Age of Titans Chapter 16 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Age of Titans! It’s time for the expedition to reclaim Wall Maria! With the power of Titan Shifting on their side, can the Survey Corps complete their goal in one shot? If Wall Maria can be reclaimed, then the people within the Walls will look towards Eren and the Survey Corps as saviors. But if the current regime believes that they have little to no support, what will be their response?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 16 – Expedition to Reclaim Wall Maria

The day of the expedition to reclaim Wall Maria had finally come.

In the Karanes District the Survey Corps were making their way towards the gate with horses and wagons loaded with supplies. All of the soldiers looked determined, some with grim expressions, but even to the civilians it was easy to see that there was no despair among the soldiers. It was quite a different sight than one would expect for those going beyond the Walls and into Titan territory. Many, many people had gathered, some to see the Survey Corps off, which was normal, others had come hoping to get a glimpse of the so-called ‘Titan-killing Titans’.

Rmmmbbllee

The sound of the gates being opened was loud as heavy stone and metal slid against each other while the gates were raised.

“Commander Erwin! Almost ready!” One of the Garrison members operating the heavy equipment that raised and lowered the gates called down from the top of the wall. “We led the nearest Titans some distance away! Thirty seconds to gate opening!”

“This is it! Now humanity takes another step forward!” One of the Survey Corps Officers hollered out to the rest of the Corps. “Show me what you’ve learned!”

“OOOOOOO!!!” The Survey Corps called back with a loud roar.

The gate rose up fully, a somewhat short path led straight out into the abandoned town that lay just outside the gates. The ruins of the once bustling town were a stark reminder to all that saw them that Titan territory lay just on the other side of the gate.

“Gate is open!” The Garrison member called out to the Survey Corps.

“Launch the Fifty-Seventh Expedition beyond the Walls!” Erwin ordered loudly, his strong voice reverberating throughout the area. “Advance!” He rode out first, Levi and Hange flanking him and then Levi Squad behind them. The entire Survey Corps and all of their supply wagons rumbled out of the gate and into the ruins of the town.

Thud Thud Thud Thud

The rapid, heavy footsteps of a Titan were heard approaching.

“Ten Meter class Titan approaching from the left!” One of the Survey Corps Officers called out the warning.

The misshapen Pure Titan had a normal-sized head (for its size) but its chest and arms were small and short, compared to its much larger gut and it’s normal enough legs.

Thud Thud Thud Thud

The people that had gathered to watch the Survey Corps depart saw the Titan approaching the convoy of horses and wagons right outside. Many panicked, terrified that the soldiers would be hurt or killed so quickly. Others were already yelling for the gate to be closed before the Titan got inside. But others, a minority among all of the people, watched on without even blinking.

A single soldier from near the front of the convoy shot upwards and towards the Titan with ODM Gear. The soldier, recognized by a few of the people as Eren Yeager, supposedly one of the ‘Titan-killing Titans’, didn’t draw his swords to combat the Ten Meter Titan. Instead he flicked his hand to the side and a fraction of a second later yellow lightning struck him from out of nowhere.

A massive cloud of steam erupted from Eren and his Titan form rapidly materialized as bones formed and were quickly covered by flesh and skin. Semi-long brown hair whipped backwards in the wind as a Fifteen Meter Titan emerged from the huge steam cloud with one of its fists raised above its head.

“RAAAAHHH!!!” Eren roared out as his fist came down on top of the Ten Meter Titan’s head and crushed it like a melon. The body collapsed to the ground with an earth-shaking crash. Eren quickly raised his foot and stomped on the injured Titan’s nape, killing it and ending the threat to the Survey Corps.

“He really turned into a Titan!”

“It’s true?!”

“He killed that Ten Meter so easily!”

The people that had seen Eren transform and kill the Pure Titan were chattering loud amongst themselves now. All of the rumors, stories, speculation, everything was now clear to them. There words were silenced as Eren’s Titan form turned to look back towards the gate, through it, and at all of them. The Fifteen Meter Titan gave a proper military salute to all of the watching citizens.

