Shiganshina
Eren sat in the front seat of Levi's now "Mysterious Blue" Kia Soul worshipping the large travel mug of coffee in his hands and listening to Levi grumble about getting up "at the ass-crack of dawn". Admittedly, for someone who always worked at night and slept during the day, travelling during the day was rather unexpected. Eren supposed that was the idea; to throw off Titan. Didn't mean he had to like it. 4am was too early even by his standards. He wasn't used to waking up any before 6am to get to classes on time.
For his own part, Levi was irritated at having to travel during the day. Too much traffic, which meant too many stupid people driving, too long to have to drive before stopping in Karanese at a resort hotel Erwin had reserved them a room at, and too long cramped in a small space with one human being that seemed to have trouble keeping quiet, had no control of his emotions and still had an obvious crush on him. He'd only gotten a little over 2 hours of sleep the night before, and he had the beginnings of a headache. This was going to be a long pain-in-the-ass trip.
Mercifully, Eren slept for most of the first two hours and remained quiet for most of the day, until he noticed that they kept passing up gas stations late in the afternoon. "Hey, Levi. Aren't we getting a little low on gas?"
"Hange filled it up last night. This thing gets 150 miles or so per gallon thanks to them modifying the engine, and with a 14-gallon tank . . ."
Eren's eyes widened. "That's about 2100 miles per tank! We can make the round trip without stopping once!"
Levi smirked. "Which means less opportunity to be spotted by the enemy." After a few moments of silence, he spoke again. "It might be prudent for you to keep talking for a while."
Eren turned to look at the man like he had five heads. "What?"
"I'm dangerously close to falling asleep at the wheel. I don't see the problem. Usually you won't shut up," Levi stated. "Speaking of which, what's bothering you? You've been freakishly quiet this whole drive. I get the part with you sleeping for the first couple of hours, but you haven't said two words since we ordered coffee this morning."
Eren fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "It's been such a long time since I was in Shiganshina. I'm not sure how I feel going back. It's such a rough town; you know, little more than a run-down suburb of Maria. Everyone there is dirt poor and it's overrun with gangs. My memories of it are pretty nice, though. The people in my neighborhood were nice and we helped each other out. Everyone really respected Dad. He was so busy, but he made sure he always was home on Sundays with nothing to do but spend time with us. We'd go to the park, or out to the beach, or over to the reserve to go hiking. He even took me fishing from time to time."
"I guess that's why it hurt so much when he disappeared all of a sudden. I couldn't understand at that age. All I knew was that he was gone, and Mom was scared. I can remember Hannes picking Mika and me up from school one afternoon with Mom in this really big box truck and we drove straight to Mitras and we never saw home again. Now that I know what happened, I guess they'd already torched the house."
Eren sighed before continuing. "Now that I know kinda what happened and why, I understand, but it still hurts. Part of me is still mad at Dad for not telling us anything at all. I know he left to protect us, but I can't help feeling that he abandoned Mom to deal with such a dangerous situation by herself." Another sigh. "I guess I don't know what I feel. It's all confused in my head."
"You're suddenly re-thinking everything you thought you knew after putting it out of your mind for 14 years. It's a lot to take in," Levi explained.
"Yeah. I guess. My entire world has been turned completely upside down for the second time in my life. Both times because of Titan," Eren said, anger building. "If it's the last thing I do, I'm gonna those fuckers pay for what they've done to my family and my friends. Every last one of them deserves to die!"
"Calm down, Eren,"
Eren suddenly remembered Levi's telepathic sensitivity to strong emotions. He glanced over and noticed the man gripping the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles were all white. "Sorry."
"It's okay," Levi said, rubbing his right temple to try to ease the now pounding headache he had. "Like I said, these past few weeks are a lot to take in."
"I gave you a headache. I'm sorry," Eren insisted.
"You didn't. I had this from before we left. I'll take something for it when we get to the hotel."
When they finally got to the hotel, Levi was endlessly grateful that Erwin had reserved a room on the next to the top floor with twin beds. Damn Four-Eyes would've gotten a single bed just to be an ass. It was clean enough for one night, and Levi told Eren to order room service and disappeared into the bathroom to shower. The hot water and steam helped to ease his headache, but not enough to say so.
