My body stayed slumped against the wall while everything in my body throbbed in pain. I sat there and listened to my haggard breath, trying to regain my composure and sense of humanity in the slightest. "Oh no, Erwin, here he is!" A warm hand touched my cheek and I couldn't help but flinch away from it. It was going to hurt me one way or another and I was sure of that. Not now, but maybe it will in the future. "Hey, it's me... We're here now, you're safe." A female voice whispered softly to me. I could feel her breath tickle my cheek lightly. It reminded me of my mother and how she would whisper sweet memories in my ear.

Relaxing my body, I looked up to see the two people I thought I was never going to see again. It was Hanji who was sporting a bloody nose and cut on her cheek and Erwin, the man who loomed over like an ancient and large tree with no visible injuries. "I thought you two were..." Trailing off, Hanji nodded her head and stood up. She grabbed both of my hands and pulled my weight up. She almost pulled my arms out of their sockets from the amount of force she used to jerk my body up quickly. Hanji is strong.

"It will take more than that to kill us. Come on, we need to go. We're out of gas too..." Erwin surveyed the bloody and cringed his nose at the torn body. He moved ahead of us, the blood sloshing against his feet and splattering onto his boots. Hanji grasped my hand and tugged me along. The people outside the alley peered from their monotonous lives, hoping to see something strange and intriguing.

"Move, move, move...!" Hanji spoke to me in a feverish tone, her strength dragging me alongside her while I tried my best to keep up with the two. "Come on!" Her words were harsh but desperate.

"W-What's wrong?" I spluttered out of my mouth, interested in the words she was saying to herself, calculating eyes looking around. "H-Hanji, what is wrong?" My blood soaked shirt hugged every inch of my body more and more while the sweat dripped down my forehead. Hanji and Erwin looked fine but were escalating the pace of their run. "Erwin!"

Scared, I swiveled my head and looked over my shoulder. I only saw the crowd of people who trailed their eyes at us, watching our retreating forms. The colors of the underground passed me, blurring in reds, browns, blacks, and yellows. It was like a ruined and complete picture that was disastrous in structure and perfect in fluidity. Hanji and Erwin's gear clanked against them, their feet thumping against the paved road.

If felt like hours before we started to reach what seemed like the edge of the city. Where there were large staircases leading upwards but toll-booth like building standing in front of it. Erwin opened the door and ushered us in. Once we were inside, I could feel the heavy ambiance within the air while two men guarded the entrance to the staircase. There was a small line of well-dressed people. Some wealthy looking and others middle classed, lucky to be above the poverty line.

"Keep your head down, don't look at them," Erwin said to me, taking his hand onto my head and pushing it downwards. We passed the line. Making the hostility from some people rise while they restrained themselves. "Second in Command, Erwin Smith. Captain Hanji Zoe and I are to move on with all personnel under our jurisdiction." Hanji's gripped slackened then squeezed my hand. I glanced up at her, looking back down before anybody could see my face.

"Well, I don't know..." One of the men said with a false uncertain voice, almost as if he was teasing Erwin. "There must be papers for at least him." I moved up head up and looked into his eyes. He was pointing at me with a relaxed pose until I looked at him. "The fuck?" I took a step back and hid behind the glasses woman, she taking a protecting stance in front of me.

"He isn't supposed to be here." The other said, glaring at Erwin. "He is property." Erwin looked between the two and gave them an icy glare. He didn't falter as the two men closed in on him. The line of people murmured behind us, some stepping back to separate us from them.

"He is not property any longer. We have full custody and if you try to keep us from passing, you will both face the consequences. Remember, I am Second in Command." The two men gritted their teeth. Their faces showing the internal debate of loyalty and perseverance.

"You may pass." The younger one caved in, his superior shooting him a dirty look. Hanji relaxed a bit, tugging me with her while we all make our journey up the stairs. That would take us to the ground above, where the light shone. Where there was the sun.

Another hand gripped mine, the fingers calloused and skin tougher than leather. "But you can't pass with him!" The elder guard pulled me down, my hand slipping from Hanji's grasp and sent me tumbling down the stairs. My already injured body screamed in agony, the cauterized wound on my head bled once again.