There was no reaction for a second…a heartbeat passed…then a second…

“YEEEAAAHHH!!!” The cheer rose up from the people, joy and exultation spread throughout the gathered civilians. Several older men and women, retirees from the Garrison, all promptly saluted Eren back as if they were back to being soldiers themselves.

Eren smiled within his Titan as he turned away and followed after the Survey Corps convoy.

The gate of Wall Rose closed, cutting off the people’s view of Eren and the Survey Corp heading out into Titan territory. But the image of Eren jumping head first into combat with a Titan, transforming, killing the Titan, and then saluting the citizens was already burned into their hearts and minds. Excited talk started up among the gathered crowd and began to rapidly spread throughout the entire Karanes District. In only a few hours it was within Wall Rose and was being printed in more than a few merchant-owned newspapers.

-Wall Maria ~ The Lost Land-

The Survey Corps convoy had made it beyond sight from the Walls when they came to a stop.

“Begin Shifter formation!” Erwin ordered loudly and several soldiers got off their horses before running a fair distance away.

Ring blades, a simple ring with a small blade sharp enough to draw blood hidden along the outer edge, were used to cut the skin of the various Shifters easily. Lightning rained down on the group and a massive cloud of steam rose up into the air. All of the Cart Titans among the Survey Corps were quick to move (on all fours as the Type preferred) next to the supply wagons to be fitted with the cargo. A group of Attack Titans and Jaw Titans quickly spread out as well to form a safe perimeter while the formation changed.

In less than ten minutes the Cart Titans were loaded up with the supplies and ready to move out. The now empty wagons were to be used as rest locations for Shifters that got near their limit and needed time to recuperate. Taken in shifts, the resting and switching out of the Shifters should allow the Survey Corps to move across the Titan territory with a force of Titans protecting them throughout the formation.

“Long-range enemy scouting formation! Deploy!” Erwin ordered once the shift to the new formation had been completed. The convoy split into multiple groups, each one quickly heading for their designated position to complete the formation as fast as possible.

It wasn’t long before the first Pure Titan was spotted approaching the formation.

One of the scouts saw the Titan, a Twelve Meter class, and quickly loaded his signal flare gun and fired a red smoke round into the air. The red smoke was seen and the shot repeated by every soldier that saw it. In only a dozen seconds the signal had reached Erwin at the front of the formation.

Erwin noted the location and direction of the signals and loaded a green smoke round into his own flare gun and fired it towards his left. A second later and multiple other green smoke rounds were fired in the same direction to alert the entire formation that they would be changing course to the left.

The Twelve Meter Titan tried to follow after the formation, but quickly ran out of energy. The formation got further and further away until only some dust on the horizon could be seen by the Pure Titan.

Sasha was riding along with the second column, third row, as part of the widespread communications group. As her horse carried her past a large, dilapidated barn there was a sudden movement. Sitting up abruptly, a Titan of roughly Fourteen Meters looked at Sasha and her horse riding by. Without a sound the Titan chased after her, crawling across the flat ground in an odd way as it tried to catch up to Sasha’s horse.

“Shit! The scouts missed one!” The Squad Leader of Sasha’s group cursed as he fired a red flare into the air.

“RAAAHHH!!!” A Jaw Titan came rushing in only a couple seconds after the red smoke had been seen. Its claws sliced off the right arm of the crawling Pure Titan with ease. As the Pure Titan crashed into the ground from the sudden limb loss, the Jaw Titan pounced on its back, driving it further into the earth, and then its powerful fangs tore out the nape instantly. The Pure Titan’s body began to steam as it broke down upon its death. The Jaw Titan nodded to the Squad Leader and Sasha before running back towards its post.

Sasha fired off a white smoke round into the air, the signal for a Titan being eliminated. Soon the sky was filled with trails of white smoke that overtook the previous red and the formation continued on its current course instead of changing direction.

It was almost an hour later that a black smoke round was fired into the air.

Black smoke indicated the appearance of an Abnormal Titan that ignored the people on the outer edges and made its way into the formation. In the new Shifter formation, it was also a signal for the three nearest Shifters acting as protection to converge on the location and eliminate the Abnormal.

