Shingeki no Kyojin with SqueezeBabe

[SqueezeBabe]

Erwin's eyes fluttered open, he could feel softness beneath him. He must be in bed. Which could only mean that he was carried there. He couldn't remember much, only the sheer terror of running through the darkness, praying to whatever gods there were that he'd make it back alive. Someone listened he thought idly, still too exhausted to move. tsk, he thought to himself, you're supposed to be the mighty commander, cold and unfeeling, but he couldn't deny how good it was to be alive. He couldn't even turn his head to look around the room, his eyes staring blankly in front of him, it even felt like it was an effort to breathe and suddenly he very nearly couldn't.

 

The room dimmed once more...

[Levirivaille]

Unaware of Erwin's sudden consciousness, levi folded his arms across his chest, his eyebrows were pulled together in an attempt to grasp anything, he had looked to Erwin again, but by that time he was out cold once more, levi huffed, and got up, as far as he was concerned, he controlled Armin at this point in time and ordered him to let no one in, wandering out he fled the scene and raided the halls once more in search of Hanji, if anyone could help levi with his problems, Hanji was a god damned counsellour.

 

He found her once more, she was slumped over in one of the rooms, seemingly dissecting something that looked oddly enough like a human hand. Levi's stomach twisted, he wasn't going to ask. "Hanji i..." Levi swallowed the lumo in the back of his throat, asking for helo, or asking for anything that could possibly show weakness gave levi difficulty, he scuffed his foot on the floor, maybe this wasn't help, he asured himself, rewording it in his head." I need some guidance, i mean... I'm convinced Erwin's being played, or playing us... But the man's so good at covering his tracks wether they be innocent or not." Levi yawned, hanji had thrown something at him, his reflexes were slow so it hit his shoulder, it seemed to hanji, the commander was anything but untrustworthy, and she had silenced levi with actions, though he could of just been distracting her form her work.

[SqueezeBabe]

Armin stared at the commander for a long time. It seemed impossible that the man had walked all the way back and in the dead of night on top of that. He didn't know what to make of Levi at this stage. The man was cold, rude, and downright frightening, but Armin sensed that there was a lot going on between Levi and Erwin. He could see the anguish etched on the smaller mans face, every time he looked at the Commander. Though, he could understand why Levi seemed so torn. This was the man, that lead them on a mission that had ended in failure. They trusted him with their lives, and so many of them didn't make it back... Armin's mind started going through the possibilities, but still couldn't believe that the commander had willingly led them to their deaths; there had to be something more going on here...

 

X-----X-----X-----X

 

So, was your plan successful? Did he die?

 

No...

 

Humph, not to worry, there is still the trial... court-marshall, execution even...

 

What do we do about... the others...?

 

Leave them to me.

[Levirivaille]

Levi wondered out, it seemed Hanji had more trust for Erwin than levi did. He walked out, soldiers walked past tiredly, creakily ,effortlessly. Their bodies were hunched over and no semblance of a battle-worthy physique was left- they were all emotionally and physically broken, their over-bearing sadness delt too much for some of them, that, if levi had waved his hand in front of them, they wouldn't even look up. This is where levi had the time to rule out who could be behind this, they would be fit and able bodied, with not much pain holding them back from their duties- they had to be heartless bastards, not to mention if they had transformed into a titan their gear would of been shredded, so they must have no gear, or stolen someone else's, but he could only really pin it against them if they failed to keep up their appearance, and of course there was the fact they wouldn't let their guard down so easily.

 

Levi watched out a window out at the surrounding wall, how could humanity turn against itself? What would be their over-all objective? Levi hoped they would be haunted by the large despairing glassy eyes of their comrades moments before their death that they had effortlessly broken into pieces. He had ruled out Erwin as a shifter, but levi couldn't help shift the blame onto the man that he had single handedly led them into a suicide mission. levi's gaze fell and he turned swiftly, his footsteps were only heard through out the halls, everyone here was dead in one way or the other, humanity was losing to the titans once more, and these titans could be humanity themselves.

 

Uneasiness swallowed levi, was he being watched? he turned quickly, but nothing other than a shadow separated from the shadows and headed away before he had the chance to murder the on-looker, revulsion tightened in his chest, what if that was one of them, if this happened again he swore he would ring their throat out for turning their back against the legion. In a breach of his own security, levi began to hurry back to Armin and Erwin.

