Impromptu Camping Trip and Home Again
The next thing Eren knew was feeling warm and comfortable. For a moment, he just stayed in his half-asleep state, enjoying the warmth that surrounded him. As consciousness slowly crept up on him, he gradually became aware that he was not laying down. The scent of pine and earth and the sounds of birds singing and wind in the leaves penetrated his sleepy mind. He felt something solid, yet not hard partially supporting his more-or-less upright torso. He sighed in contentment and stretched his hand which was resting on . . .
Eren's eyes flew open in terror. Oh shit! I've been laying on Levi all day! I am SO dead! But damned if he isn't comfortable to sleep on . . . I am SO dead! Sure enough, Eren was resting against Levi's left side, head on the smaller man's shoulder and hand on his chest. Levi's wing was partially wrapped around Eren to keep him warm. Eren leapt back quickly and to his feet. "Sorry," he apologized as his face rapidly flushed red. "My friends tell me I'm a bit of a cuddler when I sleep."
Levi raised a slender eyebrow, otherwise not revealing in any way how amused he was at that moment. "I could tell," he said dryly.
It was early evening, and the golden sun was casting long shadows through the forest. Eren stretched his entire body, a little stiff from sitting on the ground all day and having hiked the entire night before. "We gonna be using the trail?"
"For now. The moon is near full, so we'll have enough light to travel by for the next few nights, providing it doesn't decide to fucking rain on us. Knowing my luck, though," Levi replied as he phased out his wings and started back towards the trail.
"Aw, c'mon!" Eren chided. "Think positive!"
"Okay. I'm positive I have shitty luck, so let's get our asses moving before mother nature decides to piss on us!"
Eren shook his head and snorted. "That is so not what I meant!"
Contrary to Levi's pessimism, the moon shown bright for the next five nights. Though they saw the occasional campfire off the trail, they met no other hikers actually on the trail. But then, most people did not have Levi's keen night vision. True to his word, Levi took the time to show Eren the various plants and mushrooms that were edible and those that were harmful. Eren was surprised at how well they were eating.
The biscuitroot was a lot of work (and at the tail-end of it's season), but the roots were like eating a mild spring parsnip. "That would be because they are a type of parsnip," Levi had told him. The cattails were like eating corn but tasted a little like fresh green beans. They were eating the tails, which are the flowering part of the plant that later would turn brown but were currently green and edible. The wild strawberries that grew in some of the open meadows were tiny, but sweet and far more flavorful than the large cultivated ones. Though not comfortable enough to forage for mushrooms on his own, the ones Levi harvested and roasted over a small fire tasted wonderful.
There was also wood sorrel, or sour-grass, that was a tart but tasty green as well as red clover blossoms. There were several surprises to Eren, such as pine pollen cones, burdock shoots, elderberry flowers, dandelion flowers and spruce tips.
To top everything off, Levi was a phenomenal hunter. It was as if he was built for hunting. In fact, he was. His knife throwing skills got them rabbit for one morning, a goose the next and his claws got them fish on the third. Eren found himself wishing that this was an actual camping adventure and not the life and death struggle to stay out of Titan's reach.
The first flight had taken poor Eren completely off guard. Upon reaching the top of a high ridge their first night, Levi had decided to gain some quick distance and save a night's hiking time by cutting across the deep valley below to pick up the trail again on the mountaintop on the other side. Levi was standing on the very edge of the precipice, his back to Eren when he held his open hands up in front of his shoulders and commanded, "Give me your hands."
Eren regretted not thinking about it before reaching over the smaller man's shoulders (he later chalked it up to his being too tired to really think properly). Levi grabbed his wrists firmly and yanked him forward so his chest was flush against the Super's back. A split second later, Levi leaned forward, spread his now visible wings and fell over the edge. Eren inhaled a loud, long gasp and had all he could do not to scream on the exhale as they plunged downward so fast that the wind made his eyes water. But the flight was controlled, even as they picked up speed, skimming barely above the treetops.
