Slowly, Levi felt the pain fade all around his body. What he didn't expect was the growing ecstasy that followed, filling his mind to the fullest. His lungs expanded in a deep breath, his broken rib nothing but a negligible nudge. His eyes closed, his mouth gaped, his head fell backward relaxed. Then a long loud exhale followed, reflecting his feeling of being engulfed in pure pleasure and satisfaction. It was like floating in a paradise.

That felt like forever for Levi before he started to fade out of that delicious phase. Then he was back on the wooden floor again, awareness of his surroundings growing very slowly. He started hearing a conversation in the room but it took him a while to start making sense of it.

"...-Fischer here."

"Look, I know he is your friend and that he helped us before but this is different. We have a prominent member of the military held, it's captain Levi! He will recognize him as soon as he sees him. The scouts will soon announce that he's missing, potentially giving a prize. He may get greedy or cave into fear and speak up, it's all it takes to mess this up."

"Marcus, you are a smart man that I trust endlessly, you already know that. But you know why you cannot replace me in my business? It is because you are too careful and untrusty. I've always told you that didn't I? One can never amount to greatness without taking a few risks by putting faith in some people, contacts are the catalyst to grow. You cannot reach anything if you don't have someone else to help, you just need to have the hunch of choosing the right person to trust."

"I'm just being reasonable."

"You're being extra suspicious. It's okay, I like that about you, but Fischer is our man. You see the other side of trusting someone is to have something on them to ensure the trust, and I happen to have precisely that on him."

Levi could hear a sinister smile through Erdmann's last words. It was hard for him to focus on the conversation with the warm, pleasant sensation spreading throughout his body continuously attempting to detach him from his surroundings. He curled up a bit, enjoying the remaining traces of it.

"Besides, what good would it be to save him if he's gonna get out of this crippled? In that case, I may as well save us the trouble and kill him now." The blonde added.

Levi grew a bit more aware, granted with his pain still muffled. He still felt an extra satisfying relaxation all over his body and mind. He opened his eyes slowly to take in his surroundings. From lying on the floor of the small room, he saw the two men standing at the door immersed in their conversation. When Marcus noticed him his eyes widened.

"He's already awake!" He interjected, swiftly stepping towards Levi.

"How much did you give him?"

"The usual beginner's dose. He should be off for another half an hour at least." Marcus kneeled near the grey-eyed, meeting his gaze closely. "What the fuck are you made of?"

Levi was only silent, still feeling a sense of serenity and sedation affect him. Erdmann appeared behind the dark-haired man, closing in on his face.

"Hey Levi, I hope you're feeling better now. That should've taken all your pain away. It's all gonna be okay now."

Levi closed his eyes again, feeling lethargic. He hung on to the little remaining pleasure he still felt over the reality that stood in front of him.

When he heard them leave the room, he opened his eyes and pulled himself up to sit against the wall behind him. He couldn't feel the pain, only a slight sensation that didn't faze him. He was weak, but he worked through it with multiple attempts.

From his movement, a slight pain started to throb around his side, slowly increasing but nothing to bother him like before. Levi grabbed the hem of his shirt, raising it over his skin to check. It was horrifying to look at his left side. His abdomen was completely distorted with a rainbow of colors, violet, red, and bluish. It was inwardly depressed on the area where his rib was supposed to be, it looked so disturbing that even his tranquil state couldn't stop his face from distorting in response.

Levi covered his abdomen back. Realizing that this position would be hurting him in a while once the drug completely faded, he moved forward, finding comfort in laying on his right side again.

As expected, his old unwelcome guest started to increase with time until it reached the usual level. Levi stared out the small window at the blue sky outside, lips parted. He hated that he had to shallow his breathing again, even more this time with his rib further pushed in from Marcus's kick.

He didn't get what those men planned to do with him but he had a bad feeling about it. The time dragged so long with him in there alone and with the pain. He closed his tired eyes and relaxed his muscles, wishing to find sleep through all of it.

(-)

Hange has vowed to never forgive Erwin if something were to happen to Levi, now that it's been confirmed that he was missing, she put no effort into covering up her frustration.

"…he is nowhere to be found, and we have no idea where, when, or for what reason he had disappeared." She ended her briefing with a bitter summary.

"It's Erdmann. It must be him."

"How could you be so sure? Or is this by elimination too? Because if so, then he could've been ambushed before he got to him. We're not the most loved group in Trost. You already know that district is the most heated, it would be the perfect place for such a plot. If only you'd sent him with someone else then all of this could've been prevented."

