[Chapter Four: Hopeful Hearts. Fragile Futures]
[Erwin`s POV]
More than almost anything, I wanted to know what the hell had happened in the forest of giant trees. The female titan, or whoever controlled her, had outwitted us. That much I knew as fact. What was nagging me was not knowing what had happened to Eren Yeager and Ackerman`s special operations squad. Levi had taken off like a shot to regroup with them, and no one had heard from any of them yet. Some of our scouts had found the remains of Oluo and Gunther. Everyone agreed that the stab wound in Gunther`s back was suspicious. Forensics cited it was the cause of death since his corpse was otherwise intact and undamaged save for a few scrapes and discolorations. Hanji`s explanation that titans weren`t interested in consuming dead bodies didn`t make me feel any better, or otherwise shed light on the chaotic situation. We could only assume that the man had been murdered by a member of the scout regiment, which meant we had a traitor in our midst. I had suspected as much when the female titan had discovered Eren`s location among our ranks and attacked. She could have pursued anyone-yet Yeager had been her goal all along. The one person to anyone`s knowledge that could transform in to a titan under the correct conditions, the one variable possibility that had given the human race some inkling of hope for survival, had been her prey. Since leaving the walls he hadn`t changed, so the monster had to be someone who had been inside the Walls we he had previously done so. Furthermore, she had to know what Eren looked like and had probably met him herself in human form. The rumors of his description varied with who one was gossiping with; I had heard a hundred different renditions.
Much like the current mystery, if I hadn`t been there, I wouldn`t know which version was the most accurate. Every squad member reported to their captain. Every captain then reported to me. By the time I heard all of the stories there were to tell, I hadn`t learned much. The tales ran the gammit from minimalistic to outright extraordinary. Mikasa Ackerman was one of those who had an unusual account to tell, which struck me as odd. She was usually a quiet, reserved woman. In the past I had been given no reason to believe she was anything less than honest. Once I listened to what she had to say though, I couldn`t help but think her words were fable. I wanted to dismiss the oddity as the result of a head injury. Hanji assured me however that Mikasa had suffered no such wound, and indeed one was not visible. On the one hand, I wanted to suspect her of deception. Most everyone in the survey corps, especially those that had graduated in the same class as she and Eren, knew how close the two were. If Eren had betrayed us as some of the wilder rumors claimed, then the oriental girl was almost certainly working with him. If that were true then she was his eyes and ears inside the Walls, and the best option would be to detain her. If only we were able to test who could and could not turn in to titans, we might be able to prepare ourselves, I thought. Unfortunately that wasn`t an option, and basing any judgment solely on 'ifs' was most certainly a mistake I refused to make. I doubted that Mikasa Ackerman could turn in to a titan just as much as I doubted her bizarre story that she had seen Yeager and Levi being snatched in to the sky by an unidentified faction of humans, and that she had been unable to follow them due to a malfunction with her omni directional gear. Upon return every soldier had to submit their equipment for inspection as was routine. Hers had indeed been damged, which was the primary reason I hadn`t ordered her to be locked up and medicated heavily for post-traumatic delusions. There was no concrete proof that her "outsiders" existed though. Sasha Blouse was the only other person who claimed to have witnessed this event; and I didn`t know the pretty young woman well enough to trust her instincts yet. For all I knew she was only trying to stick up for the other girl out of friendship. It was something I had seen happen before, usually with disastrous results. I admired that, but loyalty to the human race came before loyalty to one`s friends, in my book. The rest of the 104th trainee squad made it clear that they were presently in doubt of Blouse`s intelligence, if not her sanity because she had backed Mikasa up. Even Connie Springer claimed that he knew better than to support such madness. In spite of all this, I was unable to focus my full attention on their outlandish allegations.
