//------------------------------// // Forest of Giant Trees: The 57th Exterior Scouting Mission, Part 2 // Story: Attack on Titan // by Gojizilla54 //------------------------------// "You rookies will be here, between the wagon defense squad and the Scout support squad," said Dieter Ness. "You will run along side the spare horse and relay signals." "Our special operations squad will be positioned here, on standby at the rear of the center rank," explained Gunther. "This is the safest position, in this formation. Not even the supply wagon get this level of treatment." The Female Titan increased her speed and caught up to Ness and Cis. "This isn't an Abnormal... It has intelligence!" realized Armin. "It's just like the Armored Titan, the Colossal Titan, and Eren! It's a human clad in a Titan body!" The Female Titan then killed both Cis and Ness. "This one's more athletic than the other ones!" Jean realized. "Damn! We're... We were too navÏe!" The Female Titan then covered her nape. "She's protecting her nape?!" wondered Jean. "Shit! There's no escape now!" "Jean! Avenge that suicidal manic!" shouted Armin. "She stopped?!" Jean wondered. Reiner then started to swing towards the Female Titan "It was her! She killed him!" yelled Armin. "That manic finally got himself killed, as part of the right wing! She killed him!" The Female Titan then grabbed Reiner and squeezed him. Reiner then sliced his way out of the Female Titan's grasp. He landed and picked up Armin, while the Female Titan looked at her hand. "I'd say we bought enough time!" shouted Reiner. "Now's lets get away from her, quick!" "Oh, no... Why? Is she heading for Eren?" wondered Armmin. Out on an open field, Jean, Armin, Reiner, and Twilight were hiding behind a small line of trees and bushes, keeping them away from any Titans that wondered into their area. Jean stood on of a rock next to his horse, loudly whistling with both ring and pinky fingers in his mouth, while Reiner and Twilight were tending to Armin's wound. "How is your ODM gear, Armin?" asked Reiner. "It's alright. It unclasped properly so it doesn't seem to be broken," answered Armin. "I see. That's good to hear," said Reiner. Reiner then took out a strip of bandage. "But what now?" asked twilight. "We only have one horse." "If Jean's horse comes back, all four of us can get moving again, but..." said Reiner. Jean then stopped whistling and looked around. "Damn, what's the deal?" wondered Jean. "Reiner's horse came back. Why won't mind?" Jean the started to whistle again loudly. "And we can't afford to stay here any longer..." Jean thought. "Worst case scenario we'll have to leave someone behind. How will we choose who that someone should be? Armin, because he'e hurt? Reiner, because he's big and would be hard to ride with? Twilight, because there's too many, even if we three did manage to fit? Or should I go and look for my horse on foot?" "Damn!" shouted Jean. "It's crazy that we even considered that! The four of us managed to escape death! thought Jean. "This is one hell of a raw deal!" Jean then whistled again even louder. As Reiner and Twilight were done tending to Armin's wound. Armin could only remember the time where he met the Female Titan again and saw her face. "Armin! Hey, Armin!" called Reiner. Armin the snapped from his dazed and looked up. "I take it you're still a bit mixed up?" Reiner asked "Yeah, I'm still a little dazed," answered Armin. "I see," said Reiner. "Still, we need to decide now." Reiner and Twilight Sparkle got up, while Armin was busy getting his ODM gear on. "It's a difficult choice, but it looks like one us us has to stay behind," said Reiner Jean looked back in shock at Reiner's words. "Wait!" yelled Armin. "Let's fire a smoke signal first." "Great idea, Armin," said Twilight. "If the formation kept moving forward, Row 4, Squad 3 should be nearby now." Jean the fired a purple smoke signal in the air. "That was an emergency smoke signal," stated Jean. "I doubt it's enough to get our point across, though." "Armin, we'll only wait for three minutes," said Reiner. "By then, we need to choose who'll stay." "I'll stay," said Armin. Reiner and Twilight were shocked to hear that. "Wait, Armin you can't be serious," said Twilight. "But, in exchange, I need you to report something. Only to Commander Erwin, if possible," said Armin. "No, wait Armin. You can report it yourself," said Jean, looking out. "Someone's coming! And they brought two horses!" Twilight fixed her glasses and sure enough two Scouts were coming towards them. "That's... Christa and Fluttershy!" shouted Twilight. Christa and Fluttershy rode on her horse as fast as she can to the four of them. "Guys! Are