"Hange," Mike called, noticing her face heating up, her head getting closer and closer to Erwin's way over the desk.

He turned to look at the commander once she quieted down, who sat in his chair staring at her back calmly.

"She's right, Erwin." Mike added with a lower tone. "We've spoken to the man, not to say that I trust his words but he seemed sincere. I wouldn't bet that he was behind this."

Erwin looked thoughtful for a moment. "If that's what your sharp nose has caught then I can't ignore it. However, he should remain our number one suspect unless proven otherwise. In the meantime, have an announcement printed on tomorrow's paper. Levi is a known face, if anyone had encountered him they would remember and they would let us know where he was last seen. Maybe someone witnessed something suspicious."

(-)

The next day had passed completely unregistered for Levi. The last he remembered was Erdmann and Marcus coming into the little room by the early morning, Marcus holding the syringe in hand, brown eyes wide and determined. Levi wanted to experience that ecstasy a second time, to have it stop his pain, but he didn't like losing control of himself with these men around. He didn't feel safe knowing that they plotted something. He hated not knowing what it was, only stuck with the bad feeling about it.

Erdmann stood at the back watching, repeating some words to calm Levi down. But it's not like he could put on much of a fight in his pathetic state, that much was clear in Marcus's smiling eyes.

The next thing he knew, he woke up on the sofa. It was dark outside through the windows, so much time had passed since he was last awake. It frightened him that he lost memory of what happened during the time gap, only a floating feeling of ecstasy registered.

Finding his pain muffled, Levi got up on his elbow. His eyes were wide and even the strong sense of sedation the drug dug into him couldn't prevent a subtle panic. A big hand laid on his chest, gently pushing him back.

"You shouldn't strain yourself. Lay back and I'll explain."

Levi laid back slowly, finding Erdmann sitting on the chair near him. Erdmann looked at him with relief, like he was staying up worrying next to a sick friend who'd just woke up.

"What the fuck are you doing to me?" Levi asked, lacking his usual coldness. He looked helpless, even scared to know the answer.

"It's a drug that takes away the pain. We didn't do anything, we just had a doctor come in to check on you." Erdman replied, bringing his hand closer to pull down the sheet on Levi who instinctively flinched and attempted to stop him, but the blonde preempted him.

Levi found himself shirtless. His left side was covered by a big bandage, a small circle of blood staining the center of it.

"Your rib was nastily broken, he set it back into place so it heals well. He took care of the wounds on your back too. He said that you don't have any fully broken bones back there, which is good. He said you might have some cracked ones that he can only check if you are conscious to confirm, but it's not important because they are well aligned anyway and will heal alright."

Levi stared, still not understanding his intention from this.

"He said you should eat well and rest your body, otherwise it might get nasty."

Erdmann turned to the side, where a plate of mashed potatoes was set on the coffee table. He filled a spoon and guided it to Levi's mouth.

Having not eaten in three days had started to get to Levi. He knew that if he didn't accept this help now, he probably wouldn't be able to eat alone. Yet his greys kept gazing at Erdmann sharply, not looking down at the spoon near his mouth. Levi found a soft, hopeful look radiating from the man.

With a blink, he turned to the left side, looking away and leaving both Erdmann and his spoon behind. A loud sigh left the blond.

"You can't keep up with this. You know you need it. There's still a long road ahead for you to heal."

Levi's grip tightened around the sheets, barely holding himself back. If only he had his strength he would've ripped this man to pieces. After everything he and his friend did he still had the guts to act like the good man in this.

"Didn't I tell you it's a waste? Look at him, he's creating fists under the sheets. If he had any bit of an ability he would've long since shredded your face." Marcus appeared from a corner suddenly. Levi turned back to him, finding the glittering browns stuck on him. "There's no point trying to get on his good side, you already lost that bet since he realized you kept women in the containers."

"Marcus!" Erdmann called with emphasis.

"Don't play them for a pig, you know he knows. And he wouldn't forgive you for that because women trafficking is a sensitive topic for him, right Levi?" Marcus smirked, reaching where they sat to stand by the table, gaze undeviating from the smoldering grey. "I had to do some digging about you. I can see you taking this personally considering that your mother was a whore in the underground. But don't worry, it's different up here. I can assure you that each one of them is getting fairly compensated for her work, unlike down there."

Levi felt his blood boil, his body heating up, his further tightened grips shaking. "You filthy-fucker." He uttered, despising being helpless, despising that mocking smirk.

