Hey guys, I'm back with another long chapter of HSF. I really appreciate you all for reaching this far into the story because I'm really psyched to be sharing my idea with all of you. Anyways, on with the story.
"Mommy…"
"Mmm…" Mikasa hummed as she stirred in her sleep, brushing off the voice that called out to her.
"Mommy…"
"Mmm…" she hummed before opening her eyes and meeting Marie's looking down at her. This immediately made her smile as she recalled the previous day's events. "Morning, sweetie," she said before giving her a kiss.
"Morning, mommy," she responded while returning a smile of her own. "How was your night?"
"I had a great night," Mikasa responded before asking, "how was your night?"
"It was crazy but really good…" she responded with a smile.
"Oh really?" Mikasa asked as the girl nodded, "tell me about it."
"Well I had a bit of trouble sleeping because it got really hot so I got out of the covers and tried to sleep. But when I started getting sleepy, daddy started snoring loudly and it got super annoying," she started, getting into the story by actually doing hand gestures, "how do you manage that every night?"
"It doesn't really bother me that much," Mikasa chuckled.
"Nuh uh, it does bother you," Marie shook her head.
"Why do you say that?" Mikasa asked, wondering what her daughter was talking about.
"When daddy started snoring, you started saying stuff about pigs," she started, "that's when you kicked him off the bed and went back to sleep."
Mikasa's face flushed with a bit of embarrassment. She didn't remember doing anything like that at all. She must have been really tired from everything. She still had to find out how the story ended, "what happened next?"
"Daddy woke up and looked confused. He asked me why I was still awake and then I told him I couldn't sleep so he got back into bed and we started talking until I fell asleep," she finished, "do you kick daddy out of bed every day?"
"I don't think so?" she shook her head.
"Ugh…" both girls heard a grunt coming from Levi's side of the bed. Mikasa took a look and saw him clenching and unclenching as he slept, a few beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. She then let out a sigh. He was having another nightmare.
"What's wrong with daddy?" Marie asked as she watched her father with a concerned look.
"He's just having a bad dream?" Mikasa explained as she stroked her cheek, reassuringly, "don't worry."
"What do we do? How do we help him?" she asked, still worried about her father. Mikasa couldn't help but smile at how cute she thought it was for her daughter to be so worried about her father's bad dream. Well, she had to make her little girl happy.
"Okay, we're gonna work together," she said, her daughter nodding readily, "follow my lead." Mikasa then scooted closer to her husband and took his hand in hers, giving a gentle squeeze. She then tried to call him down by speaking, "Levi, wake up. It's just a dream."
Marie also got to work and hopped off the bed, running over to the other side of the bed and climbing back on. She then proceeded to crawl up next to him, "don't worry daddy, it's just a bad dream. We're here," she said before she started to snuggle against his chest, gently rubbing it.
Mikasa thought this was too precious and couldn't help but reach out for her phone and snap a few photos.
"Shit," Levi gasped as he opened his eyes. He looked around before his eyes landed on Marie, "Morning Kiddo," he greeted while ruffling her hair.
"Morning, Daddy," she smiled with relief, "are you okay?"
"Oh I'm fine," Levi responded while returning the smile, "I just had a bad dream is all."
"What was your dream about?"
Levi hesitated a bit. He was not going to tell his daughter about the gruesome things he saw nearly every night. "Don't worry about it," he started, "all that matters is that I got to wake up next to my two favourite girls in the whole wide world," he said before giving her a kiss and the turning to his wife.
"Morning," Mikasa said before planting a good morning kiss on her husband's lips, "get enough sleep?"
"Do I ever?" he shook his head while yawning, "what time is it?"
Before she could respond, the bells for breakfast began to ring as the man called in the hallways, somehow standing outside Levi's door again. "I guess it's breakfast time."
"Tch! I swear I'm going to give that asshole an earful the next time he does that," Levi scoffed before sitting up and getting off the bed "I think I'm going to grab a kettle from the city. I haven't had any tea in a while."
"That's probably why you've been a jerk recently," Mikasa pointed out as she watched him wander around the room, organising a few misplaced items. She then decided to change the topic, "what training are we doing today?"
"Actually, Hange and I won't be around today," Levi answered while organising the small closet in the room.
"What do you mean?"
"We'll be going out to help Hange carry out some research on the titans so we'll be going out to town today," he explained before walking into the bathroom.
"Who's going to train us?" Mikasa half-shouted after him.
"Hange already organised someone to stand in for us!" he responded from the bathroom as the shower started running. He then stepped stood in the door arch, "are we gonna take a shower or what?" he asked while looking at his wife with a raised eyebrow.
Mikasa only rolled her eyes before looking down at Marie, "Mommy and Daddy are gonna take a shower. Just wait till we come back and then I can clean you up."
