A Titan's Poisoned Chalice - The_duke_is_back - Shingeki no Kyojin (2024)

Chapter 1: Ante Bellum

Chapter Text

He ripped into the titan’s neck, teeth piercing the soft flesh before clenching his jaw and ripping its neck apart. The steam burned the insides of his mouth leaving a repugnant and bitter taste. The flesh desperately clutching together at the strands as he rips violently, forcing his head sideways while pulling sideways. Then, suddenly, a barrage of steam burst from the body as it rapidly began to decay and evaporate. He spat out the decaying remains of the titan below with disgust, before stomping on the titan’s neck for good measure. He stood proudly, with look of twisted rage marking his face, the feeling of satisfaction from the kill pumping through his veins. As he became attuned to the sounds of the dense forest, with small birds chirping high in the trees above him. He wiped away any remains of the titan’s flesh off of his face, body relaxing to the sounds surrounding him. He let out a burst of burning steam from his mouth as he re-entered the forest and away from any braindead titans.

The titans were all annoying intruders in his forest. This was his forest, and no one was allowed entrance. This was a place of peace and safety, and no one could be trusted. But, that did not prevent those dense enough from entering; but all who entered, never left. This is a sanctuary for the animals, and although the titans never seemed interested in eating them, they damaged their homes and cared for nothing less rather than filling their ceaseless appetite. He was always a target. He never understood why they hunted him down, their ravenous lust for food drew them to him, whenever he was nearby.

He was a free-spirited individual, who loved his home, high up in the trees, where he was untouchable and able to freely observe the paradise around him. The high, lush green hills that spread as far as the eye could see with deep valleys and rivers that flowed down them into the large sparkling lake by the clearing, that reflected the darkening sky and glowing moon.

He brushed his long bedraggled brown hair out from his face, before rubbing his eyes as he decided to climb up the largest tree within the forest. He gingerly climbed up the thick branches before finding a suitable nest, allowing for his neck to be as far away from the ground as possible. He felt his body slowly drain of energy as the sun fell below the horizon and eventually his eyes became hooded and closed as night ascended.

A few hours after dawn he awoke to feverish activity from the small, tiny animals from below as they moved from in between the trees. The deer munched on the grass from the clearing ahead, before standing alert with their ear standing up attentively then dashing away in fright. It was the familiar and unmissable rhythmic vibrations that he could feel from the tree he rested on that gained his attention. His brows furrowed, and he huffed with tumultuous disdain. Immediately, the peaceful ambiance of the forest became heavier and suddenly a wave of silence infected the forest. Not a sound to be heard.

He grumbled, before getting up, his muscles straining as he pushed up from the thick branches, the wood groaning from his weight. Huffing as he saw the seven-metre titan from afar that’s intruding into his territory. Its deformed face and bulging eyes staring obliviously into space. He clenched his teeth before snarling. Pushing away from the tree fiercely, blowing up a gust of wind where he landed. He straightened his body, preparing for a fight.

This was a common occurrence, it was almost tiring, easily predictable. Most of his enemies frequently, lacked intelligence and skill, it was far too easy. Most went down in a few swings of his fist. This seven-metre looked to be no match. He lost most of his eagerness and felt his interest diminish as he rolled his eyes as he walked down to wards the titan. He felt nothing but boredom, his body sagging as he stomped towards the titan. This felt more like a chore than a fight. The titan’s eyes grew, and it let out a grumbled gurgling sound that light up the titan’s eyes as it ran towards him. Its gait, awkward and twisted, bouncing, and walking as if there are several broken bones that healed incorrectly. When the titan got close enough, he attacked grabbing the titan by the throat and forced it into the tree to his right, fingers tightly bound around its neck, forcing as much pressure into the neck to crush the bones. The titan opened and closed its mouth attempting to get a bite of his arm, with saliva dribbling down its mutated lips. After pressing into the titan’s nape, thin, short nails digging and scratching at the flesh to separate the skin apart to rip out the sensitive, flesh that would ultimately kill the titan. When the smaller titan let out a barrelage of steam as he ripped out the sensitive sweet spot of the titan’s neck watching it go limp in his arms, its body starting to decay instantly. Unphased, he dropped the carcase onto the ground before leaving without a second glance.

Sniffling, he rubbed his nose with a yawn, leaving the shelter of the forest and entered the clearing. The eerie quietness of the clearing because of his fight with the dead titan. He walked around the clearing, before coming up to the lake and seeing his reflection in the water, his hair hanged low on his shoulders and his rich green eyes in sunken sockets with tan skin, from being in the sun all day reflected at him. He placed his large hand in the water, before cupping it and throwing water on his face, cleaning his face, and waking himself up to spend time relaxing and energising. The water was warm on his face, and he sighed before getting down into the water, collapsing with a sigh as the warm water washed upon his overheated body. closing his eyes, with a sense calm washing over him, he curled into the lake, blinkingly watching the animals that come to the lake to take a drink absently. After relaxing for a fleeting time, he got up and decided that he would practise at the large redwoods. His body was bursting with energy and he was eager to get his body pumping and to burn the ceaseless energy that made staying till near impossible. He had to always be moving or doing. By the time he reached the redwoods he was letting out a mouthful of steam before launching his fists at the dense redwood trees, his knuckles just grazing the inner bark of the tree.

He was there for most of the day, standing with his hands letting out a long thin stream of steam as his body regenerated the loss of muscle, bone, and flesh. He looked down at his hands with a look of contemplation, it hardly even hurt, he was so often use to the constant sensation of pain, he’d almost become immune to it. Despite practising his fighting skills more most of the day – and damaging the redwood until many of its cousins were collapsed on the ground – he still felt rambunctious. He was eager to put his skills and practise to good use again against another one of the monstrous creatures that hungered for him but was given his solitude. Days like these were hard to come by as the stray titans always were lured by his scent and would attack at all angles, hunting him a group, hoping for a decent bite, all ending in failure. But on the rare occasion, he was ignored. He was unsure as to why some days he was not on their desired menu, but his will still anxious, he was never calm where the titans were around.

It was nearing nightfall, with the sun starting to dip below the horizon, sending an orange glow across the fields. He thought, it was only a few hours before night, before the smaller titans started to sleep. Hopefully, to burn more of this energy before he slept he would go wondering. He looked down and saw a fallen branch of a tree and began to play with it with his fingers, twirling it around huffing at himself each time he dropped it.

Before long, he had vaguely noticed that he had wondered far from his home high in the trees. he had never been to this part of the forest before and the trees had started to become thinner and thinner while also becoming much shorter than further back towards his home. While the trees still stood higher than him, they were nothing compared to the redwoods. This area was also full of noises, but he had not come across anything unusual but felt uncomfortable enough in the unfamiliar environment to leave the area. It gave an eerie feeling that something was lurking in the growing darkness. The occasional hissing noise wasn’t doing much to make him feel better.

He sniffed the air cautiously, nostrils flaring to get any sense of what may be lurking in the diming light. Most of it was masked by the flora and scent of the animals, however, there was a scent that he hadn’t smelt before and there were many different signatures of a similar scent. But whatever it belonged too, there was many of them. Not willing to risk his luck, he left the area, but before he began to make a move, the roar of a titan was heard. Ear perking up and moving in the direction in the sound, his heart pounding in his chest as adrenaline pumped throughout his body.

There was a flash of movement on his right.

He immediately fell to the ground as the small titan smacked into him. He pulled himself up and grabbed the wrist of the titan that was on top of him and flicked up, throwing it into a nearby tree, causing it to vibrate and creak under the force. The titan got up immensely fast, its small body able to move swiftly, making his eyes search everywhere to keep the small titan in his line of sight. He lunged forward when the titan didn’t grasp onto the tree tightly enough and fell on the ground with a thump. He roared and pinned it, forcing all his weight onto the titans back as its limbs scratched at the soft dirt to climb out from under him. The titan screamed and roared, knocking its head backwards, hitting his temple and disorientating him, before the titan pulled out from under him and smacking its hand against his face, scratching at his eyes as it successfully knocked him on his side. Steam rose from his face as the titan had dug deeply into his cheeks, narrowly avoiding his eyes. He roared and let out a barrage of steam before the smaller titan threw itself at him, mouth open unnaturally wide as its eyes bulged out of its head. Its gaping mouth fell into his clenched fist as he rose it to attack the titan, causing it to choke on his fist and damaging many of the muscles and tendons in its neck as he then knocked the titan on the floor again. Then proceeded to rip into the titan’s neck with his bared teeth, ripping out the flesh and discarding it on the floor beside the titans now decaying body.

But before he got up he felt a strong, piercing sharp pain on his shoulder, he let out a roar before turning his head around seeing another titan biting into his shoulder, and a much smaller titan climbing along his back, with its incredibly small head. Despite the pain shooting up his nerve endings, he attempted to get up, but fell back again when the tiny titan bit at his neck. Screaming in agony, he slumped down on the floor, breathing deeply through the pain. His hands twitched, and it became difficult to think. The two titans continued to feast upon him, the tiny titan biting near his nape, causing blinding pain to immobile him, paralysing him to the floor helpless. He clenched his hand and slowly, it shook violently as he fought through the pain to rise it above his head to clench into the tiny titan’s hair, grabbing as tightly as he could so he didn’t inadvertently cause his own demise as he stood up. The tiny dragged its small claws along his back to try and have some means of grip on his body. the larger titan pulled him towards its body, making him almost fall sideways into the titan due to the imbalance.

Hiss.

Suddenly the there was a flash of light, or was it movement, and suddenly the weight on his neck was suddenly gone, turning to look the tiny titan’s body was lying on the ground in a slump, steaming rising into the purple sky. Not questioning why, he used his free arm to remove the titan’s head from his neck, allowing for the skin and flesh to heal and slowly he felt the fog over his consciousness fade, making him more aware of the large titan that had ripped into the flesh of his right side, it was beyond saving so he grabbed the flesh above where the titan had grabbed him and ripped it off of his body, with the sound of bone snapping and the squelch of the flesh as it was ripped from its position, and the titan collapsed onto the floor with his arm still in its mouth.

He stood up, ready to kill the titan, before another flash of movement happened in front of him and he fell on his rear end as many cuts appeared along the titan’s flesh, moaning in agony it attempted to grab whatever it was that was attacking it. But all the small creature did was dodge the titan’s movement and cut deep into the flesh. He knew that the titan was most likely going to be killed, so he scurried away as fast as he possibly could, not wanting the wrath of the creature upon him. Running through the trees, trying to avoid the creature as he could hear this hissing sound that symbolised the creature was on his trail.

The clearing was ever close, he could just see it ahead, hoping to be free from the creature that lurked up high.

He was face to face with the ground, he felt a stinging sensation at his ankles and feet, he must have been hit, knocked to the ground, unable to stand.

Then the small creature was there, up on the tree, standing in its glory, its body was immensely small for a titan, but that when he realised that it was not a titan, for its body was far too proportionate and the strange colours and textures that covered the body of the creature. Its light-coloured eyes and dark hair stood out and the facial features were well defined, and he continued to stare at the creature, remain paralysed to the ground, staring at the creature with awe.

Hiss, hiss, hiss.

Then there were more, majority of them, some taller than the dark-haired creature, but all significantly smaller than a titan, most not even reaching two metres in height. There was at least six of them, all wearing a type of green cloth around them. The dark-haired creature seemed to be the leader, but whatever the creatures were discussing, the creature continued to stare at him emotionless. Then all of them were looking down at him, and he felt incredibly vulnerable, as his body was swollen and beaten, his body unable to decide what part needed its attention first. He decided remaining on the floor not moving, wasn’t encouraging them into action and they seemed less cautious with his lack of mobility. However, that could be a double-edged sword that could lead to his demise if he stayed.

Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it – that decision was made for him, with the appearance of three titans approaching, all above ten metres stomping towards them. He felt the intense urge to move, his body itching at him, screaming to move, but he would need to wait for the most opportune moment. Preferably when they were all engaged and distracted. It did not take long for them to get too close for the creature’s comfort and they hissed into the air where they began to attack the titans. Immediately he makes up his mind and stays rooted to the spot, trying not to flinch at the noises, hoping to be dead to the world before pouring as much energy into running as fast as possible.

He stormed past them, the wind blowing into his face, whipping his hair around his head wildly. His feet dug deeply into earth, spitting dirt into the air as his body slammed into the ground, with a deafening, loud noise. Behind him there is a combination of noises, a concoction of steam, clashing of metal and the thumping of the other titans.

His heart begins to pound in his chest as he forced is way through the forest. There was a large crack as a titan collapsed onto a tree. Then there is a small creature following behind him. He tries to knock the small creature away approaching his neck. The creature was able to avoid his hand so easily as if he did it in slow motion.

As he turned to attack the creature a second time, he saw a large 12-metre coming up from behind, eyes lasered to he creature before it lunged its fist into the creature. As he sees this he could he a cracking noise. The titan ignored him for the human. He felt as if he should run away, since both of them are pre-occupied with themselves. But he heard the creature groaning in pain, attempting to stand up but slumping and falling back down.

It was unable to fight, to defend itself. It was just another creature trying to survive, he realised. Those things it used to fight, and their effectiveness meant this was not its first time facing a titan. If there was something he understood it was the titan’s relentless attacks and destruction. The creature looked so helpless and so desperately tried to fight, that when the titan was about to grab the human he ran forward and clamped his teeth against the titan’s neck. Grabbing at the titan’s shoulders to get a better grip to get his molars and canines deeper into the titan’s flesh.

The titan turned, teeth bared and clashing as it grasped at him, snapping its teeth near his neck, wild eyes burned into his own as its body lunged time and time again into him, while he held the titan up and away from his face and neck with his hands on its shoulders. The dense and moronic titan was pulling its neck back, about to lunge once again, and that’s when he saw his opportunity. He forced himself up, his massive teeth digging as deep as possible into the sensitive flesh. He ripped and ripped the flesh of the titan’s neck away, hoping to bite through the entire neck and killing the damnable titan. The boiling steam burned his face, making his gums bleed under the intense heat. Ignoring the pain, he surged his anger forth, before using his hands to grip and grab the flesh roughly then peeling it away to get further into the flesh.

Then the titan slumped to on top of him, he shoved the dead titan off of him before turning to the creature. The creature was slumped over and covered in a red substance. He carefully put the creature in his hand and cradled it close to his chest. He moved, using his other hand to move through the thick pines, relying on his hearing to be aware of any of the creatures or titans that could be nearby. He could faintly hear fighting in the distance, creating a disquieting silence to echo with only the excrement of steam and clang of metal breaking the silence. He stands, ears flicking slightly, catching the sounds. He becomes hesitant as his body becomes rooted to the ground. He looks down at the creature with contemplation, unsure of going along with his plan of returning.

There he can see so little through the gaps in the brush, but the presence of more titans, makes him look down at the creature. The creature looks so small in his grasp. Motionless and so very vulnerable. That is when he decides; he will return to his home. With the creature nestled into his palm, he starts to walk backwards into forest. The sound of metal and titan quietens in the distance.

Chapter 2: Amicus Certus In Re Incerta

Chapter Text

Levi couldn’t see, the world was darkly lit, with a fuzziness at the edges of his vision. He blinked again, trying to focus on whereabouts, but the dark fog covering his eyes didn’t fade. He became more alert, with his body tensing, he opened his mouth in a silent scream of pain as his left leg throbbed violently, sending shots of hot blazing agony at the movement. He was confused and alarmed, he couldn’t see, his left leg was probably broken, and he felt his lungs ache as they expanded. His ribs most likely damaged, broken or bruised. He tried to think back as to where he was.

Where am I? How did I get here?

Levi was on his horse, not long into their excursion into titan-infested territory. It was a mission not intended for much rather, just marking a wider map to investigate unfamiliar territory further away from the walls. It was a soft not as intensive mission due to the new recruits in the Survey Corps. Best to not start out by possibly killing all the new recruits, since their numbers where dwindling. Although, there was a high probability that something could go wrong and lead to disaster once again. Erwin was to the north of him with Hange not far behind him. His specialised squad surround the left flank with more experienced solders on the northern right flank. The suppliescarried by the horses was in the middle with the new-bloods behind them with the rest of the experienced members of the Corps.

So far, it was uneventful. Mentally, he was almost surprised since they were more than 78% done with their mission that they might actually make it through without having any titan encounters. But he could not allow for any optimistic delusions to cloud him, as this also made Levi much more on edge since it was incredibly rare and had never happened before. He was well aware that Erwin thought this also as the man was high-strung and focused on his surroundings.

“Things seem to be going well so far,” Petra whispered. She had clearly intended this to be under her breath but due to the silence around them it was heard all around them. It was hard not to agree with her. They have had such poor mission reports lately, leaving with many seriously injured and killed. This maybe some luck for them that, finally, things were starting to get better.

They soon entered a heavily forested area, with huge massive trees that make the forest of giant trees look tiny in comparison. These trees were almost as tall as the walls, heavily thick, densely packed together. It was a safe place to use the 3DMG however it was also a way to hide titans from view as the dense flora made it hard to see far forward, especially with the thousands of leaves and branches blocking the sun and making it dark and dim along the ground. He was starting to relax, there was no thundering footsteps that alert them to titans and there were small animals like deer, elks and other animals that are in a shortage behind the walls. If they were out it was clearly safe for them. Levi felt his tense hold of the reins lessen as a presence of animals was an indicator no titans were nearby as they were often scared off by titans.

After a few more minutes traversing the forest, they were about 91% complete before they were due to return to Shiganshina into the safety of the walls. Then suddenly a large, misshapen face appeared ahead. Terrified, they immediately scattered. Screams of terror, loud and echoing throughout the forest.

The was a scattering of horses and streams of steam that propelled them up into the trees. The titan launched itself forward, its mouth open with drool dripping from the corners of its lips. Levi and his team forced themselves upwards into the trees the moment they saw the titan but those behind his squad on the carriages were not as fortunate. The titan managed to bite into one soldier attempting to get out of its way but was not fast enough. Thankfully, the soldier was killed instantly and did not suffer a long death.

With the soft echoing noise alerting them once more, there was a shout far north of him that indicated that a group had found more titans. Launching himself into the air, Levi swiftly pulled out his titan-killing blades and propelled forward making the grappling hooks dig into the hardened wood to allow for him to swerve around the titan’s neck. He pressed the launcher and manoeuvred his body, so the blades glided through the titan’s skin like melted butter. The titan’s knees buckled and fell towards the floor, scaring some of the horse that were still running on ahead. He moved towards where he heard the shouts of the other group, following where his specialised squad followed, to be confronted with a group of about seven titans. Erwin and his group were attacking the largest of the seven: a twelve and an eleven metre. He saw Petra and Eld were engaged with an eight metre and Gunter and Oluo where assisting in helping a few soldiers who were in the grasp of a six metre. The other three titans were being fought by young recruits some of which were terrified and remained as high as possible on the large trees, watching onwards, paralysed with fear.

Levi knew that his squad and Erwin’s were more equipped and experienced, so he decided to assist the young recruits, moving as fast as he could get the 3DMG to go, blades at the ready. As he was in the mid-air, in the corner of his eye he saw another titan through the trees on his left, hidden amongst the trees. It was a massive titan, probably a fifteen metre if he was to guess. He reluctantly took his eyes of the large titan to focus on the titans aiming for the young recruits on their first expedition. He cut the titan’s necks effortlessly.

“Stay up here and be on the lookout for more titans and alert people to them. There is a titan ahead, I’ll will deal with it,” he said before storming towards where he saw the titan. It was gone.

Typical.

He launched himself higher to be out of hand-grabbing range, searching for the large titan.

How bloody hard is it to spot a f*cking 15-metre tall titan?

Impossible, it seems. The titan has seemingly vanished. Blending into the environment effortlessly if it is still nearby. He flew upwards above the tree line hoping to spot the titan above the treeline to see it below. Titans are covered in flesh that stands out amongst the backdrop of the forest. But frustratingly he was not able to find it. Gritting his teeth, Levi forced himself to return to the others, it was far better for everyone if he returned.

As he was zigzagging around the trees he saw the pallid skin tone of a large creature. Instinctually, he curved himself around the tree, narrowly avoiding a large, thick branch. This was the same titan, hiding itself amongst the leaves, its body nearly disguised behind the dried dirt and flora covering its body. The titan spotted him and stared intensely at him. Standing on a high branch to get a better understanding of the environment and to get a better view of how to eliminate the damned thing. The titan stood rod still, vivid eyes glancing at him, almost in awed curiosity, its nosed flared and its head tilted before its head rapidly to the left – that it would have given anyone whiplash – nose flaring as if it was startled before abruptly running deeper into the woods.

Briskly, Levi followed suit, remaining a certain distance away, grabbing for a new set of fresh blades, readying himself to launch onto the titan to–

He was knocking roughly into a nearby tree with a crack. His blades fell from his slackened hands, leaving them dangling below him. His vision faded for a brief second, his heart pounded as he tried to get up from his awkward position in the tree, trying to get onto his feet, his left leg fell under his weight in intense pain, temporally blinding him in his agony. His lungs felt far to tight, he wheezed and tried to pull in as much air as possible but collapsed feeling his breathing slow. Just before he passed out he saw a large fist pass by his vision.

Alarmed, he tries to focus around him. He could hear birds chirping happily around him, and the fades of green being the thing he could hear, he could only assume he was still in the forest. But he could not hear the sounds of steam or smell of rotting titans and it felt like a tree branch below him, so he knew he wasn’t inside a titan’s stomach. He was alive. But he had no idea where he was, he was not in the same position as he was when he collapsed. In fact, he felt the soft texture of leaves with a dip going down in a curved slope around him. Wait, no. That doesn’t make sense. He’s in a wooden bowl of some kind, with him in the middle. Without being able to see clearly his heart pounded an arrhythmic pattern in his chest, heart palpitations he reminded himself. Breathing in as much as his pained chest would allow, he yelled.

“Erwin, Hange, anyone! Can anyone hear me!” His voice came out so softly and gurgled, barely comprehensible. He screamed out as loud as possible, with his voice causing a slight echo around him. With the silence his screams had caused, he could not hear anything in the silence. Just the ringing in his ears. And the wheezing his breath made. He was not behind the walls.

He was all alone.

He was completely Isolated.

Levi awoke once again, the sun glared back at him and he felt his vision clear the fog, he was finally able to get a better look at his surroundings. His earlier hunch was proved corrected. He was clearly beyond the walls. All around him he saw trees, tall ones that rose into the sky, a river or lake in the distance and hills to the other side. He looked down, saw that he was extremely high up, it was almost like he was up on the top of Wall Maria. He was in some cocoon the tip of the tree looked like it was broken and almost carved out with leaves covering the sap of the tree.

Had someone brought him here? Surely not? No one could survive in this Hell.

He grabbed for his blades but found that the blades were missing, the grasps were ripped clean off. He was unable to use his 3DMG. His air canisters were busted and broken and open, leaving him without pressurised air.

He moved his leg noting the agonising, blistering pain shooting up his leg. He looked down, seeing a heavy patch of dried blood on his leg and an odd shape around his shin. It was clearly broken with the bone forced itself out of his leg.

So, I’m out in titan territory, with a broken leg and possibly fractured ribs, great! What else could go wrong?

Slowly he heard the repetitive, thundering footsteps vibrating though the forest.

Fate sure has convenient timing, Levi thought. Thankfully, due to how high he was, he knew he was safe from most titan’s. A few minutes later, Levi’s eyes widened in shock as the titan from earlier came into view. The fifteen-metre titan walked up to the tree he was in and observed it. He felt the tree shake and groan as a sudden weight was added to it.

Was the f*cking thing climbing it!?

To his horror the large titan’s face appeared, its arms grasping the thick branches. It didn’t move or react. Just staring at Levi as he was staring at it. Closer, he was able to get a better look, it was an aberrant titan. There was far too much emotion in its mossy green eyes to be the empty hunger that he was used to seeing. Its teeth were exposed in a jagged and haphazard manner that looked like a human smiling without any lips. A large mop of brown hair covered the titans head. Which was not at allow misshapen or disproportionate. Its body was well chiselled and defined with muscle.

Slightly terrified, Levi tried to move backwards, but clenched his teeth as his leg moved. The titan pulled itself up the tree, curling itself up around him. Resting on the spread of branches with Levi in the middle on the trunk of the tree. He was so confused with a million questions racing through his mind.

What the hell is going on? Why is there a titan in front of me? Why is it not eating me? Why is it staring at me? What the f*ck am I supposed to do?

It remained still, calm, and relaxed, letting out a large breath of steam that warmed Levi up but disgusted him as the smell resembled that of the ghetto of his childhood. With the titan’s unpleasant breath warming him and eyes watching him with a softness that looks alien to see on such a face, the titan moved its hands towards him. Levi shifted backwards to pull away from the titan’s hand. The titan’s eyes caught his, looking downcast it slowly pulled its arm away.

They remained like that for some time, the atmosphere thick with tension and apprehension. Licking his lips and swallowing made him aware of the dryness in his throat, and his thirst for water became his current concern. How was he to get to a water source this far up? There was the lake in the distance, but he was immobile and its obvious he wouldn’t survive getting down with his gear inoperable. He was stuck. Levi slumped back down to the bottom of his makeshift bed and groaned. The itching in his neck was not going to go away anytime soon and was only going to get worse. He grew up with a lack of resources, with water being one of them. But it didn’t make it any easier to bare. What he used to do was sleep on it if it was unavoidable, but he didn’t really have the choice with this thing in front of him.

Minutes turned into hours and soon it was nightfall and the titan eventually fell asleep next to him. He would’ve thought of a plan to get out and escape, although the whole forest had darkened to absolute darkness. He couldn’t see his own hands, nor the titan sleeping mere metres from him.

It was a warm, sleepless night, with his hunger and thirst swallowing all his thoughts. He’d been daydreaming of the crappy flavourless soup and stale bread that was often rationed at HQ, anything to curb the hunger that had risen in the night. The sun hadn’t rose fully yet and he could see the titan’s body that looked peacefully asleep curled up around him. He leaned over the edge, seeing some of the woodland creatures awaken and start their morning routines. All of which were so small from this height. Sighing resignedly, he sat back in the bed. the pain in his leg had been a constant throb. But it seemed almost dull. He knew something needed to be done to prevent it from healing incorrectly, though he didn’t know how. The bone was broken in a way that would have to be done surgically back in Rose. He needed a splint and something to hold it onto his leg.

He looks down to his leg and realises that there is no way he can remove his shoes without bending his knees. Closing his eyes, he breathed in deeply, psyching himself up to deal with the inevitable pain and agony. Moving as quickly as he could, he pulled his injured leg up, bending at the knee. He collapsed as the pain strikes cold blazing fire through his leg, making him whimper though the pain. Using his right left hand, he cupped the front of his ankle to prevent his leg moving as he uses his right to pull the boot down and off his leg. He had to stop multiple times to take a deep breath to regain composure before continuing. One he got his boot off his heart was bounding and taking in deep quick breaths, feeling like he ran a marathon. That felt more exhausting than all of his training combined. But he knew he was not finished. Sweating up a storm, he sat back up and tried to loosen the strapping on his leg, shifting it off his foot first to give the straps on his legs some stack to move them away from the injured area. Wiping the sweat away from his face, Levi slowly shuffled his pants very slowly to expose the broken bone. Already aware of what he was expecting, the sight still made him sick. To see the bone sticking proudly out of his leg with a patch of dried blood surrounding the skin where it had gone through. Thankfully it didn’t seem to have penetrated and vital veins or arteries as he would be dead by now. Careful to avoid touching the site of the bone, he touched around his leg, feeling if there was more than just one fracture, he probed his leg with his fingers making sure not to press to hard.

Fortunately, he could not feel any other fractures, so he only had one clear break. Which meant that he could to a more primitive repair to his leg to reduce the possibility of an incorrectly healed leg.

A huffing sound alerted him, and he searched ahead seeing the titans face, mare inches from him, staring intently at his leg. Uncomfortable, he shuffled back, proclaiming: “Don’t you even think about it!”

The titan pulled itself up from its position, stretching its limbs into the air, in a far-to-human resemblance. Brushing its brown hair away from its face, it leaned forward, arms on branches either side of Levi. Its nicely shaped face, leaned in close, evidently not understanding Levi’s earlier command or blankly ignoring it. Defenceless without weapons, Levi froze, as the titan sniffed him, pressing its nose into Levi’s chest. He didn’t like that.

“Hey! What the f*ck are you doing, brat! f*ck off!” he yelled with as much bite as he could get out of his dry mouth. The titan pulled away immediately, eyes widened comically at his outburst. The titan’s mouth opened a few times and then snorted before ignoring him to climb down the tree.

Finally alone, without the titan’s presence he felt more at ease immediately.

He spends his time analysing his leg and trying to see if it was possible to push the bone back into his leg, but it hurt just touching the exposed bone. Preparing himself for one of his worst days in existence, he sucked in deeply before putting pressure on the bone, trying to ignore the pain his nerves were sending him. “You can do this… f*ck, come on!” he shouted at himself. “f*ck! sh*t! Just do it Levi!”

It takes him an hour to get the bone back into his leg, trying to make sure he had it in the right spot to heal. He tried to put his hand into the open wound to find where the fracture was to make sure the bones were as close as possible to get them to heal without compromising its strength. He was in the middle of this when the tree shock violently, probably a sign of the titan from earlier.

As the titan came into view, its mouth distended incorrectly it climbed up, with some sticks and some flax. Perplexed as to why the titan is carrying it he remains still in the bowl-bed. the titan sits comfortable in front of him and leans into the bowl-shaped bed opening its mouth to allow fruits, berries and even a few coconuts, to fall out.

What the hell?!

Confused beyond reason, the titan looked down at him with a tilted head, looking at Levi expectedly. Looking at all the food that the titan had somehow given him, Levi was dumbfounded for the first time in his life. Despite that some of the food was covered in the titan’s saliva, they all looked incredibly appetising. He was giving longing looks towards the coconut, knowing about the milk that was inside could cure him of his thirst. Grabbing the wet coconut with a stick – I’m going to ignore that, he thought. Looking for something to smash the coconut finding a metal part of his 3DMG he ignored reason telling him to keep his gear in ideal shape to bang the coconut against creating a crack that allowed for the liquid in the coconut to seep out onto his parched tongue. After drinking all that was inside the coconut he continued to smash it against the titan-killing-blade storage chamber again until it split open and he was able to get greedy fingers in and pulling out the flesh from inside and eating it. If he was in a normal state of mind, he would have been appalled of his behaviour and unhygienic eating.

After eating the coconut, he looked up towards the titan who had a pleased and happy expression across its face. Babbling to itself and talking nonsense to Levi’s perspective, dropping the flax and sticks in Levi’s lap before lying down in front of him. Looking at the titan and looking down at his lap, he grabbed three sticks that looked ideal for a splint and he holds them in position, using the flax as a rope to hold them securely to his leg to allow for his leg to have a better chance of healing.

Gazing at the titan with gratitude he didn’t know he’d ever have for a titan he whispered, “Thank you.”

The titan just looked back at him with kindness and a softness that seemed to be natural to the titans face no matter how weird it seemed.

“I think I’ll call you Eren, how does that sound?”

The titan, now Eren, babbled contently with a smile in its eyes.

Chapter 3: Non Desistas Non Exieris

Chapter Text

He preened himself by the lake, the small creature was sitting nearby on the shore. It was another sunny day no clouds in the sky and he was soaking as much energy as possible. His physical activity may have decreased since taking care of the little creature, but he needed all he could get since the little one need so much help. The little one had even given him a name, Eren. He didn’t understand why of course but if it helped the little one feel safe than he would go along with it.

Grabbing a handful of water, dropping it on top of his head and repeating until his hair was soaked and then brushing his hand through to get the sloppy strands out of his face. After having a good wash down, he sat down by the creature to observe. The little creature was fascinating and Eren could watch him all day. The little one was dropping its cloth in the water then twisting the water out. It looked around and saw Eren and placed the cloth on his knee, perhaps to get it warm or dry through his heated skin.

It was peaceful with just the two of them, no titans and the forest animals are out and about, enjoying the sun. Despite the itch under his skin, driving him to run about and burn off the energy the sun is giving him. After a few hours have passed and the little one’s cloth have dried and the two sat together in peace. He was relaxed and content. It felt nice to have someone around and not having to worry about being attacked or fighting. He wondered what was going on in the little one’s head, as he often looked unsure, confused, or conflicted, eyes adrift and unfocused with sadness in those little grey eyes.

The small creature was looking so solemn that Eren wanted to make the little one happy, the smile on its little face made his body flutter with a sense of pride and sense of being content. Feeling free in his own body. Not wanting to leave the little one alone, Eren slowly and carefully scooped him up in his hand and cupped it to his chest to keep him safe. The little one couldn’t walk properly so Eren has decided to take care of it to ensure the little one was safe and able to keep Eren company.

In the distance he sees the trees that grow the favourite food the little one ate. The tree grew little brown hairy berries that looked so large in the little one’s hands, but everything looked big next to the little one. He was clearly not the only one who was so little as the others that were with the little one was also small but powerful considering their size. Eren hadn’t seen any creature that could take down a titan, especially one so small. But Eren often wondered, does the little one miss the others? Is that why he’s so sad? This feeling would consume him when he thought of this as, it means he’s hurting his little companion by keeping him rather than him being with the others of his kind.

Was it wrong that he wanted to keep the little one?

He looked down and the little one’s face was scrunched up in a funny expression, one that showed displeasure. Eren looked at him and the little one handed back the berry. Huffing, Eren cracks open the berry with his other fist with minimal effort and hands it back. The creature stared at it, not taking it out of Eren’s outstretched hand. With it’s little hands it pressed against Eren’s palm, shooing it away. Tilting his head in confusion, Eren glanced at the creature with puzzlement. Why wasn’t the little one eating his berry? They are his favourite? Was he not hungry?

Eren churred with a muddled tone.

The creature looked back at him with angered face, eyebrows drawn together, eyes squinting with a glare and narrowed lips, with a slight bare of the teeth. The creature started muttering in a language that Eren could not understand but he sounds heavily displeased with a loud growl. The creature attempted to stand in Eren’s palm, pointing at Eren, before pointing to the ground incessantly. Unsure as to why, the little one would want to be lowered to the ground, Eren placed him down gently on the dirt. The little one then used his hand to help stand up and walked behind the tree trunk.

Eren leaned against the tree, giving the little one space. He could hear the little one behind him, so he waited patiently. He knew from last time that the little one didn’t like to be interrupted or bothered when he wanted to be alone. Twiddling his fingers absentmindedly, Eren’s mind became unfocused and he faded into the surroundings around focusing on his senses to daydream.

The smell of the forest smells of autumn with the scent of earthy tones from the falling leaves and mouldy trees. The cold nip the air with the sun allowing for the smell of grass and wild flowers to bloom. The crisp air blowing into his face–

His flashed open. That smell. Alarmed he pushed himself up off the ground and despite that the little one would not be happy with him, he turned around on the bark and grabbed for him.

The little one cried out at Eren’s rough grasp and pulled the creature towards him, holding him securely in Eren’s hand. Ear’s perked up and moving to detect the slightest sound that alerted that the titan was nearby. He knew he should run back to his tree, as it was incredibly high and practically no titans knew how to climb, allowing for him and the little one to be safe but the noise he would make from running would alert the nearby titan. Fortunately, the wind was blowing towards him rather than away from him as that meant the titan could not pick up his scent, but the little one was much more vulnerable. The titans seemed to like the little one more than Eren. Conflicted he looked at the little one in his hand, a disgruntled and angered look directed towards him.

Eren couldn’t risk it, he held onto the little one as close as possible, trying to not shake or hurt the little one as he moved he bolted for the tree.

“Hurrgh!” was the only warning he got as the titan lunged at his free hand. His hand sent pain up his body and he saw in the distance that there was another one. He heard the cries from the human as he panicked and accidently tightened his fist. In his desperation, he put the creature in his mouth to keep the titans away from harming him and allowing him to use his other hand.

He grasped at the titan’s hair, gripping it tightly in his fist and attempting to rip the monster from his body, while keeping his eyes tightly locked on the little six-metre watching him fight with the ten-metre attached to his arms. He couldn’t roar at them or sink his teeth in the titan’s flesh as the little one was taking refuge there.

Eren’s heart pounded with adrenaline and an internalised fear of his little one being harmed by these monsters, pulled his hand out of the titan’s hair, gritting his teeth as it began to rip the skin, muscle, and sinew in his arm. He balled his free hand into a fist and pulled back as far as he could before he lunged it towards the ten-metre’s face with all the force he had. The blow knocked the titan’s head back, causing it to snap and the sound of the bones in its neck cracking. It wasn’t a killing blow, but it was enough to incapacitate the titan for now.

The other the titan became more confident with the other titan out of the way. The smaller titan sprinted towards Eren on all fours. Its mouth agape in a disquieting smile, teeth sharp and crocked. Acting on instinct Eren pulled himself back, setting his feet deep into the earth to have strong balance and power and knocked his fist into the titan’s mouth, knocking and chipping many of its teeth, he ripped his hand back to see many cuts and breaks in his hand from the punch.

Snarling he kicked the titan to the ground, watching it fall onto its side with maliceful glee. He kicked the titan again, harder this time, before stomping on its ribcage and watching its chest distort with the lack of support for the lungs and heart that was a duplicitous facsimile. Eren wanted to destroy the titan for even coming near him and his little one!

Eren opened his mouth and growled at the titan with as much hate and rage as he could force into it. But the titan did not look afraid, none of them ever truly did. But the look on the titan’s face was serenity, before a hungry, lustful grin, was plastered on its blood covered face. Unbeknownst to Eren, he had his mouth open, with the little one still inside his mouth. Clinging to his mouth. The titan though severely weakened, still lusted for unobtainable satiation.

It forced its hand into Eren’s open mouth, with the latter’s eyes widening in horror. He instantly slammed his jaw shut, digging his razor-sharp molars deep into the titan’s flesh. He grabbed at the titan’s elbow and used his foot to force the titan’s head back with his other leg he pressed against the titans broken ribcage. He could feel the large hand inside his mouth that touched all over causing a feeling of violation. But Eren was terrified for the little one. He couldn’t protect himself and Eren was awash with dread. He could feel the little one trying to escape the searching fingers from trying to grab him. With torment he pleaded that the little one would forgive him for this.

He titled his head back sharply and when he felt the little one fall, he swallowed him whole.

His hands began to shake and – and – and…

He was in hysterics.

There were tears in his eyes and a throbbing in his chest, but the little one should be fine if he hurries. He cannot eat anything as it may hurt the little one in his stomach. So, he finds his anger and frustration with the titans and finds more fuel to power him in his rage and releases his hold on the titan’s hand in his mouth, ripping it out and thrust his body onto the smaller titan and latched onto the titan’s neck viciously and without remorse. He kept ripping into the titan’s body for longer than he needs, but his anger of having to do the unthinkable to keep the little one safe made burned the fire brighter and hotter. Once the titan’s neck was ripped from the body he grabbed the severed head and threw as far as he could and screamed in despair at the titan’s body and ran towards the tree as fast as his body would allow for him.

When he reached the tree he slumped against it, cutting a hole into his stomach, intending to allow for an opening for him to pull the little one out. When he cut a big enough hole into his stomach he used one finger to search inside and the other hand to cup anything that may fall out as the little one was so small. His hands were shaking as he began to fear that he was too late and the little one was killed or had been digested in his stomach. his hysteria began to build as his mind swam with wild thoughts and regrets.

Please! Please! Please let him be okay!

When he found a solid object in his stomach he pulled it towards the gaping hole in his stomach and nearly fainted when he saw the little one, unmoving in his hand.

He nearly stopped breathing. His eyes started to water as he slowly tried to awaken the little one. He pressed ever so gently against the little one’s chest, before the little one rolled over to sputter and spit out what was in his mouth. Coughing he slowly looked up at Eren. He looked like a mess, with his cloth sticking tightly against his skin and hair plastered all over his face. But Eren did not care, he was okay and that’s all that mattered to him. He began to lick the little one’s face to help clean it for him and that’s when–

He felt eyes upon him and they didn’t belong to the little one in his hands. He hesitantly looked up in alarm and swallowed heavily upon seeing many little ones surrounded amongst the trees. When the little one saw Eren’s face he looked up and his eyes widened, his eyes shined brightly upon looking at them. Eren pulled the little one towards him, baring his teeth and snarling at the others holding the little one to his chest protectively and possessively. They remained still and did not move. Their eyes did not move from his hand where the little one was protected.

Eren reacted negatively to their presence, he was leaning against his home, his safe space, but he knew that he was not safe there when it came to them. They knew how to reach the peaks of the trees. he felt the squirming of the little one in his palm and he knew he had a choice to make, they didn’t move, but they had shiny metallic objects in their hands that made him uneasy. Weapons. Meant to cause harm. They would not move until he did. It was a waiting game. But Eren knew he could not wait forever, titans would come or nightfall. Either one would distract him or make him vulnerable and unable to protect the little one. These creatures could stay awake all night whereas he could not.

He was at an impasse. He was stuck but ultimately, he could not stay here. They would wait all night if they had to. there was many of them, he could not count, he was unable to see if there were any behind him on his tree but he theoretically, believed there was at least a handful.

Sighing deeply, letting out a breath, he looked down at the little one mournfully. He enclosed his hand and sucked in deeply trying not to draw attention to it and let out a large mouthful of steam. His unhealed gut also released more steam, creating a cloud from the mouthful of steam he created to allow for a sense of cover. He put the little one in his mouth and dug into the dirt to bolt from the scene. They had good hearing, so they would immediately know he had gotten up and left but were left blind as to where. His frantic mind, swung from decision to decision, making it hard to formulate a clear plan to avoid the others. He tried to do what he had to do for the titans but constantly changing direction and zigzagging around the trees. but these creatures were more sophisticated that the titans, putting him at a disadvantage. There was a large group following closely behind him, two smaller groups on his side, and he felt like he was being led into a trap.

Eren was huge compared to them, sharp movements were not his strong suit he was better at fighting not running. His heart pounded in his chest and he swerved to the left, throwing his hand in the air in the general direction of the small group to make them move away. The movement made him slip on the muddy ground below, knocking him to the ground. His teeth knocked together and the fall winded him, involuntarily blowing the little one out of his mouth. The little one rolled and landed in a heap on the ground. Eren reached out to grab him, but felt a sharp pain in his fingers, he rose his hand to see all his fingers cut off. He tried to grab him again, using his cut hand to protect the fingers of his other hand but a few brave creatures landed on his hand slicing his wrist open and he couldn’t move his hand he propelled himself forward attempting to bite at the creature, but they swung away too quickly.

He panicked when he saw a creature pick up his little one and pull him into their arms before shooting into the trees. he pulled himself up off the ground to catch up but felt their blades cut through his Achilles heel, knocking him against the ground one more, incapable of getting back up. He rolled over to protect his neck and there was a piecing pain throughout his arms. Turning to look, they had used some sort of blade that dug deeply into the earth through his arm, effectively pinning him to the ground. Shouting and screaming, attempting to pull at his restraints, kicking his legs in all directions before another blade was shot into the ground on either side of his neck before tightening to the point where he could no longer move his neck as the wires dug into the flesh of his neck.

There was a creature around his neck, long reddish hair, looking at him in wonder and awe, terrifying Eren even more. He snapped his teeth at them, hoping to scare them away. But that one didn’t even look concerned. A blonde-haired man came closely followed by a balding brown-haired man, studying him intensely.

They talked between each other, Eren deaf to what was being said. They had their blades out and ready to be used. Eren thrusted against the bindings, howling, and screaming against them attempting to attack anyone who came near him. He was scared and did not know what to do. He needed to keep himself safe by keeping these creatures at a distance. But his heart broke at the separation of his little one. He hated them for doing this to him. He was so happy. Why did everyone have to ruin what little happiness he was able to get!?

The blonde-haired man walked close to him signalling towards the other creatures and he was suddenly swarmed by them at his right. He turned and snarled at them, but before he could react, he felt his neck being sliced. Hot buzzing pain, spread throughout his body, worse than anything he had ever felt in his life. He felt a boil of steam to rise out and his body slumped, and his eyes closed into darkness and pain.

Chapter 4: A Fronte Praecipitium a Tergo Lupi

Chapter Text

The heat radiated all around him, swallowing him in the blistering air. He could barely breathe the air was far too hot and much too thick. He coughed and tried opening his eyes to see everything is dark. His hands twitch uncomfortably they felt like something had melded him to some fleshly substance. It was burning his skin. He pulled and pulled his hand out of the dark crevasse feeling it fatigue the more he tugged. He was able to set his hand free from the bound flesh, causing him to dangle and hang awkwardly. After repeating the process with his other hand, he heard a horrendous ripping sound as his body fell onto a hard structure bellow him.

Once he lands on the hardened structure, he curls into himself as his body seizes, fingers and hands convulse. In his darkened prison he finds that he everything has a reddish hue and there is steam everywhere as the stench makes his stomach lurch violently at the rotting smell. He continues to cough, desperate for air for his oxygen-starved lungs. He focused on the brightest patch of red flesh, believing it to be the closest way out. He begins to claw at the flesh, but the flesh inflames his already burned skin. He was acutely aware of the growing danger as his lungs were forced to breathe in the toxic steam. Despite the graveness of the consequences, he lunged as much as possible against the flesh. Again, and again he scratches, tugs and rips at the fleshly walls. Eventually, he can cut a hole into the wall and take in a deep breathe before continuing fighting in the noxious prison.

Once he is able to rip open a big enough hole into the flesh-wall, he claws his way out. He struggles to push himself through, the energy beaten out of him. He falls abruptly into the mud. It is plastered all over his torso and face. He spits it violently, groaning at the disgusting taste. He has immeasurable pleasure at seeing the sun and clouds when he looks up to point where he wants to cry. Tears fall from his face, as he turns onto his back, clutching his arms close to his chest. They spasm harshly and the pain was barraging back. He whimpers in pain before looking down seeing that from his elbow below is covered in blisters, pus, blackened and burnt skin. His lungs ached and felt like he was breathing in a fire, smoke and all.

Breathing deeply, he tried to steady his breathing. After lying still, closing his eyes, trying to clear the fog in his mind. Calm down, calm down, calm down, breathe. After getting a decent amount of air in his lungs, he opened his eyes and sat up as much as he could without hurting his arms.

He is confused by the sight that greets him. A mangled corpse of a titan that lays ahead of him, a hole near the neck where he escaped from. But why was he there? But what stunned him most of all was that was a titan of that size. He was a fifteen-metre-tall titan and he just escaped from the titan’s neck. The size of that titan must be gigantic. But why was I inside a titan? The last thing he can remember is the small creatures–

He moves his arms away from his chest, groaning at the way his arms resisted the movement, but found that his stomach was completely healed, inflamed from being inside the titan but was healed from cutting the little one out. That’s when he notices that his body isn’t healing. There is no steam coming from his body whatsoever.

Thump, thump, thump.

Eren turns towards the sound, terrified that a titan would find him in his vulnerable state. However, it was not a titan that greeted him. A deer trotted into the forest nearby with her fawn next to her. They were not much bigger than him. What is going on?

He begins to feel panic rise in his chest creating a heavy sensation that makes his stomach lurch downwards, making him nauseous. He begins to sweat and feel sick and his legs give out from under him and his shoulder knocks into the tree, scratching his skin and grazing it making it begin to bleed. The blood began to pool into small spheres and then dribble down his arm. Despite the nausea he was entranced by the blood falling down his arm. That had never happened before. He stares at the ground incredulously. His belly lurches again, forcing him to fold upon himself and throw up on the ground, his severely damaged hand pressing against the muddy floor, throbbing at the sensation against its damaged nerves.

His hand clenches involuntarily. He pulls his arms to his chest to protect them as he tries to clear his mind and think about what he has gotten himself into. Breathing in and out a few times he feels his heart rate slow and his breathing more rhythmic and at a relaxing pace. Pulling himself up, he trudges over to the rotting corpse of the titan near him. His legs wobble and he pulls his ankle and he wonders how he became clumsy all of a sudden.

When he plodded around the titan’s corpse he comes to a holt. He stares at what he sees in horror. He takes a few steps back at the sight and falls on his arse. The titan’s eyes are hallowed and sullen but have an unmistakable emerald hue. The mouth is agape, and the teeth bared for the world to see the tongue turning into a vapour cloud adding to the already large blanket of steam surrounding him. The once-golden skin now turned an unhealthy shade of white, as it decays. The heavily muscled body. He is looking at his own body decaying.

He stands there, taking in the-his body, his mind going blank but also a mile a minute. He finds it difficult to breathe as if his throat has closed on him. His heart pounds violently against his ribcage. He turns his head around him trying to find out if this is all a terrible dream. The pain in his hands demands to be noticed as he had unknowingly been clenching them, fresh blood and a yellow substance pouring out of the blisters. His body becomes moist and sweat starts to form on his forehead, dripping down his face like tears. He has never had a dream where he could feel and he-he-he. He clutches his chest, it feels like it’s about to collapse on him and becomes lightheaded and cannot focus on anything around him. He just needs to get out of there as fast as his feet could get him. His feet feel like they’re being weighted down by a ball and chain. He needs to get back to his tree, he’ll be safe there.

He is confused, everything is so different. All the visual cues that he relied upon to find his home where gone. He wasn’t tall enough to see them or find them. He was hopelessly helplessly lost. He had no idea where he was; the trees spread out as far as the eye could see.

That’s when he saw the massive lake, he knew that his tree was north from here. He felt a ghost of a smile grow on his face.

The sun was glaring onto his face, blinding him when he opened his eyelids. He groaned and rolled over snuggling the blankets closer to his body refusing to wake up. He had never been this cosy before and he’ll be damned if anyone gets him out of this bed–

His eyes open immediately. He looks down and sees a white sheet that was slightly tinted yellow from constant use. He is on an actual bed; not in some bowl-shaped cocoon in the woods. He pulls the blanket off him and sees his leg, professionally wrapped in a cast. The splint and rope that held his leg together now gone. He was dressed in some pale blue hospital gown, the material soft against his chest. Not just any hospital. He must be in the military hospital in Sina.

He glances towards the light and sees the window, slightly open to let in the breeze, the thin curtains fluttering softly in the wind. He walks awkwardly to the window. Civilisation, he’s behind the walls. He closes his eyes, looking towards the sky in his close eyes as a silent prayer. He walks back to the bed, to sit down and glance at the white, thick bandage wrapped snugly around his leg. He flexed his toes on his injured leg and felt them move without much resistance. There was not much pain, rather just an annoying clenching when he moved his leg the wrong way.

Next to his bed was a small wheeled table that had another gown nicely folded, his medical file and water. He grabbed the file and the water, downing that in one go.

He looks down at the file in his hand, and opens it to the front, seeing a report that simply stated his identity and ranking. He turned it over and saw that it was on his medical condition. It reads:

Patient:Levi Ackerman

Patient Number:942689100

Sex:MALE/FEMALE

DOB:25/12/816.

POB:MITRAS UNDERGROUND

Height (CM):160CM

Weight (KG):65KG

Allergies:NONE

Previous Noteworthy Afflictions: Anemia

Condition:Broken Fibula (Infected & Inflamed; Hyperpyrexia (Temp: 105F); Mild Starvation; Mild Dehydration; Vitamin A Deficiency; Anemia.

He was surprised. He didn’t feel at all sick, especially with all of the listed conditions. He wasn’t surprised by the starvation or dehydration and anemia one bit. But the vitamin A deficiency and hyperpyrexia was a surprise. He knew he didn’t eat many healthy foods while under that titan’s care.

He heard a click and the door opened, a nurse came in and closed the door behind her, not noticing that he was already awake. She turned around and when her eyes found his, her face broke into a smile.

“Why hello, Mr Ackerman!” she said with genuine happiness. This was the first person he was able to look at in who-knows-how-long. She was a short and petite young woman. She had long black hair that was tied up in a neat pony tail. Her glasses made her look much younger than she looked and her brown eyes full of warmth. “I do hope you are feeling much better. You gave us a bit of a scare last week.”

Confused he opened his mouth to ask but she already beat him to it. “You had Hyperpyrexia, or better known, a dangerously high fever. It was mostly likely a mixture of your anemia, vitamin A deficiency and the infection in your leg.”

Levi nodded absentmindedly and placed his file back on the table. He brushes his hair back from his face and rubs his eyes.

“How about after I check your vitals I’ll get you some food and water? How does that sound?” she said while writing something down on a clipboard.

“Amazing, I could really do with something to drink,” he could feel his scratchy throat make his voice sound hoarse and gurgled.

She looked up and smiled at him again. She checks his blood pressure, takes a blood test, takes his temperature, and checks his heart. The stethoscope is uncomfortably cold on his warm chest. Once she completes all of her checks, she writes down all of the results on the clipboard and leaves the room.

How long has he been here? A few weeks at least as the nurse mentioned that he had a bad fever last week. He looks down at his hands and notes that they seem to be a healthy complexion and searches his room and finds a small mirror near the door of his room. He stands in front of it and his body has definitely taken a blow. His body is much thinner than what it used to be. Muscle had died and been burned due to his starvation. His bones stuck out a little more and he had small discoloured patches along his body, his face had more wrinkles than what he remembered having and his nails looked terrible, yellowed from his unhealthy condition. His eyes have deep, dark bags under them and his cheeks appear sullen.

Turning away from the mirror he walks towards the window again and pulls a chair with him to observe the people outside. The richer, wealthier people of Sina walked around, talking amongst themselves and spending time in the warm summer sun. It appeared to be around mid-day perhaps a little later. He was just sitting there wishing more than anything to have a nice cup of tea in his hand to drink while he was left alone with his thoughts.

He heard footsteps and then suddenly there were hands wrapped around him. Startled, he turned to push whatever was touching him away when he saw that it was Hange. Her soft brown eyes looked into his grey and they started to tear a little. He grumbles and reluctantly allows for her to smother herself in his personal space. He saw Erwin in the doorway, observing the brown-haired squad leader. She pulls away from him and she glances over him and the happiness starts to lessen as she takes in his undesirable appearance.

Erwin then walks into the room, standing beside Hange. He smiles slightly, lips turned upwards before he pats Levi on the back. Levi looks down and sees that in his other hand is a tray of food and a bottle of water. He hands it to him, Levi takes it and places the tray on the table beside him. he downs the water quickly, his throat demanding water to curb the dryness. He begins to eat the mediocre meal the hospital had prepared.

“How are you Levi?” asks Hange, as she sat down on the unmade bed.

He raises his eyes from the food and puts his fork down. “As good as I can be I suppose.”

She gulps, looking down while clenching her hands together, as if she needed to build up confidence. “Levi… Gods we’re so surprised you’re alive. We thought we’d never see you again.”

The atmosphere became gloomy and tense, however there was one question that he need to ask.

“How long was I gone?” Levi glared into his food.

Hange looks up to meet Erwin’s glance before they both turned to look at him. Levi has an instinctual feeling that he wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Levi,” Erwin begins, as if he really would rather not say. “You’ve been gone for a really long time. You were missing for five months.”

Chapter 5: Persona Non Grata

Chapter Text

Eren awoke to bright lights. The sun swarmed his eyes, unwelcomed to his sleep deprived brain. He curled up tighter, liking the warmth and comfortable tree he was lying upon. His hands were itchy and sore. Every movement he made was painful and his body ached dully. He stretched his legs, flexing his toes, hunching his body up then relaxing into the soft comfort below.

He blinked his eyes opening, yawning as he sloppily moved his arm to push up against the tree below him, only to feel his body lurch. His body sharply moved forward and there was a loud thump as he landed on the hard, stony floor below him. He groans as his pulls his arms to his chest, scuffed and cut from his fall. He looked around and he was in an enclosed space, stone walls surrounded him with one side covered in dark branched in a cross-crossing way.

Shaking his head slightly only to have some hard material wrapped around his neck. He gently moved his fingers up to the thing around his neck and felt it sit snuggly around his throat. He pulled against it slightly, but it stubbornly refused to budge. Scandalised, he huffed angrily. He pulled against the metal around his neck, pulling his body left and right along the stony floor before a metal cord was pulled taught. When he moved it restricted his movement, knocking him to the ground as he lost his balance.

The metal clanged noisily against the stone ground, echoing in the empty, enclosed space. He started to screech loudly, thrashing his body around the room.

He heard loud thunderous thumping noises that clanged against the stony floor. He froze instantly when he heard them. He scurried underneath the thing he was asleep on, pulling his body together as much as possible, to make him smaller and less likely to be seen. The footsteps came towards the enclosed space he was stuck in. he was low and hunched over, but he could see the only shaped leathery cloth and there were many of them.

Their feet scuffed the stone under their feet. There was a clacking of metal.

He heard chattering noises, he did not understand them. It sounded oddly familiar, but it did not make him feel at ease. He pulled his lips back and hunched his shoulders ready to attack anyone who came near him.

“@#$%^&!” Someone yelled. It made his sensitive ears hurt and he flinched, jingling the metal contraption around his neck. The room became quiet and there was hushed whispering and then one pair of leather coated feet came towards him. He hissed loudly, trying to make it sound as threatening as possible, but his sore throat made it sound broken and cracked. Absolutely pathetic.

Suddenly the person has come close enough that a long rod came near him with a rope at the end of it. Eren lashed his arm out knocking the rod away from him. his hands ached against the movement. Ignoring the discomfort, he growled again hoping to make them go away.

Then there were two rods coming at him. he pulled himself closer to the wall, growling aggressively with his scratchy voice. Violently, he was pulled forward landed at the bottom of the feet of those who had him bound and cornered. He thrashed against his captors, pushing and kicking at them hoping to get at least one blow. When hands came close to his face, he sharply manoeuvred to bite at it. The hand flinched away from him and it loosened its hold on him. he saw faces, blurred together over him and he felt a harsh, strong wire wrap around his throat. It tightened against his neck and the end of the metal rod was pressed to the back of his neck.

He was restrained and the titan holding the metal rod while another one unclasped the metal contraption around his throat. He whined while baring his teeth, but he felt spent, but the adrenaline was not gone from his body. A smooth cloth was wrapped around his head, obscuring his vision. When the metal was pulled on the rod he was forced to move. He was shoved forward, and when he resisted he was bound by the other titans and ushered against his will down thin and long corridors, scared and not knowing what was happening or where he was going.

He snarled when one of the titan’s grabbed his injured arm, twisting it behind his back and doing the same to the other before binding it. The rope was scratchy and irritating his reddened skin. The titans swarmed him, seemingly coming at him in all directions. They were covered in these white things, covering their heads, with only their piercing eyes staring coldly down at him. Eren paled and felt his heart spike and lungs constrict painfully in his chest. The cold and unfeeling titans placed him on a table, face down and secured him to it. He thrashed and lunged at any time the titans came close to him.

He felt a painful pinch in his arm. He turned sharply towards where the pain was coming from and a tiny thin metal rod was piercing his skin. He flinched and tugged his arm away from their painful devices. He swiped at them with his hand, pain be damned. He missed terribly, after they did the metal rods in his arm a few more times, the moved away and he was left alone, scurrying along with the red substance that came out from his arm.

He was bound in pure white room, smelling horrifically harsh against his sensitive nose. He could hear his breath loudly through the silence of the room. Heavy and arrhythmic. He was overwhelmed in a sense of panic, that he needs to leave. To escape. His bounds were securely attached to the table, making his attempts to pull against them ineffective.

He tried to pull the bindings closer to him, intending on biting them with his teeth. But before he could get his molars into the rope, one of the titans into the room. It looked at him softly, pulling down some opaque white fabric off her face. The face that greeted him, was not one he was expecting. It do not reflect the sights of the titans but looked more like the Little One. Small and completely covered in flesh. Eren remained still, frozen to the spot, simply staring at the little creature in front of him.

Is this little creature like the Little-One?

The creature was then accompanied by larger, muscular creature that dwarfed the other. It was covered in many clothes that wrapped around the creature’s body. It pulled a circular object that has oddly shaped objects hanging off it and put one of them in the metal bindings, turning it and releasing his neck from the metal rod. His arms where seized by the larger person. He was ushered and led into a stone hallway before being placed in a dark room. He was forced to sit down on a hard surface, his bound arms being secured to a metal hoop in the middle of the table.

Restrained and unaware to what was happening around him, Eren remained stone still. Eyes analysing the foreign environment for any means of escape or freedom. He was securely chained to the table in a room that was empty of escapes. There seemed to be only one way in and one way out. Cornered, he tried to pull the table with all his might. The table would not budge. It did not give way to his frantic pulls and tugs, the only thing giving way from his efforts were the bruised, burnt, and peeling skin of his hands and arms.

He collapsed, slumped in his exhaustion, terrified and anxious of what is to come.

He curled inwards, helplessness swallowing him and consuming him; his desperate attempts, fruitless. He felt water being to swell and pour from his eyes, saliva either dripping out of the corners of his lips as he panted, or his tongue was dry in his fear. He could not believe that he was rendered weak and unable to defend himself. These creatures –titan’s or not – have taken more away from him in this brief time than all his time living amongst the titans. He was angry, angry at these creatures, at himself and everyone around him. Why? Why was he the one who always suffered? First the isolation the titans enforced on him to survive, then to get a glimpse of happiness when the Little One was with him. But now? He’s gone now too.

The was a clacking of keys, thumping boots and immediately Eren felt his heart pound loudly in his chest, he swallowed a lump of saliva that was forming in his mouth and searched again for a possible exit. However, he was only going to get some success if he was able to disarm and disable the creature on the other side of the thick door.

Getting under the table while trying to crouch to remain unseen with his arms bent awkwardly made it difficult to find a means to hide from view of the door.

The door clicked, and the handle moved to the side and then the creatures entered. Four creatures forced themselves into the room wearing identical uniforms from what Eren could see behind his small shelter. Their faces all expressed displeasure and were sour-faced, looking down at the fifth and much shorter person huddled behind them. Despite the size difference as the creatures with identical appearances being much taller and intimidating the shorter creature paid them no heed and seemed to be angry at them.

“Why would you place a child in such a place?” the smaller creatures said, clearly unhappy as he got close to them, ignoring the dirty looks this got him. “This is not going to allow me to–”

“We don’t make the decisions,” said one of the identically dressed creatures. his face seemed smug and arrogant and it only served to annoy the smaller creature more. But their expressions darkened “But, the child is not from here and he is known to have been violent.”

“Probably because–” the smaller creature was cut off abruptly and despite that Eren has no idea what was being said between these creatures, they seemed not to notice him. he was in no position to attack as the table was too far away from the creatures for him to do anything. He remained still and waited patiently for an opportunity to present itself.

“You’ve got twenty minutes,” the tallest creature leaned down and almost spat at the little creature before ushering the identically dressed creatures out of the room, leaving the smaller creature alone with him.

From what Eren could see of the creature, he was small and unintimidating. The creature had short blonde hair and was wearing a wood-coloured cloth over his body and carrying a leathery bag. His body was lithe and underdeveloped, but alarmingly, Eren could see some areas of the creature’s skin sagging slightly.

The creature sighed and looked around the room. The creature caught sight of Eren as he was peeking and observing the creature that had entered the room. The creature oddly did not approach him or attack him with any rods. Instead, the creature grabbed the chair from the other side of the table and sat not too close to the wall and not too close to the table. The creature placed its leathery bag on the ground beside him and caught Eren’s eye. He flinched and retreated more. But the creature simply smiled sadly at him.

Confused, Eren remained low to the ground, curled up against himself, teeth bared.

The creature was not fazed by Eren’s hostility. Rather, the creature was more focused on what ever it was looking at, flipping through each of the papers with interest.

“So… Eren is it?”

Eren perked up slightly at the sound of name the Little One gave him. How did this creature know of the name the Little One gave him?

Chuckling slightly, the creature smiled at Eren. “Eren it is then. Do you understand what I’m saying, Eren?”

Eren did not respond to the creatures muttering, not understanding as to why it even was attempting to communicate with him. he could not even understand the Little One, why would this creature think itself different. Eren turned away from the creature.

“That would be a no, I’d assume,” the creature said while writing something on its papers before looking up at Eren. “Well, even so, my name is Johannes Arlert. We will be getting to know each other over the next few weeks.”

Oblivious to the creature’s words or their implications, Eren simply sat down on the cold stone floor, ignoring the creature. The creature sat up from the chair and came to sit a close distance away from Eren. Every step that it took closer to Eren made his stomach turn uncomfortably. He felt his body involuntarily curl up against himself and his eyes became glued to the creature, observing every single movement. Eren’s anxiousness began to bleed out of him and he felt his muscles relax as the creature did not come to close to him. Giving him space he needed and allowing Eren to observe him from a close distance.

Eren eyed the creature with uncertainty, the creature would sit down on the freezing floor looking every bit relaxed as Eren did not. The creature laid out, hands holding it up as its legs were stretched out. The light blue eyes watched him, but there was no coldness or emptiness in them, they looked calm and looked around the room lazily, unafraid.

It was completely alien to him, there was minimal time to be calm, next to non-existent when in the presence of others as the majority wanted him dead or eaten. There was only one creature in existence that was the opposite to that rule. Although, now not even them. Everyone would harm him, hurt him intentionally or not, it was all the same.

The creature watched him, not attempting communication or to touch or injure him. just lying down near him, silently as if this was a comforting past-time. Eren’s eyes stayed downcast, he didn’t want to be near this creature or any other. They are all the same, no one ever stayed, not even his–

He clenched his eyes shut, trying to block out the invading memory. He doesn’t want to think about that.

“Eren, I know you must be scared and confused,” the creature said. It sounded odd: calm, relaxed and reassuring as if it is meant to provide comfort. “I know you cannot understand what I am saying but I promise you don’t need to be scared any more. I’m going to make sure you’ll be in safe hands.”

Eren did not look up from where his eyes rested, staring deeply into the deep cracks and scuffs that were scattered along the stones.

Sighing deeply the creature stood up, immediately gaining his attention, he recoiled at the creature’s approach, and tried to put a face of false bravado. He pulled his lips back and bared his teeth at the approaching creature. He made sure to let out a guttural growl and glaring with an intensity that Eren hoped would scare the creature away.

The creature placated Eren, placing his hands up and away from his body, showing that they were holding nothing within their grasp. But the creature unknowingly didn’t know that this didn’t pacify Eren in any means. One does not need a weapon to cause physical harm. He lunged a little towards the creature, hoping to lure the creature away.

The human moved away from his grasp, and out of Eren’s field of view, making him veer around trying to locate the creature from his position. He felt warm fingers ghost over his, making him jump and knock his head painfully against the table. He flinched but swerved to move and lunge at the creature, not liking that the creature would even approach him, heedless to his desire for them to remain separated. But when he moved and pushed himself up to attack the creature, he felt a weight drop from his damaged wrists. He froze and stared down at his hands. To see that the restraints were dangling no longer attached to his blistered arm. He hesitantly pulled his arms close to his chest and shuffled away from the creature.

Eren frowned while watching the creature with confusion, the apprehension that he felt towards the creature was lessening and he felt his shoulders drop from his neck where he had been hunching them.

He let out a muttering grumble of incomprehensible words as a thank you and felt more comfortable in this creature’s presence. The wrinkled creature smiled kindly and sat together with Eren in comfortable silence.

Johannes exited out of the room, leaving the young, vulnerable boy behind. Eren reminded him a lot of an old friend of his; full of spirit and spitfire. He was determined to make sure the boy grew up into something to be proud of. After completing all of the necessary paper work he walked down the hallway until the soldiers led him to the Commander Fonzell. The soldiers knocked on the door and a simple ‘come in’ was heard through the door. Johannes opened the wooden door, closing it behind him with a click.

Fonzell didn’t look up from his paper work that was littered all over his desk. Johannes sat uncomfortably in the hard-wooden chair opposite Fonzell’s desk. The commander remained silent and he began to feel awkward and out of place.

“Commander Fonzell?” he questioned, he was unsure of how to address high commanding members of the military. Especially the Military Police, they hardly gave the townsfolk the time of day, he knew that they likely saw him as one of the people that were below them. Being polite and firm was probably the best bet with the Military Police. “I have spent time with the young boy and reported my findings for you.”

Finally, Commander Fonzell looked up from his paperwork, small icy blue eyes that were staring at him through his glasses were empty of emotion and affect. “And?”

Swallowing, Johannes stated: “I believe that the boy has some trust issues but doesn’t seem against opening up to others. He has most likely lived in a deprived home where he has been focused more on survival than on socialising and identity. Chances are that with proper care he can grow to become just like any other member of society. He will provide a challenge, but I am confident that I will be able to provide a home where he will be accepted and allowed to grow into his own person. Provided you permit me permission to take him into my care.”

“Mr. Arlert,” Fonzell started as he leaned back against his leather chair. Looking down at Johannes, scrutinising him. “I am well assured that you are a smart and intelligent psychologist and have had many troubled youths taken into your care. But, you are an aging man with already one orphan in your care. Not to mention you are also caring for your grandson. I find it hard to believe that in your current shape you would be well-equipped to handle an aggressive and volatile child.”

“But, Commander Fonzell–” The commander rose his hand in a signal of silence, bringing Johannes to a halt.

“You do realise that this is a person who has lived outside the walls, seemingly all his life,” Fonzell claimed. Johannes was well aware of the circ*mstances that made this child a concern for the Crown, however that didn’t mean much to him. “He could be a real threat and we are unsure of his motives–”

“He’s a child, I doubt a child would have the ability to completely render our home into ruin.” Johannes exclaimed bitterly, a bit too loudly. The Crown was always quick to throw the vulnerable aside if it meant that there would have to be an investment. The Military Police are people he has absolutely no respect for. Only because they uphold the rules and laws of the land is the only reason why he restrains his loathing and bitterness towards the militia that killed his son and daughter-in-law. He knew that they were unlikely to give the child to him without them getting their nose in it. “If it is possible I would like to make a compromise.”

“And what would that entail?”

“You may perform physical and your own psychological tests over his development until you believe he is not a risk to anyone,” Johannes had to restrain the smile that was threatening to show upon his face. He knew he was almost guaranteed to get the child if he openly continued to work with the Military Police. “Until then, I will provide you with full documentation of his progress. How does that sound, commander?”

A beat of silence. Then, “consider it done.”

Chapter 6: Vox Populi

Chapter Text

Johannes Arlert was very puzzled on how to feel about the whole situation. The young boy captured and bound by the Military Police, did not deserve the amount of terrorising that the child was no doubt under. He knew how the Military Police saw those that did not belong. Arlert was almost surprised to learn they hadn’t forced the child outside the walls, or into the Underground.

No doubt due to the Survey Corps presence when the boy was found. Any person surviving in titan territory was someone worthy of studying to them. Shadis and his militia were an intelligent lot, many could not be easily bribed or coerced.

He was just glad he was able to get permission for the boy, to help him have some semblance of consistency and reliability without fear or reproach. He knew Armin and Mikasa would treat the boy fondly as he were family. They were a good bunch, those two. No doubt they would be ecstatic about the news of a new member of the family. It put a slight smile on his face while on his long trek back to his village in Shiganshina.