“Shit, it’s speedwalking straight towards the center of the formation!” One soldier bit out as the Abnormal ignored him entirely and continued on its path. The weird way it walked was odd by itself, but it’s singular gaze straight ahead with unblinking eyes made the Abnormal almost unnerving to look at.

“RAAAUUUHHH!!!” An Armored Titan came barreling towards the Abnormal and slammed into it like a running mountain.

The Abnormal’s feet left the ground entirely as it flew through the air before crashing down hard on the ground. It struggled and flailed as it tried to get to its feet. A kick to the head from a Female Titan nearly removed the head entirely as the body dropped back to the ground and started to steam. The Armored Titan stomped on the nape of the Abnormal that was slowly healing, killing it and ending the threat. An Attack Titan that had been within the range of support for a black flare closed its eyes and focused as it connected to the ‘Paths’ and sent out a message to all other Attack Titans in the formation.

“Abnormal Titan eliminated.”

The message was quickly relayed to the entire formation in less than five seconds.

“Abnormal…eliminated.” The Attack Titan that was with Erwin’s group spoke slowly, informing the Commander of the resolution of the situation.

Erwin nodded to the Shifter’s Titan form. “Excellent work! We’ll continue on this course until the next signal!”

As the formation progressed through the Titan territory, the utility and power of Titan Shifting only became more and more apparent. Two hours in and the first shift of Titan Shifters gathered around whichever rest wagon was nearby and switched out with the soldiers inside. In only a few minutes dozens of empty Titan forms were steaming and breaking down, while new, fresh Shifters were quickly heading to their positions to continue protecting the formation. Dozens of Titans were avoided, any that had been missed by the scouts due to the lay of the land or obstacles like houses and barns from the many abandoned farming villages were eliminated. Four more Abnormals had also been killed by the Shifters protecting the outer edges of the formation.

“We’re making good time.” Levi mentioned to Erwin as they continued to ride near the front of the formation.

From Trost to Shiganshina was roughly one hundred kilometers. Because Trost’s gate had been sealed by hardening and was now just a wall, they’d had to leave from the Karanes District in the east, which added another fifty-ish kilometers to their route. But with the Cart Titans hauling the supplies and the wagons that normally carried such heavy items only carrying the resting soldiers, they were able to keep a steady twenty-five kilometer per hour pace without exhausting their specially bred Survey Corps horses. The fact that the formation could rather easily avoid most of the Pure Titans, and those they couldn’t or Abnormals were still much easier to eliminate now with Titan Shifters instead of putting soldiers at risk trying to fight Titans on flat land with ODM Gear, made the long-range scouting formation move swiftly through the lost lands of Wall Maria.

“We should make it to Wall Maria and Shiganshina within another four hours or so at this pace.” Erwin confirmed as he kept attentive for any new signals coming from the formation.

Levi had known after seeing the Titan Shifters that they were useful; a paradigm shift in the way of handling Titans and future military affairs. But to experience it out in the field was the ultimate test and, so far, the Survey Corps was making this expedition look easy. ‘We haven’t had a single casualty yet and the formation is still stable. This is after only a month of training as well.’ That couldn’t be overlooked by a career soldier like Levi. One month was enough time to train the basics in most things, but in this single month of Shifter training they were making every other expedition outside the Walls look like it was done by amateurs. That was the simple truth of how powerful and effective Titan Shifting was. ‘What will we be able to accomplish with a year of training and more time to plan out tactics and roles?’

“If we make it to Wall Maria and Shiganshina in roughly six hours after setting out…and depending on how many Titans we’ll need to eliminate from Shiganshina…we might be able to retake Wall Maria before nightfall!” Hange said with a bright smile on her face as she rode on Erwin’s opposite side.

Levi looked over at Hange with a flat stare. “Wall Maria won’t be retaken until we eliminate all of the Pure Titans within the area between Maria and Rose.”

Red smoke flares rising up from the left side of the squad ended the conversation.

Erwin loaded a green smoke round and checked their heading before raising his arm and aiming the flare gun to the right. The trail of green smoke in the air indicated the change of direction once again as the formation shifted to avoid the Titan. Multiple green smoke trails quickly rose up into the air, all leaning towards the right as the formation continued on their path towards Wall Maria.

