Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Face twitching, Lou slowly came back to consciousness. There was a persistent throbbing to the left of his head and he could barely open his eyes, leaving him groaning in pain. What the hell had happened to him..? The last thing he remembered were those green eyes...
"Are you awake, sir?"
Slowly blinking his eyes, he turned his head to see- emerald gems. The little girl from before! She looked down at him with a worried expression, and her hands were hidden behind her back as she rocked back and forth on her feet.
"Wh-What happened?" Lou croaked out, groaning out in pain.
"Nothing you didn't deserve." She answered blithely.
He slowly turned his head and narrowed his eyes at her. "The hell does that mean?" He asked, suspicious now. He was about to get up but he couldn't, and when he tilted his head down, he saw with growing horror that his hands and legs were tied down with thick rope. "Wha-?! What the fuck!"
Now that he really looked around, he realized he was strapped to an old table covered with a white cloth. Candles surrounded him, allowing him to see in the very dark room. Crates were stacked in the corner, and several herbs hung from the ceiling, their pungent scents triggering his nausea.
What really got to him was the table next to the girl. The surface was completely covered in different stainless steel knives, drills, needles, and even syringes.
"Wh-What is this..?" Lou breathed out in fear.
The little girl smiled and stepped closer into the light. Reaching up to her dress straps, she took it off, showing she was wearing a shirt and pants underneath. She then took off the bow from her hair and picked up a knife, testing its sharpness with her finger. "This is your punishment." She- He stated.
And then it all came flooding back.
The little girl with mesmerizing green eyes waiting with a basket of wildflowers. The way her voice changed from high to low, showing that she was actually a he. Then another girl jumping down from the roof to smash a piece of wood against his head. The same girl who had caught him killing that whore and had stopped him from killing the baby.
Fuck.
"You know, I don't actually like hurting people..." The boy began, watching as a bead of blood oozed from the fine cut he made on his thumb. "The only things I want to kill are Titans."
"Wait waitwaitwait-" Lou tried to struggle but found it was useless. The ropes were on too tight, even biting into his skin. Every movement he made, the rope scraped new lacerations to the point where blood began to stain them.
"I actually decided to help people, you know?" The boy continued, his emerald eyes glowing almost red from the candle lighting. "After Shiganshina fell, so many people need help and I have the ability to give it. The young, the old, the sick...They all come to me because there isn't a more qualified doctor in Rose now." He held his blade over the candle, watching mesmerized as the metal grew hot. "A lot of people think it's strange that a 10 year old knows how to treat people, but in a place like this, any help is appreciated. Whether it's a woman abusing herbal inhalants, an old barkeep with a rotting liver, and even..." His eyes grew large with rage. "An innocent prostitute going into labor."
Lou knew he was screwed.
"N-Now hold on," He began fearfully, trying to scoot away as much as he could to no avail. The ropes were too tight, as if tied by something stronger than an average human. "What do you want, money? Fame? I-I can hook you up! Y-Y-You're a doctor, right?! There's a new drug on the market, codeine, and it's only available in Stohess right now! I can get you a sample and then you can make big money making it yourself! C'mon," He smiled nervously, sweat pouring down his hairline. "No harm done, right? She was just a no-name whore, a dime a dozen here!"
The cherubic faced boy stared at him as still as a statue, not a breath or even a blink. Then, all of a sudden, his face twisted into an angry scowl and he lifted his arm-
"AHHHHH!" Lou screamed, gazing wide-eyed and panicked at the scalpel protruding from his upper thigh. Blood gushed out like a fountain, staining his pants, the cloth on the table, and even splattering on the boy himself. The warm red substance slowly tread down his still childish face, highlighting the poisonous glow of his eyes.
"No harm done?" The boy whispered, teeth bared to the world. "No harm done?! You fucking animal!" He howled, twisting the knife even further, and Lou slammed his back against the table with a bang as he screamed. "Difa was an innocent woman! She was just trying to survive in this cruel world! It was your disgusting dick that got her pregnant, and you couldn't even afford to give her the tea she needed to make sure she wouldn't carry your vile seed!"
"STOP STOP STOP PLEASE!" Lou wailed, thrashing about in his restraints. "IT HURTS!"
"DID YOU STOP WHEN DIFA WAS CHOKING?!" The boy screamed, glaring down at his helpless prisoner. "DID YOU STOP WHEN YOU SLICED HER NECK AND SHE ASPHYXIATED ON HER OWN BLOOD?!" Yanking the scalpel out, he thrust it down on the other thigh, relishing in the man's pain. "DID YOU STOP WHEN YOU WERE ABOUT TO KILL A DEFENSELESS AND INNOCENT BABY?! HUH?!"
