Ahhh! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get back to this story. I moved 3,000 miles across the country with 2 weeks notice, then I had a month to find a place to live...and then after that I got tired of being hella broke, so I went looking for a job and finally found one. I teach university level English composition online now! So yeah! I've been a crazy busy thing and I'm sorry. Updates for both of my SnK fics should come faster now.
Now the plot thickens!
Ch 10: Helpless
Eren looked around the interior of the van. It was nothing special, bare bones even. Annie shoved him closer to the boy beside him.
"See. This isn't that bad, is it?" Annie locked the doors of the van. "These are my colleagues and two best friends, Reiner and Bertholdt. You know how you have your own little "family" back at Three Walls? Well, this is mine."
Eren looked around at everyone. Based on the looks exchanged, he wouldn't have chosen the word "friends" to describe them. Regardless of what was between the three of them, he could tell that Reiner and Bertholdt must be a fighting pair. He regarded Bertholdt beside him. "Are you the sacrifice?"
He nodded. "I know you are, too. Just like your dad," he said, smiling.
"Wait, my Dad's a sacrifice?" Eren stared at him, awestruck.
"Yeah, he doesn't battle anymore because his fighter moved on to do other things with his life," said Bertholdt.
"That's actually one of the reasons why he developed the Infinity series," quipped Reiner from the front.
Infinity. Eren felt as if someone had reached out and squeezed his heart.
"See, I told you that your partner already knew all of this," said Annie dryly.
Eren held his head in his hands. Levi knew his father—no was engineered by his father? "This doesn't make any sense. Where has he been the past 3 years?"
"He's been with us," said Annie. "He was an administrator at Three Walls for a while, but he didn't agree with their policies."
"Yeah, we're all Three Walls rejects," Reiner said with a laugh. "I'm sure you've had nothing but good experiences with Three Walls, but that's because you fit the profile."
"Rejects? But you seem like you all have training."
"Yeah, your dad saw to that," said Bertholdt. He patted Eren on the back. "Spellcasters who lack certain "qualities" tend to end up in secret laboratories, or worse. The general public might know nothing about us, but the governments of the world are all too in control of a spellcaster's life."
"Why tell me all this? Why not have my father tell me himself?" Eren said, frustrated.
"Isn't it obvious?" said Annie. "He's a wanted man. And as to why we'd tell you…it's so that you'd join us."
Eren took a deep breath. The world around him that he knew had eroded away only days before, and was now threatening to do it again. This couldn't all be true, could it?
"I-I need time to think about it. To research on my own," Eren said. "Based on your words, I don't know if I can trust Three Walls but at the same time, I don't know if I can trust you."
He jumped as Annie reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. She started pressing numbers. "Here, this is my cell. Call it anytime you have a question. Do your own research and see how it matches up with anything we tell you. Ask us about anything they refuse to tell you."
"Thanks. I don't really know what to say or how to feel right now." Eren breathed. "Last time I saw you, you were trying to kill me."
"Not kill," said Annie with a scowl. "I was just trying to incapacitate you to bring you in. Nothing personal. I'm not like how Reiner is with Infinity. I don't do catfights."
"We do not have catfights!" insisted Reiner. "It is a legitimate rivalry."
"Yeah, you cast spells until one of you breaks a nail, then you run away and hide and mutter about how you almost got him like some crazy bum who lives under a bridge," Annie snapped. "Nope, not a catfight."
Eren regarded the scene in front of him with disbelief. Three Walls was afraid of them?
Eren felt Bertholdt's hand patting his shoulder. "Yes, it's always like this. No, we're not a thing to be feared. If you can look past the ugly parts, you can have a place here, too," Bertholdt whispered.
"You seem a bit more…" Eren trailed off. The van was filled with the sound of Annie and Reiner reaming each other.
"Well, yeah. You haven't spent much time in the culture, but we're sacrifices. Fighters…fighters are always drama." That nervous look returned to Bertholdt's eyes. "Especially yours." He covered his mouth. "Sorry, I say the wrong things sometimes. D-don't pay too much attention to me."
"Bertl," Annie said sweetly. "You never say the wrong things. Now, let's get on with this."
Bertholdt nodded and reached into a bag at his feet and passed a syringe to Annie.
