Chapter 15: The 57th Expedition

The following morning after the accidental fire started by Lazarus, the Garrison Regiment sent soldiers to investigate the burnt remains of the of the old cabin.

The townspeople did all that they could to put it out, but in the end there was no saving the cabin. The building was completely destroyed with only some parts of the walls still standing. The wood was blackened by the heat, and the floors were littered with ash. All the furniture was destroyed, with only traces of what they used to be still standing.

Michael was also present during the investigation. He was held for questioning since he was the only witness to the event.

Michael cooperated with the Garrison Regiment and told them that he had no idea how this fire started, only that he was the first to notice.

When asked if there was anyone else with him on the night of the fire, he hesitated to bring up Lazarus for a moment. He refused to believe that he was the one responsible. So he responded with a half truth, telling them that Lazarus was with him, but he’d turned in for the night long before the fire started.

Technically he wasn’t lying as he only saw Lazarus leave the area and head off in the direction of the barracks. He never saw him going in the direction of the cabin.

“Sir! We’ve found something.” One of the soldiers called out to the Garrison in charge of the investigation.

He approaches the front door of the cabin and looks in the direction the soldier was pointing. He was surprised to see that there was a scorched set of boot prints standing behind the door on the inside of the cabin, implying that someone was there the night of the fire and foul play was involved.

“This wasn’t an accident. Someone purposefully set this building on fire.” He concluded.

“How?” One of the soldiers asked. “There are no traces of oil anywhere. No matches, candles, or anything that could’ve been used to start it.”

“Maybe this isn’t arson.” Michael interrupted. “Maybe whoever was here was trapped inside when the building went up and simply got out.”

He points over to broken window in the still intact wall. On the outside of the wall were shards of broken glass.

“The glass has been broken out from the inside. Whoever was in there must’ve broken it and jumped out the window to escape. The fire itself could’ve been started another way.”

“The only other way this could’ve happened would be if lightning struck the roof during a thunderstorm. And last night was all clear skies.” The lead investigator pointed out. “Until something comes up, we’re going to have to assume it was arson… You’re clearly not involved in this, so you’re free to return to the Scouts HQ. Sorry for keeping you here.”

Michael nodded and took his leave. As he exited the forest, he delved into the many possibilities of what actually caused the fire. With no evidence of foul play or lightning strikes. He didn’t have much to go off of, apart from the pair of scorched boot prints. But that didn’t help narrow down the suspects as everyone in the military wore the same uniforms.

As he thought more about it, the more he started going back to his past theories regarding the three Titans. He’s trying to figure out if the two are connected in some way.

Maybe the humans who possessed those powers assumed Titan form within the cabin and caused it to explode. When Eren assumed Titan form, there was a lot of heat and steam erupting from him as his Titan body was forming. But nothing hot enough to burn a house down.

He then comes to a halt in his tracks as he came up with the idea of the one responsible for the fire could be the human behind the Winged Titan.

It couldn’t have been the Colossal Titan as everyone would’ve noticed it standing tall in the woods. And the Armoured Titan didn’t produce near enough heat as the others. Therefore the Winged Titan was the most likely candidate.

But this was all mere speculation and not something he should bring to Erwins attention without proper proof, as with Marco’s murder. So for now, he would keep his suspicions to himself and return to the barracks, and act like everything is normal.

Hours later, Michael and the rest of his friends began training hard to know what it means to be a Scout. However, the lessons were rarely combat oriented. Most of them involved how to tame and ride a horse, as well as train it to respond to your commands and use your own unique form of whistling to call it back should you ever be separated from it.

Michael and Lazarus had no experience when it came to horses. Michael was mostly left with his caretakers whenever Erwin was out on mission, and whenever he visited him at the Scouts headquarters, he didn’t really have any time with horses.

And Lazarus came from a land where cars were mostly used as a mode of transportations with only some farms still using horses.

But perhaps the most important lecture of them all was memorising Erwins long range scouting formation. Despite being such a precisely detailed, meticulously calculated formation, Eren Yeager’s position was less than clear.

All rookies were tasked with being in the right formation, between the wagon defence squad and the Scout support squad. They were mostly tasked with running spare horses in case any Scouts lose theirs horse during a Titan attack, as well as relay smoke signals.

