, not wanting his friends to get in trouble, but also not one to defy his superior. “They’re probably in or near Ragako Village to the south, sir.”

“Why?” Mike asked quickly.

Nanaba narrowed her eyes at Marco and Jean at the admission that two soldiers were currently AWOL.

“Because Connie was homesick or whatever and we’re very close to his village.” Jean answered, knowing that lying would only get him and Marco in more trouble.

The entire story of the conversation from yesterday was told to Mike and Nanaba over the next couple of minutes.

“Damn it…” Mike said under his breath. “Nanaba, we’re going to drag those two back and they’ll be punished accordingly for going AWOL.” He rubbed his eyes at having to make a multi-hour trip for this.

“Yes, sir.” Nanaba nodded promptly.

Mike looked to his left and raised his voice. “Thomas!”

The other most senior soldier of Mike Squad quickly stood up form his meal and headed over.

“Yes, sir?” Thomas saluted, the older man looking between Mike, Nanaba and then Jean and Marco.

“Take command here until I return. Nanaba and I have to go retrieve two AWOL soldiers.” Mike explained the situation briefly. “It shouldn’t be an issue, but just in case, if I send a signal, make sure to get every soldier here ready to move out.” He whispered the last part to Thomas so that no one else could hear it. “Nanaba will send a message shortly after the signal with details.”

“Yes, sir.” Thomas saluted and quickly returned to his meal to finish it as fast as he could before he needed to assume command.

Only a few minutes later (and after finding two horses missing, thereby necessitating a punishment for the night guard to be handled by Thomas) both Mike and Nanaba were riding south.

-Ragako Village ~ Morning-

Two horses stopped galloping near the edge of the village. Walking down the main street of the village caught the eyes of many of the residents that had been awake for a while already.

“C-Connie?! Is that you?!” A man just a few years older than Connie pointed at the shorter young man on one of the horses.

“Connie?”

“Springer’s boy?”

“He’s back?”

More and more people began to gather around as Connie and Sasha dismounted their horses.

“It’s me!” Connie declared with a huge smile, proudly showing off his military uniform with the symbol of the Survey Corps over his left breast. “I was stationed nearby, so I decided to come show everyone that the ‘midget that could never become a soldier’ actually DID become a soldier!” He rubbed it in and grinned when he saw multiple people flinch slightly at the dig.

“Connie?!” A woman’s voice rose above everyone’s and the small crowd parted a bit to let an older woman with light hair through. “Connie!”

“Hi, Ma!” Connie smiled brightly at his mother before he was engulfed in a hug. He returned the hug, gently squeezing his mother that he hadn’t seen in years since becoming a cadet. “It’s great to see you again!”

Connie’s Mother pulled back from the hug with a warm smile for her son. “It’s been so long!” She looked him up and down proudly. “I knew you’d make a fine soldier!” Her eyes went to Sasha and her eyes lit up a little more. “Who’s this, Connie? A girlfriend?”

“Pfft!” Connie nearly choked on his own breath at that. “What?! No!”

Sasha laughed at Connie’s reaction to his mother’s guess about their relationship. “Look at your face!” She got herself under control a moment later and greeted Mrs. Spring properly. “I’m Sasha Braus, Mrs. Springer! I’m a fellow soldier in the Survey Corps. I’m in a relationship with someone else, however.” She giggled as Connie pointedly looked away from her in embarrassment.

“Connie?!” Two voices, one boy and one girl, called out at the same time.

Connie’s embarrassment vanished and he held his arms open wide as tow kids nearly tackled him as they hugged him tightly. “Sunny! Martin!” He hugged his little sister and brother warmly.

The entire village had heard of Connie’s return by now and everyone wanted to hear about what was going on recently from a soldier’s inside point of view. Sasha and Connie went to the Springer’s home for breakfast (much to Sasha’s delight) and Connie explained they couldn’t stay for too long as his father met them at the door.

No one needed to know that he and Sasha were technically AWOL right now.