Eren looked at them strangely. "What is that?"
"Your father wanted us to give you something special that he designed himself. It will only take a few moments," Annie said.
"I didn't agree to that…" Eren tried to grab it from out of her hands.
"Bertl, grab him." Eren felt as if he was being stretched out on a giant frame.
"Oh shit!" said Reiner. "We gotta go!"
"What!?" Annie growled.
"Infinity saw me. And of course he's noticed Eren's not there! I'm getting on the road."
"Fucking a," she hissed. "Bertl hold him. I need this in the vein."
Annie jumped and straddled Eren's hips and grasped one of his elbows. She quickly found a vein under her fingers and jabbed in the needle, injecting the sedative. She put her hands around Eren's panicked face.
"Calm down. That's a medicine to calm you down among other things. I was afraid that this was going to happen, but it will be okay."
Bertholdt held Eren in place until the muscles of his body gave way, Eren gone to jelly in his hands. Bertholdt breathed a sigh of relief and reached in the bag for the rest. He pulled out three larger syringes.
"Imagine having the freedom to fight without a fighter. To possess the ability to depend only on yourself."
Eren watched her move over his body, like he was watching it all happen on a movie screen. She took another syringe from Bertholdt and plunged it into the muscle of his upper arm. It burned as she ejected the contents into his body.
"You won't need Infinity. Instead of requiring him, you can stand with him as an equal in fighting ability. Choose who you want to be with; don't let fate decide. Be more than just your name."
She reached for the 2nd syringe and injected that one into his other arm.
"We've given you a titan that your father designed just for you. When the time comes to use it, you'll know what to do. Use this." Annie shoved a pocketknife with a pearl handle into his pocket.
Eren groaned. He felt like white hot fire was rushing around in his veins. His head throbbed and his vision blurred. He tried to move, but Bertholdt held him tight, and even if he wasn't, he was sure that there had been a muscle relaxer in the first injection so he was as good as rubber.
"See, it's okay." Annie's cold hands were a stark contrast on his fevered skin. It was so unlike Levi's touch, so wrong. A single tear rolled down his cheek.
Another needle was stuck into him. "This will hold the memories back for a while. But when you finally remember, come find us after you've found your own truths."
Eren slumped down in the seat completely unconscious. Bertholdt let go of him and propped him up a bit.
"Now what," said Bertholdt. "You can probably call Infinity using Eren's cell phone."
"Uh, guys?" said Reiner. "I think Infinity is trying to catch up to us."
He looked in his mirrors to see the black coupe passing a truck that was three cars behind him. "Do I just keep driving or what?"
Annie looked out the back window. "Damn it. We never had Eren call in the first place. Just keep driving. Let's try to get away so we can leave Eren somewhere for him."
Bertholdt grabbed Eren's phone. "Huh, there's only one other number on here besides yours, Annie. Levi, huh. I can never remember Infinity's given name."
Annie took the phone and called Levi's number. Nobody picked up. "Guys, he's not answering. I'll call again."
Levi sped through the passing lane and got in directly behind the trio's van. Levi blared the horn.
"Oh shit. He's here."
"Hold on guys," said Reiner.
He floored the pedal and turned off on a rural highway. Levi spun around after him, swiftly tailing him again.
"Go faster!" Annie hissed.
"I'm trying, but this road's in terrible shape." Reiner fought to hold the steering wheel straight. "Fuck. Here he comes."
Levi pulled his car to the side of the van so that he was eye to eye with Reiner. Reiner slammed the van into the side of the car.
"What the fuck are you doing!?" said Annie.
"Well, with the decal job, it's not like we were getting any money back from the rental."
Bertholdt put a hand on each of them. "It's not time to fight, we just have to—"
Levi rammed the van with his car so hard, Reiner veered off road for a little bit. Reiner grinned.
"Allright asshole. You're on." He hit the side of the car again. "This guy's unbelievable. He's doing this even with Eren inside."
"Fucking catfight," Annie muttered under her breath. She flattened her ears. "He probably doesn't realize we have Eren, dumbass. Like, make a phone symbol at him or something so I can call him again."
The van was rocked by another hit.
"I don't think he gives a shit," said Reiner. "I have one last plan."