-Later-

Just after the second switch of the Shifters in the formation happened, roughly four hours into the journey, a series of black smoke signals rose up from the upper right front line of the formation.

Three Shifters rushed towards the location to deal with the Abnormal only to see a hulking Titan that looked slightly misshapen, almost like a troll from the old fairytales. The Abnormal was lumbering straight through the formation, ignoring any soldier out of its reach, but targeting any soldier, horse, or wagon that came close to it.

“GAAAUUUHHHH!!!” The troll-like Titan bellowed loudly as it stood up to its full height of Eighteen Meters upon seeing the three Lesser Shifters.

The three Shifters consisted of an Armored Type, a Female Type, and an Attack Type. Warhammer Types had high energy costs, so they weren’t in the rotation of shifts for the protection of the formation, but all three of the Lesser Shifters suddenly wished that they were.

As the troll-like Abnormal stomped towards them, the Armored Titan quickly put itself between the larger Titan and the other two Shifters. Taking a strong defensive stance the wild blow of the ‘Troll Titan’ slammed into the Armored Titan.

BAM

The air rang with the sound of the large fist meeting the metallic armor of the Armored Titan. The Lesser Shifter skidded backwards, tearing large trenches into the ground, but managed to keep his feet under him.

“RAAAHH!!!” The Female Titan slammed a full-power kick into the thick leg of the Troll Titan. The leg barely budged, but did make the off-balance Titan stagger further.

“GUUUUAAAHHH!!!” The Troll Titan tried to grab the Female Type with a roar.

“RAAUUUHHH!!!” The Armored Titan slammed into the Troll Titan with a tackle that knocked the hulking Abnormal backwards, its large arms flailing as it tried not to fall over.

The Attack Titan leapt onto the Troll Titan’s back and wrapped its arms around the fat neck of the Abnormal, squeezing tightly and wrenching the neck powerfully to one side. The Troll Titan began to shake and thrash, trying to throw the Attack Titan off its back. The stomping and footsteps of the four Titans almost sounded like thunder as they fought each other, the grassy ground being torn apart from their fight.

The Female Titan and the Armored Titan both took the Troll Titan’s back and slammed the strongest kicks they could into the back of its knees. With a strangled grunt the thick legs gave out and the Troll Titan crashed down onto its knees.

“GRAAAUUUGGHH!!!” The Troll Titan reached behind it to grab the Attack Titan that was still choking it.

“Got…you!” The Attack Titan declared with it’s slow speech as it grabbed the large arm and put it into a painful joint lock, pushing on the elbow until the joint couldn’t take anymore.

Crack

The Troll Titan’s right arm dropped limply to its side and started to steam as the rapid healing took effect.

It never got the chance to recover though.

“RAAAAAHHHH!!!” The dual roars of the Female and Armored Titans shook the air as a punch from each of them impacted opposite sides of the Troll Titan’s head. The force was so great that the skull instantly shattered, blood nearly exploded out of the cranium, and even both eyes popped straight out of their sockets.

The Troll Titan fell face first into the dirt that had been torn apart by the fight, steaming pouring from its ruined head. The Attack Titan quickly stomped on the nape over and over again until the entire body of the Abnormal began to steam and break down, a sure sign that the Pure Titan was dead.

The Attack Titan walked a few steps away from the dead Troll Titan and closed its eyes, focusing only on the connection to the ‘Paths’ as they’d all learned over the last month under Eren’s tutelage. It was slow at first, but as long as the Lesser Shifters weren’t doing anything else, they could now send a message quickly to the other Attack Types.

“Abnormal Titan eliminated.”

With the message delivered to the rest of the formation, the three Lesser Shifters nodded to each other before jogging back towards their previous positions.

-Mid Afternoon-

“Holy shit…we made it.” Connie said as he watched Wall Maria getting larger as the formation approached it. He’d come off his shift of protection detail for the formation just under two hours ago, so he got to see Wall Maria from the relative comfort of one of the rest wagons.

The rest of the soldiers in the wagon agreed with Connie, even if they didn’t say anything. Getting to Wall Maria in one shot like this wasn’t something that they’d ever been able to do before.

