Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin.
Riders
"So she bitched out, huh…"
"…"
Mikasa couldn't even make a coherent reply to Levi. Not when she was this mad. Her bones felt like liquid metal; her body fuming with rage. After everything she had done, Annie was still able to get away. Why didn't they kill her sooner? If they didn't hesitate after she fell to her doom, Annie would've been done for. If she was in their position, there would've been no hesitation.
Did she really have to do everything herself? Was she really the only one who would've gotten everything done? Mikasa furrowed her brows as Levi walked a couple steps towards the upright crystal, the rock chained and stabilized with wooden planks.
No. Even she couldn't get everything done. Annie could've been dead long before she hit the ground in the first place. Mikasa should've sliced her nape clean through when she had the chance. Why didn't she?
Annie's hands were occupied when she was scaling the Wall. She couldn't have covered up her nape and kept climbing at the same time. So why didn't Mikasa go straight for the kill? It would've been so easy to swing onto her neck and cut Annie through… But she didn't. Instead of controlling herself and choosing the quickest route, Mikasa let her emotions take control of her again. She wanted Annie to feel pain; wanted her to feel helplessness. She wanted Annie to know who she was dealing with when she put Eren in danger.
She wanted Annie to see who would end her.
Mikasa let her emotions go, and once again, failed to reach her goal. Whispering fiercely under her breath, Mikasa said, "I did…"
Levi turned his head slightly to gaze back at her. His eyes gleamed in the firelight as they roamed over her face. Mikasa swore she could feel his stare on her like the very tip of a sword on her skin. He was trying to figure her out, and she felt slightly uncomfortable under his scrutiny. She wasn't about to show it, though.
There was something else in his look, but Mikasa wasn't in the mood for deciphering the corporal right now. He turned back to the glittering capsule, offering no reply to her.
And the female ace wasn't expecting one. Her eyes flickered back to Annie's placid face, shattered by the crinkled crystal. She looked like an abandoned doll, sleeping away in a smashed case.
A doll that Mikasa wanted to throw away.
The young woman hardened her face before marching straight up to the stone chamber, earning looks from Levi and the other soldiers in the dungeon. Furrowing her brows, she stared long and hard at the crystal, looking for any clues as to what it was. From what she heard from Major Hanji and her helpers, it was unbreakable. There weren't any imperfections and the material was harder than anything humans have come across. Mikasa clenched her fists in frustration; wanting to punch something that couldn't break was a terrible feeling. Instead, she placed a hand on the gleaming rock and roamed its surface with her fingers.
How strange: it felt brittle. Earlier, not even the hardest weapons could make a crack in its surface. They tried pretty much everything that they had, but to no avail. So why did Mikasa feel like she could punch straight through? Turning to Levi, she called him over, "Corporal."
The man gave her a questioning look before walking up next to her. Mikasa tapped the crystal while pointing out, "Major Hanji and the others couldn't break through this material, but for some reason it feels really weak."
Levi put his hand up to the rock and rubbed it. The crystal indeed felt like he could break a piece off if he wanted to. A memory from the mission surfaced as he tried to come up with an answer to the situation. Glancing at Mikasa, he asked, "You said she generated this chamber right before they tried to kill her?"
Mikasa's face was deeply set as she remembered the billowing steam. "Yeah."
The corporal's lidded eyes slid back to the shimmering chamber. In a rough voice, he speculated, "Remember how she could harden her skin? Even though we couldn't slice her when she did, pieces of the hard layer practically flaked off like damn lizard skin. Maybe that could be connected to… whatever this is," he turned and stepped away, "I'll get Hanji to inspect it further. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to feel up Annie's cocoon."
"If that was a joke it wasn't funny," Mikasa bit out.
"Tough crowd," Levi jeered back.
The young woman glared at him before walking to the stairs. She didn't want to look at Annie's face anymore. "I'm going to see Eren," she said for no reason as she brushed past the corporal. It's not like Levi needed to know wherever she went. It just came out.
From behind her, the corporal just watched her retreating back. Heat radiated from her in all directions, and he could tell she wasn't having any bullshit at the moment. Taking one more look at the crystal, his lidded eyes blinked before he turned and followed his teammate.
When she heard footfalls behind her, Mikasa looked back and saw Levi trailing her. "Corporal?"
"What?" He explained like she was supposed to know his intentions already, "I'm going with you. My leg is starting to feel much better. I just need to walk on it a bit more."
"That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard."
"Considering the fact that I am indeed lame…" Levi trailed off, waiting for her to catch her own pun, "It works."
"Whatever," Mikasa blurted before walking away. Now was not the time for arguing. She needed to see Eren safe and sound.
"Some escape plan you had… I was this close to getting thrown into actual prison!"
"We would've gotten you out if you did!"
Armin held his hands up in defense, keeping his distance from Jean as they made their way to Eren's recovery room. Unfortunately, the narrow corridors of the basement gave him limited space; he was practically hugging the cold stone walls. The torches above him warmed his halo of blond hair as he turned to face forward again. With a serious expression, he said, "Jean, were you briefed at all? About what happened?"
The young man in question gave a snort and replied, "Couldn't exactly get briefed when I was hauling ass out of the Capital. I sweat so much today that it's all pooling in my—"
"—O-Our speculations were right. Annie did turn out to be the female type," Armin interjected, not wanting to know where Jean's sweat had been accumulating.
