40Hello everyone!
So, this is what I guess you could call a "passion project" I've been working on. I've been an Attack on Titan fan for years, although I paused for a while due to the death of a certain beloved character. This prologue is actually about six years old, and I just started writing the story again due to some friendly pressure from a few close pals. I'm not certain how often I will update, although I do have about seven additional chapters written. I just don't want to burn out.
Anyway, thanks for taking a look, and I hope you enjoy!
Information Available for Public Disclosure
Special Reconnaissance Squad
Created shortly after the fall of Wall Maria, the Special Reconnaissance Squad is a unit of the Survey Corps, tasked with observing titans and designated routes prior to expeditions.
As the primary source of new information regarding titans, members are prized for the ingenuity and stealth, as well as their skills in combat.
Prologue
Year 850
Somewhere within Wall Maria
The sun was setting. Klara Lange watched it disappear behind the bell tower of a distant town, transfixed. It was a beautiful sight, despite being devoid of life. She tried to picture it otherwise, with lights blinking on in the windows and throngs of workers returning from the fields, perhaps to the sound of that lone bell, although she supposed the last time it was rung, it had been as an evacuation warning.
Below her, something groaned.
Klara looked down from her perch, a high-hanging branch that left her legs dangling in the open air. Far below her stood a titan, no more than five meters tall, with a big head and even bigger eyes. It clawed uselessly at the bark of the tree, breathing heavily and grunting, a starving animal teased with food.
She tossed a twig at it.
"Keep it down, would you? I can't hear myself think."
The titan panted in reply.
She tilted her head, watching its struggles. Those eyes never left her face. Its amber irises were just like hers, but they reflected nothing, no emotions, no intelligence. It made the strange smile stuck on its face even more disturbing to look at.
Why humans? she wondered. Of all the evil imagination can create, why must they look so much like us?
It was the sort of question her squad was supposed to find answers for, but much like the scout expeditions, they never found much of anything. In fact, she figured the only reason her squad was still allowed to exist was because none of them had died yet.
"Why do you want us?" she asked, leaning down. "You don't need us. You can't even digest. What is it that drives you to do such things?"
Klara looked up, catching the last rays of sun behind her sandy locks. "Hmph, now you've done it. I sound like Hange."
"Telling the titans your life story again?"
Klara glanced over her shoulder. On the branch just above her stood Matteo Bassi, her childhood friend and a medical officer of the Survey Corps. He stared at her through thick glasses that peaked out from behind black bangs, with his hands on his hips and a soft smile on his face.
She offered one in return. "Better than telling any of you. The titan doesn't talk back."
Matteo shook his head, jumping down to her branch. He wavered slightly. Klara's hand instinctively shot out to grab his leg, keeping him still.
His blue eyes found hers, looking sheepish as they tended to. "Always out to save my life, aren't you?"
Klara smirked. "That's because you're always in danger."
"I don't mean to be."
"I know."
No one had ever expected Matteo to pass training. While quick and highly intelligent, he suffered from timidity and mumbled more often than not, especially when confronted. Physicality was certainly not a strength of his either. The boy was skin and bone and not much else, but he had gained the respect of everyone in the Corps. With a soldier's life in his hands, Matteo became a different person, unaffected by blood, violence, titans, or even the orders of his superiors. It was his saving grace.
"What an interesting development that would be, if they could talk," Matteo mumbled as he looked over the edge at the titan. "What would they say? Would they taunt us as they hunt us down, or speak words of comfort? Would they apologize?"
Klara felt her grip on his leg tighten. "Some things are better left to the unknown, you know."
Matteo seemed to pick up at that, a strange light flashing across his eyes. "Ah, but that's my specialty, investigating the unknown. I'm not content with living in the dark, elsewise I wouldn't be here. So, tell me, Dexter, have you anything to say to us? I'd be very interested in hearing your opinion."
And this was the reason that his fellow squad members still picked on him.
"Shit, Matteo, not you too. Isn't one Hange bad enough?" Klara teased.
She watched him blush. "I…I don't mean to be like her…not that there is anything wrong with how she acts. She views the world in such a way…so different but…what is wrong with seeing light when we live in such darkness? Ah, maybe I do mean to. The pet names, the strange attitude, it makes it all a little more bearable."