When they reached the valley floor, Levi leveled off, but remained close to the treetops to avoid detection. By now, Eren's fear and surprise had dissipated and been replaced by wide eyed wonder. At the lake (which was actually just a wide area of the river), Levi dove to skim inches above the water's surface; so close that when he finally had to start beating his wings, the tips hit the water. Soon they reached the far side of the valley and Levi's wings began to beat in earnest as he powered up the tree covered slope towards the peak above. Ten minutes after falling off the steep ridge behind them, Levi landed by a stone cairn near the peak of a mountain and let go of Eren; an entire day of hiking down to the valley floor, across the river and up a mountain in just ten minutes.
"That," Eren gasped in awe. "was incredible!"
"It always is," Levi agreed. "And I've been doing it my whole life."
After five nights of hiking and the occasional flight, they finally reached the end of the mountains. Levi was crouched on the edge of a ridge looking over the rolling hills and flatlands below and Eren stood behind him, well back away from the edge. The sun had set, and the sky had the deep blue of dusk tinted with orange in the west behind them. Cities and towns were lighting up. Levi pointed to the north and east of where they were. "See that little bit of glow on the horizon up north there?" he asked.
"Yeah. Looks like the afterglow of sunset, but it's in the wrong direction," Eren replied.
"That's Mitras. Can't see the city itself, but the lights cast a glow on any clouds and pollution and shit," Levi explained. "Gonna miss seeing the stars every night."
"I never knew the sky could look like this. I'd never even seen the Milky Way until our first night hiking! I had no idea there were so many stars that were visible."
"You should see it at 20,000 feet when there's no moon. There's more stars than black sky." There were few minutes of silence while they gazed at the view and Levi considered what to do next. It would be so easy to just fly, but the risk of being seen by other Supers who could be associated with Titan was too high. With a heavy sigh, he retreated back from the edge and under the shelter of the small conifers. He took out the flip phone and manually dialed a number he'd long ago memorized.
"Hello? Who is this?" Hange answered.
"It's me."
Hange inhaled excitedly but refrained from actually screaming their excitement at hearing Levi's voice. In fact, their voice was uncharacteristically calm when they did speak. "So. How's everything been?"
"It's been a cluster-fuck," Levi replied dryly. "Fucking mosquitoes are everywhere."
"Hm. Guess the new bug spray didn't work then," Hange mused.
"Nothing has. They're driving me fucking bat-shit crazy. Everywhere I go, they damn things are bothering me."
"The old man may be able to help. He does a lot of fishing, so he's probably got some really good repellant."
Levi groaned. "I'm pretty sure they just avoid him cuz he's always pickled."
Hange laughed. "I won't argue with you there. Enjoy the rest of your trip!"
Levi groaned again as he closed the phone. "Blows me away that the hundred-year-old fart's still alive."
Eren looked completely lost. "What the fuck was that all about and who is this old fart?"
"Code. Can't be sure of anything right now, so in case the line wasn't secure, and Titan was listening in, we talked in bullshit code," Levi explained. "And the hundred-year-old fart is one Dot Pixis. He leads an international organization called The Garrison. They function outside of the laws that restrict law enforcement and government agencies."
"Wait . . . that's the guy Dad talked about in his letter!"
"Right. So, we can basically kill two birds with one stone. We find out what Pixis knows and get help getting back to Mitras without Titan grabbing us." Levi pointed to the small city nearest their vantage point. "That's Trost. We'll find him there. He owns a bar called Twin Roses."
This flight, instead of skimming the tops of the trees, Levi flew low to the ground through the forest. Eren's heart was pounding as adrenaline coursed through his body while Levi skillfully maneuvered around tree trunks and fallen logs. They stopped just inside the dense forest before it opened up into small rural farms and eventually suburbs. "We're on foot from here. Stay close and stay alert."