Kirschtein's eyebrows shot towards his hairline in surprise. With a praising tone, he said, "Damn… You haven't been wrong yet, Armin. Mind telling me my future?"
Armin gave him a look before replying, "I just look at the facts and put them together like a puzzle. It's nothing special like fortune telling."
Jean shook his head. "Fortune telling is nowhere near as special as what you can do. At least your predictions come true."
The young man silently thanked Jean with a half-smile before continuing the briefing, "There are… some other things you need to know."
"Now what," Jean huffed in frustration.
"Well," Armin trailed off before saying, "Annie tore the town apart trying to escape. She managed to get all the way to the Wall before climbing it."
"She did what!" Jean exclaimed.
"Yeah. Mikasa was able to stop her, but when we were about to capture her she was able to crystallize herself. It looked like some self-induced coma."
"What the hell…" Jean put a hand on his brow as he tried to process everything. This was starting to be a bit ridiculous, but it had to be true if Armin was telling him about it. He looked back at his teammate, watching the boy's face. It looked like he still had something to say. With a worried tone, Jean asked, "There's more, isn't there?"
Armin's eyes were full of curiosity and fear as he pursed his lips. "If I told you the last part, you wouldn't believe me," he whispered.
Jean cast his eyes down to the floor. The firelight illuminated his hair and outlined his facial structure, masking the rest of him in shadow. "Try me," he breathed.
The other young man paused, trying to put his words together. Even he was still trying to process this last chunk of information. "It appears that… there are titans in the Walls."
After Armin said that, it felt like an eternity before Jean finally responded in his own way, "Are you fucking kidding me."
Armin shook his head. "They don't seem like regular titans at all either. All of them are as big as the colossal titan, and it looks as if they're spread all along the barriers."
Jean couldn't think of another reply he was so shocked. There was no explanation whatsoever for there to be titans residing in the very walls that protected humanity from them. It just didn't add up. He cursed right when they got to Eren's door, and Armin had to hush him.
Both boys stood before the recovery room, one still in shock and the other one worried about his friend. The cold air was drifting around their bodies, mingling with the warmth of the torch lights. Armin pushed his ear into the entrance before putting his hand on the knob. When he figured it was safe to enter, he opened the wooden door.
When in the room, all Armin saw were two people staring down at an unconscious Eren.
"Oh, Mika—"
"Shh," the young woman replied with a finger over her mouth. She was settled into a chair by Eren's beside.
Corporal Levi was also there, and he just gave him a look that screamed pain if he uttered another word. The man had been standing next to Mikasa, between her and the bedside table.
From behind him, Armin could tell Jean was caught off guard by the sight of the two soldiers in the room. He hadn't seen the two of them together like Armin had, so he didn't know about the tension between them. But right now, it didn't feel tense in that room at all. If anything, it felt calm with the two strongest soldiers in existence watching over his best friend. Like Mikasa, Eren looked the most peaceful when he was fast asleep. Overall, the room was placid.
Armin made his way over to the bed while a jealous Jean walked behind him. The blond thought about bringing a chair over, but he was scared to make any noise at all. So he settled for the bed, taking off his shoes before gingerly placing himself on the edge.
Kirschtein just leaned on the dresser by the bed, standing next to Armin. Apparently even he didn't want to make any noise. Mikasa and Levi were indeed threatening.
For a long time, the room was silent. Only the barely audible snores of Eren wafted through the room, the sounds floating down and disappearing into the wooden floorboards. Lost in his own thoughts, Armin had bent his knees up and wrapped his arms around his legs. Jean stole a couple glances at Mikasa, and he could've sworn the corporal shot him a glare one of those times.
It was getting too silent for him; he was getting antsy. The voice in his head was getting louder by the minute, and he needed to sort out his thoughts. In the smallest whisper he could manage, he struck up a conversation with Armin, "So… it's pretty safe to assume that Eren's summoning is cancelled, right?"
"Yeah," Armin whispered in return, his eyes drooping in weariness.
"But, that pales in comparison to all the other things that happened," Jean said, relieved that they haven't been hushed yet. There were a few things he needed to straighten out. Even when the words tumbled from his own lips he didn't believe them, "Annie really turned out to be that female type, going all titan-mode in the town, wrecking havoc, and turning herself into the Sleeping Beauty right after."
Corporal Levi let out a short breath, amused at Jean's rewording. Sleeping Beauty was an interesting label to put on a mass murderer and titan shifter.
Kirschtein broke through his thoughts with a slightly disbelieving tone, "And on top of that… There are colossal type titans inside the Wall, you say?"
"…Yeah," Armin replied. He didn't blame Jean for wanting to hear all of this again. It wasn't every day that people discovered titans hidden inside humanity's stronghold. But… why were they there? And when did they get there? As soon as he spotted the titan in the barrier, a thousand scenarios and possibilities blossomed in his mind like a tangle of weeds. One of them stood out to him at the moment and bubbled out of his mouth, "And I think they're going to take a walk soon… All at once…"
Beside him, Jean broke out into nervous laughter. He suddenly felt a weight on his head, realizing that Jean was ruffling his mop of hair. Jean teased, "Armin, you just made a joke, huh? You silly kid! Come on, boy—"
"—Jean."