When he finally decided to end his shower, he stepped out of the bathroom in a loose-fitting pair of jersey pants and nothing else. Eren swallowed visibly as he took in the powerfully muscled torso and visible hip bones. Yeah, he'd seen Levi's naked torso before, but it never ceased to amaze him. "Quit droolin', kid," Levi told him, earning an embarrassed blush from the younger.
Levi noted that the room had a dresser, a nightstand between the beds, a sitting area and a table and two chairs for eating. On the table was the result of Eren's room service order. "Where do you plan to put all that?" Levi asked him. "You got a hollow leg or something?"
"I ordered for both of us. You don't seem to be very picky, so I felt safe ordering enough for two."
Levi hated to admit it, but the food smelled really good, and since they'd not stopped for lunch, he was really hungry. There was roasted pork loin, garlic mashed potatoes (real potatoes, skin and all), apple Walldorf salad, a skillet of hot cornbread with honey butter, roasted carrots with herbed butter and, just to not seem too classy, a pile of green-bean fries with siracha ranch dip and a couple of craft beers. His stomach growled loudly at the sight, earning a laugh from Eren. He then noticed a cast iron tea pot. He hesitantly picked it up, lifted the lid, noticed the loose tea leaves steeping in the hot, steaming water and inhaled the heavenly scent. "Not bad."
After eating, Eren chattering away about his schooling the entire time, Levi collapsed on the first bed he came to and fell asleep almost instantly while Eren entertained himself by watching the TV.
The following morning, after indulging in the hotel's breakfast buffet (in which Levi wondered how Eren had space in his slender body for 5 Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, a plate piled high with scrambled eggs, 4 biscuits with jam, a cheese Danish, 6 pieces of bacon, 4 sausages and a ham steak), they were again on the road.
"How's your head feeling this morning?" Eren asked cheerfully, again worshipping a huge travel mug of fresh coffee.
"Better. Nothing a decent night's sleep couldn't fix," Levi answered after taking a swig of his own coffee. "Damned if I can figure out where you put all that food. You eat like a freaking teenager! You better not puke all that up in my car later!"
"Relax, Captain Clean-freak. Thanks to training with you, I've been a lot more active lately, so I guess I need more calories to fuel that activity. Besides, I'm a student . . . I have to be using my brain all the time, and the brain alone uses up 20% of all the calories consumed."
Levi just shook his head slowly and chose to ignore the 'clean-freak' comment. "You still eat like a goddamn teenager; brain or not. You seem rather . . . nauseatingly perky this morning. It's a little much to take at this hour."
Eren smirked. "You mean at the 'ass-crack of dawn'?"
Levi said nothing for a moment. "So. Tell me about volcanoes." He had learned that Eren was possessed of a very large 'geek button' that was very easy to push. Get the guy talking about his passion and he could talk for hours. Scary how much like Hange he can be sometimes. He didn't want to admit it aloud, but the subject was interesting, and he was learning a lot while at the same time being kept safely awake. He found Eren's passion and excitement to actually be kind of endearing.
It was mid-afternoon when the arrived at the hotel Erwin had booked in Maria, less than 20 minutes drive from Eren's old neighborhood in Shiganshina. Levi didn't eat much this time when Eren ordered dinner. "We should get a few hours sleep," he told the younger when dinner was finished. "We'll need to get going around 10pm to get to the tunnel system entrance. It's about three miles as the crow flies from the entrance to your old home."
Though he lay resting, Eren couldn't sleep. His torn emotions about returning to his childhood home kept him awake. He was excited, yet afraid to find out what, if anything, his father had been hiding in their basement, or even if the man had known about the chamber below their home. So many questions to be answered, but Eren feared disappointment. What if they couldn't access the chamber? What if it didn't connect to his former basement? Worse still, what if Titan got there first?
"Stop thinking in circles, kid. You're making me dizzy," Levi commented dryly.
Eren glanced over at the man, who was laying on the other bed on his side, back to the student. "Sorry. Thought you were asleep."
"Hard to sleep with similar thoughts running through my own head." Levi sighed and rolled to lay on his back with his hands behind his head. "If this lead turns out to be a wild goose chase, then so be it. But I think this really could be a good lead. Try watching something mindless on tv to keep yourself distracted. Even if you can't sleep, at least rest as much as possible. It's gonna be a long night no matter what happens."
