//------------------------------// // Bite: The 57th Exterior Scouting Mission, Part 3 // Story: Attack on Titan // by Gojizilla54 //------------------------------// "Draw your swords," said Levi. "If it shows itself we'll only have a moment." The Female Titan appeared and swatted a Scout. "Move!" yelled Levi. Eren looked up as the Female Titan demolished a tree above him. The pieces of wood barely missed Eren. The Female Titan then gave chase to the Levi Squad. "It's fast!" yelled Eren. "There's no way to avoid it inside this forest!" yelled Gunther. "It's catching up!" yelled Eld. "Captain! Let's switch to ODM!" suggested Petra. "Captain!" Two Scouts appeared behind the chase scene. The Female Titan crushed the first one into a tree and swatted another Scout. "CAPTAIN!!! GIVE YOUR ORDERS!!!" shrieked Petra. "Let's take it out!" suggested Oruo. "It's dangerous! We should take care of it!" "It's about to catch up to us!" yelled Gunther. "Let's take it out here!" yelled Eld. "That's why we entered this forest! Isn't it, Captain?!" "Captain!" called Lightning Dust. "Hurry!" "Captain your orders!" yelled Eren. Levi then turned around to face his squad. "Everyone, cover your ears," said Levi. Everyone gave him a confused look on their face. Levi then took out a signal flare, pulled the hammer down, and pulled the trigger. The signal flare fired a loud high pitch noise. Everyone covered their ears as they avoided damage to their ears. Levi pulled the hammer with his thumb. He placed his index finger and pulled the trigger, firing a loud high pitch noise, everyone covered their ear. "An acoustic shell?!" asked Eren. Levi looked back at Eren. "Tell me, what is your job again?" he asked. "Is it simply to give in to your emotions of the moment? No, it's not. This squad's mission is to do everything possible to keep this brat unharmed. Down to our last breath. Gunther, Eld, Petra, Lightning Dust, and Oruo kept a serious face as they followed Levi's order as the Female Titan was stilling giving chase to them. Eren, on the other hand, was dismayed by Levi's words. "It's not to keep an eye on me?!" Eren thought. "We're going to keep pushing ahead on horseback," said Levi. "Got it?" "Understood, sir!" replied Petra, shocking Eren further. "Push ahead?! But for how long?!" asked Eren, looking back. "Not to mention it's almost on top of us now!" The Female Titan continued to chase them, until two more Scouts swung in front of her, causing to slow down a bit and cover her nape. "More reinforcements!" yelled Eren. "They'll get killed too if we don't hurry and help them!" "Eren!" Face forward!" yelled Gunther. "Mr. Gunther?!" called Eren. "Don't fall out of step!" yelled Eld. "Maintain top speed!" "Mr. Eld?!" called Eren. "Why?! Who can possibly stop it, if not the Levi Squad?!" Behind, a Scout was about to strike at the Female Titan, but the Female Titan used her right hand to crush the Scout into a nearby tree, causing Eren to look back. "Another one's dead!" called Eren. "We couldn't saved him, too! Behind, a Scout went in front of the Female Titan and dodged one of her swipes. "One person's still fighting! There's still time to save him!" shouted Eren. "Eren! Focus ahead and keep moving!" yelled Petra. "Are you telling me to ignore the fighting going on behind us?!" asked Eren. "To just run away and abandon my comrades?!" "Yes! I am!" answered Petra. "So as the captain said! "I don't understand why we're letting them die!" yelled Eren. "And I don't under stand why Levi won't explain! Why?!" "Because the captain doesn't feel the need to explain!" answered Oruo. "But, you don't understand that, cause you're still wet behind the ears! Now shut the fuck up and follow the goddamn orders!" Eren continued to look forward and then realized what he could have do. "No..." thought Eren, drawing back his sword and lifting his hand up. "I can fight on my own, actually. Why should I always have to rely on others? I can just fight on my own!" Eren then opened his mouth and placed his hand on his teeth. "Eren what the hell are you doing?" asked Lighting Dust. Eren then stopped himself from biting. "You're only permitted to do that when your life is in danger!" Petra stated. "That was our agreement, remember?!" Eren ignored Petra was continued to look forward and was about to bite down. "Eren!" called Petra. "I wouldn't blame you," stated Levi. Petra and Eren looked at Levi was surprise. "If you wanna do it, do it," said Levi. "Eren listen you are not inherently evil your ability to change does make you a monster, that said it could be the other way around. How are you supposed to know where to draw the line? Whether you lose control or freely give it up. Maybe it's the same. "I want to slaughter every last Titan I can!" declared Eren. "Eren, the difference in our experience is why we don't see eye-to-eye, that's life," Levi stated. "At the end of the day, there's no reason to go against how you see it. The