"But why can't I shower with you guys?" she asked, innocently, wanting to have a bath with both of her parents.
"It's Mommy and Daddy time," she responded before her daughter nodded, as though knowing what she meant.
"Okay bye," she said before her mother walked towards the bathroom, smacking Levi's butt as he closed the door behind them.
"Okay sweetie, I'm going to go train," Mikasa said to Marie as they stood at the entrance of the day care. "you be a good girl, okay?"
The day care was a mere house with a white picket fence and a stone path to the front door.
"Okay!" she Marie chirped as she bounced excitedly in her outfit which consisted of a white 'I Woke Up Like This' T-Shirt over a pair of black and white leggings with a sort of geometric pattern. On her feet she wore a pair of white kicks.
Mikasa on the other hand wore a black short-sleeved crew neck over a pair of grey sweats and back trainers, not forgetting her favourite scarf. She then smiled as she squatted, "come give Mommy a goodbye kiss."
"Okay!" she chirped as she walked over to kiss her mother.
"Hey! Slow down!" a man's voice could be heard while a child squealed with laughter.
The Ackermans slowly shifted their attention to the direction of the sound until they noticed a little boy dashing towards them.
"Hello!" he greeted very enthusiastically as he looked at the women.
"Hi," both Ackerman girls responded with smiles.
"Ugh, what did I tell you about running off, Pierre," the man they heard from earlier said as he approached the girls and looked down at his son.
"Sorry Papa," he responded with a small pout as the man started to examine him and straighten out his outfit, that consisted of a white shirt and beige shorts.
"It's okay son," he responded as he smiled at him, "just be careful next time."
"He's quite the excitable one, isn't he?" Mikasa decided to ask, catching the man off guard as he hadn't noticed their presence.
"O-Oh, sorry," the man the man said before standing to face her, "My name is Jean Kirschtein and this is my son Pierre." It was pretty clear they were related as his son had his hair eyes and a similar facial structure.
"Mikasa and Marie Ackerman," she responded before holding out her hand. She then noticed Jean's face flush a bit as he briefly checked her out. 'Great, he likes me' she thought, "Mr. Kirschtein?"
"O-Oh, sorry. I got lost in my own thought," he said while shaking her hand, "nice to meet you, Mrs. Ackerman."
"Nice to meet you too," she responded with a bit of doubt in her tone.
"Children, time to come in!" a woman called from the front door and the children waved before running into the gates.
"Kids, don't you just love them?" Jean asked as they watched their children running to the entrance.
"Yeah, you can never get enough of them," Mikasa said before looking at him, "so, are you also training for the force?"
"Hah, there's no way I'd put my life on the line like that," he said proudly, "I was a photographer before all of this and nothing's going to change. I just haven't found any customers yet."
Judging by the fact that he was dressed in a suit vest, she shouldn't even have bothered to ask. Well she had to get to work, "Oh well Mr. Kirschtein, I have to get going. I don't want to be late for training."
"Hey, I can escort you there," Jean offered, seeming to not want to leave the woman alone.
"No, you don't have to Mr. Kirschtein," Mikasa declined, hoping he would leave her alone.
"No, please call me Jean," he started, "I don't have much to do around town so I wouldn't mind escorting a pretty woman to her destination."
'Really?' Mikasa asked as she low-key rolled her eyes. Well, it sure beat walking on her own, "sure thing. Let's go."
The two adults soon began their journey, walking side by side as Jean tried to make advances. It was going to be a long walk.
"So… um, Mikasa," he started, despite not being told he could use her first name, "what were you doing before all of this?"
"I was a police officer," she responded, direct to the point, not bothering to show interest in him.
"Ah, alright. So you were in law enforcement huh?" he rhetorically asked before adding, "you know, my ex-girlfriend was a cop."
"Was?"
"Oh, she passed on last year. She didn't survive a shooting while on patrol and left me with Pierre," he said solemnly but immediately returned to his flirty self, "but hey, that means I'm back in the saddle."
"So it's just the two of you around here?" she asked, still not looking in his direction.
"No, I'm actually staying with my friend, Marco in town. He's also trying out for this force business." he explained. He then asked, "so… uh, how about you? Just you and Marie?" he asked.
Mikasa shook her head, "I actually have four kids." She stated, hoping she'd ward the man off.
Jean gulped. Four kids? That's a lot but he could roll with it, "Four kids? You look fabulous though," he pointed out, checking her out, "you've also got a unique look. Sort of Exotic, really."
Mikasa remained silent, not interested in talking about her heritage.
"I actually think it's beautiful—you, I think you're beautiful," he started before taking a deep breath and asking the question that had been on his mind the whole time, "so uh… are you seeing anyone?"
Mikasa mentally rolled her eyes before deciding to yawn, raising her left hand to cover her mouth, making sure he got a clear view of the wedding ring around her finger. She could sense Jean's disappointment when she heard a sigh escape his mouth.