Eren couldn't help but wonder how Levi knew all of these obscure routes; tunnels, alleyways, abandoned buildings. He was certainly glad that Levi knew all these paths because it was just past midnight when they reached the alley behind the Twin Roses. Levi put on his mask, went to a patch of blank wall and knocked three times slowly, paused and knocked three times again, once slow followed by two quick. One of the faded red shakes opened outward. "What?" a gruff voice asked as a pair of dark eyes glared out at them.
"I need to see Pixie Dust," Levi stated.
The eyes widened in recognition. "Oh. Sure. Just a sec."
The wall opened outward and Eren followed Levi inside a dark, narrow hall. Once the door had been closed behind them, the man spoke again. "It's been a while. What brings you to Trost?"
"Business. Pixis in?"
"Yeah. The usual spot."
"Thanks, Cassidy."
After a couple of turns down the darkened hallways, Levi went in through a closed door without knocking. Though uneasy about the rudeness of barging in on someone, Eren followed on the Super's heels. What Eren saw was an old man sitting in a club chair in an office and a couple of pretty young women in short skirts, halter tops and stilettos seated on the sofa beside him. The old man was about Eren's height, bald and wrinkled with age (mostly laugh lines, Eren noted) and a grey moustache. At first, the man seemed pleasantly surprised when he saw Levi, but the instant his eyes landed on Eren, they widened.
The man looked at the two women on the sofa. "LeeAnn, show our guests to a private room. Monica, see to it they are not disturbed."
Both women stood. "Yes, sir," they said in unison as they stood. LeeAnn gestured to Eren & Levi. "Follow me gentlemen."
Levi silently followed the LeeAnn, so Eren figured he didn't have much to worry about as he followed too. She led them to a blank wall in the middle of the corridor, where she waved her hand over a seemingly blank patch of wall. A section of said blank wall suddenly shifted outward slightly and slid to one side, revealing an elevator. She opened the doors by placing her palm against a scanner.
Am I the only one here that finds this silence awkward? Eren thought as they rode the elevator down to who-knew-where. Stepping out of the elevator, which was as shabby looking as the rest of the bar and offices above, was shocking. Clean, brightly lit hallways that looked like they belonged in a hospital or military base were revealed. Secure doors, accessible only by retinal and palm scans, lined the corridors. Some of the rooms they led to had windows to the hall. All the rooms were different sizes, and some were computer rooms, others were offices, others still looked like labs.
LeeAnn led them to room with a widow to the hall. It looked like an old study out of some international spy movie, with its walls of books, old wooden desk with a tall leatherback chair, a standing globe, silk shade lamps and a Victorian style sitting area with velvet settee, rococo coffee and side tables and leather wing chairs. Levi snorted as they entered and hung their jackets on the coat/umbrella stand. "Tch! Still cliché as ever, I see," Levi commented.
LeeAnn giggled in response. "True," she agreed. "Just a part of his charm, I guess. I kind of like this room. There's bottled water in the wine fridge. Help yourselves to whatever is at the dry bar. Is there anything else I can get you? Something to eat, perhaps?"
"I could use some coffee," Levi replied.
"The water'll be enough," Eren stated, only to have his stomach growl loudly just to make a liar out of him. "And maybe a little something to eat," he added sheepishly with a blush. "Doesn't matter what."
LeeAnn smiled pleasantly, but even Eren could see that the woman was not someone to be trifled with. There was a dangerous edge to her, just like there was with Levi. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Please make yourselves comfortable."
Eren sat down hesitantly in one of the wing chairs as if he was afraid it was forbidden. "I think Mr. Pixis recognized me or something. Is that why he had us brought down here?"
"He knew your father, so it stands to reason he'd have known of your existence," Levi responded. "This is a secure Garrison facility. Even if he didn't recognize you, he had us brought down here for no other reason than because he knows I wouldn't come to him unless I was into something big."
"Oh. So, you've met him before?"
"Yes. The Scouts work with the Garrison on occasion. This is the only place that's safe for us to talk. Even upstairs may have Titan ears present."
"So how do we know Mr. Pixis isn't working with Titan?"