choice is yours: you can trust yourself or you can trust the people willing to put their lives on the line for you. I don't know which way is better, I never have. Should I act on my own instincts or put myself in the hands of my comrades, either way there's no guarantee. So, just do the best you can and choose whichever you'll regret the least." The squad continued to move forward. Eren looked back at the Female Titan, who was still distracted by another Scout. Eren placed his hand and was about to bite down, but." "Eren!" called Petra, getting Eren to stop. "Trust us." Eren looked at Petra and remembers those two words. Days before the expedition, Eren and the Levi Squad were gathered in the cadet's lecture hall. Levi was in front of the chalkboard with a stick of chalk in his hand. Hange was sitting on a desk lightning to them. "I've come up with a way to stop you without completely killing you," Levi stated. "Sir?" asked Eren. "Before, I said the only way to stop you in Titan form is to kill you," stated Levi. "But the method will leave you mutilated. It depends entirely on individual skill, though." Levi turned around and face a chalk board. He started to draw a little diagram if a body with incisions along the legs and arms of the diagram. "Basically, it involves cutting the nape with you in it, off the body," he explained. 'Then ends of your limbs will get severed in the process, but I assume they'll just grown back anyway. It creeps me out." "Wait, I'm not sure how to make them grown back," Eren stated. 'Isn't there some other way?" Levi looked at Eren with an annoyed look. "So you want to do it without taking risk or making sacrifices?" asked Levi. "No," Eren simply answered. "Then prepare for the worst," Levi warned. "We're in the same boat. You could kill us. So just relax." "Yes, sir... I understand," said Eren. "So, I can start experimenting , right?" asked Hange, covering her mouth. "It's risky, bit we can't risk not testing him, either," answered Levi. "I'll take charge of the planning, then, declared Hange. "Eren… If your unsure about anything, then just learn as you go along. Anything we learn is easily worth risking our lives for. Outside, Levi and Hange were around a well, looking down at Eren, who was at the bottom. "Are you ready down there, Eren?" asked Hange, peering down at the well. "I'll fire a smoke signal when we're ready to begin. Everything after that is up to you!" "Understood!" yelled Eren, raising his hand up. "Even if he becomes a mindless Titan this dry well will hold him!" assured Hange. "I think." Hange then fired a green smoke signal in the air. Eren looked up at the well and saw it. "There's the signal," said Eren. Eren then looked at his hand. "I haven't used my Titan form since I sealed the hole in the wall..." he thought. "if I go out of control this time... the Levi Squad might end up killing me. Eren then opened his mouth and placed his hand and bit down. On top of the well, Hange and Levi kept their distance form the well. No lightning strikes appeared or a Titan appeared out of the well. "Did he see the signal or not?" asked Hange. "No... I doubt we can expect this to work reliably," answered Levi. Levi and Hange galloped towards the well. "Hey! Eren! The test's off for now!" shouted Levi. Levi and Hange walked got off their horses and looked down at the well. "Did something happen?" asked Hange. Hange looked deeper in the well and was taken by surprise. Down at the well, Eren stood at the bottom of the well, his hands were covered in blood from the bites and was drooling blood from his repeated bites. "Ms Hange... I can't transform into a Titan..." Eren stated. After the failed test, Eren and the Levi Squad were having tea and were relaxing while drinking. "Not even the bite wounds on your hands have gone away?" asked Levi. Eren looked at his hands, that were wrapped in bandages. "No, sir," answered Eren. "If you can't turn into a Titan, our big plans for sealing Wall Maria go up in flames," stated Levi. "Figure it out. That's an order." Levi then started to walk away. "Yes, sir..." Eren replied. Lightning Dust then looked at Petra, who was locked in a daze looking at Levi, making Lightning Dust to smirk. "Hey, if you're so caught up on Levi, talk to him," she whispered. Petra looked at Lightning Dust, blushing madly. She got up without saying a word and walked to Levi. "Don't loose heart, Eren," advised Eld. "But..." said Eren. Then, Eld interjected. "This means you're more human than we thought," said Eld. "It's a lot better than ending up dead because you were too hasty. It was a waste of time." "Yeah. There's no such thing as being too careful," stated Gunther. Oruo and Lighting Dust only let out a sigh of relief. "Why are they so calm?" wondered Eren. Eren looked around the table to see all their expressions of being relief and calm. "Is it actually okay that I can't turn into a Titan?" he wondered. Eren looked back down, and