Reiner steered over so that the van was grinding against the car. The mass of the van was higher, so he was winning. He pushed him across the road. Levi tried to slide back behind them but Reiner hit him with a burst of speed. The lighter sportscar sailed into a tree—the front end pleating like an alligator.
"Holy shit," breathed Reiner.
"Are you insane? If you just killed him, how the hell are we supposed to justify this to Eren?" Annie looked as if she was going to breathe fire. "Turn around!"
"But weren't we running from him?" Reiner asked.
Bertholdt sunk back into his seat, holding his head. "Reiner, turn around."
Reiner sighed. "Okay, fine. He couldn't do anything against us anyway. Sorry Bertl, we're all a little tense."
Reiner pulled a three point turn and drove back to where the wreck was. The front of the car was completely destroyed as well as the side. The airbag had deployed, and Levi still sat in the wreck, mouth partially opened in surprise.
Annie jumped out of the side door that wasn't mashed in and opened Levi's door. Bertholdt picked him up and lifted him out, laying him down on a patch of grass. Levi looked at them all with confusion.
"Why the hell are you touching me?" Levi slurred. He made some vague attempts to struggle away, but couldn't seem to act with enough coordination.
Annie looked in his eyes. "He's got a concussion. I can tell you that much. He hit his head hard."
"Hey, Infinity," she said. "Do you know who we are?"
Levi pointed at Reiner. "He's a part of Ruthless. But if he was a part of Ruthless, he wouldn't be here right now, the fucking spineless bastard."
Bertholdt started laughing.
"You too, you're Ruthless," said Levi. "How can you stand to take it up the ass from someone like that?"
Now it was Annie's turn to laugh. "Bertl, why don't you go get Eren?"
She knelt in the grass next to Levi and held up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
He squinted at her hand. "Four…I think." Levi scratched the back of his head. "Man, hurts like a bitch."
Bertholdt carried Eren in princess style and laid him down right beside Levi.
"What the fuck did you do to him?" Levi screamed.
"He's fine. He'll wake up, maybe sometime tomorrow, but he'll be fine," said Annie.
"You!" Recognition finally flashed through Levi's eyes. "You're Heartless. You've made the wrong—"
Bertholdt socked him in the side of the head, rendering him unconscious.
"Bertl! What are you doing? He already has a concussion! We don't need to be hurting him more!"
Bertholdt grabbed Annie and Reiner and marched them over to the van. "I don't know how long he's gonna stay out for, so let's get moving."
"What?" said Annie as she was pulled along behind him.
"Are you okay Bertl?" asked Reiner. He promptly got into the front seat and started the car.
"Annie," Bertholdt said. "Infinity used a banishing spell on you last battle."
"Yeah," she said. "You guys watched me drop in through the ceiling."
"Since he merely banished you, technically your battle with him is still open. He knew it and who knows what he would have done if he started spellcasting in that state! It's what he was planning to do. He could have hurt you, hurt himself, hurt Eren, or anyone. Then where would we be?" Bertholdt cried.
Reiner got on the road and quickly picked up speed.
The three of them sat in silence for a while. Something had come loose on the van and was rattling with each bump in the road.
Annie broke the ice. "Good call Bertl. Infinity's the type that holds on to things. Until it's okay to fight him, I'll steer clear."
"Yeah, sometimes I don't know what we'd do without you," said Reiner. "It's like you have to be the sacrifice for two fighters at the same time. Sorry you have to put up with all our shit all the time."
"It's really not that hard." Bertholdt blushed. "Only with you guys am I strong."
Annie grabbed onto him and buried her face in his shoulder. Bertholdt reached out and put an arm around Reiner, pulling Annie with him.
"I guess one of us should call Ymir?" said Annie. "You know, so she can let us know how they're doing, and so that she knows to watch Eren."
"That and we need to call boss to let him know that we were successful with Eren. I don't think he'll be too happy about the van though…" said Reiner.
"Fuck it," said Annie. "Tell him some other night. Tonight let's just have some fun. All by ourselves."
xXx
Levi woke up, his head pounding. He rubbed his forehead, but it did nothing. He looked around him to see Erwin's car with the nose buried deeply in a tree. This did not look good. Levi rolled over, finding Eren lying in the grass. He quickly ran a hand over Eren's face. He was warm. He could feel the tickle of his breath across his skin. On Eren's neck he checked the pulse. It was normal.
