Eren found himself surrounded by darkness. No matter how many times he opened and closed his eyes he was greeted by the same dark veil. 'Where am I?' Eren thought to himself. "There's nothing to fear", a voice whispered through the darkness. The voice, which should have been both creepy and scary in any other circumstance, had a calming and reassuring feel. "Who are you?" Eren asked. "I am both you and not; I am your inner omega, Eren," the voice replied. "What happened to us?" Eren questioned. "When we were almost drugged again, I clawed my way to the surface to help you again. I was able to kill off the assholes but one of them escaped jumping off the cliffs," said the voice. "I see," Eren started
"Why am I stuck in this darkness though? Did something bad happen to my body again?" Eren asked, concerned now for himself and his inner omega. "I don't know. I fear that though I could not use our command pheromone, there might still be damage so I have brought us back to the sacred Sakura tree and started to absorb some of its spiritual energy. You should be okay." Suddenly a voice from what seemed to be outside of the realm of darkness Eren was in startled him. "Eren?" the familiar voice reached out. "I will handle this", Eren's Omega said instantly and Eren once again felt a sudden jolt of electricity rendering him unconscious again.
"I think he is waking up", a familiar voice said while Eren began to feel his eyes flutter open. "Mikasa?" Eren asked though his voice seemed a bit rough and coarse. "Oh thank goodness!" a voice that could only be Armin's spoke up. "What are you guys doing here? How did you get here?" Eren spoke again blinking away blurriness in his eyes slightly to see his two childhood friends. "When we saw the flash of lightning, Eren, we knew that you were in danger. We feared the spies had chased you into the first trial." Eren sighed. His senses seemed to still be waking up. He was disappointed. He wanted to complete the trial on his own, to prove himself to the village and most of all to Levi but once again, his life was brutally interrupted just because he was an omega.
Eren started to blink his eyes again, his vision now steadily returning. He only just began to smell the familiar and intoxicating smell of strong coffee and leather when he heard another voice. "Eren, I'm glad you're okay." Like a zap of lightning, suddenly all of Eren's senses returned. Eren bolted to a sitting position, having noticed his head was resting on Levi's lap the entire time. Suddenly he felt a small weight which must have been on his chest fall right into his knees. He looked down to see a small cub of the cat like creatures he had encountered earlier in the trial looking up towards him looking slightly annoyed at the rather rude awakening . He finally pulled his eyes up to meet the steel gaze of Levi and the concerned eyes of both Mikasa and Armin.
The questions began flying out of Eren's mouth almost immediately. "What about the trial? Levi, you came to? What about the village? What is this small cub doing on my chest? What do we do about the spy who escaped?" Eren proceeded to suck in another breath and looked as though he had more to say when Levi spoke up. "Whoa, slow down, brat. I'll tell you what we know."
"So, you're telling me that because of Grisha's experiments, my omega can actually take over my body?" Eren asked still shocked by the information Levi had told him. "Exactly. He explained that for the most part everyone's dynamic mostly serves as an inner voice such as a voice in the back of your head and can help influence decisions. However, with the experimentation to pull out your command pheromones, they also pulled more of your omega's will to the front of your mind," Levi replied.
Eren sat silently shocked for a moment before turning to Mikasa and Armin. "Did you guys know this could happen?" Mikasa and Armin shook their heads immediately before Armin answered. "We have only seen you like that once before, Eren and that was on the ship when the RMP attacked Levi's ship. I believe that your omega gained the ability to take completely over the moment you both thought you were about to lose your newly found mate. You had never gotten like that before, no matter what kind of trouble we found ourselves in." Armin paused a moment before continuing. "When it happened the first time we just thought it must have been your command pheromone going haywire. We never even considered the possibility it was actually your omega taking over."
Eren simply nodded his head. He tried to doubt what they were saying could even be possible but his omega seemed to be agreeing with them and reassuring Eren it was true. "Ok..." Eren began looking down at the creature in his lap. "What is this little guy doing here? He looks like a cub of the animals I encountered on my way towards the Sakura tree." His mate was quick to answer. "That is a Paxe," Levi began. "They are animals who are extinct in the rest of the world but have a huge population on this Island. We have most of their territory mapped out so we try to mostly live in harmony with them. They are extremely intelligent and loyal to their pack but..." Levi paused glancing at the small cub curled up in Eren's lap. "A cub's mother is the only member of the pack that will care for it. When the Paxe attacked you, this cub's mother died in the battle. We found it trying to wake its mother up, already abandoned by its pack. We have a sanctuary back at the village that Hanji manages. We were gonna bring her back to stay in the sanctuary but it seems for whatever reason she has not moved off your lap."
