As promised this chapter will have more humor and banter as we meet the OC and get to know her a bit better.
They came back to get her. She couldn't believe it but there she was with two of Hanji's subordinates on either side of her, being guided out of this god forsaken hellhole. Nina hadn't seen the outside world in almost three years. She could barely remember how she had gotten here in the first place. One moment she was fighting alongside her comrades and the next she was being forcefully dragged into a court room where her life, as she knew it, had ended. She knew that she really was guilty of all those crimes, but even so, it didn't make sense to her; but neither did this – not to her and not to anyone else. The guards watched them as they were making their way out of the dungeon. She could see the hatred burning in their eyes. The way they looked at her reflected how wrong they thought it was that she should get out of this place alive. One of the guards spat at the floor in front of him and glared at her so intensely that she thought he'd be charging down on her any second. As they passed she looked over her shoulder tilted her head, lifted her eyebrows and grinned in his face. The guard swelled up red with anger as his friend pushed him back against the wall to restrain him.
She knew that pretty soon she would die somewhere outside the walls, dissolving in a titan's belly but she was still thankful to be leaving this place. It had seemed like an endless loop. Sometimes she couldn't take the silence and started to talk to herself. When her ears seemed to build a tolerance to her voice she started to talk louder and louder until the guards came in and knocked her out. Nina didn't care, she didn't care if she lived or died, she didn't care what anyone thought. She had lost. And every time she thought she couldn't lose more it felt like the universe, in order to punish her for the atrocity of having been born, threw something else her way. When she was a trainee she never understood why the top brass had such dull looks on their faces, making them seem like they didn't care about anyone or anything. She had offered up her life then and was about to join the Survey Corps. Not because she was a hero – that she never was. She had always been a thorn in everyone's side but somehow she still had managed to make friends. Her friends, who had now turned to dust, had talked her into it. She would have been perfectly content being one of those wall lickers in the stationary troops. It wasn't as glorious as giving yourself for the greater good but what did she care. She wanted to booze and smoke and not give two shits about humanity like the rest of them. But her naivety had turned her into one of those gloomily brooding, soulless asswipes she couldn't stand – and now had turned her into this monster that no one could stand. The irony wasn't lost on her. It was the reason why those asswipes were still alive and kicking. You had to become a monster to defeat the monster.
"Aaaahh isn't the weather beautiful? You are getting a warm greeting it seems." It was Hanji stood at the front gates with her arms stretched out. As her entourage led her towards the gates, a beam of light burst through the large window. The sunrays burnt like acid on Nina's eyes and she crouched back like a rabid dog squinting in pain.
"lovely" Nina hissed.
"Alright, let's go we've got a lot to do. We are going to take you to the Lavelle Castle where all the prisoners are going to be trained. It's a long way from here but don't worry, I'll update you with the latest events and our findings." Her subordinates exchanged uneasy looks as they entered the carriage.
She had fallen asleep almost immediately. When she awoke, Hanji was still talking. Nina couldn't and didn't want to make out any of the words and so Hanji's voice turned into a muffled humming in the back of her head. The sun was slowly disappearing behind a bed of orange mist that lay on the distant mountains. Sounds of birds singing and owls hooting were accompanied by the soft occasional breeze that carried in the fresh smell of flowers and grass. She leaned her head against the wooden frame and closed her eyes. The fading warmth of the last few sunrays cradled her like a babe bundled up in safety and for the first time in what had seemed like eternity, she truly felt free.
That feeling was soon replaced by awe as she saw the castle Hanji mentioned earlier. It looked ancient and derelict but beautiful in its own way. The cart stopped at the gatehouse. An old rusty sign that read "Chateau Lavelle Asylum" hung on the archway.
Nina chuckled "You sick bastards do have a sense of humor after all. Is this some sort of promotion then?".
"Well initially we wanted to use the former headquarters of the Scouting Legion but I'm busy experimenting there".
"Is that where you are keeping that titan boy?"
"So you did listen to me after all. Yes. it's actually not too far away from here. Don't worry, Captain Levi had his squad clean the entire place. Twice."
"Woman, look at me ". She was dirty and smelled. Her matted ginger hair was tangled all over the blood stained straitjacket she was still wearing. "Do I look like I care?"
"You don't, but I know someone who will so let's please hurry inside."
[Back inside ]
"Stop squirming" Hanji snapped, jerking the sturdy straps on the back of the jacket.
"Get off me, you crazy bat", Nina shouted trying to wriggle free.
"I promised I would get you out of it so please just stand still. WHY ARE THESE KNOTS TIED IN THIS PECULIAR WAY?" She pulled harder yet and Nina's chest heaved as she desperately gasped through gritted teeth, but all that happened was a dead squelching in her throat. In comparison to this, the prison guard's rough handling had felt like the soft brush of a feather. Her ribs were creaking and just when she thought that one of them was going to break, the door slammed open.
"What is this damn commotion? What the hell are you two doing?", said Levi as he stepped into the room.
Hanji was sat on top of the prisoner's back pulling hard on the jacket. Nina's face was all red and blue, sweat dripping down her forehead as she was ringing for breath.
"I need to study the way these knots are tied, let me just … "
"If you want to kill her just use a knife" he said and pulled a small dagger out his sheath"
"Thanks", Hanji said and hastily pulled it out of his hand. She slid the knife under the strap and pulled hard towards herself. The material was so sturdy that it didn't give away in the slightest. "THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE" she shouted in a shrill voice and tossed it away. "Don't worry, I'll go get my equipment and you'll be out of this in no time." She hastily got out of the room without looking around and Nina was left face-hugging the floor.