It was already nightfall by the time he arrived back home, seeing Mikasa and Armin reading together. Mikasa was reading aloud and Armin was sitting comfortably on the couch next to her, not bothered by her broken English and only adding input to help her when she struggles on a word. They looked up from their book when he opened the front door and their faces lit up. He barely had time to put down his leather briefcase on the ground before he was swarmed by the two.

“Hey Grandpa! How was your trip?” Armin said, beaming with energy despite the late hour. Mikasa was quiet and didn’t say anything but the tightness of her hug and look in her eyes dark chestnut eyes said more than what words could express. He leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead then Armin’s before placing his hands on his knees bending to their height.

“I had a lovely trip, you could smell all the lovely flowers in bloom,” he patted Armin’s shoulder before straightening. “But I have some good news, but you’ll need to promise me something.”

Their eyes widened comically, it made him chuckle at their enthusiasm.

“What would that be?” Armin practically breathed at him, barely comprehensible in his eagerness to get the words out. Mikasa was also all ears, eager for him to let loose what he withheld.

“I’ll tell you after you eat your dinner,” he heard the sighs of their excitement dissipate.

He saw them deflate slightly, disappointed but the eagerness was not entirely gone. A lingering apprehension remained on their face, unsure of what was to come.

Johannes undressed by putting his coat on the coat hanger and hanging up his briefcase. Before entering his cramped room and dumped his clothes in a washing basket to be washed later before dressing in more causal clothes. When he entered the kitchen, he saw them lingering around the dinner table in the centre of the room, eyes super-glued to him. He let out a large audible sigh at their expression: pouts and puppy dog eyes displayed to coerce him.

“We’re going to have new addition to our family.”

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Eren Awakens again in the dark, stone prison. Immutable and silent. He was bound and beaten, has he had attempted to escape without success. His arm had healed significantly but his fingers had worsened. His nails were red and raw, jagged and black from his abuse against the door and his own bindings. When they had changed his bindings from the hard, cold metal to the strong leather ones to hold him more securely. He dislocated his thumbs to pull them through the metal bindings, forcing them to use the leather to hold him more tightly.

They thankfully removed the chain from his neck after a few days of inactivity after his first attempt of freedom. He awkwardly clawed and ripped into his leather bindings, freeing himself once more, waiting for them to deliver the metal tray full of plants and flesh with liquids. One of the creatures would bring it in once per day through a small gap at the bottom of the metal door. He awaited this person, hiding beside the door for the perfect moment to strike.

When the creatures arrived, Eren was eagerly awaiting his freedom. Feeling his body shake in anticipation and anxiety. When he heard the squeak of the door down the hall open, he felt his heart push itself into his throat, his weakened body still full of drive.

When the small creature’s footsteps neared his prison, he breathed in deeply preparing his body to attack. However, nothing neared the hole. He was confused. This would seem to be the time he was due for the creature to come and deliver the plants and flesh he would not consume. He focused his hearing on the area outside the door. He could hear a small echoing squeal of another door opening and the sound of thumping footsteps. There was another door?

There were more footsteps that neared his stony prison. Everything was quiet. No sound and he could not hear anything other than the sound breathing on the other side of the door.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Eren flinched backwards, drawing away from the door to get as far as possible to avoid the invasive sound.

The door then opened with a groaning croak, three identically dressed creatures followed by a familiar creature. The blonde haired, wrinkled creature entered behind them. Eren remained where he was and waited apprehensively for any movement from the identically dressed creatures.

The blonde-haired creature walked closer to Eren but made sure not to move to fast and eventually sat down on the cold floor a few metres away. The other creatures then left the room. Leaving Eren with the other creature. The creature sat calmly, inattentive to his surroundings. Just nonchalantly sitting down and absent-mindedly picking at his nails and acting as if Eren was not present in the room.

Eren crouched and slowly moved back to the bed, like a cat walking hauntingly. Eren glared at the creature and once he was back on the bed, her kept his eyes on the creature. Unmoving and unresponsive. They remained where they were some time, the creature relaxed and unbothered by Eren’s lack of hospitality and openness.

Eren observed and gazed the creature, feeling the anticipation and fear slowly dissipate. This creature was unlike the others, didn’t approach him, didn’t shackle him or bound him down with the intention of harm. The creature did none. So Eren felt emboldened and slowly began to approach the creature. He kept his limbs close, not wanting to allow the creature to overtake and overpower him. Eren sat a few feet apart from the creature. It was as close as he felt comfortable with. The creature looked at him with a tranquil expression, his presence not alarming or causing a discernible anxiousness. They stayed there for some time, the creature unmoving and attempt to close the gap between the two. leaving Eren to decide if he wanted to get closer or not.

Eventually, Eren felt his curiosity get the better of him. this was the first creature here that did not harm or wish to cause violence. So, inch-by-inch, he got closer. He was high-strung alert to any sudden movement or sounds. He hesitantly knocked his foot against the shoe of the creature. The creature simply tilted its head studiously. He did not feel any violent tendencies and it did not seem eager to cause harm, so he encroached closer. He was right next to the creature’s leg and the creature put its hand out towards him. the movement was agonisingly slow to Eren, but it lessened his distress and Eren cautiously raised his hand and lightly touched it with his hand before pulling sharply back as if the contact had physically hurt him. Eren retreated back towards the bed and the creature looked puzzled and confused but decided to get up and leave Eren in the room alone.

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Johannes surprised that the boy felt comfortable in his presence to approach him. it was a good sign that the boy was open to others. It was clear that the report he was given by the Military Police was a result of their harsh treatment.

An Animalistic, aggressive child that fought violently against other members of staff.

The animalistic part was most easily spotted within the boy. He had obviously lived without human contact for the majority of his young life. But the violence and aggressiveness? No doubt because of the Military Police treating a psychologically abused child as if he was a prisoner would encourage violent outbursts. Any person would fight if they were being injured. It is a coping mechanism. So, Johannes knew that it would be ideal to make the boy have the choice. Simply to stay in the same room, relaxed and not expressing any negative or tense atmosphere to encourage the boy to feel more confident and trusting of him. but to have this kind of success on the second visit with the boy was utterly confusing to him. He did not suspect to be approached on this visit. In the future yes, but not today. It showed to him that the boy was willing to trust if they did not harm him. this was most exciting, and he knew that Armin and Mikasa are going to love having Eren around.

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Armin was looking forward to when his grandpa came home, he knew that his grandpa would be gone for most of the day to spend him with the boy. They had only recently found out that his name was Eren. They were informed that it was likely that Eren was going to be a difficult case for his grandpa to work on and that Eren was going to require a lot of care and attention. But Armin knew his grandpa was a highly sympathetic person and his disdain for the Military Police was motivating him to help the young boy.

He and Mikasa had many long talks wondering what Eren was like and what he looked like. Grandpa Johannes hadn’t discussed anything appearance wise about Eren except that he was around their age. So, it made their day a few days after Grandpa Johannes second trip to Wall Rose that they were going to meet Eren. The two couldn’t believe that they were going meet him.

They followed Grandpa Johannes, dressed in formal clothes, Armin in nice pants and a dress shirt and Mikasa in dressed in a pretty dress.

When they arrived at the Military Police Central building in Wall Rose, they huddled close to Johannes. The soldiers looked down and gave them dirty looks and huffed at them. Most murmured between themselves and laughing. Grandpa Johannes walked confidently to the front desk of the building, talking to the soldier there about his permission to meet with Eren. For some reason he was being held in the prison barracks. He and Mikasa had shared a confused look, they had not ever heard of a young child being kept in a prison, especially the Military Police prison. Did this mean that Eren was a criminal? That he hurt people? He was going to ask his grandpa but looked too immersed into his conversation with the soldier.

Eventually they were granted permission and she walked down with them to the prison hold and was then ushered into a large room that had a large window separating the span oversized room into two.

“You two need to stay here, I’m going to tell the soldiers to bring Eren in, so you can be introduced.”

Johannes then left with the soldier and Armin and Mikasa sat around, impatiently. Their bodies bursting with excitement and the anticipation of meeting a new member of their household.

After waiting for a few minutes that felt like they stretched out into hours, the door on the other side of the glass opened and a small figure was held up by two soldiers, who was grunting and kicking about at them. They had disgusted faces and often swore at the boy who was manhandled into the middle of the room where his cuffs were then attached to a metal hoop on the floor preventing him from moving to far away.

They were confused and horrified that the boy was treated this way. But a dreadful thought entered Armin’s mind; if the Military Police needed to do this to allow for them to meet than what if he was truly violent. Johannes entered the room standing beside Mikasa, when they looked at him, Johannes smiled sadly. He pulled the two of them close.

“I know that it looks barbaric they way they brought him in. But Eren doesn’t like the Military Police because they unintentionally hurt him. He is a calm but anxious child. I wouldn’t bring someone I thought would hurt you into our home.” He place his hand on their shoulders and sighed regretfully. “He has without human interaction for a very long time and can’t speak our language and is a very confused and frightened boy. I think you’ll get alone well when he can be fully introduced.”

They smiled and felt reassured by their grandfather’s words. With the information that Eren was oblivious to language made much sense. By the end of Johannes little speech, the soldiers had left the room and Eren was left in his side of the room alone.

The boy was remarkably tan, nice golden-brown skin and long, misshapen dark brown hair that dangled around his head, and large expressive green eyes that reminded Armin of the trees in the summer. The boy’s hands were bandaged and look slightly inflamed from what was visible. The boy was hunched over and overly protective of his body but looked tense and ready to attack anything that dared to harm him. when Eren looked around and noticed the three of them, he froze and backed away slightly, baring his yellow crooked teeth.

“Be slow and be gentle around him. He is only scared,” Johannes said as he sat down on the stone in front of them, a foot away from the window. He was completely calm and looked like he was completely at peace. It seemed to make Eren less anxious as he watched him and Mikasa and Armin followed him, however, making an effort to be slow as to avoid startling the other boy.

They were rather confused on what do really. Although Armin had meet Mikasa and had befriended her rather quickly, they met under different circ*mstances. Eren was physically separated between them by an invisible barrier and it made Armin felt more like Eren was an animal to be observed and studied. It made him felt uncomfortable. He could tell by the softening of Mikasa’s face that she felt the same way.

Chapter 7: Ad Meliora Vertamur

Chapter Text

When Eren first entered the homestead, he was overly-curious. Ever since leaving the military complex the anxiety had slow ceased, being aloud to roam freely without constant surveillance. They had never restrained or hurt Eren like those men in the uniforms did. The large farm where they lived, allowed for Eren to engage and flourish around them.

Often Armin would find Eren sunbathing in the summer sun, skin tanning after his long periods of relaxation. These were the early signs of the burst of energy that would swarm and like a child on a sugar rush would be everywhere at once. Bounding over the furniture and running around and playing with the farm animals.

At first Armin and Mikasa preferred to watch from a distance as they didn’t know if Eren trusted them or if they fully trusted Eren. He often seemed confused by such menial activities that it makes Armin wonder where in fact Eren is truly from. He remembers Grandpa Johannes saying it was far away from Shiganshina and that he was probably abandoned as a child. What a sad life, he thought. To be abandoned and left to fend for yourself with no one to care for you. But somehow Eren has been able to do the impossible. To fight and defend himself since young. His body still bares those scars, though.

He has seen Eren’s upper-body naked. The large span of the scars that rose over his tanned skin littered all over. Some were small others abnormally large that Armin wonders what on earth could have caused them. But what was scare above all was the large burns on his skin. All over his body, there were scars of deep burning. They didn’t seem bother Eren or impact on his abilities whatsoever. He still climbed, jumped, skidded and tackled like anyone else without pause.

It was strange, they had a million questions that there were no answers too.

[A Few Years Later:]

Eren was sat the large wooden table. Once again, he was presented with a clump of food in front of him. he did not understand why they insisted that he consume it. He had tried it before and had not liked it. He has ever since refused to touch the food. He always turns it down, often pushing it away or passing it to the others to eat when the elder human wasn’t looking.

The other two would look at each other with odd expressions before shaking their heads and passing the plate back at him. Eren turned towards the blond and gruntled and blabbered random words at them, frustrated that they would not take it. They were the ones that needed it, he thought. So, take it!

The elder would look down at him aggravatedly, staring at Eren and back down at his plate. Eren just stared back, irked that he was expected to eat. He did not require sustenance. He got all of his energy from the sun, as he always had. He never had to eat anything in his larger body and he did not need it now.

The other two – Armin and Mikasa – would finish their meals and leave to do whatever they desired and Eren was restrained to the spot until he ate the food laying on his plate that looked more like sloppy mucus with different colours. It turned his stomach and he remained on the table, unmoving and unconvinced to eat.

Pouting angerly and twirling the food with the eating instrument the humans forced him to use. He would laze around the table, body aroused with activity, high-strung with energy. He had the elder human constantly watching him, daring him to move. He stares back with the same intensity.

When the human refused to break eye contact Eren would snarl, growling and then lunged towards the human before doing a swift turn to the exit and running out into the farm, the glaze of the sunset.

He ran out into the township, enjoying the sense of the cold breeze flowing past his face, sun glinting on his checks as he runs under the trees.

He can faintly hear the sound of the elder human behind him, trying to catch up. Eren glanced around seeing the older man, out of breath and failing to reach him. Eren laughed before sprinting off again. Winding between the dirt covered roads, pedestrians and people muttering about the neighbourhood.

Finding a ledge of a roof that was reachable, he jumped and grabbed up onto the roof. He then jumped along the roof of the buildings feeling like he was back in the trees in the forest back beyond the walls. he felt a growing sense of freedom he hadn’t felt since he was stuck behind these walls.

He lost his sense of time, simply enjoying the sense of freedom.

“You know what I said is true.” A voice said. “That’s why you’re hitting me instead of arguing. Doesn’t that mean you admit I win?”

Eren froze. The voice sounded familiar, he moves forward from where he was and found one of the humans he resided with being pushed into a wall. His face was swollen and bruised, but a grin spread across his injured face.

Eren scaled down the wall, feeling angered at the tone they used with the human. The small blonde human did not sound happy, and Eren felt his fist tighten and he dropped to the ground with a loud thump. He pulls his shoulders up and stands straight, flexing his arm muscles to loosen up and prepare himself for a fight. He had fought many titans, humans would be just as easy.

“Shut your damn–” the human tried to yell before Eren cut him off.

Eren tightened his fist and put all of his force behind it and use his other hand and ripped the human around, a look of shock on the child’s face. He forces his fist into the kids nose. He hears a crunching noise and a faint throb in his hand, the skin of knuckles were peeled back from the force, the kids blood splayed across them.

Grabbing the kids shoulders he bared his sharp teeth, growling menacingly at the child. He pushes the human backwards, the human making a loud whump on the dirt. Snarling, he pretends to chase after the human when it runs away, before humpfing and turning towards Armin.

Chapter 8: Actiones Secundum Fidei

Chapter Text

Ever since the fight with the boys, Armin and Mikasa had grown closer to Eren. Despite his animalistic tendencies and brash behaviour, he was still an endearing and caring person.

Eren spent more time with them and they grew closer.

Even though Eren couldn’t really understand a word that was said, he was quite observant of people and learned more visually rather than vocally.

They showed him picture books of common items and talking to him while saying the word. Hoping that he might recognize the image.

They brought an apple and would hold it out to Eren while saying “apple”. Doing this consistently finally led to Eren copying them. His pronunciation of the word apple was atrocious, but it was a start.

One day Armin grabs his favourite book. The amazing book of times once been before all of humanity was forced behind these walls. a place of burning sands and lush forests and an ocean of endless water. Eren was fascinated. He looked at the images with awe and amazement. He had a smile on the entire time. Stealing the book off them at the images of the ocean and forests. He was making a loud ruckus, being a bundle of excitement.

They gazed and talked to each other, with Eren muttering nonsense but ultimately full of boundless energy that the kid seemed to hoard – which was kind of an amazement since he almost never ate and drank very little.

Eren was in love with the images in the book. They reminded him of home. To see the world, he knew outside these claustrophobic walls. To see the ocean something, he had always wanted to see.

He was starting to warm up and socialise more but was still an energetic butterfly who was more than willing to start fights if someone looked at them in an odd way or in a manner that he didn’t like. So, while Armin dealt with bullies mocking his interests, he also had to manage Eren if he saw as he’d be eager for a fight and if there was anything, he learned about Eren that was that Eren played dirty. Using, teeth, claws and his surprisingly flexible and agile body he’d pounce, kick, bite, scratch and barrage into them. His ferocity was unmatched, but this made Eren heavily judged by other people of their village. Eren didn’t know the difference of a brawl and a fight to the death. No matter the circ*mstance he’d give all he had. He’d broken people’s arms and fingers, ripping out chunks of hair and giving them bruises so dark they’d look black. It was often hard to make even every weak to help pay for the children’s doctor visits from Eren’s fights.

But Grandpa was never mad. He was more often exhausted and stressed. He’d been harassed and assaulted by the parents of Eren’s victims to really find any means to deal with Eren. Since Eren was not able to understand words to be lectured and mostly ran off other peoples body language. Grandpa would often be displeased around Eren making sure he knew about his disposition but would change when Eren was engaging in pro-social behaviour and not lunging at the next person who looked at them weirdly. It was a constant work in progress.

But it all changed on that one day.

It started so normally. No sensation of doom that would spread throughout like roots. It was a lovely summers day, no harsh wind and was lovely relaxing in. school was out for a few days and they were busy picking up sticks and logs to use as firewood. The decided to take a short break from the walk at a nice meadow. Eren threw down his stack and immediately slumped up against a lone tree. Armin and Mikasa walked beside him and sitting down in the shade, taking in the warm air and calm atmosphere.

Armin and Mikasa were idly chatting, not taking much detail of Eren but feeling his presence behind them. When Armin turned to look at him, he saw that he was crashed asleep, snoozing in complete comfort. How Eren slept in the weirdest of positions and places was odd but not surprising given his probable background of living in utter isolation amidst forests.

“I still don’t understand how he does that,” Mikasa states while looking at Eren’s sleeping form.

“A learnt behaviour probably,” Armin suggests. “He had to adapt to his surroundings to survive from what Grandpa has said.”

Mikasa hummed in agreement. Her eyes darted to the ground as she began to puck grass from the ground. “I saw that he didn’t eat any breakfast again.”

“I haven’t seen him eat breakfast all week,” Armin argues. “I get really concerned when he does that. I’ve heard stories from those in Sina dying because they refused to eat.”

Mikasa agreed, nodding. A comfortable silence fell between them. Only broken by Eren’s snoring and the singing birds.

“We should probably get going,” she suggests. “It’s getting late.”

As they gather their things Mikasa hears a loud gasp behind her. Looking over her shoulder she sees Eren sitting, stiff as a board. His wide eyes searching the plains in front of him.

“You okay Eren?” when he hears her voice, he looks up at her with those green eyes. They look frightened, but it quickly disappeared as he searches for his logs.

Soon the finally reach Shiganshina and are just in time to see the Survey Corps returning from their expedition.

They try to avoid the crowd but yet again Eren is evading them trying to see what the fuss was all about.

“Eren!” they shout as he wanders off, climbing up buildings to get to the rooftops for a better view. They clamber up behind him, trying to stop him but he manages to evade them quickly enough that they have to struggle up to meet him atop the roof. Once they finally are atop the roof, they see Eren’s ridged frame. They can all see the injured and bloody soldiers arriving. Their spirits broken once again from the attacks from the titans. “Eren,” Armin reaches out, not wanting to startle him but his hand is shoved off Eren’s shoulder with a rough movement. “Eren it’s not–”

“Where’s my son?” an older woman comes rushing into the parade of despair. She is ignored by the glassed over eyes of the soldiers as they pass by her. Everyone in the crowd is secretly crying, knowing that this woman is probably a mother searching for her child who probably didn’t make it home. “Has anyone seen my son? I can’t find him! Hans!” a lone soldier stands still. Eyes downcast in a frozen state of trauma. He clutches a small bundle close to his chest. He hands the woman the bundle. He doesn’t say anything, but his actions state a thousands words.

As the number of soldiers scatter down as they march full of sorrow and detachment away from the town walking into Maria.

They hear a loud grunt and a snarl seeing Eren’s growling face as his lips are pulled back in anger. What had angered them they didn’t know since he couldn’t know anything about the titans since they could not express their words.

But then again Eren was spotted outside the walls. But who is to know that he even saw a titan. Eren storms up and drags the bundle of logs behind him in growing fury.

Eren muttered nonsense, large grows and a mixture of random English words which made no sense to them.

“Hguft gnimlf fire fgew hyyre jime qasde” along with the angered growls were all they could make out.

Mikasa grabs Eren’s wrist. He immediately comes to a stop, looking down at her hand resting against his wrist. He doesn’t push it away, he takes his hand away to rub it against her palm in a soft acknowledgement.

Once they make it home, they drop the logs into the basket by the fire in the living room. Eren slumps down into the couch, facing the wall and curling himself up.

It was rare for him to cut other people off but they didn’t push him.

Armin was reading and Mikasa was doodling on a piece of paper at the table as they left Eren to linger on the couch.

Hours go by and the sun is starting to dip below the horizon.

Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, there is a loud thundering lightning strike that shakes the whole house.

Like a jackhammer Eren jumps up and rushes outside before they can even think about what just happened. The look at each other in confusion before running outside to see what had happened.

Everything was dead silent. Not a single bird was singing or an insect buzzing.

It was eerie and made the hair stick up on the nape of his neck. They see people running onto the main road and they rush to follow them. Eren close on their heels.

That’s when they see it. there, standing was a titan. Its large skinless face bearing down over the wall.

Chapter 9: Aut Cum Scuto Aut In Scuto

Chapter Text

It would’ve had to be over 50 metres tall to even be the same height as the wall for its head to peer over at them. Its skinless body excreted heat and steam for what seemed endlessly. For ages there was nothing. No noise. No nothing. Nothing coming from the humans watching the titan. Their paralysed bodies frozen with absolute horror. Nothing to hear except for the steam radiating from the titan and barking dogs that were few and far between. Not that it mattered; their barks were falling on deaf ears.

Eren stood there, eyes darting between the enormous titan and the humans scattered in front of him.

They needed to leave. NOW.

He did not need to understand any human language to know what was about to happen. He looked down at Armin’s wrist and held it in a vice tight grip. Armin did not even look down at the sensation. Paralysed by the sight of the gigantic titan in front of him. He did the same to Mikasa, however her eyes shot straight to him. He could not think properly. He could not gather the words that would get them to move. But Mikasa could read him better than he could read himself. So, it was to no surprise that when he pulled them to run towards the house where Armin’s grandfather was that Mikasa followed him. Armin tripping over his own two feet before hastily getting up to follow them.

Scuttering around the houses, running with abandon to get to the house as quickly as these small legs of his would allow. Mikasa pulling Armin’s panting form behind her as she followed him.

Before they got far, they heard as mass of shouting. This caused Eren to turn sharply to where the noise came from. Seeing the human’s faces directed at the wall, he glances at the wall where the titan was. Only to be surprised of its lack of presence.

Where… where did it go? A titan of that size could not possibly–

Then, there was a sudden rush of air, overwhelmingly powerful as stones surrounding the door of the wall were kicked away by the titan’s foot.

Eren ducked, pulling down his two other humans with him as a large boulder barely misses them. They hid in a doorway into a basem*nt until the sound of bounders crashing stopped.

“What in the world was that!” Armin cried with hitch in his voice. He pulled Mikasa up from the ground while Eren ignored his gesture.

“I think it kicked the wall in,” she stated much more calmly than what was expected. Armin was standing around his hand over his mouth, biting down on the knuckles.

“It did,” Eren growls in frustration. But he instantly regrets saying it as it frightens Armin out even more. “Oh my god, he mumbles. “That means...”

“Means we have to find your grandfather ASAP,” Mikasa states, placing her hands on Armin’s shoulders to help Armin calm down.

Eren curled in on himself, angry at what will happen in only a matter of minutes. When his kind will enter these guarded walls. “Many die today,” he whispered angerly. He does not want to let Mikasa nor Armin hear but he felt he needed to get the words out. Clearly, he failed as Mikasa turned to look at him with sorrowful eyes.

“Let’s think about that when we are safe,” Mikasa reasons. She is clearly more focused than either of them. It would be wise to follow her due to her level-headedness. Nodding, Eren follows behind Mikasa. Taking Armin’s hand in his own when he lends it to him, his body not used to the extensive exercise.

They all ran out, seeing a shadow of forms that are entering through the large hole that was now agape. It did not take long for the titans to start entering. Their large, disfigured faces eternally smiling as their presence started mass hysteria.

Flashes of colour and noise swarmed his senses. As they neared the enterance to their small suburb, people poured out of the main road; women running with their children. working men abandoning their post in search of an exit with the small few searching for family. Shoving people out of the way while trying to avoid being trampled on, he held on tight to Mikasa and tighter to Armin.

They were the only ones entering the suburb and the escapees were suffocating in their panic.

Once they managed to squeeze their way through the scrambling humans, they dashed into the small homestead. Busting the door open; the house was empty of life.

He was not here.

"Grandpaaah-" shouted Armin as Eren pulled him, causing him to fumble.

There wasn't time to dwell on it. Death was ever closing in. Eren paused at every intersection searching the street for any sign of Johannes. Everytime he wasnt there, his panic grew and grew. He had become close to the older human. This is not how he wanted this to go. He didnt want to watch this world become destroyed.

"Mikasa, Armin, Eren!" shouted a distressed voice behind them. Eren turned to see a familiar human in a uniform.

"Hannes! we cant find Johannes!" Mikasa said, her voice hitching as the emotions begun to come forth. Eren could not blame here. He was only calm for the human's. They needed to be safe. It was not wise to be distracted by ones own emotions. No matter how much they screamed at him.

"I just saw Johannes. Hes in Maria," Hannes exclaimed, his face full of relief and false bravado. "I came here to find you. Make you're way to the boats. They are preparing boats to take everyone into Trost. You'll be safe there. Now go!"

Nodding, Mikasa takes off, Eren closely behind. Sightly unsure of where they were going but he heard Johannes name so the man in uniform must have known where the older man was.

His intuition was correct when he saw that they were making their way to the Maria Gate.

The swarm around the suburb main entrance paled in comparison to the mess around the Maria gate. Men and women in uniforms were ushering people through the gate, while trying to maintain a sense of calm.

In the distance he heard the shouts and screams of humans before the small burst of silence as they were rendered speechless by the hands of death. He was watching as humans were picked up as if they were daisies. Limbs going limp as they were ripped from their body as the titans consumed them.

Horrified by his own kind, he was beyond disgusted with himself. He was useless. He could not fight those titans who claimed lives so easily. How could they? They had no understanding of the pain and torture they caused. He couldn't hope to fight in his state. However, in his taller, titan form he could destroy them. But, like this? Right now? He could do nothing but hope he wasn't next.

He swore to himself he would never be this useless again.

Chapter 10: Mutantur Aestus Maritimi

Chapter Text

Eren remains situated at the boats. He and the others were slowly drifting along the artificial currant. The rancid sent of blood, smoke and gunpowder leaving a co*cktail of a mess in the air. He could still hear the quietening screaming behind them, muffled by the gigantic stone wall.

As they entered the gated entrance that exposed them to the inner walls, there was a dark sense of dread that fell over the boat. The atmosphere was tense and the muttering and sobbing of various people were not lost on his ears. Other than that, there was a dense air of silence.

Armin was huddled close to his grandfather, as Johannes rubbed the boys back soothingly. Mikasa was sat next to Armin, eyes glazed over and lost to the world. Eren glanced around, noting that she wasn’t the only one with the expression.

The boat ride was long and never-ending. “We’re going to die, I’m going to die,” whispered a villager, body ragged and covered in blood splatters. He felt powerless to help him. The man was lost in the world of his own. An escapable nightmare.

Once the boats reached through the gate, the bright light behind the soldiers manning the gate, shined, the sun giving them a halo.

A sign of peace. A symbol of safety. This was going to be their new home.

Everything was left behind, they held no possessions, no money, nothing but the clothes on their back and themselves. He was unsure of how they will deal within these walls. But he knew with his small group of humans, he and they would be safe, no matter their situation.

They saved him when he didn’t need it and thus, he will return the favour. He will keep them safe. Until his debt has been repaid.

Once on solid ground with the sound of canons blowing up in the distant, they were ushered into a small encampment. Surrounded by a plethora of other humans from beyond this wall. Their numbers were small and scattered, he knew there were much more than this. Meaning the rest have either been killed or left to defend for themselves.

“Get the f*ck out of here street rat!”

Growling, he lunged forward at the solider, biting at clawing at the rude human. He needed to get his humans food and this human with his bulging belly was in no need. There were many hungry people inside their new shelter. He would not leave until he had enough food for them to be feed. His humans were his priority, the rest he could manage would go to the neediest. There was a pregnant woman who was nearing the end of her pregnancy and needed all the energy she could to give birth safely. Johannes dotted over her, worrying about her well-being and helped them when she could. She had lost her mate when the walls fell, and the soldiers were being nothing but jerks.

Eren would teach them a lesson.

Biting harshly on the mans shoulder he clambered off him knocking the man to the ground, rushing to the food supply stuffing as many pieces of bread he could into his pockets.

When he felt the back of his shirt being pulled, he immediately pulled his arms out of the sleeve so the shirt fell back onto the solider and he ran with whatever he could. Many soldiers were screaming after him.

Eren pokes his tongue out at them, giggling as he easily outruns them. The unicorned men were pathetic, they were so unfit. Once he was sure he lost them he jogged back into a back entrance where he saw his humans and the friendly woman.

“Arm, Meek, Food,” he is able to mumble out. His Eldian had improved much in the month since the attack but it was still miserable. They turned at the sound of his voice, seeing the many loafs of bread he possessed in his arms.

“Eren were did you get those?” Armin practically shouted, eyes shooting to the doors waiting for something to come barging through.

Mikasa didn’t event question him, taking a load within her hands and started taking slow mouthfuls. Nodding in appreciation. Eren hands a loaf to Armin, dropping it in his lap. Before he heads off to Johannes and the woman. He hands the woman two loafs – she is eating for two after all – and a single one to his guardian. The scolding look he got said more than whatever came after. “Eren you need to stop stealing supplies. You could get in serious trouble.”

Huffing, without any bite to his tone, he moved on to the others, the injured, the children and any others that looked desperate for nutrients.

He still got weird looks when he never took one for himself, some had even thought that he was stealing them and giving them bread as a coverup. He was angered by their traitorous thoughts but perhaps it because Eren has never eaten and humans constantly need to consume to survive. He looks just like them and it would be strange to them, that he would hold no desire to eat.

Even he didn’t fully understand why he only required the suns presence on his skin to be motivated and full of energy. His close humans always seemed suspicious, but they never brought it up around him, so he could only speculate their confusion.

However, their peace, what little of it was soon to be destroyed. One day there were hundreds of soldiers, at first, he thought that his stealing had finally caught the soldier’s attention and they were there for him. He hid behind his humans hoping he could pass as another urchin like the many other children. Then Johannes came up to them, eyes steel and blank inside. The expression looked alien on the mans kind face.

“Armin, it’s only going to be for a little while.”

“Pa don’t go,” Armin spoke, his voice croaky with words dying on his lips. Grabbing onto the man’s shirt.

“I don’t have a choice,” Johannes answers sweetly. Wiping away the boy’s tears. “But I’ll be back okay.”

Eren could tell by that tone that the man was lying through his teeth. If he could tell, then Armin definitely could. This was completely confusing.

“Where go?” Eren asked, trying to remember the words he needed to ask. Curse this language barrier. He despised it so very much.

“Oh, Eren. I’m so sorry.”

He tilts his head, why is the human apologising? Why is he leaving? Why is he making a huge deal about leaving? It wouldn’t be the first time the man is leaving them for a few days. So why was he acting so strange? Mikasa and Armin were crying, tears pouring out of their eyes.

He feels so stupid. What isn’t he getting?

“Mikasa, take care. No matter what, stay strong and don’t let anyone tell you how to live your life,” Johannes confesses as he pulls the young girl into a hug before pulling Armin and Eren in as well. “Take care, all of you.”

They follow Johannes who in turn follows the soldiers before they are at the Trost gate. Johannes takes off his favourite straw hat and plants it on Armin’s small head. “I love you all so much.”

Chapter 11: Quia Iam Superesse

Chapter Text

Eren stared at his humans from the distance. Armin was still crying over the old humans hat while Mikasa sat next to him. Eren frowned, feeling uncomfortably helpless.

"Meek. Arm. What do?" he asked, kneeling next to them. Armin and Mikasa looked up at him. Armin sighed.

"You're asking us what we should do next?" Eren nodded. Mikasa glanced at Armin.

"First thing we need to do is find some way to get food," she said. Armin nodded and Eren brightened.

"I food! Take!" he said eagerly. Mikasa and Armin shook their heads. Eren frowned, confused at why they were saying he couldn't bring them food.

"No, Eren. You can't keep stealing food. I know you want to make sure we eat but if you keep stealing, you're going to get caught and then you'll be in trouble. We don't want that, okay?" Eren frowned but nodded.

"Then...how food?" he asked. It irritated him to no end that he couldn't properly speak to his humans. Why did they make speaking and communicating so difficult with their strange sounds? For a moment, Eren wished he could go back to his giant form. Like that he wouldn't have to worry about lips anymore. Not to mention, getting what he wanted across was so easy. If he was angry, he roared. If he was hunting, he roared. If he was happy, he was quiet. Things were much simpler like that.

"We need to get jobs. Something that will give us room and board preferably. If we have food then survival just got a bit easier, but we won't be allowed to stay here now that Grandpa is dead," Armin said. Eren's eyes widened in shock.

"Man dead?" he cried in shock. Armin glanced up at him before looking back down at the hat in his lap.

"Yeah. Grandpa's dead, Eren. He's not coming back. They sent him on a suicide mission to try and get less mouths to feed." Eren looked down, shocked and horrified. It made sense now, why they'd been crying when the old one left. His hands clenched into fists.

"What jobs?" he asked, forcing his anger back. He had to look after the two in front of him. He could avenge the old one later. First he had to take care of the two in front of him. Armin looked up and Mikasa stared at Eren.

"What did he mean, Armin?" she asked. Armin frowned.

"The only jobs that would provide both room and board for kids our age would be farming and tending to the fields or military. We aren't old enough to enroll in the military, so for now we should try to stick with farming." Mikasa stared at him.

"It's incredible to me how you can understand him so well." Armin shrugged.

"It's not that hard to figure out if you try putting everything into context. We were talking about jobs and he asked 'what jobs'. I can take that to mean what jobs are available or what jobs should we do. It's not that strange." Mikasa stared at him and sighed.

"Alright. But we are going to teach him how to speak. It'll be easier if he can communicate clearly." Eren looked between them and frowned. He could speak. Just not very well. He rolled his eyes and glanced back at Armin.

"Arm. What mili...t-airy?" he asked, struggling to form the word. Armin looked up at him.

"Oh. Right, you don't know. Listen Eren, there are three different branches of the military. There's the military police, the ones you often steal food from. They're in charge of basically monitoring the public as well as protecting the king. Not that they'd do a good job since they'd probably be more drunk than anything else. The second is the Garrison. You remember our friend Hannes, right? He's a member of the Garrison. Their job is to protect the walls from titans." Eren snorted.

"Not good." Armin smiled sadly.

"It's not like they could've fought the colossal titan to begin with. They wouldn't have even gotten close. It's not their fault." Eren snorted again. Their job was to protect the wall? They hadn't done very well. His mind flashed back to his little one. Why had it been outside the walls? Was there a group of humans who didn't live inside the walls? He frowned.

"Eren?" He glanced up. Mikasa and Armin were staring at him. He smiled and sat down in front of them. He stared at Armin who continued.

"The last group is known as the Survey Corps. They're people who don't think we should be trapped inside the walls. Instead they head outside the walls to fight against the titans." Eren's head whipped up at that. Humans who went outside the wall?? Like little one??

"Green," he made flowing motions with his hands to show the cape, "Wings?"

"Right! They're the ones who used to pass through Shiganshina!" Armin said. Eren nodded, eyes narrowing. He stared at the floor in front of him. Little one used to wear that cloak too. He'd held onto it, even in his sleep. Eren frowned, wondering what had happened to little one. Had he survived? Was he alright? Did he still head out to fight titans? Eren didn't realize he was growling until Mikasa put a hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He blinked.

"Thinking." She sighed. "So. Arm what job?"

"We should work the fields. They'll give us a place to stay as well as some rations. Once we get old enough though, we should enlist in the military." Mikasa stared at Armin in surprise.

"Why would we do that?" she asked. Armin glanced at her.

"Even if we were to stay as farmers, we wouldn't earn much or get a lot of rations. It would be what we need and if a drought or famine were to happen, it would be even less than that. So if we go into the military, our rations will automatically increase. They may not improve but there will be more." Eren frowned. Were they talking about food? Eren didn't need that. He'd be fine, even if they barely got any food. He was more worried about his humans.

"If you think that's best. We'll all go." Eren nodded. He trusted Armin. Out of the three of them, Armin was the smartest.

Or...so he thought.

"Armin..." he groaned. Armin winced as he moved his hands. Eren sighed and pulled out the bandages. It irritated him. Armin was the smart one! Armin was the one teaching Eren how to speak! So why?

Why was he the one always getting hurt from working too hard????

Eren paused in his mission (retrieve the bandages for Armin) and banged his head against the wall out of sheer frustration.

"E-Eren?" Armin asked nervously. Eren glared at Armin.

"Armin. Work less. I work you." Armin frowned, not understanding before it dawned on him.

"Are you saying you'll take over more of my area! You can't, Eren! You'll overwork yourself! I can handle a few blisters and calluses. I'll be fine!" Eren glared him down. Armin began to shrink in his seat, not meeting Eren's fierce glare.

"Armin, I think it might be best if you just give up. I'm pretty sure he's set on this." Armin sighed and his shoulders slumped in defeat. He nodded and Eren handed the bandages to Mikasa.

"But Eren, are you sure you'll be alright?" Armin asked, trying to convince Eren not to do it. Eren simply glared down at him.

"I fine. You not fine. Easy answer."

"You mean 'simple solution', Eren," Mikasa corrected. Eren sighed. Language was a hard thing for him. It always seemed to escape him. He wasn't stupid, contrary to what many of the other workers thought, he just couldn't figure out all of the stupid human things! Why say one thing when it means a totally different thing?? Why insist on all the fancy, complicated words that made speaking difficult?? It was just enough to drive Eren insane.

Not quite though, since it was interesting. Figuring out how all the words locked together to mean something. It was an unusual trait that titans didn't have a need for. Maybe this was what his little one was always trying to say. Maybe he was trying to talk with Eren or something. That thought made Eren feel happy.

"Eren? Are you alright?" he glanced back at the two and smiled.

"I fine."

"I'm fine, Eren," Armin corrected. Eren smiled.

"I'm fine, Armin." Armin smiled and nodded. With that, they finished bandaging his hands, neatly wrapping the cloth around his hands and fingers. Eren pulled the two towards their beds.

"Sleep. Armin, Mika, sleep." They chuckled but snuggled next to Eren. It was getting colder out and the two had found that Eren was always incredibly warm. He was like a personal heater. They smiled and quickly drifted off to sleep, unknowingly bathed in the warmth of a titan. The next day, Eren redoubled the speed he was working at. He couldn't let anyone realize that Armin wasn't doing the amount he'd been set to do. If that happened, they may reduce the amount of food Armin got. Some of the other workers were looking at him uneasily because of his fierce attack on the ground. He easily plowed through the tough ground, muscles healing and tearing as he worked.

He smiled as he finished with his area and with what Armin couldn't do. He nodded happily, wiping sweat off his forehead. He turned and looked over at Mikasa and Armin, frowning. Why were they so tired?? He went over and took the tool from Mikasa.

"Mika. Rest. Nap." He shooed her towards a shaded spot of grass, ignoring her protests Once she was resting, he continued on and finished what was left of her area. He frowned at the two of them. They seemed exhausted, even though they hadn't done that much work.

"Eren, how are you not burning up right now?" Armin gasped. Eren frowned. What did he mean? Did he expect Eren to catch on fire? He shrugged in response and Armin groaned, collapsing onto the bed he'd been issued. "Two more years of this. Two more years and then we're eligible to join the military. Then this'll be over."

"Actually, I think it'll be harder than it is now," Mikasa commented. Armin sighed and put his head in his hands.

"Why did you have to remind me, Mikasa?" he moaned. Eren stared between the two as they dissolved into fits of giggles and laughter. They teased each other and Eren looked outside. The sun was beginning to set, although it wasn't that low. They could still see.

"Mika. Armin. We train." They stared at him, clearly surprised.

"Eren, you want to train?" Armin asked. Eren nodded.

"Prepare. Mili-tairy." Armin and Mikasa looked at each other before nodding.

"Yeah, we probably should. Let's go then." Mikasa stood after proclaiming that.

"But we should be back before it gets dark, okay?" Armin reminded as he rose to follow them. Eren nodded and went out. Altogether, they ran around the fields three times. Eren frowned. Mikasa was breathing harder than normal while Armin was huffing and puffing like he was about to die. He frowned and slowed down.

"Armin, okay?" he asked, worried.

"Yeah...I'm fine I just...need to catch...my breath." Eren nodded.

"Mika, you okay?" She nodded.

"I'm still good to go." Eren nodded. He walked over to a nearby oak tree and pulled Mikasa with him.

"Armin, join later. Mika, pull up." She frowned, not understanding what he meant. Eren jumped up and caught the branch. Mikasa and Armin watched as he pulled himself up until his shoulders were completely over the branch before going slack. Once his toes were nearly brushing the grass, he repeated the action. He dropped down after ten and pointed at Mikasa. She hesitantly went up and grabbed onto the branch. She began to pull herself up like Eren did.

She managed to get through six before she collapsed, arms shaking. Armin went over to her but she waved him aside.

"How are you so good at this, Eren?" she asked. Eren shrugged.

"Build strong."

"Builds strength, Eren," Armin corrected. Eren nodded and gestured for Armin to do it. Armin tried and made it through three. After that, his arms shook too hard for him to continue. Eren looked towards the sun and lifted his fingers up. There were two fingers worth between the sun and the tops of the trees.

"Armin. Mika. Time back." They glanced at him confused before following his gaze.

"Oh! It's time to go back?" Armin asked. Eren nodded. Together they all jogged back. The guy in charge of making sure everybody was in bed grunted in annoyance at them for nearly being late. Eren simply growled in return, eyes flashing. Armin smacked the back of his head while walking past and Mikasa grabbed Eren's arm, dragging him inside. Eren yelped in annoyance before glaring back at the man one last time. He raised his fingers up to his eyes, pointed at them, and then pointed back at the man. He simply rolled his eyes and walked off.

"Eren, first of all, stop growling at people. You're just going to make enemies that way," Armins scolded. Eren pouted, staring at the floor. Armin sighed. "I know you don't like people picking on us, but we are younger than them. Not to mention with the food shortage, they have to make sure we don't steal anything. Be nice."

Eren nodded hesitantly. He looked up at Mikasa and Armin. They were watching him and he smiled, opening his arms to them. A happy, inviting croon built up in his throat and they immediately went into his bed. They smiled at him and he grinned at them as they fell asleep. He curled them tighter against himself.

My humans. Just like little one.

Training wasn't easy for the three. Eren was insistent on daily training that got harder with each day. Armin and Mikasa struggled to keep up with him at first before he reeled it in and calmed down enough for them to follow. Farming became another form of training when Eren began to make them race each other. He would follow after and make corrections but whoever made the most mistakes lost. The penalty for losing was that they had to do ten pull ups and four push ups. Apparently neither Mikasa or Armin liked those. Oddly enough. Eren found he quite enjoyed them.

Eventually though, they began to get better and stronger. What would've been impossible for them at the start became something that they could easily do. With the amount of work they'd been doing increasing, so did the amount of food they got. Eren always split his between Armin and Mikasa without them knowing. He still did not like food and figured he never would. He didn't need it and it never tasted good. He still couldn't avoid eating it sometimes though.

Soon they were getting off work earlier and practicing more and more. Armin spent almost all the time he could attempting to teach Eren how to speak. There were times when he would slip into broken speech or more animalistic noises, but he was basically speaking around the level of the average seven year old. It wasn't smart sounding, but it was proficient. Not to mention, they could continue to talk and practice more the longer they were together.

Eren was proud of his humans growth. Armin had much better stamina and was stronger than he had been before. He seemed more confident in himself because of his strength. It was only a little bit more confident though. Mikasa on the other hand, had improved drastically. Her speed and strength were almost half of Eren's. It shocked Eren because she didn't seem like much. They continued to grow, both in skills and physically. Eren had mentioned to Armin the fact that it seemed like Mikasa's chest was getting bigger. Armin had simply stared at him for a moment before saying "Don't tell Mikasa anything about that." It hadn't made much sense to Eren.

However, he didn't care. There were a few more months before they could enroll in the military. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin had all been granted time to head to the nearby village. Eren was eager to see what this town had to offer. All the others he'd been to had been sadly disappointing. Shiganshina and the one he and Armin and Mikasa had been in when Johannes had left were not exactly the best examples. However, he hadn't explored much else.

They went to town and he was shocked to see a podium set up. He tugged on Armin's sleeve.

"Armin, what's that?" he asked. Armin glanced over and smiled.

"Oh that? It's what the military uses in order to tell a lot of people different things. It's called a stage, Eren." Eren nodded, filing that information away. He glanced around the street, noticing that most of what was being sold were tools and fabrics. Eren let go of Armin's sleeve in order to examine some of the fabric closer. It was a beautiful green, like the lake he'd lived by in the forest. It made him nostalgic. He glanced over and saw some strange tools a man had.

"Sir, what are these?" he asked. The merchant glanced over and chuckled.

"They're nut crackers. They break open the hard shell of a nut. They can also be used on some fruits but for the most part they're nut exclusive." Eren nodded and stared at them for a moment before thanking the merchant for his help and purchasing a small one. It was a wooden block and Eren stared at it. He felt like it was begging to be carved. He looked around before he found a merchant selling a whittling knife and quickly purchased one. It was small but it would serve its purpose. Eren straightened, wanting to show Armin and Mikasa what he'd found. He paused, realizing that in his fascination with all the strange new items, he'd gotten separated from Armin and Mikasa.

He glanced around, not recognizing anyone from the crowd. Had they really separated that much?? Where were they? What happened? Had someone hurt them? He darted through the crowds, searching for a head of blonde or black hair. He saw them next to a strange figure and quickly walked over.

"Armin! Mikasa! There you are!" he called. They glanced back and grinned.

"There you are! Where'd you wander off to, Eren?" Armin scolded. Eren stared at him.

"Me? I not wander off!" he said. Armin sighed.

"Ididn'twander off," he corrected. Eren sighed but nodded.

"I didn't wander off. You are the ones who go." Eren frowned, trying to find the right word.

"We're not the ones who left, Eren. You're the one who let go of Armin and disappeared," Mikasa sighed. Eren paused before looking down. They were right, he realized. He sighed and nodded.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"This is interesting!" a new voice said. Eren immediately reacted to the loud noise, grabbing Mikasa and Armin, putting them behind him, and snarling at the source of the noise. He frowned, trying to figure out what the female wanted. Her brown hair was held in a ponytail and her eyes were wide behind her glasses. She laughed.

"Sorry if I scared you! I was just chatting with your friends since they were freaking out over you being missing," the woman said. She grinned at him and Eren frowned. He'd seen her before somewhere, he was sure of it. His memory flickered and he shivered, realizing that this had been one of the tiny creatures who had taken little one from him. She smiled. "My name's Hanji Zoe from the Survey Corps. What's your name?"

"Eren. I'm Eren." She grinned.

"Nice to meet you, Eren! Now that you've found your friends, I hope we'll see each other again but I must be leaving! See you around!" Eren stared after her.

"Where's the dark haired little one?" he blurted without thinking. His eyes widened in shock and he slapped his hands over his mouth as she turned in surprise.

"You mean Levi? Oh, he's fine. You must've heard about the accident where he was missing for five months. Don't worry, he's fine now and still fighting titans. Any hoo, I'll be going now!" she said cheerfully. With that, she turned and left. Eren's eyes followed her.

Little one's alive! He's okay! And I've discovered his name! He's...Levi. This is incredible! But, wait. The Survey Corps is a branch of the military, right? So if I join them then maybe...maybe I can see little one again! His eyes widened and shimmered with delight. Then he hesitated. The image of titans, his own kind, eating people as if they'd never eaten before. As if they'd been starving animals before then. His eyes narrowed.Little one fights them to prevent that. I don't want to see little one get eaten. If I join...maybe I can protect him. Him and all my other humans.

Eren smiled to himself, eyes blazing with determination. He turned to face Mikasa and Armin, chin held high.

"I know what branch of the military I want to join." Their eyes widened.

"Which is it, Eren?" Armin asked.

"I want to join the Survey Corps."

Chapter 12: Disciplina Militaris

Chapter Text

Three months had passed since Eren's declaration of his desire to join the Survey Corps. At first, Armin and Mikasa were adamantly against it. His gaze flicked to the ground as he recalled their first argument about it.

"You want to join the Survey Corps?? Are you suicidal, Eren?" Mikasa shouted in the forest. She'd waited until they were alone before letting her anger and frustration pour out of her. Eren flinched at her tone before straightening.

"I'm not suicidal. I st- I am strong, Mikasa. You know that. I know you know that." Mikasa rolled her eyes.

"So you can lift heavy objects and run for hours on end. So what? That means nothing Eren, nothing! You're not going to be running on the ground. You aren't going to be picking up random titans! You're going to be shooting through the air, faster than a horse can run on a tool that can break at any moment and send you plummeting into the waiting jaws of a titan!" she spat. Eren glared at her.

"I'm not going to die, Mikasa. I'll get stronger if I need to. I'll practice. I'll work harder than anyone."

"That doesn't make things better! You still want to join the military group that has the most deaths and the most casualties! Do you understand what I'm saying, Eren?? This isn't just some kind of game. This is life or death!"

"Mika-"

"If you join them, you are undoubtedly going to die! I won't be there to save you! Armin and I can't help you when you're in there because we'll be too busy trying to protect ourselves. Do you understand Eren??" she practically shrieked. Eren grabbed her and slammed his forehead against hers. She hissed in pain and stumbled back, falling onto the grass.

"Listen to me, Mikasa. I not die. I not weak. I fight titans. I kill titans. All die. Not I. I live." They stared at him for a moment before Eren realized he'd slipped into broken speech again. He cursed humans for making communication difficult. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down enough to speak clearly. "If you win you live. If you lost, you die. You can't win if you don't fight. Mikasa. All humans inside the wall are going to die if we don't fight back, if we don't try to dosomething.Just because you're giving up doesn't mean I am. And if I have to go behind you to sign with the Survey Corps, I will."

She stared at him while he glared down at her. Armin chose that moment to butt in.

"Mikasa, Eren's right. The whole point of training to get stronger and learn how to fight the titans. It'll still be three years before he can even join with them. Besides, from the sound of it, he's willing to leave us behind in order to do this. He wants to fight, Mikasa, and we can't stop him." Mikasa stared at him before sighing.

"How are you okay with this, Armin?" Armin smiled sheepishly.

"I'm not. I don't want him to join the Survey Corps either. However, you and I know better than anyone that when Eren gets an idea in his head, he clings to it. He clutches it like it's his lifeline. We can't stop him when he's ready to charge forward. So, wait and see if we can convince him to not join the Survey Corps." Mikasa stared at him before standing, hands clutching her red scarf.

"Fine." Eren snorted.

"My mind not will change." He frowned. Why didn't that sound right? Armin chuckled.

"Your mind won't change, Eren, not 'not will'." He nodded his thanks to Armin before glancing back at the setting sun.

"Come on, we should go back." They nodded and all three lightly jogged back to the building. They quickly went to bed, Mikasa and Armin planning how they could convince Eren not to join the Survey Corps.

He shook his head before glancing at the recruiter who was talking to Mikasa and Armin.

"Names?" Armin smiled.

"I'm Armin Arlert." Mikasa tucked her face into her scarf.

"Mikasa Ackerman." The recruiter glanced at Eren.

"And you? What's your name?"

"It's Eren, sir." The recruiter raised an eyebrow.

"JustEren?" he asked doubtfully. Eren tilted his head, not understanding what the recruiter was asking.

"Yes?" The recruiter stared at him for a moment before scribbling down his name. He gestured towards a cart with a few people already in it.

"That's the cart headed to the training grounds. Go ahead and hop in." Eren frowned slightly, thinking it a strange way to phrase that, but he obediently followed Mikasa and Armin as they clambered into the cart. He followed and sat down between them. He glanced around at the other occupants of the cart.

There was a girl with red brown hair munching on some kind of food. He shuddered and slid his gaze away from her. Next to her sat a kid with what looked like soft gray...fuzz? Was that hair? He frowned in confusion. He glanced at Mikasa and Armin to see if they'd noticed this strange human. However, they seemed completely unsurprised to see him like that. He glanced back, figuring it must be normal. Across from him sat a brunette with freckles dotting his face like little stars. He smiled when he noticed Eren watching him. Sitting next to the freckled brunette was a small girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She smiled at them as they settled into the cart.

"Hi! My name's Christa, it's nice to meet you! What're your names?" she asked with a smile. Eren noticed the fuzz kid and Armin seemed dazed, even awed. It confused the hell out of him. He nodded at her.

"My name is Eren. It's nice to meet you, Christa. This is Armin and Mikasa." Christa smiled. She turned to look at the others.

"What about you guys?" The fuzz kid snapped out of his daze and spoke up proudly.

"I'm Connie Springer!" Eren frowned, should one be proud when stating their name? He mentally shrugged it off, turning to look at the freckled brunette. The brunette chuckled softly and scratched at his temple lightly.

"I'm Marco Bodt, but you can just call me Marco." Eren nodded and smiled at him. Connie nudged the other, causing her to choke on whatever she was eating and need him to pound on her back in order to dislodge whatever had gotten caught in her airways. She choked before swallowing.

"My name's Sasha. Don't touch my food. I'll end you." With that, she turned back to whatever she'd been munching on and continued wolfing it down. Eren shuddered.

Keep your food, I sure as hell don't want it.

"So what branch of the military do you guys want to join?" Connie asked. "I'm going for the Military police!"

"I want to join the Military police too," Marco murmured nervously. Connie grinned and Eren stared at them. Connie glanced at them.

"What about you, Eren? What do you want to join?"

"I'm joining the Survey Corps." Silence ran through the cart and for a moment Eren wondered if his speech had broken again. Was that why they were staring at him so strangely?

"You want to join the Survey corps? Are you insane?" Connie hissed, glancing around as if joining the survey corps were some kind of taboo topic. Eren frowned.

"Yes? It is not strange, right?" Connie stared at him.

"Are you kidding??? You'll be charging straight into the jaws of a titan!" Connie spat, eyes wide and afraid. Eren stared at him. The kid seemed more scared than angry. His tone was harsh and biting, as though he were upset, but the way his form shivered and his eyes flicked around them it was clear he was afraid. Eren shrugged.

"If you want to hide inside the walls for the rest of your life, go and do that. I choose to fight back. I won't let them just take what they want from us and keep us caged in here like animals. If you choose to run and hide inside the walls, be my guest. I won't stop you." With that, Eren leaned back and proceeded to ignore Connie.

"Is he nuts? He's your friend right? Did you know about this?" Connie asked Mikasa and Armin. The two sighed.

"We've been trying to talk him out of it, but Eren's adamant," Armin explained.

"I've decided that if I can't convince him not to join the Survey Corps, then I'll join with him. I'm not going to let him be eaten by titans," Mikasa said. Eren smiled to himself before reaching into his bag. He pulled out the nutcracker he'd purchased and began carving it. He'd recently been carving it to try and distract himself. He'd already carved the legs and bare feet, each part carved down to a fine detail. He continued working up, knowing the hands and face would be the hardest parts.

The ride passed while Eren tuned them out, distracted by what he was doing. When Armin nudged him, he glanced up and saw the training fields. It was early afternoon and they were finally here. Others were climbing out of their own carts and heading into a big building. Eren followed and was handed some clothes to put on. He went into the changing room -having been taught by Armin thatno,you can't just strip in public- and quickly put them on.

The way they clung to his skin was mildly uncomfortable, but he figured he'd get used to it. It wouldn't be that hard to adjust to. He went outside and got randomly shuffled into line. Some of the older trainees were telling people how to stand and showing them how to salute. It seemed simple enough. Stand with your legs shoulder length apart, hands behind your back when you weren't saluting. While saluting, puff your chest out a bit while bringing your right hand clenched in a fist over the left side of your chest. He nodded in satisfaction when the older trainees gave him the okay.

As Eren waited for everyone else to line up, he instinctively sought out Mikasa and Armin, noting that they weren't particularly close to him sadly. He frowned but was distracted by a tall, bald man climbing onto a podium in front of all the rows. He stared over them while the new trainees waited in nervous anticipation. The man inhaled, calmly.

However, when he released the breath it was not as calm.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS YOU f*ck WADS? THIS IS THE BEST YOU CAN DO? SHOW ME A SALUTE, f*ck NUGGETS!" Immediately everyone snapped into salute while the man came down from the podium. Even when not speaking on the podium, his voice carried long and clear to all of them.

"LISTEN UP, f*ckERS! MY NAME IS KEITH SHADIS! TO MY FAMILY, I AM KEITH. TO MY FRIENDS, I AM SHADIS. YOU ARE NEITHER OF THOSE! YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS DRILL INSTRUCTOR UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE RUNNING LAPS THROUGH TITAN INFESTED WOODS!! AM I CLEAR?"

"Sir yes sir!!" They all shouted, clearly frightened. Well, most of them were. Eren was more concerned about Shadis' voice going out. He wondered what that would sound like. Just one day in the middle of training, he'd be yelling and yelling and then his voice cracked and suddenly he was silent, even though his mouth kept moving. It would be kind of amusing.

"CADET DREAMf*ckER!" Eren's eyes snapped open -when had he closed those- and found the drill instructor right in front of him.

"Sir yes sir!" he shouted.

"WELL, WELCOME BACK TO REALITY, CADET STARDREAMER! WHAT'S YOUR NAME CADET?"

"Sir! It's Eren, sir!" The drill instructor nodded, suddenly looking calm and collected, as if thinking over the name.

"That's a good name. It's a very nice name. What a shame I'm never going to call you by it." With that, he turned around and began picking on another cadet, leaving Eren totally helpless and confused. All the sudden there was a crunching noise and Eren froze. His head slowly turned towards where the sound continued. The girl from his cart, Sasha, was eating a potato. Just casually taking bites out of it, even as Shadis stared at her.

Shadis dropped the cadet held in his hands and stalked over to her. He stood in front of her.

"So, what's going on over here?" he asked. Eren shivered. He sounded totally nonchalant. A spectacular difference between his always-screaming-mode. Sasha swallowed.

"Just eating a potato." His eyes widened as he realized that she hadn't called him sir afterwards. Shadis nodded.

"You like eating potatoes? They taste good?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yup." Shadis stopped nodding and Eren shivered. Something was about to happen and it made him uneasy.

"I happen to know of an incredible way to get rid of all those calories you're eating. Do you want to know what it is?" Sasha paused before shaking her head.

"Not really." There were soft gasps that were quickly silenced. Shadis glared down at her. He inhaled, as if breathing in the fresh, wonderful air. And then spoke.

"WELL TOO BAD, PRIVATE POTATO!! YOU GET YOUR ASS ON THE TRACK RIGHT NOW OR I WILL PERSONALLY FEED YOU TO THE TITANS! YOU LIKE EATING, WELL SO DO THEY! START RUNNING CADET EATS-A-f*ckING-LOT!! AND DON'T YOU DARE f*ckING TAKE A BREAK UNTIL I SAY YOU CAN!!" Sasha took off, running with eyes wide and frightened. Then the terrifying Shadis was back, yelling at everyone who caught his eye.

Finally he decided to stop terrifying them and sent them to run laps. Unlike Sasha though, they'd only been told to complete ten laps. Eren glanced over the track before nodding to Mikasa and Armin. Both nodded and with that they took off. The track was roughly half the size of the fields he'd often had them run around. Because of its smaller size and the fact that Eren had been merciless when it came to training led to them easily passing the front runners, who stared at them in shock.

"So Armin, what do you think of him?" Eren asked. Armin sucked in a couple of extra breaths before responding.

"He's really loud." Eren nodded and Mikasa let out a soft huff that may have been a laugh. With that, they stopped talking when they caught up to the group. People stared at them in shock as they passed the kids who were already starting to flag and slow. Eren glanced over at Shadis and noticed how Shadis had raised an eyebrow while staring at them. He glanced away before he got in trouble and continued running. They finished the ten laps before anyone else, even those who tried to keep up with them, and hesitantly stopped in front of Shadis. He stared down at them, noting the fact that they were hardly breathing hard.

"You done?" he asked, knowing full well that they'd completed the ten laps.

"Sir, yes sir!" they responded, saluting him. He glared down at them.

"Go run another five laps." They nodded and took off. Armin was a bit slower the second time around but he kept up and maintained his pace. Mentally he was screaming praises and thanks for Eren's hellish training. Otherwise, he probably would've already passed out. People were more shocked to see them rejoin them on the track, especially those who had counted how many laps they went around. When they finished, they stopped in front of Shadis again. He raised an eyebrow. There had only been seven other people to complete the ten laps and they'd been half dead. Compared to these three, they were weak. He rolled his eyes.

"Go ahead and claim your bunks."

"Sir, permission to speak, sir?" Mikasa asked. Armin and Eren stared at her. Shadis looked down.

"Permission granted, speak."

"May I be allowed to stay with these two in the bunks?" Shadis snorted.

"Permission denied. Pick your bunk in the girls dorm." Mikasa let her shoulders slump in defeat before trailing after the two who'd been waiting for her. Eren smiled.

"It not that bad, Mikasa." He winced, realizing he'd slipped into broken speech again. She smiled at him and they split when they reached the cabins. Armin and Eren picked the bunk closest to the left, putting them closest to the exit and the first ones to be seen once the door was opened. Eren claimed the top bunk and sat there. He pulled out his bag and began to whittle his nutcracker while waiting for everyone else to get back.

When they did, they were all half dead.

"How are you guys not dead?" Connie panted, leaning against the bed frame. Eren shrugged and Armin simply smiled a little.

"Connie, you seriously didn't notice?" A massive, blonde behemoth appeared behind Connie.

"Notice what, Reiner?" Connie gasped, still trying to catch his breath. The behemoth- Reiner's eyes widened.

"Dude, they were two of the three who ran fifteen laps and finished before basically everybody." Connie stared at them in stupefied horror. Or was it shock? Eren couldn't tell. He simply decided that it looked ridiculously stupid on Connie's face.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"LIGHTS OUT, f*ckERS! SHUT THE sh*t HOLES IN YOUR FACES AND GO THE f*ck TO SLEEP!" Shadis yelled. Eren put away his carving tools and rolled over. A few minutes later, he felt Armin crawl up onto the bed. Eren knew it was cold for a human, even with the blankets, so he simply opened his arms and curled the shivering human against him. A few minutes later he saw the door open and caught sight of familiar black hair. Eren rolled onto his back, setting Armin on his left side while Mikasa curled against his right. He smiled and pulled the blanket on top of them.

His eyes shut and he allowed sleep to take him for the first time in their training days.

Chapter 13: Probat, disciplina, et visitor

Chapter Text

When Eren began to stir from his slumber, it was to a plethora of quiet murmurs and voices. He ignored them in favor of trying to fall back asleep. The field workers were accustomed to the three of them sleeping together, so why were they talking? Maybe there'd been something wrong with the harvest or-

"WHAT THE f*ck IS THIS YOU f*ckING MEAT MAGGOTS?" a booming voice roared over him. Eren jolted as the memories came back. Right. They weren't on the farm anymore, they were at training. And...Mikasa wasn't supposed to be in his bed. Neither was Armin. Eren felt his heart sink to his feet when he saw Instructor Shadis' face.

"Eren? What's going on?" Armin asked blearily, rubbing his eyes.

"Ignore it Armin. If we ignore the loud voice long enough, they'll go away and let us sleep in peace," Mikasa grumbled, rolling over and burying herself in the blankets. She wrapped herself around Eren's leg and he glanced between her and an increasingly furious Shadis.

"Mika, come on, wake up?" he pleaded. She simply grumbled and reached up, dragging him down. He scrambled, struggling in the twisted blankets and limbs.

"Woah!"

"Ow! Eren, watch it, you kicked me!"

"Sorry Arm- woah! Mikasa don't touch there!!"

"Go back to sleep Eren."

"Mika, please let go, that really sensitive!"

"Hey! Mikasa, don't grab me! Grab the personal heater! I won't do anything for you."

"Armin how could you? I relying on you-ah!! Mika, I not breathe!"

"Ow! Eren, don't grab me, that hurts!"

"Get her off me, Armin!"

"What do you think I'm gonna do?? You know how she gets when she wakes up!"

"Find wrench! A crowbar, hell even a branch! Just something to pry her off me!"

"Eren, where do you think you're going, my personal space heater?"

"Ah! She's locked her grip! Armin! Save me!"

The rest of the recruits stared at them in a mixture of shock and awe, quickly turning to fear at the expression on Shadis' face.

"WAKE UP MAGGOTS! I EXPECT TO SEE YOU RUNNING THE COURSE THREE TIMES BEFORE BREAKFAST! NOW GET OUT OF HERE!" he roared at them. Mikasa poked her head up, eyes still hazed over with sleep. She glared at him and pulled Eren closer to her. The boy in question was struggling to grip the edge of the bed and pull away from Mikasa. Armin had disappeared somewhere.

"Go away. I'm sleeping and my personal space heater stays with me," she growled. There were gasps from the others and then someone was splashing Mikasa with water. She yelped and fell back as Armin flicked water from a bucket on her. She actually hissed at him while using Eren as a shield. Eren however, took the chance to escape and tore away from her, scrambling off the bed. She glared at him and he went pale.

"Run, Eren," Armin hissed. Eren bolted out of the door, a sleepy demon queen running after him. He managed to get her to follow him to the girls dorm before he slammed the door on her and locked her in. He bolted away back to his bunk as fast as possible. Shadis was still standing there and Armin was sweating buckets in front of him.

"Cadet Eren." Eren glanced up.

"Yes sir?" Shadis glared at him.

"Get dressed and start running. You and Cadet Arlert here have ten laps to run around the track. Am I clear?" he asked dangerously. Eren would later swear that he'd seen a storm cloud brewing above Shadis' head.

"Sir yes sir!" he said. Shadis nodded before walking away. He sighed and quickly got dressed, oblivious to the stares and whispers from the other boys. He and Armin went out and started running. Eren was done barely fifteen minutes later. The sun was shining over him and he sighed. He had way too much energy to start the day off.

"You're already finished?" Connie asked in shock. Eren glanced at him.

"Yes? It not strange, correct?" Connie frowned.

"It not strange?" he repeated. Eren mentally cursed. He sighed.

"Sorry, occasionally I slip into broken speech on accident. It's not strange that I'm done, right?" Connie stared at him and sighed.

"You're really weird, you know that? First you complete the run in the shortest amount of time and aren't even tired, then we wake up to find you sleeping with the cutest boy and the prettiest girl at camp in your bed, and then when the Drill Instructor tells you to run ten laps, you come in barely after fifteen minutes. Just what are you?" Connie asked. Eren froze.

Does he know? Did he realize what I am?? Oh god, are they going to kill me??

"Eren."A shiver ran down his spine at that familiar voice. He slowly turned his head around to see a familiar black head of hair with a red scarf around her throat. Mikasa glared at him. He held up his hands.

"I sorry Mika! I just run, you scare, I not know happening! I wake, Drill Instructor yell and you chase me. I sorry! Please hurt me don't." People nearby stared at him after his speech practically shattered. Forget broken speech, that was closer to the level of a five year old. He flinched, waiting for her to be angry. She sighed and patted his head.

"Relax, I'm not mad. Besides, we've already made enough spectacles for today. Where's Armin?" Eren relaxed slightly.

"Armin's still running his laps. You know he's not as fast as us." She nodded and they quickly got their breakfast, grabbing a third portion for Armin. Armin came in a few minutes later and promptly wolfed down the food provided. After that, they followed the crowds into the classrooms. Eren frowned.

"Armin. We writing and reading?" he asked nervously. Armin came closer to Eren.

"Don't worry Eren, I'll help you understand everything. Just copy down the figures I write and you'll be fine. I doubt they'll call on us to read anything." Eren nodded and slowly copied Armin's writing. He had to make sure that everything was exactly the same or else he might miss something. It wasn't that difficult, it turned out. Armin didn't write very quickly and his symbols were simple and small. Not that Eren could read them, he just knew that they didn't look bad. After a while they were released and Armin seemed shocked by the fact that Eren had copied his symbols so perfectly.

"Wow, Eren. If I didn't know which ones were mine, I would've thought I'd written this twice," Armin said. Eren frowned. Was that a good thing?

"Armin, what do the symbols mean?" he asked. Armin grinned.

"That's what I'm going to teach you, Eren." With that they proceeded to find a quiet corner and sang the alphabet song a few times. Eren was happy with his progress, quickly learning to identify and write which letter was which. Mikasa found them as lunch break ended so they could go to the training course. It seemed they were working on an obstacle course that day. Eren easily adapted. This was nothing compared to running through his forest. With branches that were the thickness of his arms and logs that came up to his knees. This pathetic display they were putting others through was ridiculous. He easily cleared it. Shadis glared at him.

"Do it again." The others were shocked but Eren simply shrugged. He ran through it again and then did it backwards. Shadis frowned, wondering if Eren was showing off. Then he looked at the kids face. Eren was nervous. Why was the instructor not happy with his work? Had he done something wrong? Shadis snorted to himself.

"You're good. Ackerman! You're up next!" Eren sighed in relief as he was allowed to go back in line. Some of the kids were staring at him, but that had become normal. He'd begun to recognize the awed expressions they had. He relaxed as he sat next to Armin. As he watched the others hurry through the course, he pulled out his nutcracker and continued whittling. At this point he had the torso and legs and was starting on the arms. Eren smiled as he slowly cut them free. No one paid him any mind of course. They were too busy worrying about when it was their turn. Armin noticed and frowned but shrugged it off. Eren only glanced up from his work when Armin was called.

He frowned, watching his friend struggle to make it through the course in time. Armin barely made it and was half dead by the time he'd made it through. Shadis glared down at him.

"WHAT THE f*ck WAS THAT, CADET? YOU CALL THAT A HUSTLE? I THINK YOU THOUGHT WE WERE HEADING TO GRANDMA'S PLACE WITH THE PACE YOU WENT! IF YOU WERE TRYING TO HIDE FROM A TITAN, YOU'D BE DEAD, CADET!" Eren snorted to himself. There was no hiding from titans. Their noses would sniff you out long before you could hide.

"Sir! I'm sorry, sir!" Armin cried, saluting him. Shadis glared down at him.