As the formation approached the shattered gate that separated the interior of Wall Maria and Shiganshina, they found multiple Titans milling about, ranging from Four Meter class to Fifteen Meter class. Given the number, and the fact that it was about time to switch the Shifter protection detail, Erwin gave an order.

“Levi, take your squad and eliminate all of the Titans around the breached gate. Hange, your squad will follow Mike into battle as well. All Warhammer Types are to scale the wall and use projectile weapons to eliminate the Titans within Shiganshina and any that’re outside of the other breach. Once the inner gate is clear, I’ll block it with my Titan form along with the other Armored Types.” Erwin ordered clearly and precisely.

“Yes, sir.” Levi and Hange both acknowledged immediately.

“Pass the orders for the Warhammer Types to the entire Corps.” Erwin ordered of the Attack Titan with their group.

“Yes…sir.” The Titan nodded and closed its eyes. A moment later the eyes of the Titan opened again. “Orders…were…relayed…sir.”

The Pure Titans milling about around the breached gate of Wall Maria noticed the approaching formation and began to head for them. Several flashed of lightning appeared suddenly and loudly before a massive cloud of steam rose high into the air. From the steam cloud a group of Titans emerged and rushed to meet the group of Pure Titans head-on.

Levi’s Spike Titan was a blur as it passed by the first four Titans in the large group. All of them fell dead with a long spike stabbed straight through their napes as the Ackerman Variant Titan landed on the ground briefly before leaping at the next Titan, a Thirteen Meter class, and lopped off its head with its large claws. Five Titan corpses hit the ground and began to steam and breakdown before any of the other Lesser Shifters had managed to even reach the enemy.

“ROOOAAAWWWRRRR!!!” Gunther’s Bear Titan roared loudly before its clawed right hand knocked the head of one Pure Titan off its shoulders with a single swipe. A savage bite to the steaming stump of a neck crushed the vital nape area and killed the Titan. A Five Meter class rushed at the Bear Titan, only to be batted through the air with another swipe of Gunther’s clawed hand.

Eld’s Attack Titan blocked the sloppy grab of one of the Pure Titans and then grabbed its head. With a sharp twist, the neck was snapped and the Titan hit its knees. Eld’s titan hands quickly crushed the nape of the neck, killing the Pure Titan before eh moved on to the next.

“HMMPH!” Petra’s Female Titan slammed a punch into the face of one Titan, knocking it on its ass. It died when her follow up kick tore through its neck and sent the head flying, tearing out the nape in the process.

“GRROOAAAWWRR!!!” Mike’s Wolf Titan snarled loudly as he bit through one Pure Titan’s neck, killing it, while his clawed hands tore out the nape of a second Pure Titan at the same time. Tossing the two Titan corpses aside, the Wolf Titan leapt onto a Fourteen Meter class and crushed its head in his jaws as he took it down to the ground.

In less than three minutes the senior officers and their squads had completely eradicated the large group of Pure Titans blocking the way. The new recruits could only stare, impressed by the experience and skill shone by their leaders. None of them had been Shifters any longer than the rest of the Survey Corps (barring Eren’s group) yet they all showed just why they’d managed to survive as long as they had in the Survey Corps.

With the way cleared, Erwin led the Armored Shifters forwards to block the breached gate with their extra durable bodies, preventing any more Pure Titans from entering Wall Maria. Any Pure Titans that approached were killed by powerful metallic armor-covered fists shattering their heads and crushing their napes.

On top of the Wall, Hange and Sasha led the other Warhammer Types in eliminating all of the Pure Titans in Shiganshina District. It was a small group, numbering only ten out of the entire Survey Corps, but with their advanced hardening ability making projectile weapons, it was easy enough to eliminate the Pure Titans one by one.

“Three…” Sasha counted off as another of her arrows struck a Pure Titan straight through the neck and out the nape. The collapsing body letting off thick steam as it began to breakdown. Sasha formed another arrow from hardening and nocked it on her colossal bow. Taking aim at a Nine Meter class on the left side of Shiganshina, Sasha released her arrow.