She heaved in a choking breath and rolled onto her side "I'll kill her when I get out of this", she snarled through clenched teeth.
He peered down with his usual bitter gaze.
"Idiots never learn. ", he puffed out a sigh and slowly walked towards her.
Nina mentally prepared for yet another painful encounter. She was pulled up like a doll and placed back on the chair that Hanji so kindly offered when they had first entered the room. Hanji's smile flashed before her eyes. "Mad wench", she whispered shuddering.
"Be still and shut up ", she suddenly heard Levi's voice behind her.
He placed his fingers gently on her back and traced them across the straps. He leaned in closer and she was taken with an urge to pull away. She sat tense, stiff like wood and couldn't help but tremble. She wasn't used to the absence of pain when having people this close to her. He moved his hand as if using her back to teach his fingers strange patterns. She felt a gentle tug and something loosened inside the jacket with a clicking sound.
"almost done" his breath felt hot against her skin. The hair on her neck lifted as a strange sensation sent shivers down her spine. It suddenly made her aware of the awful state she was in. She smelled like the bladder of a wet dog and the fact that he hadn't passed out yet from holding his breath, came much as a surprise to her.
His hand found an opening in the thick fabric and even though his touch was very light, the injured rib got pushed down in the process, and made her gasp in pain.
She wanted to curse at him and was imagining how she would kick both their asses once she was out of this and as if he had read her mind he softly spoke.
"Don't move" and put his free hand on her shoulder were her neck started, slightly pushing her against the back of the chair. She looked at the hand pressing against her skin and studied it. His fingernails were clipped to perfection; so clean that she was sure he could have performed surgery bare handed. Everything about him was so neat. His arsehole probably smelled of roses too, she thought to herself and giggled.
"Try anything and you'll be dead on the spot"
"Relax, I'm not THAT stupid"
"Stupid enough to be in this position", he replied
"Stupid enough to be in this position", she imitated him with a ridiculous, high pitched voice and pulled a stupid face behind his back.
With a final, not so gentle twist of Levi's hand, the jacket finally came free, and fell heavy on the floor. Her chest lifted as she took a deep breath. Her breasts were strapped down with bandages, which were a dirty yellow with carmine patches of dried blood.
"Oh no "Hanji said and gave them a disappointed look from the doorway. "No need for these anymore I guess", she hissed breathing heavily, her back hunched from carrying a box full of tools, her sweat ran down in streaks and was soaking her shirt.
"There", Levi said lifting up the jacket and throwing it in front of Hanji's feet "Study it if you want or do us all a favor and wear it.
"And you", he turned to Nina
"Take a bath ", he said and paused a moment to look her up and down. "…or five".
Levi's POV
The ruckus on the training square could be heard from miles away. Wherever Hanji went, chaos followed. She had a speech prepared for the prisoners and thought it was a perfectly normal thing to come bursting into Levi's room at 5 am to rehearse. He took a last sip from his cup and made his way down to the castle grounds.
The sight was not a pretty one. It had seemed like a gathering of bandits on a market square. There were men and women with many scars and few scruples, bellowing, laughing, shoving, brawling, threatening, all under the Military Police's watch. The useless brats they had sent were shitting themselves too much to be maintaining any semblance of order. The prisoners, like a bunch of wild animals governed by their very own laws of natural selection, had organized themselves into two bigger packs. Even so, there seemed to be a small number of outcasts who were stood further away from the assembly, and Levi wasn't in the slightest surprised to see Nina among them, though he almost didn't recognize her. She must have had taken his advice, for her complexion seemed several shades brighter. Her hair was neatly braided to the side, her face wielding a smug expression of amusement as she watched the happenings.
A sigh of relief went through the incompetent Military Police authorities as Commander Erwin's cart arrived. He wasn't alone, a mountain of a man with savage looks followed after him as he disembarked. The ground shook with each of the heavily muscled giant's steps, causing a chill silence to stretch out. Karsten Fromm, a member of the Garrison's intelligence division who was in charge of the Torture and Interrogation Force. All who had faced him, had seen their lives flash before their eyes, thinking they were going to go the way of all flesh. Amongst prisoners he was known as "the Inquisitor". They silently watched him, united with a fear that was struck deep in their hearts.
"Soldiers! Line up and proceed to the front of the drill field!", a military guard shouted.
Commander Erwin stood tall in front of them and spoke up.
"I am the Commander of the Scouting Legion Erwin Smith. The purpose of my speech to you on this day is to inform you about the exact proceedings of your training. But before I do so, I would like to say that all of you who stand here before me have been offered another chance to start a new life and to atone for your past crimes. You are here by your own choice and since you have taken this offer, I ask of you to devote yourselves to a greater purpose and leave behind your criminal past.
As most of you probably know, every mission comes with the loss of many lives. Therefore, we constantly suffer from personnel shortage, which is the exact reason you are here today. Three weeks from now on you will take part in an expedition to the outer lands. Those of you who survive, will become official members of the Scouting Legion and your crimes will be pardoned by royal decree.
Many, if not all of you will be familiar with Karsten Fromm. He will fill the position of drill sergeant for your physical training. Since almost all of you were specifically chosen for your military background, the maneuvering practice should not be too difficult. You will be trained by Captain Levi Ackerman.
As your two supervisors, it will be up to them to decide which steps to take in case of insubordination. If at any time you wish to stop, you will be sent back to serve the rest of your time in prison. Any sort of criminal activity will be added to your sentence in time served and will lead to the permanent exclusion from the training programme.
That is all.
I deeply respect your brave decision and salute all 28 of you.", he said and pressed his fist firmly against his chest and looked into their eyes.
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