Operation Heimdallr

With the titans down, nothing new on the horizon, and the distance to destination short, it was unlikely for another event until reaching it. Now, once there, God knew what could happen, but God seemed a bit aloof and uninterested in these recent times anyway.

Everybody back to formation, no casualties, despite the abnormal Mitsuo took down. Auth himself had taken down one and assisted with two others in his lifetime, and those fellows were really something else. Good thing this one was dead, since with it heading straight for the MPs, who knows if any of them would've survived. Probably not.


The formation had slowed down again, as subtly as before. There was no need to over-tire the horses, especially not right before they may be needed the most. In this slow, steady pace, the world around seemed almost beautiful. Well, in truth, it was beautiful, just also really deadly and full with grotesque monsters. Oh well. We already said God kinda forgot about this little part of his creation.


Now though, the town was reached. Everybody tensed up, expecting the worst.

.
.
.

Well, it was really, really quiet. Auth would've said 'too quiet', but there was no such thing with titans. Quiet was good, almost everytime. Now, for the place itself...

Deserted and mostly broken down. Well, that was to be expected for a town outside the walls. Now, the question was survivors... or enemies. Auth had no real knowledge of why the MPs were here, but with the recent rumors within the Interior, it wasn't that hard to guess.

So far, nothing. Horses stopped, people went down from them. Investigation was about to begin; time to see what the MPs were made out of, too.


//OOC: To Safer: Note that this town is 100% unrelated to your backstory, unless he like accidentally passed it while outside the walls. In that case, the town was 100% deserted with no trace of life last time Safer saw it.

To others: There are slight clues around that there were people, such as dry blood and not-yet-spoiled food. Feel free to find those in your posts.

Orion dropped off his horse eyes glancing around partially narrowed thinking about everything he saw, heard, and smelled.

He couldn't help but look around or even go inside a house for a short time to check things out. His eyes only narrowed more as he saw dried blood, but food that was still actually capable of being eaten.

What is this? So people have to have been here somewhat recently correct? So where did they go? Cellars? Did they get eaten by titans? Maybe abandon it just a day or two ago?

He left the home and glanced around for any possible evidence of any that it might have been. Then glancing at the MP's and wondering what exactly they would be doing, or had already learned before this began. It was their mission as well after all.

Orion wanted to tell someone his theories. But it was so simple that he'd feel more foolish then anything by bothering someone about it. And asking what was going on probably wouldn't provide much information, if they knew they probably wouldn't tell him anyway.

"This better be interesting." He said to himself mostly waiting for anything to happen or to see something that could clue him in on the truth.

Alan stayed tense for the remainder of the ride to the target location. If anything, he only grew more nervous and scared on the way there. His heart was beating fiercly, and his hands clenched the reigns of his horse tighter. For most in the group, the worst was behind them. For the young captain, however, the worst had just began.
It was time for him to finally begin the investigation, to do what they all came there for. Success of the operation was dependant on taking the correct course of action, and doing that was Alan's responsibility. For a moment, a vision of Nile's solemn face entered Alan's mind, and he felt more afraid than he felt during the titan attack.

By the time Alan and his comrade made it to the town, most of the party was already afoot, standing beside their horses and looking unsure of what to do. Alan decided he would tend to them in a bit. First, he had to assess the situation.
He slowed down his horse to a walking pace and began absorbing his surrounding. The town appeared run-down, which was expected of any town in titan territory. Debris lined the road and cracks covered the walls, but all in all, most of the houses remained standing.
Alan caught a glimspe of red on the ground, and rode closer. Upon closer inspection, there was no mistake that a dried, red stain covered the ground here beside the wall.

Alan took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and reflected. It was time for him to choose the appropriate course of action. It was time for him to prove himself.
The dried blood was proof of human inhabitants in this area, at least until recently. Because it was on the ground, rain, dust and time could easily take care of it. This meant that someone had bled here not too long ago. This went along with Nile's intel that there were survivors here. As for the town, it was likely destroyed long ago, and not recently. Otherwise, there would be more corpses, more blood, more titan throw-up in the area. This opened up about as many questions as it answered - where were the survivors? How could they survive while in titan territory? Are they still here?
To Alan, the answer was pretty clear. The survivors were still staying here. If they had the means to leave, surely they would have done so before. They were likely hiding, afraid.
And according to Nile, they were dangerous. Alan was reminded that Nile explicitly put the choice of life and death in his hands.
Alan wasn't inclined to choose death just yet.

Alan opened his eyes. In reality, less than a second had passed, but he already made up his mind. He rode to the front of the crowd. As he unhorsed, he started thinking of a plan. By the time his feet hit the ground, he had one.
Alan glared at the crowd of soldiers in front of him. Their voices died out quickly when they saw he was about to speak.

"Listen up," Alan's voice rang across the silent crowd "We will now begin the investigation. I am going to require your full attention, and more importantly, cooperation."
"The MPs will split up and systematically search all the houses in the town. They will be responsible for the investigation... And perhaps, the evacuation of survivors."
Alan waited patiently for the murmurs to die out, before continuing.
"Each Policeman will be joined by two scouts, who will stay close but keep their distance. Their weapons shall be blatantly visible, but also sheathed. Said scouts will protect the MP should any titan be found... Or if the survivors turn on us.
There are likely survivors here, yes. They are probably scared and possibly hostile."
"You will NOT be killing any humans, even assailants, without my explicit permission. Resort to violence as a last resort. If the worst occurs, incapacitate. Any digression will be met with disciplinary action. I will to it personally. Understood?"
An unsatisfied agreement passed through the crowd.
"Should things turn grim, make your way here. The scouts who will not accompany the MPs will set up a defensive perimeter here and relay messages to Captain Jack.
In order to ensure our safety, we will try to keep vocal communication to a maximum. No one finds anything or gets attacked in slience."
Alan paused, making sure he didn't miss anything.
"That is all."

The scouts were clearly displeased. They made their way all the way here, only to again be put in danger and protect the unicorns. They muttered angrily and grunted, but they lacked the will to publicly protest against their superiors. Not that their superiors were happy, either, but they knew better than to disobey Commander Nile Dok's personal pet.

