The Wings of Solace
A/N: Okay, first of all, of course I do not own Soul Eater or Attack on Titan – both series belong to their rightful owners – except Lucy, she's my own invention. There can be non-canon stuff, so don't be confused when some parts may not fit to the main stories. This story may take references - this can happen during writing. If you see them, I do not own them either.
Humanity seems to have defeated the Titans for now. The Survey Corps' Titan Shifters have fought on humanity's side ot defeat the Titans. No Wall Maria, no Wall Rose, Wall Sina and its districts are something like a capital for this new world and the Military Police controls amost everything, Death City is an autonomous city and not controlled by the MP, mankind lives an almost normal life now. The Survey Corps has only a few members left and they have their HQ separately in Death City with DWMA as their training grounds.
Also, I excuse for the first more boring parts - the story needs a rather slow build up, so the real action won't start before Chapter 7. Please be patient :(
Chapter 1: An Unexpected Visitor
It felt like time was suddenly coming to a stop when the sky was illuminated by a yellow lightning bolt – the kind of lightning everyone feared so much. They knew it so well... But this was impossible! It couldn't be!
"Don't go outside! Lock the gates! We need reinforcements here! Call the Survey Corps! We need Captain Levi!" one of the members of the Garrison, who had just witnessed the lightning from close-up, shouted. He couldn't see anything beneath. Whatever it was, it surely was no Titan Shifter... was it?
She felt as if her whole body had been crushed, but she could tell nothing was broken. She was lying on the ground with her waist down. Her eyes could barely make out where she was. She saw the shell of ice surrounding her body – or what was left of it. The shell must have been broken as an effect of the severe impact. She looked down on herself. Her body was covered in cuts and bruises where the ice had cut her skin upon shattering. She slowly turned her head to her white with a hint of lilac colored feathered wings. They were completely tattered and feathers were lying around her.
That surely had been a crash landing. Where the hell was she? She hoped she would not be detected by some unwelcomed guests... She could finally see something. She was lying in a flat crater – most likely caused by her harsh landing – in front of a giant wall. It was one of the walls mankind had created long ago to protect themselves from the Titans. She knew the people living here would surely not welcome her in a friendly way.
She managed to painfully straighten herself up and turned around. She could make out a forest and it was not too far from her position. She decided to use the smoke and dust emerging from the small crater to her advantage as long as it was possible.
And so she slowly stood up, every inch of her body hurting, and started walking.
"The hell... What is it?" The Lance Corporal's voice sounded annoyed, like he already knew what this call was all about. "Don't tell me it's about that lightning we just saw..."
"Yes, sir, it is! So you saw it, too?" asked the shaking voice at the other end of the line.
"Tch..." Levi snorted. His voice kept the annoyed tone to it. "How could someone have not seen it?!"
"Indeed. This time it was much brighter than it was when one of those Titan Shifters transformed. We've come to the conclusion that it was not one of them."
"And why is that?" Levi's voice was now shaking with impatience.
"There is no Titan body to be seen and some of the guards say they saw something fall on the ground, like it fell from the sky," the member of the Garrison said.
"What was that?" Levi's dark grey gaze narrowed.
The conversation did not go on for much longer. Levi was partly annoyed, but also curious about what he had just heard. He knew very well it was the duty of the Survey Corps to do such investigations – especially since that thing, whatever it was, was in front of and not within the walls. Even though he believed the Garrison members were simply cowards who didn't want to get their hands dirty. He called the available half of his unit – consisting of Eren Jaeger, Armin Arlert, Mikasa Ackerman, Jean Kirstein, Annie Leonhart, Sasha Braus, Connie Springer, Ymir, Krista Lenz, Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover – and sent them out.
"What do you think is going on, Eren?" Armin asked his best friend. His blue orbs were wide with uneasiness and he shifted nervously.
"I don't know... But don't worry. We'll get out there safely. We defeated the Titans," Eren assured the nervous blond, putting a hand on said boy's shoulder and squeezing it comfortingly.
