Somewhere deep in the forests of Titan territory, far away from the comfort of Trost district and the sanctuary of wall Rose, the rain fell graciously yet heavily onto the rain gear worn by the members of the scout regiment. The scouts had been out for hours now conducting a mission for which they weren't even sure if their objective, getting soaking wet and listening to the horses voice the recruits thoughts; whining about wanting to go back home.

Somewhere amongst the formation was the commander, Erwin Smith. Erwin knew exactly why they were there and what the objective was, and didn't share it, much to the discontent of some people.

'Some people' was the man who rode beside Erwin on a jet black steed: Levi Ackerman.

"Erwin. How long until we go back?" The man in question asked impatiently, riding up so that he was directly next to the commander.

"I told you before Levi. Be patient. The mission isn't over until I say so." Erwin responded, not even looking at him receiving a tsk as Levi pulled back into his formation.

The scouts pushed forward for what seemed like hours in the pouring rain, not one single soldier unnerved. In these conditions, titans could come from any direction at any time without anyone seeing it coming. All of them knew this from their training. Some, however, knew this better than most.

Levi didn't let things frighten him easily, but this did. The one thing he was properly afraid of was staring him in the face at this moment. This exact scenario, in his eyes, was worse than even Titans.

All of a sudden, his steed, who was usually calm and collected, started acting jittery, as if she was reading Levi's thoughts. He tried everything; stroking the black glossy mane, patting her head softly...nothing seemed to be able to calm her down. It only got worse as the winds picked up and the rain lashed down harder like whips on the skin.

Levi rode forward for another five minutes or so, not catching a glimpse of commander Erwin or anyone else at all during that time. This is so weird... Levi thought, jumping down from his horse once he had tied her up against a tree. The poor thing was acting as if it had seen a ghost, and wouldn't calm down, even when Levi used force. Frustrated, he turned around, and for the first time, saw what the horse was so afraid of.

A head without a body. Blood dying the muddy terrain around it a dark shade of crimson. A memory. Something oh so horribly familiar.

What colour was the hair?

Brown

Auburn

Brown

Auburn

The eyes?

Brown

Green

Brown

Green

Do you know them?

No. They're just a new recruit. Get going. Report to commander Erwin.

Yes. My best friend of 3 years. Isabel. I'm sorry...

And then, all of a sudden...

"CAPTAIN LEVI! WATCH OUT!" A recruit's voice. Levi turned and looked up, painfully slowly, to face a humanoid creature around ten metres tall, looking at him with hungry eyes as if he was dinner.

I'm sorry Isabel! If only I'd been faster...I'm sorry Farlan! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!

"SHIT!" Levi yelled to himself, snapping out of his trance. The images of Isabel disappeared, replaced by the sight of a recruits face with brown hair and brown eyes. Levi struggled, but the 3DMG that was attached to his waist finally worked, sending him flying towards a tree without a moment to spare before the titan's hand clenched at the spot he'd been a moment before.

The sound of breaking bones is something you didn't want to hear on an expedition, especially not one like this. But Levi's luck for the day had just run out.

SNAP!

As he landed on the huge oak tree he was aiming for, Levi clasped his hand to his mouth and muffled a scream, wincing as he did so; It was the first time in a while that he'd broken a bone. The pain surged through his ankle.

How on gods green earth did I get this sloppy? Levi scolded himself. He turned, ready to give this monster at the other end of the field one of his signature icy-cold stares, when he was faced with a huge hand, ready to snatch him from his position.

At this point, the pain in his ankle had got worse, and it seemed as though his 3DMG had run out of gas. That or it was broken.

Levi sighed, sheathed his swords and prepared to be devoured by the monster towering above him. If he was honest, he didn't really care. He just wanted to see Farlan and Isabel.