A/N: This chapter is in Levi's point of view. Enjoy!


I didn't get much sleep last night. I felt like I was racing through time, but also stuck swimming through honey. I was packed and ready to go the second I walked into my room. Waiting for morning to arrive felt like ages. I tried going to sleep to make time go faster, but all I could think about was Eren. What they could have done to him this past month. I didn't want to think about it, yet my mind kept coming up with different scenarios.

At one point I couldn't take it anymore and decided to clean the guns I had packed. I knew taking Eren away from Nile was going to be hell. I didn't want the guns I took with me to somehow get jammed. When I was done disarming them and putting them back together it was about 2 in the morning. I had a couple hours left.

I couldn't stay in the room much longer and decided to take my bags down to the car. After that I headed into the kitchen to make myself some tea. Waiting around and doing nothing is the worst thing I can do right now. I have to do something to occupy myself before I start losing my mind. It's too early to make breakfast for everyone, it'll get cold by the time they get up. I take my cup of coffee and head into the small room the others use to work out.

There's a punching bag in the corner that I like to use when no one is around. Swallowing down the last bit of tea I flex my hands before bombarding the bag. One punch after another I keep going until my hands have gone numb and some of my knuckles have split open. I should have probably wrapped my hands first.

"I figured you'd be here." Erwin's voice jolts my attention away from my bleeding knuckles.

"I couldn't sleep." I said walking past him towards the bathroom.

Erwin follows me, concern evident on his face. "I know this is hard for you, but you have to remember that you're not alone. We've all grown fond of Eren. We're all worried about him. Armin kept me up till 1 before he passed out from exhaustion."

"I know." I said washing my hands and watching the blood mix with the water. "I just don't know what to do when I'm worried."

"That's why you have us. We're here to help you." He said handing me a towel. "I'll go start on breakfast. Make sure you take care of your hands before we head out."

"But, it's too early for breakfast." I said having thought of the same idea earlier.

"Everyone's been awake for a while now. You're not the only one ready to get Eren back." He said before pushing himself away from the bathroom door.

I looked down at my hands still held under the running water. With the blood mostly gone the cuts were visibly smaller. I carefully dried them off and put the ointment Erwin kept stocked in the cupboard. He was always looking out for me, I wish I could be more like him when it came to taking care of others.


We left earlier than planned at around 4am. The car ride from New York to L.A took around two days. It was almost 10pm when we made it to Rico's place. We decided to skip rest stops, and instead took turns driving so some could sleep.

I had called Rico earlier from a gas station so she knew to expect us. She had dinner ready and some blankets for the night. Mostly everyone complained about being ready to get Eren back right then, but Rico and Erwin convinced them to rest for the night.

In the morning we met her sister Hitch. Hitch told us all the ins and outs of the place. While she was talking I noticed some bruises on her arms and her face. They looked like they were clearing up. She must have gotten them a few days ago. Judging by how well she knows the place the Titans were staying I had a pretty good guess how she got them. When she was done explaining the Titan's lookout routine she asked if she could talk to me in private.

"So, what's this about?" I asked the second she closed the door to Rico's bedroom.

"Eren." She said moving over towards the bed to sit down. "He... he might not be exactly how you remember him." She said looking down at her hands.

"You're saying that as if it's been more than three months." I scoffed.

"Well, to Eren it's been nothing but hell. He's changed so much since I first met him." Hitch finally looked up at me. "Eren was fearless and ready to fight Nile at any moment. Even when one of his limbs was bandaged up."

"What do you mean?" I asked hesitantly, remembering Eren as she just described him.

"Nile broke him." She let out a shaky sigh. "He's broken him in so many ways not just physically, but mentally. There were days where Eren wouldn't even look at me while I was cleaning up one of his wounds. Sometimes he wouldn't talk for days. The worst part is that Nile would sometimes drug his food that he became afraid to eat anything." Her words started getting shaky half way and she was on the point of crying by the end.

I wasn't sure how to take all of this. I knew Eren wasn't going to be pampered when he was taken, but I didn't expect it to be this bad either. I was getting furious at the idea of anyone doing this much harm to someone so innocent and young. Eren was happy and bursting with energy, I couldn't think of him otherwise. My rage only made me want to burst in that shit hole and take him back right this second.

Hitch could tell I was angry by the way she watched me pace around the room. "Levi, you have to promise me something."

"What?" I asked slowing down my pacing to look at her.

"When you find him, please be gentle with him. He's been through so much." I could tell that she genuinely cared about Eren and his safety. Eren had that effect on people. The second you meet him you can't help but care for him.

