Flying through the air at lighting speeds, Levi does not hesitate to use what would be considered an irresponsible amount of gas. Jean is unconscious in his arms, his neck rolled back limply, completely unresponsive as Levi snaps, "Stay with me, Kirstein. Stay with me. We're almost there."

"What the hell is going on here?" Levi demanded the moment his feet touched down in the warehouse. The whistling of his cables snapping back into their containers drowned out whatever the MP officers said next, so Levi went on, "I find two of my team members are missing, track them down, and find them like this?!"

"Don't even start."

"Excuse me?"

The MP men glared at him with such condescension in their eyes, like he was something despicable. "Eren Jaegar and Krista Lenz, huh?" the taller of the two men practically barked at him. "Conspiring against the Military Police is treason against Humanity, Corporal." He spit out Levi's title like a curse.

Levi glanced away from them and took in the whole scene in a split second: The broken and tipped chairs, ropes cut to pieces and discarded, puddles of red that clearly came from the gruesome looking glob of blood that had taken over Kirstein's right wrist, Arlert's tiny frame stretched out over his motionless body, the blue dress not quite spread out enough to hide Jean's bare legs. And that told Levi everything that he needed to know.

Turning back to the MP men, he said with that biting edge of sarcasm so typical of him, "Well…that's not particularly surprising. When you beat little boys senseless I'm sure they'll say all kinds of nonsense."

Slap!

"No, I'm sure they said exactly what you told them to."

Levi narrowed his eyes at them, struggling to disregard the frustrating sting of being struck. He could kill them so easily. He could make them pay for what they'd done right then and there. But Jean needed to leave as soon as possible. So Levi simply said, "You'll have to answer for what you've done here. I will personally see to that."

The taller man smiled wryly at him. "So will you, Corporal. And not just to me."

A muscle twitched in Levi's jaw. He didn't need to hear what the man would say next, he already knew. He'd been thinking it for the past few hours.

"You'll have to answer to that boy, too. He'll lose that hand. You know it's true. And then how are you going to look him in the eye and shake his hand and tell him that this was worth something?"

"He has another hand," Levi growled through gritted teeth. He didn't know what else to say. The man was right, but standing still whining about how things had unfolded wasn't doing Jean any favors. He turned toward the young soldiers and took a step in their direction.

He heard the man hiss behind him, "You heartless little bastard—" and then Levi felt hands turn him around by the shoulder. "Trust me when I say, we will get those two Titan-shifters eventually. This is a dangerous game you're playing. And you can tell your commander that the next time he wants to send children over to play, we'll have a whole welcoming party all ready for them. Understand?"

He does understand. He understands it all, he understands how life works and he yet he refuses to accept that Jean will lose the hand. No. They'll get back in time. Hanji will be able to do something for him. It'll heal.

The boy's already lost too much else.

"Almost there," Levi says, not expecting any response. He can hear Mikasa's wires whizzing alongside of him. It's a long way back to the safe house where Hange is. Levi knows that it's very likely they are being followed, so he tries to zigzag his way back, ducking through alleyways with skillful maneuvering. Mikasa is able to keep up with him, he notes. At least that's something to be optimistic about. Maybe Mikasa will outlive him and take his place as Humanity's Strongest. That would be a welcome end.

The safe house comes screaming into view and Levi has to make adjustments quickly in order to land there. He tries to touch down as gently as possible so that Jean won't get jostled around any more than necessary. Mikasa's boots click on the cobblestone a second later. She puts Armin down and pulls his arm over her shoulders.

"Hange!" Levi calls. His hands are full so Mikasa rushes to open the door. It flies open and bangs against the far wall. She hustles through as fast as she can, pulling Armin along, and makes way for Levi. He has to turn sideways as he walks in so as to avoid hitting Jean's head against the doorframe. "Hange!" This time he fully yells her name.

"I'm here, I'm here!"