you all okay?!" shouted Christa. Both of them stopped in front of them with the two horses. "Huh? Hey, that's my horse!" said Jean. Jean's horse neighed at the sight of Jean. "Whoa, there. Calm down, Buchwald," said Jean. "He came racing on our way," stated Christa. "Something must've spooked him," said Fluttershy. "Did you four fight a Titan?" asked Christa. Fluttershy and Christa looked at Armin. "Armin! You're hurt! Are you alright?" asked Christa. "Yes, more or less," answered Armin. "I'm impressed you two came here willingly after seeing that smoke signal," complimented Reiner. "We happened to be nearby plus Christa found Jean's horse," said Fluttershy. "You have a way with horses, not to mention a remarkable sense of virtue," said Reiner. "And Fluttershy, you have overcome anything that involves fear. We owe you two one. "Thank you, Reiner," said Fluttershy. "Twilight, take my spare horse." "Thanks, Fluttershy," said Twilight. "I'm just glad. So very glad the worst didn't happen to you guys..." said Christa wiping her tears. The sun shone upon her bright, blue eyes, and blond hair. Twilight, Armin, Jean, especially Reiner were captivated by her, beautiful, sweet, and demure face. "She's a princess..." thought Twilight Sparkle. "An angel..." thought Armin. "A goddess..." thought Jean. "One day my wife..." thought Reiner. "Well, we'd better hurry back into formation!" Christa alerted. "Oh, yeah! There should be orders to retreat soon," said Jean. Jean, Armin, and Twilight got on their horses and started galloped. With healthy and well horse, all of them were in the open in line with the formation. "Still, turning back, not even an hour after leaving the wall," said Jean. "Things look way grimmer than I thought. Plus, she's headed away from the lead command squad for some reason." "Whose "she"?" asked Fluttershy. In the distance, all of them saw a bunch of green smoke signals on the left and were shocked at the sight. "Green smoke signals?!" asked Jean. "It sounds like the plan is to change course but otherwise continue the operation," said Armin. "Oh, no! They're not ordering us to retreat?!" asked Christa. "What the hell is Commander Erwin thinking?!" asked Jean. "All soldiers have the authority to decide if the operation can't continue..." said Reiner. "Have the signals not reached the command squad?!" "Weather or not they know, we only have one option in this situation," said Armin. "Defer to their judgment." Armin then took out his signal flare and shot a green smoke signal in the air. Back at row 5, the Levi Squad all spotted the green smoke signals in the distance. "Smoke signals. Green," accounted Levi. "Oruo. You fire it." "Understood, sir!" yelled Oruo. "It feels like we're making smooth progress right now," thought Eren. Oruo grabbed his bag of barrels and shot a green smoke signal in the air. "I wonder how things actually are. I wonder if people have already died on the front line," wondered Eren. Then, a Scout coming from the right pulled next to them. "Reporting, sir!" yelled the Scout. "It's an oral message! Right wing spotters decimated! Detection network partially out! Please pass this message on to the left!" Eren was horrified at the reports and looked at Levi. "You heard him, Petra. Go," said Levi. "Yes, sir!" she yelled. Petra then turned to the left and started heading towards the left wing "The right wing?!" Eren thought. "Isn't that where Armin and Twilight are? Still, both of them and the others are positioned closer to the center The Titans couldn't have advanced that far in." Then to the right of the Levi Squad, all of them saw three black smoke signals in the air. "Black signals?! An Abnormal?!" Eren realized. "Eren. You fire it," Levi commanded. "Yes, sir!" yelled Eren, getting out his signal flare, "This is disgraceful. We've let them pretty deep inside the formation," said Levi. Eren the fired the black smoke signal in the air. "Just over there is a Titan... Below that black smoke... someone is fighting? wondered Eren. At the right, The Female Titan was running through an abandoned town. A Scout then whizzed by the Female Titan, who spotted him. She then covered her nape. A Scout was in front of the Female Titan and another was behind her. In front of the Female Titan, Daruis Walburnn pointed his signal flare at the Female Titan. "Look down here... you bitch!" he yelled. The Female Titan then looked at Darius, who fired a black smoke signal at her. She then dodged the smoke signal, causing her to stop momentarily. "Now!" yelled Daruis. A Scout jumped off a windmill and two Scouts jumped off their horses and all three of them latched on to the Female Titan. All three of them