CHAPTER 21

BEGINNING OF ARC 2

Author's Note

THAT'S RIGHT, I'M BACK!

Did I die? YES! But I survived!

Author's Rambling Incoming (HONESTLY JUST SKIP THIS PART AND GET TO THE STORY XDDD)

OKAY, OKAY, hear me out. 2022 was a WILD year for me. I kind of fell in love, got my heart kind of broken, fell into depression (for other reasons than the heart-breaking reason but it certainly didn't help LOL), got better, fell into an even WORSE DEPRESSION, faced some fears, learned A LOT of things about myself and now I want to say that I am possibly in the best mental state I have been in in years. Don't get me wrong, I'm still one hell of a ~meSSy biTchTMbut we gettin' there.

I sat down last November I think? And poured my scrambled mind into the next 20 chapters of this story. Because of it, in what I'm calling "ARC 2", a lot of topics about identity pop up. I'm actually pretty satisfied with the chapters I wrote. There is one or two that I find meh but there are some moments where I'm like DAMN, I WENT HARD OMG I'M MAKING MYSELF SADDDD. Lol.

Anyway, if anyone that was reading this story 6 months- 6 MONTHS?! HOLY SHIT. TIME PASSES FAST. But yes, if anyone that was reading this story 6 months ago is continuing to read this story now, I am eternally grateful and THANKYOUVERYMUCHFORYOURPATIENCE. If anyone is new, then welcome!

I will be posting a new chapter every Thursday, like I said, I have 20 chapters locked and loaded. Honestly, I was going to start posting at the beginning of the year but for some reason, I got very anxious about posting a new chapter since 6 DAMN MONTHS have passed lol. Anyway, I'm here to rip off the bandage!

Oi, I feel better already after all that rambling. Let's get to the the story! Things get very spicy in this arc so while I am nervous about y'all reading it, I'm also excited!

Enjoy!

Levi sighed.

Eren was always so expressive, even when he tried not to be. When he was angry his eyebrows would slant to a near impossible degree, when he was sad his eyes would be so wounded, when he was happy he would have a gigantic goofy grin across his face. Only then, lying unconscious on a medical bed did Eren have a neutral expression. He looked so at peace, though Levi knew the kind of war Eren found himself in the middle of.

It was strange. This wasn't the first time he saw one of his clients in one of those beds. If anything, Eren was pretty healthy in comparison to the mangled states some had been in. At most he felt disappointed in himself in not being able to protect the client, at worst he felt nothing. Nonetheless, in that moment he felt a peculiar tug at his heart.

To think a father could've been capable of experimenting on his own son. Levi could only imagine the kind of things Eren had been subjected to. And for what? To be sold off to an old geezer in exchange for a shiny penny? Or maybe to test the limits of the human body? Levi couldn't find a concrete answer.

His thoughts were interrupted by Petra quietly entering through the grey curtains. Moblit trailed behind her with some papers in hand. The moment her eyes landed on the brown-haired boy, Levi could hear her heart break.

Petra, Levi thought, was also like Eren in that she felt every single emotion to the fullest, albeit she had far better control over hers. Levi and Petra had lived through most of the same horrifying events and catastrophes, and while Levi had shut himself out emotionally because of it, Petra refused to stand down, believing that to lose her emotions would be to lose her humanity. As a result, she would hurt and cry, scream and yell, jump and laugh. She would feel everything, good and bad, no matter the consequences. Levi always admired her because of it.

"He barely got out of this place and he's already back in it..." she whispered as she made her way to the bodyguard's side, "what about you Levi, how are you?"

The man waved her off, "My leg has a nasty bruise on it but nothing time can't heal."

"Are you sure? I can look at it if you want me too..."

"I'm ok. Don't worry about me."

In true Petra fashion, if she didn't have to worry about one person, she would worry for another instead, "And Eren? How long will he have to stay here, Moblit?"

She turned to Moblit who was frowning at the papers he was holding. He glanced up momentarily when he heard his name and then back down. The man flickered through the pages as he quickly scanned the documents. He let out an exasperated sigh and shrugged.

"I-I don't know what to tell you but the data doesn't lie. Looking at these charts, Eren could go home as soon as he wakes up."

The bodyguard frowned, "How is that possible? I saw him get slammed into the floor, his hand was shot open. There has to be something. A broken bone, internal bleeding... a cut for crying out loud!"

