It was early the next morning, and everyone in the hospital was tense from the events last night. Akio had been taken into some sort of isolation..the doctors claim he became mentally unstable from cabin fever...but that's not what Eren and Mikasa saw, or the rest in their group.
He appeared more like a broken person grieving for the death of his friend. No one knew yet by there was a sniper in the hospital...and no answers were be given to anyone who asked.
No one slept well the rest of last night either. Eren had been eerily silent that morning, he, Mikasa, Armin, and Sebastian were in the waiting room, so they could sit together.
No one really had an appetite after last night either. "I get...if they needed guns to protect us...especially in case there's another attack but...", Sebastian bit his lip.
"Why not tell us? Explain that to us?", asked Armin, frowning. "It's a bit strange...", Mikasa spoke up then softly.
Eren glanced at her, still dead quiet. "They didn't seem to have any plans on shooting them at first...even though they were both halfway up the fence, about to escape for sure, the atmosphere felt more like...annoyance or a bother, rather than panic...besides..", Mikasa sat up more.
"This hospital is deep in Tokyo...all transportation is shut down except for the hospital and army vesicles...and there's no horses in the city. He wouldn't have gotten far at all, all they would have to do is drive after him. Besides, all the exits out of the city are blocked...", she went on.
"What are you getting at sis?", asked Sebastian. "What I'm getting at is...what if they shot him not because he's infected...but because of what he knows?", Mikasa asked then.
The room fell quiet. "They were saying some disturbing things...", Armin said, swallowing hard.
"If that was really information merely out of a crazy person...why would they be worried about anyone outside hearing it? And..what's more alarming...its been quiet all morning. The doctors and staff have been in a meeting since 5 AM...a meeting for what?", added Mikasa.
"I feel like..we're really in the dark here", admitted Sebastian worriedly.
"We are in the dark...", Eren growled, looking down at the carpet. Mikasa looked at him. "Something big's about to go down...and we better be ready when it does. I'm starting to realize...this hospital might not be safe anymore...", Eren confessed.
"Do you know anything?", asked Armin, as Mikasa scooted a bit closer to Eren. She was wearing her red scarf still.
Eren averted his gaze, not looking at Armin.
"No. But when Mikasa explained all that...it makes too much sense", he admitted quietly.
Just then, the ER doors opened. Dr. Akira stepped out with members of the MP. The MP members were wearing gas masks.
"We need you group to follow us", a member of the MP said firmly. Eren stood up, along with the rest. "Why?", asked Sebastian.
"Don't ask questions, we're rounding up all the patients to the basement", the MP officer growled. "The basement?! That's where the morgue is..", Armin started.
"We're not going to ask you again", the MP officers approached them, grabbing each of them. "What is this for?!", Armin demanded, as Sebastian struggled a bit, getting frightened.
"Let me go!", he cried. "HOLD STILL!", the officer yelled then, tightening his grip on Sebastian's arm.
"Don't hurt him!", Mikasa went to struggle next, but then she cried out as the officer tightened his grip on her.
Seeing then, Eren suddenly glared dangerously, struggling hard. "GET OFF OF HER!", he managed to get out of the officer's grasp, and went to punch the one who had Mikasa.
"HEY!", another officer hit Eren hard over the head with the back of his gun. "EREN!", Mikasa cried fearfully, as Eren hit the floor, blood trickling down his forehead.
"Don't...hurt her...! She was injured recently..!", Eren growled dangerously, glaring up at them. Mikasa watched him, worried and horrified.
"Please..they're just kids...and he's right, Mikasa suffered a grave injury, she only just recently recovered...you could cause damage to her if you're not car-", Dr. Akira began
"No one here gets special treatment! They're all sick!", the MP officer snapped, cutting him off. The doctor fell silent...serious regret in his eyes.
"What the hell is going on?! What's going to happen to us?!", Armin demanded. The doctor didn't look at them, it seemed like..his hands were tied.
"You're relieved of your duties, Dr. Akira", the MP officer sneered, as they forced the group downstairs, two men handling Eren.
Once they were in the basement, Eren, Mikasa, Armin and Sebastian were lined up against the wall with the other patients. All of their hands were tied behind their backs with rope.
The basement resembled a lab...it was cold, and bright. Sebastian clung to his older sister, trembling, as Mikasa glared, studying her surroundings.
"What the hell is going on?!", Jean asked. "They just took us down here..", Sasha added. "All of the doctors and nurses were forced to leave too!", Connie added.