There were seven types of signal flares with each colour having their own meaning. Red means a Titan was spotted and acted as a warning to nearby squads. Black was a warning for Abnormals. Purple was an emergency flare only to be used in dire situations as an SOS. Blue is an order to retreat. Green is an order to change formation. And yellow is to let everyone know that the mission has been terminated, be it successfully or if it failed.

There are also Acoustic shells that can be used to deafen Titans with a high pitched noise, but it is only to be used as a last resort or you were surrounded by Titans with no backup.

Lazarus had to admit that Erwins Scouting formation was ingenious. It was a perfect way to venture out into Titan territory without being jumped by any Titans. And despite the huge distance between squads, they can easily communicate with one another via smoke signals. He often wondered what Leonardo would’ve thought of such a strategy, considering it was his specialty during his time as a Warrior.

Each of them were soon given a map of the scout formation with an X marked on each squad, marking where each of them will be during the expedition.

Lazarus glances over at Michael’s map as well as a couple others, and realised that he was going to be in a completely different squad compared to his friends. He was enlisted in the bottom right rank, while Michael was somewhere in the top right. If he could only figure out where Eren was located, he’d have an easier time capturing him.

During his last meeting with the Warriors before Annie was shipped off to the MP’s, he decided that the expedition was the best way to secure Eren. And since they’ve only got a few weeks left, he had plenty of time to figure out where Eren would be and relay that information to Annie.

At last, after a whole month of training, the new members of the Scout Regiment were ready to move out beyond Wall Rose into the now Titan infested lands of Wall Maria.

All of them were now donning the Wings of Freedom on the backs of their uniforms, with the Scouts green hooded cloak atop it, marking them as official Scouts.

All of them were on the backs of horses. With the knowledge on how to perfectly ride one implanted in the back of their minds, it was time to see if all the training had paid off.

Michael and Lazarus were sitting right next to each other atop their horses. Both of them were nervous about this mission. But at the same time, they were both determined to complete their missions. Even though they had entirely different idea’s on what completing the mission means.

The Calaneth gates slowly open, revealing the open fields and forests to them. Erwin raises one of his blades high and lets out a battle cry as his horse readies itself to charge.

The rest of the Scouts follow his lead as they charge thunderously out of the gates. The 57th Expedition into Titan territory has now officially begun.

After leaving the safe confines of the Calaneth District, the Survey Corps begin to form the scouting formation they’ve learned almost every day. In order to carve a route to Shiganshina. The place that holds the Titan’s secrets.

Once they were clear of the outside villages and out into the open, Erwin gives the signal to begin forming the long range formation. Reiner and Bertolt break away from Lazarus. They wish him luck for the task they’ve discussed in their last meeting.

“Hey Laz!” Michael shouted from his left. “I guess this is where we part ways for now.”

“Yeah. Good luck out there, friend!” He shouted back as they drifted further and further apart from each other.

Michael then joins up with Armin who is in the same squad as him. Which was Row 2-4. Tasked with signalling the other groups in case of danger.

Lazarus was on the far right end of the formation, row 4-7. He was accompanied by a few veteran Scouts all on his own. Which was actually a good thing for him.

As he rode further and further away from the others, he thinks back on what he discussed with the Warriors before they were assigned to their chosen regiments.

Lazarus shows them a map of the three walls and shows them, mainly Annie, where they were coming from and going to.

“Because Eren sealed of the gate to Trost, we’ll be forced to leave from Calaneth District and travel southwest.” He points to a point on the map just outside the outer gate. “Once were clear of the outer villages, that’s when they’ll use this scouting formation Michael told me about.”

“And you think that’ll be the right time for us to capture Eren?” Reiner asked.

“Yes. Out in the open is where they’re most vulnerable. And it is there my Titan can take full advantage of it. Once I’m separated from the others, I’ll assume Titan form and take to the skies.”

He then turns his attention to Annie, who was paying full attention to this plan, unlike Reiner and Bertolt. Since they didn’t have a role in this plan, except relaying information should something go wrong. The task of capturing Eren will almost entirely be carried out by her.