Both boys turned to Mikasa right before she whispered, "Not so loud."
A bright red blush spread across Jean's cheeks in embarrassment. Covering his mouth with a hand, he stuttered out, "Ah, yeah, forgot. S-Sorry."
Corporal Levi gave him a look of pure annoyance and blandly asked, "Are you always this loud when people are sleeping? Annoying."
Jean's eyes widened before he furrowed his brows. He defended himself against most people, but not the corporal. He just settled for keeping his hand over his mouth and glaring back.
Armin broke the tension before it could get too thick. "You know, about the Wall… I never could determine how it was built in the first place. There are no brick joints or traces of peeling or other things like that." He paused, molding the idea in his mind before introducing it for show, "I wonder if it was made by using the titans' hardening ability. It could have a lot of applications, just like with Annie crystallizing herself."
Corporal Levi gave him a piercing look. "Then what you're saying is…"
Armin looked up and nodded at him. "Yeah. That would mean… that we've always been protected from titans… by titans."
The squad leader looked up at the ceiling, seemingly pondering this over in his head. Mikasa pursed her lips, still keeping her gaze on Eren.
Jean was the only one to reply, "Is that a joke, too? 'Cause it sure ain't funny."
Suddenly the door swung open, and another soldier poked his head into the room. His glance went straight to Armin when he said, "Armin, come with me. Commander Erwin asks you to attend the meeting."
"Understood," Armin replied in his solid tone. He was quick to put on his shoes.
While he was doing so, the soldier saw Levi and stuttered out, "C-Corporal! I assume you're going to the meeting, as well?"
"After I go take a piss," the Lance Corporal replied lazily. Mikasa glared at him from her seat.
For some reason, Jean felt unwanted with just Mikasa watching over Eren.. Not looking forward to being the third wheel in the room, Jean spoke out, "W-Well. I think I'll be going to see Annie in her so-called chamber. Seems like I'm the last person to know about it anyway."
The man in the doorway looked at Mikasa when Jean and Armin filed out of the room. "Mikasa? I think you should go, too."
"No, I…" she trailed off when she felt the corporal's gaze on her, "I'd better stay here."
"I see," the soldier said. He said nothing more as he left Armin to close the door.
Before the blonde did so, he turned back to Mikasa and gave her a small wave. The blush that adorned her face just then spoke volumes. Armin was smart enough to avoid Corporal Levi's glare, though. He could already feel it digging into his skin.
After Armin and Jean left, Mikasa returned to watching over the boy in bed. Her gaze was hard as she stared at Eren's features, and her body sat rigid in her seat. It was only when he was asleep that she got to see the Eren she knew when they were kids. When he was sleeping, it was like nothing bothered him. That was what she wanted most for him, and she would always cherish the moments she was able to see him safe under the covers. Because even though he was recovering from damage, at least he was actually there.
But since there was still a threat not that far away from him, she couldn't idly sit by. Mikasa wanted Annie gone, not sleeping away in a coma. Eren needed to be protected from whatever was going on, and she would do everything she could to keep him safe. And this time for sure: she wasn't going to let Annie get away. Even if it cost Mikasa her life.
From beside her, Levi muttered while folding his arms, "Even when he's sleeping I still want to kick him."
"Watch it," Mikasa seethed, still on edge from her thoughts, "I still haven't forgiven you for that."
Levi rolled his eyes away and drawled, "The only thing I remember doing was saving his ass."
Mikasa gritted her teeth in annoyance. "There were other ways to go about that."
"Like what," the corporal shot back, "Make him promise that he'd never hurt anyone? Make him pledge his loyalty? Words wouldn't have made any difference in the Court's decisions. Actions speak louder than any pretty speech."
Mikasa turned her head away, not wanting to admit how right he was. If he hadn't beaten Eren to a pulp in front of the entire courtroom, they wouldn't have seen how vulnerable Eren was. They needed to see with their own eyes that he could be "tamed" in some way. She could tell they were getting nowhere even when Eren was practically begging them, desperately convincing them he was a human. Of course, she wasn't able to help matters. In fact, she just made it worse for her friend. With a sour expression, she realized that was the very first time Levi jumped in and saved her and Eren. If he hadn't done what he did, who knows where they would've ended up. She should've thanked the guy instead of imposing revenge on him.
But how did he know that would work? That move was such an outlandish and risky maneuver that she was sure he wouldn't get away with it. Well, at the time she prayed that he wouldn't get away with it. She certainly wasn't letting him.
Despite all of this, Levi stood there before a bloody Jaeger like he knew exactly what he was doing. At the time, she just pinned it as his brash and pompous attitude. Looking back, it was almost if…
Mikasa's eyes sparked in realization. "You sound like you're talking from experience," she whispered.
Levi stilled with his gaze on her black tresses. Had he really said enough to lead her to that epiphany so quickly? It wasn't like he spilled his secrets, but yet she read him like a book. He had underestimated how insightful she was. Levi's bangs shifted as he turned to look back at Eren. Just the fact that she knew something that deep about him without her realizing it made him very uncomfortable. In a low voice, he retorted, "I'm not gonna speak about that."
"I didn't ask you to," Mikasa replied without missing a beat. She didn't want to admit how much his sentence stung her. It felt like a little prick to her chest.