"DO IT AGAIN, FAILURE!" Eren sighed. After the obstacle course they learned hand to hand combat. Eren's eyes widened eagerly. This could be handy for fighting titans in his real form. He got paired up with the big blonde Connie had called Reiner. Reiner was mostly muscle and with Eren's eagerness to learn and titan-like strength, he easily overpowered his opponent. Reiner groaned as he pulled himself up again. Eren grinned down at him.

"Stop laughing, asshole," Reiner grumbled. Eren laughed.

"I stop laughing when you learn fight." Reiner stared up at him and shook his head.

"You're a strange guy, you know that?" Eren shrugged, helping Reiner up.

"I've been told on occasion." They began fighting again as Shadis overlooked them. He glared down. His eyes twitched when he caught sight of Jean and Connie goofing around.

"CADETS KIRSTEIN AND SPRINGER! GRAB A SHOVEL AND START DIGGING A HOLE!" he bellowed. The two glanced at each other and shrugged. They were forced to dig and continue digging until Shadis said they could stop. Then he turned. "CADET BRAUS! GRAB ME A COUPLE BUCKETS OF WATER!"

Sasha took off and Jean and Connie waited, wondering what was going to happen. Sasha returned with the buckets and Shadis began pouring them on the two.

"Sir! What are you doing, sir?" Jean called up, struggling to protect himself from the water. Shadis glared down at him.

"WHAT'S IT LOOK LIKE? I'M WATERING MY PETUNIAS!" The others struggled not to laugh as Shadis continued to pour water on the other two. Most of the groups grew lax while Shadis was busy and it irritated Eren. He joined with Mikasa and the two went back and forth. Mikasa was a natural when it came to hand to hand fighting. It just made him more eager to fight her.

It turned out that Mikasa was best at offense while Eren was better with defense. So they took turns defending and attacking, thus working on their strong and weak points. When Shadis finally turned around, most of the groups were lazing about. Only Mikasa, Eren, Annie, and Armin -who was being brutally destroyed by Annie- were left still fighting.

"CADETS TWINKLESTAR, ACKERMAN, LEONHART, AND ARLERT! YOU ARE DISMISSED! THE REST OF YOU f*ck WADS HAD BETTER GET BACK TO TRAINING OR ELSE EXPECT TO JOIN THESE TWO IN THE HOLE!" he bellowed. The four who were dismissed saluted and walked off, while the rest had to continue training. Armin and Eren split off to practice reading and writing while Mikasa followed them. Annie left and disappeared.

Two weeks after their first class, they were taking a test. Eren could read -somewhat- and he could neatly write in Armin's handwriting. He struggled with a lot of questions but made sure he was correct before moving to a different question. He only just finished answering the last question when their time ran out. He hesitantly handed his to the teacher before heading out.

He glared at the dirt. He was the last one to finish his test and it frustrated him. He hated being slow, having to struggle with things that were considered simple concepts. Hell, even Connie and Jean had finished before him. And they were both idiots! He sighed and began running through the obstacle course. It wasn't hard enough so he began making it harder. He had to do flips over some obstacles or simply slide under others. The less time spent on crawling or climbing, the better. He raced through it until it felt familiar. He could almost hear the sound of birds chirping and the wind rustling the leaves of the trees.

He felt eyes on him and paused, landing on top of the tallest obstacle. His eyes swept over the surrounding area, noting a strange man leaning against one of the buildings. He was blonde and from this distance, his ice blue eyes looked more silver or white than blue. Eren stared at the man until the stranger decided to come forward.

"You must've done something really horrible for Shadis to have you do the obstacle course this much," he said. Eren frowned.

"What do you mean? I'm doing this because I want to." One of the man's abnormally large eyebrows lifted in surprise. He smiled a little bit.

"Really? Why run through the obstacle course and not just relax in the barracks if you have free time?" Eren stared down at the strange man. He asked strange questions, although Eren couldn't blame him. He was pretty strange himself, after all.

"Relaxing in the barracks is boring. It's better to get some practice and work out than to laze around talking," Eren said, shaking his head. The man raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Do you not enjoy talking with your fellow trainees?" he asked. Eren sighed.

"It's all 'join the military police this' and 'join the military police that'. It's boring, annoying, and repetitive. I'm sick of it." The man raised an eyebrow.

"So I take it you don't want to join the Military police, then." Eren shook his head quickly.

"No. I don't. Everyone else thinks I'm weird but I don't care. They're all the idiots," he spat. He fumed for a moment, forgetting that he was being observed. The stranger tilted his head before speaking again.

"So which group do you want to join?" he asked. Eren glanced at him.

"I'm going to join the Survey Corps." The man raised an eyebrow. A small smile curled his lips but Eren was busy flipping into a handstand on the obstacle and holding it steady.

"Why do you want to join the Survey Corps?" Eren glanced down.

"If no one joins and the Survey corps stops going out, then all the people who died up until now died in vain. Their deaths would mean nothing and the titans would overrun the walls. We'd all die. That's the end," he hissed. He sighed. "But they all think it's stupid and suicidal. They're the real idiots though. I'd rather die outside the walls where I'm free than die stuck in a cage."

"What's your name?" the stranger asked. Eren glanced down at him.

"It's Eren. My name's Eren. What about you?" The man smiled at him.

"My name's Erwin. Do you mind if we meet and talk again at the same time next week?" he asked. Eren stared down at him.

"You want to meet again?" he asked in surprise. Erwin smiled.

"Yes, is that a problem?" he asked. Eren stared at him before chuckling. He shook his head.

"It's not. We'll meet here again next week then." Erwin nodded and walked off. Eren flipped over and watched him, his shadow spreading after the man. What a strange, strange person. He glanced at his shadow. It easily stretched fifteen meters and almost looked like his true form. He sighed and climbed down, heading into the barracks. The tests were being passed out and he claimed his when it came. Eren took in the number at the top and sighed in relief.

"What'd you get, Eren?" Connie asked. "I got a forty seven."

"Considering how much longer it took him to finish the test than us, I expect he got a low score. How is it, Eren? Fifteen? Lower?" Jean mocked. Eren glared at him. Jean smirked. "I got an eighty one. I'm pretty proud of that."

Connie cursed and began whacking Jean with his paper. Clearly there had been some kind of bet there, but at least it diverted attention from Eren. Armin came over and his eyes widened.

"Eren...you got-how is this possible??" Even Armin seemed shocked by his grade. Jean glanced over.

"What? Is it really that bad?" Eren smirked and smugly turned his paper around.

"I got 100 points. Take that, horseface." With that he climbed into bed and lay down, smiling. There were murmurs and gasps at his score, but he didn't care what they said about him. He never had. He smiled as he thought back to Erwin. He'd even made a new friend. His eyes drifted shut slowly with a grin on his lips.

A couple minutes later Armin peered over the edge to tell Eren that it was dinner time and paused before doing that. His eyes widened at the sight in front of him. Eren was asleep with a smile on his lips and hands still tightly clutching his test. Armin smiled and pulled the blankets up to cover Eren.

"Good night Eren. Sleep well," he said, leaving a slumbering Eren alone.

Chapter 14: Meditanti Armin et Erwin

Chapter Text

Eren stared in shock at the result on his practice test. Armin peered over his shoulder and winced. Eren clenched it in his fists, nearly crumpling it.

"Why I not do right?" he whispered. Armin winced. It was a bad sign when Eren slipped into broken speech. It usually meant his emotions were overwhelming him and he couldn't think straight.

"It's not that bad, Eren. We just have to study more," Armin comforted. Mikasa stood on the side and buried her face in her scarf. Eren turned and stared at Armin with distress clear in his eyes.

"Ten, Armin. I got ten on my test." Armin nodded.

"I saw." Eren stared at him for a moment longer before sighing.

"Let's go study, not that you need it." Armin smiled a little and they walked off, Mikasa hesitantly following behind. Eren fell back and leaned against her as they walked. She smiled and patted his head a little. It wasn't that he was physically tired, he was just emotionally tired. He'd never felt this when he'd been with his little one...wait that wasn't true. He'd felt this way when his little one had been taken from him.

"Alright so, if you've used up two thirds of your gas, how much do you have left and what maneuvers can you do with that?" Armin asked. Eren frowned. Two thirds...that was math...In order to get one whole you needed three thirds so if you'd used two thirds, you would have one third left.

"One third?" he asked. Armin nodded.

"And? What's the best maneuver to do?" Eren frowned. This was where he struggled most. Math took him a bit of thinking because he had to remember everything, but humans thought it was a good idea to name certain movements. It was annoying. He shook his head and Armin sighed.

"It's a swing maneuver Eren. You swing up behind the titan and use your weight to fall on them. Cut the nape and head off." Eren nodded as Armin continued. "You'll only use a small amount each time so you'll end up with about ten titan kills before you run out of gas if you use as little as possible. But with using gas for movement, it would be closer to six or seven titan kills."

Eren frowned. It would be easier to kill that many titans in his large form. After all, he would match them in speed but be faster than they were. He and Armin stayed there, studying to hopefully improve Eren's score on the actual test. However, with how easily this information slipped from his mind, it would probably be impossible for him to get a high grade. He sighed and stood when he saw the time.

"That's probably enough today." Armin nodded and Eren couldn't bring himself to look at Armin. His gaze was...pitying and Eren hated it. He stalked off to the training course. He quickly spotted a familiar head of hair and smiled. He ran up. Now that he was closer, Erwin actually seemed really freaking tall. He practically towered over Eren. He frowned. Had he...seen this person before? Standing over him? He shook his head. No, he and Erwin had never met before last time.

"Hey Eren, I was beginning to wonder if you'd show," Erwin said with a smile. Eren sighed.

"I got distracted studying for the next test we have." Erwin raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? What'd you get on the practice test?" Eren looked away, staring irritably at the ground. He sighed and Erwin's smile fell. "That bad, huh?"

"I just don't see the point in naming maneuvers! If you all know them, why do you need a name for them? It's like walking. Do you yell out 'right foot forward' every time you take a step?" Erwin tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"I'm pretty sure we name maneuvers because we don't share a hive mind." Eren stared at him.

"Huh?"

"Well, think about it. If you pull off a difficult maneuver and need back up, if you don't call out what you're going to do, how are your teammates supposed to help you? It's not like they know all of your thoughts or feelings, they just see your actions and hear what you say. However, if you learn the names of maneuvers while still in training, when you call them out in battle, your friends and squad can assist you." Eren tilted his head thinking it over. It made sense actually. It explained a lot as to why they insisted on naming every maneuver.

"Thanks Erwin, that makes more sense." Erwin smiled and nodded.

"By the way, have you started your omni-dimensional maneuver gear training yet?" Eren shook his head.

"We have to pass both tests before we get to see if we can use it." Erwin frowned.

"Both tests?" Eren nodded.

"One that shows you can identify all the parts of the gear and a second that shows you know how to use gas correctly and can identify different maneuvers." Erwin stared at him, a frown on his face.

"That's ridiculous. Did they change the teaching methods again? How foolish," he sighed. Eren smiled wryly.

"That's what I think too." Erwin paused, thinking about something.

"Hey Eren, come with me." Eren tilted his head but followed Erwin. He frowned as they passed an area where trainees were restricted from going.

"Um, Erwin, are we supposed to be here?" he asked. Erwin glanced back and followed his gaze to the sign that Shadis had put up.f*ck-WADS STAY OUT UNTIL I SAY YOU CAN UNLESS YOU WANT A BOOT SHOVED SO FAR UP YOUR ASS I'LL BE f*ckING YOUR MOUTH WITH IT.

"Relax, I have permission. Though I see that Shadis' crude manner of speech hasn't changed." Eren hesitantly followed Erwin until they came to a strange mechanism. "Alright, let's get you hooked up."

"Wait what? Hooked up to what??" Eren asked incredulously. Erwin chuckled.

"The gear of course." Eren stared at the strange wooden poles, frowning.

"This is omni-dimensional maneuver gear?" he questioned, placing his hand against the wood. Erwin snorted and shook his head.

"No, this is a practice gear. That way they can test your compatibility with the gear and teach you to balance on it before pulling any other maneuvers." Eren allowed Erwin to help buckle him in and then pull him into the air. He tensed up and felt it as shivers ran through it. He began to sway and then he slammed into the ground.

"Ow..." he groaned. Erwin grabbed his shoulder and pulled him upright.

"Easy, Eren. Just relax. I know it feels weird not having anything under your feet, but it's alright. You'll be fine." He nodded hesitantly and forced himself to relax. Breathing helped. Just calm, steady breaths. He didn't even notice when Erwin pulled his hand away and he remained there, easily swaying in the wind. He blinked and glanced around to see Erwin leaning against a pole. His eyes widened and he looked down. He was...he was doing it!

"Yes!" he cheered, throwing his fists in the air. Erwin chuckled and lowered him back down.

"Alright, now how about we practice some actual maneuvers. That way you get a feel for them." Eren nodded eagerly and began buckling himself in. He paused.

"Erwin, why are we going to actually practice some maneuvers?" he asked. Erwin glanced at him.

"I feel you're a more hands on learner, someone who needs to do something to learn it. This will be good practice for that, not to mention it'll be good training for when you join the Survey Corps." Eren grinned.

"You're so nice, Erwin." Erwin smiled wryly to himself and took off. Eren followed. He struggled at first, learning to release the hook he'd placed in the tree as he shot another one but soon he and Erwin were performing mock exercises together. He grinned eagerly as they landed.

"Alright Eren, so we've used three fourths of our tanks. How much do we have left? And once you've figured that out, which maneuver will maximize the remaining gas and allow us to kill some titans?" Erwin asked as they took off their gear. Eren frowned.

"We have one fourth left in our tanks and...if we use the swing maneuver we'd be able to kill up to four titans while using it for movement. If we jump from tree to tree or let gravity and our speed of motion get us further along, we'd be able to kill up to seven titans each." His eyes brightened as he realized that he had figured it out. Erwin smiled and nodded.

"That's correct, Eren. Although, if you're in a team you can have some people carry others to reduce the amount of gas used." Eren grinned. He glanced at the setting sun and winced.

"I should back head," he said. Erwin stared at him and Eren internally cursed himself for slipping in his speech. Erwin chuckled.

"You're really interesting, you know that Eren?" Eren stared at him. Erwin chuckled to himself as he pulled a notepad from inside his jacket. He pulled a pen from a pocket and wrote something down on it. He held it out to Eren. "Here. If Shadis catches you, give this to him."

Eren took the note and glanced up as Erwin walked away with their gear. He glanced down at the note.

Please excuse Eren's tardiness, I was spending some time getting to know him. -Erwin Smith.

"How is this supposed to stop Shadis?" he muttered. He pocketed it and took off, running. He slipped into the barracks to find Shadis waiting for him.

"Welcome back, Cadet Daydreamer. You'd better have a good f*ckING EXCUSE FOR BEING LATE!" he roared. Eren flinched back but reached into his pocket and pulled out the note he'd gotten from Erwin. He held it out to Shadis, who paused in his furious rampage and read it. His eyebrow raised and he glanced down at Eren. He sighed, pocketing the note.

"I'll let you off this time. But you tell him that the next time he makes you late, I will have words with him," Shadis growled as he stormed out. Eren saluted with a crisp 'yes sir' and relaxed once he was gone. The others stared at him.

"Who on earth gave you that note?" Connie asked. Eren tilted his head and grinned.

"Just a friend. He's real nice." Armin sighed.

"Get changed Eren and go to sleep." Eren nodded and quickly climbed into bed. Today had been a good day, he thought as he went to sleep, cradling his titan-like nutcracker.

After that day, he would study with Armin until it was around four in the afternoon and then head to Erwin. Erwin would train him in omni-dimensional maneuver gear and even in some tactics of the Survey Corps. It fascinated Eren to hear about the Corps, day after day. In fact, he seemed so enamored with it that Erwin began to carefully consider what he was saying. He didn't want Eren thinking it was some incredible place where everyone was super strong or anything, so he had to figure out what he could say to show the risks as well as the benefits. There weren't many benefits but that didn't stop Eren.

He eagerly seemed to soak up information about the titans themselves and ODM gear. It was shocking to Erwin how quickly Eren adapted to the gear. At first his experiments were only little things: spinning to increase his speed, changing the way he held the blades, and even trying to somersault in midair to change direction faster. He was rarely wrong and didn't mess up often, but when he did it was incredible. He crashed into trees and even managed to get himself tangled in his own wires. When that had happened, Erwin had stood on a branch, holding his face in his hand as Eren flailed and struggled in the wires.

However, slowly but surely he began to answer more and more pop quiz questions correct. It excited him every time he got one right.

"Eren, how many points do you need in order to pass the test?" Erwin asked one day as they had been going over a Corps strategy. Erwin seemed to like getting an outsider's perspective on their strategies. It made it easier for Eren to see the flaws in the plan and help Erwin correct them. Eren glanced up from the little map that was in front of him.

"We need to get eighty points, why?" Erwin smiled.

"Then I think you'll do fine. You don't need a hundred in order to pass so just do your best. You'll be fine, I'm sure." Eren chuckled and scratched the back of his neck.

"If I do well, it'll be because of you and Armin. You should really let me introduce him to you. I feel like together you'd be unstoppable in your genius. Actually, it's kind of scary to think of you two working together." Erwin chuckled.

"Maybe eventually we'll meet. For now, I'm more than happy just coaching you on these things." Eren grinned and with that they'd returned to their strategy conversation, leaving the test for another day.

Eren steadied his breath as they sat down. Today was the day where they would really take the test. This was what those two weeks had been preparing him for. There was nothing he couldn't do on this test! He was invincible with both Armin and Erwin fighting for him! He dove into the test, forcing himself to recall every conversation and practice he'd had with the two.

It took an hour for him to finish the test. He passed it in and sighed, flopping onto his bed.

"Hey Eren, finally back?" Jean mocked. Eren ignored him. "Are you ignoring me?"

"Shut up Jean, no one wants to listen to you neigh," he called. There were chuckles in response to that and Jean sputtered indignantly. Eren ignored him and finally began working on the titan's head. This was the tricky bit because of the actual nutcracker tool. However, he slowly worked around it, immortalizing his true form in the wood. He carefully carved the eyes, teeth, and hair. He was so invested that he completely missed when the teacher came in until they called his name.

"Eren!" He jumped out of bed and quickly collected the paper, staring eagerly at the number at the top of the paper. His eyes lit up as he saw the number written in bold on the top of the page.

"What'd you get, Eren?" Armin asked. Eren whipped it around to show Armin.

"I got an eighty one!!" he cheered. Armin smiled and the others rolled their eyes. Jean scoffed.

"Sucks to be you, Eren. I got an eighty four." Eren stared at him blankly.

"Why should I care again?" Jean blinked as Eren turned away from him and continued hugging Armin. He held up the paper eagerly. With this, he was one step closer to the Survey corps and one step closer to little one!

"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!!" Shadis bellowed. Eren couldn't even be frightened, he was so happy. He went to bed and eagerly tucked himself in. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Chapter 15: Novum Visum

Chapter Text

Levi groaned internally as he saw the pile of paperwork Erwin had left for him. He sighed and contemplated jumping out the window. Maybe if he ran to the walls fast enough, he could throw himself to the titans before Erwin caught him and dragged him back here to finish the paperwork. He leaned back in his hair, aimlessly staring at the ceiling. He was bored as f*ck and needed some kind of distraction.

Apparently the heavens had heeded his call. That or someone up high woke up and said 'I feel like f*cking with Levi today.' Levi knew because he could already hear the footsteps headed his way. He counted in his head.

3...2...1

The door crashed open and Hanji threw herself inside.

"HELLO, LEVI!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She narrowly ducked and missed the book that Levi had hurled at her head. He clicked his tongue in annoyance at having missed. He sat back down and put his quill away.

"What do you want, sh*tty glasses?" he growled. She grinned.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to come and see how my favorite shorty was holding up under all the paperwork Erwin was leaving him." Levi grabbed another book and chucked it at her, smacking her in the stomach. She grunted before grinning up at him, holding the book. "Aw, come on Levi! Even you have to admit that Erwin's acting strange. He's doing less work and disappears everyday at around three in the afternoon. I haven't been able to follow him yet, but I will soon!"

"It's none of your business what he does. Hell, he might have found someone he wants to date. Would you really want to follow him only to see him sucking some woman's face off?" Hanji pouted.

"Boo on you, Levi. I want to know what kind of person they are! Is that so bad?" Levi sighed.

"Fine. I'll ask him about it when he comes to drop off more of this sh*tty paperwork. However, I want something in return." Hanji nodded eagerly, staring at him with buggy eyes. He assumed she was trying to use puppy eyes but was failing miserably.

"You leave me alone for two days." Her eyes widened.

"Nooo! You're the only entertainment here~!" she pouted. He glared at her stiffly.

"Fine. Then I won't ask and you'll likely never know."

"Levi~~!" He picked up his quill and continued working on the paperwork, knowing that Hanji would cave if she thought he was serious. He wasn't, he really was going to ask. It irritated him to realize that Erwin had been dumping the work he didn't want to do on Levi while he went off to mess around with some random woman. If it really was true, he was going to chew the hell out of Erwin. He glanced up from the papers towards where Hanji was rolling around on the ground like a child, still throwing a fit.

"You know what I want in exchange, four eyes. Either say yes or get the f*ck out." She pouted up at him, but he pointedly ignored her. She sighed.

"FIne! I'll leave you alone for two days unless it's something important." Levi raised an eyebrow. She was trying to give herself some wiggle room to come bug him. He set the quill down.

"It's only important if Erwin says so. Got it? Before you come to me, tell it to him." Internally he grinned viciously. Erwin wanted to go play around and leave his work for Levi? Then Levi'd sicc Hanji on him and bug the hell out of him. He glared down at Hanji who was frowning on the floor before she sighed.

"Fine. I'll run everything by Erwin. But remember! I want to know who he's going to visit!" she said as she picked herself up. She stared at him until she fully left the room and Levi sighed in relief. Finally, some peace and quiet. He continued working on the paperwork and had just finished the stack when he heard heavy footsteps approaching his office. He groaned softly and waited for the door to open. When it did, Erwin appeared with a stack of paperwork larger than the previous one.

"Oh, Levi, you're still here?" Levi glared at him. Erwin honestly seemed surprised.

"Yes I'm still here. Still here and working on the f*cking paperwork you pushed onto me." Erwin scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry to do this, but I've got more. I'll just leave them here and-"

"Who are you visiting?" Levi asked. Erwin froze and looked up at Levi, surprise written all over his face. Levi ignored the look and continued. "You've been leaving around three in the afternoon everyday and you aren't doing as much paperwork as you normally do. So I'll ask again. Who are you visiting?"

His tone booked no argument. This was not a question. It was a demand. He was demanding an answer and he'd be damned if he didn't get one. Erwin sighed and smiled sheepishly.

"I guess I should've known I'd be caught eventually, huh?" Levi simply waited, still glaring at Erwin.

"Are you dating?" Levi asked. Erwin looked up at him, eyebrows raised in shock. Oddly enough, he seemed genuinely surprised by the question. Erwin burst out laughing, doubled over from the strength of his laugh.

"No. Goodness no. I'm not dating him at all." Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Then who are you visiting?" Erwin smiled.

"I'm visiting a new recruit. He's quite interesting." Levi frowned. He raised an eyebrow and glared at Erwin.

"Erwin, we haven't gotten any new recruits for three months. We're still not going to get any soon so there's no way that's true. Quit lying to me," he growled. Erwin gave Levi that knowing smirk that just irritated him.

"Relax, Levi. Technically he's still in training." Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Why the hell are you visiting a trainee and calling him a new recruit?" he asked, confused. What on earth was Erwin going on about? Erwin smiled.

"He's made it quite clear he intends to join the Survey Corps and shows quite a bit of promise. I've just been helping him a bit. He piqued my interest so I kept coming back to help him out and get to know him better, that's all. We meet everyday at four but since it's an hour long ride, I need to be going. I promise I'll take care of my normal amount of work. So relax, you'll meet him eventually." With that, Erwin walked out of the office. Levi glared after him before sighing.

Just what kind of person is this kid to draw Erwin's eye and continue to intrigue him. I almost pity them. He's grooming them to be his perfect lapdog, I'll bet.He thought. Minutes after Erwin left, Hanji ran in.

"So?? Who is it? Is she cute? Did he blush?" Levi sighed.

"He's not dating anyone." Hanji's eyes widened and she brought a hand up over her mouth.

"He's MARRIED and he didn't TELL US???" Levi glared at her.

"No, he-"

"Moblit!! Did you hear?? Erwin's MARRIED!!!" she screeched. The people in the hallways started murmuring and Levi glared before sighing. Hanji was dancing around Moblit, who seemed totally confused. More people began to murmur and whisper before Levi inhaled.

"ERWIN IS NOT MARRIED!" he roared irritably. Their eyes widened in fear and Hanji paused, turning to face him.

"He's not?" Levi sighed and rubbed between his eyebrows. He glared up at her.

"No. He's not so quit jumping to conclusions and screaming them out to everyone in the goddamn Survey Corps." Hanji pouted.

"Boo. It would've been fun to meet them." She let go of Moblit and Levi tilted his head. Moblit took the hint and bolted as fast as he could. Levi pitied Moblit more than anyone else because the poor man was basically glued to Hanji. "So? Who is it then?"

"It's a trainee," he said. Hanji's eyes widened and Levi had a split second to realize that could potentially seem strange and suspicious and that he was dealing with Hanji.

"ERWIN'S HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH A TRAINEE????" she screamed. The whispers began again and Levi groaned.

"No! He's just going to help him-"

"AND IT'S A GUY?? ERWIN'S GAY???" Now there were people running to share the news with others while Levi dragged Hanji into his office before she could do any more damage. Poor Erwin.

I pity the guy when he comes back.

"No. He's not dating anyone or seeing anyone for sexual relations," he ground out. Her eyes widened before they narrowed.

"Then why is he visiting a trainee?" she asked, more calmly than she had been. He sighed.

"Apparently the kid caught his eye and he wants to groom him for the Survey Corps since the kid said he would join us or some sh*t like that. It's seriously nothing romantic at all. And now that you know, you're going to clear up the rumors you've undoubtedly started." Hanji whined but he sent her out of his office. He stared at the paperwork he still had left and sighed.

I hate this.

Eren's POV

"LISTEN UP, f*ckWADS! YOU'VE SUCCESSFULLY MADE IT TO THE OMNI-DIMENSIONAL MANEUVER GEAR PART! BUT f*ck THAT LONG ASS NAME, WE CALL IT ODM GEAR FOR SHORT. GOT IT?"

"Sir, yes sir!" They bellowed, snapping into a salute. Eren grinned. He had already had training with this so he'd be fine. One of the men who Eren recognized as one of Shadis' aids ran up holding a letter in his hand. Shadis took it and glared, eyes flicking up to Eren.

"CADET DAYDREAMER! YOUR PRIVATE f*ckING TUTOR IS HERE! GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR AND GO GET STARTED. HOWEVER, KNOW I WILL STILL TEST YOU ON THE SAME THINGS AS EVERYONE ELSE HERE. GOT IT?" he bellowed. Those around him stared at Eren as he straightened and saluted.

"Sir, yes sir!" he shouted. He broke formation and hurried to where they usually got their gear from. Erwin was there in a simply brown cloak. Eren frowned.

"Erwin, what's up with the cloak?" Erwin chuckled.

"You and I are going to be helping them in this." Eren tilted his head. "Since it's their first time, they need someone to show them how it's done. The cloaks are for anonymity. You have one too."

"Oh, okay. Are you sure Shadis will be okay with this?" he asked. Erwin chuckled.

"I already talked it out with Shadis ahead of time. That yelling at you he did was just for show and to give you an excuse to leave. While we're getting ready and setting up, everyone else will be getting accustomed to their gear and how it feels to be suspended, same as I did with you." Eren nodded.

"So what exactly are we supposed to do?" Erwin chuckled.

"We're going to be demonstrating. Our job is to show them how to do it better. Since Shadis isn't taking any points from this, we can take down as many of the targets as possible to show them what we can do. Got it?"

"I it got!" Erwin glanced at him and Eren blushed. "Sorry..."

"It's fine," Erwin chuckled. They got in the trees. "Also, no fancy flairs. Anything you've figured out yourself you can't show them. After all, they're new at this. We show them techniques they're going to be using while stealing kills from them." Eren frowned.

"Isn't that counter productive? It's not like we're going to be alone when we actually fight the titans, right?" Erwin chuckled.

"That's another part. We need to give them a reason to work together. After all, if there's more of them, we can't take the kill. So make sure to only go after targets with less than five people after them." Eren nodded. There was a loud bang and then a green pillar of smoke appeared. "That's the start signal. Let's go!"

Eren jumped off the tree after Erwin and they split, going in different directions. His eyes easily spotted Jean and Bertolt going after a titan head of them. Sasha was also above them. Eren grinned and pulled his hood up over his head. He shot down and slashed all the way through the fake nape before any of them even had the chance.

"What the hell?? Who's that?" Jean yelled in frustration. Eren bit back a self satisfied smirk. He spotted Mikasa and Armin teaming up on one and grinned. He flashed past them and killed the titan before they could.

"What the-??" Armin cried out. Eren grinned and shot out of there, freezing on a branch as they passed. They completely overlooked him because of the plain brown cloak. Eren smiled. From this height it was almost level with his true forms line of sight. He heard a noise and ducked as Connie went over him, completely oblivious to the person he almost hit. Eren grinned and followed him. He raised an eyebrow when he realized that Connie was following Sasha, who was following Jean. Once Jean found a titan, he readied himself and the other two shot forward.

However, they were no match for Eren's experience. He shot past the three and sliced through the nape. He heard them curse while he laughed. When the red flare went off, signalling that they were done, Erwin and Eren landed on the branches at the edge of the training area while the others trudged back.

"You seem like you had a good time," Erwin commented. Eren nodded.

"They were slow and their moves were simple. Was I like too at first?" He frowned, feeling like he'd said something wrong.

"Yes, you were like that at first. However, I helped train you so that you'd be fine." Eren nodded and bowed to him.

"Thank you for that, Erwin." Erwin smirked.

"You ready for more?" Eren's eyes brightened.

"Sure!!"

They spent another two hours training before they went in. Shadis met them at the gear storage building. His gaze flicked to Eren.

"It seems you've been teaching him well, Erwin." Erwin shrugged.

"I do what I can." Shadis snorted.

"I hope you've trained him on everything he'll need to know or would learn in my class because our ODM gear training is all going to be at four in the afternoon." Erwin nodded.

"I've already taught him everything he'd learn in training and a few other things." Shadis snorted.

"If that's the case, see if you can work on his academics. He's horrible when it comes to that." With that, Shadis stalked off. Eren saluted him as he left, feeling those stern eyes on him. Shadis clasped his shoulder and leaned close. "Be careful. Think carefully about if you really want to join the Survey Corps. Don't throw your life away. There are people who would cry if you died."

Eren stared after him, eyes tracking the form of his instructor. He laughed internally. He was joining the group that killed his kind. They wouldn't cry even if he did die. Even Mikasa and Armin would be happy to see him die if they knew the truth about him.

"What was that about?" Erwin asked. Eren glanced back at him, seeing a strange look in Erwin's eyes. Eren shrugged.

"He's just trying to sway my devotion. But I'm not going to sway. I've already made my choice." Erwin nodded and the strange light disappeared. He put his gear away and arrived after lights out. Everyone else was already asleep so he simply crawled into his bed. His eyes shut slowly and he drifted into dreams full of his forest and the horrifying faces of titans he'd killed.

Chapter 16: Graduatio

Chapter Text

Eren grinned as he straightened his back. Shadis was pacing down the line, just waiting for someone to give him a reason to shout. As he passed by Eren, he straightened his face and stared steadfastly forward. Shadis clicked his tongue but walked past and onto the next person. He sighed and went up to the platform.

"ALRIGHT f*ck-NUGGETS. YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY MADE IT THROUGH THE TRAINING COURSE. CONGRATU-f*ckING-LATIONS. HOWEVER! WE HAVE ONE LAST TEST TO PUT YOU THROUGH IN ORDER TO SEE WHAT ALL YOU'VE LEARNED. FOR THOSE WHO PAID ATTENTION, IT'LL BE EASY AS HELL. FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T, I WISH YOU THE WORST OF DAYS. GOOD LUCK!" he bellowed. They snapped into a salute.

"Sir, yes sir!" they all said. Eren knew he would pass. Erwin had already taught him anything that could be on the final test and more. His fellow trainees had never once seen him use his maneuver gear. Well, they'd never identified him using it. They were split into squads and told to go put on their gear for the last test. He was with Connie, Jean, Armin, Annie, and Bertolt. Jean of course, was muttering to Connie and mocking Eren.

"I bet he's so bad with the maneuver gear they simply didn't let us see him train because it was too horrible to watch," Jean muttered. Connie snorted and shook his head.

"If that was true, he wouldn't still be here. After all, they got rid of all the other ones who couldn't do it. More likely he just caught the attention of someone important. I don't know what the hell they'd want with him, but whatever. Besides, we'll be fine. We have Annie on our team."

"I doubt that we'll win with Eren on our team. He'll probably drag us down and-"

"Jean!" Eren called. They jumped. Bertolt began sweating as they watched while Annie stared and watched. Armin nervously glanced between the two as Eren walked up to Jean.

"Need something, Eren?" Jean sneered. Eren raised his fist and Connie took a step back while Armin stepped forward. However, Eren simply bumped his fist against Jean's chest. Jean stared down in shock and Eren smirked.

"Let's work well together. We team, after all." With that he turned away and equipped his maneuver gear. By the time he was done, none of them had finished putting theirs on. For some reason, Erwin had made him practice taking the gear off and on until he could do it almost as fast as Erwin could. It was really strange, and he couldn't figure out why he needed to. Jean was grumbling to himself while Eren smirked. Armin and Annie walked over to him near the door.

"What do you think the test is going to be?" Armin asked. Eren glanced at him.

"Titan tag. If it's anything like the last ones from what I've heard, the reason they divide us into groups is so that we have to work as teams and get the most titan kills. This will judge how well we work together, maneuver skills, and the like." Annie raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Bertolt joined them with Connie following after.

"What do you think we should do?" Armin asked. Eren frowned.

"That's where things get tricky. If we stay in a clump, we're easier to track and, in a real situation, easier for titans to grab and kill. Best choice is split up." Eren grinned and Jean came over with a frown.

"But that defeats the point of teamwork, right?" Eren sighed and reached into his pocket. He pulled out six wooden whistles and passed one to everybody. Jean frowned as he held his. "What is this for?"

"Teamwork." They stared at Eren so he decided to elaborate. "When I heard about the final test, I came up with the idea of communication via whistle. We can't really shout to each other over the screams of dying teammates and titan roars, after all. So I carved some whistles." Annie rolled her eyes.

"The whistles don't help us if we don't know what they do." Eren grinned.

"That easy. Short, single whistle means regroup. Long, single whistle means titan. Short, double whistle means split up. Long double whistle means other squad. That way, we can split up and when one sees a titan, they whistle to inform the group. In which case, we regroup. Once the titan is down, split up again. If we regroup and we're being followed, split up. It works for situations many." Eren frowned and cursed his human tongue. Well at least he wouldn't have to try shouting desperately to them.

"That makes it so much easier to find and kill titans!" Armin said. He frowned. "Why didn't I think of that?" Eren shrugged and patted his shoulder.

"It not big deal. You're fine." Armin nodded and they heard a shout from outside.

"SQUAD SEVEN, ARE YOU READY? COME ON OUT ALREADY!" Eren slipped his whistle on and the others did as well. They walked out and everybody else was waiting. Shadis looked irritated but said nothing about their delay. "ALRIGHT, NOW THAT THE LADIES HAVE JOINED US, LET'S GO OVER JUST WHAT THIS FINAL TEST IS. YOU WILL BE WORKING AS A TEAM TO FIND, KILL, AND ESCAPE THE TITAN DUMMIES. WORK TOGETHER AND COME UP WITH YOUR OWN STRATEGY OF HOW BEST TO DO THIS. POINTS WILL BE ADDED DUE TO FINDING A TITAN, KILLING A TITAN, AND HELPING TEAMMATES ESCAPE FROM A TITAN. DO WELL."

With that he just turned and walked off. One of Shadis' helpers came up to the stage.

"Everyone! Your groups will be led to different starting points by the aids. Go there, wait for the starting signal, and do your best," he yelled. They saluted and slowly the groups were led away. Eren followed the one who called out to them and the others followed. They were led to the far east side of the forest. Before the aid left, Eren grabbed his shoulder.

"Excuse me, what's the starting signal?" The aid paused and grinned.

"The only thing I can tell you is the Survey Corps uses the same signal to change direction. Good luck," he said before walking away. Jean frowned.

"That wasn't helpful at all. Seriously, what's it going to be? A horn? A gunshot?"

"A smoke flare," Eren said. Jean stared at him and Eren shrugged. "That's what they use. A red smoke flare indicates that a titan has been spotted. A green flare is to change direction and avoid the titan. A black flare means there's an abnormal titan. If they're using the direction signal, we're looking for a green smoke cloud."

They stared at him for a moment longer before they saw a pillar of green smoke go up in the air.

"Let's go!" Eren called. As they went through the forest, they realized that very few squads had actually started. More began when they heard the shouts from the other squads, such as Mikasa's. How on earth she'd known when to start, Eren would never know. He ignored it in favor of destroying the titan dummies and heading to where the whistle came from. When a long horn blew, signalling the end of the test, Eren blew the whistle once quickly. The others regrouped and they landed. Some of the squads looked like they knew they'd done poorly. Shadis walked in front of them.

"Listen up, cadets. No points will be deducted from not heading out as soon as the flare went off. After all, you'd only know that if you actually looked into the history and equipment of the Survey Corps. However, we are still going to count up only the points that were collected by your individual squads. Also, points within the squad will not be divided equally. If some found a titan but another killed it, the two get the differing points for finding and killing. However, the others won't get any points from that." Eren nodded. It made sense to him, although he could see others murmuring unhappily, probably frightened by the score they got. Eren wasn't. He knew he found and killed at least twice as many titan dummies as anyone else in his squad.

"This is bull," Jean muttered. Eren glanced back at him. Jean had found a lot of titans but had killed only a few. No wonder he was irritated.

"Points will also be added for teamwork and strategy." Their eyes widened as Shadis' eyes narrowed on their squad.

"Some people might have come up with ideas to get more titans found and killed in the area. It will be taken into account. Now go back to your barracks and pack your stuff. I'll see you tonight at graduation." The squads cheered and laughed, running around. Eren simply went back to his barrack and put what meager belongings he had in a bag. His clothes, nutcracker, whittling knife, whistle, everything. Nothing was spared and before he left, he changed the sheets and put the clean ones on the bed.

Another thing Erwin had insisted on him learning was to be clean and neat at all times. Erwin had been almost frightening in his insistence of this and Eren found it more than a little strange. Maybe Erwin was a germaphobe? While Eren was distracted with these types of thoughts, the door burst open and Jean and Connie entered, dragging Bertolt with them.

"That was awesome, Eren! We definitely made the top ten! It's gonna be great!" Connie cheered. Eren smiled.

"I not need be top ten." They frowned.

"You don't want to be in the top ten?" Jean repeated. Eren shrugged.

"I think the top ten should be for those who want to join the Military police. After all, the top ten are the only ones who get to join the MP's. So, since I don't want to join the MP's, I shouldn't be in the top ten." They stared at him and Eren noticed Bertolt creeping away while the two were distracted. Bertolt packed his stuff and slid back towards the door. He nodded to Eren, who nodded back, and then left.

Well at least I make for a successful distraction, he thought.

"Seriously. I will never understand you and your obsession with killing titans. It's f*cking weird," Jean spat. Eren shrugged.

"I think you're weird for wanting to join the MP's, what's your point?" Jean glared and Connie looked nervously between the two. Eren shook his head and sighed before looking back at Jean. "No. I'm not doing this tonight. Tonight is when we graduate, we're supposed to be celebrating. I'm not going to fight with you right before that happens. Join whichever group you want to, Jean. It's not like I'll be in charge of where you go or anything."

He walked out and went to the course. Unsurprisingly, Erwin was already there. He smiled at Eren.

"I heard about your stunt with the whistles, very clever. What made you think of that?" Eren grinned sheepishly.

"Well, you told me about the Survey Corps signal flares, but those don't work as well in the trees. So I thought, what else would work as a signal? And whistles were what I came up with. The sound carries quite a bit and won't be obstructed by trees. Not to mention, different patterns of whistles could probably send different information." He looked up at Erwin and saw him nodding with a calculating look in his eyes. Erwin glanced back down at Eren.

"Eren, if you were invited to join the Survey Corps less than ten minutes after you'd officially graduated, would you join? Without a doubt?" Eren nodded.

"Of course I would. Why wait if I can join immediately?" A smile tugged at Erwin's lips and he sighed.

"Alright. You should go hang out with your friends. I'll see you later tonight." Eren frowned and watched as Erwin walked off. What did he mean by 'he'd see him later tonight'? Erwin didn't seem to be an aid, not to mention Eren doubted he was a nobody. Maybe he just wanted to celebrate with them? He shrugged and went back to find Armin and Mikasa looking for him.

"EREN!" Mikasa cried, jumping on him. He staggered and fell backwards under her.

"Ow...Mikasa, what the heck?" She glared at him.

"Don't f*cking disappear, you idiot!" Eren stared at her.

"What did you think happened, someone kidnapped me? Who'd want to do that?" Armin sighed.

"I tried to tell her you were probably fine, but she wouldn't listen to me. She's been like this since she found you were missing." Eren chuckled.

"Did you think I'd leave you, Mikasa? Maybe I should so you don't get too attached to me," he laughed at his joke but a cold shiver ran down his spine when Mikasa spoke.

"You're never leaving me, Eren. I will hunt you down. I will track you across the world, through titan infested forests and across deserts or the ocean. I will find you and drag you right back here. You can't escape me."Eren stared at her before looking back up at Armin who had gone pale. He tapped the top of Mikasa's head.

"Hey, hey. It was a joke, alright! Just a joke. I wouldn't really leave you." She looked up at him, all puppy dog eyes even though she'd been a complete demon a few seconds earlier.

"Really? You won't leave me?" Eren smiled and patted her head.

"No I won't. Gosh, when did you get this attached to me?" he wondered aloud. Armin shook his head.

"I've got no clue, man." A horn blew in the distance and they straightened up. "That's the recall horn. We should head in while they announce the results."

They got there and were quickly shuffled into lines. Eren was mildly confused when he appeared to be first in the first line. Oh well, it didn't matter to him. Mikasa was next to him, then Annie after her. Reiner was next to Annie while Armin stood after Reiner. Jean was after Armin and Connie after him. Then Sasha and Christa. Finally there was Marco. Then another line of ten was lined up.

"Alright. We will now read the list of the top ten from bottom to top," one of the aids said once everyone was in line. "In tenth place. Marco Bodt! In ninth place, Christa Lenz! in eighth place, Sasha Blouse! In seven place, Connie Springer! In sixth place, Jean Kirstein! In fifth place, Armin Arlert! In fourth place, Reiner Braun! In third place, Annie Leonhart! In second place, Mikasa Ackerman! And finally, in first place is Eren!" Eren's eyes widened.

I didn't want first place!!He thought. He glanced down the line towards where Jean was glaring at him. Eren sighed.

"All of you have successfully graduated! Congratulations to you all. Tonight, feel free to eat and drink. Enjoy your graduation night!" With that, everyone was allowed to do what they wanted. Jean glared at Eren.

"I thought you said you didn't want to be in the top ten," he hissed. Eren shook his head.

"Don't want! I don't judge for score! I control not point total," he said, speech breaking down.

"Eren!" A voice called. Eren turned and saw Erwin. He heard the others behind him make choked noises, as if something had suddenly gotten stuck in their throats.

"Erwin!" Eren called as he ran over to Erwin, not noticing that Erwin was wearing a uniform or carrying something.

"Guys, this is my friend I was telling you about! He's the one who taught me how to use the maneuver gear and stuff about the Survey Corps." Armin finally managed to unfreeze his tongue and speak.

"Erwin? As in, Erwin Smith. The Commander of the Survey Corps?" Eren's eyes widened and he turned to face Erwin, but instead got a faceful of cloth. He sputtered and pulled it off before realizing what it was. The two overlapping wings on the back made it very clear.

"This is..." he looked up at Erwin, who grinned. Eren's eyes tracked over to the sleeve of Erwin's uniform where the same wings rested on his arm.

"Welcome to the Survey Corps, Eren."

Chapter 17: In Periculum Acceptatio

Chapter Text

"Oh you have got to be f*ckING KIDDING ME!" Jean shouted. Eren stared at Erwin in delight before throwing his arms around the bigger man. Those next to Mikasa swore they saw black, envious flames consume her as he hugged the surprised Commander.

"Thank you!! Thank you Erwin!" Erwin chuckled and patted his head.

"You're quite welcome, Eren. I'm happy to have you as part of our group." Eren turned and looked at Mikasa and Armin.

"Mika! Armin! I got in Survey Corps!" he cheered. Armin forced a smile.

"Yeah, that's great Eren. But...there's never been an immediate acceptance into a group before. So, why now? And why didn't you tell Eren who you were?" Armin asked Erwin. Somehow he didn't feel like Erwin was doing this just to make Eren happy. Erwin chuckled.

"There have been immediate acceptances if the individual caught the attention of the Commander of the group he wanted to join. I've already completed the paperwork with Shadis so there's no reason for Eren to not come into the group immediately. As for why I didn't tell Eren, I wanted him to be surprised after all. Since I realized from our initial meeting that he had no clue who I was. It was kind of fun being around someone who didn't know who I was." Armin stared at him. Erwin's tone was true but his eyes were cold as they stared Armin down. Then he turned and looked at Eren.

"Well then Eren, shall we go? It's about an hour's ride from here to our base. We should leave now if we want to arrive before the sun sets. Do you have all your things ready?" Eren nodded eagerly. They were about to walk off when Armin shot forward. For whatever reason, he felt like Eren was a little kid following a stranger who promised him candy with negative things in mind.

"Wait! Isn't it too soon? Don't trainees get at least a week before they join their group of choice?" he was desperate at this point. Somehow he felt like Eren going with Erwin wasn't going to lead anywhere good. Erwin frowned but glanced at Eren.

"What do you say Eren? Do you want to wait a week?" Eren shook his head and Mikasa lunged forward.

"Eren.Stay with us for a week and then we'll all go at the same time." Eren shivered under the intensity of Mikasa's demand but he shook her off. He frowned at them.

"What wrong with two? Why stop from going and doing what I want?" his confusion muddled his speech and they winced. Mikasa looked down and wouldn't meet his eyes while Armin looked guilty.

"We just want to all go at the same time, that's all," he murmured. Eren stared at them and sighed. He walked over and hugged the two. Their eyes widened and they hugged him back. Then he pulled away and they stared at him. He grinned.

"It just one week. I'll be fine, you join, we all be together again." With that he walked away and followed Erwin who stared at his friends with suspicion. Eren tugged his sleeve and Erwin looked back down, smiling.

"Let's go, Eren. I have special plans for you." They climbed on their horses and rode, hurrying through the dark night. Eren glanced back at his friends as he left, confused by their actions. Then again, that was their last chance to convince him not to join the Survey Corps. He shrugged and urged his horse to move faster in order to keep up with Commander Erwin. They arrived at the castle as the sun was setting and quickly put their horses away. Erwin smiled at Eren.

"You should probably go to bed first in order to-"

"Erwin!" Eren turned and his eyes widened, taking in the sight of the person striding towards them. Captain Levi glared at Erwin. "Where the f*ck have you been?" he snarled.

"Little one," Eren whispered. Erwin heard his whispered statement and bit back a laugh. As it was, his shoulders started shaking and he had to cover his face so Levi didn't see him laughing. Levi glared at him.

"You think this is funny?" Levi stalked forward and his hand shot out, grabbing the front of Erwin's shirt and dragging him down to eye level. "Where. The f*ck. Have. You. Been." Eren shivered.

"I just went to the graduation ceremony for new recruits, that's all." Levi frowned, letting Erwin go.

"Graduation? Why the f*ck would you-" His eyes fell on Eren who froze at the silver glare directed his way. Levi frowned as his gaze swept over Eren. Aside from the cloak, everything about him screamed recruit or trainee. He frowned. "So you're the one who caught Erwin's attention. I pity you kid."

"Why do you pity me?" he asked, having to think out each word first. Levi snorted.

"Well most of it you have Hanji to thank. As for the rest, well. It's pretty clear that Erwin views you as his student or successor or whatever the hell else. That means you're going to be diving right into the thick of things right from the start. So good luck." With that he started walking off. He paused and glanced back. "Oh yeah, almost forgot." He turned around completely and, even though it wasn't leveled at him, the silver eyed glare sent shivers down Eren's spine. "Do your f*cking paperwork Erwin, or I will force it down your throat."

With that he walked off. Eren stared after him as he left. That isnothow he imagined his little one. But then again, somehow it suited him to be like this, harsh and cruel. Eren shook his head and turned to look at Erwin.

"Erwin?" Erwin chuckled.

"I'll show you to where the new recruits will be staying when they get here. After that, I think you should go to bed." Eren frowned.

"What about you?" Erwin smirked.

"I'm going to be doing paperwork so Levi doesn't get sick of it and end up killing someone. It might've already happened, actually." Eren stared at him.

"He-he killed someone? Where body?" Erwin chuckled.

"Oh, you're not going to find it that easily, Eren. Levi would've cleaned up all the evidence, body included if he did kill someone. Unless he wanted to make a message from it, then he definitely wouldn't have cleaned it up." Eren shivered. His little one was more dangerous than he'd thought. "Oh, right. About what Levi was saying about Hanji, she may have gotten a couple of rumors spread from a misunderstanding so if people are talking about you, that's probably it."

Eren nodded and followed Erwin as he led him to his room. It had two beds, across from each other. Eren set his stuff on the one next to the window. After all, he loved being able to look outside after waking up. He stared at his little nutcracker self, debating putting it on his dresser. He shook his head and buried it in the bottom drawer. The sun set and he felt the familiar call of sleep. His eyes drifted shut and he slept.

He woke up as the sun rose and stretched, getting up. He glanced around, confused in his sleepy state. And in his moment of sleepiness, he had one thought.

Have I...beenkidnapped?

He glanced around before shaking his head as the memories of the previous night came back to him. That's right, Erwin had brought him to the Survey Corps. He sat up and quickly got dressed. Luckily enough, there was a Survey Corps uniform in the top drawer of his dresser that fit him. He put it on and quickly walked outside. It seemed it was still early enough that not many people were up and about at that time, but he really didn't know what else to do. He went out into the garden and sat in the sunbeams, allowing the sun's energy to seep into his skin. He sighed in relief and looked up at the sky.

"Um, who are you?" He glanced to the side. There was a woman there. She had orange colored hair that came down to her shoulders and warm brown eyes. He straightened and saluted.

"I'm Eren, a new recruit." She frowned.

"I thought new recruits had a week after graduation before they chose which group they joined?" Eren nodded.

"Erwi- I mean, Commander Erwin brought me here right after graduation. Her eyes widened.

"The Commander did? He brought you here by himself?" Eren nodded. She frowned and then said, "Are you two in a relationship?"

"What?" he asked, confused. She blushed and glanced to the side.

"I asked are you in a relationship with the Commander. You know...a sexual relationship?" Eren jerked back, more surprised than embarrassed. He shook his head quickly, eager to dispel any thought of him being romantic with Erwin.

"No, no I'm not. He just taught me things back when I was still in training. I didn't even know he was the Survey Corps Commander until last night," he said. She sighed and sagged in relief? Disappointment? Eren couldn't tell.

"Sorry, there were just rumors of him having an affair with a trainee. I guess I should've known they weren't true. Anyways, I'm Petra Ral. Nice to meet you Eren. I hope we get along." Eren smiled.

"Me too, Petra." She grinned.

"By the way, what are you doing up so early? He glanced at her before letting himself relax and laze on the bench.

"I was sunbathing," he lied. She stared at him for a moment with a puzzled expression before laughing.

"You're like a big old cat," she chuckled.

"Hey Petra, what're you laughing at?" asked another man, coming up to her. He had sandy blonde hair that was held in a man bun with dark brown eyes. Behind him was another man with dark brown or black hair that was trimmed short. After that one was a dirty blonde with hair styled in an undercut who looked like he'd just stepped in horse poop. Petra smiled at the sight of them.

"Oh hey guys," she turned to Eren, "Eren, these are my squad mates. First is Eld Jinn, then Gunther Schultz, and finally Auruo Bozado." The three stared at Eren, who stared back at them. Eld rubbed his eyes.

"Petra, I think I'm seeing things because I think I saw a new recruit." Petra laughed.

"You're not seeing things. Commander brought him here right after training." They stared at her before staring at Eren. He shifted under their shocked stares. Then Auruo spoke up.

"Huh, so I guess you're pretty good then. But you'll never get as good as me. After all, I have more experience killing titans then you do," he said. "And-!!!" He bit his tongue and Eren jolted as blood spurted out and the guy just stood there. He glanced at Petra, pointing to Auruo as he spoke.

"What's with him?" he asked. She sighed.

"He keeps trying to imitate Captain Levi, though he's not very good at it. I can't wait for the day when he bites his tongue and bleeds out." Eren stared at her, shocked by the cold attitude. The others shook their heads and she turned back to Eren.

"Hey Eren, want to come eat with us?" Immediately Eren remembered that he was supposed to eat in order to pretend to be human. He shook his head with a smile.

"I not hungry," he said, his speech slipping with his nerves. They stared at him for a moment before Petra chuckled.

"That's fine, you can just sit and talk with us. After all, it gets a little annoying chatting with the same people about the same things every morning. So I want to hear about you or training or something." Eren hesitantly nodded and followed after them, ignoring the glare he was getting from Auruo after Petra pulled him into the group. He leaned over towards Gunther.

"Does Auruo like Petra?" Gunther glanced at him before chuckling.

"Is he that obvious? I think Petra's just waiting for him to realize that she doesn't like him imitating Captain Levi before she agrees to go out with him. Otherwise, those two would probably already be dating." Eren nodded and they entered the mess hall. Conversations paused as he came in. Eren glanced over the mess hall and realized that more people were up than expected. How long had he been sunbathing??

"Eren! Glad you could join us," Erwin said. Eren smiled.

"Erwin!" He flinched and brought his hand up to his mouth. Immediately people began murmuring and muttering all around him as his face grew pink.

"What the hell is this, are you all old ladies searching for the latest bit of gossip? Shut the f*ck up and eat," a familiar voice growled to the left of him. Eren glanced to the side and saw Captain Levi carrying a tray towards the table Erwin was sitting at. Conversations resumed and Eren sat with the rest of the squad at Erwin and Levi's table. Erwin frowned at the lack of a plate.

"Eren, where's your food?" he asked. Eren shook his head and smiled, trying to look healthy and well fed.

"I'm not hungry." Erwin frowned but sighed. He shook his head and went back to discussing something with Levi. Eren sighed. He couldn't wait for Sasha to arrive. Then he'd be able to trade his food with her to get something. Maybe she'd do some of his chores? Oh well. He felt hands grip his shoulders in an ironclad grip and he jumped, glancing back into gleaming glasses.

"So you're the one Erwin's had his eye on!" a woman's voice said. It took Eren a moment to realize that the voice was coming from the person wearing the glasses.

"Hanji, let go of him. I'd rather you not scare him off," Erwin said. She let go and Eren looked at her for a moment. She seemed oddly...familiar. Her eyes widened.

"You're that kid from a few years back! The one who's friends were looking for him!" A dim memory flashed in his mind and he faintly registered her.

"Oh right. Nice to meet again." She grinned and shook his hand eagerly.

"My name's Hanji Zoe! I look forward to working with you. By the way, why are you with Levi squad? Did Erwin appoint you to the squad?" she asked. Eren shook his head.

"We ran into each other on the way here. I figured it might be nice to talk to him during breakfast so I dragged him along," Petra said cheerfully. Hanji nodded and Erwin spoke up.

"Though, I do plan on adding him to Levi squad." Everyone at the table stared at him.

"Erwin, no! I not good enough, I fail! I bring down, hurt group for unable fight!" he protested, panicking. He couldn't be that close to his little one! If that happened, who knew what he would do??

"Eren, I've seen in person what you can do. You can fight as well if not better than those present." They stared at Erwin.

"Is he really that good?" Hanji asked. Erwin nodded.

"Even in training, he reacted with speed faster than any other trainee. At the speed he trained with, he might even match up to Levi." The squad stared at him and he folded in on himself.

"I not that good," he muttered. Hanji slapped his back.

"Well, it doesn't matter if you're that good or not so long as you don't die and you keep your teammates alive. So welcome to the group!" she said, laughing. He stared at them and felt hope spark in his heart when he looked at his little one. He was this close. This was all he needed. He smiled and hesitantly nodded.

"I look forward to working with you."

Chapter 18: Survey Corps solum de septimana

Chapter Text

Levi's POV

"Are you f*cking serious, Erwin?" Erwin smiled at Levi.

"What's wrong, Levi? Is something the matter?" Erwin asked with a cheeky smirk.

"Cut the crap Erwin, you know damn well why I'm here. You f*cking added a new recruit to my team three days before an expedition?" Levi hissed. Erwin made a little o shape with his mouth as if just remembering.

"Oh that. What of it?" Levi glared at him.

"Are you serious? It's like you're asking him to die!" he growled. Erwin rolled his eyes.

"If I did, I'm sure Eren would happily do it for humanity. Believe me, Levi, I have seen his determination first hand. He's not someone you can simply dismiss. In fact, he might be a prodigy like you." Levi snorted and Erwin glanced at him. "Come on, Levi. At least give the kid a shot. Get to know him. He's not someone you can just ignore after all."

"Watch me," Levi said, saluting Erwin with his middle finger as he walked out of the mans office. Once out of that stifling place, Levi slammed his fist against the wall. Stupid f*cking Erwin! He was going to throw that recruits life away and accomplish nothing. Why? Because that's what Erwin did. He had no qualms about sacrificing soldiers. It was like his motto was 'If it's for the good of humanity, I will do it' or something. That's why Levi hated him. Because Erwin didn't see any worth in the soldiers other than as pawns for him to use.

As Levi stalked along, he observed the hallways, making sure that everyone had done their part in cleaning. Then he stopped and stared at the hallway. It was...different. Not in a bad way, no, it was cleaner than the other areas. To the untrained eye, there would be no difference, but to Levi it was clear as night and day. He walked into the kitchen where Petra was working on dinner as lunch had already passed.

"Hey Petra, who was in charge of the East hallway?" he asked. Petra glanced up nervously.

"Eren was, why? Did he not do it right? Is he in trouble?" Levi shook his head quickly, not letting Petra panic.

"No, he's fine. Better than fine actually, he did a good job compared to whoever did the areas around that hallway." Petra looked increasingly nervous as he spoke so Levi asked a question. "Were you the one who cleaned around that area?"

Petra burst.

"I'm so sorry, sir for my inadequacy. I failed to meet the standard, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'll redo it right away, sir." He stopped her before she left the kitchen.

"Woah, calm down Petra. You met the standards." Petra paused and sniffled.

"Then why are you looking for Eren?" she asked. Levi rolled his eyes.

"You met the standards but he went above it. I want to check on his other work, do you know what he was assigned?" Petra looked down sheepishly.

"Well..."

"What? Spit it out, Petra." She sighed.

"Eren was assigned everything except for the areas we got. Because everyone's super busy preparing for the expedition there's no one left to do the cleaning. It made me feel guilty when he volunteered to do all that work. He said something about getting more energized if he were to sit still doing nothing. I don't remember. Anyway, at this point he should be at the top floor. You can find him there." Levi nodded.

"See you, Petra." He walked out and there was a pause before the other members of Levi's squad poked their heads out from various hiding places.

"Should we be worried about Eren?" Petra shook her head.

"Probably not." They paused before shrugging and going on with their duties. Petra resumed cooking, not realizing that she had just set Eren and Levi up for a private meeting.

Eren's POV

Eren sighed as he collected the sheets and linens from the beds. This was the last thing he had to do and then he'd be done with cleaning for the rest of the day. He had already cleaned the floors, opened the windows, dusted, and washed the walls. He piled the linens up in his arms and got ready to do some laundry.

"Oi, brat." Eren jumped and spun in shock. What was even more shocking was when the linens in his hands fell on whoever was talking. His heartbeat spiked in his chest.

"I sorry! I so sorry! I not see, hear you come so I panic and toss sheets, I sorry!" he choked out. Immediately after, his mind caught up with what he'd said and he began to panic further. He sounded so f*cking stupid.

"What the f*ck, brat. I just came to check on your work," the person said, pushing the sheets off. Eren's eyes widened at the sight of Levi.

"Little one," he whispered. Levi's eyes narrowed.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he hissed. Eren felt his heart drop to his stomach as he realized his mistake. He straightened up.

"Captain Levi, sir!" he said, saluting. Levi stared at him a bit longer before sighing, ignoring Eren's mistake. He sighed.

"It has come to my attention that Erwin failed to inform you that the entire special operations squad will be heading out on an expedition in three days time. I figured you should know." Eren's eyes lit up.

"I'm going on an expedition??" he asked eagerly. Levi pulled away from the eager smile.

"Yes, now don't be so f*cking happy about it. It's not a good thing to go on an expedition." Eren's eagerness faded.

"It's a harsh world. I...I don't want my friends to be captives inside the walls. The expeditions are a good thing because they give us a chance to fight back against the titans. We won't have to worry about things like that anymore. I want to give them that. After all, this is a human world." Eren felt his heart tighten painfully at that thought. Right. This was a human world. He didn't belong in it. Levi noticed the flash of sadness over the brats face but ignored it.

His file said he came from Shiganshina so he probably lost someone to the titans. Levi thought. An awkward silence fell upon them and it seemed Eren had no intention of changing that. Levi glanced around the room, searching for a diversion.

"Have you been up here this whole time?" Eren nodded sheepishly.

"I've been up here for about an hour, working." Levi studied the room.

"Not bad," Eren heard him mutter. Eren's eyes brightened and he straightened. His movements and bright-as-a-f*cking-light-house smile did not go unnoticed by Levi who sighed, struggling to ignore the bright ass smile. "Wait. Did you get lunch, Eren?"

Eren stiffened and looked away, not meeting Levi's eyes. "I'm not hungry." Levi stared at him. He'd seen people who didn't want to eat before. He knew how to identify the signs of someone who didn't eat often and wanted it to stay a secret. Strangely enough, Eren didn't display most traits. However, the ones he did display were extremely obvious. Levi glared.

"Eren, go eat. Go ask Petra for some food and stay within her sight to eat it. This is an order." Eren's shoulders slumped and Levi had to force himself to meet those sad puppy eyes. Eren trudged out and down to the kitchen. Petra was still working though the other three weren't in sight. She glanced up as he flopped into the seat at the counter.

"What's wrong, Eren?" she asked. Eren sighed.

"Captain told me to eat." Petra nearly laughed. She leaned against the counter.

"Y'know, most people like eating," she said. Eren shook his head.

"I don't like." Petra shrugged and got out a bowl. She poured a small serving into it, blowing over the top a little before setting it down in front of Eren. He glanced up. She smiled.

"If you aren't hungry, don't eat a lot. It'll be fine." With that she turned to return to the pot. Eren stared at the bowl full of food and picked it up. He had to hurry if he wanted to actually eat it. Petra turned around in time to see him dump it into his mouth. Her eyes widened.

"Eren!" she screamed. He jolted in his seat, mouth still full of soup. "Spit it out right now!"

He shook his head. If he didn't swallow it now, he wouldn't put it in his mouth again. He swallowed, feeling a slight sting as it went down his throat. He'd never had another food that did that before. Immediately Petra was right in front of him.

"Spit it out, Eren, spit it out!" she cried. He grasped her wrists.

"Petra, I'm fine. What's wrong, Petra?" he asked. She stared at him. Tears budded in her eyes.

"You stupid idiot! What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how hot that soup was?? You could seriously hurt yourself by drinking it without letting it cool down first! What were you thinking?" she demanded.

"It didn't hurt, Petra. I'm fine." Petra sighed.

"You're a f*cking idiot, Eren."

"Uh oh, someone's in trouble," Gunther said as he came in.

"What'd you do this time, Eren?" Eld asked. He and Auruo were hot on Gunther's heels. Petra sighed exasperatedly.

"This kid said that Captain Levi told him to get something to eat, right? So I get him a bowl of soup thinking that we'll have a few minutes to talk while we wait for it to cool down. I turn around and see him lifting the entire bowl to his mouth. He just drank down the entire bowl of soup that was still hot enough to burn like it was nothing! And now he's acting like it never happened in the first place!" Petra shrieked. The others stared at Eren.

"Eren, are you okay?"

"Let me see, open your mouth!"

"He did what now?" Eren squirmed away from their grasping hands and concerned eyes. He hadn't even been here a full day yet and he'd already screwed something up. Could they tell he wasn't human?

"What's going on here?" Eren's heart plummeted to his stomach as he turned to look at the new speaker. Levi stared at them. "I heard a scream and then shouting so I came over. What's the issue?"

"There's not-"

"Eren just drank burning hot soup and won't let us make sure he's okay!" Petra said. Eren flinched as Levi's gaze fell on him.

"Brat. Open your mouth, that's an order." Eren did and Levi walked forward. Levi pried Eren's mouth open further and Eren began to tug back when he felt Levi grip his chin and stick a finger in his mouth. Levi glared at him. "Hold f*cking still," he growled. Eren let out a soft whine and was shocked by the sound. He hadn't made one like it in years. Levi ignored him though. He let go and Eren pulled away.

"He's fine. Aside from a shy attitude and general dislike for things being put in his mouth, he's completely healthy." Eren sighed in relief. He was fine.

"Are you sure sir?" Levi nodded.

"Yes I'm sure. Now then, all of you, back to work!" They dispersed and Eren quickly made himself scarce. If this was what everyday would be like from now on, it would be a lot more difficult to blend in then he'd originally thought.

Chapter 19: Apparatu Consiliorum Explicandorum

Chapter Text

Eren yawned as he finally put the cleaning supplies away. He'd gone way longer than he'd expected to. The sun had been down for hours and even with Eren's increased resistance to the call of night, he could still only go so long. Eren pushed himself upright, needing to stay awake.

I can't...fall...asleep!He thought with a tired determination. Sadly, there was only so long he could force himself to go without the sunlight feeding into him. Eren tightly clung to the wall as he shuffled along towards his room, eyes burning with determination. Sadly, in order to get to his room, he'd have to pass the dining room where little one and the rest of little one's squad were having a late night chatting session. Not to mention there was a doorway he'd have to cross if he wanted to stay upright. He could already hear the chatting.

He peeked in and sighed in relief. They were all distracted and facing away from him. He quickly reached out and grasped the other side of the doorway before pulling himself over. Unbeknownst to Eren though, he had in fact been spotted. Petra frowned but stood up and went out, watching him shuffle along the wall for a moment before speaking.

"What are you doing, Eren?" He flinched and turned to look back at her.

"I'm going...to bed," he murmured, eyes drooping as more energy drained from him. Petra frowned.

"Okay, but why are you holding the wall?" she asked. Eren turned forward and began shuffling again.

"If I let go...I'll fall asleep. I can't...let that happen," he murmured sleepily. Petra stared at him, walking alongside him as he went, inching his way closer to his room.

"Why don't you just sit down and sleep? You'll probably wake up from how uncomfortable it would be anyway." Eren shook his head as he continued inching forwards. Petra watched him as he explained.

"Once I fall asleep...that's that. I won't wake up until the sun rises." She paused as he inched along. Eren thought for a moment that she had finally decided to leave him alone, thank heavens for that.

He was wrong.

So, so wrong.

"Whoo! Go Eren! You can do it!" she cheered. Eren nearly jumped out of his skin and almost let go of the wall before desperately clinging to it. He stared at her in shock, his face turning pink. "Let's go, Eren! You can make it!"

From all the noise Petra was making, the other members of Levi squad poked their heads out.

"Petra, what's going on?" Gunther asked.

"Eren's trying to get to bed but he can't let go of the wall or he'll fall asleep. So I'm cheering him on!" she said brightly. The others stared at Eren who went red and looked away, inching further to try and put some space between himself and Petra. Sadly his movement just grabbed her attention and she followed him.

"You got this Eren! Let's go! You're so close!" she cheered. Gunther and Eld looked at each other before shrugging and with sh*t eating grins, joined in.

"Come on, Eren!"

"You're so close, you can do this!"

Eren was beet red by the time he was three feet from his room door. What the hell was up with these humans?? Why did they insist on doing this???

"What the hell is going on out here," a familiar voice asked. Eren felt tears bead in his eyes at the sound of that voice.

"Oh, captain! We're cheering on Eren!" Eren felt his ears burning and a painful weight settled in his stomach, like he was about to cry.

"Petra, please...don't. You'll wake the whole castle up at this rate," Eren begged, not looking back. Levi stared at his squad as they cheered the brat who was almost climbing the wall head towards a doorway. He stalked forward towards Eren as Eren opened the door.

I made it!Eren thought, tears beading in his eyes.

"I don't get why you don't just carry him." Eren felt someone scoop them into their arms and his hands let go of the wall.

Dammit!!he mentally screamed before succumbing to the lure of night. Levi glanced down at the brat in his arms as Eren went limp.

"What the hell??" he asked. Petra leaned forward.

"Is he...sleeping?" she asked. Eld peeked over her shoulder.

"Looks like it," he confirmed. Petra pouted.

"Dang it, Captain! He was so close! A few more minutes and he would've reached his bed all on his own!" she huffed. Levi stared between her and Eren before shaking his head in bewilderment.

"Whatever. You should all head to bed too. Now scat." They disappeared almost like magic as he carried the brat into his room. He set the brat down on the neatly made bed before glancing around. There wasn't much there. He must've lost most of his belongings in the fall. Levi shrugged and walked out after covering Eren with a blanket.

Whatever. What an absolute brat.He thought as he left the room.

Armin's POV

"Mikasa, this is bad," he muttered. Mikasa nodded. They'd been worried about Eren. This would be his second day with the Survey corps and there was only one day after this day before Eren would be heading out on an expedition with the Survey Corps.

"Armin. Do you think we could sneak Eren out before the expedition?" Mikasa asked, sharpening her blades. Armin shivered at the sound of the whetstone running over cool steel. Ever since Eren had gone off to the Survey Corps, Mikasa had been actively preparing for some kind of battle. She'd been sharpening her blades, oiling her gear, and doing everything possible to prepare for combat.

"S-say, Mikasa. Why do you keep sharpening your blades?" he asked nervously. Mikasa glanced up and Armin quickly looked away from her murderous silver eyes.

"I'm going to cut off that bastard Erwin's balls. Then I'm going to cook them in a stew and feed them to him. After that maybe I'll cut off some fingers and repeat the process. Armin, do you happen to know any recipes that would work well with human flesh-"

"Okay! That's enough of that, Mikasa. I know you hate him, I do too, but you'd get in a lot of trouble for...cutting off Commander Smith's testicl*s. I don't think Eren would want you to get in trouble for something like that," he said. Mikasa clicked her tongue but put her blades away. Armin sighed in relief. Hopefully after this she'd stop acting so murderous, though she'd likely always hold some kind of hatred for Erwin. Armin frowned, thinking about how they could help Eren escape the expedition.