Petra took note of the fact that Moblit tightened his lips. Scanning the boy's face and what could be seen of the silhouette of his body he appeared to be in perfect condition, "Which hand Levi?"

"The right one but-"

The woman reached over and gently tugged at the thin blanket covering the unconscious boy. She carefully pulled out the hand from underneath, "Levi..."

"But he healed it when he turned back to his human form!"

Petra glanced at Moblit then at the bodyguard, "Listen, Moblit told me some tid-bits about what you said went down. You know I'd never believe you were lying on purpose but we should start considering the possibility that there might be hallucinogenics at play here."

"I know what I saw. I know it sounds crazy but I'm not making it up!"

"Eren is in one piece, how can you explain that? You said he got shot?"

Levi huffed, "Body modifiers are nothing new. Remember when news broke out that there was an organization in Marley doing similar kinds of experiments?"

"Yeah, like 20 years ago and those were things like getting 10% more muscle or changing your eye color AND if you remember correctly, the people that tried it died in a matter of months. You're telling me Eren can transform into a giant and look fresh as a daisy the next day?"

"She has a point, Levi." Moblit interjected, "Though..."

The pair turned to him in unison, "Though what?"

Moblit hesitated, "His vital signs have been getting better and better since we put him in that bed. And Levi also has a point in that body modification experiments are nothing new. They've never taken much form since it's always resulted in people dying a premature death. With that in mind, I look at this data and can't help but think that this is not a normal healing rate by any means."

Petra opened her mouth in shock, "...Seriously?"

Moblit threw his hands up in defense, "I'm not saying Levi is right but I'm not saying he's wrong either."

"How could that be possible?" She questioned.

Moblit shook his head, "No idea. I could try and run some tests but..." he scratched his head, "Look, you guys know me. I'm not a doctor in the formal definition of the word, I'm an engineer with a doctor's knowledge. I may have learned a thing or two about patching people up to keep this hospital running, but if we wanna get to the bottom of this I'm gonna have to talk to a couple of people that know more about this than I do. Problem is, if it turns out to be true that Eren has been experimented on, I don't know who could be trusted with that kind of information. If this gets out to the wrong people we could potentially incite those old groups of human experiments to resurge."

Petra shuddered, "Ugh. No way, we can't have that happen. You're right, we have to be real careful who we consult with... anyone got ideas?"

A lightbulb went off in Levi's head, "I think I might know just the person."

...

"Hanji Zoe." Moblit said with a mix of surprise and fascination.

Levi lifted an eyebrow, "You know who that is?"

The man nodded, "Small world! We went to the same college. We were in different areas, I was engineering, Hanji was chemistry but through common friends we had the pleasure of meeting each other. They were one of the most brilliant minds I have ever met. It was a shock to us all when they dropped out in sixth semester and never came back."

"They who?" Levi asked.

"They..." Moblit pointed to Hanji through the window, "them."

"They him?"

"No!" Petra scoffed, "They her."

Levi gave her a quizzical expression, Petra returned one right back.

"In all the time I've known Hanji," Moblit interjected, "they've never specified their gender. I once asked them about it and they said I could call them whatever I wanted so I've always referred to Hanji with gender neutrality. It was never of importance to our conversations anyway. We would talk about so many interesting topics about science and the future."

The bodyguard noticed the way Moblit's eyes lit up as he reminisced about his time in college with this person. He grimaced. Levi searched through his words trying to figure out how to phrase the following.

"I have no doubt they have a brilliant mind but I should warn you, they've probably changed a fair amount since you last saw them. I found Hanji working for Annie. Things must've not gone as Annie planned since she left Hanji behind. I don't know what Hanji was helping her with but I can't imagine it was something pretty."

Moblit took a deep breath, "You're right. I mustn't lose focus."

Levi nodded, "Good. Let's go."

The trio walked into the small room. All prisoner rooms were the same. They had a one-way window on one wall and a thick metal door on the other. On the inside was a bed most of the prisoners barely fit on, a toilet tucked in the corner and a sink.

When the door opened, Hanji perked up, their eyes avidly watching every movement. They weren't angry or scared, rather curious as to what was happening around them. It reminded Levi of the eyes and spirit of a dog; always excited and ready to explore.

"Moblit Berner. Long time no see!" They spoke enthusiastically though there was a drop of sadness in those words.