The corporal's lidded eyes gleamed in the lantern's light. He had never shared his past with anyone; it was just too dark for him to talk about. There were things he did that no one like Mikasa should hear about. Besides, it would do things to the chemistry between them. The team chemistry, of course. "Good," he breathed.
Not now. He just wasn't ready. Maybe later; much, much later. But not now.
Unfolding his arms, Levi turned on his heel and started for the door. His damaged leg was taking the pressure a lot better than the past week. He suspected that it could be fully healed in the next three days or so. "We'll start mission reports the moment I get back. I don't care if it's midnight or four in the morning."
"Understood," Ackerman replied tersely before turning back to watch over her friend.
She was still angry, he mused. Her posture was ramrod straight, and her hands were clenched in her lap.
It wasn't good for anyone to hold a grudge so tightly. From his experience, instead of squeezing your grudges, you hold them in your palm. There was no need to hurt your own body while holding a grudge; you're only letting it win over you. The best thing to do was hold it in front of you and, when the time came to let it out, run it through with a dagger.
And as a leader, he needed to make sure his teammates did the same. Midway to the door, Levi turned and called, "Ackerman." Her shoulders tensed before she turned to look at him.
"Your anger is understandable," he said pointedly, "But unacceptable."
"As long as she's still alive it will always be acceptable," Mikasa replied, her voice unwavering.
Levi cast his gaze to the far wall before he decided, "Then I'll kill her."
Mikasa's eyes widened in surprise. She wasn't expecting that. Wasn't she just being scolded? Levi never failed to keep her on her toes, but she couldn't decide whether she invited that or not. Reining in her relief that the corporal was on her side, she retorted, "I can do it myself." Mikasa then turned back to Eren's sleeping form before Levi could shoot her a scathing glare.
He should've known it wouldn't be easy to get his point across. Trying one last time, he said, "Just don't rush in. The best kills are the ones you've been waiting for."
Mikasa said nothing as he ended his statement. The room was silent except for even breathing and soft snores.
So she really was determined to do things herself. The corporal gave up on glaring at her and made it all the way to the door. With his hand on the knob, Levi glanced back at her over his shoulder. Her eyes roamed over Eren, almost if she was making sure he was still in one piece. Something akin to a small fire burned in his chest, and his lidded eyes flashed a look before he closed the door.
A blurry figure slowly sank into a shape before it finally molded into its full form. The light in the room was dim, outlining the dark shadow in an orange glow. Eren blinked once, twice to snap his vision into focus as he slowly crawled out of his deep sleep. He realized it was Mikasa leaning over him, and her expression lightened when he wedged his eyes fully open. His voice came out raspy when he croaked, "Mikasa…"
"Eren," she replied with a breath, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," he whispered, still struggling to get his voice back. Turning his head to the lantern on the bedside table, Eren watched the fire burning on the wick. His gaze lingered on the flickering light before he closed his eyes. "What happened," he asked.
"Annie was able to get away," Mikasa responded rigidly, "Do you remember?"
Eren shook his head, feeling a headache surface. He squinted and put a hand up to this forehead, berating himself for staring at the light too long. Pieces of the mission came to his mind, but everything was so jumbled he couldn't decipher what came before what. His head always got so buzzed after he titan-shifted for too long.
The young woman noticed his distress immediately and grabbed a towel from the nightstand. Soaking it in the bowl of water sitting by the lantern, she wringed it out and placed it on Eren's head. She furrowed her brows when he let her do it for him. It was strange how he just stilled when she placed it on his sweaty brow. She was caught off guard; he never let her baby him so easily. Was he that tired to allow her to nurse him? Not that she was complaining. "Do you at least remember her trying to get away? She managed to climb the Wall."
A fuzzy memory of Annie scaling towards the heavens resurfaced in Eren's mind, and he nodded.
"I was able to stop her, and she fell. You tore her out of her titan, but she was able to encase herself in a chamber before everyone could kill her. I should've done it sooner," Mikasa ended her statement with a brusque click of her teeth and pushed her hands into her lap.
Eren gently grabbed the towel from his head and looked at her. Her eyes were practically glaring through her pants and burning through the floor. In fact, he wouldn't have been surprised if he glanced at the floorboards and saw a burnt circle in the ground. What was going on? She had never been on edge for this long, which was really saying something about her hatred for Annie. Usually she was calm and in control of herself when he awoke from his recovery stages. Now that this secret tradition was broken, Eren had this strange feeling that something was missing. Without thinking, he sat up and nudged the damp towel onto Mikasa's forehead. In a stern voice laced with drowsiness, he said, "I think you need this more than I do."
Mikasa's eyes widened as a small bead of water slipped down between her eyes and veered off her nose. Lifting one of her arms, she took the towel from Eren and kept it on her face. "Oh," she whispered, and left it at that.
Eren nodded before swinging his legs off of the bed. There was a thin layer of sweat on his skin from being under the covers, chilling him under his pants when he left the warmth of the sheets. He could feel Mikasa's eyes on him as he stood up to stretch, and while he had one elbow bent by his head he asked, "Where is she now?"
Mikasa didn't need to know who she was. "Downstairs in the dungeon," she answered tightly.
The boy furrowed his brows, wondering if keeping Annie so close was a good idea. He kept loosening his muscles, working the blood through his veins. "You said she made a chamber around herself?"