"Is there any way we could join the expedition?" Armin suddenly blurted. Mikasa glanced at him and he held up his hands. "It's just that, if we can't get Eren out of it, the least we could do is be by his side and protect him, right?"

"But in order for that to work, we'd have to know where Eren was in the formation," she commented. Armin nodded.

"And in order to get that information-"

"We'd have to sneak into the Survey Corps headquarters and get it from Smith himself," Mikasa finished. They nodded and then sighed. Armin shut his eyes tightly, trying to think of possible ways to do it but even he couldn't come up with anything.

"It's no use. We'll just have to wait until the expedition is over and hope that he survived." Mikasa let out a low hiss, almost like an angry cat or snake.

"Dammit." Armin nodded.

"Sorry Mikasa. I know you hate this sort of thing." Mikasa began to pace.

"I just...I don't want to lose him." Armin nodded.

"I don't either. But we have to trust in Eren. Erwin wouldn't have picked him immediately if he didn't think that Eren would survive. Besides, even if Eren were to head out on expedition, we have to trust in Eren and his skills." Mikasa frowned and paced faster.

"I should be there with him. I should be there to make sure he's safe and protected and-"

"Mikasa! Calm down. Remember who Eren is. Even though it's been years, Eren is still someone who was raised alone and survived. Trust in Eren. He will survive." Mikasa whirled.

"But Armin-"

"Mikasa! Remember when we first met Eren? Remember how different he was then?" Mikasa went quiet, remembering the animalistic child Eren had been. "Think about it. Even though it's been a long time since he was alone, Eren still is different from us. We still don't know what he went through. His time before being captured by the Military police, his time before Grandpa, we know none of it. He survived for years without human interaction, alone in the wilds. He'll be fine. He won't die."

"But Armin, that only applies if he lived outside the walls. We don't know which side of the walls he lived on before the Military police found him!" Armin looked down guiltily. Mikasa frowned. "Armin?"

"I snuck into Grandpa's study a few days before the wall fell. I found Eren's file." Mikasa's eyes widened.

"And?" Armin looked up at her.

"Eren was found by the Survey Corps, outside the walls."

Eren's POV

Two days with the Survey Corps had flown by, although Eren was busier than he'd ever been. Now that he'd done the cleaning that Levi wanted done, he was assigned to help make preparations for the expedition. He was in charge of carrying barrels and boxes of supplies into the wagons and going through everything, making sure that everything was ready. All day long, he was running around.

When no one was watching, Eren made sure to sneak a few extra gears onto the cart. From what it sounded like, one of the leading causes of death on an expedition was broken gear. So as long as he could make sure there was extra, no one would be any wiser to what he was doing. He didn't realize that he was being watched from above.

"Look at him, Levi. He's even adding extra gears to the cart," Erwin commented. Levi clicked his tongue.

"Is he an idiot? He should just leave those here," Levi growled. Erwin smirked.

"Levi, did you know that the reason most of us die to titans is because of broken gear?" Levi stared at him.

"Hah?"

"Titans don't always catch us in one go, however if they manage to knock us off balance, our gear will often break when we land or make impact with the ground and trees around us. I told Eren that back when he was still in training. I truly am shocked by how easily that kid remembers things." Levi clicked his tongue.

"It doesn't matter if he has good intentions in mind. He's still going to weigh down the cart and we can't have that." Erwin smirked.

"So are you going to tell him to take them out?" Levi paused.

"I'll take them out when he's not looking." Erwin chuckled. He glanced out the window and looked back down at Eren.

"He truly is a strange child, don't you think?" Levi glared at him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Erwin smiled.

"Nothing much, I just looked into his past a little out of curiosity. Would you like to know what I found out?" Levi paused. He didn't want to pry into Eren's past, but...he turned around and leaned against the door.

"Since I know you'll keep talking anyways, just spit it out." Erwin chuckled at Levi's refusal to admit he was curious.

"I discovered that he was adopted by a Johannes Arlert." Levi glared.

"Why the hell is that important?" Erwin raised a hand.

"Hush now, let me finish. This fact is important because Johannes was a social worker, or someone who worked with what were more commonly known as 'problem children' or 'troubled kids'." Levi raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Erwin smiled and sighed as if he knew something and Levi was a fool for not immediately understanding him.

"At the same time that he adopted Eren, Johannes was already taking care of his own grandson and another girl named Mikasa Ackerman who witnessed her parents murder." Levi shrugged.

"And so?" Erwin sighed again.

"I looked into the files that Johannes would've gotten and discovered something truly incredible." His eyes flicked up to meet Levi's. "It seems that Eren was a child discovered outside the walls by a member of the Survey Corps. At the time he did not understand our language and acted more like an animal than a human. Erenlivedoutside the walls for years and somehow survived, something that no one else has done before. Do you realize the importance of this?"

"You're f*cking with me, aren't you?" Levi asked, not trusting a word coming out of Erwin's mouth. Erwin shook his head.

"I'm not, I promise. I'm dead serious." Levi let out a small huff of air.

"If this really is true...then we need to find out how exactly he survived." Erwin nodded.

"I'm counting on you, Levi." Levi nodded as he walked out.

The next day

Eren clambered onto his horse, eager to head out. Since he was part of Levi squad they were in the center of the formation, a little behind the wagons. Eren shivered with anticipation. It had been years since he'd been outside the cage of walls and he couldn't wait to head out again. Erwin pulled his horse in front of all of them, turning it to face the soldiers.

"Alright! We will be heading through wall Maria's territory to the wall itself. Then we will head back into titan territory past wall Maria and attempt to scout the damage done to the wall. Once that is complete, we will come back and make preparations to hopefully seal the wall and prevent any further titans from coming inside!" he shouted. The troops cheered and Eren grinned. "Now! Let us head out and ride forward!" He reared his horse before turning around and leading them towards the city where the gate would be lifted upon their arrival. Eren eagerly kept pace with his squad, not even glancing at the land around him before they reached the city. There they were forced to slow down and wait for the gate to be lifted.

"Let the 56th expedition begin!" Together they charged out of the wall.

Chapter 20: Extra Muros

Chapter Text

"Alright. The plan is, we're going to follow a trail of old fortresses until we reach Wall Maria. Then we'll scale the wall and circle around through some of our charted titan territory towards Shiganshina. Got it?" Levi called over the sound of hoofbeats. They nodded as they charged forward. Eren kept glancing around. Oddly enough, there hadn't been any titan sightings so far. Was it because they were so far from the walls already? He glanced back at where the walls were turning into gray smudges on the horizon.

"Nervous, Eren?" Petra asked. He jerked and glanced forward.

"Just a little bit. It seems strange that we haven't encountered any titans yet," he said. Petra smiled.

"One of the worst things about expeditions is heading out, not knowing when a titan will appear." Eren nodded. The further from the walls they got, the more Eren began to rely on his other senses. His eyesight could only be trusted so much. He could feel his ears twitching slightly as he attempted to listen for titan sized footsteps but with as much noise as the horses were making, he could barely hear past them. His nostrils flared, trying to take in the nearby scents but a human's sense of smell was subpar and as such he barely picked anything up. He sighed in frustration, realizing for the first time that he was basically charging into the battlefield blind. He could only rely on his eyes to save him.

He heard a faint banging noise and whipped his head to the left, confused. Petra glanced at him.

"Eren? What is-" Her eyes widened at the sight of a red flare on the left. "Titan to the left!" she called, whipping out her own flare gun. She fired the red flare and soon Eren saw a green flare head up towards the opposite direction. They turned their horses and ran away from the red flare. Eren frowned, trying to remember what it was. He faintly recalled Erwin telling him.

"Alright Eren, today I'm going to explain how and what the signal flares used by the Survey Corps mean." Eren stared up at him.

"They have meaning?" he asked. Erwin chuckled.

"There are three colors. First is red. This means that a titan has been spotted and they're a normal titan." Eren frowned but nodded. "In response to this, the Commander will fire a green flare signalling a change in direction."

"Why change direction?" Eren asked. Erwin smiled.

"The way the Survey Corps is set up while outside makes it easier for us to detect and avoid titans. It's better to avoid them than to waste gas trying to kill every titan we come across. That way more of us survive and we still have our gas tanks. Got it?" Eren nodded slowly, processing the information. Then he frowned.

"So what is the third for?" he asked slowly. Erwin smiled.

"I knew you'd notice that. The black one is for when we come across abnormal titans. Those ones don't act like normal so it's hard to deal with them. Sometimes being abnormal just means that they're slightly smarter or it can mean that they ignore some humans and only try to eat others." Eren nodded.

"Abnormals are...bad?" Erwin nodded.

"The Colossal titan and whatever titan broke through the second wall are abnormals." Eren's eyes blazed with hate at the memory. Erwin glanced up at him before hiding a small smirk as he looked away. "Anyway, we should move on to training."

Eren nodded and trained harder than he had before that day.

Right. The green flare was a change in direction and the red meant that there was a normal titan there. He shook his head and focused on moving forward. At midday they entered the first of the forts. They had to take out a few smaller titans that had made it their den but once they were dealt with, the scouts who'd fought with them were able to refill their gas from inside the forts. Erwin called a break, allowing everyone to have lunch and let the horses graze and drink.

Instead of joining the others while they ate, Eren perched himself on the top of the tower, keeping an eye out for any other titans. With this many humans out there was no way they wouldn't be attracted to the smell of them. The others had already closed the gate, but that didn't mean that the larger titans wouldn't try to climb the walls. He heard muted thumps behind him and glanced to see who had joined him. Levi glanced down at him. They stared at each other for a moment before Levi sat down. Though not before he spread a cloth on where he'd be sitting, Eren noticed with some confusion.

"You not going to eat? You should." Eren shook his head.

"I'm fine. I ate already." Levi raised an eyebrow at the blatant lie. He sighed and shook his head. If the brat wanted to get killed, that was his problem, not Levi's.

"Keeping an eye out for titans?" Eren nodded.

"Sitting still without watching area around is dangerous," he explained. Levi nodded. Eren glanced at him.

"You not eating?" Levi snorted.

"I don't eat much so I finish quickly." Eren frowned, glancing back out towards where the plains rolled seemingly endlessly.

That was strange. When he and little one were alone, Levi ate everything Eren brought to him almost desperately. Eren peeked at Levi from the corner of his eye. Did he remember Eren? Did he remember the time he'd spent with him?

"Can you tell me about your expeditions?" he asked shyly. Levi glanced at him in surprise. He shook his head and leaned back.

"What do you want to know about?" he replied curtly. Eren frowned, trying to think of how to phrase it without cluing Levi onto the fact that he knew him.

"Anything strange that happened on an expedition?" he asked. Levi glanced at him and sighed.

"What the hell kind of lame ass question is that?" Eren flinched and Levi sighed. "Whatever. Something strange, huh?"

Eren watched him closely, noting that Levi became thoughtful as he finished speaking. Eren was about to say that Levi didn't have to tell him if he didn't want to but Levi began speaking.

"One time on an expedition, things were going poorly. I spotted a titan in the forest and told the others to wait and protect the remaining supplies while I went to take it down. But when I went after it, it was like it had suddenly disappeared. Strange, right? It was a f*cking fifteen meter titan but it blended in with the forest. As I was chasing it, I forgot to check my surroundings and ended up getting smashed against a tree by another titan. I broke my leg and had fractured ribs from that. I blacked out from the pain."

Eren stared at him. He'd known the little one was injured at first but he'd thought that he'd gotten better over time.

"When I woke up, I had no clue where the f*ck I was. I couldn't see because it was dark out and then I blacked out again. When I woke up, it was light out. I was in some kind of tree, as if someone had carved out part of it just so I could rest in it. My gear was broken to hell and back so I wasn't getting out on my own. Then I heard something coming close. It was that same titan from before. The fifteen meter I was chasing. Even though I didn't have working gear, I wasn't worried because it couldn't reach me with how high up I was. Then I felt the tree shake and the titan f*cking climbed right up to where I was. But even though it could clearly see me and I was helpless, it didn't eat me. It just stared at me."

Eren smiled to himself. Little one did remember him after all.

"Captain! Eren! It's time to go!" Petra called. Eren frowned sadly. He'd been hoping to hear more about what Levi thought of him. Levi stood.

"We should get down there." Eren nodded and followed Levi down. He climbed on his horse and they opened the gates, riding out quickly. Thankfully there weren't any titans immediately after leaving, though they did come across another one or two while riding. As night was falling, they reached the second fort.

"Alright! We're almost to the wall. It'll take us until tomorrow evening to get there!" Erwin called. Eren was nodding off, struggling to stay awake. He forced himself to take care of the horses while the others were eating, that way he had an excuse to avoid eating. He shuffled into the room where Levi squad would be sleeping. He glanced around before taking some old sheets and forming two curtained off areas. One was for Petra and the other was for Levi. He quickly cleaned that area, trying to make sure it would be clean enough for Levi before falling asleep.

Once he was done, he rolled out his sleeping bag and got undressed, folding his clothes neatly before sliding in and falling asleep instantly.

Twenty minutes later

"You couldn't find him?" Levi asked. The others shook their heads. Petra glanced up hesitantly.

"Maybe he went to bed? You know how tired he gets after dark." Levi nodded and they went to their room. Their eyes widened at the sight of it.

"What are the curtained areas for?" Gunther asked. Levi sighed.

"I can assume one is for Petra, but the other..." he pulled the curtains around them aside and immediately the rest of Levi squad knew exactly who the second curtained space was for. It practically sparkled, it was so clean.

"Maybe you should take it, Captain?" Petra suggested. Levi bit his lip before glancing at the others.

"You guys okay with that?" They grinned and nodded.

"We'll just follow Mr Sleepy's example over there," Gunther said, gesturing to a small pile of lumpy fabric and neatly folded clothes. At a closer look, the others recognized the messy hair as Eren's and chuckled.

"Alright then. Good night. Sleep well, we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

The next day, it was nonstop riding. There were more titans, likely because the wind carried the smell of humans to them and because of how close to the entrance they were. It didn't matter really, all Eren knew was that for the first time, he had to fight a real titan with the 3DM gear. They moved slower than he'd expected. But judging from the shocked looks the rest of Levi squad gave him when he landed, he was actually just moving quickly. Levi stared at him for a moment before glancing away.

"Not bad." Eren heard him mutter as he climbed back on his horse. They reached the walls later than expected and Eren really had to struggle to get up the walls. The rest of Levi squad sent him worried glances before Petra brought him a bowl of soup (thoroughly cooled) and stood there, waiting for him to notice her.

"Eren, you need to eat something! You'll tire yourself out like this!" she pleaded. He steadfastly ignored her, just wanting to fall asleep. However, with her constant rocking and shaking his shoulder, it wasn't coming. He glared up at her and she flinched. He rolled over.

"Sleep now," he said irritably.

"But Eren-"

"Shh, sleep now." She sighed and carried the bowl back to the others. She shook her head.

"He's refusing to eat." They sighed and Levi stood.

"I'm not going to let him f*cking kill himself because he refused to eat," he spat, stalking towards Eren. Eren was finally beginning to drift into the comforting waves of sleep when his blankets were rudely ripped off him and he was picked up. His eyes widened and he thrashed, trying to break away from whoever was holding him.

"Eren." He glanced up tiredly.

"Little one?" he mumbled. Levi smacked him and he yelped. Then he was dumped on the stone of the wall. He winced and glared up at Levi.

"First of all, don't you dare f*cking call me that. Second of all, eat your goddamn dinner, Eren. I'm not letting you die of starvation because you were too proud to actually eat anything. Got it?" he snarled. Eren flinched but stared unwillingly at the bowl of soup taunting him as each tiny flicker of steam rose from its surface. He sighed and picked it up. He paused with it to his lips, bracing himself. Then he downed the whole thing. He felt his gag reflex kick in and he nearly spat it out. He forced it down and then set the bowl down. He glared at the others, betrayed.

"Happy?" he asked petulantly. Levi glared at him.

"And the bread, Eren." Eren flinched and stared in horror, leaning away slightly, as Petra pushed a plate with a loaf of bread on it.

No! Not the bread! Anything but the bread, I'm begging you!He internally screamed. He glanced at the others, hoping one of them would argue in his defense that he didn't need to eat the bread. He could tell from their worried expressions that they weren't going to help him. So he tried arguing in his defense.

"I already ate soup, no need bread. I sleep." He stood to leave but felt an iron hard grip latch onto the back of his shirt, eerily close to his nape. He glanced back to see Levi's steel eyes glowing dangerously from the shadows of his bangs.

"Eren. You didn't eat anything yesterday and all you've had to eat today is that bowl of soup. Youwilleat that loaf of bread, even if I have to force feed it to you myself," he snarled. Eren flinched but glanced between Levi and the bread. Which was worse, eating the bread himself or having some else make him eat it? He sighed and sat down, staring at it. He reached out a shaky hand towards it, feeling their eyes on him as he grasped it. He had the urge to throw it off the wall, but somehow he knew they'd just make him eat another and he wasn't about to waste food. Even though feeding him at all was wasting food.

He felt his throat close up as he brought it closer to his mouth. He forced himself to bite into it and gagged at the feeling of it turn to mush in his mouth. He swallowed and glanced up at them, an expression of disgust and guilt on his face.

"Happy now?" he asked, eyes searching.

"Yes, we're very happy Eren." He perked up as Levi spoke and then flinched as those steely eyes met his. "Now finish the loaf and you can go to bed."

Eren stared at the remaining bread in his hand. It sat in his grasp mockingly. He forced himself to bite and swallow, refusing to let it stay in his mouth longer than necessary.

"Eren!" Petra cried. He glanced at her in confusion as he swallowed the last of it.

"What?" he asked. "Please don't make me eat anymore," he begged. Petra frowned but sighed.

"Don't eat that quickly, you'll choke." Her explanation was halfhearted. Eren hesitantly looked at Levi, who was watching him. Levi sighed.

"Get to bed brat." Eren nodded. He slipped into his blankets and fell asleep with a heavy stomach.

In the middle of the night, Levi woke up to the sound of someone puking. He sighed to himself. It wasn't strange for the newbies to get sick after seeing someone die, but from what he'd heard there hadn't been any casualties so far. He glanced up and recognized a familiar shadow. Eren was puking his guts up, desperately, and in the dim moonlight Levi could clearly see the exhaustion on his face.

Once Eren had gotten everything out of his stomach, he dry heaved for a few more minutes before his stomach finally settled and allowed him to go back to bed like he wanted. Levi watched him get back to bed and wondered, why was it that Eren threw up? They hadn't been exposed to anything, hell they'd only seen one titan and he'd had no problem killing it.

Was it because we made him eat? Is that why?Levi wondered, eyes widening. Then he frowned. But why would eating perfectly good food make him throw up? He sighed to himself again and went back to sleep.I'll ask Hanji later.

"From here we will truly be in titan territory! Be careful men. We will be heading to the titanic forest first, a massive forest where we can easily use our gear to maneuver around. Stay close to the veterans and be on guard. Flares won't work as well in the forest due to so many trees blocking the view. Are we ready? Onward!" Erwin roared. They cheered and returned to formation. Eren gazed at the horizon, free of the walls and smiled, back in his home territory at last.

I'll protect them here.He thought.

Chapter 21: Reversus in Domum Suam

Chapter Text

Using the lift, a wooden platform that had been carried in the wagons, Eren watched as they put it together and began lifting groups of horses onto the wall. He tapped Petra's shoulder.

"Petra, why are we bringing the horses on the wall?" he asked. She glanced up at him and smiled.

"It's so we can get them onto the other side. Since we didn't bring two lifts, Erwin wants to bring the horses up at the same time and then lower them at the same time so we don't have to worry about them wandering off while we're lifting more horses onto the wall. I was confused at first too," she said with a smile. Eren nodded and glanced at the map that Levi and Hanji were poring over. His eyes narrowed when he noted they would be passing through his old forest.

He looked away and stared out in the direction of where it was, worried quite a bit. He hadn't been in the forest for years. It might be filled with titans by now and that was dangerous. He couldn't do anything without exposing himself, but he also couldn't help but want to clear the titans before they arrived. He sighed to himself and sat down, staring at the open plains beneath him. He glared up at the sky before falling onto his back, laying in the sunlight. His stomach grumbled and he stiffened. Ever since he had thrown up the bread and soup forced on him last night, his stomach had been acting up. He felt like he was going to throw up at random times and it was making him uneasy.

Unbeknownst to Eren, he was being watched by sharp eyes and keen ears that did not miss his stomach's loud complaint.

Levi's POV

"Hanji, was there anything wrong with the food last night?" She glanced up at him, confused. "Anything that might make someone throw it up? Anything at all?"

"No, why? Did you get sick?" Levi sighed and nodded towards Eren. She frowned, not understanding what exactly he was trying to convey. He frowned at the sight of the kid splayed out on the stone, sun bathing.

"I woke up in the middle of the night to him vomiting his guts up. I was a little concerned because he had vehemently protested eating even a small bowl of soup. I know he didn't eat anything for lunch or breakfast yesterday and he barely ate anything the day before. But he might not have eaten anything since no one saw him and no one can verify," he sighed. "It's starting to worry me."

Hanji frowned, thinking about it. There were illnesses out there that caused people to reject food, but never small amounts. From what Hanji knew, those illnesses would allow people to eat like normal and then either burn off the calories through exercise and working out or throwing it up later. What was confusing her was the amount of food consumed.

"How much did he eat?" she asked. Levi glared at the boy nodding off.

"A loaf of bread and half of a bowl of soup," he muttered. Hanji frowned. That was barely passing normal standards of food. Not to mention, if they had the illnesses that Hanji knew of, they would deny being sick but they would also try to hide it. They wouldn't be as obvious as trying to reject or avoid food.

"Sorry, Levi. I can't think of anything. I do know of some illnesses that cause people to reject food and eating, but the symptoms he's displaying don't match with them. If you'd told me he'd started jogging in place to burn some energy from the food, maybe I would know. But in this case, it's...it doesn't fit the necessary criteria in order to be any of the illnesses I know of." Levi sighed.

"That's what I thought. Maybe it's allergies or something?" he suggested. Hanji frowned and shrugged.

"It's possible he's allergic to something in the bread or soup, like maybe yeast?" she said. Levi frowned.

"I think we can eliminate the soup. Petra gave him some before and sure, he drank it really fast, but I'm pretty confident that he didn't vomit it up later." Hanji shrugged.

"I don't know Levi. If I did, I would try to help. Maybe make him eat some soup for dinner? See if he vomits that up." Levi nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah...he really didn't seem to like the bread all that much, but why wouldn't he just tell us if he's allergic to something? Some of those allergies can kill people." Hanji sighed.

"Maybe he knew it wouldn't kill him, so it didn't matter?" Levi sighed. For a moment things were quiet before Hanji snuck a glance at Levi. "Y'know...we're going to be passing through...thereduring the expedition. You sure you'll be okay?"

"I've told you before Hanji, I'm fine going through the forest. I'm still a little pissed you guys killed the titan, even though I told you that it had literally provided for me, but it's not like I have any particular memories about it. If anything, I'm glad to pass through the forest because it's possible there are other places to rest in the tree." Hanji frowned but nodded thoughtfully.

"Still, I'm sorry about us...y'know...killingyour pet titan. I would've loved to study it. It seemed really protective of you, did you know that? We even watched it impale itself on a branch and riffle through it's stomach before pulling you out. I've never seen a titan look so worried before, aboutanything."

"That's because most titans don't show any emotion aside from hunger and glee when it comes to us. It just annoys me that even after watching that, you still killed it as soon as you got me back." Hanji sighed irritably.

"We didn't have the supplies necessary to bring a full grown titan - let alone a fifteen meter - back through the gates! And we have bigger things to deal with right now, such as making it back to the walls after surviving in titan territory for close to a week!" she sighed in frustration. She paused and her eyes flicked back to Eren, "Hopefully though, he'll be able to help us survive out there." Levi's eyes narrowed. He glared at her for a moment before looking away.

"Erwin told you?" he asked. Hanji nodded.

"It's sointeresting to think that a human survived outside the walls even before Maria fell. I'm curious as to what he knows," she said, beginning to drool. Levi glared at her. His eyes widened.

"Maybe that's why he can't eat normal food," he muttered. Hanji glanced at him.

"What?"

"If he was raised outside the walls, it would've been like an animal world. There wouldn't have been fires or cooking. Maybe his body has adjusted to eat the ingredients of food. Raw meats and plants?" Hanji frowned.

"It's possible, but I think we should try that in private if anywhere. I wouldn't want the rest of the squad viewing him as an animal, y'know?" Levi nodded.

"We'll do it when we get back." Hanji nodded.

"Levi, Eren! Let's go!" Petra called from where she was standing by their horses, the next group to go down. Levi nodded and stood while Eren rolled over and stood up, walking over to Petra. He took the reins of his horse eagerly and smiled at something Petra had said. Levi climbed onto his horse and stayed there the entire ride down, watching Eren closely. Every now and then Eren would look towards the forest on the distant horizon with something close to...longing? Hesitation? Levi couldn't tell what it was. He glared at the horizon with Eren and pondered the situation.

Something's fishy and I'm going to find out what it is.He thought.

Eren's POV

Eren climbed onto his horse about a meter from the base of the wall. Levi had already mounted up and everyone else was laughing and chatting, like they weren't about to head into titan territory. He sighed to himself. They were far too carefree. They rode out as soon as everyone was on the ground. They had to leave quickly due to the fact that titans were beginning to come, attracted by the smell of humans. As long as nothing went wrong during the expedition, they were set to arrive at his old home around nightfall. He was not looking forward to that.

He didn't want to go back there. There was too much risk of him revealing things he shouldn't know, about Levi and the titan that Levi knew. His nutcracker weighed heavily in his bags. Why he'd brought the damn thing, he had no clue. Erasing the evidence perhaps? If he died, at least no one but him would've seen the completed project. Eren sighed to himself as he steered his horse to follow the group. Red flares were popping up all over the place and the Survey Corps was doing their best to avoid the titans and kill only when necessary. Eren heard thudding footsteps to the right and his head whipped up. The others stared at him as he pulled out his flare gun and attached the black flare to it. A moment later the black flare went up from the group to their right. Eren whipped his gun up and fired, signalling an abnormal.

The others stared at him as they waited for the titan to appear or for the green flare. The titan crashed through the trees, eyes narrowed as they zoomed in on Eren. Eren pulled on the reins of his horse, causing it to rear, tossing him from the saddle. He readied his blades and fired his hooks into the titan as soon as it was within range. He reeled himself in, weaving over the grasping hands and slicing the nape quickly. The others stared at him as he fired his hooks in front of them, releasing as his horse passed underneath where he was. He fell into the saddle and continued riding.

"What the hell was that, Eren??" Petra cried. He glanced back, confused.

"I killed the titan." They gaped at him and he ignored them, facing forward. He shut his eyes, focusing on sound. Two differing gaits to the left and one more a little ahead to the right. He frowned.

Why are there so many around here??He wondered. A bang went off and his eyes widened. He looked up towards the sky. Pillars from flares were still fading. He gritted his teeth.The sound! They're drawn to the loud noises!

"Eren! Stay focused!" Levi yelled. Eren's eyes flicked to the left as two titans came through the trees. In the blink of an eye he was out of the saddle and soaring towards them. The first one didn't even know what hit it before it was falling. The second saw him for a split second before it too was turning to steam. The other members of Levi's squad noted with shivers that Eren's eyes were practically glowing in the shadows, bright and violent.

"Eren, quit wasting gas!" Gunther scolded. Eren nodded.

"Sorry, I used more than I should've. I'll cut back," he said. They stared at him before shaking their heads. There was no way to argue that he was helping and he was reducing the amount of gas used by everyone else, but it was still dangerous for him. If he ran out of gas, they wouldn't be able to help him. The whole day was like that. Eren would kill any titans they came across as if he knew they were before they even arrived and the rest of them watched. He even stole kills from Levi.

But soon they arrived at the forest. Eren was biting his lip like crazy as he looked around the entire forest. They were on the edges of his territory but at least he could still recognize different land markers. Something gleamed under the faint sunlight and Eren frowned. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had seen the flash as Levi pulled his horse towards the glint. The others followed and stopped at the edge of the clearing, shock on their faces. Eren frowned as he wheeled his horse around them before looking at what was within the clearing. He swallowed nervously at the sight of the massive skeleton.

He whipped his head around, looking at the clearing itself and realized that he recognized it. This was where he'd first 'died' and woken up as a human. He shivered and his gaze slowly turned to the skeleton that he knew was undoubtedly his. Levi had paused by the massive skull and his eyes were full of...nostalgia? He reached out and placed his hand on the forehead, as if he could see Eren there. As if he could see the rest of Eren's face, grinning down at him as he studied his little one.

"Eren!" Eren flinched and looked up. Levi was staring at him with those piercing steel eyes and shivers ran through Eren. "Go get Hanji and Erwin. They need to see this." Eren nodded and wheeled his horse around. Now that they weren't moving, he could easily hear the chatting from where the other humans had begun to set up camp. He broke through the trees and shot up, forcing himself to focus and hear Hanji's voice. He caught the high pitched delighted shrieks and spun in midair, turning and shooting towards the branch she'd stopped on. Erwin was pacing with her as she talked quickly about a steaming titan below.

Eren landed on the branch and they turned at the sound of his boots. Erwin's eyes widened.

"Eren, good, I was just wondering where you and Levi were," he said. He frowned as he looked behind Eren, "where's Levi?"

"We found something. Levi sent me to get you and Hanji." Hanji tilted her head, confused.

"What did you find?" Erwin asked. Eren turned, preparing to head back. He paused and glanced back at them. Suddenly he was reminded that these were the people who killed him the first time.

"A skeleton. A massive, crystal skeleton." With that he leapt off the branch, knowing they were following him. He easily navigated his way through the forest, ignoring the lack of sunlight. The bright gleam called him back down to the ground and he landed next to the skeleton. Hanji and Erwin landed behind him.

"OH MY GOD!!!" Hanji screeched. Eren glared at her as she ran to the skeleton. "Is this a titan skeleton?? Why is it crystal? None of the others were!" Erwin walked forward cautiously, studying the skeleton. Levi glanced up at him before looking back at the skeleton.

"I wonder why it hasn't dissolved," Erwin commented. Eren flinched and looked away guiltily.

It probably hasn't dissolved because the core wasn't destroyed. In other words, it probably didn't dissolve completely because I'm still alive.Eren thought. He'd seen the flesh dissolving but had left before watching his corpse dissolve entirely, so he hadn't known about this beforehand.

"Must...take...samples," Hanji said as she drooled. Levi clicked his tongue.

"My squad and I will stay here for tonight. The trees look large enough for us to stay in the hammocks." Erwin nodded.

"You do that. Hanji and I will head back to the main camp and we'll study this more during the day. Got it? Come on, Hanji." Hanji pouted as Erwin led her away. Eren began setting up some of the hammocks before loosening the saddles on the horses and allowing them to graze. He went up to his hammock as the rest of the squad did the same. He glanced back and noted that Levi took a moment to run his fingers over the skull one last time before also heading to bed.

Huh. I wonder why he seems so attached.Eren thought before his eyes shut for the night.

Chapter 22: Procedat vel Maneat

Chapter Text

Eren wakes up to a sound he hasn't heard in years. Tweeting birds, the sound of branches creaking, leaves rustling in the breeze, and the sound of wildlife scurrying around below him. He sat up and stretched, wondering if it had all been a dream. A pleasant one, but a dream nonetheless. He glanced down to see a massive crystal skull gleaming at him.

Nope. Not a dream.He thought.

Eren sighed as he got up and went down. He circled the skeleton for a moment before standing in front of the face. He slowly reached out, wondering what would happen if he were to touch it.

"Oi. The hell do you think you're doing?" Eren whipped his hand back like he'd been physically burned, turning to see Captain Levi staring at him. Eren glanced between Levi and the skeleton before apologizing.

"I sorry, sir! I was curiosity about the bones!" he said. Levi rolled his eyes and sighed. His gaze went back to the skeleton and almost softened.

"I know. I'm curious too." Eren tilted his head, looking between Levi and the skeleton. With Levi's gaze firm and almost entranced by the skeleton, he didn't notice Eren glancing back and forth between them.

"You...knew sir?" Levi glanced at him.

"What?"

"It's just...you look at it kind of...softwith eyes. Almost gentle so I thought maybe you knew? Sorry if I'm overstepping my boundaries." Levi sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and Eren stared at him. Eren looked almost...confused and childlike with his hair messed up like that.

"I...mighthave known it. I have to confirm with Hanji and Erwin but..." Eren tilted his head. What was Levi going on about? "A few years ago, I was...separated from the group. Shockingly enough, I was rescued by a titan. A fifteen meter class, giant ass f*cker. It didn't eat me. It seemed almost curious about me. It brought me food, water, and even carried me around with it. It had me in a little hollow in one of these big ass trees. We were out of the titans reach and -strangely enough- other titans seemed to want to eat it too. The last day I spent with it, had been the day it carried me to a pond so I could wash. I have no clue if it knew what I was doing, but it kept watch around the area for any titans. When it realized there were titans, it practically grabbed me and carried me around, trying to hurry back to our tree. However, the titans caught up to us before that could happen. It couldn't fight as well with me in its hand so it put me in its mouth. That was by far the most frightening experience I've ever been through. It kept fighting but eventually it swallowed me."

"No!" Eren said, forgetting that he was the one who had swallowed Levi. Levi nodded dramatically. Neither Eren nor Levi had realized that Eld, Gunther, Oluo, and Petra were also listening in from their bunks. Petra had tears in her eyes and Oluo was biting his lips to stay quiet. Eld and Gunther were trying to pretend to still be asleep. Levi continued with his story.

"I can only assume that it swallowed me on accident. I don't know. What I do know was that it was hot as f*ck and empty as hell in there. Sure there was the boiling liquid all titans had in their stomachs, but that was it. I was beginning to black out when suddenly a light entered the stomach."

"A light?" Eren whispered. Levi nodded and now the rest of Levi squad weren't even trying to be sneaky about eavesdropping. Eld and Gunther were leaning over the edges of their hammocks while Petra sniffled a little.

"I was told later by Hanji that the titan had impaled itself on a branch to open its stomach and attempt to dig me out. I just remember some big thing coming in from the light and grabbing me. At that point, I had inhaled some of the liquid so I wasn't really breathing, but I could still hear just fine. The titan was whining. f*cking whining, like a dog that's worried about its master. Then it stopped and picked me up. It put me back in its mouth and I thought I was going to die for real that time. Instead, the f*cker pinned me under its tongue and ran. I could faintly hear people shouting."

"Is that when the Survey Corps found you?" Eren asked, again forgetting that he had been the one carrying Levi in his mouth while fleeing from the Survey Corps. Levi nodded.

"According to Erwin, it was attempting to run from them and that was why it had put me back in its mouth. Someone took out its legs a few minutes after it started running. You will never know what that feeling is like. Being unable to catch yourself, being surrounded by solid objects and feeling them tip over. My landing was cushioned by the tongue. I got lucky not to end up slamming against the f*ckers teeth. It didn't really have lips or cheeks, just teeth. I'm pretty sure Petra pulled me away from it then. Hanji said that even while that happened, it reached for me, as if trying to keep me with it. I blacked out after that." Eren and the squad stared at him, not realizing the titan in question was one of the ones staring at him.

"So you think this might be its skeleton?" Eren asked. Levi shrugged.

"Hell if I know. It was an unusual titan so it wouldn't surprise me if its bones are different too. Still though, I'd have to ask someone who was conscious if this really is the place where they brought it down."

"It is," Petra said. They glanced up at her. "I remember grabbing you, Captain, and using the gear to land on an oak branch with three branches on it. Like the one over there."

"So then this probably is the skeleton of the titan who saved me." Levi's eyes became sad, almost guilty.

"Are you...are you upset by that?" Levi glanced up. He sighed and looked up at the sky.

"Honestly, I don't know how I feel. I want to thank the titan for taking care of me and protecting me. Mostly. But I also think we lost an incredible opportunity. That titan could've been incredible if we'd managed to use it. Either as a weapon or a tool. It could match the titans easily and destroy them quickly. If we were to also think about how it could probably easily seal the hole in the wall, it would be even better." Eren's heart sank.

OH. I see. He just thought I would be useful.Tears began to well up in Eren's eyes, though he fought to keep them down.

"Though most importantly, I would want to know why." Eren glanced up at Levi. Levi was staring at the crystal skull, as if expecting it to steam and turn into a complete titan that would give him a doggy grin back. "I would want to know why it did what it did. Why did it save me? Why did it not eat me? Why did other titans want to eat it?"

"I don't think it would know anymore than we do, Captain," Eld said. Levi sighed.

"I know. I just wish that maybe I could've gotten some answers. Maybe if Hanji and Erwin hadn't killed it before seeing that it genuinely seemed to care about me. I don't know. I just wish I knew it better." Eren's tears had disappeared at this point and he had to struggle not to keep a happy grin off his face.

Little one wanted to know me! He wanted to thank me!Eren was practically doing flips of delight. On the inside, that is. Outside he looked almost peaceful with a gentle smile on his face.

"GOODMORNINGEVERYONE!" A familiar, shrieking voice bellowed. Eren sighed. The moment was completely ruined. Hanji landed with Erwin close on her heels. She giggled with delight and darted to the skeleton.

"Shut the hell up, sh*tty glasses! Are you trying to draw every damn titan in the area to us?" Levi spat, suddenly back to his usual self. Internally Eren cried. Hanji had ruined his moment of peaceful happiness, Levi was back to being cold and dangerous, and the Master of Fluffy Eyebrows had arrived. Eren turned away to sigh heavily. Eld and Gunther noticed and shook their heads with knowing smiles on their lips.

"But LEVI!! It's just so INCREDIBLE! IT's a skeleton that didn't dissolve!! I need to know more! Oh Erwin, please let me study it! Please, please,PLEASE!!" Erwin frowned as he studied the skeleton.

"While I would like to know more about what this is and how it's possible, we do need to continue to the wall. You know this, Hanji." Hanji gasped.

"No, Erwin, please! I need to study this! Think of all the breakthroughs we could have!" she pleaded desperately. Erwin sighed.

"We have neither the supplies nor the time to study this, Hanji." Hanji frowned.

"Then what if we split into two groups?" she asked. Erwin sighed and rubbed his fluffy eyebrows.

"We would still lack the supplies to do so." Hanji frowned and then her eyes lit up and flicked to Eren. Eren glanced away as fast as possible, knowing she was planning something devious. Hanji grinned, her lips pulling into a maniac smile.

"What if we found the supplies?" she suggested. Erwin frowned.

"What?" Hanji grabbed Levi before he could back away and practically held him out to Erwin.

"Levi managed to survive alone here previously! That means there's enough food to keep us alive! Not to mention how many wildlife we've seen so far!" She said, shaking Levi. The rest of Levi squad struggled not to laugh as Levi's expression grew darker and darker.

"f*cking four eyes. Put me DOWN!" he snarled, whirling to try and claw her eyes out. Hanji laughed and let go of him, whirling to put Erwin between her and Levi. Erwin sighed, ignoring Levi and Hanji's antics.

"You also should remember that when we brought him back, Levi was severely dehydrated and malnourished." Hanji cackled as she dodged a swipe from Levi.

"You also have to take into consideration that he was being cared for by a titan that had no clue what the hell humans are supposed to eat or how much titans are supposed to eat!" she countered. Erwin sighed and finally put his hands on Hanji and Levi's shoulders.

"Fine. Hanji, if you can bring me enough food to last a day without exhausting the source, I will allow you and others of your choice to remain here while you study the skeleton. Once we're done surveying the damage to the wall, we'll circle back to pick you up." Hanji tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"SO if itwereto work, I'd have roughly a week to study it. Right?" Erwin nodded.

"But again, that's if you bring the required amount of food." Hanji grinned and her eyes flicked to Eren again, who attempted to make himself scarce by cleaning his gear. He felt a hand on his shoulder and stopped. He shut his eyes for a moment, hearing the heavy, panting breath behind him.

Please let it be someone else. Please let it be someone else. Let it be Mike. Please let it be Mike.He internally begged. He slowly turned around only to see foggy glasses and a maniac grin behind him.

"Eren...would you like to help me? Great!" she said, picking him up and tossing him over her shoulder. Eren scrabbled against her back, fighting for freedom. "Levi, I'm gonna be taking Eren. Okay, bye!"

With that, she took off on the gear, carrying a helpless Eren with her. They saw him reach out towards them pleadingly, as if begging for them to save him. They didn't and the pair quickly disappeared into the woods. Erwin clicked his tongue.

"I should've known she would do that," he said. Levi nodded.

"Yeah." With that he looked back at the skeleton and shook his head. The rest of Levi squad stared worriedly after where Hanji had disappeared with a captive Eren. Petra glanced at the others.

"Should we be worried for him?" she asked. Eld shrugged.

"Probably. My guess is she's going to use him as a test subject to identify which plants are poisonous or not." The rest of them shuddered. There was an awkward moment before Gunther spoke up.

"Should we go help him?" The others stared at him. Oluo was the one who spoke, actually dropping his crude imitations of Levi to say,

"Do you want to take his place?" There was a silence among the group before they all simultaneously decided to go and take care of their horses and gear. As long as no one answered, no one could be considered heartless enough to leave Eren with Hanji.

"Alright Eren, show me which plants are edible," Hanji said as she dumped him on the ground. Eren stared at her.

"Why..." he croaked. Hanji tilted her head.

"Hm? Why you? Why should you show me?" She laughed, throwing her head back. To Eren though, it seemed more like a maniacal witch cackle. "I chose you because you seem like someone who'd know what plants you can or can't eat. As for why you should show me, well. Let's just say that if you don't I'll end up having you try them to see if they're poisonous or not. How's that sound?"

Eren shuddered and glanced around. Thankfully he recognized the area. He stared at the coconut tree they were near before pointing at it.

"That one. Those are edible," he said. Hanji turned and frowned.

"They don'tlookedible," she said. Eren scaled the tree and cut off one of the coconuts, carrying it back down to the ground. He pulled a knife from his boot where Captain Levi had told him to keep one and began cutting it open. It came apart and Hanji stared at the white flesh and pale milk. Eren scraped out some of the flesh with his knife and held it out to Hanji. Hanji tried it and her eyes widened. "It's good! Okay Eren, what else?"

Now that Eren knew where he was, he had a much easier time finding plants that he knew were edible and showing them to Hanji. After all, a lot of them were things that he had brought for his Little One. It took several trips back between the main camp and the places Eren knew had edible plants. The members of the Survey Corps began to notice and were shocked by the amount of edible plants Hanji and Eren were finding.

It was less that they were finding them and more Eren revisiting old haunts and places where he'd occasionally buried seeds to see what had happened. Because of that, there was an abundance of peaches, coconuts, pears, and various berries. He also showed Hanji some vegetables like gourds and pumpkins. It turned out there were also quite a few wild potatoes and carrots, but Eren had never dug any up so he didn't know about them.

By the time they would be heading out, Hanji had amassed enough food to last the entire Survey corps about a week if rationed correctly. She grinned smugly at Erwin as his gaze swept over the sheer amount of food. He sighed.

"Fine. Pick those you want to stay with you." Hanji grinned and began calling out names, most of which were from the science division. Eren went towards his horse which had been saddled up and was just about to climb up when Hanji called her final name.

"Eren!" He froze and slowly turned towards her. Levi glared, gaze darkening.

"sh*tty glasses, you can't pick Eren. We're going to be heading into titan infested territory, weneedthe entire elite squad," he hissed. Eren glanced between them as Hanji grinned.

"Erwin said I could pick anyone. He didn't specify any squads that I couldn't pick from," she said. Eren glanced towards Erwin and met his eyes. Erwin's eyes were cold and calculating. It's true they would want as many elite fighters as possible on the battlefield but...he was also a man of his word. He sighed.

"Eren will stay with Hanji. However, Eren you will be exempt from most of the actual study related chores. Stay on defense and patrol the area. Make sure no titans get to the science division, alright?" Eren hesitantly nodded and stepped down from where he'd put his foot in the stirrup.

"Yes sir." Levi clicked his tongue. He tapped his horse and rode over to Eren. He tapped his head and Eren looked up.

"Don't die," Levi said. Eren smiled.

"I could say that to the rest of you," he said. His eyes flicked over the rest of the squad and he felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. He wanted to protect them...but how could he do that if not all of them were with him? Levi rolled his eyes and the rest of the squad chorused that they'd be fine. Eren looked down and pulled his horse back towards the group. Once everyone who wasn't staying was saddled up, Erwin turned.

"CHARGE!" he bellowed. They took off in a thundering of hooves. Everyone who was staying behind watched them pass until they could no longer see them. Once they were out of sight, Hanji turned to talk to Eren only to see him shooting into the trees. She followed him and watched him stare after the group as they rode across the plains until they disappeared completely. Then his shoulders sagged and for a moment, Hanji felt guilty about making Eren stay behind while the rest of his squad moved on. She tapped his shoulder and he glanced at her. She grinned.

"They'll be fine. Now come on! We've got a skeleton to study!" She jumped down and with one last glance back, Eren followed.

Please be careful, Little one.

Chapter 23: Pretium Solutum Armatura

Chapter Text

Eren sleepily blinked away the fog that covered his mind. He pushed himself upright and felt something swing underneath him. He glanced down and saw his hammock, swinging from the disturbance in weight. Eren sighed to himself, falling back into his hammock. He shut his eyes, trying to fall back asleep but he knew that he wouldn't be able to, not as long as the sun was up.

So he pushed himself up, got dressed and put on his gear. He jumped from branch to branch until he was far enough away from the others that he no longer needed to stay quiet. He began patrolling what was his territory, using as little gas as possible. He heard a rumbling footstep and his eyes flashed towards the sound. A ten meter titan was staring at him, drool dripping from its mouth as it stepped closer. Eren quickly shot forward, zooming around the grasping hands, and viciously slicing the nape before jumping off into the trees again. The ten meter fell and Eren sighed.

It wasn't satisfying to kill them without knowing he was protecting his little one. And Petra. And Gunther, Eld, and even Oluo. He let out a soft whine, missing the small group. They were...special to him. He sighed, eyes shutting from sorrow. He was alone again with people he didn’t know.

Please let them come back safe, he thought.

“EREN! WHERE ARE YOU?” The birds shot from their branches at the sudden noise. Eren sighed to himself at the loud voice echoing through the trees. He jumped off his branch and soared towards the loud noise. He landed above Hanji, watching her for a moment before speaking.

“You calling titans here?” he asked. Hanji looked up and grinned at the sight of him.

“EREN! There you are! I was looking for you! It’s breakfast time! Where were you?” Eren winced, knowing he’d have to lie to her in order to escape the horrible human practice of eating food. He smiled pleasantly at her, pretending to have already eaten.

“I was patrolling for any titans around the area. Also, I grabbed some fruits and ate them along the way,” he said, lying through his teeth. Hanji frowned, almost pouting.

“Aw, I was looking forward to talking with you during breakfast! There are so many things we can learn about the titans from this skeleton!” She said. Eren looked away, trying not to remember that it would be pointless to try and study the skeleton because it was his. And he wasn’t exactly a normal titan in the first place.

“That’s nice, Hanji. I can sit with you anyway?” She grinned and nodded eagerly. He followed her back to base where the others were munching on fruits and some vegetables. Hanji picked up a peach and eagerly bit into it. She moaned around it in her mouth.

“Oh gosh, I wish we could have these for breakfast every morning!” She said around it. Eren nodded hesitantly. Hanji quickly grabbed several different fruits and began mowing through them, happily munching on something that wasn’t dried rations and hard bread.

Once Hanji was through with breakfast, she dragged Eren with her to the skeleton. Eren paused on the edge of the clearing, not wanting to get involved with the skeleton at all. She walked around it eagerly, grinning the whole time.

“It’s about the size of a fifteen meter Titan. Each of the bones are the same shape as human bones and appear to have no abnormalities! Let’s see how much each one weighs.” She picked up one of the finger bones and her eyes widened. “Fascinating! Compared to the size, this is incredibly light! I wonder…”

Eren watched as she went over to the skull and put her hands under it. She lifted and Eren was shocked to see her lift it up a foot before dropping it again. She huffed and wiped her hands, brushing dirt off them.

“Yup! Just as I thought, it’s pretty light for the size. Maybe that’s how the Titan would’ve been able to move so quickly?” Eren frowned. He knew he’d been fast before but was he really as fast as she seemed to make him out to be? He sighed to himself.

“Eren! Come look at this!” Eren walked over to where Hanji was standing by one of the feet. He frowned when he saw something in front of the feet.

“Hanji? What that?” He asked. Hanji grinned.

“I’m so glad you asked, Eren!” She lifted the thing and Eren stared at the curved, sharpened shape. “It appears that the toenails did not dissolve either!”

Eren frowned in confusion. He didn’t remember ever looking at his toes, but he was pretty sure they weren’t sharpened.

“Why are they…” he frowned, struggling to describe them. Hanji giggled.

“Sharpened? It’s likely that they were similar to cat nails in order to gain more traction and speed when running!” She explained. Eren nodded.

After about an hour of being stuck there with Hanji, the instant Moblit came and distracted her from him, Eren snuck off. He patrolled around the camp again before collecting more fruits and vegetables. He tapped another member of the science division's shoulder.

“Yes?” She asked.

“Can we dry the fruits?” He asked. Her eyes widened.

“Oh! That’s a good idea! Sure, I think we can do that to preserve them! I’m Nifa by the way.” Eren nodded. He helped Nifa cut the fruits into thin slices before putting them on a tray in the sunlight. It would take a while before they were dry, but that didn’t matter.

“EREN! There you are!” Eren flinched before throwing himself face first on the ground. Hanji whipped over him, narrowly twisting to avoid smacking into a tree. As soon as she had gone over him, Eren shot up and sent his hooks into the trees, heading away from her. “Aw, come on Eren!”

Hanji grinned as she chased after Eren who nearly avoided her at every turn. She laughed. He truly was incredible with the maneuver gear. She saw Eren turn the corner, heading down before he disappeared from sight. She followed and was shocked. Eren had disappeared.

“Eren? Come on, I just wanna talk!” There was no reply and with a sigh, Hanji went back to the skeleton. Meanwhile, in the same drey Eren had kept Levi in, Eren watched Hanji leave. He sighed in relief. He leaned back against the wood and smiled at the memories this place brought back. His eyes shut and he fell asleep during the day for the first time.

Levi clicked his tongue irritably. The closer they got to Shiganshina, the more titans they came across. He’d already had to save several other squads from small groups of titans.

“Captain! Wall Maria outer Shiganshina gate in sight!” Petra called. Levi nodded and swallowed when he saw the state of the gate.

The hole was massive, easily allowing ten meters to stand up straight as they entered it. That wasn’t even mentioning the group of titans that were clumped around the gate. Levi caught a glimpse of movement to the left and his eyes widened.

“Oluo! Look out!” He shouted. Oluo followed his gaze and Levi shot out of his saddle, latching his hooks into the abnormal who was lunging for Oluo. Oluo jumped to avoid the Titan and narrowly avoided it. Levi sliced the nape and landed on it.

He glanced up at a scream and was shocked to see Petra in the mouth of a Titan. It bit down and her scream cut off. Levi froze for a moment before more movement caught his attention. Gunther was in the hand of another Titan while Eld got grabbed by a third.

“Guys!” Oluo cries, shooting towards them.

“Oluo, Wait!” Levi shouted. Too late, the one that got Petra whipped its head as he flew past and took a bite out of Oluo. Everything from Oluo’s knee to shoulder was missing on his right side. His corpse fell into the grass. Levi felt his face curl into a murderous snarl before he shot forward, slicing the nape of the one that took two members of his group before slicing the fingers holding Eld.

“Captai-aagh!” Gunther screamed as the titan closed it’s jaws, teeth cutting through Gunther’s neck. His head fell past the titans lips, dropping onto the ground as Levi watched, unable to help his squad member.

“Gunther!” Eld cried. He shot forward and sliced the nape of the Titan that had just killed his best friend, completely ignoring his surroundings in the meantime. Levi’s eyes widened as he spotted another titan behind Eld.

“You idiot!” Levi shouted, narrowly killing the Titan before it devoured Eld. Eld looked up at Levi as he landed. “Keep an eye on your surroundings!”

“Yes sir!” Eld apologized, before shooting off to help another squad while Levi went to find Erwin and Mike. He found them relatively quickly though he did have to kill a few titans that were in his way. Thankfully neither of them was dead, though they were struggling with a small group of titans. Levi shot in and took out three before Erwin and Mike took out the other two.

“Erwin! We need to retreat! We’ve already got casualties and we’re not even close to the gate!” Levi yelled as he landed after felling his last titan. Erwin nodded and pulled out his flare gun. He fired the blue flare, signaling that they should retreat and the mission was a failure. Levi went back to where he’d seen Eld last and was horrified by the sight that greeted him. Eld was on the ground, his gear broken and one leg had bone sticking out of it. “Eld!”

The Titan grabbed Eld and bit down, bringing an end to the last member of Levi squad. Levi killed it before whistling for his horse. It came quickly and he hopped on, riding straight for the forest they’d come from. Many of the veterans collected their squads around Levi but said nothing of his missing squad members.

Eren sighed as he woke up. He frowned. The ground was shaking with movement. His eyes widened and he shot out of his drey. He shot to the camp where he found the others staring at the plains in the direction that the others had gone. Eren went up in the branches and was shocked when he saw the others already returning.

His eyes widened at the sight. There was barely half of who had gone with them. Not to mention, there was a large crowd of titans chasing them. Hanji put a hand on Eren’s shoulder.

“Wait for the titans to be in the trees before attacking,” she said. Eren snorted and pushed her hand off his shoulder. He glared at her, his eyes burning with anger, and she flinched. He shook his head and shot his hooks into the trees below.

“Screw that.” He jumped off and swung neatly towards the ground. He landed on the ground and whistled for his horse. Once it arrived, he hopped on it. He charged out towards the group, fury burning in his eyes. From the trees he had seen a tiny figure attempting to fight the horde of titans alone. He recognized those movements.

He rode straight through the group of fleeing scouts, ignoring their shouts. As soon as he was within range, he shot out of his saddle and whipped up, easily taking out two titans on a single ark. He spun in the air, blades flashing as he aided Levi who was running out of gas. Together the two decimated the group, allowing the other scouts to reach the forest. Once the final Titan had fallen, Eren approached Levi.

“Captain? Where…” he trailed off at the expression on Levi’s face. Levi looked up at him, eyes dark and pained. Eren stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the frozen figure of Levi. No words needed to be said and Eren felt tears bead in his eyes. When their horses came towards them, Eren pulled away.

“Come on. The others wait us.” Levi nodded and climbed onto his horse. Eren followed suit and together they rode back to the forest where the others waited.

Chapter 24: Et Residuum Redi

Chapter Text

Those who'd watched from the trees observed as the two returned together, eyes lowered in sorrow. Eren glanced at Levi and his heart throbbed at the broken look in Levi's eyes. His gaze snapped up as he heard someone approach. Hanji looked hesitantly at them. She took a step forward and Eren's rage flared. He released a loud, harsh snarl at her. Judging by her shocked expression and the mirrored expression on the faces of those around them, they hadn't been expecting that. She took another step forward and he hissed at her, warning her to stay away. Levi didn't even react to Eren's sounds and animalistic actions.

"Eren..." Hanji started. Eren cut her off.

"Don't. Speak." Everyone flinched at his vicious tone of voice and Hanji looked down guiltily. But Eren wasn't through with her yet. "I should have gone. If I had, how many more could've survived? How many not lost? Tell me, Hanji. You made stay. You kept from going with. For what? Absolutelynothing." He hissed. She flinched and stepped back. Eren snorted with disgust and grabbed the reins of Levi's horse. Levi didn't even try to stop him as he led them away from the group. Even when Erwin approached, Eren hissed at him, arching his back and exposing his teeth. Erwin paused before nodding and walking away. Eren picked Levi up in his arms and carried him further into familiar territory, heading to a nostalgic place.

Together they landed in his drey and Levi didn't react at all. He went back to the camp where his stuff was, leading their horses back to the group as well. Thankfully no one attempted to speak with him. Word of his enraged mood had spread through the Survey Corps. He grabbed his bedding as well as Levi's, refilled his gas, and took off again. He reached the drey and noted that Levi hadn't moved at all. He let out a soft crooning noise, something he hadn't done for a long time. He set up their bedding and gently began to undress Levi.

Levi didn't react, even when Eren removed his cape, shirt, and pants. He just curled up under the blankets, trying not to cry. Eren could see the tears that wouldn't form in Levi's eyes. He crooned again and began to gently stroke Levi's cheek, making sure to be a comforting presence for him until Levi fell asleep. Even though it was relatively late in the afternoon, the sun wouldn't be setting for hours. Eren hoped that Levi would be able to sleep all the way through the night. Meanwhile he refilled Levi's tanks and went back to the camp to fill his completely. Hanji noticed him and walked forward but before she could open her mouth, Eren hissed at her and turned away.

He shot his hooks into the trees and soared up, landing on a branch. He stalked towards the edge of the woods, tears filling his eyes.

Petra.His mind flashed through all his memories of Petra. Even though she made him eat food, she only did that because she was worried about him. She was cheerful and funny and had accepted him, even though he was strange.

Oluo.While the man himself never seemed like Eren, he was amusing in his own way. He would give pointers about literally everything while simultaneously bragging, a skill Eren wondered how he'd acquired.

Gunther.While Gunther hadn't spoken much to Eren, he'd still been very accepting and helpful. Whenever Eren had done something wrong he'd simply shake his head in amusem*nt and show him how to properly do it.

Eld.A strange one who was similar to Gunther but spoke a lot less. He'd still been accepting of him though, happily welcoming a new skilled member into the group. He'd been one that Eren could just sit by and sunbathe without him commenting on it.

Eren glared out at the plains where he could still see several titans approaching, likely drawn by the smell of human blood. His eyes narrowed and his rage spiked again, vision going red as he snarled at their malformed faces that grinned at him as if they were mocking him. The scouts near him glanced at him nervously as he stalked back and forth on the branches like a furious cat. Eren inhaled as his rage rose further.

This is allyourfault!

He roared at them, similar to what he'd do in his titan form but less throaty. The scouts stared at him like he'd gone insane but their faces quickly paled when they watched the titans. The titans' heads swiveled towards Eren and they began to run towards him as best they could. When they were close enough, Eren snarled a challenge before diving down onto them and slaughtering any titan he got his hands on. The scouts reported the horde of titans to Erwin and Hanji who came quickly to help. Instead when they arrived they were greeted by the sight of Eren standing atop a mountain of steaming titan corpses, green eyes glowing in the shadows. Shivers ran down their spines as his eyes flicked to them. He huffed and threw back his head, roaring his victory to the sky.

The scouts began to murmur, questioning why Eren wasn't brought with them to Shiganshina. After all, he'd just decimated a horde of titans like it was no big deal. The whispers paused as he turned towards them. They froze as his glowing green eyes swept over them. They narrowed when they landed on Hanji before he huffed and shot off.

"Should we follow him?" Hanji asked. Erwin shook his head.

"Right now I think he and Levi both need some time alone. I really shouldn't have listened to you when it came to Eren. I underestimated just how many titans would be in Shiganshina," he said with a sigh. Hanji nodded and looked down at the ground.

"I just wanted to see if I could find out more about him while studying the skeleton. Though I did discover something new: he becomes more feral when his words can't express how emotional he is." Erwin glared down at her.

"Now isnotthe time to be analyzing Eren. You do know that it's because of your curious nature that he now hates you, right?" Hanji flinched and looked down.

"Do you blame me for being curious? I've never heard of someone who can survive outside the wallsperiod. Of course I want to find out exactly how he managed to do it. So I thought there would be less titans or that at least his squad would come back in one piece. They are the elites for a reason. I didn't think..." Erwin glanced at her.

"That we would be completely overwhelmed?" Hanji nodded and Erwin sighed.

"Just leave them both alone for a bit." Hanji nodded but her eyes looked towards where Eren had soared off. Her eyes lowered and she walked back towards the campsite, significantly less eager to study the skeleton. Erwin followed soon after and the scouts hesitantly allowed them to leave, eyes still glancing towards where Eren had disappeared, as if waiting for him to reappear out of thin air.

Levi woke up to a familiar ceiling and a throbbing head, as if he'd been crying. But he knew he hadn't been. He sighed to himself.

Had that all been a dream?He wondered. He forced himself to sit up and was shocked to see his gear and equipment around him, completely intact. He glanced around, confused. His gear had been busted up and he most certainly hadn't had his bedding.

"Ah, Captain! You are awake!" He turned and saw Eren give him a small smile.

"So it wasn't a dream," he muttered. Eren tilted his head, confused. Levi glanced around. "How did you find this place?"

"I had plenty of time to look around while you were heading to Shiganshina." Eren's eyes darkened with grief and suddenly it all came crashing back down on Levi. Right. His squad had died and he hadn't been able to save them. Then when they'd almost reached the forest a horde had set upon them. He remembered fighting them and then someone else was with him, helping him take them down. He remembered a head of messy brown hair and flash of furious glowing emerald. That's right, Eren had helped him kill the horde before returning to the forest in a daze. He faintly remembered Hanji trying to speak to Eren only to be hissed and snarled at. Not that he blamed Eren, he likely would've done the same. Or at least ignored her before slamming his boot against her face. "Captain? Would you like to eat something?"

Levi glanced at Eren, realizing the boy had asked him a question. He glanced down at the coconut shell that Eren held in his hand. He nodded and took it. Eren passed him a spoon as well and Levi realized that there were other fruits inside of it too. He glanced up at Eren who smiled a little.

"The coconut juice was mixed with a little bit of milk and juice from the other fruit. Inside of the actual soup are pieces of peaches and pears. It's really good." Levi raised an eyebrow.

"So you've had some?" he asked. Eren nodded his head towards the other half of the coconut.

"Yeah. I ate mine while you were still asleep." Levi nodded and dipped his spoon in the strange soup. When he ate it, he ate it slowly; savoring the flavors. Eren cleaned up the place, neatly folding his supplies. Levi finished his soup and sat there for a moment, staring down. What were they going to do now, he wondered. Their surveillance of the breach barely reached the wall and their news is not good. Not to mention they took heavy casualties just from coming too close to the breach. Unless they can find a way to hide from the titans, they would be screwed attempting to check it out. Even if they went along the walls, that would still take several weeks before they came anywhere near close enough to look at Shiganshina. "Captain."

Levi glanced up, realizing that he'd been lost in his thoughts. Eren looked at him for a moment before speaking.

"No worry. Rest. It's been a long few days for you. Sleep. Recover. Then think about revenge and the breach." Levi looked down and snorted.

"I don't take orders from you." Eren chuckled. Levi glanced at him and saw a wry smile on Eren's lips.

"That captain I know." Levi paused, thinking about what Eren meant. He looked at him and Eren smiled. He looked away before he smiled back.

Damn him and his sparkly green puppy eyes!Levi thought to himself. He glanced around the drey, a soft nostalgic look entering his eyes.It's ironic that this is where I wake up after all that.

"What?" Levi glanced at Eren, realizing he spoke out loud. Eren tilted his head. "Why is it ironic, sir?"

Levi hesitated, debating whether he should tell Eren or not. He glanced around. There was no one here and it was just the two of them. It wouldn't hurt to share it with Eren, right? Then Levi remembered that he'd named the titan Eren too. He glanced at Eren.How funny. Two people or creatures with green eyes and brown hair with the same name who've helped me. I wonder if it's a coincidence. It has to be.

"Remember how I told you about the titan that saved me?" Eren nodded, waiting for Levi to finish, even though he already knew exactly what Levi was going to say. "This is the same place he kept me in. This is where I woke up after he saved me."

Eren glanced around, a faint smile coming to his lips as he recalled seeing Levi awake for the first time. The way his eyes had burned with a fierce desire to survive and a hint of panic at the realization that he could climb. The way Levi had narrowed his eyes as if readying himself to charge at him, even with a broken leg.

"You must've really frightened that titan, right?" Levi stared at him, wrinkling his nose a tiny bit. Eren found it adorable as Levi snorted and turned to look out of the drey.

"What the f*ck are you saying? Did you eat some colorful mushrooms? Is that what happened?" Eren chuckled as he walked towards where Levi was staring. They stayed quiet for a moment before Levi spoke up.

"Are they taking the skeleton back to the walls?" he asked. Eren looked down guiltily.

"I...honestly don't know." Levi glared at him from the corner of his eyes before Eren blushed.

"I haven't been back to the main camp since I threw a temper tantrum and killed some titans." Levi stared at him, eyes narrowed and lips parted a bit. Eren blushed and looked away, knowing he'd acted like a child. Levi stood and smacked the back of Eren's head. He sighed as Eren rubbed his head where Levi had hit him. Levi packed his stuff back into the bags and buckled on his gear after redressing.

"We should head back." Eren pouted and Levi stared at him before sighing. "I'm not saying you need to apologize to Hanji. Hell, I want to shove my boot so far up her ass she chokes on it, but we need to at least see what the situation is and what we're going to do next."

"Fine. You're right. I just...I acted really weird when you guys came back," Eren said. Levi glanced at him.

"So that faint memory I have of you snarling at Hanji wasn't just a dream?" he asked. Eren blushed.

"N-no...it wasn't." Levi only faintly recalled that event but he remembered thinking he was proud of Eren for doing that. He glanced away for a moment as he approached the edge. Right before leaping off, he tossed some words back Eren.

"Good job."

Eren's eyes widened at the words as Levi jumped out, heading away. He smiled after him before grabbing his stuff and following after him. Levi wasn't moving as fast as he could've but he was making good time back to the base. Eren landed on the branch behind him as Levi landed before dropping to the ground where Hanji and Erwin were studying the skeleton. Hanji glanced at him before looking back down. Erwin nodded to Levi as he landed.

"Good for you to join us again, Levi." Levi nodded before looking at the skeleton.

"What're we doing with this?" His eyes flicked to Erwin's as he asked the question. Erwin sighed.

"We're bringing it back with us. We lack the resources to properly study it, not to mention we've achieved our goal of surveying the breach. Next we'll hopefully be able to begin repairing it from the top up. It'll be difficult and will be a long expedition but if we can manage to slowly begin filling the hole, we'll be able to prevent more titans from coming in and eventually we'll have reclaimed Wall Maria. But again, it'll take a long time." Levi nodded.

"Any clue what the MP's are going to say about this?" Levi asked, gesturing to the skeleton. Erwin frowned.

"I honestly don't know. It's undoubtedly the skeleton of a titan but we all know that titans dissolve when they die. What's more concerning is how they'll react to the fact that we killed an abnormal that protected a human from titans and this is what's left of it." Levi nodded.

"Think they'll believe us?" Erwin shrugged.

"In this case we don't know much more than they do. So it's not like they can get mad at us." Levi sighed.

"Let's just get out of this god forsaken territory. I'd like to be back inside the walls with more than a few remaining soldiers." Erwin nodded.

"We're leaving in two days and we'll head through the Trost gate in order to reenter the walls." Levi nodded and glanced back at Eren who was cautiously scanning the terrain around them, clearly on watch for any titans.

"How was he after we came back?" Levi asked. Erwin raised an eyebrow at Levi being interested in the actions of a safe scout. He hid a smirk before answering his question.

"He was furious. He refused to let anyone near either of you, hissing and snarling at anyone who came too close. He even hissed at me, if you can believe it. Hanji in particular received quite a bit of animosity. The oddest thing happened after he came back though." Levi glanced at him.

"What happened?" Erwin frowned as he stared at Eren.

"According to those who saw him, he went out towards the edge of the forest while he was still angry. Those who saw him from start to finish said he was like an angry cat when he arrived, pacing around the edge. Then he 'roared' so they said. We faintly heard it but we were more concerned with the fact that right after that we felt titan footsteps headed our way,fast." Levi stared at Erwin in shock.

"How many did we lose?" he asked. Erwin shook his head.

"We didn't loseany.By the time Hanji and I arrived, Eren was standing on a pile of titan corpses like it was the most natural thing in the world. He took out at least seven in that group, possibly more but a large amount of the corpses had already dissolved by the time we arrived. He's...incredible. He's even better than I thought he'd be, Levi. I knew he was skilled enough to be on your squad, but from what I've seen he may even be on your level. It's spectacular." Levi glanced at Eren who, as if feeling his gaze, looked back at them. They stared at each other for a moment before Eren took off towards the edge of the forest.

"Yeah." Levi muttered. He turned to get started on preparations to leave the forest.

Chapter 25: Redi Ad Moenia Sunt

Chapter Text

Eren was still irritated and everyone could tell. The way he did things was...aggressive. When picking up boxes, he would jerk them into his arms like he was ripping them out of the ground. When killing titans he moved faster and eliminated them quicker. When walking he was like a predator; a wolf among sheep. Even going to bed he would glare at them all before turning over and pulling the blankets over him. The only one unaffected by his attitude was Levi.

“Levi, do you think you can get Eren to calm down?” Erwin asked. Levi stared at Erwin.

“Why would I do that?” Erwin looked past him and Levi followed his gaze. Eren was stalking through the camp and everyone, everyone, got out of his way as fast as possible. From the angle they were at Levi could even see Eren’s brilliant eyes almost glowing. His whole form radiated pure pent up anger. Levi glanced back at Erwin once Eren was out of sight. “I don’t see a problem.”

Erwin raised an eyebrow. He sighed.

“Levi, he’s terrorizing the others. They know it’s not like him. Normally he’s cheerful if a little confused but like this...even I’m getting nervous being near him.” Levi snorted and glanced at Erwin.

“That’s my problem, how? I’m exactly the same as him. I’m just doing a better job of hiding it.” Erwin sighed and stared at Levi.

“Levi...we need everyone to help transport the skeleton to the walls. There’s no way that Hanji will be able to work anywhere near him. Any time she’s attempted to get closer to him he’s hissed and snarled, like a wild animal. Even I've never seen him like this!” Levi sighed and thought about it. It was true that morale was falling but he didn’t want to stop Eren. Just looking at Eren made Levi feel a little bit better. But...they did need sh*tty glasses to make it back intact and if Eren had to be anywhere near her as he was, that wouldn’t happen. He sighed and Erwin looked up when Levi stood.

“Fine. I’ll talk to the kid. But next time sh*tty glasses wants to do anything with Eren that isn’t life or death, you tell her no. Got it?” Erwin nodded.

“I’m sorry Levi. I should’ve trusted you back then. It won’t happen again.” Levi nodded and stalked off, heading to what he knew had become Eren’s hideaway.

Eren had actually found another drey closer to their camp. He often retreated there to pout. It was better built than the other one and seemed strange compared to the first. This one seemed almost to have been made by Titan hands and human hands. There were traces of both.

The human sized hand prints on the walls inside the drey were a little hint.