“GUAH…” The white arrow pinned the Pure Titan to the ground, straight through its nape as its back had been facing Sasha. The steam began to rise as the body fell apart under the heat.

“Four…” Sasha added another one to her count.

Hange was creating javelins and throwing them down at the Pure Titans below. “Another…one…makes…four…” Hange’s Titan form spoke slowly while creating her fifth white javelin in her hand. “You’re…a…fun…looking…one…” She chose her next target and threw her javelin so fast that air was visible around the weapon as it blurred and struck the unfortunate Pure Titan and obliterated its nape, decapitating it in the process.

Once the Titans within Shiganshina were all dead, The Warhammer Types moved to the breached Shiganshina gate and started eliminating any Pure Titan that approached from outside of the Walls. While the Warhammers kept any new Titans out, the Armored Titans moved forward in a search of Shiganshina for any Abnormals that might have laid low this whole time. Not finding any, the group moved towards the breached gate in a protective formation.

The reason why became clear a moment later as lightning dropped from the sky again and a new cloud of steam emerged. From the cloud Annie’s Female Titan form walked out and walked across Shiganshina. It was almost like a noble or a member of royalty walking between two lines of bodyguards protecting them.

In a way, it was kind of apropos, seeing as Annie was one of the ‘soon-to-be’ wives of the next King of Eldia.

Erwin’s Armored Titan nodded to Annie as she approached the shattered Shiganshina gate. It was confirmation of her previous orders as part of Erwin’s plan for securing Shiganshina as their short-term base camp for the rest of their expedition.

Annie said nothing, merely nodding her own confirmation as she stepped into the breach. Spreading her arms, she was just barely able to touch both walls with her fingers. Almost crystal-like hardening covered her arms before spreading across the broken walls and covering them. Slowly, but surely, Annies filled in the large gap, working her way backwards from the outer edge. In roughly two minutes the hole in the gate was filled in completely by the hardening, making the wall solid and strong again.

“I’ve…completed my…task…sir.” Annie’s Titan form gave Erwin’s a salute.

“Well…done.” Erwin’s speech was still slower than most in Titan Form, but he could manage to speak after almost the full month of training.

Just over an hour later and Shiganshina was occupied by people again for the first time in years. The Survey Corps had set up camp within any of the buildings that were still structurally sound. Fires were started and food was being made while the horses were taken care of. The breach in Wall Maria had been temporarily blocked off by a dozen large tower shields made of the advanced hardening ability of the Warhammer Titans. The barricades would keep any Pure Titans from within Wall Maria from entering the district for now, but could be removed when they needed to leave with the horses and wagons.

While the majority of the Survey Corps was busy with setting up their base of operations, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin led Erwin, Levi, and Hange towards the former Yeager Family home.

“It’s almost hard to believe that we’re back.” Eren said to Mikasa quietly as they walked down another familiar street, memories of days gone by playing before their eyes.

“I know…” Mikasa took his hand in hers, gently squeezing it. “It’s been so long.” Her eyes saw a corner where she’d punched a bully that had tried stealing one of Armin’s books. In her eyes she saw Eren shoving one of the large boys backwards while Armin picked up his book from the ground. They’d all been so small then…it almost seemed like a lifetime ago.

Both Erena and Mikasa stopped as soon as the crushed ruins of their old home came into view. A rough breath escaped Eren as his eyes briefly flared with a storm of emotions, the two most prominent being anger and grief. This was the place where his mother had died right in front of him. He’d never be able to see this place and not remember that horrible day when this had all started.

“…is it this one?” Hange asked in a surprisingly soft voice.

Eren and Mikasa took a long moment to respond to the question. “Yes…”

The massive stone that had crushed the house was still right where it had been that day. The only things that had changed were the dirt roads being overgrown with grass and even a couple of young trees. Even the cobblestone roads had grass poking up through them from the years that had passed with no upkeep.

“I do not mean to rush either of you, but we do need to compete the next objective of this expedition.” Erwin spoke softly, but from his position as Commander as well.

The five of them worked together to clear out the rubble that was covering the thick wooden door that led down into the basement. Eren opened it for the first time in his life, noting how heavy the door was and wondering if he’d have been able to lift it all by himself when he’d first asked his father why he couldn’t go into the basement.