"That's enough, Marcus."

"Now we know that he's not acting. He really cannot do shit." The tall man still smirked, standing daringly within an arm's length from Levi who felt his breath begin to shake. "It really is funny how the past clings to a person. Just like your mother, you happened to fall between our hands now, about to face the same faith as our whores."

Levi has had enough. Despite getting more than one confirmation that he can't move, he did regardless, out of reflex, without thought, only to be tight back by his body's fucking limitations. He winced, grinding his teeth so hard they could crack. His eyes burned with hate, sending daggers toward the sneering man. He wanted to kill him!

The same moment that Erdmann stood up, towering over the tall black-haired.

"I said enough." He repeated with a calm but stern voice, gaining back the attention of Marcus who wiped the smirk off his face.

Levi turned to the left again, withdrawing to the sofa's backrest. His ragged breaths echoed back into his ears. He was livid and saddened by his own helplessness, he despised the state he was in, he really could not do shit and that fucker knew it.

Levi didn't see when Erdmann motioned for Marcus to walk out with him, a displeased expression coating his expressive face.

When he heard their steps moving away and the main door lock, he closed his greys, burying his face into the backrest harshly as though to escape all of the shit to there.

Levi was left alone with Klaus in the cabin. The thin man was like usual, silent like a night, unnoticeable like a breeze. It wasn't until the time was deep into the night that the grey-eyed surrendered to sleep. He wasn't a man who slept much before but ever since he fell he started to. Whether his body needed the recuperation, or was attempting to shut down the pain, he didn't know. Either way, the pain was manageable with him on a sofa and keeping steady without moving.

When his eyes opened again, he found a bluish dawn light coming in through the sheer curtains. Levi realized then that the sound of a horse clattering was what woke him, then soon the main door opening followed, exposing Erdmann.

The man walked in with the usual warm expression, looking at Levi first and ignoring everything else in the living room.

"I had to come here early before starting work, I didn't want to send Marcus." He spoke as he walked inside, opening a backpack he had on. He brought out a wrapped pot that he set on the coffee table. "My maid, Miss Bauer, makes the best food. She made this just now. Sometimes I get excited having to spend the night in Trost over going home to my wife, her cooking is… different to say the least, and she's no lady that accepts criticism." Once done with the unpacking, Erdmann raised his blues to meet the dark-haired. "I know you'll think to refuse, but please, Levi, accept it from me. You cannot eat alone now, you will be able to once you accept this and recuperate."

With that, he filled yet a spoon, his eyes yet again hopeful. The smell preceded to invade Levi's nostrils deliciously.

Feeling weakness wash over his muscles, Levi stared at Erdmann back for a while. He glanced down at the spoon near his lips before he opened his mouth. He was hungry, and he did indeed have no other way to eat. If this is what it took to grow him stronger and pull him out of this helplessness, he will succumb to it. Weakening himself further won't do him any good anyway.

Erdmann smiled warmly. He went on, feeding Levi with a satisfied expression on his face. Once done, he approached a glass of water his way, which Levi used his hands to grab instead, drinking its content with some of the liquid spilling on the sides to trail his chin and neck.

Erdmann grabbed it from him once he was done.

"There you go." He said, looking happy.

He got up from his place and disappeared towards the tiny room before he appeared again holding the syringe Marcus had used before. It was filled with a slight quantity of liquid again. Levi's eyes widened.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just gonna inject you with some of this."

"No. I'm fine. I'm not in pain."

"Sorry Levi but I have to." The blonde approached, looking indeed apologetic.

"No." Levi sunk slightly under the sheets.

"Please. It pains me to see you like this. Let's make it fast, it will feel good after."

"Why are you doing this?"

Erdmann just stood motionless, before he shook his head. "I'm sorry."

He raised the sheets and attempted to get Levi's arm but he pulled it away. It wasn't hard for the muscular man to unstrengthen him in his beat condition, that didn't deny that he seemed to have a certain respect for him and a certain regret and hate for having to do that.

"I'm sorry, Levi." Erdmann repeated with a low voice, before forcing his arm out.

Levi struggled to get back but felt his muscles battered. Within a moment, his eyes closed and he was flowing in ecstasy again...

So is it yet clear what their plan is? I think it should be pretty clear by this point (and nah he's not gonna be sold like the prostitutes). I can't wait to write the next chapter, got only this stupid exam standing in the way. Please comment and let me know what you think of the story so far.