swung towards her. "Three spots at once! She seems pretty smart, but she can't defend herself against them all!" yelled Darius. "Cut her spine, ligaments, or anywhere else that can stop her! ATTACK!!!" All of them swung towards the Female Titan. "So many are dead cause of you!" yelled a Scout below. "We're going to torture you to death!" yelled another Scout above. The Female Titan saw what they were doing. She grabbed on to a Scout's line and jumped, surprising all of them. "She jumped?!" questioned Darius. As the Female Titan began to fall, she aimed her left foot over a Scout with black hair. She crushed him like an ant and blood sprayed underneath her. The Female Titan then redirected her attention to another Scout, who latched onto a side of a building. She crushed him with her right foot. She then looked at the Scout that she was holding. "Let go!" begged the Scout. The Female Titan looked at the Scout. Daruis looked as the Female Titan was spinning the Scout like a toy. She increased the speed with each rotation. The force of each spin was enough make the Scout's body fold all the way. Darius saw the Female Titan coming and started to gallop away. The Female Titan lets go of the Scout, sending him far away. Daruis left the abandoned town and was now in the open. "Reporting takes priority!" he yelled. "I have to let them know about this one! Darius looked at his left. The Female Titan ran towards him with great speed. She kicked him and his horse far away and killing them both instantly. On the other side, two Scouts saw the Female Titan in the distance. "An Abnormal?!" asked a Scout. "This far in?!" "We can't let it get any further in!" yelled the other Scout. The two Scouts started to ride towards the Female Titan, who looked at the two. In row 3-1: Transport, the report of the right wing had reached them. "The right wing's been wiped out?!" asked a Scout. "Then why aren't we treating?!" "I don't know! Commander's orders!" answered the other Scout. "Just pass the goddamn word on to the left!" Back at the Female Titan, she saw the green smoke signals in the distance and started heading towards it, leaving behind all the carnage of the dead Scouts. At Row 1-13: spotting, two Scouts saw the green smoke signals. "What's the deal?" asked a Scout. "We've been going straight east for a while now." "Yes, our destination is the old city to the south..." answered a female Scout. At Row 1-5: Spotting, two Scouts question about the green smoke signals. "At this rate, the formation's going to run right into one!" shouted a Scout. "Yeah. Then it is," replied the another Scout. "A forest of giant trees!" The two rode their horses to a giant forest on the hillside. In Row 2, Center: Command, Erwin Smith and four soldiers rode up in the Forest of Giant Trees. "It looks like Titan have passed through here," surmised Erwin. "The path was devoid of vegetation. Even the wagons could get through here." Erwin and his men rode up onto the path and into the forest. "Inform those behind us that only the center wagon defense squad is to enter the forest," he said. "Yes, sir!" yelled two Scouts. Both of them turning around and started heading back to the others behind them. Behind, Sasha and Rarity spotted the center wagon defense squad going in the forest. "Excuse me, sir..." called Sasha. "It looks like the center rank is taking that forest path. That means we'll run smack into the forest." "Then we go around," said the squad leader. "Yes, sir!" yelled Sasha. Then, Sasha and Rarity followed the Scout as he banked to the left, and three other Scouts followed them. On the other side of the forest, Jean, Armin, Twilight, Reiner, Christa, and Fluttershy rode along the right edge of the forest with several other Scouts. "What are we doing at this sightseeing spot?" asked Jean. "Now we're really straying from our original destination and our return point!' "I don't know... but this what Commander Erwin decided," stated Armin. "He seems to have some plan in mind, but..." "Plan? Are you kidding me?" asked an annoyed Jean. "What, is he gonna throw a welcome party for us rookies at this tourist spot?" "No I don't think so," replied Armin. "That was a joke," Jean stated. "Either way, we got that giant female after us. Regardless of what he has we can't afford to top here. My guess is we're passing through here on our way to somewhere else." "All soldier, halt!" shouted the squad leader. All of the Scouts got off their horses and placed them near a tree. "Alright! Listen up, rookies!" shouted the leader. "We're going to take up intercept positions! Unsheathe and wait in the trees! If any Titans try to enter the forest, stop them with full