Alan cleared his mind as he walked towards the Military Police team.
"You know what to do. Unearth anything you can, any clue or sign of life. Diplomat, reason, persuade. This is what you are here for. If you have the slightest of doubts, or find the smallest of proofs, you come straight to me. Understood?"
"Sir!" the soldiers saluted in unison, looking determined and less scared than they probably were. Good.

The soldiers dispersed, leaving Alan standing alone. He looked around, a small smile on his face. He had to find two soldiers to accompany him...
Who was it going to be?

//OOC: Feel free to RP Military Police if you want:' -(!

Mitsuo rode up with rest of the convoy into the seemingly abandoned area. His face was grim and he did not speak a word since he fell the abnormal.

With a quick dismount, Mitsuo got into position to wait for the orders by the MPs.
After hearing Alan's plan on how things will go, the young Shimura walked up to the captain to offer his assistance.

"Captain Katlewande," he greeted with a nod before saluting, "shall I accompany you as assistance?"

His facial expression didn't change. Mitsuo's state of mind was fixed on one thought.
'Do not mess up again,' the words in his head filled with spite, ''you should be paying attention!'

"Unless you want me to be assigned to someone else," he added, eventually.

The mechanic finally looked around to examine his surroundings.
Debris was everywhere. Rubbish scattered around randomly with dust everywhere. It was gloomy. Or was that just his emotions affecting his vision? He couldn't tell but no matter how Mitsuo looked at it, the area seemed grey.

Everyone comes to a stop and looks at Alan as he starts to speak, giving orders to his squad and telling what the rest of the soldiers should be doing in the mean time. At the end of his little speech, he was asking of two soldiers to accompany him. It was silent. Soon a man named Mitsuo had stepped out of the crowd towards Alan to accept the offer. At this point, Safer began to get off his horse and walk towards Alan and Mitsuo. When he was close enough to them both Safer put his tightened fist onto his heart while saying "It'd be my honor to protect you, Alan. In all respect sir, it's fair enough to say you know what I have what it takes to do this so it's better that it's me than someone else."

More mist around the area started to pick up after the group of people stood there talking to each other. It felt mysterious like if we were being watched by someone or...something. The buildings were torn apart but still standing like as if Titans attacked this place which is most likely but this area is in Titan territory. Could it be that a titan-shifter did this? Or just Titans? And are they still here? Nevertheless, the situation couldn't get any worst. Some soldiers were even needless to say, scared. Why? It was a horrible position to be in because no one could expect a single thing to happen, a Titan can just jump out of nowhere at us. We can literally get a surprise attack by anyone who can cause us harm.

However, Safer didn't feel like his life was in danger, even if he was stuck with the suckiest soldier's that exist. He did though feel strongly about how everyone else is going to be when an unexpected attack does happen. He quietly and patiently waited for Alans or someone's response. The most expected response would be agreeing to Safer's offer. His eye's glistened and shined a bit whilst waiting for his reply.

As Alan was starting to explain the methods of acting here, Auth was wandering off already. He was listening, sure, but wasn't planning on also losing time to do that. Regardless of the fact they were safe now, truth was they were still outside the walls after all, and titans were still a problem. If anything, they were racing the clock, you could say.


Now that he heard he had to pair up with an MP, Auth started heading back. He'd find one of them unicorns, shouldn't be a problem. He did know a fair share of them, after all. Thus, worries were to be kept regarding the town. What precisely happened here? The blood around was... interesting... to say the least, mostly because it didn't fit either hypothesis: titans attacking (would have been way more chaos), nor survivors hiding (why would there be blood at all?). Auth frowned.

And, by pure accident, his sight went over a single object for a split second. But a split second was enough. Auth lightly bit his tongue.

"A... Captain Alan..." He very slowly approached the object in question, picking it up from the former puddle of now-dry blood in which it was. "This may interest you. Greatly." He slowly raised it in view. A dagger, blade mostly bloodied, handle mostly clean. While that was already quite the shocker, there was more: it wasn't a kitchen knife or the like. Instead, it was curve-bladed, razor sharp dagger made for fighting.


Combat knives. Bloodied. No titan attack marks. Unspoiled food, and blood spilled. The way this was looking... Well, they were in for a lot of fun, seemingly.

Orion looked at Alan as he gave his short speech of orders. Like others he wasn't really happy about the situation. Having to pair up with an mp and another survey corp member was reasonable yes, but if only they had forewarned that they'd do that and set up an actual arrangement so he didn't have to talk to anyone about it.


While his face may have remained neutral...or maybe very serious, throughout the orders being given. That was merely because he wasn't bothering to express his discontent with it. Hiding the fact this was the sort of situation he failed at...people


His attention was diverted when he heard someone say something that might have been of the MP's interest, so his eyes cast upon it while turning his head but not moving from his position.

Well well. That should make things a bit more interesting won't it. He thought feeling the handle of his sword his eyes searching for any sign of a survivor before gritting his teeth, Crap I still need to group up with an MP and another survey corps member.

He looked around his eyes scanning for the most likely candidate who would end up on their own and try to make his way there so that he wouldn't have to end up actually asking someone and they'd just end up on the same unit because all other options ran out.

He looked back at the dagger over his back and stopped to stare at it, "So many possibilities. Humans should have been injured here but where are the bodies? There's a lot of blood all things considered, so someone must have died. So...where are they?" Orion mumbled aloud but mostly to himself.

If there aren't any bodies or actual signs of titans throwing up their victims then maybe they escaped. Or maybe titans and humans are still here somewhere. Oysh, give me something to do. I want in on everything these people know, one of the main advantage of the MP's is that they get to actually know stuff if they're doing their job. Guess it's my fault I don't know anything but still.

Alan stood and watched the soldiers run about their business as Mitsuo approached him. He smiled at first, a small nervous smile, but it quickly faded when he noticed Mitsuo's expression. Never had he seen him so determined, so transfixed and serious. Even during the attack on the vi Rauco mansion, he kept his normal detached composure. This was different. Was this how his friend dealt with titan missions? Alan felt shame that he allowed himself to feel so safe, so calculated in such a dangerous place. It was up to people like Mitsuo to keep him alive, as well as themselves.
"O-of course you may join me, Mitsuo. That'd be very nice."
He paused, slightly a little embarrassed.
"...And could you please not call me Captain Katlewande? I'm your friend, not some stuck-up drunk unicorn."

