Uprising

Chapter 10: Captured

Levi

On the way back to Eren's house, we were both mostly silent. It gave me time to think about the dream I had while I was unconscious. When Erwin found out about Eren and I. I could still recall how angry he was. I knew he would have been, but I was uncertain why. Erwin never looked at either of us as the same. He barely looked at me like I was a Corporal. After that, he treated Eren like shit. I wanted to say something, but it would have been in vain. God, the look on Eren's face when I told him was heartbreaking. He started panicking and spluttering a bunch of nonsense. Kind of like he does now.

We were half way to Eren's when I got the profound feeling of being watched and followed. I looked around behind me. My eyes narrowed at a shadow hiding behind a tree. Whoever it was, they can't know where Eren lives. What if it's someone from the organization that wants him? Hell, that's probably who it is anyways. Who else would it be? I felt Eren stiffen next to me.

"Levi? What is it?" He asked tugging lightly on my hand. My eyes dragged over the shadow once more before I turned to look at Eren as if I hadn't noticed we were being followed.

"Nothing. Thought I saw a cat." I lied, hoping he bought it.

"You like cats?" He asked, disbelief in his voice.

"They're cleaner than dogs, that's for sure." I scoffed. Actually, I adored cats.

"True. You really do like things to be clean, I noticed." He mumbled, more to himself.

"Being messy is not an option for me. I've always like things to be clean." And by always I meant literally always. I may not remember much of my other lives, but I knew I was a clean soul even then. Eren hummed, like he was thinking. We passed an alley when Eren stopped and backtracked.

"What is it?" I asked as his attention became taken with the dark extension.

"Wait, I think I actually saw a cat in here..." He mumbled to himself. I got a bad vibe and searched behind us. A face peeked out from the side of a building as Eren began walking into the alley. Hold on... Erwin? Immediately, I felt like an idiot for not seeing it was him and becoming so worked up.

"Lose Eren. We need to talk." A text vibrated his phone as he checked it. How did he get my number? I felt if it wasn't important, than Erwin wouldn't being following me like this.

"Hey, brat!" I yelled into the alley. His head poked up from looking behind a dumpster. "I need to get you home. Don't worry about a damn cat."

Eren huffed in frustration. "It got away." He shrugged.

"Oh well." I grumbled and took another glance behind me. Erwin stood, still stony faced as usual.

We made it back to his house. At the edge of the lawn, he hesitated. He turned around and looked at me.

"Levi..." He stopped, seeming to reconsider his words. "Be safe, okay?" Eren said, pushing his hair from his eyes.

"Me? You're the one that should attempt to be safe. It's not like it's Willie Wonka's fucking Chocolate Factory in there." I nodded my head to the house. Eren scoffed and stared into my eyes with his turquoise irises.

"But I'm also not the one that just got out of the hospital." Eren replied smartly.

"Eren, I don't even have a fucking car so it's not really possible for me to get into another accident." He nodded at my reasoning.

"True... Okay, I should head in. Thank you for walking me home." Eren smiled and butterflies bubbled in my chest. I couldn't help but felt the ends of my lips curl up slightly.

"Of course, brat. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't?"

"I'm not sure." He chuckled and bent his head down slightly. He tossed a nervous look over his shoulder to make sure his dad wasn't in the window. When he turned his head back towards me, he captured my lips in a kiss. I was somewhat surprised, because he was never the one to initiate the kiss. Although, I melded into the kiss instantly. The fact Erwin was probably still watching us was merely a thought in the back of my mind. Deciding to make a bold move, I took my good arm and wrapped it around is waist and pulled his body closer to mine. Eren smiled against my lips and put his arms around my shoulders. We moved rhythmically as our lips glided over one another's. Our lips broke apart for a breath of air into our burning lungs. I licked my swollen lips as we opened our eyes. Eren rested his forehead on mine.

"We should do that more often..." I whispered as Eren shook with laughter. Finally, we separated ourselves. Eren waved goodbye as he entered his house. I smiled and chuckled briefly.

I walked a bit down the street before calling out.

"Alright, Erwin. Get your ass out here." Soon enough, Erwin appeared through a bunch of bushes. As he stepped onto the road, I noticed the way he didn't look me in the eye. "Oh for fucks sake, I'm a teenager in a relationship. I should be able to kiss my boyfriend in public without having you look at me as if I got naked on his front lawn."

