Hi everyone, sorry for the serious lack of updates but it's been a whirlwind since lockdown measures ended here! However, I am back and ready to keep updating this fic!

I hope you like the story so far and the way I will be moving forward with it. Just to clarify this doesn't follow the main storyline of the anime/manga, it has certain bits which are the same, but the overall plot is different.

This chapter will be a bit slow in terms of plot development but it's necessary.

Hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter 10: Bars

Eren's body began to quiver as his mind raced over and over, trying desperately to find a solution as to why he had been detained. Had he committed a crime against the Scouts? Surely not, he idolised them, worshipped the ground they walked on even.

Everything had been going well, amazingly well for their first mission outside of the walls. Up until that fateful moment. The vision of Armin's frozen body dangling in the grasp of the titan brought another wave of nausea over him as he threw-up once more into the bowl beside his bed.

"Eren?! Are you okay?"

The same voice echoed around his cell. However, there was no one standing at the bars. The voice had come from behind the wall to his left. There was someone else, locked down here with him in the adjacent cell.

"EREN?!"

The voice cried out in desperation.

"Mika…?"

Eren barely managed to croak the words out. His throat hurt terribly when he tried to speak. What exactly had happened to him?

"Oh Eren, you're awake, how do you feel? Are you okay?"

Mikasa's voice cracked slightly as if she were fighting back tears.

"Not so good. What happened to me?"

"I'm not allowed to say anything until they come back."

The concern in Mikasa's voice instantly turned to rage. It angered her to her very core that they were locking Eren away like this. He wasn't an animal. But they didn't know that. To them, Eren was their worst fear, and they weren't going to let him out of their sight.

"Mika, I don't like this. Why am I in prison? What did I do that was so bad? It was all going so we-!"

Eren instantly stiffened as he remembered the one question he needed to ask. It was killing him to have to force the words out, the words he never wanted to say. But he had to know the answer. He had to know if Armin was alive.

"Is…is…Armin still…?"

Eren struggled to put the words together holding back tears all the while.

"Eren…Armin's okay, he's alive and well, and made it back, so did all the others!"

Mikasa tried to sound as reassuring as she could. She had no idea what Eren could remember.

"Oh, thank god. Oh, that's amazing, the last thing I remember is watching him fall. Who saved him?"

The relief flooded through Eren at a great pace. Everyone was okay and that's all he needed to know. He could deal with whatever he had done more confidently now.

"Um…Eren…you did. You saved Armin."

Mikasa was careful in the way she relayed the information. She had been strictly told by Commander Erwin to specifically not mention anything about Eren's titan shifting abilities to him.

"What? But that's impossible I was too far away. I knew that as I watched him. There was no way I could have got there in time even if I had the same skills as Captain Levi! What is going on?!"

Eren grew more frustrated by the second as he struggled to understand what Mikasa had said. There was no way on this earth he could have saved Armin, so why was she saying he had? It made no sense to him at all.

"Eren, listen, there's something you need to know, I don't care what they say I won't let this go on!"

"Careful Ackerman. Sentences like that do not help you in Court."

The two adopted siblings each froze in their own cells as the booming voice of Commander Erwin vibrated against the harsh stone walls.

In an instant the dark and gloomy prison cells were illuminated with light. Eren winced as his eyes struggled to adapt to the change of scenery. After a few moments he was able to view the new image before him. Standing at the bars of his cell was Commander Erwin, Captain Levi, Squad Leader Hanji and Squad Leader Zacharias. All four of them were staring at him intently as if he were an animal locked away in a cage. Eren found it bizarre, they weren't watching him as if he were a criminal, they were watching him as if he were a foreign creature, one they had never encountered.

Slowly, he reached his hand up to wipe away the leftover vomit stains that had crusted to his lips. A loud gasp erupted from Hanji's mouth as she watched him move, her eyes filled with intrigue.

"Don't try anything kid."

Captain Levi's dark eyes sent a threatening glare down to him.

Eren was in utter disbelief. Captain Levi constantly insulted him on how weak he was as a soldier and how he was the least threatening fighter he'd ever seen. How could wiping his mouth with his hand warrant such a reaction from the best soldiers throughout the entire walls.

"Eren. We have come to speak with you and learn more about the situation."

Commander Erwin took a hold of the atmosphere and spoke in a calm and collected manner, however his body was stiff, it was clear, he too, was not taking any chances.