They fell into silence as Klara pondered his words, her hand falling back to her side. She wasn't certain how any of that helped, but she wasn't them either. She liked to focus on the faces of her comrades or her grandfather back home; she knew Toli threw himself into watching the local vegetation. Every mission, he returned with a sack of herbs. Hanna had her sketchbook and a hundred drawings of the places they'd been to, and Isak had Hanna. Whatever helped distract from the horrors outside the safety of Wall Rose.
Klara stood, balancing easily on the branch. "I give it another two hours before that titan is done for the evening. Make whatever observations you can. Our mission is done, and I'd like to return to Trost sooner rather than later."
These missions are getting harder with more and more titans coming through Shiganshina. Soon enough there will be no point in stealth.
"Klara, we've got a problem," called a voice from above.
Both soldiers looked up to see a pair of beady, black eyes staring down at them. Hunched over and resting on the balls of his feet, Toli Ochoa looked far smaller than he actually was, though he was not very tall to begin with. Still, he cleared Captain Levi's height by a few inches, and that was good enough for him.
"What is it?"
Toli jumped from the branch, far more graceful and precise than Matteo could ever hope to be. He landed just in front of Klara, just reaching her eye level at full height. Short he may have been, but she was also unusually tall, the same height as Matteo. Besides Erwin and Mike, they were two of the tallest members of the Corps.
"Titans approaching. Hanna spotted three from the north, Isak another two from the east, all ten-meter class or higher. There are most likely smaller ones among them, but we can't tell from this distance."
Matteo ran a hand through his hair. "Why so many? And why so late?"
Klara sighed.
What miserable luck.
"Toli, are there any to the west?"
"No, it's clear."
She nodded. "Alright, we'll climb higher, wait in the trees until they have passed and loop back west to Trost. I'm beginning to think we've overstayed our welcome."
Toli looked down. "What about this bastard? He'll attract their attention for sure."
"I'll take care of him. You and Matteo climb."
Toli grabbed Matteo by the collar, yanking him toward the trunk. "C'mon, lover boy, let's go watch Isak make a fool of himself."
"Lover boy? Wha-what are you talking about? What did you hear?"
"Far too much."
Klara waited until the two had disappeared from sight, scrambling quickly up the branches.
Though they were equipped with their standard omnidirectional maneuvering gear, the squad preferred not to use the equipment until it was deemed absolutely necessary. The devices were loud and had a tendency to attract unwanted attention, not to mention if the gas ran out, there was no possibility of resupplying, not so far out from civilization.
Klara looked beneath the branch where that smug smile still awaited her.
"Alright, Ugly, you want me?" She grasped both handholds of her blades and drew them. "You're going to have to work for it."
That was when she jumped.
There were several places within Wall Maria that the squad preferred to visit when it came time to rest or to survey. This particular batch of trees was one they had been to many times before. They were unusually large for the area, rising higher than fifteen-meter class titans. The trees were also dense, making use of their gear nearly impossible, but the numerous branches in close proximity to one another allowed for quick travel from tree to tree on foot, if one had the skill and balance.
Klara hopped between the branches, barely pausing for more than a second each time she landed. Needles slashed as her face and tried to grab her cloak and long hair, but she ignored it all, focused on the task at hand. She could hear the five-meter following. Though a dense area, with its small stature, it could easily navigate between the trunks.
Once she determined they had traveled far enough into the interior, Klara did not hesitate.
Firing one of her grappling hooks into the tree, she dived quickly to the side, using the momentum to spin around the trunk. The titan could not react fast enough and was unprepared when she reappeared behind it. Her twin blades shone in the growing dark, slicing efficiently at the nape of the neck, and ending the titan's progress altogether. It fell face first into the dirt, motionless and steaming.
Klara landed nimbly behind the creature, taking in the scene to be certain of her success. Her cut was deep, taking nearly half the neck, but its eyes were still blank and its smile still attached, as if nothing had happened. It made her lip curl.
Not wanting to risk any more noise, Klara chose to climb the nearest tree by hand. It was a hard process, but not one she was wholly unused to. Even before she joined the military, she had climbed any surface that was taller than her, trees, houses, whatever felt like a challenge. As a child, more often than not, she could have been found on the roof of her home.
Klara looked down at the steam rising from the pines.
At least I was able to bring it to the center. Even if the steam managed to intrigue the titans, none of them can breach the forest.
