Hello there Attack on Titan archive :)
I'm admittedly still a bit new to the series (Both manga and anime), but I had this idea and through the nudging of a great friend *cough*Draco*cough*, I couldn't help but get writing :) Here's hoping what I've done here isn't TOO much of a stretch, and maybe even makes a little sense :)
Oh! Important, this takes place after the latest events of the manga, but deviates from where chapter 52 leaves off ;)
I do not own Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin, but I think it's pretty damn awesome ^_^
Every time something great has happened, it's been because I wanted it. Wanted it more than anything. To get out of that damn thing's belly, to protect Mikasa and Armin, to pickup that goddamned spoon! Every time, because it was what I wanted most.
Eren's thoughts consumed him as he stood in the basement of the Survey Corp HQ, just around the corner from his room. Then, those Titan's in that field… he remembered watching the Titan's devour the monster that had eaten his mother. He smiled a bit, …what I wanted most.
He took a step forward in the room and placed his hand on the crystal that encased Annie Leonhart's body. Levi, Erwin, hell; any member of the Survey Corp would have seen him severely punished, if not killed for being this close to her without any measure of supervision or safety. She was one of the greatest threats humanity had ever seen, and though she was kept in a reasonably small room, no one really knew if it would be enough to stop her. However, as Eren stared at her closed eyes, his thoughts continued to run.
So many times you could have hurt us from within. So many times you could have done so much more to murder each and every one of us. From what I saw in the forest that day, I have no doubt you may have enjoyed it completely. He leaned closer still, "So why didn't you?" He closed his eyes and leaned back from the crystal, sighing to himself, "If only I could have spoken to someone about this more. No one would ever possibly listen to my reasons, and those that would…" He looked up at Annie's still form again "…I don't even know that I could trust them when it comes to you."
He pushed off the crystal with both hands and turned away, taking in a deep breath. Armin would tell me to take action. Captain Levi and Commander Erwin would say that risks are necessary in order to advance in our war. Mikasa would tell me she'd kill her if need be. He turned back to face Annie and let his breath out. "It likely won't even work," he reassured himself as he stepped back to the crystal.
He placed his hands on the crystal and closed his eyes, reaching out with his thoughts as best he could. Straining and stressing as he tried to conjure something, anything, to communicate or find a way to get into Annie's mind. After a few moments he was exhausted and defeated. What a stupid idea, he thought. That such a thing could be possible, it's…
As he lifted his head and opened his eyes, the world was black in every direction, and before him, Annie was not only free from the crystal, but awake and staring him down. His jaw fell slack as he created words, "Annie?"
Above Eren's room and Annie's prison, Levi entered the dining room, which doubled as the Survey Corp's strategic staging area. After Petra's death at the hands of the female Titan, Levi found himself in these walls far more often than usual. He was ritualistic about things, and this was no different; this was where he came to drink.
However, on this night, he found this typically vacant space occupied. "Ackerman," he said, gathering Mikasa's attention.
"Good evening, Captain," Mikasa politely replied, her expression blank as usual. Strangely, the Captain smiled at the sight of her and of course, she took notice. "What?"
"I apologize, I simply don't remember a time when I've seen you without maneuver gear," Levi said, walking past his usual spot at the table.
"Ah," she said as she looked to her sides. "Any other day, I might have it with me. But, because of-"
"It was rather incredible, wasn't it?" Levi nonchalantly asked, interrupting her. He placed a cup in front of her, and took a seat on the bench beside her. "Your friend has many tricks up his sleeve," he said as he filled their cups.
"Yes," Mikasa replied. For a moment, she remembered the beating Levi gave Eren and her anger immediately flared.
"Drink," Levi ordered, bringing her back to the present.
"Huh?" He slid the cup from just out of her reach, into her hand. "I'm not ol-"
"Do you really think your age matters in this world, Ackerman? Not old enough to drink, but old enough to kill Titans?" he again interrupted. She looked to the glass as Levi continued, "Even if it did, today is a special day for humanity; drink."
"The day a human controlled the Titans," Mikasa amended. Without any further encouragement, she raised the glass to her lips and tossed the alcohol down in one gulp.
Levi waited for a reaction. A cough or gag, something to denote that Mikasa was a teenager, and that she had just ingested her first sip of alcohol. But, as with anything and everything Mikasa did, there was hardly any fanfare upon completion of her task.
"Nothing at all is very difficult for you, is it, Mikasa?"
She looked up to him, her face still blank. After looking him over, she turned away as she replied, "Seeing my friends die; that is difficult for me."
"It's difficult for all of us," he commented as he poured another glass for the both of them. This time, no words were needed; they both took their drinks. "For your age, you are perfectly suited to alcohol, Ackerman. However, where your age betrays you is in your humanity."
"What do you mean?"
Levi's eyes narrowed even more so than usual. "Watching our friends, our comrades, our families…" he paused, "…those most precious to us. Watching them die becomes all too familiar with age, Ackerman."