"Commander Erwin, sir, with all due respect, I have absolutely no idea what is going on! Why am I locked away in a cell? Why is Mikasa also locked away? And why are you all acting so strangely towards me?!"

Eren had tried to maintain the same level of coolness that Erwin had provided however the heat of the situation had well and truly cracked him.

"Eren, calm down. I understand you are confused and probably scared. I need to know what you can remember from the mission."

Eren took a large gulp of air to try and maintain composure however the glowering stare of Captain Levi wasn't helping.

"The last thing I remember is Armin falling to his death inside the mouth of a titan. After that I remember nothing."

"I see. Well as I'm sure your loyal sister Mikasa has already tried to explain to you, you had a much greater involvement in the mission than what you can remember."

"She said I saved Armin, but that's physically impossible. I could never have made it in time."

"That is true, it was humanely impossible for you to save him."

Eren froze slightly at the Commander's words he had emphasised the word 'humanely' and it was clinging to the air around him. Surely the great Commander Erwin wasn't suggesting Eren wasn't human. That would be ridiculous. But then again so is the idea that large creatures called titans prey upon the human race, however they knew that was all too real.

"I don't understand what you're trying to say to me?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake Erwin, quit beating around the bush, the kid has a pea brain, he'll never catch on! Yeager, you're a titan, end of. It's fucked up but that's the situation."

"LEVI!"

Erwin massaged his temple with his hand following Levi's outburst.

"Way to tell him gently! You idiot!"

Hanji punched Levi's shoulder, much to his dismay, he glared back at her, and then back to Erwin.

"What? The kid has a right to know why he's being held hostage down here."

"I'm…I'm a…I'm a…what?"

The senior officers had managed to forget Eren's presence following their own dispute. Eren was shaking, visibly, sitting in the bed. There was no way he was one of those things. He'd never be one of those mindless, killing monsters. How could they say something like that?

"Eren, you have an ability, an extraordinary ability, to shift into a titan at will. Primarily you are still a human, however, when the time came for Armin's supposed death, you transformed into a titan, and saved him. After which, you embarked on your own killing spree taking down an impressive number of titans. You saved your entire squad from a nasty end."

Eren continued to shake as he attempted to try and comprehend what the Commander was telling him. He could shift…? Since when? He'd never done it before.

"It is imperative now, that you tell us anything and everything you know about your shifting abilities or when you may have noticed some changes within yourself?"

Once again, all the eyes fell onto Eren who was beginning to feel more nauseous by the second. At this point all he could do was tell the truth whether they believed him or not would be a different story but that was all he could do.

"I know nothing. There's never been a time in my life where I've had any…abilities… I've always been a regular kid like everyone else. I'm sorry I can't give you any information because I don't know it myself, I have no clue as to how I became this way, I didn't even know I was this way."

Erwin let out a defeated sigh.

"Okay, well thank you anyway Eren. I shall see you again soon."

Commander Erwin gave him a nod before swiftly walking off down the stone corridor.

"WAIT! Commander Erwin! Will I just be left here from now on? What's going to happen?"

Eren's cries came to no avail.

"Yeager."

The familiar click of Captain Levi's tongue broke the silence. Slowly, he crept back past the wall hiding the corridor.

"Captain Levi, please, tell me what they're going to do to me."

{Levi's POV}

Why did I have to be dealt this shitty card? 'Explain to him what will happen.' Oh, yeah thanks Erwin, because I'm really the gentle type.

The kid looks awful. He's gone the colour of a ghost and is still quivering. I can't help but feel sorry for him, the situation is fucked, but he didn't ask for any of this.

"Okay Yeager, listen up, they're taking you to trial."

The sight of the kid wiping his snotty nose makes me feel incredibly unwell, how disgusting. Just because he's in a prison cell doesn't mean he has to act like some grubby prisoner, but fuck it, at least he's stopped shaking.

"What does that involve?"

The kid's eyes were alit with something now, was it determination or just blind fear? It was hard to tell but he'd clearly given himself some kind of pep talk, poor kid.

"The issue we have is currently you are being treated as Government property, as you are essentially a titan, so you've got us, the Garrison, and the MP's all fighting over who gets to claim you. Obviously, we want you, we see you as an exceptional military asset, well Erwin does, he hasn't shut up about it since we got back. The Garrison are just getting involved to put on a show it's a load of bullshit so don't worry about them. The MP's, however, see you as a huge threat and want to use you for experiments, to essentially dissect every part of you until they know how you tick."

