Summary: The hospital is finally in view and Mikasa couldn't be more relieved. Yet, just because they were close didn't mean anything was better. She still had no idea if Eren and Sasha would even be there, let alone if it was safe to get to Dr. Jaeger's office. She could only hope that he'd be there waiting for her safe and sound.
Pairing: Eren/Mikasa
Rating: M (Violence and Strong Language)
Notes: It's this stories one year anniversary today! I can't believe we've been writing this for a year already it's crazy to me. Thank you guys for sending so much feedback and love for this story! It's really helped me keep up with chapters and keep building up the story to the eventual end. We're looking at around 20 or so chapters so we still have a ways to go for that!
The Soldiers
"It shouldn't be too much longer now," Mikasa said, her eyes scanning over the map and on the pen line leading to the hospital. It felt like years ago, back when it was just the three of them.
"Are we just staying on this road til it dumps us in the city?" Armin was driving again, giving Jean a break from everything that happened yesterday. Armin didn't glance over at Mikasa, keeping his eyes on the road but she did see him look in the rearview mirror seeing how their quiet passengers were doing.
"No, you'll have to turn off this one to get to a road that will bring us closer into the city."
"Good, the less we have to drive into the city the better."
Mikasa folded up the map so that only the path they needed was in easy view before looking out the window. It had been hours of trees, trees, a house, and more trees. She didn't even know they had so much country land near the city until all of this happened. Really, she didn't care. The faster they got to the city the better.
She had been keeping an eye out for any signs of the lone bike and its two riders but there was nothing, not even a skid mark on the road. No, all she saw were trees and the occasional Biter lurking around. That was something she knew was bound to get worse the closer they got to the city but they had no other choice, this was always the plan. This was how they got back to Eren and Sasha.
Mikasa turned her head to look back into the rest of the SUV. Jean was the only one she trusted back there. He was currently in the far back looking like he was trying to sleep. Bertholdt was next to him, eyes staring out the window. Annie and Reiner were both awake, looking disinterested and bored respectively. There was just something about them, something strange. Mikasa couldn't really place it but there were some things she needed to know. If they were about to trust these people to go into a place where Eren's father might be or might've left things behind, Mikasa had to know if they were trustworthy or not.
"I assume you guys are from a different district, since I never remember seeing you at our school."
Annie didn't even look up, but Reiner looked surprised, like he couldn't believe Mikasa was speaking to him in a semi normal tone. "Ah, yeah," he said, giving her a smile. "A few districts away actually. Annie, Bertholdt, and I are all from the same town. We've known each other since we were kids."
"Sounds familiar," Armin said, glancing back in the rearview mirror again.
"So you traveled all this way just to come to a lab?" Mikasa tried not to sound accusatory but if they were as far away from home as Reiner was implying, why the hell would they come all the way out here?
Reiner shrugged. "It's like Annie said the other day. The lab was where her father worked at one point, so we took her out there to see if maybe her father or other people had the same idea. Obviously they did since you guys were there."
"Was the way over here difficult?" Armin asked.
"Yeah," Reiner sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It was rough. We were on foot at first and we nearly didn't make it out alive. We found a car that still had the keys in it which helped a lot but we didn't think and it ran outta gas." He snorted at the memory. "So we were on foot again until we made it too the lab. We stopped at a lot of houses to gather supplies and rest, some of them worked out, some of them not so much."
"I know that feeling," Jean grunted from the back though when Mikasa looked his eyes were still closed.
"Was your father a medical doctor like Dr. Jaeger, Annie?" Mikasa asked trying to bite back any bitterness from her tone; she wasn't sure it worked very well but Annie still glanced up at her.
"No, he was just a researcher, a scientist."
Mikasa absent mindedly tugged on the long sleeves of Eren's shirt she was still wearing. "What did he research?"
Annie shrugged. "I never really cared what he researched. All I knew was he brought me with him to the lab sometimes when there was no one else to watch me. I think it was something to do with chronic illness. It was too hard to follow him when he talked when I was a kid though."
"I understand," Mikasa mumbled. It was the truth. She listened to Dr. Jaeger talk when she knew nothing about the human body outside normal schooling. It wasn't easy even when she got older let alone when she was a child.
"Eren used to say his dad took care of people, but I'm not sure if that age he knew exactly what his dad did," Annie said. "What type of doctor is he?"
It was the first time Annie ever made conversation with them let alone her. Mikasa glanced over to Armin.