When Safer approached and reffered to Alan as Alan he mumbled "See, he gets it..." with a small smile on his face. He decided to reply to the crazed scout in the same manner of speech he used. Alan found it was good to adapt your own speech so people would understand you better.
"It would be MY honour and pleasure to have you accompany, me safer." he said with the courtesy only found in the inner district. His smile dwindled a bit as thoughts rushed into his head "Obey my every command without hesitation. I must ask you to trust my judgement."

And then, Auth approached, also reffering to Alan as captain. Not that it mattered. His voice and face carried the message way before the words did. Something was wrong.
Alan got closer, and froze in place after realizing what he was seeing. His eyes widened, then a crack appeared between his eyes. Confusion. Deep thought. However, the words only rang true in Alan's head.

He realized that the blade confirmed a couple of things. First of all, it completely made it clear that humans were present. Maybe not necessarily at the moment, but recently at least. More then that, there is no way it was used to attack a titan. It was used on another living creature. There was the possibility of beast - but then, why in the middle of the village? And so many beasts?
The most likely answer was that it was used on human by human. Alan felt sick. Was there any reason to justify killing humans in a horrid place like this?
Alan could think of a couple of reasons. Using humans as bait for titans to get away? Choosing suicide over having to face the titans?
If there were any humans around here, they were dangerous. This made the situation a whole lot riskier, but Alan figured the tactic should still remain the same. If there are enough hostiles, there are enough scouts on guard duty to handle the situation.

Alan's line of thought was cut off by Orion's mumbling. Almost instantaneously, it triggered an angry response in Alan's mind. Of COURSE he was here, first on the scene. Ever the detective, ever the best at everything.
Alan had to take a deep breath and clear his mind in order to remain calm and focus back up.

"Humans killed humans here." Alan simply said emotionlessly, as if it was obvious "This does not change our plan. We need to figure out why, and bring as many of them back as we can. We just have to be more careful."
Alan looked over at Mitsuo and Safer, with the vold stare of a tactitian in his eyes. He trusted they would be able to defend him, should any risk arise. Best he could do was keep his eyes peeled.
"Mitsuo. Safer." he called the two, in a cold but respectful manner "Let's go."
And with that, he turned and began to walk to the nearest house that was not a total wreck.
It was time to face the unknown.

//OOC: You don't have to tag along to MPs if you don't want to. There are plently of scouts setting up the defensive perimeter, or relaying messages.

Mitsuo was slightly relieved when Alan asked him to speak informally to him. However the relief did not last long for Auth had approached with a bloodied knife which meant, "humans killed humans here."
Hearing Alan say it aloud made Mitsuo register how harder this mission had become.

'Why are we rescuing people who will no doubt attack us?'
Mitsuo's expression darkened and he moved his hands to rest on the hilts of his 3DMG, preparing for the worst.

Hearing Alan's command, the young Shimura walked just in front and to the left of the MP Captain. He took this position so he could fend against any assailants attacking from the front or from the left. He hoped Safer would take the opposing position at the rear right to do the same.

Once Safer hears Alan say "Let's go." He timely walks over to the opposing rear right side in front of Alan, to the point where he's side by side to Mitsuo. His facial expression oddly stays neutral whilst seeing dried up blood in different areas around the perimeter. It was as if Safer was used to such brutal human-to-human combat. Anywho, he begins walking with Mitsuo and Alan in sync with both of them. The mission was clearly dangerous. Whoever was here, was here recently and caused major destruction of the place.

When the three of them get close enough to the house's entrance, Safer silently stops Alan in his tracks with a hand signal telling him not go yet until him and Mitsuo makes sure it's safe for Alan to enter, at least into that room. Safer glances at Mitsuo for a second then looks forward proceeding to enter the house first quietly as possible while he has his hands to his side holding onto the swords of the 3DMG so if anything were to happen, he'd be prepared for it. Yet, as quiet as he tried to be, the old floor creaked a bit while he walked through the living room causing the moment to be even more suspenseful.

Safer had just got done checking the living room and kitchen which are both in the same little area of the house and looks back at Alan and Mistuo, giving the green light to enter the house saying "Clear." He looks around some more noticing inside the house wasn't look too good either like if a recent brawl had just taken place in here. Dishes were broken on the floor and little drips of dried blood were around the living room. It was now time to check upstairs, Safer looks at Alan and waits for him to get to him as he's already next to the stairs.

Auth had paired up with a random scout and a specific MP he found very 'skilled'. Skilled as in incapable of thinking for himself. Made him really easy to maneuver around into whatever you wanted him to do, and he actually could do a whole bunch of things (he was MP after all, ex top 10). As such, Auth was basically leading that little search group, and they've started venturing into houses. Whatever they were looking for, they wouldn't find it on the streets.

Auth had pocketed the dagger, as it may prove useful evidence later. For now, his little group was already at the third house they'd enter, and up to now they were all the same story: blood splatters, dried, a bit of rubble and chaos, and that was it. No corpses, no titan puke, no nothing. Made it all really eerie. Now, the third house, same procedure as before: the other Survey would go first...

...and the MP would freeze in place and cower down as a boot kicked the survey out of sight, blood splattering. Fresh.

Well, that wasn't the usual procedure, of course.

"Go get help, for fuck's sake. Scream or something!" Auth was yelling at the MP, while pulling out a single 3DMG sword. The MP very quickly started running in the direction of the closest friendlies, which unfortunately were rather away. It'd be a good few minutes until reinforcements. Auth breathed in, and entered, guard up.

Blocked a double 3DMG sword slash, took a step back, combat position with both hands on one sword. His opponent was using 3DMG blades... no... full 3DMG. Face covered, and with a cloak terribly close to what scouts were wearing on his shoulders. That being said, this was no time for staring, as the stranger lashed out again.

Auth parried again, forcing the two sword blades of his opponent to clumsily clash together. 3DMG swords weren't made for human-to-human combat, and being used as a pair to that end was a very bad idea overall. Seemingly, his opponent wasn't... The opponent pressed the release button on one blade, taking a one handed guard stance with a sword, and the 3DMG hook in the other hand.