[SqueezeBabe]

Erwins eyes fluttered open again. He couldn't tell if he'd been asleep for minutes, hours, or days even. Did his body hurt slightly less than before? One thing he did know, was that his throat was dry and burning. "W-water" he croaked. His thoughts were becoming disjointed, like he was disembodied. Maybe this is what happens when you're about to die he thought idly. He wondered who was in the room with him, it still took more effort than he was capable of, to turn his head to find out. He was soul-crushingly tired. In fact, it had taken all that he had in him to even make the words to ask for water - it seemed that he'd die of thirst if he didn't.

 

Armin fumbled with the water, spilling it as he poured it into a cup. He'd heard the dry raspy voice of the Commander, and seeing as he was the only person in the room, he supposed that it was up to him. He went to hold the cup out to Erwin, before he realised that Erwin was too weak to even lift his head. Armin gently held the cup up to Erwin;s lips and delicately dribbled the water between them, taking care not to spill so much that Erwin would end up choking. He waited for the Commander to swallow the few drops before giving him a few more.

 

Erwin looked at Armin, thinking how graceful he seemed. Almost like a girl he thought. It seemed that whilst his body wasn't working properly, his mind was more than making up for with idle thoughts and flights of fancy... but then it seemed that the effort of drinking was too much, and his eyes fluttered shut once more. At least this time, he didn't feel quite so... dead.

 

Armin sat the cup back down, gently wiping a drop from the corner of the Commanders mouth. He seemed more... peaceful this time.

[Levirivaille]

In a mad, frantic outburst, levi had hurried into the room and locked the door behind him, he leaned on the door, catching his breath.'i don't feel safe anywhere anymore... he thought to himself, tiredness had caught up with him and he wearily looked across the room to armin. The captain upheld his posture once more, squaring his shoulders and folding his arms." Oy," he spoke softly, still trying to stop the tightness in his chest.

 

Rivaille pushed off the door and walked over to have a look at the commander, levi's mouth twitched into somewhat of a smile, at least he was resting. Levi sat down once more on the old stool, adjusting his cravat and withstanding the cintinuous battle of fighting tiredness which dwelled beneath his eyes. Even for the captain, capable of taking down a titan in a swipe of his blade, he felt colder than usual, this whole situation had condemned half the legion to death, and note to mention he would have to fill in those places when they returned with more teenagers. They were all pigs going in for slaughter.

 

Levi shifted his menacing glare to armin, " how has he been?" His tone took an annoyed edge, his eyes hardened, the boy seemed to shudder almost immediately and cower beneath his uniform, levi sighed once, it may pay to get along with the kid. " leave it to me, get some rest." A warm tone radiated from levi's voice, one he hadn't heard of in such a time.

 

Levi got up and began re-filling the cup, then slowly dabbed a wet towel over the commander's head, trying to catch the beads of sweat formed from the effort of just lying there. you're one lucky man.. levi frowned, beginning to clean a wound that had been hiding beneath erwin's hair.

(( gomen it was bad- gotta head to work c:))

[SqueezeBabe]

Armin still wasn't sure what to make of Levi. One minute he was brash and cold, and the next he was warm and caring. One thing for certain, was that Levi definitely had a soft spot for the Commander, whatever the reason was. Armin wasn't one to gossip, but he filed his interactions with the two of them away in his mind for him to go over when he had a quiet moment. I don't think there is going to be a "quiet" moment for a rather long time he thought to himself. As he made his way back to where he was sleeping, a thought crossed his mind... Whatever happened when they got back to the Capitol, it was going to be swift and brutal.

 

X-----X-----X-----X

 

"Don't you think you were just a wee bit harsh on the kid?" Erwin whispered as he felt the cool cloth on his forehead. He still had his eyes closed. He had no idea why he just wasted all his energy on speaking when he should be focusing on breathing. He had never been so exhausted in his life. His strength was returning though, just very slowly. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered where he got this almost inhuman constitution from. He just... healed faster. Surely it was just more than strength of will and determination to live? That thought lead to another... just what was he living for?

 

Erwin swallowed slowly. He hoped that the time he was spending recovering was being put to good use by everyone else. They couldn't go back to the Capitol until he was at least able to travel. He hoped that Hanji and Levi were at least beginning their own investigation on the situation. Of course they are he mentally chided himself. He just hoped that it was going to be enough.

