I do not own Attack on Titan

"Alright Eren. Go ahead and transform. The three of us will be standing about a hundred meters away. When you turn into your titan form, Naomi will stab you with her blades," Hange explained.

I stood next to her, looking down into the empty well that Eren stood in. Squad Leader Levi gave him an uninterested look, his cold dark eyes sharp and observant.

Before I entered the military, I caught whispers of his name. I didn't really know how important of a figure he was until I got into the Survey Corps though. He was a highly skilled Scout, the best out of everyone in this military branch. One thing I didn't hear when people talked about him was how short he was in person. His eye level was almost parallel with mine, mine being slightly taller.

Levi may have looked youthful, but his hard eyes said everything but. Plastered on his face was a scowl, like he found everything to be disgusting—especially Eren. He was assigned to keep watch over Eren and make sure he didn't deviate from what he was supposed to be doing. Having him as my guardian would make me stiff with fear.

Mounted on horses, we waited for Eren to transform. Seconds became minutes. The minutes began stacking up in anxious silence, wondering when he'd transform. When it was clear that nothing was going to happen, the three of us approached the well again to check on him.

Eren had chewed his hand into a bloody pulp trying to transform.

Pulling him up out of the deep well, Levi muttered in annoyance. I was slightly disappointed in not getting a close up view of Eren's titan form, but I was at the same time relieved I didn't have to test out my gift yet.

Eren looked crestfallen as he stood away from the well, Hange and Levi off in their own group to discuss their next plan of action. Seeing Eren's disappointment, I dismounted from my horse and stepped closer to comfort him. Using the hem of my shirt I was going to clean up the blood.

"It's alright," I reassured. "We'll try again another day."

Hange screamed, "No! Don't t—"

As my hand came into contact with his bloodied one, I remembered a loud boom before I went unconscious.

*O*O*

A blast of steam threw Hange and Levi off of their horses, sending them flying through the air. Spooked by the sudden tumble, the horses took off into the forest. The noise of the reaction was like a cannon blast, deep and loud enough to hurt your ears. Where Naomi and Eren stood was now shrouded in thick titan steam.

Skidding across the grass, both Squad Leaders had their swords drawn. Hange swore under her breath.

"I should have told her to stay away from him," she scolded herself.

Levi remarked, "Too late for that."

The clatter echoed over the trees and hills surrounding the area. HQ stood as a curious pile of stones, peeping over the trees in the distance.

"Squad Leaders!" A soldier cried who was standing near the tree line of the forest. "Please get away from the titan!"

Hange shouted back, "DO NOT ENGAGE! STAND DOWN!"

Reluctantly, both squads stood down, shifting nervously from where they stood. The steam had cleared enough to be able to see a dark shape looming fifteen meters above the soldiers. Two green eyes glowed ominously out at them. At the sight, everyone recoiled.

The muscles rippled through Eren's body as he remained upright, looking over the small group of soldiers witnessing his transformation. His figure was so large it blocked out the sun from the ground below him. Behind the Squad Leaders, their subordinates quivered in fright. Eren stood still as he looked around him, seemingly conscious within his titan form.

"Eren!" Hange shouted. "Sit on your knees if you understand me!"

Eren contemplated her voice, breathing steam out of his mouth. Slowly, he got down on his knees before them. The ground vibrated with each movement he made, sending the trees whispering in panic with each thump. Seeing him in a submissive state alleviated some of the tension rising within the group. Hange and Levi stared up in wonder at him.

"Right," Levi said. "What's next?"

"He seems like he's very aware," Hange observed. "As much as I'd like to experiment on him, I think we need to get him out. This has given me plenty of new understanding already."

Levi and Hange glided around to the back of Eren's neck, met with another surprise.

They saw a pulsing light in the shape of a human at the nape of the titan's neck. The light was bright enough to pierce through the skin to the outside. On closer inspection, Hange and Levi could make out details of the glowing body within. Swathed in a blue light, they could make out Naomi's features through the thick skin of the titan's body. It looked like she was peacefully sleeping, arms folded over her chest. Her hair flowed around her like she was submerged in water.

Hange stated, "Now we know where Naomi went."

"How are we going to get them out?" Levi asked.

"We know that Eren can regenerate his body parts, but Naomi is an unknown. This is completely different than the other situation, so I'm worried we might hurt her trying to take both of them out."

Levi suggested, "We can't worry about that at this point. We have to figure out something until we find a better method. Why don't we just cut around her and peel the skin open?"

Hange agreed. Rounding towards Eren's pointed ear, she said, "Levi and I are going to cut you guys out."

Expertly, Levi sliced around the glowing girl and ripped open the skin. Eren groaned in pain, his titan voice coming out like a feral growl. Below him, Naomi laid in a mass of flesh arranged almost like a bed.

The light wasn't as bright exposed to the outside. A crackle of energy surrounded Naomi, the source of the light. Every time the light pulsed around her, it shot through the tissue securing her and disappeared into the meat of the titan. Her head rested against the back of Eren's head.

Without having to cut the flesh attached to her, Levi managed to pull her out with little resistance. As soon as the last body part separated from the titan, the light permanently went away. Naomi gasped for air right after that, perplexed and taking in her situation.

Hange came back at that same moment and forced her to lie still as Levi pulled Eren out. It proved to be more difficult, tendrils of flesh unwilling to part with his limbs. Together, Hange and Levi severed the flesh, successfully pulling Eren out. He immediately came into consciousness after that, and the Squad Leaders retreated from the decaying titan corpse with a teen in hand.