Surely, this wasn't how neither Moblit or Hanji had imagined they would be reunited.

"Hanji Zoe. It's a pleasure to see you again... despite the difficult circumstances."

Hanji laughed brightly, "Difficult is one way to put it."

Levi stepped forward, halting any further exchange of words as he did so. He took a moment to examine the brunet. Their hair was a tangled mess and they wore the same clothes as yesterday, that being a loose-fitting beige button up shirt and grey pants. At no moment had Hanji shown any signs of fear, not then, not when Levi cornered them in that whorehouse.

"I hate to interrupt but we aren't here for chit-chatting. I've come for information. Will you be giving it willingly or will I have to beat it out of you?"

In his head, he was already planning out the torture sessions. He was wondering where they had left the battery jump starters when, much to his surprise, Hanji said, "What da ya wanna know?"

Levi inhaled sharply through his nose, "Just like that? I'm not an idiot, what's your price?"

Hanji shrugged, "No price."

The raven crossed his arms, "No loyalty to the blonde girl?"

The brunet chuckled, "Why does everyone ask me that?! I'm not loyal to anyone. Not Annie. Not Grisha. Just science."

"Grisha?"

Hanji rose their eyebrows, "Ah, yes. I worked with Grisha before I worked with Annie. I would've thought Eren would have told you by now... hmmm... I guess he's still recovering from transforming though."

The raven stiffened, "So you do know about Eren's... condition."

They nodded fervently, "Yes, of course. I helped Grisha with the chemical formulation side of things."

Levi didn't miss a beat, "What kind of things did you do to him?"

"Me? I mean I didn't do anything per say. Grisha was really special about Eren. Only he and his right-hand man would conduct the experiments on him. All I would do is run the numbers, you know, tell him what worked and what didn't work. I'd help design the substances we would inject into Eren and all that but I never got up and close with him. I never got up and close with anyone really. Grisha insisted on keeping me apart from the test subjects. I guess he wanted to keep that distance so I could analyze things with a cool, calculating head. I never asked him and he never told me." Hanji shrugged.

"Sub... stances..." Moblit muttered, "You- Do you recognize-" he shuffled through some papers, "do you recognize this substance? It's a bright green liquid with a basic pH, contains molecules of a high molecular mass. I think it's a sort of '-caine' substance, you know, cocaine, benzocaine, lidocaine but I can't make out what it is exactly. I've had two other chemists working on it for a while now and they've rendered little to no results."

Moblit hurriedly handed them a sheet of paper filled to the brim with information. On it was a picture of the substance Levi had found a long time ago in the van of Eren's attackers. The brunet took their sweet time in reading every word while the three Survey Corps stood around waiting for a reply.

"Quite the thorough report you have here. I'm pretty sure I've told you this before but it's a pity you didn't decide to study chemistry. You would've been an excellent chemist."

Moblit laughed sheepishly.

"The only problem with it however," Hanji continued, "is that you were looking for something that was already made when this is something entirely new." Hanji turned the paper and pointed at the image of the green liquid like a professor giving a lecture, "This little thing is what made it everything possible. It's how we've managed to create people with extraordinary abilities and it's what's given Annie and Eren their power.

"The body has to under-go a pre-treatment of sorts. Red blood cells must be increased, white blood cells must decrease as it will attack the serum and then- well, if I were to explain it with detail we would be here for hours but we treat the body with a diverse set of substances. If not, the body will die instantly when injected with the serum. The risk of dying is never zero but if everything is done properly, like with Eren, it can be lowered to 35%.

"The higher the concentration of the main component, the better the abilities. Annie was the first of her kind. She was the predecesor to Eren's design. Once she transformed successfully we began the experiments on him. This," she tapped on the image, "is a weak version of the original dosis. You give it to him now, and you'll have him in a catatonic state as his body will recognize it and enter in shock, not knowing if to transform or not.

"However, change the cis molecular structure to trans, dilute it to a very, very low concentration and skip the pretreatment and you'll find that it won't do much. It'll give the user a high boost in adrenaline and oxytocin. That's why Grisha took profit from the situation and sold it as a drug. You guys are sure to have met your fair share of drug users in this line of work. We call it Titan. Ever heard of it?"

