The Empire of Titans

"Why exactly are we doing this again?" Oluo asked with annoyance in his tone; the others grunted when he asked the same question, Again. Levi simply clicked his tongue in annoyance, but he couldn't really blame him this time.

Hange was the one who heard the rumors and wanted to see if they were true or not, her team was more than capable if there was anything true to these rumors, but Levi highly doubted these rumors were true, but still, he knew compared to Hange, perhaps he didn't know as much about the Titans. But one thing he really didn't understand was why were he and his team with them.

They were an elite squad of Survey Corps on their way to see if the rumors of the Titans inside Wall Rose were true, accompanied by the Hange Squad; unlike them, they looked more eager and looking forward; perhaps Hange's infection had finally caught up to them, not that Levi blamed them, she was known to squeal like a pig whenever there was anything remotely 'interesting' about a Titan. Having someone like her around could be a tremendous pain in the ass.

"We already told you for the hundredth time now that we are going to check the Forest for anything unusual," Petra replied, giving her teammate an annoyed glance before looking forward. Her hands held the reins of her horse.

Levi was in the front of his squad; all of them were on horseback. It was the middle of the night, and while that usually wasn't a problem for them, the full moon was just three nights ago; without moonlight, they could hardly see anything; thankfully, they had lanterns and torches to see their way around.

An hour ago, Oluo asked why there were doing this inspection at night, they could as well do this during the day if not better, but Petra quickly reminded him that Commander Erwin wanted this to be a secret, not mentioning the presence of Survey Corps in the middle of the day, could cause people to think there was another breach. All this was done simply because of rumors.

The rumors first started a month ago; according to Hange, apparently, some people had reported strange yellow lightning in the middle of the night; while that could be just nature being more freaky than usual, some other people reported seeing Titans far away.

Hange being Hange had taken these words as words of God, immediately believing them, going around and basically interrogating people for the slightest bit of information. While looking at everything, Hange hadn't found much; all people told her could easily be misinterpreted as their eyes playing tricks during the night, nothing that serious, but still, she desperately wanted to see if there was anything true to this rumor and the presence of Levi Squad made things much easier, they could cover more ground, and not mentioning Levi was the best soldier for a reason after all.

"The night is still young, but we don't have time to waste," Levi suddenly spoke with authority, his voice firm and his eyes sharp enough to cut steel. Hange felt a tingle on her stomach every time he talked like that but decided to ignore it for now.

Everyone turned to look at Humanity's strongest soldier; almost everyone could hardly keep eye contact with him when he was in full captain mode, except Hange, who simply smiled, her hands holding the reins a little tighter.

"My squad and I are checking the area near the camp, all the way to the heart of the forest; if you see anything inform us," Levi ordered, turning his horse around, quickly followed by his squad.

"Very well, Levi, but if you see a Titan, please try to take it alive," Hange requested with a plea as she and her squad rode to the opposite side.

Levi didn't respond; instead kept riding, his eyes looking around. Seeing them riding away, Oluo rolled his eyes before snorting. "A Titan, seriously, Titans don't just show up out of nowhere, and they neither could fly," he spoke with annoyance. To him, this was a big waste of time, a time he could spend sleeping instead of being awake and searching a big ass forest for Titans that most likely weren't even there.

Eld turned to him, saying that Commander Erwin must have a reason for telling them to do this meanwhile, Petra was thinking of something that had been bugging her since they started this mission; looking around, all she could see were trees nearby, the dim light from the lantern barely illuminated anything to see clearly.

Turning to look at her captain, ignoring the bickering of the rest of her squad, it seemed her captain was ignoring them as well, his eyes entirely focused on the path ahead like a hawk, his ears listening to anything unusual.

"Captain, can I ask you something?" Petra asked respectfully towards her captain.

Levi simply glanced at her briefly before slightly nodding his head for her to go ahead.

"I have been thinking if Commander Erwin wanted us to confirm whether there's a Titan or group of Titans inside the Wall, why didn't he call for Mike? He would pick on the scent of a Titan from a mile away?" Petra asked curiously, still keeping her attention on everything, not allowing herself to lose focus; her captain always said that losing focus or your head while in a bad situation are the worst mistakes a soldier could make.

"Mike and his squad are away beyond Wall Rose; the Commander sent them to check something in one of our old HQ," Levi answered with a grunt at the end; it would be much easier if Mike were with them.

His nose was something that still baffled many in Survey Corps but still was appreciated; personally, he remembered one time he picked on the scent of a group of Titans from a mile away.

That was impressive, but that wasn't his only quality; he wasn't the second strongest soldier for nothing. Levi respected Mike as a good soldier, man, and friend, something everyone should strive to be.

