CHAPTER 20

Levi's blood ran cold. He had faced many things in his short life but a biologically engineered giant woman was not one of them. He had made a promise to Eren, one that dictated the bodyguard would not hurt Annie. However, looking up at the creature before him, he knew that promise would have to be broken sooner than later as much as it pained him to go back on his word.

As Annie stopped vomiting out Infants, the raven shot two times aiming for the upper right chest. He needed to take her down quickly. She guarded herself well however, throwing an arm in front of her to take the bullets in. They pierced the muscle but did not come through the other side. Even so, it created some type of pain as Annie flinched upon impact. She was tough, but not invincible. That hardly appeased Levi's mind as he was painfully aware of the fact that he didn't have any strong enough weapons for such a task. If bullets did barely more than a scratch, he would have to come up with something much more lethal if they wanted to get out of there alive.

She heaved like a bull, staring at the bodyguard like he was the embodiment of evil itself. Annie took a step forward, strong vibrations reaching Levi's feet as she did so. He hardly noticed when Eren ran to his side.

"Annie!" He yelled, "Stop it! We can settle this. Just come out of there."

Levi stared at the boy like he had lost his damn mind. So Eren had known she was... whatever she was and it didn't cross the boy's mind to tell him?!

There was no reasoning with her. From the moment they stepped into the room it was more than clear to him that she was absolutely crazy. For the boy not to notice it was baffling. The sound of drip-drops caught Levi's attention. Eren was bleeding profusely. The boy grabbed his wrist desperately as if that would do anything to stop the bleeding. His face was all scrunched up and sweaty. The pain was taking him apart and yet he refused to come undone. If they didn't treat Eren's hand soon, things would get ugly.

The brunet continued, "L-Levi can take Mikasa to a safe space and we can stay here! W-We can do something about Grisha but you gotta change back."

Annie took another step forward.

"She doesn't have to be the bait! I can be the bait! I'll be the bait!"

Another step. Levi was done with these games. While Annie's focus was diverted to Eren, the bodyguard took the opportunity and shot for the face, aiming for the eyes. No matter how thick the armor, the eyes were always a weak point. Unfortunately, he missed by a few inches, shooting her in the center of her left cheek. Nonetheless, it hurt her enough for Annie to emit a strained grunt, stumbling back in agony as she covered her face with her hands.

Eren's eyes widened, "What are you doing?! We can talk to her-"

But Levi paid no mind. He ran past the brunet and towards the giant woman. Despite his efforts to do so as fast as he could, his damaged leg slowed him down. As he was about to jump onto her, Annie caught glimpse of the man and kicked him back, stumbling as she struggled to find her balance. He was flung back to where Eren was standing, sending them both to the floor.

While the boy hissed and cursed because of his tormented hand, Levi swiftly recovered from the fall. He lurched forward to attempt collecting the gun he had dropped but to no avail as Annie promptly stomped on it plenty times to ensure the gun was nothing more than scraps of metal.

Before he could step back, he was affronted with Annie charging her fists at him. He narrowly avoided the punches, knowing just one would mean trouble. He could do nothing but evade. Even if he found an opening, his hands were useless against such a creature. He held onto his knife well but Levi doubted its use. Levi cursed himself for not bringing his 3DMG belt with him. Had the raven brought it with him, he would be able to zip around her to not get caught. Levi wasn't used to being so ill-prepared and the fury burned his chest.

Much to Levi's surprise, the green-eyed boy threw himself on Annie's back. He was hardly hanging on with his good hand but the brunet wrapped his legs tightly around her torso. His bloody hand flung around in the air like the limb of a rag doll. The raven was about to jump into action as well when he tripped on something. Infants had attached themselves to his feet with plenty more making their way to him. Levi groaned. He was so damn sick of those things. Luckily, he had his knife in hand so he quickly went to work on them.

Levi could only watch as Eren gripped down on Annie, hanging on like a cowboy on a wild bull. With a single functional hand, he took the bizarre decision of burying his teeth into the nape of Annie's neck. She hissed and groaned, violently tossing herself around so Eren would fall off. He kept at it, chewing and biting as hard as he could. Eventually, Annie reached back to grab him by the back of his shirt and flung him to the ground. Levi cringed at the dry sound of the poor boy's bones impacting onto the hard floors. No matters how frantically he strived to rid himself of the Infants, it felt as if with every blob he killed, two more would attach themselves.

Annie picked Eren up by the back of his collar like a dog that had done something naughty. The effortlessness in which she did so was frightening. She hovered a hand over the brunet's neck yet she ventured no further. Eren chuckled. Levi couldn't see it from where he laid but a stream of blood ran from the middle of Eren's forehead all the way down to his mouth and chin.

"What are you gonna do? Snap my neck? Go ahead. You've done it millions of times. What's one more neck?"