"Yes, I understand that. It's just... Odd. Seeing you so happy with him..." Erwin huffed. My eyebrows rose slightly.

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" I asked, mostly messing with him. He only glared at me and looked away. I gulped. Was he jealous? I shook my head, probably miss-reading him. It wasn't hard to do, especially because it was fucking Erwin. "Anyways, what was so important that you had to stalk us to talk to me?"

"I have more information on the certain subject I talked to you about before, if you understand." Erwin said, his voice lowering as he stepped closer. I nodded eagerly.

"Well, let's hear it. I wouldn't want your eyebrows to grow impatient." He rolled his eyes.

"...Not here." He mumbled, his eyes looking around crazily like he knew someone was listening.

"Fuck, where then?" I asked, already beginning to become annoyed with Erwin's antics. He sighed and nodded.

"Come with me." He began on a trail through the woods. I gulped at the thought of going in the woods. Woods were always so dirty. Despite myself, I followed. This was the way to tell that I was desperate for this information. After a few minutes of walking, I could see a clearing in the distance. Once in the clearing, Erwin looked around before turning to me.

"This should be good enough." I crossed my arms as he began to speak.

"The organization is called Colossal. It's lead by a bunch of people from our past. Some of them were enemies, some of them were- believe it or not- allies. Their main goal is to bring back the titans, as I've said before. Considering titan DNA is far different from human, they will clone them. It can be done, surprisingly enough. If my information is correct, they already suspect Eren." My stomach dropped and my eyes widened considerably. I felt as though I was going to be sick.

"You must be careful. If they catch him and you are with him, there is a good chance they might even kill you. They have no use for you. If they do catch Eren, they will have to manipulate his DNA. Maybe even put it in other people to test and see if they can change through a DNA transfer. The only way they can get the DNA to activate correctly is if Eren were to remember. Colossal is a very dangerous group and should not be underestimated. Levi, we need to make up a team. A team to fight them, kill even if necessary. We need to be ready for war."

I spluttered something incoherent, slightly in shock. With a groan, I stopped trying to talk. My finger tips began to massage my temples as a migraine began to pound my skull.

"How do you expect me to do that? Erwin, we're the only one's who fucking remember." I growled, not liking where this was heading.

"We need to make them remember. There has to be a way." Erwin muttered desperately.

"So, basically, what you want me to do is to do all the damn work in putting this team together while you sit in your house with the windows and doors locked? You don't even work for the school anymore!" I told him, angry. Suddenly, his face showed guilt. Actual guilt. It was a lovely color on Erwin.

"I know. I also saw what happened on the highway. And, Levi, I'm sorry. I know that almost costed your life. I knew you'd be mad, but not so much you lost control...I feel as though that was partly my fault." He said, sighing and tugging his brown leather jacket closer to his body. I scoffed lightly and looked away.

"Whatever. So, a team... Doesn't seem that hard." I said sarcastically.

"You'll figure something out, Ravaille. You always do." Erwin replied evenly. I flinched at the old nickname.

"Yeah, sure."

"Okay, I better get going. I'll be in contact, yet again." He started back to the trail when I remembered something.

"Wait." I cleared my throat. Erwin stopped but didn't turn around. "Why... Why did you hate that Eren and I were together back then? Why did you separate us? Why were you so disgusted with us?" Hatred found it's way into my voice. Whenever I thought about this, I would always end up seething mad.

"I wasn't disgusted with you guys. I didn't mean for Eren to get killed. It wasn't a very Captain-like decision."

"So, why did you do it?" Erwin sighed yet again.

"I can't..." Suddenly, he was jogging away into the woods. A growl hissed through my clenched teeth. Erwin was such a fucking asshole.

Eren

Mikasa was sitting on the couch when I got home. She called me over as if she was just waiting for me to walk through the door. I lowered myself onto the old couch with loud squeaking springs.

"What is it?" I asked. She turned towards me a serious look on her face.

"I found an apartment cheap enough. It may not be that nice, but it's a lot better than this shit hole..." My eyes widened. I didn't realize how soon she was planning this.