Petra nodded in understanding; she hadn't known about it; they kept riding further into the forest, seeing nothing unusual, the only sound was the sound of small animals around them, and of course, Oluo and Eld were still exchanging words like little children, it was slowly getting on their nerves.

Levi slightly narrowed his eyes when he heard a whisper in the wind; one could easily mistake it for an animal but not him; rising his hand, his squad fell dead silent immediately; not even a whimper was heard from them; they didn't even question why they suddenly stopped, Gunther looked around trying to make out the noises around them.

Petra looked around, in every direction trying to hear or see anything, when the whole squad heard... sounds.

The squad stiffened, unable to make out what they were hearing except Levi, who closed his eyes to listen better; with his eyes closed, he could make out the words.

Using the ODM gear, Levi flew ahead quickly, followed by his squad; after jumping from tree to tree using the smallest bit of gas, Levi landed on a branch; looking down, his eyes narrowed to see three little kids just passing by, now looking closer he wondered what they were doing here in the middle of the night.

Just as he was about to listen to what they were saying, Oluo decided to open his mouth when he saw the kids.

"Brats, what are you doing here?" He called out, earning a face palm from Petra, Eld, and Gunther. Meanwhile, Levi thought of ways to punish him the moment they returned back to the Head Quarters; perhaps cleaning every bit of dust until the whole building looked like a giant mirror from the outside would be a good punishment.

The children froze in their tracks before the boy with dark hair looked up, making eye contact with Levi, taking a step back immediately, his face pale but looking more like a child caught with his hand on the cookie jar.

Due to the dim light around them, Levi could barely make out the details of their faces; one had dark hair, a girl with a red scarf, and a blonde bowl head brat. One thing Levi noticed that he found a bit odd was the bit of fresh blood on the kid's right hand. Was he injured?

Is it not that cold? Why is she wearing a scarf?! Petra thought briefly, her eyes first noticing the girl who, despite being in the presence of several unknown adults, didn't look frightened; the opposite, she narrowed her eyes at them.

Levi saw the boy in the center look at them with narrowed eyes before setting into the wings of freedom symbol stitched on his right shoulder.

"Wings of Freedom?!! You're the Survey Corps," the boy shouted with sudden amazement in his eyes; the squad briefly glanced at each other before jumping down; no point in hiding anymore; getting closer now, Levi could clearly see their faces.

They looked around ten, eleven, or nine years old. Levi noticed how the one with green eyes was looking at them; he had seen that look before, children who were amazed by their courage, only for that smile to disappear when they saw the real world outside the walls.

Petra took a step forward before asking the question that the whole squad wanted to know the answer to.

"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" She asked warmly, her hands on her knees as she crouched slightly with a bright smile.

None of them missed them gulping at the question before the one in front murmured something they couldn't hear. They saw them getting nervous and uncomfortable until...

"We wanted to see if the rumors were true," The blonde one suddenly said, drawing the squad's attention to him, but Levi noticed the brief surprise look from his two friends when he said that.

"rumors?" Eld asked, wanting to make sure they were talking about the same stupid Titan rumors...

"We heard from some grown-up that they saw Titans in the forest; my friends and I were simply too curious to see if there was anything in the forest," the blonde boy said with a convincing tone, and the whole explanation sounded too trustworthy, everyone knew kids liked to explore and put their noses into everything that is for grownups.

The squad nodded in understanding except Levi, who didn't fully trust them; his eyes narrowed at the one with green eyes but quickly decided to ignore it, they were kids, and they didn't look dangerous, at least from the outside.

"Yes, just like Armin said," the boy in the middle confirmed with a nod.

"Stupid brats and their curiosity," Oluo murmured under his breath, earning a slap on the shoulder from Eld, who told him to keep quiet. Oluo groaned in annoyance.

"Alright then, Petra walked them back to their homes," Levi ordered, turning to his companion, who reluctantly nodded; she wanted to stay with her squad but knew the kids would most likely be more comfortable with a female, not mentioning their parents must be worried.

Hearing the word 'home,' the kids suddenly saddened, knowing the squad was thinking they were from Wall Rose.

"Ahh, we are from Shinganshina, Sir; we don't really have a home right now," The one identified as Armin said with a downcast look.

This surprised the squad; they didn't think they were actually from the first town that fell from the Titans.

"Petra here will guide you to your... beds, just follow her. Don't worry, there are no Titans around," Eld spoke with a warm tone, a bright smile on his face, hoping that would make the children feel better.

Soon the kids followed Petra without saying a word, but before they could walk away. "What are your names?" Levi asked with a commanding tone.

The kids straighten up before answering as if they were soldiers already.