“Once I’m in the air, I will give the signal for Annie to transform here.” He points to the edge of the outside villages. “I will be her eyes in the sky, guiding her towards Eren’s location. Hopefully we’ll be able to grab Eren and get out of there without needing to kill anyone. But that’s a big gamble.”

“And what if Eren puts up a fight?” Bertolt asks.

“I can take him no problem. It’ll be just like during combat training.” Annie answered in a cocky manner.

Lazarus nods in agreement. None of the enemy military has seen or heard of the Female Titan yet, which makes it the perfect opportunity for them to seize Eren. And if by some chance she fails, he can always swoop in and provide aid.

He may be risking her life for a sliver of hope, but right now this lead was all they had. For better or worse, this mission could go really well of end horribly. Either way, it was all down to him.

Lazarus closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before committing to his plan. He looks over the four soldiers ahead of him.

“The moment I transform, I’ve gotta deal with these guys. I can’t let them expose me.” A brief flashback of Marco discovering their identities played out in his head, causing Lazarus to almost lose focus. “I won’t make that same mistake again!”

Lazarus pulls back on the reigns, forcing his horse to slow it’s pace before standing atop it’s back and leaping off of it. He performs a backflip off of his horse and reaches for the knife he kept in his right boot.

The four Scouts soon notice his horse fleeing in a different direction, without it’s rider.

They quickly look back and spot Lazarus nailing the landing of his jump.

“What the hell are you doing, cadet?! Get back on your horse, now!” One of them shouted.

Lazarus ignores them and uses the knife to cut open the palm of his hand. Sparks of electricity shoot out from the wound as his Titan transformation is triggered. A huge bolt of lightning rains down from above and strikes him. The Winged Titan’s body quickly materialises around him and stands tall among the Scouts, spreading its wings outwards and unleashing a loud demonic roar.

The Scouts were all too shocked by this sudden reveal to react in time to the incoming fire blast charging within the Titans chest.

The fire blast incinerated all but one of the Scouts in his squad, scortching the ground and their horses also.

The surviving Scout attempts to make a run for it, unaware that he was breaking formation. He rustles through his bag of smoke signals, desperately trying to grab a black smoke signal, warning the formation of an Abnormal.

But his horse was suddenly startled by the impact of another lightning strike directly in front of him. Followed by a huge plume of steam. Out of said steam came the Female Titan, charging at full speed towards the remaining soldier.

Panicked, the soldier manages to fire off a black smoke signal moments before being violently kicked by her giant foot, sending him and his horse flying through the air until crashing back down to the ground, resulting in a horrific and brutal death.

The Winged and Female Titans stare at each other for a brief moment before noticing the black smoke being continued on by other Scouts who’ve noticed it.

“We need to move.” Lazarus stated in his monstrous Titan voice. “Eren’s located somewhere at the top of the right flank. Follow me.”

The Winged Titan does a run up before leaping off the ground and taking flight,. The flapping of its massive wings creates a huge gust of wind that blast the leaves off of several trees.

The Female Titan starts running northwest, nearing the centre of the formation, using the Winged Titan as a compass.

Armin, Michael, and their squad are startled by the sound of a Titans roar. It was faint, but they could definitely tell it came from a Titan, possibly and Abnormal.

They then notice the black smoke that had been fired off in the direction of said roar, implying that the squad stationed there had encountered it.

“It looks like an Abnormal is making a break for the centre.” Armin commented.

“Don’t worry about it, Armin. We need to stay focused on the- No! Not again!” He uttered.

“What’s wrong?” Armin asked, concerned by his change in tone.

Michael points upwards, forcing Armin to look above. He was shocked to see the Winged Titan flying through the air above them. He hadn’t actually seen it before, but he had a vague idea of what it looks like thanks to Eren’s brief encounter with it during the invasion of Trost.

“It’s the Winged Titan!” Michael warned the other two Scouts. “I knew that bastard was gonna show himself again. I knew it!”

“Maybe so, but there’s nothing we can do about it. He’s too high up for us to attack.” One of the Scouts stated.

“Heads up! We’ve got another Abnormal heading this way!” The other Scout warned them.

The others all look back and spot the Female Titan sprinting towards them. At first they treated it like an abnormal. But the way it was running made them question that.

