The room was lot only by candles and gas lamps. It had a cold, damp feeling in it, and a shiver ran up Mikasa's spine.
"So this is where she's been?" Mikasa asked. Her eyes surveyed the rest of the room. From what she could make out, it was sparsely furnished save a few tables set out to the side that were covered in books and papers. The ground beneath her feet was hard and empty, and every footstep she took echoed throughout the room.
Hanjii nodded. They had brought a clipboard with them, though they had yet to actually write anything down. Their face was hard. "We haven't gotten through the crystal at all, not a single scratch or small break. Most have already given up on breaking through." They let out a sigh, and ran a hand through their dark hair. "I think that I might be one of them. Even before we knew who the female Titan was, I knew that she had to be smart."
"I'm sorry, Hanjii." Mikasa wrapped her scarf around her tighter, the bright red a stark contrast with the dark room. She also pulled her jacket around her tighter.
"Oh, there's no need to apologize. If anything, you're the hero in this, Mikasa. Were it not for you then we never would have captured Annie in the first place." Hanjii turned and looked to the door. "To be honest, I would rather that we have Annie trapped inside crystal here than out terrorizing humanity. From the little time we knew her, she did a lot of damage." They looked down to their clipboard once more, their eyes moving quickly across it. "Mikasa?"
"Yes?"
"Would you mind if I got going? I hope that I don't seem rude, but there are a lot of things I need to investigate. A certain church for instance." Their eyes darkened. "I brought you here as you asked, though." Their eyes softened. "If you need me, you might need to do a little searching tonight. Tomorrow, though, I should be easier to find."
"I understand." Mikasa met them directly in the eyes. "Best of luck."
"Thank you, as I can use it." With their free hand, they formed a fist. "It should be easier to get answers out of those religious zealots, and I will be damned if I don't get something out of them." Their eyes locked on the crystal. "Someone is going to have to step up and confess." They turned and left.
Mikasa's eyes returned to the crystal. It was the only thing that really seemed to belong in the room; the tables and book's were just after thoughts.
She had heard that they put up guards, but by now had given up. It had been weeks since Mikasa had forced her off the wall and Eren had held her down.
All those weeks and everyone was still scrambling for answers.
"Why did you do it, Annie?" Mikasa's voice was barely above a whisper. "Did you want to prove something? Or was it revenge that you wanted? But then who did you want revenge on? Did something happen to you, something that you needed to get revenge for?"
Annie had forgotten how to open her eyes. Her eyelids felt as though they were weighted down by bricks.
However, she still knew how to smell.
The regular smell came in, and was speaking in their clear, directive voice. This time, they did not bring the smell of other Titans with them.
And then there was another, the smell of someone that Annie knew even better than the other person.
Mikasa.
It had seemed like such a long time since she had thought that name, though she knew it perfectly well. If it weren't for her then she wouldn't be here at all.
Or maybe, Annie thought. Maybe I just shouldn't have underestimated her.
She couldn't be sure how long she had been trapped inside the crystal. Darkness, she knew, was all around her, so she could not change forms. Beyond that, there was no real sense of time.
The two began to speak, though Annie could only make out half of it. It was something about religion, about getting answers.
Unless someone had declared Annie a goddess (and, sadly, Annie could see it happening), then she had no idea what this conversation had to do with her.
The conversation continued on, Annie only catching bits and pieces of it. For a moment, Mikasa's smell drifted.
"Hanjii" was one word she caught. The pieces finally clicked together; Annie had heard the name before yet never met them. Still, that was the person she constantly smelled.
Eventually, Hanjii's scent faded away until it was out of the room completely. Their scent began to weaken in the crystal - it was hard, and tended to trap the room's smells inside. It faded, only to be replaced by the regular musky, earthy smell of the dark room and the sharp scent of Mikasa.
Mikasa's footsteps echoed through the room and Annie's ears. With each step she took, she got closer and closer to Annie, until her scent was overbearing and threatened to encase her like the crystal had.