The last two days had passed nearly without my notice as I was in and out of meetings and frantic consultations with the military police, garrison corps, scientists, panicked underlings, and furious superiors. Citizens within the walls were on the verge of rioting in many areas. Pockets of dissention were widespread already with the food shortages, rationing, and overcrowding. The military police had been forced to send additional discipline squadrons to the districts in an attempt to halt the rising discord. They must have been doing their jobs to some degree because there hadn`t been outright bloodshed yet. All of this chaos, and somehow the higher ups still found time to put me through the inquisition from hell. I had barely slept more than a few hours when yet another person was knocking at my door again, rousing me from my exhausted rest.
"Commander Erwin? You`re needed for a debreifing in the war room, asap."
"I`ll be there in just a moment." I groggily replied as I rubbed the crust from my eyes. Sighing, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stretched as I rose. After retrieving my shirt from the back of a nearby chair and donning my boots, bolo tie, and jacket I was ready to go. I ran one large hand over my hair to smooth it down before leaving the room. Barely awake I forgot to lock the door. It would be several hours later that I recalled this oversight when I returned to look for a nerve settling drink from my private stash of rum and would find the bottle missing.
[Sasha`s POV]
"I can`t help it, Mikasa! I eat and drink when I`m stressed out." I replied to my friend`s reprimand. My explanation didn't seem to satisfy her at all as she continued;
"Really, Sasha? We`re all stressed out right now. We just lost a lot of people, and now Eren and Armin are missing! How do you think the rest of us feel? You don`t see me sneaking in to the Captain`s Quarters to steal their booze though."
"I didn`t meaning to…I was only hoping to find some meat to share with everyone so they`d stop being so cold towards me. You`ve seen how they are since we told Erwin about what we saw. No one believes us. I just wanted to be able to sit and talk with them again like we all did before. i swear all I was after was food, the rum was just there."
"Ugh. I know." Mikasa said miserably. With her closest friends gone, she was like another person. Her confidence and energy seemed totally drained. I thought I could empathize. Eren and Armin were my friends too, after all. However deflated she seemed, Mikasa hadn't lost her common sense or her ability to nag. She said; "You really are hopeless. But I don't suppose it will do any good to return it now, we`d only get in trouble for taking it in the first place, even though I didn`t help you. That's the last thing I need."
"Sorry. You're right. I'm an idiot. We're all worried about them too, but this must be especially hard on you." I gave her an apologetic glance and sighed, depressed. Her stern face seemed to soften slightly around the eyes, as if she understood how everyone was dealing with current events in their own way. She told me;
"It is. I don't want to talk about it, but I haven't given up. Not by along shot. Eren`s still alive, and probably Armin too. I just hope they can keep each other safe until we get them back." Her hand clenched in to a fist, her sad expression vanishing to be replaced by one of stubborn determination. I thought it looked like Yaeger`s attitude had rubbed off on her a bit. The idea made me smile slightly, and I uncorked the rum, raising the bottle up.
"Here's to not giving up hope. Cheers." I took a swig and offered her the bottle seriously. My silky-haired comrade stared at me for a moment with what appeared to be disbelief. Then she snorted and shook her head.
"What the hell. Cheers." Mikasa stole a long swig of the alcohol, coughing a bit as it burned her throat. She handed the contraband back. We passed pass the night that way in the women's barracks, trading back and forth until the alcohol was gone and we were both too drunk to worry about getting in trouble, our doubtful friends, our missing friends, or the seemingly hopeless state of the world.
~X~x~X~x~X~
[Eren's POV]
"Armin, slow down! How can you have this much energy after everything we just went through?"
"That's exactly why I have so much energy. We're alive! I know not everyone was as lucky, but don't you think we should try to live a little for them too?" My best friend asked me seriously as he pulled me towards a set of steps leading up. They were the same stairs we had come down when we arrived, but I didn't know that. I thought that Armin had been acting a little strangely since we got here, but put it down to the stress of recent events. It was hard to believe that less than a day had gone by since we were down in the forest with the titans. I frowned slightly as I responded;
"When you put it like that, it sounds a little…I don't know…odd."
"I don't mean it to be insensitive. It`s just, I feel like moping around and crying about all the awful things that've happened would be rude. Like 'we're still here, what are we complaining for? We get another chance to fight.'"