"What?!", Eren glared. Mikasa swallowed hard, studying the surroundings. She saw there was an Exit door, but it had a panel on the wall next to it..it was locked by code.
There were steel tables with thin white sheets, and several types of alarming medical equipment. Mikasa recognized electric shocks, and bottles of acid, along with several scalpels used for dissecting.
"Does anyone know what's going on?!", Armin asked the others. "I think...I have an idea..", Mikasa said then.
Before she could continue, the doors opened. About eight men and women in white lab coats entered, the doors being guarded by the MP.
"How many accounted for?", the head scientist asked. "Currently there's 30 lined up in this room, the rest are in the back room", the female assassinate replied.
"Very good...prepare the scalpel", he nodded. "Hey..who are you people?! What are you planning to do with us?!", Eren demanded.
"Where's Dr. Akira and the rest?!", added Historia. "You better answer us!", Ymir growled, she was pulling at her rope like crazy, to try and get closer to her girlfriend.
"Dr. Akira and his staff have been relieved of their duties. You're all in our care now", the sciencetist replied simply.
"Who exactly are you?", Mikasa asked. "We're part of the Zetsumetsu Cure Project...or ZCP. My name is Dr. Tanaka. You are all our test subjects now. By dissecting you all, we'll be able to figure out a cure...and by containing you, we can ensure the disease won't spread further...", he answered.
"Is that why you shot Sasuke?", Armin asked. "It was a regrettable sacrifice...but mankind is at stake. Another attack is being planned for America...", Dr. Tanaka replied.
"So we're your lab rats now?! You're going to kill mankind trying to save it!", Eren snarled. "The majority of you are all without family and parents now thanks to the bombing...no one will remember any of you", Dr. Tanaka growled.
"Now then...its time for the branding", he said. "Branding?", Mikasa froze, as each of the doctors held a scalpel.
"To ensure everyone in the world knows, you're our property, our test subjects...you will all be branded", Dr. Tanaka said.
"Property?! Are you NUTS?! We're humans!", Jean yelled, as Sasha struggled to get loose.
Dr. Tanaka glared. He approached Jean, as another approached Sasha. Suddenly, he pressed the blade against Jean's shoulder, and slashed a deep cut into it.
Jean yelled out painfully, struggling and gritting his teeth as everyone watched in horror. Sasha screamed painfully, as they started on her shoulder.
When they finished, Jean and Sasha had a large bloody Z scarred into their shoulders. "Next..", Dr. Tanaka approached Mikasa.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!", Eren struggled hard, but another scientist slammed him against the wall.
"NO! Don't hurt her..!", Sebastian struggled next. Mikasa attempted to struggle, but then he drew the blade deep into her shoulder.
Mikasa gritted her teeth painfully, and screamed out. The scream ripped through everyone's ears. "SIS!", Sebastian struggled, but then his shoulder was dug into.
"MIKASA!", Eren struggled hard, but next his shoulder was cut into. Then Armin's, then Connie's, Ymir's Historia's, all the rest.
Now, all of them had a deep Z scar in their shoulders. Mikasa panted for air, painfully. "Sebastian...", she cried worriedly, seeing her little brother crying from the pain.
Eren glared, gritting his teeth. "You people are SICK!", he snarled, struggling hard. The scientists ignored him, as they then all stamped something on each of their wrists.
Mikasa flinched, and looked at her wrist. In the black ink, it was a number..it said #732. Eren's said #800, while Armin's said #766.
Sebastian's said #733, while Sasha's was #912, and Ymir's was #698. Historia's was #875, and Jean's was #655, while Sasha's was #903. Connie's was #700.
"What the hell are these?!", Ymir demanded.
"When your number comes up, you'll be dissected and under go weeks of experiments. Lucky you...you won't have to go through them for several months. But...I can't say the same for the others", Dr. Tanaka glanced at some other patients in the room.
A 30 year old woman had her wrist numbered #1, while a 68 year old man was numbered #2. "Take the later subjects to their cells", Dr. Tanaka ordered, as the MP kept hold of the first four numbered people.
The group was forced into a back room. It looked more like a prison. Eren and Armin were forced into one cell, while Mikasa and Sasha were forced into the cell next to it.
Sebastian was forced into a cell with Connie, while Ymir and Historia were put in a cell together. Jean was forced into one with another random male patient.