"You no longer care?" Mikasa stammered.
Levi turned to her, "I no longer allow myself to."
"But how can you-"
"It is the only way," he interrupted. "Until today, what choice have we had but to accept the odds as they are?" He looked back to Mikasa for a moment and feeling a tinge of the alcohol in his veins, commented, "You though, you may be different."
Annie Leonhart rarely looked impressed. Nothing in this world seemed to faze her during her training in the 104th, and once in the field, things were very much the same. She wasn't like the rest; that much everyone knew, though her real nature was something no one expected or even believed, even when they saw it with their own eyes that day. Annie was a Titan, and in her Titan form, she was every bit of the woman she always was; cold and focused. Nothing distracted her as a human, and nothing could stop her as a Titan. Now though, in this meeting of minds, what could she do?
"You don't belong here," Annie said, her voice ringing in all the familiar ways, though with a deeper and more menacing overtone.
"Where is-"
"Does it matter?" Annie interrupted. "It's mine and that's all you need to know." Eren stared at her and she stared right back at him. "You're just like us. A monster. A freak. They'l-"
"I'm nothing like you!" Eren screamed. "You! Reiner! Bertolt! You're nothing but murderers!"
Annie's eyes widened and her body twitched as she shouted, "You know nothing about us. How dare you pretend to!"
"I know Bertolt destroyed the gate and made it possible for Titans to wipe out my village!" he shouted, bringing Annie to flinch. "I watched as a Titan ate my mother while a soldier dragged me away instead of doing their job! Then Reiner ended thousands of lives in an instant. What more can I offer you than to be called a murderer?" Annie shivered as Eren's verbal assault continued. "Did you feel nothing as you killed them all? Did you ever stop and think about what you were doing? Did you ever feel guilty about watching those you called your friends being eaten? Answer me!"
Annie looked away and quietly spoke, "You don't know anything about me."
"Then tell me!" he demanded. "Tell me so I can help you!"
"What?"
"If I understand what the hell was going on inside your head, or even Reiner or Bertolt's for that matter, I can at least try to plead your case to those who would judge you!"
"Why? Why would you do any of this?" Annie asked bringing Eren to flinch. "You hate the Titans, right? You want nothing more than to kill all of them, right?"
"I-"
"I'm right here; kill me," Annie requested.
Though Eren knew he was no match for her in hand-to-hand combat, he believed simply by reading her body language that she wouldn't have struggled at all. Instead, he waited, and in time, she gave him exactly what he wanted.
"Whether it's you, or someone else, I'm dead," she said.
"If you would just tell me something, anything, I can-"
"You think the humans are my only concern?" That unsettled him greatly. In her current state, he would never consider calling her anything but a human being. Flesh and blood same as his. However, for her to play that card, to refer to those that would judge her as humans, that meant she viewed herself as something else. "Where I come from, failure is frowned upon, and now I've failed twice to take you." She looked away from Eren, her fire cooling as she finished her thought. "For this they'll see me dead anyway."
"Annie…" Eren took his time and chose his words carefully. "…I don't want you to die."
Just as she had at the entrance to the underground tunnel, Annie chuckled, and before long, she was laughing loudly. Eren grimaced and she spoke over his angered expression, "What makes me special, Eren?"
All the care he put into choosing his words, and he hadn't thought to prepare a justification. Annie watched him squirm, but before long, he came up with something that made sense. "You have so much knowledge to give, Annie. Knowledge of combat, and of… of-"
"How to control the Titan," she interrupted.
"Yes."
"What does that mean, Captain?" Mikasa asked. "How may I be different?"
Levi had not so subtly painted himself into a corner. No man could deny Mikasa's beauty, that much could be considered obvious to the Captain. However, commenting in any way on her behalf was taboo in every respect. For a superior officer to address anyone, let alone a member of the opposite sex in such a way, it was completely unacceptable. On top of that, Levi was famous for keeping his emotions in check. Were it not for the alcohol in his system, there was no way this may have come out as it did.
"You are an ideal partner, Mikasa Ackerman," Levi explained. "In combat, everyone's lives are forfeit. Armin, Jean, Hanji, even Eren; none of them can engage a Titan without a degree of uncertainty."
"No one can do th-"
"You can," he interrupted. She said nothing, though her face became more rigid, as though she were angered. "You willingly engage any enemy, and you do so without hesitation. Many among the Survey Corp call you reckless; this is simply their inexperience."
"What do you mean?"
"There is nothing reckless about your actions; everything you do is deliberate." He took another drink and continued, "In many ways, you're a lot like your friend, though in many others, you're a lot like me."
"Like you?"
Levi stared into her eyes for several seconds before answering. "A beast."
That would be the second time someone referred to her as a beast. She didn't care for it much on the surface, though inside, it made her drunk with power. Still, whom she let herself be, versus who she was on the inside, the side she showed Eren always won. "I am not," she quietly stated.
