Saph's PoV
Erwin stared at us, lacking an arm did nothing to diminish the ice contained in his eyes. "Reiner and Bertholdt were Titan shifters who attempted to take Eren outside of the Wall. Ymir was also a Titan shifter but of other origins. She grabbed Krista whose real name is Historia. We were able to retrieve both of them," he raised the remainder of his limb, "at the cost of my arm and many soldier's lives. Eren also may have discovered a new capability of controlling other Titans. The same Titan that you two described being covered in hair also threw boulders at us."
I heard he'd just woken up the day before from a coma not long before we'd arrived back. I'd collapsed in my Titan form before we'd reached headquarters. Levi cut me out of my body and carried me for a few hours until I regained consciousness. Without our horses or gear it took a bit, but Levi and I got back. All this information being tossed into our laps wasn't unexpected but still a lot to handle.
My thoughts went straight to the first question that I'd been asked after waking up. Are one of you the manipulator? "We don't know anything about the people who kidnapped both of us. It all happened so fast when they raided the castle. They asked about a manipulator though, so they might have thought one of us had the ability?"
"What about Reiner and Bertholdt or Annie?"
Levi stepped forward, "Sir, they asked questions about Annie but not either of them. They also had a Titan shifter in their midst besides the one covered in fur who arrived as we were leaving."
"Damn it," Erwin muttered. "I thought the Titan problem itself was insurmountable but-"
"Saph is also one," Levi interjected
I gulped. "I believe I got 'turned' when the Military Police captured me. When I thought they were going to kill Levi, I turned, but I think they thought Levi was Eren or another Titan shifter."
Erwin leaned back. "There are so many different parties at play here and we barely have a notion of who knows what." He rested his fingers on his chin while staring off into the distance for a few collective moments.
Hanji knocked on the door before we got the chance to leave the room. "Good to see you're awake, sir," Hange said as she strolled in with Connie by her side. "I'm here to confirm my theory of where Titans come from. Connie is from the town of Ragako and accompanied my squad there. We found the homes to be blown apart from the inside. Yet, despite the destruction, we didn't find a single bloodstain. Most importantly, we have yet to recover a citizen from the town. The total number of Titans that were discovered and defeated was the same number of individuals who lived there.
"So you're saying that the Titans are actually humans?" Erwin asked.
"We don't have solid proof that all Titans are this way but if they are, I have an idea on why their weak spot is located where it is. If you measured the proportions compared to a human body, that's where the spinal column would be leading out of the brain. The Titan can't regenerate probably because the organs are independent from the rest of the body."
Levi spoke up, "Have you seen anything like that in any of the Titan's captured alive?"
"No. I've never seen anything that looks particularly human. I can't imagine a human brain staying in contact-"
"The flesh I've committed to slicing is actually part of a human being?" Levi wondered out loud, particularly upset. "I've been flying around killing humans this whole time? Is that what you're saying?"
"I told you there's no solid proof."
"The hell are you smiling about, Erwin?" Levi asked with a gasp. "You're going to make me sick."
Erwin sighed as he fidgeted with the strap of his sling. "I've been told that since I was a child."
"Is that the real reason you're in the Survey Corps?"
"Ease off, Levi. My arm was eaten. I'm physically and emotionally exhausted. Don't you have some pity for me?"
"You are pitiful."
"What's pitiful is the state the two of you are in. Go wash up and then gather where Historia and Eren are being kept. They are the most important assets right now. We need to get onto the trail of the organization that knows more about the Titans than we do. We can also take back the walls if we learn how to deploy Eren's powers. I also want to know what you're capable of Saph as well. Everyone needs to stay safe and be extra careful until then."