[Levirivaille]

Rivaille stopped the dabbing motion of his wrist and stared downwards at the Commander." Maybe im tetchy, maybe its because he reminds me of you." Levi muttered, moving his torso sidewards and straining his back to squeeze out the cloth with more icy water, ringing it, then proceeding to dab his forehead." Just get some rest Danchō." He almost demanded." Who knows what you'll have to face when we get back." Levi was still undecided, half of himself rested with the legions, the other, surprisingly with erwin. The captain sighed heavily ugh. I need a promotion.

 

It had been true levi and hanji had discussed, but still they couldn't put a finger on the speculation that recruits could turn into abnormals... Or as levi had called them abominations . Hanji had intricately explained that the human anatomy and the little knowledge of titan anatomy had a small chance of being able to switch between the two forms - this had left them at a loss for words after this, and little progress was made. The discussion ended as quickly as it started.

 

Levi's hawk-like gaze shifted towards the boy's small frame bundled up in the corner, he lowered his voice, "i really hope he was worth all that." He mumbled, tossing the cloth aside,"and i really hope you're not up to something." Levi's bored expression returned to drop down at the commander's closed eyelids.

 

Resisting his own, mind-built tension between the two he went on to explain everything to Erwin, missing out the part that they had almost gotten no where, he was relying on levi, and levi had failed in attempting it so far.

[SqueezeBabe]

Erwin listened to Levi's explanation, his tacticians mind working through the possibilities it presented. He indicated to Levi that he was going to fall asleep again, being awake for that long, and listening to everything had taken it's toll. At least whilst his body was resting, his mind would be working. A smile played across his lips as he drifted off, "I have every faith in you Heichō" he mumbled as he fell asleep.

 

X-----X-----X-----X

 

Armin hadn't quite fallen asleep when he heard Levi's explanations to the Commander. He kept his eyes closed and listened hard to what was being said. He nearly frowned when he heard what the Captain had asked. Am I worth what exactly? he wondered to himself, his own mind churning through the possibilities. He wondered if he should at least leave the room and try and get some rest in a proper bed. He wanted to make sure that the others were still alive - he hadn't left this room since Levi had dumped him in it. He wanted to talk to someone, anyone, about everything that had happened... but who could he trust now?

 

X-----X-----X-----X

[Levirivaille]

Levi bit his lip, his eyes travelled down to the sleeping Erwin There was kindness there, a gentility that he hadn’t shown before." ... Don't" he replied with a sigh, he was particularly tired, exhausted mentally and physically.

 

a hefty weight alerted levi's gaze, the rain pelted down at the captain's skin, encouraging his hair to slick to his forehead, his arms ached, "who-" he looked into his grey eyes, those normal beautiful window-cracked blue eyes, grey, still, glazed like marble. Shifting the weight onto levi's other arm, he moved his hand up, it oozed with a deep red, it ran like rivers down his arm, a contrast on his pale skin. "..Er...win." His lips broke apart in a gulp, levi's eyes pleaded for the man's answer. Nothing. Running his eyes down along the commander's usually toned, well compacted body, a large gaping mass of flesh caught levi's eye, the pattern of the wound was large in capacity, the pattern tooth shaped. Those vile creatures, had eaten erwin's legs, they had eaten his life, they had eaten levi's reason to continue. The captain's kneeling posture crumbled to the ground, tears welled and stung the corner of his eyes, there was no one now- no one to save levi and what was left of the captain, and of course Erwin couldn't get him this time, the dead didn't have such ability. Eren.Armin.Mikasa.Petra.Jean. Levi had lost them all, he had lost his responsibilities. What use was he now? What use was being humanity's strongest when you were the last one left. Dark pools stained the commander's shirt as the tears escaped Levi's eyes. The thunderous earthquakes began, closer... Closer... -levi looked up, before him was the same titan, it's hair drooped over an eye, it's lips curved in an upwards smirk, levi's head felt drained, it pained him just to keep it up, the rain continued on his face as the titan's mouth drew clearer. Excruciating pain.

 

Levi jolted awake, when had he fallen asleep? A sudden noise alerted him, coming from the east border, seemed Armin had snuck out, where he was was levi's guess. At the source of the commotion. The east wall.

 

Upon arrival, levi ran his eyes over the scene, Armin was cowering by the ruins of a canon, is knees were brought up under him, Mikasa's eyes just rested on the titan. "Where's Eren?!" Levi demanded, his voice tetchy." Sir... " Ackerman's horror deemed voice whispered, her arm almost elongating forwards to point at the titan's stomach.