You're back, Annie thought.
I should move, Mikasa thought.
Annie's eyes opened very slowly, at a snail's pace. Still, her eyes opened further and further, showing off two icy blue eyes. Her mouth hung open, showing off teeth that were a little too sharp and a little too long, and a long pink tongue.
Her arm reached forward slowly, a hand beckoning Mikasa move forward.
No, Mikasa thought, I should run.
Still, her feet remained glued to the floor, and her body, though held in a defensive pose, was limp.
Annie moved as though she was suspended in some kind of thick liquid - perhaps something more like glycerin rather than water. Still, Hanjii had sworn that the only thing any of the scientists could detect inside of the crystal itself was Annie.
Her hand movement changed, going from that of beckoning Mikasa forward to reaching forward herself, directly towards Mikasa.
Her heart was beating so fast that she was sure that Annie could hear it.
Her hand reached effortlessly through the crystal, as if it were not so hard that even the most effective of swords and knife shattered on impact the moment that they touched it.
Her mouth had closed, settling into a lazy smile, and her eyes were again half closed.
With an iron grip, she wrapped her hands around Mikasa's scarf. Cold fingers chilled her neck as some reached up under the fabric and wrapped around her throat. Not tight enough to choke, but just enough to where Annie could get a good grip on her.
And then her arm retreated, and Mikasa could feel her feet again moving. Her arms remained limp, no matter how hard she tried to send them energy.
Energy, it seemed, was running out.
Her own eyes were beginning to close.
Annie's other arm was finally moving, wrapping almost protectively around her back and waist.
The crystal was colder than she expected. It felt a bit like a liquid, a bit like air, and nothing like the unbreakable solid cocoon that Hanjii had described.
She could feel her chest, perched up against Annie's own. Her other arm had moved from her neck around her back as well, holding her with steel arms and ice fingers. Their foreheads met, and by then Annie's own eyes were beginning to shut as well. From what little Mikasa could still see of her face, her lazy smile had become a grin, and a twinkle of victory ran through her eyes.
Mikasa's feet slid through the crystal with ease, until there was nothing left for her out there.
Then, her heavy eyes drifted shut and the last of her muscles weakened. Were it not for Annie's strong, cold hold on her, then she did not know how she would have remained upwards.
"Mikasa!"
"Mikasa!"
"Mikasa!"
The voices shifted, and rose higher and higher. It took Mikasa a moment to realize that they were all from the same person.
For a moment, she blinked rapidly, and took shaky steps with noodle limbs.
"Hanjii?" Her voice was low, and her throat was dry and cracked. "Hanjii, what are you doing here?"
From the corner of her eye, she looked at the crystal. Annie was in the same pose as before, as if she had never moved at all.
"I came back here to grab something; I'd forgot to get it earlier." Their frown deepened. "When I came down, you were looking at Annie so intensely. You didn't seem to be moving at all, your body faced directly towards the crystal, and I had no idea if you knew that I was in the room."
"I'm sorry." Mikasa walked forward towards the door.
"Mikasa, is something wrong?"
"I'm just tired and need some food."
"Alright," Hanjii responded. They stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Mikasa's shoulder. "I got what I needed. Come on, let me help you up."
The two made their way to the door, and from there the outside world. The sun was beginning to set, and night falling. A chill wind ran through the air, and it made Mikasa's legs shake.
"Do you need me to call a doctor?"
Mikasa shook her head. "I just need some soup and to rest."
"Fine. Still, if you aren't any better tomorrow then I will call someone in."
Mikasa nodded. That was fair enough.
Still, she couldn't be sure that a doctor could do much to help with Mikasa's current problem.
Mikasa's scent moved further and further away from her. In the dark, Annie clung to what little she had left of her. The crystal was all but completely filled with it, though it too was fading.
There's nothing you can do to stop it, some little voice in the back of her mind said.
Annie couldn't be sure if that little voice was really hers.