After putting the towel down and wiping her damp forehead, the young woman said, "Yeah. A chamber of hard crystal."
Jaeger stopped mid-stretch. "Can't we just break it?"
"No. Major Hanji and the others tried with everything we had, but we couldn't make a dent." Mikasa got up from her chair and felt her blood readjust to her standing position. She had been sitting for so long the muscles in her backside felt numb. Looking straight at Eren, she said, "I wanted to go see her with you when you woke up. Maybe you can figure out how to get her out once you see her."
Eren wasn't sure what she was talking about. How was he supposed to know the first thing about a flash-crystal chamber? He didn't even know how to crystallize his own titan skin. "How do you expect me to help?"
"I don't know," Mikasa said as she adjusted the scarf he gave her all those years ago. She turned and started walking towards the door. "Use your titan instincts or something."
Maybe it was just him, but was that sass he heard in her tone? She was never one to fluctuate her voice in any way, unless it was a growl or downright roar coming out of her mouth. Even when she blamed Sasha for farting during their trainee days she didn't change her voice. Hearing this one change caught him off guard and forced him to figure out where it came from. Through all his doubt, the first thought that came to his mind when she said that was the Lance Corporal himself. It was like Levi's voice floated under her words, and their voices mingled with each other for that split second.
Eren blinked before snapping back to reality. When he came to, Mikasa was already holding the door open for him and staring him down. Was she actually being impatient with him?
Again with the similarities.
The boy slightly scowled before putting on his shoes and leaving the room. Mikasa shut the door behind him and led him down the long corridors and to the staircase that descended into the dungeon.
For awhile, she didn't say another word. The only sounds surrounding them were the clicks of their boots and the flickering fires on the walls. Usually, the silence between them was a lazy cat, just like the ones he used to chase around Shinganshina. He didn't focus on anything in particular, and Mikasa didn't need to worry about anything happening at that moment. They were just there, living and breathing in the small moments of life and how it should be.
But this silence felt like a tiger on the hunt, crouching low in the shadows waiting to pounce on them. Both of them were on edge, undoubtedly for different reasons. Eren could guess immediately that she was still furious that Annie wasn't dead. He practically felt her rage permeating the atmosphere, seeping into the walls and fueling the fires in their sconces.
He was certainly on edge because of her, and not just because she looked as bloodthirsty as he did. Mikasa was starting to imitate Corporal Levi and he didn't know how to feel about that. Which was surprising, since he usually didn't care what Mikasa was up to.
But that was because she was never up to something other than his business.
Was he being protective? Or was it something else?
The two of them were nearing the stairs, and still Mikasa didn't utter a sound. Eren turned his head slightly, watching the shadows dance on her features. Seeing her still wear the scarf made something twitch in him, but he didn't know what it was.
Finally blurting something out to destroy the silence, Eren proclaimed, "I'll find a way to get her out."
Mikasa's head snapped to him and her eyes shone brighter already. To his surprise, she put a hand on his arm. Her voice was a whisper when she said, "I know."
Eren subtly puffed his chest in determination and gave her a crisp nod. Softening his features, he breathed, "Mikasa… I—"
Something suddenly crashed into Eren right when he stepped in front of the staircase, and Mikasa swerved her head to the two boys on the ground. "Eren!"
As the two tried to untangle themselves, Jaeger got a glimpse of who barreled into him. With brows furrowed, he shouted, "What the—! Get off, Jean!"
Something immediately felt off. Mikasa noticed this when Jean didn't even struggle for a proper retort. His eyes looked like he just saw a ghost and his hands were shaking as he grabbed Eren by the collar. Shouting desperately, he said, "Get out of my way, Jaeger! It's a fucking emergency!"
Mikasa's eyes widened slightly.
The only thing down there was the dungeon, and the only thing in the dungeon was— "Jean," she said as slowly as she could manage, "What are you talking about."
Jean didn't even realize that she was there until then, and his expression downgraded into a look of pure terror. His mouth hung open when he stuttered out, "Mikasa… I… A-Annie is…"
Mikasa didn't even let him finish. She bolted down the stairs and took them two at a time.
Eren's eyes went wide before he tore off Jean's hand from his shirt. He screamed after his friend, "Mikasa, wait!" Following her lead, Eren rushed down the flight of steps, ignoring everything Jean called back at him. There was a sunken feeling in his stomach, and at that moment he wondered if Mikasa felt it, too. The steps were as damp as the walls as he skittered down towards the dank basement. When he got to the bottom, he leaped over the last four steps and landed with a dusty thud on the ground. Looking up, he gasped at what he saw.
There were guards strewn all over the ground. Lifeless forms and faces scattered throughout the dungeon, and blood painted the floors and the walls red. Everything was trashed, and there were broken tiles in the floor and clips of blades wedged in the stones. It looked like someone destroyed the entire place with a sledgehammer.
In the center of the room, there was a huge crystal chamber almost as tall as the ceiling. There were planks of wood holding it up from the bottom, and from the dangling chains on the ceiling it was chained in place.
But something was horribly wrong.
It was broken.
And Annie was gone.
A thousand scenarios raced through Mikasa's mind as she looked upon the damaged crystal. Did she wake up and get herself out? Did someone else do it? How did it happen? When did it happen?
