So this took forever to write because it's such a large chapter in terms of its contents and also the length. There's just a lot going on here and I rewrote the end of the chapter at least twice before finally deciding to release it into the wild. Also I moved and started a new job so yeah. I've been hella busy.
Notes:
-Trigger warning for a brief passage with animal abuse / animal self-mutilation. I was going to write a summary but it's two paragraphs out of the whole chapter and not insanely graphic.
-Character death not in this chapter or the next, but the one after (seventy-nine)
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Not having had the time to fully investigate the tunnel beforehand, Mike and Nanaba found themselves delayed three times as they were forced to move unexpected debris out of the way. They didn't need to time their arrival perfectly with everyone else, but they did need to get there at roughly the same time; they were halfway through the tunnel and ten minutes behind schedule. They moved as quickly as possible until they finally came to the dead end of the tunnel, a metal ladder bolted to the tunnel wall. Mike shone the flashlight upwards and they could see the ladder went up roughly twenty-five feet before ending at a hatch.
"Ladies first." Mike moved back and gestured towards the ladder.
"Well, I'm waiting. You can't say ladies first and then not move." Neither of them tried to stop the smiles from spreading across their faces. "No but seriously, you're the one with the sensitive nose. You're more likely to be able to tell if someone is right there."
"Fair point."
Mike began to climb the ladder and Nanaba followed, keeping a couple of rungs between them in case he had to step back down suddenly. She stayed at the midpoint of the ladder as Mike pushed the hatch up slightly to see outside. After pausing a moment to peer around outside and take a good sniff, Mike heaved the hatch open completely and gestured for Nanaba to follow. They found themselves standing in a utility room and stood back to back, directing their flashlight beams around the room. It was smaller than they anticipated and completely deserted with only pipes and electrical wiring cross the walls. Eventually both of their flashlight beams came to rest on the single door out of the room. Nanaba began to move forward but stopped when Mike called out to her softly.
"There's nothing good on the other side of the door. We should let everyone know we were delayed." Nanaba stood paused with her hand on the doorknob but turned back to talk to Mike.
"We probably won't have a signal with all of the wiring and piping, but I suppose we might as well while we have a safe moment." Nanaba continued to rest her hand lightly on the door knob as Mike pulled out the radio.
"This is squad two –" He paused and frowned. "You're right, no signal. Hopefully we'll get something soon."
"Probably not until we're out of the sub-basement. On the bright side, all of the wiring and metal pipes give me a lot of conductors to work with in case I need to save your ass."
"You don't save me that frequently."
"Sweetie, premonition doesn't save you from ten guys ganging up on you. You just know that they're going to be there."
"That was one time." They were both standing in front of the door now and Mike took a moment to inhale sharply through his nose. "There are people out there. Not too close, but we should be on the alert."
Nanaba flexed her hands and sent a crackle of electricity along them before giving Mike a sharp nod in affirmation. They froze as the door's hinges groaned and waited for a few moments. When nobody came their way they slipped out through the small space between the door and the frame, not wanting to open it and make any further noise. Beyond the door they quickly came up to a corner and paused again. The pair looked at each other and Mike tapped at his nose before pointing forward, indicating wordlessly that there was someone ahead. Cautiously, they edged out around the corner. As soon as their target was in sight, Nanaba sent a bolt of electricity arcing out. Mike was there to catch the body before it could even hit the floor.
"Are they alright?" Nanaba kept her voice at a hush. "I know I put too much into that. I thought they were farther away."
"Her pulse is a bit faster than I think is normal, but definitely within an acceptable range." Mike gently laid her body down and Nanaba let out a tight breath as her shoulders slumped.
"I hope things open up down here soon. There are way too many conductors down here and I don't want to draw any attention or hit you accidentally."
"Don't worry about me, let's just keep going."
They froze as the radio crackled.
"Hawk here. Primary acquired, secondary is still MIA. Squad two: explosives of unknown quantity and type were found on the fourth floor. Over."
"Squad one copies."
"Squad two copies. We only just surfaced so we'll be moving fast to catch up. Over."
"How do we want to handle extraction? I only have our primary." Mike's brow furrowed as Levi paused before speaking again, his voice more tense. "Please advise."
"Stick to the –" Hanji's pause and the muffled crackling caused Mike's frown to deepen. "New instructions: Get clear, then radio for extraction."
"Wilco. Hawk out."
Barely-contained fury was evident on Nanaba's face, and Mike reached out to lightly lay a finger on her arm in order to get her attention. Her expression softened slightly at the concerned look that Mike was giving her.
"What if Marco is on the same floor? Is Eren really that much more important?" Nanaba's tone was hushed but heated and Mike flinched and paused before responding.
"Unfortunately… yes." He couldn't meet Nanaba's eyes as she stared at him. "I don't like admitting it either, but even if Eren didn't know anything going into this he probably knows more now. If they've separated them where do you think they would keep Marco?"