It was just only about an hour later…and already a bit later than either Connie or Sasha had planned to stay…when the noise in Ragako Village suddenly changed.

“What’s going on?” Connie asked as he opened the front door of his home and stepped outside. He stopped dead as he saw a cloud of white smoke covering half the village, blowing on the light breeze. “What the hell?! A fire?!”

“Fire?!” Sasha was out the door and staring at the cloud moving over the far half of the village. “We need to go!” She said as that much smoke meant the fire must be huge.

“Mom, Sunny, Marttin, Dad!” Connie shot back into the house and quickly got his family together.

The half of Ragako Village that hadn’t been consumed by the smoke was quickly warned about the danger by Sasha’s loud voice.

“FIRE!!! FIRE!!! HEAD NORTH OUT OF THE VILLAGE!!! FIRE!!!” Sasha yelled as loudly as she could.

“Fire?”

“It’s true, look at the smoke!”

People quickly ran from their homes, away from the white cloud of smoke, many abandoning their tools in the middle of the farm fields as they ran northward.

“What could’ve started such a massive fire?” Mr. Springer wondered as he carried his young son, Martin, in his arms while running northward along the main street. “We haven’t had a drought this year!” The last wildfire in the area had been many years ago from a prolonged drought and an oppressively hot summer.

“Just run!” Connie said to his father while carrying his little sister, Sunny, in his arms.

“GRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAUUUUUHHHHHWWWWW!!!”

A massive sound, like the roar of some immensely large beast, tore through Ragako Village, shaking the windows of every house in the process.

Many of the villagers stumbled and staggered as they ran before scrambling to their feet and turning to look back at the thick white smoke that covered a little more than half the village now.

Bright bolts of yellow lightning seemed to fall into the cloud by the dozens, making Sasha and Connie’s eyes widen at the familiar sight. The brightly glowing lights within the smoke and the sound of heavy things moving a few moments later only confirmed what had just happened.

“Mom…” Conniie handed Sunny over to his mother, never taking his eyes off the slowly dispersing smoke as large silhouettes began to appear. “Run. Now.”

The first Titan stepped out of the smoke, looking vaguely like a person that the Springer family knew.

“Mr. Werner…?” Martin questioned upon seeing the face of the Titan. The face was slightly angular and had a thick, grey mustache along with slightly shaggy grey hair atop its head.

“H-How?” Mrs. Springer gasped out in terror of what their neighbor had become.

“RUN!!!” Connie shouted at his family, breaking them from their shock and fear. All four took off as fast as they could, expecting Connie and Sasha to follow them.

Sasha stared at the Titan in confusion and shock. There was no intelligence behind the eyes of the Titan of Mr. Werner…it was a Pure Titan. “How could?”

Connie seeing more and more of his fellow villagers that had been turned into Pure Titans was wide-eyed and shaking in shock too. “Th-This isn’t…possible…” He trailed off as he heard the screaming of the other villagers that had managed to outrun the thick white smoke in time. Hearing the terror of the people he’d grown up with snapped Connie out of his shock. “It was the smoke!”

Sasha looked at Connie and then the last of the dispersing smoke. It was the only thing that made sense at the moment. “But who?” This couldn’t have been an accident.

“I don’t care…but they’re gonna pay for this!” Connie’s shock had turned into rage as he flicked the ring blade on his right middle finger open and cut his index finger to draw blood.

Sasha bolted away from Connie, seeing that he’d lost himself to his anger.

The lightning bolt dropped form the clear sky and struck Connie. Bones formed from nowhere, lifting Connie five meters into the air. Muscles wrapped around the bones and were quickly covered by skin that matched Connie’s skin tone. The tough metal-like mask with sharp fangs formed over the Titan’s face as short grey hair grew from its head. Finally, long, metallic claws grew from each finger and toe, gleaming in the morning sunlight.