[SqueezeBabe]

It had all happened so fast. One moment they were manning the walls, and the next, a huge titan had appeared out of nowhere, destroyed half the cannons on the wall with a massive sweep of its arm, and had grabbed hold of Eren, swallowing him whole. The titan had then turned away from the wall, and started moving away. Armin was cowering next to the remains of one of the cannons, his face white with fear, but despite the terror he felt, his mind was already working on the reasons behind what had just happened. Why only Eren? he thought to himself. The titan hadn't done anything except grab Eren and make off with him. Armin felt ashamed of himself, Levi had arrived to find out what was going on, and he was being no help at all. He squeezed his eyes shut and felt a few hot tears escape, adding to his feelings of uselessness.

 

X-----X-----X-----X

 

Eren opened his eyes and blinked in the dimness. For a moment he forgot where he was, and then it all came back to him with a rush. He was on the wall, a titan had appeared out of nowhere in a flash of hot steam, and then before he had time to react, it had grabbed him. He'd screamed as he felt the hot mouth envelop him, and screamed harder as he felt himself fall backwards, down into its gullet. He was surrounded by.... goo. He shuddered and screamed in fear and revulsion. What was going to happen to him now?

[Levirivaille]

Levi's eyes watched on in a dangerous glint, with little knowledge of what would happen Eren was now gone.

 

Dead.

 

Levi watched as the slow moving beast cast a shadow over the land, the grim scene of his comrades letting small vulnerable noises escape their lips." Did none of you idiots think of actually slaying it." The corporal showed little signs of remorse, even if eren had previously acted as his little 'pet'-but really his own furious words felt like daggers driving into His stomach.

Too much time had passed between the chances of being able to rescue the boy, infact, no- there was no chance of even saving him, not only had levi not reached here in time, but no one had acted, and the titan had swallowed eren before anyone could of made a move. The realisation of this made Levi's eyes widen a little around the rims, what if this happened to erwin?

He realised, as great as a soldier he was, that things could be unexpected.

 

Levi laughed internally.

His whole lifehad been unexpected. From the moment he had rebelled against the rules as a teen, and the surprising influence of erwin's proposal of being a soldier. Levi seemed to only expect what would eventually be handed to him. His own last breaths, wether they resided with Erwin, after a successful battle to save humanity, in their own house, hands old and withered, or tomorrow, as titan food.

 

his hand clutched the blade steadily, there was no point of making that extra dash over the wall, just to get revenge on a titan, that could be placing himself in harms way also,it deemed un-necessary.Just as soon as levi turned his back, a large explosion further in that direction was heard, seeming to be coming from the titan, but- why? Levi was blinded by the trees in the way, but did the legion have to little knowledge that titans could now explode?

 

Levi had set himself aside some dark humour. maybe it was just Eren's explosive personality

[SqueezeBabe]

Sky....?

 

Eren was confused. One moment he was inside a titan, wondering what was going to happen to him, and now, he was staring at the sky. He blinked a few times. He felt incredibly tired for some reason, like every muscle in his body had just been stretched to breaking point. A cool breeze blew across his skin, making him realise that he was positively melting from the inside out. He groaned as he turned his head slowly to see exactly where he was. He was on his back, covered by... surrounded by... dead titan? "H-hello?" he croaked, "Who's there?" he called out. There had to be someone there, titans just didn't, up and explode by themselves? What had someone done to the titan to make it do something like that?

 

Eren shakily dragged himself upright, half kneeling, half sitting, looking around at the steaming mess around him. "Hello?" he called out again, louder. He still couldn't see anyone through the vapour. Surely if they'd rescued him, they'd be looking for him by now? Eren felt sick. He was dizzy and confused and for some reason increasingly agitated. Something had happened to him, he was sure of it. He felt hot tears prick at his eyes, and a hysterical scream was lurking in the back of his throat. In a moment of panic, he let it bubble from his lips, his anguished cry cutting through the still air.

[Levirivaille]

Levi's back stiffened in genuine alertness, what the hell was that noise he spun, his hollow eyes sunken, trying to process the cry. letting his curiosity distort his generak opinion on the matter, he dispatched his gear and in a fluent motion, swooped down in a graceful, hover. His thoughts weren't gathered in any logical sense, anticipating what his move would be.

