HANJI: I felt Levi squeeze my hand as the darkness shrouded us. The darkness was overwhelming and we could barely make out anything.
Levi released my hand and I heard muffled screams.
"Levi?!" I shrieked, but a hand was clamped over my mouth and I was dragged away somewhere.
I must've been unconscious, because I don't remember being transported to another room. When I woke up, I was in a dimly lit room. I frantically searched my body for my guns, but of course they had been taken from me.
"Levi? Mikasa? Armin? Eren? Historia?" I called out, but obviously no one was around.
I stood up, trying the door. To my surprise, it was open. However, it was the end of the hallway. My only option was to go forward.
The end of the hallway split into a fork, and neither branch looked promising. I decided to take the left, passing a door on my right side on the way down.
I tried the door, and it was locked. I figured there wasn't anything interesting in there, but I could see through the window of the door our guns lying on a table.
How stupid, I thought, to leave them somewhat out in the open.
I had to find the key to that room, but first I had to find the others.
LEVI: My first instinct when I woke up in an empty room was where those bastards had taken Hanji.
That other woman, the one Mikasa had called "mom", was another objective besides the kids. She might have some connection to me, but that was unimportant.
The door was open, which made me uneasy. This was probably another game.
The hallway was split into two new hallways, so I took the one to the right. It was a dead end; I turned around and tried the other hallway.
Once again it split into two separate halls.
I took the left again, running past a door. I skidded to a stop, peeking in the window: inside was Mikasa, appearing to be unconscious and tied to a chair.
I slammed on the door, screaming her name and "wake up".
A Titan appeared from nowhere in the room, holding a pair of scissors.
"MIKASA!" I shouted, pounding on the door.
She stirred, and looked up, meeting my eyes. She became aware of her surroundings, and tipped her chair back. I couldn't see much of what happened then, but I saw Mikasa free and battling the man for the scissors. She acquired them, and jabbed them into his stomach. Then, she unlocked the door.
"Nice job, kiddo," I told her.
"Should we split up or stick together?" She asked, wiping the blood from the scissors on her pants.
"I don't want to risk getting separated again." I told her. We continued sprinting down the hallway.
HISTORIA: "I know you're not going to like what I'm about to tell you," I heard Ymir's voice say condescendingly.
I blinked, my eyes coming into focus.
"What's going on?" I demanded.
"The Titans split your posse up." Ymir explained, taking a long draw from her cigarette.
"Don't smoke, you'll ruin your lungs," I said.
"They're already ruined," she shrugged.
"Why did you join them?" I squinted.
"I've always been a Titan, the reputation has been in my family for generations." She said. "You know that. But I knew being a lone Titan wouldn't guarantee your safety from them. You're wanted by them; they want to use you for ransom. But now that I'm with them, I've guaranteed your safety. I just have to stay here." Ymir said.
"That's stupid," I said, "I don't care about my safety. If you come with me, you can protect me and I can protect you."
Ymir smirked. "I'll let you go. And I'll tell you what: if you manage to capture me someday, I'm all yours."
She went over to the door and unlocked it. Then, she picked me up off the ground, kissed my forehead, and lay me on the other side of the door. She slammed it shut and I heard the lock click.
"Ymir! Goddammit!" I screamed, pounding on the door.
She opened it again, but not enough for me to get in. She threw me a key.
"Ymir! Open up the door!"
"Historia!" Someone shouted from behind me: it was Hanji. "You have a key."
Hanji grabbed my hand and dragged me away from the door. Ymir's face was a melancholy mix of longing and pride as she saw me leave her.
EREN: I gasped and found myself in an empty room. No one was around. "Dad, you bastard! Where the hell are you?!" I shouted.
Could I even call this man my dad? I refused to be related to scum like him.
I stood up from the chair I had been sitting in and opened the door. Why was it just casually open like this? Had Dad meant for me to escape?
I sprinted down the hallway, realizing I was unarmed. What was I to do if someone popped out from somewhere?
There didn't seem to be anyone around...
"Eren!" I heard someone shout from up ahead. My eyes widened when I recognized the person as Armin.
"Armin!" I ran toward him, throwing my arms around him. "Did you find anyone else?"
"No, not yet. I feel like I've been searching the halls forever." He panted.
I let go of him. "Let's go find them together, then."
HANJI: "So, Ymir gave you a key?" I asked.
Historia nodded. "I can't believe she refused to come with us."
"She wanted to protect you, didn't she? People do crazy things for people they care about." I said.
"If she really cared, she would've come with us!" Historia shrieked.
"Historia, Ymir sacrificed something to keep you safe. If she had come with you, you could be in danger. Ymir's placed a blessing on you." I scolded her. "Now, give me the key."
Historia placed the key in my palm. "Alright...now which way was that locked door?" I mumbled.
I glanced around us. The cement walls were blended together and everything looked the same. From which way had I come? Which way was the right way?
The flurry of contradictions swirled in my brain, and I clutched my head. "Levi...it's happening..." I muttered, sinking to my knees. My heartbeat escalated and the walls felt like they were closing in on me. My breathing turned ragged.
"Hanji, what's wrong?" Historia asked meekly.
"Levi! Where are you?!" I shrieked.
"Hanji, calm down and tell me what's wrong," Historia placed her hand on my shoulder, but I swatted it away furiously.
"LEVI!" I screamed, shutting my eyes.
"Oi, I'm here." His voice said. I opened them, and found him in front of me on his knees. Behind him was Mikasa. "It's okay, I'm here now." He cupped my face in his hands. I realized I had been crying like a little kid. He brushed one of the tears away with his thumb.
My heartbeat slowed with my breathing.
Levi leaned forward and kissed my cheek. "Everything's gonna be okay, Shit Glasses. We're gonna get out of here, with Dr. Jäeger in handcuffs and the kids and Mikasa's mom safe."
I looked down at the floor, embarrassed I had even thought of the possibility that we wouldn't make it out.
"Yeah, you're right..." I sighed.
Levi stood up, offering me his hand. I took it, standing up after him.
"Let's go."
ARMIN: My stomach growled. I bet it had been at least an hour since nine o'clock, and we didn't eat much before coming here.
"Eren, look," I pointed ahead. At the intersection stood Hanji, Levi, Historia, and Mikasa.
"Guys!" Eren shouted, running to meet them.
"Eren! Armin!" Mikasa breathed, throwing her arms around us. "You're safe!"
"Now that we're all here, I know where our guns are." Hanji said, holding up a key.
"How do you know that's the right key to the door?" I asked.
"Ymir gave it to me," Historia said, "I'm sure that's it."
"Come on, let's retrieve our guns and get the hell out of here." Levi said.