“It looks like it didn’t flood.” Hange mentioned as there was no pooling water at the bottom of the stairs, nor any signs of water damage.

Eren stared down the stairs as the memories of his childhood asking about the basement played in his mind.

Mikasa’s hand gently touched Eren’s shoulder and he turned to look at her. “Let’s go.” She gave him a small smile, knowing how hard this was for him, because it was just as hard for her.

“Yeah.” Eren nodded once as a lantern was lit and the five of them descended into the basement, only to come to a second door. This door was padlocked shut with a strong lock made of dark iron.

“Open it.” Levi ordered lowly.

Eren stepped forward, pulling the key from around his neck and taking the padlock in hand. He put the key to the keyhole but couldn’t get it to fit. “Huh?” His eyes widened as he tried again, but the key was simply the wrong size for the lock. “This key…isn’t to this lock?”

Mikasa looked surprised as her eyes widened. “But I know that’s Dr. Yeager’s key…”

Levi’s eyes narrowed and he moved Eren aside with one arm. “I’ll open it.” With a swift kick the wood around the latch was shattered.

“Stay calm.” Hange put her hand on Eren’s shoulder as she saw him jerk at the destruction.

Levi pushed open the now broken door slowly and the five took their first steps into the room. The light of the lantern illuminated a room with a bookcase on one side, shelves and cabinets with labeled jars on the opposite side, and a desk near the third wall closest to the door. On the desk was a set of brass scales used to make accurate measurements of ingredients, along with some papers and a few books.

The group started checking things, only to find nothing that would be out of place in a doctor’s laboratory.

“If these labels are accurate, these are all just common medicines.” Levi noted the various names on the many bottles.

“All of these are just medical books too.” Hange said as she looked at a few of the books on the large bookcase.

Eren looked at his father’s handwriting on some of the papers on the desk, wondering why his father had kept this room such a secret if nothing was down here. ‘No. There has to be something down here.’ He looked at the key that his father had never let out of his sight. ‘What do you go to?’

“At first glance, this looks like nothing but a typical doctor’s laboratory.” Erwin said as he examined the room closely with sharp eyes. “It’s almost as if this room was set up to tell people: ‘There’s nothing suspicious here.’ If they saw it.”

“Well, I doubt he’d have left anything forbidden just laying around for the Interior Police to find.” Levi put down the bottles of expired medicines that he’d been looking at. “Alright you two, don’t just stand there, help search this place.” He ordered Eren and Mikasa.

“Yes, sir.” Mikasa and Eren nodded and began searching the room with the three officers.

Eren started by searching the cabinets, looking over each door to se if any of them had a lock that might fit the key he carried. But every door was just simple wood that opened with a pull of the small handles. Nothing inside was any different than the things they’d found in the rest of the room.

Mikasa started her search with the desk. She checked the three drawers on the left hand side, but only found some paper and ink wells, some bandages, and other miscellaneous things any doctor would keep in their office. It was as she was checking around the desk that a small spot on the side of the desk caught her eye in the dim light provided by the lantern. It was almost hidden by the lip of the desktop, but as soon as Mikasa looked closer, she knew what it was. “Eren… There’s a keyhole here!”

The lantern was brought over quickly and Eren kneeled down to put the key in the small lock. With a twist, there was a click, and the lock was undone. With hands that wanted to shake, though Eren forced them to remain still, he pulled open the drawer. “It’s empty?!” There was nothing inside at all.

“Look closer.” Erwin said as he tapped the bottom of the drawer. “The bottom doesn’t match with the depth of the drawer.”

“It’s a false bottom.” Levi stated as he managed to get his finger onto the edge and lifted the fake bottom away.

“Books?” Eren blinked at what had been hidden away. He carefully removed them and placed them on the desk.

“Three books… They smell like charcoal and peppermint oil.” Hange noticed as she held one of them. “They were treated to keep moisture and bugs away.”

Levi and Erwin shared a look. It was obvious these books were what they’d come here for.

Eren’s hand did shake, beyond his ability to stop it as he prepared to open the first book. “What…could my father have wanted to show me?”