"I won't let anything bad ever happen to him again." I promised, handing her my handkerchief before I walked out of the room.

Walking into the small living room I could see that everyone was ready to go. Some were pacing back and forth, some looking through the weapons we had laid out, others were sitting down doing nothing but anxiously bouncing their leg up and down. We've waited long enough to take down Nile and his gang yet waiting just a few more hours seemed like torture.


It was around 6pm when we met up with some of Rico's guys. We decided to meet up a few blocks away from the apartment building the Titans were using as their base. The apartment building they were staying in was no more than three stories tall. All together my men joined with Rico's we were about 30 going against however many were inside. We had to be smart about this and think it through.

I knew Mikasa, Annie, and Ymir worked quickly and quietly. I paired them up with three of Rico's guys and had them take the top floor. The rest of us took cover in front and behind the main exits of the building.

I watched the small group climb the fire escape and gather around the window. One by one they made their way in. The outside was eerily quiet with nothing but the sound of a distant thunder storm.

We waited the planned five minutes before signaling to the guys in the alleyways. Once I knew the people up front were ready to go I went ahead and kicked the back door down. The second I made it inside my guns were up and firing at anyone in the way. I could hear the gun fire following behind me and soon they were beside me. We went in like a united front. No one could get past us.

Through the commotion the Titans had realized they were under attack and followed suit. The young man beside me with light brown hair tumbled down after being shot in the leg. It was fast, and I had no other reaction but to drag him into a nearby room.

"You gonna' make it?" I asked peeking out from the door way.

"I think so." He said looking over his bloody thigh.

I quickly reached into the hallway and grabbed his forgotten gun. "Here," I said tossing it to him. "Take care of yourself."

With that I was about to leave the room and launch back into the fight when I heard a resonating 'boom' above me. That would mean that Mikasa and the others made it down to the second floor. The booming sound was a bit concerning considering we didn't use explosives.

I looked around the hallway and made my way into the large open space further in. The gun fire was loudest here with shots being fired from both ends of the room. From the other end of the room I saw Rico charging in with some others. They could take care of the havoc down here, I needed to make sure there wasn't any trouble upstairs.

Taking cover from a nearby pillar I surveyed the room. There was barely any furniture I could use to block the oncoming bullets. It was going to be a bit of a challenge making it to the other side of the room. I had to rely on tactical ability and luck.

Ducking back behind the pillar to avoid a bullet I noticed Erwin and Reiner a few feet away from me. They were using a toppled table as cover. The second I heard the gun fire slow down I weaved my way over to them.

"Hey," I said crouching behind them. "Think you could get me close to the stairs?"

"No problem." Erwin replied firing off another shot over his shoulder.

Reiner positioned himself so he was facing the same way as Erwin. They both had the table on their right side lifting it up while shooting over the top with their left hands. I moved in sync with them until we were close to the stairs. I raced up the stairs as they stayed downstairs moving to a safer spot.

When I made it to the second floor I had to quickly lean back against the staircase walls. The harsh explosion a couple of feet in front of me sent dust, wood and sharp metal flying my way. I covered half of my face with my left arm and used the settling dust as a cover.

I could see the back of three men firing off at the other end of the hallway. I recognized them as Titans from the tattoo covering the arm of the one in the middle. Shooting them down was easy enough, getting Annie off me was another thing. She ran into me knocking me onto my back. I was trying to block a punch to the face when I felt her tense up.

"Sorry, didn't know it was you." She said standing up.

"Where are the others?" I asked picking up my gun as I stood.

"They got caught up. I managed to make it over here to take down any backup the Titans could've had." She picked up a gun from the one of the men I just shot down. "The Titans are guarding a room towards the back. We think that's where they're hiding Eren."

"Have you seen Nile yet?" I asked picking up a gun as well. Two guns were better than one.

"Not yet." She said walking down the hall.

"That means he's also in that room." I said following behind her.

The further in we got the more Titans seemed to be emerging for nearby rooms. One had jumped out and flung a grenade past us. We managed to jump into a room when the explosion went off. Before the debris could settle the guy tried cornering us in the room, but we were ready for him. Shooting him down before he even set foot in the doorway. He had a belt around his torso lined with Mk II grenades. I knew that only the armed forces were using these types of grenades. I took the belt off his body and handed it to Annie.

"We need to find where they're storing these." I said walking back into the hallway.