Well shit. The opponent was versed in human to human combat.

Auth immediately had to defend himself again, this time against much faster, much more precise attacks. Whomever this was, he was good. Really good. Auth could keep up, but that was only due to his own training in this sort of combat. Many more skilled scouts than himself would've been dead by now, given the complexity of the combat style the other person employed. That being said, slowly, yet surely, Auth was turning it around. No mind of Alan's advice, though: in this one, he either killed or was killed. No ways around. The bleeding corpse of the other survey was proof of that.

A 3DMG hook flew at Auth. In a combination of instinct, reflex and sheer luck, Auth dodged it sideways, only getting an ugly, bloody shred on his shoulder. The hook returned before even hitting the wall on the other side. His opponent was using it as a secondary weapon. Extremely short range 3DMG hook pokes. While engaged in melee combat. This was scary.

To use a 3DMG, one had to aim from body movement. That's how it was designed, and that is how they trained. To be able to accurately shoot that hook while in combat meant the entire combat style was made to allow positioning of the body for that hook. A whole method of fighting with 3DMG against humans... Not even Hydrargyrum had ever went that far. This battle was likely impossible to win. Auth changed to a very defensive style, drawing the combat out. Reinforcements had to come at some point.

More and more scratched appeared on Auth from those hooks, or from not-well-blocked slashes. Auth's attention had to be much more on his opponent's body than it should've been for combat, as he had to predict the hooks. But he also had to watch the hands, to defend against the blade. It didn't help that both types of movements were very odd compared to standard fighting styles. He could last, though. Not much, but enough. The sudden sound of 3DMG zips around the house was proof of that.

But his opponent noticed it as well. Auth heard a muffled 'Shit', observed as his opponent withdrew a few quick steps much faster than Auth himself could advance, and saw... a thrown bomb. Auth's turn to whisper 'Shit'.

Noxious and very thick gas filled the house in an instant. A smokebomb, and at the same time poison. Auth held his breath immediately, but it was already too late. He was feeling faint. He rushed out of the house, collapsing on the ground. Coughed up once, managed to half turn himself and point towards the house, tried to speak, couldn't, and fainted. That was it. Auth was out cold. Probably not dead anytime soon, but neither awake.


In the meantime, the opponent could be seen zipping out of the town, having taken full advantage of the confusion in the house. His cloak was green, very alike that of scouts, but had no emblem. And the shade was deeper, closer to natural green. Also the tailoring was more closely fit on the body, much better covering the legs while in flight. All in all, it was probably a camouflage thing.

//OOC: I won't be posting for a while from now on, so it's up to you guys to take care of Auth's unconscious body. Please be careful not to drop him on his head, it's bad enough already.
Also, you can't chase the opponent he was fighting, as the guy is already much too away to be caught in any decent amount of time.
Please note that the smoke has cleared by the time of your posts. Make 'em count, as Nerd comes in after this round, right after Safer.

Orions attention was diverted again as he heard the noises coming from Auth's location and not long after the others coming calling for help. He rushed forwards using his own gear to speed up his path.

Even as he closed in however he realized he was going to be too late. What he saw before him was some of the ending of the fight between Auth and the mystery person fighting him.

My gosh... He thought trying to hurry up even though he knew it was useless. The mystery person was too skilled, even if he arrived on time there was no matching them in skill, well, not by Orion on his own certainly. They were league's ahead of him in human on human combat, and apparently good enough to take out Auth as well.


He dropped down after the unknown had already gotten too far away to be worth going after and landed next to Auth and leaning forwards gesturing for more to come in as he saw them, "Alive. Enemy escaped. Scout uniform without symbol. Covered face. Highly dangerous, clearly." The words were said quickly but clearly in an almost robotic voice.

I've never seen someone use their gear like that. I guess it isn't a surprise someone thought of it really, just that they could actually do it so well. That was impressive. Hm, but why learn it is the question.


He noticed the rip marks again and internally flinched at the thought of the 3DMG gear ripping through his own flesh. Then looked inside where they were fighting, no marks on the walls...the enemy was extraordinarily accurate.

He groaned, whether or not they had realized it, he figured he should tell them what he'd seen and thought. He turned towards the MP's, "I think whoever it was trained with the special intent of using the entirety of 3DMG at close range and especially against another human, they were way beyond what I've seen. And as you can see bested someone who was skilled as well, even if he sort of...cheated, I suppose. The cloak worn was also darker, more camouflage then ours. Close fit tailoring." He glanced around the MP's, he didn't like them much, but that wasn't the issue here. "I suppose I have theories of my own but it's also your job to figure this sort of stuff out."


Well. It's up to you now, it's your job. I'll give you this MP's. He narrowed his eyes at Alan a moment wherever he was, Yeah I suppose you too. It's your job anyway. Although, I'd much rather know what's going on then just give you people almost everything I know in return for basically nothing.

Alan walked silently alongside Mitsuo and Safer. Alan couldn't help but notice that the diverse structure of the team and its members made it very formidable, but he had more pressing matters to think about. The knife. Designed for combat, bloodied. Why was it used? He must inspect it further as soon as they were out of here. Perhaps the metal could give away the source of the weapon.

Alan was about to enter the house, but a hand raised by Safer stopped him in his tracks. He agreed to let the scout enter by himself, but he wasn't willing to let Safer put himself in such reckless risk for no reason. He nodded to Mitsuo, quietly saying "Join Safer. Make sure he isn't completely exposed, should dangers arise.
It wasn't that Alan had no faith in Safer or his abilities - but it was an unnecessary risk. Alan watched intently as the two looked around briefly. If something were to happen, he'd want to catch it happening. He was holding his breath, palms sweaty.

When he finally got the clear from Safed, Alan entered the house cautiously, stepping over the rubble scattered across the creaking wooden floor. The house appeared to be in shambles, but still intact.
It was time for Alan to begin his work. Contray to popular belief, the difficulty was not finding evidence, as much as it was identifying the evidence among all the items scattered about. A good detective could open and close threads of thought quickly, using guesswork and experience to link the clues.
Alan's eyes widened, and stsrted surveying the area.
Broken plates. Wooden chair flung to the right of the table. Shattered glass. Blood... Over the rubble. This proved once again that the kill was fresh, and furthermore, that it was the result of a struggle. Suicide and sacrifice were out of the question. This was a murder.
Alan continued looking around. He spotted a fallen library, few books scattered around.

