Chapter 7

"Considering Wilfred's skill, we will keep him as a spearhead. We have Racheal and Theodore to our left, with Jeremiah and Starr to our right. By keeping a two-kilometer distance, we should have ample time to react to Titans and change course." Eren said his plan aloud.

They had been on the road for about an hour. They had taken it slow due to the inexperience of the group. Eren had wanted to be precautious and not tire out the horses to quickly. He, as well as the others, were learning as they went.

They had only fired one flare, coming from the left side, Theodore and Racheal's wing. Adjusting course according, they haven't been met any more Titans so far.

"I don't see why you had us stay behind." Titus rose his voice up so Eren could hear. "With our skill, no offense to the others, shouldn't we be on one of the wings?"

Titus and Helen were kept behind to guard Eren and the carriage.

"No, if anything happens I would need you two to guard me. You've heard of abnormals, right? I need someone who won't freeze at the sight of a Titan when it comes to attacking them."

"Oh, Titus." Helen spoke up in her haughty voice. "Don't you understand that we are the best second only to Wilfred? That's why The Führer has us guarding his little aide."

Despite her tone of voice, Eren couldn't disagree with her. Titus and Helen were both skilled in the vertical maneuvering gear, only slightly behind Wilfred in that regard. He had wanted them there because Eren himself doubted he could take down a Titan by himself.

If worse comes to worst, he could use them as bait.

But he trusted Scott's report on the fact that they were skilled. If they kept with the plan, then those less experienced on the team shouldn't have to fight any Titans.

However, they started out later than expected. Eren had originally wanted to start out as soon as he left the training grounds, but he figured he would spend some time overseeing how the current developments in the research were going himself.

He was not disappointed.

The tanks were on schedule. The engineers had finished everything but the shooting mechanism itself. Quite a boon if Eren had to say. They figured out how to use the gas as a form of power to create an engine that allowed the tank to move. All they had left was the loading and firing of the main turret, which they were progressing towards exponentially.

Eren also took a look at the blimp they were creating in their spare time. It strongly reminded him of the zeppelins his country used in past wars in his last lifetime. So naturally, he named them as such.

When all things were done, it was already past noon when the order to move out on Operation Aviation was finalized.

And now that a few hours have passed since they began the operation, nightfall would soon be falling.

Eren bit his lip in dismay. He desired to still move during the night, but with the current age of technology, it was impossible. Torches and lamps did not provide a large enough source of light to see ahead. Electricity hadn't been invented yet and neither had lightbulbs or flashlights. If they had, nighttime missions would already be used by the Scouts, considering Titans stop moving once sunlight recedes.

It was something to look into, Eren thought as he saw the sun sink to his right, signaling that nightfall was about to envelope them. Flares would be useless if one couldn't see them in the dark.

Considering the above, light signals wouldn't work too well considering their range of illumination.

With a disgruntled sigh, he loaded his flare gun with the purple smoke that would signal all units to fall in on his location. Lifting it up and covering one of his ears, he fired it into the sky as he slowed the wagon down, Titus and Helen following suit.

Soon, five silhouettes approached the wagon from three directions.

The remaining of the Kräfte had arrived.

"I was right to have you as the spearhead, I was afraid someone incompetent wouldn't have been paying attention to their behind, and not able to see the flare I shot." Eren said as Wilfred came into hearing distance.

"I would have, considering all the signals were being fired behind me. But I am glad you had me in that position. Knowing the others… well, it is possible that even I could have missed some signals."

"What's that suppose to mean?!" Starr said as she rounded her horse near the wagon.

"Regardless, as long as you look back every twenty or thirty seconds, you should be able to see the signal before it dissipates. And we are so close together that you could probably hear some sort of ring from the shot of the flare gun. These blasted things are too loud…" Eren said as he gave a distasteful look at the item in question.

"I think they were made like that on purpose. So you could hear a shot being fire and know to look." Racheal offered her advice.

"Perhaps you're right." Eren said as he observed the flare gun. "The design of these things go back to near the founding of the walls, or at least that's what I had gathered in research…"

"Wait," Jeremiah suddenly spoke up, getting everyones attention. "Do you guys hear that?"

Everyone had went silent at that moment. The sun hadn't set, so the possibility that a Titan was still roaming was high.

