Alright. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this written, and I'm sorry for the clifhanger. I've been staying in a hotel with my martial arts team for a major tournament, so these past few days have been crazy busy. I just won my title in my fighting division (yay!), and I finally got around to getting this done. Thanks for being so patient with me! :P
"Please work..." he whispered, before he sank his teeth into his hand. Again, there was nothing...
He sank to his knees, desperate.
It was over.
Levi's eyes widened from where he stood. Was Eren... giving up? No, he couldn't be...
Farther back in the line, the MPs were beginning to speak.
"What's he doing?"
"He's just... kneeling there..."
"What is he doing, Erwin?" the judge asked demurely, looking unamused at the scene before him.
"It takes him a few minutes before he can transform sometimes." Hanji lied seamlessly, covering for the boy.
"Ah." the judge nodded, and Hanji and Erwin exchanged concerned glances. This wasn't good.
Atop the wall, the Levi squad looked down at the scene before them dispairingly.
"Oh Eren..." Petra whispered, amber eyes full of emotion as she looked down at the boy sadly.
"He's gotta get it together." Eld said seriously, looking concernedly at the situation below him.
"C'mon, greenhorn." Auruo muttered, though his eyes showed every bit of concern he didn't verbalize.
"This is my fault, you know." everyone looked over at Gunther, surprised by the soldier's serious omission. "If I hadn't attacked him, he wouldn't be here right now." he looked down at Eren sadly, feeling guilt well up within him.
"You didn't know he'd react the way he did, Gunther. No one did." Petra tried to soothe him.
"Yeah, well a fat lot of good that does Eren. It can't end this way... it just can't."
"Yeah, well if Eren can't get his ass to transform, it's going to." Auruo said morosely. "i mean, the kid transformed for a spoon, but he can't now."
Gunther's eyes widened. "That's it."
"What's it? He needs a spoon?" Auruo said, not understaneding.
Gunther shook his head rapidly, eyes widening at the realization. "Hanji said he needs a clear goal..."
"He has one, doesn't he? Stay in control while he's transformed." Petra clearly wasn't following him either.
Gunther shook his head. "It's not specific enough for him to transform."
"So what do we do to fix that!?" Eld demanded anxiously.
"We give him a clear goal."
"How are we supposed to do that!?" Auruo demanded.
"Like this. Help!" Gunther stumbled, before he was plunging forward, off the wall.
"Gunther!" Petra yeled out in surprise, about to dive off after him and engage her 3DMG, but she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She turned, panicked, to see Eld watching the situation cryptically. "Wait."
Gasps of horror rose up from the crowd as they watched the soldier plummet. Cries of, "he's fallen off the wall" and mothers covering their children's eyes abounded.
Levi himself went to charge forward, but hesitated for a split second...
Eren looked up from where he knelt, surprised.
Gunther- save Gunther- He didn't register the pain of his teeth sinking into his already gnarled hand. A flash of yellow lightening split the air, and the smoke cleared to reveal a Eren's titan, large as ever, with something clutched in his hands.
There was dead silence for a moment, before one large hand moved off from over top, revealing Gunther from where he crouched in the palm of Eren's lower hand.
"Eren- holy shit, you actually did it!" Gunther exclaimed, looking shocked.
Armin's face split into a grin, and even Mikasa let out a relieved sigh...
"He's going to eat that soldier!"
"Do something, Captain Levi!" the frantic outpouring of the crowd came as a shock to both the Scouting Legion and Eren. Still, Eren's titan was more pre-occupied with making sure Gunther was alright than dealing with them.
Large, black-rimmed green irises scrutinized Gunther as his face moved closer to the man, steam escaping his nostrils with each exhale.
"Eren? You all there, kid?" Gunther asked, not hesitant, but wondering.
At hearing the other soldier's voice, Eren's mouth opened, a small, rather quiet roar of glee escaping him at the fact Gunther was, indeed, okay.
Gunther started slightly at the noise before he burst out laughing. "Yes, it's me, you little shit."
"W-why isn't he eating him?" someone in the crowd below questioned.
"Eren doesn't eat humans. He never has- never will. He only kills titans." Levi supplied, eyes never leaving his best friend and soldier as he held his squadmate in the palm of his hand.
"Everyone shut the hell up! He's trying to communicate with us! You hear that roar- it was muted- he kept it quiet! He could've deafened us all if he'd wanted to!" Hanji exclaimed, the sunlight glinting off her glasses as her eyes began to shine. "Oh, this is fascinating!" she squealed, pulling a notebook from her pocket and beginning to write furiously.