picked up his teaspoon. His wounds caused Eren to hiss and cringe in pain, causing him to drop his spoon onto the grass. "You okay?" asked Eld. "Yeah..." answered Eren. Eren then bent over and reached for the spoon. The tabletop was against his stomach and was preventing his reach. Whith his grasped filled with more purpose, Eren reached down for the spoon and grabbed, but Eren then pulled his muscle as he grabbed for the spoon. A large spark emitted from his hand. Eren then gasped at the sight of the spark. Behind Levi and Petra, a large burst of steam and light exploded, blowing Eld, Gunther, Lightning Dust, and Oruo off the table. All the nearby Scouts that were around the were blown off the ground. Other that weren't near saw a small twister of steam getting smaller and smaller as the steam was blown away. "Hey!" yelled a Scout. "What the hell?!" wondered the other Scout. "What was that explosion?!" asked a third Scout. When the steam cleared, Eren was squatting on top of a partially muscled rib cage and a quarter of the backbone, his right hand was stuck inside the muscle in the shoulder. Eren tried to pull his hand out of the flesh with all his might. "Why now?!" he questioned, trying to pull his hand out. "Calm down," said Levi. "Captain Levi! I don't know what...!" yelled Eren, looking back. When Eren looked back and was surprised that Levi was facing the opposite direction of Eren. Levi was facing his squad that stood in before him with their blades out and angry faces looking at him. Eren stood complete still and was scared that his life would be killed by the squad for something he didn't do. "I said clam down... all of you," said Levi. Meanwhile, from the forest, Hange and Moblit were running out the forest and to the source of the sudden light and the small twister of steam, wondered what had happen. "What?!" panted Hange. "What was that sound?!" However, her concerned face turned into a huge smile on her face, as she saw the rib cage that Eren was squatting on. She began to grow ecstatic, her cheeks started to blush with opportunity. Hange screamed in excitement and jumped up in the air. Back at the rib cage, the Levi squad had surrounded Eren and Levi from every side with their blades dawned out, ready to strike. "Eren!" hollered Eld. "What the hell is the meaning of this?!" "Sir!" yelled Eren. "Why did you transform without permission?!" shouted Eld. "Answer me, goddammit!" "Wait. Eld," said Levi "Answer him, Eren! Explain yourself!" demanded Oruo. Eren looked back at Oruo. In the front Gunther started to walk towards Eren. "No! That can come later!" yelled Gunther. "First, you need to prove you aren't hostile towards us... no, towards humanity!" "What?" asked Eren. "Prove it! Now!" hollered Gunther. "You bear that responsibility!" "If you so much as twitch that arm of yours your head's coming right off!" Oruo warned. 'I'll do it. too! I really will! Just try me!" 'Oruo! I told you to calm down!" yelled Levi. "Captain!" called Petra. "Please get away from Eren! You're too close!" "Why the hell are you protecting Levi instead of questioning Eren?!" yelled Lightning Dust, getting closer to Eren. "He's our captain, what do you think?!" yelled Petra. "No, you two are the ones who need to get away," said Levi. "Why, sir?!" asked Petra. "A gut feeling," Levi replied. "Eren! You better answer!" warned Eld. "Don't try anything cute!" yelled Oruo. "Prove that you're not hostile!" yelled Gunther. Eren could process his answer as Eld, Gunther, and Oruo continued to bombard Eren with questions and warning if he doesn't answer. With all the questions and threats of killing him, Eren's mind couldn't handle all of questions and threats from the Levi Squad. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!" screamed Eren. "WILL YOU GUYS PLEASE SHUT THE FUCK UP?!" Everyone surrounding Eren all remained quiet, until someone was running toward him. "EREN!!!" called Hange, running towards Eren. Eren looked at the running Hange, who pushed Gunther and her assistant, Moblit out of the way. "Can I touch that arm?! Pretty please with sugar on top, let me touch his glorious arm!" begged Hange, drooling at the corner of her mouth and blushing. "I don't it's a great idea Hange!" yelled Eren. Then, Hange got close to the giant red hand. "Wait, don't..." yelled Eren. Hange pressed her two whole hands on the hand. When her hand was pressed against the hand it started to sizzle and a small trail of steam was coming between her hand and the muscle. At the touch of her hand, she backed up in excitement. "Ow! Son of a bitch!" shrieked Hange, bouncing up into the air as she waved her hands to fan them. "Damn, it's not when there's no skin! I'm talking crazy hot!" "Section Commander!" called Moblit. "You're a maniac! You hear me? A maniac!" The Levi Squad all watch, as Hange had her moment of excitement. Hange then got up and turned around to face Eren. "Say! Is it not hot for you, Eren?!" she