“RAAAUUUWWWRRR!!!” The Jaw Titan roared out as it leapt at the Pure Titan that Mr. Werner had become. The Titan barely had time to reach for the airborne Connie before it lost its hand. A quick swing around the crippled arm allowed Connie to take the Titan’s back and tear out its nape with his powerful fangs.

-Across Ragako Village-

“Is that?! The Jaw Titan?!” A Marley soldier exclaimed in shot while looking through his binoculars.

“It is!” Another soldier quickly focused on the Five Meter Titan that was tearing its way through the Pure Titans that half of Ragako Village had become.

The massive Seventeen Meter Beast Titan with them watched the fight and scratched one of its pointed ears. It was covered in fur and had disproportionally long limbs for its body. It very much looked like a monkey, or ape, given the lack of tail. “Did Marcel go rogue…? Or did the Eldians manage to steal the Jaw Titan?”

The Cart Titan with the elongated face looked towards the Beast Titan. “I don’t think that’s Marcel.”

The ease that the two were able to talk with showed many years of experience with utilizing their Titan forms.

“Stolen then.” The Marley Officer that was leading this small group said with a snarl. “Damn Wall Devils!” He glared up at the Beast Titan. “Retrieve the Jaw immediately!” The order was short and sharp, showing the clear lack of care that the man had for the two Shifters.

“Hmm?” The Beast Titan hummed as another bolt of lighting struck within Ragako Village. “Another Shifter?”

-North Ragako Village-

Sasha rose high into the air, her fifteen meter Titan skeleton forming upwards. As muscle wrapped around the bones, Sasha sank into the flesh and took control of her Titan form. Skin grew over the muscles and then brown hair grew form the Titan’s head, flowing down to its shoulders. The white, cloth-like hardening then formed over the feminine body, a mask covering her nose and mouth, leaving her eyes unobstructed.

With a spark from her hands, a large bow formed from her left hand while an equally large arrow formed from her right hand. Sasha nocked the white arrow and took aim at a Thirteen Meter Titan a distance away. She loosed the arrow and it vanished in an instant.

-South Ragako Village-

WSH

A massive white arrow stabbed straight through the neck of a Thirteen Meter Titan, the sharp pointed arrowhead tearing out the back of the nape, killing the Pure Titan instantly. As it collapsed to the ground with a loud thud that briefly shook the ground, the Marley contingent could only stare in wide-eyed shock at what they’d just witnessed.

“W-Warhammer…?” The Officer stuttered out in shock, confusion, and terror.

“But…how?” One of the Marley soldiers asked as he fell backwards onto his ass and just stared at the War hammer Titan that had appeared on the other side of the village.

“Impossible.” The ape-like Beast Titan said, clearly dumbfounded.

The Cart Titan wasn’t any better. “But the Tybur’s…” Those in the know within Marley knew that the Warhammer Titan was in the possession of the Tybur Family. “It can’t be here.”

WSH

A second titan-sized, white arrow killing a Twelve Meter Pure Titan from the same distance with perfect accuracy quickly proved the invaders wrong.

-North Ragako Village-

Connie’s Titan had large tears occasionally falling from its eyes as he tore through one Pure Titan after another. The faces of the Titans each brought up memories of the people he’d known growing up here. ‘Leonard. Markus. Mr. Brett. Layla. Mrs. Klein.’ He swiftly slashed through their napes or tore them out with his fangs one after another, wanting to end their suffering of being Pure Titans, forever trapped within a body they had no control over.

He had no idea how many of his neighbors he’d already had to kill, but he did notice that they were more spread out now. Only a about a dozen remained now.

Outside of Ragako Village, the villagers watched in shock and confusion as two Titans had risen up from where Connie and Sasha had been and started to fight their neighbors that had somehow become Titans.

“What’s going on?!”

“How did this happen?!”

“Has anyone seen my daughter?!”

“My husband was in the south of the village!”

This chaos was what Mike and Nanaba rode into on their horses. Seeing the Titan forms of Connie and Sasha fighting off a large number of Pure Titans within Wall Rose sent EVERY alarm bell off for the two veterans of the Survey Corps.