Levi had certainly heard of it before. His previous client spent every day either smoking, inhaling, chewing or shooting up something. He had stolen an absurd amount of drugs from who knows where and was both consuming and selling it. He had made a small fortune as a result. In the client's last weeks of life, Levi had heard mention of that so-called 'Titan'. Another seller had offered the client some and since the first hit he was hooked. One day he had the bright idea to mix Titan with cocaine and LSD. Funny enough, it wasn't a drug overdose what killed him rather such was the strength of his hallucinations that he confused a razor blade for something delectable and forced it down his throat till he choked on his own blood.

Levi had heard that a group of policemen was looking for the suppliers of Titan for months now but they were as lost as a fish on land. As it turned out, who they were looking for was none other than Grisha Jaegar.

"Why do you think he would do that?"

Levi and Petra were back at her house. He sat on the dining room table as she took off her coat and shoes. It was her last day there so she had asked Levi to accompany her for the night. She hadn't wanted to stay in that cold place by herself.

"Why do I think who would do what?" Petra questioned.

The raven picked at a small bowl of peanuts Petra had on the table, "Why do you think Eren's father did that to him? Experiments and stuff."

The woman sighed, "Who knows. There are plenty of shitty fathers, I mean just look at you and me."

"Yeah but-" he swallowed another peanut, "I never knew my dad and he never made an effort to meet me either. Yours didn't give a shit about anyone but himself. There was a certain distance between us and them. To experiment on your own kid, though? That feels... intimate. Like you personally want your kid to suffer."

"Who knows? You'd have to ask him yourself."

She had just sat down across from him when the man asked, "You still got whisky?"

Petra giggled, "I do, actually. I kept the bottle in case you asked for some."

Before she could stand up he said, "No, no. Stay there. I'll get it."

The silver eyed man made his way to the cabinet where Petra always kept the liquors. He took out two whisky glasses and put both the glasses and the bottle on the table.

"O-Oh, no. I won't be drinking tonight."

"C'mon, prude." The raven poured her a glass anyway.

"I got a long drive tomorrow..."

"It'll be a tiny sip to toast that it's your last day in this house." He handed it to her.

She begrudgingly accepted it, "Hmmm, I can't believe I'm finally leaving tomorrow."

"Time goes fast, huh."

Levi raised his whisky in the air. Petra took the hint and clinked her glass against his. She watched as he took a long sip. It has been a long day, after all. Every day was a long day when you were working in the Survey Corps. The woman lifted the drink to her lips. Lost in thought, she lowered the glass without actually taking a sip.

"What are you going to do when Eren wakes up?" She questioned.

Levi breathed slowly, "I have no fucking clue."

Petra caressed the glass, "You're thinking about taking this to police aren't you?"

The man leaned back into his chair, "Maybe. What do you think?"

She looked down at the whisky, "Last time we worked with the police, it was a fucking mess. It was a huge dick-measuring contest between us and them. They killed some of ours, ours killed some of theirs and everyone was angry 24/7! Still, I think it was the right thing to do in that situation, and as exhausting as it may be I think it's the right thing to do again."

Levi nodded, "We'll see..." he curiously glanced at her, "how are things with Pete?"

Petra exhaled, "They're perfect."

"You don't sound very convinced."

"No, no, I mean it!" She chuckled, "He's perfectly handsome, he has perfect suits, perfect hair, a perfect job, a perfect house and a perfect personality."

"But...?"

"There is no but, that's the problem! He's so goddamn perfect and I'm... I'm... not."

The raven leaned forward, "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Levi, I've stolen from people, I've tortured them, I've killed them. I'm pretty sure the only crime I haven't committed is rape. Just last week we were watching a horror movie at his place- or my 'soon-to-be-home' and there was a scene where a guy choked another guy with a necklace. He was talking about how silly that was and without thinking I said 'you'd think that but with the right necklace, it's possible'. He asked me how I would know that, I panicked and said 'I dunno, I'm guessing!' What else was I supposed to say? That I know because I've actually done it before?"

The man whistled, "That was one stuuurdy necklace. What ever happened to it anyway?"

"I'm trying to be serious here."

"So am I, it was one sturdy necklace."

Petra's eyes sent firebolts in Levi's direction. He stood up from his chair chuckling and made his way to a chair next to her, "Look, it's easy to say Pete is a good person when he's never had his morals challenged. People will say 'oh, I would never do this' or 'I don't think I'd ever be capable of doing that' but when there's no food on the table or a fire to keep you alive through the winter, you'll see how fast those sentiment change.