Armin managed a smile, but Eren knew he couldn't shake the uneasiness that caused Armin's small frame to shudder. In fact, he wasn't really sure what to think of the current situation.
When the reinforcements arrived, she had already reached the forest and collapsed near a big tree. Her body was still too weak and hurt too much. She would soon have to heal herself – but she had to wait until it was safe since her powers could be detected.
I must hide from them, she thought. They mustn't find me... They'll kill me if they do...
Those were her last thoughts before she passed out...
Meanwhile, the Survey Corps had arrived at Wall Sina. They were quickly directed to the lightning's point of impact and left to further investigate the small crater that had been hammered in the ground.
Levi got off his black horse and approached the rather flat whole in the ground. He guided his dark grey eyes across the shattered surface until he caught sight of something. He bent down and looked more closely.
There were feathers scattered everywhere. Feathers and... ice? Where the hell did that stuff come from?, Levi thought to himself as he straightened himself up, his gaze following the small, subtle trail of blood leading in the near forest's direction.
"Captain Levi, sir?" Eren asked while taking a few steps towards his superior.
"Whatever it was, it's headed towards the forest. Group up in small searching parties and spread out! Use Maneuver Gear whenever you need to! Eren and Jean, I entrust you with the leading of your squad. Work together!" Levi shouted while climbing the back of his horse again.
"Where are you going, sir?" Jean and Eren asked simultaneously. They cast each other a short glare before turning their attention back to Levi who was obviously not planning to stay with his unit.
"I have been called to the base. Be careful, it could be dangerous. If it is, don't forget to do your damnedest to alive, understood, you brats?" he shouted, not waiting for an answer, as he rode off. What do those Military Police freaks want from me?, he thought, though he believed he already knew the answer.
"Okay, Jean, it's up to us now. We need to split up." Eren looked a bit annoyed; he always waited for his arch rival to try and provoke him, but for some reason he never did so. Maybe he was willing to accept Eren for now. Eren offered his hand to him. "We work as a team."
Jean looked at him weirdly, obviously confused by Eren's gesture, but then cast a small smile towards him and shook his outstretched hand. "We work as a team."
"So we have to do what those two morons say? The hell..." Ymir snorted.
"Ymir, please..." Krista begged.
"Bear with it," Bertolt said. "That's just fine with me."
"Yeah, me too," Reiner replied.
"Me too." Annie was normally quiet, but Eren knew she respected him and Jean deeply.
"Yeah, bear with it!" Connie was glaring at Ymir.
"Who talked to you, maggot?" Ymir snapped back.
Eren and Jean cast Ymir a venomous glare. Then they looked at each other again and nodded before shouting instructions towards the others. A few minutes later, they were scouting through the outskirts of the forest.
She woke up as she heard voices and sounds of approaching people, but her body hurt too much to for her to move. What could she do? She had to stand up, there was no way. She clenched her teeth as the burning pain shot through her whole body while she successfully tried to slowly stand up and lean against the tree beside her.
She saw figures running through the woods and slowly, quietly, made her way around the tree, ducking behind the bushes, careful to not make any sudden movements or loud sounds. Then she readied herself, pushing aside her bangs covering her left eye. Her left eye started to glow in a golden color and initiated the healing process.
Eren stopped all of a sudden, making Armin bump into him from behind. He didn't know why he suddenly felt the urge to walk back to the trees behind him or why he made the following action. It was like a reflex. He glanced back at Armin and brought a finger to his lips. Armin looked at him, confused, but nodded and stood still. Eren listened, but he couldn't hear anything suspicious. He motioned for Armin to stay where he was. He slowly approached the bushes in front of him and began having a strange feeling – it was almost as if someone was there... He readied himself to capture them, whoever it was...
She started to panic as she could feel someone near her. As a result she lost her concentration and didn't have time to finish her healing. Just as her eye stopped glowing someone jumped through the bushes, landing right next to her. She barely managed to put her bangs back in place to cover her left eye as she toppled backwards, landing flat on her ass, and looked up. In front of her stood a tall and slender boy with beautiful sea-green eyes and brunette messy hair. But even his friendly appearance could not calm her down – on the contrary, he made her feel uneasy, causing her body to start shaking.