He leaned closer, the alcohol on his breath making her wince, "Yes. You are. Just like me, you are a killer, cold and dead inside. What's more, you're good at it. You may hate yourself for it, but do not mistake it or think ill of it; you are a monster, only narrowly separated from the Titans."
She stood from the bench and roared, "Take that back!"
Levi leaned back and laughed. "You're too uptight, Ackerman." He poured another glass for her, but she smacked it off the table.
"I am not like one of them!" she screamed. "I've never hurt a human and I-"
"How many times has someone held you back?" Mikasa reeled from his comment. "How many times were you ready, and willing to kill a member of your squad?" He stood to meet her eyes directly. "I don't think ill of you for this, Mikasa. I respect and admire that you stand so proudly for your friends, and are willing not only to give your life for theirs, but to kill for them as well. However, there is no misinterpreting these things. You are a killer inside…" he raised a finger, and pressed it to Mikasa's forehead, "…and out."
Her eyes were wide, her body was shivering, and she had no arguments to make. He was right, and more than she ever knew it; she now felt it. She crumbled to her seat, and quietly said, "A killer."
"Why?" Annie asked. "Why should I even consider helping you in any way? It's because of you that I can't go home. It's because of you that I'm a traitor both to the humans, and to my people. So tell me, why? Why should I help you?"
"Because you don't have to be a traitor to the humans!" Eren screamed. Annie's eyes widened as he yelled at her. "No matter what you've done, there are people here just like me! People that refuse to believe that you did this because you wanted it! You tell me! Is this really what you wanted, Annie?"
"I…" she couldn't find anything.
"Are you anything more than a puppet to the people in your village? Or are you just a dog?"
"I'm…" still, nothing.
"Let me help you, Annie," Eren pleaded, calming himself down. "You have nothing to lose by trusting me; I have everything to lose by trusting you."
"Idiot."
Eren smiled, "Whatever happened to 'Suicidal Bastard'?"
"You're that too. More than ever if you're willing to blindly trust me." Though she was absolutely right, she could see it on him; he did trust her. Not just in the way he trusted the other members of the 104th, but the way he trusted Armin, and Mikasa; the way he trusted family. "Why Eren? Why do you trust me?"
Eren looked away, his cheeks tingeing on pink. "If you wanted to kill us, you had too many chances to do so."
"Not good enough."
"You had enough chances, and if being put to death was the alternative given by your people, you would have done as you needed to, but you didn't. You let Armin go, you let Jean go, and you let me live. Sparing the lives of my friends is enough for me."
Annie looked away as well, looking anywhere to the black that surrounded them to avoid his eyes. "If I say 'yes', what's your plan?"
Eren smiled a lunatic's grin. "It's the dumbest idea in the world, but if it works, I believe they will trust you as I do."
"As you do?"
"Well, at least enough to not try and kill you on the spot."
Mikasa knocked back one drink after another, and though she was every bit as indomitable as Levi, she was starting to feel the effects.
"This is my fault," Levi commented, his head in his hand. "I shouldn't have pushed you like that, I'm sorry."
"No! It's good that I face who I am with no reservations!"
"Yes, but you shouldn't have drank so much."
"I drank less than you!" Mikasa stammered as she waved about.
"Yes, but your body mass is very minimal and-"
"Besides! I'm ready, right? Always ready and able to kill, right? You said it yourself!"
"Ah…" Levi commented. I think today is a great day to stop drinking, he thought. I don't even remember half of what I said now. Just like that, he remembered a good part of what he said.
"In combat, everyone's lives are forfeit. Armin, Jean, Hanji, even Eren; none of them can engage a Titan without a degree of uncertainty."
What if we were to be attacked now? What would we-
His thoughts were interrupted as a member of the Survey Corps burst into the room, "Captain Levi!"
In the courtyard where Sawney and Bean once resided, Annie and Eren stood, their backs to one another while numerous members of the Survey Corps surrounded them. Every single one of them had their weapons drawn and was trembling while they awaited Levi's arrival and orders. Among them, Armin and Jean stood beside one another, the only two to not have their weapons at the ready. What the hell are you doing, Eren? Armin wondered.
The Suicidal Bastard has really lost it now, Jean thought. Vital as he is, I'm not sure anyone will let him walk away from this.
"This plan of yours seems pretty stupid," Annie commented.
"Wait," he said. "All it will take is the right people, and the right moment."
Annie's eyes closed in disappointment only to open a second later, doing as Eren said; waiting for just the right moment.
Levi and Mikasa burst into the courtyard, and upon seeing them enter together, Eren quietly commented, "Mikasa and Levi?"
"Everyone hold!" Levi called. "Eren! What are you-"
Mikasa, however, was of a single mind when it came to Annie, sober or not. "Get away from him!"
"Now!" Eren ordered, and with that, Annie flipped her ring open and sliced her finger.
And there ends chapter one :) More to come in the next few days :)
Hope you're enjoying it so far,
-jm