They waited.

As Eren was about to call for a perimeter search, a loud thud was heard. It wasn't one, single noise, but rather consecutive bangs.

A Titan was coming for them.

"Wilfred, Titus." Eren spoke up as he looked in a certain direction, the direction the thuds were coming from. "Mount up and prepare to use your gear."

Both boys gave determined stares as their answer. Both were quick on hoping on their horses and checking their gear.

"Shouldn't we join them as well?" Theodore said in concern.

"No." Was Eren's quick response. "Those two will do. I want you guys to learn from their experience. Watch closely at what they do."

The running footsteps of the Titan grew louder. Finally, it broke from a tree line to the west.

"T-The Titan from before?!" Racheal said with shock. "It followed us all the way here?"

"I've read in a Scout report." Helen chose this time to speak. "That some abnormals lock on to a target and will give chase no matter what. A few encirclements of the Scouts have been broken before when they had set up camp and a Titan like that came crashing in."

The Titan before them seemed to be such a case. He ran with his eyes directed toward the group.

Wilfred and Titus galloped toward it at full speed with their horses to intercept.

"Titus." Wilfred called over to his current partner. "I'll go for the tendon just above the ankle to knock it down. Go for the kill."

"Roger." With that said, Titus broke off from the straight line he had been taking towards the Titan. Opting to go towards the flank for the opportune time to take it down.

Wilfred didn't change course.

Instead, he brought out the handles that were used to control the device. Taking the hilts, he brought them toward his sheathes that held the Titan slaying metal.

Bamboo iron, he mentally reminded himself, remembering the name of it from his time researching the Industrial City.

He attached the blades to the hilts with an audible click. Reversing his grip on the swords, he held them out from his person as he placed his hands on his horse's saddle. Kicking his feet up to land on the saddle as well, he sprang forward to get ahead of his horse while gently spurring it to one side for it to get out of the direct path of the Titan.

He was now floating in the air, and for a brief moment had a respite. He thought of himself dying and failing to wound the beast. He thought of how he, the leader, would stumble and be trampled upon just like an insect.

The moment didn't even last a second.

With a brief smile of excitement, he schooled his features for the task at hand.

He shot out a hook. The path it flew allowed it to become embedded on the Titan's shin. Reeling in the wire with the hook still in the flesh, he propelled himself forward with a burst of gas.

The speed he was going at was faster than a horse, perhaps even a bullet. If his calculations were off, then the speed that he was going at could turn him into a red paste without the Titan's help.

Yes, the vertical maneuver gears were hard to control when going at high speeds. That's why normal people do it at low burst, not going nearly as fast.

They were slow enough to get caught by Titans.

A conundrum, really. Either go fast enough so the Titan doesn't have enough time to react but risk becoming a smear on the ground due to the speed or go slow enough to handle the gear far easier but risk the chance of a Titan catching you.

It was difficult to use the gear to its utmost potential, but for Wilfred who had played the game 'hunter and hunted', handling such speeds were no problem.

So this is what Scott was preparing them for.

Wilfred gave a silent thanks to the man for preparing them for such a case, for truly, handling speeds at this level was childs play, for him at least.

Wilfred crossed between the Titan's legs, doing a spinning slash attack on the Achilles tendon as he did.

The flesh was severed cleanly where one could even see the bone before it was encompassed in steam.

The Titan, losing the nerves to function both legs, fell over in a crash of dirt. Despite their view being completely obscured, Titus launched a hook towards the nape of the Titan.

His hook landed true, as seconds later the dust departed to reveal that his hook, along with himself, were directly near the nape.

Wasting no time, the man slashed his swords vertically across the back of the Titan, ripping the flesh of the nape clean off with precision like cutting skills.

Titus launched off from the now dead Titan and landed near his horse, who awaited obediently.

Wilfred, who had just retrieved his horse, waited for Titus to mount. Once that was done, they both rode towards the group, who were becoming vague silhouettes against the shadows that were now encompassing them due to the sunset.

"Well done." Eren said as the two came into view. "I suppose I'll take on the role of Scott for a mere second. So, can anyone tell me why they succeeded so spectacularly?"