He shook Eren. "Hey. Are you asleep or unconscious?"
Eren just flopped whatever way Levi pushed him.
"Unconscious. I was afraid of that," he muttered.
Levi noted that there hadn't been any cars on the road for the whole time he'd been awake. Unsteadily, he pulled himself up on the car. The road didn't look like anywhere he knew. But then again, when he wasn't driving for work, he was driving at night, so who knows if he'd been here or not.
But how had he gotten here? Why was he on the ground laid out with Eren instead of both of them in the car? He had very obviously been in a car accident—he had bruises, scratches, whiplash and a massive headache. But Eren, he had nothing of the sort. Gingerly, Levi looked on the other side of the tree to see fresh tire tracks on the earth beside the road. This was just getting weirder.
Levi sat back down next to Eren, deep in thought. He pulled his phone from his pocket which was thankfully undamaged and went through his recent calls. Eren had called him, and not just once like he did at the store to share his number. He opened the menu for his contacts and pressed a button.
He cursed as the phone rang and went to voice mail. He called again, and this time someone picked up.
"Hanji," he said. "Hanji…I fucked up."
Hanji's voice was gentle. "No, Eren likes you a great deal. I'm sure you can fix it." She squeed. "I can't believe you came to me!"
"No, damn it!" Levi pulled at his hair. "I mean I don't know where the fuck I am! I don't know how the fuck I got here! Eren is fucking unconscious next to me, and there is a big-ass tree embedded into the hood of Erwin's car!"
"Oh, well then. That's a different problem entirely," said Hanji. "What do you need?"
"I need you to not tell Erwin until I figure out what to say," Levi cringed.
Hanji didn't envy him. "Noted. Anything else?"
"I know I have some kind of head injury, but I have no idea what's happened to Eren. Come and get us. Don't tell anyone."
"Sure, Petra and I will—"
"Don't you dare bring Petra. If we need a spell that powerful, she can help you back at Three Walls," Levi warned.
"Levi, she's still recovering from healing Armin. I can't just leave her here," said Hanji. "You wouldn't leave Eren would you?"
"Ask her if she'll be okay for a couple hours. And if she's too weak, call in Jean. Just make up something to tell him," Levi pleaded.
"Levi, either I'm bringing Petra or you're asking Erwin for a ride home instead." Hanji sighed. "She's not gonna believe 'I fell down the stairs' when she fixes your concussion, so what does it matter?"
"Fine. You don't have to be an ass," he spat.
"I'm just going to trace your phone location through GPS. I'll be there as soon as I can. Is Eren okay? I know he's out cold, but shouldn't you be calling an ambulance rather than me if things are bad?" Hanji suggested.
"He's not beat to hell like I am, if that's what you mean. I don't think he was in the car when it crashed but I was. He was just laid out beside me…like a gift." Something was trying to pull at Levi's memory, a man holding Eren in his arms, but it was far too murky to make out.
"A gift? That's weird. Then I guess, just call me if anything changes. I doubt I have to tell you to keep watch."
"Hanji," Levi said. "Thanks." He hung up.
Levi sat back down next to Eren. He pulled Eren into his lap, wrapping him in his arms. He held him tightly, even as his muscles started to shake. He was so angry. Somehow, someone had gotten their hands on his sacrifice and there was nothing he could do to fix that. Erwin's car could be rebuilt. His scrapes and bumps would heal, but someone had laid a hand on something that was truly his.
He thought back to the events of the day. He remembered waking up and driving to Trost. He remembered shopping with Eren, how cute he was clinging to his hand and how hot he was staring deep into his eyes as he gave him head. Then, the memories just sort of cut out. He remembered wanting to get a gift for Eren, but he couldn't remember if he bought it or even what it was. He vaguely remembered getting into the car, but couldn't remember why or anything useful. He even remembered being taken from his car, but not by who or when, and then there was Eren…
Levi had grown tired, but with a head injury, he knew better than to sleep. He just continued to hold Eren; his sanity depended on it. He picked up one of Eren's hands and studied it close, where the veins crossed in the heel of his hand, where the scab was formed from a torn off hangnail, the deceptive softness of the skin. He buried his face in Eren's hair and breathed, his scent a mixture of soap and something earthy. This body was everything he craved, and hugging it tighter to him was the closest he could get to merging.