Eren looked down at the small cub in his lap. How could this small cub be attached to the monster that killed its mother? The small Paxe stayed curled in his lap peacefully. "Does anyone ever actually raise them?" Eren asked Levi. "Yes, we have a few that people have raised and trained. They are extremely loyal and treat even their human families as pack members," Levi responded. Eren looked down again at the small Paxe and looked back up to Levi with determination in his eyes "Levi, I want to take care of him. I killed his mother so I should be responsible for him." Levi nodded in return and Eren reached down to pat the head of the sleeping Paxe in his lap.
"As for the trial", Levi began and Eren, Mikasa and Armin snapped to full attention. "We have no idea how far down the roots of these spies go so I think I speak for the whole island and crew that the solo part of trial one is too dangerous. With that said, I believe we can proceed with the next two trials. If they are done successfully and in addition you help us defeat the RMP while at sea, there is no reason any person in my crew or on the island won't see you as unworthy of my crew." Eren, Mikasa, and Armin nodded their heads in understanding and Levi continued. "For now I think we should camp here tonight. Tomorrow we can head back to the village."
"Yes, Captain", the trio said at the same time. "I'll go collect some wood for a fire", Mikasa began. "Armin would you give me a hand?" The Beta boy didn't hesitate. "Sure!" Armin replied enthusiastically. The two of them walked back over to where the woods began to gather firewood leaving Eren alone with Levi. As soon as they were out of sight, Eren felt the warm embrace as Levi's strong arms wrapped around him. Eren's breath hitched in his throat as Levi's strong scent of coffee and leather filled his nose. "I'm happy you're okay, brat." Eren finally allowed himself to fully relax in the embrace. The events of the last 24 hours finally came crashing back on to him. He had almost been taken again, never to see Mikasa or Armin or Levi ever again. His life almost ruined by Grisha. Tears stung his eyes as he wiped them furiously away but new ones replaced the old.
Eren hated feeling so weak, but seemingly all the emotions he had kept locked away seemed to be pouring out of him. "Don't worry, Eren. I got you. He'll never get his hands on you again. I promise I'll keep you safe. I will keep Mikasa and Armin safe as well. I promise he will pay for everything he has ever done to you." Eren felt the warm and calming scents of coffee and leather surrounded him. "One day I will tell you what happened, Levi. I promise. I will tell you why just the mention of his name shatters me...i'll tell..you...why...I..." Eren felt his eyes start to get unbelievably heavy. He moved from Levi's embrace once again laying his head in Levi's lap and placing the small Paxe on his chest. The small cub woke once again and crawled into the nook of Eren's neck purring. Surrendering finally to the calming effects of Levi's scent he found himself once again drifting off into what would be a peaceful sleep.
The journey back to the village was uneventful. Mikasa guarded the rear while Levi took the lead. Eren spent most of the journey picking out random plants and herbs with Armin neither of them have ever seen nor found in the wild. The small Paxe cub seemed to pick up on it and would scurry of into the brush returning with his own assortment of random plants and nuts for Armin and Eren to see. When they had finally reached the village, Eren had decided to name the small Paxe cub Leo. The Paxe seemed to jump around upon receiving the name in approval. As the group reached the path that started at the beginning of the trial, they were met with none other than Erwin who upon reaching them spoke, "We have the spy."
After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Levi spoke up. "What the fuck do you mean, Eyebrows? Explain yourself!" Erwin wasted no time diving into his explanation. "About 12 hours ago I received a knock on my door. I opened it to see a women in a mask soaked to the bone. I immediately drew my sword but she dropped to her knees and surrendered. She gave herself up stating she couldn't bear betray us anymore."
The group walked briskly behind Erwin as he led them back to the interrogation chambers in the barracks. Eren could no longer hear anything over the ringing in his ears. He did not believe he was about to be face to face once again with the woman who almost brought him right back to his father. His omega was extremely on edge but Eren did whatever he could to keep his scent from pouring out. His usual scent of apples and cinnamon soured and he could feel the panic raising in his throat. What if this was a trap? What if we got to the room and she tried to kill everyone and capture Eren again? Eren shook his head. There was no way no matter who it was they could defeat Levi. Levi was here. Levi would keep him and his family safe.