"Eren Yeager"

"Mikasa Ackerman"

"Armin Arlert"

Yeager! He's the doctor's son, and if I'm not mistaken, Keith did mention that he's a potential future Scout! Levi thought, ignoring the other two.

"Don't go outside at night anymore; you're lucky you weren't attacked," Levi ordered sternly; the kids nodded immediately; he didn't know if it was out of fear or respect or a bit of both.

After they walked away following Petra, Levi had one thought on his mind. They're from Shinganshina, yet they wanted to see if the rumors were true; something doesn't add up; either they're fools or liars," he thought before gesturing for the rest of the squad to move.

After two hours of searching around and seeing nothing unusual, a sudden dark flare was in the sky; Levi noticed it before using his ODM gear to reach the location; it seemed to be close.

Arriving there, just as they passed a bunch of trees, Levi's eyes widened in shock at what he and the rest of the squad saw; in front of them were trees torn apart from their roots, several of them torn to pieces but that wasn't what shocked them, it was the clear giant footsteps left in the ground, several rocks and tree branches were all around them.

Hange and her squad were inspecting what they saw; Moblit was drawing something in his notebook, most likely the giant footsteps; Hange crouched down, her fingertips touching the place where the giant footstep was.

Cold, she thought, this wasn't made recently; she kept looking around with glee in her eyes but at the same time with total confusion. Where is the Titan? Where are you hiding my beauty? She asked herself in excitement. Finally, all the questioning was paying off; she felt like squealing with happiness; she barely noticed Levi walking up to her.

She didn't hear the first time, nor the second time, until a hand grabbed the top of her head, forcefully turning her around, making direct eye contact with Levi.

"Oi, Four Eyes, are you Deaf Now as well?" He shouted in front of her, but Hange only now noticed his dark blue eyes, somewhat reminding her of the clear sky at dusk. They were dangerous and yet beautiful in a strange way.

She winced when Levi knocked on her forehead with his knuckles as if she were a door waiting to open...

"Shitty Four Eyes Answer," Levi shouted this time, his voice commanding.

That seemed to do the trick since Hange backed away slightly before clearing her throat.

"Ahh, Moblit found this clearing; from what we gathered, it is out of the question that a Titan has been here, and a big one at that. The footprints are five meters long, which means either the Titan has massive feet for his size or he's just larger than the others," Hange reported gesturing at the footsteps all around them.

This earned shocked looks from everyone, Levi kept his surprise face at bay as much as he could, but even he couldn't completely hide it.

"Can there be multiple Titans?" Levi asked the most important question; all his senses were on full alert for any kind of sound around them, his hands holding the hilt of the sword tightly.

Thankfully much to the relief of everyone, she shook her head. "No, I checked the perimeter of every footstep; they all are the same, so I think we are dealing with a single Titan," Hange spoke, and unlike the rest, her voice sounded excited, something everyone noticed.

Stupid four eyes, Levi thought; he wondered what this all could mean. Were there really Titans who would hide instead of immediately attacking the nearest human. His mind was going in every direction possible; he had countered many abnormal Titans, but never had happened for an abnormal to hide away.

What am I to do with all of this? He asked himself; he didn't know yet.

"Wait, where's Petra?" Hange asked, only now she noticed that the ginger-haired girl wasn't around.

"We encounter some stupid little brats in the forest; they said they wanted to see if the rumors about the Titans were true; Petra walked them back," Oluo answered first, slightly annoyed, his voice sounding a bit deeper than usual. Levi had a good idea why he was annoyed that Petra wasn't around.

"Kids, that's strange!" Hange murmured under her breath, scratching her head with the tip of her pencil.

Soon they were all done for the night; they searched again around the area to see if they found any other sign of the mysterious Titan; they found another one nearby, the same case as before, broken trees and rocks everywhere, giant footsteps around the area.

By the end, Hange was basically squealing like a pig, bringing up all kinds of crazy theories like there being a Titan that is afraid of humans, but the most ridiculous was when...

"What if it's a Titan on our side," Hange exclaimed as they made their way towards the Head Quarters.

Her squad simply rolled with it, some chuckling at the theory, while Levi Squad just shook their heads; she was crazy after all.

"Don't be ridiculous, Four Eyes; the only good Titan is a Dead One," Levi countered, his mind briefly going to memories he really didn't want to go for now.

"Oh, come on, Levi, you know that would be awesome; you know as well they are all types of Abnormal Titans," Hange defended her theory with a passion that was admirable in a way.

"Yes, you're right about the first part, but every Abnormal I have ever seen always attacked one way or the other; not once Have I seen a Titan that doesn't try to kill humans," Levi said, his voice calm and stoic.

Hange sighed but decided to continue this conversation later; after all, she liked much to discuss her theories when they were fewer people around, especially if they were alone.