 

No. What his motive would be.

 

Did he feel like he was starting to gain sympathy for eren? A fake sense of hope that over powered his usual thoughts? He had seen the terrorized comrades grieving for him, he had seen the titan in suspicion heaving it's heavy body over the plain of grass. Eren was no doubt dead. And levi couldn't grasp this.

 

A large mass of steam engulfed the surrounding area, levi perched himself in the tree, there was definite blood pooling at the bottom, titan blood, it was steaming rapidly. Levi's brow twitched thoughtfully, this was where the sound had began, he swore on it, this had to of been the source.

 

That's when it occurred to the corporal that he was alone. So utterly alone that his only solace was his blade, just himself and the titan territory, inspecting something that could have just been a titan's old age getting the best of it. Levi noticed the darkening of something which sat in the middle, a dark shadow of mass which seemed to be sitting there. Something about it invited levi, thought the risk was strong, he maneuvered down the tree and stood at the base, what ever it was, he hoped it were a titan, that meant he could just as easily slay it if it lay so much as a finger on him.

Levi rolled his eyes at his own thoughts.

 

If a titan were to lay a finger on him, levi would be instantly crushed.

[SqueezeBabe]

Silent tears trickled down Eren's face. He felt alone. He was in the middle of steaming titan mess, alone. No maneuver gear, and goodness knows how far away from the fort, alone. Is this what people feel like when they know they're about to die? he thought to himself. He could feel another scream bubbling up in his throat, but choked it back. He gritted his teeth, he could feel himself becoming angry at his momentary outburst of helplessness. Something had happened to him, something that he had no control over and he hated feeling helpless. He wanted to scream again, but this time he wanted to let our his rage and frustration, how was sitting here blubbering going to help him destroy titans? He clenched his fists, and wobbled to his feet, he wanted to scream again, a scream of primal rage. He was alive.

 

A movement through the steam above him caught his eye. "Who's there?!" he yelled. "Show yourself!" Eren wasn't sure what he was going to do once he found out who it was, but he felt that he had to be prepared. He dropped himself into a defensive stance and raised his fists, waiting for the steam to clear.

[Levirivaille]

Levi's face was twisted in frustration, the white hovering around started to clear and Levi's eyes immidiately rounded at the sight he had observed.

 

Eren.

 

no wait

 

eren?!

 

Levi used the sole moments to catch his breath and try regain a sense of understanding over the situation, why on earth was eren kneeling helplessly in a pool of blood, why was eren even alive? Levi stared at Eren for a hard second with a look of displeasure. Filthy.

 

Levi looked somewhat confused – surprised, even, a hint of releived ness reflected in his eyes. The man situated himself at the bottom of the titan's corpse, his blade raised skeptically at his side, even though he was trying to wrap his mind around the whole situation, he wasn't in so little distrust that he was going to straight off cut eren's neck clean off. Anxiously, he took a step closer. "Hey, eren. What happened?" His hands tightened around the blade, there was something changed about the brat, it was inhuman, and there was marks which were vaporing over the tanned skin, streaming under his eyes. Levi's leverage over eren's strange situation soon spiraled, the attitude and questionable look flooding his expression.

 

Discarding the fact he may have been throwing himself into a 'lions den' he dispatched himself, releasing his structure down to try wrap his arm around the torso.

 

Fuck.

 

Levi's limb retracted back, eren was an oven, levi's skin beamed a little red where he had experienced the heat. The captain's eyes shrunk in question. what even was eren.

[SqueezeBabe]

"L-Levi?" Eren dropped his hands their defensive position. The fierce look of determination dissolving into relieved tears. "I-I don't know what's going on a-anymore..." Eren could feel the earlier hysteria returning, "I-I don't know what h-happened!" He lifted his hand to wipe his face, as Levi put his arm around him. As Levi suddenly jerked back from touching him, Eren looked at him questioningly "W-what's wrong?" Eren's eyes widened as he saw the burn mark on Levi's arm, what had caused that? He looked around, he was still in the steam and haze of disappearing titan, making it hard to see things. He staggered away from the scene, out into the open and looked down at himself. I'm... I'm steaming? his eyes widened in shock and he gave into the hysteria, dropping his arms to his sides and screaming at the clear blue sky.