"F-FUCK YOU!" Lou screeched, sweat, tears, and snot congregating together on his face. "JUST KILL ME ALREADY GET IT OVER WITH PLEASE I CAN'T TAKE THIS PAIN JUST KILL ME-"
"Oh, you're not getting out of this so easily..." The boy breathed out, looking more animal than human. "Filth like you deserve to be put down."
Lou watched through his tears as his interrogator placed the scalpel down on the table, only to pick up the thin needles. He sobbed in loud wet noises, choking on his saliva when he breathed too hard. He couldn't move his legs anymore, couldn't feel much of anything except pain pain pain. "What...are you..."
"My name is Eren." Eren introduced himself with a crazed smile, holding up a needle. "I'm a doctor."
He heated up the tip in a candle, watching as the metal glowed as if being forged. "My dad taught me a lot of things so I can be just as good as him. Did you know that there are several pressure points in the body, and if I press this needle right here..."
He slowly inserted the tool right above one of the wounds he created, feeling it slide through the skin, tissue, and muscle. Without his consent, Lou's leg relaxed. "Then I can make you feel as though you're floating on a cloud." Eren finished, picking up another needle. "I've never tried it on a live person before...Hope you don't mind being my first ever patient."
Lou only closed his eyes and braced himself for the pain. "Fuck...You...Eren..." He rasped out.
The last thing he thought of with a clear mind, was that he hoped he would die quickly.
The screams that erupted from the basement told Mikasa that Eren had begun his "treatment," and it wouldn't be good to go back down there anytime soon. She felt a twinge of discomfort, even a hint of apprehension, knowing that her brother in all but blood was actually going through with this. This was a cruel world, she knew that, but she always believe that it was cruel because a person could lose everything. Their home, their livelihood, their family.
But the pain was swift, like having a limb cut off. This? This was pure torture.
It may sound hypocritical coming from her, who always took down her opponents no matter their age or size. She was quick and ruthless when it came to beating people down, and never an ounce of mercy when it came to killing. In order to live, some people had to die. That was a truth she knew.
Eren however, took it slow. He would cut, slash, stab, and burn. In the end, his victims would die, but that could take minutes, hours, even days.
She wouldn't lie. She was scared of her brother's potential to inflict pain. Or rather, she was scared for her brother and how far he would take this, how this would affect him in the long run. Lou was absolute scum who didn't deserve to live, yes, but did he deserve having his nails pulled and each muscle fiber severed? Not even the worst people deserved that.
But she wouldn't go against Eren, not when he needed a live person to experiment with. He knew how to treat standard injuries and illnesses, but what better way to learn how to treat uncommon injuries than inflicting them himself. What better way to learn how to use unorthodox methods than to see what worked and what didn't. What better way to learn how to combat diseases than watching how they ravaged a live body.
In the end, Mikasa would support her brother no matter what, but she would also be there to rein him in from the edge. He may know the difference between a good and bad person, but he saw it as two very distinct sides. White and black. Good and evil. There was no gray in his world yet, with the exception of him selling his poisons. She would make sure that Eren would remember that even if a person deserved death, they didn't deserve torture. Not to this extent.
And...
Mikasa glanced down at Armin who had huddled into a ball at the top of the stairwell, his shoulders tensing with every scream. Armin. Sweet, innocent, and kind Armin who only knew of the cruelty of the world through his books and other people, never himself. She knew Difa had been the first dead person he had seen, disregarding when their hometown fell, and her being a good friend to them meant he had taken it very badly.
"Armin?" She whispered, taking a seat next to him. He didn't answer, but she knew he heard. "Are you okay?"
"...Yes." He lied, pushing his face further into his knees. "I'm fine."
Clearly he wasn't fine at all. "...It's okay to cry." Mikasa reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know Ms. Difa was a good friend to you, and you her."
"She was your friend too..." Armin murmured, his voice muffled by the fabric of his pants. "And Eren's...That's why he's doing this, right..? For Difa and Mikelle."
"Yes." Mikasa answered simply, because she couldn't answer it in any other way. "You've never seen him like this before, have you?" Even though they had been friends longer than she had known them.
His head bowed. "...Y-Yeah. I mean, sometimes he was cruel to Frid and the others, but that was because they were cruel to us. It made sense. But this..?" He lifted his head to show glossy blue eyes, pain and loss and fear swirling together. "I never knew Eren could be so..."
"Ruthless?" She finished for him, and he nodded.