He hadn't seen her there. Armin and Mikasa had blocked his line of sight. Now she came rushing around them. She didn't gasp at the sight of Jean. There wasn't much to see since Levi had wrapped him up in the cloak, but her silence was enough to tell them all that she was aware of the situation's gravity.

Or perhaps not. Maybe her lack of a reaction meant that this had been expected—maybe even that this was better than they'd expected. Perhaps seeing the two of them alive was the shock, not seeing Jean like this.

"He needs immediate attention," Levi commands, and Hange wastes no time in leading him into another room where there's a bed to lay Jean down. Armin stares after them, watching Jean's head bounce slightly with every step Levi takes. He watches until they disappear behind a door and Jean is gone.

Alone in the front room, Mikasa shifts Armin's weight so that he has to stand more on his own. "Armin, are you alright?" she asks, "Can you talk?"

He hangs against her body, still and silent. He's not shaking anymore. He is staring at the closed door where Jean is. The question is as present and real in his head as that door is to his eyes: What kind of Jean will reemerge from that door…if any…?

"Armin?" she bends her neck to get a better look at his face but before she can snap him out of his trance, the door pops open and Levi comes out. He turns toward them and the door is closed again.

Already? Mikasa wonders. His cloak is gone—left in the room—and his sleeves are stained with specks and streaks of blood. He rolls them up as he walks toward Armin and Mikasa, trying to hide the redness. His face reveals nothing—whether or not Hange has said anything, whether or not he's seen it all…whether or not he cares…

"Take Armin into another room and make sure he's stable," he says to Mikasa without looking at her, "and quiet. I need to move Eren and Krista. We could have been followed."

"Yes, sir." She starts toward the west side of the house, helping the blonde boy along. "Come on, Armin. Come on, we can do it."

Soon they're inside of a second bedroom. After she helps Armin sit down on the edge of the bed, she goes back to shut the door. "There, you're safe. You can relax now," she says softly with her back to him. When she turns to face him, she sees him staring down at the baby blue sheets with wide eyes. They are the same color as his dress.

Mikasa can't imagine how uncomfortable Armin must be, twisted up in a woman's dress that is stained with Jean's blood. She considers offering to get him out of it but decides not to go too far too fast. "Let's get this out of your hair," she suggests, coming to sit beside him on the bed. His hair is all muffled, clearly from more than just the wind.

He flinches at her touch so her hand stalls, but in a moment he whispers, "I'm sorry. Go ahead." Her fingers are skilled but not necessarily at removing hair extensions. It takes her a moment to figure out how things are connected. She does her best not to tug on his hair too much, but sometimes it's unavoidable. Surprisingly he sits through it all without a peep, staring down at nothing.

And then something makes his body tense again. It's Eren Jaegar's voice coming from the front room, getting louder and louder as he walks.

"Where are they?"

"They're safe. Let's go." Levi's reply is much quieter than Eren and it's hard to hear.

"But where are they? Why are we leaving? What's going on!?" His voice rises with each question.

"We might have been followed, we—dammit, brat, don't make me repeat myself."

A second of silence and then, "They're here aren't they?" It's an accusation, not a question. "Let me see them, now!"

"Get going, Jaegar. Don't make me tell you again," Levi says, threateningly, though there is something else in his voice that Mikasa can't place.

"But—!"

"Come on, Eren," comes Krista's little voice.

"No! I have to…I have to see them. Where's Armin?!"

"He's safe," Levi snaps.

"Armin!"

"Shut up! God, Eren, don't—" the sound of a scuffle, as if Levi has to restrain him—"don't make me—"

"Armin! Jean!"

Krista's frightened cry of, "Eren!"

"Please, Levi—"

And then the unmistakable crack of Levi striking the boy down.

Silence.

Then the door slams and they're gone. Mikasa grits her teeth against the imagined image of Levi tossing Eren's unconscious body over his shoulder and carrying him out of the house by force, Krista tagging along without argument. She shakes her head, frustrated by the whole situation, and when she glances up again Armin is crying.