Eren stared at the girl in front of him weirdly, his turquoise eyes wide with surprise. Even though her body was covered in cuts and bruises and the wings protruding from her shoulder blades were tattered, her appearance still stunned him. She was beautiful: She had dark brown, hip-long hair which was tied to a pair of low twintails with long bangs raming her face and covering her left eye, and pale brown skin, almost like his own tan one. He could tell from her visible right eye that her eyes were dark brown. Her facial expressions were soft and gentle, though they were currently distorted with fear. She was wearing nothing but a short black top, revealing her slender waist and flat stomach with slight hints of her tender abs, a pair of black short pants with a white belt, showing her slender, yet well-trained legs, and knee-high black boots. He noticed a faint scar on her chest, right over her heart and two more, one on the left side of her torso, right over her ribs, and the other one on the right side underneath her midriff, above her pelvic bone. The scars were faint, almost like thin drawn lines, but they were there, nonetheless.
The two of them simply stared at each other for a while without making any movements. When the uneasiness and silence became too much for the dark brunette, causing said girl to shift nervously, Eren finally snapped out of his thoughts. He took a few careful steps towards the girl.
"Hey... Are you alright?" he asked in a soft voice while reaching out for her. "Armin!" he called, jerking his head around. "I found her! Call the others!"
"Okay, Eren! Stay where you are!" a voice called from afar.
She watched him suspiciously when he slowly and carefully squatted down beside her. When his hand nearly touched her she gasped and hastily shuffled away. She watched the boy's eyes grow wide with understanding as he halted in his movements.
"Oh no, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. Calm down. I just..." he started.
She struggled to get away from him and used what was left of her strength to stand up and run as fast as she could. Her partial healing proved at least a bit useful, even though she hobbled.
"No, wait, come back! I won't hurt you!" Eren ran after the girl.
She did not turn around. When she was sure she was out of sight she jumped behind a tree near her. Just in time. The brunet stormed by, merely a second after she had hidden. Eren stopped. She was near.
"I know you're here." That statement made the girl flinch. "I will find you, no matter how much you try to hide. I can sense your presence."
She lifted her head. Is that possible?
Eren let out a loud sigh. "Hey, you. Listen, I'm only trying to help you. I don't want to hurt you. Come out."
She shook her head although she knew he could not see it. She took the hair clips which she had attached to her top and used them to fasten her bangs to make sure they didn't reveal her left eye. When the boy didn't look in her direction she quietly retreated, but stopped when she felt something... There was something behind her... She turned her head and looked at the dark spot between the trees. At first, she didn't see anything – but something was there... She took a few steps closer and stopped again when she heard a small growling sound. Then she saw them: a pair of blank, glowing red eyes. She didn't have to reason to whom or what those eyes belonged. She simply started to run just as the monster jumped out ouf its hiding spot.
Eren turned around as soon as he heard the scream. The girl was running in the direction opposite to him. At first he wondered what had gotten into her, but his question was quickly answered when he saw that she was being pursued by...
"Where the fuck did that thing come from?!" Eren shouted. He could see Armin running towards him.
"Eren! What happened?! Did you see that?! That's not possible! We defeated them, didn't we?!"
"Armin, tell the others to get ready! Something is coming towards them! I'll follow the girl!" With that being said, Eren used his Maneuver Gear to disappear through the woods.
He arrived just in time. He swung himself onto the tree closest to the girl. She had tripped over a root and was now lying on the ground before the Evil Titan. The monster's tongue darted out to lick its lips and saliva was dripping down on the ground. It was a large and thin figure, with overly long limbs and a body covered in loose bandages.