"I know that ever since we moved here, you and him were doing...'unspeakable' things." Armin mumbled, his hands tightening in his pants when he heard another noise from the basement, this time a low and pain filled groan. "How sometimes, people would just disappear and you would show up with specks of blood on your sleeves. How Eren always stinks of spearmint and antiseptics because he soaks his clothes in them after washing away the blood. Even when the Rosicas broke into our house that first time, you and him were so...calm about it." He bit his lip and closed his eyes, remembering how Mikasa was about to stomp down onto the gangster's head with just her foot. "You were prepared to kill Luke without any regrets..."
"Because they were a threat to us." Mikasa answered quietly. "And if not to us, then to the people who help us. To live is to win, to die is to lose. If you don't fight, you can't win. I don't like to...kill, but I'm good at it."
"I see..." Armin answered glumly, wincing when the next noise was a high pitched squeal, followed by sobbing. "You're both so used to this. I should also toughen up...or else I'll end up like Difa..."
Mikasa shook her head. "No, that's not true. Eren and I are here to protect you, and no one here will mess with us. There's no need for you to fight, too." She didn't want him to sully his hands like them. To be soaked up to their elbows in blood. Armin was kind, too pure to live in a place like this.
She didn't notice Armin's disposition wither even further. "Oh..." He uttered, subdued. "...W-When will Eren be done?"
"When the screaming stops."
And that wouldn't happen for a long while.
Midnight, Elsewhere
He shot up out of his bed with a gasp, chest heaving violently with each breath. He had broken into a cold sweat sometime during his night terror, and his simple button up and pants stuck to his skin uncomfortably. The moon shone through the window in his room, highlighting the quiet of the night and the serenity of the base.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Levi grasped his head with one hand and grimaced. "How shitty does it have to get..."
Throwing the covers off, he slipped on a pair of simple shoes and left his room to head down to the kitchen. He needed some fucking tea.
Headquarters was quiet at this time of night, especially now when the mess started to settle down. What mess? The mess that was losing the whole of Wall fucking Maria to Titans. To think that the very day they come back from a shitty expedition led by their shitty then-commander, Keith Shadis, the Wall would be breached just a few hours later. Hundreds of people were eaten in just one day, and in the weeks following when the Titans moved out of Shiganshina and into the other 3 districts meant they had lost thousands.
It was fucking insane and Levi hated it all. He hated all this senseless death and he hated the Titans so much more for it.
When he was in Trost yesterday, it was full to the brim with refugees from Shiganshina. The stench was absolutely disgusting, but what was probably more disgusting was how the Military Police treated them. Like vermin that was better off dead than alive. May as well just throw them back out there.
It brought uncomfortable memories from his days underground and Levi made sure to distract himself by rinsing his cup thoroughly before he poured hot water in along with a few weeds the Interior passed for tea leaves.
Taking a seat after making sure the chair was clean to his standards, Levi drank his freshly made tea in a stressed manner.
Shiganshina, while relatively poor, was a better town than most of the Interior if only because their poverty meant they were more honest and sincere. He honestly appreciated how harsh their comments were, said to their faces rather than behind their backs. It wasn't the same the farther inside he went, where high class ladies hid their disdain behind their fans and the gentlemen serenaded honeyed but barbed words at them.
With Erwin as the new commander though, Levi knew the Corps was better off. Shadis was a piss poor leader, and last he heard, the man was now going to work as an instructor, training new military enlistees. Whatever worked for that asshole and his rapidly thinning hair.
Taking another sip of his tea in the pin-drop silent cafeteria, Levi let out a quiet sigh.
The nightmares were getting worse. No longer was it just about Farlan and Isabel, no, it was now his comrades and innocent townsfolk. He didn't just see Titans on expeditions, he saw them in his dreams. Those horrible and loud footsteps that could be felt leagues away. Their shitty and deep groans, begging to eat humans for no reason.
Fuck, he hated them, but the guilt weighed down on him far more than any fiery revenge he held.
Every time he went out there in the great unknown, more and more of his comrades would die at the hands of those lumbering jackasses. His strength and speed had quickly made him popular in the Corps even with his admittedly shitty attitude, and everyone counted on him out there. With every death, it was another "sorry" weighing down on his soul, and it meant he would swear another oath to wipe out the Titans so their deaths wouldn't be in vain. He had lost count of how many times he swore that to a dying comrade.
And now 20% of their territory was gone and most of their people with it. Fuck, he knew it wasn't his fault but still...
He lifted up his cup to take another sip but paused when he realized it was long empty, not even a drop of tea left. Sighing, he stood up to wash it in the sink. There was no sleep for him tonight, not when he dreamed of innocent children being eaten due to his ineptitude.
When he got back to his room, he sat at the desk and began writing reports. He was being promoted to a Corporal now that Erwin was elevated to the position of Commander. It wasn't like he knew shit about being a leader, but...people depended on him. He had gone from "the gutter rat" to someone they respected, and how could he do anything less than try to live up to their expectations?