Toli stood in the tree just to her left, red curls shining in the rising moonlight. "Always have to take the kill, don't you?"
"Did Oluo pass you again?" Klara asked, smirking. Her comrade grumbled in reply.
Looking around, Klara could just make out the other two members of her squad. Isak Ahlberg was still fairly low in the branches, but with his tall, well-built frame, Klara doubted he could climb much higher without breaking anything. The last time he had tried, he wound up hanging upside down by one of his cords. Toli still gave him shit for it.
Hanna Tifft was in the same tree, but much closer to the top. She continually looked down, however, only returning her gaze to the countryside when Isak nodded to her. One of her blades was already in hand, poised to take out anything that came too close to them.
When the titans approached, everyone instinctively shrank against the branches, making themselves as small as possible. Though they were all capable fighters, each sitting on multiple individual kills, combat was their last resort.
Two passed on either side of the trees without so much as a glance at the rising steam. One paused at the tree line when it discovered it could not travel any further before heading right, and another went in a different direction altogether. But the last titan, a good thirteen meters tall, froze in place and appeared to be watching the steam. It strode forward, hitting the branches and bouncing back slightly. This gave it another pause. Klara watched its movements closely and could have sworn she heard Matteo somewhere behind her, barely able to contain his excitement.
She would never understand his fascination with the titans. Or Hange's. Maybe it was the glasses.
The titan moved again, stepping back slowly before charging through the branches.
Klara felt her eyes go wide.
"Shit, it's abnormal!" Toli shouted, brandishing his blades.
"Hold!" Klara hissed in his direction. "Don't engage yet. The others are still nearby."
The titan continued to bash through the branches of the forest, clearing a small path toward the five-meter's body. Klara saw Isak and Hanna jump to a nearby tree in order to avoid contact. Her breath hitched as the branch Hanna landed on cracked and fell out from beneath her, but Isak was able to grab her jacket as she tumbled to his level.
His eyes somehow found hers and he gave a simple nod. They were fine. No need to do anything drastic.
When the titan reached the body, Klara was not sure what to expect. She had never seen others react to dead titans before. Everything about it was sending her nerves on edge. Her finger twitched on the trigger of her controller.
The titan kneeled down, letting its fingers run along the body, before it found the cut in the neck. It paused there, attempting to look closer, unfazed by the steam rising up to meet its face.
Is it…examining the body?
Klara did not know what else to think. She continued to watch, astounded and disturbed all at once. The titan continued to pick through the nape of the neck until, seemingly satisfied, it turned its gaze upward, bright blue eyes searching and immediately finding her.
It stepped back.
"Toli, move!" Klara shouted, barely getting the words out before the titan slammed into the trunk. Her balance gone, Klara fell through the branches, bouncing on her back, sides, and stomach until her fumbling hands managed to grab hold of one. She had fallen nearly ten feet, and was almost within range of the titan's enormous reach. It stared at her, mouth agape and panting.
Then it slammed into the tree again.
Klara managed to hang onto the branch, but she heard the unmistakable crack of a broken trunk. She felt her body lift skywards as the tree fell back, landing with a crash like thunder on the forest floor. Klara tried to roll with the fall, but a loose branch struck her in the back, sending her body tumbling, ragdoll, through the mess until she came to a halt against another tree and the world went black.
Blood was everywhere. People were everywhere. No, parts of people were everywhere.
She was alive, and they were dead.
Then she was falling, but she was caught, the grasp hot, steaming.
It pushed her away and it fought. It screamed. It won.
He had asked her once what she had seen, and she had told him the truth.
"I was saved by a titan."
Something was poking her. Instinctively, she slapped it away. Someone hissed while another chuckled.
"Told you she was fine."
Klara cracked an eye open. Matteo, who had entered his full doctor mode and was meticulously checking her body for every injury imaginable, blocked most of her vision. Hanna was on the other side, her green eyes wavering in concern, while Toli stood behind her, arms crossed and covered in steaming titan blood. Isak was off in the distance, kicking the now dead thirteen-meter with his boot and mumbling something under his breath.
"How are you feeling, Klara?" Matteo asked, his pitch higher than usual.
"Like an idiot," she groaned, sitting up slowly with both his and Hanna's help. "Is everyone alright?"