"Yes." Jeremiah was the first to speak up. "While the Titan was distracted on Wilfred, Titus was able to go in for the kill. However, since Wilfred is a master at the gear, he was able to get in close and cut out the tendons near the feet, causing it to fall. This was a guaranteed way for Titus to kill the Titan."

"Good observation." Eren noted. "Yes, that was essentially how they did. While Wilfred's skill far outranks most of you, keep in mind that if a Titan is distracted, you have a perfect opportunity to strike it down. However, do not get tunneled vision yourself, as another Titan might just reach out and snag you."

With his bit said, Eren turned towards the wagon to get the supplies ready as well as the rations for tonight's dinner.

"Jeremiah, Starr, you'll both be taking the first watch. Stay on guard for three hours then we'll switch who watches. Since Wilfred is alone, I'll take the last watch with him. Eat dinner and get some sleep." With that said, they began preparations for their meal as well as sleeping locations.

"Hey." A few hours had passed since they ate and Jeremiah and Starr were nearing their allotted time for the watch. "Do you find the Titan's scary?"

Jeremiah gave a questioning look at Starr's question. She was usually cheerful and carefree, but her attitude and tone of voice gave off a desperate vibe.

Jeremiah knew that he had to take Starr very serious for this time.

"In all honesty? Yeah, kinda." Jeremiah said as he looked off in the pitch black surroundings, only the fire that they used for warmth illuminated some of their surroundings. "I mean, the way the things look, and the expressions they wear… What's worse is that they don't even have common sense, intelligence."

"Wouldn't that make them more terrifying?"

"Maybe to some, but for me, I don't know. It's like this, they look like humans, somewhat, but you can't hold a conversation with them. They are unstable and don't follow reason. To me, that's nerve-wracking."

Jeremiah gave a sigh as he tried to relay his feelings about the Titans. Taking a glance at his pocket watch, he noticed it was almost time for them to swap out. While The Führer's aide did provide them with a watch to keep time, Jeremiah preferred his own.

It belonged to his late father. Although cracked and worn down, it still held sentimental value to him.

Beside him, Starr gave a slight snicker.

"What?" Jeremiah gave her a glare at her laughing at his attempt to describe his feelings.

"Oh, nothing, I just find you cute with that thinking face of yours."

Perhaps Jeremiah would have blushed if it wasn't Starr he was dealing with. Somehow he felt like she was teasing him, and he wasn't falling for it. Although, a part of him claimed that she wasn't using her normal, teasing tone. But one that seemed to be a more degree serious than the one she used before when she asked her question.

"Hilarious." Was his retreated response.

"Our times almost up." He said as he looked at his father's watch once again, prompting Starr to look at the one the aide gave them. "Let's wake up Theodore and Racheal and switch out."

"You seem perplexed." Eren walked up towards Wilfred, sitting down a few paces from him on a trunk.

The sun was just at the tip from emerging over the horizon, the rays casting an eerie, but welcome batch of sunlight. Distorted shadows slowing forming into something recognizable.

It was almost time for them to head out. Wilfred and Eren had taken the last watch, and after relieving himself, Eren sat near the leader of the Kräfte, who seemed to be in deep thought.

"Titus and I were able to take down that Titan with ease, but what of the others? Will they be able to perform such actions, or will they freeze at the sight of such a monstrosity…"

Eren took a glance at Wilfred. He seemed really distraught over such implications. It was to be expected. He was their leader, but most importantly, they were family. It would be hard not to care for those you spent time with. Training together towards a collective goal.

They looked up to him and he, in return, looked out for them.

"Do you not have faith in their abilities?" Eren questioned.

"No, nothing like that… It's just… Even a master warrior can have his throat slit in his sleep."

"You're worried they would be put into a situation they haven't trained for. Being caught off guard."

"Something like that, yeah."

Eren stared at Wilfred as he stabled his hands together to use as a rest for his head. Eren watched as the hands that held Wilfred's chin tightened as they spoke.

He really was concerned over their well being.

"Don't worry." Eren said as he got up with a tone of confidence. "That's why I'm here. Follow my orders, and you all will get out of this alive. We've survived this long, so have some faith in me."

Wilfred stood and looked at Eren's back as he went to rouse the others from their sleep, he gave a little smile at the attempt to cheer him up.