"Paranoid much?" Levi questioned. "That's good. Makes it more likely you'll stay alive. As for trusting Pixie Dust, he's one of extremely few people I would ever trust at all. He may seem eccentric but make no mistake; the man is every bit as sharp as Eyebrows and equally dangerous."
At that moment, the door opened and Pixis walked in. "My ears are burning. You've been talking about me."
"See what I mean?" Levi said dryly.
"I have to say, I never expected to see you two together," Pixis mused as he went over to the dry bar to get himself a bourbon on the rocks. "I'd ask what you're doing here, Raven, but seeing as you got Eren Jaeger with you, it can only be about Titan. Care for a drink?"
"I'll pass," Levi stated. "Need my senses to stay sharp."
"Same here," Eren concurred.
The door opened and LeeAnn came in carrying a tray with a carafe of hot coffee and a plate of sandwiches and grapes and cheese. She set it on the table with some plates and cups. "Let me know if you need anything else. Commander Pixis will ring me on the intercom if you do."
Eren jumped to his feet as soon as LeeAnn left the room. "What do you know about my dad? Is he still alive? Did he really work for you?"
"Eren," Levi warned.
"No! I need to know!" Eren insisted petulantly.
"Patience. Being rude won't get you what you want to know any faster. Pixis is an ally, not the enemy," Levi countered.
The old man chuckled. "Patience is not a virtue of the young," he mused as he sat down across from where Levi and Eren were sitting. "So, tell me, what are the latest developments regarding Titan?
Eren fumed while Levi told Pixis everything that had happened since first meeting the college student. Pixis looked more and more disturbed as the tale went on. His eyes widened in shock when Levi told him about Grisha injecting some of the gene sequences into Eren. When Levi finished with their hike across the mountains to evade Titan, Pixis shook his head slowly. "I'm very sorry, Eren. I had no idea your father was conducting those experiments. This must be a lot for you to take in." The old man turned to Levi. "I'd like a copy of that book Grisha had."
"I'll upload the pictures to one of your computers before we go. I don't suppose you can tell us anything about Grisha's brother," Levi stated rather than asked.
"Not any more than Grisha did in his letter," Pixis replied sadly. "What I can tell you is that reports of Titan activity have been increasing around the world. We're getting disturbing reports of distorted looking 'monsters', 'mutants' and 'demons' attacking random people and communities. The reports started about two years ago in small, remote villages in Africa, South America and Asia. The tales came out sounding like superstitious nonsense like those tales of dinosaurs in remote jungles but were occurring too frequently in too many different places to be coincidence. About six months ago, the attacks began occurring in small towns and villages in Europe and North America as well. Now they're happening in large city slum neighborhoods." The man took a sip of his bourbon. "Thing is, they seem to be random and we can't figure out what the purpose of the attacks is. Is Titan experimenting, or are these just experiments that escaped? Worse still, there seems to be a 'self destruct' mechanism built into these mutants' DNA. They evaporate within minutes of dying. None have been captured alive. Authorities always end up using deadly force. Even samples taken before the body can evaporate dissolve into useless vapor before anyone can test it. It's frustrating as hell."
Levi glared at the carpet. "I wish these assholes weren't so damn good at covering their tracks."
"Let's hope they never figure out how to make their monsters immortal," Pixis said after another sip of bourbon. "Chances are the key to their success is now in your DNA, Eren. What really scares me is how they found out what Grisha was up to."
Eren was twisting the hem of his shirt in his hand nervously. His brow was furrowed with deep thought and a determined frown. "Maybe they caught him. Maybe he let something slip before he died about me having a key. Even Titan doesn't seem to know what the key is. Thing is, why would anyone want to create an army of immortal monsters? I mean, what's to be gained by creating something that would wipe out all of humanity?"
"Hopefully the book will tell us that," Levi responded. "First things first, though. We need to get back to Mitras without Titan spotting us."
Pixis' eyes twinkled merrily. "I have a boring-ass high society party to go to two nights from now at Mitras tower. I'll be going by private chopper, so you boys can hitch a ride with me. I'll be landing on the Wellington Technologies building. You two will be on your own from there."
