Traitors & Truths

Rain sighed heavily as she and Levi entered into their home. Upon returning to the island they filed their reports, locked both Eren and Zeke up, and had Sasha's body… Rain's thoughts trailed off. With in the next day or two they would be burying another one of their own. She had no idea who went and told Sasha's family what had happened, but she figured it was Jean or Connie, maybe both.

"Are you okay?" Levi asked.

"Sure." Rain headed to their bedroom without another word. Stripping off her gear she grabbed a clean pair of clothes and headed for the bathroom. She stepped under the falling water before it turned hot. Strong arms wrapped around her waist a minute later. They were followed by a pair of lips pressing against her shoulder. Her eyelids fluttered closed as she leaned back into him. As his lips continued to trail over her skin he used his hands to wash her clean. Once finished she returned the favor. Getting lost in the smooth wet touches of her hands, Levi captured her lips with his, slowly stroking her mouth with his tongue.

Rain reached around to turn off the shower. They stumbled from the tub without losing contact with each others lips and made their way to their bed. Levi lowered her to the mattress, kissing down her neck and chest until he captured her bud in his mouth. She ran her hands through his hair, begging him to continue without words. Shifted his position he spread her legs apart with his knee and sheathed himself inside.

A soft groan slipped from her lips as he moved against her, slowly pulling out and roughly shoving back in. The headboard smacked against the wall in tandem with their movements. She tugged at his hair, desperate for his lips to be back on hers. His lips made their way back to her lips where he sucked and probed with his own. Rain's hand started to wander his body.

…

Rain squinted into the sunlight pouring through the edges of the curtain. Pushing upon her arms she found Levi was no longer in bed with her. Going by the coolness of his spot, he had been out of bed for a long while. She stood. Grabbing one of his shirts she headed out of their room to find him. A knife whacking against the cutting board greeted her.

Levi was standing at the stove. She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Good morning."

"You mean good afternoon."

"I slept that late?" Rain's eyes went to the window. The sun was high in the sky. That would explain why the sun was so bright.

"You were tired. You needed to rest after what happened in Marley."

"I think what you did last night had a lot to do with me being tired." She hugged him.

Levi smirked at her from over his shoulder. "I wasn't alone, you know. You were rather motivated yourself."

Rain winkled her nose. "I was only following your lead."

"Sure you were."

"So what did I miss?" Concern strummed inside of her when his expression faltered. "Levi?"

"A decision about Zeke has been made."

"That fast?"

"He causes a great deal of threat. And with what happened in Marley… anyway, they want me to take a squad and head as far away from here as possible."

"We're leaving that quick?" Rain asked.

"No. I'm leaving." He paused. "You're staying here."

"What?" Rain jerked back from him. "Why?"
"Because of Zeke's royal blood." Levi turned to her. "The higher ups don't want you to be taken control of. Things could have been much worse back in Marley."

Rain crossed her arms. "A little late considering what Eren said coming back from Marley."

Levi flinched.

"I want to stay with you," Rain said.

"I know, but you can't. Not this time."

Rain walked away from him. Mind racing she weighed her options. She could easily go against orders and follow Levi. But what kind of damage would that do? As Levi said, Zeke could take control of her since he was of royal blood. If that happened, what would Levi do? They needed Zeke alive for now. And she knew he wouldn't kill her. As much as she hated to admit it, she had to stay. "How long?"
"I don't know."

Rain sighed and turned to him. "Fine. I'll stay."

"Good." Levi nodded.

"So, anything else you want to tell me?"

"Stay away from Eren."

"Excuse me?" Rain frowned.

"It's for the best."

"How so?"

"After what Eren has done we can't be sure he can be trusted anymore."

Anger built up in Rain's chest. She opened her mouth to argue with him but quickly shut it. Levi was right, especially looking at Eren's moves from a military standpoint. She was looking at Eren as a friend. A friend who's main reason for going to Marley was to help her. And that brought up another issue. If she went with Levi she wouldn't be able to get answers from Eren. Back on the zeppelin she had a feeling Eren wanted to say more. "Fine. I'll try to stay away from him. But if he wants to see me I will go talk to him."

"Fair enough. Now let's eat. Sasha's funeral is in a couple hours."

…

Rain did her best to stand straight in her uniform. All of their friends and many soldiers had come to Sasha's funeral. Sasha's family was in the front of it all. Every single one of them, even Sasha's dad, was crying. Tears even filled her own eyes. Sasha's death was so needless. How did two kids even manage to pull it off? Killing one adult, using ODM gear to get into the zeppelin, and killing Sasha? What were the Marleyans teaching kids? As soon as the question came to her mind the answer soon followed. They were teaching them to be soldiers, killers. She took a mental look at herself. She had been trained to be a killer, too. Not only a killer of people but of titans. She hated the whole entire thing.

Before she knew it the funeral was over and Levi was leading her away from the graveyard. She slipped her hand into his. They didn't have much time left together. In a couple hours Levi would be leaving her. And no one knew how long they were going to be separated.

"Take care of yourself." Levi pulled to into his chest as they gathered to say goodbye.

"I should be saying that to you." Rain rested her head on his shoulder. "Be careful, Levi. Zeke is no ordinary man."

"I know." Levi stroked her hair. "I'll be fine. You know he can't kill me."

"He had better not." Rain pulled back to glare at him. "If you die so help me I will drag you back from the dead just to kill you for dying."

Levi chuckled then kissed her. "I promise I won't die. And I'll be back before you know it."

…

Rain rolled onto her back, draping her arm over her eyes. Soft words slipped into her mind, beckoning her to come. A cloud rolled across her brain, clogging up her thoughts of missing Levi and wondering what he was currently doing. Something she had been doing every day since he had left. And in doing so she lost a lot of sleep.