asked. "How is it connected to your right hand?! I really want to see!" Eren then took a look at his right hand, which was still stuck in the flesh. "Oh, right! If I just pull my hand out..." Eren thought, pulling his hand out of the flesh. "Come on!" Eren placed his left boot against the muscle and tried to pull his right hand out of the flesh with all his might. "Hey, Eren! Don't try anything funny!" warned Oruo. With a final tug, Eren had freed his hand from the flesh. Steam came form his hand as he pulled it out. Eren fell backwards and landed on back as Levi watched him fall. Once Eren was free, the carcass began to slowly hiss away, decomposing without Eren connected to it. Hange then anxiously put her hands to her head and ran in place, unable to control herself. "Hold on Eren! That's was too soon!" yelled Hange. "I still wanted to study it!" She then stopped and was fascinated at her sight. She looked on her left and saw the teaspoon was pinched in between its thumb and index finger. Eren panted heavily, glad that he made it out alright. Levi then walked towards Eren. "Captain..." called Eren. "How are you feeling?" Levi asked. "Not... very... good," answered Eren. The other members of Levi’s squad looked to Eren with persistent confusion, but defused anger. Later in the night, Eren and Levi were inside the HQ and were sitting alone, discussing what happened ealier. "Until they actually turned hostile, I never realized how little they trust me..." said Eren. "Of course they don't," said Levi. "That's why I picked them. The common belief is that the first time you come back alive makes you a bonafide Scout. But up against Titans, there's never enough information. There are always too mant unknowns and uncertainties." Eren listened intently to Levi's words. "In which case, you need to be able to act quickly and make tough decisions based on the worst case scenario. But that doesn’t mean they’ve become heartless. Pointing their blades at you like that, they couldn't have left nothing." "Captain Levi," called Moblit from the top of the stairs. "Section Commander Hange wants to see you." Levi and Eren walked into the dining hall where Petra and Oruo sat at a table and Gunther, Eld and Lighting Dust were standing, with Hanji standing at the other end. "Were you taking a long crap?" asked Levi. "Nope. A pleasant one," answered Hange. "I got stuck explaining things to the top brass. But anyway... take a look at this." She placed down a piece of cloth wrapping something. She then unwrapped it and revealed it to be the teaspoon from earlier. "A teaspoon?" wondered Eren. "Yep," Hange answer, picking it up. "That right hand you created was holding this. Between the index finger and thumb, like so." "What?" asked Eren. "It's hard to imagine it was through sheer dumb luck," she said. "And, somehow, it hasn't been wrapped by the heat or pressure. Any thoughts of this?" "As I recall, I went to pick it up... I transformed right after that," explained Eren. "I see... This might explain why you couldn't turn into a Titan earlier. Killing Titans... Blocking a cannonball... Lifting a boulder... In each instance, you had a clear goal prior to transforming," explained Hange. "It's also possible self-inflicted harm isn't the only trigger. You might need to have a goal of some sort as well. "It's true that this latest transformation is similar to when I stopped that cannon shot," said Eren, looking at his hand. "But... Transforming into a Titan to pick up a spoon... This is crazy." "In other words, you didn't break the rules on purpose?" asked Gunther. "That's right," Eren replied. Gunther let out a sigh for looking at Eld and Lightning Dust, who both looked at Gunther and nodded to him. Oruo and Petra nodded at each other. All five soldiers then placed their right hands into their mouths, biting down with painful grunts. Hange and Eren were surprised and confused on what they were doing. "Wait! What the hell are you doing?!" asked Eren. "Oww..." hissed Gunther, looking at his hand. "This hurt like hell," said Eld. "Eren. I'm impressed you can bite so deeply, like this." "We made an error in judgement," said Gunther, soon smiling. "This is our small way of paying that. So it's no big deal." "This is worth an actual apology than just a "sorry," said Lightning Dust. Eren was stunned at their changed attitudes. "Our job is to keep you in check," spoke Oruo. "And that isn't in the wrong! So don't get cocky, kid!" "I'm sorry, Eren," Petra apologized. "We were scared... You must be disappointed in our stupidity. But... Even so... We'll be relying on you, and we'd like to rely on us. Everyone in the room looked at Eren, who was standing still not knowing what to say. So... Please..." said Petra. "Trust us," said Petra, riding next to Eren. Eren the looked at Petra's hand, which still had the bite mark on her hand. "Hurry! Decide already!" shouted Levi. As if the memories from earlier kept replaying