Levi snorted with something akin to amusement. "Still hanging around with that loudmouth Shadis, huh?"
Eren looked up. "Shadis? As in Keith Shadis, the president of Wellington Tech?"
"That's the one," Pixis confirmed. "He and his subordinate, Erwin Smith pretty much run the company these days. The owner/CEO does little more these days than show up at gatherings and parties for schmoozing purposes."
Eren's jaw dropped in shock, but he said nothing, and Levi just smirked knowingly.
During their two day wait to go back to Mitras, Levi uploaded his pictures of the book and of Grisha's files to one of the Garrison's computers. He converted them all to a single PDF document, saved a copy for himself on a thumb drive and printed a copy as well in case the file was damaged. The Titan book made for very disturbing reading. Eren stopped after just a few pages, but Levi forced himself to read the entire thing.
It was early evening two days after they'd arrived in Trost when they boarded Pixis' private helicopter for the 1hr flight to Mitras. Eren's leg bounced incessantly and he fiddled with the now frayed edges of his shirt nervously the entire flight. Part of him fully expected Titan to know he was on board and to shoot the chopper down. But luck, for once, was with them, and they landed safely on the roof of Wellington Technologies.
Levi waited until after dark, flew them down to the parking lot and led Eren down one of the storm drains. The drainage tunnels crisscrossed the entire city and its suburbs. Levi led the way flawlessly back to Scout headquarters.
Before the door into the common room had fully opened, Levi was tackled and crushed in a vice-like hug. "OH MY GOD! LEVI YOUR HOOOOME! I WAS SOOOOOO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" Hange bellowed. Eren tried to sneak out past them, but they reached out one arm and dragged him into the bear hug. "I MISSED YOU TOO, ER-BEAR! ARE YOU OKAY? MY LITTLE-BOX-OF-GRUMPS DIDN'T TRAUMATIZE YOU DID HE?"
Desperate for air, Levi kneed them in the crotch, to which they toppled with a loud "OOOMPH!" and dragged all three into a tangled heap on the floor.
"Damn it, Four Eyes! I appreciate that you care, but I didn't survive hordes of fucking Titans for a week only to get crushed by a mad scientist the second I finally get safely home!" Levi snapped.
Eren actually chuckled as he tried to get back up. "Nice to see some things never change."
"No shit," Levi agreed. "It's only been a week, but it feels more like years."
Eren didn't remain free for long, for the instant he finally cleared the door, he was again crushed, this time from both sides. Mikasa, now on her feet, and Armin held on to him as if they were afraid he'd disappear before their eyes. Well, at least with them I can still breath! How does Hange hug harder than Mika?
Levi finally made it out of the elevator and into the common area. He was a little surprised when he found himself in a double embrace just like Eren was. Christa was hugging him, and Ymir was hugging them both. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Christa said, her voice muffled from her face being smooshed into his jacket. "When Hange got the call to fry your phone, we were all so scared."
Just so she wouldn't seem too sentimental, Ymir hit Levi on the left bicep. "Yeah. What the fuck, man? Don't scare us like that!"
The faintest of smiles played at the man's lips. "Thanks."
The two girls no sooner released him when he found himself enveloped once again. This time it was Erwin. "I'm very relieved to see you returned safely." He stepped back, hands on Levi's shoulders, and looked the smaller man over. "Are either of you hurt?"
"Just a bullet through my shoulder and crease above my right ear. Soft tissue damage only. Eren's a pretty good field med-tech. Where's Sasha?"
"Over here!" Sasha waved from the kitchen door. "I thought you two could use something to eat. I know I sure could!"
"You just ate an hour ago," Mikasa stated flatly.
"Really? No wonder I'm so hungry. Who wants fish tacos?"
Levi was having a tough time suppressing a smile. "I could definitely use a pile of fish tacos. But before I do anything, I need a shower and a change of clothes."
"Very well," Erwin began. "After you've both had a chance to shower and eat, we'll discuss what, if anything you found."