The Führer's aide seemed like a smart man. If Wilfred looked distraught, how would that affect the others?

Wilfred gave a slight chuckle at his insecurities. The others would be fine. They had trained long and hard for this, there was nothing to worry about.

Schooling his features once again, he assumed his role as the leader of the Kräfte.

"We're closing near the mountain where the device is located." Eren said aloud atop the wagon as the mountains came into view.

It had taken some time, but three days had passed since they left Wall Rose on this expedition for the airplane. The city that laid between them and the destination had taken more time to navigate past then Eren had anticipated. Encounters with more and more Titans as they went deeper into the territory, it had taken time for the inexperienced group could find safe passage to the mountains that rose above a distinctive tree line.

Currently, Theodore and Racheal were with him, Titus and Helen replacing their spot in the left wing. They rotated like this often, so everyone would have the experience of playing a certain role. The only one who didn't rotate was Wilfred, who kept his position as head of the formation.

"Wilfred should fire a flare when he reaches the treeline. As per planned, we will meet there to discuss our next course of action."

"Do you already have a plan?" Racheal asked.

"Yes, I'll discuss it with everyone once we meet up."

It didn't take long for Wilfred to reach the treeline. Once he arrived, he slowed his horse to a stop, took out his flare gun and fired a blue streak straight into the sky. Soon the figures on horses approached him. Everyone had met up.

It was somewhat relieving to Wilfred, that all of the Kräfte plus The Führer's aide had survived three days out in the wild. Although they had spotted many Titans, only that first abnormal was the one they killed.

"Good, everyone his here." Eren spoke up from his seated spot on the wagon. "I will now relay to you what the plan of action is."

Eren looked at each induvial with a critical eye. It was last moment, but he wanted to see how they were faring. Besides looking a little rugged and exhausted, they seemed up for the last stretch.

"We'll split up into three groups. You will stay with the partners you have been with this entire journey. Racheal and Theodore, you will search the East side of the mountains. Titus and Helen, the South. Finally, Jeremiah and Starr, take the West."

"So, what will you and Wilfred do?" Helen asked with a raised brow.

"Wilfred will be here to guard me and the wagon. We will be out in the plains. While it would put us at a disadvantage facing the Titans, I trust both my and Wilfred's skills."

Eren would have preferred using the trees as shelter, but considering there sizes are normal compared to the Titan forests, it would be impossible to use them to get out of reach from them. Eren would prefer to see his enemy coming and plan accordingly, rather than have the trees to his advantage, but risk getting snuck up on.

"As long as I have Wilfred with me, I'll be fine. The important task is to find the remains of the device that is known as an airplane. It could take days, but I trust that you will be able to find it with the amount of time we have. Fire a flare to signal the spot."

"Also, I have something to add." Wilfred spoke up. "Fire a yellow flare if you or your partner is injured. If that happens, I'll fire a blue flare, signaling all of us to meet up and return to the walls.

Everyone grew silent and shocked at that statement. If someone were to be injured, Wilfred would call off the whole mission?

"Wilfred…" Eren let out in a low tone.

He knew the boy cared for them, but the mission came first. If one or two were to be injured or die, it would be a necessary risk to bring back such a revolutionary find for their aviation work.

"I won't budge on this, aide." Wilfred gave Eren a stern look.

It was no use. While they believed Eren was a close aide to The Führer, he was still a child in their eyes. The Kräfte would listen to Wilfred rather than him. It was the logical conclusion. Regardless, Eren couldn't help but feel a pang of anger at the fact that it was Wilfred the Kräfte obeyed, not him.

He was The Führer.

Regardless, they only knew him as an aide. He would just have to trust their skill and hope they don't do anything stupid.

"Fine then, have it your way." Eren finally said begrudgingly. "Kräfte, the final part of Operation Aviation is in the process. Find the equipment. We just need to do that and we can take a straight shot home."

Everyone gave their nods as they hopped onto their horses. Each parting with their respective partners, they took to the area assigned to them.

Eren, pulled on the reigns of the wagon as he lost sight of the others, bringing it into a position where a Titan couldn't rush out from the forest and catch them off guard. Wilfred followed closely behind Eren.

"Wilfred." Eren finally spoke as they came to a halt in a field of grass. "Do you wish to become a great leader."