"Oh... Okay." I mumbled and smiled, trying to look happy for her.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to leave?" She asked surprised. I looked at her confused.

"Wait.. Do you mean that... I'm coming with you?" I asked, shocked.

She laughed. "Of course you are! I would never leave you here! Do you really think that lowly of me?" I smiled, tears brimming my eyes.

"B-But what about expenses?" I asked.

"You have a job. You can use that to buy things you need. I'll worry about the bills. Also, I picked up a second job. We're going to be okay, Eren." She smiled at my excitement. Suddenly, tears began streaming down my cheeks. Instantly, her arms were around my body.

"It'll still be in Trost, so you can still see Levi and go to school here." Mikasa mumbled to me. For a few minutes, I cried. Not of sadness, but of relief.

"It's finally over..." I said between little sobs. Mikasa rubbed my shoulder.

"Yeah, it's over." I hid my face in my hands as happiness bubbled in my stomach. A few deep breaths later, I was fine. I was better than fine. I was ecstatic.

"What do you think Dad will do?" I asked. Mikasa thought for a moment.

"I'm not sure. Maybe the threat of homelessness will be enough to kick his ass into getting his shit together." She shrugged, but smiled behind her scarf. I nodded and took my phone out. I texted Levi the good news. He video called me later that night. He was so happy for me. Seriously, I never thought I'd seen him so bubbly. I loved it. He smiled a big grin with teeth and all. I could not get enough of his smiles.

The next day, there was a quiet knock on the front door. I went to the door and looked through the peephole. A head full of blond hair caught my attention. Armin stood with his thumb on his lip and a thoughtful look on his features. His hair was pulled back in a little pony tail and I realized it was a good look for him. I opened the door enough to show my face and some of my body. His head snapped up with a small smile.

"What are you...?" I looked around behind him and saw no one else was around.

"Eren, can we talk?" Armin said. I sighed and looked behind me. My dad wasn't home and Mikasa was at work, so the house was empty, aside from me of course.

"Um, I guess." I muttered and opened the door enough so that he could walk in. After closing the door behind Armin, his eyes wondered over all of the things in the living room. His eyes narrowed at the dent that still wasn't fixed, but said nothing. "Have a seat, man." I told him, gesturing to the couch. He did and I sat next to him.

"Mikasa told me everything. Your father, your mother. All of it." I understood what he meant by "everything" and nodded. I figured he was going to find out sooner or later. My jaw clenched and released multiple times. Suddenly, Armin's hand ghosted over my wrist. I flinched but continued to let him look at the bruises that had begun to fade on my arm. His fingers prodded around the marks, causing me dull pains. "Are there more?" Armin asked in low voice. As if on auto pilot, I stood and lifted my shirt to show my abdomen and back. There were some scars from the glass before, and there were semi new bruises that mixed with the old yellow ones. Dropping my shirt, I turned to Armin and looked at his horrified expression. I gulped and began to the kitchen for glasses of water. Once poured, I went and handed one to Armin. He drank it slowly and then set it on the coffee table.

"Well." I shrugged and swirled the water in my glass.

"How long...?" Armin asked, his voice slightly gravelly.

"Since I was maybe eleven, ten. Some time around there." He sighed and crossed his arms.

"You need to do something, tell someone!" Armin said as if it was obvious.

"You sound like Levi..." I scoffed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Does Levi know?" Armin asked as he stood to meet me. I nodded and took a sip of water. The face he made almost seemed disappointed.

"Armin?" I asked. The face was gone when he looked up.

"Oh, nothing. Just... I guess I'm a little hurt by the fact you told Levi before me. We were really close once, you know?" He smiled sadly and fumbled with his thumbs. I smirked back and scratched the back of my neck.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. Levi's just... He's special to me. He was there when I had no one, so." I cleared my throat and broke off my sentence. "I can't tell anyone. It would only make things worse. Mikasa's moving out soon and she's taking me with her though. I'll be away from my dad soon." I smiled cheekily at the excitement on Armin's features. He laughed and hugged me tight. I hugged back.

Just knowing that I won't have to deal with my dad soon was enough to make me smile till my cheeks hurt.