Whoever had done this was going to pay.
Levi didn't know how long his half awake-half fantasy state had gone on when the Hanji's car pulled up to the crash site.
"Levi!" shouted Hanji. "Are you okay?"
"Holy cow! Look at the car!" Petra surveyed Levi's posture entwined with Eren. "You guys are so cute!"
Levi glared at her, then went back to staring at the ground. "I'm better than this," he said.
"No sense in beating yourself up until we know what happened," said Hanji. "Nobody died, nobody was kidnapped, and all of the injuries are treatable!"
Levi stood up and put Eren over a shoulder. He limped over to Hanji's car. Hanji grabbed some of Eren's weight and they situated him in the middle of the backseat.
"Shall we go?" Hanji asked.
"Actually, I'd like to grab the stuff we bought out of the trunk. Otherwise Eren won't have anything to wear," said Levi.
"Sit down and I'll get everything," said Hanji. "Petra, you can ride up front or help take care of those two in the back."
Petra squeezed into the back of Hanji's sedan with Levi and Eren. She looked at Levi. "You've got some nasty cuts. Let me clean them out really quick."
Everywhere she touched stung. He hadn't realized how many places he was scuffed up. Finally she put her first aid kit away. She checked over Eren, pulling Levi off of him so that she could actually look.
"You weren't kidding when you said he was pretty much untouched, though wait…" she looked at the inside of his elbow. "There's scabbing from a puncture wound, like something was injected intravenously."
Levi looked at it. He'd seen that mark many times before. He checked the other elbow, and there was nothing. He slid back the sleeves of Eren's shirt and found another pinprick looking wound deep into the meat of his bicep, and another one on the other side closer to the shoulder.
What had Eren been through? He opened Eren's eyes and sighed with relief when he saw the pupils constrict. He might have had some sort of drug injection, but his reflexes and vitals seemed to be all right.
Petra smiled at him. "Lost someone that way?"
"Not really, no." Levi went back to holding Eren against him. "I just know what it looks like. I've seen it happen."
"He's going to be okay," said Petra.
"Yes but it's my fault. Erwin told me to take a second pair with me if I was taking him out, but I told him I could take care of it," said Levi.
Hanji climbed into the driver's seat. "So that's the real problem," she said. "Besides just letting Eren down, you also let Erwin down—and not just with the car. I haven't seen you this angry in a long time and we've had our share of FUBARs."
"Shut up Hanji. Just drive." Levi growled.
"What, do you need me to cover for you and say we were there, too?" said Hanji. "I dunno, something like 'Petra had to rest, so I took her somewhere else and then you and Eren got separated after we left'?"
"No, it's fine." Levi sighed. "You don't need to do that."
"Suit yourself," said Hanji as she started the car.
The rest of the car ride was silent, but Levi knew he didn't have to give anymore directions. Hanji approached Three Walls from the back, down the road that didn't lead to the main building. She drove on the gravel road that approached the building that housed the old labs.
Hanji parked the car in front of a large ramp. "Okay, this place is better equipped than my facilities in the main building anyhow. I'm gonna go grab a bed."
"We've bought a little more time," said Levi. "But, Gunter and Erd will know we're here soon, since we don't use this place much anymore, and we'll be a power drain while you run everything."
After running into the building frantically, Hanji came out with…a double bed. These weren't the types of beds found in normal hospitals, but they were common in places for healing fighters and sacrifices. She rolled it down the ramp and hit the brake.
"Help me get Eren on," said Hanji. She and Levi carried Eren's body to one side and hoisted him up on the bed. "Okay, now do I have to put you on the other side or will you climb on yourself?"
"I'm fine Hanji, let's just get him in. If anyone, shouldn't Petra be riding on the other side?"
"Apparently fine to you means brain damaged. Maybe that explains a lot. Now I suggest you join your sacrifice or else I'll let Petra guilt trip you into it." Hanji pushed her glasses farther up her nose bridge.