I left the building with my mind running in loops. My adventures in the Underground had unearthed connections interwoven throughout the political web in the background of our civilization. No matter how many Military Police soldiers died in the pursuit to rescue Eren, there were members that would never lift a finger to protect humanity's potential future. Those at the top had agendas on top of agendas that didn't guarantee the survival of the world. My mind and past carried experiences brimming with knowledge we could use. The trauma I'd experienced recently left little brain power left. Staggering slightly, I found the showers. They'd been on my mind for days and nothing was going to get in my way between me and getting clean right now. Must be Levi rubbing off on me.
I hurried to the nearest available one. Being used to not bathing for weeks, months, years, did little to remove how refreshing it felt to wash up. Clean water itself didn't exist a plenty so to be able to have the body immersed in the cool goodness made me thankful every single time. I'd learned to appreciate cleanliness even if I still didn't mind getting dirty.
After getting out of the shower, I grabbed some scissors before looking into the mirror. That time locked up had led my hair to grow out in front of my eyes. Snipping the strands off, I cut my hair until only a curly mop of it rested on the very top of my head. Leaning forward, I examined the wad of bandages covering my cheek and lower jaw. The exact spot where the Titan's burning hand had set aflame my flesh. Skin had yet to grow back even though my Titan abilities had shown themselves in my thriving physical health despite the circumstances. Examining my eyes hadn't been something I'd done in a very long time, but now I glared into the depths of their reflection, anxious to see if the deadened glaze of a Titan stared back. How could I not have known that I could now turn into a monster?
A somewhat young but mostly battered looking woman stared back at me. Though I could not tell you how that was different than if I'd been a man. I held no attachment to this body but not knowing such a change had taken place made me feel eerily free from it. As if not just the Titan powers gave me incredible healing abilities but that even if it was destroyed, my existence would still continue. Maybe that continuum after death would only lead to me suffering in a place resembling the hell the priests speak of. I'd killed so many people that I knew if there was anything or anyone out there, I wouldn't be on the nice list. That opportunity was never mine to begin with. Growing up in the Underground didn't allow for morals.
My gaunt body held little muscle and besides the wounds that disappeared, it hadn't changed drastically. I needed to figure out what specifically had caused this. I knew Hanji would be all over me with questions after we gathered at the safehouse. At least I'd have the opportunity to speak to Eren in order to hear his personal experience. I walked out of the barracks and hopped onto Lucifer before heading to our new base of operations.
"Right now we need to get organized and plan our next move. Of course..." Levi paused as I walked into the room. I sat down at the opposite end of the table and looked over the new members of Levi's Squad. They were all newest recruits from the same training group. I'd never felt so old but they were all so young and hardened. "While much has happened recently, our original goal is still the same. That is, to close the hole in Wall Maria. As long as we can do that, most of the details don't matter. Whether it's the people next to us turning into Titans. A hair covered Titan tossing boulders at us, or a handful of Titans popping up inside the wall. Hey, Armin. You said if things went well, we could plug up the wall fast. Explain that again."
While Armin looked like he could barely lift up the blade much less cut into a Titan's neck, his intelligence was highly regarded. Him and Historia looked so delicate with their small frames, blonde hair, and blue eyes. "Yes, sir. My idea is that Eren changes into a Titan and uses his abilities to plug the hole. Saph could do the same if she can replicate enough crystal material Eren's and Annie's titan can produce. If that's even possible of course, but that would allow us to not have to use wagons to haul material. We could choose a cloudy night when the Titans are less active, to head to the wall. If we are traveling by horse, it wouldn't take us long. Under these ideal conditions, the mission to recapture Wall Maria would take less than 24 hours."
Everyone in the room was stunned. Hanji didn't say anything
"But now that I'm talking about it again, it sounds like a dream."
"Whether that dream can be made into a reality," Levi interjected, "depends on these two."
I gulped and Eren stared at his hands resting on the table. "I understand that," he tried to state calmly.
"Hear that Hanji? They know they're in for it. And you're the one who will choose where our experiments take place."
Hanji still barely moved as she turned her attention to Levi. "Yes. It's my duty as long as I'm alive."
