Truthfully, this story is getting harder and harder for me to write, so excuse me if my posting schedule is erratic. I really just want to finish it, but I don't want to rush it, so this is going to be difficult for me, which is why my posting is so spaced out. So I am truly sorry about that, but I will be taking this story at the pace I'm comfortable with.
Chapter 18: Light in the Shadows
Eren was leaning against the wall outside the training room door, watching it impatiently and waiting for his plan to come to fruition. He could hear the amount of noise being created inside and knew Gabriel was doing as he was told, but he worried for how far the fight would go without him there to diffuse the situation. Before he could think too much about it, the door creaked open and a shadow snaked across the floor and took form in front of the brunette.
"You assssked for me?"
"Do you really have to talk like that, Piers?" Eren asked, offhandedly. "It's not really necessary."
Piers only shrugged and locked his impassive gaze on his leader. Eren had to suppress a shiver at the disturbing look. The shadow titan may follow him, but Eren couldn't help but be put off by his soul-staring eyes.
"I have a job for you and it involves our escaping this place," Rogue began, making sure Piers was paying complete attention. "How long are you able to keep your shadow form?"
"As long as needed, but I can only travel insssside existing sssshadows large and dark enough to cover me. I also cannot cross bright spacccces in that form without revealing myself," Piers hissed.
"Do you think you could follow a person's shadow?" asked Eren, urgently. "What I'm asking is, if you went back in the training area and submerged yourself inside one of the Survey Corp officers' shadows, would you be able to stay inside it long enough to escape with them?"
Wraith frowned. "We have tried thisss before, have we not? I tried to follow a guardssss sssshadow, but the corridorsss were too bright for me to continue following them passsed the sstaircassse. Not to mention, the guard would discover my exissssstence when I exit his shadow outssssside. How will thiss be different?"
"Because, I've extinguished some of the torches on the main level. Violet sent home most of the researchers for this visit, and I doubt the guards will notice a few put out torches," Eren quickly explained, sparing a glance at the training room door when a loud screeching sounded from inside. "All you have to do is fit yourself inside one of their shadows and follow them into their carriage and to their headquarters, there you can reveal yourself."
"And what then?"
"I want you to tell them the truth about Atlas Corp," said Eren, placing his hands on Piers' shoulders and looking him dead in the eye. "This is very important for our freedom, Piers. You need to tell them about the experiments and the torture and the horrible results. Tell them about what they do to us and what they've done to Mathias and Dove and Jimmy. Tell them every detail you can think of and pray to God they listen to you, do you understand? Do you know how important this is?"
For the first time, Wraith was shaken by the intense words and heated look in Eren's eyes. This was their true leader, not the complacent lapdog Violet always saw, or the strict and scary tyrant that the shifters were use to. He was still overly determined and fiercely protective but there was now a hint of desperation that had grown steadily larger over the years of watching his people go through hell. This Eren was wiser and far more dangerous than before, because now he wasn't just fighting for the dead. He was fighting to save the living.
Piers felt admiration for the boy in front of him and his chest swelled with courage for the first time since he was pulled from the Underground. The pale, skinny boy had always looked out for himself and that hadn't changed when he was kidnapped and brought here. He'd kept his distance until Eren showed up and brought them together, forcing the shifters to realize they wouldn't get anywhere by themselves. The boy never had a family before, but he imagined it'd be something like this.
"I'll do everything I can," the wraith titan promised with a determined nod. "I'll make them lisssten to me."
Eren smiled at that. "I know I can count on you with this. Once you've convinced them of what's going on here, I need you to get them to launch an attack on the compound and free us. I'll take care of things after that. Think you can do that?"
Again, Piers nodded and was about to reenter the training area, eager to start his mission, but Eren stopped him.
"Be careful, alright? This mission is incredibly important but it won't be worth it in the end if I lose anymore of you," he pleaded, thinking back to their first failed escape and the disastrous outcome. It frustrated him beyond belief to have to put his friends in this danger and not be able to get involved himself, but he had to keep Violet appeased or they wouldn't get anywhere.