Eren picked Leo up from the ground and held him to his chest as Leo began to purr. He allowed the air to fill his lungs again, releasing the breath he didn't even realize he was holding. Looking around Mikasa and Armin were on either of his sides and Levi was walking ahead briskly with Erwin going over once again the story of the spy's capture glancing occasionally to Eren to make sure he was holding up okay. When they finally reached the room where the spy was being held, Eren felt his palms begin to sweat. When Erwin opened the door they were met face-to-face with Annie.
Mikasa gasped next to Eren falling to her knees suddenly. Eren reached for her arm to offer support and saw as tears already stung Mikasa's eyes. "Annie… the spy. It was you?!" Mikasa began as she worked her way back to her feet. "I thought… I thought… you said you…" But Mikasa couldn't seem to finish the sentence. Out of seemingly nowhere, Levi walked straight up to Annie slamming her head onto the table and holding a knife to the back of her neck. "You may have given yourself up but give me a reason I shouldn't kill you right now." Everyone in the room gasped as the overwhelming scent of coffee and leather overtook the room. But instead of its usually earthy and calming scent, it was bitter-filled with anger. "Wait... Levi." Erwin managed to wheeze out under the heavy scent. "For coming silently I promised a moment to talk before you decided what to do with her." Levi seemed to growl as he released Annie and walked next to Eren who was supporting Mikasa, who was glaring daggers at Annie. "Well" Levi said whose voice echoed loudly through the room. "You have 10 minutes. Talk."
Annie began to speak….
-Flash Back—
"Annie, come on! He's down. Let's go before the MP arrives!" Annie quickly reached down into her newest victims pocket retrieving his wallet. "5 silver coins as promised", she said slyly as the man tried to reach back for his wallet. Annie quickly swiped the 5 silver coins from the wallet and threw it back at the man. "If you ever want a rematch, you know where to find me," Annie said quietly leaning down into the man's ears. She heard the sound of thundering footsteps start to approach. Taking off behind her brother Rulan, they began scaling the buildings and running along the rooftops. Unbeknownst to her at the time, she was being watched.
"Mom! We're home!" Rulan yelled through the house. A small slender woman came out of the kitchen looking up and down at the two very obviously beat up and dirty children. "Annie! What did I say about this?! You're going to be caught one day." Annie looked up at her mom's worried eyes feeling the slight pang of guilt she always felt for worrying her mother. "I'm sorry, mom but I know I am good at fighting and I will do anything if it keeps you or anyone in our family from starving." Annie's mother merely huffed out air. "Just promise me you will stay safe. I can't bear to lose you. You're only 13". Annie nodded her head and held out her pinky. "I promise."
Annie heard the roar of the crowd around her. In front stood a boy maybe a year or two older. He was an Alpha who smelt of moldy socks. Annie dodged swiftly again as the beefy kid hurdled toward her. "Stop playing with your food!" a bystander yelled followed by a cheer in agreement. Annie sighed. She knew as well as the poor kid she was fighting they were only doing this to not starve to death. But if it was blood the crowd wanted to see, that is what they would get.
Annie charged directly towards the kid striking him directly in the jaw hearing a crack and the kid fell to the ground. The room erupted in cheers. Annie jumped on top of the kid looking for only a moment into his terrified eyes. Whispering a quiet apology she began raining punches onto his face. Blood began splattering onto her face and by the 6th or 7th punch, the kid lost consciousness. The sleazy old man who calls himself the referee jumped into the ring, picking Annie up off the boy holding her hand in the air. "Ladies and gentlemen we have a winner!" The crowd erupted and began collecting on their bets and crowd began to disperse.
Annie tried to pull her hand from his grasp only for it to be tightened. "Not so fast Viper," The old man began. "I have a client in the back who is very interested in you so before you collect your winnings, I want you to come meet him." Annie pulled her arm from his grasp. "I already told you, dib-shit I'm not sleeping with any of your shady ass clients." The old man chuckled, "that's not what he is interested in, sweetheart."