Hanna smiled. "Toli finally got to kill something, so we are now."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"
Isak approached the group, looking like a titan himself from her position on the ground. "It means you're irritable when you don't get your daily dose of violence."
Toli snorted, but said nothing else.
Klara smirked. "Are we clear of titans?"
"For now, but I don't expect it to stay that way for long. We should leave while we still have night on our side." Isak grabbed Klara's arm, hoisting her up as if she weighed nothing. He'd grown a lot in the five years since they'd met, giving Mike a run for his money. "Can you ride?"
"I don't have much of a choice," she replied, looking past him to the titan. "That thing…it wasn't just abnormal."
Hanna tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"I think it was-"
"INTELLIGENT?!"
One Day Later
Trost District
Five years. Squad Leader Klara Lange had been in the Survey Corps for five years and still found herself no closer to getting used to the spontaneous and terrifying outbursts of Hange Zoë. She should have known better, though. Mentioning anything remotely different from what they already knew about the titans was bound to trigger some sort of questioning barrage.
Still, did she have to be so close?
The instant Klara mentioned her suspicions, Hange had jumped up from her seat, grabbed her collar, and dragged her from the chair. Klara did not bother resisting. Time had proven that it only led to more damage on the victim's part. So, she let her body go slack, leaving Hange to hold all her weight. It did not seem to bother her fellow squad leader in the least.
"WHAT KIND OF BEHAVIOR DID IT EXHIBIT?! DID IT ATTEMPT TO COMMUNICATE?! DID IT HESITATE IN ATTACKING YOU?!" Hange pushed closer and closer until their noses brushed and Klara could see the spark of insanity in the brown eyes behind the glasses. "OH, WHAT SORTS OF THINGS YOU MUST HAVE LEARNED! COMMANDER, YOU MUST ALLOW ME TO ACCOMPANY THE RCON SQUAD IF THEY CONTINUE TO HAVE THESE SORT OF ENCOUNTERS! IMAGINE HOW MUCH KNOWLEDGE WE COULD ACQUIRE!"
"Hange."
"Eh?"
Klara got a reprieve from the staring contest when the squad leader turned in the direction of their commander, Erwin Smith. He sat across the table from her, watching the shenanigans of his people unravel with a calm and collected demeanor, business as usual in his case.
"Let go of Klara."
Hange turned back, realization dawning in her eyes, as if she had not noticed she had attacked Klara. She immediately released her grip and began to mumble apologies so profusely and rapidly that Klara could hardly keep track of what she was saying.
Again, it was business as usual for the Survey Corps.
Levi, who had been sitting next to Hange, stood then, clasped a hand on her shoulder, and physically forced her back into a chair.
"Tch. Get a grip," he said with his characteristic indifferent tone before returning to his own seat.
Across the table, Mike Zacharius had taken a sudden interest in the woodwork while Matteo was staring apologetically at her.
Klara looked to Erwin, awaiting his nod of approval before continuing her report. She did not bother sitting back down lest Hange charged again.
"As I was saying, the thirteen-meter titan did appear to have some form of…" She glanced at Hange, who was shaking so hard her chair was making noise. Levi rolled his eyes. "…intelligence. After clearing a path into the forest, the titan proceeded to investigate the body of the five-meter, specifically the cut on the nape of its neck. From there, it looked immediately to the tree I occupied, presumably coming to the conclusion that whoever killed the titan came from there, given the body's position."
Erwin's eyes bored into hers as she spoke, giving her the silent signal that no one else would see. They would be talking after this, about a good many things.
Satisfied, he turned to Matteo. "Do you agree with this assessment?"
"Y-yes, sir," Matteo replied, clearly hating being put on the spot. "It…it almost appears indicative of…of some sort of…cognitive development."
Levi raised an eyebrow. "Meaning they remember."
"Yes! Precisely! The actions of the titan suggests that it knew how the five-meter died and what would have caused it."
"How fascinating!" Hange clapped her hands together and giggled. "Perhaps this is the first step toward actual communication!"
"It could be!" Now Matteo was getting excited. He always did that when Hange was around. "It stands to reason that if they could remember actions, language is not far behind. However, the physical complexities of spoken language is something they might not be able to grasp."
"But the presence of vocal cords means it is possible."