"He's a virologist," Armin answered. "He worked both in the research end and as a physician. Carla, Eren's mom, used to tease him that he just liked to work on all the weird cases so he'd have something challenging and I always assumed that was the truth."
Mikasa really wasn't sure if Armin should've said all that to Annie, but Mikasa also trusted Armin's choices so he must've done it for a reason.
"Huh," Reiner said. "Guess it made sense why they were both working there then. Must've been some kinda lab to study that sorta thing."
"Do you think those monsters had something to do with what was researched there? Maybe the Biters too?" Bertholdt's voice nearly made Mikasa jump; she was pretty sure he hadn't talked since they got in the car this morning.
"It's hard to say," Armin said. "Until we know exactly what's causing these mutations, anything is a good guess."
That was a lie. Armin already had his suspicions about Star Labs and what might've occurred there but clearly he didn't want them to know that too. Granted, it was something Armin didn't share with Jean, Sasha, and...Connie. Armin could've been keeping it between her and Eren like he had before. Still, Mikasa didn't trust them even if Annie did give them some confirmation about the lab whether she knew it or not.
"Connie would say it's an x-gene or some nerdy shit like that," Jean said.
Saying his name out loud sent a chill down Mikasa's spine but Armin merely chuckled.
"The x-gene mutated them into having special abilities and powers, not into mindless monsters."
Jean grunted. "I'm sure it turned someone into a mindless monster at some point in those hundreds of comic books and storylines."
Silence fell over the car and Mikasa looked back down at the map on her lap. What she wanted was answers, but answers were hard to come by without actually accusing someone they were hiding something. It could also mean blowing what Armin had already pieced together and Mikasa knew better than to do that.
"Turn left up on this next road, that should take us right to the city," Mikasa said before glancing out the window. The sight actually surprised her; they were back in the suburbs with rows of houses and new developments. They must've moved into them when she had her head turned to the back of the SUV.
It was a good thing, it meant they were getting closer.
"Eren talked about you two, you know." Annie's voice surprised Mikasa again and she couldn't for the life of her understand why Annie was suddenly being so talkative. Well, except for the fact she might be doing the same thing Mikasa was.
"Did he?" Armin glanced back at her in the rearview mirror.
"Yeah, I didn't remember until your names were said but he used to tell me stories of the two of you whenever we'd play in the woods."
The thought brought a little bit of warmth to her chest; even though they hadn't been there Eren still didn't forget about them. "He never mentioned you."
Annie's lips pursed and she looked away, eyes back on the window.
"What Mikasa means," Armin started giving Mikasa a look. "Is we're not sure if Eren didn't remember back then like he did when we were at the lab or if was something he just never had the time to mention. Eren was a bit of a scatterbrain when he was younger."
Annie didn't respond and Mikasa knew that was probably her fault, but whatever. It's not like she trusted Annie farther than Mikasa could throw her. It's not like she liked the idea of Eren spending his time with this girl when they were younger and never talking about her. Yeah, Eren didn't remember Annie when they met again, but did he also not remember when they were kids either? None of it added up.
She sighed and leaned back in her seat. Would the hospital really help? Or would it just be another dead end? Mikasa knew she shouldn't think that way; getting Eren and Sasha back was most important and it was, it really was. Everything else could come after.
"There's the skyline," Armin said causing Mikasa to look out the windshield.
Sure enough there were the tall buildings of the city were already looming over the trees in the distance. They really were almost there.
"Armin?" Mikasa asked, her fingers curling around the edge of her scarf. "Do you really think they're there?"
"Of course," Armin nodded but he didn't say anything more on the matter. He made a slow turn onto the road Mikasa told him to and her breath caught in her throat. They'd be able to see Eren again.
"Don't get your hopes up," Annie said, her voice cutting into Mikasa. "Anything could've happened out there. I'm not saying they're never coming but we very well could get there before them."
Mikasa clenched her jaw, mainly because Annie was right; they had the map and they didn't even know if Eren knew how to get to the city from where they were separated. Mikasa didn't want to think about that though. She just wanted to get there and have Eren standing there waiting for them.
"What's our plan then?" Reiner asked. "For both if they're there or they aren't. We're getting closer and we need to know what we're doing before we even enter the city limits."
"If they're there, great," Armin said. "Two more very capable hands to help get into the hospital. If not, we should wait somewhere we can see them when they come in."
"If the place is overrun like it probably is, where the hell are we gonna wait?"
"That's something that can be scouted when we get there. It's been a while since I've been around the hospital to say what place would be safe to stay in until then."