Annie stretched her hand, then relaxed it. Her face was unreadable. All of a sudden she emitted something akin to a surprised shriek. She looked down to her side. A dazed Mikasa had dug Annie's dagger right behind her knee. She looked up at the big woman with bewildered but determined eyes.

"Leave... him... alone..."

Eren wiggled out of his clothes while all of this happened, dropping down with his torso bare. Annie promptly kicked Mikasa with a disgusted expression. Unlike with Eren, she had no empathy for the girl. The blonde observed Mikasa with disdain. The girl didn't dare get up. She writhed in pain with closed eyes. Mikasa didn't even notice when Annie rose a foot and stomped on her. Only then did her eyes burst open as air was forced out of her system. Annie lifted her foot and crashed it against the girl again, digging in her heel almost like she was having fun.

Levi could've sworn she was smirking. The bodyguard growled, infuriated by the way she was torturing the innocent girl. At that point, he was all sweaty from fighting off the Infants not to mention covered head to toe in goo. He shredded the Infants apart, eager to get to Mikasa and help her in some way but he still had a couple more Infants to rip through. To lay there, only being able to glance once in a while as he killed the creatures had him absolutely livid. He hated being so useless.

His grey eyes slid over to Eren, hoping he would do something to help the girl. And yet, the boy stood there with a vacant expression, watching as Annie stomped her foot against Mikasa once more. Levi felt a tug at his hair. An Infant attached itself to the top of his head. He had his hands full dealing with another which left him defenseless.

"Fuck!" He shrieked.

Eren watched all of it happen: Levi frantically pulling at the Infants, Mikasa coughing up blood upon the fourth stomp. Eren didn't want to see it any more.

A heatwave hit Levi. A curtain of vapors and gases arose once again. Though it stung his eyes, he refused to close them, too preoccupied with what was forming at the heart of the smoke. He heard Eren screaming, groaning, weeping. Frightened that he was hurting, Levi frantically searched for Annie. In his mind she was causing him the pain enough to justify those screams. In the thick of it all he saw her standing in the same spot. When the smoke was thin enough to look through, Levi saw Eren holding onto his head like he was losing his goddamn mind. It appeared as if he were melting with the way his muscles bubbled and popped and how his body released an endless stream of vapors. He swelled up to an enormous level, ripping his clothes open as he doubled in size. Even his face structure changed from his soft, youthful features into sharp, jagged ones. His mouth split through his face, his hair grew all the way to his shoulders and when Eren opened his eyes it wasn't the colors of the ocean that Levi saw but a razor-sharp green.

Eren went from all fours to a full on running motion in an instant, taking Annie by surprise. He swiftly punched her in the face, the force reverberating through her skull as her head was thrown back. She soon forgot about Mikasa as the two giants were locked in a fight. Coming back to his senses, the bodyguard cut through the last of the Infants with the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He showed no mercy as he tore the creatures apart. When the last of them disassembled into a puddle, Levi leapt to his feet. The raven was well aware of the fact that he currently stood no chance against the two giants. Either one of them could crush him without even realizing it.

He limped his way to Mikasa. Once at her side, the bodyguard lightly tapped the side of her face to make sure she was still alive. The girl whimpered in response. Levi dragged her to the far corner of the room, left to the door. The vibrations caused by Eren and Annie fighting would throw him off his balance once in a while but he was able to reach his destination without dropping the girl. He was looking around for a solution when Mikasa's eyes fluttered open. Seeing the strange man, she swatted at him with a debilitating force.

Annoyed by the slaps, Levi whispered in an irritated tone, "Sto- Stop! I'm here to help, not to hurt you."

Satisfied with the answer, she stopped, opting instead to grab his shirt as she coughed meekly. Her eyes wandered about. When they landed on Eren's monstrous form, she shrieked. Levi gripped onto her, almost cradling her. He didn't blame her for being terrified. Hell, Levi would be lying through his teeth is he said he wasn't scared either.

It was hard to tell who was winning the fight. Eren was bigger, heavier but that wasn't necessarily an advantage. He was hunched over because of his length and his movements were a lot slower than Annie's fox-like maneuvers. Not to mention, the girl moved herself with more expertise. Such was the difference that Annie overwhelmed him with ease, attacking Eren from so many directions he could barely keep up until a headbutt sent him back. Annie pounced like a tiger, opening her jaw to its limit and cracking down onto the side of Eren's neck.

The green-eyed giant croaked out a whimper. His eyes became glassy, his knees weak. Annie tore the bite of flesh away, snapping the meaty strands that connected it to the neck. In a last moment of strength, Eren grabbed onto Annie head and jerked it to the side, almost spinning it round.