From behind her, she heard Eren scream, "Where the hell is Annie?"
All Mikasa could do was stand before the broken gemstone like a statue, her pupils shaking endlessly. Eren was trying to find someone on the ground that was still alive, but no one was responding. Completely ignoring the dead bodies around her, Ackerman clenched her hands in frustration. Her body was on fire. She wanted nothing more in the world than to have her blades tucked in her hands at the moment. Didn't she just say that she wasn't going to let Annie get away this time? Was she going to blame herself for this time, too?
A hand on her shoulder actually made her flinch, and she turned to see Eren by her side. The look on his face was stern, and he gripped her shoulder tightly before letting go. His hand then went to hers and pried her whole hand open. She didn't even realize how hard she'd been clenching her hands; there were marks in her palm.
Eren's voice was a rough whisper, "Get a hold of yourself! Getting that angry is my job."
Mikasa's eyebrows softened in embarrassment at his words, but she quickly pressed them down again and snatched her hand away. "I'm fine," she hissed, before sucking in a breath.
Eren's look was incredulous when he stared back at her. In that moment, their roles were completely reversed. She was always the one to calm him down, and he would always be the one to push her away. Was this what it felt like for her every time? Because he felt useless and unwanted at the same time, and he noticed that it was a pretty shitty feeling.
Suddenly, there were two pairs of footsteps descending down the stairs, and Eren spotted two other former trainees. Calling out to them, he shouted, "Reiner! Bertholdt! Did you guys see what happened?"
The two of them spotted Jaeger immediately and ran towards him, avoiding the lifeless lumps and their cloaks on the floor. Both of them already had their gear on and their blades.
Reiner was the first one to speak up when he explained, "No, we didn't. We ran into Jean on the ground floor. He's warning everyone in the castle before heading to where Commander Erwin is." After he spoke, the burly teen swerved his head towards the broken chamber. He sheathed both weapons before stepping up to inspect it.
Bertholdt furrowed his brows before following Reiner's lead, and when he left their side, Mikasa watched him. Both of the guys inspected the crystal thoroughly, which felt a little strange to the young woman. Maybe it was just out of curiosity. But what if it was something else? Why would these two be so interested over something like this? With cautious steps, she walked up behind them to look over the chamber as well.
From behind them, Eren asked, "Reiner, you said Jean was going to warn Commander Erwin? Why isn't he here in the castle?"
The brawny man turned his head and nodded. "The commander is in a meeting at the moment. Jean said he'd leave when everyone was ready. He sent the two of us to get you two, and we're going to ride the horses to the Stohess district."
Mikasa looked at him and derailed the conversation a bit harshly, "Do you know anything about this material?"
Reiner shook his head. "I don't. I can't tell if it's broken from the inside or out."
"Why would it be broken from the inside," Mikasa bit out in frustration, "We couldn't break through no matter what we did."
Bertholdt gave Reiner a desperate look before turning away, and Mikasa couldn't help but pin them as suspicious. There was something wrong about this whole situation. They definitely seemed more on edge than they should've been. She had seen those looks on their faces before, when Dr. Jaeger wouldn't tell Carla what he'd been hiding. It happened enough in that household for her to recognize that expression.
Reiner just glared at Bertholdt before giving her a serious look. "I didn't know you tried to break through. We were sent somewhere else for the mission."
Mikasa's eyes narrowed into slits, but he was telling the truth. Commander Erwin only wanted her and a few other trainees on the mission while the rest were sent away. They were allowed to come back right when the Scouting Legion did, so Reiner and Bertholdt wouldn't have known anything about what happened. Still… something just didn't feel right. "Where are the others," Mikasa asked, not letting go of her assumptions. She needed solid evidence against them first.
Bertholdt was the one to answer this time. "They haven't gotten back yet. Commander Erwin ordered us to come back in twos, and Reiner and I were the first ones. Sasha and Connie come back tomorrow, and Ymir and Krista come back in two days."
Mikasa thought that sounded a bit weird, but Erwin did things in his own way. She wouldn't put this past him. She just nodded before glaring at the crystal before her. Reiner was right; she couldn't tell whether the crystal was destroyed from the inside or the outside. They needed Hanji right away if they hoped to get any clues.
Bertholdt broke through her thoughts, "Let's go, Mikasa. Eren's already gone."
Ackerman turned her head around; Eren was already trampling up the steps. She grunted in frustration before breaking into a run. She leaped over fallen comrades, wishing she could give these two a good punch just in case they had something to do with this. Reiner and Bertholdt stayed right on her heels all the way to the stables. It took all of her self control to keep from glancing back at them suspiciously.
When they got there, Jean already had all the horses ready. Some of them were getting skittish, so the poor boy had to keep them all calm at the same time. As soon as he saw the rest of the gang running towards him, he huffed out, "Took you guys long enough!"
The horse nickered as the rest of the soldiers adjusted their cloaks and found their horses. Darkness crept across the sky, looming over the castle stronghold. The wind was picking up, whipping the trees in different angles and blew the soldiers' cloaks behind them. As they got on their horses, Eren shouted to no one in particular, "What if she's waiting for us in the forest?"