Evening comes. Mikasa has coaxed Armin out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where they sit at a little ovular table. He has normal clothes on again and all traces of Jean's blood have been washed away. She urges him periodically to take sips from the glass of juice that sits before him. "You were in shock," she explains, "you need to get your strength back up."

But every time he tries to drink it, he tastes nothing but the blood dripping into his mouth from the blade, so he cringes and puts the glass back down.

Mikasa worries about him. Armin has always been fragile. He still had not fully recovered from seeing his entire squad be devoured during the battle of Trost—not that anyone can ever truly recover from something like that. But Armin had darkened, slightly. She worries that another emotionally traumatic experience like this one will mentally derail him…perhaps for good.

Time passes. It begins to rain. There is a clock on the wall with arms that tick every second, making the world move in slow motion. The juice painstakingly leaves the cup, revolting sip by sip, and Armin's palms sweat as he tries to keep it down.

I didn't know about Eren…for all I knew, he died that day. I let him die that day. I let him get eaten right in front of me…trying to protect me…

His hands come down from the table and knot up in his lap. He squeezes until the knuckles turn white. Mikasa rises from the chair next to his and goes to the sink to get some water. The sound of the faucet drowns out the rain for a moment.

And now Jean…

He squeezes his eye shut and clamps his fists tightly. The image of the knife sawing slowly through Jean's wrist like a tease, the blurry memory of that man hurting him, violating him, mocking him, degrading him…all made hazy by his own tears.

Why didn't I DO something? Anything to stop that from happening! But I just sat there…completely useless…

Mikasa sits down beside him again, water in hand. "Try to finish the juice," she says for the millionth time. "It'll help you feel better."

Down the hall there are noises. Feet move. People speak softly, their words obscured by closed doors. Hange and Levi. He had returned about an hour ago after securing Eren and Krista at a new place, one that was doubtlessly full of Survey Corp men acting as guards. Guards to keep the MP out and the Titan-shifters in.

Now the door opens and footsteps emerge, headed toward the kitchen. Levi walks through the open doorframe and moves to the counter. He picks up a teacup that's been there all day. No one has touched it or thought anything of it. He was always drinking something from the neat little cup, though no one knew what.

Mikasa seriously doubted that it was tea. She watches him come and sit down at the head of the table. What's happening? How is Jean doing? she wants to ask, but she controls herself. Not with Armin sitting here, half-unraveled.

The corporal sits completely in silence, one elbow propped up on the back of the chair, the other hand daintily holding the tea cup. He takes a sip and glances up at the two youngsters over the rim. Then he places it down again. The clock ticks on. He drinks half of the cup in silence.

Finally, quietly, matter-of-factly, he confirms, "He's stable."

There is an audible exhale from Armin, so tattered and shaky that they can't tell if he is relieved or upset by this news. Levi lifts his teacup again and Mikasa watches Armin struggle with himself. Can he talk? Does he dare?

"Did he…is…is he talking?" he chokes out, looking at the bony fingers that lie clenched in his lap.

"He is."

Armin swallows hard. The white knuckles start to blur. "What did he say?"

Levi puts the cup down. He doesn't say anything. The hesitation is long and in it there is no sound but the rain on the roof like footsteps on the warehouse floor. Cliclip cloclop. Cliclip cloclop.

Eventually Armin looks up and finds Levi's steady gaze beaming back at him. For the first time in his life, Armin sees something damaged inside of the corporal's dark eyes. "He says it hurts." Armin's gaze falls. "And he asked about you—if you're ok."

That's too much for Armin. He squeezes so hard that his knuckles crack with a loud pop. "Armin!" Mikasa gasps, reaching out to lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Dammit!" the boy groans, "why? Why the hell is he worried about me? Me? After everything that just happened to him!"

"You're his friend, Armin, of course he—"

"After I just sat there and watched!" he cries. He clutches the table, shivering badly as the tears come up once more.

Mikasa doesn't try to talk again but glances up at Levi instead. "It wasn't your fault—what happened," says the corporal, prodded by the look in her eyes. She's scared for him.