She didn't know what to do. Her wings were still unusable and her body was not completely healed yet. She heard a thud as someone landed near her. When she looked up, she recognized the boy from earlier. She started to panic again, but before she could react, the boy grabbed her by the waist and draped her over his shoulder, causing her to frantically banging her fists against his back. She was surprised by the strength residing in his rather delicate, marginally muscular body. She felt herself being dragged onto a thick branch of the nearest tree. She cast him a puzzled look and made a small "huh", staring into his sea-green eyes as he gently sat her down.
It didn't take long for her to feel fear rise in her once more and she backed up from the boy who was again trying to calm her down. "Please, you have to believe me, I'm only trying to help you! I don't..."
Before he could finish his sentence the Evil Titan knocked its body against their tree, shaking it and causing Eren to loose his balance. He barely managed to hold onto the branch and was forced to let go when the monster knocked its body against the stem of the tree again. As he fell, he fired his grapples at the next tree to brake his fall before he finally crashed into the bushes.
The girl watched in horror as the monster shortly turned its attention to the brunet when another person entered the scene. It was a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Eren!" he called, his blue orbs widened with fear.
She had to do something. Even though she didn't know if she could trust those people who were looking for her, she knew she had to help. It was her fault that this Evil Titan had shown up, she knew it. Her body was not completely healed - but it had to be sufficient for now. She quickly took action without much thinking, sliding herself down the tree to land safely on the ground. "Hey! Over here!" she shouted angrily at the demonic Titan, waving her hand wildly. She struggled to keep standing and she felt fear, but her need to protect those two gave her the incentive to fight. She only needed to distract it until the boy had recovered.
Eren's eyes widened at the new and gentle voice and he lifted his head. "What the hell is she doing?!" he wondered, staring at the girl who seemed to have gained some resolve. "Does she want to fight it...? Alone?!" He tried to get up, but his body hurt from the impact earlier.
Eren and Armin stared at the girl and the Titan. At first, nothing happened. Then the demonic Titan shifted and jerked forward, towards the girl. But she was fast – too fast. She jumped when the beast almost reached her, flic-flacking backwards and landing on the ground as softly as a feather, as the Titan slammed onto the ground with its face down. It quickly straightened itself up with a furious screech. The bandages covering its body shifted and darted towards the girl, pointing their sharp ends and lashing at her like giant whips.
She had seen this before and quickly took action. With a burst of wind and light, she created a force field around herself. The Titan's appendages crashed against the orb, causing it to make a thundering noise. The orb was too strong for the Evil Titan to regenerate its extended bandages and it stormed forward. She had to do something else. Her body was still weak and that giant demon was maybe a weaker one, but rather fast and surely had a lot more stamina than she had. She could already feel her strength drain rather quickly – she had to hurry up. She gave the two boys a determined look, though her body was almost giving in.
Eren and Armin watched as the girl dodged the attacks as they finally understood: She tried to distract it. The boys watched as she grabbed two long pointed branches from the ground, storming toward the Titan. She dodged its jump and swiftly climbed its back, crawling to his head. With full strength, she rammed the branches into the Titan's eyes, blinding it. When the monster screeched in pain and fury, the girl tried to slide down its back, but the Titan quickly jerked around, hitting her hard. Again, burning pain shot through every inch of her body. Why me?!, she thought angrily as she lay on the ground with the Evil Titan, which had obviously regained its composure, slowly approaching her. Those beasts had an outstanding sense of hearing.
"Armin, we have to do something while it's distracted! Come on!" Eren shouted, watching the injured girl slowly being cornered.
"But what?" Armin returned, panicking.
"I have an idea – but you will have to trust me, Armin." Eren put his hands on the nervously gulping blond's shoulders. "Go make some noise and keep it busy! I will sneak up on it from behind!"
Armin looked at him, his blue orbs wide, his body shaking and he backed up.
"Armin, please trust me," Eren said, looking deep into his eyes.
Armin finally nodded. "Okay... I'll do it..."
Armin jumped out front and started yelling at the Evil Titan. "Hey! Over here! I bet you can't get me! Try me!" he yelled, quickly changing directions as the monster turned around rather confusedly, hearing the blond's voice from seemingly everywhere and losing the girl's position, just as intended.