"A great leader must be prepared for sacrifices." Wilfred shocked Eren by saying these words. "However… If the cost of becoming a great leader is my friends that I view as family, then I want no such title."

They remained silent as the wind blew the grass in every which way.

Eren let out a little chuckle with an amused smile.

"I see." He finally said as he turned to look at Wilfred. "You wouldn't make a great leader, but you sure as hell would make a great friend."

"There's nothing but trees…" Helen's voice was laced with disdain as she was almost smacked by a low hanging branch. "Honestly, how will we even find a shack that supposedly contains a flying beast in this vegetation?"

"Really?" Titus let out a sigh of irritation. "Not even three hours since we left and you're already complaining?"

"Can you blame me? How can we even find it with the time we have left. Not to mention we have to check our backs for Titans. Honestly, this seems to hard."

"Listen." Titus said as he gave a glare to Helen. "We just have to look for clues. Find a trail or something resembling it and we follow it to whatever it leads."

"... Like that one over there?" Helen pointed to what seemed like a dirt trail.

It wasn't anything major, just a road where the patches of grass didn't grow. Titus maneuvered his horse around the trees to get a closer look at it. Upon inspection, it appeared to be a dirt road with bits of gravel scattered here and there.

"Hm," Titus gave a smirk. "Seems like we'll be the ones to find it."

"...If we don't get eaten first…" Helen trailed off as she pointed to something on the trail.

Titus looked over to where her hand was directing and noticed an indention on the road.

A footprint. A large one at that.

It was a Titan.

"The foliage is thick around here, so large ones would have a hard time coming here. Judging by the print, I guess maybe two or three meters." Titus said under his breath.

"Regardless of what happens, we have to find this place the aide speaks about." Titus said aloud as he began following the trail in one direction.

"I second that." Helen said as she followed after Titus. "I just want to be out of here."

"The sun's going to set soon." Theodore said as he looked at the fiery blaze sink below the horizon.

"We've been out here for how many hours? And found what? Nothing…" Racheal said a little discouraged.

"It's alright." Theodore said with a smile. "We just need to look for a shack that could contain it. We have three more days after this one, so we got plenty of time."

"You speak like there isn't a threat looming over us…"

"You mean the Titans?" Theodore asked with concern as he looked back at Rachel. "Don't worry about them, we've seen a lot of them, so I don't think I find them as terrifying. I'm sure I can handle them."

Racheal gave a small smile at how Theodore was trying to put on a brave face. Truth be told, she could see the slight tremble in his hands, but it was heartwarming that he would try that much to make her feel safer.

She was about to thank him, when her voice got caught in her throat.

While Theodore was turned to look behind him towards her, he failed to notice what was in front of him.

A large, plumb Titan with meaty hands stared them down with a face formed into half a grin. Its hand was halfway extended, towards Theodore. In a matter of seconds, he would be in the colossus clutches.

Racheal tried to scream out a warning, to try and tell Theodore to move. But her body, nor her voice would work.

She could only watch as the Titan grabbed at Theodore.

"Ugh?!" Theodore let out a grunt as the Titan picked him right off from his horse. Theodore turned his head, only to come face to face with the half smiling Titan. As if smirking at the easy prey that it caught, it began to open its mouth to bite down on Theodore.

Theodore tried for a moment to break free from the clutches, but the Titan's grip was far too strong.

He was going to die.

This thought flew through his mind as the maw of the beast grew closer and closer. Tears subconsciously formed in his eyes and trailed down his face as overwhelming fear overtook him.

The last thing he could do was let out an uncharacteristic scream.

That scream may have saved his life.

The piercing shriek awoke Racheal from her stupor.

The first thing she noticed was that Theodore was close to death's door, mere feet away from the black abyss of a Titan's mouth.

She saw Theodore's terrified face as he continued to scream, tears and snot flowing down his face.

The look on his face triggered something inside of Racheal.

She was moving before she even realized it.

Bringing her swords to bare, she shot out a hook into the eye of the Titan, causing it to reel back in a moment of pain. Taking this opportunity, she shot out towards the Titan, slicing a precise area in the arm that caused it to go limp, dropping Theodore to the ground in the process.