Each cell had a bathroom, and two cots to sleep on...nothing else. "You can't keep us locked in here like dogs!", Jean yelled, gripping the iron bars.
The MP ignored him, and left, shutting the door. Sebastian was shaking badly, as he pulled at the iron bars.
"We gotta get out of here!", he yelled, pulling at them. "Sebastian! Don't! You'll hurt yourself!", Mikasa yelled, gripping the bars in her own cell with Sasha.
Sebastian and Connie were across from Mikasa and Sasha. "He's right though..we need to get the hell out of here!", Eren growled.
"There's people in here who still need medicine! Mikasa's recovered, but she still needs pain pills for her ribs once a week...", Armin recalled worriedly.
"I'll be okay...we got bigger problems than that", Mikasa said quietly. "They're going to dissect all of us...!", Sasha cried.
Then, they heard the sound of a woman screaming painfully, it was a horrid screeching sound, coming from the next room.
Mikasa's heart sunk, as Sebastian covered his ears, shaking. "That woman..what the hell are they doing to her?!", Connie asked.
"We need to get out of here! NOW!", Eren then slammed his body against the bars. "Eren!", yelled Armin, as Mikasa gripped the bars.
"Eren, we can't get out that way! You'll just injure yourself!", she cried. Eren glared, his arm bruised. "Then what can we do?!", he asked.
"You heard what they said...we got months before they dissect us. That gives us enough time to escape...to plan", Armin pointed out. The screams died down as they spoke.
"We have no idea how though..! This is a complete government take over!", Sebastian said. Mikasa frowned.
"That may be true...but the key is keeping our eyes and ears open...I noticed a back door in the lab. It had an Exit sign above it, and is locked by a code...", she stated.
Everyone fell quiet. "So..what now?", asked Historia. "We have at least 6 months...we wait. Rest, save our strength, do as we're told, and keep our eyes open for ways out", Mikasa replied.
"That does make sense...we should also consider who's the physically strongest, and the smartest", Jean pointed out.
"Sis is really strong, and she's smart", Sebastian boasted. Mikasa looked down, she traced her finger over her cheek.
She had a deep scar under her eye, from the wreckage, back when she was injured.
"I'm not as strong as I used to be after my injury..but...I can build it back up with time, something we luckily have", she said.
"Armin's the top of our class too", Eren spoke up. "Sasha's got killer instincts too!", Connie piped in. "We better be discreet though...we don't want them to suspect anything...", Eren added darkly.
That night, everyone was quiet. Mikasa was tossing and turning on her cot, which was flat, while Sasha slept pretty soundly, exhausted.
Eren glanced through the bars, noticing her struggling to get comfortable. Armin was resting in his own cot, though it was hard to tell if he was asleep or not.
Eren got up, and sat in front of the bars. "Mikasa? Are you in pain?", he asked her softly and worriedly. Mikasa turned onto her side. She sighed, defeated, and got out of bed.
She came over to the bars, sitting down so she and Eren were close. "My body's still damaged...I'm used to sleeping in a reclined position...", she confessed.
"I know...Dr. Akira..made sure we were all taken care of...", Eren looked down. "I get the impression...whatever this ZCP is...its taken over. It has more power than the hospital. Clearly the government is paranoid...", Mikasa said softly.
"I don't think that's all of it...", Armin said then. He sat up. "You're awake?", asked Eren. "I can't sleep..", Armin came over, sitting next to Eren, the two boys and girl only separated by iron bars.
"Its like we said before, they didn't feel any sort of need to shoot Sasuke until he started going on about us becoming test subjects...and here we are, test subjects. He had information, and knew this was going to happen ahead of time..", Armin stated.
"So then...this was planned? They planned on turning us into lab rats before that incident...", Eren realized.
"But why? This makes no sense at all...why this barbaric?", Mikasa asked. Armin looked down. He swallowed hard.
"I'm starting to wonder..if the bombing was the actual terrorist attack", he confessed then. Eren and Mikasa both froze.
"What are you saying, Armin?", asked Mikasa, while Eren remained quiet.
"The day it happened, we were at the pool. I was looking up at the sky a lot while in it..and I noticed something strange. There were several planes flying pretty low over Tokyo...not dangerously low, but low enough where I could make out the color...all of them were white", Armin began.
Eren tensed, while Mikasa gripped the bars, listening. "I remember seeing at least ten planes fly overhead, one after another. I checked my phone, and it was almost 9:30...And then...the power went out, right Mikasa?", asked Armin.