Alan paused. That cover...
The young Mitary Policeman treaded closer, carefully. He lifted the dusty, worn book from the ground, and examined it.
Just as he'd thought - he has seen this book before. The forbidden book, reciting the old legends and lies about what lay beyond the walls, long ago. Alan never got to fully read it, only a few pages before the old man made him give it back to him. Even amongst all this confusion and blood, it was a valuable find.
Alan placed it in his evidence bag, for further 'Inspection', and continued his search.
The cabinet placed above the kitchen had its glass shattered. Odd, considering not only that it was away from the bloodspill, but also because the cabinet was so high up, out of normal reach. What shattered the glass?
Alan uplifted a nearby chair, and stood atop of it to reach the cabinet. Inside the old, dusty wooden structure, he found intricate-looking metallic parts.
Alan grabbed them carefully, trying not to get cut.
He jumped down from the chair and handed them to Mitsuo.
"What do you make of this?" the young unicorn asked "Is this anything you've seen before? A weapon?"
Alan looked around the room once more. He found everything he could upon first examination. It was time to test the upper room.

He was going to give Mitsuo and Safer the command to secure the 2nd floor, but before he could say the word, shouts arose from outside.
Alan froze, and gave the two scouts a scared look.
"Come with me." he said, but weakly. Sounding more like a request than a command.
Alan walked outside, and saw a small crowd of scouts gathered around a young MP who was catching his breath on the ground. When Alan got closer, he recognized Peter. His mouth twisted in distaste. He knew Peter ran an extortion ring.
Peter looked horrified, as if he'd seen a ghost. He was sobbing, breathing hard and panting. Alan rushed forward, parted the crowd and squatted near the inept Policeman. He said not a word.
"C-captain!" Peter managed between breaths, grabbing Alan's shoulders "We went to that house by the hill. And... He killed Wilson! Right in front of me, like it was nothing!"
Alan stared back, his eyes transfixed, not letting his dread show "Slow down. Who did this?"
Peter sobbed and looked down "The attacker. I didn't get a good look. The other scout's still there, that crazy vi Rauco guy-"
Alan bolted up. Auth was in danger. And a person has been found.
"All of you!" Alan shouted as the scouts surounding him "Get to that house! Incapacitate the enemy! Captain Jack-"
Alan was cut off. The captain simply nodded solemnly. He was already planning to lead the attack party.

Alan was a bit slower than the trained scouts, so it took him too long to reach the house. All he saw were the scouts surrounding a figure laying outside the house.
"No." he mumbled, landing on the ground and running towards them "Nononononono..."
He wasn't ready to lose Auth. Auth couldn't die. Not yet.
Surprisingly, it was Orion who calmed him down as he knelt down beside Auth. Alan let out a half-sigh-half-gasp when he was told that he was alive, and just out cold. He looked at Orion intently as he described the assailant.
Just like Orion, theories were flying around in Alan's head. However, it was not the time.
"Whoever this person is, he is trained and can best most of us in combat. He wears stealth gear to conceal himself. The bloodspills prove he's not alone."
Alan rose. This was looking more like a trap than a rescue mission now. The party was surrounded by hidden, unknown trained killers that showed to remorse when it came to killing.
Alan had made the wrong call, and people were dead because of it.
Alan couldn't dwell on his failures now.
He turned to the scouts around. The medics were already tending Auth, and Peter dragged out the corpse of Wilson with the help of another scout.
"This area is unsafe. We should regroup and stay in bigger groups if we are to succeed in this Operation. Call back all of the soldiers, we will meet in the square."

Soldiers around Alan hustled about their business, but Alan only stood and looked at Auth. The son of Adar, the disciplined scout, beaten to a bloodly pulp by some assailant. Whoever did this, had the skill, as well as the arms.
Alan couldn't help but have his suspicion grow. It wasn't insane, was it?

...Could HE be here?

Mitsuo was about to lead Safer and Alan up the stairs until the MP Captain requested them to join him outside.
Mitsuo obliged and accompanied his friend.
At that point an MP came running up and started spewing out words between panting breath.

The young Shimura only understood two things that the MP said, "attacker" and "vi Rauco".

Mitsuo looked at his friend and noticed his expression. Alan cared for Auth. Mitsuo did as well but not as much as the MP Captain.
'Perhaps I don't know him as well as he does,' he thought.

Using his 3DMG, Mitsuo rushed over to where the others were gathering.
He stayed alert as a few medics started tending to Auth.
He felt a little relieved when he heard that Auth was only unconscious but his focus didn't let up.

'There could be more around,' he thought, drawing two blades from his gear.

On his high alert, Mitsuo noticed movement from a broken window.
'Wasn't that where we were looking?'
It was, indeed, the second floor window for the building he just came from.

A head appeared into view.
'Doesn't look like an attacker. Maybe a scared citizen? They look scared. Can't really tell from this distance.'
Thoughts ran through his head on what should he do. Should he go back or leave it to someone else.

His body decided for him as he started running back to the building. "I SEE SOMEONE!"
Mitsuo yelled before using his 3DMG to rush back.

Once reaching the house he quickly entered and ran up the stairs. He was greeted with the sight of a woman crouched in the corner near the window, holding a girl.

'Damn it,' he mentally kicked himself.
"Hey, I'm not here to hurt you. Come with me and I can get you to safety."
He spoke softly and slowly approached and crouched as he got closer.
"You'll be fine now."

The three of them: Safer, Alan and Mitsuo were about to go upstairs and search the area until they all heard shouts from outside of the house nearby. At this point, Alan and Mitsuo went outside to check out the situation while Safer decided it's best to stick with the MP Captain so he went as well. He followed right along side Alan and ended up in the crowd of MP's and scouts looking down at Auth who's unconscious.