 

X-----X-----X-----X

 

Armin was running back into the fort. He needed to find Hanji, or speak to the Commander. Someone had to be told about the events that had just occurred and the fact that Levi had just gone off, on his own, to investigate the explosion and subsequent steaming behind the trees. His mind was racing. They would need back-up; they would need horses.... Armin skidded to a halt in front of Hanji's door banging on it. "Captain! Hanji!" he panted, leaning against the door, "S-something has happened!"

[Levirivaille]

Levi had dropped down with accuracy, captivated by the steam fanning out from Eren's pores, then stepping backwards with a stumble at the sudden ear wrenching scream, the pitch of it alerting levi that something wasn't even usually wrong in this situation. Assured that Eren had been changed, he held his arm possessively his eyes sunken from exhausting effect the steam had on him, almost nausea. He backed off from the feverish Eren, was this how, was this how titans were born? sid this mean... He had to slay eren....no... He would give him a chance, there was no proof to the fact eren could even be a titan, so he suppressed his thoughts, considering the fact there was no way back without Levi becoming roasted by erens flesh. Levi, unable to do anything within his power, frowned, watching the corpse of the titan dissolve away into the landscape. "You're gonna have a lot of explaining to do later that's what happening." Levi growled.

 

-------------

 

Hanji's glasses slipped down from the bridge of her nose as she spotting the rattling wooden frame, getting up she opened it, something about her expression looked excited, any news was important to Hanji, she had been driving herself with insanity re-reading the same reports repetitively. Her gaze shifted down to the blonde youth before him, but his face read of torment and scarce fear, and hers soon reflected it." How... So...?!" She ran past him, urging him to follow as she threw on her hooded cape, noting Levi wasn't with him." Wasn't the clean freak meant to be watching over your little butt." She raised her dark brow

[SqueezeBabe]

Armin stammered and stuttered his way through the explanation of what had happened. Once he got onto the familiar territory of facts, and no longer fearing retribution, his nervousness disappeared. "Uh, I thought that Levi was only supposed to look after me until we got back here Captain." he answered as they hurried back through the hallways to the wall, "I thought that I was making myself useful by going back out onto the wall... and then all the, errr, "commotion" happened." Just before they got to the wall, Armin grabbed the edge of Hanji's cloak and looked at her seriously "I think that whatever has happened out there, has something to do with Eren..."

 

X-----X-----X-----X

 

Eren slumped to his knees exhausted. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, and it was overwhelming him. He had no answers to give to Levi at this point in time, how could he explain what had happened, if he didn't even know? Emotions threatened to send him back into hysterics; the fear, the panic, the rage at the thought that someone might have done something to him... Eren stared at Levi, his eyes pleading with him, looking very much like the scared 15 year old boy he was.

[Levirivaille]

Hanji's shoulders tightened, her eyes following Armin." You think? Well." She loosened the boys grip." We will find out wont we? Anything to do with titans and i'm there..." She gave him a hesitant smile, then gathered her scattered thoughts for a moment, everything had no links, that the brunette woman could see anyway, from what she had noted, abnormals were nuisances, and abnormals with intelligence had human aspects, two similar beings, two totally different situations.

 

And two completely mind boggling things to organize for.

 

Hanji ordered a couple of men to gather a rescue party, Hanji was sure, on a Usual basis, the two men could get themselves back, but little knowledge meant the air was eery, no one had heard from anyone or more importantly anything for over an hour, and if levi hadn't returned by then their must've been a slip in the procedure.

 

Little did hanji know eren was the huge slip in procedure.

 

and a huge one at that.

-------

Levi's signature uninterest had been replaced by a determined stare, it was reassuring, yet a hint of confused worry. He couldnt even help the boy, the jade eyes pleading for him to do something, and Levi couldn't even touch him.

 

Soon he heard the thunderous galloping of hooves against the harsh ground. "Looks like luck is on your side eren." His voice purred through the silence with a unsure tone.

[SqueezeBabe]

Eren looked wide-eyed at Levi as he heard the sound of horses approaching. He was unarmed, and if anything untoward happened, he wouldn't be able to defend himself. He hoped desperately that Levi was right, and that the horses that were approaching were friend and not foe. Eren slowly raised himself to his feet once more, it wouldn't do to be seen in such a pitiful state by either party. A fatalistic smile crossed his lips. Whatever the outcome, there was nothing that he could do to change it.