Both fell to the ground, seemingly melting into large pools of blood and flesh. Said pools began evaporating, filling the room with a bitter smell. Levi said nothing as little by little, the heaps of meat dissipated into the air.

Just as he wondered if they had killed each other or not, the blonde... human girl rose from the dead. She stayed in a sitting position for a moment with eyes so opened Levi thought her eyeballs would fall out. Her hair no longer stayed in a bun, instead exploding into a cascade of pale gold around her shoulders. Her face, arms, breasts and stomach were splattered in blood and strands of human tissue.

Levi carefully pushed Mikasa aside to stand up. His jagged movements caused by the wounded leg made it so the blade of the knife accidently scrapped against the floor as he did so. The sound made Annie flinch, snapping her back to reality. She turned to Levi ever so slowly with the same wild eyes.

They stared at each other.

Annie rushed to grab something from under the couch tucked in the corner opposite to the one where Levi stood. His eyes watched her as attentive as that of a cat. The only reason he didn't strike her then and there was because of the promise he had made, one that he deeply regretted in that very moment.

She pulled out a duffel bag from which she extracted a long cape to wrap around her body. Annie slung it onto her shoulder and swiveled around to face the bodyguard. She held a pocketknife in her hand. It wouldn't do much against the ravens much larger weapon but it surely made her feel safer.

"You're as bad a mess as me..." she signaled at Levi's leg with the point of the pocketknife.

She wasn't wrong. Levi was beat up, bruised, sweaty and exhausted. The girl looked no better but to fight her was a 50/50.

"I'll leave through the door without causing more trouble and I'll let you keep your head. I don't bother you, you don't bother me." Annie bargained.

Levi said nothing.

The girl frowned but didn't add anything. She tested the waters by taking a step forward. The raven stood silently. She took small steps, inching closer to the door. Once the distance was short enough, she glanced at Eren's body strewn on the floor, then gave a nasty stare to both Mikasa and Levi and finally ran through the door, opening and closing it in an instant.

The raven exhaled all the air he had been keeping in his lungs. He put his hands to his knees as his body pleaded for a moment of rest. A pale hand tugged at his pants. Levi turned to look at the girl next to him.

"E-Eren..." Was all she could muster.

The bodyguard looked back at the body. Eren was so still, Levi questioned if he was even alive.

"Can you walk?" He gently asked Mikasa.

The girl who had kept such a brave face up until that point closed her eyes and knitted her eyebrows, shaking her head no. Her breathing was slow and heavy. He needed to get her to a medic. He carefully scooped the light girl into his arms and made his way to Eren. The bodyguard set the girl on the floor, trying to figure out how he was going to get the everyone out of there if no one could walk properly.

"Ohhh... oh Eren..." the girl mumbled while she rid his face of any bloody residues.

Levi could not see her face but by the small, broken-up whimpers he could tell she was crying. He took a wide stance and put his hands to his hips. The bodyguard took a deep breath.

"Did... did you know that he could transform... into that?" The bodyguard asked softly.

"No..." Mikasa whispered, "No I didn't."

Levi looked down at the boy with sadness, ever so intrigued by the one they called Eren Jaegar.

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Hi, it's me. How y'all doin'? He, he. With this chapter, ACT 1 has concluded. I'm about to go into a long-winded speech so for anyone that just wants to get to the point, basically, I'm gonna take a couple of weeks to catch up on my writing and then come back with ACT 2 :)

So let me say, it has been a ride writing this, both good and bad. Funny thing, this story was originally gonna be a simple smutty enemies-to-lovers 10 chapter story between bodyguard Levi and bratty Eren lmao. Then, I added Grisha to the mix and in that moment the story snowballed into something much bigger and let me tell you, I didn't realize how exhausting it can be to write such a long story yet I've also enjoyed it tremendously! As of late, I've been swamped with school stuff. I won't bore you with the details but basically I've been having to make important decisions about where I want to take my education and future career and blah blah. Sadly, as much as I like writing, it is nothing but a hobby at the moment so I've had to put it in the back burner for a hot second.

Still, when things get too stressful writing is my way of escaping everything. So, all of this being said I have 10 other chapters already written but because I've been thinking about adding a chapter or two in the middle of them, I don't wanna release them just yet. So yeah, like I said in the beginning, I'll take a break from posting to finish up all the immediate work I have to get in for school and catch up on writing. Then, I can go back to uploading consistently!

Most importantly, thank all of you that have made it this far in reading my story :) It honestly means the world to me! This story has a bit more of a following in AO3 so while I will always post in both sites, if some of you would like to talk to other people that read this story, you'll find them over there. I've got a lot of ideas for ACT II and I have no idea how the hell I'm gonna cram it all in there but that's the fun part I guess. Lmao! Thank you one last time for all of you wonderful people and I hope to see you soon.

~Gum