Eren's jaw dropped when Levi's car vanished into thin air right in front of him. "Codex," Levi said quietly in explanation. "They're pretty clever. If you ever tell them I said that, I'll deny it. They were able to replicate the device that makes my wings invisible and adapt it to work on the cars. Comes in real handy in places like this where there's no real cover to hide behind."
They were currently at an old army bunker that had been abandoned for over 100 years. It looked like nothing more than a tree covered hill with a door in it. Levi easily picked the lock on the chains holding the doors closed and they slipped in quietly. It was nearly midnight, but there was always the possibility of having been followed. Levi had also warned Eren that they needed to be extremely quiet since, though few people knew about them, the tunnels under Shiganshina may not be empty of people. "The homeless, the criminals, even Titan may use them for travel unseen or to shelter in, so we need to be prepared for anything." Levi had told Eren.
And prepared they were. Eren's jaw dropped again when Levi pulled out a couple of empty bottles of beer and a blunt. "Need to look like a couple of college guys just hanging out and exploring if anyone sees us," Levi explained. This also explained why Levi was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a plain white t-shirt and grey hoodie and not his mask. "If someone spots us, try to act at least mildly inebriated."
They searched the back wall of the bunker for the entrance to the tunnels. Eren found a large iron loop in the floor that looked like it might be a handle to a trap door. He tried desperately to lift the cement slab but failed miserably. Levi deadpanned and shook his head at the younger. He strode over calmly and lifted the hatch like it was nothing. Eren rolled his eyes and mouthed, "Show off."
Levi's smirk was hidden in the darkness as he shut off his flashlight and listened down through the opening. A quick mental scan and he determined it was safe, turned on his flashlight, handed it to Eren and descended down the rusting ladder. Once Eren was down, Levi went back up the more than 50-foot ladder to close the hatch behind them. He turned on his phone and opened the map of the tunnel system Hange had given him. Levi started walking silently down the rough-hewn corridor and Eren followed quietly behind with the flashlight.
The tunnel system was a maze of passages ranging from rough, cave-like corridors, to smooth surfaced hallways with doors leading off, and still others were like the streets of a ghost town lined with shops and homes. Some intersections were plain junctions, while others looked like grand town squares or large open halls. There were stairs for changing levels, straight corridors and twisted tunnels that seemed to turn back on themselves. Eren was glad that Levi was in charge of the map because he was certain that he would have gotten hopelessly lost down here even with the map.
Eren's nervousness and excitement were palpable; like a buzzing vibration Levi could feel on his skin as he paused for the umpteenth time to listen and to scan for trouble. It was nearly 1 am when they finally arrived outside the chamber – or rather where the chamber was supposed to be. There was nothing but blank stone wall to be seen for hundreds of feet. After several minutes of carefully examining the walls, Levi let out a quiet sigh of resignation and placed the palm of his hands against the wall where he knew the chamber to be. He ran them slowly over the rough stone, and after several minutes, he placed the right index finger against one spot and held his left hand back to Eren.
Though not sure how he knew what Levi wanted, Eren quickly took his mother's key from around his neck and placed it in Levi's waiting hand. Levi put the key into the tiny hole he'd finally found, held his breath and turned it. Eren's jaw dropped for the third time that night when with scarcely any sound at all, a section of the wall slowly opened out into the tunnel. The door was solid stone, and the fit was to precise that the seams couldn't be seen or felt. The tunnel side of the door was rough and looked to be cut from the tunnel wall itself, but the other side of the door, by contrast, was polished smooth.
After checking to make sure the door could be opened from the inside, Levi removed the key, stepped into the opening, signaling Eren to follow and then closed the door behind them. They were now in a short, narrow hallway, that while smoother than the tunnel outside, was no where near as smooth as the polished door behind them, nor the one in front of them. In the middle of the door before them was what Levi recognized as a thumbprint scanner and a retinal scanner. "Shit. Overkill much? Must be something earth shattering in there for your father to put this much security on it. Damn it! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish Codex was here. If you ever tell them I said that, I'll deny it."
"Wouldn't dream of it. Wouldn't want to ruin your surly reputation," Eren snarked. "So now what?"
"Your father gave you regular checkups, right?"
"Um, yeah?"
"Then he may have scanned your thumbprint and retina without you realizing he was doing it," Levi told him. "Let's see if he did. It likely has to scan both the thumb and the eye at the same time. Try your right side first."