force!" "Sir? Why would we need to..." asked Jean. The squad leader broke in. "Shut the hell up and follow orders!" he yelled. The squad leader then latched on to a tree and was lifted up. "You've got to be kidding me..." said Jean. "What the hell's happening?" Armin thought about the orders and Erwin's plan. On the other side, Conny, Pinkie Pie, Starlight Glimmer galloped next to each other. Both of them were slighty confused by the intentions of their leaders. Mikasa was galloping with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Indigo Zap, and Sunny Flare. "Hey!" called Conny. "It looks like only the center rank went into the forest. What does that mean for the formation?" "There's no formation anymore," replied Mikasa. "What do you mean Mikasa, we're still trying to get to Shiganshina," said Starlight Glimmer. "Look, the forest is blocking us side squads so our only choice is to go around it," explained Mikasa. "We've lost out spotting capabilities." "Why didn't we change course and avoid the forest altogether?" asked Conny. 'Did Commander Erwin misread his map or something?" "I don't know," Mikasa simply answered. "It's possible we got pushed here trying to avoid the threat on the right side. Maybe." "Wow, these tree are humongous!" said Pinkie Pie. "That's why they're called The Forest of Giant Trees," stated Indigo Zap. "Could we have a party in this forest?" asked Pinkie Pie. "This is a tourist spot not a private spot," said Sunny Flare. On the forest's edges, every Scout was on top of each branch. Everyone was keeping watch to see any Titans coming. "This is insane... First we abandon our original plan of establishing a logistics base... Then, instead of running home with our tails between our legs like we should, we go on a daring sightseeing tour... And, if that wasn't enough, now we're supposed to stand here and keep Titans out of the forest," said Jean. He looked up at the squad leader, who was on his own branch. "Him and his idiotic order..." insulted Jean. "He's going to hear you," warned Armin. "And he doesn't even explain anything. That's a new one to me," said Jean. "But I doubt he's all that calm on the inside either." "What do you mean?" asked Armin. "Sometimes leader get deemed incompetent by their men in extreme situations and end up dying from mysterious stab wounds to the back," answered Jean. "It's not like that rare, is all I'm saying." "Jean... What are you thinking of doing?" asked Armin. "Relax, will you," begged Jean. "I'm just a little irritated at this whole situation I'm going to follow orders, of course. Keeping Titans out of the forest... You agree that's what we should do too, right?" Armin didn't say a word. "You look like you know something," said Jean. "Uhh..." stuttered Armin. "5-meter Titan approaching!" yelled the squad leader. Jean and Armin turned back out to see a Titan running straight at the forest. It had its mouth open as its head hung to the left. Jean and Armin only watch the Titan coming at their direction. "Why did he bring the platoon here?" wondered Armin. "Just what is Commander Erwin thinking? No, that's not right. That isn't what I should be asking. What I should be asking is... what if the Female Titan is pursuing Eren and the commander is aware of that?" In the middle of the forest, the Levi Squad was going through the forest. There didn't appear to be any trouble for miles, but every member knew that danger could be lurking around every corner. "Captain!" called Eren. "Captain Levi!" "What?" responded Levi. "What?" This is a forest, sir!" yelled Eren. "We have no way of detecting approaching Titans this far in with only the center rank! Something seems to be on our right, too. How are we supposed to avoid the Titans or protect the wagons now?!" "Quit whining about the obvious," said Levi. "We can't do any of those things anymore." "But why?!" asked Eren. "Take a good look at these big-ass trees, Eren," said Levi. Eren looked up at Levi. "This is the perfect environment for using omni-directional mobility gear," stated Levi. "And use that middling head of yours to think. Use your brain for once if you don't want to die." "Yes, sir!" yelled Eren. "I see. I'm still new to this. That's why I don't understand the situation," Eren realized. "And he won't give me a simple answer because I still need to learn for myself. I bet that's how these experts learned to fight, too." Eren then looked at Oruo. "Dammit, what are we doing here?" asked Oruo quietly. "Seriously... What the hell's going on?" Eren then looked at Petra, Eld, Gunther, and Lightning Dust, who all had worried looks on their face. "Don't tell me no-one knows what's going on?!" thought