 

X-----X-----X-----X

 

Armin watched Hanji walking away, issuing instructions and the like. Now that she knew about it, things were going to ok... weren't they? Armin chewed his lip, Hanji didn't seem to take him seriously when had spoken about Eren... well, not as seriously as Armin was hoping. He didn't know how to explain what he felt. He didn't have "facts" to back up his theory, only the feeling in his gut as he watched the steam rise from the sight of the explosion. The same steam that occurred when the Colossal Titan and Armoured Titan had appeared all those years ago. Armin turned and ran back into the fort, heading for the Commanders room. Perhaps maybe the Commander would listen to him... maybe the Commander would believe his theory... that Eren was a titan.

[Levirivaille]

"Hanji Zoe, at your service,” was called out, levi muttered some few colorful words at her arrival, " finally decided to show up did we?” he rasped spitefully, keeping a weary eye on the shifter, or at least that's what his suspicions had told him. The unbreakable composure across his face, warned Hanji of his seriousness, even against her ridicule, the strength of his shoulders were tensed, the lines of his crossed arms across his chest." Hanji. "He beckoned her to shoft a way from the rest, the corporal's hands gripping onto the bridle of the strong horse in front of him as a stability sort of thing." Hanji, it's more than just a rescue mission... "Levi's voice hushed itself in a subconsciousness that Eren was overhearing.

 

" i think he's a titan.."

 

There was a pause as the two studied each other's expressions,“I don’t think so,” Hanji murmured, but her words were distant, without much thought, a subtle intrigued spirit behind the voice though.

 

of course she was just saying that, she wanted him to be.

 

"We’re lacking intelligence—any intelligence, really—about the titans , but i can safely say it looks like he has erupted from one of their stomachs, and upon touch, he burnt like that colossal titan." The heichō's composure didn’t slip, not in the slightest as he looked over his shoulder at the soldiers trying to aid eren, springing back by the heat. " won't that mean..."

 

" yeah, we could use him." Levi replied simply, his eyebrows twitched slightly, " But i don't know Erwin's objectives well enough to say he'll agree, besides, the military police will try snatch the brat, and seeing, personally, Erwin's plan here seemed to be suicide, they wont side with him, or it would be hard to do-"

[SqueezeBabe]

Eren was getting frustrated. He seemed to still be too hot for anyone to touch, and he had no idea how long his obscene temperature was going to continue for. He threw his hands up in the air and yelled, "I'll just sit in the fucking cart dammit!" He wasn't so hot that he was going to burn through the wood or anything, just hot enough to make it a problem for others to touch him, no different from having a raging fever, of a million degrees he thought sourly. As he awkwardly climbed into the back, he spied Hanji and Levi talking among themselves. Hanji had that strange gleam in her eye, and Levi looked... worried? It was hard to tell, and Eren didn't know the Captain well enough to pick the subtle changes in his expressions.

 

He huddled into the corner of the cart, and wrapped his arms around his knees. Hanji was going to dissect him for sure. He just wanted to get back to the Fort and have a bath, a cold one at that... He'd been relieved to see everyone show up, there was no mistake about that, but now his relief was giving away to a cold, sick fear. He still had no idea what had happened to him, and he could tell by the hushed tones, that theories were already cropping up, the others were looking at him with guarded expressions, and everyone just seemed a little twitchy around him. What was going to happen to him when they got back? Eren buried his face into his knees and just wished for it to all go away, for him to be normal again.

 

X-----X-----X-----X

 

Armin knocked on the Commanders door and waited. He was surprised to hear the Commander call out permission to enter. Wasn't the man nearly dead with exhaustion? he thought to himself as he opened the door. Armin was even more surprised to see the Commander sitting up in the bed, "Uh, Sir? Should you really be... sitting up?" It was lame sounding, even to Armin, but just how long had it been since the Commander collapsed in the courtyard? Erwin smiled at him, "It's ok, I'm feeling much better now." Armin swallowed, wondering how to broach the subject of the day's events with him.