With the captive free, Racheal no longer had to fear the possibility of Theodore being crushed.

She retracted her hook from the Titan's eye, using her other one to attach it to a nearby tree. Swinging out of view, the Titan was left with only Theodore in line if sight.

Realizing what Racheal was doing, Theodore stood on shaking legs.

"Hey!" He shouted, drawing the Titan's full attention. "I'm right here!"

With bated breath, Theodore's whole body wouldn't stop shaking. The Titan, as if thinking the threat had left, began his half smile once again as he reached for Theodore for the second time.

Only for Racheal to swing behind a tree, positioning herself directly behind the Titan. Embedding a hook near the shoulder blade on its back, she propelled herself forward. Without wasting a moment, she screamed out as she slid her blades across the Titan's nape.

With a grunt, she cut through the entire nape and neck, leaving only threads of flesh left which held the Titan's head.

The thud of the Titan and steam erupting from its entire body, signaled its defeat as Racheal landed where Theodore had subconsciously fallen to his knees.

"Hey…" Racheal let out a concerned voice as she bent over to look at Theodore. "You okay?"

To Theodore, who hadn't much experience with women in the first place, could only blush at how stunning his savior looked.

Really, he noticed it before, but now that she had just saved him it bloomed to ten times the effect.

Racheal was beautiful.

She extended a hand for him to take. As if treasuring this moment, he lifted his hand slowly.

Only for her to be pulled back in a sudden manner.

As Theodore sat there, he saw how another Titan snuck up. This one with a scrawny body and stick-like arms. It had beady eyes and a permanent snare on its face.

One of those stick-like arms held Racheal as she struggled to get free. The Titan, as if sensing her efforts, tightened its grip.

Theodore heard the audible crack of bones being broken.

Her scream that came next is what made him move into action.

"The sun's going to be setting soon." Jeremiah observed the star sinking below the tree line. "We should set up camp."

"Are you sure? This trail seems promising." Starr said as she looked up ahead at the now dimly lit road.

They had stumbled upon it a while back. It had led them up the Western most mountain, towards what they hoped to be the shack they were seeking out.

Jeremiah gave a frown. On one hand, they could keep searching with the dimly lit torches that they were provided. But on the other, the possibility of them being tired with dull reflexes was high.

"I'd rather not risk it." Jeremiah said.

"Okay, how about this." Starr said as she strode her horse over to Jeremiah's. "We continue, but one of us sleeps while the other navigates."

Jeremiah rose an eyebrow at that prospect.

"And how would we do that?"

"Well…" Starr turned away, as if embarrassed. "We double up on one saddle. One person rests while leaning the other person navigating."

Jeremiah stopped to think about it. He weighed the pros and cons to such an aspect.

"I guess there's no harm…" He finally relented. "Switch out every four hours? You rest first?"

"Sure!" Starr retained her usual cheerful grin as she hopped off her horse and got on Jeremiah's. Tying her reins to his so the horse wouldn't run off, she snuggled up to the back of Jeremiah. Although there was a piece of cloth and the plating of the vertical maneuvering gear between them, she could still feel his warmth.

Bringing out a lamp stick and lighting the wick inside, he attached it to a special holder on the horse, allowing him both hands to navigate the horse. The lamp barely lit a few meters in front of them, but it appeared the moon was shining unobstructed, allowing them to see vague outlines in the night.

Jeremiah didn't know if he should be grateful or angered by the vague illumination. Trees appeared to be unmoving Titans and branches their limbs. A rustle would probably freak him out.

Ignorance is bliss they say, and not knowing what monsters lies ahead of you may have been better.

But despite that, Jeremiah was glad it wasn't completely dark.

"I hope the others are doing fine." Jeremiah whispered out.

His only response was the soft breathing he felt on the back of his neck.

The Titan fell down with a wet thud. The ten meter who attacked Wilfred and Eren slowly evaporated. Its movements were sluggish due to the sun having gone down, but despite that two Titans seemed it fit to attack the vulnerable prey.

It was interesting for Wilfred, attacking the Titan without any trees to use for his maneuvering gear, nonetheless, it fell like the others.

"Intriguing." Eren on the other hand decided to take on the smaller of the two, the three meter class. Instead of disposing of it, he kept it alive, only slicing off its arms and legs, leaving it immobile as it laid before Eren's feet.