“Nanaba, take care of the villagers.” Mike ordered quickly as he sniffed the air multiple times and his eyes quickly locked onto the large Beast Titan that he could see on the outskirts of the other end of Ragako Village. “Send a message with your Titan form to Thomas immediately, Wall Rose might’ve been breached!”

“Yes, sir!” Nanaba saluted quickly before riding into the crowd of villagers while calling out to them.

Mike dismounted from his horse and sent her off to follow after Nanaba. Once the horse was far enough away, Mike took off into a sprint, clearing several meters of distance at an impressive speed. Years and years of training had given him a lithe and powerful body and he made the most of it to make distance as he flicked out his ring blade and cut one of his fingers, letting a few drops of his blood fly through the air.

Krakboom

The yellow lighting dropped onto Mike and the bones of his Titan form quickly rose into the air. The skull shaped into a lupine form before everything was covered in flesh and skin. Thick, dark fur spread across the Wolf Titan’s body before golden eyes snapped open and the huge Titan dropped into a quadrupedal stance as it ran into Ragako Village.

“Squad…Leader?” Sasha’s Titan spoke slowly as the Wolf Titan stopped close to her.

Mike spared her a brief glance before standing up and inhaling deeply. “AAAWWWWOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

The howl was so loud that the windows of the still standing house of Ragako Village shook once more, the sound carrying far and wide throughout the are and far beyond as well. Forcing both the Marley soldiers and the Ragako villagers on opposite sides of the village to clap their hands over their ears from the sheer volume.

-Marley Contingent-

“A BEAST TITAN?!” The Marley Officer screamed, outright terrified beyond comprehension now.

The ape-like Beast Titan was on his feet now, staring at his own Titan (or a different version of it at any rate) having appeared within the village they’d turned into Titans. “That’s not possible!” He bellowed out despite what he was looking at.

“We’re leaving! NOW!!!” The Marley Officer ordered the two Shifters and all of his men. “We MUST survive and report this back to Marley!” His words were sound, but everyone there could tell that he wanted to save his own life by fleeing.

As the Marley soldiers quickly tried to climb onto the Cart Titan -all of them knowing that it was their best chance to escape alive- the Ape Titan ground its teeth and grabbed the ground near it, pulling up the thick earth and clay that beneath the topsoil.

-Mike and Sasha-

Mike, unable to speak in his Titan form, pointed out the Beast Titan that was on the other end of Ragako Village to Sasha and had just stood up. With a growl that was filled with aggression, he managed to convey his orders.

“Attack the enemy.”

“Yes…sir.” Sasha spoke through her Titan as she formed another arrow with her advanced hardening ability. She nocked the bow and took aim at the strange Beast Titan that she’d never seen before. There was the sound of the bowstring nearly cutting through the air as Sasha loosed her arrow.

-Marley Contingent-

WSH

The Ape Titan’s eyes widened as it jerked to the side just in time for the white arrow to pierce its shoulder instead of straight through its neck. The force of the arrow nearly tore his right arm off, but did take him completely off his feet from the power behind the massive projectile that had struck him.

BAM

The ground shook and dirt and dust were thrown into the air as the Ape Titan slammed into the ground. The huge ball of earth that it had just crushed in preparation to throw at the enemy Shifters fell from its hand as a wave of rubble.

“Zeke!” The Cart Titan called out to the Beast Titan.

The Ape Titan forced itself back to its feet and reached for the rubble with its still functional left arm. As the Beast Titan picked up the rubble, it spoke to the Cart and the Marley soldiers. “I will attack to buy some time and then exit my Titan so that we may retreat.”

WSH

A second white arrow slammed straight through the Ape Titan’s head and tore it off entirely.

As the headless Beast Titan collapsed to the ground, the arrow through the head hit the ground nearly a hundred meters behind the Marely Contingent. The horrifying sight of the Beast Titan’s head impaled and hanging in the air on an arrow of hardening sent a deep, primal terror through all of the Marley soldiers.