"Probably not too close by." Nanaba frowned in concentration. "Actually, if Hawk didn't find anything on the fourth floor and Commander and Dr. Scientist haven't found anything either… we know we're behind on time and we've barely covered half the sub-basement."
"Exactly."
"There's barely anything down here except for wiring and pipes. Care to sniff out a way upstairs?" Mike nodded and gave her a slight smile.
"My dear, I'd be more than happy to."
When they started out again they were close to flat-out running. They put far less emphasis on stealth now; alerting the Titans to their presence would be far less of a concern since Levi and Eren would be clear shortly and Hanji and Erwin were more than capable of handling themselves. As they rounded yet another corner they came upon another Titan. They moved quickly to immobilize them; Nanaba sending out a small jolt of electricity and Mike quickly moving to grab them and put a hand over their mouth before they could call for help. Mike moved his hand aside for the briefest of moments so that Nanaba could pull their mask off. The panicked eyes of a young woman met Nanaba's own.
"He's going to take his hand off of your mouth and you're going to answer our questions. Things won't end well if you scream." The woman's body was trembling so hard that it took her a moment to be able to give them a shaky nod.
"You're holding two boys captive. Where are they?" Nanaba's tone was sharp and her gaze steely. Mike pulled his hand away a few inches but kept his grip tight around the woman's body.
"One of th-them is on the third f-floor. The other is on the floor j-just above us. I- I don't know wh-which is which." Nanaba held two fingers to the woman's side and Mike let go quickly as Nanaba sent a stronger jolt of electricity to her body, knocking her out.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"How long will she be out?"
"Two minutes tops. Take her radio so she can't call anyone when she comes to."
Nanaba spared only a quick moment to double-check the woman's pulse before they were moving again. Their steps continued to echo through the hallways, but there didn't seem to be anyone around to care. They slowed as they found a staircase and began to quietly creep upwards. As they were exiting the stairs they heard a muffled rumble and crouched low as they felt the vibrations move down the stairs. Around them dust and grime floated as it shook off of the walls and ceiling. The slight tremors passed quickly and they started to stand again.
"That was an explosion." Nanaba's voice was slightly shaky and Mike's wasn't much better when he responded.
"Hawk and Eren should be clear, but we need to figure out what's going on with all of them." Nanaba took the radio from Mike and pressed to activate it.
"This is squad two. We felt an explosion. Is everyone clear? Does anyone copy?" There was nothing but dead static. "This is squad two –"
There was a squawk and what sounded like a static-garbled voice and the both of them froze, expressions hopeful. But nothing came of it; the maybe-voices were too difficult to decipher. Nanaba handed it off to Mike again for him to fiddle around with the frequencies.
"Well let's hope they're okay. We're closer to an exit going up than down at this point."
"Let's move quickly then."
Exiting the stairwell they found a wide hallway stretching out before them and ending at a singular door. They moved forward with some amount of confidence given that there were only two places anyone could come from. It didn't take more than a minute to reach the door, and Mike paused with his hand on the door knob.
"There are a few people on the other side. Close too."
"Alright." Nanaba brought her hands up and at the ready before nodding at Mike to open the door.
The door barely made a sound as they opened it and found themselves in a large room. Fifty-five gallon drums were shoved together in groups, while crates were stacked practically to the ceiling in some places. Even with the numerous drums and crates they could tell that the room was cavernous. There was a faint thud that echoed through the room, causing the both of them to duck down. Mike's eyes flitted around as he sniffed and the both of them listened, but there was nothing more to be heard besides the droning hum of the fluorescent lights above them.
"There's nobody here." Nanaba spoke as softly as possible.
"There should have been. Something's very odd, let's keep mov –"
Mike cut himself off and Nanaba followed his downward gaze to the floor where a puddle of blood was slowly spreading from behind a stack of crates. The both of them cautiously edged around the crates, on the alert for any sign of movement.
They pulled up in shock at what lay before them.
Two bodies were sprawled out on the floor, bloody halos pooling around their heads. Mike leaned down to pull the mask from one of the bodies to reveal a single gunshot to their forehead; removing the mask from the other body revealed the same cause of death. He dropped the masks and straightened up to face Nanaba as she began to speak.
"Probably from a hand gun." Nanaba frowned as she bent down and squatted next to the body to take a closer look. "This was pretty close range. Not right on them – no scorch marks – but at a guess I'd say they weren't more than a couple feet away."
"It was clearly someone they both knew and trusted if they were shot at such close range. And from the front too." Mike slowly squatted down as well and took a sharp sniff. A look of disgust crossed his face and Nanaba gave him a worried look. "I hate the smell of dead bodies."
"And yet here you are, sniffing at bodies like a police dog."
"They're very recently dead. Probably still just barely alive when we entered. I thought something felt odd."
"So the Titans killed two of their own –why?" Nanaba stood up and Mike did the same. "I can't think of any good reason unless they tried to turn against them, but there's no sign of a fight."