"Oh…" he started, "you're hitched, huh?" he lowered his gaze and their walk continued in silence. That was a win for Mikasa.
"Hey Mikasa!" Eren called while waving her over.
Mikasa only smiled as she waved back at him. she then turned to face Jean, "I guess this is where we say goodbye."
"We had a nice walk," Jean said before inching closer with outspread arms.
"What are you doing?" Mikasa asked while taking a step back.
"Just wanted to give you a hug."
"I think a simple goodbye is fine enough," Mikasa said before waving him off and walking towards where Eren stood with Armin and a couple other adults.
"How you doing Mikasa," Eren greeted as he high-fived her, not noticing the sight flush on her face.
"I'm doing great," she responded, "how about you guys?"
"Great," they both responded with Eren being more enthusiastic than Armin.
"He's excited because he and Historia spent the night together," Armin exposed while his friend had a blush.
"Yeah, it was great," Eren scratched the back of his head, "maybe she's not lost after all."
Mikasa gained a look of scepticism before speaking, "you don't know that for sure," she then threw an unnoticed glare, Historia's direction, "women can be very toxic people. If she tries anything, just let me know."
"You're just jealous," Eren rolled his eyes before a loud voice caught them off guard.
"Attention cadets!" a gruff voice called, snapping everyone's attention towards the source, a gigantic dark-skinned man with a bald head and a face that seemed to have seen terrifying things in his past.
All the recruits instantly stood at attention, a lot of them intimidated by the man's presence, wondering who he was and what he was doing there.
The man walked closer to the crowd, keeping a terrifying glare on his face. Making a lot of the recruits nervously gulp.
"Alright, maggots! Listen up and listen closely!" he barked, "I am Commandant Sadies and I will be your Sergeant for today and probably many days to come! I better not be wasting my time here!"
Every recruit watched silently as Sadies moved through the crowd, his eyes darting round around as though searching for something he lost ages ago. He then made a sharp turn, "hey Eyebrows! what's your name?"
"Irene Smith of Fort Maria sir!" she saluted, actually intimidated by the man towering ever her.
"Smith, huh?" he raised his eyebrow as she nodded. He then leaned in closer, "why are you here, Smith?"
"I want to help in the fight against the titans and take back Paradis City for humanity's!" she shouted, doing her best to look fierce but her trembling hands betrayed her, "even if it means giving up my life!"
"You're just like your old man," he said while looking down at her, noticing her sighing in relief. He then opened his mouth again, "an utter idiot!"
"Sorry?" she gulped.
"You don't join the force to throw away your life, Eyebrows!" he yelled before grabbing her shoulders and lifting her up, "we don't need suicidal morons running around here! So don't you ever go around saying crazy shit like that ever again, do you hear me!"
"Yes, sir!" she responded before Sadies dropped her onto the ground.
If Irene of all people could have her spirits crushed like that then what kind of man was Sadies? The crowd watched in fear as the man glanced around looking for his next target, each one actually missing the short man from the previous day.
"Who are you?" he asked, standing in front of Junior.
"Levi Ackerman Jr of New Sina Town, Sir!" Junior saluted, avoiding possibilities of making eye contact with the man.
Mikasa felt herself tense up when she saw her son being threatened. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and turned face Armin giving her a calming smile. She then sighed before looking back.
"Why the hell are you here, Ackerman?" he asked.
Junior choked because he didn't know what to say. Giving the real reason, he felt, would be too embarrassing. On the other hand, he didn't believe in that fighting for humanity crap.
"Are you deaf or do you not just want to answer my question, Ackerman?" he asked.
"I-I don't know!" Junior shouted back, instantly regretting his words when the man gave him a look.
"You don't know?" he asked in disbelief, "you don't know!" he barked before kneeing him in the gut, sending him to the ground, unaware of Mikasa being held back by Eren and Armin in the background.
Keith then crouched and pulled Junior back up by the hair. He then leaned in closer so their faces weren't so far apart, "Listen up, Ackerman! By the end of the day I'll give you a reason to join the force! Do you hear me?"
"Mhm…" Junior nodded in response, hoping the giant would let go of him but he wasn't convinced.
"Do you hear me!"
"Y-Yes, sir!" Junior shouted before Keith let go, sending him back onto the ground.
Keith then turned to face the whole crowd, "Clearly all of you, maggots aren't even fit to be here!" he started, "but I just have to work with you because you volunteered. Therefore, by the end of this day, I'm going to make sure all of you leave here so exhausted you'll barely be able to walk!"
He then inhaled, "for your first exercise with me…" he started before pointing towards the town, "you're going for a run around the entire town and meet me right here. Only the first five will be let off to the next exercise, the rest will have to go for another lap."