Jean glanced back at him and retorted, "Shut up, Jaeger! That's what our gear is for!" He turned around and hunched his shoulders without realizing it. From behind him, everyone could tell he was shaking in his pants already. Putting on a strong façade, Kirschtein reached behind his head and pulled his hood up. Addressing the group, he ordered, "Just in case… Do the same. She's after Eren. She won't be able to tell who we are if we all look the same."
Reiner, being the only one who knew this plan already, gave Jean an approving smirk. He was the first one to follow, and Bertholdt looked at him before flipping his own hood up. Mikasa and Eren followed suit, and five hooded riders stood against the moonlight.
Eren furrowed his brows under his hood while he gripped his reins, "You alright with leading us, Jean?"
The man in the front of the line slowly blinked before turning his head around again. This time, his expression was so poised and resolute under his hood that even Mikasa was amused. His eyes were lowered, but you could tell he was determined and unwavering. "Yeah," he whispered without hesitation, "Let's go."
The five riders raced into the trees, the thundering of hooves echoing into the night.
Levi hated meetings with a passion. He had never liked the idea of them, even back in his underground days. There were way too many people clumped together like nasty sardines, arguing over topics he simply didn't care about. From behind Erwin, Levi could tell that Hanji was doing math in her head to pass the time. Despite her serious face, she rarely focused on the actual conversations unless she viewed them in an interesting light. Her hard expression was more from her concentrating on adding doubles or squaring numbers. Or going through the plethora of notes she kept on titan experiments—there really wasn't a clear way to tell.
Right beside Hanji stood Armin, listening to the whole meeting as if his life depended on it. It was almost comical, with both of them having the same expression but focusing on two different things entirely. Contrary to popular belief, Levi actually liked Armin. He wasn't stupid. What he lacked in combat, he compensated with intelligence. Strategy was half the battle: a lesson he learned from Erwin himself. The other reason he liked him didn't strike him until he figured out that the kid was just as ruthless as the rest of them. He didn't look it, but the kid was willing to sacrifice everything to win—a willpower not found in many kids his age. That's what the Scouting Legion needed more of, and what the corporal was trying to find in potential teammates.
Alas, at least the two of them had something to do. Levi could care less about doing mathematics in his head or listening to these men bicker like old ladies. He usually just adjusted his cravat or watched Erwin's eyebrows move up and down.
This meeting was basically pointless. Levi could tell the Military Police was only butthurt because the Scouting Legion didn't ask them for help. And why? Because they would've screwed it up and the whole thing would've turned out much worse, that's why. Sure, there was major damage to the city, but wasn't that better than having a titan actually escape? Therefore giving it a second chance to come back?
And besides, from what Mikasa relayed to him earlier, a lot of people were killed on the mission. More Scouting Legion people than Military Policemen. They were doing them a favor, weren't they? That's what Levi hated so much about these people. They were all talk and no walk. They were mad when they weren't involved, but everyone knows they all enlisted in the Military Police to save their own asses. Everyone knows they just want to help out when it's convenient.
That was the biggest difference between them and the Scouting Legion, and the number one reason why Erwin refuses to work with them. They don't have the sense of urgency, the will to fight back. Even the Garrison doesn't really have what it takes to fully fight for humanity. The siege of Wall Maria was enough to show for that.
But it was all pointless to Levi. He just grew up with the mindset of killed or be killed. Be the hunter, never the prey. That lifestyle just came so naturally to him that it helped him excel when he was enlisted into the Scouting Legion in the first place.
The District Chief's gruff voice sliced through Levi's thoughts when he asked, "…But do you have proof that your actions really prevented humanity's demise? You couldn't get any information out of Annie Leonhardt, correct?"
The Lance Corporal narrowed his eyes. They shouldn't be the ones talking if they haven't even been outside the walls. It was hard enough to capture a regular titan. Titan-shifters were a whole other class entirely.
Erwin never even flinched. "At present, she remains detained in our custody deep underground. Since her whole body is covered with particularly hard crystal, it is impossible to question her for information."
Classic Erwin: dressing up his words for the common folk. He really should've been a poet. If Levi had been the one talking, he probably would've just said something along the lines of, "No, bitch. She's encased in a fucking crystal. Why don't you talk to her and tell me what she says?"
Good thing he wasn't the Commander, right?
Despite the fancy wording, the Chief wasn't amused. "In other words," he snorted, "All in vain?"
Erwin was quick to retaliate, "No, I do not think so. From my perspective, the very fact that we succeeded in capturing one of them is valuable enough."
"Yes…"
"Because that proves beyond doubt that there are people like her among us," Erwin said, finishing his sentence with an air of finality. "Let us track them all down and corner them. All the enemies that are hiding inside these walls. Every single one of them—"
In a flash, the door to the room burst open. A soldier's head popped through the door and hollered, "Commander Erwin! Bad news!"
Levi and Erwin didn't say a word as Hanji addressed the man, "Touma…"
Touma didn't even have time to open the door before a mass of kids shoved him out of the way. Eren burst through first and shouted, "Commander Erwin! Annie is gone!"
Armin took a step back in surprise while Hanji hung her mouth open. Erwin slowly rose from his chair, an indiscernible look in his eye. Around him, the council and the policemen were causing a ruckus. Shouts flew through the air and banged into accusations. Arguments and nasty words sprung out of nowhere and piled on top of the Scouting Legion soldiers like heavy snow.