"Oh, yes, of course! I am not suggesting impossible, merely-"
"Oi, Eight-Eyes!" It was Levi's not-so-affectionate nickname for the titan-loving duo. "Spew about it when you're not wasting our time."
The two fell into awkward silence. Matteo was blushing. It almost made Klara laugh.
Mike shifted in his seat. "Killing titans is difficult enough without intelligence. If they do start to remember and perceive our attacks, the Survey Corps will be looking at a much high casualty rate."
Hange nodded, calm again. "I suggest we continue scouting missions before and during our expeditions, perhaps even increasing them. It's necessary to determine if this is a trend among titans or merely another abnormal variation."
"Agreed," Erwin said, looking to Klara. "Is the Recon Squad prepared for the additional burden?"
"We are."
He nodded. "Good. I expect a report from all members before the end of the day. Dismissed."
There was a collective movement of chairs as all subordinates stood and saluted their commander before proceeding to exit. Klara, however, remained, slumping down in her chair. She ran a hand through her hair, feeling the bandages on her wrist graze her skin. There were more bound tightly across her chest. Her ribs ached with every breath she took, but the pain was not unbearable. Everyone learned to deal with it in time.
"It's always me, isn't it?" she asked no one in particular. Admittedly, it made a strange sort of sense, at least to those who knew the truth, but they were few and far between. The man alone with her at that very moment made up fifty percent of that privileged group.
Her eyes swept across the room, taking in the brickwork and the maps lining the walls before landing on Erwin as he closed the door. She watched him approach her, eyes serious.
He grabbed an empty chair and pulled it close. "What happened out there, Klara?"
He had asked her once what she had seen, and she had told him the truth.
It had been their secret for the last four years. People regarded her as different, as special, for having survived the massacre beyond the wall, the only soldier to do so. But none of them knew the truth like Erwin did: her survival was not of her own making.
Klara shook her head. "Nothing more than what the report states."
She half-expected the commander to look disappointed. Instead, he appeared even more intrigued than before. Of course, Erwin Smith was not deterred. Results were results, whether they lined up with your wishes or not.
There had been a time when she believed Erwin was just playing along for her sake. She was a battle-worn, overstressed soldier who had seen far too much; what she had said could not be relied upon. And yet, he continued to ask her for more details, feelings, impressions, so she told him everything.
Then the Special Recon was formed.
"And you're certain this was not the same titan from before?"
It pushed her away and it fought. It screamed. It won.
She nodded. "This one was shorter and it attacked me."
"It might have been erratic, such as the one Ilse and Hange encountered."
"No," Klara replied, shaking her head. "This titan would not have attacked me. That much I know."
Erwin leaned in. "And how do you know?"
She chose to look him dead in the eye, filled with a conviction that emanated from somewhere deep inside. "I just do."
For a moment, the two of them did nothing. He searched her eyes and she searched his. Then he chuckled softly, a strange sound to anyone who wasn't in his close circle.
"It's a funny thing, how much we're willing to sacrifice for a gut feeling. Facts and consensus are hardly worth the effort next to human instinct," he said, reaching out and grabbing her bandaged hand. "Has Matteo cleared you for duty?"
"He told me bedrest and light duty for a week."
"And were you planning on listening to him?"
"One of these days."
He shook his head, relinquishing her hand and standing. Klara watched him move away to the window, the infamous wings of freedom patch glaring at her from the back of his jacket.
She stood and followed him, leaning against the wall with her shoulder. From there, she could see most of Trost District, as well as the ever-present Wall Rose. Below them, a handful of Military Police went about their usual business, which was nothing really. Thousands of uniformed persons within the walls and only a small three hundred of them were actually soldiers.
"Can you feel it, Klara?"
Erwin was never one to dance around a subject. Straightforward and to the point, he was nearly as frank as Levi, if not a little kinder on the delivery. To be caught up in a vague question confused Klara, and momentarily left her speechless.
No doubt sensing this, Erwin continued. "Something has shifted. Pieces are in motion. Everything is about to change."
Glancing at the courtyard below, Klara watched children playing with sticks and little boxes tied to their hips with string. One of them had a poorly sewn rendition of the wings of freedom on his jacket. It was so easy to picture them dead now, lying in their own blood, victims of a titan too smart for its own good.
She looked at Erwin, and found him watching her.
"Yes," she spoke finally. "I feel it too."
Thanks again!