"They might have betrayed them; switched sides as informants – maybe for the Military Police. Then again, given that they don't seem to be any more in the know than us I doubt it. No way is the Stationary Guard involved or they would've made a move by now, and we definitely don't have any informants with the Titans themselves…" Mike scratched at his stubble, a hard look on his face. "Dead men tell no tales."
"The noise we heard when we came in must have been the shooter leaving. They can't have gone too far."
The both of them craned their necks, searching for some sort of exit. After a moment they caught a glimpse of a door, far away on an adjacent wall. Navigating through the drums and stacks of crates they made their way towards it; the door was heavy enough that it required the both of them to push it open. On the other side of the door they stepped blindly into near-darkness. The light behind them only illuminated a sliver of the room, leaving just two bare bulbs to light the rest. The difference in lighting would have only been slightly disorienting if it weren't for the cacophony of noise that had started when they entered echoing around the room.
They both held their hands over their ears, trying to block out the sound of at least a dozen dogs barking and growling while Mike was practically gagging on the stench of excrement that permeated the air. They gave each other a quick look and a nod, silently agreeing to continue forward and past the kennels of snarling dogs as fast as possible to look for a way out. The snarling and barking increased more and more as they moved farther into the room. Cautiously, they moved towards one of the cages to get a closer look. Unlike the others, it was cowering in the back of the cage biting at itself and ripping off flesh and fur and whining pitifully. The both of them startled backwards as one of the dogs in the next cage over hurled itself against the door, barking and frothing at the mouth, leaving a sizeable dent in the wire. They watched as it continued to bite and claw at the door, blood dripping from its eyes and nose and mouth.
They could only stare in horror at the dent that it left in the wire as it continued to snarl while tearing at the cage door. Other dogs began to imitate the behavior of the one, all snarling and leaving blood on the metal as they tried to claw their way out. Finally the two of them were startled into action as the cage hinges groaned. They tripped over things as they hurried to find a door out; the barking and snarling and the sound of furry flesh claws hitting metal overwhelming them as they moved and gagged on the fetid smell of excrement. They continued to edge forward through the darkness, feet occasionally coming in contact with a box or bag and causing them to jump back with a start. As soon as they spotted dim light outlining a door they sprinted towards it, the sound of boots on concrete and unknown objects kicked out of the way doing nothing to mute the sound of straining hinges and the echoing guttural snarls and yelps of self-inflicted pain. They didn't even pause as they reached the door; instinct drove them forward and through it without a thought, the lock giving way under their combined weight.
Mike and Nanaba shielded their eyes against the assault of light on the other side of door as they tumbled into a narrow corridor. Their breath came in sharp pants as they inhaled the fresh air and reveled in the relative quiet as the heavy door slammed shut behind them, dampening the sound of the hell that they had emerged from. Mike had a coughing fit as his lungs tried to get rid of the foul air while Nanaba leaned against the opposite wall and slid down to sit on the floor.
"I can't believe…" Nanaba pulled her mask off and ran a shaky hand through her hair. She took a few deep breaths to calm down before putting her mask on again.
"We're out, though." Mike's voice was rough from coughing and he took in a few deep breaths. "We need to keep going."
"I know." Nanaba stood up, using the wall to stabilize herself. She took a deep breath and her face went hard with determination as she turned to face Mike. "What does your nose tell you?"
"Nothing." He looked away and wouldn't meet Nanaba's eyes. "Everything's too muddled. I'm sailing blind. I'm sorry."
"Oh no, I won't know what's on the other side of every door." She laid her hand on Mike's cheek and gently guided him to look at her again and smiled. "This is just like any other solo mission for me. It's fine."
"Alright." Mike brought his hand up to cup Nanaba's and gave her a weak smile that looked more like a grimace. "You taking point then?"
"I like the look of the door on the left. Shall we, dear?"
The both of them moved cautiously even though the hallway was empty, trying to focus on any noises even as their ears rang with phantom growls. It took barely a minute before they were crouched next to the door, listening for anything on the other side. They were able to hear the faint buzz of muffled voices and moved to open the door a crack.
"…get upstairs."
"He's too out of it to even walk and I am not carrying some useless kid up blown-out stairs." Nanaba and Mike looked at each other with wide eyes and hesitated only a moment before pushing the door open.
Barely twenty feet away were four people; two masked Titans holding up a man in a kneeling position while a third Titan leveled a gun at their head. The kneeling man lifted his head, glazed eyes staring at the gun aimed at his head and dark freckles standing out against sickly pale skin. The three Titans froze at the sound of Mike and Nanaba's sudden entrance but recovered quickly, the other two drawing weapons of their own as the third kept their gun aimed squarely at Marco.
Mike and Nanaba charged forward; Mike's arms drawn up into a fighting stance while Nanaba flung her arm forward, lightning on her fingertips.
The crackling bolt of electricity traveling through the air did nothing to muffle the gunshot.