"Okay." Eren placed his thumb over the scanner as he looked into the eyepiece. A faint blue light pulsed in both and the door released, opening inward. "Wow. That was easier than I expected. But how in the hell did Dad afford all this tech? These doors alone must have cost a fortune."
Compared to the doors and the hallway, the chamber itself was very rough. It looked like a natural cave, only the floor having been worked to create a level surface. There were utility shelving units around the edges, filled with chemicals and instruments. In the center was a large metal table with a large book, a large binder full of files, a laptop computer, a solid state hard drive, several data cards and a thick, manila envelope with Eren's name on it.
Eren picked the envelope up, and without a word and with shaking fingers, he opened it. He pulled out a letter and several more, smaller manila envelopes with numbers printed on them. He began to read the letter aloud.
Dearest Eren, my precious son,
If you are reading this, then it is very likely I am dead. As I write this, I am preparing to leave you and your mother to draw an organization called Titan away from you. For this I am sorrier than you can know. Chances are you will believe I just walked out on you, but please know that I have good reason.
There are only two keys to this chamber. Your mother has one, and I am melting down mine as I write this. I instructed Carla to give you hers with the first letter when you turned 21. I can only pray that you never have to come down here, but if you do, there is much you need to know.
Eren glanced at Levi. "What first letter? Must have been lost either when we moved or when Mom died."
Titan is a frightful organization. It has influence in the top levels of global society, making it nearly impossible to know who to trust. My own brother, Zeke, I recently discovered, is a very high-ranking member of Titan, going by the name of 'Beast'. Up until a few days ago, I had thought him long dead, since just after college. It turns out that he joined Titan at that time. He was a bio-chemistry major where as I sought to become a medical doctor.
A man by the name of 'Undertaker' recruited Zeke right out of university, but as far as my parents and I were concerned, he was killed in a fiery car wreck. Titan is VERY good at covering its tracks. Had I not seen Zeke with my own eyes and spoken to him, I would never have believed him still alive. I was suspicious when he and three others approached me the other day, so he does not know about you or Carla because I told him nothing.
Oh, Eren, there is so much I have to tell you. I'd suspected my work would attract trouble long ago. You will have no doubt discovered that there are no records of you, Mikasa's or Carla's existence. It may not be enough, after all, I cannot silence our neighbors, but it will still make it much harder for Titan to make the connection between us. However, like I said, Titan is VERY resourceful. It is only because of Hannes and Pixis that I was able to cover your existence as much as I did. It is because of the vast resources of Dot Pixis that this chamber and my research was possible.
My initial research started in medical school when my father was diagnosed with anaplastic thyroid cancer. This cancer is rare and unresponsive to treatment, so I began trying to look at using humans' own genes to fight it and even prevent it. The research was done using tissue samples donated by volunteers. In overly simple terms, we would sequence the DNA, then trigger cancerous growths in the tissue samples, then try to find the gene sequence that would stop it. Hannes's wife was one of the first patients to be successfully cured using gene therapy.
However, during the research, one of the samples' DNA had severe abnormalities in it that were not related to cancer. The individual it came from soon disappeared from existence with no traceable records. The sequences of the DNA that were abnormal were related to strength, healing and repair and the immune system. The DNA had clearly been altered and had negative effects on other sequences, such as intelligence, motor skills, life expectancy and more. There was also an added gene sequence not in any normal DNA from any known living organism. My first thought was that someone was trying to create some sort of artificial Super. The gene splicing was sloppy and very damaging, which might explain why the donor disappeared.
Pixis was intrigued by this since his organization, The Garrison, works closely with many government agencies as well as Interpol. He began sending me samples and paying me to examine the DNA for similar abnormalities. Some were from deformed corpses, others from criminals and still more from military personnel. As time went by, the genetic manipulation became less sloppy looking, but the negative side effects to intellect, longevity and motor skills remained.
This is where I made my mistake. Call it curiosity. Call it pride. Call it ego. It's all true. I wondered if I could do the manipulations without the negative side effects. Please forgive me Eren. What I did was inexcusable.
The two men noticed that the ink was blurred and distorted from what could have been tear drops as Eren continued to read.