Piers gave him a smirk before his body melted into the shadows and edged under the door.
"Have some faith in me, Rogue," came his amused response before the darkness was completely gone. Eren let out a relieved sigh.
"I just hope faith is enough, Wraith."
Inside the training arena, everything happened within a matter of seconds. The bone weapons tossed at Light hit their mark with a resounding thud and a disgusting squelch as they dug into the tough skin. One landed in his shoulder, the other found home in his abdomen. The force of the hit sent the titan hurtling towards the cavern entrance and nearly crushed the audience, who were rushed out of the way by the guards. The titan shifters had enough sense to get out of the way on their own, this wasn't their first out of control fight.
"Can't you control those monsters, Ms. Drake!" snarled Niles, quickly climbing to his feet after the tremors knocked him down.
Violet merely smiled from her place just inches from the downed giant, completely calm despite the life-threatening occurrence.
"I'm afraid I have little control when they are in this state, hardly anything can pull them to their senses when they become engrossed in their fights," Violet stated, shrugging.
The humans gaped at her in horror, wondering what they'd gotten themselves into. None of them had even brought their gear! How were they going to stop the fight from progressing?
Just as they were starting to panic, the lightening titan launched to his feet and bolted for his opponent, ignoring the bones lodged in his body. His fist pulled back and electricity sparked from his fist.
The sound of the two giants colliding sent a shockwave through the room, causing everyone to stumble.
"Dammit, where the hell is Eren?" growled Lily, trying to keep Andy on her feet.
"He's still putting the others away, I think," Gwen answered, worriedly.
The fight was getting out of hand, but for some reason, neither the guards nor Violet were doing anything to stop it. They acted as if this was a normal thing, which for all the soldiers knew, it could be. Even the titan shifters weren't as phased by the violence.
Unbeknownst to the spectators below, Eren was entering the training arena and watching the fight with tired eyes. When he asked Gabriel to cause a distraction so he could chat with Piers, he didn't think he'd go this far. Sure, they got a bit out of hand at times, but endangering the humans wasn't what he had in mind.
It was only when Bones was tossed across the circle, nearly crushing one of the poor Military Police, that Eren decided to end the brawl.
"That's ENOUGH!" he bellowed from halfway up the staircase. The power in his voice pushed it all around the room, making sure everyone heard his words.
The titans froze in place, the alpha command forcing them to pause mid-fight. The other shifters all bowed their heads, feeling the weight of the order despite it not being directed at them. The military officers stood there, astonished by the sudden silence in the room. They all turned to stare at Eren as he finished descending the stairs, a stern look on his face.
Violet smiled pleasantly. "Ah, Rogue, good of you to finally join us."
"Mm, sorry, got held up with something." The two exchanged a quick knowing look before Eren turned to the titans.
"I don't think I need to tell you what to do now, do I?" Rogue asked them, switching between their guilty faces. The two titans shook their heads and after making sure they were far enough away from the spectators, their bodies collapsed to the ground.
"What's happening!" Hange exclaimed, rushing to examine the deteriorating titan corpses. "Are they dead!?"
"We ain't dead, miss," came a snort from the pile of flesh. Eren and Lily were quick to assist the two, now human, forms of Gabriel and Hannah as they detached themselves from their titans' necks.
"EH?! They came out of the nape?! Oh, that's so fascinating." Hange began muttering excitedly to herself while her associates merely gawked and ignored her.
"This place is giving me a damn headache," Levi grumbled, staring around the cavern. First, he had to deal with out-of-control titans and now he had to listen to Hange gush about nonsense. He couldn't say he wasn't impressed by the creatures, especially when Rogue was able to instantly halt the fight with an easy order. The Captain was still trying to understand how he carried his voice like that and why it sent a shiver of apprehensive, and dare he say, fear, down his spine.