“It’s moving so fast! Too fast!” Armin trembled.

The two Scouts slow their horses down a little in order to get behind the Female Titan and take out it’s nape. But as one of the soldiers moved in for the kill, she responded by swatting him away like a fly, killing him instantly.

She then grabbed the grappling line of the other soldier and proceeded to slam his body into ground so hard that he exploded into a bloody stain in the grass.

Michael and Armin were scared for their lives as they order their horses to go faster. But it was not enough to outrun the 14 meter tall feminine behemoth.

“Shit! It crushed them like bugs! I don’t think we’re dealing with another Abnormal.” Michael said in a state of terror.

“No we’re not. This Titan has intelligence like the Colossal, Winged and Armoured. It’s a human controlling a Titan’s body!” Armin deducted.

Michael once again stares up at the Winged Titan soaring above and ahead of them. “Bastard! He sent her here. By sending a new Titan, he thinks he’ll have an advantage over us. Damn you!” Michael raises his hand up to the sky and presents his middle finger to the Winged Titan.

He and Armin were soon enveloped in a shadow, causing the two to look up in terror as the Female Titan was directly on top of them.

She brings her foot down hard, causing a tremor in the ground that knocked their horses off balance, resulting in the two crashing to the ground.

Armin cowers with fear and pulls his hood over his face to hide his terrified expression. Michael quickly rushes over to Armin’s side and holds him. The Female Titan kneels down to their level and begins to stare intensely at them.

Michael draws his blades and points them at her.

“I don’t know who you are, but I know what you are! Before I kill you, I want you to relay a message to your boss up there! Tell him that Michael Smith is gonna be the soldier that’ll force him down here and take his life! As long as I live, I won’t let you hurt Armin, or any of my friends!”

The Female Titan said nothing in response. She then raises her clenched fist and prepares to squash Michael and Armin like the insects they are.

“Stop, Annie!”

The Female Titan suddenly stops itself in response to Lazarus’s voice, stopping her arm only halfway from their position.

“They’re of no concern to us. Ignore them and keep moving forward.”

The Female Titan slowly gets back up and continues following Lazarus. Michael sighs in relief after having just survived almost being crushed. Armin however was still frozen with fear to get back up, forcing Michael to help him.

“Come on, Armin, get up.” He gently strokes his back. “It’s ok, she’s gone. We’re safe… Come on, we better go check on our horses.”

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Armin finally managed to form some words, getting Michaels attention. “Why didn’t kill us? It just looked down at us and ran away.”

“Michael! Armin!”

The two cadets were soon found by Reiner. Michael was relieved to see him leading Armin’s horse who barely managed to get away after the Female Titan almost trampled them.

His own horse however was slightly injured from the impact. The right side of it’s neck had been cut with blood starting to come out of it.

Michael comforts his horse by stroking it, all while he was rummaging through his first aid kit for bandages. He quickly wraps it around his horses neck to stop the bleeding.

“Easy, girl. You’re gonna be ok.” He soothingly reassured his companion, while stroking its mane.

“Hey, Michael. Can your horse keep going?” Reiner asked.

“I think so. As far as I can tell, she’s only been grazed by the flying debris kicked up from that new Titan.”

“New Titan?” Reiner questioned him.

“Follow us and we’ll show you.” Michael responded.

He climbs back onto his horse and has it take a few steps forwards before forcing to to sprint again. He needed to make sure the horse wasn’t hurt anywhere else. Last thing he wanted was to push it to it’s limits after being attacked.

But fate seemed to have blessed him with a real tough horse, as the three of them raced after the Female Titan with no problems. Eventually they were able to catch up to it, but kept their distance so that they could formulate a plan to take her down.

“I came as fast as I could when I saw the black smoke. She has a nice ass for an Abnormal you gotta admit.” Reiner joked to help liven things up a little.

“It’s not an Abnormal. It’s a person controlling a Titan body.” Armin corrected him.

Reiner turns to Armin in surprise. Not because of what he just said, but the fact that they were able to figure it out so quickly.

“It’s true.” Michael clarified. He then points up at the Winged Titan. “And that bastards the one who brought her here. We better warn the others about this. Fire of a smoke signal.”