Something crept into Safer's mind; the fact that while seeing the mystery man get away from a  distance, he noticed that the man's movements and how he attacked Auth were similar to, if anybody, Blaine's. This was bad. He decided not to say the man's name he thought of in his mind since it would only cause drama and might result in Safer being seen as a possible enemy. So, with that being said, Safer instead says "Let me carry him to the square since we can't just simply leave him here. Hopefully, he'll come to conscious when we get there." Once an MP had finished up bandaging Auth's small cuts, Safer kneels down on one knee and lifts up Auth with both arms, starting to stand up and walk with the other MP's and scouts.

At this point, Safer's mission is to stay near Alan while at the same time bring Auth safely to the square because who knows if Mitsuo himself can protect Alan. He look's at Alan while holding up Auth in his arms, saying "Cmon, Alan. Let's go before trouble arises again." Safer looks down at Auth, hoping that he's going to be alright. There was an odd feeling in the air, however, like as if Auth being attacked by the mystery man was his fault but he ignored the feeling.

Soldiers and MP's all were walking towards the Square to meet up so it everyone could figure out what to do in a situation like this. Time was of the essence, who knows what could happen? This area was unsafe as it can be. Maybe Alan or another MP knew exactly what was going on.

The wind suddenly picked up as an ominous blanket of clouds slowly rolled in from the east, a wall of rain presenting a visible timer.

Atop Wall Rose stood a band of figures in standard Garrison kit, solemnly watching the storm encroach upon the distant town. Conversing amongst themselves for several minutes, their chatter died down as a lone horse suddenly rushed out onto the plains, a worn green cloak flapping in the air...

Severin rode his horse at a full gallop, the infamous rose-crested mask protecting and concealing his visage. He had lain dormant for what seemed like an eternity, and it appeared the Military Police had grown used to his absence. It was a small convoy he was ambushing, but this assault was more about sending a message and spreading fear than it was about a tangible strategic advantage. Adjusting his mask, Severin noticed his destination come into view - the ruined town that the Military Police were trapped in. Slowing his horse to a stop, the crimson criminal dismounted and sent the horse galloping back towards the safety of the walls. Turning back to face his objective, Severin continued at a brisk pace until he was clearly in view of the convoy. Still a small ways away from the center of the village, Severin allowed the Military Policemen a brief, chilling glance at his person before nicking his hand on the blades of his 3DMG. A blinding pillar of lightning etched itself into the annals of history as a towering figure emerged, dwarfing the thunder with it's roar. The Red Titan had returned.

In chess, all it took was one piece to make the difference. It didn't have to be the biggest piece, or the strongest one - just the right piece, at the right time.
Bishops are especially dangerous - they ride across the board, popping out seemingly from thin air, and just like that they Check your king.
True, as long as the king moves the game carries on, but in order to keep the king alive, sacrifices must be made.

Almost poetically, Alan turned just in time to see him. A lone figure, masked and armed, standing on the edge of the village. Even with the first drops of rain in his eyes, Alan immediate recognised the man.
The man who changed everything in his life.
He sensed relief that he wasn't insane for seeing the signs beforehand, and dread of what was to come.
Just as Alan and Severin exchanged glanced, the man ran the blade across his hand, and it began.

The last time Alan fought the Red Titan, the loss has been severe. Dozens killed, hundreds injured, and the vi Rauco mansion completely leveled. The red titan, of course, made it out.
Alan was under no illusion. Their odds of survival were far worse now. There was no Hydrargyrum to help them, no allied shifter, no backup anywhere nearby. The assailants from before were likely allied with the Red Titan - perhaps a part of his Ember Squadron.
In that moment, Alan made peace with dying. He knew he wasn't going to make it out alive.
But just because he was going to die, it didn't mean everyone had to. Alan had the advantage of studying Severin for countless nights, and so he figured out he could predict his actions rather well.
The titan was not going to target scouts - not unless he had to, at least. His strikes were swift and efficient - he would kill the MPs, and tail it out of there.
The scouts didn't have to die.
Meanwhile, the MPs should buy them as much time as possible.
"POLICEMEN! SCATTER!" Alan shouted. The cowardly MPs did not have to be told twice - they dashed to the horses, and began spreading out. Most headed into the nearby forest, some headed deeper into town.

Alan swung his way to captain Jack, who looked unbelievably angry.
"There's no use fighting him here. We've been outplayed. Gather all the scouts and return to the wall."
Jack looked back at him, as if he was insane.
Alan bit his lip in frustration. He didn't have time for this.
"He's here for us, not for you. Stop playing hero and get out of here!"
Nearby scouts overheard the shouts and began mounting their horses. Jack looked at the ground, lost in thought.
"In the end, our job is to fight titans." he finally spoke, quietly "That bastard terrorist will get exactly what he wanted if we ran away while we let him slaughter you."
"Who cares what the bastard wants?!" Alan screamed back. He could not believe the sheer ignorance of this captain.
"People are going to DIE if you fight him. Their blood will be on your hands!"
All was quiet for a second. Captain Jack gave Alan a scary look, then grabbed him by the collar and brought him close to his face. Alan tried to resist in panic, but could not overpower the veteran scout.
"Don't you EVER tell me my comrade's blood is on my hands." he whispered to Alan, barely controlling his rage "Their blood is, and always has been, covering the titans."

Captain Jack shoved Alan away, then called out.
"SCOUTS! RAISE YOUR BLADES! WE FIGHT!"
The squad captains looked at him for a moment in hesitation, then nodded. All of the scouts got into position, blades drawn.
Alan was left standing alone, horror-struck. Such reckless death was going to follow... And for what? Honour? Glory? Humanity?
Death was death. And guilt was guilt.
Alan cursed and ran into the nearest house, fumbling with his bag. He was glad that he brought it with him, though it was a shame he had to use jt.
Alan clasped the long, dark-gray cape around him, and looked at the wooden mask for a split second before wearing it. The slit was wide enough to give him full vision, though he had to remove his glasses in order to wear it. Afraid the Red Titan probably saw a Military Policeman enter the house he was in, Alan took a deep breath, took a few steps back, and started running. Finally, he hooked both sides and flung himself out, through the window.
The Grayblade whirled through the air, blades drawn.
If he were to die, he would do it with a clear conscience.
It was time.

Orion was about to shout at Mitsuo who seemed to be racing away at something to slow down and possibly consider who was in there considering what just happened. But then his attention got drawn away as attention was drawn to lone masked figure, it cut it's hand and suddenly transformed into a massive titan.