in his head at a mile a second, the choice became clearer the more moments that passed. Eren the closed his eyes and lifted his head. "I'LL GO WITH YOU!!!" boomed Eren, shocking Levi. The Levi Squad looked at Eren, making the right decision and smiled at him. Behind them, the Female Titan grabbed the Scouts." "LET GO!!!" he yelled. Eren looked behind him to see the Female Titan dragging the Scout's body into multiple trees. His upper half of his body was smeared against the trees. The Female Titan then toss the bottom half of the Scout. Eren then looked back closing his eyes. "I'm sorry!" Eren apologized. The Female Titan continued the chase. With all the Scouts dead from distracting her, she leaned in and she started to increase her speed, kicking dust and dirt behind as she got closer,. "Target is speeding up!" hollered Eld. "Keep moving! We're going to outrun it!" yelled Levi. Eren looked back to see the Female Titan, now meters away from them. "Outrun it?! There's no way...!" Eren thought. "If we keep riding with out backs to it, we'll all get squashed flat!" Eren the turned back around and saw Levi, who was stilling moving forward. "But, we're on the verge of death... And we're letting our comrades die..." he thought. "Yet, everyone's chosen to keep moving forward. Captain Levi is staring straight ahead. And the other's trust him fully! I... need to trust them, too. Just as they... trust me!" Eren then heard the footsteps getting closer and closer. He looked up to see the Female Titan just feet away from him and was nearly on top of him, reaching out. The Levi Squad then pasted several soldiers hiding behind some planks. The Female Titan them stopped realizing she had fallen into a trap. The Levi Squad all looked at the trap in amazement. The Female Titan looked at her left to see Commander Erwin on the side of a tree. "FIRE!!!" yelled Erwin. All the Scouts covered their ears and pulled the trigger. The special target restraining weapon all fired several wires, large, jagged hooks connected by were fired out of each hole in the weapon, all going straight at the Female Titan. The Female Titan quickly covered her nape with both of her hands as she was captured. The weapon fired at every inch of the Female Titan's legs, feet, body, hands, and arms. The blasts seemed to fire on for about fifteen seconds before the last cannon fired off. With the wires holding the titan, the Female Titan was caught and immobilized. With the Female Titan caught, the Levi Squad continued to ride out peacefully, as their purser was caught in the trap. Eren looked back, not only amazed at what had just happened, but that with their combined efforts, the Female Titan was captured. "Hitch your horses a little further ahead, then switch to ODM," said Levi. "I have to leave for now. Eld's in charge of the squad." Levi then looked back to his squad members. "Hide Eren a suitable distance away from that Titan. Look after my horse, and Petra come with me," said Levi. "Yes, sir," said Petra. Both Levi and Petra got off their horses and swung back towards the captured Female Titan. Eren looked back at the Female Titan. "You don't mean...?!" Eren gasped. "They're going to take that Titan alive?!" Eren the looked back at Lighting Dust, who smiled back at him. Eren the looked at Oruo, who just smirked at him. "What do you think of that, Eren?!" asked Gunther. "We caught that Titan!" "This is the might of the Scout Regiment!" proclaimed Oruo. "Don't underrate us, you idiot! Now do you see?!" Eren had just experience firsthand in their raw abilities, found the excitement and joy contagious. “Yes!” he answered gleefully. Back at the site of the captured Female Titan, Levi latched on a nearby branch and landed upon the branch that Erwin stood on. Petra then followed and stood next to Levi. Both of them drew back their blades. "It looks like she's stopped," observed Levi. "We can't drop our guard yet," said Erwin. "I'm surprised you brought in one of your soldiers." "She's my number one trust soldier, besides Lighting Dust would be reckless," said Levi. Petra blushed at Levi's words, when Levi went to check on her, she turned around to hide her blush. "I'm also impressed you managed to lead her to this spot," said Erwin The Female Titan was trying to move to get out of the trap, but the wire restrained her from doing that. "The credit goes to the rear squad members who gave their lives fighting her," said Levi. "They bought us time. It would've been impossible otherwise." "At least they didn't die in vain," said Petra. "Is that so?" asked Erwin. "Yes," Levi simply answered. Levi then looked at the Female Titan. "Thanks to them... we get to see who's inside this one's nape," said Levi. "Let's just hop they're not wetting themselves inside there." The Female Titan, realizing her predicament, grit her teeth and widened her hook pierced eyes, visibly frightened for her safety is now at the mercy of the Scouting Legion.