 

Erwin motioned for Armin to come closer. "I'm assuming that you have something to tell me, otherwise you wouldn't be here, and seeing as there is no Heichō, or Hanji, it has to be something reasonably serious." The Commander waited patiently for Armin to find his words, and listened without interrupting as Armin went through the details. "Who else have you told about this?" he asked Armin, nodding when Armin explained that he'd only told Hanji about his theory. "Do not speak a word of this to anyone," he cautioned "There is something much deeper occurring, and it seems we've only scratched the surface. When Levi and Hanji get back, you will go and tell them, that I want to see the both of them in here. Eren, unfortunately will need to be put in one of the underground cells, until we can work out exactly what is going on." He reached out and patted Armin's head. "I know he's one of your friends, and I assure you he will be made as comfortable as possible, this is only a precaution, but we cannot afford to take any unnecessary risks, and have a repeat of the last few days." Erwin knew his words sounded perfunctory, but with this new "development", he would need time to think of a plan.

[Levirivaille]

Levi had gave a soft subtle nod at Hanji, and she had known what he meant, he propped himself up on the cart, Levi regarded him briefly, looked down upon him for only a second, before he plucked a key from his jacket pocket, and loosely grabbed a pair of handcuffs from the saddle bag dangling from over the side bag of the cart,He locked Eren's hands in the cuffs and pulled them once, checking the restraints to the boys wrists." I'm sorry, but it's ... Procedure and precaution." Levi sat himself down beside the brunette and waited patiently. His hands sat atop the shackles until the fight from Eren drowned out of him, then he slumped against the wooden walls of the cart, He tilted his head to look sideways at Eren, Levi staring up at him, composed. Always composed, but this was curiosity.

 

As soon as they had arrived back, levi straightened his back, the constant shaking of the unsteady trailer had shifted his spine at times, and it creaked in protest as he rolled his shoulders." Jean. Take Eren down to the cells, he's to be locked there. Guarded 24/7" levi wasn't a fool to know Erwin would have commanded it later on anyway, and he stood there for moments, watching the soldier drag the boy across the concrete in the direction, turning to Hanji with a dim expression." What an interesting turn of events it seems." He mumbled softly.

 

"If your theory is correct, heichō, this will be relevant to our main goal, i want to see what he does, how he initiates the changed to his features, what causes the steam-" the woman's eyes glinted in pure compassion, levi had cut her off bitterly." Wait for the commanders words, you dissecting freak probably wont even get close to him." The captain began his ascent up the stairs towards the main hallway, Hanji at hi tail “Hn, levi?” Hanji asked with a cocked eyebrow before realization crossed in her eyes. “Oh, to Erwin's room? " she continued to follow before striking up a conversation on her points." Well, its a valid point that not everyone will be okay with him taking an enemy of mankind on as a soldier. Beyond the passive aggressive comments and internal ridicule that will be thrown at our authority-theres the threat of budget cuts to the legion. In all honestly, Rivaille, no one in their right mind would want Eren in the force, they'll label him a monster.—“

 

Levi took a moment to process.

 

" i want him in the force."

 

Levi's hand turned the doorknob clockwise and pried it open with the weight of his body, expecting the commander to be asleep, yet he looked exhausted, but he was in somewhat of an upright position." Commander, theres something you should-" (( gomen its short i needed to do something ;)

[SqueezeBabe]

As the handcuffs slid around his wrists, Eren couldn't help but feel angry. He wasn't a criminal, he didn't give a damn about procedures! He sighed, it was useless to fight against Levi anyway. He was sure that the man would just crush him under his boot heel, or just kill him on the spot. He buried his face in his lap once more, trying to ignore the stares of those around him. He just wanted to get back and get whatever this was, over with, so that he could go back to killing titans, saving humanity... and all the other idealistic bullshit I've been thinking about he thought to himself. Could he really go back to doing all those things now? Not knowing who or what he even was anymore, how were the others going to treat him? Would Misaka still stay with him? Would Armin still be his best friend?

 

When they got back to the fort, Eren allowed himself to be dragged away without protest. What was the point in fighting anyone off at this point? He noticed that he was being taken to one of the underground cells, and once inside, noted that the iron gate had been shut with a note of finality. So that's it huh? I'm going to be left down here to rot.... Hanju is going to use me for one of her perverse experiments, and I'll never see the light of day again... He slumped against the wall of his cell and pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on his knees, waiting for whatever it was that fate had in store for him.

 

X-----X-----X-----X

 

"Heichō" Erwin interrupted Levi, "If this is about Eren, then I already know about it. What I need you to tell me is what you and Hanji have cooked up at this stage. I'm assuming that Eren is already in one of the underground cells..." Erwin looked seriously at Levi, "He needs to stay in the Scouting Legion no matter what happens... In light of the events of the past few days, he may just well be a part of it..."