Chapter 10

"HEY! LEVI!" Levi cringed at the loud voice so late at night. He hadn't been able to sleep again so he'd been sitting at his desk, just thinking. There was a loud bang as someone crashed into the door to his room. In moments, the person on the other side opened the door and stumbled in.

"I DID IT!" Hange, looking more dishevelled than usual, shouted excitedly. She was breathing hard, likely having run here from her 'lab'.

"Did what? Levi asked. He already figured she must have made a cure for Petra but you never knew with this woman. She could have just done another inane experiment and wanted to share.

"Hello? The cure. You know. That one for Petra?" The woman explained slowly, as if talking to a toddler. She pulled out a vial from a bag on her hip and shook it at him. "And here I thought you'd be happy that you can finally have your subordinate back."

"You made it? And you made sure its safe?" Levi questioned. He would not risk anything else happening.

"Of course! I tested it thoroughly my little rodent test subjects. It reversed the effects every time. There was no ill effects with this batch, I swear! Just a little increase in appetite. It should work on Petra… Well, I hope." Hange added the last part.

"I'm not sure I like that. But there is no choice at this point. We need her back." Levi said resolutely. Deciding that it was the best choice, Levi held out his hand. "Give it to me."

"What? Why? I want to administer it! I need to see what happens." Hange begged. "I'm the one who made it after all."

"And you are the one who got us into this mess in the first place. No way in hell, Glasses. Give me the serum." Levi ordered.

Crestfallen, Hange did so. She looked so dejected that Levi had a moment of regret. Sighing to himself, Levi thought he might allow Hange a bit of kindness.

"You may have Moblit stay with Petra and study the effects. Not you."

"Really? Yippee!" Hange jumped up. "I knew you weren't as heartless as you like to act! I'll go tell him right now!"

"Wait!" Levi called as Hange turned around to bolt away. "So how do I administer it?"

"Oh, it's easy! I figured she wouldn't be too fond of needles so you just have to give it to her orally."

"You're surprisingly thoughtful... For once."

"Just this one time!" She laughed as she turned and hurried away.

Looking at the vial in his hands, Levi hoped Hange had really succeeded and this cure worked.

The next morning Petra was surprised to find Levi sitting at their breakfast table. Eren had taken her to the dining room but left her afterwards for the bathroom. Another man, who she remembered was named Moblit was there as well. He had his notebook out before him. Oluo, Eld and Gunther were there too.

"Morning Petra" Eld greeted.

"Good morning." She said tiredly. She still didn't feel good but she didn't want to complain.

"You look tired, kid, what's wrong?" Oluo asked. He had noticed something wrong straight away.

"I still don't feel good." Petra admitted, not wanting to lie. "I'm really tired."

"Does your head still hurt?" Gunther asked. Levi had told them about what transpired last night.

The girl nodded and her three teammates at the table looked at each other worriedly. They didn't think that was normal.

"What is that?" Petra asked as Levi upended a vial of liquid in a cup of tea. It was a dark red color and watery.

"It's some medicine for you. It will help you feel better." Levi lied, knowing he couldn't really be certain.

"Oh… Thank you." Petra innocently smiled at the Captain. The man felt a pang of regret at his lie. She was too trusting. He hoped Hange's concoction would return Petra to her former self without complication.

"Moblit volunteered stay with you. He'll be around quite a bit, just to make sure you are alright." Eld said as Petra reached for the tea.

"Okay!"

"Eld…" Petra voiced quietly. Eld was busy checking over and cleaning his 3DGM gear. Moblit was doing the same but Petra noticed he always seemed to be staring at her. It was a little uncomfortable. It seemed to her that he took his job of looking after her a little too seriously. She didn't mind too much though, only because he let her look as his sketches. He was a really good artist.

"What's wrong?" The blonde man asked.

"I'm hungry."

"Again?" Eld said incredulously. She had already eaten twice already. Once at breakfast and another time an hour later. Whatever Levi had given her seemed to increase her appetite exponentially.

Petra nodded miserably and her stomach let loose a loud gurgle. Eld sighed and took her hand. Moblit followed them, writing something in his notebook.

As the three walked back to the dining room, Eld noticed that Petra seemed slightly taller than before. He shook his head, must be his imagination.

"This is the seventh meal she's had today." Gunther said as he watched the young girl voraciously tuck into her most recent meal. It was a few hours past dinner but Petra had complained she was hungry again. As the girl ate, Gunther noticed she didn't seem to take any pleasure from it.

Her three teammates stood a bit of distance away from the table where Petra sat. Moblit was with her, showing her more of his drawings. He was trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah. Maybe that's supposed to happen though?" Oluo seemed uncertain.

"I don't know but have you guys noticed she seems a little taller today? And a little… Bulkier?" Eld asked. "I thought I was imagining it before but she seems to have grown a few inches. And I swear I can see that's she's getting a little bit of muscle."

"Now that you mention it, yes. I thought I was just seeing things as well." Gunther admitted.

As the men continued to watch, the girl finished her meal and gulped down a pitcher of water.

Afterwards, Petra sluggishly followed the men to Nifa's room. She had her hands on her stomach as it was still hurting.

"You okay Petra?"

"...No…" She said tearfully. "My tummy hurts."

"You ate quite a bit there. I'm not surprised. Maybe you should cut back-" Oluo was cut off by Eld kicking the back of his leg.

"I'm sorry… I was just so hungry." Petra's voice wobbled a little as she spoke.

"Don't worry. Why don't we all sleep and maybe everything will be better tomorrow?" Gunther said before Petra could get too upset.

