I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin
Hanji determinedly leaned over the table, her fingers held a vial that contained a few drops of Eren's blood, a sample she collected an hour ago. Petra Ral, her assistant for the day, stood close by, watching for the reaction between Eren's blood and the chemicals that Hanji had recently prepared.
It was a common sight to see Hanji so wrapped up in her work within this environment, as though she were locking out the world around her to focus exclusively on her experiments. Today consisted of testing the reaction of chemicals with the crimson liquid harvested from Eren. Hanji had concluded earlier that blood both in human and Titan forms would be the same as bodies would simply expand its supply to accommodate the need of it.
She held the vial over the heated beaker.
"I'm sure there would be something," Hanji murmured more to herself rather than Petra.
Petra threw a quick glance at the notes she made. So far, no reactions came from the blood samples. The blond wasn't the type to stay in the labs (she was more of a scholarly type rather than experimental) and thus, didn't understand what Hanji was doing; every other morning, the eccentric scientist would grab an assistant from the mess hall to help her take notes when needed.
Often, people would flee but Petra was the unfortunate soul who couldn't get away this time. This wasn't her ideal way to spend the day off, she wanted to go to the library and simply read old works from ages passed. She would rather not be in the labs when Hanji manages to blow something up. It had been eight hours and the strain from watching Hanji and the uneventful test have begun to take its toll.
The woman wasn't talkative much either when she's working unless she rambling or lecturing about Titans, thus leaving Petra to be bored out of her mind - she was one of the many who didn't want to listen to Hanji's rave of the enemies. She was thankful Mike had dropped by an hour ago so that they could hold a quick conversation. Unfortunately, it was cut short when Hanji handed several documents to Mike.
"Can you get those to Erwin? I need Petra to stay with me while I'm working, I think I have it this time," Hanji said distantly with a pile of papers in one hand and a beaker of chemicals in the other.
Mike took them and glanced at the contents of the papers. He knew better than to ask Hanji what they were, he wasn't going to stick around for her to speak endlessly. Petra gave him a desperate look, murmuring,"I've been here all day!"
"Next time, run faster," Mike jokingly told her, trying to hold down a laugh.
It had been an hour since the door closed.
Hanji was just about to pour the few drops of blood until the door flew open, thundering against the stone wall and causing Hanji to drop her sample; the glass shattered to the floor. Petra gasped while Hanji yelped, the brunette didn't appreciate being interrupted in the midst of her work. Out of instinct, she shouted,"How many fucking times did I tell you people to knock? I could have blown us all up-"
The intruder of Hanji's personal space was Mike. With a hand still clenching the documents, he tossed them to the nearest table.
"Hey, I told you to send those to Erwin!"
Everyone knew better than to startle Hanji, her reactions were much more fiercer than her chemicals. Both sleeves were rolled up, her right hand was clenched, ready to come after him; Petra had noticed that she acted like a child being taken away too early from play time, she couldn't blame her, Hanji had done the same thing today.
The brunette threw a punch but Mike's hand went to catch it before it even got a foot close to him.
"You need to leave, where's your Gear?" Mike asked urgently, his voice was laced in worry. Petra placed the notes down as Hanji lowered her fist.
"It's in the back, I forgot to return it so the gas is nearly out. Blades are full though-"
"You got extra tanks?"
Petra approached them. Hanji's expression softened as she asked quietly,"What's with the questions?"
"It's better to just listen to him," Petra told her, Mike's eyes were telling her something was up. It was something that Hanji would rather be better with not knowing. However, the woman was a scientist, it was second nature for her to not be left in the dark, to always ask why things are the way they are.
"I'll explain after you get your Gear on. Now, about the gas tanks."
She looked thoughtful for a moment, then answered,"I think there's a fresh supply in the stables-"
Mike cut her off. "Good, Petra, I want you to go first and ready Hanji's horse from the stables while she's getting her Gear on, also, have the tanks ready for her to load."
Petra nodded without question, knowing better than to stick around. She had spent her life following orders, there would be no use in stopping; Mike's tone was enough to convince her something had gone severely wrong. Unlike Petra, Hanji was a bit stubborn, she followed orders without a second thought but, when it sounded odd to her, she would take a brief moment to pause - it would be quick, not a minute long.
Her attribute as a scientist made her observe Mike's expression and posture. A quick evaluation told her that now was not the time to question any further. She nodded in understanding and rushed to the back of the room where her Gear and cloak were stored.
It took her a couple minutes to get the gas tanks and sheathes on her body. Once they were strapped on properly, she headed for the door where Mike stood out of the way for her.
"What's going on?" She finally asked as Mike lead her to the ground floor; she had just thrown on her Recon jacket.
"You need to run, get as far away as you can," he told her as they kept a brisk pace across the grand courtyard. She kept up with him at his side.
Hanji urged him. "You're not answering me! There can't be Titans attacking, no one is being called up for this. Does this have to do with Eren? Is he on a rampage? Sure it's Rivaille's job to take care of him but I guess it's better for me to go as well, you're quite considerate of my interests..."
Her rambling went on, she knew she had the power to annoy others with her quick wit. Perhaps she could annoy the answer out of him. Mike, still not responding to any of them, had lead her to the stables. There, Petra had already saddled and bridled Hanji's sorrel and was leading it to the open gate that lead to the outside arena and track where horses are trained with soldiers.