"No!" Hanji shouted and ran down the steps. Skipping some that made her slip and got sent tumbling down the steps. "Erwin!" The blond took out a knife and fought the man, ducking an uppercut that sliced the air.

Everything moved while I grabbed a knife from the younger guard. Moving to Erwin's side and pushing him back from getting cut. The knife sliced down my shirt and tore it, blood seeping out of it while I jabbed the blade upward with both hands. There were gasps and screaming soon to follow while the older guard fell to his knees. Blood spurt out of his mouth and onto my face while gurgling sounds escaping his mouth.

Hanji went over to my side while putting pressure to my chest. I watched the man that I stabbed twitch before it all stopped. The blade got lodged deep through underneath his jaw. Showing through his mouth as it cut through the middle of his tongue. "Erwin, we need to leave now!" Hanji cried out while placing her hands on me harder. My body felt weak from everything and the

"Let's go." He said, wrapping his arms around me and picking me up. I laid in his arms, my head flopped to the side. My eyes dropped every now and then. Our footsteps echoed the empty corridor. Each step defining my ears as we ascended upwards. "Don't go to sleep." He commanded his voice firm and invigorated a new fire inside of me. "Don't sleep yet, there is so much left to do."

"Hurry up, Erwin! He is bleeding out!" Hanji's quick pace resonated in my ears, the tip-tapping of her feet. Erwin picked up the pace as well, the weight of force he used to move faster moved me in his arms, rattling me. A gasp jolted my body.

"It hurts..." I cried out a little, moving my hand and gripping Erwin's white shirt. "It hurts..." The throbbing didn't stop. My head hurt, my chest burned, my wings felt broken underneath the shirt. The two moved as fast as they could, the wind blowing in my hair made me calm a little while. I shut my eyes to have to peace.

The wind blew in my hair.

Opening my eyes, I could see lights in the sky.

It was pitch black but had a beautiful blue hue while everything seemed more and more alive. Instead of the heavy darkness of the underground, there was a light and airy feeling to this darkness. Like a comforting feeling for the past to get forgotten and washed away in their depths. "Hanji, can you fix this now?"

"I am not a doctor, Erwin!"

Erwin stopped in front of two brown horses, both littered with black and dark brown spots in their fur. I was passing in and out of the darkness, each situation changing each time as I opened my eyes. It was hard watching the two of them bicker. Erwin helping me onto the saddle of the horse and pressed his firm chest against my back, holding me up with an arm while his other was on the reigns.

The gush of air pushed against me and the clamorous sound of hooves clacking against the ground. I got lulled by the rocking motion, leaning back against Erwin and slouching. My head rolled back onto his shoulder, my eyes looked at his face and taking in each feature. His blue eyes concentrated ahead. He had a fair complexion and had a cool tone. Which got complimented by his hair that got combed back.

For a moment, he looked down at me with his water-colored blue eyes. His eyes carried a depth of sorrow that I didn't understand. "Am I dying?" I asked him, my voice getting carried away with the sound of hooves and cry of the wind whistling past my ears. He furrowed his bushy eyebrows and looked away, letting out a tormented and shaky sign.

"No, you are going to live." He said with confidence. His shame, and sorrow underlying the unvarnished truth that he tried to keep. I chuckled and stared at his neck. Erwin's Adam's apple bobbed up and down when he swallowed. He moved my head and made me look into his eyes once again. "You are not going to die." He repeated.

I nodded, grasping his hand in mine and leaning into it. "Your hand is warm... I never thought people's hands were warm. The ones that touched me were always so cold..." My eyesight became blurry and I felt my tears running down my cheeks. The cold night bit at them, making my face heat up. "I'm not scared. Of dying - ever more at peace than now."

Erwin wrapped the arm that held me up around me, pressing me close to him. My breath was shallow and my tears flowed down like a river. My head leaned against his neck. Forehead against the warmth and hearing him swallow and breath. "As your brother now, I won't let you die. I will protect you, I promise."

I gripped his shirt, letting a breath out. "Thank you for being so kind. It has been a... long time... I wanted to... See my family once again." Everything is so heavy, the air gripped my body in a cold frenzy. Contradicting the heat that radiated from Erwin and enveloped me the best it could. "Thank you... Erwin. Hanji."

"He is about to go! We need to hurry!"

"We are ten minutes til!"