Eren. "Not even Captain Levi?! Back at the forest's edge Armin continued to think what the Female Titan is doing. "If my theory, that the Female Titan is after Eren, is correct, then there's only one reason why we've come here. Commander Erwin intends to confront her her!" "Armin," called Jean. "Our orders are to "keep Titans out of the forest", right?" Armin looked down and was surprised to see the amount of Titans trying to get them. "We don't need to actually fight them... right?" asked Jean. Bertholdt, Ymir, Christa, Sasha, Conny, Mikasa, Reiner, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Sour Sweet, Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, Sunny Flare, Sugarcoat, and the rest of the Scouts looked down at the amount of Titan around the forest edge. In the forest, a black smoke signal was shot behind the Levi Squad, alerting them all. "A black smoke signal?!" asked Eren. "From right behind us!" called Eld. "Must be whatever's on the right!" "Draw your swords," said Levi. Levi looked behind and draw his sword out. "If it shows itself, we'll only have a moment," he said. Everything was quiet and nobody made a sound. Behind them, a Scout appeared from the trees gliding and looks back, ready to engage in battle. Eren on the ground looked up aware of the danger coming at them. Levi continued to look straight ahead. Then, as if it appeared from thin air, the Female Titan weaved around a tree and swatted the Scout that was gliding. After, the Female Titan started running towards Eren and the Levi Squad. Eren gasped in horror at the sight of the Female Titan. "Move!" yelled Levi. They all heard footsteps getting louder from their right. Petra spotted the Female Titan running next to them. The Female Titan rushed through the gaps in the trees and was heading towards the squad. With her arms stretched out, the Female Titan demolished a tree above Eren. Eren looked up in horror as pieces of wood barely missed him. Eren continued to gallop faster, while the Female Titan slid on the ground, stopping herself. She then started to chase after them, running as fast as she could catch up to them. Eren chocked in fear as he looked behind him. Eren looked behind and saw her icy blue eyes and a hungry smile trailing him. "It's fast!" Eren shouted. "There's no way to avoid inside this forest!" yelled Gunther, looking behind. "It's catching up!" yelled Eld. "Captain! Let's switch to ODM!" suggested Petra. "Captain!" called Lightning Dust. Behind the chase scene, two Scouts came swing towards the Female Titan and the squad. Eren continued to look back at the two Scouts. "You're not getting away!" yelled one of the Scouts. "Reinforcements from the rear!" yelled Petra. One of the Scouts swung ahead to intercept the Female Titan. The second Scout launched his hooks, attempting to latch it from the Female Titan's nape. The Female Titan tilted her head and dodging it. She then grabbed onto the line and yanked the Scout forward. The Scout screamed as his body was yanked and crushed into a nearby tree with her shoulder, leaving a giant blood pool on the side of the tree. The second Scout swung in front of the Female Titan to strike it. Then, the Female Titan grabbed his line and yanked it back. The Scout screamed as he was yanked back and was swatted into a bloody pulp. The Female Titan discarded the Scout's body behind and continued the chase. Eren gasped in horror as to what he saw. "CAPTAIN!!! GIVE YOUR ORDERS!!!" shrieked Petra at the top of her lungs. "Let's take it out!" suggested Oruo. "It's dangerous! We should take care of it!" Eld then drew out his sword. "I'll cut it to shreds!" yelled Eld. Eren saw what they were doing and looked back. "Idiot! You walked right into your doom! he thought, smiling. "What you're chasing is a team of expert Titan-killers!" Then, Eren's smiled disappeared as he looked in front of him. Levi continued to move forward and didn't draw out his sword. "Captain Levi!" yelled Eren. "CAPTAIN!!!" creamed Petra. "Give us you orders!" yelled Oruo. "It's about to catch up to us!" yelled Eld. "Let's take it out here! That's why we entered this forest! Isn't it Captain?" "Captain!" yelled Lightning Dust. "Hurry up!" "Captain! Your orders!" yelled Eren. The Female Titan then started to catch up to them. Then, Levi turned back to face his squad. "Everyone, cover your ears," he said. No one could understand what he meant. They all gave him a confused expression, unsure of what he was going to do. Levi then pulled out his signal flare and aimed it in the air. He placed his thumb over the hammer of the gun and pulled back the hammer. Then, he placed his index finger over the trigger and fired it.