She watched in horror as the boy suddenly tripped over a root and fell. The Titan bared its teeth and cowered. She aimed her hand at the blonde-haired boy, creating a hemispherical force field around him, just in time as the Titan lept forward and crashed onto the orb.
"Thank you!" the boy called out to her, his voice screechy from his panic.
Eren took his chance. He fired the hooks at the Titan and swung himself to it. He readied his blades and... sliced the beast's neck in one clean cut. The giant demonic being grew silent and stood still for a moment, before it finally fell onto the ground with a loud thud, causing the ground to shake heavily. Its body then dissolved into black dust, leaving a small red glowing sphere behind.
Now that the danger was eliminated she tried to stand up, but her knees were wobbly. They finally gave in, causing her to fall on all fours before she let herself drop on her waist. She panted heavily; she had used the last bit of her current strength.
Eren and Armin stared at her anxiously and then at each other.
Eren gave Armin a pat on his shoulder. "See? I said you can do it."
Armin gave him a relieved smile. "But she helped, too."
Eren nodded. "She did." He watched the girl who was still lying on the ground. "We have to get her outta here," he spoke. "Find the others. Tell them we meet at the wall and then come back here with my horse, okay? But be careful! Take the route through the bushes!"
Armin nodded and disappeared in the woods.
Eren slowly walked towards the girl who was obviously in shock. She was shaking and panting and her face suddenly looked so pale. Her hair was now messy, with loose strands sticking tightly to her sweat-soaked face. However, he noticed how her bangs still were perfectly arranged, protecting her left eye. He wondered if she was hiding something. He slowly and quietly squatted down beside her, careful not to scare her again. However, when she noticed someone sitting beside her she propped herself up and jerked her head up to look at Eren, her eyes growing wide.
She didn't know what exactly it was that made her so afraid of this actually friendly-looking boy – there was something strange about him. Something she could not determine; it was like some kind of an aura... Whatever it was, it caused her to slap his hand away. Startled, the boy pulled his hand back.
"It's okay. Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you. I want to help you," he said softly, smiling warmly at her. "I will get you outta here. Please trust me."
She looked into his teal eyes for any falsehoods, but she couldn't find anything evil in this boy's face. Why was she so afraid then? Why did she feel panic rise inside her heart by merely looking at this boy? She pondered on the possibilities, but her thoughts were cut off when she suddenly heard a voice inside her head that definitely wasn't her own.
Come on... Please trust me... Why is she so afraid of me? I only want to help her...
It took a moment for her to realize that these were the thoughts of the brunet. His thoughts were racing. She had accidentally read his mind. She felt herself involuntarily relaxing - even if it was only a bit.
"Eren! It took me some time, but I found the others! They weren't really fond of the idea of leaving us here, but they agreed - they will be waiting at the wall!" the blond from earlier shouted, coming closer with two horses in tow.
"Roger!" The brunet – Eren – looked at her. "What's your name?" he asked, still smiling softly.
She hesitated.
"It's okay. You can tell us."
"L-Lucy..." she stammered. She decided not to tell them her full name – it was safer. Although her voice was rather quiet she talked clearly.
"So it's Lucy, then. This is Armin." He pointed towards the blond who cast her a warm smile and came closer to shake hands with her.
Lucy felt not nearly as uneasy in his presence as in the other boy's. She looked at the brunet again who held out his hand as well.
"I'm Eren." His smile never wavered.
It took a moment for Lucy to brave her fear, but she succeeded. Her hand trembled when she shook hands with the brunet named Eren. Finally, she heard him think. She seems to understand... He seemed somewhat relieved about the fact that she at least understood that he was not out to harm her.
"Okay, listen. I know it's hard for you, but right now you have to trust me. We'll take you to Captain Levi. He will help you. He'll know what to do. Armin, help me pull her to her feet."
Armin moved to Lucy's right side while Eren supported her left. At first, she flinched away, causing the both of them to halt in their movements, but then she relaxed a bit. Together they carefully pulled her up and supported her by gently draping her arms around their shoulders. It was not as simple – both boys were a few inches taller than her.