"Yeah, it went out a few minutes before the..bombing. Mom she...", Mikasa paused then, swallowing hard.
"Take your time...", Eren comforted her, knowing it was difficult for her to talk about her parents. He gently placed his hand over hers on the bar. Mikasa pressed her forehead against the bar, as if trying to get closer to lean into him.
She released a shaky exhale. "Mom was trying to turn the AC back on..and Dad's laptop shut off. Sebastian complained about the TV...", she recalled.
"Then...at 9:30 AM...", she closed her eyes. "Its already obvious why the electric was shut off...to turn off any security cameras around Tokyo Tower, and those apartment buildings", Armin continued, knowing it was too hard on Mikasa to keep talking about it.
"So that way, no one could see the bombing...and who planted them. It's also possible, the person may have gotten the bombs from someone else, so they didn't want that seen on camera either. Someone who creates bombs..", Armin went on.
Eren swallowed hard, he kept looking down at the concrete floor, very quiet.
"The bombs, while did cause a lot of death and destruction, only had a small amount of this mutated radiation in it...so how is it, ALL of Tokyo was effected? Especially since many people were indoors, far from that area?", Armin asked.
"What are you saying Armin?", asked Mikasa. "I'm saying...its possible the bombs were a mere distraction from the REAL terrorist attack. Those planes flying overhead that same day? What if they were releasing the Mutated Radiation as a sort of gas? For everyone in Tokyo to breathe in?", Armin asked.
Eren's eyes widened in horror, as he starred at Armin, while Mikasa also paled. "That would explain why some people didn't come into the hospital until the next day, or a few hours later...", she realized.
"Exactly, once they stepped out of their homes, or opened a window, they were exposed. The bombs were simply a small part of it...it distracted everyone from the bigger threat. Even the army", Armin said.
"So then...even before those bombs went off...", Eren started, nervously. "We were all effected as early as 7 AM that morning...Eren, you, me, and the others were outside at the pool...", Armin pointed out.
Mikasa bit her lip, trembling slightly.
"My..window was opened that morning. I was exercising, and needed fresh air...and..my brother came in my room...", she remembered.
"We didn't start showing symptoms until the bombing because of how close the bombing happened to the planes...", Armin added.
"It's also possible Mikasa's symptoms were delayed because of her injury...", Eren added, swallowing hard.
"But..who? Who would do this to Tokyo? To Japan?", asked Mikasa. "I'm not sure...but remember what we heard? America's next..I'm going to assume a big city, like New York maybe...who ever's doing this...they plan to take out all the major cities...", Armin said.
"Can you two think of anything strange you saw that day? Even the most random thing?", Armin asked them both. Eren looked down, remaining quiet. Mikasa thought for a moment. "No...it was..just another normal day. Mom made breakfast...Sebastian was watching TV, Dad was working...nothing was strange at all", she admitted.
Again, they could hear her voice crack at mentioning them.
"Me neither, we were all at the pool after all...", Eren spoke in a quiet voice, not looking at them. The trio fell quiet for a few minutes.
"We better try and rest...we got to have our wits about us in the morning. Even if they don't dissect us for six months, who knows what else they have planned for us...", Armin admitted nervously.
Mikasa struggled to sleep that night. Armin had returned to his own cot, but Eren stayed with her. Mikasa was leaned weakly against the bars, as she watched Sebastian sleep. He was in his own cot in his own cell, shared with Connie.
"Mikasa...you gotta try and rest. You need your strength...", Eren said quietly and worriedly. Mikasa's eyes softened.
"We have to...get out of here Eren. I won't let my brother suffer anymore than he has...", she said shakily.
Eren gently held her hand against through the bars. "I know...we will get out of here Mikasa, I promise you that", he assured her.
Mikasa looked at him, tears in her eyes.
"I know..its bad right now. But I promise you, I'm going to protect you. Both you and your brother. I saved your life that day...and...", he bit his lip.
"I...care deeply about you, Mikasa", he said then. Mikasa's eyes widened a bit. With everything that's happened, their feelings for each had been put on hold.
But...it was still there. Their connection was still strong and there.
"Eren...", Mikasa held onto his hand tightly, resting her head against the bars, against his.
Eren swallowed hard. He gently reached his arm through the bars, and stroked her shoulder, as the two eventually drifted to a restless sleep.