Levi

I laid back on my bed and stared at the ceiling as if answers were just going to pop up out of no where. Who do I even start with? How do I get them to remember in the first place? I can't just up and tell them. They'd think I was absolutely insane. How else was I supposed to make them remember? The only way I remembered was because of dreams I had for years before I realized. How was this supposed to help me in any way? With a sigh, I went through my contacts. Hanji was the first person I decided to attempt. Maybe she would understand. I texted her and asked if she was busy.

"Too busy for Levi? Never! I'll be over soon." She answered almost instantly. I knew by soon, she meant literally like five minutes. Surely, there was a knock on my door and then in came Hanji. She smiled and plopped down on my bed.

"What makes you think you can just walk into other people's houses, four eyes?" I scoffed and looked back up to the ceiling.

"Your mother let me in." She smiled triumphantly. I rolled my eyes and waited for the right moment. "What's on your mind, Ravioli?" Realization smacked me in the face as I now realized why she called me Ravioli. It wasn't quite Ravaille, but more of an adaptation of it.

"Why do you call me Ravioli?" I sat up against the headboard of my bed and stared at the girl with the messy ponytail and black square frames around her eyes. He face turned to one of thinking as she pulled her legs up into a bow shape.

"I'm not sure. It just... Fits you, somehow." She shrugged and pushed her glasses farther up her nose.

"What about, Ravaille?" I told her, my eyebrows furrowing. She seemed confused for a minute.

"I don't think..." She stopped talking. Suddenly her eyes widened and she looked as though I just held the world in my hands. She stayed silent for a long time before muttering something. "Levi..."

"Hanji?" I asked, wondering if maybe I did it. She sat up straighter and gripped my shoulders.

"Titans?" She said. I smiled.

"Yes, Hanji. Titans. And the Survey Corp, the Military Police, and the Garrison. Do you remember?" I asked with the tilt of my head.

She nodded and took her glasses off and set them to the side. "I remember everything." Hanji's voice cracked. I left her alone and went downstairs to get her a glass of water, knowing she was certainly going to need it. When I went back into my room and gave her the water, she nodded thankfully.

"Alright. Well, I should probably explain everything." I sat down across from her. With a great sigh, I began from the beginning. I explained everything. The dreams, Eren, his mom and his dad. He probably will be angry because I told her, but I felt it was necessary. Erwin and all. The plan of the organization Colossal. Afterwards, she looked so overwhelmed. I would be too. Hanji stayed silent as the cogs turned in her head. "Will you help?" I asked the question as she nervously folded her hands. She looked up at me, determination in her eyes.

"Of course. I don't want the titans to come back as much as everyone else. Great, okay. What do we have to do?" Hanji put back her shoulders and puffed her chest. As much as I joked, I could always count on Hanji.

After I walked Hanji out of the house, I explained I would be in contact. Jesus, I sounded like Erwin. With a groan, I closed the door.

"Levi." My mom called from the living room. I walked in to see her sitting on the couch. She turned the television off, which struck me as odd. That meant we were going to have a serious conversation.

"What's up?" I asked, stepping closer. She patted the couch next to her. With a little sigh, I dropped down onto the seat. She folded her hands into her lap, took her glasses off of her face and put them on her head. Mom angled her body slightly towards me.

"While you were in the hospital, we visited you often. Eren came with us nine times out of ten. Every time we saw him, he seemed... Tired. Sad, even. At first, I put it off as just you being hurt. But then, I started to notice... bruises, cuts. Dark bags under his eyes. He got thinner and thinner every time I saw him. Maybe he was just plain depressed about you, but that didn't explain the contusions. I know how you really care about Eren, and I do too. He's a wonderful kid and I'm concerned. So, I'm saying if you know anything about it, now would be a wise time to tell me." My mom put her hand on my shoulder. Immediately, I was going to dismiss it and tell her I had no idea. The caring look on her face and worry in her eyes told me she truly cared about Eren. I couldn't tell her. She would want to do something. Don't get me wrong, I want to do something too. But Eren would be so angry with me if I told her. He would blame me. Who knows, maybe Eren has the wrong idea about child services. But what if he didn't?

I groaned and put my hands over my face, rubbing my eyes. What the fuck was I supposed to do?

"Levi...?" My mom said, carefully.