Going farther into the second floor there were less Titans. Rounding a corner and coming into a larger area I could see why. Like Annie had said earlier they were guarding a room. We took cover back behind the wall we had come from. Taking another look I saw that their guns were pointed in the other end of the room.

"Mikaka's over there. It leads to another hallway that takes you to the third floor." Annie said peaking over.

With the Titans so focused on the others it would be easy to take a couple down before they notice us. I had Annie shoot from behind the corner as I stood further out from the cover of the wall. We managed to take down three of the seven men. The remaining four were easy enough to take down when they started to panic.

Mikasa and the others from around the corner came out as we did. Annie went over to the fallen men in front of the door to check if they were down for good. Once the noise up here went silent you could hear the harsh gun fire down below. An explosion coming from below our feet had me remember the ongoing attack downstairs.

"Mikasa, you and Annie will stay with me. Ymir take the rest with you downstairs." I helped Annie move some of the bodies to clear a path to the locked door. The others quickly followed Ymir.

Once they were gone I wasted no time kicking down the door. The metal hinges clanged on the floor while shards of wood splinted into the room. The room was dark with planks boarding up the widows. I flicked the light switch next to me sizzling the bulb into a dim glow.

The room was eerily silent with a shaking body on the bed. From the wild golden brown hair I knew it was Eren. He was shirtless making the scars and bruises on his back visible. I looked around the room before I approached him, Nile was nowhere in sight. My earlier assumption of him being here gone.

As I walked into the room I noticed his body flinching with each foot step I made. I remembered the conversation I had with Hitch earlier and eased my pace. Making sure my foot steps were gentle as I approached slowly as to not scare him.

"Eren? Hey, it's me." I said quietly.

"L-levi?" His voice was so hoarse, it sounded like his throat would burst with another syllable.

"Yeah," I said now rounding the corner of the bed and coming to face him. "Mikasa's here too." I said motioning her over from the door way.

"Nile..." He breathed out.

"He's gone, I don't know where he is." I said hating the fact that it was true.

"He...left" His green eyes looked up at me as he tried sitting up. I gently laid him back on the bed trying not to touch where bruises were visible. I hated not being able to envelop him in my arms, he looked to vulnerable and weak. I didn't want to cause him anymore harm.

"Shhh it's alright, we'll try to get you some-"

"There." He said cutting me off.

I looked in the direction he was pointing. This made me realize he's been trying to tell me that Nile's escaped. It was a wooden door likely leading to a closet. I moved around Mikasa allowing her to get closer to Eren.

Opening the door I was greeted with jackets and coats. I knew Eren must have seen Nile go in here, so I moved the clothing off to the sides and sure enough there was a small hatch attached to a smaller door.

Through the second door was a stone staircase descending into darkness. Judging by the time we first opened fire he's likely gone far away from the neighborhood by now. I felt Mikasa lean beside me to get a look into the tunnel. She was about to say something but stopped when we heard someone enter the room.

"We're all clear." Erwin announced looking at the two of us by the closet and then glancing over at Eren still lying on the bed.

"Alright Mikasa, I want you and Erwin to take Eren to the hospital." They nodded in unison walking over towards Eren. Erwin carefully picked him up while Mikasa placed a blanket over his half naked body. I walked out behind them following their slow jaunt down to the first floor.

Over Erwin's shoulder I could see the mess of brown hair peeking out and my heart felt like someone was squashing it in their fist. I was relieved we'd finally found him, but devastated at the condition he was in.

If we had never met, we could have watched the Titans carefully and taken them out before they made a move on him and his family. If only he had never been with me Nile might have never thought of treating him like this.

This was all my fault. I was the cause of all his suffering.

"Armin, could you drive us to the hospital?" Mikasa asked when she caught sight of her friend.

I was quickly pulled out of my thoughts when Mikasa called to her friend. I didn't object knowing Armin would have wanted to go and Eren would like his friend to be by his side.

When they left the building I turned to the others. "Rico, take anyone wounded back to your place. Between Hitch, Hanji, and Krista I'm sure they'll be fine. We don't need hospital staff asking too many questions."

"Ymir and Annie, I need you to find where they were stashing the grenades." They quickly ran off in different directions.

I noticed Reiner was holding onto Bertolt who was holding onto his side. "The rest of you help Rico and make sure everyone is accounted for."

Once I made sure everyone was doing something I made my way back to the room. I needed to see where that tunnel could lead. I wasn't going to let Nile get away so easily. I'm not going to wait around for the police to show up this time. The last chase, the last encounter, the last fight. This time it was just me and him.