"Let's get her on the horse."
Lucy was happy to have walking support; her knees would have given in for sure. The two boys stopped in front of the horses. Eren turned to face Lucy and reached out for her, causing her to immediately flinch again and back away. She almost fell, but Armin kept her steady.
"You don't have be so jumpy," Eren laughed at the startled look in her eyes.
Upon seeing the suspicious look in her eyes he sighed heavily. He climbed the horse first and asked Armin to help her while holding out his own hand for her to grab. After a moment of hesitation she did so and felt herself being lifted onto the horse by Eren and Armin; the latter had grabbed her by the waist. She was now sitting behind Eren, but she tried to avoid any physical contact with him.
"Please hold on. You'll be safe with me - I promise," he said honestly, his voice with a gentle tone to it.
Lucy obeyed, though not whole-heartedly. She carefully touched his back with her trembling hands, slowly, very slowly guiding her soft hands around his slender waist in order to only loosely wrap her arms around it. She flinched when she suddenly felt his abdominal muscles tensing as he held back a small laugh. She looked at him with a startled and puzzled expression on her face when he turned his head toward her.
"Don't do that. I'm ticklish," he chuckled.
Startled, she tried to pull her arms back, but Eren grabbed them and held them in place.
"Oh no, it's okay. I'm just saying."
Armin had climbed his horse as well and came closer to the both of them. He held out his cupped hands toward Lucy – he was holding the soul of the Evil Titan.
"Here. You saved us, so it's yours." He smiled at her.
Lucy shook her head, not daring to say anything.
"Armin's right. If you hadn't reacted so fast and distracted the Evil Titan it surely would have gotten to us." Eren turned his head to face her again. "You could have just stayed on the tree, but instead you chose to help us. We can't even collect souls. Take it – you deserved it."
Lucy finally gave in. With trembling hands, she reached into the neckline of her top and pulled out a strange pendant with a cross-shape which was hanging from a choker around her neck. She needed to be careful - every time, she used her powers or the pendant her left eye would start to glow; she hoped her bangs were thick enough... She held the cross close to the red sphere. With a quiet sound and a small burst of light the soul was sucked inside the amulet. She gave Armin a puzzled look, who was staring at her in amazement. Obviously, none of them had seen anything.
"Alright! Let's go!" Eren spurred his horse and the three of them rode off.
Lucy's eyes widened when she understood. She could hear his voice in her head again, but this time it was different. Images flashed through her head - images of a crying boy that looked like Eren's younger self, images of a Titan eating a woman before the boy's eyes, images of Titans eating young soldiers. I will kill them... I will kill every single one of them! I will exterminate the Titans!... I want to join the Survey Corps and kill all the Titans, sir! She felt his feelings, his sadness, hatred and anger, rushing into her. The last image she saw was that of Eren standing in front of the last standing one of the three giant walls and laughing. We defeated them! We defeated the Titans!
Lucy's eyes flashed with sadness. She understood. So that was why Eren wanted to help her. That was why Eren had saved her from the Titan. She felt herself relaxing once more. Even though she still was afraid of Eren, she felt a bit safer in his presence.
Normally, Lucy couldn't read people's thoughts without putting up the effort to do so - unless they opened up their mind to her. However, the images had been blurry; this meant that Lucy hadn't seen all of it.
Lucy's thoughts were cut off by Armin's voice.
"I didn't realize the Titan had driven us that far into the forest!" he pointed out.
He was right. Hopefully, they would get out without any trouble.
"We have to get to the others!" Eren replied. "Lucy. We're taking you to our superior, Captain Levi. He sent us out to look for you. He'll know what to do."
"Where do you actually come from?" Armin asked. "Did you land here on purpose?"
"I... I don't know... I'm not sure..." Lucy answered, shifting nervously.
"I see... Well, don't worry, we'll take you to safety."
But fate did obviously not intend to make this easy for them. Lucy once again sensed a strange presence. It was coming closer...