The tip of his quill scratched against paper for hours, barely even noticing the sun coming in. Learning how to read and write was...tough. All right, it was fucking bullshit. Living for over 20 years underground meant he only knew the bare basics at best. His penmanship was still crap, but so long as Erwin could decipher it, he really didn't care. He wasn't here to push papers, he was here to kill Titans. To follow Erwin's insane plans until the very end.
His quill paused and he quickly placed it back into the stand before it dripped all over. "But where does it end..." He murmured.
Now that Erwin was the commander, he could finally implement his formation, using different colored flares. Whatever fucking works would be better than nothing, like when they had operated under Shadis. The gigantic blond had said his goal was to find out the truths of the world, no matter what. But even years after Levi had left the Underground, he was still discovering new things within the Walls.
Quality teas though he preferred black, new ways to clean, and even the people were different.
The Underground didn't have smiling people unless they were smiling in victory over a fight or drug deal. It didn't have women happily married and bearing children peacefully in a town that would support them. And it certainly didn't have kids who knew how to make quality medicines to donate to his "heroes."
Levi glanced at the corner of his desk where an innocent jar sat, still half-full.
He had appropriated it from Erwin that very night to use, finding the ache in his leg too much to ignore. The muscle relieving properties were amazing, and he didn't think he had ever used any medicine that worked so quickly and effectively. He hoarded it jealously, not letting anyone else use it. Not even Hange Zoe, who had apparently learned first aid from their father and applied it in the field. Their medicines were nowhere near as effective as this one, which was made by a fucking brat.
Levi frowned slightly, turning in his chair to look out the window at the clear pale blue sky.
A fucking brat who was either dead or starving as a refugee right now. He had been a native of Shiganshina when he gave them those jars of medicine. Probably the only ones he had on hand, Levi speculated. His clothes were simple and well-worn, meaning he either didn't have the money to expand his closet or he didn't feel the need to. He was either a refugee right now or his remains had been spat out into a Titan Pellet, forever frozen in its preservatives.
A kid like that didn't deserve such a horrible fate, but that was life...
If only he wasn't dreaming his death so often, him and the little girl who had come to take him away. Both of them, innocent children, being gobbled up between a Titan's teeth. Their little bones shattering, their fragile smooth skin torn apart. He didn't even remember their faces, only that they had been young and in the boy's case, kind to almost foolish degrees.
Levi rubbed his temples with an agitated sigh. When did life become so fucking brutal.
A knock interrupted his thoughts and he turned to glare at the door. "What?" He barked.
"A-Apologies for the rude awakening, sir," A soldier stammered from the other side of the door. "But Commander Erwin is requesting your presence, as well as all the elites in meeting room 2."
Levi furrowed his brow. A meeting? This early? "...Fine."
"Sir!" Their footsteps echoed down the stone hall, which meant he had to be on his way.
Withholding a sigh, Levi stood up from his desk, stripped his bed of its sheets (he had sweated all over them), and wiped himself down with a wet rag before putting on a fresh uniform. He eyed the scars that marred his body, particularly the ones gained from constant use of ODM gear. The straps had to be tight or else he'd break his spine when flying through the air, and it left marks on every soldier. He could probably argue that he had used them far longer than any other soldier in service right now in the Corps, if he cared enough to.
But enough of this, he had a meeting to get to and a fresh cup of tea to drink.
Pulling his boots on, Levi tied his cravat on securely before striding out of his room, not acknowledging the occasional soldier he passed by. The weather was ridiculously cheerful today when Humanity was struggling to feed itself, and it was pissing him off.
But it didn't piss him off as much as this.
"You're joking, right..?" Levi breathed, staring with horrified eyes at the notice that was placed in front of him. Every other person in the meeting room had an identical copy, and they all had the same expression as he did. Completely and utterly disgusted.
"I'm afraid not." Erwin answered grimly, lacing his hands on the table. "And before you say anything, no, I had no prior notice of this."
"This..." Levi slammed his hands on the table, his chair thrown back from how quickly he shot out of his seat. "This is a fucking joke, right?!" He snarled, anger coursing through his veins. "Who ordered this?!"
"The Crown did." Erwin closed his eyes, his aristocratic face twisting into a frown. "None of the commanders had any say, and we don't have any power to go against this."
"This is absurd..." Mike muttered, almost throwing the paper away with disdain. "How would they get anyone to follow this, especially the refugees?"
"They'll probably be held at gunpoint." Nanaba grimaced. "No doubt the Military Police will be the ones organizing this."