Well, this was bad news. It was no surprise they were getting all the blame for it. It also didn't help that Erwin just said that Annie was being detained in their custody.
Levi scanned the rest of the young kids. Jean was behind Eren, looking like he was scared but he didn't even know what of. And then in the back were two guys with Mikasa. Immediately, he exchanged a glance with her. The look in her eyes unsettled him, and he knew this wasn't some prank. He started to walk forward when Erwin's commanding voice cut through the air, "There is no way she could have gotten out by herself." Turning to the burly man at the other end of the table, Erwin said, "My apologies, District Chief, but there are matters to attend to."
"Wait one minute, Erwin. You can't just leave now," the man gruffly replied.
Levi just stood there bored as Erwin put his superior face on. He knew exactly what was coming next. It was completely unnecessary given the circumstances, but he was going to do it anyway. In a voice that washed over the room, Commander Erwin started, "District Chief, this does not concern you in any way. However, it will have everything to do with you if you do not let us go. There is an enemy roaming the streets, unguarded, and there might even be more if she had an accomplice. All I am asking is for you to allow us to do what the Scouting Legion does, and let us detain her before it is too late," he paused and looked around the room. Eren and the others were breathing heavily, probably from climbing all those damn stairs, but they were silent apart from that. The rest of the people in the room were too scared to interrupt. Seeing that he had everyone's attention, Erwin flashed his verbal trump card, "In other words, I am entrusting this decision to you whether we go or not. The fate of humanity rests in your hands, Chief."
The man sneered, realizing he ran into a trap. Levi snorted at his poor effort to mask his anger. "Just kill her, Erwin," the old man said with a snuff, "She's done enough damage as it is."
"Not possible," the commander continued, "We still haven't collected enough data."
Hanji added on to his words, "I have already come up with a way to detain her fully, even if she was encased in crystal. We can—"
"—What is wrong with you people!" The Chief's chair clattered on the floor as he shot out of it. "It's like you don't even care what happens to the human race! Just get out of my courthouse. I don't want anything to do with this!"
Erwin bowed slightly as the rest of the chatter rose to the ceiling again, deafening Levi's ears. These men were even louder than the drunkards at underground bars. And was that spit that just hit his cheek? Wiping the nasty liquid with a handkerchief, Levi turned to Erwin and said rigidly, "I might just strangle someone if we don't leave."
"We're leaving," Erwin answered before walking to the door as if a cacophony of disdain wasn't prancing around him. Looking towards a soldier by the door, he ordered, "Ready the horses."
Armin ran straight to Eren and the others as they filed out the door. Grabbing Eren by the sleeve, he asked, "Eren, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Armin," the boy replied as he turned to him, "Nothing happened to me."
Levi went straight for Mikasa, ignoring the other conversations. She turned to him just as he caught up with her. "When did this happen," he asked lazily.
Mikasa looked away, and he could tell she was trying her damndest to keep her anger in check. "We don't know. Jean warned us right when Eren and I went to go see her."
"At least the brat is awake," the corporal said.
The young woman nodded, and the two of them said nothing else as the Scouting Legion soldiers made it down to the horses.
Mikasa silently got onto her steed as Commander Erwin talked silently with Levi and Hanji at the front of the line. It looked like the three of them were in the middle of a fierce conversation. Which looked out of place, considering how platonic they were together. From behind her, Jean, Eren, and Armin were brainstorming, coming up with scenarios as to how Annie got out. Armin was sure she had outside help, backing his assumptions up in various ways. Jean and Eren weren't so dead set on it, but seemed to agree with everything the blonde was saying. On the other side of her, Reiner and Bertholdt looked to be in a conversation of their own.
When Mikasa was about to strain her ears to listen to them, Erwin's voice broke through the crowd, "Since we are on very short notice, Levi and I have come to an agreement. Eren, Armin, Jean, Reiner, Bertholdt; all of you will join with Mikasa to form the new Special Ops Squad under Levi's command. There's not enough time to form a proper team, so you guys are it." He turned to his other squad leader, "When we get back to Headquarters, Hanji, you will inspect the crystal and collect as much information as possible."
"Right."
"Levi, your squad will leave first thing in the morning into Wall Maria, and I will join you as soon as the rest of the soldiers are ready. Your job is to track down the female type and capture her at all costs."
"Understood."
"Eren, you're going to be the bait, just like last time. Even though you're under Levi's command, whether you shift or not is always your choice."
"Yes, sir!"
"The rest of you: your job is to protect Eren while finding a way to capture Annie Leonhardt. We can't let Eren be captured, but we must not let the female type go. I advise that you approach with extreme caution. Be victorious."
Mikasa saluted just like everyone else, and a flurry of horses stormed back to Headquarters.
This is it, Mikasa whispered in her head as her horse trampled flowers and weeds and dirt, This time for sure…
There wasn't going to be a next time after this. She was going to exterminate Annie once and for all.
In the morning, they were going back into Wall Maria.
The hunt had just begun.
To be continued...
Note: Can you imagine if I stopped it at "And Annie was gone."? That would've been the meanest cliffhanger ever! Hahahaha.
April 2014 Update: Changed the names of "Rivaille" and "Irvin!" I liked the spelling of Rivaille, but oh well. Also, still on tumblr as heyrhianne. Same old plug-in as usual.