Levi sighed as he shot his hooks out and went up to the drey, entering the drey after landing. Eren glanced up at him from where he was reclining on a bed of leaves.

Stranger than the drey itself was Eren’s familiarity with it. Levi would’ve thought it would take a bit to get used to the drey itself but Eren just made himself at home, even replacing the dried leaves that had made up the bed. He seemed more at home on those then he did when it came to his hammock and the sheets they had brought with them. Eren half heartedly saluted from his spot on the floor.

“Hey Captain.” Levi shut the door and stared down at him.

“That’s how you greet your Captain?” He asked. Eren sighed. He stood and saluted Levi.

“Sorry...I just want to go home.” Levi nodded. Whereas everyone else had recently only been seeing his fearsome fury, Levi had been allowed to see Eren’s exhaustion and sorrow. Eren was still grieving the loss of their comrades. Here where they were alone, it was like Eren gained another ten years. His eyes were tired and dull, completely different from what all the others saw.

“Erwin says I have to tell you to stop terrorizing everyone else.” Eren raised an eyebrow.

“Should I ask why he couldn’t say it himself?” Levi smirked.

“Your glare has been frightening him away, that’s why. Don’t worry Eren. It’s not that big of a deal. But since we’re going to be guarding the skeleton with the science division you need to at least not tear Hanji’s throat out.” Eren's eyes narrowed and Levi knew this was where he’d struggle with the boy.

"She would deserve it." Levi sighed and placed his palm over his face before looking back down at Eren.

"You know I'd agree with you. Of course I'd agree that she deserves it. But, we need her. She's the most well versed person when it comes to titans and the research that's been done on them. So sadly we need her to stay alive and make it back to the walls in one piece." Eren pouted, actually f*ckingpoutedat that. Levi had to struggle not to snicker at how Eren puffed up his cheeks with air.

So this is how the brat pouts? f*ck...it's adorable. Levi shoved his thoughts aside and turned to leave the drey.

"Come on. We leave for the walls in four hours. We should reach them at nightfall if we keep a steady pace." Eren sighed but stood and followed Levi out. Even though Eren was still in mourning and was still pissed as hell at Hanji, he knew he had to get over it if he wanted to help his humans back to the wall. Though it would be kind of strange to know that his skeleton would be right behind him. He landed and immediately noticed how people cowered and got out of his way. For a moment Eren's heart hurt to see them acting that way with him.

"Ah, Eren, you're back." Eren glanced up at Erwin who was approaching. The man was watching him carefully, eyes narrowed on him like he was Erwin's prey. Eren nodded to him.

"Sorry for causing any problems, Erwin." Erwin smiled, relaxing now that Eren had shown he meant no harm.

"It's fine. You should've been with us and I failed to see that. But, if you're going to be mad at anyone don't be mad at Hanji. Be mad at me since I was the one who said you would stay with her. Alright?" Eren sighed but nodded.

"Alright. I promise not to kill Hanji, though I won't blame you. You told her she could pick anyone and you are a man of your word. The fault still lies with her as she was the one to ask me to stay. But I won't kill her. I make no promises about not biting her though if she attempts to grab or hug me." He let a small teasing grin brighten his face as he finished speaking, letting everyone know it was a joke. The others nearby relaxed at the return of the Eren they knew, glad he was back.

Once it had been established that Eren wasn't going to rip their heads off if they approached, the others began to let him help pack things away. His skeleton would be carried in one of the wagons that held extra gear so they didn't weigh down the wagon. Even so, just to be safe they managed to tether four horses to the wagon to make sure it would move at the same pace as the rest of them. At first Eren was confused because wouldn't that just weigh down the horses more? If they had to pull a wagon and carry their rider it should be more weight on the horse's back. Then Levi explained to him that the extra horses were ones that didn't have any riders. After all, their riders were already dead. They'd died attempting to reach Shiganshina. Eren quieted after that, returning to a brief state of mourning. But soon he had to recover from that as they readied to leave.

"Is everyone here?" Erwin shouted. There were nods from the squad leaders and Erwin nodded. "I don't want any more casualties from this point out! Let's move out!"

They charged out of the trees onto the open plains before their group split, heading into the formation already decided. It was smaller than it had been when they left but losing almost half of your numbers would do that. Eren and Levi had been placed in the front of the formation and any time Eren saw a titan he would kill it. He didn't even use his gas on most of them. Levi was annoyed but said nothing as they hurried across the plains.

Within two hours Eren had killed five titans and the walls were within sight. Once they reached the walls Eren began patrolling around their group on the ground to make sure that no titans got past him. It took them an hour to bring the horses on the walls and Eren killed an additional two titans during that time. Bringing the skeleton up took the longest time because of how much it weighed. Even if it was lighter than it should've been, that didn't mean that it wasn't still heavier than what the lift could take.

"Eren! Come on, we're making camp on the wall for the night!" Erwin bellowed. Eren shot up onto the walls and Levi glared at him. The others watched as Levi stalked over to the boy and smacked the back of his head. Eren yelped before whirling to look at Levi.

"Captain! What was that for??" he demanded. Levi glared at him.

"Quit wasting your gas, idiot. We need that for tomorrow, remember?" Eren flinched and looked down. Levi sighed and walked away before pausing to look back."Oh yeah, before I forget,eat something."

The others shivered at the pure order in his tone and Eren looked down, fidgeting uncomfortably. Levi glared at him for a moment longer before turning away and heading off, figuring his order had been understood and accepted. Though begrudgingly he knew Eren would eat something. At dinner time, the others noticed Levi watching Eren like a hawk, staring at him with fearsome focus until Eren -who'd been fidgeting and shifting under Levi's gaze- stood up and collected a small bowl of soup. The others felt their hearts drop to their stomachs in horror as they watched him pour it down his throat.

"Eren! That's still boiling!" Erwin cried. Eren glanced at him before setting the bowl down and heading back to his bedding. Erwin stared after him as Levi sighed.

"Relax, Erwin. It's not the first time he's done something like that." They stared at him and he sighed. "Eren doesn't like to eat. I don't understandwhybut I can't force him to eat. Well, I can, I just don't think he'd like it."

Erwin sighed and stared at Eren, whose back was turned to them. He frowned but went back to his meal before turning in for the night. Levi waited, pretending to be asleep to see how Eren would react to the soup. Even though they'd spent a lot of time together in the forest, apparently no one had seen Eren eat anything even though he claimed he had. He was hoping that his suspicion was for nothing but it seemed his fears were correct.

Late that night Eren got up and leaned over the wall, vomiting up what little he'd eaten. Levi frowned. Was he vomiting it up because he'd eaten it too quickly or because of something else? He sighed and rolled over, forcing himself to sleep. He would tell sh*tty glasses about that later.

The next morning Eren worked to keep titans away from the group as they lowered the horses and wagons back down. Levi helped him this time so they managed to prevent any titans from getting remotely near the others. Once everyone was on the ground they quickly began their trek back to Wall Rose. Due to the fact that there was less than had left they'd be able to switch horses more often and would likely reach the wall the same day. Eren didn't care for any of that, he was more worried about how Mikasa and Armin would react when he got back. After all, he finally understood why they'd been so resistant to him leaving immediately. Expeditions were dangerous for most humans. Not for Eren though, just humans really.

"Eren! Titan to your left! Pay attention, idiot!" Levi bellowed. Immediately Eren was out of his saddle and taking the titan down. He landed back in the saddle and smiled sheepishly at Levi who merely clicked his tongue and continued checking the surroundings. Eren watched as they passed the first fort they'd stopped in last time. Even though they were moving quickly and the horses needed a break, they still weren't going to stop there. It had been left open when they left and now there was the risk of a titan infestation inside. Eren still didn't know why they'd left the gate open.

When they arrived at the second fort they did pause and let the horses catch a break while the rest of them ate lunch and refilled their tanks. After all, most people were getting low on gas. Eren in particular since he was taking out the majority of titans. Levi frowned and dragged Hanji off to speak with her. Her eyes widened.

"Oh? What's this, you're finally talking to me?" she crowed in delight. Levi glared at her.

"Maybe I'm dragging you away from the others so they don't see me beat you black and blue." She winced and Levi sighed. "It's about Eren."

"What about him?" Hanji asked. "Does he still hate me?"

"We've gotten past the 'hate' part but he still isn't happy with you. But no, it's not about that. It's about his eating." Immediately Hanji was all ears. She frowned and pulled Levi into a corner.

"Did you notice him not eating?" she asked. Levi nodded and Hanji sighed. "The whole time you were away I didn't see him eat once even though he always claimed he had. And with the fact that he doesn't show signs of fatigue or starvation, I can't comment on it."

"I got him to drink some soup last night." Hanji frowned.

"What happened?" she asked. Levi sighed.

"I woke up to him vomiting it up." Hanji stared at the wall, thinking before looking back at Levi.

"Any particular reason?" she asked. Levi shook his head.

"Not that is particularly definite. He did drink it while it was still hot so it might've been that." Hanji frowned before glancing at where Eren was sitting on the walls, watching the plains for any titans.

"I don't know what to tell you, Levi. I can't think of any reason why he reacted that way. We need to continue observing him if we want to figure out more." Levi nodded and they went back out.

"Saddle up everyone, we're heading for Trost." Erwin said. They nodded and hopped onto their horses before charging back out towards where Trost would be. As the wall grew closer, Eren frowned. There was a familiar scent tickling at his nose but he couldn't place what it was because of how faint it was. As they rode closer, Eren frowned at the sight of black smoke rising from inside the walls.

"That can't be good." Levi followed Eren's gaze and frowned. They broke from the small trees they'd been in and Eren's eyes widened in horror at the sight in front of him. The wall was breached. Eren let go of the horses he held the reins to and snapped the reins of the remaining one. He ignored Levi's shout for him to stop as he rode hard and fast towards the wall. Titans turned to look at him as they approached the breach but Eren ignored them, slicing their napes as he jumped out of the saddle and flew up the wall. He landed on the wall and his eyes widened at the sight of the burning city, screams reaching his ears. When he spoke, his voice sounded strange to his ears.

"What happened here?"

Chapter 26: Ab Ortu Avem Ignis

Chapter Text

Eren stared in horror at the town, his kin devouring all the humans they could. His eyes glowed with fury at the sight for a moment and then a spike of icy fear stabbed through his chest.

Mikasa...Armin! My humans, where?? His gaze flicked over the city, desperately trying to search for them. He heard someone land on the wall behind him and heard a sharp gasp from Levi.

"What the hell...what on earth happened while we were gone?" he muttered. Erwin landed next to him and frowned.

"The wall was only recently breached," he stated. Levi glared at him.

"And how exactly do you know that?" Erwin pointed to the other side where the gate still stood, open; letting civilians head through. Levi's eyes narrowed as he took in the sight before nodding.

"We should help keep titans away from the evacuees. After all, we don't want titans getting that close. Hopefully the other soldiers will be able to draw them away." Eren shook his head. The scent of so many humans in one place would definitely draw the attention of many titans. Unless they could all get through the gate, the titans would swarm them as soon as they caught their scent. Or maybe the amount of blood would distract them, muting their smell of the living humans. Eren gritted his teeth.

"Erwin. We fight?" he asked. Erwin glanced at him, hesitating for a moment before he sighed.

"Fine. Just be careful. We don't want to lose you." Eren nodded before stepping off the wall and plummeting like an arrow, or a diving hawk onto the nearest titan. In the blink of an eye, he'd killed it and was moving to the next one, his mind overcome with the overwhelming urge to kill.

Kill them. Destroy every last one. Kill every last one of these bastards! Just as he was about to take out another titan, a second grabbed his wires. He was jerked off course and was too shocked to act. He saw the titan lift him to its mouth and then a blur of green and silver flashed out of the sky and slashed through the nape. It let go of his wires and Eren shot onto a nearby roof. Levi landed in front of him, silver eyes almost glowing with rage. He stalked up to Eren and grabbed the front of his shirt in his hand.

"Are you f*cking trying to get yourself killed? I don't want to lose anymore of my squad so keep your f*cking head on straight and pay attention. Yes, we're going to kill these f*ckers. You may be good, Eren, but if you ignore your surroundings then you'll be titan fodder in a second. So keep your f*cking eyes on the surroundings and don't die." With that he shoved Eren away and glared at him. Eren whined softly.

I made my little one worried. He realized. He shook his head.

"Sorry. I...I nervous and angry." Levi sighed.

"I know. Just be f*cking careful, you idiot." Eren nodded and Levi shot off to kill some more titans. Eren was about to follow him when he caught a faint scent. Over all the overpowering blood, he could smell something he'd smelled for years. He turned and shot towards the source of the smell. He whipped around the corner and his eyes widened in horror. Armin was dangling limply in the grasp of a titan. He shot forward and his blades sliced the nape before it could drop Armin into its gaping maw.

"Armin!" He shouted, flipping in midair to shoot back and grab his friend. He set him down on the roof and stared at him for a moment. "Armin! Armin, okay? Arm, please I need know okay you?" His speech continued to break down as he panicked. Then slowly he saw a familiar light return to Armin's eyes.

"Eren?"

"Armin!" Eren held Armin tightly to his chest, refusing to let go until Armin began to soothingly rub his back.

"Hey, I'm fine Eren. I'm fine. I'm okay, you can relax." Eren pulled back and then his hand whipped out and slapped Armin. Armin's eyes widened in shock and Eren glared at him.

"Don't give you up ever! Even if titan come to eat you, never never ever lay down die," he hissed. His brilliant green eyes shone with unshed tears and Armin nodded.

"I'm sorry Eren. I promise I won't give up ever again, okay?" Eren nodded and tugged Armin into another tight hug. Armin chuckled. "Okay but seriously Eren, we should go before another titan tries to eat us."

"Yeah. Eren let go and stood up, pulling Armin to his feet. "Where Mika?"

"I don't know. She got placed with people in charge of evacuating the civilians so we ended up on different squads. She's probably somewhere near the second gate right now. We should head towards the depot, refill, and then see if we can find her. How does that sound?" Eren nodded.

"Let's go." They were quick to realize that the depot was swarming with titans, annoyingly enough. There shouldn't have even been that many humans in it at the time the place was overrun with titans. Eren clicked his tongue in annoyance as they landed on a nearby rooftop. Armin hesitantly tapped his gas tanks.

"I'm almost out of gas, Eren. You probably are too." Eren hesitantly tapped his and winced at the overly hollow sound. Because he'd been taking down titans even before arriving at Trost, he'd used up quite a bit of his gas. More people landed on the roof and Eren looked up, his gaze sweeping over the other trainees. They seemed surprised to see him.

"What the-Eren, how are you here?" Jean asked. Eren glanced towards the other gate.

"Expedition came back." Murmurs went around the group, hope lighting in their eyes.

"Does that mean the Scouts are here? Can they help us?" Eren winced.

"Probably not. I was far ahead of main group, seen smoke and came running. Captain, Commander, and I are only Scouts here I think." The hope flickered but then someone spoke up.

"You mean to tell me that Captain Levi is here?? That's great!!" There was a thud of boots landing behind Eren and the others stared in open awe and hope. Eren turned to see Levi gritting his jaw, likely in frustration.

"Captain?" Levi's gaze flicked to Eren.

"We need to clear the depot." A hush went through the group and Levi sighed, eyes narrowing further. "We need the supplies. The gas, specifically. Sure we could have enough gas to get to the walls but we wouldn't make it all the way up and the likelihood of us getting high enough that we're out of the titans reach is low. Our best shot is the supply depot, even if it's crawling with f*cking titans."

"Alright, let's go." Eren turned towards the depot and the others stared at him in shock.

"You're just going to blindly rush to your death??" Eren turned and glared at Jean.

"If Captain says it's the only way, I trust him. Do you not?" Jean flinched and Levi rolled his eyes, pushing past them.

"Ignore them, Eren. If the cowards are too afraid to do anything then they can die on their own." Eren glanced between Armin and Levi before shooting Armin an apologetic look and following Levi. The others stared at them in silence before Marco broke it.

"Wait!" Levi paused and turned, glaring at Marco. Marco pulled out his gas canisters.

"My tanks are about half full, switch with me." Levi raised an eyebrow but he quickly pulled out his own canisters, replacing them with Marco's and handing his to Marco. He nodded to Marco.

"Thanks, cadet." Marco smiled and nodded, saluting to them.

"I figure they'll be more use in your hands then in mine." Levi nodded and took off, heading towards the depot. Eren glanced at Marco and smiled.

"Thank you Marco." Marco nodded.

"Are you sure you'll be okay with the amount in your own tanks, Eren?" Eren chuckled.

"You can't worry about me anymore. I'll be fine, trust me." He shot after Levi, slowly gaining ground. Levi glanced back at him once before continuing his path forward, avoiding the titans in their path. He easily wove through the narrow streets as he grew closer to the depot. Eren grinned and followed him, proud of the skills his little one was displaying. They paused for a moment and Levi glanced at him.

"You ready?" Eren grinned.

"Let's do this." A smirk tugged at Levi's lips and he nodded.

"Watch my back." They shot in opposite directions and quickly made short work of the titans they came across. Levi flashed in the edges of Eren's vision, a silver and green blur. Eren himself was flying through the air, eagerly killing the titans he came across. Eren loved it, the spinning and flashing, the blades and blood, the intricate dance he and Levi participated in. A duet for death. He laughed as he landed on the corpse of the last one that had been swarming the depot. Levi landed next to him. "Let's go through the windows. Judging by the state of the doors, I can only assume that some smaller titans came in."

Eren reached down to his pocket where he held his flare gun and flares before shooting a green one. Levi glanced at him and Eren shrugged.

"The others should know it's clear." Levi nodded and they crashed through the window. Levi glared at the terrified recruits who were huddled under the tables.

"You guys the ones who are supposed to resupply the others?" he asked.One of them, a girl with blood splattered on her face nodded. Her eyes were haunted and Levi glared at them. "Get the f*ck out of my face, you f*cking useless sacks of sh*t."

The sound of shattering windows drew their attention as the others arrived. Levi straightened and they stared at him and Eren with a new level of awe. Levi clicked his tongue before turning back to the supply squad.

"Are there titans downstairs?" One of them nodded.

"A couple of three meters...sir..." Levi glared at him and rolled his eyes.

"We're going to have to think of a way to kill them." His eyes narrowed. "Problem is we won't have space to maneuver."

"Sir?" Armin raised his hand and Levi's silver eyes flashed over to him.

"What is it, mushroom? And for f*cks sack, put your hand down, this isn't a f*cking school house." The others stared in shock at the nickname. Armin slowly lowered his hand.

"What if we had people on the rafters while others were on the lift, acting as bait? Then those who were on the rafters can attack them from behind." Levi raised an eyebrow, studying Armin with a different look in his eyes.

I do believe you are a mini Erwin. Whatever, that is probably the best that we'll get. Who's going to be on the rafters aside from Eren and I? Preferably someone who's likely to actually hit the target." Armin started to lift his hand before remembering what Levi had said earlier. He was still slightly confused by the mini Erwin comment but it didn't matter right now.

"I think that Reiner, Annie, Bertolt, Jean, Marco, and-" Another crash interrupted them and they stared as Erwin appeared at the same time as Mikasa. He landed easily and nodded to Levi.

"I saw the flare and figured I'd refill my tanks. What are you all doing up here?" Levi clicked his tongue.

"We were coming up with a plan mini you came up with to take care of the f*cking titans down below before you two interrupted." Erwin tilted his head for a moment before nodding.

"What have you come up with so far?" Levi turned back to Armin and made a 'go on' gesture. Armin swallowed nervously before going over the plan.

"We'll have some of the trainees act as bait while eight people are up on the rafters waiting to take out the titans when they get close enough. The people on the rafters that I came up with so far were Captain, Eren, Reiner, Annie, Bertolt, Jean, Marco, and Connie. But now that you're here I think we should switch Connie and Marco for you and Mikasa." At that moment Eren felt arms wrap around his waist as Mikasa attached herself to him. He sighed and tried uselessly to pull away.

"Mika, let go," he said. He felt her shake her head against his shoulder. Erwin raised an eyebrow at the display while Levi glared murderously.

"Lover?" Erwin asked. Eren shook his head quickly.

"NO! No, Mika is my kind of sister." Erwin nodded as Armin came over to try and help peel her arms off Eren. Levi and Erwin watched in amusem*nt and irritation as the rest of the group came over to try and peel Mikasa off of Eren. They stared as the others pulled on her from behind while Eren tried to move forward. Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance and stepped forward. The others were surprised and shocked when he grabbed Mikasa by the back of her shirt and yanked her off Eren. She glared at him and glared right back.

"We've got more important things to do right now. f*ck off or wait until it's done, got it?" She glared at him for a moment before nodding. Levi sighed. "Alright then. Let's get this sh*t show over with." The others nodded and followed, most heading into the lift while those on the rafters took the stairs. They took position and Erwin smirked when he saw the way Levi and Mikasa shot murderous glares at each other behind Eren's back. He patted Eren's back and immediately felt those glares turn onto him. He bit back a laugh.

They took position and the lift came down. They waited until the group on the lift was almost about to be eaten before Erwin called the command.

"NOW!" They launched themselves off the rafters, slicing through the napes of each of the titans. Once that was done they eagerly refilled their gas tanks before shooting out. Eren glanced at where Marco and Jean seemed to be having a talk. He shrugged, still completely oblivious to the Ackerman vs Ackerman battle of wills going on. Everyone else kept shooting strange looks at the two as they glared at each other.

A rumble ran through the ground and Eren shivered, a bad feeling setting in his chest. He shot out and his eyes widened. The others who'd headed out earlier were already heading towards the armored titan that had appeared.

"f*ck." Levi muttered. Eren's eyes narrowed and he shot toward sit, ignoring Levi's shout telling him to wait. The others had stopped after Reiner had been smacked out of the air. Eren shot towards it, blades raised when Reiner saw him.

"Eren don't! It's intelligent!" Eren was horrified when it grabbed his wires and glared at him before throwing him towards the broken gate. He heard Mikasa and Armin screaming his name while he briefly saw an expression of horror on Levi's face. He flew over the wall and he let out a snarl as he thought of that titan killing his friends and breaking the gate. He crashed down on something hard, briefly recognizing the screams of his name from around him. He must've landed on his skeleton in the Scout's wagons. But his mind was stuck on the armored titan.

I'll kill it!

I'll kill it!

I'LL KILL IT!!

Lightning flashed down from the sky and Eren felt more than heard the challenge roaring from his throat.

Chapter 27: Transformatio

Chapter Text

Hanji and the others had been way behind the main group, busy fending off titans and transporting the skeleton. Her jaw dropped when they broke through the treeline and saw the massive hole in Wall Rose.

"NO!!!" she screamed. Now how was she supposed to get her precious samples to the castle?? Stupid titans, getting in her way of possible research!

"Squad leader, what's that?" Nifa cried out. Hanji glared at her.

"What does it f*cking look like?!? A giant hole in the wall, obviously!" she hissed. Nifa shook her head, pointing up into the sky.

"No, not that.THAT." Hanji followed Nifa's finger and her eyes narrowed in confusion. There was a small speck comingoverthe wall. It wasn't a bird, it was too large to be that, but it was also too high up to be a human using 3DM gear. It grew closer and Hanji's eyes widened in horror at the realization that it was wearing a torn, green, Scouting Corps cloak.

"It's a person!" she said. Her heart swelled with fear, feeling like it would burst out of her chest. Something hadthrownthis person over the wall. What on earth could've possibly done that??

"Squad leader, it's going to land on the carts!" Moblit cried out. Hanji's eyes widened and she glanced back at the crystal skeleton which would most likelynotmake a comfortable landing spot.

Whoever it is, they're going to die on impact.She thought.Or at least, they'll be lucky if they do.

She looked back at the person and her eyes widened at the familiar tuft of messy hair.

"Eren?" she whispered in horror. Eren slammed onto the skeleton and Hanji flinched at the plethora of snapping noises. She took a look at him and shivered in horror and disgust. There wasno waythe human bones were supposed to bend that way. "EREN!" she cried. She rode closer and stared in sadness before her eyes widened in horror once again.

He's still alive.She realized.

"EREN! Please, ANSWER ME!" she sobbed. His brilliant green eyes were burning with hate, too much adrenaline protecting him from the pain he should've been in.

"I'll kill it," he murmured. Hanji stared at him, tears flowing down her cheeks. With his limbs broken like that, he would be lucky to use them again, let alone kill any titans. She moved closer, wanting to give him a painkiller.

"Eren, sweetheart, can you stay still for me?" she asked as she held up the syringe. Eren didn't respond to her though and she watched in awe as his eyes gained specks of gold in them.

"I'll kill it!" he hissed. The gold was now a ring around his pupils, growing with each second. A strange crackling sensation filled the air around him and Hanji's horse backed up without her wanting it to. It tossed its head in fear and whinnied.

"Woah girl, what's wrong?" Hanji asked, trying to reclaim control of her horse.

"I'LL KILL IT!!"Eren roared. A flash of lightning came shooting down from the sky, hitting Eren. Hanji jerked back, avoiding being struck by it if it changed direction. The explosion had knocked several more people away and a cloud of steam billowed through the air. Hanji coughed, trying to see through the steam. She watched as a massive silhouette rose up from the steam, emerald eyes glowing with what could only be described ashatred.Hanji's jaw dropped as she realized that she recognized the titan. This was the one that had looked after Levi back when he'd been injured in the forest! But how was it here?? It turned towards the wall and she watched as it charged off, heading straight for the breach.

"Squad leader, the skeleton!" Moblit cried. Hanji glanced over and her jaw dropped when she saw that not only was the wagonempty, it was completely destroyed. As if a titan had stepped on it. She froze as something occurred to her, eyes and head turning to look at the titan heading straight for the walls.

"It's not possible...is it?" she whispered. Had Erenfusedwith the skeleton, allowing the titan to come back?? Is that what this was? Her eyes widened further as she realized something.

Eren knew the titan's forest like the back of his hand, even though it was his first time there. What if...what if it wasn't really his first time there though? What if Eren actually was the titan and somehow survived when we took him out of his nape? Her head whipped up, a manic grin on her face.

"Follow that titan but don't kill it!" she cried. She whipped her horse into action, chasing after the behemoth. Her grin hurt her face even though it was one of her most common expressions. "Iwillsolve the mystery that is this titan!"

Eren rose up from the steam, surprised that he'd managed to return to his true form. He'd never had the chance to experiment so he didn't know if it was just him or if it was because his crystalized bones had been where he landed. Either way, he was going to make that stupid, abnormal titanPAY. He completely ignored Hanji and the science division, more focused on getting the armored out of the walls.

He reached the gate and inhaled, roaring as loud as he could. Thanks to the walls, it echoed further, carrying his challenge to his target. The armored titan turned, peering towards him over the buildings, growling. Eren roared again at it and was pleased when it roared back, accepting his challenge. It stalked towards him through the streets and Eren waiting for it. It paused in the streets before getting into a running position and charging at him.

Eren stood still, waiting for the last moment, before dropping to his back as the titan ran over him. Its' eyes widened in surprise and Eren attacked, using his powerful legs to kick up and send it flying. He heard a whooping noise that he could only assume was Hanji as he turned to face the now furious abnormal. It snarled at him, growling and spitting in an intimidation technique. Eren simply pulled himself into the standard stance that the trainees had learned, thathehad learned. At this point he could practicallyhearHanji salivating.

But now was not the time to get distracted. He had an enemy to kill.

Levi landed on the wall, having heard the first familiar roar. His eyes swept over the city, desperately searching for the creature that should be dead. The armored titan turned towards the gate and Levi followed his gaze. His heart leaped to his throat at the sight of the titan that had saved him glaring right at the armored. It roared again and the armored roared back at it before slowly stalking through the streets. Oddly enough, he noticed that normal titans had curled up against the ground, soft whimpers escaping them. Almost as if they were hoping that if they made themselves smaller the titan-killing titan would overlook them and the blood staining their faces.

Levi shot through the city, killing what titans he came across. He arrived at the breach just in time to see his titan fall backwards and kick the armored over him. The armored roared in frustration and Levi grinned. He soared up the wall and found Hanji, scribbling in a notebook that was barely escaping the drool pouring down her chin. She glanced at him and grinned.

"Look, look, Levi! It knows the standard stance! Ah, this titan is truly precious, I NEED samples!" she said eagerly. Levi glared at her, not happy at all with the idea of her taking his titan apart.

"Hanji, where did this titan appear from?" Erwin asked, landing next to them to observe the fight. Hanji scratched her head.

"Funny thing, that." Levi glared at her and Erwin raised an eyebrow.

"Just spit it out," Levi hissed. She glanced at him before sighing.

"So, Eren came flying over the walls and landed on the skeleton. Then there was a lightning strike and an explosion and then boom, titan. The skeleton and Eren are gone. My current theory is that Eren fused with it somehow, but I need more samples before I can be sure. Ah, the incredible research I could do!" Levi's eyes widened and he looked back at the titan, recognizing the bright green eyes from two different faces. The curious almost puppy dog eyed titan and the most skilled member of his squad.

"Eren...of course, how did I not realize?" he whispered in shock. Erwin glanced at him.

"What do you mean, Levi?" he asked. Levi stared at the titan.

"I named that titan Eren back when it had saved me. How did I not recognize the similarities??" he hissed. Hanji rolled her eyes.

"Probably because one is a fifteen meter titan and the other is a human kid? But the same name is a strange occurrence. I'll have to look into if that has any other connection to the titan!" They watched asErengrabbed the armored in a headlock, leaning back to start snapping the titans' neck. Their jaws dropped.

Eren glared at the armored, waiting for it to make the first move. It charged forward and he slipped under its' grasping hands, slamming a fist into its face. It roared in pain as it fell back, glaring at him again. He didn't give it a chance to think of anything, rushing forward and grabbing its arm, yanking it into a painful hold that would snap its arm off. It jerked away from him but broke some of the plates on it at the same time.

It seemed to realize that it had to fight smart with him as Eren roared at it again, a warning, a chance to escape. All it had to do was run away and Eren would not pursue it. He wouldn't try to stop it if it ran away from him as he thought it was more important to seal the breach. But no, this titan had to fight.

It roared back at him and charged again, shedding some of the plates on its legs to lighten itself and move faster. Eren was surprised by the speed but managed to whip to the side to avoid being hit. It swung a fist to the side, clipping him in the shoulder. Eren winced as he realized that the plates themselves were uneven, more like sandpaper than anything. He growled at the armored as his side healed, waiting for it to strike again.

He pulled himself into a stance that he had seen Annie use on multiple occasions, knowing that her fighting style would work well with this titan.

It'll be like me going against Reiner all over again.Eren thought with a grin. He growled through his teeth and the armored lunged forward, arms attempting to grapple with him. Eren went under his hands and slammed a fist against the titans vulnerable throat. It choked and he took that chance, swinging his legs up and onto its shoulders, locking them in place. He threw himself backwards, dragging the armored with him as they slammed into the ground. The armored attempted to pry his legs away from its neck but he used his hands to yank its arms backwards and up around, snapping some of the bones in the shoulder.

It roared and he leaned back, using the pressure to slowly snap the plates over its nape. It must've realized what he was doing as it began struggling further. It tried to take a bite out of Eren but that only caused Eren to snarl and rip one of its arms off. It roared in pain and Eren felt himself grin cruelly. He continued snapping the plates. His eyes widened as he felt it snap into several pieces. The armored realized what had happened, desperately thrashing in Eren's hold.

It roared and forced itself to its feet, managing to pull free of Eren's grasp. Its jaw was broken, from what Eren couldn't remember, but it glared at him and desperately attempted to fend off his vicious attacks. However, Eren had the advantage of being light on his feet, able to spin around the armored. He slashed at the nape, concentrating on the feeling of his fingers tearing through the broken plate. His eyes widened when he realized that he felt something strange about his fingers. There was somethinginsidethem.

He focused on it and watched in awe as his fingers crystalized as claws. His eyes narrowed with glee as the armored titan realized just how much trouble it was in. It attempted to flee, but that only made its nape available to him. With one hand he slashed at the armored's legs while the other slashed at its nape. It managed to get a hand up in time to prevent him from destroying the nape but he did cut its hand to smithereens and took out one of its legs. It collapsed and whirled, facing him as he advanced on it.

Kill it...Eren thought.Toy with it. Make it suffer. Make itPAY.

He grinned through a snarl at it and was pleased to see the fear that appeared in its eyes. It attempted to fling itself away from him but he caught its leg and dragged it back, claws digging deep into its flesh. It roared in agony as his claws made their way up its torso, tearing through the armor it was so well known for. He grinned before ripping off the undamaged leg, earning a howl of tortured pain. Eren could practically feel himself smiling, even if that was impossible for his form. He ripped its armor to shreds and broke its arms before turning it over.

It roared in pain, pleading for the agony to be over. Eren smirked and slashed his claws through the nape slowly, dragging out the pain of the most sensitive part of a titans' body. It let out a scream of torment as he toyed with the delicate flesh of its nape, being careful not to kill it too quickly, dragging his claws along the sides of the nape. It tried to thrash away from him but Eren merely sighed and brushed his claws across its life point in the nape, the one spot that would immediately kill it if damaged. It froze before attempting to slowly reach for his hand to stop him. Eren grinned viciously and twisted the armored so it was looking straight into his eyes as his claws flexed, digging into the area surrounding the life point.

It screamed with pain and Eren slashed the nape with his claws, tearing out the life point. Its eyes darkened as it fell, already starting to dissolve. He noted some of the broken armor plates weren't dissolving. He grabbed them and carried them with him towards the breach. He entered Trost again, eyes flicking over the city. Oddly enough he couldn't see any titans. He set the plates to the side before roaring.

I'll kill all of you!He thought. Titans screamed in fear and some of them attempted to run past him, escape his wrath, but Eren simply cut them down. When no more titans appeared before him, Eren went to the breach, frowning at the sight of the hole. He stood in it and was mildly surprised when he felt something land on his nape. He glanced to the side, peering out of the corner of his eye. His eyes widened.

Levihad landed on his shoulder. Eren let out a soft purr in greeting, earning a raised eyebrow. Levi's gaze was conflicted. His mouth opened to speak and Eren listened to the single word said.

"Why?" Eren smiled as best he could in a titan and reached out to pat Levi's head. He opened his mouth, forcing his throat to contort and say the words he wanted to proclaim.

"I...protect...my...little ones," he said. Levi's jaw dropped and he faintly heard an eager shriek from Hanji. Eren stepped into the breach. It wasn't that big, barely enough for him and the armored to fit through. He grabbed the edges, and focused on the feeling of something inside him.

Levi and the others watched as Eren toyed with the armored, tearing it apart for fun before heading back into the city to clear out the titans. When he paused in front of the breach, Levi landed on his shoulder, wanting to see how he'd react. A purr reached his ears to his shock. He raised an eyebrow at it, earning a soft huff. Those eyes...they were still the same.

The brilliant emerald jewels stared at him with happiness in them and it almost hurt him to ask the question he wanted to.

"Why?" he whispered. Eren's ears twitched and it opened its mouth. Levi was shocked when Eren actually spoke to him.

"I...protect...my...little ones."His jaw dropped, shocked beyond words. It could actuallytalk?!? He dropped off Eren's shoulder when Eren entered the breach, studying the hole itself. He watched as it grabbed the edges and shut its eyes. His eyes widened as he saw the arms and legs crystalizing, blocking the breach.

"No, no, no!!" he shouted. He shot back up on its shoulder. It glanced at him, eyes soft. "Why?" he demanded. Why was it getting rid of itself?? He saw the edges of its eyes crinkle in a smile.

"Little one...be...safe...I keep...little one...safe."Levi felt tears, actualf*ckingTEARS, bead in his eyes. Hanji was shrieking behind them and Levi watched as the neck crystalized, slowly freezing the titan in place. His eyes narrowed.

"NO!" he hissed. He landed on its nape and, ignoring Erwin shouting at him to stop, began slowly carving his way through the nape. The titan let out a low grumble, the only indication Levi got that it was hurting. He peeled the skin and flesh away faster when he noted the crystals slowly creeping towards him. He ripped some of the flesh up, ignoring the burns he got and stared in shock at the tuft of brown hair he found. He quickly began attempting to cut Eren out, eventually abandoning his blades as the crystals got too close in favor of yanking Eren out through sheer force. He fell backwards as the flesh holding Eren released and the crystals covered where he'd been.

Levi lowered himself and Eren slowly to the ground, ignoring Hanji as she shrieked and practically danced around them, in favor of looking at Eren. He appeared to be asleep and had strange marks on his cheeks, as if he'd clawed at his own cheeks or his tears had formed permanent indents. Levi sighed in relief as he curled Eren protectively against his chest.

"You're not going to sacrifice yourself on me, Eren. I won't let you," he promised darkly. Hanji laughed and Erwin sighed.

"Let's just get him somewhere private," the commander said with an exhausted sigh. Levi nodded and stood, carrying the unconscious boy in his arms.

I won't let you go again, Eren.

Chapter 28: Disputationem

Chapter Text

The Garrison and Military Police members gawked in shock at the sight of the crystalized titan peering back at the city with an almost gentle look on its massive face. They shuddered and Nile spoke first, looking from the skeleton to the Survey Corps members collecting the shards of what appeared to be the armored titan's plates to the city in ruins.

"What the hell happened here??" he demanded. Erwin landed next to them and Pixis turned to look at him.

"Any idea what happened here, Erwin?" Pixis asked. Nile whipped around, furious and confused. He glared at Erwin who sighed.

"Not really. By the time the Survey Corps arrived the hole was already there. Myself, Captain Levi, and a member of Levi's squad immediately assisted in killing the titans inside the walls. We managed to clear the depot so the trainees could refill their gas tanks and that was when we noticed the armored titan had appeared. Our other member attempted to attack it but was knocked off course and rendered unconscious."

"Are they alright?" Pixis asked. Nile glared at him.

"I could care less about a member of the Survey Corps! I just want to know what happened to the armored titan and why we have a crystal titan blocking where the gate would be!" he spat. Pixis raised an eyebrow at him before taking a swig from his flask. Erwin nodded to Pixis.

"Thank you for his concern. Our recruit is currently in a coma from his impact but other than that, he's fine. As for what happened, I will get to that, Nile. Just be patient." Nile rolled his eyes and gestured to the titan.

"The nobility are going to want an answer for what's going on as soon as possible. I can't just say that I don't know because a certainsomeonechose to take forever telling us what the hell happened!" Pixis snorted and when Nile whirled on him, stared down in the city before taking another drink from his flask. Nile sighed and turned back to Erwin. Erwin sighed but continued telling what had happened.

"After that, a strange new titan appeared in the gate. It almost seemed to be challenging the armored. Or at least that's what it seemed like from the way they didn't seem to get along. The armored charged at the newer titan and was kicked on its back by the other one. The newer titan managed to lure it outside the walls before brutally killing the armored titan. It then came back inside the walls and proceeded to eradicate all the titans inside the walls before sealing the breach." Pixis eyes widened and his gaze flicked from the city to the crystalized titan to Erwin.

"You're saying that thing sealing the wall is the titan that helped us?" he asked. Erwin nodded.

"I watched it crystalize myself. There's no mistake. That titan is the one that helped us and then proceeded to sacrifice itself for us." Nile snorted.

"As if. It's probably just making it so other titans can't come through because it wants to eat us all." Pixis and Erwin stared at him before sighing. Nile glared. "What??"

"You do realize that it can't move. It's crystal, Nile. It's not going to be eating anyone," Pixis sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Nile flushed red from embarrassment and whirled on Erwin for support but Erwin simply sighed and rubbed between his eyebrows. Nile glared at them.

"Fine, so let's say it doesn't want to eat us. Why would it help us? Why fight the armored and prevent other titans from enjoying their all-you-can-eat-buffet?" he hissed. Pixis nodded, looking to Erwin.

"Do you have any idea, Erwin?" Erwin shook his head.

"No. It couldn't communicate with us and didn't display any reason why it would help us. However, I'm not going to question it since it allowed us to be safe and prevented the armored from destroying the second gate and letting titans inside wall Rose." The others nodded and Mike landed next to Erwin. He whispered something to Erwin and Erwin nodded.

"What is it?" Nile asked suspiciously. Erwin glanced at him.

"We've collected all the shards and pieces of the armored titan's plating. We're going to be studying them to see if we can figure out how that was possible on a titan. And if there's more like it. Anyway, that means I need to leave now. I look forward to seeing you." Nile stiffened.

"Why do you get to study the plating??" he demanded. Erwin turned and looked at him, an expression of innocent shock on his face.

"Because we're the ones who specialize in titan research, are we not? What exactly would you be doing with them if you had them, Nile?" he asked. Nile sputtered and Erwin walked away, Mike followed him after snorting derisively at Nile. Nile turned to talk with Pixis out of indignation but found the older man had disappeared. He cursed to himself, glaring at the titan that seemed to be mocking him.

-~*~-

"What's Eren's status?" Erwin asked Hanji when he arrived. She glanced up at him and sighed.

"He's perfectly fine. Any injuries he had from landing on the skeleton are completely gone, not to mention he's completely healthy. As far as I can tell, he should be waking up soon. Actually, he should've woken up already. I don't know what's keeping him asleep. All I know is that it would be better if he woke up soon." Erwin tilted his head in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Hanji nodded her head towards the window. Erwin went and looked down, confused. Those who were relatively new were training under Levi. Erwin took a second look at Levi, confused as to why he could practically see a murderous black cloud floating around him. He glanced back at Hanji in question and she sighed.

"He's been like that for a few hours. The veterans have been cleaning the castle since two hours ago and he's been murderous for close to three hours now." Erwin frowned down as he watched Levi completely decimate a poor soldier.

"What set him off?" he asked. Hanji glanced away. Erwin's eyes narrowed. "Hanji."

"It may have been something I said. You have to understand, he was preventing me from treating Eren and maybe running a few tests. So I told him to get out for a few hours as he wouldn't do anything for Eren in the way he was. That was three hours ago." Erwin sighed.

"So, let me get this straight. He was hovering over Eren, you tried to treat Eren as well as run a few tests, he got upset, and you told him to leave. Am I correct?" Hanji hesitantly nodded. Erwin sighed. "What tests were you trying to run?"

"I just wanted to draw some blood and take a saliva sample. That's all, I swear! But when he saw me coming near Eren with a syringe, I thought he was about to kill me. Or at least break one of my arms." Erwin nodded and opened the window.

"Levi!" he called. Levi turned his silver eyes on Erwin, causing a shiver to run down Erwin's spine from the intensity of his gaze. "Come up here, we need to talk!"

Hanji stared at him in horror before she sighed. She glared at Erwin as he closed the window. "If I die today, it's on you."

There was a knock on the door, three sharp raps, signalling that Levi was already here. Erwin opened the door and let the smaller man into the room. Immediately Levi shot past him, ignoring Hanji in favor of checking over Eren and even tucking the boy in. After he'd assessed that Hanji hadn't done anything to Eren, Levi turned and looked at them. He glared at them and Hanji sighed. Erwin raised an eyebrow.

"You've grown close, haven't you?" he asked. Levi shrugged.

"He's the last member of my squad, of course I'm worried." Erwin raised an eyebrow.

"You were never this concerned for any other member of your squad," he commented. His breath hitched when the black cloud that had been fading over Levi came back full force, almost swallowing them as he glared at them.

"Pardon? Did you say something, Erwin?" Erwin frowned, forcing himself to ignore the deadly aura Levi was putting off.

"Levi, why are you so attached to Eren? Yes, he's the titan that saved you and he was someone who pulled you back to yourself after the others died, but other than that what has he done? Why do you care so much about him?" Erwin asked. Levi looked back down at the sleeping boy and shook his head.

"I don't really know. It's like some part of him calls to me. Like I feel as if Ineedto be near him. To make sure he's safe. To protect and watch over him. To make himmine." They shuddered at the dark, possessive tone in his voice. His eyes were distant, as if seeing something that wasn't them. His gaze was locked on Eren but was filled with possessiveness and fierce desire.

"Levi?" Erwin asked nervously. Levi glanced up at him and sighed.

"You wouldn't understand it, even if I did tell you." Erwin tilted his head and Levi attempted to explain. "I'm not consciously thinking of this. It's just...in me. Like some deep, powerful part of me is screaming at me to make him mine, claim him, mark him, and protect him."

"Why do you say that?" Hanji asked. Levi shook his head.

"I have no clue. I don't know why I say it or what it means, just that I want it. I want itbadly." Hanji frowned. She hesitantly stepped towards Levi, hands raised in a submissive gesture.

"Levi...maybe it would be best if you spent some time away from Eren?" she suggested. Immediately he glared at her. She continued anyway. "Think about it. Until you know what exactly it is you want, it would be safest and best for both of you if you were to spend some time away from Eren. That way you can figure out what you want without potentially hurting him."

Levi paused, thinking over her words. For a moment his gaze became silver again before he shook his head and it faded to its usual steel color and he nodded, fists clenching.

"Okay. That'll be...best," he said through gritted teeth. He stepped back and they watched as his eyes became silver for a second before he turned around and stalked out. Hanji frowned.

"What the hell is going on that's affecting him so badly??" she asked incredulously. Erwin glanced at the sleeping recruit.

"I think we all want to know what the hell is going on." He sighed and sat in a chair next to Eren, staring at the peaceful face. He sighed to himself. He spoke to the sleeping boy, speaking his thoughts. "You're causing a lot of problems, you know that?"

Eren's eyelids flicked as his eyes moved behind them, deep asleep.

-~*~-

"Where am I?" Eren asked, looking around at the massive mountain palace he was in. Giant, stone titans stared down at him from where they held their swords and spears and maces and staffs. A whisper reached his ears and Eren turned his head towards where it was coming from. Further down the massive passage. Eren slowly began to walk towards it and as it slowly grew louder he began to run. He didn't even notice when he changed, returning to his true form that was now equal with the size of the stone titans.

Come, prince.

"Who's there?" he tried to call. All that came out was a muffled roar, as if he were underwater. The voice stopped and Eren finally paid attention to where he was. Massive stone steps lead up to where a throne sat, overlooking everything.

At long last you've awoken from your slumber.

Eren whirled attempting to find who was speaking. There was no one there but the path he'd come down was gone now. His head whipped from side to side as he struggled to find the invisible person in a frightening situation. Fearfully, Eren attempted to activate his crystals to fight whatever was out there. However, instead of crystal, flames flickered to life on his hands before spreading up his body. Eren let out a fearful cry and tried to swat them out but all that did was make them burn faster.

"What's happening?" he screamed, roaring out loud.

It's alright. You are merely coming into your power.

The flames began to burn him, turning his skin black as he screamed for relief from the fire. Eren desperately rolled on the ground before standing back up, attempting to put out the flames eating at his flesh.

You will be reformed, stronger than before.

Eren's vision began to go black as the fire consumed his form, collapsing to the floor as his body turned to ash and clay.

Prince of the phoenix titans.

-~*~-

Eren shot up, head connecting with something. He yelped in pain and heard Hanji cursing from the pain. Eren forced his eyes to focus, taking in the sight of the Survey Corps headquarters. Hanji grinned wryly at him from a few feet away.

"You have a really hard head," she commented. Eren realized that she had been what he'd hit upon waking and looked down.

"Sorry," he apologized. She shook her head.

"It's not a big deal. Besides...there are so many things I want to ask you." Eren glanced up, confused by her intense tone. That was a tone of voice she'd only used when it came to titans. He glanced up and flinched at her face. She had a manic look in her eyes and was grinning at him. "Let's have a little chat, Eren."

Chapter 29: Veritatem Revelandam

Chapter Text

Eren shifted uneasily in the blankets, hoping,praying, that they didn't already know about him. If they knew...they would kill him. He forced himself to be relieved at least a little bit with the knowledge that if they wanted him dead, he'd already be dead.

"A chat about what?" he asked, eyes flicking around the room as he searched for potential exits. He could faintly hear shuffling noises behind the door so there was likely at least one person waiting there and the window led straight to the training yard, not the best place for a titan to appear. Hanji tapped her pencil against her notepad, drawing his attention back.

"How much of the battle do you remember?" she asked, calculating eyes searching his own. Eren swallowed nervously.

"What part?" he asked, trying to find a way around her questions.

"How about right after you and the others cleared the supply depot? That seems like a good place to start for me. I've already caught the basics of what happened before then from the others, but I want to hear about what happened after from you." Eren shifted again, eyes looking down. Hanji reached over, placing the pen under his chin and tilting his head up. "Now now, don't hide those pretty eyes of yours."

"Um well...the others had already flown out and when we followed them, we saw the armored titan." Eren said, eyes flicking away from her as he reached up and shifted his bangs to try and cover his eyes. Mikasa and Armin had often told him that his eyes made him an open book. They could read every emotion in his eyes and he figured Hanji was trying to do the same. She merely brushed his bangs aside, scolding him lightly.

"Eren, look at me when we're talking, okay? Now. What happened after you saw the armored titan?" she asked. Eren nodded slowly, forcing himself to try and stay calm despite her staring at him with that grin still pinned to her lips and the frightening light in her eyes.

"I engaged it, attempting to take it down. It grabbed me and threw me as far as it could, going even over the walls." Hanji nodded, scribbling down what he said while never taking her eyes off him.

"Do you remember where you landed?" Eren sighed, frustrated.

"Hanji can we please drop the pretenses? Ask me what you want to." Her grin spread, earning a shiver from Eren.

"Very well then, I won't hesitate. Eren, are you aware that you turned into a titan?" Eren nodded.

"I'm aware of that fact, yes." Hanji grinned further, stretching her face into something that resembled a titan more than a human. She scribbled something down on her paper before looking up at him.

"Do you know which titan you turned into?" He felt a shiver run down his spine at her searching, inquisitive stare. Like he was a titan she wanted to take apart and study. He nodded slowly.

"I turned into the titan that saved Levi back when he nearly died in titan territory. A fifteen meter class titan with brown hair, pointed ears, no lips, green eyes, and tan skin. The titan also had a split jaw where the teeth were on two different levels." Eren hesitantly glanced up at Hanji before quickly looking away from her eerie grin. She looked like she was about to take him apart, piece by piece and then try to put him back together.

"Eren...you are aware that you've never seen that titan before right? Yet here you are, describing it in perfect detail. So I'm going to ask you one more question and I want you to answer me honestly." She waited until he nodded before asking the question she'd been wanting to get to. She stared straight at him, seeing the resigned look in his eyes. "Are you the titan that saved Levi in the forest?"

"Yes." Eren said with a nod before sighing. It felt good finally getting that off his shoulders, not having to worry about hiding the fact from them. It also opened pathways for new fears and doubts to come through. After a moment of silence passed, Eren frowned. Hanji was being far too calm for her usual attitude. He slowly looked up and immediately looked right back down, falling back onto his bed and pulling the blankets up over his head to hide from her.

"Eeerrenn, don't hide! I'm not going to hurt you! Well, not that much anyways, I just want to get a few samples, see if you can transform again, ah there's so many experiments I want to run! Finally a specimen who can respond to my questions, that I can get actual answers from! Yahoo!!" she screamed, trying to tug the blankets down. Eren grabbed his pillow and threw it at her, sending it straight onto a collision course with her face. Hanji let out a muffled 'oomphf' as it hit her and Eren immediately cocooned himself in the blankets as Hanji righted herself and attempted to unravel his protective barrier.

"Go away!" Eren said, protesting loudly as Hanji attempted to pull him away from his safety. Hanji pouted.

"But Eren, we'll have so much fun together! There are so many questions I want to ask, things I need to KNOW! Please, Eren, you could help me so much with my research! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, pleeaase!" She screeched, tugging at the blankets. The door flew open with a bang, distracting both Hanji and Eren as their eyes swiveled to the murderous form standing in the doorway.

"For f*cks sake, four eyes, SHUT THE HELL UP!" Levi spat. Hanji pouted.

"But Leeeviiii, he's really the titan that saved you! There are so many questions that need answers that he can provide! I need to question him, I need to know!" Levi glared at her before reaching into one of his boots and pulling out a dagger. Immediately Hanji quieted as he glared at her.

"Get out. Now." His eyes were glowing silver and Hanji swallowed nervously before retreating out the door. Levi shut it behind her, sheathing his knife back in his boot before turning to Eren. Eren winced at the sharp gaze before hesitantly smiling. The glow disappeared from Levi's eyes and he came and sat in the chair next to the bed. For a moment they sat in silence, seemingly dragging out the awkward eternity. Then Levi spoke.

"Why? Why did you save me?" he asked. Eren knew he was referring to back when they'd first met. Levi kept speaking and Eren snapped his attention back to Levi. "I was going to kill you. I'm certain youknew that was what I was trying to do. So why? Why did you save me?"

There was another silence as Eren collected his thoughts before speaking.

"You were small but dangerous. I knew that. I knew what it was you wanted to do when you came after me. But...I also know what it's like to have the titans try to kill me. To eat me. You were just trying to survive and I understood that. Not to mention you were beautiful the way you did it, the flashing and spinning. So for me...when that titan grabbed you I just reacted. I didn't want you to die. That's all." Levi stared at him and sighed.

"So it wasn't because you really thought about what you were doing?" Eren shook his head.

"No. Not at first anyways. Then as I continued to let you stay with me, I began to grow fond of you. You were my Little One and you were precious. Even if I didn't understand what you were saying then, it was amusing to see you and hear you. And it was...nice...having company that wasn't just another animal." Eren looked up at Levi and realized he was glaring at him.

"I'm not little," Levi growled. Eren paused for a moment before letting out a bubbly laugh. Levi seemed surprised by his reaction. Eren smiled at him.

"Back then all of you were small to me. You were just specificallymylittle one rather than just a little one. I don't mean to insult you, Captain." Levi looked down and sighed.

"Back then...did you know? About...this?" he asked, gesturing to Eren. Eren paused.

"If you mean did I know about life inside your walls or that I could become smaller?" Levi rolled his eyes.

"Both," he said. Eren shrugged.

"I didn't know about either at the time. I'd always been a titan and figured I always would be. Not to mention, I didn't ever see you guys before that day that I found you. I knew you guys had to come from somewhere, but for me it didn't matter. You cut down those like me, it was unlikely that you would view me as anything more than another enemy." Levi looked down.

"I see." There was another silence before a knock on the door shocked them out of their stupor.

"Levi? Hanji told me you were in here even though I specifically ordered you to stay away from him." Levi clicked his tongue as the door opened, revealing Erwin and Hanji hiding behind the large man. Eren frowned.

"Why wouldn't he be allowed to come see me? He is my superior officer, what's wrong with that?" Eren asked, confused. Levi frowned, looking away as Erwin sighed.

"After you collapsed, Levi became strange. He was more snappish towards others and was extremely overprotective of you. In fact, he nearly killed Hanji for trying to get a sample of your blood while you were asleep." Eren stiffened, glaring at Hanji before turning to Levi.

"Thank you for that, I would feel extremely violated if I knew she had successfully gotten a sample while I was unconscious and unable to give consent." Levi almost seemed to puff up with pride even though his face didn't change at all.

"See, sh*tty glasses? I was looking out for Eren's best interests. As his superior officer, that is my duty so you can f*ck off." Erwin sighed and Hanji pouted. Eren glared at both of them, silencing Hanji while Erwin merely raised an eyebrow.

"Levi, that may be but you know very well that I still ordered you to remain away from Eren until you had calmed down sufficiently," Erwin scolded. Levi glared at him before speaking.

"I am calm." Hanji practically squawked in outrage.

"You pulled a knife on me!" she cried. Erwin glared at Levi who glared right back.

"And you were invading Eren's personal space, ignoring him when he told you to stop, and even going so far as to talk about performing those nasty, horrid tests you run on mindless titans on him. Yes, I'm obviously going to draw a blade to get the f*cking deranged person out of the room." Erwin turned and looked at Hanji in frustration. She grinned sheepishly. Erwin sighed again.

"Be that as it may, we do need answers from Eren." Levi stiffened and Eren sighed.

"Alright, what do you want to know? I'll answer what I can." Immediately Hanji was up in his face.

"How do you transform? How old are you really? How long have you lived in that forest? Have you ever eaten a human? What's it like being a titan? Can I run some tests on you? Please say yes, please, please, pleeeaaase!" Eren pulled back just as Levi brought his arm up, catching Hanji in a headlock as he pulled her away. Levi glared at Erwin.

"See? This is why I forced her out of here," he spat. Erwin sighed.

"Hanji, calm down." Reluctantly, and pouting the whole time, Hanji calmed down enough where Levi let her go. Erwin turned back to Eren.

"I would like to know the answers to her questions though." Eren nodded and thought for a moment.

"Um...well first of all, I don't knowhowI transform. You have to remember that my fight at Trost was the first time I've transformed into a titan and the time I transformed into a human was because of you guys. Second, I don't know how old I really am. Time passes differently as a titan. Sometimes it seems to fly past and other times it drags through the days. I've lived in the forest for as long as I can remember, never leaving it until you guys showed up. Um...no, I don't remember eating any humans and I'm pretty sure I would remember that. As for what it's like...it doesn't feel that different to me. I'm still strong, just big enough to take on the titans hand to hand that's all. As for the tests, I would like to say no but I'm not sure if I still have jurisdiction over what happens to me now that you know the truth," he finished. Erwin nodded thoughtfully and something occurred to Levi.

"Is that why you can't eat food? Because you're a titan, you throw it up?" Eren flinched before looking at Levi.

"You saw that?" At Levi's nod, Eren sighed. "I think it is. I have all the necessary human parts to eat your food and digest it before getting rid of it the same way you would but for some reason my body rejects it. I don't understand why either but it's for that reason that I avoid eating food as much as I can. I run off of sunlight so at night and in the early mornings I'm more sluggish and slow than usual." Erwin nodded.

"Eren, I understand you're probably scared of us and what we're going to do to you, but would you listen to me? I have a proposition for you." Eren turned his head, looking back at Erwin.

"What is it?" he asked. Hanji and Levi glanced at Erwin too, clearly not informed of this 'proposition'. Erwin smiled.

"I want you to continue serving in the Survey Corps." Eren blinked for a moment, confused.

"Huh?"

"I want to use your titan powers when we're outside of the wall. You're clearly extremely capable of killing titans in either form but I think that if we had you in your titan form we would be able to prevent quite a few casualties on our side. What do you think?" Eren stared at him.

"You mean, you aren't going to kill me? Or run horrible tests on me? If I stay that is," he asked. Erwin shook his head as Hanji pouted.

"No Eren, you would still be Eren of Levi's squad. You would just also be able to transform into a titan. The only issue is keeping that fact inside the Survey Corps as the Garrison and Military police are already interested in the existence of what they've taken to calling 'the Rogue Titan'. Thankfully they think you're dead or at the very least crystalized so as long as we keep this information within the Survey Corps, they will be none the wiser. What do you think?" Eren's eyes began to sparkle with delight and it relaxed them to see such an innocent expression on Eren's face.

"Really? I can stay with Little one?" Hanji snickered as Levi elbowed her. Erwin noticed the faint shade of pink dusting Levi's cheeks as he turned his attention completely on Eren.

"Yes, Eren, you can stay if you want to. But if you don't-"

"I want to, I want to. I'll stay," Eren said, rapidly nodding his head. He could stay with his Little One!! And he didn't have to hide his true nature from his little one! Erwin smiled.

"Glad you're staying with us, Eren." Erwin smiled at the boy, knowing this was only the beginning of something huge.

Chapter 30: Malus Somnia

Chapter Text

"Now that we've got that out of the way, is there anything you can tell us about the titans, Eren?" Erwin asked. Eren shook his head apologetically. He sighed to himself before speaking up to answer Erwin's question.

"I was never interested in titans. As far as I thought of them they were animals that would eat without a care," he said. Erwin sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"Oh well, I suppose we can't ask for everything." Hanji butted forward, staring at Eren.

"That's one of the things I never understood. Why would the titans try to eat you even before you knew of your humanoid form? Even then they would still come after you, right?" At Eren's nod, she continued. "So then why did they go after you back then when as far as you knew, you were also a titan? It never made sense to me when I thought about it after Levi told me that."

"I don't know either," Eren said, "I didn't draw them as well as you do but they were definitely interested in eating me. I'm sorry, I don't know much." Hanji shook her head with a slight smile.

"I suppose it's only natural that you wouldn't know since at that time you probably weren't very educated." Eren nodded.

"I don't think anyone would teach a titan," he said wryly. Erwin cleared his throat and the two turned their attention back to him.

"Anyways, we need to figure out how to pretend this situation is normal. We can't just go blatantly having Eren transform into a titan to run tests on his abilities but we also can't just let you act like a normal soldier. We should also have you transfer onto a new squad-"

"Woah, I'm going to stop you right there, sh*t-win. Why the hell are you transferring Eren to a different squad?" Levi glared darkly at Erwin who forced himself not to flinch.

"Levi, you haven't been acting in your right mind when it comes to Eren. As such, I think it would be best if we move him to a different squad," Erwin said. Levi snorted.

"Which squad then? Sure as hell not sh*tty glasses, she'd try experimenting on him in the blink of an eye. Not Mike's, he'd probably start to sniff around as to why possibly the best member of the elite squad was being moved into his tracker squad. And definitely not yours, what would he even do there, nod along with you as you say some kind of complex plan or maneuver?" Levi growled. Erwin raised an eyebrow.

"I taught Eren personally, in case you forgot. If any of us knows what Eren is capable of aside from Eren himself, it would probably be me," he said, staring sternly at Levi. "As such-"

A soft whine slipped from Eren's lips before he could stop it. He blushed furiously when they looked at him in shock. He fiddled with the blankets nervously under their stares. Erwin caught himself and spoke up.

"What's wrong, Eren?" Eren looked up at him hesitantly.

"Um, Commander...I wish stay in Little One's squad!" he blurted out. When he realized he'd slipped into broken speech for the first time in a few weeks, he internally slapped himself.

Levi snorted as he turned to face Erwin. "See Erwin, the brat wants to stay with me too," he said smugly. Erwin stared at him before glancing back at Eren and sighing. He knew when he'd lost a fight.

"Fine. Eren will remain on your squad, but you have to keep a close eye on him, Levi. I don't want anyone else finding out about this." He glanced at Eren. "Is there anyone else who knows?"

"No, not that I've told. Mikasa and Armin might be able to guess that something's up when they see me after I've gone flying over the walls, but I doubt that they'll know." Erwin nodded.

"Then we'll either have to let them in on the secret or make sure they stay away from you so they can't interrogate you." Eren snorted and they looked at him. He smirked with a painfully knowing look.

"You won't be able to keep Mikasa away. She will slice down any who get between her and her family." Hanji stared at him.

"She's related to you?" Eren wrinkled his nose before shaking his head.

"We're not biologically related. I was adopted into the family that adopted her after I was brought into the walls. I still have no clue when or how that happened, just that after you guys cut me out of my nape, someone must've found me and brought me inside the walls." Erwin and Hanji looked at each other while Levi frowned. Eren tilted his head in confusion, not understanding why what he'd said had made the atmosphere turn so serious.

"That forest is pretty far from wall Maria. Who would've been able to bring him inside the walls from there? Because, I'm doubtful that he wandered all the way to where the Garrison found him and forgot." Erwin nodded.

"But if it was someone in the Survey Corps who found him, we would've been notified. And there's no way that rumor wouldn't have been spread throughout our ranks." Levi ignored them and turned to Eren.

"Do you remember anything?" he asked. Eren shook his head.

"The clearest memories I have right after entering the walls are Mr Arlert, fear, and a small room. Armin and Mikasa might know more about who I came from as they were already living with Mr Arlert before I was." Levi clicked his tongue as he straightened. Hanji paused, frowing as she thought about something.

"Hey Eren, on your papers your name is Eren, right?" Eren nodded slowly as Hanji continued her thought. "How did they know your name was Eren? Did you tell them?"

"No...they already knew it when I was inside the walls," he said, thinking back to how Mr Arlert had called him that. Hanji frowned again.

"But Levi was the one who named you that and there should've been no one else outside the walls, right?" Eren nodded slowly, understanding what she was getting at. Levi's eyes widened a tiny amount when he realized it too.

"How did they know your name?" he muttered. Hanji shrugged.

"Someone had to have told them but for them to do that, they would need to have heard you name him that and they would also be aware that Eren is a titan. Which shouldn't be possible unless this is a huge coincidence that someone named Eren by the same name that Levi gave him." Erwin frowned.

"I feel like we're trying to put together a puzzle we don't have the pieces for. Like every answer we find only brings more." Erwin stared at Eren who shrugged helplessly. "Just what is the mystery behind you? It's already strange enough that you're a titan that not only doesn't eat humans but also can transform into a human yourself. Now this behind your past?"

They sighed for a moment, each buried within their own thoughts. Erwin snapped himself out of it as he stood. The others glanced at him and Eren watched him worriedly. He glanced down at the titan and smiled gently.

"Get some sleep, Eren, this is probably a lot to take in." Eren pouted.

"I already slept for a few days, right? Why would I want to sleep more?" he whined. Erwin rolled his eyes, reaching over to flick Eren's forehead. He raised an eyebrow at Eren with a teasing smirk while Eren rubbed the spot on his head.

"Shall I make it an order?" Erwin asked. Eren pouted and Hanji cackled.

"Erwin, he probably doesn't need anymore rest. Any injuries he had from transforming are gone. Even the burn scars are gone!" Eren tilted his head in confusion.

"Burn scars?" he asked. Hanji glanced at him.

"Oddly enough, you were severely burned after coming out of your titan. You healed from them though, so it's alright. Don't worry your pretty little head about it!" she said cheerfully. Eren sighed and Erwin stared at Hanji for a moment before looking back at Eren.

"Get some sleep. That's an order." With that, Erwin walked out, ignoring the pouty face right behind him. Hanji whined but reached over to ruffle Eren's hair. She grinned at him.

"If I can, let me know when you're okay with running some tests! Or don't, I'm okay with that too! For now, just follow Erwin's orders." Eren sighed and flopped back on his bed dramatically.

"But I'm not tired!" he whined. Hanji stared at him for a moment before grinning mischievously.

"Give me a second, I'm going to grab something that should put you to sleep in the blink of an eye!" After saying that she darted out and practically pranced away. Levi stared at Eren for a moment before pulling up a chair next to the boy. Eren glanced at him and Levi stared right back.

"Eren...thanks..." Levi muttered. Eren glanced at him.

"For what?" Levi glared at him for a moment before sighing.

"For keeping me alive those five months when it was just us. If it hadn't been for you, I probably would've died." Eren smiled at Levi.

"I don't mind. It was nice not being alone. And..."

"Eren!" Hanji bolted back into the room while Levi glared at her and Eren blushed. She glanced between them before a leer appeared on her face.

"Did I interrupt something?" she purred. Levi merely looked away while Eren started sputtering in broken speech. Hanji cackled. "Don't worry, I'm just teasing! Alright Eren, I want you to drink this!"

Eren took the glass she offered him hesitantly before staring suspiciously at her for a moment. Hanji let out a heartbroken whine at his look.

"I didn't poison it, it's just a sleeping concoction. Moblit uses it to put me to sleep whenever he can't deal with me!" Eren sighed before staring at the drink for a moment. He shrugged and threw it back down his throat. He paused for a moment before his eyes became droopy and he started nodding off. Levi caught him and gently lay the boy back, mildly surprised to see how quickly Eren passed out. Hanji snickered and he glared at her. She merely smirked. Then she turned and walked out, calling back to him as she went, "Don't try anything on my sweet boy while he's asleep, Levi, or I'll castrate you."

He glared at her but as she glanced back at him, she noticed the faint tinge on his cheeks which only widened her grin.

"I'm going to have so much fun teasing those two," she muttered to herself as she skipped down the halls.

-~*~-

"So you've managed to gain your crystal ability and take down a challenger," the voice said. Eren whirled.

"Who's there?? What's going on? What are you talking about??" he demanded in his head, a throaty growl coming out. There was a soft chuckle that echoed through the strange place.

"I believe I already answered those questions the last time we spoke, prince. Or have you already forgotten? You always have an abysmal memory." Eren growled again as he looked around, searching for the speaker. They sighed to themselves and he grew more frustrated.

"You didn't give me any real answers!" he screamed. His titan form merely gave a short roar. The sigh was louder this time.

"Prince, I'm trying to groom you for the throne you need to take. It's already taken this long for things to get started which is bad enough. I don't need you complaining as I try to help you." The voice answered. Eren glared around.

"Then actually explain everything!" he hissed, a soft rumble echoing from his titan. There was a frustrated sigh.

"Fine. You want answers, find the Library." Eren frowned, not understanding. There were several libraries inside the walls, how did they expect him to find a single one?? Let alone one that knew information about the titans?? There was a loud sigh in his head and then images began to burn themselves in his mind. His titan let out a roar of pain as he fell to his knees, clutching his head to try to stop the flood of information.

Stone shelves rose several meters into the air, holding books that had been kept in pristine condition. The seats were clearly larger than they should be since they would easily fit his titan. A golden crown sat on a stone pedestal, glowing brightly as flames flickered off the tips on its design. Then the images began to fly backwards, as if he were being forced out. Giant stone doors closed and a golden hand print matching his glowed on it before disappearing. The images shut off and Eren snapped back into the strange palace.

"That's as much information as I can give you for now, prince. I am tired and your friends are concerned about you," the voice said. There was definitely a change in the energy in its voice. And down the pathway Eren had come down first he could hear familiar voices calling for him. He glanced at the throne and back at the passage. Fire began to consume him again and he quickly backed away from the throne, hoping it would diminish the flames. Instead they just grew until he was nothing.

-~*~-

"Eren! Wake up!" Levi cried. Eren's eyes snapped open and Levi whipped his head back to narrowly avoid being hit in the face. Eren panted for breath as Levi watched him. Eren's gaze fell on him and for a moment Levi saw a ring of gold around the boys pupils.

"What happened?" Eren asked. Levi sighed.

"You were having a bad dream." Eren frowned before shaking his head.

"It wasn't...it not was a not good dream," he mumbled. Levi frowned, having to decipher what Eren meant.

"It wasn't a bad dream?" he asked for clarification. Eren nodded. Levi sighed.

"What was it about? If you want to share," he suggested. He was kind of curious as to what kind of dream could have Eren writhing around in his sleep but not count as a bad dream. Eren frowned.

"I...I am-was a titan. A voice called me prince and said some strange things. Something about finding a library? It was...underground, I think? Then it got tired and you were calling so I woke up," Eren said. Eren's eyes widened. "Right. I need to find the Library. That's where I'll find out what's going on."

While Eren had his little epiphany, Levi was completely clueless as to what the hell was going on. But he decided to roll with it anyways.

"Then we'll need to find this library of yours."

Chapter 31: Jussionem Patris Bibliothecam

Chapter Text

Levi sighed for a moment, thinking about how he would tell Erwin this. He knew as well as anyone else in the castle that while Erwin was patriotic as f*ck and wanted to kill all the titans and free humanity, the man hated,hated, having to look for things. Maybe it would help if Erwin for once in his life actually organized his office and all the paperwork inside. Don't get him wrong, Erwin was incredible at completing the paperwork, it just took him a while to organize everything. He always said that was the worst part of paperwork. Levi didn't understand what the problem was.