Levi turned his gaze to and from his comrades, finally stopping on his superior. "Erwin, you can't be fucking serious." He hissed, eyes narrowed into slits. "No one would survive!"
"Which I believe is their goal, as foul as it may seem." Erwin clenched his jaw. "Let it be known now that no active soldier from within the Corps is allowed to participate in this mission. Only the Garrison and Police Brigade may go, but it is entirely voluntary on their part."
Straightening his shoulders, Erwin stared at them with a stone cold gaze. "In one week's time, all eligible refugees from Wall Maria that are above the age of 15 and not within the military, aren't pregnant, or don't have young children, will be sent to retake their land."
Eren tugged his gloves off and washed his hands under the sink. Even with gloves on, he felt dirty. Blood was always so hard to get out of clothes, which was why he saved up to afford plastic gloves and an apron. It saved time and effort in the long run, even though they had been so outrageously expensive.
Lou was unconscious on the table, wounds stitched and bandaged to avoid him bleeding out. When all the candles had died out, Eren knew it was time to stop. He'll stay down there to rest up before Eren resumed his testing. He had been surprisingly quiet and lax after the first couple of stab wounds, mostly due to the pressure point needles.
He had lied when he said his father taught him about it. It was something he had wanted to try for a long time, but couldn't because dead bodies wouldn't react and he hadn't wanted to hurt anyone in case he messed up. He wanted to offer the treatment to Difa who was in considerable pain after her surgery, but...
It was too late for that, so Lou had to feel it in her place.
Eren found it absolutely fascinating that a filthy animal like him could be reduced into a sniveling piece of meat. How easy it was to break him down. He wasn't a human, rather he was filth wearing a human guise. Did he feel guilty for hurting him? Absolutely not.
"I'll rid this world of filth..." Eren whispered, washing his scalpels of coagulated blood and other dried bodily fluids.
His first priority were to exterminate Titans, to make sure they would never eat another person ever again like his mother. But his second priority were people who needed medical help, because he realized he alone had the skills to help them. And his third priority was to make sure filth like Lou wouldn't hurt anyone else.
Difa's funeral had only a few people attend, mostly Madam Hiesel's staff, and them three. Armin had held Mikelle in his arms, the babe still ignorant to the fact that she was an orphan now. It still wasn't decided what would happen to her, if it would be better to keep her here in this festering environment or to send her off to the orphanage that was already too crowded.
Eren had wanted to raise her themselves, but they were going to join the military soon. It wouldn't be fair for her.
Sighing, he placed the sanitized blades away in a case and left the basement, his stomach growling to let him know he had been down there for way longer than he intended. Oops.
Opening the door to the apartment, he gave Armin, Mikasa, and grandpa Arlert a tired wave before taking a piece of bread off the counter to eat, as well as a waterskin. "Hi..."
"Are you done?" Mikasa asked quietly, watching as he took a seat next to her at the rickety dining table they had.
"Not yet." Eren answered, taking a large bite out of his bread and chewing. "There's some things I want to try. Things that could really help us later on."
Armin finally lifted up his head from staring down at the table, and gave him a curious if wary gaze. "What do you mean..?"
"The human body has several pressure points on it, and pressing on those exact points could help it relax." Eren explained with a mouth full of bread in full display. Mikasa slapped a hand over his mouth, and he gave her a tired glare before proceeding to chew with his mouth closed. "If we're going to enlist as soldiers, we'll probably be tired every day, so if I work on needlework, it'll make it a lot easier on our bodies. I'm just trying to think ahead a little bit."
"That's a good idea." Mikasa voiced a moment later, exchanging a look with Armin. "Just...don't drag it out."
"Mhm." Eren took a large swig of his water, washing down his meal. "I'll be done in a few days. Don't worry, it'll be quiet too." He did take out Lou's vocal cords so he couldn't scream even if he wanted to. It was getting annoying to hear and his ears were still ringing.
"You kids seem busy." Grandpa Arlert spoke up, all three of them turning to look at him. "I'm glad. You...all have a way to support yourselves, right?"
"Yup." Eren nodded. He made medicines and treated the sick.
"Yes." Mikasa tugged at her scarf. She helped clean the Alley of the unsavory.
"Mm." Armin nodded timidly. He did bookkeeping for Madam Hiesel and a few other businesses.
Grandpa Arlert smiled, the action lifting up his graying brown mustache. "Good. That's very good...I'm proud of you three for making due with the situation at hand. I know this isn't the ideal place to live, but it's better than nothing." He sighed and leaned over the table with his elbows. "I hope you all will continue to do well without me."
Armin furrowed his brow. "Without...you..?" He slowly asked, apprehensive.