"Yes, you've done less than favorable things but never out of some twisted desires or sick satisfaction. Everything you've ever done has been out of necessity and the times when you were able to spare a life you always chose mercy. Peter doesn't know what it's like to be in that situation. He was born into an inheritance that will last him a life time with supermodel parents that gave him all the attractive attributes and love he could ever ask for. Throw a cute fancy dog in there and tie it all with a pretty scarlet ribbon.

"You aren't any less perfect than Peter so stop thinking like that. You'll see that soon that picturesque upper-class family life will come naturally to you... in 9 months it would seem."

"What?" Petra squeaked.

"What. You thought I wouldn't notice? I know you like the back of my hand and the Petra I know would never decline a sip of the smoothest whisky money can buy. Come out and say it. I'll be pretend to be surprised and everything."

The woman chewed on her lip. Levi took the liberty of reaching across the table to regain his drink as she mustered up the courage to say-

"I'm pregnant."

Levi threw his hands in the air and widened his eyes to an exaggerated level, "Oh wow, I would've never guessed." He took a sip of his whisky.

"And it's yours."

The moment the man choked on his drink, Petra let out a wild cackle.

"Wh-Why-" Levi started, "Why-haha! Why did I think that was true for a second there?"

They shared a joyous laugh that echoed throughout the empty rooms.

"You know," Petra wiped a tear from her eye, "our kid would've been so badass."

"Oh, the coolest kid on the playground for sure." Levi added.

"And hot." Petra giggled.

"A girl with your legs and my eyes? Everyone would worship her."

"Or a guy with your face and my personality. All the girls would want to marry him!"

They both snickered at the thought.

"Man," Petra wrinkled her nose, "why'd you have to be gay, Levi?"

"Oh you know, no present father figure." He joked around.

"Oh yeah? What about Joshua? His father was very present in his life and he loved men more than he loved breathing."

"Yeah, his father figure was especially present when he walked in on me face-fucking his son."

Petra went into another howl of laughter, "Oh Gooooods, I always DIE when you tell that story. The dad must've been mortified."

"Mortified doesn't even begin to cover it. I never did see Joshua again, I wonder how he's doing."

"Probably getting face-fucked by some other guy now."

Levi smacked his lips, "Lucky bastard."

Eventually, their giggles died off, leaving behind a comfortable silence.

"You'll be a great mom." The raven whispered.

"You think so? I'm beginning to doubt it." Petra whispered back.

"Are you kidding? You were born with the mother chip already installed. You mother me, you mother Moblit, you even mother Peter a little. Trust me, that transition will be an easy one on you."

"I dunno," Petra kicked the floor, "I just don't want to wake up one day feeling like a stranger in my own bed."

"Don't self-sabotage Petra Ral. Not when you're this close to your happy ending. You have a good heart and you're the kindest person I know. You deserve to be happy."

Her eyes glistened with sadness, "How am I supposed to leave you, though? You deserve to be happy too. Retire with me! We'll leave the Survey Corps together!"

He chuckled, "I don't know how happy Pete will be to have me bunking with you. Just him, his wife and his wife's gay ex-boyfriend."

"If he truly loves me, he'll let it be." She teased.

"Ha. Well, better not take the chance. I still have to do a couple of things here. Don't worry about me, you have a kid on the way. I won't be your top priority anymore."

Petra reached out for Levi's hand, "I'll try. Promise me one thing though."

"Hm?"

"Promise that we won't lose touch after I leave tomorrow."

"Never."

She smiled sadly, "Promise me... one more thing. It's kind of silly though."

"Clown jester. At your service."

Petra giggled, "Promise not to laugh?"

"No, I'm definitely laughing."

The woman rolled her eyes.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. C'mon, out with it!"

Petra shrugged sheepishly, "Can we sleep in the same bed like when we were kids? For old times sake."

Levi was taken a back for an instant. Flashbacks from a thousand yesterdays ago returned to him: that of a lost boy and a lost girl sticking together to survive the dangers of extreme poverty.

He smiled nostalgically as well, "Of course."

In the night, Levi spooned Petra like they had done when they were two runaway teens with nowhere to go. While she was sound asleep he thought about how difficult it was to promise words like 'forever' and 'never'. He kissed the back of her head and silently said goodbye, knowing full well that forever and never would blend into one the moment the sun would rise.