Erwin had watched the entire encounter with sharp eyes, trying to understand the dynamics of the situation. It was clear Rogue and Violet were running the show, and that for some unknown reason, Rogue could totally control the other titans with little resistance. Even soldiers in his regiment weren't loyal enough to follow orders without even the slightest trace of a question. The Commander wondered if this kind of control worked only on shifters, or if Rogue was also able to order normal titans as well. Next to him, Erwin noticed Pixis deep in thought as well.
"I assume you're thinking about that little display just before the fight ended?" Pixis asked him.
"Hm, I was. I find it hard to believe that two titans, even titan shifters, could be completely halted from a vicious fight by a mere command," Erwin replied, watching Rogue as he scolded the two titans.
"Yes, it was quite the spectacle, wasn't it?" said Pixis in his usual amused demeanor. "Were you affected in anyway by the boy's voice? I know I almost dropped my flask, and nothing could make me almost waste a good drink!"
Erwin chuckled at that, before becoming serious again. "I can't say it didn't affect me, but I doubt it was anywhere near the level those titan's felt. Seeing something so large and enraged simply freeze like that is more than a little off-putting to say the least."
"That I can definitely agree with," Pixis answered with a small shudder. "Did you notice their fighting style? It's very familiar…"
Erwin nodded, thinking back to the brief moments before all hell broke loose. He had recognized many of the moves the two used but he couldn't figure out where they could have learned it.
"You believe they were trained by someone in the military?" Erwin asked, remembering the clean and calculated actions of the titans.
"It makes sense, doesn't it? Hand to hand is an important skill for them, who better to learn from than us?" said Pixis. "Perhaps one of the guards is ex-military."
A soft laugh sounded from behind them and they turned to find Violet giggling at them.
"One of my guards teach them? Oh please, they barely want to be within ten feet of them!"
"Then do you mind if I ask who did train them?" Pixis asked curiously.
"That would be me, sir," responded an unexpected voice.
Every solider turned to Eren in surprised. He stood tall with a blank face while the other titans watched the humans, gauging their reactions.
"You trained them, boy?" replied Pixis, eyebrows raised. "Where did you learn those techniques? They're quite impressive."
Eren simply shrugged humbly. "Before I came here, I was a military recruit. Hand to hand combat happen to be my specialty."
"A recruit, huh? Where were you planning on going after training?" Niles asked.
Eren gave a small smile and shrugged. "I was planning on joining the Survey Corp, sir."
The Military Police snickered at that, clearly judgmental of his decision, while Dawk raised an eyebrow. Hange looked overjoyed by the statement and Erwin seemed pleasantly surprised.
"Any particular reason for joining?" asked Pixis. "The glory of killing titans maybe? That seems to be a popular opinion."
Eren's face darkened, his hair falling in his eyes, remembering exactly why he joined the military and why he was working so hard to get out again.
"I wanted to take back my home, sir," he answered smoothly, but many of the people in the room shivered at his intense expression. "I wanted to take back what those titans stole from me."
"Rogue here, is from Shiganshina," added Violet, feeling the need to explain further. "His mother was killed by a titan and he and his sister were forced into refugee camps. You can imagine the impact that may have had on him."
The Survey Corp soldiers nodded sympathetically at that. Most who joined their regiment usually did it for the reason Pixis first said, glory and fame, but it was rare and refreshing to come across someone who wanted to fight for a good reason. The determined boy in front of them definitely had a good reason and it was somewhat disappointing that he couldn't have finished his training and fulfilled his dream.
Eren felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Pixis' fatherly face smiling at him.
"I'm sure you would have made a fine soldier, son," he said, genuinely. "And who knows? Maybe you'll get what you want in the end. After all, that's why you're here, isn't it? To make a difference in this fight against the titans?"
"Precisely right, Commander," Violet interrupted. "I'm glad you brought that up."
And with those words, the situation shifted to a more formal atmosphere. Eren stepped back and closed himself off again.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed that little demonstration of my titan's abilities," Violet announced, turning to face the soldiers while Rogue rounded up the shifters and quietly spoke to them. "But, as you've seen everything we have to offer, I think this little tour has ended. If you follow me, we can discuss the next steps in our little arrangement."