Reaching into his jacket, Grandpa Arlert took out a crumpled up paper and smoothed it out on the table. All three children leaned in to read and when they understood the message, their hearts ran cold.
"'A notice to all refugees from the Crown, his majesty King Fritz...'" Armin read with wide eyes. "'We will begin the operation to take back Wall Maria. This operation will require any and all able hands to fight back to reclaim their homes. If you are over 15 years old, not in the military, not pregnant, or are unaccompanied by young children under the age of 7, it is mandatory for you to participate. You will be armed and prepared, and rations will be provided. For the glory of mankind...'"
Eren stared down at the notice with wide eyes. What..? How could the crown do this? Humanity's continuation was their top priority, wasn't it? Yet they're sending out people to go against the Titans untrained?! Anger began to overtake him, and he slammed his hands on the table. "This is crazy!" He yelled, his voice bouncing around the thin walls of their apartment. "They're just sending people out there to die!"
"How cruel..." Mikasa murmured, clenching her jaw. "What do they think this will accomplish?"
Armin slowly looked up from the paper and to his grandpa, who was well above the age of 15, not in the military, and the children under his guardianship was well over 7. And he began to tear up. "...To solve the problem of food shortage, they-they will..." His voice hitched with every other breath, tears beginning to roll down his face. "Send out the refugees under the guise of retaking land so that the rest of the Interior could eat..."
Realization dawned on the other two, and they looked over at grandpa Arlert with disbelief and horror. "No..." Eren whispered. "Grandpa Arlert, you can't..!"
Grandpa Arlert only gave them a tired smile. "I have to. The Military Police know my face, and they will look for me to participate. I'm still quite young and spry, you know!" He let out a laugh, but it didn't make any of them feel better. "But it is as Armin said...People don't have food. I'm just an old farmer and fisherman who hasn't done well..."
"That's not true!" Armin argued, scooting out of his chair to climb up on his grandpa's lap. "You're a great farmer and fisherman! You took me in and raised me even though it meant it would be more expensive for you! You're-You're..." He collapsed into tears. "I don't want to lose you so soon..."
The older man wrapped his arms around his grandson, rocking him gently as if he were still a baby. "It was going to happen sooner or later," He murmured. "And at least I will go in a blaze of glory, trying to retake our home from the Titans."
The apartment fell into a heavy silence, the tension weighing down on their small shoulders. Eren stared down at his lap and clenched his fists. Just when things began to improve, they were shoved back down into despair. Difa, and now grandpa Arlert...
How many more people will be taken from him..?
"Promise me this." Grandpa Arlert spoke up, and they all slowly looked up at him. "That no matter what you have to do to survive, you will continue to keep your humanity with you." He pleaded with a sad smile. "This place will change you, but don't lose yourself in vice. Eren...Let that man die."
"Ah-!" Eren gasped, his back straight as a rod. "How did you-"
"I heard his screams." Grandpa Arlert replied dryly. "And it's not hard to see the pink water from laundry day every week. Don't go too far. Try to save than to destroy."
Eren hunched his shoulders and pouted, his ears burning red. He thought he had concealed his actions from him well enough, but to think he knew from the very beginning.
"Mikasa, remember that your strength should be used to protect." Grandpa Arlert advised the young girl. "That not everyone is a threat to Eren and Armin. It's okay to be gentle sometimes."
"Mm." Mikasa nodded bashfully. "I'll try..."
"And Armin..." Grandpa Arlert looked down at his grandson who clung to him like his life depended on it. "I know you are aware of this world's cruelty through your books, but there is so much more to learn. The price of knowledge isn't worth the price of your humanity. Remember yourself when things are dark, and you will find the answer."
Sniffling, Armin nodded against his chest. "Y-Yes..." He choked out. "Wh-When is the operation taking place..?"
"In one week." Grandpa Arlert whispered.
They all fell silent, and in unison, both Eren and Mikasa stood up from their seats to attach themselves to the older man's sides. Their tears soaked into his jacket and even as he smiled, he began to tear up as well.
The world was cruel.
A week passed by much too quickly, and they all trudged out to the gate leading to Wall Maria. Several hundreds of people were gathered there as well, all of them standing around with a cloud of despair over them. Some tried to hide it with their bravado, shouting how they were going to kill the Titans. The Military Police distributed weapons in the form of ODM swords, and when those ran out, began handing out farm tools like spades and rakes.
It was obvious that the majority was not going to survive.
"Grandpa..." Armin whimpered, holding onto the older man's hand as tightly as he could, as if thinking if he held on long enough, his grandpa wouldn't have to go out there.