"I should have done something!"

"There was nothing that you could have done."

"I…" Armin's eyes are wide and searching, wet with tears, still searching for the answer, for how he could have helped, for how he could be useful. The answer he'd been searching for all of his life. "I…I really think that he thought I was a girl," he says at last. He sounds ashamed to say those words, but he goes on anyway. "I should have…I could have been more…alluring or…I don't know, I could have distracted him, gotten his attention away from Jean." Like he did for me…

Armin's eyes stop roving around the room and settle on the table. The words come crashing out like a flooded creek, now released and unstoppable. "That man, the fat man kissed me. He kissed me and it was so awful, it was like…the things he said, the way he touched me, I knew right away what he wanted. But I was scared."

Mikasa stares at her friend from behind her scarf, disturbed by his words and the way that he says them. Her eyes flicker to the corporal for just a second and she sees him listening intently, completely expressionless.

"I was so scared. It was like I was frozen. I couldn't talk, I couldn't fight him…I was completely helpless." The admittance of those words makes his head hang and the tears starts to roll down his pale cheeks. "Helpless! Just like always! And Jean…he stood up for me like people always do." He shakes his head furiously. "But if I had just…had just made that man stay—"

"Armin—"

"—just been stronger and let him keep going—"

"Armin." Levi's cup slams down on the table with a little thud.

"He thought I was beautiful!" Armin is screaming now, curling into himself, letting the tears and disgust tear his voice apart. "He wanted me, you understand? But I just let him…I allowed him to rape Jean." When the word 'rape' leaves his lips he breaks and the sobs make speech impossible.

Mikasa wraps her arms around his shaking body and holds on tight even when he tries to flinch away from her. "Shhh, Armin, it's alright. It wasn't your fault."

"But it was!"

"There is no possible scenario in which that could've been your fault," she argues, cradling his head with gentle but firm hands.

"I was the girl!" he weeps, "He was after me before Jean felt like he had to stick up for me, don't you get it?! He would've—" He can't say 'rape' again. The word, the image, Jean's defenseless body scraping into the warehouse floor…it made him too sick to utter it again. The juice is churning madly in his stomach. "—me. It should've been me. It should have been me in Trost, too, just like Ymir said! But someone always has to stick their neck out for me…" A sob catches in his chest like a hiccup and he moans in exquisite pain. "And it's all my fault, always! Because I'm completely helpless. Completely useless!"

"Armin." Levi has leaned onto the table. His voice demands attention. "What happened today had nothing to do with sex. It was about power. It was about sending a message. Do you understand me?"

Armin does not want to look at the corporal, but the tone of his voice tells him that he has no choice. He swivels swollen, running eyes onto Levi's face. The corporal looks strong—as always—but he has slipped slightly. He has allowed Armin a peek. He looks weary and sick, like he's been holding back vomit and tears for a long time, much longer than Armin has. Maybe for years, even.

Levi had meant what he said about power and sending a message. It wasn't just words to console the child. Unfortunately, Levi was all too familiar with those methods thanks to his time spent in the underworld. The "fat man" that Armin had described was doubtlessly a hired enforcer from the underground gangs, not a soldier. In fact, it was likely that Levi would have recognized the man, had he arrived in time. The thought repulsed him.

"You couldn't have done a single thing to stop that man or to change his mind. Nothing. Understand? He was sending a message. What good would sending a message through a weak young girl do? He took Jean because he's strong. You were supposed to be weak, Armin. That was your role. That was the mission. And for that…" Levi trails off and his gaze dips back to the teacup for just a second before returning to the boy's puffy eyes. "For that I am sorry."

He grits his teeth and retreats back behind the façade that is expected of Humanity's Strongest, then slowly rises to his feet and puts his right fist over his heart.

A/N: Ahhhh ok that was hard to write, I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think, I always appreciate any comments from anyone. And special thanks to Calico Neko and shadowedstalker-princess for sticking with this one. xoxo

-Addison