Violet started up the steps with the soldiers and officers in tow, many eager to leave the shifters, while Hange trudged along reluctantly. Over her shoulder, Violet locked eyes with Rogue and nodded in the general direction of their cells. Eren nodded, understanding the command.
"Come on, back to the cells," he said, urging them up the steps.
"Aw, man, can't we just play a little longer," groaned Hannah.
"After what just happened, why the hell would I let you keep going?" Eren said, raising an eyebrow.
Hannah just grumbled to herself before climbing up the stairs with the others.
"Hey, guys," Lily said, stopping halfway up the steps. The rest paused as well. "Where's Piers?"
It was then everyone noticed the Wraith titan's disappearance.
"Don't worry about him," Eren said, continuing their trek up the stairs. "If all goes well, we'll be out of here in no time."
"Another one of your plans, Eren?" asked Gabriel, tiredly.
Eren smiled. "Yes, but I'm much more confident in this plan."
"That's what you said last time," Lily muttered under her breath.
"How are you going to explain his disappearance to Violet? She may not like to get directly involved with us but she will definitely notice if one of us goes missing," remarked Gabriel.
"I'm aware, and I'm going to take the blame for it, but it'll be worth it in the end," Eren said.
Gwen had been quiet until then, along with Andy, preferring not to draw attention to herself, but now she decided to speak in a soft voice, "I hate it when you do that."
"Do what?" Eren asked, frowning and stopping to look back at her.
"Take the punishments like that. You get hurt all the time for our sake, you take the blame for things we do. I hate it," Gwen clarified, glumly, keeping her head down.
Eren smiled sadly and took her hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm sorry how much it upsets you, but this is important for everyone, and if it takes a little pain to get us freedom, then I'm more than willing to take it. Besides, better me than any of you."
Gwen nodded and decided to drop it, knowing nothing she said would change his mind. Eren gave her one last squeeze before they all left the training room, with Gwen lagging behind trying to hide her watery eyes.
Hours later, the soldiers and officers finally exited the facility, tired from their negotiations over how the titan shifters should be handled. Niles insisted they be put into military custody, locked up and only allowed out when they're needed, which would be rarely. Erwin tried to argue for them to be brought to the Survey Corps for proper military training and then later incorporated into a plan to take back Wall Maria. Pixis and his assistants remained mostly quiet, content to simply listen since the titans wouldn't really be of much use to his regiment.
In the end, they had decided to simply keep the titans at the facility and make visits to learn more about them and devise a plan for the future. The compound was much more well equipped to deal with the shifters than anything the officers could come up with, not to mention the hassle it would have been to move them all to a different place. No, it was safer for them and for everyone else if they stayed there, under constant supervision, though it greatly disappointed a certain woman.
"I can't believe we're just leaving them there," Hange groaned. "I could have done so many experiments! We could have tested their endurance, the time it takes them to shift. We didn't even get to see the transformation! We should have been there for that! Not to mention I didn't get to see all the titan forms, I mean, can you imagine how amazing they could be?!"
"Four-Eyes, would you just shut up? I've had a headache since that damn fight and you are not making it better," Levi snapped at her, losing his temper. He was still seething from listening to Niles whine about not getting his way throughout the entire discussion, and his fuse was running low.
"Besides, Hange, I'm sure you can run your tests another time. Remember, we'll be visiting often in the future," Erwin added, defusing the argument he could sense coming.
Hange pouted and slumped against the seat. "Fine."
Unaware to the soldiers, the floor under the seat was darker than the rest of the shadows. A pair of hazy eyes glared out from the darkness, watching the officers and patiently waiting to reach their destination. He couldn't reveal himself too early, afraid they would turn around and take him back without listening to him. He had to wait until they were far away from the compound. Luckily it had been dusk when they finished with their painfully boring discussion, which Piers had to sit through in the shadow of the large blonde commander. The poor boy had almost fallen asleep and missed his queue to leave, but he made it to the carriage without anyone noticing. Now, he had to keep himself to from asleep again while the carriage bumbled along the dirt road.