"Uhm, sir…" Jean said as he walked up to Keith, "may I speak."
"Who the hell are you?" he asked, glaring down at the man.
Jean then decided to let out a cheeky smile, "Jean Kirschtein, sir," he introduced before reaching into his suit vest and pulling out a card, "I'm a well-established photographer and I must inform you that I have done photos at many huge events including celebrity Galas."
"Is that really why you interrupted me?"
"Actually sir, I just wanted to inform you that I'm not a recruit so I have to get going," he explained.
"I don't care what you say because as long as you're here, you're a recruit!" Sadies declared.
"But, sir… I"
"I said you are a recruit," Sadies finished, "and because you had the nerve to interrupt me, you'll do two more laps together with Potato Girl over there," he said before pointing at a brunette woman.
"Why am I doing two laps, sir?" the woman asked, confused.
"Because you thought I didn't see you stuffing your face with a potato earlier on!" Sadies said before turning to face the city, "Alright recruits, move!" he shouted as the recruits began to run.
Mikasa sighed as she immediately took the lead. She could already tell that today would be a very long day.
"Woohoo! Take a look at those glorious beasts!" Hange shouted in excitement as she stood on top of a building, eyeing the Titans as they wandered around the city. They seemed to have doubled in number as more titans were seen up and about.
"Quiet, Shitty glasses," Levi started from behind her, "you'll end up drawing them towards us."
"That's the point," she said, still taking in the sight, "that's why we came out here in the first place."
"Remind us again, Hange," Erwin started as he joined the two, "why are we here exactly?"
"My team and I need to carry out a bit of studying on the titans," she began, motioning to a group of people in similar uniform to what she wore "to do that, we need to get a little bit close to them so we can get whatever useful information we can."
"If you've got a team, why the hell did you drag us into this mess?" Levi asked, realising he could've been doing other things.
"I speculated that this wouldn't be an easy task to complete so I asked for you to tag along so you'd help out," she finally explained before calling for one of the scientists, "Moblit, come here."
A brunette man quickly jogged towards the three and stood at salute, "How can I be of assistance?"
"At ease, soldier," Hange dismissed as the man relaxed his posture, she then turned back to her colleagues, "This is how things are going to be done," she started, "the two of you will have to split up during this activity to cover more ground. I, along with half my scientists, will travel with Levi to the East side of the city while Moblit and the other half will join Erwin in the West."
"Why do we have to split up, though?" Levi asked before continuing, "and why am I the one that has to be with you?" having to be out here researching titans wasn't something he wanted to do, but having to stick around Hange all day, that was way too much.
"We need to split up in order to cover more ground and encounter titans in different environments so we can compare results when we meet up," she explained before glancing at Moblit, "also, Moblit asked if he could be with Erwin."
"Well then" Erwin started, adjusting his gear, "we best get moving. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish." He then nodded at Moblit before jetting off in his designated direction with Moblit and team soon in tow, the other team also heading in their direction soon after.
"Look at him, go," Hange said as she eyed a five metre titan searching a few cars. They were perched up on a ten story building, watching the beast in action. "who knows what he could be thinking in that big beautiful head of his?" she said as a bit of drool escaped her mouth.
"Tch! quit drooling and tell me what I'm supposed to do," Levi growled, snapping the woman out of her thoughts.
"Oh yeah," she said as she wiped off the drool with her sleeve, much to Levi's disgust, "you can start by trying to get its attention, first. We need to find out just how much it wants a taste of human flesh."
"Okay," Levi nodded before rappelling downwards until he was a few feet from the ground. He looked at it move from car to car, probably searching for its next bite to eat. It was because of that thing that he was there, studying it instead of enjoying spending time with his family in his house, "Tch!" he scoffed in irritation.
"Come on, Levi. We don't have all day," Hange's voice came from the earpiece. Levi shook his head. He had work to do and it wasn't the time to think of the impossible.
He then brought his two index fingers to his mouth before taking a deep breath and letting out a loud whistle, aiming to catch the beast's attention. The titan looked up from the car and immediately in Levi's direction. It then started walking towards him.
He then pressed the button on his earpiece, "he's coming over. What next?"
"Try and communicate with it, let's see if it can speak," her voice went.
Levi looked back at the creature, drooling excessively as it kept its eyes on the Ackerman. Following instructions, he decided to try, "H-Hey, you!" he stuttered before his face slightly flushed after realising what he had just done. Hange had made him go through a lot of crazy things but there was no way in hell he would sink to her level of insanity. He then reached for his communicator, "Hange, there's no way I'm talking to that thing."
"What! Why?" her voice went in disbelief.
"I'm not crazy. If you want to talk to it, you should do it yourself," he said bitterly before there was a brief silence.
He then heard a sigh from the other end, "Okay, Levi. You should try to kill it. We need to know if there's a way to eliminate them."