"So, uh... can you put me back on the wall?I think we've got our point across. You can understand me, right?" Gunther asked.
In response, Eren let out a breath and moved his hand. The sudden movement made Gunther lose his footing and land on his ass in Eren's palm with a muffled 'shit', but he was deposited, rather clumsily but with care, atop the wall by the large hand.
Eren turned to look at the crowd of people below him- they looked like ants, so tiny... But he recognized some of them. Levi, Mikasa, Armin... all his friends. Standing there, rooting for him, fighting for him.
"Eren!" Levi's shout sounded so small when it reached his pointed ears, but Eren slowly crouched, bringing one massive knee onto the ground, then the next, so he was kneeling in the dirt, before he was placing down both forearms. He looked down at Captain Levi, on all fours, bangs messily falling into his face. His eyes appeared so large next to the Captain, his nose directly in front of the man as he stared, obediently awaiting orders.
Levi wordlessly grabbed onto a lock of brown hair, climbing onto the boy's head and looking down, addressing the crowd, blade drawn.
"As you can see, Eren is in complete control. He can't really vocalize anything but rage in this form, but he's still very much human."
Levi looked down at the large titan beneath him, speaking clearly. "Face to the ground. I'm going to cut you out."
He strode down the back of the meaty neck beneath his boots as Eren pressed his cheek to the dirt, lying still, belly to the ground.
Whispers erupted from the crowd. "He's the strongest soldier there is-"
"He's tamed a titan!"
Levi plunged his blade into the flesh, raking it downwards in a shallow, straight cut. Steam erupted from the wound as it began to to attempt to heal, but Levi was already slashing, calculated strokes widening the wound, revealing Eren's body, wrapped in muscle and sinew.
Still, Levi didn't want to have to cut off the boy's limbs unless necessary, and he continued his calculated work, ignoring the fact that he was up to his shins in titan flesh. When he felt he'd severed enough of the muscles holding him, he grabbed Eren by the back of his shirt collar, hoisting him out and slinging him over his shoulder.
Eren was either unconscious or very near it- it was concerned, but not really a surprise, considering the strain transforming put on his body, and his already weak physical condition.
He hung limply over Levi's shoulder, some stray sinew dangling from his wrists that had yet to burn away, his clothing steaming.
"I believe we've met the proposed conditions, have we not?" Levi asked Erwin, cocking an eyebrow.
"We absolutely have, Levi."
Levi smirked. "All units- withdraw."
The only sound was that of boots on dirt as scouts trooped back to the caravaan of wagons and horses. Levi said nothing, simply stepping into the officer's carriage and placing Eren in one of the seats. The boy promptly slumped over, unconcious as he was, and Levi slammed the door of the carriage behind him, Banging on the side of the contraption to let the driver know they were ready to go.
Levi's upper lip curled in disgust when he looked over and saw Jager was still steaming, covered in his titan fluids and sinew- he was rather filthy, hair matted with sweat. Levi would set about getting him cleaned up and seeing to his bruises once they reached the castle.
As the carriage started to move, he couldn't help but wonder at the words of the civilians.
"He's truly humanity's strongest soldier."
"He's tamed a titan!"
He shook his head slightly at the ignorance behind those words. Even after they'd seen it, they still couldn't believe Eren was human. They'd been so misinformed they had to believe Levi had tamed a monster, instead of Eren being a sentient, feeling human like them. It was both unsettling and scary to know the masses thought in such simple, unforgiving terms.
Still- they'd warded them off. By believing Levi had tamed the boy, they'd allow Eren to remain in their custody- and by seeing the control Eren actually had in titan form, though limited, it'd starved off their hysteria. It was far from the acceptance Levi had hoped to receive from the common people, but it was a start. Eren was safe- right now, that was all that mattered.
Levi looked over at the cadet he'd come to know as a friend- as someone he often chatted with until the candle burned down in the night. The companionship he'd never expected, but surprisingly enjoyed. The kid he thought he'd be babysitting, who'd inadvertently become his most treasured companion. His face softened slightly. He'd never let anyone into his heart like he had Eren- the boy seemed to have a way of picking the locks to all the doors, breaking down every one of his barriers. He hadn't had a friend like that since Isabel and Farlan had died.
"He's tamed a titan!"
Levi wasn't aware of the small smirk that crossed his face, but he had a thought so ironic it was nearly comical.
The titan's tamed me.