Steam exploded out of the decapitated Ape Titan as the blonde, bearded man pulled himself out of his Titan form. He staggered a bit but managed to jump down form his steaming and slowly decaying Titan and run towards the Cart Titan.

-Sasha-

Mike’s Wolf Titan had rushed towards the enemy in hopes of either killing or capturing them. At least that’s what Sasha assumed as he’d taken off at full speed, quadrupedal stance and everything, while running headlong towards the weird Beast Titan in the distance.

As she’d put the enemy down, she took aim at the Cart Titan next. When it started running away Sasha’s eyes narrowed as she nocked another arrow. She didn’t say a word, merely focusing everything onto her target as it got farther and farther away. She pulled the string back further and further as her target fled.

‘Don’t let it get away.’ Sasha heard her father’s voice in her head. A memory of when she’d been taught to hunt as a child.

The bowstring was drawn back even further, bending the bow itself further and further as the tension and weight of the string tightening grew more and more. The hardening creaked loudly as the bow was about to break from the draw that Sasha was putting on it.

The air slicing sound from her bowstring being released was only heard by her.

-Marley Contingent-

WSH

Another titan-sized white arrow hit true as the Cart Titan was stabbed straight through its spine and pinned to the ground.

BAM

Dirt and dust once more exploded up from the ground from the force of the impact.

“AAAHHH!!!”

“HELP ME!!!”

“GUUAAHH!!!”

“Nnnggghh!” The Cart Titan spat out a bathtub’s worth of blood that painted the ground before it.

Everyone that had been riding the Cart Titan went flying and hit the ground harshly. Some struggled to their feet as quickly as they could, others groaned and cried out in pain.

“Pieck! Deploy again! Now!” The Officer ordered loudly as he limped towards the head of the Cart Titan.

Steam exploded from the nape of the Cart Titan and the woman with long black hair emerged and leapt from the pinned form of her Titan body. A flash of lightning and a brief gust of wind buffeted the area and a brand new Cart Titan body fully formed in only seconds.

“Everyone get on!” The Cart Titan lowered herself to the ground to make sure everyone could climb on easily. The Marley Officer and four of the soldiers quickly climbed onto the Cart Titans’ back. Zeke climbed on next and looked towards the few soldiers that were staggering and limping towards Pieck.

“Move out!” The Marley Officer bellowed loudly, cradling his left arm.

“But, sir, our men…” The Cart Titan said.

“THAT’S ORDER, ELDIAN!!!” The Officer screamed at the Cart Titan.

“Sir?” One of the injured soldiers that could barely walk called out.

“W-wait…!” Another injured soldier cried out, realizing what was about to happen.

The Marley Officer’s face was twisted into a strange mix of terror and rage. “I GAVE YOU AN ORDER, ELDIAN!!!” He slapped the Cart Titan’s skin with his good hand.

Pieck took off running leaving behind the injured soldiers as she quickly reached top speed. ‘I’m so sorry…’ She mentally apologized to the soldiers, knowing they were lightly about to be killed by the incoming wolf-like Beast Titan.

“RUN!!!” One of the injured soldier’s screams managed to reach those fleeing on the Cart Titan before they were too far away.

Zeke watched as the Wolf Titan landed nearby the abandoned soldiers, throwing up dirt and dust while letting out a bark that sounded almost like a roar. He didn’t see the soldier’s death, but the silence spoke volumes in his mind. He continued to watch the dust and the huge form of the Wolf Titan until they were too far away to see them anymore.

-Southern Wall Rose ~ Military Outpost-

“AAAWWWWOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

The loud howl of a wolf was heard, making several people immediately perk up form the sudden noise. Given the volume that it was, many wondered just how loud it had to be at the source.

Thomas, who’d ben standing atop the lone tower within the outpost grimaced at the signal and knew he needed to transform and receive the message from Nanaba’s Attack Titan.