"Now you're talking," he responded in agreement. The last thing he wanted was to look as crazy as Hange by talking to the thing. Why would he even bother talking to some animal when he struggled to communicate with normal human people. Violence, however, was more up his alley so he would definitely agree to that.
He then pulled out two swords from their holders and eyed the beast as it slowly walked up to him. it seemed to be much slower than the previous one they encountered and it was somewhat disappointing. He was hoping for something more exhilarating.
As though it read his mind, the titan suddenly began to run right at him, forcing him to shoot the grappling hooks at a nearby car and propel himself forward.
He flew through the air, rushing right at the titan. The beast reached out for him and in one quick movement, he sliced the beast's arm off, sending it to the ground while he landed on a car.
He watched as the titan turned around, clearly unfazed by the amputation as steam escaped it's wound. It then went back for him, much faster than before.
He then latched onto another car and flew toward and over the charging beast. When he was above it, he changed direction and flew right towards in, landing on its back' stabbing its heart. He then relaxed, "that should be it." He panted before removing his swords, sending a blast of blood onto him, dirtying his clothes and skin, much to his annoyance.
"Tch! this is fucking disgusting," he growled in annoyance but then suddenly the blood started to get hot, 'why is this stuff getting hot?' he thought.
"Oh, I'm so jealous. What does that feel like?" Hange squealed over the speaker, irritating him even more.
Before he could respond, the titan's hand quickly grabbed onto him and pulled him to the titan's face. It looked at him, mouth agape as drool poured out, it's beady eyes fixed on him.
"Levi, are you okay!" Hange panicked from the communicator but Levi didn't respond, he was incapacitated with an emotion he hadn't felt in ages. He looked into the titan's eyes, wide-eyed, unable to move as he helplessly watched it salivate. It was like his nightmare. Everything began to play out in his head.
"Come on, let's go save him," one of the scientists said to Hange, and prepared to propel himself.
"Wait," Hange stopped him, keeping her eyes on Levi.
"What do you mean?" the scientist asked, shocked.
"I know him," Hange said confidently, "there's no way he'll die so easily."
"P-Please, I have a family," the words escaped his mouth, identically to the way they escaped it in his nightmare. He was staring death in the face. Was that it, was that how he was going to die? Away from his family, expecting him to go back to them. How would Mikasa react if she heard he was dead? What would happen to her? What about the kids, he didn't want them to be fatherless like he was but then… it wasn't like he had a choice, anyway? He was about to go out.
"Ugh!" he grunted as a strong pain coursed through his chest. It had given him a squeeze, bringing him back to his senses. He then spoke, "thanks, I needed that." With that, he struggled a bit before spinning, escaping the titan's grip as it's fingers flew through the air. There was no way he was going to go out so easily when he had people to be there for. No, he still had to fight.
"Alright, time to end this!" he shouted before launching himself downwards, slicing off the titan's feet, sending it to the ground with its back facing up. He then shot upwards before coming down quickly, slicing off the titan's head with a spinning motion, bathing him on more blood.
"You didn't have to be so rough!" Hange snapped as she came down and landed next to him on the titan's body.
"Tch! it was either me or him," Levi scoffed, "one of us had to go out and it sure as hell wasn't going to be me." He then looked at Hange, who had tried to touch the exposed flesh, only to recoil as she laughed in excitement. "what the hell are you doing?"
"It's so hot!" she said as she looked at the mild burn mark with a grin.
Before Levi could comment, they felt the surface below them shake. It looked like the titan was trying to move. "What does it take to kill these guys?" he asked, clearly having enough of it.
Hange hummed as she took a long look at the beheaded torso, contemplating deeply as she examined it. She then nodded with a decisive hum. She then looked back at Levi, noticing that most of the blood had… evaporated. She shook it off before speaking, "Levi, I have a theory."
"Spill it Shitty Glasses, we don't have much time," he said before he started to notice that the limbs were repairing themselves and he swore he saw a head start to grow, "spill it now!"
Hange then proceeded to pull out her own swords and rushed over to the titan's upper torso and stabbed it in the nape, immobilizing it completely as a gust of steam hit her, "Ah! So hot!" she shouted before stumbling backwards into Levi.
"Dammit, Hange you'll kill yourself," he said while holding her up, he then proceeded to ask, "what did you do?"
"I related this thing to a normal human body due to… obvious reasons," she explained as they both hopped off the body. she then looked back at him, expectant eyes waiting for her to finish.
"I thought that since a stab to the heart and a beheading didn't work out, maybe we could try ripping its spinal cord to at least immobilize it since killing didn't work out. And it turns out titans are just as vulnerable to cut spinal cords as humans," she then adjusted her visor, "however, that was only one titan so we can't be too sure about it without more test subjects. We can, however, take this bo…" she started when she turned to face the corpse.