"There is something behind us!" she suddenly shouted.
Eren and Armin both turned around, their eyes widened in horror. Merely a second later, something jumped out of the trees. "Another one?!" they shouted in unison as they watched the new Evil Titan running towards them on all fours. However, this one was much faster. It reached the three of them quickly – but as they further spurred their horses they noticed something was odd... The Titan did not try to attack them. Instead, it carefully tried to grab Eren's horse – but completely ignored Armin and his horse.
Lucy's eyes grew wide. It's after me!, she thought. Those creatures were extremly rare and they normally avoided humans – normal humans... She shifted on the horse, struggling to change her position.
"What are you doing?! Don't let go!" Eren grabbed her arms which were about to loosen their grips.
"I... I have to do something... I... must help!" Lucy replied, panting and with a determined look in her eyes, though her voice and body were shaking from the pain and weakness she still sustained.
"No! You're too weak! Armin, smoke grenade!"
"Right!" Armin reached into the bag hanging from the flank of his horse to pull out a flare gun. He raised his hand and fired a red and a green smoke round into the sky.
"Now we have to buy ourselves some time until they reach us!"
"Dammit – they're taking too long," Levi muttered. "What the hell is going on here?" He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. His squad surely took their time. He could sense that something was off. He stared out the window of the base's office. He still didn't know what the Military Police had called him for - or did he? He could have been with his unit right now... But that was what they wanted, wasn't it? To keep him away from his unit...
"You seem nervous, Levi," Hanji pointed out.
Levi looked at her with his usual bored expression, but he knew there was no denying it – he was worried about his unit. "Something must have happened. They're late. I sent them out over an hour ago. I better check on them," he replied, heading towards the door, but Hanji stopped him.
"Let's just wait another few minutes until the guards down there are gone." Hanji pointed out the window – a few members of the Military Police were standing in the courtyard, talking to each other. "We'll rouse suspicion otherwise."
Levi was silent for a moment, but then nodded. The last thing he needed was the Military Police sticking their noses into his business – which they actually did already. Of course. For what other reason would they have called him to retrieve whatever had landed in front of the wall? They wanted them...
"Levi?"
"Hm?" He turned to face his old friend who was normally outgoing and crazy, always with a smile in her face – but today she seemed troubled as well. "What?" he asked again, encouraging her to go on.
"What do you think they're planning?"
"I don't know. But whatever it is, I will find out – and throw a monkey wrench in their works..." Levi clenched his fist.
It was a person that had fallen from the sky, he was sure about that fact. He had an idea – but he rather kept the thought to himself. If his suspicion proved right he knew he would have to help them, whoever it was. He couldn't allow the Military Police to get them. He had hoped his unit would get them quickly, but somehow they must have been delayed.
He snapped out of his thoughts when the door was yanked open.
"Captain Levi, sir!" Jean panted, quickly saluting his superior.
"Oi, calm down. What happened?" Levi said.
Jean nodded and took a few deep breaths before continuing. "A red and green smoke round have been fired from the forest!"
Levi stared at him. "What?!"
"We suppose it's from Eren and Armin. We lost them in the forest and later Armin told us to meet them at the wall, but something must have interfered with their plans."
"Hanji, we're heading out now! I need a distraction for those guards down there." Levi said, looking at Hanji with an expecting expression.
"Roger!" Hanji clapped her hands. "Leave this to me!" She stormed out.
"Get going," Levi said while roughly shoving Jean out of the office and heading towards the stables to get his horse.
"They answered! They returned the signal! They're coming!" Armin yelled happily.
"It's not over! We still need time!" Eren once again dodged the grabbing hand of the Evil Titan. "I won't let it get you!" he assured Lucy.
Suddenly, the Titan stopped, falling back as they went on, and crouched on his fours. Lucy knew what would happen next. "Dodge!" she shouted, causing Eren and Armin to jerk their heads around, as she prepared a counter attack, concentrating to bundle her soul wavelengths. This would cost her some energy...