Well things just got a bit more interesting, or deadly. Let's go with both. He thought instinctively holding his swords and spinning them once to get a feel for them. He'd never faced a titan shifter before, his first impressions? Probably far more dangerous then the others, even abnormals. Which was really not a good sign for everyone here.

He heard Alan start yelling orders, and then the captain countering some of them. There was a bit of amusement at the fact that Captain Jack was arguing to let the scouts go after the Titan. And at the same time the realization people were most assuredly going to die, but that it was still the proper choice to make.

Orion cracked his neck awaiting the fight to begin, then noticed Alan running into a building...and then someone coming out of it wearing a mask, Hm, that's new. Ok, let's see what happens.

Mitsuo came out of the house with the woman and girl behind him.
Just as he was about to get help he caught a glimpse of the mysterious man.
'Isn't that-' his thoughts cut off by the lightning.
He protected his eyes from the flash of light and looked back, seeing the Red Titan.

'So that's who it was.'
Mitsuo was practically snarling in disgust. Mostly at how this mission has turned out.

He glanced back at the two civilians, "find a horse and get on it... get away from here as fast as you can!"
The woman nodded in response and ran off with her daughter.

All background noise drowned out. rage slowly built up and took over Mitsuo like a possession. The last thing he cared to notice was Alan running into a house and a newcomer coming out of it. He didn't really think too much into it and turned his attention back to the shifter.

Mitsuo drew his swords, slowly walking forwards. His walk turned into a jog. His jog into a run. His run into a sprint.
"I AM SO SICK OF THESE DAMN TITANS!"

He grappled the nearest wreck of a house and propelled himself into the air.
"THEY CAN VANISH FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH!"

Safer sees the police men start to spread out and run in fear of the titan that appeared before everyone's eyes. He quickly hands Auth's unconscious body off to one of them as that police man carries him running into the other direction. Soon after that, he notices Mitsuo charging full speed in the air at this massive titan and is intrigued to help because one person simply wasn't enough to take down this beast. The titan shifter was too strong and big for Mitsuo to handle himself so Safer starts to run full speed as well into the direction of the Titan, grappled onto a house on the right to get onto the roof and grappled his way onto a house on the other side while at the same time going at a fast speed back and forth to each side, trying to use as less gas as possible.

It wasn't long until Safer yelled out "What are you doing! You're gonna get yourself killed attacking this thing all by yourself!" as he's seen doing a final jump off of the closet building's roof to grapple onto the Titans chest, making himself fly around the titan's body to attempt to hit the nape of his neck. At this point, both Safer and Mitsuo were seen going in for the attack, distracting the titan from getting to the police men. While in the hair flying around the titan, he began to think of his mother and why he joined the Survey Corps in the first place.

For revenge.

Everything seemed to be going so fast, the moment in time is intense and dramatic. He hoped that the titan doesn't grab the wire to his 3DMG or worst, grab him or Mitsuo. The unexpected was a thing to think about now. One thing is for sure, we need to be careful about our movements. Safer quickly came back to his senses and realized once again what he was doing. Hopefully, the others can help as well.

The Red Titan stared at Alan as the young man ran inside of the house before his attention was redirected to the warcry of the Scout Captain. A soft, guttural sound developed into a haunting chuckle as the Scout contingent raised their blades. Glancing towards Mitsuo as the angry man lept off of a nearby building, the Titan's arm struck out at lightning speed in a dismissive slapping motion. Stepping forward, the titan narrowed it's eyes as steam began emanating from it's skin. Slowly, beads of crimson formed along the giant's body and dripped down. Approaching the Scout contingent, the laugh slowly echoed outwards as the Titan shook it's head at the men and women beneath him. Turning his head, the Red Titan watched Alan swing around on his 3DMG, his expression softening for a quick moment - only to be distracted by an overly eager disturbance attached to his pecs. Taking hold of the wire with two fingers, the Titan gave a slight yank to kill the offender's momentum and leave them hanging from it. Raising his arm, the searchlight eyes of the Red Titan bore into Safer as scalding hot blood dripped down from his hand and onto the cable.

Marco rode his horse through town, glancing around for anything suspicious. He had surveyed town a while back, but finding nothing of that much interest, he decided to ride back to his formation.

A flash of lightning grazed the clouds, followed by a deafening roar. The scout hunched his shoulders, slightly terrified, but soon straightened himself up. Now was not the time to let small fears consume him. He needed to be strong. Perhaps not fearless, but at least brave enough to fight off titans and not risking getting himself killed. Marco looked up, seeing the scouts that he had journeyed with flying through the air.

What was that anyway? The brunette thought, thinking of the blinding flash of light and the earth-shattering sound.

As he rode through the town, he suddenly caught sight of a masked figure flying out of a house. Marco stopped his horse, staring as the figure flew into the air with their blades drawn. He followed the person’s movement, then gasped, nearly falling off his horse.

Before the young soldier’s eyes stood the greatest and perhaps the most terrifying surprise that he had witnessed that day. It stood at 35 meters tall, with gleaming red eyes and a perfectly muscular structure. A titan. But it was not just any titan -- it dripped with bright red blood that seemed to burn everything it touched.

Great, Marco thought, grappling himself to a nearby building. I’m going to die.

The brunette could not be optimistic, if that meant saving his skin. Titans on their own scared him. This titan was something else. Something deadly; something beyond terrifying. Still, the shaking soldier pushed himself forward. This was what he signed up for. His duty was to kill titans, not stand back shaking in fear as a titan killed his co-workers. Not that the soldier was certain that there would be casualties. However, this always seemed like the case in every mission he had witnessed. Marco knew that he had to accept that with every triumph, there was always a great risk. He had to accept that in these scenarios, he was always face-to-face with the grim reaper.

Of course, acceptance did not mean he liked seeing people die. Marco would fight to save as many lives as he could, even if that meant having to throw his own life away. That was what being a soldier meant for the boy.