"It's evaporating!" she said as they both stared at the steaming pile of flesh on a skeleton was what was left, "so much for taking it back to the fort. It won't last until we get there." She then pressed the button on her earpiece, "make sure to take notes on everything you see," she spoke to the scientists.
Suddenly, a group of titans came rushing round the corner, all looking hungrier than the previous one.
"So many of them…" Hange said in amusement as she watched them approach in excitement.
"Hey, Hange," Levi called from beside her, getting in a fighting stance, "why don't we try and confirm your theory?"
"Oh, that sounds like a great idea but…" she started, "try not to mutilate them."
"Tch, I'll try," Levi sarcastically said before they shared a nod and propelled themselves towards the horde, feeling a bit confident that they had figured out how to take it down—well Hange had figured out how to take them down.
"Sorry for hurting you but…" Hange said as she sliced at the titan's leg, sending it to the ground, "This is for science!" she shouted before she pulled herself downwards onto it, stabbing the nape region upon landing. To her relief, the titan stopped moving, "excellent!" she said before quickly dodging an incoming hand.
"This is for making me dirty," Levi growled before flying in-between two titans, easily dodging their outstretched hands.
He then landed on a building, taking a good look at them before launching forwards, landing on one of them with a stab before shooting towards the other in a spinning motion, slicing its nape and then landing on a building, cleaning his blades.
"Show off!" Hange shouted before landing next to him. she then looked back at the horde and saw them running towards them, "we're not done, though."
The two then went back to the horde, finishing them off one by one until they were done.
"Looks like your method was right," Levi said while the taller woman looked at the corpses like a child at a candy store.
The other scientists joined them on the building, joining Hange in observing the corpses.
"Why do their wounds produce steam like that?" one of the scientists, Nifa, asked as she snapped a photo with the camera.
"I don't know but I think we should go over and find out," Hange said while readying her gear, not taking her eyes off the corpses.
"Wait, is it safe?" another one, Keiji, asked as he put his hand on her shoulder.
"It's a little hot but that's it," she said before looking at Levi, "are you coming with us?"
"Nope," he shook his head before the scientists flew towards the corpses. The last thing he wanted was to get dirtier than he already was.
He then heard a low growl from somewhere behind him. He turned around and saw another titan, about five metres, reaching its hand into a building as it's whole body couldn't go through the door.
At first he was going to brush it off but then something kept telling him it wasn't interested in that building for nothing, "Tch! better be people in there," he said before shooting towards it, killing it as he landed.
He then proceeded to enter the building, his eyes darting from left to right, checking for any signs of danger.
When he established there were none, he noticed something he was glad he did. A tea set, resting on a table alongside a box of tea leaves. He then looked around and realised he was in a tea shop. He let out a small smile before turning on the kettle, ready to make a cup of tea.
He then grabbed a cup and placed some leaves in it. He wasn't one for sugar so he didn't bother to add any off it. "Come on…" he grumbled, impatiently watching the water boil as he slowly paced around.
Click! The kettle went, alerting him that the water was hot enough. He then proceeded to pour it into the cup and mixing it before bringing it to his mouth in his unique fashion.
"Shit!" he hissed as he put his hands on his lips. He must have gotten so excited that he forgot he could burn his lips. He then sighed before blowing off the steam and leaning against the table. He was definitely going to buy a tea set when he got back… or he could just take the one he found.
The moment was peaceful. Despite the fact that he was in the titan infested city, Levi still found the cup of tea relaxing. Suddenly, he heard breathing coming from behind him.
"Put your weapons away," a voice went from behind him. "don't try anything funny because I have a knife."
'Can't a guy just enjoy a moment to himself' Levi thought before slowly turning his head to come face to face with the owner of the voice.
It appeared to be a teenage boy, blonde spiky hair swept to the side, blue eyes showing nothing but confidence ready to defend himself if he had to. He didn't look like a suspicious person judging by the fact that he wore a white t-shirt over grey shorts and… sandals? But then, there was something about the way he held the knife.
"Tch! just what I needed," Levi scoffed, "another brat." He then stood straight and took a step towards the boy.
"Stay back!" he threatened as he hopped a little, grip tightening around the knife, showing he was ready to fight.
"Relax," Levi started in his plain tone, "I'm not a threat." Not right now anyway.
The guy then sighed before lowering the knife, "phew! I thought you were another one of those burglars," he chuckled while scratching the back of his head. He then extended a hand, "I'm Douglas Meyer. Nice to meet you, sir."
Levi carefully looked at the boy. He was much taller than him definitely. Almost comparable to Erwin. He then looked into his eyes, as though searching his soul for any trouble.
Douglas then nervously gulped at the shorter man, glaring at him. He then proceeded to smell himself, thinking he could have had an odour on him. when he was done, he looked back at the staring man, "sir?"