Grandpa Arlert smiled down at him, resigned, and took off his straw hat and placed it on Armin's head. "Keep that warm for me, my boy. I'll always be here." His hand came up to tap the young boy's chest right above his heart.
Armin's lips quivered but forced himself to nod, not trusting himself to speak anymore.
"Grandpa Arlert..." Eren whispered, brows turned up in sorrow and frustration.
Mikasa stayed quiet, already hiding in her scarf while holding onto Eren's hand tightly.
"You kids do your best to survive, and to live." Grandpa Arlert patted their heads as well. "Do this old man a favor and keep Armin and yourselves safe."
Nodding vigorously, Eren gave him a clenched fist salute, the highest honor he knew of.
"ALL REFUGEES FROM WALL MARIA! THE GATE WILL OPEN IN FIVE MINUTES! READY YOURSELVES TO FIGHT FOR THE GLORY OF MANKIND!"
Their small hands reached out to grab a hold of their grandpa's jacket, but when the time came, he slowly slipped away with a wizened smile.
Never to be seen again.
Back in their apartment that night, the skies dark and cloudy with a storm coming, Armin took off the straw hat and clutched it tightly to his chest, tears streaming down his face. Frowning sadly, Eren and Mikasa hugged him, linking their hands around him. The blond sobbed in their arms, no longer trying to hold it back. He was safe in his friends' arms and he hated and cherished it. Why was he so weak? He couldn't fight against the Titans, he couldn't do much other than use his brain for bookkeeping, and he couldn't even fight for his grandpa's life.
The loss hurt so much...
"Is-Is this how you felt, Eren..?" Armin choked out, hunching his shoulders. "Why does it have to be this way..."
Eren clenched his jaw and nodded slightly. "Yeah, when mom..." His eyes began to sting and he blinked them away. "It doesn't have to be this way."
Mikasa looked up at him. "What do you mean..?"
"We'll join the military." Eren announced determinedly. "We'll graduate and we'll fight. I'll exterminate the Titans so mankind won't have to be trapped like this anymore. No more sacrifices."
Wiping his face with a sleeve, Armin nodded. "Y-Yeah, let's do it..."
Mikasa stared at them before smiling slightly. "If you're going, then I'm going."
"You don't have to..." Eren began to argue but he knew it was for naught. He wanted them by his side, but out of the battle.
"I'm stronger than you." Mikasa pointed out. "I'll be able to look out for you and Armin."
"I..." Sniffling, Armin held his straw hat protectively. "I'll try to find some way to help you guys too...But I don't...I'm not very strong." He murmured.
Eren frowned and poked him on the forehead, ignoring his squeak. "You're strong here, and that's way more important. Anyone can get stronger, but not everyone can be smarter."
"That applies to you too, Eren." Mikasa frowned. "Don't let your urges overrun your brain. You're smart if only if you weren't so brash."
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Eren growled.
Watching as they argued again, Armin let out a watery laugh. He may have lost someone precious to him, but he still had these two, and it was enough to keep going.
Someone hurriedly knocked on their door and they all turned to stare at it, Eren and Mikasa taking out their wrist blades. "Eren?! You there?!" Luke's familiar voice rang out from behind the door.
Relaxing, Eren went to open the door. "Yeah, I'm here. What is it?" He opened it, showing the gangsters serious face. He frowned. What was it that was so urgent that he almost bulldozed their door down?
"There's a man that's been asking around for you." Luke informed him. "We've been watching him for the last couple of days but the guy's been growing desperate so we thought to let you know."
Eren blinked. "What man?"
"He has long brown hair, the same shade as yours actually, and round glasses. He's got this kind of ugly mustache too, not really enough hair to call it a proper 'stache." Luke described, Eren's eyes growing wider. "And he was in a suit, though he looks like he hasn't washed in days, maybe weeks."
Eren slowly turned to look at his friends, who stared back at him with similar wide eyes. Could it be?
Turning back to the gangster, Eren furrowed his brow. "Bring him here. Gently!" He added quickly.
"You sure? What if he's dangerous-"
"Did you forget who you're talking to?" Eren frowned, Mikasa appearing behind him like a wraith. "We got this. Just get him here as soon as possible!"
Luke threw his hands in the air. "You got it, boss. We'll get him here within the hour." And with that, he left down the stairs and out the house.
Eren closed the door before erupting into a flurry of activity. "Is it really dad?!" He breathed excitedly, taking a bag and throwing his clothes and who knew what else inside. "It's been two months, but he finally found us!"
"Eren...What are you doing?" Armin asked, his voice still warbly from crying.
"Packing!" He answered quickly. "Dad'll be able to take care of us! He's a better doctor than me and knows way more stuff, and we can find a better place to live until it's time for us to enlist!"
