Hey folks! I'm updating this at school, from my phone, so I apologize for any formatting issues/errors in the fic. I won't be able to do a mailbag. Curse you tiny keyboard! *shakes fist*. But abyways, I just wantdd to let you know I am here, and everythjng's good. I hope you all had a safe holidays, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)
He cried himself into exhaustion- he'd long since run out of tears, and only the occasional dry sob escaped his raw throat as he laid, still shackled, in the back of the wagon, not even able to stop himself from being tossed around as they worked down bumpy roads.
His mouth was dry as sandpaper, his hands and feet numb- he'd been wrenched away from anything familiar, anything safe. He fell into numbness, simply lying in the bed of the wagon, staring at the knot holes in the wood.
He was jostled rather roughly as they hit a bump in the road- his head smacked into the wood and he tasted blood. That would be alarming to most people, but his thousand-yard stare protected him from such panicked thoughts.
He was left lying in the bed of the wagon, moving constantly with the jolting of the wagon.
He idly wondered when they would bring the jolting wagon to a halt and roughly pull him out, muttering all the while, before they threw him onto the dew-wet grass of an open field. He could already feel the cold metal of a musket pressed against his temple and finally finish him- such an ugly, unlovable creature.
He hoped it would be soon.
"You heard me- ready the fucking horses!" Levi was close to rabid- his fists clenched, teeth bared. He'd roused everyone in the middle of the night, cadets and experienced scouts alike, and assembled them all.
"Sir, I'm simply suggesting we assemble more facts before we go charging blindly into the situation…." Squad Leader Mike piped up, hands up defensively and eyes glittering with concern as he attempted to calm the Corporal.
"They've taken our greatest asset, Godammit!" They've taken my most precious friend.
"We don't even know if they're legitimate or bounty hunters from that fucking wall cult- we need to move now!" Eren- hold on. You're scared- please, please don't hurt yourself, I will come get you….
Mike took a step closer to Levi, lowering his voice so only his superior officer could hear.
"Sir, please- losing your composure in front of everyone will discredit anything you're about to do."
For the first time since he'd assembled everyone, Levi looked up. The torchlight danced off the waxy faces- drowsy but concerned cadets looked up at him, some doe-eyed, others afraid. Even the veteran scouts were looking at him and his gaggle of comrades, expecting the superior officers, and Levi- to remain calm and deliver orders. They needed a stable leader, not an frantic Levi.
Levi took a breath, finding the truth in the statement and forcing down emotion- while he needed to get Eren back, he needed to do it in a collected fashion, or they were doomed to fail.
He swallowed, before nodding, coming to terms with the fact. "Thank you, Mike."
"Not a problem, Sir."
The room fell into relative silence- all eyes were on Levi.
A moment later the door to the dining hall slammed open, banging against the stone wall behind it. Everyone looked up, surprised, to see Commander Erwin- he looked filthy and disheveled, like he'd ridden a full day without stopping. He stepped into the room, disregarding his urchin-like appearance, and continued walking.
He looked around, noting the legion in its entirety had been assembled- before looking at Levi. "They've taken him?"
Levi nodded wordlessly, his silver eyes glinting like frosted steel on a cold winter morn.
Erwin closed his eyes slightly, looking away for a moment, before he was taking a breath, taking the news into stride. He looked up, blue eyes serious. "All officers, report to my chambers. All other scouts, at attention, awaiting orders."
"Sir!" the room echoed with the resounding response, and everyone saluted. A pin could've been dropped in the silence that followed, the only noise the sound of the officer's boots against the stairs as they headed upstairs, intent on dreaming up some sort of plan.
The candlelight flickered off the walls as they sat around the dark wood table. Erwin took his customary place at the head of the table, Levi to his right, Hanji to his left.
"As you know, these past few days I've been absent. I wasn't called to the Capital on Ordinary Business- they were there to begin the official proceedings for the seizure and execution of Eren Jager."