"Despite having no means to do so, the thing keeps trying to eat me." Eren observed how the Titan kept snapping at the boy, not relenting one bit. "It has no common sense… And in return no fear…"

The Titan started to become sluggish as well, the sunlight gone from it, it was unable to keep up the energy to feast on prey.

Soon the Titan came to rest as its eyes rolled back, but oddly enough the steam on the arms and legs gave out.

"Hm?" Eren rose an eyebrow at this. "I see, so it is through the sun they receive all their power."

Eren observed how, without the sun, the Titans were just slabs of meat. Their regeneration didn't work nor do they find the energy to move.

There had to be some scientific explanation, although Eren supposed that there could exist a thing such as magic, as absurd as that was to him. It was a new world with new possibilities. Even the iron bamboo metal was defying his expectations of reality. A metal that could grow?

He could understand why this place would be desired.

"Are you done playing with it?" Wilfred walked up towards Eren as he looked at the unmoving Titan skeptically, as if expecting it to jump at them at any time.

"I wish we could bring it back…" Eren muttered.

"We could, but it would have to be at night. Not to mention we don't have the material to hold it down." Wilfred stated. "Plus, we would have to leave behind the very object we came here to get, if the size of the thing you described it to be is true, that is."

"I get it." Eren waved him off.

He walked up towards the Titan, unperturbed by the sleeping figure. He placed a hand on it without hesitation.

It felt cold.

He stabbed it with his sword, causing Wilfred to jump back fearing the beast would awake.

No movement.

Sighing as if Eren was disappointed it didn't move, he made his way onto the back. Standing right where the nape was, he lifted his sword, pointing it directly where the spinal cord was. He lowered it down slowly, piercing it.

After going about a few inches deep, he felt something give and saw how steam once again started to erupt from the Titan. However, it was different. It was not regenerating, but degenerating. The steam ate at the skin, muscle, and even bones of the Titan. Evaporating it, as if to show no evidence of the beast.

"Good, it looks like we don't need to gouge out the entire nape to kill the thing." Eren observed. "Rather, we just need to hit the spinal cord to kill it. If we can add rifling to our cannons, we will be able to get more accuracy and velocity. So Armor Piercing may just work well as High Explosive…"

Wilfred ignored Eren's ramblings as he went towards the tent. He was hungry and opted to find a rations bar to eat for his pseudo dinner.

"Will we need to keep watch?" Wilfred said in between bites. He really didn't want to alternate so many times with the aide. Maybe if they took six hours each. Well, regardless, he had to be up for the challenge.

"No, I'll stay awake the entire time. I want to draft some plans and ideas for aviation while I have the free time. Plus, you need the rest, as you will be guarding me tomorrow."

"About that." Wilfred spoke up. "Shouldn't we move someplace safer? One or two I could take in the plains, but if a whole horde comes, I don't think I would be enough."

"That is an understandable reason of thought." Eren said as he began rummaging through the wagon. "However, you have to take into account that we are in-between two outer districts, meaning their attention would not be directed towards this mountain range."

Eren got out of the carriage, presenting what he found in the moonlight to examine it.

"The only ones who will attack us are the ones who stumble upon us. So one or two I could imagine, but a whole horde would be directed towards the outer districts, so we need not worry about it."

The moonlight revealed the vague image of paper and writing utensils in his hand. He began to settle down in the grass, using a nearby rock as a makeshift desk. He brought out a candle and lit the wick, giving him light to see what he was doing.

"How can you be so sure?" Wilfred questioned.

Truth be told, Eren wasn't one-hundred percent. However, once he analyzed and saw the Titans behaviors and actions, he was able to come to a conclusion on how they would act. They preferred large areas of dense humans. The Titans they sighted along the way mainly ignored them since they didn't get into line of sight, the first one only being an abnormal.

"Just trust me on this matter." Eren said to Wilfred as he began drawing rough drafts of fighter planes. He didn't know much about how the interior, like an engine and the such, of the flying machines worked, but he did know drag and lift. Because the Arlerts had simply wanted to fly over the walls, they probably weren't going for an extremely efficient build, let alone one with combat capabilities.