"So...how do we tell Hanji and Erwin?" Eren asked. Levi sighed.

"That's what I'm thinking about. Hanji would be ecstatic to know there's a library with knowledge on the titans we don't have but Erwin would just be annoyed," Levi grumbled. Eren frowned.

"Why would Erwin be annoyed?" Levi stared at him for a moment before remembering that the kid hadn't had to do any paperwork yet and hadn't seen how messy Erwin's office got when he had a lot of paperwork to do. He had no clue of the demon that Erwin could become when he had to search for things. The usual calm, collected Erwin would disappear only to be replaced by an irritated, short-tempered demon. Levi sighed again.

"Let's get this sh*t show over with. Can you stand?" He asked. Eren gave him a look that screamedreally, what do you think?Levi rolled his eyes. "Quit glaring at me, I'm just making sure. I don't want you getting hurt right after you got better. Not to mention that Hanji's going to kill me just for letting you be up and about as it is so I don't need you both teaming up on me. Or getting me caught in the middle."

"Alright, yes sir. I'm fine." Eren slid his legs off the bed and shakily stood up. Levi hovered to his left in case he needed help or he tripped. Eren noticed soft trails of steam rising from his legs though Levi seemed to miss them.I must've not been fully healed,Eren thought as he took a step forward. His leg shuddered under him before it buckled and Levi grabbed his waist to prevent him from toppling. Levi pulled Eren against him so Eren's back was flat against his chest. Levi sighed.

"You're such a clumsy little sh*t," he murmured. Eren shuddered as he felt Levi's breath trace over his neck. Levi shifted and Eren fought back a shudder as he felt Levi's muscles ripple against his back. The smooth, fluid motions were driving him insane so he tried pushing himself away from Levi, a light blush on his cheeks.

"I'm fine," he said. Levi huffed a little, the hot air brushing over Eren's nape.

"No you're not, now hold f*cking still!" He was yanked back against Levi's chest as Levi sat down on the bed with Eren perched on his lap. Eren's blush darkened as he heated up with embarrassment. Levi sighed.

"Take a moment to regain your balance before standing up, sh*t head. You tried to turn yourself into f*cking crystal for crying out loud, I think that would do something to your muscles." Eren blushed as Levi's arms wrapped tightly around his waist, keeping him locked in place. Levi was so firm and warm against him and his hands were so gentle as he kept Eren trapped on his lap.

"Um...sir? Should we really be like this? What if someone comes in and sees us?" Eren asked, turning his head towards Levi. Levi raised an eyebrow at the blush on Eren's face before snorting lightly.

"What, embarrassed that someone might see you like this, Eren? Relax, no one's going to come-"

The door banged open and their eyes flashed to it, noting the raven haired recruit standing in the doorway. Her eyes became fiercely cold as she took in the sight in front of her. Eren shivered as he felt an icy breeze come with her.

"What are you doing to Eren?"she hissed. Eren heard a soft huffing and puffing before Armin peered in.

"I tried to stop-sweet Maria! Eren!" Armin whirled around so he wasn't looking at them while he blushed. Levi merely glared and trapped the squirming Eren against him. He completely ignored Mikasa's question in favor of asking his own.

"I thought this hallway was off limits until further notice?" he asked darkly. Eren squirmed, trying to escape his superiors' grasp but the more he struggled the tighter Levi held him. Mikasa glared at him before looking at Eren.

"Eren. Did he do something to you? Are you being forced? If he forced you Eren, I will cut his balls off and feed them to him,"she promised. Levi's glare darkened further as she ignored him in favor of Eren. Armin peeked around.

"Captain, let go, this I worry about! Mika, it not that like, I and Captain not do things, I rushed and he help, that's all!" the flustered titan cried. Levi reluctantly released Eren and stepped back so his friends could see that he was unharmed. Immediately Mikasa shot over and began looking him over to make sure he was alright. When she determined that he really was fine, she sighed before glaring at Levi.

"If I ever find out that you force Eren into anything, my previous threat still stands," she promised. Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Threatening a superior officer? I believe that merits a punishment. You will be cleaning the stables and the latrines for a month. Watch yourself." With that he sat down in the corner before glancing at the door. "Oi, you, blonde. Either get your ass in here or leave. I don't care which but don't just stand outside the door."

Armin hesitantly came inside the room, saluting Levi before speaking.

"I am so sorry, sir. I tried to stop her, I really did, but once Mikasa found out that Eren was being kept here instead of the hospital wing, she immediately tried to come here. I'm so sorry for failing to stop her and for intruding on you and Eren in...whatever that was," he finished with a blush. Levi raised an eyebrow before he sighed.

"There's nothing going on between Eren and I. He was reckless so I simply stopped him from potentially hurting himself more than he already is. And relax, she seems like someone not many people can stop."Armin sighed in relief and stood there awkwardly for a moment before Levi sighed and gestured to Eren in a shooing motion. Armin smiled gratefully at him before heading over to Eren so he could check him for injuries himself. When he confirmed what Mikasa had already found, he sighed in relief before pushing Eren back down in the bed and cuddling up on his side. Eren made a small confused sound but was quickly shushed by Armin before Mikasa joined him on the other side. Eren sighed.

"Is this normal?" Levi asked, staring at the apparently puppy pile now on Eren's bed. Eren nodded.

"It's because I'm warm that they got used to using me as their personal heater." Mikasa poked her head up, glaring at Levi.

"MYpersonal heater," she growled before laying back down to fall asleep. Levi sighed.

"I'll let you guys do your thing while I go tell Erwin about the library. Good luck with...this," he said, gesturing to the now sleeping recruits who were cuddled against Eren's sides. Eren shrugged.

"I'll be fine. Good luck with Erwin, I hope he takes the news well." Levi snorted softly as he turned and walked out of the room.Like that would ever happen, he thought. He knocked on the door to Erwin's office, hoping the man was out doing something, but apparently the beings on high decided to f*ck Levi over.

"Come in," he heard Erwin call. Levi braced himself before opening the door. Erwin looked up in shock from his bed of papers. "Levi, you never knock. What's wrong?"

"It's about Eren," Levi started. Immediately Erwin was all business. He clasped his hands together and held them in front of his face, staring Levi down.

"What about him?" Erwin asked seriously. Levi sighed, hating that he had to be the one to tell Erwin. Hell, he probably should've told sh*tty glasses first-wait, scratch that thought, Hanji would simply bombard him with questions he didn't have answers to. So maybe it was better to tell Erwin first? He internally sighed, hating that his options were Erwin or sh*tty glasses. Oh well, he was already here, might as well get this sh*t over with.

"Eren knows of a place where we should be able to get more information on the titans."Give him the good news first and maybe he won't be as upset.

"Really? I thought he didn't remember anything?" Levi shook his head with a sigh.

"Don't ask me, I don't know how he knew it. Just that he did and now we can find more information on the titans and what the hell is going on with Eren," he said. Erwin watched him carefully.

"But? Don't play fool with me Levi, we both know you prefer to get bad news over and done with first. Don't tell me the good thing before the bad thing." Levi sighed and stared at Erwin before speaking again.

"Eren knows of a place where we can get information on the titans...but he doesn't know it's exact location. He says it's a library underground but that means..."

"We're going to have to search for it," Erwin sighed."Dammit. Nothing's ever easy with this kid, is it? Fine. We'll have to see if he knows the general area of the library in question. There are a few mountain ranges within the walls that we could check but after that we'll probably have to check outside the walls in titan territory."

"I know, it's f*cking bullsh*t, but if we want answers we need to do this. And Eren wants answers just as much as we do if not more," Levi said, hoping to -somewhat- reassure Erwin. Erwin stared at him for a moment in contemplation. Levi glared at him.

"What?" he demanded. Erwin stared at him a bit longer.

"You've changed." Levi stared at him in confusion. "You've become...softer. I think it's because of him but I can't tell if it's a good thing or not. I mean, you're trying to reassure me, something you never do. Not to mention, you stayed with him even after he went back to sleep, right?"

"I don't know if I'm becoming softer, Erwin," Levi muttered. Erwin raised an eyebrow.

"How so?" Levi paused, shifting around as his gaze flicked over the room.

"It's just...when I look at him, I feel...somethinginside of me. Something that wants to claim, and maul, and absolutelyruinhim. But it also wants to protect him, to provide for him, and to take care of him. I'm just...I'm f*cking conflicted when it comes to him and I hate seeing other people touching him. I hate to see them remotely near him but I can't keep them all away. It...confuses me," he finished softly. Erwin stared at him.

"I'll let you remain with Eren until we finish looking into his powers and the titans but once that's over, I will move him from your squad. I don't trust what these new instincts are or what they want so you're going to remain at a distance after, alright?" Levi opened his mouth to fight, to argue that he had to be there to protect Eren, but he stopped and forced himself to nod. Erwin nodded in response. "If that's all, I think you should return to him and maybe tell Hanji about this. I don't want to be the one to tell her."

Levi nodded silently and stepped out, keeping his face neutral even as he wanted to run, bolt, through the hallways right back to Eren's bedside. But he forced himself to remain calm and normal as he walked at an agonizingly slow pace back to that room. When he got back, he noticed the two brats were gone and only Eren remained. He sat down in the chair with a sigh and stared at the sleeping boy, running a hand through his chocolate locks.

"What are you doing to me?" he whispered to the unresponsive titan.

Chapter 32: Inquisitio

Chapter Text

Levi was sitting next to Eren, reading a book while waiting for the kid to wake up, when there was a knock on the door. His eyes flicked up to stare at it. It couldn't be Hanji, she wouldn't bother to know. Erwin had this habit of knocking five times before opening the door anyways, and he figured Eren's friends were probably busy with the other task recruits had.

He glanced outside the window before checking the time of day.

Then again, it was pretty late at this time so it was possible that they'd come back to check up on him if they'd managed to complete all their tasks. His gaze was drawn back to the door as whoever was behind it knocked again, more insistently this time before speaking.

"Captain Levi, sir? Are you in there?" Levi frowned. That was definitely the voice of someone he didn't know, likely a new recruit. He sighed and stood up, setting the book on the desk before heading to the door and opening it enough that he could see who was speaking and they could see him but not much else. The people on the other side of the door were not quite who he expected. There was a nervous looking giant who couldn't meet his gaze, a blonde wall of meat, a strange horseface looking kid, another brunette who had her hair up in a ponytail and was practically wrapped around another one, a blonde girl who reminded him of Petra, a boy with a shaved head, and a girl who was munching on a potato. His eyes narrowed. That was strange, it certainly wasn't time for dinner and he knew the kitchen folk didn't just hand out snacks. At least, they didn't hand out snacks to just anyone.

"What do you want?" he growled. He internally smirked as their faces went pale. Well, most of their faces went pale. Miss brunette-anaconda simply rolled her eyes as if she were exasperated with him.

"Um, we heard um, from Mikasa and Armin that um, Eren was here?" the shaved head said. Levi raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are you asking me a question or telling me something you heard. Either way it doesn't matter, shoo." The blonde wall of muscle bristled at that.

"Hold on, we're just worried about our friend, what's wrong with that? Why can't we see him at least?" Levi's eyes narrowed further and the others shivered. The blonde musclehead nervously took a step back as he realized who exactly he had pissed off.

"Whycan't you see him? How about because your f*ckingsuperior officersaid no. Or did they not teach you that in training, that you're supposed to follow orders given by superior officers or senior members. I am both your superior officer and your senior in the Survey Corps, so when I tell you to f*ck off, it means you shouldf*ck off." He glared at them and they swallowed. Once he was sure they were thoroughly intimidated he glared at them again before speaking. "Now. One more time,f*ck off.You're dismissed."

Immediately they left and Levi sighed to himself. It was already gonna be a pain in the ass to keep Eren's shifting hidden from the f*cking MP's and the Garrison without his bratty friends digging around. He went back to his seat and continued reading, waiting for Eren to wake up again.

-~*~-

About two hours later, Eren woke up. It wasn't a slow, gradual awakening but that was more Hanji's fault than anything else.

"HELL-O my precious Eren, how are you doing today?" she practically screamed, throwing herself inside the room. Eren jolted awake in bed, looking around in confusion. Levi sighed as he set the book back on his bookshelf, having finished it.

"What the hell do you want, sh*tty glasses?" Hanji grinned.

"Because you didn't tell me about Eren's latest dream, Erwin had to do so. I'm so excited, Eren, we are going to have a great time when we find that library. I mean, SERIOUSLY??? A library with information on the titans that no one else has????" She let out a sound that was probably supposed to be a noise of delight and came out more like a screech. Eren winced and covered his ears. Levi sighed.

"I'm going to go talk with Erwin about where we'll check for the library first. You two...do your thing. Also, Hanji, we need a cover story for those who saw Eren get sent flying. It'll be bad if they start digging around and find out about some sh*t we don't want them knowing. Got it?" Hanji mock saluted him with a giggle.

"Right-o, captain!" He sighed and walked out, leaving Eren with the maniac. Immediately after the door shut, Hanji turned to Eren. "So, Eren, what all do you remember from your dreams? I want to know every little detail."

"Um, okay. Well first of all, the one about the library wasn't the first dream I'd had." Hanji nodded as she began scribbling sh*t down with a pencil that appeared from her jacket pockets and a notebook that came out of thin air.

"Keep going, don't mind me, this is for recording purposes only," she said, noticing his gaze. Eren nodded before continuing.

"Well, I was in a massive...tunnel? I think it was a tunnel. Or at least some kind of passageway. There were really big statues along the sides. They looked like titans but had swords and weapons and armor and stuff. And I could faintly hear someone speaking from further down the tunnel. So I went down it but as I went down the tunnel, somewhere along the line I turned into my titan form." He glanced up and froze, staring at Hanji in horror. She almost had literal sparkles in her eyes and drool was dripping onto the bed. Realizing that he had noticed her state, Hanji wiped the drool from her face as she spoke.

"I'm sorry but it's just sointeresting! A mysterious tunnel, similar to what I believe some humans used to do before the walls and titans. It was called a 'Hall of Ages' I believe and it would show different ages in time. But then beyond that, the mysterious speaker you can't really hear but want to hear, and finally your mysterious transformation. So far every time you've transformed there has been lightning and you were aware of it, right?" Eren stared at her before sighing.

"You do realize I've only transformed once and it was in a time of pain and extreme anger, right? It could be different depending on the circ*mstances." Hanji shuddered eagerly.

"That's just the thing! We don't know! So maybe you can shift without realizing it, maybe it always has to come with lightning or in times of extreme emotion and pain, we don't know! It's so exciting! Anyways, please continue with the dream." Eren nodded hesitantly.

"So after a little bit of running, I found myself in a circular area. The tunnel I'd come through was gone and I was stuck there."

"What did it look like?" Hanji asked. Eren glanced at her before speaking.

"Well, aside from the round room there were steps in front of me, leading up to a giant throne - one that could easily fit a titan - and that was when I heard the voice clearly first. It called me a prince and said something about me awakening from my slumber. I was kind of freaking out because I was alone in there and yet someone was speaking to me. So I tried activating my crystals to fight them off but instead I set myself on fire. It said this was okay, I was just 'coming into my power'. I remember burning to death while it said something about being reformed, stronger than before." He finished. Hanji stared at him seriously, for once not overly excited.

"I wonder who the speaker is. Maybe they're the one who brought you inside the walls. It would make sense that they would know your name then but what about you being a prince? Did they say what you were prince of?" Eren nodded.

"I think they said I was the prince of the phoenix titans? It didn't make a whole lot of sense to me." Hanji frowned.

"We'll put that aside for now. You said that was the first dream? How many of these dreams have you had so far?" She asked.

"I've had two. The second one was the one about the library." Hanji nodded.

"Tell me about that one." Eren sighed and thought back on his most recent dream.

"It was in the same place as the last dream ended. The voice said something about gaining my crystal abilities and defeating a challenger but I didn't know what it was talking about. I tried asking who was there or what was going on and what they were talking about but they only laughed at me, apparently having already explained that in the previous dream. They seemed used to me having a bad memory, even calling it 'abysmal'." Hanji frowned.

"Why would they seem used to you having a bad memory? You seem to have a really good one from what I've seen, even if it takes a little while for information to really sink in and click." Eren nodded.

"I didn't get it either. I tried saying that they hadn't given me any real answers but they were growing exasperated. I could tell from how often they were sighing. They said something about grooming me for the throne I'm supposed to take and it being bad that things had taken this long to start. Then it said it didn't need me complaining while it tried to help." Hanji frowned.

"Wait, did it saywhyit was bad things had taken this long to start?" Eren shook his head.

"Nope. Just that it was bad. Anyway, I tried telling it to give me some real answers if it wanted me to stop complaining. So it told me to find the library. Now, I was pretty confused because there are libraries inside the walls, they're just for the really rich and privileged and how was I supposed to know which one to go to. It sighed again and then my head started to feel like it was being burned from the inside out as images were shoved into my head." Hanji stared at him.

"The images appeared inside your head?" she asked. Eren nodded.

"Yeah. It was like they were burning themselves into my memory and it hurt. I could see them and still can see them so I guess it worked."

"Tell me about what you saw."

"The library was large. The shelves that carried the books were several meters tall and made of stone while the books were in pristine condition, as if they were carefully taken care of. There were also comfy looking seats that you could sit down and read on. There was also a golden crown on a stone pedestal that appeared to be on fire. After seeing that, it was like I was being pushed backwards, out of the library. I ended up seeing the doors close and a glowing hand print on the door that would easily match the size of a hand print from my titan. It disappeared and that was when I went back to the room with the throne." Hanji nodded, thinking carefully about what Eren had told her.

"Did the dream end after that?" Eren shook his head.

"There was a little more after that. The voice said that was all it could share with me at that moment because it was tired and my friends were worried about me. I could hear someone calling from me down the passage I'd come through the first time -which had magically appeared again- and then I caught on fire and burned until I died. After that, I woke up." Hanji nodded.

"So the biggest points I got from this are as follows. First, you're the prince of something called 'phoenix titans'. Second, you appear to be in a throne room. Third, a mysterious voice talks to you and gives you advice. Fourth, said mysterious voice can share images by forcing them into your head. Fifth, you have apparently taken out a challenger and gained a new ability. Sixth, the library sounds as if it were made for titans judging by how large everything is. Lastly, the crown you saw is probably important, otherwise the voice wouldn't have shown it to you." Eren nodded and Hanji tapped her chin with her pencil thoughtfully. "I'll have to think more on this later. For now, you should stay here until Erwin, Levi, and I come up with a cover story for you. After all, you did get thrown over the wall yet have no injuries."

"Alright. I'll stay here," Eren said. Hanji smiled.

"Entertain yourself with some of those books over there. Or wait for Levi to come back, he'll probably chat with you!" Eren smiled and nodded as she walked out the door, leaving him alone. Eren sighed to himself before flopping back down on the bed and letting his eyes drift shut again.

-~*~-

"Erwin, most of these libraries are in central. And they aren't underground," Levi sighed. Erwin gave him a pained smile.

"I'm well aware but do you really think we'll find the library through these methods?" Levi sighed again before glancing at their maps. Most of the small mountains that were within the walls appeared inside wall Maria with a few inside wall Rose. And they weren't even really mountains, just rocky areas that were higher than the normal hills. Erwin sighed as he put his face in his hands.

"It would've been nice for Eren to give us a little more information on what exactly we're looking for. But I suppose there's only so much we can hope for." They both sighed. Then the door exploded.

"WHY HELLO, MY FAVORITE BEAUTIFUL BOYS! Levi, my grumpy munchkin, and Erwin, my big-browed commander! How are you doing?" Hanji asked. They shook their heads.

"It's not looking good for us, Hanji. I have yet to find a single library that goes underground." Hanji frowned.

"They could just be hiding it, I mean, where else would they store all the books they don't want people reading?" She asked. Levi sighed as if she were an idiot.

"Four eyes, they wouldn't save books they don't want us reading, they'd burn them. Just like they did with all the other forbidden books and sh*t like that." Hanji pouted before sighing.

"Whatever, you dismiss all of my ideas anyways. But that doesn't matter. What does matter right now is forming a cover story for Eren." Erwin glanced at her in confusion and she sighed. "For those that didn't see what really happened, it's fine to tell them he got thrown into a building. But what about those who did? What about the people who saw him get thrown over the wall?"

Erwin paused, before nodding. "That probably would be important. What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking we tell them that another member of the scouts grabbed him before he could hit the ground, thus lessening the injuries but he's still got some bad bruising. How does that sound? As the Survey Corps doctor, if I say it is then no one will question it either." Erwin nodded.

"That would also explain why we've kept him bedridden for the past few days. Though you might want to bind his ribs just to make sure that even if someone looks at his ribs they'll just see the bandages and won't think anything of it," Erwin commented, nodding his head. Hanji grinned.

"Right-o! Then I'll get right on that and you guys can figure out the rest of this sh*t," she said with a grin. They nodded and she left. Erwin and Levi turned back to the maps before sighing again.

-~*~-

I'm back here again. Eren thought as he looked around.

You're trying to find the library, good. But your friends are looking in the wrong place. They will cause unnecessary bloodshed if they continue the way they are. So here, take this image with you. Eren felt the painful burning before he focused on what was in front of him. The stone doors now looked like a flat stone wall. He felt his body slowly turn before he took in the sight before him. A city appeared to glow in front of him, even with the stone pillars rising up from the floor. Judging from how small the houses were, this was undoubtedly a human city. But why was it underground?

The image disappeared and he was back in the throne room. He glanced around. "Who are you? Are you the one who brought me inside the walls?"

Yes. You needed to be within the walls and it was too dangerous for you to remain outside them in your human form. So I wore the guise of one of the humans you currently are a part of and brought you to the people who would 'help' you. Eren raised an eyebrow.

"If you're referring the the military police, they didn't 'help' anything," he commented.

Maybe not, but it was through them that you met someone who did help you, right? Eren paused.

"You're talking about Mr Johannes, aren't you?" There was silence and then flames began to flicker at his feet, creeping up his legs. "Hey! Don't just send me away, answer my questions!" he bellowed.

Soon, prince. You must reach the library first. After that will I reveal myself to you. Only after that. Eren felt the flames consume him and sighed.

"Dammit."

Chapter 33: Ante Submersione

Chapter Text

There was a rapid knocking on the door before it opened as Eren blearily looked up at who came in. Hanji watched him.

"Oh! Were you napping? Sorry, I should've been quieter." Eren yawned as she spoke, sitting up slowly as he rubbed at his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, the dream just ended anyways. Although, I have a little more information on what the hell is going on now," he yawned. Immediately Hanji was up in his face.

"Really?? Where is the library?? Who's the voice?? What did you see? I'm socurious!!" Eren stared at her for a moment before he sighed and stared at the ceiling, contemplating his choice to join the Survey Corps. He looked back down at her and answered her questions.

"I don't know where the library is exactly but I was able to turn around and see a city behind me. It was clearly a human city with soft lights and massive stone pillars holding up the ceiling. I could even see faint silhouettes of people running around by the houses. So maybe there's a human city outside the walls underground where titans can't get to them!" He glanced up at Hanji and noticed that she had become unusually serious. She glanced at Eren and he drew back a bit. Her eyes were worried, not excited like he'd expected them to be.

"Eren, if what you're saying is true, then the library is somewhere in the Underground." Eren tilted his head in confusion so she decided to elaborate. "It's a city built under the capital. You see, when the walls were first built, we only had so much territory. So someone came up with the idea of living underground and expanding further past the walls that way, where the titans couldn't reach us. The plan was trashed even after it had already begun so now we have the underground city, which has become the slums of the capital."

"Slums?" Eren asked in confusion. Hanji glanced at him before sighing.

"It's a place where really, really poor people live. Where people often have to steal or kill to survive. It's not a nice place." Eren nodded slowly. Hanji noticed he was looking down so she sighed and scratched at her head. "What about the voice? Any idea who is speaking?"

"No. They said they would reveal themselves after I found the library. They didn't saywhyI had to find the library before meeting them, just that I did." Hanji nodded.

"Did you learn anything else?" Eren nodded.

"Apparently they were the one who brought me to the Military Police. They pretended to be a member of the Survey Corps when they left me with them, thinking I would get help." Hanji frowned.

"But the MP's don't help people, particularly feral children from outside the walls, right? So why would they drop you off with them? But that does explain how they know your name if the mysterious voice person knew your name." Eren nodded.

"Yeah. I wasn't treated particularly well with the MP's but I did eventually meet someone who helped me. Mr Johannes Arlert helped rescue me from the MP's. He was called a...social worker? If I remember correctly. Once I was with him I learned things normal kids learned while also playing with Mikasa and Armin. It was great up until the wall fell and then...you know the rest." Hanji nodded slowly.

"Can we meet this Johannes?" Eren shook his head.

"Grandpa Arlert was sent outside the walls in the effort to reclaim wall Maria." Hanji winced and looked down.

"I'm sorry for bringing up something painful." Eren shook his head.

"It's fine. Back then I didn't really understand what anyone was saying so it didn't really hit me that he wasn't coming back until the other soldiers came back without him." Hanji nodded and there was a moment of silence. "Did you learn anything else in your dream?"

"I'm pretty sure, almost sure, that the voice controls when I exit the dream or not. When I asked it if Mr Arlert was the one it wanted me to meet so I could get help the flames appeared. And it didn't answer." Hanji frowned.

"Do you always go up in flames before waking up?" Eren nodded.

"It's really annoying because it hurts. But if I don't focus on the flames, I don't feel them and they don't hurt, even when I'm being burned alive. That's not normal, is it?" Hanji sighed and lifted her glasses to rub at her eyes. She focused back on Eren before speaking.

"No, I don't think it is. Thing is, the only weapon we've found works on titans is cutting the nape. Fire doesn't work, guns don't work, cannons only work if they hit the nape, so it's strange that you're being killed in your dreams by the fire. It shouldn't be possible." Eren shrugged.

"We already know I'm not a normal titan, who's to say that unnatural means won't kill me?" Hanji looked down and her shoulders began to shake. Eren could hear her breaths coming as heavy gasping so he leaned forward to check on her. "Hanji? Are you alright?"

"Dammit Eren! Don't say stuff like that! It makes me want to experiment on your titan form but with Levi being the way he is and without your permission or Erwin's permission, I can't! Do you know how much thattorturesme??" Eren pulled back quickly as she began to rant about how awful it was that she couldn't experiment or test Eren's titan form.

"Tch. sh*tty glasses, didn't you come in here to tell Eren about some sh*t?" Eren glanced up to see Levi leaning against the door. Levi's eyes flicked briefly to Eren before looking away. Eren tilted his head, confused by Levi's attitude towards him. Hanji let out a strange whining groan as she looked back at Levi.

"But it's just so irritating! Here, right before my eyes, is the perfect specimen! A specimen that is abnormal compared to other titans, has strange and special abilities, and can evenanswer my questions!! Do you understand how frustrating it is that I CAN'T EXPERIMENT ON HIM???" Levi gave her a sneer of disgust as Hanji continued blabbering about test subjects and how awesome Eren would be as one. Levi's eyes flicked to Eren before doing that look away thing. He clicked his tongue again before coming into the room entirely.

"Four eyes, cover story? Remember?" he hissed. Hanji stopped her rant but continued pouting at Levi.

"You're so mean to me," she whined. Levi rolled his eyes and made a 'get on with it' gesture. She huffed a bit before turning to Eren.

"Because your friends saw you go flying over the walls, we need a cover story to tell them how in the walls you survived. We decided to say that someone from my squad caught you right before you landed so you were still hurt but not severely. We'll say I did it and since I'm the Survey Corps doctor, no one can say anything about it." Eren stiffened at a certain piece of information. He slowly turned to look at Levi.

"She's...the Survey Corps doctor?" he whispered. Levi glanced at him before snorting.

"Yeah. Good luck during your physicals by the way. She'll probably try to experiment on you." Eren stared at Hanji in horror, noting the manic grin on her face and he shifted under the blankets so he was closer to Levi. If Levi noticed it, he pretended not to. "Anyways, we've got a couple of guesses for where the hell the library could be. Erwin and I worked it out and-"

"OOH! Levi, Levi, Levi, guess what!" Hanji said, interrupting him. He glared at her and she flinched under the icy look in his eyes.

"What," he bit out. She grinned excitedly.

"We know where the library is!" The icy look disappeared, replaced with one of curiosity.

"Really? When did you figure that out?" Hanji laughed delightedly.

"We found out after Eren woke up from his most recent nap. He'd dreamed it! Isn't that so cool!!" Levi stared at her for a moment before sighing.

"So? Where is it?" Hanji grinned evilly.

"It's in Underground city." Levi froze for a moment, eyes widening marginally before narrowing.

"That's ridiculous. There's no library in the underground,Iwould know of it." Hanji grinned.

"It's apparently well hidden and isn't actually in the city from what I gathered. But we know where it is and that means we can go there!" She dissolved into eager giggles and cackles while Levi looked like he was about to murder someone. He glanced at Eren.

"Is what she said true? Is it in the underground city?" Eren flinched under the harsh tone but noted that for the first time since coming into the room Levi was holding his gaze.

"I don't know if it really was the underground city but when I turned around in the dream there was a city behind me with massive stone pillars holding up the ceiling. So I think she's right? I would have to see the actual city to know for sure." Levi sighed and slouched in his chair. Eren was shocked because even though he hadn't known his little one as a human for very long, it didn't seem like him to slouch.

"L-little one?" he whispered. Levi glared at him.

"What did I say about calling me that?" he growled. Eren flinched and looked down at the bed, not meeting Levi's gaze.

"Aww, Levi, look how sad you made him. He's such a cutie pie how could you do that?" Hanji cooed, a sh*t eating grin resting on her lips. Levi glared at her and sighed.

"If this library we're looking for really is in the underground, then we're in for a hell of a time. You should know how military men are viewed down there. It's not pleasant Hanji. We're more likely to get shanked than to make it through to wherever the hell we need to go." Hanji stared at him.

"Won't your influence be enough to get us through?" she asked. Levi sighed as he stared at her.

"Four eyes, it's beenyearssince I was down there. You really think anyone's still going to remember me? Even if they do, they're probably only going to be the ones with a grudge against me. So even if I am known down there, it's only going to be by people who are willing to kill me because of issues long past. So in other words, no, don't expect my past to help you." Eren glanced between them, confused.

"What do you mean? I don't understand what you're talking about." Hanji grinned.

"That's right, you don't know! Well you see, my beautiful titan, Levi here actually came from the underground! He was well known down there back in his day, for his use of 3DM gear to steal and fight. It took us members of the Survey Corps going down there to actually catch him and his little gang. Isn't that interesting?" she asked, delighted to share some of Levi's secrets. Levi sighed and smacked her on the head. "OW!"

"Don't go sharing other people's private lives without their permission, four eyes. You'll make a lot of enemies like that." Hanji pouted.

"No I won't, for I am the all powerful Hanji! I am funny and cool and annoying and everywhere at once!" she cackled. Levi sighed.

"Whatever. Anyways, if what he says is true then we need to find Erwin and let him know there's been a change of plans. After all, we won't get anywhere without his approval." Hanji grinned and shot up.

"I'll tell him this time! Levi, you stay here with Eren, okay? Bye!!" With that she disappeared out the door. They stared after her before both sighed. Levi shook his head in exasperation.

"I don't understand how Erwin gets that creature to do any work at all," he sighed. He glanced at Eren before looking away. Eren flinched and looked down. Levi sighed in frustration. "Don't make that face."

"What?" Eren tilted his head, looking up at Levi. Levi was glaring at the corner of the room, refusing to meet Eren's eyes.

"Don't look so f*cking sad and hurt, idiot," he said, eyes flicking to Eren before he went back to glaring the corner into submission. Eren's eyes widened as he caught the light flush of pink on Levi's cheeks.

Is he...embarrassed??Eren wondered. Before he could ask though, Hanji burst through the doors again.

"Good news, Erwin says the underground plan is go! Bad news, we're going to the underground tomorrow morning." Levi shot up from his seat.

"What?!" he demanded. Hanji shrugged.

"Erwin's done with this. He wants to get it over with as fast as possible. Or so he told me. So we're going to head to the underground tomorrow!" she cheered. Levi glared at her until she went quiet. He sighed.

"Eren, do you have any casual clothes?" Eren nodded slowly and Levi muttered something that Eren couldn't catch. "Do you have any blades that are sharp but can also be well hidden?"

"Um, no." Levi sighed.

"I'll give you one from my collection, don't lose it. You're going to need it when we head down there. Also, don't bring a lot of money if you can help it. Bring something small and easy to hide if you are going to bring money. I would recommend wearing it like a necklace as that tends to be the best way to prevent it from being stolen." Eren glanced at Hanji and she shrugged, grinning all the while.

"Sir? Why do I need to know that?" Levi glanced at him and huffed.

"Because the underground city is a den of thieves, murderers, and all sorts of people who would rather hurt you and live than see if they can ask you to do something for them. It's the kind of place where it's normal to see bodies lying in alleyways and no one gives a f*ck. There are brothels and bars on every street you turn down and you have about a forty percent chance to walk down a street and see a woman -or a boy- getting raped. It is not a good place to be and you will have to fight to survive." Eren shivered at the thought.

"It won't be that bad will it?" Hanji asked, now suddenly worried. Levi glared at her.

"You didn't come down with Erwin to get me and even then he didn't stay very long. Take it from someone who grew up there, it's bad. By the way, do you know where any nondescript cloaks are? It would be best to hide our faces without drawing attention in the way wearing a military cloak is sure to do. We should also decide who's most likely to survive there and why we should bring them..." he trailed off, muttering to himself about what they would need. Hanji glanced at Eren before shrugging.

"Levi? Need help?" He glanced back at them.

"Sure. Eren, you stay here. Go to sleep or whatever you want to do. sh*tty glasses, you're with me. We need to go buy supplies for this sh*t storm." Without a glance back, Hanji and Levi went to get prepared while Eren was left behind to sleepagain.He sighed to himself.

I really hope things are more interesting underground than they are here.

Chapter 34: Capti Apud Sub Terra

Chapter Text

There was a soft knocking on Eren's door that woke him up. He sleepily opened his eyes as the door swung open. Levi was standing there with a small paper package in his hands.

"Eren. It's time to go." Eren nodded as he stood and quickly changed into his most worn out casual clothes. Levi gave him a once over before sighing. "Dammit, we're still going to stick out like a sore thumb. This is why f*cking eyebrows should've given us more time to prepare. It's f*cking bullsh*t."

Eren wondered why Levi kept muttering to himself while looking like he would murder the next person to approach him. Levi turned and left the room, leaving Eren to follow him. Eren had to hustle to keep up with Levi who seemed to want to get the hell out of there as fast as possible to get the inevitable trip to the underground over with. Eren worried about his little one. They reached the stables and Eren took in the small squad that was coming with them. Hanji, Nanaba, Moblit, Mike, and Dietrich. So seven people total were going.

"Isn't this too few?" Eren asked Levi. Levi glanced at him before rolling his eyes.

"We don't want to stick out down there. Bringing a whole group of people with us only draws unnecessary attention that could get us killed. So no, this isn't too few, it's just right. Though I think it should still be smaller." Hanji snickered.

"Levi's being a baby." Levi glared at her.

"Levi's not going to break your hands for that right now because unfortunately I need you alive if we're going down there. So count yourself lucky that Levi can't hurt you really bad right now." Eren shivered at the almost playful tone of voice Levi was using. Clearly Levi was stressed out and pissed off, never a good combination. Levi clicked his tongue.

"Alright. Where's Erwin?" Eren glanced at him.

"Erwin's coming with us?" he asked, mildly surprised. Levi clicked his tongue.

"Hell no that idiot's not coming with us. He would get us killed on the first day. No, we can't bring our horses and since this is a very secretive operation we're going to need a carriage driver to get us where we need to be.That'swhy we're waiting on Erwin." There was the sound of hooves on cobblestone before the carriage wagon pulled up next to them.

"Calm down, Levi. You're panicking because you keep thinking of what could happen. Just remember how you prevented those before when you lived down there. It'll be fine, I have faith in you." Levi clicked his tongue but didn't respond as Erwin hopped down from the driver's seat. He dusted his pants off before approaching. "Alright. I've already briefed most of you but let me recap what our goal is. We believe that in the underground city there is a hidden library with information on the titans and, as you already know, possibly information on Eren. We're trying to find and access that information but to do so you will likely have to go through the underground city. Be careful, be cautious, and keep your heads down. Don't draw unnecessary attention and listen to Levi when he gives orders. He has the most experience with the underground so he's the most capable person when it comes to keeping you all alive. Got it?"

There were nods all around and Erwin nodded, climbing back into his seat. The others filed onto the benches of the carriage and pulled their old, worn down cloaks around themselves. Apparently quality materials disappeared very quickly in the underground so Levi had purchased poor, old material. It wasn't what they were used to but it was less likely to get stolen. The ride to the capital was silent, everyone thinking over what was going to happen. Eren opened the paper package Levi had given him and took note of what was inside it.

There was a tattered leather satchel, most likely for holding his things, a small, sharp knife, probably the one Levi said he would give Eren from his collection, a bar of soap, and a strange looking necklace with bronze rings on it. He frowned and fiddled with it. Finally he worked up the courage to break the silence and ask Levi.

"Captain, what's this?" Levi glanced over at it before sighing.

"It's your money necklace. Purses and wallets get stolen quickly. That necklace has bronze rings that you can sell to get enough money to at least have a place to stay for a week and get some food. It's better to have one of those than have a pouch of money that goes missing on the first day." Eren nodded and placed the necklace around his neck, hiding it under his shirt. The knife and soap bar he put in the satchel. The carriage came to a stop in front of a dark passage with two men from the Military Police in front of it.

"Hey! What's your business here?" one of them called. Erwin came down from the seat and handed them some papers.

"These seven have business to conduct in the underground. They are all registered soldiers in the Survey Corps, including Captain Levi." The second sneered dismissively.

"Bringing up more criminals to work as your little lap dogs? Well, whatever, it's not my job to ask why just to make sure you have the papers. Any idea how long they'll be down there?" Erwin shook his head and they clicked their tongue. "Then you might want to stay in the capital to make sure they get let up when they need to be."

"Of course, thank you for your help," Erwin said pleasantly. They stood to the side of the entrance as Levi led the way down. Levi had pulled a lantern from somewhere so they could see in the poorly maintained tunnel. They stepped out of the tunnel and Levi dimmed the lantern, allowing the underground city to shine beautifully even though it was a cruel, horrible place. Eren frowned as he looked around, studying the way the city looked.

"What's wrong, Eren?" Hanji asked.

"The cityscape is backwards." They frowned and Eren gestured to the city in front of him. "It's backwards from how it appeared in my dream."

It dawned on Levi what he was talking about and Levi cursed softly. Hanji frowned.

"What do you mean?" Levi answered for Eren.

"He means the door is on the other f*cking side of the city. Dammit." Hanji's eyes widened in shock.

"Well, do we go along the outskirts?" Levi shook his head.

"The outskirts are where the most desperate of the desperate live. It's a breeding pen of disease and a house of those who would murder you to not only take your possessions but also use your body as food. It's the worst option out there." Hanji shivered.

"So then...what's the safest path?" Moblit asked softly. Levi threw him a glare before sighing and stalking towards the city.

"There is no 'safest' path." They followed him wordlessly after that.

Once in the actual city Levi made them pull up the hoods of their cloaks. It was a common thing to do from what Eren had seen. Levi went straight for a run down looking brothel. Hanji stopped walking for a second before hurriedly catching up to Levi.

"Um Levi, where are we going?" she hissed into his ear. Levi's face darkened.

"To get information. If she's not dead, the old hag in charge of this place was an old friend." He opened the doors and they went in, Eren's eyes darting from place to place. It stank of sweat and perfume in the place and he winced at the sharpness of the smells. Wherever he looked he would see men fondling barely clothed women or barely clothed men leading women up the stairs to who knows where. Levi reached the front desk and rang the bell. An old woman who somehow still looked somewhat majestic strode out from the back.

"What can I help you with? One of my girls? Maybe one of my boys?" she asked, her lashes fluttering.

"Information, Olivia," Levi said, pulling his hood up enough that she could see his face. Her eyes widened and she lifted the wooden bar separating customers from the back of the counter.

"Come in," she hissed. Levi walked in and the others followed, not understanding what was happening. Once they were in the back room, away from the prying eyes, Levi got smushed into a hug. "Rivaille, my dear boy, how have you been? It's been so long since I heard anything about you I got worried you were offed and buried!"

"Not dead and perfectly healthy. How've you been, Olivia?" The woman smirked at him.

"Please, call me Noona like you always did. I've been fine though it was annoying after you left and we lost the protection of 'Underground City's Demon'. Took me forever to find someone strong enough and close enough to actually protect the brothel. But enough of that, you said you were here for information?" Levi nodded.

"I haven't been in the underground for close to ten years now. I need to get across the city to the other side for some business so I need to know the current gangs and who to avoid. What do you know?" Olivia grinned.

"Because this is our happy reunion, I'll give you the information for free." She opened a desk drawer and pulled out a map, handing it to Levi. "This is the map of the current gang territories. I have them updated every time new information comes in so it's new as can be. Biggest ones that you want to look out for are Laughing Coffin and the Millennium Earl's group. They're the biggest and most violent so I'd recommend trying to skirt around them."

"Got it. Mind if I take the map?" Levi asked. Olivia waved her hand.

"By all means, go for it. I've got plenty of copies. I hope to see you again Rivaille. You and your cute little friends," she said with a smile. Levi paused at the door.

"See you, Noona." Olivia smiled as he left. Eren followed after Levi as they quickly exited the building.

"What was that all about, Levi?" Hanji asked. Levi shrugged.

"Not many people go by their real names here, it causes trouble and gives people an accurate target to shoot. As for Olivia, she looked after me a bit when I was still a kid. So we were pretty close." He pulled out the map. He studied it for a moment before rolling it shut and putting it back in his bag. "Alright. Right now we're going to try to skirt the edges of the gang territory and find an inn to sleep at. If one of my shelters is still empty then I'll try to get us there but houses rarely stay empty for long here. We'll be lucky to find an empty one. Alright, let's move quickly."

With that Levi increased his pace and the others followed, trying to keep up as Levi took sharp corners or strange twists to get to wherever they were going. It felt like they were going in a loop but Levi seemed to know exactly where he was going. Finally they reached a small looking tavern and Levi walked straight for it.They entered quietly, noting how many men seemed to just be lounging around in the seats, eyes hungrily going to the newcomers. Levi stalked up to the bartender and placed two bronze coins on the counter top.

"Attic room, two nights," he said. The bartender nodded and swept the money into his pocket as Levi turned and went up the stairs. After climbing up for a bit they found themselves in a wide, spacious attic room.

"Levi, isn't this worth more than you paid?" Hanji asked as she looked around the room. Levi pulled his cloak off as he sat down on one of the beds.

"Maybe it would be above ground but not here. No one's got money aside from the gangs. So nothing costs as much." Hanji nodded and for the first time since the trip began Mike spot up.

"Speaking of gangs, hasn't it been quiet?" Levi rolled his eyes.

"That's because I took us through the backways. Travel along the lines between where the gang territory is and avoid using the larger streets. Those get attacked or held up by gangs pretty frequently so they're a dangerous place to be." Mike nodded and Levi sighed as he lay back on the bed. "At this point we've covered about an eighth of the city so we're relatively far along. As long as nothing goes wrong it will likely take us eight days to get all the way across the city."

"Isn't that really slow?" Hanji asked with a frown. "Should we have brought the gear?"

"It's true the gear would get us across quickly but how many people actually have gear here? Let alone know how to use it? Aside from the Military Police, zero people have it. The whole point is to not draw attention to ourselves, four eyes." Hanji nodded slowly, weakly, under Levi's glare.

"Sorry."

"As long as you learned your lesson this time, it's fine." There was quiet before they heard something outside. Eren looked out the upper window to see a clown performing tricks on the street. He stared, enthralled by the strange magic it was performing. Levi stared down at it with a frown. "That's odd."

"Levi! Can I go watch?" Eren asked eagerly. Levi stared at him for a moment before sighing, unable to resist the call of Eren's brilliant, excited eyes.

"Fine but stay in view of the window. I don't want someone to kidnap you." Eren eagerly darted down the stairs to watch the performance, making sure to stay within sight of the window. Apparently he was not the only child allured by the strange performance. When the performance ended, he pleaded for more with the other children too. The clown smiled.

"Children, I have to go perform somewhere else. I can't stay here but if you wish to come watch, that's alright with me," it said with a smile. Eren winced, torn between following Levi's rules and watching the clown perform. Finally his shoulders slumped. Little one came first, even though the clown was interesting. The clown's smile faltered when he noticed that the green eyed child wasn't following him. "What's wrong boy? Don't you want to watch?"

"I do but I was told to stay within sight." The clown frowned before he sighed.

"Oh well. I didn't want to resort to this but...get him." Immediately after the order, people popped out of the shadows, grabbing the children. When he realized how bad the situation was, Eren attempted to run back to the tavern, punching and kicking the people who came after him. But eventually there were just too many and he ended up getting grabbed by them. His eyes widened and he struggled before someone hit him in the temple and his vision began to blur.

Levi glanced out the window and shot upright, running for the stairs. Hanji glanced at him before looking out the window and shrieking in horror as she spotted Eren being carted away by unknown people. Levi tried to fight to get him back but there were just too many and Eren was out of sight before anyone could do anything to stop it. Levi came back inside before sitting on his bed and putting his face in his hands.

"f*ck."

Chapter 35: Captum

Chapter Text

Eren whimpered softly as he began to regain consciousness, his head throbbing. He felt sick and tired. He yawned sleepily, eyes widening as he attempted to get up and head to his window so he could sunbathe for a bit and regain some energy. A rattling noise distracted him and something jerked on his neck when he attempted to stand, dragging him back down. His eyes snapped fully open, now awake for real and he took in his surroundings.

He was in a cage of sorts, black iron bars preventing him from going anywhere. Around his cage were more cages with other children in them, some with tears in their eyes and others with hollow looks on their faces. They felt like porcelain dolls to him, like they might shatter at any moment. They also had on big black iron collars with chains that went down and were locked to a loop on the floor. Eren's eyes widened and he looked down, hands reaching up to feel his own neck. Sure enough, chains fell from his throat and a collar wrapped its way around his neck. Eren swallowed nervously but relaxed when he realized that the collar itself was hiding his nape. Just barely but enough for him to feel relatively safe.

A loud creaking bang interrupted his thoughts and Eren looked up, noting that the other children seemed to flinch and scoot back as much as possible away from the noise. Eren didn't understand why they would do that until he saw who had appeared. It was the clown and some of the other people who'd attacked Eren, though the clown wasn't wearing his makeup.

"Did you find out who that was?" the clown hissed. The man next to him flinched and bowed his head.

"No sir, we did not. We haven't seen hide nor hair of him since that incident." Eren frowned and tilted his head, wondering who they were talking about. The clown stopped in front of his cage and Eren's eyes narrowed as he watched the clown suspiciously. The clown smiled warmly, a shocking contrast from his attitude mere moments earlier.

"Hello, little boy. It seems you have averyprotective friend who was not happy we took you away. The little bugger even went and cut up a few of my men, searching for you! I wonder if you're really worth it," the clown said. Eren shivered. This clown was the type of person that scared Eren the most; the type that would lie to your face with a smile on their face. He glared at him and the clown smirked. "But maybe you are worth it. After all, justlookat that rebellious face. So delicate and womanly with those beautiful jewels for eyes. So many people will want to buy you and break you, little boy. So I think it's worth losing a few men to have caught you. For now though we can't risk losing you so I'm going to have a guard keep watch over you. See you later!"

Eren stared after the clown in confusion as he walked away. What was he talking about? People wanted to buy him? Break him?? Where was he? And who was the mysterious person the clown had talked about? He'd said they were a friend of Eren's and had tried to save him from the clown so the only one it could be was Levi, right? But wasn't Levi this super strong thug when he was here? Surely he wouldn't have lost for no reason. Eren sighed as he scratched his head, struggling to figure out what the hell was going on. No one ever said he was the smartest after all. That title went to either Armin or Erwin. It was so hard to choose which though.

A loud clanging against the bars of his cage jerked Eren out of his thoughts and he stared at the man who stood outside his cage. He had long black hair held up in a ponytail, something Eren had never seen before on a guy aside from Eld. And even then Eld's ponytail wasn't half as long as this mans. The man pushed a tray along the ground with a nudge of his foot, glaring at Eren.

"Eat," he said before looking away. Eren stared at the food and hesitantly picked up the bread. He couldn't avoid eating the food in front of this many people...wait! Maybe it was a normal thing for captives to deny food from the captor? Maybe Eren could say he wasn't hungry, though he was, and not eat the food? Eren put the bread back and pretended to pout sullenly. He pushed the tray away and scooched deeper into the cage.

"I'm not hungry." The man glared at him before sighing. He massaged the area between his eyebrows before glaring at Eren again.

"Fine. You don't want to eat? Don't eat. Just don't be surprised when you end up getting force fed or worse, starve. I won't be held responsible for that." Eren stared at him, confused as to where his loyalties lay. He wasn't forcing him to eat, which seemed like something the clown would want, but he wasn't helping Eren escape from wherever this was. Thus Eren could assume that this person was a neutral class. Eren sighed and lay back down, the collar making it rather uncomfortable to lay on his back. He rolled onto his side and used his arm as a pillow as he shut his eyes.

I need to save energy.He thought before drifting asleep.

WARNING: BLOOD AND DESCRIPTIONS OF HEAVY TORTURE

"AAAHHGH!" The man screamed as Levi ground his fingers into the cut. The mans body jerked and spasmed with each time Levi would curl his fingers in the wound. Levi pulled his fingers out, wiping the blood on a nearby towel. He glared down at the man.

"So, ready to talk or not? I'm perfectly willing to continue with this until you do want to talk and trust me, I have experience with this. I can keep you alive for days while torturing you to the brink of insanity." The man stared up at him in terror but said nothing. Levi sighed and lifted a nail and hammer up from the tray of items he'd had Hanji fetch for him. She'd been confused as to why he needed them and now she wished she'd never asked to see what he did with them. Torture was never fun for beginners. Levi placed the nail over the man's hand and raised the hammer. "Do you want to talk? If you don't speak now, you'll lose the use of this hand and it will be excruciating for you."

"No...please...ddddon't!" the man sobbed. Levi lowered the hammer slowly, tapping it against the head of the nail, allowing the man to feel the sharp tip poking his skin.

"Then answer the question. Where did they take him?" Levi growled. The man shook his head, eyes full of tears.

"I can't..." Levi's eyes became cold. He sighed and lifted the hammer before slamming it down on the nail, piercing through the man's hand and crushing the bones it hit. The man screamed in agony, body jerking as he attempted to escape the pain and only inflicted more damage on himself. Levi merely watched him scream until the man collapsed, panting from exhaustion. Levi lifted a scalpel and turned to the man again.

"Now then. Tell me what I want to know and not only will I let you go, I'll also bandage your injuries. That's not so bad for you right? After all, who else would bandage a cripple?" The man glared at Levi.

"You're the one who made me a cripple!" he yelled, sobbing softly. Levi stared at him before sighing. He set the scalpel down before reaching for a clamp. The man's eyes widened and Levi felt a smirk almost cross his face.

"Do you know what this is used for in torture? It's used to hold you still, painfully tight, while I use these clippers and take off fingers and toes. These clippers can cut through military grade steel wire so it shouldn't be too difficult to cut your fingers and toes off. After all, you're not made from metal. You're made from flesh and blood. So, what do you want to do? Tell me what I want and I'll let you go. Or, we can see how many fingers I need to take off before we talk," Levi said darkly. The man paled but shook his head desperately. Levi sighed and reached over to clamp the man's undamaged hand to the arm rest. Once Levi had finished tightening it and was sure the man wasn't going anywhere, he reached over for the clippers. The man began to panic then.

"PLEASE! I CAN'T TELL YOU, THEY'LL KILL ME IF I DO!" he cried, practically screaming with fear. Levi chuckled softly, darker than any laugh the man had heard before. The man stopped pleading, becoming more and more terrified the longer Levi laughed. Levi turned to look at him, a cruel smirk on his lips.

"Thing is, what you don't seem to understand is that I'll kill you if you don't tell me what I want to know. How many others do you think there are who know where the person I'm looking for is? You're just convenient because you were one of the ones to kidnap him so you recognize him and are more likely to know where he's being kept. I have no real reason aside from that to keep you alive." The man was quaking in his boots as Levi walked closer with the clippers in hand. Levi placed the blades on opposite sides of the finger, noting it tremble. He looked up at the man. "If you want to talk, and I mean really tell me what I want, say 'titan'. Okay?"

"Please," the man whimpered. Levi waited for a moment before sighing and bringing the cutter blades together. The man wailed in agony as the sharp blades cut through his flesh and began digging into the bone. Then there was a snapping noise and he howled with pain as the finger dropped to the floor, blood dripping from the man's now-pinkyless hand. Levi reached down and picked up the finger, wiped the blood it was still dripping onto a cloth, and set it on the tray well in view of the man. The man stared at him with terror in his eyes.

"Remember, if you want to talk, say titan. I'll stop whatever I'm doing and listen to what you have to say," Levi said. He waited and when the man didn't talk he sighed. He reached down and lifted the man's leg, studying it. The man kept trying to pull it away so Levi reached over to the man's other thigh and dug his fingers into the knife cut he'd previously been playing with. The man cried out and Levi pulled his fingers away so he could study the man's leg again. The man was shockingly healthy, must earn a lot selling kids. Levi sighed to himself. "Alright. Do you want to talk?" When no answer came, Levi shrugged and brought his elbow down on the man's knee, snapping it and bending his leg the opposite direction it would normally go. The man's screams reached a higher pitch than all the ones prior and Levi noted with a frown that some of the bones had come out of the man's skin and were tearing it, causing blood to drip on the floor. Levi dropped the leg, letting it hit the ground hard to jostle the injury further. The man howled in pain and sobbed once he'd calmed down for the most part.

"Why? Why is that brat so important to you? He's just a kid!" the man screamed at him. Levi stared at him indifferently.

"Why? Because he's mine. What's so hard to understand about that? Either way, even if he wasn't mine I'd still have a duty to get him back. Now then. Where. Is. He?" The man sobbed for a bit more and Levi lifted the clippers, prepared to cut off another finger.

"Wait, stop, titan!" the man cried. Levi paused and set the clippers down, still within reach but not immediately in his hands. The man relaxed slightly before speaking. "He'll be in a warehouse on the far side of the city, away from the stairs. They always put the new captures there until someone wants to buy them. I don't know any more than that, I swear."

"Alright. Thank you for telling me," Levi said politely. The man stared up at him hopefully.

"That's it, right? I told you what you wanted and now you'll let me go?" Levi stared at him coldly.

"What, so you can go and tell your boss that we're planning to rescue him? I don't think so. Nice try but I'm not falling for that." The man paled.

"But...you said you'd..." Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Tell me, how often have you had to lie and pretend to get something you wanted here? The underground isn't a nice place and we both know that. You're an idiot for believing something I said without a guarantee. Besides, even if I wasn't lying, you helped kidnap someone important to me. For that, you need to die." The man paled and Levi smiled as he lifted the scalpel from the tray. "I'll give you a relatively quick death, though it won't be as short as it could be because you refused to tell me for so long. But either way, enjoy your time in the after life."

The man paled and squirmed as Levi twisted his hands so they were palm up before slitting the wrists and watching him bleed out. The blood came quickly, likely because of his fear causing his heart to pump blood out faster and faster, beginning to pool under the chair where he was tied. It pulsed out in time with the man's heartbeat, floods of it coming at each time. Soon the man's hands were sticky with red and the chair was wet with blood. Levi could also smell a hint of urine, the man had likely pissed himself in fear. But Levi didn't focus on that disgusting detail, he just wanted to make sure the man died. So he watched the man's wrists and his blood. Levi watched it drip, watched how the man's struggles became slower until they stopped, watched how the blood no longer flowed like it had. Once the man was beginning to go cold, Levi removed the bloody apron he was wearing. He sighed and wiped his hands on a towel, glad to finally be done. He climbed up the stairs and found the others waiting with nervous, sick looks on their faces.

"Good news, Eren's being kept in a warehouse close to our end destination. Bad news, he's going to be under guard." Hanji watched him worriedly.

"Levi...are you okay?" she asked. Levi stared at her in confusion, not understanding why she would ask him that. Then it dawned on him that they didn't have to grow up torturing people, learning how to hurt others to survive. He looked away and sighed.

"I'm fine. I'm...I'm used to it four eyes. Besides, Eren's more important, right?" Then let's go. I don't want to waste any more time so we're taking the gear." They stared at him in shock. Mike sniffed.

"What happened to 'don't draw attention'?" he asked. Levi glared.

"It's taking too long and decided to go 'f*ck it'. You want to wait and take the long route, fine. I'll go alone. You know I'm more than capable of rescuing one sh*tty brat." Levi went out towards the bar and brothel area to wait for a member of the MP's. Once he saw one he knocked the man out and took his gear. He heard a soft thump and turned, ready for a fight but instead found the others holding their own gear. He sighed and shook his head, fighting to keep a smile off his face. "You guys are idiots."

"Yeah but we're your idiots! Now let's go rescue the other member of Levi's Idiots Squad!" Hanji cheered. Levi sighed, lips twitching.

"f*ck, don't give yourselves a name like that," he said, fighting back chuckles. Hanji grinned at him. He nodded and they put the gear on, tapping the tanks to check how full they were.

"Full tanks," Nanaba reported. Mike nodded and Levi snorted.

"That's because the MP's never use their gear. It's just for show. Now, let's go." Levi shot into the air and a feeling of nostalgia washed over him. This city was a familiar sight to him. He felt like if he looked to the right he would see Isabel laughing excitedly and Farlan on his left, scolding Isabel about wasting gas. He shook his head and flew faster, easily making the sharp corners the others would struggle with. He saw them looping around slowly before catching up. Levi heard people shouting in shock below him, likely recognizing him and his notorious use of the gear but he paid them no mind. After all, he had a goal to accomplish. He landed on the rooftop of a house next to a warehouse. He glanced around, noting there were no guards around before jumping onto a tiny ledge next to a window of the warehouse. He peered in and frowned. Just like he'd suspected there were cages full of kids.

"Levi?" Hanji called.

"I can't see him but there are other kids here so it's possible he's in this one. I'm going to head in." Hanji nodded and Levi jumped back before ramming himself through the window. He stalked along the path, noting the kids cringing away from him. He ignored them, more focused on finding that stupid titan brat. He opened the doors to another room of the warehouse and saw more kids. They seemed confused about him, less frightened and more uncertain. He stalked past them and his eyes focused on a cage with a mop of familiar brown hair laying down in it.

"Who are you?" he glanced at the guard standing by the cage, sizing him up in his mind. The man seemed like he would be annoying to fight but he would still lose.

"Rivaille. Who're you?" The man's eyes widened slightly at the familiar name before narrowing.

"Kanda. What're you here for?" Levi nodded towards the figure in the cage.

"Him." Kanda's eyes narrowed.

"You'll have to fight me first." Levi readied himself to fight and then suddenly an arm wrapped around Kanda's throat. Kanda began to choke, eyes widening as he scrabbled to free himself from the arm holding him against the bars of the tank. Kanda's eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped, unconscious from lack of air. The person dropped him and Levi relaxed, seeing that it was Eren.

"Was you appearing to be asleep a trick?" he asked. Eren shrugged.

"Well, I was actually asleep but I woke up when I heard you, captain. By the way, do you mind letting me out?" Levi clicked his tongue but searched Kanda's pockets and found the keys to both Eren's cage and his collar. Levi opened the cage and then unlocked the collar. Levi stared at Eren for a second before he found himself wrapped in Eren's arms.

"Thank you Captain," Eren whispered. Levi sighed and patted Eren's head, noting with frustration that he had to actually reach up to pat him. Curse childhood malnutrition for stunting his growth.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Eren nodded and together they quickly fled, exiting the same way Levi had come in. Once they were sure they were a safe distance away, Levi set Eren down. "Eren, do you recognize the area around here?"

Eren paused and looked around before glancing at the massive stone walls. He slowly approached a large, flat stone wall and hesitantly placed his hand against it. His palm glowed gold before a golden titan-sized hand print appeared on the door above him.

"It's here," he said. "We've found the library."

Chapter 36: Verum Ex Bibliotheca

Chapter Text

"So...does the hand just glow and the door opens or do you actually need to push it?" Hanji asked, staring up at the glowing hand print. Eren blushed and pushed against the door, causing it to swing open. Their jaws dropped at the sight of the library itself. Stone shelves stretched easily fifteen meters into the air, pristine books resting upon them. Hanji was practically vibrating with excitement at the sight of all the potential knowledge stored in the ancient tombs. Then a strange noise reached their ears. The sound of something heavy landing on the ground in a steady pattern. Afamiliarpattern.

"Hanji," Levi warned. She nodded, serious and they watched as a giant hand closed around a corner of one of the shelves. A ten meter titan turned the corner and paused, sniffing the air. Levi internally cursed. They hadn't expected titans to be here so he hadn't brought any blades. The most they could do was run and hide. Its eyes snapped towards them and the group of humans twitched, waiting for it to move. It opened its mouth and they glared, readying themselves to flee.

"I wasn't expecting guests so early in the morning."They froze and stared at it. A titan. That couldspeak. It was insane. Not possible. Even Eren could only barely speak in his titan form and that was with some difficulty due to the lack of lips. This titan just spoke as if it was nothing. It was pretty well formed with a slight layer of fat on the stomach but other than that it just looked like a giant, genderless, naked human. Its eyes were intelligent rather than mindless and hungry like the titans they were familiar with. It watched them, waiting for them to say something. When they didn't it sighed."I suppose it's understandable that you're shocked. After all, I would be terrified if I found out that the creatures I killed were alive and smarter than I gave them credit for."

"How...how is this possible??" Hanji asked, practically drooling. The titan glanced at her.

"Would you like me to explain it here or should we go somewhere else to sit?"it asked. Hanji was about to answer but Levi cut her off.

"Here is fine. Right here will be perfect," he said, glaring her into submission. The titan nodded and carefully sat down, leaning against the bookshelf.

I suppose you don't want to lose the advantage of having places to grapple onto. Don't worry, this is fine. Now then, how to explain. First of all, I'm what's known as a reborn titan."

"Reborn??" Hanji asked excitedly. The titan nodded.

"Yes, reborn. There are three main types of titans with one technical fourth that you've already met. First there are the mindless titans whose only goal is to eat humans. They're very instinctive creatures and not well formed. These can be killed rather easily depending on your level of skill but there are a lot of them so it takes more to kill all of them." Levi stared at it.

"You say that like something happens after they die," he said. The titan nodded.

"Something does. We're all phoenix titans. Like the bird we're named after, when we die we are reborn. Mindless titans have to be killed at least ten times before moving up to the next level of titan."The humans stared at it in shock.

"You mean to tell me that every time we kill a titan, it doesn't actually die?" Levi growled. The titan nodded.

"Until a king is crowned no titan can be killed. They will merely be recycled until then. Are you alright?"Levi glared at it.

"We lose, on average,thirty percent of our mento kill those f*cking titans and you're telling me that we haven't even killedONEof them yet?" He hissed. The titan nodded, shifting uncomfortably.

"Um, sorry to interrupt Levi when he's being all dark and broody like this but, can you continue telling us about the other titan types?" Hanji asked, trying to break the tension.

"Um, sure. The second class is what you would call 'abnormals'. They display abnormal behavior as during that life or lives they will slowly lose the urge to obey their instincts all the time. They are also smarter than the mindless titans but not by a lot. Currently it takes about fifteen deaths for an abnormal to move to the last stage of titan." It glanced at Levi as if judging his current state of mind. Judging from the look on Levi's face he was somewhere between I'll-kill-you-to-relieve-some-stress and I'm-going-to-murder-everyone-and-everything. It shivered and looked away back at Hanji, deeming her a safer alternative."So the final type is what I am. A 'reborn' titan. This is our final life as we become immortal and none of us have ever died after achieving this state aside from the royal line but they're special. We gain human-like intelligence and full control over our bodies. We are also made better, as in our imperfections were lessened. For example, I used to have a really big stomach and skinny legs when I was an abnormal but now I'm almost normal. So the 'reborn' titans are like the pinnacle of normal titans."

"What do you mean by 'normal titans'?" Hanji asked. "Are there titans that are different?"

"There are. Like I said there is technically a fourth species and you've already met one of them."

"We have?" Hanji asked. The titan nodded and pointed straight at Eren.

"A member of the royal line."Hanji whirled to face Eren.

"Eren! You're really a member of royalty! Ah, this is so exciting! I need to run tests and take some samples, I-"

"Four eyes, shut the hell up and let titan over here explain what makes the royals so f*cking special." Hanji pouted at Levi and he merely glared at her. His eyes flicked to Eren before pain appeared in them and he looked away from Eren.

"Right. Anyways, the royals are special in a couple of ways. First of all royals can command any of the other three titan classes to do things. That's why during the time that a king reigns there are no titan attacks. Mindless titans are ordered to not eat humans and to stay hidden if possible. Normally a king prepares an heir several hundred years in advance of his death but the previous king's heir died in an accident. So when the king passed away without an heir the mindless and abnormal titans went on a rampage, coming out of hiding and devouring everyone." Hanji's eyes widened.

"The massacre of the titans. The thing where overnight titans appeared worldwide and devoured most of humanity!" she said. The titan nodded.

"Yes. Without a king's command holding them back the mindless titans and abnormals were no longer required to hide and avoid eating humans. Since the previous kings couldn't bring themselves to kill their subjects, tormenting them over and over again, the mindless and abnormal titans stayed as they were for hundreds of years. As such when no new command was given, they were released upon the humans of the world." The humans were silent for a moment. Then something occurred to Moblit.

"Wait, didn't you say that royals were different in two ways?" he asked. The titan nodded.

"Royals have never tasted human flesh."They stared at it and it sighed."Do you understand how uncommon it is for a titan to be a reborn titan and have never eaten human flesh, not once? It doesn't happen. Ever. But royals are born at the same level reborn titans are. The only difference is that reborn titans don't have a lifespan. Technically neither do the royals but the royals can pass on when they want. It's a slow process where they shut off their ability to use sunlight for energy. However, once you exceed a certain point there's no going back. It's why the previous king couldn't put his death on hold while he searched for a new replacement."

"So then Eren's dreams saying that he's the Prince of the Phoenix titans..." Hanji trailed off, eyes lighting up in excitement. The titan nodded.

"He's been named the next king. There is only ever one prince or princess and they are the next in line for the throne. I believe you humans used to use the term 'crown prince'? That doesn't matter. But before he can take up the mantle of king he must first pass the trial of the crown."Hanji tilted her head.

"What's that?" The titan sighed.

"The trial of the crown is a judgement of sorts. The crown is placed upon the successors' head and if they harbor ill will towards the humans they will be burned to ashes. If they don't feel that way towards humans then they will be allowed into the chambers of the king. Inside the chambers they will face their darkest fear and if they can come out sane they pass. But understand it is not an easy trial. This will be painful and frightening. A large amount of potential successors quit when they hear about what they have to go through. But what say you little prince? Will you attempt the trials?"The titans asked Eren. Eren stared down at the ground, thinking.

If he didn't do the trials then the titans could remain wild, man eating monsters for one hundred or more years. His little one would suffer. His 'friends' would suffer. All humans would suffer. But if he did take the crown he would be able to tell the titans not to. He would be able to protect all the humans and let them back out to the rest of the world. He nodded to himself before looking up.

"I'll do it." Immediately the others crowded around him.

"Eren! What are you thinking?"

"You could die!!"

"But I could also put an end to all of this," Eren said, pushing them back slightly. He looked up at the titan. "I'll do it."

"Please assume your true form and follow me. I will lead you to the crown and you will attempt the first trial."Eren nodded and stepped away from the others to bite his hand. A flash of lightning blinded them for a moment and the thunderclap echoed in their ears. The titan clapped its hands."Truly a spectacular transformation. I envy you for that skill, your Highness."

"Wait! Eren can transform underground??" Hanji cried incredulously. The titan snorted.

"This area is special. It was formed by the first king thus all kings that come after can transform here."Mike snorted.

"Isn't that ironic? Humans wanted to get away from titans so we parked ourselves right over the house of the king of titans." He huffed a bit more while the others stared at him. The titan nodded.

"It makes sense that you would come here since really only the reborn titans stayed near the king's residence. Thus there would be fewer mindless and abnormal titans. Of course that changed after most of humanity remaining outside the walls were eaten but if you think about when this place had a king, it would've been much better." Eren grunted loudly to catch the attention of the titan. It glanced at him."Of course, let's go now. Do you want your friends to come with us or should we leave them here?"

Eren glanced down at them before grumbling softly. The titan turned to them.

"His Highness says it's up to you whether or not you come with us. If you do want to, he said to hook onto him and hang on."

"When did he say that?" Levi growled. The titan shrugged.

"Since he lacks proper lips or vocal cords he communicates telepathically by projecting his thoughts to speak in the minds of those who are receptive to that sort of communication. It's very common among titans."Levi clicked his tongue and shot his cables. He landed on Eren's shoulder before pulling on the titan's ear.

"Of course we're coming with, you idiot." Eren huffed a bit as the others collected on his shoulders. The titan nodded and walked out, opening more giant doors. There were other titans in the hallways who stared at them, clearly shocked. They bowed to Eren but gawked at the humans on his shoulders. Soon other titans were following them as the titan paraded them through the halls. It opened a golden edged marble door and they stared at the room inside.

It was empty save for one thing. A pedestal with a crown that appeared to be made of living fire. No, the crown itself was of metal but flames flickered all over it, hiding and twisting the true form. It appeared simple once they got past the flames. A band of golden metal with sharp points along the top edge. Enthralling in its danger and beautiful in its simplicity, was how Levi would describe it if he were being poetic.

"You humans may want to get off of him. The flames will consume him either way. The only difference is that if they accept him they'll return to the crown."Hesitantly they got off, latching onto the walls to watch from a safe position. Eren slowly reached out and picked up the crown. It flickered and the flames dimmed for a moment before tendrils of fire seemed to snake towards Eren's fingers. They wrapped around his hands before returning to the crown and glowing brightly. Eren lifted the crown up and set it on his head. It was a perfect fit, not too large or too small. The flames sprang into action, shooting all over Eren's body. The titans gasped and the humans had to shield their eyes from the brightness of the flames. Even from their spot they could feel the heat of the flames. Then they felt the heat lower and the light dimmed. They looked up and saw Eren standing there, perfectly fine with the crown sitting on his head just as it had on the pedestal. The titans bowed.

"Congratulations on passing the first trial, Prince."

Chapter 37: Secundo Iudicii

Chapter Text

Eren nodded back to the titans, the crown glowing on his head as flames flickered on it. Oddly enough, the flames weren't even singeing Eren's hair. Hanji was practically salivating over the thought of studying the crown but Levi was more focused on Eren. With this Eren had successfully completed the first trial...and grown further away from Levi. At the thought Levi's heart gave a painful twinge and Levi frowned. Why was he thinking that? Eren was still technically his subordinate so it wasn't like he had left Levi behind or something. Yet somehow Eren felt more distant now in a way that didn't make sense to Levi. He shook his head and focused on the proceedings.

