"Annie," Eren and Jaeger growled in their sleep.
Mikasa was standing next to their bedside, watching over them. They had been repeatedly saying Annie in their sleep, sometimes mentioning Armin.
It had been a week since Eren came back and Annie was discovered to be the female deviant. Things had been messy since then, Eren was revealed to be a titan when the military police caught Levi cutting Eren out from his titan. Eren was ordered to attend court, but he was still unconscious at the time, so it had been scheduled for after he woke up. For now, Erwin was commanded by the higher ups to keep him under wraps, meaning that Eren was to be confined in the dungeon. Mikasa agreed reluctantly, deciding that it was easier for her to see who came in and out this way.
Annie was a different story, the coward crystallized herself and was now being kept in the dungeon as well. There has been no movement from her, making Hange a bit cranky and frustrated about the situation.
The scouts were upset with Annie and the Military Police because Annie killed a comrade and the Military Police were not being held accountable for Annie's unauthorized disappearances. Since then, Nile had been crawling around the Scouts' HQ.
"Mind if I come in?" Nile asked, again. He had been standing outside of Eren's cell for about an hour. He was a persistent and annoying man, in Mikasa's opinion.
"No," she said, turning him down once again. Nile would have challenged that "no" by going in anyways, but he knew she would do anything to keep Eren safe.
"I won't hurt him, I just came to simply say hello," he said.
"You can say hi from there," she grunted.
He scowled, "But that wouldn't be very proper of me, I would prefer to be closer."
"You ruined his life, why should I let you come any closer?"
"I was only trying to help, we may be able to cure his illness," he reasoned.
Mikasa stiffened, "It is not an illness, as you so rudely put it, it is Jaeger."
"Wouldn't it be far easier to live without Jaeger? Eren wouldn't have any problems such as the ones he is experiencing now. It would be an easy life."
"Eren wouldn't be so cruel as to end his titan's life."
Nile was beginning to get agitated by her stubbornness.
"I can have him killed," he threatened, hoping that it would make her stand down.
Her eyes flared with anger, blades pointed at his throat within seconds.
"I won't let you, I could just as easily kill you right now. If you harm Eren, you'll regret it," she snarled.
Nile glared, both loathing and admiring her courage.
"You'd just be hurting yourself if you did that."
Mikasa narrowed her eyes, "If Eren no longer exists, then there is no point in living anymore. Armin is already gone, I'd have nothing to lose."
"Why depend so much on them?" he asked.
"None of your business."
She sheathed her swords and retreated back to Eren. Nile stared at her suspiciously, making a mental note to check up on her past.
Eren's POV
"Look at this one! Apparently it's full of salt!" Armin shouted excitedly.
"Nuh uh," Eren picked up the book and examined it closely. "Merchants would be all over this if it were real," he said, doubtful that this book was even real.
"They can't get to it, it's outside of the walls," he explained.
"Oh, that explains a lot. They're too chicken to step foot outside the walls," he laughed.
"But we aren't, right? Wouldn't it be fun to explore all of these different places?" he asked, taking his book back.
"We should, we can travel together!" Eren suggested, beaming at Armin.
"Where would you want to go first?"
"Probably the ocean, it sounds like the most interesting place."
"That's where I would want to go too," Armin said, smiling to himself. "But wouldn't it be dangerous? My parents tried to go, but they never came back."
"It's alright! I'll protect you!" Eren exclaimed, draping his arm over Armin's shoulder.
"What if you can't protect me? What if I die?" he asked.
Eren faltered slightly. "I wouldn't let that happen Armin, you're my best friend," he said truthfully.
"But you already killed me Eren…" Armin said, looking up at Eren sadly.
Confusion masked Eren's face, "No I didn't, you're right here silly!" he said, trying to lighten the mood.
"No I'm not, you're lying," Armin started crying.
Fear pierced his heart and he hugged him, promising to never let go.
"I love you," Armin whispered.
Eren's eyes widened, remembering these words to be his last.
"Armin, you're n-"
Before he could finish, a warm liquid coated his arms.
"Armin?" He looked down to find nothing but crushed bones in his arms and blood staining his skin red.
Eren screamed, jumping away from the horrific scene, "No."
"You killed him, you killed him, you killed him, you killed him, YOU KILLED HIM," voices chanted.
Eren pressed his hands against his ears, in an attempt to block out the horrible voices, but they kept chanting.
"You killed him, Eren."
Mikasa materialized in front of him, a stoic expression gracing her features.
He shook his head, sadness becoming him.
"I didn't mean to."
"You said you would protect him," she said, eyes tearing up.
"You lied," Armin said, joining Mikasa.
"You're a monster," they said.
Jaeger gasped and abruptly sat up straight in his bed, shaking all over his body.
"Eren? What happened?" Mikasa got to her feet and walked over to him.
He jumped when he heard her voice, "What's wrong?"
"Eren had a bad dream," Jaeger said, relaxing a little.
"Where is he?" She asked, worried for her brother's well being.
"He'll be back tomorrow morning, don't worry. He just requires more rest," he explained, sinking back into the bed. "Where are we?"
"The dungeon."
"Alright…"
Jaeger dozed off into another nightmare of Eren's.
-I'm in a hurry this morning so I can't say much! I'll have chapter 22 up tomorrow. I hope you had just as much fun reading this as I did writing it. Thanks!