"Yeah, I understand now." I said with a small smile. So that`s it. That makes sense, we should try to keep our spirits up and carry on. If those guys are looking down on us now we should give them something to smile about. It's weird that Armin`s the one encouraging me, usually it's the other way around. A lot sure has changed since we joined the scout regiment. I wouldn't bring the subject up again; although inside I was wondering how many we had lost. I`m sure Armin and the others were as well, but we couldn't know for sure until we got in to contact with the rest of the military back on the ground. Trying to lighten the somewhat awkward mood I'd created, I changed the topic. "So, what do you want to check out first?"
"I want to see how the heck this thing stays in the air." He shot back with a grin as he opened the door and we stepped on to the main deck.
My first thought was simply; Wow. The view would have boggled my mind at any time, but we walked out just at sunset. There were people everywhere; adjusting the rigging, carrying supplies, laughing or talking with each other, and making notes. A few of them turned to look at us and pointed or waved, but no one came running up to detain or yell at us. The largest balloon I had ever seen in my life spread above us all, held in place by a latticework of cable tethers. Slowly I walked with Armin to the railing and looked over the edge, still trying to take in everything else at the same time. The sun gilded the clouds along the top and dyed them orange and red underneath. The air beyond was red and purple, and I could see the first stars beginning to appear. As dusk descended colored lanterns flared to life all over the place lit by the crew. My head spun and I didn't realize my mouth was hanging slightly open until Armin nudged my shoulder and laughed.
"You should see your face, Eren."
"You should see yours." I retorted, feeling my cheeks burn slightly in embarrassment. Arlert snickered at me.
"You blush like a schoolgirl."
"Stop making fun of me." I demanded. I closed my eyes and stuck my tongue out like a little kid. So what if it was immature? My mind was reeling and it was a bit difficult to think of an adequate comeback at the moment. Armin was on point though, he didn`t waste the opportunity I'd unwittingly created for another tease.
"Put that away before you give somebody the wrong idea."
"W-wha-t?!" I stuttered, totally caught off guard. What was he thinking about? I shoved the shorter boy hard in the chest and he stumbled back a step, laughing his ass off. Similar antics continued on through the evening until we ran in to the male doctor who`d treated everyone`s injuries when we first arrived.
He informed us that dinner would be ready shortly and showed us where the bathrooms were in case we wanted to bathe. I was just as amazed as Armin that they had such a luxury on this fantastical flying ship. When Armin asked him how such a thing was possible, Icarus patiently explained to us that water was collected from the clouds to boost the reserves in several holding tanks. A complex filtration system that I didn't quite understand then purified the water naturally and what was able to be recycled was done so through a like process. Following this Armin and I both gladly indulged in the only only showers we`d had since leaving the Walls behind. They were short, limited to no more than ten minutes. But the warm water felt like nothing less than heaven raining down on our sore, tired bodies. I wondered if the others felt the same or had gotten to use the showers yet. I found out later at dinner that they had, when everyone showed up clean and rested. The Captain of the Aether had been kind enough to arrange for some clean clothes for us all while ours were being laundered. Even Eld, with his broken leg, had somehow managed to freshen up. Evidently Petra had helped him, if his thanks to her was any indication. What came after the relaxed dinner was one of the most tense discussions I had ever been a part of. Between Captain Virgil, Captain Levi, and the woman named Artemis who had saved us, they explained the dire reason for the Aether`s travels and sudden appearance in our territory. By the end of it, I was even more fired up to kill titans than before, if that were possible. Armin wore that preoccupied, deep thinking stare he often got. He expressed both some reservations, and great enthusiasm on the subject of a potential alliance. The two of us, along with Petra, Eld, and Levi stayed up late in to the night conversing and debating the subject back in the medical cabin. No one disturbed us; even Icarus stayed away. I fell asleep wondering what was going to happen next, my head stuffed full of ideas while my stomach was stuffed full of strange, delicious food.