"Congratulations Prince, you've completed the first trial. Now you must face the second trial and overcome it. Remember your darkest fear will be your opponent. We will wait two weeks to see if you've survived after entering the King's Chambers. Let us go there now."Eren nodded and together he and the titans left. Levi frowned.

"Did they just forget about us?" Hanji asked. A titan came back in the room and stared at them.

"Sorry, we left you behind so the Prince would be focused on completing the trial, not making sure his human companions are safe. After all, he will need all the concentration and mental energy he can get for the second trial."It said. Levi frowned. So by ignoring them they were hoping Eren would forget about them and focus only on the trial ahead of him? While it made sense somehow Levi had the feeling it wouldn't have the expected result.

"Is the second trial really that bad?" Hanji asked. The titan nodded.

"The King's Chambers are a place that only the King can enter. If anyone else attempts to an unknown force will devour them and they will not be reborn. But if a Prince enters the King's Chambers with the crown on then the unknown force will not eat them. It will merely show them a vivid false reality of their darkest fear becoming reality."They shivered. That didn't sound very friendly.

"What's the unknown force? You talk about it like it has sentience and understands what it's capable of and what it's doing. But how could that be possible?" Hanji asked, clearly curious. Her face practically gleamed with her eagerness to glean new knowledge from the titan. It sighed.

"Some of us say that it's the spirit of the past Kings while others say it's a creature far older than any other, even the titans would look like infants to it. I am more inclined to believe the first option as that makes some sense to me, even though the Kings are all dead. But if that creature were so powerful and so ancient, why does it only help choose the new King? It doesn't make sense to me." It explained. Hanji nodded eagerly, scribbling down in a notebook she'd pulled out of thin air. A roar echoed through the cavern and the titan stiffened. It frowned at first before nodding as if responding to some telepathic message."The Prince desires to confirm that you are alive with his own eyes before entering the chamber. Please, hook yourselves to me and let us be off."

Levi raised an eyebrow but somehow figured this would happen. He released the hooks in the walls and hooked into the titan's skin. The others did the same and the titan walked through the halls, faster than it had when leading them from the library. It turned several corners and Levi kept track of them. Left, left, right, left, right. That was the turn pattern they took before Eren came into sight. When he saw them on the titan's shoulders he relaxed and a soft croon slipped past his teeth.

"Eren!" Hanji laughed, shooting off to hook onto Eren. The other titans seemed shocked and affronted at that but did nothing since Eren merely crooned a greeting. Hanji laughed. "Look at you, all grown up and about to take over an entire species. Ah, what I wouldn't give to be in your shoes. Anyway Eren, be safe and know that Mama Hanji is rooting for you!"

Eren huffed and Hanji returned to the titan the others were standing on. His eyes fell on Levi and he seemed to be waiting for Levi to say something. Levi raised an eyebrow and sighed before looking up at Eren. "You better come back alive, you hear me?" Eren smiled as best he could without lips and nodded. He turned to the door and opened it. They couldn't see what was behind it as it was pitch black but Eren walked in fearlessly, as if he knew he would be fine. The doors closed ominously behind Eren and the titans sighed. Most of them began to disperse and head back to wherever they came from while the titan they were riding on turned back the way they came.

"Where are we going?" Hanji asked it. It glanced up at her from the corner of its eye before continuing on.

"We're heading back to the library. You can ask me questions there but not here, not where everyone can see or hear."Hanji frowned, that seemed suspicious. She glanced at Levi, whose eyes had narrowed. He nodded to her, silently confirming her suspicions. He also felt something was off about what the titan had said. But why did they feel that way? Once they reached the library the titan sat down in a corner against the wall."I'm sure you must have many questions."

"Why did you tell us not to ask you questions on the way here?" Hanji immediately fired off. The titan raised an eyebrow before it sighed.

"I did that because if other titans heard you speak they may not be as gentle as I am. You see, the titans are stuck between two mindsets. There are those who are grateful to the Prince and to you humans for killing them and allowing them to be reborn better than before...but there is also a group who views humans as lesser beings. Their way of thinking is that humans struggle to kill them even when they're mindless beasts, how could the humans win if the titans were smart? They're...not necessarily wrong but the real thing behind their mentality is something I don't agree with."They stared at it in confusion for a moment, waiting for it to continue. It glanced down at them and sighed."Those titans only want to eat humans. They view humans as a delicacy and they want to have the ability to eat humans at any time. Which is why I told you not to ask questions along the way because I couldn't be sure that there weren't any near and if they ate one of you I would be the one to face the King's wrath for not protecting you better."

That silenced them quickly. Even after being reborn there were still titans that wanted to eat humans? Ones that would try to eat them for pleasure? But that meant they disagreed with the King's opinion, right? So then wouldn't that mean that they would fight with Eren? Levi's eyes widened as he realized the possibility of a revolt against Eren. After all, Eren would never hurt humans. He was too kind for that.

"Does that mean that they'll fight with Eren?" he asked. The titan stared at him.

"They can't Levi. After all, even if they did win it's not like they could become the king, right?" The titan shook its head in response to her question and they froze. Hanji swallowed nervously as it opened its mouth to speak.

"That is not quite the case. If the King can be defeated in combat then the victor can forcibly claim the crown and title of King for themselves. It is quite likely that if the Prince does succeed in coming out of the King's Chambers he will be challenged by multiple different titans."Hanji stared at the ground in shock while Levi stared at the titan. Hanji spoke up first.

"So...even if Eren does succeed in becoming King, he may not be able to keep the title?" she whispered. The titan nodded solemnly.

"Can we just kill the bastards who want that?" Levi hissed. The titan shook its head, avoiding Levi's glare.

"It would be too obvious that it was humans responsible for their deaths. After all, the only way a titan can kill another titan is by challenging them which turns into a huge affair. It's kind of like a sport when it happens, but only one of the participants make it out alive. It's likely what will happen to the Prince if he makes it out of the chambers alive."They shivered. So either way their fate and the fate of humanity rested in Eren's hands. The future wasn't looking bright for any of them.

POV SWITCH: EREN

Eren glanced around his surroundings.Where am I?He wondered.

I have temporarily paused your second trial so we can speak, Prince. Eren's eyes widened.

"You're the voice! Where are you?" He whirled around but the only thing he could see around himself was pitch black fog. A chuckle was heard.

He's certainly a lively one, isn't he?

Yes, that he is. Anyways, Prince, we don't have long before the trial must continue. So I need to tell you a couple things before then. First, I am the previous titan King, my name was Grisha. My intended heir, Zeke, died in an accident that I believe was intentional. Titans with the intelligence of humans are very dangerous after all and just as inclined to betray as humans are.

Oh my gosh, can you get on with it already? Tell him what he needs to know and then we'll get on with the trial!

Hush Kruger, no one asked you. Anyways, Eren, there will be titans who don't want to see you take power. They want you to die so they can eat humans and destroy all of humanity. We will share our collective memories of fighting to try and help prepare you for what you're up against. You'll need it. Now, on to your trial. This will not be easy and I'm sorry I didn't have more time to prepare you for the throne but I'm sure you will somehow be able to bring peace to both our races. It will be difficult at first but you can control the mindless titans and prevent them from eating humans so it should be all good.

Are you done yet?

I'm done.

Then let the second trial begin! The fog began to shift around Eren, blinding him and keeping him in the dark. He was shocked when he opened his eyes. He was in his human form even though just a second ago he'd clearly been in his titan form. He frowned and looked around. When he did, it was like he'd been sucker punched in the gut. Human corpses lay scattered on the ground, some missing limbs and others piled on top of each other.

"Eren..." Eren turned, concern written all over his face to see who had called his name. When he saw, he took a step back. Hanji was there but she had burns all over her body and one of her eyes was oozing blood. "Eren...why did you do this?" she asked.

"What? Hanji, I don't understand!" he said. She stared at him with sheer revulsion on her face and he stepped back. She glared at him.

"This is your fault Eren...you were supposed to stop the titans...not open our gates for them," she hissed. His eyes widened.

"Hanji, what are you talking about?" He stepped towards her, afraid of what would happen if he kept avoiding her and instead saw a titan appear and bite her top half off. Eren froze before glaring at the titan. "STOP!"

It ignored him and he chased it. Just as he was about to catch up he tripped over something. A groan beneath him caused him to pause. He looked down and was horrified to see Erwin, a hole blasted in his gut with one arm missing.

"Erwin!" he cried, dropping to the ground. The man was faintly breathing and his eyes were open but he was losing blood quickly. Eren placed his hands over the wound, trying to staunch the bleeding but Erwin groaned at that. The man opened his blue eyes further and looked at Eren.

"Eren?" Erwin whispered. Eren's eyes widened.

"Yes! I'm right here Erwin, don't worry, I'm going to help you!" he said. Erwin laughed a bit, coughing up blood. Eren attempted to use his shirt to stop the blood from flowing out of Erwin but it continued to flow like he wasn't doing anything.

"Funny...that's what you said...after becoming...king of the titans...and yet look at this...I placed my trust in you...and I'm dying for it, Eren...It's all your fault. You killed...everyone...all of them are dead...because of you." After saying that, Erwin's eyes began to close and the light faded. Eren's eyes widened in horror as Erwin's chest stopped moving.

"No, no, no, no, no! Erwin! ERWIN, STAY WITH ME!" Eren cried, shaking Erwin's shoulder. He began to perform CPR in a hopeless attempt to bring the dead man back to life. He started to sob once he realized how futile it was to continue trying to bring Erwin back. Besides, even if he did bring Erwin back, with that hole in his side Erwin would only die again. Eren's shoulder shook and it hurt to realize that Erwin said this was his fault. Erwin and Hanji were dead because of him.

"Eren!" Eren looked up at the familiar voices. His eyes lit up when he saw that it was Armin and Mikasa.

"ARMIN! MIKASA!" he ran towards them and hugged them, pulling them tight against his chest where they would be safe. Safe from any titan. Safe from any danger as long as they were with him. He could feel them shaking in his arms, probably terrified by what was going on around them.

"Eren...why did you do this?" Armin whispered. Eren looked down and was horrified to see tears on Armin's cheeks.

"Do what?" he asked. Armin sobbed a laugh.

"Playing ignorant now? Even with the mountains of corpses around us?" Eren swallowed nervously.

"Armin? What are you talking about?" Armin ignored him and continued talking past Eren's question.

"I thought we could trust you Eren! I thought you were on our side! So why, why did you do this??" Eren stared at Armin, unsure how to comfort the boy. He went to pat Armin's hair and felt a sharp pain in his gut. Not the 'ouch I strained a muscle' pain, but the sharp, cold feeling of something piercing flesh. He looked down and realized that Armin had stabbed him in the gut with a knife. Armin looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "Why did you force me to do this, Eren?"

Eren tried to back away from Armin who had clearly gone insane from all the death around him but suddenly felt another pain in his lower back. He glanced behind himself and realized that sometime during while he was distracted by Armin, Mikasa had slipped out of his grasp and now literally stabbed him in the back. He cried out as she dug it deeper, her ridiculous strength driving it almost completely through his body. He swallowed back blood that was seeping up into his mouth and spoke.

"Mika...why?" She glared at him coldly.

"You don't get to ask me that. Not after you murdered all the others. All of them are dead because of you,monster," she spat. Eren flinched and tried to pull himself away from them without hurting them but he was pinned between them.

"STOP IT!" he cried. They were blasted away and Eren froze. He turned and stared at them. Armin's neck had snapped on impact and his empty blue eyes glared accusingly at Eren, even when he was dead. Mikasa's spine had apparently snapped but she was still alive. He hurried to her side but she glared at him.

"See? You've shown who you really are, you monster. Don't touch me! I don't want to risk being contaminated by your filth before I die! Just leave me alone! Go die somewhere else but leave Armin and I alone!" she screamed at him. Eren flinched and backed up. He knew it was pointless defending himself. Mikasa was too far gone for that to happen. He turned and ran away from her, completely confused and terrified. What on earth was happening? What had he done? A sudden weight slammed into his back and Eren went down with a cry. A boot kicked him in the side, forcing him to roll onto his back. He did and looked up. The cold sharpness of blades under his chin caused him to freeze and look up. He went pale at the sight of those steel grey eyes glaring down at him with disgust and hatred in them.

"After all we did for you, this is how you repay us Eren?" Levi hissed. Eren tried to get up but Levi stomped on his stomach, causing Eren to howl with pain. Levi used his blades to force Eren to look up. "We kept you alive, hid you from those who wanted to kill you, and sacrificed so many lives for you. Yet this is how you pay us back? By opening the gates to the hordes of titans who want nothing more than to devour us? How many do you think died, Eren? Humanity was already on the verge of extinction, how many do you think are alive now?"

"I don't-"

"And how many of them do you think will be dead by tomorrow?" Levi hissed. Eren froze. Levi wasn't listening to him either. Why? What had he done? They said he'd opened the gates to the titans but Eren would never do something like that! Levi stomped on his stomach again and Eren heard something crunch. He howled with pain and Levi ground his boot down on Eren. "We all thought we finally had something to believe in, Eren. A titan that didn't kill humans becoming the king of titans. We all thought for sure that this would be the end of human deaths at the hands of titans. We were wrong. Once you assumed your throne you got greedy. You got curious. What do humans taste like, Eren? Surely you know considering how you ate your own squad mates," Levi spat.

"I never-" Levi's boot slammed into his face. Eren coughed and spat out a tooth that had come loose.

"Really? You think I'd believe that after I watched you do it? I watched as you swallowed Kirstein whole before taking a bite out of Hoover and Braun. Watched how you played cat and mouse with Blouse after breaking her leg. Saw how you made Springer watch you eat her piece by piece and then tore him to pieces. You disgust me." Eren was horrified. He'd done that? When had that happened?? The last thing he remembered was entering the King's Chambers for the second trial-

That's right! This was the second trial! His deepest fear! He laughed. Levi glared.

"What's so funny?" he hissed, pushing his blades against Eren's throat. Eren grinned.

"None of this is real. If it was, you would've killed me already! You're just the Levi in my imagination that is born from my fear. You're not real!" Eren said. Levi glared down at him and suddenly his surroundings began to waver and grow dark. The pain Eren felt disappeared and Levi broke into black fog. The bodies disappeared, as did the battlefield and Eren was back in his titan form. He slumped to his knees, shaking from the aftershock of it.

Well done Prince. Or rather, King, I suppose I should say. You've successfully passed the second trial. Eren looked up.

"But how? I didn't overcome it." The voices chuckled.

True, you didn't over come it. But you did accept it. And that was all you needed to do. Once you can recognize and accept your deepest fears, only then can you do something to prevent them from becoming reality. It's your job to prevent that future from becoming real. Never forget that. Never forget the future we've shown you. Eren nodded.

"I won't."

Then, all hail the new king, King Eren.

Chapter 38: Tandem in Unum

Chapter Text

The titan stiffened momentarily and then threw back its head and roared. Levi and the others grabbed their blades, a little freaked out by the sudden roaring of the titan they'd been talking with just a few minutes prior. It stopped roaring and glanced down at them.

"Sorry about that, I probably startled you, didn't I?"it said. Hanji stared at it for a moment before laughing.

"Startled, you scared me! What was that all about?" she asked.

"The new king has been chosen."They froze and stared at the titan.

"Are you saying what I think you mean?" Moblit asked. The titan nodded.

"Prince Eren has become King Eren, ruler of the titans. He has successfully passed both King's Trials and now controls the mindless and abnormal titans. Humanity will be safe with him as our leader."They stared at him before Levi swallowed.

"Can we...see him?" he asked. The titan nodded.

"He will likely want to see the faces of his human friends once he emerges from the room. Let us go."It stood and they hooked themselves onto it as it began to move. Levi watched the titans in the hall, paying close attention to their faces and the emotions in their eyes. It was so different from the titans he killed on a regular basis. Those titans didn't really have facial expressions aside from whatever shape their face was naturally and they definitely didn't display emotions. Aside from the armored titan but that was a special case. A thought occurred to him.

"Is the armored titan here?" Levi asked. Hanji's eyes widened and the others shivered at the thought of that calamity being reborn with intelligence.

"Armored titan...ah, you must mean that one. No, he's dead. The armored titan went to search for the prince that the previous king had chosen and ended up challenging him. We all felt it when the challenger died. He will not be reborn."Levi frowned. Hanji tilted her head thoughtfully.

"But how does that work? Shouldn't he have just regenerated like normal?" The titan sighed.

"I told you we were immortal, not invincible. If our napes are destroyed, we can still die. It's how challengers can die after facing the new king."Levi frowned.

"But didn't you tell us that no reborn titan has ever died?" The titan winced.

"After a challenger declares their challenge against the king we don't count them as one of us anymore. There are a few reasons for that. First is that they will no longer answer the kings' commands which would imply that they have become a separate species. Second is the fact that after challenging the king their form will change, kind of reverting back to their abnormal titan form but also gaining new parts. It's why the armored titan had armor while no other titan, reborn or otherwise, has armored skin. The third and most important reason that we don't count them as one of us is because these guys are only out for themselves. Now yes, we have emotions as reborn titans, and we can be selfish and greedy but if the king commands us to do something for someone else, we will do it. Aside from minor things such as who gets to eat more food or who gets the resources to decorate their rooms, we don't really do much for ourselves. The challengers aren't usually looking out for others. They're not like heroes fighting against a tyrant king, they're just rebels who want power and authority and the freedom to do what they want."They stared at the titan for a moment before they turned the corner. A familiar rumble echoed through the hallway and Levi glanced up. Eren was looking at them, his long pointed ears wiggling excitedly. Levi coughed violently to hide his laugh at the sight. Hanji glanced at him and snickered, knowing exactly what had actually happened. Eren whined softly, his titan form clearly more suited for animalistic noises.

"Hey Eren!" Hanji called. Eren perked up slightly. Levi glanced up and, realizing that Levi's attention was back on him, Eren's ears began to wiggle again and he made a strange yapping sound. Levi fought back a laugh as he stared at the puppy in a titan's skin standing before him. He fought back a smirk as he looked up at Eren.

"Good job, brat," he said. Eren practically went starry eyed in his titan form, a strange trilling noise escaping his lips. Levi raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Another titan stepped forward.

"The king wishes to return to his human form and share rooms with you for the next few nights. Does this work for you?"Their eyes widened. Then Hanji spoke.

"SURE!! Oh yes, I get to talk to Eren right after he went through the trials, I have so many questions I need to ask! Come on, please please please, share a room with me!!" she screeched, a demonic look in her eyes. Eren's ears folded flat against his head while his eyes went wide. The titan stepped forward again.

"The king said he would rather stay with his Little One than a strange creature who wants to-"Eren whirled and clamped his hand over the titan's mouth. There seemed to be some kind of telepathic communication going on between them because Eren slowly lowered his hand and the titan merely nodded its head."I shall guide you to your rooms."

Eren walked alongside them, too tall and close to look down and see them properly. Which was good for Levi because if Eren did look down he would've noticed how Levi had pulled the hood of his cloak over his head to hide his flaming red cheeks. Hanji was snickering and Mike snorted despite how much Levi tried to glare them into submission.

"Did you hear that Mike? Eren wants to spend the night with his 'Little One'. I wonder why...maybe his Little One is also his Special One?" She teased. Levi reached for his blades and Hanji laughed. "Alright, alright, I'll stop. But seriously Levi, he really favors you huh?"

"It's probably because out of all of us I'm the one he's known the longest." Hanji laughed in his face.

"That's not it and you know it! You're definitely someone special to him. How special though,I can't say~!" she said in a sing-song voice. Mike huffed a bit, his equivalent of a laugh, and Levi turned away from them, definitely NOT sulking in the darkness of his hood. Hanji snickered.

"Um, squad leader, could we maybe talk about more important matters?" Moblit asked. Hanji stared at him.

"What could be more important than my sweet little munchkin being inlu~rveMoblit?" she asked. Levi glared at her but she merely grinned at him. Moblit sighed to himself before snapping his fingers in front of Hanji's face to gain her attention again. Once he was sure she was focused, he continued.

"Like how we're going to explain this to Erwin and, consequently, the rest of humanity?" Hanji froze.

"Yeah...that is pretty important, Moblit. It completely slipped my mind too. Oh, what would I do without you Moblit?" she sighed dramatically as she pretended to faint and fall in Moblit's arms. The poor guy blushed bright pink and Hanji grinned at him.

"You'd probably get eaten by a titan or be blown up by one of your experiments," Levi commented. Hanji pouted at him.

"Now that's mean and you know it was! Take it back!" she said with mock tears in her eyes. Levi rolled his eyes and looked away. Conveniently at that time they apparently arrived at their rooms because the titans stopped.

"This is where you will stay for the next week or so. After that you are free to head back to your human nation or continue to stay here. I will take my leave now."With that the titan walked away. Levi stared after him in annoyance before jumping off the titan he was currently riding on and landing on the small stone platform. He opened the door and was shocked at the quality of the materials inside. It was almost as well decorated as the royal palace, aside from the floor and walls.

"How the hell did they do this?" Levi murmured. The titan they'd ridden on smiled.

"You are not the first humans to come here. On another note, members of the royal family can transform and some of them like the privacy they have with these rooms. There's no way for other titans to enter it after all. There should be five bedrooms so if you want your own room then four people will have to split two rooms and the other three are fair game."A hiss of steam responded to the end of the titan's explanation and after a few seconds, the hiss of gas confirmed that Eren was coming up. He landed and Levi noted that, oddly enough, the crown was still on him even though it had definitely been on his titan form. Not to mention the fact that the crown fit his human form perfectly despite the same being said about his titan form. Levi shrugged it off as something that would never make sense to him.

"Captain! We share?" Eren said. Levi glanced at him before sighing. He glanced around and noted that the others had already claimed their rooms and shut the doors. Three out of five doors were closed. So, if they wanted to then they could each have their own room but somehow...somehow Levi also wanted to share a room with Eren.

"Sure. We'll share, kid." He picked the middle room and entered it, leaving the door open so Eren could follow. The bed was easily a king sized bed. Not to mention that oddly enough there wasn't any dust. Which, in Levi's eyes, was highly suspicious. But hey, it is what it is. He took the left side and Eren took the right side. They got comfy under the blankets and waited for sleep to take them.

After about an hour of doing nothing but laying in bed with their eyes closed, noises began to filter through the walls. Levi immediately recognized them for what they were, moans and the sound of a bed creaking, but Eren was far too innocent for his own good. He glanced at the walls the noises were coming from, apparently Levi had unknowingly chosen the room right between Mike and Nanaba and Hanji and Moblit, and tilted his head in confusion.

"Captain, why sound come from walls?" he asked, his broken speech slipping through despite the fact that he'd been doing so well talking lately. Levi sighed.

"The sound isn't coming from the walls, it's coming through the walls," he clarified. Eren stared at the wall again before looking back at Levi.

"What cause the sound?" Levi groaned internally. He really didn't want to have the talk with Eren, particularly in Eren's new kingdom right after Eren had been crowned. Shouldn't Eren already know these things? Then again, Levi didn't know how titans reproduced so it's possible that Eren really had no clue what they were doing. "Captain?"

"It's coming from our neighboring assholes having sex," he sighed. Eren tilted his head.

"What is sex?" Eren asked. Levi internally choked, having been hoping that he didn't have to explain that part.

"Sex is...an act to try and reproduce or feel pleasure." Eren tilted his head.

"Why do sex?" Levi sighed.

"Again, you usually have sex with someone for one of two reasons. To try and make a baby or because it feels good." Eren glanced between the wall and Levi for a few minutes before speaking again.

"Has Levi had sex before?" Levi coughed for real this time, having accidentally swallowed his own saliva at the suddenness of Eren's question. He glanced up hesitantly.

"I have...what of it?" Eren glanced between the wall and Levi.

"Can I have sex with Levi?" Levi stared at him, jaw dropping in shock. Did Eren seriously just ask him that?? Why?? What on earth brought this on?? After a moment of silence Levi composed himself. He needed to reject Eren's suggestion.

But why? Don't I WANT to devour him? To see him moan, to watch the tears of pleasure drip from his wide green eyes as I fill him up?Levi shook his head quickly to try and dispel the thoughts in his head.

"Eren, sex is something you do with someone you like," he said, trying to deflect Eren's suggestion despite the fact that the more he thought about it the bigger problem he had down in his pants. He shifted the blankets to hide his growing arousal.

"But I do like Captain?" Eren said, tilting his head. Levi winced.

"Someone you like more than a friend," he corrected. Eren frowned and thought momentarily. Levi thought he was in the clear before Eren began speaking again.

"I like Mikasa and Armin as friends but I like Captain more than I like Mikasa and Armin so...I like you more than a friend?" Eren said. Levi growled softly before standing up and striding over to pin Eren against the wall. Eren's eyes widened and Levi glared at him.

"Eren. Don't tempt me. I would be f*ckingeuphoricto plant my dick in your ass but you are not only a minor but also my subordinate and superior/subordinate relationships are not allowed in the military. So. Unless you want me to make sure you can't walk tomorrow after I thoroughly devour you, stop talking about having sex with me." Eren stared at Levi for a moment.

"What if...what if I want that?" he asked. Levi ground his teeth before leaning forward and kissing Eren. Eren's eyes widened in shock and he tried to pull away a bit but Levi reached an arm behind Eren's head and pulled him into the kiss. Levi nipped at Eren's lower lip, tugging it between his teeth. Eren gasped in surprise and Levi took the chance, pulling Eren closer to lock lips with him as Levi's tongue dipped into Eren's mouth. Oddly enough, Eren's mouth tasted sweet despite not having eaten anything recently, let alone having eaten any sweets. Eren actually moaned as Levi kissed him, his own tongue slipping forward to play with Levi's. When Eren finally needed to breathe, he tried to pull back. Levi chased him at first but, realizing what Eren was doing, he pulled back, ignoring the string of saliva that followed.

"Did you like that Eren?" Levi purred darkly, the darker part of his mind screaming at him to tease Eren into a whimpering, drooling mess. Eren gasped for breath before shifting awkwardly.

"Levi, I feel funny." Levi tilted his head, knowing perfectly well what part of Eren was feeling 'funny' from the bulge against his leg. It was smaller than he expected.

"What feels funny, Eren?" he asked. Eren shifted and reached his hand down, palming his erection through his pants. To Levi that was one of the hottest sights he had ever seen. He licked his lips and struggled not to palm his own erection.

"This. This feels funny but...it's a good funny," Eren said, groaning as he squeezed his erection slightly. Levi smirked and slowly pushed Eren's pants down to the floor, exposing his erection. Eren stared at his own boner with curiosity and confusion. Levi also removed his own pants, revealing his large co*ck. Eren's eyes widened at the sight of it. "Levi, you too feel funny?"

"This is perfectly natural Eren. It's called an erection and appears when a man gets aroused. That's why it feels good to touch it, see?" Levi purred, wrapping his hand around Eren's small co*ck and stroking it. Eren let out a high keen and leaned against the wall for support, shocked by the onslaught of pleasure. Levi smirked as he twisted his thumb over the crown of Eren's co*ck, playing with the foreskin a bit. Eren shuddered and the moan that slipped from his lips was music to Levi's ears.

"L-Levi...it good! It so good!" Eren moaned, tears beginning to bud in his eyes. Levi smirked.

"You can touch me too, Eren. See? We'll do it together," Levi said darkly as he pulled Eren's hand down and wrapped their hands around both their co*cks. He began to stroke them together, causing Eren to moan louder. Levi groaned at the feeling of Eren's overly warm hand around his co*ck. It was better than he could've imagined. Precum dribbled down and smoothed the strokes making them able to go faster and have a smoother flow. Eren was practically humping their fists at this point, moans erupting from his lips every few seconds.

"L-Levi, s-something's c-coming! It's coming out!" Eren cried. Levi shushed him and kissed his cheeks, lapping at the salty trails of pleasured tears.

"It's alright Eren, I'm close too." Levi sped up the pace and Eren began to moan louder until finally his co*ck twitched before spurting out his sem*n. Eren moaned loudly and Levi groaned, tightening his grip on himself and cumming too. A lot more sem*n flew out of his co*ck than Eren's but he'd also been storing up sem*n for a long time since no one had aroused him and jerking off was messy. It flew high enough to splatter on Eren's cheeks, though the fact that Eren had slid down against the wall probably helped it reach that high. Eren gasped for breath, even with the white spots on his face, as his eyes drooped sleepily. Levi clicked his tongue. "What a kid. We didn't even get to the actual sex."

Eren yawned and Levi sighed, going to one of the drawers in the room and pulling out some random piece of cloth. He used it to wipe Eren clean of his and the boys sem*n before grabbing another cloth and doing the same to himself. Levi picked Eren up and took all his clothes off before putting him in bed and repeating the act on himself. He glanced over at Eren's sleeping face before smiling softly. He leaned over and kissed Eren's cheek.

"Good night Eren."

Chapter 39: Aemulator Primus

Chapter Text

Levi stirred slowly as he began to wake from the dream he'd been having. He couldn't remember exactly what it'd been about but he remembered Hanji screaming at him for some reason. Oddly enough it hadn't been her usual furious scream nor her excited scream. He wondered what it was about. He yawned and stretched slowly, before placing his arm back on the bed. It touched something warm and soft, causing Levi to flinch as the object let out a soft moan. Slowly Levi's eyes slid down the wall, over the edge of the bed, to land on Eren's form. Thankfully the blanket still covered from Eren's waist to his knees so Levi didn't see all of Eren.

...Even though he'd seen all of Eren the night before.

Levi's eyes widened as he remembered exactly what he and Eren had done the night before. A full body shudder ran through him and he felt his heart plummet into his stomach, the same way a person would when a titan swallowed them. Last night...Hanji and Moblit as well as Mike and Nanaba had decided to have sex in the rooms right next to theirs so Eren had started asking him questions about sex and the idea of having sex with Levi...and Levi'd gotten swept along and ended up giving Eren a handjob. Levi stared blankly at the wall for a moment before putting his face in his hands.

What the hell have I done??? Not only did I completely disregard all the rules regarding superior and subordinate relationships, I also laid a hand on Eren, a child! Eren seems to be about half my age not to mention the fact that he's f*cking titan royalty! What the hell have I done?? Will the titans be mad? Will they decide to destroy humanity for the sin of laying a hand on their precious king?? Oh sh*t, what will Erwin and Hanji say? Hanji will probably either scream with joy or give me the stare down of disappointment. Erwin...Erwin will definitely lecture me on relationships between superiors and subordinates for a few hours. But technically Eren isn't my subordinate, he's a king! But that just makes it worse!!!

Oblivious to Levi's internal suffering, Eren began to stir. He shifted and stretched, similar to how a cat would, stretching both sides at once in a strange ark. He sleepily blinked his emerald eyes as they focused on the sight of his captain and Little one, staring blankly at the floor with his head in his hands. Eren tilted his head, wondering what Levi could be thinking about so seriously. Eren also wondered why he felt so refreshed. Oddly enough he felt more energetic than he had in a long time. It was like he'd spent a whole day doing nothing but sunbathing. Then Eren recalled what he and Levi had done. Now worried for Levi, Eren tapped at his shoulder.

"Levi? You okay?" Levi jolted out of his thoughts and stared at Eren. Eren blinked up at him before smiling smugly.

"I had sex with Levi," he said, grinning like a cat that got the cream. Levi stared at him before sighing and putting his face back in his hands. Eren frowned, not understanding why Levi seemed upset.

"No Eren, we didn't have sex," Levi finally said. Eren huffed indignantly.

"But we did the whole fist thingy with our...what did you call them...dicks? And it felt really good and you said people have sex for pleasure so therefore, we had sex." Eren looked really proud of himself for coming to that realization. Levi stared at him for a moment before sighing and standing up. He walked over to his bag and pulled out a spare set of clothes, quickly dressing himself. Once he was dressed he turned back to Eren.

"Eren. From now on we're going to be in different rooms." Eren's eyes widened and he went to protest but Levi held up a hand to stop him. "Listen to me before you start talking, please. Alright. First of all, no we did not have sex. Last night I gave you what's called a 'handjob'. If you hadn't passed out after that then maybe I would've had sex with you. Thankfully, that didn't happen. Second, we aren't supposed to be having sex. No matter how you look at it, you're my subordinate and I'm your superior. There are specific rules dealing with that sort of relationship and, long story short, they aren't supposed to happen. I'm not supposed to f*ck you no matter how attractive I find your body and you're not supposed to try and seduce me. So to prevent any further incidents like last night, I will be staying in a different room."

Eren let out a sad whine and his shoulders sagged. Levi quickly looked away lest he fall into the trap set by the pouting puppy eyes Eren was undoubtedly showing. Eren whined a few more times and when it became obvious that Levi wasn't going to pay attention to him as long as he acted like an animal, Eren pouted before speaking.

"What's so wrong about you being together with me?? Why is that a problem? I am a king now and so I do what I want. And I want to be with my Little one." Levi glared at Eren.

"I'm almost certain I've told you not to call me that, Eren." Eren winced and sighed.

"Sorry. It's just that...you're my little one. Since that day in the forest when you were hurt and I first rescued you to now, you'll always be my special Little one. Because I care about you, Levi. Maybe it started as curiosity. You were interesting and new and intelligent. The first being that I met that was also not liked by titans. So of course I wanted to get to know you. And over time I did. I learned more with you in the Survey Corps than in the forest but still! I learned a lot about you! How your nose twitches whenever you think someplace is filthy, they way you like your tea slightly overdone, and I want to know so much more! Please don't push me out, Levi." Levi stared at Eren with pained eyes.

"I don't want to push you away Eren but you're a king now, even if you aren't my subordinate. King's can't just have sex with whoever they want, despite what the human king would tell you." Eren stared at him with hurt in his eyes and Levi looked away, unable to meet Eren's eyes. "Sorry Eren, but that's the way things are. You have responsibilities now, it isn't just us surviving in a forest alone. This is how things have to be."

Levi opened up the door and quickly left, heading to another room that had an open door. Eren sat on the bed with tears streaming down his cheeks. His Little One was...rejecting him. It hurt. It hurt so badly to think that Levi didn't want him. He let out a soft whine, a plea for Levi to come back. For Levi to not leave him alone. When Levi didn't, Eren felt his heart throb painfully, squeezing itself and then pressing against the bruises it left behind. He stood up and got dressed, noting that the crown was still on despite him having gone to sleep in it. He glanced over at the bed and was surprised to see no burn marks.

Why? Why did Levi do this? We're close aren't we? And he wants me too if last night was anything to go by. Why are we letting what other people say keep us apart? Why does he want to follow their rules even though the Captain I know would've said 'f*ck them' or something like that. Is it because I am a king now? But doesn't that mean I make the rules and no one can say otherwise?

Eren was snapped out of his thoughts by a loud roar coming from the hallway. He shot out of his room, noting Levi open his door and look out too. Levi looked at him with confusion but Eren had no time for that. Something in his head was screaming that he needed to transform into his titan form. Protect the humans. Kill the challenger. Eren's blood ran cold when that thought entered his head. He jumped off the ledge and bit his hand, a flash of lightning announcing his transformation. He let his roar echo through the halls as he looked around, searching for who would challenge him.

It was a blonde female looking titan with blue eyes that challenged him. She glared at him before speaking.

"Let's go,King. I'll meet you in the arena. If you don't arrive there then I'll win by default,"she hissed at him. Eren glared at her. He could feel her smug confidence. She thought of him as an idiot. She probably thought he didn't know where the arena was but Eren was the king. He could ask any nearby titan to lead him there. But on a quick scan of the surroundings Eren couldn't find even a single titan aside from the challenger. So that was why she was so smug. Eren glanced back at her but found that she was gone. He sniffed the surrounding and shut his eyes, concentrating on the most recent scent. A bitter smell reached his nose, different from the rot of normal titans. He started following the smell when something landed on his shoulder. He glanced in surprise. Levi was riding him but wouldn't look at him. Eren chuffed and hurried to follow the scent before it faded. Thankfully it was a clear scent.

They reached a circular room with several doors in it. Eren cursed himself internally as he smelled the scent wafting from all of the doors. She'd certainly made it difficult for him. A whirring noise reached his eyes and he glanced back to see Moblit, Hanji, Mike, and Nanaba following. Hanji landed on his shoulder.

"What happened? We heard a roaring and lightning but when we came out you guys were already turning the corner. We only found you thanks to Mike's nose." Eren's eyes widened and he chuffed, drawing their attention. He looked at Mike and then at the doors around them, hoping Mike would understand he was asking him for his opinion as to which door she went through.

"There was a challenger. She said she'd meet Eren at the arena but we don't know where that is so we're trying to follow her. Probably by scent if you can't guess from the fact that we stopped here," Levi explained. Mike brought his hand down from where it was covering his nose. He sniffed and winced. He sneezed twice and brought his hand up to his nose.

"You okay Mike?" Nanaba asked, putting a hand on his back. Mike nodded.

"If she's the one with the bitter scent then the smell is freshest from the center passage," he said. Eren nodded and took off. Sure enough the smell continued in, even the deeper they got. Soon more scents joined the challenger's smell. He could also hear the murmurs and roars ahead of them. He narrowed his eyes. He prepared himself for a fight. Levi felt the way Eren's muscles rippled in preparation and narrowed his eyes. He could hear the titans but couldn't tell how close they were. Eren shot out of the gate and they were shocked as suddenly the sunlight pierced their eyes. Hanji stared in shock at the surrounding arena.

It wasenormous.Hundreds of full grown titans sat in the seats on the side while the field was easily the size of Trost. The female titan was already waiting for them. She grinned at the sight of Eren. Eren bared his teeth at her but glanced at them out of the corner of his eye. Levi realized what Eren was thinking. He shot off and hooked on the wall.

"Levi?" Hanji asked. Levi rolled his eyes.

"Get off. If he has to worry about protecting you while fighting her then he'll be more likely to lose." Hanji's eyes widened and she hurriedly jumped off, joining Levi on the wall. Moblit and Mike followed her while Nanaba patted Eren's cheek and whispered something encouraging. It pissed Levi off to see someone touching Eren in that way who wasn't him, not to mention that Nanaba already had a partner. He shook his head to dispel the murderous urges as Nanaba joined them on the wall.

Eren straightened and listened as the challenger roared. Maybe it was because of the enormity of the space the sound had to fill but her roar was rather small. Eren inhaled, feeling his lungs fill with air before he roared a reply to the challenge. The female brought her hands up to her ears while the titans in the stands roared their alliance to the king. Eren shot forward and started with a right hook. She saw it and quickly flipped out of the way, dodging his strike. Eren merely whirled and kicked her in the side. She stumbled forward before darting away to put some more room between them. Once she had regained her balance she charged at him. Eren was shocked at her speed but merely jumped back to dodge her. She grabbed his arm and bit into it, apparently trying to tear it off. Eren was shocked to watch as her teeth crystalized and she bit a chunk off.

Eren roared at her in fury and she kicked at him with her leg crystalized. Eren forced the crystallization of his own skin and sparks flew when the crystal substance collided. Her eyes widened and she jumped back to dodge his incoming fist. Eren growled at her and the titans in the audience cheered for the King. The female titan glared at him before shooting forward again. Oddly enough Eren could see similarities between the female titan and Annie. The speed and unpredictable fighting style made things difficult for him but he'd spent enough time training and getting put on his ass by her that he recognized some of the titan's moves and ways to avoid them.

He shot forward, circling behind her where her blind spot was. Immediately her nape crystalized but that wasn't what Eren had been going for. He crystalized his fingers, turning them into claws and slashed at her hamstrings. She roared in pain as she went down, legs now useless. She tried to turn on her back but Eren slashed at her arms, almost completely severing them and preventing her from easily rolling onto her back. Her eyes went wide and Eren reached up and slowly began crushing the crystal on her nape. The crowd began to cheer louder as it cracked and fragmented. The female hissed and tried to turn and snap at him. Eren merely tightened his grip, feeling his hand completely encircle the crystal part of her nape. Annoyingly enough he couldn't break it very easily and then a thought occurred. His hand was already in her nape. All he had to do now was completely smash the nape.

The female roared and tried to push herself up, rapidly regenerating her arms but Eren merely placed his body weight on his fist. Her eyes widened as she felt his fist push down on her life point. Then Eren merely pushed harder, as if punching her without pulling his hand out of her nape. His fist slammed straight through her nape, coming out of the base of her throat. He felt her swallow one last time before he pulled his hand out and she fell, body already starting to steam. He lifted his fist victoriously and the crowd screamed with excitement. Eren looked at Levi and the others proudly, having defeated his first opponent. Hanji was already going nuts, shrieking just as loud as the titans while Nanaba and Mike smiled at him proudly. Levi merely nodded but for Eren that was more than he could've asked for.

But in his distraction with the humans Eren did not notice the small crowd of titans already leaving the arena with disappointed looks on their faces.

Chapter 40: Malitia

Chapter Text

After successfully defeating the female titan, Eren decided to head back to his room with the others. Levi was still kind of ignoring him, Hanji was shrieking with delight over his victory and babbling about experiments she wanted to perform, Mike was silent as ever aside from a small nod, Nanaba didn't say anything at all, and Moblit looked like he was worrying over something. But Eren didn't care, he was a king and he'd defeated his first challenger! Nothing could bring him down!

"Uh guys, shouldn't we head back and inform Erwin about all of this?" Moblit asked. Immediately Eren froze and felt all his happy excitement plummet straight to the ground. Right. They still needed to tell Erwin exactly what they found. How would Erwin react? Those he was with were all rather accepting but if Erwin knew, he was obligated to report to the leader of the human military which would in turn spread to the nobility and the other branches of the military.

"f*ck," Levi groaned, placing his head in his hands. Hanji stared down at the floor with a kind of dead-internally expression.

"Do we...do we have to ask Erwin?" Eren tried asking. Hanji sighed and nodded.

"There's no way around it Eren. Of course we already realized you were the titan that saved Levi and that you're intelligent and don't attack humans but this...even for Erwin this is going to be a lot. Not to mention it's near impossible to cover up. Just imagine what would happen if the fact that you're thekingof titans slips out and someone gets a hold of that fact. There are so many different ways things could go." Eren tilted his head in confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Hanji sighed.

"Okay first of all, let's say that everyone inside the walls are accepting and kind and generous -which they're not- but for the sake of this hypothesis let's say they are. We go out and tell these kind, accepting people that we know the king of titans and he's telling the titans to stop eating us. They would celebrate and be happy and you would be a hero, Eren," she said. Levi sighed.

"But people aren't like that. While there may be a few who are accepting of you and are eager for you to rule over the humans, there will be others like the nobles and the f*cking MP's that won't be quite as eager. They'll view you as beneath them at best and a monster at worst. There will likely be attempts on your life not just from rebellious titans but also from the humans who don't want to be allied with what they view as a monster. In short there's not really a way we can reveal this without you being looked down on, scorned, insulted, or put in life threatening situations. And if they succeed in killing you, it's right back to where we started, getting eaten by titans day after day. And with the king gone any potential rebel titans will probably try and attack the walls to eat more humans, not that there's a lot of us left." Eren looked down, realizing just how bleak the picture Levi was painting was. He shook his head.

"Still. I want to stop titans from attacking and we need to tell Erwin. So, I have do this." They stared at him before Hanji cooed loudly. She flung herself at Eren and wrapped herself around him like some kind of tentacle monster.

"Oooohhh!! My Eren is justsoCUTE!!!" She shrieked in delight, shaking him around and around in her hold. The room was beginning to swim in Eren's eyes as he caught sight of a flash of black hair. He reached out towards it, attempting to pull himself from Hanji's hold.

"L-Levi...save me," he pleaded. Levi snorted.

"What do you think your training was for? You can get her off, particularly since she's not really your superior anymore." Hanji paused.

"That's another problem," she said, letting go of Eren who quickly scampered away to hide behind Levi. "It's possible that the nobility and higher ups in the military may claim that Eren is under their jurisdiction since he joined the military and if he disobeys them then he's the enemy of humanity. Because even if he is a king, he was a soldier before that. Which means that he worked under them or for them. Not to mention, he doesn't have time to deal with that sh*t since he'll probably also be dealing with rebels."

Eren tilted his head in confusion. "Didn't I already kill all the rebels?"

"No Eren, you didn't," Hanji said with a shake of her head. She looked at them before speaking. "Think about it. Rebels are said to have features no other titan does. What about the Colossal titan? Isn't he a rebel? Not to mention the little group of titans that left the arena as soon as Eren killed the female and they didn't look happy, let me tell you that."

"What the- four eyes when the hell did you see that?" Levi asked. Hanji grinned at him.

"I saw them leaving as I went to congratulate Eren for winning. I found it odd that they were wearing what looked like black robes over their bodies and left immediately after Eren won without even cheering for him. Of course, I could be wrong but they just came off as suspicious people." Levi stared at her in annoyance.

"Were they suspicious because of the not cheering or because titans don't f*cking wear clothes and they were wearing clothes?" He growled. Hanji laughed and looked at Levi.

"Obviously it's both. But now the real question is how do we stop them and still get to Erwin so we can tell him what's going on?" There was a moment of silence before Nanaba spoke up.

"How about Mike, Dietrich, and I go and tell Erwin what's going on while you stay here and help Eren deal with the rebels?" she suggested. Hanji grinned.

"I knew one of us would come up with something good! Alright, you three go and tell Erwin while we'll try to deal with all the rebels here in the titan kingdom! We'll need to head to the library and have Eren open the door so they can leave but after that everything should be fine!" she laughed. Levi stared at her before he sighed. He glanced up at Mike and Nanaba before speaking.

"You guys might want to get some rations to take with you and be on guard. You'll still have to pass through the Underground City and that place is no better going back then it was coming through. Remember to watch your backs, don't speak to anyone shady, don't drink anything served at a bar, don't use any kind of drugs -that sh*t can kill you in minutes, keep your heads down as much as possible, and make sure you all survive." Mike nodded and Nanaba smiled. Hanji snickered.

"Oh Levi, always pretending to be the big, strong, cold man but on the inside you're just a mother hen." Levi glared at Hanji as she laughed and danced around the room like a crazy person. Oh wait, she was a crazy person. So Eren supposed she was just being herself. Levi sighed.

"Go tell Dietrich. In the meantime, four eyes, Eren, and I will be looking into these rebels. We'll quell them quickly and quietly. Right Hanji?" Hanji snickered.

"Of course Levi, I look forward to working with you." Levi stared at her suspiciously.

"The f*ck is up with you?" he asked, eyeing her warily. She pouted.

"Oh come on Levi, that's just mean! There's nothing 'up' with me, I'm just being my normal self!" Levi stared at her suspiciously as she attempted to convince Levi that she was normal as could be. Which was already an impossible task.

"Um, squad leader, what should I do?" Moblit asked. Hanji glanced at him before looking at Levi. She grinned.

"You can come with! It'll be a double date! That way I'm not the awkward third wheel getting in between their eye f*cking sessions!" she laughed.

"It's not like that!" Levi spat. Hanji was silenced quickly under his rage and seriousness. She stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate. Levi sighed. "He is my f*cking subordinate, not to mention a child in comparison to me. There's no way in hell that I'm going to be in a romantic relationship with him."

Eren flinched under Levi's harsh words and Hanji narrowed her eyes, staring at them with pursed lips. She grabbed Eren and dragged him into a nearby room, away from Levi's bitchy attitude. She stared at Eren who awkwardly shifted under her gaze.

"What happened. You and Levi were so close so why did this suddenly happen?" she inquired. Eren flinched and looked down.

"The night you and Moblit had...sex...I asked him what it was and may have said I wanted to have it with him." Hanji stared at him before squealing and wrapping him in a hug.

"Oh you sweet, innocent thing, making the first move like that! Well done Eren, well done! But that shouldn't have been enough to make him act like this, right?" Eren shook his head.

"I guess I pushed him too far because we did something called a...handjob I believe he called it? I didn't mind and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it but...once he woke up the next morning he seemed disgusted with himself. He told me the same things, me being a minor and his subordinate. He said it wasn't okay and we'd be spending some time apart from each other. Then we got distracted by the female's challenge so...we never got the chance to talk things over," Eren said, tears budding in his eyes. Hanji pulled him against herself and patted his back.

"There there, it's okay Eren. Levi's just being a stubborn old man. If it feels like he was upset with you, he was probably twice as upset with himself. You see, Levi prides himself on his self control. You probably snapped what little self control he had left around you. It's kind of funny really. After you nearly turned yourself into a part of the wall Levi's been really protective and possessive of you. This incident probably helped snap him back to his usual self and now he's horrified at what he did. He's not upset at you, I promise. And don't worry, Mama Hanji's going to do her best to make sure that you two end up together! With me on your side there's no way you can fail!" Eren stared at her before laughing a bit.

"Thank you, Hanji. Now should we go look at the rebels?" She nodded and flung open the door.

"Alright, let's go rebel hunting! Levi darling, this issue isn't over, but for now we have bigger things to worry about! So, let's go spy on some titans!" she cheered.

"Um, squad leader, we can't spy on them if we don't know where they are," Moblit said. Hanji froze. Then she snapped her fingers.

"We'll ask the titan from the library when we go to let the others out! That way we'll kill two birds with one stone!" The doors opened and Mike, Nanaba, and Dietrich came out as if they'd been summoned. Hanji cackled wildly and when Eren looked at Levi, Levi rolled his eyes. He stood up from his seat.

"How much gas do you guys have left?" he asked.

"We've got about five eighths left," Mike said. Levi nodded. "For now let's ride Eren to the library and you can use that to get you through at least half of the underground, maybe more if you're careful. Use it sparingly."

Eren jumped off the ledge and bit his hand, lightning flashing as Eren transformed. The others jumped off the ledge and hooked onto Eren's shoulders. Eren glanced around and seemed to frown almost.

"What's wrong, Eren?" Hanji asked. Eren glanced down at her with nervous eyes.

"You don't know how to get to the library, do you?" Levi asked. Eren nodded sheepishly. Levi sighed. "Ask pretty much any titan, they'll probably fall over themselves trying to show you the way."

Eren followed Levi's advice and a rather polite titan showed them to the library before heading off. They quickly slipped through the shelves and found their way to the door. Eren set down those who would be leaving and placed his hand on the wall. It glowed and opened, just like before.

"Be safe!" Moblit called to them. Mike waved his hand up at them and then the three of them left. The door shut behind them and Eren turned back towards the inside of the library.

"Now, let's go hunt some rebels," Levi said, a cold smile pulling at his lips. Eren nodded and walked off in search of their informant.

Chapter 41: Rebellionis

Chapter Text

Eren and the others started wandering around the library, searching for the titan that usually acted as their guide and info broker. They found him after an hour of looking between shelves, just calmly dusting off the books. Levi sighed and it twitched, looking up at them in mild surprise.

"f*cking finally. Where the hell have you been?" Levi growled. It stared at them in confusion before seeming to listen to something Eren had said.

"Oh, my apologies. I did not realize you were looking for me. I have been going about doing my regular duties as a librarian. Putting the books back where they belong, dusting them off, making sure the shelves are in good condition, and so on. Had I known you were looking for me I probably would've gone out sooner."Levi glared at it, unable to tell if it was being serious or just messing with them. He sighed.

"Alright. We need to find out about some suspicious titans," he said. The titan raised an eyebrow.

"Going straight for the kill, huh? Well, I was wondering how you would approach this issue and this seems very much like your way of doing things. Not the smartest of methods but often the most direct depending on who you're dealing with. But as for the potential rebels, yes, I know of them."Hanji gaped in shock.

"Really? What are they like? Where can we find them? Are any of them actually rebels??" she shot off. The titan waited for her to calm down before it began to speak.

"To call them proper rebels at this point is wrong. As it is now, none of them have challenged the king and aren't willing to do so after the solid defeat yesterday. They have been very outright about their intentions and desires long before you came here. In fact they used to go to the main room and preach about how humans were inferior to us and how we should raise them as livestock: to be used and eaten. Currently though, I think they're nursing their wounds and plotting something. After all, the female titan was one of their strongest members." Levi frowned.

"One of?" he repeated. The titan nodded.

"Yes. From what I know, there were three founding members. The Colossal, who's too large to fit in the caverns so he dwells elsewhere. The only ones who know where he lives is that rebel group, or so it's said. The Armored, who's already been defeated by the king, and the Female, who was also defeated. In other words, they are down two of their most immediate founding members and after seeing how easily the king won during their fight, they will likely not try anything for some time."Levi clicked his tongue.

"That's not good enough. We need to make sure they won'tever try anything again. Because as long as they're left alive and plotting, the more likely it is that they'll try something else later on. We can't risk giving them time to think of a plan to fight against Eren." The titan nodded.

"The problem is you have no reason to execute them. Even here we have rules about how no one can just go around killing people. Not even the king can just kill his subjects, whether they're suspected of rebellious intention or not. They have to flat out challenge the king's authority before we can kill them. That or cause enough of an uproar that at least one titan dies." They stared at him in shock.

"That's a pretty severe punishment," Hanji said. The titan sighed but nodded.

"I know but the rules were made after one of our kings killed his subjects for seemingly no reason. It's to protect us as well as the humans. After all, if the king dies, everything goes straight back to how it was when you first came here. If we want to prevent that then we need to make sure to be careful how we go about this."Moblit frowned.

"Is there a way we humans could stir them up and then get them to cause a fuss so Eren could take care of them?" he asked. The titan shook its head.

"They would accuse you of intentionally stirring them up. After that, if any titans died in that fuss we would have to either kill you or cast you out. It's not worth the risk. Just wait for them to make a move. You humans are limited here since everyone knows you're close with the king. And the king can't just go around killing his own subjects for no reason. Our hands are pretty much tied in this situation until they do something. I know you don't like it, but it's best if we just wait for them to make their move."

"And what if they get even more support while we sit around with our thumbs up our f*cking asses?" Levi spat. The titan looked down.

"I don't know what you expect me to do but I can't help you with this. You'll end up hurting your own reputation and this early into your reign, that's a very bad thing. You could invite more rebellion if you make a move carelessly."Levi glared at the titan and it stared at the ground. Levi clicked the tongue.

"Cut the crap. You're just scared for yourself." It flinched before looking up to glare at Levi.

"I know that you view us as monsters but we have feelings too. Of course I don't want things to go back to the chaotic hell it was. It hasn't been easy for us civilian titans either you know. The main factions are divided in two. Those who don't want another king and want to rule themselves. They want to eat humans as they please and roam the world whenever they want. Then there are those who think that having a king is the best thing for everyone. They only want a king because it means they don't have to think about their own problems since the king will resolve them for us. So please understand that neither group is out to help the humans. Yes, I know you want to protect the humans but I have people I want to protect too."With that the titan stalked off. Hanji whistled under her breath.

"Wow Levi, I didn't think anyone could piss off that little guy. He always seemed so calm and collected yet you managed to make him blow up. I wonder who he has to protect though. I don't think titans have families...friends perhaps?" Levi clicked his tongue.

"It doesn't matter, we heard what we needed to hear. We know where they'll usually gather and who their opponents are. It doesn't matter if neither group has ill intentions or don't care about humans as long as they aren't in control. Eren, let's head to that main room thing." Eren nodded and began walking, probably assuming that he would eventually reach the main room. Unknown to them, eyes watched them wander in the exact opposite direction from the main room. When Eren turned the corner to head even further away from the main room the owner of the eyes sighed and ran a hand over their face.

"Eren, do you know where we are?" Hanji asked after what was probably an hour of wandering. Eren stopped and looked sheepishly at the ground before shaking his head. Hanji sighed and Levi cursed.

"I f*cking knew it. We've been wandering around aimlessly for who knows how long and we're no closer to wherever the hell those rebels are," he hissed. Eren flinched and looked down at the ground in shame. Hanji glared at Levi and smacked the back of his head.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for??" he demanded. She glared at him.

"Listen Levi, this is bad enough without your f*cking rude and unhelpful comments. You wouldn't know where to go any better than Eren does so until you know how to navigate this maze, shut the hell up. All you're going to do is bring down our morale and make us feel even worse. Look at how much effort Eren put in and yet you're making it all seem worthless just because we didn't find them in an hour or so. Shut the hell up and don't speak until you have something positive to say," she spat. Levi was shocked by her outburst but went quiet and didn't say anything for the next two hours that it took them to find the main room. When they arrived, it seemed there was already a fight going on inside it.

"Having a king is better because it means we can relax and do nothing for the rest of eternity!"one titan shouted. They stared at the mess in shock.

"Isn't that boring? Not to mention it takes away your freewill and with the current king there's no way we'd ever get to eat a human as long as he's alive!"a hooded titan shouted back. It seemed like a constant back and forth, each one fighting and shouting for their side before one of the hooded titans noticed they were there.

"Hey! It's the king! If we kill him now, we win!"It lunged at Eren who whipped back, dodging the titan. More of the hooded titans began slashing at Eren with what little claws they had. Levi slashed at the fingers of titans that came a little too close for comfort and Hanji shrieked with delight as she soared around the hooded titans, slicing through their tendons. Levi noticed a few titans seemingly cowering at the mere sound of Hanji's laugh. Suddenly a titan knocked Levi off Eren's shoulder. His eyes widened in shock as he felt himself falling. He spun in the air and noticed a titan's hand reaching up to grab him. He whirled around it and sliced the fingers off the owner. A shriek of pain was heard throughout the room as Levi returned to Eren's shoulder. He continued to defend Eren as Eren pushed the enemies aside. Then one whacked Levi off Eren's shoulder again and a second lunged for Eren's now exposed nape.

"I've got you now, king!"It shouted. Eren turned, his nape crystalizing but it would be too late. Then a figure appeared between them. The hooded titan's hand went straight through the librarian titan's throat and nape. Eren's eyes widened and Levi gaped in shock. Eren's eyes narrowed and snapped to the hooded titan who had gone pale. In the blink of an eye, Eren's fist had completely crushed the titan's skull and crashed through the back of its head. He yanked his hand out and turned the titan over, ripping out the nape. He straightened in the now silent room. Levi could swear he heard Eren's thoughts.

All of you have now forfeited your lives.

It was shocking to watch as Eren rampaged for the death of someone he hadn't even been that close with. The titan hadn't even helped them that much and yet Eren was literally on fire. He ripped through the hooded titans while the others simply ran off with their tails between their legs. Once he stood over a pile of steaming corpses, Eren finally sat down. He fell to his knees over the steaming bones of the librarian. They watched as the bones of the first titan they'd actually met disappeared. Eren stood again.

"Eren, where are you going?" Hanji asked. Eren glanced over his shoulder.

"Where do you think? He's not done. Their group still has one well known rebel left, right?" Levi said. Eren nodded and Levi landed on his shoulder. Hanji frowned before it dawned on her and she grinned.

"Oh this is nice, we've got some matters to settle with that bastard too," she said maliciously. With that they walked out of the main room, searching for a titan to tell them where the Colossal was likely to hide.

So you've finally died, Librarian.

Yeah.

What do you think of the new king?

The new king is reckless but he gets things done.

That's pretty much his only good point.

Do you think he'll be fine even without your guidance? All of us needed you to help us when we took the throne.

I think he'll do just fine. Yeah. He'll do just fine on his own.

Chapter 42: Fugent

Chapter Text

Eren stalked through the hallways, steam hissing from between his teeth. The titans they came across cowered and looked away, too frightened to meet his gaze. He roared and Levi covered his ears as the noise echoed and reverberated through the halls. A few moments after, the titans began to collect, nervously staring at the floor. Clearly word of what had happened had already spread through the titans. One of them stepped forward.

"Yes, my king?" Eren growled softly but threateningly and the titan went pale."I-no sire, I would never do anything like that. I apologize for my rude attitude. Y-yes my lord, we do have a general idea of where he might be."

A low echoing snarl spilled from Eren's lips and the titan bowed, face pale. The titans dispersed and the titan walked stiff backed away, with Eren following after. Hanji frowned.

"I wonder what he said. It had to have been terrifying, right?" Levi nodded.

"In that short amount of time he had thoroughly taken control of all of them. If this is the power of a king of titans...perhaps it's better that we didn't know about this beforehand." They paused to think about that while the titan led them into a room with a massive map on the wall. Their jaws dropped at the sheer size of it. The area covered by the walls was a small territory in comparison to everything around them. It made all of the Survey Corps efforts in exploring the land seem tiny.

"Well then, here's the map of the territory we have. We live on an island judging by what we've seen. There are two mountain ranges outside sight of the walls where the Colossal could be hiding. His size makes it rather difficult for him to hide."Levi frowned.

"What about how he just randomly appears out of nowhere? He has the flash of lightning and then he's there too, just like Eren." The titan looked at him and sighed.

"It's...true that the Colossal is a distant relative of the royal family and as such can transform, but it tires him out much more than it would the king or prince. It gets a lot harder for him to maintain his smaller form over long times and there's still the threat of mindless titans attacking him after mistaking him for a human. So there's not much risk of him being transformed but even if he does transform into his human shape, it shouldn't be that difficult for you humans to kill him in that form."Hanji's eyes widened.

"We can kill a transformed titan?" she asked. The titan nodded.

"Death by decapitation is the only way to kill a transformed titan. As such, it shouldn't be that difficult for you to kill him."It turned back to the map."The mountain ranges he's probably hiding at are these two. Their highest peak stretches around four thousand meters into the sky. As such it will be simple for the Colossal to hide there. Not to mention there's no risk of him freezing because of his heat as a titan. Your human friends though, are more likely to have problems on it."

"We'll be fine," Levi growled, glaring at the titan. It nodded and looked back at Eren.

"My king, when do you wish to leave and head after him?"Eren growled and the titan nodded."I will arrange a guide to bring you to the mountain range closest. If he's there...I hope you accomplish your goals. If he's not there then the guide will take you to the second mountain range. If he's not there then I'm afraid I don't know where he would be."

Eren stalked out and returned to their room ledge. They jumped onto it and Eren transformed, landing on the ledge. His eyes were burning with anger.

"Eren? Are you alright?" Hanji asked.

"I'm fine," he said curtly. Hanji flinched and Levi frowned.

"Oi brat, she was just asking because she was worried, you know." Eren paused. He sighed.

"I know...I just...I'm angry. The librarian said all that about having someone they needed to protect but then sacrificed themselves for me. I don't even know who they were trying to protect." They watched him for a moment before Levi patted Eren's shoulder.

"Then all you have to do is make sure that his sacrifice doesn't go to waste. We're going to kill the Colossal and then humans and titans will be at peace," Levi said. Eren winced.

"Will they really? There are still the mindless titans out there, even if they follow my orders. They're still a threat but I can't just go out and kill them." Levi frowned and Hanji thought over it before an idea popped into her head.

"Oh! How about we still have the Survey Corps kill the mindless and abnormal titans they find while we explore and use the map that titans have to find new resources?" she suggested. Levi sighed.

"Four eyes, why would they accept that? That could start a war with the humans and in case you forgot, we still lose to them." Eren shook his head.

"That's wrong, Levi. As long as I tell them it's so that they can join us as intelligent titans, then it'll be fine. ...Probably." Levi stared at him suspiciously but Eren simply gave him that blindingly innocent smile. Levi sighed.

"Fine. What supplies do you think we're going to need when we go to the mountain ranges?" Eren frowned for a moment, thinking back to what the titan had said.

"Judging by what he was talking about, I think we'll need warm clothes or furs and food supplies. Probably water too but I'm not sure on that one. We'll have to see when we get there." Levi frowned.

"Shouldn't we prepare before we leave?" he asked. Eren stared at him.

"But we're going to leave right now, Levi." Levi stared at him.

"Huh?"

"Eren, why are we leaving now?" Levi grumbled, staring warily at the titan that was supposed to be their guide. Eren snorted and the titan spoke for him.

"He says it's because he's fed up with these stupid rebels and wants to crush them all as soon as possible. So we're leaving now."Levi groaned, placing his head in his hands. This big, foolish, idiot! Who just leaves to go kill someone because they are fed up? Aside from murderers, that is.

"There there Levi, aren't you proud that he's all grown up and making his own decisions?" Hanji asked, patting his back mockingly. He glared at her and turned away from where she could see, hiding his expression.

"I miss the days when he would immediately do as I told him," he said softly. Hanji stared at him before a grin crept over her face.

"Le~vi, are you pouting?" she asked teasingly. Levi glared at her.

"I'm not f*cking pouting! What do you take me for, a nine year old?" Hanji burst out laughing and something warm and velvety tapped Levi's back. He glanced back only to realize that Eren had hit him with his ear. He looked at Eren and the titan crooned softly, almost smiling at him. The other titan began coughing, choking on their own spit or something. Once it finished with its coughing fit, it spoke.

"We're almost at the exit to the surface. Once we're out we'll begin running to the mountains. The closest one will take us half a day to reach at max speed but it will take a couple of days to search the entirety of the mountains."Levi nodded and the titan pushed a massive boulder to the side. Sunlight shone in and Levi lifted a hand up to shield his eyes from the sudden brightness. Hanji stared eagerly at the scenery. Her jaw dropped as she looked around at the lush land around them. Levi lowered his hand and his eyes widened. He inhaled deeply and exhaled. A small smile crossed his lips.

"It's been a long time since I saw outside the walls," he murmured. He glanced behind them and was shocked to realize that the wall on the horizon, Wall Maria, was nothing more than a smudge of gray in the distance. "How far out are we?" he whispered.

"We never made it this far out before," Hanji said. "I guess titans really are superior to humans."

"That's not true. It's just that we don't have giant monsters trying to eat us when we explore. You guys had to fight while exploring, it makes sense that there would be problems and you wouldn't make it as far as if there were no titans,"the titan said. They glanced at it and it smiled at them."Sadly we don't have time to enjoy the landscape, we need to get going. You guys just make sure to stay on the king and you'll be fine."

With that warning it took off, charging across the low hills. Eren roared happily and darted forward, bounding over the ground faster than a horse could run. Hanji, Moblit, and Levi simply watched the terrain fly past them. They spotted a few mindless titans laying around doing nothing and some abnormals using trees as chew toys. At around noon the mountain range came into view. Hanji whistled softly as they took in the sheer size of them. They had never seen anything that tall before and it was several times the height of the wall. When they reached the foot of the mountain they were shocked by the sheer magnitude of the mountains. And yet, there was this powerful beauty to them too.

"Do we want to check around the mountain base for any sign of the Colossal?"the titan asked. Eren nodded and it took off, running around the mountain while Eren searched for a place they would be able to stay for the night. He reached the stone wall heading up and reached his hand up.

"Eren??" Hanji asked in surprise. Eren growled softly before digging his hand into the rock and beginning to pull himself up. They hooked themselves into his shoulders to make sure they didn't fall off as he climbed and stayed still as Eren climbed his way up, making the rock face have handholds for a titan. For two hours he climbed until they found themselves on a ledge. The ledge went in about fifty meters where there was a waterfall and a pool of water. Plants sprouted around it and Hanji cheered as she darted over, searching through the plants.

"Squad leader, please don't touch random plants," Moblit said, dropping off Eren's shoulders to chase after her. She pulled some berries out from the bushes and grinned, popping them in her mouth. Moblit froze and then collapsed. Hanji grinned.

"Look Levi, black berries!" she said. Levi raised an eyebrow and Eren huffed with laughter.

"Perhaps you should have said that before Moblit fainted," Levi said. Hanji glanced down and sighed.

"Why would he faint?" she asked, exasperated. Levi snorted.

"Perhaps because you put an unknown berry in your mouth. For all he knew, it was a poisonous berry," Eren said as he climbed out of his nape and landed next to them. He smiled at them and Levi nodded.

"Oh but Eren, I would never do something dangerous like that!" she said. Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Really? So you don't try to drink your random concoctions until Moblit knocks them out of your hand? And then once they spill, a variety of effects happen, anywhere from the floor turning purple and bubbling ominously to dissolving straight through the wood?" Hanji looked away sheepishly while Eren stared at her in shock. Levi sighed.

"Hanji, he does that because you regularly get yourself into trouble that could result in your death. So maybe make his life easier by not doing f*cking reckless things?" Hanji pouted but nodded.

"My king? Where are you, my king?"Eren looked over the ledge.

"UP HERE!" he shouted. The titan looked up.

"Alright! I saw footsteps and burnt trees in a path heading further up the mountain! The likelihood of the Colossal being here is pretty high!"Eren nodded.

"THANK YOU!" It nodded and walked off. Levi glanced back at Hanji and Moblit.

"I suppose we should set up camp for the night?" he asked. Eren nodded.

Night came slowly for them because they didn't have any walls to make the sun set early. It was beautiful the way it looked as everything was colored in yellow and burnt orange. Hanji and Moblit went to sleep quickly while Eren stayed up, wanting to see the land at night. Levi glanced at him.

"Are you tired?" Eren nodded.

"Yeah. But I want to see the environment. It looks so pretty when it's nighttime." Levi nodded.

"I agree. I've never actually been this high up aside from on the walls but this is different. It's so strange for me." Eren glanced at him.

"We can go further up, you know." Levi raised an eyebrow at him before smirking and nodding.

"Let's go then." Levi and Eren hooked onto the walls and went up to the next small ledge where they could see the land spread out before them. Levi smiled a little.

"I think the last time I enjoyed the night sky was the night before my first expedition." Eren glanced at him, surprised that Levi was talking first. "I did it with my two oldest friends. Isabel and Farlan. I took them into my group back when I still lived in the underground."

"What happened to them?" Eren asked. Levi looked down.

"They died on the first expedition. If I'd been with them, maybe I would've been able to protect them. But I wasn't there and they died because of it." Levi looked up at the sky. "That's why I try not to get close to people. Because when they die, it hurts and I can't take so many losses."

"Is that why you don't want to be with me?" Eren asked, eyes wide. Levi nodded slowly.

"You've already crept into my heart Eren. I don't want others to touch you. The thought of you getting hurt angers me and the thought of losing you...it scares me. That's why I can't risk you getting any closer. Otherwise...I'll want you too much to let go and the world will take away another precious thing." Eren reached over and caressed Levi's cheek. Levi looked at him and for the first time, Eren saw Levi's fear. He'd seen his sorrow and his anger before but he'd never seen his fear. Eren smiled.

"Do you really think I'm just going to disappear or die? Levi, I'm not going anywhere." He pressed his head against Levi's forehead. "Little One, I love you."

Levi's eyes widened and tears beaded in the corners of his eyes. Eren smiled and kissed his cheek. Levi glared at him and his hand grabbed the back of Eren's head. Eren's eyes widened as Levi kissed him straight on the mouth. After a moment, Levi pulled back and glared at Eren.

"You're mine Eren. If we're going to be together then no one else can touch you, got it?" Eren smiled and leaned into Levi's hand.

"I wouldn't want anyone else to touch me."

Chapter 43: Alta Ferentis Periculum

Chapter Text

Hanji snorted loudly as she jolted up from her sleep. A trail of drool gleamed on her cheek while Levi glared at her. She looked around the camp blearily, noting that Moblit was out harvesting some of the berries she'd found the day before. But oddly enough, Eren would blush every time he met Levi's eyes and Levi would smirk knowingly. She glared suspiciously at them.