"What are you doing here?" he asked, trying to get more information out of him.
"Oh, I came to visit the city with some friends but we got separated at some point," Douglas started, "then all of a sudden the titans showed up and I couldn't contact them. I've been hiding in this shop ever since."
Levi raised his eyebrow, "Titans? Is that what their called?"
"Yeah," he nodded before resting his hand on the back of his neck, "well… that's what I call them anyway. I mean… their huge like… the Titanic or the Titanoboa so I figured…"
"Okay, Douglas," Levi started, "we need to get you out of here. Follow me," he said before leading Douglas outside the building. Luckily there weren't any titans nearby. He then looked up at the boy, "you're gonna have to get onto my back."
"Oh, okay," he said before walking behind the Ackerman and hopping onto his back.
"What are you doing?" Levi asked as the boy fidgeted.
"Ugh, trying to get comfortable." Was the response he got before the fidgeting stopped, "okay, I'm ready."
"Tch!" Levi scoffed before pressing onto his communicator, "Hange, where are you?"
"We're on top of the Trost University. Everyone's waiting for you," her voce replied.
"I'll be there soon," Levi said before letting go of the button and then preparing his gear. He then shot forwards, having to use more gas because of the added weight.
"Woo!" Douglas shouted as they flew through the air, much to Levi's annoyance. At this point, he was dirty, hungry, exhausted and all he wanted was to get back to the fort.
Eventually, the two of them arrived at the rendezvous point where the rest of the team stood waiting for them.
"Get off!" Levi barked as soon as they had landed, forcing Douglas off of him.
"You look terrible," Erwin chuckled as he walked up to his comrade, noticing his stained and messed up clothing.
"Taken a look in the mirror, lately?" Levi responded as he saw Erwin in a much worse state than him as the sleeves to his white shirt were ripped off and a few small bruises were visible on his face, "how long did it take you to realise how to kill them.
"It didn't take us very long, right Moblit?" he said before looking back at the soldier.
"No it didn't, sir!" he saluted.
Erwin the nodded before looking back at Levi, then at Douglas, "who's your new friend?"
"Him?" Levi asked, following his eyes, "introduce yourself, brat."
"Douglas Meyer," he said while waving at the Commander with a grin.
"Erwin Smith," Erwin responded while waving back. He then looked down at his friend, "great work finding that survivor."
"Yeah but I think we need to keep an eye on him," Levi said, not caring if Douglas heard.
"Why do you think so?" Erwin asked.
"I just do," he responded.
Erwin then proceeded to look back at Douglas, who now had his hand down his pants, grunting as he scratched himself. Erwin cringed at this and looked away, "you can keep an eye on him by making him a recruit."
"Hmm…" Levi nodded.
"Too bad we have to leave to soon," Hange said as she looked at the town, moping as she watched the distant Titans wander about.
"We'll come back another time," Moblit said has he put his hand on her shoulder, reassuringly.
Suddenly, a loud rumbling could be heard, forcing everyone to get into alert stances.
"We need to get going," Erwin started before everyone but Hange readied themselves, "Let's go!" he shouted before shooting off with everyone following.
Hange, however, stayed in position, eyes darting around, searching for the possible titan that could be the source. She didn't want to leave without seeing it first.
To her pleasant surprise, a titan came running towards her, it's tongue flapping by the side of his mouth like a dog.
"Yes…Yes!" she shouted as it came closer. It was like she forgot that it could eat her. She then held her hands out wide, "come here!"
The titan continued to rush towards the building, it's mouth wide open before it leapt into the air, aiming right for her.
"So… beautiful!" she shouted, watching it come towards her. Everything seemed to be moving so slow as she eyed it in all its glory, completely mesmerised.
"Captain!" a voice shouted before Hange was pushed backwards.
Hange shook her head as everything went back to normal. She looked around before, to her horror, one of her scientists was being devoured by the titan, "Rashad!" she then readied herself for combat.
"Just go!" he shouted before the titan tore him in half.
"Rashad!" she shouted but when she was about to go towards the beast, a hand held her back, "Erwin?"
"He gave his life so you could live. He probably found more value in yours than his," he said with his strong face, "he knew that the answers you've been looking for could only be found if you were alive to find them. Hange, don't let his sacrifice be in vain."
Hange pulled up her visor to wipe a stray tear. She then nodded, "right, we came here for answers and we won't leave without them."
The two then shared a nod before jetting after everyone else, catching the attention of a few titans in the process.
Eventually, they met up with everyone else where the motorcycles, alongside a truck, waited for them.
Hange landed on the roof of the trailer, while Erwin landed on the ground.
"Hange, we need to go!" Levi called after her, setting himself on his bike with Douglas behind him.