I used tissue samples from you and your mother and myself to conduct my experiments. After dozens of failed attempts to manipulate and enhance the gene sequences I wanted without damaging others, God help me, I succeeded. If I'd injected the serum containing the enhanced genes, the recipient would be able to use 100% of their muscles' potential force without risk of damaging the muscles, giving them essentially Super strength. The bone structure would be enhanced to be many times stronger than normal human bones so as to support the extra muscle use capacity. They would also be able to heal at an unbelievable rate as well as being resistant to most diseases, venoms, poisons and a multitude of other toxins. That added gene sequence; it was what I found most terrifying of all.
I attempted to inject myself with the serum to see what the sequence was for, but it seems that my age prevents the serum from working. It can only work on someone who is still growing. Eren, please forgive me. In my foolish self-pride and curiosity, I injected you with the serum. It was beyond wrong, and I will never be able to express how sorry I am for my actions. You were so young at the time; only 4. What kind of a father am I to use my own son in such an experiment and not regret it? I keep asking your forgiveness, though I know what I have done to you is unforgivable. I won't even ask you to understand. I only ask that you finish reading this letter and protect yourself from Titan.
Tears began running silently from Eren's jade eyes as he continued reading in a quavering voice.
I did not give you the entire gene sequence; only the unknown portion and the healing portion. That unknown sequence does two things. The first, is that it allows one to grow back entire body parts; bones, muscle, organs – all tissue. The second, and more terrifying aspect, is that it enables the subject to transfer all brain functions, including cognition, memory and motor functions, to other parts of the nervous system. In other words, the entire nervous system is the brain. This means that, essentially, a person's head can be cut off and they would be able to grow it back and continue with their lives as if it never happened.
It was an accident that I even discovered this, Eren. You see, when we found Mikasa's parents dead, I sent you home while I went for the police, but you went looking for Mikasa instead. You killed all three of her captors, but not before one of them decapitated you. Mikasa suppressed the memory and only revealed what had happened under hypnosis. I have allowed her memory to remain suppressed, for the sake of her sanity. Seeing a headless child kill a grown man is terrifying by any standards. By the time I'd gotten there with the police, you had regrown your head and were completely fine, but had no memory of what had happened.
I felt sick when I saw your head on the floor, but at the same time relieved beyond measure at seeing you still alive and well, standing in front of me. For this reason, I cannot regret having given you the serum. Without it, I would have lost you that day and we would never have had Mikasa. At the same time, I am a horrible father.
Somehow, Titan found out about my genetic work. Pixis warned me that there was a leak within The Garrison and that Titan had gotten a hold of some of the files I'd sent them on my research. Those files included my own experiments. The case number files you have with this letter are the reports from the first tissue sample I received with the DNA abnormalities back in medical school and from the most recent two samples from Pixis. The data cards have most of my research on them, as well as on the laptop. The binder has all of the information I have regarding Titan. The book is something I managed to steal from Titan itself. It is their directive and reads frighteningly like a religious text. Lastly, the hard drive was stolen from Titan and has the results of their genetic research.
Eren, this is VERY important. Titan must NOT get any of this information! If it looks for even one moment like they could, destroy everything immediately! They have not yet figured out how to activate the added gene and the must NEVER do so! Eren, they must NEVER be able to get their hands on you. You see, not only can you regenerate, but you also do not have the shortened life expectancy that their subjects do.
Their subjects so far have not lived beyond 10 years after receiving the modified DNA. Most die within 5 years. The changes take a tremendous toll on the human body. However, with the regeneration and neural changes active, this effect would be neutralized. Based on my tests, you will grow up just as any normal human, but once growth is complete, you will stop aging. A gene called I626 was activated along with the added gene, which makes a human being become immortal. The only place this information currently exists is in my mind and in this letter. Titan must NEVER find this out. If they are ever able to create an immortal superhuman as they are seeking to do, this would destroy our world. Those with no conscience would trample the weak. The rich would become all powerful and the rest would be destitute. Resources would dwindle, and the world would be lost.
You MUST destroy this letter as soon as you are finished reading it. I am so very sorry for putting you and your mother in this intolerable position. I can't even offer you a way to stop Titan for I myself do not know. Please be safe, Eren and know that I love you very much.
Your loving, but foolish Father.
Eren's voice was shaking more than his hands as reached the end of the letter, tears flowing in a steady flood from his wide eyes. Once he finished, the papers slipped from his hands and he sank to his knees looking completely shell-shocked.