"On what grounds, Sir?" Squad Leader Mike spoke up, eyes flashing dangerously as he heard the news.
Erwin sighed. " A few weeks ago, Gunther attacked Eren. He only meant it in good fun, people often surprise their squadmates by attacking them here- but Eren didn't know that. He panicked- he beat Gunther badly."
"I filed in incident report, as required." Erwin continued. "I attempted to use anonymous names, simply stating two scouts were fighting. I filed the report, and was summoned to the capital. They knew Eren had been involved. My point in saying this is- they have a man on the inside. Someone within our ranks is an informant to the Military Police."
Some looked surprised, while others looked angry. Some even paled, and Erwin plowed on.
"Eren will be standing trial for his actions before the high court in approximately a week. Every eye will be on him- due to his… abilities…. I doubt they'll be lenient on him."
"So we storm the prison and take him back." Levi said calmly. He would only be content with taking action.
Erwin raised his eyebrows. "And commit treason. Have the Scouting Legion's Charter revoked, and cause a massive manhunt..."
"Send my squad and my squad only!" Levi slammed his palms on the table, eyes aflame. "We'll go into hiding, somewhere remote, until things die down…. That kid is our last hope. He's too unstable to be in prison, if we don;t remove him immediately, he just might end himself…."
Erwin's eyes widened slightly at the news. "You really have that little faith in the boy? After all the time you've spent helping him?"
"He can deal with his emotions in a familiar environment! God only knows what they're doing to him now…." Levi looked away, eyes haunted.
Erwin pursed his lips, looking a bit upset at the news. "He'll have to manage, Levi. We'll be fighting for him the legal way, first- we have the witnesses on our side. Gunther can give testament that Eren wasn't intending to hurt him, he only reacted- Hanji's data from experiments will prove he's not inherently dangerous…."
"And if they decide to execute him anyways? Everyone within the walls will be shitting themselves, the wall cult is screaming for his execution- you seriously think that we can cause a not guilty verdict?"
Erwin looked unphased. "We'll certainly try to, Levi."
"And when they sentence him to death anyways?"
"Then we will send in your squad to retrieve him." Erwin nodded seriously. "In order to retain the Scouting Legion's Charter, we have to go along with the legal game- but we cannot afford to lose Eren and his ability. However, if we do have to have the Levi squad extract him, we'll have to declare you as acting on your own. You'll be declared terrorists, and we'll have to keep our involvement to a minimum so others believe you're a group of radicals and the legion can maintain their charter…."
Levi nodded. For Eren, it was a risk he was willing to take. He had no idea how, but the boy's company had managed to grow on him. He just hoped Eren had the fortitude to last out his time in prison without falling back into old habits.
His mouth was glued shut by his own lack of saliva, lips swollen with thirst when they finally stopped. He was starving, and he'd curled into himself, trying to quell the hunger pains but failing miserably. He was bruised and sore from being thrown around so much on the rough ride. He barely had the strength to lift his head and stare as there was the sound of horses hooves stomping and hurried voices.
His eyes couldn't keep up with the motion as he was seized by his chains and dragged across… cobblestone? It had to be cobblestone, the way it tore at his skin.
Curses were muttered as he was dragged away from the light of the breaking dawn, scraping down the stairs, before he was tossed into a dark cell with an earthen floor. It was musty and damp, and he could make out horrible insults being hurled at him around the ringing in his ears, before he fell into the bliss of oblivion.
Erwin nodded to his group of officers, eyes serious. "It's settled, then? We'll proceed-"
He was interrupted as the locked, oak door was kicked open and banged against the wall behind it, starting everyone. A black haired cadet- his eyes widened as he recognized her as Mikasa Ackerman, top of her graduating class- followed by a petite but angry looking blonde with flaming eyes and grit teeth wielding a kitchen knife that looked rather large in his small hands.
"I'm only going to ask this once- where is Eren?"
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