Soon they returned back to HQ, and everyone quickly fell asleep, but Levi quickly warned Oluo that as punishment for having a big mouth, he was to clean the entire HQ until the outside walls looked like a mirror; the poor scout gulped before nodding.

Tomorrow

"How big do you think the Titan is?" Erwin asked, his eyes looking over the drawing Hange's companion had made, his voice firm like steel.

"After everyone went to sleep, I stayed all night trying to estimate the size. I come up with two possible sizes," Hange answered with excitement. To her left standing Levi who, unlike her, he didn't look as excited as her, his face looked dull, but that was his typical face.

But despite looking bored, he still paid attention to the conversation. Erwin put down the report of Hange before his eyes settled on the crazy woman, who instinctively straightened up.

"From the size of his feet and the way trees were destroyed around, I estimate the Titan should be over 20 meters," Hange concluded; this earned an alarmed look from both Levi and Erwin but disappeared just as soon as it appeared.

"At first, I thought that maybe it was a Titan with big feet but a short body, but if that were to be the case, why are trees over twenty meters ripped out, so I come to the conclusion our new beauty must be a new twenty meters class," Hange finished, with a bit of drooling at the end, her eyes shining like stars.

Levi looked disgusted at how she reacted and the drool leaking from the corner of her mouth. Beauty!? He repeated the word in his mind; only Hange could call a Titan beautiful.

Erwin, on the other hand, was deep in thought; this new Titan brought up a lot of questions he didn't know the answer to and, just like with Colossal Titan, is bringing up the same issue.

Where are they coming from? He asked himself, how could a Titan of that mass simply disappear out of thin air? The commander didn't know the answer. At least for now, it seemed things were getting either worse or more interesting, depending on how you look at it.

Erwin picked up the second report of the mission. He started reading the report from Levi, only to stop when he read the first part. His eyes went to the captain, whose attention turned to him.

"Three kids! Who were they, and Where did they come from?" Erwin asked curiously; Levi explained how when they were searching the Forest for clues, they came across three kids walking into the forest.

Erwin's eyes widened slightly when he heard the names. Grisha! Why would your son want to see if a Titan is truly in the forest, especially after what happened in Shinganshina?? He asked himself.

"Should we question them further?" Levi asked, seeing the way the commander was reacting while they weren't really going to do anything since they were only kids, after all.

Erwin thought of it but decided to drop it; after all, according to Shadis, Eren would most likely join the Scouts unless he falls during the training.

With a shake of his head, "No," he said. That day, Hange kept coming up with theories; one thing all three knew very well was that the Titan seemed to come out of thin air somehow, especially since the footsteps left didn't go anywhere; they just stopped.

Hange Squad searched around the forest for a whole month, hoping to find where the Titan had gone but found nothing; when Mike and his squad returned, he couldn't pick up any scent left since it had been a long time since it happened.

After Nine Months - Year 846

Eren was beside a crying Armin; it had been a disaster; the boy didn't know what to say; after all, losing family was never easy. No matter how many times someone lost a beloved person, each loss was a new wound that never truly healed.

The blonde was holding his grandfather's hat tightly in his hands, his eyes crying rivers of tears; they were red and puffy; Mikasa on his left and Eren on his right.

Due to the shortage of food, the government made a plan to take back Wall Maria by sending a quarter of the population to the Titans, but anyone knew that it was just a ploy to have fewer mouths to feed.

Of the 250,000 people sent to take back Wall Maria, only a hundred returned. They were simply civilians with little to no training, handed a bunch of knives and other sharp weapons; many of them weren't even armed, were they supposed to defeat the Titans with their fists?!

Eren had been half-convinced to reveal himself; surely he could help them in his Titan form, but Mikasa quickly dropped his idea, saying he alone couldn't do much against hundreds if not thousands of Pure Titans, not mentioning him fighting would reveal his existence to everyone including whoever is the holder of Colossal and Armored Titan. And knowing that the government had basically sent 250,000 people to slaughter, the government wouldn't take kindly to Eren showing up to save people; they would surely execute him out of fear.

Something Eren dreaded as well, would his own people betray him if the truth came out? He didn't know yet.

"I'm really sorry, Armin, me and Mikasa are still with you, always remember that," Eren said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, with Mikasa doing the same on his other shoulder.

After hours of silence between them, Armin stood up; his eyes briefly glanced at the hat left by his grandfather before turning to Eren with a determination look on his face.

"We have only eleven months left; let's see if your father's words were true," Armin stated with an unusual firm tone; Eren's eyes widened slightly before nodding.

He still had the three extra syringes filled with blood; it seems Armin and Mikasa were going to get the first two; as for the third one, that remains to be seen...