"Hello. Annie was it? My name is Grisha." The man Annie now knew as Grisha held his hand out but Annie simply stared at it not wanting to have any contact with him. "Well then I guess there is no real need for formalities here." Grisha began pulling his hand back. "I saw you fight out there today and I have a bit of a proposition for you. I am recruiting a small group of people to create my own small special task force. Although I did not realize I would be recruiting so young, I must say I was impressed with your fight."
Annie simply stared at him, refusing to give any answer. The man continued. "See Annie the truth is I have been kind of keeping an eye on you with some informants I have here and I realize you fight for your family." Annie felt her eye twitch. This piece of shit had been keeping tabs on her. "I believe we can come to an arrangement that is mutually beneficial to us both if you catch my drift." Grisha finished and Annie went over the information for a moment in her head before speaking up. "Ok, so start talking," Annie spat with venom laced in her voice. "Plain and simple, You come work for me again, as I said I am currently on the hunt for someone and I am putting together a task force to hunt him down. It is going to be quite the large scale hunt and I need willing and able people to help me."
Annie looked the man up and down. His long scraggly hair covered his head and beard while something looming in his eyes behind his glasses kept Annie on edge. She declined his offer. "Thanks but I'm not interested," Annie said as she began walking away. As she began walking she heard a sigh leave the man's lips. "Well, I was really trying to avoid this but you leave me no choice." Annie whipped around to watch in horror as her mother and brothers where dragged from the next room over. Hands and mouths bound and gagged. "You see Annie, I don't ask favors… I demand them." Grisha began as he walked over to them knife in hand. "Wait!" Annie yelled "Stop please! I'll do it, whatever you want. Please don't hurt them. Please."
Grisha having just reached her mother stopped and turned to face Annie. "See, was that hard?" Grisha began. "And I want you to know, Annie, I never back down from a promise. You see, I told them when I so carefully bound their wrist together that they had nothing to fear if you agreed to work with me in the first place. But… seeing as how I need to prove how trustworthy I am." Annie watched in horror as the knife impaled her youngest brothers stomach. "Ruland!" Annie yelled. "You fucking bastard!" Annie yelled diving towards Grisha only to be restrained by another of Grisha's men.
Annie struggled and tried to claw her arms free but the man had an iron grip on her. She kicked and squirmed but the man simply shoved her to the ground holding her face to the floor. "Wow, father, she is strong. I think she is a real good one you found here." The man holding her said. "Now Zeke, no need to rile her up further." Grisha replied. Grisha slowly made his way over wiping the knife clean. Grisha knelt down and spoke softly. "If you ever have second thoughts about our new little arrangement, I will kill them all, one by one. I promise." Annie with tears streaming down her face nodded her head in understanding. The last thing she saw before being knocked out was the looks of horror on her mother and brothers faces and then everything went black.
-Back to present—
Everyone in the room was silent. Eren tried to process the new information. Another life ruined, a child dead because he ran from his father. It was his fault. Guilt immediately filled his heart when a strong grip on his shoulder snapped his mind back to the room. Levi was looking him directly in his eyes. "Don't you dare, brat." Levi began. Eren shook his head. "No, Eren, you listen to me. None of this is your fault! Don't you dare blame yourself for this." Eren snapped his eyes back to Levi's. "That is exactly what that filth would want you to think. This, Eren, all of this is his fault. It's Grisha and that son of a bitch Zeke's fault, Eren." At the mention of Grisha and Zeke's names, Eren felt a rage in his gut. He would kill those fucking bastards if it was the last thing he did. They were going to pay. Every. Last. One. Of. Them.
"So, that doesn't explain why you were on our ship." Everyone's eyes flicked up to Erwin who seemingly seemed to stay calm during most of the conversations. Annie's eyes flickered between Levi and Eren and she began speaking again. "When Eren escaped and Grisha could find him again he began to grow more and more desperate to bring him back. Grisha started planting spies everywhere including on board countless pirate ships. Grisha believes that pirate ships are one of the best sources of information and rumors so he knew he was bound to find something on Eren. When Eren was brought aboard, I sent a raven directly to Grisha which is how they knew where they were." Annie flashed her eyes quickly to Mikasa who had seemed to try and replace her tears with a cold glare. Annie seemed to flinch and brought her eyes back down to the table. Levi spoke up next. "Why give yourself up?" Annie looked up again locking her gaze full of sorrow and remorse "I made the worst mistake a spy can do, Captain…. I fell in love."