“Right!” Armin replied as he fiddled around in his bag, searching for the right coloured smoke to use.

But Jean managed to beat him to it as he quickly closed in on their position.

They soon notice more yellow smoke being fired of in the distance in the right flank, implying that they’ve suffered many casualties.

“Thank god I found you guys.” Jean spoke up once he pulled up right next to them. “Most of the right flank have been wiped out by a Titan ambush. I don’t know how it happened but it was bad. The sons of bitches were lightning fast. The spotters didn’t have time to react. Whoever’s left is trying to hold them off, but now that means there’s no one on lookout duty.”

Michaels eyes shot wide open upon hearing that last part of Jeans statement. The right flank was where Lazarus was stationed.

“Michael? What’s wrong?” Jean asked.

“The right flank was where Lazarus was. If they were all wiped out. Then that means he… He-

“He’ll be alright.” Reiner cut him off. “I’ve known Laz ever since we were kids. He wouldn’t allow himself or anyone else to die like that. He’ll be alright.” He reassured him.

“He better be.” Michael uttered. “That bitch ahead of us better not have killed him.”

“Wait a second.” Armin spoke up, changing the subject. “From what you told me, the Winged Titan can lead other Titans like a commander. Could it be possible that he did the same thing again with the Titans in the right flank?”

“Maybe. And then he must’ve sent this Female Titan to carry out some other task. Question is, what?” Michael theorised.

“I think she’s after Eren.” Armin suggested.

“But Eren’s with Levi Squad. They’re spearheading the right wing.”

“Wait, the right wing?” Michael questioned Reiner. “My copy of the plan said that Eren was in the left wing.”

“Mine too.” Jean added.

Armin at first couldn’t make any sense of why certain individuals had different copies of the plan. But he soon realised that putting Eren in the vanguard wouldn’t be smart strategically.

“I think I know what this is.” Michael spoke up again. “Dad intentionally gave certain people false information on Eren’s whereabouts, because he’s being weary of any traitors hiding amongst us. He probably anticipated something like this would happen and prepared for it.”

“If that’s the case, then where is Eren?” Reiner asked.

“Where do you think? The safest position in the formation. The rear of the centre rank.”

Reiner makes a mental note of this information. Now that he knows Eren’s true location, he can relay that information to Annie and Lazarus. The only problem is he can’t pass it on to Lazarus via telepathy as there was a limit to how much range the telepathic link had. If he were in Titan form then the connection would be much stronger and extend further than when they were human. He’d easily be able to relay the message, but that wasn’t an option. He had no choice but to wait for an opportunity to present itself.

Jean suggests that they close the distance between them and the Female Titan, and stop it before it cuts down the command squad. But given how fast and agile it was, their best course of action is to keep their distance and distract her long enough for the platoon to retreat.

Their chances of pulling this off with no casualties was slim though. As she was a lot smarter than Pure Titans. From her perspective they were nothing more than insects. One swipe of that arm meant game over. The very thought of it terrified Jean, making him wish he’d chosen to join the Military Police instead.

Once they got close enough, they all pull their hoods over their heads, hoping that it’ll prevent her from blindly swatting them, making her think Eren could be among their group.

Michael takes a deep breath before making his first move against the Female Titan. He didn’t like the way she was slowing her pace. He couldn’t tell if she was getting tired, or if she was aware of their position and was ready to attack.

“Despite what I said, I can’t kill her yet. If she truly is like Eren, then it might be a good idea to capture her alive. We find out who she is, then question her on the identity of the Winged Titan. And I’ll use whatever means necessary to force it out of her if I have to.” Michael thought to himself as closes in on her legs, readying his ODM gear. “If I slash her Achilles heel, it might be enough to stop her. Or at least slow her down. I don’t even know if I can take her down anyway. But Levi, Mikasa and Lazarus could. If he’s still alive.”

Michael soon fires his anchors into the Female Titans foot, forcing her to stop and quickly turn around. She swings her right arm back in an attempt to swat Michael. But he manages to dash out of the way in time.

Armin soon approaches her from the right, but she makes quick work of him by smacking his horse, sending him flying backwards. Armin was now too injured to get back up, and his horse was killed.