Eren felt a sudden burst of warmth radiating throughout his whole body, caused by Lucy's soul wavelengths, and watched said girl curiously and fascinatedly, guiding his eyes from her to the Evil Titan.
The demonic being shifted, leaping forward, extending the loose ends of the bandages covering its body to the three of them and trying to get hold of Eren's horse once more. Lucy stretched out her arm, waiting a few moments, before finally waving it in one quick movement. A thin streak of bright light shortly illuminated the air and faded again. The bandages that had almost reached Eren, Lucy and Armin were now completely cut off – but this was not the only thing Lucy had managed to do: the Titan was standing still, blood trickling from its eyes onto the ground.
"She blinded it!" Armin realized, a content smile spreading across his face.
"Whoa! That was good aiming!" Eren smirked at the sight of the bleeding Titan. He despised those beasts so much – just as he despised himself for his ability to turn into one of them...
Their moment of relieve didn't last too long as another giant being jumped through the trees.
"WHAT?!" the three yelled simultaneously.
Right on cue, Lucy heard the rather familiar sound of thundering hooves...
"They're here! The others are here!" Eren shouted.
Lucy saw figures on horses storming towards them.
They were lead by a man with raven black hair. "Stay back, all of you!" he demanded, flinging himself off his horse and towards the Titans. He was fast. Lucy did not even have time to reason what was happening as the man swung himself – no... flew – towards the two giant beings, spinning his body around with his blades drawn, slicing both Titan's necks in one, quick fluent movement, before landing on the ground, as softly as a feather. He surely was Captain Levi, Eren's and Armin's superior.
Levi looked down at his bloody hand and snorted disgustedly. "Tch. Disgusting." He pulled out a handkerchief and cleaned it. The figures Lucy had seen earlier were now standing next to the short ravenette man.
Levi looked around the group of his unit, resting his gaze on Eren and Armin. "You alright?" he asked bluntly, though one could hear the soft concern in his voice. He cared about his soldiers.
Eren and Armin nodded in agreement and gave him a quick salute. "Yes, Captain Levi, sir."
A ravenette young woman ran towards Eren who still sat on the back of his horse and grabbed his hands. "Eren, are you alright?"
"I just said yes, Mikasa." Eren sounded annoyed.
"Why didn't you retreat when you had the chance?!" she demanded.
Eren striped her hands off of him. "How many times do I have to tell you?! I'm not you baby brother or your child! You don't have to play babysitter for me!" he shouted angrily.
Lucy felt her panic rise again. What did those people want from her? She considered escaping, but it was no use. It would have been possible if her wings had worked properly or if her body had been completely healed. She shifted nervously, releasing her grip on Eren's waist.
Levi guided his sharp, intimidating dark grey eyes away from Eren's face, stopping to look at the girl sitting behind said boy. "So you are the reason I had my squad nearly killed for? Tch..." he snorted coldly, looking up and down her barely clothed figure. "Hurry up, we need to get her outta here before more of them show up!"
She struggled to get off Eren's horse, away from Eren, away from this man called Levi, away from all those people watching her closely with their hungry eyes. She would not let them get her. But her body had already reached its limit and could not hold its own weight anymore, resulting in her falling off the horse and painfully crashing onto the ground. She heard muffled voices as everything around her went black and her senses slowly gave in...
"Lucy!" Eren quickly got off as well, squatting down beside her and gently touching her shoulder. "Oh no..."
"She's completely exhausted." Armin squatted down beside Eren, checking Lucy's pulse. "No wonder... after all that happened..." he added quietly.
Levi looked at the boys. "You will tell me what happened later. I will keep an eye on her for now. She will be riding with me. We have to leave before more of those disgusting beasts show up. All of you, get on your horses!"
Eren cast Lucy a worried look, but gave her a relieved smile as she slightly opened her eyes. She flinched a bit when his hand touched her shoulder again. "Don't worry. You're safe now," she heard him say softly before she finally passed out...
A/N: Feel free to follow, fav and review! I appreciate your help!