"Fine. Fine, okay. I'll tell you. Eren's dad drinks. A lot. Literally, he's never sober. At the same time, he blames Eren for the death of his mother. He..." I stopped, trying to find the right words. "He hits Eren. All the time. There are bruises all over his body. Eren protects his sister, Mikasa, from his father." I stopped and ran my hands through my hair and pulled at the roots. "One time, I walked into his house after I dropped him off because he left his phone in my car. Mom, I walked in and Eren was cowering in a corner with pieces of glass in his back from a bottle of Jack fucking Daniels. I hate his father so much. He's been dealing with that kind of abuse since he was ten." My voice wavered a long time ago as actual tears stung the backs of my eyes. I looked over at my mom. Tears built up in her eyes and I realized she really did care for Eren like a son. She hugged me and I leaned into her. "He's moving out with Mikasa soon, though. He told me yesterday. Please, please don't tell anyone. He would be so mad at me." She pulled back.

"As long as something is being done about it, I won't tell."

I didn't realize the weight on my shoulders would have been lifted a long time ago just by telling someone.

Eren

I was alone and on my way home from an extra shift at the cafe when there was a small meow that caught my attention. A cat as white as snow sauntered past my feet and past the corner. I smiled and followed it. When I went around the corner, a girl stood with a hood over her head. Pieces of blond hair strayed out of it. He blue eyes stared at me intently. In her arms was the cat.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I saw your cat and I... wanted to follow it." I smiled guiltily.

"It's okay." She said as she pet the cat. It purred contently in her arms and nuzzled the palm of her hand. I nodded and turned around to continue walking home. When I turned around there was a man standing there. He had shortly buzzed, black hair. Freckles dotted his cheeks and he had big, frightened brown eyes. He would have crossed me as a kind guy, but the gun in his hands told me a different story. Considering, it was pointed at me. I stepped back and looked at the girl behind me. She put the cat down which was now rubbing against my leg. The item in her hand was replaced by a similar looking gun.

"What the hell is going on?" I croaked looking between the two.

"I'm sorry, Eren..." The guy's voice cracked and it sounded like he was about to start sobbing. How does he know my name? I looked back at the girl, her hand tightening around the handle of the pistol.

"Shut up, Marco." She growled. She looked so familiar. An image of running into her with Levi more than a month ago came to mind. Then, she ordered a coffee from me at the cafe the same day Levi got out of the hospital. Now, she stood here on an empty street at ten o'clock at night with a gun pointed at me. It seemed like too much of a coincidence.

"You've been following me." I said in realization to the girl, whose name I now remembered as Annie. She scoffed.

"Good deduction." She mumbled. A silky, black car pulled up to the side with tinted windows. The guy, Marco, turned and opened the back door. Annie nodded her head to the car. "Get in." Her gun clicked when I hesitated.

"Please Eren." Marco begged. "I don't want to hurt you." He really sounded like he didn't want to. Annie stepped closer to me and put the gun on me. I stepped back, not liking the heavy feel of the cool metal against my chest. A gentle hand lowered on my shoulder as Marco pulled me towards the car. As I was put into the backseat, Marco and Annie followed suit. My whole body shook with jittery and rattled nerves. Mikasa will notice when I don't return home from work. Levi will notice when I didn't return his texts and calls. Armin will notice when I don't show up at his house for our video game day on Saturday. My dad will notice, but it's not like he'll care. My leg began to bounce up and down as I worried my bottom lip between my teeth.

Why did they take me? What use could I possibly have to them? They obviously want something from me or they would have just killed me on the street. I wanted to pull my hair and curl into a ball while screaming in frustration. My breathes became labored and uneven. A hand pressed against my arm. I looked over at Marco's guilty face. He smiled sadly. I looked away and focused on the window. It wasn't very smart to put me next to the door. I could easily open it and tuck and roll onto the street. Although, there's a very big chance I would die. I guess they assumed I wasn't dumb enough to jump out of a car easily going sixty miles an hour.

"Don't even think about it." A cold female voice said. I looked over at Annie. She wasn't even looking at me. She was watching the outside as the car sped down the road, also seeming completely unfazed.

I didn't know why they wanted me, but I knew whatever it was, it wasn't good.