Michael disengages his gear and rushes to his side. The Female Titan looms over them. This time it was staring at them with an urge to kill. She chose to let them live, and they wasted it.

The Winged Titan glances back at her and quickly stops it’s glide and hovers in place to get a better look at what was happening below.

“I told you to ignore them. They’re trying to distract you from your task. You must keep going!”

Before Annie could get up and run again, Jean swoops in and fires his anchor into her right shoulder, hoping to close in on the nape and slash it.

The Female Titan uses her free arm to cover her nape, protecting it from his attack.

“Damnit! The way she moves, she’s like a damn athlete. On top of that, she’s protecting her weak spot.”

The Female Titan makes another attempt to swat at him. There was no way out of this. He’ll soon be a dead man.

“Jean! Don’t let that suicidal maniac die in vain!” Armin shouted at the op of his lungs.

His unexpected words forced the Female Titan to halt it’s attack so suddenly, allowing Jean to get away safely.

“She did it! She’s the one who killed him. I told him the right wing was suicide but he went anyway. And now he’s dead thanks to her!”

Michael figured out what Armin was attempting to do. He was trying to trick her into believing that she screwed up the mission and got Eren killed. He was honestly surprised to see that it managed to fool her long enough to give Reiner an opening to finish her off.

But as Reiner was inches away from ending her life, the Female Titan manages to catch him and squeeze him tight in her grasp.

“Reiner!” Michael cried out.

The Female Titan soon completely closes her fingers around him, increasing the pressure until he was reduced to a blood stain in her palm.

Michael and Jean collapse to the ground in despair over the sudden loss of their friend. Tears started to form under his eyes.

“No! First Lazarus, and now Reiner.” He weakly muttered.

But his sadness soon faded as he let his rage begin to take over. Standing back up, he readies his blades for another attack. Jean attempts to stop him by grabbing his shoulder, but Michael shoves him away in a blind fury.

“Screw taking you alive. I’m gonna make you pay for that, you bitch!” He growled.

But before he had the chance to attack, he, and the others, were shocked by the sight of Reiner bursting out of the Titan’s grip by slicing off all her fingers, breaking his blades in the process.

Everyone was completely awestruck by what they’d just witnessed that their brains couldn’t tell them to get away while they had the chance.

“What are you all gawking at?! Let’s get outta here now while she’s distracted!” Reiner shouted with authority.

He grabs Armin and carries him to safety. Michael and Jean finally snap out of it and follow.

“You beautiful bastard!” Michael said gleefully, while resisting the urge to embrace the guy in a bro hug. “That was badass! How the hell did you get outta there?!”

“Forget about that! I think we’ve bought the platoon more than enough time. I say we follow suit and get out of here.”

Michael nods and keeps his focus on the path in front of him. Armin however was gazing back at the Female Titan, and noticed that it was just standing there looking at it’s palm. Then it looked up at the Winged Titan for a few minutes, before heading off in the opposite direction of the path it initially took.

“Looks like she’s retreating with her tail between her legs.” Reiner guessed.

“Wait! No, it’s not fleeing… She’s heading towards the centre rank!” Armin pointed out.

The others come to a halt and look back at her. They didn’t want to believe it, but Armin was right. Michael looks up again and notices that the Winged Titan is also heading in that direction. This time it was following her.

Michael lifts his mask off of his mouth so that he could put two fingers in and let out a loud whistle, summoning his horse to him.

“Michael, what are you doing?” Jean asked.

“If she’s really heading for the centre rank, then I’ve gotta get there first and warn Dad and Eren.” He follows it up with another whistle.

Eventually his horse responds to his call and comes to a stop beside him. He quickly climbs aboard and immediately sets off, not even bothering to listen to Jeans complaints.

“Michael wait!” Jean called out. But it was no use. He was already out of earshot. “That damn idiot! He’s gonna get himself killed.

“Nothing we can do to stop him now. Armin’s horse is dead, and our horses are long gone. Whether we like it or not, he’s on his own.” Reiner explained.

“So what do we do now?” Jean asked.

“The only thing we can do now is fire a purple signal and hope someone comes to our aid.” Armin replied. He then looks back at Michael who was now miles away from their location now. “I hope he can get to Eren and the commander in time.”

To Be Continued