"I told you not to bring Petra," he mumbled as he got on the other side.
Hanji called to her sacrifice to get out of the car, and Petra ran up the ramp, helping Hanji push the two boys into the building. She pushed them into a bay-like room.
"Lemme turn on the CT scanner," she said operating a computer in a small room behind a larger examination room. "Levi, I know I need to look at your head. Are you in pain anywhere else now that the shock is gone?"
"No, I just have a bunch of scrapes and some really bad bruises. No broken bones, sprains, or anything like that. I'm guessing I hit my head on the roof from the crash and the seat from the airbag. But that doesn't explain why the side of my head hurts like a bitch, too. Like right in the temple." Levi rubbed all around his head, wincing as he grazed each place.
"I don't know. Who knows, maybe Eren will have something to tell us when he wakes up." Hanji typed some codes into the computer. "Go over there and get on the runner. I'll scan your head to make sure that we don't need to do something radical."
She ran him through the machine, letting the image data collect.
"I hate to do this, but we really don't know what's wrong with Eren. I'll check his head, too, and pull out the EEG machine and see what's going on in that brain."
Levi interjected himself into Hanji's thoughts. "Petra and I found a mark on him that is like he had something injected right into the vein. More stabbed into his muscles, dunno what that was about."
"Okay, I'll run a drug panel, too," Hanji said, noticing the markings as she looked at Eren. "Though I'm not sure what I'm looking for, so I'm not sure how helpful it will be."
That may be true, but until any snippet of information was found, Levi was going to be wondering about every little thing.
This was going to be a long night.
xXx
Gunter and Erd rode past the old laboratories, noting the lights in the windows.
"I didn't realize Hanji was running any large scale experiments," said Gunter.
"Yeah, she usually tells us about that so we don't freak out about a possible break in." He eyed Gunter. "Let's take a look."
Erd crept over to the window. Thank goodness it was Hanji and not someone they'd have to go after. He saw Petra off to the side and Levi standing in the middle of the room.
Gunter watched Levi and Hanji haul another body onto the CT scanner bed. "I don't recognize him. Who do you think he is?"
Erd squinted at him and his jaw dropped. "That's the new kid. The one who Levi brought in. He's Mikasa's brother."
"He's out cold it looks like, and Levi looks like hell," Gunter said. "You don't think they got into battle did you?"
Erd frowned. "Why are they doing this here. Something doesn't smell right."
"Well, what do you want to do? Should we go in and talk to them? Go to Erwin?" Gunter questioned.
"I think we should call Mikasa," said Erd.
"What? Why?" said Gunter.
"Think about it. Her brother is an untrained sacrifice. Erwin blocked her from picking him up. Erwin blocked her from coming home because of Armin." Erd paused.
He put a hand on Gunter and continued watching as Hanji and Levi returned Eren to the bed. Levi got on the other side, the fighter's side. He grabbed Eren's hand and stroked his hair. He laid against him, allowing his body to fit every nook and cranny along his side. Hanji continued to type things into a computer in the background, Petra sinking into a chair beside her.
"Just look at him and Levi. They're pair bonded, and I don't mean Levi's lending him support." Erd continued to watch Levi's vigil over Eren. "Somehow, Levi has chosen him as his current sacrifice, and now he's gotten him hurt and is hiding it from Erwin. Or why else would they be here? When he doesn't want others to know things, he calls in Hanji and thinks we have no idea what's going on."
Gunter nodded. That sounded like a correct assessment. "So you want to throw Mikasa in this mess?"
"I know, adding her sounds crazy, but hear me out." Erd stroked his chin. "I think if Mikasa were around, people would be a little more honest where her brother's concerned. We've found evidence of a possible plan of attack, so what does it matter keeping Armin a secret if the enemy shows up at the door tomorrow? And if Levi's gonna start playing games... Let's just shut it all down before things get too deep."
"That's a phone call I don't want to make," said Gunter.
"Good. We're not calling them, after all," said Erd.
"Are you kidding me?" Gunter balked.
"Armin's gonna need some help getting over here. I don't want Mikasa hurting him without meaning to when she learns what's going on," said Erd.
Taking a step back from their place peeking in the window, they once again mounted their horses and headed off towards the outpost.