Her somber tone and demure demeanor confused both Levi and I. He caught my eye and tilted his head towards her direction as she spoke of the great manpower it took to maintain the current collapsing social order. I lifted my shoulder in surrender to indicate that I had no notion of what could be upsetting our dear colleague and old friend either.
"We can't sit around and waste time," she continued, "we have to hurry and take action, but I still want Eren and Saph to lay low for the time being!"
"What?"
"Buy why-"
"I mean… the situation seems to be more complicated than we thought."
I agreed with that sentiment wholeheartedly. There were people turning into Titans among us, people turning other people into Titans, and Titans turning people into Titans. I could barely trust my own body much less everybody else around me.
"From the moment you walked in here it looked like you were on the edge. Like you were holding in a shit, and you still have that look on your face. Why are you keeping it inside? Why don't you tell us?"
"Minister Nick is dead."
My jaw dropped. That had been the guy who knew about the Titans living in the walls. The one I'd met who Levi held a gun on. I'd been kidnapped after that evening in the early morning. They'd drugged Levi after he and Hanji went to Erwin's with Nick. Somehow they'd put in something he consumed when he'd gotten back. They'd moved so fast after the fight between Annie and Eren that I'd still been exhausted. Levi's ankle, still sensitive. We were fighting enemies on all sides that we didn't know about. Now I'm supposed to be a hero? Use my new powers to save the world from these foes?
Hanji described how the Military police tortured and then killed Nick to see what information he'd given us. I'd tuned all of this out while my own thoughts tunneled until Levi's voice broke me back into concentration. "Probably… they'd want to know if the connection between the Reiss family and the Church had gotten out, and they'd want to know where Eren and Historia are."
"We don't really know who is a friend and who is an enemy. We don't believe this location has been compromised yet, but even coming here today we split into two groups and assigned shadows to look for anyone tailing us."
Levi looked at Hanji, "So that's why you want to hold off on experimenting with them?"
"Yes. Since Eren's powers were revealed someone from the interior has been trying to get their hands on him. Since the recent level of turmoil… the pressure has clearly changed. They may have already split the military into two factions. Everything inside the wall has become unstable too. An off-limits isn't going to exist soon. It's clear that 'outsider enemies' like Reiner and Bertolt had allies on the inside the whole time. We need to worry about being stabbed in the back."
"So you're saying we should just sit here and have tea parties instead?" Levi asked his voice teetering on anger. "So? No. It's the opposite." He stood up from his spot on the chair, switching the usual height differences so now he slightly towered over Hanji, Levi spoke with emotion that shivered through his haggard being, "Do you think these people are going to give up that quickly? They'll find us here eventually. If we do nothing but run, then all we can do is get caught. You feeling responsible for Nick's death is making you timid. How many of his fingernails were torn off?"
"Huh? I don't know… I only saw him for a moment… but… all the ones I could see were torn off."
"If you're going to talk, you talk after one. If you're not going to talk, it doesn't matter how many of your nails they rip off. It looks like he held onto his faith until the end."
I nodded along with Levi's words. Pain couldn't be compared between individuals. Everything about hurt depends on the person receiving it. Sometimes it takes a special something to break someone like time or making it in their mind. If Nick didn't talk before they killed him then the mole in the interior doesn't know about us watching the Reiss family.
Levi raises his fist in the air, "Anyways, the way I see it we have two options. Go outside before we're stabbed in the back or exterminate our would-be killers first. Which do you choose, Hanji?
"Both," Hanji grips the armrest of her chair. "We'll do both at the same time."
Hey guys! I know some people were confused when Levi and Saph got kidnapped, so I thought I'd clarify that it was the night after Eren and Annie fought within the walls. I know the jump was a bit weirder since it'd been a bit of time since I had last posted. Hopefully, this chapter also clears up a lot of confusion as most of it takes place in one of the 50th chapters of the manga. As always, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and I would love to hear your thoughts!