He froze once more as he listened to what I was saying. I got that it wasn't the nicest way to deliver the news but best he knew how bad it really was now rather than later.

"I see. How can I help in the trial to be given to the Scouts?"

The stiffness had evaporated from him entirely and he remained focused and alert, it was somewhat impressive, but it was his life on the line.

"By not being a complete dick. I know you will struggle but fight the urge."

"That's helpful."

"Hey! Just because you are a titan does not mean you can start throwing around the attitude, I'm still your Captain, is that clear?"

"Yes sir! Sorry sir!"

Ah, the familiar look of fear flooded back into his eyes, it was a welcome sight indeed.

"Good. Now rest up kid, the trial is tomorrow."

I turned my back to him and headed straight for the light switch. I still had unfinished business here, but I'd prefer it if Yeager didn't catch on.

Quietly, I made my way to the other set of bars that stood before me. The room inside appeared empty, it was quiet, quiet enough that you wouldn't suspect a person was in there at all. She was good. That part was obvious.

It had been three days since the mission. I had been the one to put her in the cell. The idea of leaving her somewhere this filthy really made my skin crawl but this was far bigger than that. She knew something. The way her eyes burnt with fear when the lightning bolt retreated from the sky was too well timed. It was as if she knew exactly what that could mean.

"What do you want?"

The blunt whisper almost made me jump. Almost. I scanned the room quickly and followed the sound of the whisper. She was next to me, right next to me, in the corner of the room holding the bars. It appears she has already found the blind spots of the cell. Clever girl. It was nice to see all of my training was paying off.

"We have to discuss your behaviour on the battlefield."

Instantly her eyes flew to my, now strapped, leg. The doctor had said I was lucky, it was merely a flesh wound, but any participating in combat or training was off the cards for a month. Brilliant.

"Not that."

"Then what?"

"You know what Ackerman, I'm not stupid."

For a moment she simply stared at me, right into my ears, careful as to what emotions she revealed as I too stared back. I could get lost in her eyes the way the dark pools glistened, holding back so many secrets.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

I knew she'd go down without a fight. I admired that aspect of her, her attitude and daring nature, we were practically the same person.

"Your reaction, when the initial lightning bolt hit was not normal, you showed no confusion, nothing, just sheer terror."

She watched my mouth as if she were catching each individual word.

"Is it not normal for a new recruit on their first mission outside of the walls to be fearful, even more so when an event like that occurs?"

Touché Miss Ackerman, she really was something. I so desperately wanted to touch her, feel the way her body felt pressed against my own. My will power was a pile of shit and I was slowly caving into my urges. It was pathetic.

"A word of advice. I was and currently still am the sole person that viewed your change in behaviour. The only reason you're locked in here is because Erwin thought you might do something reckless to get Eren out of jail, you'll be removed tomorrow. However, I know. Don't forget it. I suggest you stay entirely quiet and act the innocent fool when questioned. For both your sake and his."

My final few sentences were said as a complete whisper. Yeager hadn't made any movements and even his hearing wasn't that good.

I eyed her once more before leaving, checking those dark pools for any hint of emotion, of course, there was none, but I could tell the message had been received as she stared, back at me.

The beautifully finished, double, mahogany, doors towered above him as he took a final gulp of breath. The warm hand of Hanji rubbed his shoulder reassuringly. It was time. Time to learn what would be, which direction his life would go in now, there was nothing he could do and most likely nothing he could say to sway the decision in his favour. For now, he was an animal, a disgusting creature the nation feared and craved to destroy. But to him he was still the same kid he'd always been, hell bent on destroying the titans, just because he was one now changed nothing. It was his life mission to rid this world of them and he would achieve that goal, no matter how long it took or what they threw at him.

"Good luck Eren."

The sweet voice of Hanji danced into his ears as the doors made a thunderous creaking sound revealing, slowly, the scene of the Courtroom before him.

He inhaled deeply, taking in every scent he could and scanning the room for anyone he knew. Instantly, he found Commander Erwin and Captain Levi, standing motionlessly with the other Scouts, the Garrison and MP's were arranged accordingly, as were members from the Merchants, Wall preachers and general public. The room was filled entirely as every pair of eyes landed on him. He ignored them all but locked view with one in particular. The beady eyes of Premier Zachary peered down at him, he never let them out of his sight, not even giving himself time to blink as he was moved to the centre of the room and hand cuffed to a wooden post.

"Welcome Mr Yeager. Let us begin."