"And if they never show up?" Annie's voice alone made anger swirl in the pit of Mikasa's stomach. How the hell could Annie say something like that? Of course they'd show up. Eren wouldn't just leave them alone. He wouldn't.
"We'll deal with that if the time comes," Armin said.
The silence settled once more, no one needing to say more on the matter. Mikasa looked out her window again, starting at the buildings off in the not too distant skyline. She couldn't think about it like that; not after everything they went through to get to this place. They would all be together, and everything would be right…but would anything ever actually be right again?
No one spoke, not even when the residential house started to turn into the office buildings; not even when the periodic Biter turned into roaming groups down alleyways and lurking in store fronts. It was so strange. While Mikasa didn't go out to the city very often, it was still a very familiar place to her; she knew the stores, the signs, the buildings, the streets. Now it looked like something out of a horror movie than the place her mom used to take her shopping, Granted, she supposed that's exactly what this world had become.
Reiner let out a low whistle. "This place looks like a tornado came through."
It was true. There were broken windows everywhere, power lines down, cars tipped over, and every building looking long abandoned. Armin maneuvered the car the best he could around the cars that seemed to be everywhere but the deeper they got in the city the worse the roads got. Biters didn't pay too much attention to the car, but Mikasa was paying attention to them. It was the most she saw since when they left Ymir and Historia. It seemed like they were down every road, around every corner; it made her chest clench, her fingers dig into her legs.
"Take the left up here, Armin," Jean said from the back seat. "As long as its not blocked off it should be a short cut to get over to the hospital area."
Armin did what Jean said without question, and thankfully the small side road wasn't cluttered with cars, but it was cluttered with Biters.
"Jesus, where are they even coming from?" Bertholdt muttered.
"Probably just residents of the city that never made it out," Annie shrugged while Armin slowed down the car to get past the Biters without them attacking.
"There," Mikasa said pointing to a building in the near distance. "That's one of the towers of the hospital." Her heart started to pound in her chest; they were so close now.
Armin still didn't speak; he just kept driving through the debris and the Biters lurking around until the hospital signs were looming over them. He turned onto the property and Mikasa breathed a sigh of relief; the grounds looked clear. Well, not completely clear, there were some Biters lingering around but not as many as were in the streets.
"They must've all taken off when this whole thing happened," Jean said. "Can you imagine how many must've come from this place alone? Shit."
"Don't get a head of yourselves," Reiner said. "We don't know how many are still in the buildings."
"It's only one building we need to get into," Mikasa said.
Armin drove through the maze of small streets and parking lots to get the building that Dr. Jaeger worked in. It was one of the bigger ones that they couldn't exactly see the entrance of due to other smaller building in front of it. Armin parked the car of to the side of one of the parking lots before they got any closer.
"Why so far away?" Reiner asked. "If we need to bolt this is gonna be harder to get to."
Armin turned off the car and looked back. "Dr. Jaeger worked in one of the larger buildings here, chances are there are still Biters inside or outside so we need to enter as quietly as possible."
"They never seemed to car too much about the car before, so why does it matter?"
Armin pointed out Mikasa's window. "There's a small path that leads from her directly to Dr. Jaeger's building. Being parked here gives us the most direct entrance and exit should we need. There's also a few buildings around we could get into if we need to wait for Eren and Sasha. I haven't seen any signs of them as of yet but they were well could be in the building already or in a surrounding one waiting for us."
"So we head to Dr. Jaeger's building, if there's no entry and no sign of Eren and Sasha we scout another building to wait in?" Jean asked, leaning forward in his seat.
"Should all go well, yes."
"And if all goes bad?" Annie asked arching an eyebrow.
Armin hesitated. "Run back to the car. I don't want to leave when we finally got here but safety is most important. If it looks impossible we'll leave to find a safer place in the city."
That seemed to appease everyone but Mikasa felt her body tense up. No, there was no way she was leaving when Eren could be here waiting for them. She was getting in that building no matter what. She was getting a head of herself though. They didn't even know what the threat level was yet. Everything could be just fine, everything would be fine.
She popped open her door before jumping outside to slid both her sword and Eren's backpack onto her back. There was the few clicks of doors being gently closed as opposed to being slammed shut. Mikasa looked around to their group; everyone had their weapons drawn, ready to move. Mikasa shut her door before taking her sword in her hand. She nodded to Armin who raised his crossbow and started to lead them down the path he spotted.
She stood behind him should close combat be needed, but everything down the path looked clear, even the alleys between the building. There wasn't a single Biter anywhere. It wasn't a relief, it only made her more on edge. They thought the past lab was safe cause it was clear and look how wrong they were.