"Eren, you're assuming too much." Mikasa snatched the bag out of his hand and shook its contents back out onto their shared bed. "We don't know if it really is Dr. Jaeger. Besides, you heard Luke. He hasn't washed in days or weeks. Perhaps Dr. Jaeger was living in one of the other refugee camps before coming here."
"Mm..." Armin nodded in agreement. "At the description, it sounds like we're better off right now than him. It isn't so bad here, let's just wait and see."
Clenching his fists, Eren forced himself to nod. "Right...Sorry." He had just been so excited. His father was alive! It had been so long that he had almost given up. He may have lost his mother, but at least his father was still alive and it sounded like he had been searching for him. He didn't just forget or something.
They sat around anxiously for the next hour, with Eren making them all some tea to help calm Armin, and himself. Taking a sip of his drink, he glanced over at Armin who held his cup gingerly. It didn't feel fair that he gained back his parent while his best friend lost his grandpa. If this man was even his father.
A knock on the door shook them out of their reverie, and Eren quickly bounded for the door. "Coming!"
"Eren?!" A desperate man yelled out from behind it, and Eren felt a smile spread on his face. It really was him!
Opening the door, he looked up to his father and was shocked by what he saw. His normally well-maintained appearance was haggard at best, with his brown suit sullied in various places with dirt and who knew what else. His hair was in disarray, a tangled mess on his head, and his glasses sat crooked on his nose. His eyes were wide with hope and half-crazed desperation, and he held a bag protectively in his arms.
This was his father, but...
"Dad..?" Eren whispered, concerned and overwhelmed. "Is that really you? Are you okay? Here, do you want some tea? You look like you need something calming-"
His father reached out and snatched his wrist. "There's no time, Eren. Please, come with me!" He urged, already pulling him out the door. "We need to get going now!"
"Dr. Jaeger..!" Mikasa voiced out, about to follow them, but the long lost doctor only shook his head.
"Mikasa, stay here!" Grisha shouted, eyes wide behind his glasses. "Eren will be back later, okay?! Eren, we're going!"
"Wha- Dad!" Eren yelped as he was tugged down the stairs and out the house, into the dark streets of the Alley and then Trost proper. "Where are we going?!"
His father didn't answer him, to desperate to get to wherever the destination in mind was. Eren didn't protest either, too overjoyed to be reunited with his father even though he wasn't thinking straight at the moment. His father knew what was best.
"Jaeger!"
They both stopped at the edge of town near a forest and turned to see a man with permanently horrified eyes walking up to them, dressed in a military instructor's uniform. Eren's eyes widened when he realized he was staring at Keith Shadis, former commander of the Survey Corps. The same man who had shouted in Shiganshina how he was a failure.
Shadis panted, stopping in front of the two of them. "You're both alive! Is Carla..?"
Eren clenched his hands and looked down at the ground. "No...She...She was eaten by a filthy Titan." He gritted out. "With its stupid blonde hair and smiling face..." His father stiffened next to him but he didn't notice, too embroiled in the nightmare that was two months ago. "Why didn't you guys do anything?! You were the Corps!"
Shadis gritted his teeth and looked away. "There was nothing to be done. By the time the news reached us, Shiganshina was already gone." He shook his head. "In any case, Dr. Jaeger." He turned to face the older doctor. "What are you planning to do?!"
Grisha let out a shaky breath before tugging his son closer to him. "I'm going to avenge Carla." He announced roughly, shocking both his son and his former savior. "And Eren will be the one to do it. He alone has the power."
"Should you be putting such a burden on him?" Shadis argued, though he made no move to stop either of them. "This child might not be special at all..."
Grisha squared his shoulders. "It's precisely because he is my son that he is special. I beg of you, Keith, don't get involved." Giving the man one last nod, he tugged Eren into the dense forest, leaving the former commander alone to stare out to where they disappeared to.
"Special, huh..." Shadis whispered before closing his eyes. "All right then."
Minutes later, while the night sky was dark and stormy, a lightning bolt struck the forest before disappearing. Furrowing his brow, he went in to investigate, hoping that the lightning didn't hit the two Jaegers. Crossing through the brambles and thick trees, he finally found a clearing.
Eren was on the ground, unconscious, but with no Grisha in sight. "Dr. Jaeger..?" Shadis called out hesitantly, but no one answered. It was as if the man had never existed.
His brow wrinkling, Shadis let out a deep sigh and picked up the unconscious youngster in his arms. "C'mon Eren..." He whispered, turning around to head back into town. He didn't see the pair of glasses the boy held in his hand.
Nor the syringe tucked inside his jacket, with a few drops of clear liquid left inside.