"Not yet!" she responded before looking downwards, "Moblit, open the trailer door!"
"Ma'am!" he responded before pressing a button on the truck's dashboard opening it up.
"What are you doing?" Erwin was the one to ask.
"We have catch one!" Hange shouted back, much to the men's surprise.
"What, we didn't agree to this!" Erwin started, surprised by her decision.
"I'm sorry but we just have to!" she responded before hopping onto the truck's ramp.
"Hange, fall back!" Erwin barked, "That's an order!"
"Sorry sir but I'll have to disobey you!" she responded before what she was looking for showed its face, "this will help me get my answers."
A titan, about five metres, was dashing right at them, full speed as it kept its eyes on the scientist, who didn't seem to want to move, "come here big guy."
"Tch!" Levi scoffed before getting off his bike. He then felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to face Erwin, "what are you doing?"
"Let her do it," Erwin said, emotionless expression on his face.
Levi was about to protest but held himself back, following Erwin's instructions as they carefully watched the woman.
"Almost…" Hange bit her lip as it approached her. Not seeming to be losing interest in her. The titan then leapt at her.
"Now!" she shouted before diving out of the way, allowing the titan to fly into the truck as the ramp started to close up.
"We did it!" she shouted before the titan tried to interrupt the ramp. She then got up, "shit, it's resisting!"
"We've got it!" Nifa and Keiji shouted before rushing to the entrance of the trailer.
"Wait, you guys!" she shouted as the soldiers started slash at its struggling arms, trying to cut them off.
The titan then grabbed onto the both of them and pulled them inside with it, allowing the door to shut while the sounds of screaming could be heard from the inside.
The wails of help could be heard until they just stopped.
Hange sighed as she realised that more of her teammates were dead, no, they weren't just teammates, they were actually more of friends to her. She then bit her lip, fighting the pain that started to envelop her. She then felt pain to the side of her head.
"Tch! could be any more careless?" Levi scoffed as he was the one that hit her, "because of your stupidity, three people died today," he snarled but got no response. He then grabbed her by the collar, "can't you just be normal for once?"
"Please sir," Moblit stepped in, trying to protect her from the angry man, "she didn't intend for this to happen. It was purely an accident."
Levi ignored the man and looked back at Hange, trying to come up with something more to say while she avoided his gaze completely. She was stupid for being so careless and it cost them the lives of others. But then, Moblit was right, it wasn't like she wanted them to die, it was purely an accident. He then let go of her. Allowing Moblit to get a hold of her.
"Tch!" he scoffed before walking away from her, he didn't have anything to say to her so he just let her go.
"Abel, ride my bike to the fort for me," Hange started, "I'm riding with Moblit and the rest in the truck."
"Ma'am!" he said as she walked to the other side of the truck to get in.
"I never realised you had become so emotional," Erwin said as he got onto his bike.
"What are you talking about?" Levi asked, while doing the same.
"Levi, I can't remember the last time you blew up at someone like that," he started, "this is a battle I made sure to be clear about the fact that lives will definitely be lost."
Levi remained silent, waiting to hear what else Erwin had to say to him.
"I don't know if it's parenthood that has gotten to you but we cannot let our emotions get the best of us," he continued, "those soldiers gave up their lives in order to let the cause they lived for succeed. They died because they wanted to make sure that everything they lived for came to be."
"We cannot let ourselves get disturbed by these things. Yes, it isn't something that is easy to ignore but we have to push on. To push on for the greater good, to push on so that those deaths don't just go in vain," he spoke before placing a hand on Levi's shoulder, "Levi, you're a good man. You've really grown into a wonderful person. But then, at this point I need you to become the soldier you once were. The one that took priority in getting the job done."
Erwin watched the shorter man stay silent as he retracted his arm, knowing how much thinking he was doing, judging by the way his eyes focused in one place. The shorter man then nodded. "Good to hear we're on the same page," he said with a small smile.
"Wait… aren't you going to kiss?" Douglas asked, having been there the entire time, "don't worry, I won't judge."
"Tch! what are you talking about?" Levi asked, not looking back at him.
"Are you telling me you guys aren't like… married?" he asked before he felt the bike move forwards, sending him back onto the ground, "Ouch…"
"Shut up!" Levi growled.
"Mmm…" he said behind shut lips.
"He sure is a unique one," Erwin, said, slightly amused. He then got his bike ready, "Let's go!" he said before driving off with the truck following behind.
"Hurry up," Levi said, forcing Douglas to his feet and onto the bike.
"Mmm…" he said while giving a thumbs up.
"Tch!" he scoffed before driving after them. This was going to be a long ride.
Hey guys, that was all for Chapter Eight. I hope you al enjoyed it because I sure did. Anyway, I'd love to hear what you have to say so please leave a review. Thanks again to all those that faved and followed this story.