No one said a word as they took the path slowly. They were so close now; Mikasa almost saw the full building in view. She was stood up on her toes trying to see if there was a bike parked out in front. Before she could actually see anything she nearly ran into Armin who stopped on the path right before it ended. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong but she didn't need to, she saw it for herself. Suddenly, the reason why the grounds were so abandoned made sense.
There were Biters everywhere, and she meant everywhere. They didn't seem to be after anyone in particular; they were just meandering around. The hoard was huge and took up the entire front of the hospital and around some of the side as well. Mikasa's heart sunk. How…how were they supposed to get around this? She didn't think…she thought maybe…
"My guess," Armin's voice was soft as to not draw attention. "Someone was here causing them all to congregate in front of this building. The only time we ever see them like this is when they are after someone."
Mikasa's heart was in her throat. "Eren?"
Armin shook his head. "I don't think so, unless he got here a while ago, they aren't trying to get in or chase which means the person or people are long gone."
"Holy shit…" Reiner's voice trailed off as he stood next to him. "There's no way in hell we're going anywhere close to that. You three are on your own."
Armin gestured them to move back against one of the buildings out of the view of the Biters. Mikasa stayed close to the wall so she could make sure the hoard wasn't moving towards them. She also wanted to see if she could carve a path to the hospital.
"We're getting back in that car and leaving, right now," Reiner said.
"Just relax for a second," Armin said, still speaking in hushed tones. "They aren't after us so we have a moment to think. Yes, we can just get up and leave, but then what would we do? This was our goal for days."
"And it's gonna be our death," Berthodlt choked.
"We can still search out a building to wait and plan," Jean said. "Provided those buildings don't look like that one."
Reiner shook his head. "And what if getting into those buildings makes too much noise and attracts them to us plus God knows how many others are lurking around? No, I'm not staying here and nor are my friends. I told you I wasn't risking their lives and if you know what was good for your friends you wouldn't either."
Mikasa could see Armin was torn. He really wanted to stay, to wait for Eren, to find Dr. Jaeger's office but staying here could kill them all with the size of that hoard. "We have to at least try and wait for Eren. I know he'll come here."
Annie looked up to Reiner. "Why don't we try waiting in the car? We can wait to see if they show up and can leave quickly if the Biters notice us."
It wasn't a half bad idea really but it more surprised Mikasa that Annie was suggesting it. Regardless, Mikasa didn't want to just stick around and wait for something to happen; she couldn't just sit here and wait not when Eren could be inside the hospital waiting for them. "No," she said. "We can't sit around and do nothing."
"Mikasa," Jean said. "You can't get in there, look at that hoard. I understand you want to make sure Eren and Sasha didn't already get inside. But you're gonna alert them, all of them and then we're stuck and probably dead. You're being irrational."
Maybe she was, maybe she just wanted to chop their heads off for what they did to Connie, what they did to all of them. "We have to get in there. Eren could be in there already, he might've made it faster than us and…and…even if…" She gripped the handle of her sword. "Even if Eren's not coming we have to get in there, it's the only way."
"No, Mikasa, it's not, it's really not," Armin said, reaching out for her, but Mikasa stepped away closer to where the hoard was still lingering. "We just need a plan, give it a little time."
She didn't care. She knew what she needed to do and it was to make those bastards know exactly how much pain they had caused her. Connie, her parents, Jean's parents, Marco, Eren, Sasha, Dr. Jaeger, the list went on and on of people they had, people who were missing because of this whole mess. She'd take them all down if she had to and she had to, she just…
Mikasa turned away from them and held her head up as she walked straight towards those damn Biters. They had no idea what was coming for them.
"Mikasa, no!" she heard Armin hiss behind her. She only hoped Armin would stay back so he didn't get hurt.
"She's gonna get us all killed!" That was Reiner but Mikasa still could care less. They could run and they could hide but she wasn't going to.
She heard footsteps running behind her; probably Jean coming after her but it was too late. The Biters already heard them, saw her. They were coming, moaning, and limping after her and she was gonna make them pay. She sliced her sword through the neck of the first Biter who came after her, hands reaching from nearly all sides when that one dropped. Mikasa was about to go to the next one when a force slammed into her side.
Mikasa fell to the ground, sliding across the pavement and trying to catch the breath that got knocked outta her lungs. She went to grab her sword to kill the thing that knocked her over before it killed her but the body came to stand over her. It wasn't attacking her. It was blocking her. Mikasa looked up slowly; she knew that stance, that body, those arms, those shoulders, that head of hair.