 Mikasa placed her hand on the book next to Eren’s, their eyes meeting and a conversation passing between them without words. The two opened the book together, only to be greeted by what looked like a small portrait held onto the first page of the book by four small slits in the paper.

Eren gently removed the picture from the book and brought it closer to his eyes. “Is this…a portrait?” It didn’t look like any portrait that he’d ever seen.

“No…” Hange shook her head once. “It’s far too perfect for any human to have drawn it.”

The picture showed a much younger Grisha Yeager than what Eren or Mikasa remembered, he was wearing a nice suit and standing next to a large plush chair. A lady sat in the chair in an equally nice dress with a small child on her lap. The child, much like the younger Grisha, was also wearing a black suit, though not in the same style as Grisha’s.

It was clearly a family picture.

Eren’s eyes were wide, as were Mikasa’s, at clearly seeing that Grisha had a family before the one he’d had with Carla, Eren’s mother. With his hand slightly trembling for a moment, Eren flipped the picture over and saw his father’s handwriting on the back.

“This is not an illustration. It is an imprint of reflected light, left on a special kind of paper. It is called a photograph.” Eren read aloud as his eyes showed his confusion at the words and the new term. “I came from beyond the walls, where humanity enjoys a refined existence. Humanity has not perished.”

All five of the people in the basement looked at each other, now having physical proof that the last hundred years behind the Walls had been fabricated by the ‘King of the Walls’. This photograph alone proved that there was technology that didn’t exist within the Walls out in the world.

Erwin took a deep breath, audible in the near silent basement room, and kept his expression schooled as he’d learned to do while serving as a soldier. But anyone that looked into his eyes right now would see a well of emotions: triumph, vindication, happiness, grief, loss, anger, and many more swirled within Erwin’s eyes.

“Erwin…” Levi looked at his long-time friend and commander.

“Just a moment of emotion.” Erwin waved off his reaction. “We need to make sure that these books and all of their information makes its way to the people. It’ll be the first major blow to the current regime.”

Hange agreed with a small nod. “It will, we should also take the Shiganshina Garrison’s signboard and documents to prove that we’ve successfully sealed Wall Maria and Shiganshina.”

“We’ve still got a day or two to spend here eliminating Pure Titans to start on the actual reclaiming of Wall Maria. In that time, we can read through these books and learn more about what’s out there, beyond the ocean.” Levi looked at the two books that had yet to be opened.

The three books together most likely contained everything that Grisha Yeager knew about the world beyond Paradis Island. The people, nations, technology, and more. What they’d learned from Annie was already a lot, but if these books contained information on how some of the technologies from the outside world worked, then Eldia could get a head start on catching up once the current regime was deposed and Eren became the new King.

First, the Survey Corps would present proof of retaking Wall Maria and get the majority of the people’s support behind them and Eren. Second, they’d retake their lands and improve the lives of the people, hopefully with new technology that didn’t yet exist on within the Walls. Thirdly, they’d reclaim ALL of Paradis Island from the Pure Titans and expand to their shores, fortifying and strengthening themselves for the day that Marley brought war to them.

Eren clenched his fists as he once more reaffirmed his path for his people and their future.

Mikasa took one of his fists into her hands and intertwined their fingers, giving Eren all of her support and love.

Hange took his opposite hand and did the same, entwining their fingers and giving it a squeeze as she looked into his eyes.

‘But I don’t have to do this all alone.’ Eren knew that he had so much support already. ‘A new Eldia will rise, one far better than the old one. We will be free again!’

-End Chapter-

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Shiganshina and Wall Maria have been sealed! Yeah!

Things have certainly worked out MUCH better with the power of Titan Shifting for the Survey Corps!

In a single day, with the power of their birthright, the soldiers of the Survey Corps did what couldn’t be done ever since Wall Maria fell years ago! You can already see the balance of powers shifting. The scales are going to tip into Eren’s favor. How will Rod Reiss and his shadow government react when they see how quickly things turn against them?

The Survey Corps plans to stay in Shiganshina for a couple of days, both to gather proof of their accomplishment and to eliminate more Pure Titans. In the down time of those days, what will Eren and his family get up to?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!