Eren had a few ideas, but since he was relatively inexperienced on this matter he would leave it mostly to the engineers and scientist. They had already surpassed his expectations on the Zepplin.

"Okay." Was all Wilfred's response. "I'll get some rest."

"Racheal!" Theodore couldn't stop his shake as he examined the broken girl before him. He shook with screams and sobs.

"Th… Theodore… It hurts…" Racheal said with a grimaced look that graced her face.

The steaming corpse of the Titan laid behind them. As soon as Racheal had screamed in pain, Theodore had moved immediately. Taking out an eye, he maneuvered behind the Titan without delay, striking it down.

But he was too late to prevent any injuries to his partner.

"I think your arm is broken…" Theodore said with a low tone.

Truth be told, broken was an understatement. Her right arm seemed mangled, being pressed against the Titan's hand and her body contorting it into an odd angle.

"I… I also think a few rips…" Racheal said with pain lacing her voice as she spoke.

"Yeah… Yeah, that makes sense." Theodore still seemed out of it. "Damn it, if only we could use the flares."

Since it was already dark out, it would be almost impossible to see the flare to signal that one of them had been injured. They never expected to have to use it during the night, as the Titans would normally be asleep.

"Screw it." Theodore seemed to regain his resolve after seeing Racheal whimper in a moment of weakness. "I'm taking you back to camp. We're calling the mission off."

Hearing what he said, she reached up and grabbed him with her good but still bruised arm.

"No… I'm already so weak, I can't force the whole mission to be aborted just because of me…"

Theodore stayed crouch there as Racheal still held his arm in a weak grip. Biting his lip, he had to come to some sort of decision.

"Regardless." He finally spoke up. "You're injured. I'll take you back to where Wilfred and the aide are. We… won't abort the mission. I'll continue searching the East side if it comes to that."

Racheal looked like she wanted to say something, but her eyelids grew heavy as the day and the tolls of her injuries finally made her succumb to sleep.

"Don't worry." Theodore brushed some hair out of Racheal's now closed eyes. "I'll protect you, like you protected me."

"This… has to be it, right?" Starr gave a hopeful stare at the large shack that stood before them. It was more of a barn, really. With the two large doors and even shape to match the description of the building that housed animals.

"Hey," Starr shrugged her shoulders. "Wake up."

The sudden movement aroused Jeremiah from his sleep.

"Is it time to switch…?" He said sleepily as he looked ahead.

"Not quite…"

"This is…"

The two stared at the barn for some time. It was Jeremiah that broke from his stupor first. Getting off the horse, he walked up toward the barn. Starr followed shortly after with the lantern to light their way.

Jeremiah observed the barn doors. They were in rough shaped and looked to be somewhat decaying from lack of upkeep. Other than the expected, it seemed to be in good shape. It was in such good condition that the contents inside should have been able to be kept preserved. Meaning… That if the so-called plane was in here, it should be the way it was left.

"Do you think it's in there?" Jeremiah asked as he turned to Starr, only to find her walk ahead of him.

"Only one way to find out!" She said as she opened the doors abruptly.

"Starr, wait-!" Whatever Jeremiah was about to say was cut off as he witnessed the inside contents of the barn.

"Follow the path." A snide voice spoke up. "It'll lead us to the flying machine."

"I don't see how mocking me would make it better." Titus spoke with an air of irritation.

He and Helen had followed a path, but it appeared to be a dead end. It lead only to a house. It was in more or less the state one would expect it to be. They were currently using it as a shelter to keep them from being exposed to the element.

However, it seemed Helen was in a mood about the turn of events.

"If we had followed my plan we may have found it."

"What, you mean wander around aimlessly?"

"No, I said we should look for a path on more higher ground, not to follow the one that led downwards at the base of the mountain."

"Well, what did you expect?!" Titus finally snapped from Helen's nagging. "We had one path, one lead. We should have followed it just in case."

"Oh?" Helen's haughty voice arose from her mouth. "You mean people we are obviously building illegal machinery would place their base of operations so close to where it could be found. You're right, I don't know anything!"

"Guh!" Titus threw his hands up in anger. "I'm getting some sleep. You can keep watch, or don't. Not like I care if a Titan eats you…"

With that said, the two found separate rooms to sleep in