A sharp and intense pain slammed into Thomas’s head and he dropped to his knees while holding his head. “FUCK!!!” Thomas yelled out as he screwed his eyes shut and ground his teeth in pain. “Damn it…Nanaba…” He hissed out as the message actually processed, even through the pain he was in. “Don’t just force a message through the Paths!” Without the Titan body to act as a buffer, communication between Attack Titans was less like someone handing you a note and more like them writing the message on their hand and slapping you across the face with it.

After a second for the pain to fade, Thomas’s eyes widened as he went over everything that Nanaba had reported. “Oh fuck…” He quickly slashed his finger with his own ring blade and then jumped from the top of the tower.

In a flash of lightning, his own Attack Titan body formed quickly, the skeleton completed before he reached the halfway point, and the muscles completed as his giant feet hit the ground with a loud crash, scaring the hell out of the soldiers that weren’t ‘in the know’ about all of the new Titan Soldiers. As his form was covered in skin and his black hair grew from his Titan form, Thomas was already connecting to the Paths and relaying the new information to another Attack Titan that he knew would be close to Commander Erwin. ‘Sorry for the pain, friend, but this is urgent!’

-Stohess District ~ Wall Sina-

While the rank and file soldiers and lower officers handled the preparations for the upcoming military operations, the heads of the three branches were having a large meeting with various other upper ranked officers and even a few of the local Lords that owned the lands around Stohess, Trost, and Krolva. Zackly, Erwin, Nile, and Pixis all noticed a few of the Assembly’s ‘dogs’ sitting in on this meeting as well.

The meeting itself had already been going on since just after breakfast this morning. Those that were obviously under the Assembly’s thumb had dragged out some of the simple issues already and repeatedly brought up their own questions to further try and muddy the waters of the information being gone over in the meeting.

Erwin briefly glanced towards Levi as another of the Assembly’s ‘dogs’ spoke up before any of the actual military officers could try to get the meeting back on track. Levi’s stoic expression didn’t change at all, but Erwin knew his friend well enough to see that Levi was growing annoyed. If this posturing and stupidity continued, Erwin was slightly worried that one of these fat nobles would find themselves on the wrong end of Levi’s blade and his equally sharp tongue.

“I’m merely concerned that this operation will cause undue strain on my land’s food supply.” The fat noble that had derailed the actual talks for the upcoming military operation repeated himself even after Nile assured the man that anything taken for military use would be fully compensated.

Bam

The double doors of the meeting room were slammed open as a Survey Corps soldier forced his way into the room. “Commander Erwin! It’s terrible! Wall Rose has been breached by the enemy!”

Erwin shot to his feet instantly. “What?!”

The meeting room erupted into chaos as everyone wanted to know what had happened and some wanted to know what ‘enemy’ the soldier was talking about.

In the sudden frenzy, no one noticed Zackly, Pixis, and Nile sharing a look and brief nods of the head. Pixis pulled out his silver flask, a signal that he understood and that the contingency plan to mass release information to the public would begin ahead of schedule.

While not going exactly to plan, this attack and the information they would soon release at large should make deposing the current regime easier. If not more violent.

-End Chapter-

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Holy shit! The Marley squad that came to Paradis and turned all of Ragako Village into Pure Titans didn’t have a good time in this version!

They learned that the ‘wall devils’ have more than the original nine titans, so that’s something.

However, only half of Ragako Village fell and both Connie and Sasha happened to be there at the time to stop a massacre.

I don’t think that’ll get them out of trouble for going AWOL once everything is said and done though.

Sasha shows why she’s a terror on the battlefield! Distance is merely a suggestion to her! If she can see you, you’re in danger!

Did Mike kill those injured Marley soldiers?

Will Connie be okay after what he had to do to the people he grew up knowing?

The massive military operation might end up pushed back after all this, but Eren is still endearing himself to the masses through anyone he meets. Already many citizens wonder why a hero soldier treats them better and looks upon all of them so kindly as compared to their own king.

How will things play out with this huge change suddenly taking place?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!