Come to me.

Rain removed her arm and stared up at the ceiling.

Please, come. We have to talk.

The words continued to slip into her ears.

Flipping the cover off her she stood and headed outside without bothering to get dress. Mounting her horse she headed out into the night, following the words that called to her.

Rain blinked, the cloud in her mind clearing. She looked around, noticing she was in the prison, standing right in front of Eren's cell. "Eren… what… How did I get here?"

"I called for you," Eren said, eyes pooling with guilt.

"You… what?" Rain stared at him. He was unable to meet her eye. Part of his hair was half pulled back in a ponytail while the rest hung over his face. His hand shifted, pulling her eyes to it. Icy nails puncture her lungs. Between his index finger and his thumb was a piece of something that looked like her horn. "But… that's… how did…"

"Don't be angry with me." Eren ducked his head. "It was the only way I could get you to come to me."

"Angry?!" Rain erupted. Her hands snapped out to the bars. She jerked on them despite knowing she had no strength to break them as a human. If she could she would have wrapped her hands around his neck. "Eren, you just controlled me! You forced me to come here against my will! What did you make me do?!"

"I didn't make you kill anyone, if that's what you want to know."

"Eren!"

Eren sighed. "I only had you knock out anyone who tried to stop you from coming here. The keys to the cells are in your pocket."

Rain's hand slipped inside of her pocket. The keys jingled when her hand brushed against them. She gritted her teeth, blood boiling, and threw them across the room. "Why did you do that?!"

"Rain, you know I would never do anything to hurt you."

"Yet here we are." Tears blurred her vision.

"I needed to talk to you. Since you didn't come here on your own, I had no choice but to use this."

Rain flinched. She had wanted to come.

"It's about Kruger."

Rain licked her lips. Her heart raced. "You mean…"

Eren nodded. "He wants me to protect you."

"What?" Rain's head spun.

Eren stepped up to the bars. "Come closer."

Rain didn't move.

"Please, Rain." Eren begged with his eyes.

Rain swallowed. She knew she shouldn't, but her body moved forward. Her body tensed when Eren slipped a hand around her neck and pulled her close until their foreheads touched. A light flashed between them. An image formed in her mind.

Kruger stood on a beach in Marley. He looked out at the ocean, his eyes drowning in sorrow. "You must protect her. She has no family. They wanted someone who had no ties to hold them down. If anyone knows who her parents were they haven't spoken up. Might even be dead for all anyone knows. The scientists, who worked on her wanted to turn her into a more controllable titan, doesn't know that I am the cause of the accident that caused her to become what she is. I was hoping to stop it. But I failed in reaching that goal. What my interference managed to do was cause her to hold back on her titan powers. The scientists say it was because of the accident. They don't know I have interfered, as they are still pleased with what she can do. Still, I must protect her. She's too sweet of a girl to live the harsh life of a titan, of a soldier, of a warrior. She doesn't deserve that."

The image faded. Eren pulled away from her. "Now you understand? I have to protect you. And I will no matter what happens."

Rain's knees gave out on her and she collapsed to the ground.

"Rain, there's a way for you to be rid of your titan powers." Eren knelt down to her.

"What?" Rain gasped. "How?"
"I have to die."

…

Rain sauntered her way through the crowds that had gathered to demand Eren be released. Little did anyone know what was about to happen. But she knew. Eren told her everything about what he had seen in the paths. She wanted a different route. One that would let Eren live. Though it was impossible. Eren only had a few years left to live.

With an exhale she walked away from the crowds. They had their plan. Eren was going to break out of his cell soon. All she had to do now was get to Eren. Though she still had her doubts. Killing everyone outside of the walls so their friends could stop Eren and win the support of the world? She hated to admit it but a part of her was for this plan. It was people outside of the walls who caused her, and so many others, to become a titan. But, at the same time, she knew hate would never be eradicated from the world.

She shook her head. At this point it didn't matter. All she knew was she wanted to be closer to Eren. She had to stay by his side. Since they had touched foreheads and shared that memory of Kruger, her own memories were starting to come back. It was slow, small glimpses of things that happened to her, but it was something. She now knew she had a caretaker while going through the process of becoming a titan. Though she couldn't yet recall his name or what he looked like.

Rain pushed those thoughts away from her for now. She needed to get to Eren. He was about to break free of the prison he was in. And she had to be there. So she left the crowds and found a high enough place to jump from. Standing on the roof she cut her hand, transformed and flew off through the air.

Her timing was perfect. Eren was rising up out of the ground. She swooped down to grab him as he stood on his titan's shoulder.

"Perfect timing." Eren smiled up at her as he stood on her palm.

Rain nodded. They flew to the designated spot where some of his followers were waiting for them. She landed, letting Eren jump from her hand as she peeled herself from her titan form.

"There's more of you than I expected," Eren said to the crowd that had gathered to wait for them. "How many are there?"

"We have more allies than just those present here. The jailers that let us out, and those who told you to meet up with us here are all still hidden within the army's ranks," a young man said. "There are also those who planted the explosives that put down Darius Zackly. It had to be done as the military was planning to have someone easier to control to inherit the power of the original titan from you. Even though the only one capable of saving the Eldian empire is you, Eren Jaeger."

Eren took the coat from the man and put it on. "All we have to do is find Zeke."

"Are you sure about her? Should she even be here considering her connections to Captain Levi?" The guy looked at Rain.

Rain had asked herself that question plenty of times. His concern was justified.

"She's with me. No one is allowed to touch her." Eren glared at them all and stepped in front of Rain. "Let's proceed."