"Eren?" she gasped but he didn't turn his head. He didn't even look back at her at all. She saw his body tense, his hands gripping his bat as he took off into the hoard.
Suddenly, it was like Mikasa didn't exist at all, all the Biters dove after Eren but he was faster. He swung his bat over and over again knocking one after the other straight to the ground. He had a look in his eyes, one she had only seen once, back at the house when he wouldn't stop beating the Biter in the head. His jaw was clenched tight even as blood from the Biters splattered over him.
Mikasa was about to call over to him when hands reached under her arms lifting her up to her feet.
"C'mon, we gotta move." It was Sasha. She was here too. The brunette grabbed a hold of Mikasa's arm and quickly led her back to the others who were all staring dumbfounded at Eren still fighting in the center of the hoard. Armin grabbed a hold of Mikasa's arm when Sasha let go, his eyes wide on the scene in front of him.
"Holy fuck…" Jean mumbled from somewhere nearby. She couldn't look though; she couldn't look away from Eren.
Bodies were surrounding him on the ground but live ones kept coming at him. Eren didn't bat an eye; he swung his bat, tearing a head right off and used his bare hand to nearly rip another off. He didn't even flinch as Mikasa watched a bastard bite down on his shoulder.
"No!" Mikasa cried out and moved to run to him but Armin held her tight next to him.
Eren didn't drop his stance, he just reached over and pried the Biter off his shoulder before hitting it square in the jaw with the hilt of his bat. He didn't even hesitate going after the next one that dove for him.
"What the hell is he doing!?" Reiner hissed. "He just got himself killed!"
"No," Armin said thickly. "He's still okay."
"What the fuck does that mean?"
Armin just shook his head.
Eren lunged at another Biter taking it down with enough time to swing his bat at one behind him. One bit down on his arm but Eren took its head off. One after another after another he killed them never hesitating, never stopping, barely even breathing. Mikasa couldn't believe her eyes, she couldn't believe that was him but it was Eren's face, his body, his mannerisms. She'd know him anywhere.
"Eren," she said, barely above a whisper.
"God damn," Jean breathed. "He's nearly killed them all. Sasha, what happened?"
Mikasa turned to see Sasha standing next to Jean, shaking her head in disbelief.
"He was fine," she said. "He was completely fine till we saw Mikasa walk out towards the hoard and he just took off without a word."
Mikasa swallowed hard as she turned back to Eren, his bat sending yet another Biter to the pile of bodies. What was he doing? Why was he letting himself get bit? What was going through his head? For once, Mikasa didn't know.
"He took them all out," Annie said, though her voice betrayed no emotions.
Eren watched the last one go down as he swayed on his feet and fell to his knees. His eyes started to droop and Mikasa was running to him.
"Mikasa!" Reiner shouted. "Don't!"
She ignored him, she ignored him until she was on her knees in front of Eren, surrounded by piles of dead Biters. "Eren?"
He was covered in splattered blood, his pants, his shirt, his arms, face. There were crescent shaped bites on his arms and shoulders but they weren't gushing blood like the last time. No, they were already closing up, healing.
"Eren?" she tried again and this time he looked up at her. His tired eyes he met hers before his eyes fluttered shut and Eren fell forward.
Mikasa dove towards him to catch her in her arms, his head against her shoulder, the rest of his body limp in her arms. His breath was warm against her neck and she felt his heart racing in his chest. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close to her, tears welling up in her eyes. He was alive. He was still here with her. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else would ever matter.
"What the fuck have you brats gotten yourselves into?"
The voice made Mikasa jump, her eyes snapping up towards the sound.
Standing just at the edge of the bodies Eren had taken down was a man, someone Mikasa never saw before. He had narrow eyes and dark hair and was dressed in a military uniform of sorts, eyes staring at her and Eren.
"Who the hell are you?" Mikasa said, holding onto Eren tighter.
"Who the hell am I?" he snorted, crossing his arms on his chest. "I just watched that kid take down a shit ton of these bastards while getting bit. Yet nothing's wrong; like he just didn't get completely fucked up. No, who the hell are you and your little friends over there?"
Mikasa looked up to Armin and the others who looked like he had been trying to come over before this guy showed up, halting them in their tracks. She swallowed hard and didn't loosen her grip on Eren; she just got him back, no one was taking him away from her. She narrowed her eyes at the man who was obviously waiting for an answer but there was only one thing she could think of.
This stranger, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie saw Eren was immune from getting turned.
What the hell were they supposed to do now?