With the perfect timing that the universe had, the brunette saw two soldiers flitting through the air and heading straight for the titan. He followed their lead cautiously, hoping that the titan wouldn’t notice him. He then landed on the roof of a house that was just close enough for Marco to see the two soldiers, but far enough so he wasn’t at an immediate risk of getting crushed by the titan. Not that the distance would matter -- he’d still be dead if the titan caught sight of him. Or injured, but that was thinking optimistically. Marco was not good at using his 3DMG, in spite of the fact that he had graduated. His best chance at survival would be evasion. But he could not run. He had to stay strong for the sake of humanity.

Marco crouched, holding onto the roof as he observed the titan’s movements. He then froze, staring at it wide-eyed as it grabbed on to the wire of one of the soldier’s Maneuver Gear. The brunette then knew that it was a good thing that he did not lunge at the titan. But what was he going to do now?

The solder decided that the best course of action would be to see if anyone needed medical attention. Deciding on this, he leapt between buildings, worry dancing in his aqua eyes.

Orion went from about to shout at Mitsuo to about to doing it again as he saw him going straight for the titan, "What kind of..." He said before grappling onto the buildings and sending himself rocketing forwards using his momentum carefully to keep him on the move but capable of easily rerouting at a moments notice.



He held his swords in flexible wrists as he rushed the titan, at one point sending himself high into the air and then grappling and using the downward momentum to speed himself up enough to where he would nearly have passed out from it if he weren't already used to 3dmg gear. And with that he sent himself towards the titans waist height, the power behind the "slingshot" like move hopefully enough to easily get him there before the bloody titan could react, and without the need for another cable until he was close enough. Once he thought he was close enough, which would hopefully be just a few meters away, he would fire a cable at the titans side in an attempt to use it to pull himself up and around towards it's neck to preform the slice, then continuing the movement as the cable released trying to stab at it's eyes before leaping off and to the side to avoid it's counter attack, or at least he hoped so. He was smart enough to where he could usually find a way to outclass someone who had strength and agility better then his own, but there was only so far you could get with that. Once momentum from the gear died down he lost a lot of his capacity to move at such speeds.

...Hit and run...
...35 meter class, muscular build...
...Severin Wildner...
Bits and pieces of knowledge flooded Alan's mind. Countless nights of research, theories, and investigation. He smiled wildly under his stoic mask. He felt, for once, ready.
It was as if his fears and concerns left him. He wasn't Alan anymore. He wasn't bound by duty, or honour, or serving the king. He wasn't bound to command the Military Police, or even anyone in the force.
He was free. And he was prepared.
The Grayblade flew through the air gracefully, as the large grey cloak which enveloped his body flapped around. It may have increased his air resistance, slowing down his acceleration, but when it came to fighting titans, having greater control over direction of movement was actually far more useful.
The unsung hero spun around, hooking buildings left and right, not bothering to rise above the building levels. He already knew how to get to the looming giant.

Alan felt so free of distractions, almost like the time the lady vi Rauco gave him stimulating herbs, that turned him into an unstoppable warrior. It's not that they were all gone, his fears and worries and responsibilities, it was just that they didn't really matter. They were sitting at the back of his head patiently, for when the adrenaline rush would be over.
The greyblade lunged upwards when he was close enough, surveying the scene to plan for the next course of action. Coincidentally, he was nearby the scout formation now, so many got a good glimpse of the masked warrior in the air.

The stoic hero analyzed the scene in front of him. The titan... Was different. He was covered in droplets of blood, as if he was corroding slowly. Steam engulfed the hulking figure.
Alan was hesitant for a second. Was this an ability the shifter always had, but never used? Considering the severity of the attack on the vi Rauco mansion, the fact he never used the ability there probably meant he only recently aquired it. That comforted Alan, knowing that even his enemy didn't have all the pieces just yet.
Whatever doubts the young Military captain had, the wooden mask gave none of it away. He saw Severin holding a soldier by a wire, staring at him with amusement.
From the corner of his eye, he saw rapid movement. A soldier was whirling in, planning to attack the titan.
The Grayblade smiled beneath his mask. It was finally time to abuse his knowledge of the man behind the terror.
Severin was a calculated man, not taking risks he didn't have to, getting out as soon as possible. He adapted to each situation quickly, not letting any plan catch him off guard. However... The defensive approach was his weakness, too. He simply spent too much time thinking. Whenever an opponent made a move, he had to figure out what they were going to do, who exactly they were (Considering his curious reluctance of killing non-MPs), and how to remain protected while countering.
All this allowed for the shifter to be overwhelmed, as long as too many things were happening at once. Alan hoped that Safer, the attacking soldier and the surrounding recon squads offered enough distraction.

The Grayblade hooked himself into position, gathering momentum along the way. He flung himself in an sharp arc from one of the houses by the giant's feet, putting himself in the titan's reach but getting farther and farther away in each moment.
He saw the hanging figure of Safer grow in his field of vision. The steaming droplets of blood were clearly visible. The Grayblade readied his blade, and in a swift motion sliced the cable in half. The masked man was not looking at the cable at the moment, but chanced a brief look at the titan's face. Mask to mask, silently watching.
Thankfully, the temperature of the blood helped temper the metallic wire, making it easier to slice. It gave way with a small thud, sending Safer to the ground.
Alan hoped Safer was quick enough to recover... And that Severin was not quick enough to catch him. The cloak did slow down his momentum, after all.
Regardless, the mask showed no fear.

Mitsuo was blinded to the Red Titan's actions and only noticed the hand comin to hit him when it was too late.
The young Shimura got smacked out of the air by the shifter and went spiralling towards the ground.
Mitsuo was hit hard enough to make him travel some distance.

The pain invaded Mitsuo's mind and he only remembered he had to recover as he was plummeting to the ground.
The mechanic used his 3DMG skills to slow his descent but he still had a rough landing.
He tumbled and bounce off of the hard ground which only added more injuries to those he had just received.

Mitsuo winced as he laid still on the ground. He didn't feel like moving.
He took a moment to steady his breathing and clear his mind.
Once he had done that, he started lecturing himself.
'Idiot,' he started, 'being angry is fine but you shouldn't allow it to control your thoughts! Rushing in with no plan or back up was a stupid idea!'

Mitsuo sighed before attempting to get up.
Pain shot through his body as he slowly rose to one knee.
'Well, this sucks,' he mentally stayed, 'but there's no time to take a rest.'

The young Shimura got back on his feet and slowly started to make his way back to the Titan by limping.