Their main headquarters was relocated into the Karanese District after the blocking of the Trost Disctrict a month ago. They were a bit at the most eastern part where the arenas for horses had already been situated.
When the pair neared the blond, Hanji grew quiet as she spotted the gas tanks, she immediately unloaded hers.
Mike stood by Petra, the young woman whispered,"What's happening?"
"Just wait," he replied as he took the horse's reins from her.
Hanji listened intently for an explanation but she received none. Instead, she was given more instructions. "There's a tavern thirty-seven kilometers West of here. It's the Flora, the one tavern I told you about, the one near the Church of Rose but a bit off to the side-"
"I know the Karanese, I spent most of my time here," she told him, though she was bitter in saying that she knew of her familiar home. She had been to places and knew the area well enough. Hell, she's the one who told him about the Flora. She got on her horse and looked down at him, she had picked up that something was amiss as he handed her a coin purse; she instantly tied it off to her belt. "Now, what the hell is going on here?"
Mike threw a glance at the back where the entrance to the stables were, it was empty. Once confirming he had enough time, he quickly told her,"Rivaille is going to kill you. A military order. I'll let you in on the details but you need to get out of here, now, before he figures out you are here. Head to the Flora and wait there until night time. I'll get there tonight and figure out what to do next, I need to figure this out for you."
"Mike, are you-"
Before Hanji could speak another word, Mike clucked his tongue, a cue for her horse to begin to prance anxiously. Hanji tried to tighten her grip on the reins but then a slap on the flank startled the sorrel, causing it to bolt out of the stables. For a brief moment, Hanji's tense expression changed to that of being confused and shocked, as tough she needed it to be repeated.
There was no room for it to be heard, her horse's strides picked up as she tried to bring it under control.
"Why didn't you tell her, in the lab?" Petra asked as the sorrel kicked up dirt. Mike stood by her side, watching as Hanji disappeared into the streets a few ways away.
"If I did, she would have suspected you and I of betraying her, it'll shake her trust in us. Should she have known down there, she would have sought out Rivaille herself and be killed as a result. The time I just bought her ought to be enough for her to think of what to do and, hopefully, be enough for Rivaille to mull over what he ought to do as well. Whether or not she decides to trust me and go to the tavern to meet me is her choice now that she knows."
He began to walk away, Petra followed closely as he continued. "For the meantime, I have to sort this out myself to figure out why this is happening. Now that you know, I can ask you something as well; will you stand by and watch a comrade be murdered under false accusation or will you aid me in helping her?"
They paused at the entrance way. Petra's brow furrowed at the decision as she slowly asked,"Well...are you actually in on this?"
"On what?"
"Killing Hanji."
Saying those two words pierced both of them.
Mike scratched the back of his head and let out a defeated sigh. "No, not at all. I'm trying to help her. Should this have been someone else, I would have helped Rivaille from the start. The order was for Rivaille only, not me."
"Then why help her? Surely there must be a reason why she-"
"There isn't, that's the most fucked up part. Without evidence, they suspect Hanji of being a Titan-shifter like Eren, I find it hard to believe myself, honestly...who can put up years of acting and researching Titans while being a Titan herself? It's...useless, she could have wiped us out by now, there were plenty of chances," Mike added, his hand went to wipe his face. "Well, are you going to help her or are you going to leave her to Rivaille?"
"I..." Her eyes drifted as she began to be lost in her thoughts of the options.
Hanji could truly be a Titan-shifter but the accusation was made an a basis that barely existed. If Hanji could be slated to be wiped out, everyone else would be susceptible for such claims, even Rivaille himself. Pointing fingers about such a power is quite an act that can catch on rather quickly. She reached a resolution and definitely said,"She should trust us...I'm willing to help. As long as she could be pinned down, it'd be a matter of time if the military decides to take our hides as well."
Mike clapped a hand on her shoulder, a slight smile on his face. "Good. We'll both gather information and return here by tonight to rendezvous with Hanji at the Flora. We'll move her to a better location afterwards."
Petra nodded in response and they both turned, only to find Rivaille approaching them from the other side of the courtyard.
"Oh...Corporal, you're here," Petra said nervously as he drew close within a matter of seconds.
"Yes, my time was wasted in going to the hospital wing and finding that no one other than myself had gone there all day," he said sharply, eyes flickering at Mike. "I understand your concern but an order is an order, I have to follow it through. For all you know, you could have helped a traitor."
He pushed passed them for the stables. He went to fetch his horse, as he done so, both Petra and Mike followed suit.
"You can't be serious about this, Corporal," Petra entreated, shoulders falling as the blanket and saddle were hoisted on to the black steed.
"This is neither of your concerns, be considerate that I hadn't branded you as traitors and hadn't gotten the some men to come after you," he said bitterly, tightening the cinch with the last word. The bridle was fitted properly to the black horse and then he mounted quickly. His piercing glare made them cringe just slightly. "I'll ask one more time, Mike, where the fuck did that Four-eyed shit go?"
Mike looked away, this time knowing that if he said anything, Rivaille would still trust him.
"I know not, I only deceived you so that we may prepare her a horse to leave. Her choice of destination is her own, so I have no location to give."
It was the truth. He didn't know if Hanji would go to the Flora or hide elsewhere, she could have chosen to return.
"...a decent answer," Rivaille surprisingly told them. He kicked at his horse's sides and sped off into the distance.
Mike let out a sigh,"C'mon...let's go. We're short on time to learn about this."