"Not you." Nifa's voice was firm.

"What do you mean? My squad leader wants to make sure I record everything that happens. You can't leave me out here." Moblit seemed distressed at being denied entry into the room.

"Yes, actually, I can. You have no right to be in the same room as two sleeping women." Her statement left no room for argument.

In the end, Moblit ended up sitting outside. If something happened, Nifa promised to let him know.

As she lay in bed that night, Petra miserably tossed and turned. She was tired, and she thought she was getting hungry again. She already woke up Nifa once and she got the woman to get her another meal. Moblit, weirdly, had been right outside and asked Petra bunch of questions before Nifa came back. The woman brought enough food for several meals and left a large bucket of water on a table in case Petra got hungry or thirsty again.

Now Nifa was fast asleep on the bed. Thankfully she seemed to be a very heavy sleeper. It had been very hard to wake her up the first time.

As Petra lethargically moved off the bed, she remembered something. When she was ten she had a pet cat named Flower. He was an adorable little snow white cat. But that memory didn't seem right. Wasn't she eight? Wait, no-. She was six… Right?

Petra was confused.

The girl shook her head, feeling a wave of dizziness come over her. Before her stomach could start rumbling again, Petra went to the table and ate some more. She then washed down her meal with another pitcher's worth of water. She wondered where all the food was going to. She hadn't gone to the bathroom all day and her stomach didn't look bloated.

As she tried to lay back in bed, Petra finally noticed her clothes seemed smaller than she remembered. The legs of her pants didn't reach her ankles and her shirt was very tight across her torso and arms. Unsure what was going on, she ended up rummaging through Nifa's things and changed into some of the older woman's night clothes.

Still confused, Petra didn't worry about how her clothes had shrunk. She just closed her eyes and prayed for sleep.

There was a scream next morning.

"PETRA!" Nifa's cry echoed in the castle walls. Moblit, who had been sleeping outside jumped up at the sound. He scrambled to open the door to Nifa's room. It wasn't locked and he was inside in moments.

Inside, Moblit saw what had made Nifa cry out. Petra was sitting wide eyed on the bed, likely having just woken up because of Nifa as well. She looked just as she had before Hange's experiment had regressed her age. She looked like her adult self again.

Several other people rushed towards the room, having been awake early and waiting nearby. They had been worried.

"What the hell! Eld? Oluo? Gunther?" Petra, still in Nifa's nightwear, screamed as her male teammates barged into the room. She wasn't sure what was going on or what she was doing in someone else's room but she knew one thing. No one barged into a woman's room like this. "GET THE FUCK OUT!"

Bruised and thrown out of the room, Petra's three teammates looked at each other before they burst out laughing. Their friend was back.

Moblit looked dejected as he sat against a wall. He had missed out on observing a large portion of Petra's transformation back. Hange would not be happy.

Petra didn't remember much of her time as a child. She didn't believe it when everyone told her the same story, that she had spent a week as a six year old... But small fragments of memories remained. She remembered being six and being with Eld, Oluo, Gunther and the rest. That wasn't possible, was it?

Eventually, Petra accepted the truth as more memories resurfaced. She apologized to everyone she could, knowing they hadn't signed up for babysitting duty. They were soldiers not nannies.

Everyone seemed amused and Petra could not help but be embarrassed. No one was angry with her, which was good. Oddly, Eren seemed rather shy around her. She couldn't remember all of her interactions with him but she knew she had really liked him.

Hange had come up to Petra and given her an apology, along with a big hug. She then began to pepper her with questions about how she was feeling and what she remembered. Petra tried to answer her as much as she could but she could tell it wasn't enough for the squad leader. The younger woman just didn't remember much of her time as a child. It was for that reason that she wasn't too mad at Hange. And because Petra had heard how upset she was when it turned out Moblit hadn't been able to observe her full transformation back. The ginger-haired woman felt as if that was punishment enough.

Petra apologized to her Captain last, nervous at what he might say. At what she might have done.

"I'm sorry, Captain." Petra began. "I don't remember much but I realize I must have been a handful. I'll take whatever punishments you have for me, for whatever bad behavior I displayed."

"Don't worry about it." Levi waved her off.

"Sir?"

"You were pretty alright, for a snot nosed brat. It's Shitty Glasses' fault anyway. I won't punish you but you will have you train for longer than normal. You have some catching up to do."

"I understand." Petra smiled brightly. "And thank you. sir."

"You're welcome." Levi said and turned back to his work. Cleaning. Before Petra turned to leave she noticed a violet flower on his windowsill. She opened her mouth to say something and then frowned. She shook her head and turned away. The flower seemed familiar but the memory eluded her grasp. Maybe she would remember another time.

After Petra left, Levi walked over to the pot. He had noticed Petra stare at it. The man realized he could toss it now. He wouldn't have to feel guilty now that his subordinate was an adult again.

As Levi picked up the flower, he remembered Petra's shyness when she gifted it to him. It had taken her a long time to be able to build up the courage to give it to him. Hesitating, the Captain placed the pot back on his windowsill. It wasn't that big a deal to keep it a while longer. If it fell over and caused a mess, he could easily clean it.

As the Captain returned to his task once more, he sighed in relief. His team was complete once more. And Levi would make sure they were ready for what came next.

I meant to edit and post this a while ago but I forgot. ^.^'
Better late than never? I also haven't written for this story in a long time so forgive me if the continuity is off.

Thanks to everyone who read and/or commented on this story! I'm sorry I left it unfinished for so long!