"Did something happen between the two of you while I was out?" she asked. Eren turned pink and Levi simply smirked. Her eyes widened at the sudden change in Eren's attitude as Eren handed Levi a cup of water. He refused to meet Hanji's eyes and Levi was more smug than she'd ever seen him before. He was embarrassed by something and Levi was proud? That could only mean onething. She grinned. "You two hadsexdidn't you?"

Levi choked on the water Eren had given him while Eren's jaw dropped. She raised an eyebrow at that while Levi coughed and pounded on his chest. Once he'd finished clearing his airways, he glared up at her.

"What in hells' name gave youthatidea?" he asked. She grinned innocently at him.

"Well Eren's acting embarrassed and I've never seen you this smug before, so the only answer is that you finally managed to plant your dick in that ass." Levi glared at her while Eren turned bright red.

"Hanji I-we not- that not happen! Little one and I not-not have s-s-s-s-sex!!" Eren sputtered, slipping into broken speech. Hanji's eyes widened.

"Oh, you didn't?" Eren nodded rapidly while Levi sighed.

"No, four eyes, we didn't have sex. Though I'm not opposed to the idea." Her eyes widened at that comment while Eren turned even more red.

"Levi!" he said. Hanji watched in shock as they started talking with each other.

"What? Weren't you the one who asked me first if we could have sex? Remember? The night these two idiots and Mike and Nanaba had sex in the rooms around us, you asked if you could have sex with me?" Hanji's eyes widened at that and Eren looked away.

"Well yes but...that was in private...and they're right here," he mumbled. Levi smirked at him.

"Relax brat, we're not going to be having sex any time soon." Eren looked up, crestfallen. Levi sighed and reached over to flick Eren's forehead. "Idiot, I'm not going to have your first time be out here in the middle of nowhere. I have a bit more dignity than that. So listen closely brat."

Hanji watched eagerly as Levi grabbed Eren's head and pulled him down so they could look each other in the eyes. Eren was bright pink while Levi had a smirk and his eyes seemed to burn fiercely. Moblit was purposefully ignoring the situation behind him as he continued collecting berries.

"When I take you for the first time, it's going to be in a bed. Not out in the wild or just in any crappy place. We're going to get back and as soon as we get back to the base, I'm dragging you to my room, and we're going to have sex until you pass out." Levi leaned in to whisper more filthy things in Eren's ears that Hanji couldn't hear. She may not have been able to hear what was said but she saw how Eren responded. His face went red and he swallowed thickly while fidgeting and trying to hide his growing arousal. Finally hands covered her eyes and prevented her from seeing what was happening.

"HEY!" she protested, trying to pry the hands off her eyes.

"Sorry squad leader, but it's rude to eavesdrop and watch them. Leave them be until they're past the flirting in broad daylight stage," Moblit said, pulling her away from the two. Eren turned pink after hearing that while Levi clicked his tongue and backed away from Eren. Moblit nodded his thanks to them while pulling a whining Hanji away from them. Levi glanced back at Eren, eyes still burning.

"Prepare yourself, brat." Eren felt a shiver of excitement run through him while he tried not to think about the filthy promises Levi had whispered to him. He looked away and heard a roar from the base of the cliff. He frowned and walked over to it.

"Highness, I've found the Colossal! He's about two hours further up the mountain and an hour to the East!"the titan called up. Eren nodded.

"ALRIGHT! WE'LL MAKE PREPARATIONS TO LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!" he called back down. He pulled away from the edge and turned back to the others. All the playfulness from mere moments before was gone. Their eyes were serious and Eren forced a smile to try and seem reassuring. He could tell from Levi's frown that he didn't succeed but Hanji smiled back at him. She grinned.

"Okay! Let's go take this bastard down once and for all!" she cheered. She pumped her fist in the air and Moblit smiled at her. Levi rolled his eyes as he buckled his 3DM gear on.

"Calm down four eyes, if we run in with no plan then we're dead." Hanji pouted.

"It's simple! Eren attacks from the front while we attack the nape. If that doesn't work, then we try to trip him while Eren jumps from above and takes out the nape!" she said cheerfully. Levi sighed.

"What do you think, Eren?" Eren shrugged.

"As long as he ends up dead, I don't care what method I use to do so," he said simply. Levi sighed but shrugged anyway. Hanji grinned and eagerly strapped her gear on with Moblit following in tow. Eren nodded before strapping on his gear and jumping off the cliff. As he plummeted down he heard the titan call out in fear before he fired his hooks and slid to a stop. He slowed his rapid descent and unhooked from the wall when he was about two feet from the ground. He landed on his feet and waited for the others to follow, ignoring the titan who had been freaked out by his seemingly suicidal actions. Hanji jumped off the cliff with a whooping cry while Moblit practically shrieked with horror when he saw her actions, shooting after her. Levi simply rolled his eyes at their immature actions before basically stepping off the cliff. He dropped almost horizontal with the wall before he fired his hooks and delicately landed on the ground next to Eren. He rolled his shoulders and glanced at the others.

"Are we going?" Eren nodded and bit his hand, transforming into his titan form. The others landed on his shoulders and finally they paid attention to the other titan. It stared at them with a long-suffering look.

"You humans are strange. Even titans are afraid of falls from that height,"it said. Eren rolled his eyes.

"We're just used to it," Hanji explained. It stared at them for another moment before huffing and heading off. It began walking East and they began their hour long trek. Once they reached the base of the area where the Colossal supposedly was, it began climbing.

"We'll just stay on your shoulders. That okay with you?" Levi said to Eren. Eren nodded and began climbing the cliff next to the other titan. Hanji was slightly nervous but more excited to find out how long Eren could climb without breaks. Together Eren and the titan climbed the cliff for two long hours. By the time they reached their ledge Hanji had finished internally trying to calculate how long it would've taken them as humans to climb the cliff. It had taken her two hours because there were a lot of factors to consider, such as if they were using 3DM gear, calculating the distance that a fifteen meter could climb with each step compared to a human; all in all, it would've easily taken them around six to twelve hours to climb the cliff, had they been human.

They finally clambered onto the stone ledge and took in the sights. It was beautiful to look over the land behind them, higher than ever before. Hanji also noticed it was harder to breathe this high up and it was significantly colder. She shivered to herself and pulled her cloak around her. She hugged closer to Eren's warm skin than she had on the way up and waited. Together Eren and the other titan began carefully walking further into the mountain. About ten minutes after, the air began to warm up. Hanji frowned.

"Why is the air warmer here?" she whispered. The titan glanced at her.

"It's because we're closer to the Colossal. The sheer size of his body allows him to warm the area around him. If we're lucky we can take him by surprise,"it said. They peered around a bend and sure enough beheld a sixty meter figure standing in front of them. He was looking away from them but they readied themselves to attack.

"Let's go!" Levi hissed. The humans took off, soaring higher and trying to get up to the Colossal's nape. Meanwhile Eren and the titan charged straight at its legs. The Colossal looked down at them and roared, kicking at them. They dove to the side and Eren slashed at its leg. It staggered but grabbed a hold of the mountain walls and straightened. The other titan jumped up, trying to take out the Colossal's knees, but the Colossal snarled at it and a powerful burst of steam sent the titan flying. It crashed into the cliff walls before falling to the ground, body steaming as it tried to regenerate. The Colossal took a step towards it and Eren's eyes widened. He roared and began trying to climb the Colossal's other leg. It stopped moving and leaned down to brush Eren off. Eren instead jumped onto it's hand and began climbing up it. It simply swung its arm and him into the wall. Eren roared with pain as he was smashed against the rocks.

"EREN!" Levi shouted, afraid for Eren's life.

"Levi! Not now, Eren can take care of himself! We need to find a chance to take him down!" Hanji shouted. Levi forced himself to focus away from Eren and on the Colossal. It was easier than expected, his rage billowing up and swelling as it hissed and roared at the one who had hurt Eren. Levi dove as the Colossal reached for Eren, blades flashing as he sliced his way up the Colossal's arm, a whirlwind of steel and fury. The Colossal roared in pain and tried to swat at Levi. Hanji went for the nape but as soon as her blades slashed through the Colossal's nape it roared and steam burst out of it's skin. Hanji was sent flying and it glared at her as she managed to partially stop her fall before the steam knocked her hooks off course and her wires tangled around her.

"SQUAD LEADER!" Moblit shouted as he saw the Colossal raise it's foot to step on her. He soared down, diving as fast as possible to reach her. He scooped her up and tossed her out of the area where the Colossal would step. Hanji's eyes widened with fear and she desperately reached out for Moblit.

"MOBLIT!" she screamed. The Colossal's foot came down and Hanji froze, tears beginning to streak down her cheeks. The Colossal huffed in irritation and lifted it's foot to step on the original target. Hanji didn't even move, eyes focused on the bloody form that had been smashed under it's foot. Another large hand scooped her out of the way and Hanji realized the guide titan had grabbed her. It placed her inside a little nook in the cliff wall and looked at her.

"If you can't fight, then stay out of the way of those who can and don't get the Colossal's attention,"it said. Then the Colossal's foot kicked it into the wall and it was sent flying. Eren finally stood, his broken spine having taken the longest time to heal. He roared furiously and his form caught fire. The Colossal looked at him before noting the crown on his head. It grinned cruelly and turned to face him. Levi went into the cave and grabbed Hanji, who was still in shock, and went out. He was just in time to see a steam burst blow Eren into the wall, his fire weaker than when it first caught. The Colossal reached down to grab Eren but his hand was knocked aside by the guide titan. It glanced over and saw Levi.

"You!" Levi said.

"TAKE THE KING AND GO! HURRY!"it shouted. Levi flinched before he felt Hanji tap his back.

"I'm fine now, you can put me down. We need to retreat," she said, eyes dead inside. Levi glanced at her worriedly before setting her down and jumping down, blades flashing as he cut Eren out of the nape. Eren glared at the Colossal, weakly reaching for it.

"Let me go, I can still kill him!" he hissed. Levi sighed and hit Eren in the back of the neck. Eren jolted before his eyes shut.

"LET'S GO!" Hanji shouted. Levi fired his hooks and took off. When they reached the cliff they'd climbed up, he winced as he heard a titan begin to scream. Then an arm came flying past them, very obviously from the guide titan. He swallowed and dropped, hurriedly fleeing from the Colossal who roared in fury at the escape of its prey. They ran for about an hour after landing to try and maintain what little gas they had left to get up the cliff to where they'd set up camp. When they finally arrived, with a little less than half of their group dead, their gas was nearly empty. Levi lay Eren down on their bedding and sat down on his own sleeping bag. He glanced at Hanji who shook her head.

"Unless Eren's going to be willing to head back to base without avenging the two who died, we're basically stranded here." Levi looked down. He'd expected as much and knowing Eren, he wouldn't be willing to go back until the Colossal was dead for what it'd done. So they were stuck there, almost no gas left, an angry titan hunting them, and only three out of the original five still alive.

"This is not going to end well," Levi said softly.

Chapter 44: Talionis

Chapter Text

Eren began to slowly wake up, confused by why he was waking up at all. Had he gone to sleep? The last thing he remembered was their fight against the Colossal titan so it was unlikely he decided to fall asleep there. He opened his eyes and saw Hanji and Levi sitting close to the fire, speaking to each other in hushed murmurs. He looked around, searching for Moblit and then his memories hit him like a brick to the face.

Moblit was dead.

Their guide was dead.

That f*cking titan had nearly killed the entire squad, including him and Levi.

Levi heard Eren moving and glanced over as the boy began to sit up. Eren's eyes were full of fury and glimmered with unshed tears. Hanji followed his gaze and noted Eren getting up. She spoke first.

"Hey Eren. Sleep well?" she asked. Eren glanced over at them and took in their sight. Levi had more dark circles under his eyes than Eren had seen since his squad died and Hanji looked like a shade of her previous self. All her bubbly energy and excitement was gone, leaving her pale and frail.

"Are you guys...okay?" he asked, pushing aside his anger for the moment. If they hadn't taken him with them back then he undoubtedly would've died and then who would stop the titans from feeding on his friends? He owed his life to them and even though at the time they'd left the fight he'd still wanted to continue, they must've realized he couldn't win against the Colossal. Hanji smiled sadly.

"We're alive...and that's better than what we could be," she said. Levi sighed.

"Come sit down Eren, we need to discuss our next move." Eren nodded and joined them by the fire, waiting for someone to speak. Levi sighed. "First of all we need to decide if we're going to stay here or if we head back to the titan caves and get them to give us supplies or something."

"I won't leave this mountain until that bastard is dead!" Eren hissed, the anger in him flaring violently. Levi glared him down and Eren shrank in on himself.

"Eren, think about the situation. The amount of fuel Hanji and I have left is barely enough to get us up this cliff. Our supplies are running out and in case you hadn't noticed, the mountains are only getting colder. The Colossal is going to be looking for us, he's probably pissed off that we escaped after scratching him up a bit. We can't deal with the oncoming cold without supplies or the Colossal searching for us." Eren looked down, considering what Levi had said. Hanji sighed and spoke up.

"On the other hand, if the Colossal gets anywhere near us, we're going to know very early on. This is caused by two things; the sudden warmth that he brings around him and the noise of him crashing through the area. So even if he's searching for us, it won't be hard for us to evade capture so long as you don't transform." Eren frowned.

"Why can't I transform?" Levi sighed.

"Because when you transform, that lightning is a f*cking beacon to him. He knows what it means and he knows that the only titan who can transform and is currently inside the mountains aside from him, is you. If you transform, it'll lead him straight to us. If he manages to reach us, then our only option is to run and hope that he's not fast enough to chase us." Eren looked back down, thinking over his options.

If they stayed they risked starvation, cold, the Colossal, and low gas. If they left they could replenish their supplies and better prepare for their next attempt but they could potentially lose the Colossal titan. The best option was obviously to return. It wouldn't take them long to get back and forth from the mountain to the caves and Hanji and Levi could do a lot more damage with full tanks of gas, but the Colossal wasn't an idiot. Cruel and sad*stic maybe, but he would recognize a strategic retreat and would likely hide himself away to escape the incoming attacks from their side. Eren frowned.

"What do you think we should do?" he asked them, looking up. Levi was surprised that Eren was asking them for advice. He and Hanji had expected him to immediately say that they should stay and fight the Colossal. Hanji smiled at him.

"We were going to make our decision based on which option you chose but I guess that's not an option anymore, huh Levi?" Levi sighed.

"No it's not. As for what we should do, I say we stay." Hanji's eyes widened in surprise and Levi glared at her. "Don't look at me like that, let me explain why I say we should stay."

Hanji and Eren turned their full attention to Levi who groaned softly.

"I think we can take him down. It's not going to be easy but if we retreat now then he will be more likely to withdraw and hide himself again. I'm not a great strategist like sh*twin, but I think we can at least identify his weaknesses, right?" He looked at them and they tilted their heads.

"What weaknesses?" Hanji asked. "Aside from the nape, I can't think of any and he doesn't let us get remotely close to his nape." Levi sighed.

"He's tall and he's slow. Ever heard the saying 'the bigger they are the harder they fall'? All we need to do is get him down. Once he's down his nape is easily accessible to Eren even in titan form. The bad news is that we currently have no means to bring him down." Eren frowned.

"What about the wires in our gear?" Hanji shook her head.

"Even if we wound all of the wires together, he would snap them like a person brushing away a cobweb. We would need something thicker or stronger." Levi nodded.

"The good news is that this mountain has a variety of those things." Hanji tilted her head in confusion. Levi walked over to the cliff wall and tugged on the green yellow vines. "Ever made grass rope before?"

"You mean where you twist the grass together after tying a knot in it and form a rope?" she asked. Levi nodded.

"We can do the exact same thing with these. Now right now the vines are beginning to die so they won't be as flexible as normal, but it will still be firm and flexible enough to work. Then the problem is how to get the Colossal to trip over it because if he sees it, he's going to step over it. Not to mention what will be holding it taught. After all, if Hanji and I were to try it we'd get yanked right along with the Colossal." Hanji nodded, thinking about it.

"What if we tied one end of it to like a large boulder or rock heavy enough that it won't move a lot if the Colossal yanks on it and then had Eren holding the other end?" she suggested. Levi sighed.

"And how do we get the Colossal to wherever we need it to go?" Eren thought for a moment.

"What if I acted as bait and then I turn a corner and go out of sight and you two take over bait role while I get the rope ready?" he suggested. Hanji and Levi stared at him in mild surprise.

"That's actually not a bad idea. Alright. Hanji, because you have the most gas left out of us two, I want you to look for an area where the Colossal can move but would easily lose sight of Eren while Eren and I will be here making the rope." Hanji nodded.

"Got it!" She put on her gear and took off, using as little gas as possible to move her quickly. Meanwhile Levi put on his gear and went up to where the vines were growing. He chopped them off and let them fall, waiting for Eren to catch them. Eren didn't catch them but rather dragged them out of the way and tied two together. He began twisting the skinny vines together, starting the rope.

It took four hours for Hanji to come back to them. Two of those hours had been spent by Levi cutting vines and then he later joined Eren with making the actual rope. By the time Hanji got back Levi was bored out of his mind.

"Hey guys! Wow it looks like you've really done a lot, haven't you?" she asked cheerfully. Eren smiled and hummed but didn't reply. Hanji frowned. "Is he okay?"

"He's been like that for four hours. Trying to talk to him is about as productive as speaking to the cliff walls. And I will admit I have had thoughts about doing so just to see if he'll actually respond to me," Levi sighed. Hanji stared at him in surprise.

"What's this? The loner Levi who never gets close to someone is actually considering doing something crazy or strange to get another person's attention?? Where has the Levi I know gone?" she asked in mock shock. Levi rolled his eyes.

"That Levi disappeared a long time ago." Hanji grinned.

"Right, he disappeared when he fell inlove~!" Levi glared up at her.

"Just because I'm bored does not give you the go ahead to poke fun at me. Anyways, did you find the area we're looking for?" Hanji grinned and nodded.

"Yup! And it's pretty close to where the Colossal is right now so it should be relatively easy to get him where we need him. If we're lucky, maybe he'll crack his skull on his fall down and then give us more time to kill him. We'll see though." Levi sighed and looked at the rope. There were two of the large ones at this point, with Eren's being largest. It was large enough that Eren was carrying it over his shoulder while he twisted it.

"Think we're just about done here?" Levi asked with a sigh. Hanji frowned.

"Perhaps bind your two ropes together and then I think it'll be good enough. It's certainly long enough," she said, looking at the coils upon coils of the rope. Levi sighed.

"We had to make it long since we didn't know how large the boulder or rock we're tying it to is going to be." Hanji nodded. "The real question is how to get Eren to bind them together."

"I don't think that's a problem. All you have to do is back off and he'll probably get the hint that he has to finish it himself. Just wait and see." Levi finished his and stepped back. They waited for a moment while Eren finished his own rope before Eren glanced to the side and noticed the rope that was sitting there. He immediately picked it up and began winding the two together. Hanji sighed.

"No ordinary human would be able to casually lift those two ropes together. Even you would have trouble, right Levi?" Levi sighed.

"I don't like to admit it but yes, it would be difficult for me to carry both of those at the same time. Why? Planning on studying Eren later?" Hanji laughed.

"Oh if only! But somehow I get the feeling that even if your murderously overprotective urges didn't kick in, we're still going to have some troubles when we get back to the walls." Levi sighed.

"Yeah. I wonder if Erwin's been told yet about the fact that Eren's a king of titans." Hanji laughed.

"Probably not considering how long it takes to actually get across the underground. I wish I could see his face when he hears about it." A thud drew their attention back to Eren and they were shocked to see how quickly he'd finished making a rope with the two massive vine ropes. He turned and smiled at them.

"That's good enough, right?" Hanji grinned.

"Yup! Although it's going to be hard to carry it all the way to where we need to set it up." Levi and Eren froze at that before internally cursing the fact that they didn't actually think about that. Hanji laughed at their faces. "Relax, we can carry it from here without using our gear."

It took another two hours for them to carry the massive rope to its destination and by the time they reached it both Eren and Levi felt like they were dying. Hanji laughed at them.

"Oh come on you big babies, don't forget that we still have to tie it onto this huge thing," Hanji said, gesturing to the massive boulder on one side of the passage. Eren and Levi took one look at it before groaning loudly, already tired and unwilling. Hanji frowned. "Are you guys really going to complain even though that monster killed our friends? How many people died when it destroyed the gate at Shiganshina? If putting up with a little exhaustion and sore muscles will avenge those who died and give us the chance to kill this monster, are you really going to pass it up because you're tired?"

"You have a sh*t way of encouraging people," Levi said.

"But you're right, it needs to die. If that thing hadn't shown up, there are so many people who wouldn't have died," Eren said. Together he and Levi wound the rope around the boulder and tied it tightly. Levi sighed once they were done.

"Alright. Now we need to lure the big ugly lug here. Think we can do it now?" Levi asked. Hanji glanced at Eren who nodded.

"The biggest part is that we need to make it look believable so Eren you're going to have to take some hits. Charge in and get kicked about twice and then run," Hanji said. Eren nodded.

"Make it seem like I'm running away, got it." They approached the area where the Colossal was. It was warm as ever and Eren inhaled before biting his hand and transforming. The Colossal looked at them, grinning at the sight of Eren. Eren charged at it and it kicked him back. He rolled on landing and got up to charge again. He got kicked into the cliff wall this time and felt one of his arms snap. He grabbed it and glared up at the Colossal before turning and running into the maze of tunnels and cliff walls. The Colossal began to follow him while Levi and Hanji stayed close to Eren.

"For someone that big, he sure can move pretty quickly," Hanji said. Levi clicked his tongue.

"Well, so long as our trap works, we won't have to worry about how fast he can move or not." The Colossal used a burst of steam to try and knock Eren off course. It didn't work but Hanji and Levi used that chance to make it seem like they'd been knocked off Eren's shoulders and then go along the other side of the wall. Once they reached the corner Eren turned and Levi and Hanji waited. The Colossal turned the corner and they took off, shooting after where Eren had gone. The Colossal roared and followed them, moving quickly despite its size and the obstacles in its path. They soared over the trap and glanced back at the Colossal. Right before it reached the trap Levi shouted.

"EREN! NOW!" Eren yanked on the rope, pulling it taut right as the Colossal stepped forward. Its foot caught and for a moment its eyes widened as it came crashing down. The crash that echoed through the area was painful on the ears, louder than anything Levi or Hanji had ever heard. As soon as it was down, Eren began running up its back. Sadly it hadn't hit its head on the fall down and slowly began to get back up.

"LEVI! We need to cut the muscles in its arms and legs to give Eren time to destroy the nape!" Hanji shouted.

"I know," Levi said as he flashed forward, blades slashing through the wrists of the Colossal titan. He knew that his blades wouldn't cut deep enough, the Colossal was too big, but Hanji was flying right behind him. She slashed where he'd cut and the Colossal fell again. Eren was about halfway up the spine at that time as Hanji and Levi whirled around the Colossal, now attacking the hamstrings. The Colossal roared angrily as it tried to rapidly heal itself but Eren was already above its nape. He descended in a flash of hardened fingers and glowing eyes.

As soon as Eren began to slash at the nape the Colossal roared with pain and began to redouble its efforts to get back up. If it could get back up then the person attacking its nape would fall down and become easy prey for it. But Hanji and Levi weren't making it easy as they viciously slashed at the muscles and tendons, using gas at a rapid pace. Finally Eren slashed through the final layer of muscle, exposing where the spinal cord connected to the brain. Hanji felt her tanks run out of gas and she dropped, noting that Levi had already clung to the cliff wall as his tanks ran out of gas slightly after her.

"GO EREN!" she shouted. The Colossal noted that the pests who had been attacking its arms and legs were gone so it attempted to swipe Eren off its nape but Eren reached into the nape and ripped as hard as he could. The Colossal froze for a moment before its hand began to fall, echoing with a loud crash. Its body began to steam as Eren straightened and went over to Hanji and Levi, hands still steaming with the Colossal's blood. Levi smiled at Eren who was seemingly smiling at him. Hanji's eyes were wide, tears beginning to drip down her face.

"We did it...the Colossal is dead. Moblit..." she brought her arms up to cover her eyes, hiding her tears from their view. Levi smiled and landed on Eren's palm. Hanji followed soon after, still hiding her face from them.

"Eren, let's head back to camp. I think we've done enough for today." Eren nodded and began the short walk back to their camp, proud that he had finally killed the Colossal titan despite the sacrifices that came with. Now that the rebels were dead and Eren was king, he'd be able to go back to base soon. Back to the Scouts where Erwin, Mikasa, Armin, and all his other friends were waiting for them. Inside his titan form, he smiled happily at the thought of heading back to his new home.

Chapter 45: De Reditu Ad Regem

Chapter Text

The run back to the titan caves took longer than anticipated by Levi, likely because without their guide they had pretty much no idea where to go. So Eren just took off in a single direction, hoping they'd reach it. Instead he ran straight past wherever it was and nearly walked through Shiganshina.

"Eren, I think we're a littletoofar from where we were going," Hanji said, pretending to be concerned while staring in awe at the sheer number of mindless titans. The titans themselves were definitely eyeing up Levi and Hanji, drool dripping from their mouths but whatever Eren had done to make them obey kept them from leaping at him to try and eat the humans on his shoulders. Eren's shoulders slumped but he went out the gate and headed towards the nearby forest. Hanji frowned in confusion. "What are you doing, Eren?"

Eren reached down and gently picked something off the ground. Once he saw what it was, Levi's eyes widened slightly. Hanji immediately shut her mouth when they realized it was a torn, bloody, Survey Corps cloak. It seemed as if it had been caught between the teeth of two titans as the wings on the back were almost torn in half. Eren walked for a bit before leaning down and picking up another one. And another one. And so forth, going back towards the forest. Hanji and Levi were silent in remembering the people who had gone on the disastrous trip to the Shiganshina. For Levi, his squad flashed in front of his eyes. Gunther, Eld, Oluo, and Petra. They'd all gone with him on this trip and none of them made it back. For Hanji, she recalled Eren's rage after they'd returned. She remembered realizing that her selfishness had kept him with her and because of that, people he could've saved were dead. They were gone forever and she was responsible in part for their deaths.

Once Eren had picked up all the cloaks he could find, he ran towards the edge of the wall, going back to their original goal of searching for the titan caves. It was quiet, aside from the sound of his steps and the huff of his breath. Neither Levi nor Hanji could bring themselves to say anything. They circled around the wall before Eren turned and faced the mountains. He slowly began to walk around the area, searching for the rocks they came from. Soon he found a flat cliff face and he pressed his hand against it. His hand print glowed and the door swung open, allowing them back into the caves. Eren gently set the cloaks down, staring at them like he was wondering what to do with them.

"We can't hold onto them Eren, they'll draw too much attention, particularly in the underground," Levi said. Eren sighed but nodded and left the cloaks where they were. With that he continued walking through the tunnels towards the center. Once they reached the main tunnels, the butler like titan that they'd seen all the times previously was waiting for them.

"Welcome back, your Majesty. How long will you be staying with us this time?"it asked. Levi frowned.

"What is this, an inn?" he muttered. Hanji snickered and the titan glanced at them before turning back to Eren. It seemed more of that telepathic communication was going on because the titan nodded.

"I'll make preparations. In the meantime, you and your friends should head to your rooms and then go to the bath, you are all quite dirty." Levi flinched as the titan rudely reminded him of the thing he'd been trying so hard to ignore. He could feel the dirt clinging to him, could practically smell it on himself. And it pissed him off while simultaneously making his skin crawl.

"Yeah, let's do that. Where the hell is this bath, I f*cking need to scrub every piece of dirt off me," Levi hissed, already beginning to scratch at his skin. Sleeping pretty much on the ground had consequences that Levi was prepared to deal with when there was no presence of a bath but if the titans had a bath then he'd f*cking use it, even if he had to kill every last titan here to do so. The titan glanced at him with a small smirk.

"The baths are connected to one of the rooms in your area. Just be aware that you humans will likely have to wash in the pools as the bath itself is titan sized."Hanji's eyes lit up.

"They're titan sized?? How big does that make them? Is it deep enough that Eren could submerge his head? Oh, I'm so excited!" she practically shrieked with delight. Levi sighed.

"As long as there's soap and the water is clean, I don't care how big or deep the bath is," he said. The titan huffed and smiled at them.

"Then you should enjoy it. I'll leave now to make preparations for your departure."Eren walked with them on his shoulders to the little platform where their rooms were. Hanji jumped off eagerly and began opening the doors to try and find out which room had the bathroom connected to it while Levi got off with a little more grace. Levi stood on the platform, waiting for Eren to exit his titan. The boy did and Levi watched as he landed.

"What was the titan talking about when it said it would make preparations for our departure?" he asked. Eren looked at him in surprise.

"Well don't you want to go back home? It's nice here but a little unnerving to see creatures I've killed to protect you, to protect myself, and I've killed to avenge others treating me politely just because I wear this flaming crown." Levi glanced up at it.

"Yeah, that's going to draw attention when we go through the underground," he said. Eren nodded.

"A crown of fire tends to draw a lot of attention, so I'm going to have to live with it." Levi sighed.

"If only there were a way to hide it or something, that would make having it a hell of a lot easier," he said. Eren nodded and they heard a shriek that sounded suspiciously like someone saying 'eureka' come from the far room. Levi stared at it with a raised eyebrow.

"Did she just say 'eureka'?" Eren asked, confused. Levi sighed and shook his head.

"Don't ask, brat." The door swung open with a loud bang as it hit the wall. Hanji shot out, a crazy grin on her face.

"GUYS! I FOUND IT AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!" she grabbed their hands and dragged them into the room, where another door was wide open. She yanked them through it and they found themselves standing on a massive cliff, overlooking a steaming lake.

"What the hell? That's the bath?" Levi said incredulously. Hanji nodded eagerly.

"I believe this is the phenomenon known as a 'hot spring' where water that is warmed by volcanic pressure under the earth rises to the surface and forms pools of hot water!" she laughed excitedly. Eren frowned.

"But is it safe for us to use?" Hanji froze and then put her chin on her hand.

"True, titans run far hotter to humans so perhaps to them what is warm is scalding to us. Hm, this could make it difficult to use," she said as they walked down the stairs towards the pool. It was warm and steamy in here but didn't feel too hot. They reached the water and Hanji kept muttering about calculations, water temperature, ratio of human heat to titan heat, and it seemed like they weren't going to get anywhere. So Eren decided to stick his hand in the water. Hanji's eyes widened.

"Eren! Don't-" he pulled his hand out, completely intact.

"It's fine to me, is it hot for you guys?" he asked. Hanji hesitantly reached down and put her hand in it. She sighed in relief.

"No, it's not ridiculously hot but I don't know if I'd usually wash in water this warm." Levi sighed and reached down to put his hand in the water. He nodded.

"It's just the right temperature for washing. Four eyes, you go wash over there since you're a girl and Eren and I will wash here." Hanji snickered.

"Don't be getting up to any naughty shenanigans while I'm away, will you?" she said as she walked off to the more hidden area. Levi sighed. Washing was quick on Levi's part as he didn't want to get unnecessarily riled up by seeing Eren naked so he quickly retreated to their room. Once inside, Levi collapsed on the bed, surprisingly tired. His eyes slowly drifted shut and he let himself go to sleep.

"Levi, are you up yet?" Levi groaned as he heard four eyes voice first thing after falling asleep. He sat up slowly, still tired despite sleeping more than he normally did.

"I'm up," he said. He heard a sigh of relief.

"Oh good, it's almost noon and we're about to leave so I was worried you wouldn't be awake then." Levi's eyes widened and he stood up, rushing to the door and throwing it open.

"It's almostnoon??" he cried incredulously. Hanji nodded.

"Yeah. It was weird for you of all people to sleep in this late so I figured I'd check up on you while Eren's taking care of business with the titans." Levi sighed. He pulled on his jacked and hid his gear under the brown cloak.

"Alright, let's go. I just want to get back to base at this point. f*ck, it's probably a f*cking mess already." Hanji snickered.

"Alright Mr Grumpypants, let's get going before Eren leaves without us." They had a titan that was nearby bring them to the library where Eren was already standing in front of the door. He also had his hood up to hide his crown. The butler titan watched them as they gathered and it sighed.

"I really don't think it's the smartest idea to take the king into human territory but it is his wish to go so I won't stop you. However, his safety is now your responsibility, am I clear? If anything happens to him, we will open this door and attack the human nation from the inside."Hanji and Levi shivered at the threat but Eren merely sighed.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop threatening them?" The titan looked down and Eren shook his head, frustrated. "Whatever, let's go."

He placed his hand against the door and his massive glowing hand print appeared above him. The doors opened and he walked out with Levi and Hanji close behind. With fewer people with them it took less time for them to travel through the Underground city and soon they had reached the start. They began climbing the stairs and half way up were stopped by the Military Police.

"Halt. State your name, and show your pass to the surface," the guard drawled, using his finger to pick earwax out of his ear. Levi glared at him but pulled out a document Erwin had given him beforehand.

"Captain Levi of the Survey Corps, Squad Leader Hanji Zoe of the Survey Corps, and elite squad member Eren of the Survey Corps," he said, glaring at the guard. The guard flinched but took the paper to check it's authenticity.

"Th-this checks out, my apologies for hindering you," he said, hurriedly getting out of their way. Once past him Eren glanced back.

"What was up with that?" Levi sighed.

"Mostly low ranked soldiers or soldiers who pissed off superiors end up on Underground Watch duty. So even if we're from the Survey Corps, even you are higher ranked than he is and despite whether or not he looks down on the Survey Corps, he still has to be respectful to us." Eren nodded slowly, kind of understanding what Levi was saying. Once they reached the top of the stairs Hanji stretched.

"Alright, let's go find the inn that Erwin said he would be staying at!" she said cheerfully. They wandered around for about an hour before finding the inn that Erwin had said he'd be staying at. Levi walked in and went up to the proprietress.

"Excuse me, is Erwin Smith staying here?" The old woman looked up and smiled at Levi.

"Why yes, he is. Are you visitors?" Levi nodded. She smiled.

"Mr Smith is in room fifteen on the second floor. I haven't seen him go out so he should still be in there." Levi nodded and they walked past the old woman towards the stairs. Once on the second floor they quickly located room fifteen and Hanji opened the door.

"Erwin~~ guess who's back?" Hanji sang. Immediately she was dragged into the room and her mouth was covered. Levi stiffened and prepared to fight but he saw that it was only Erwin.

"Erwin, what the hell was that for?" Levi hissed. Erwin shook his head.

"Come in, quickly." With that Erwin backed into his room with Hanji in his grasp. Levi and Eren hesitantly followed and Levi shut the door behind them.

"What's wrong, Erwin?" Erwin sighed and let go of Hanji who had gotten serious after seeing Erwin up close. Now that Levi was paying attention, Erwin was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes.

"Where to begin...right, the report. When you sent Nanaba, Mike, and Dietrich back they told me about Eren being the titan king, right?" Levi nodded.

"Right..."

"And as I figured this was something the higher ups would want to know, I reported it to Zachary." Levi frowned.

"Telling Zachary should've been fine, right?" Erwin nodded.

"Telling Zachary was fine, but it seems that Nile had some spies nearby and they heard about it. So once they heard about that they reported it to him and Nile reported it to the King and the nobles. As such, Eren is currently a wanted man." Hanji and Levi stared in shock while Eren tilted his head in confusion.

"What for? They can't make a person who hasn't done anything wanted for no reason!" Hanji said. Erwin sighed.

"Eren is wanted under suspicions of being the enemy of mankind. Until he is located and his innocence is either proven or he is decided guilty, the Scouts will be closely monitored and will remain where they are. No scout is allowed to leave their current location until the issue of Eren is over. We're stuck here and Eren will likely be put to death."

Chapter 46: Scelesto Peccator

Chapter Text

"You havegotto be kidding me," Levi hissed, eyes narrowing into slits. Erwin shook his head.

"I wish I was, Levi. But I can't do anything when this many nobles have persuaded the king that Eren is a threat and needs to be taken care of." Levi clicked his tongue and stood up to pace around the room.

"So this whole 'judge him after catching him' is complete bullsh*t, isn't it? They have no intention of having a fair trial for him, despite the fact that he f*cking told the titans to stand down and they did! He commands the titans! I understand how frightening that is, but they should realize from the lack of titans clawing at the walls that he's not going to hurt us with those powers! f*cking idiot!" he cursed. Erwin raised an eyebrow when he saw Levi, the cold and collected captain who never let his emotions show freely, pacing around the room and cursing more than normal.

"What's wrong, Levi? I didn't think you'd get this worked up about it, despite your moments of obsessive protectiveness over Eren in the past," he said. Levi clicked his tongue.

"It's because now I have to wait before I can ram that ass." Erwin blinked in a moment of stunned confusion while Eren himself turned bright red and hid in his cloak while Hanji cackled in the background. Erwin stared at Levi, who had already gone back to pacing and muttering curses, and then looked at Eren, who was bright red and hiding his face.

"Are you two...?" he started but couldn't bring himself to finish, so Hanji finished for him.

"SURPRISE, Levi and Eren are dating and Levi is pent up as f*ck! So he was kind of looking forward to coming back home where he could safely enjoy having sex with his lover," she purred. Erwin frowned at Levi.

"Levi, you do realize that Eren is only fifteen?" Levi snorted.

"Plus however many years he spent as a titan, sure. Not to mention that fifteen is the age of consent and Eren has more that given me his consent. In fact, he was the one who first wanted to have sex." Erwin looked to Eren in shock only to find that the titan king had curled himself deeper into the cloak to hide his embarrassment. Realizing that Levi and Eren were together seriously and there was nothing he could do about it, he sighed.

"Whatever. For now, we have more important things to deal with such as how to show that Eren's not a threat." Levi snorted.

"Do you really think that's going to work? Think about what it is they're actually afraid of Erwin," Levi said. Erwin frowned.

"What are you talking about Levi?" Levi sighed.

"They're not afraid of the titans coming and wiping out humanity, no, they have their walls to protect themselves from that. They'll be safe even if Eren does decide to kill everyone-"

"I wouldn't do that!" Eren said. Levi sighed.

"I know Eren, but let me finish talking first," Eren nodded and hid under his cloak again. Levi continued, "They're not afraid of his titan powers, they're afraid of his standing."

"I don't follow," Erwin said with a frown.

"Think about it, what rank is Eren?" Erwin tilted his head in confusion.

"Rank?" Levi groaned and put a hand over his face.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? He's akingdumbass. Think about how that appears to them. There's a new power for people to rally behind that has also solved the problem of both our lost territory and the titans. Obviously there would be a lot of people willing to rally behind him if they knew that. But, they're scared of losing their power and to prevent that they've painted him in a negative light. King of Titans, the one behind all of our problems, see? If the people can be convinced he's a villain first then if we try to tell them how good he is, they'll think we're trying to trick us." Erwin's eyes widened.

"I see...all this time I thought they were merely afraid of him telling the titans to destroy us all or commanding them but, if you put it like that, it makes sense. Eren poses a threat to their power and once their power is lost then they're reduced to the same rank as everyone else and I don't think they'd survive that. After all, most of the nobles are fat, self serving, idiots who pretend to be better than everyone else. But this just makes it all the more important that we hide Eren."

"What are you talking about, Erwin? Did you forget that we already have evidence of Eren being on our side?" Hanji asked. Levi glanced up at her with a frown of confusion but Erwin didn't even glance at her as he shot down her idea.

"We've already reported to both Pixis, Nile, and Zachary that the titan that sealed the gate in Trost is dead, having crystallized itself. At this point to suddenly reveal that Eren is that same titan would get us into more trouble than not revealing that." Hanji frowned.

"Why?" Levi sighed.

"Because we not only withheld information about something that is potentiallycrucialto our survival we also lied on official documents and to other soldiers. We'd be more likely to get court-martialed for it." Hanji looked down sadly and Erwin sighed.

"But we need to do something, otherwise Eren will end up dead and we'll be right back where we started with titans at our door." Levi sighed.

"Actually, we'll be worse off. Because, despite Eren telling them not to, the sentient titans down below the capital or wherever said that if something happens to Eren and he dies, they're going to come up and destroy everything." Erwin's eyes widened.

"What?"

"And these aren't just abnormally intelligent, no, these titans can think and plan and speak. They're like humans but with the bodies and strength of titans. I guess in a way you could say that they're actually a superior species," Levi said. Erwin put his head in his hands.

"That's very bad...but if we try to tell that to the others they'll assume that we're threatening them and will only attempt to kill Eren even more. I...I don't know...give me some time and I'll think up a plan," Erwin said.

"I don't think we have that time," Levi said as shouts began to echo from outside. Hanji went to the window where Levi was standing and her eyes widened.

"Why are the MP's here??" she hissed. Levi sighed.

"The old lady at the front probably told someone that Erwin Smith had guests. If you think about it, who would be visiting Erwin aside from Scouts? And if all the other Scouts are being locked down and watched closely then who other than us would be visiting Erwin?" he said. Erwin clicked his tongue and stood up. He started pacing and muttering as he went.

"You can't wait for them here, they'll definitely take Eren away to have him killed but if you run, it's like you know something is wrong and you'll be deemed criminals...dammit, they're moving to quickly for me to make a proper plan!" Then there was a banging at the door and Eren jolted, staring at it with terror written all over his face.

"MILITARY POLICE, OPEN UP!"

"We can't open that door," Levi said.

"But we can't go out through the window either," Hanji said.

"The ones outside will no doubt have maneuver gear and while you do too..."

"We're out of gas," Hanji confirmed. Erwin sighed.

"So you can't go through the window and they're going to break down the door soon. Is this how it's going to end?" Erwin cursed. Even though he wasn't as close with Eren as Levi was, he was still the one who first brought Eren to the scouts and taught him most of what he knew. He didn't want to see Eren killed because of some rude, stuck up nobles.

"WE'RE BREAKING THIS DOOR IF YOU DON'T OPEN IT IN THREE! TWO! ON-"

"What in the kings good name is going on here?" Hanji sagged to the floor in relief as a familiar old voice cut through the yells.

"Commander Pixis! We were ah, attempting to capture the fugitive scout," the MP said, slowly trailing off into silence as they waited for Pixis' response. They heard the sound of something popping open and only Eren caught the sound of someone swallowing. Then there was a long exhale before Pixis spoke.

"Damn this is some strong stuff. By the way, why are Military Police soldiers in charge of capturing the fugitive?"

"Uh well, sir, Commander Nile and several of the nobles ordered us to?" Pixis hummed for a bit before Eren heard him take another swig of his drink.

"I don't think so, sonny boy. You head on out and tell the rest of the soldiers out there to head back to base, the Garrison will be taking in the fugitive. After all, we want a fair trial don't we? Which means that the ones who will be in charge of holding the fugitive will be the neutral party. So go on, scat."

"Yes sir!" With that there was the thudding of feet as the MP soldier hurried away to tell the others. There was a moment of silence before there came a knocking on the door.

"I know you all are in there, shall we talk now? Or rather, should we move to a more secure position?" Erwin opened the door and Eren sighed in relief to see only the old man standing there.

"Thank you, Pixis, I know that you'll be taking some backlash from the nobles for this." Pixis chuckled and took another drink from his flask as he stepped into the room.

"It's fine, I'm not the least bit worried about that. What I am worried about is how you're holding up and where we should really talk about this." Erwin looked down sadly.

"I can't go anywhere outside the inn. As far as how much I'm being watched, the MP have their eyes on me all the time. I am the Commander of the faction that supports Eren after all. They probably wouldn't trust you if they saw you taking me and Eren out to talk. They'd think you were being influenced by me and would try to put one of their puppets in command of the Garrison." Pixis nodded.

"Then I'll just take these three? Since the MP can't designate where they stay and I'm sure our little fugitive would feel a lot less nervous with friends around," Pixis said. Levi and Eren's eyes widened. Pixis approached Eren and smiled down at him. "You're him, right? The so called fugitive?"

"Y-yeah...I'm Eren," he said. Pixis smiled and held out his hand for a handshake.

"It's good to meet you, Eren, my name is Dot Pixis. But you can call me Pixis." Eren hesitantly shook his hand. Once Pixis was finished he straightened up.

"Well then, I think we should be off. Erwin, I'll see you at the trial, and I'll keep these three with me so the Military Police can't get their hands on them or claim that you have some sort of plot they're part of. Hard to be part of a plot if you don't talk to the one doing the plotting, right?" He smiled and began walking out. "Come along now you three, we have far to go and only the rest of the day to get there."

Eren hesitantly stood up and pulled his hood all the way over his head as he began following the old man. With Hanji and Levi making up the rear and Pixis taking the lead, they quickly left the inn to head for one of the Garrison bases.

Chapter 47: In Praesidio

Chapter Text

"What do we do now?" Hanji asked, glancing around the room that Eren would be staying in. Luckily it wasn't a cell, which made Eren happy, but either way they were still stuck in custody. Levi sighed.

"Isn't it obvious? We need to win over Pixis and the Garrison members. If we have their support then Zachary would be more likely to let Eren live, despite the threats from the nobles. The real problem is..." Levi glanced around the room, eyes widening when he realized the door was open. "Where the hell did Eren go??"

Immediately the two darted out of the room and began searching for Eren. Through the halls that were oddly clean, the mess hall full of disastrous smelling food, and the courtyard full of Garrison members sparring with a hooded figure. Finally they reached Pixis' room.

"Hah...Pixis...do you know where Eren...went off to?" Hanji panted. Pixis glanced up from his documents.

"He said something about wanting to help out around base and I'm not one to turn down free hands so I said yes. I believe right now he's training in the courtyard?" Immediately Eren grabbed Hanji by the back of her jacket and dragged her off, ignoring the choking noise she made as he did so. Visions of Eren being beaten and bullied because of his being a titan flashed through Levi's mind as he darted straight for the courtyard.

"EREN!" he shouted. The boy glanced up and let go of his sparring partner, straightening up.

"Captain!" he said with a bright smile. Immediately Levi glared and leaped, kicking Eren straight in the chest.

"YOU STUPID, f*ckING IDIOT! THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, RUNNING OFF WITHOUT TELLING US!!" he shouted. There was a cracking noise and Eren fell back. The Garrison members stared in horror as Levi then proceeded to hurl the near-unconscious Hanji right at Eren, sending the two flying into the wall. More cracks filled the air as Levi huffed a bit, trying to rein in his anger and protective instincts.

"Little one...? Are you related to Mika...? 'Cause it kinda feels that way..." Eren groaned. Then Hanji sucked in a deep breath and started coughing, hacking up her lungs.

"Levi, what the hell is wrong with you???? Let me BREATHE every once in a while if you're going to drag me around!" She shouted. She shifted the position of her hand on Eren's chest and started to push herself up. A cracking noise echoed through the courtyard and Hanji froze. Eren groaned in pain and the hood fell off his head. The Garrison members were shocked to see the flaming crown on his head as it flickered wildly. "Oh my god, Eren!"

Levi shot forward and yanked her off Eren, practically tossing her aside in his hurry to get to the injured titan. Luckily for her, some pitying Garrison members stepped forward and caught her before she crashed again. Levi leaned down next to Eren who groaned in pain.

"Eren! Are you alright?" Eren coughed a bit of blood up and Levi's eyes widened even more.

"I'm fine...I'm not looking forward to-" There was a snapping noise, like something snapping back into place and Eren cried out in pain. Levi removed his hands from Eren, confused at what was going on. There was another snapping noise and Levi looked at Eren who groaned and winced, flinching every time the noise was heard. "That," he finished.

"Eren...what?" Levi was completely baffled while Hanji thanked the soldiers who had caught her fall. Eren sighed.

"When bones break in my human form, they always end up snapping back in place. And that hurts more than the initial break," Eren groaned. Another snap echoed out and Eren jolted, coughing up blood.

"EREN?!" Levi cried in shock. Eren groaned.

"Fuuuuuck. I hate internally bleeding." Eren leaned back on the ground while Levi hovered worriedly over him, probably having already forgotten that he was the one who inflicted the injuries. Eren opened his eyes and exhaled. They watched in shock as steam poured out of his mouth, signalling that he was healing inside. Levi worriedly rubbed Eren's arm, trying his best to soothe Eren. Eren closed his eyes and spoke softly.

"Relax Little one, I'm fine." Levi flicked his forehead.

"Didn't I say to stop calling me that?" he grumbled. Eren smiled at him.

"I probably won't but alright Levi." Levi sighed.

"You were so much cuter when we first got you." Eren smiled and laughed and then winced. He groaned out a few ows and Levi hovered worriedly over him. A shadow fell over them and Levi looked up.

"What on earth happened here?" Pixis asked, taking in Eren's battered appearance.

"Levi's overprotective instincts combined with his panic, relief, and anger. That's what happened," Hanji said as she got up. Pixis smiled at her.

"It seems he put you through the wringer as well. Are you doing alright?"

"I'm fine, it's not the first time I've been choked by this little shorty. At this point I'm just surprised I haven't developed super thick skin on my throat to prevent choking," Hanji said. Pixis smiled.

"But what interests me more is this crown...how do you achieve that fire look? It's almost like it's actual fire," he said. Levi sighed.

"Itisactual fire. How it works, we don't know. Supposedly it can only be worn by the king of the titans and is a symbol of leadership." Pixis studied it before reaching his finger out to flick it through the flames. He stared at his finger and back at the crown.

"How odd. It's like I'm passing through my hand through molten metal but without the signature burn. It's fluid but simultaneously solid. I wonder what it's made of. But it seems that should wait until later. We need to talk about the trial." Immediately Levi's expression darkened and Hanji's eyes became serious. Eren glanced up at Pixis and tilted his head to the side, confused to what they were talking about. Pixis chuckled. "Relax, I'm not here to take him away for it. There are many influential figures who will be showing up to it so they need to squeeze it into their schedules, despite the fact that they don't really seem to do anything. The actual trial isn't for a week. But we need to discuss."

Levi pulled Eren to his feet and the bewildered king followed them to Pixis office where they all sat down. Pixis stared at them seriously for a moment before he began to speak.

"I'll be honest with you. I've seen the effects of having a king titan. The titans no longer scratch at the walls and have completely disappeared. Every day, no matter where we are we haven't seen a single titan. I've toured the length of the walls to see if the effects were the same everywhere and they are. There is not a single titan to be seen. If the Scouts were allowed out to explore, they would probably confirm this fact." Levi sighed.

"But the MP's won't believe any of us since we've made our stance on what's happening to Eren clear. We're in favor of him so they'd believe we lied for him. And we already know that none of them would be willing to set foot outside the walls and see for themselves." Pixis nodded.

"Which is why you need the support of one of two groups. You need either the populace on your side or you need the Garrison. It would be preferable to have both on your side to contrast with the nobles and the Military Police but earning the trust of the people isn't going to be that easy. As it is the Scouts are viewed as wastes of tax money and having a titan in their ranks would likely only make it worse. Of course revealing that the titan the sealed Trost's hole was the same titan would likely raise your standing." Eren flinched and Hanji glanced sharply at Pixis. Levi merely raised an eyebrow, his expression a perfect poker face unlike the other two.

"You knew?" Pixis chuckled.

"I watched the whole thing from start to finish. I only pretended I didn't because I realized that he was wearing a Scout cloak and it would be bad for you guys if everyone knew that the Scouts had a titan in their ranks, even if he was one who helped us win our first victory." Levi narrowed his eyes.

"Then why didn't you admit that you knew after this whole mess started?" Pixis smiled.

"You need an ally from a neutral stance, don't you? Like Erwin said, if I made it known at any time before the trial that I was on your side then I would merely be deemed an incapable old man and would be removed and replaced. So it's better to pretend I know nothing and am merely holding the fugitive in place until the date of the trial." Levi smirked.

"But would you really do this for free is the question." Pixis smiled.

"I am curious about the titans and what's outside the walls. I wonder what can be made into alcohol and what it will be like. So I suppose my support isn't quite as free as I'm making it out to be," he said with a smile. Levi frowned.

"I wonder...do the titans have alcohol?" he wondered out loud.

"We can ask," Eren suggested. Pixis raised an eyebrow.

"Is that even possible? Please don't joke around Eren," he said. Hanji grinned.

"No, it may actually be possible! Eren has a telepathic connection to the titans so maybe we can get them to bring some alcohol here?" she suggested. Pixis raised an eyebrow.

"Is that true?" Eren nodded.

"Yes...but I have to be in my titan form for it to work. Otherwise it's just me thinking something in my head." Pixis nodded.

"Alright, I'll let us try this. You'll go just barely outside the wall, do your telepathic thing, and then dismiss the titans who come. We'll bring the alcohol up and you'll exit your titan form so we can carry you back up. Is that alright?" Eren nodded hesitantly and Pixis smiled.

"Pixis, are you sure that's a good idea? I'm one hundred percent positive that there are MP members watching you since you took us in. Can you really risk using Eren's powers so casually?" Levi asked. Pixis chuckled.

"We'll bring a large amount of fully armed soldiers and say that it's 'evaluating his powers and control over titans'. So I'd recommend having them not just pop up nearby but have to come from somewhere else." Eren nodded and Pixis went and gave the order. When they reached the walls, everyone was nervous. They glanced at each other and then to Eren and finally out at the plains beyond the wall. Levi forced himself to ignore their whispered 'is this really going to work?' and 'can we really trust that titan?' though it wasn't easy for him. It made him want to kill each and everyone of them for doubting his Eren and making him feel bad.

"Alright, go ahead and do your thing," Pixis said. Eren nodded and jumped off the wall. Their eyes widened and he bit his hand on the way down. A flash of lightning lit up the area for a moment before it disappeared and Eren's titan form straightened up. It glanced up at them and waved happily. Levi snorted and the men hesitantly lowered their blades in confusion. Eren turned towards the woods and roared. Then he sat down against the wall and waited. Half an hour went by with neither hide nor hair of a titan appearing. Then they heard the sound of thudding footsteps and they stared as two titans appeared.

When they came within sight of the walls, the titans slowed, warily watching the humans on top of the wall. Levi raised an eyebrow when he noted that they carried giant barrels on their backs. Though, he supposed for the size of the titans those barrels were merely mugs. Eren stood as they got close enough and the two titans bowed. They stayed like that until Eren grunted. Once they had his permission, the titans straightened and came up to the walls, placing the barrels against it. Then they bowed again and ran off. Eren glanced up and gave them a thumbs up. Pixis chuckled and sent the men down to use the lift to bring it up and down. However, they ended up having a hard time lifting the barrels so Eren put one on the lift at a time before it was sent back down and another was put on.

"He actually did it..." one of the men whispered as Eren transformed back and was carried up the wall by Rico Brzenska.

"This is titan alcohol? Which means...how long has it been aging for?" another murmured, tapping the barrel. Pixis glanced at them and grinned.

"Well then, since we have all this alcohol, how about we have a drinking party tonight?" he suggested. The men cheered and went off to happily set everything up for it. Eren smiled and Levi sighed in relief that everything had been settled. That night everyone got extremely drunk on the beer the titans had brought. According to Eren, the titans had said that it aged for five hundred years and was the best they could get within half an hour. The Garrison members took that to mean that there was better titan alcohol somewhere further away and made it their goal to taste it. Pixis put some of the alcohol in his flask to keep it for later before proceeding to get so drunk he passed out. Eren himself had only had a single sip and that left him woozy enough to lean on Levi's shoulder the whole time, giggling and laughing like a girl in love. Once all the Garrison members passed out and Levi fell asleep, Eren dropped the act and picked up Levi to carry him to their room. His body had long ago healed the effects of that tiny little sip but he'd enjoyed his chance to stay with Levi the whole time. He lay Levi down in his bed before crawling under the covers with him and snuggling up against the smaller man. Eren smiled happily and let his eyes finally drift shut.

Chapter 48: Iudicium

Chapter Text

Eren looked up nervously from where he was walking, kept in between the Garrison soldiers. His hood was pulled over his head so he could hide his face and his crown. Thankfully, despite the news of there being a trial for the king of titans, no one knew who to look for so Eren didn't have to worry about paranoid citizens throwing rotten food or rocks at him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked over.

"This is where we part Eren. Hanji and I have to go join the Survey Corps section so we can't be seen with you." Eren felt a brief flash of hurt before he shook his head, reminding himself that this was necessary to protect himself and all the others. He nodded and Levi worriedly walked off, glancing back every few seconds before Hanji just sighed and practically dragged him into the courthouse. Eren looked down, the feeling of anxiety in his stomach skyrocketing now that he was alone without his friends. He felt a hand pat his head and he looked up at whoever was touching him. Pixis smiled down at him.

"You'll be fine, Eren, relax." Eren nodded and looked down. Right, he wasn't entirely alone. He still had Pixis and some of the other Garrison members he'd grown close to. Like Rico, she was nice. He'd also seen Hannes again and while the man had been hesitant to approach Eren now that he knew the truth about Eren's origins, he'd still become friendly with him. The beer really seemed to help with that. Eren hesitantly stepped into the courtroom and was mildly surprised when they handcuffed his hands behind his back and had him kneel on the floor in the center of the room. They then made sure he wouldn't go anywhere by sliding a metal beam into a hole in the floor and using it to hook his cuffs in it. One of the Garrison members came forward and pulled his hood off before heading back to his seat. Murmurs exploded among the observers as they took in the sight of his flaming crown. Finally an old man sat in the chair at the front of the room, directly in front of Eren.

"Order, order," he said, tapping a small wooden hammer against another piece of wood on his table. Once the room was quiet he began speaking again, "today we have gathered here to decide the fate of a member of the Survey Corps known as Eren, no last name. He is believed to be the king of titans if the information the Scouts have presented is true."

"He should be put down, like the animal he is!" Someone shouted. The man tapped his wooden hammer again.

"Order, order! I expect everyone in this room to be silent until I have finished introducing the situation. Now then, as the Scouts were telling me this information that wassupposed to beconfidential, it seems that a spy from the Military Police overheard and then spread it to the nobility. Which is a separate issue all on it's own, but we'll address that at a later date. Currently there are three parties who will decide what will happen to this boy. The Scouts claim that he can be used for humanity and already has been incredibly helpful by getting the titans to withdraw from territory in wall Maria and even outside wall Maria, the Garrison are neutral and as such have been in charge of watching him until the date of this trial, and the Military Police say that he is a threat and should be put down. I am Dhalis Zachary, and I will be overseeing this trial. Now then, Commander Erwin, as you were the one who first brought this information to the table and are in favor of keeping this boy, you may speak your defense first."

"Thank you sir," Erwin said, bowing his head to Zachary, "Now then, as you've heard, the stance of the Survey Corps is that Eren can be used and should be kept alive. Our reasons being that he is not aggressive towards humans and his power of commanding the titans is useful for keeping them away from us. He has proven on multiple occasions that he has no aggression towards humans unless provoked-"

"So he has displayed aggression towards humans before?" Nile interrupted. Erwin glared at him and sighed.

"During that event he had been told to stay back with Squad leader Hanji while we were on expedition and due to this many soldiers died where perhaps they could've lived. It was the same as someone feeling angry as someone else who caused a person they cared about to get hurt. His anger was justified although perhaps a little over the top." Zachary nodded.

"Continue," he said. Erwin nodded.

"Eren's power, even when we don't include his control over titans would give us an incredible edge. With it we would be able to seal the holes in wall Maria and reclaim our territory. However, doing that would've been a difficult task as long as the titans were there. However, with his control over titans we would be safe to fill in the walls and rebuild everything inside the walls without fear of the titans. Not to mention that exploring outside the walls would be much more productive and we would be able to recover various new resources without fear of titans, allowing us to expand past the walls-"

"You want us toLEAVEthe walls??" A man in a black robe shrieked indignantly. Eren spotted Levi standing next to Erwin and saw him sigh. Erwin smiled.

"That's correct, Pastor Nick. The walls were built to protect us from the titans but if the titans were gone, is there really a need for us to cage ourselves within them? Not to mention that it's not like we would be tearing down the walls, we would just be...leaving their protective embrace, shall we say." The man, Pastor Nick, flinched and seemed to curl in on himself a bit but said nothing else. "May I continue?"

"Go ahead if you have more evidence," Zachary said with a nod. Erwin smiled.

"If we were to use Eren's titan commanding ability, think about what we would be able to accomplish. Building roads that stretch for miles without worrying about obstacles that can easily be removed, how much sheer strength the titans have could be used for our own benefits. Instead of titans being a threat to us, they would be a tool in our hands capable of great feats. It is for these reasons that we say Eren should be kept alive and used for the benefit of humanity." Erwin stepped back and Zachary nodded.

"Alright. Now then, Commander Nile, as you are the one against keeping him alive, please give us your reasons." Nile nodded.

"He is a danger to humanity. Erwin seems to think he can be used but in reality, he is likely plotting to get us to relax before he unleashes the titans on us and we are wiped out. His strength is enough that there is likely no one who can take him down and we would fall like dominoes before him. It's just not worth the risk of keeping him alive!" Erwin raised his hand, a much more polite method of asking to speak. Zachary nodded to him.

"What is it Erwin?" Erwin smiled.

"I have a question for you, Commander Nile. If we do kill Eren, what happens if his death causes the titans to go on a rampage? Do you assume that you can handle the consequences of killing their ruler?" Nile flinched.

"Well...obviously we'd kill them-"

"If they're smart enough to have a hierarchy system, do you truly believe that you would be able to kill them? I fear that with your skills you would end up sacrificing many for a fight that we would undoubtedly lose. You say it's not worth the risk to keep him alive but I say it's not worth the risk to kill him." With that, he stepped back and Zachary turned to Nile.

"Well then, Commander Nile, what is your reply to Erwin's statement?" Nile glared at Erwin and Eren flinched as those hateful eyes fell on him.

"I highly doubt that titans are intelligent as you make them out to be. Even wild animals have hierarchy systems, such as wolves with their pack leaders and so on. It's not unthinkable for them to be following the strongest, so I highly doubt your hypothetical situation, therefore there's no point in dwelling over it," he said with a sneer. Erwin's eyes narrowed and Eren glanced at Zachary, noting the frown on the older man's face. Zachary sighed.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Nile smirked.

"Of course. He is an insult to the king as he dares to name himself a king! He is challenging his highness for power and such an act should be answered by immediate execution!" Zachary sighed after Nile's statement.

"Boy, do you have any intention of attempting to claim power among the humans?" Zachary asked directly to Eren. Eren shook his head.

"No sir, I have no interest in that. In fact, I only became the king of titans to protect the people I cared about from them." Zachary raised an eyebrow.

"And who exactly are these precious people?" he asked.

"The Scouts and my friends from the Training Corps," he answered immediately. Zachary raised an eyebrow.

"So they're humans?" he asked. Eren nodded.

"Before I became the king of titans, most of them didn't really like me and would even try to eat me. As such, I lived alone until I found out I could turn into a human and finally met some of your kind," he said. Zachary nodded.

"Alright. Commander Nile, do you have a response to that?" Nile glared at Eren who flinched before he looked back at Zachary.

"No sir," he bit out. Zachary nodded and Nile stepped back.

"Now then, Commander Pixis, it seems you are the tie breaker here. What are your thoughts on this? Should he be kept alive or should he be killed?" Pixis stepped forward, humming softly.

"Well now, this is quite the predicament, isn't it?" he said. "Well, to start with, in the past week I've gotten to know Eren a little bit better. He's shy at first but he seems like a good kid. He's a hard worker and if he decides that you're one of his friends then he'll do his best to take care of you. Which I'll admit was kind of odd because the first time he tried to take care of me, I thought he was trying to poison me. He tried feeding me some sort of blackened meat and a purple goo. I learned that that is why he has been banned from cooking."

Eren turned bright red and looked away while Pixis smiled. Zachary raised an eyebrow while Erwin nodded knowingly. Pixis chuckled a bit before he continued speaking.

"However, I also took a peek at what he can do with his powers. His regeneration abilities are just like a titans but his strength seems to be dialed back in his human form. I also had him order some titans to carry boulders to the wall where we could see them and then pick them up and head back to wherever they came from. They did so and it was shocking to say the least. I've also seen the results of his powers rather than just seeing them in certain situations. Like the Scouts said, I have not seen a single titan aside from the two who carried the boulders since a few days before this whole hunt for Eren began. I found it odd at the time but knowing what happened now, helps me realize why there are no titans. As it is not my duty to explore outside the walls, I haven't seen how far it takes before you can start spotting titans but even using a telescope I haven't seen any. And I've toured the walls to see if this is the case everywhere."

"And is it?" Zachary asked. Pixis nodded.

"It is." Zachary nodded.

"So what is your decision?" he asked. Pixis smiled.

"My vote is with the Survey Corps. Eren is more useful alive to us and I think he should remain that way." People began shouting from the Military Police side but Zachary merely tapped his hammer again.

"Order, order! The voting has finished. The results are two branches in favor of keeping him alive and one against it. The king of titans, Eren, shall be kept alive and allowed to rejoin the Survey Corps if he so chooses to. There is to be no further discussion about this and if there are any who attack him even after this trial, they shall face jail time and be judged in a court of law. I hereby declare this court completed!" Rico stepped forward and released Eren from his bindings. She smiled slightly at him.

"Good for you Eren. Now let's go before anyone from the opposing side tries to insult you to your face," she said. Eren nodded, fighting a smile on his lips. He followed Rico out into an adjoining room and his eyes lit up when he saw who else was in there.

"LEVI!!" he cried, jumping forward into Levi's waiting arms. Levi staggered back a step as Eren's full weight impacted him. Levi chuckled a tiny bit.

"Seriously Eren? We were apart for maybe twenty minutes. Is there really a need for this?" he asked. Eren pulled back to look him in the eye.

"But now we get to go home! Back to base! And that means that you and I can have sex!" Immediately it was like everyone in the room froze. Erwin doubled over, trying to contain his laughter while Hanji burst out laughing. Eren tilted his head to the side in confusion and Levi sighed.

"You drive me insane Eren. You nearly just died andthat'swhat you're excited for? Not seeing your friends or basically being free?" Eren grinned.

"Is it wrong for me to want to spend time with my favorite person?" Levi's eyes widened before he sighed in frustration. He leaned forward and Eren yelped as he felt Levi nip his neck and start to suck on it. "L-Levi??"

Levi pulled back and met Eren's eyes. Eren shivered as he saw the heated glow in Levi's silver eyes. He swallowed nervously as Levi leaned forward and began sucking on another part of his neck. Eren yelped as he let go with a slight pop.

"Quit tempting me Eren. Be a good boy and wait patiently. Okay?" Eren nodded hesitantly and gently pried himself away from Levi, face bright red. Erwin raised an eyebrow when he took in Eren's neck.

"Those are some light hickeys Levi, I was expecting you to make them darker." Levi's eyes narrowed at the comment.

"They've already started healing. But don't worry Eren, when we get home I'm going to make them so dark they'll show up the morning after," Levi purred darkly, wrapping his arms around Eren's waist. Eren turned bright pink and yelped as Levi began to tickle him.

"L-Levi! St-stop it!" he laughed. Erwin and Hanji watched the scene happily before Erwin sighed.

"Alright then, let's go home lovebirds." Eren and Levi nodded while Eren grinned happily.

"Yeah!"

Chapter 49: Coniunctionis

Chapter Text

The ride home was peaceful and Eren and Levi were all over each other the whole way home. They were practically riding the same horse with how close they tried to get. Erwin and Hanji kept rolling their eyes with exasperation at the young couples' back the whole ride. Eren and Levi however, were filled with a childish excitement and happiness. Although Levi's may have been tinged with a hint of lust as he finally,finallygot to take his sweet innocent titan boyfriends' virginity. However, the ride home was long and so they spent the time chatting. This was started by Eren when he said,

"Hey Levi, where did you grow up?" Levi glanced at Eren, mildly surprised at the sudden question.

"Why the sudden interest?" he asked. Eren shrugged.

"I was just thinking about what I know about you but aside from things I learned in the Survey corps and the forest, I don't really know you. When I thought about how there were things other people knew about you that I didn't...it made my chest hurt. Is that normal?" Levi's eyes widened before he smirked and chuckled.

"That's called jealousy Eren, and yes, it's normal." He sighed as he debated internally whether or not he should tell Eren. Finally he nodded to himself before he started speaking. "Well obviously, I grew up in the underground. That was how I knew so much about it when we went into it but you already know that. My mother..."

Eren watched Levi as Levi's expression grew somber and his eyes were filled with nostalgia. Eren nudged his horse closer to Levi's, so close that their feet were brushing in the stirrups. He leaned over and butted his head against Levi's shoulder. Levi glanced at him before he inhaled and began speaking again.

"My mother, Kuchel, was a prostitute. I never knew my dad because he had only paid for a single night with my mom and then I don't think he ever saw her again. When she found out she was pregnant she refused to get an abortion, despite others telling her she should."

"Abortion?" Eren asked, not recognizing the term. Levi gave him a faint but sad smile.

"It's when you kill a baby before it's even born." Eren's eyes widened in horror, clearly not expecting that. Levi sighed and continued. "She raised me until I was eleven. Now, even though the food shortage above ground wasn't as bad then as it is now, in the underground you were lucky to get food two days in a row at all. She kept giving me her shares, small though they were. She starved herself to keep me fed and eventually she got sick. Medicine was expensive so I had to watch as she slowly wasted away, not only starving but also dying of illness."

"Levi...I'm so sorry," Eren said, leaning against Levi. The horses made that awkward with their movement but Eren didn't care and neither did Levi. Eren's support meant a lot to him as he talked about one of the hardest events he'd gone through. Levi inhaled slowly.

"After...after she died it took about a day before another guy came in. He was a tall guy wearing a cowboy hat. He started talking to her and seemed confused when she didn't answer so I told him she was dead. I think he realized that I was related to her 'cause he picked me up and taught me how to live. Taught me how to fight, how to kill, and how to generally survive in the underground. And I made a name for myself in there, that's for sure. Underground City's Demon was one of the more popular names for me. And as my fame grew more people collected around me until I had my own little gang. My two closest members were Isabel and Farlan, a girl and a boy who were decently smart and good at what they did. I mentioned them before when we were chasing the Colossal. Farlan was good with numbers and strategy, not quite the same level as Erwin but close. Isabel was like you, free spirited and cheerful. They became my family after that." Eren watched him.

"What happened?" he asked. Levi looked down, his eyes darkening.

"We received a job request. A noble wanted us to kill a certain man." Levi glanced over his shoulder towards where Erwin and Hanji were chatting. "The job was to kill Erwin Smith."

"Really??" Eren asked in shock. Levi nodded.

"I decided that if the Scouts did show up, then we would take the job. If not, we would do what we normally did." Eren frowned.

"Why would the Scouts come?" he asked. Levi sighed.

"Because Isabel, Farlan, and I were known for using maneuver gear when we stole from the merchants. The Survey corps wanted our skill so they came to get us. So we tried to kill him. The client had also wanted certain files that Erwin was in possession of but no matter where we searched we just couldn't find them. So we decided we'd have to kill him on the upcoming expedition. Now, I didn't want Isabel or Farlan going on the expedition at all. Titans were a whole different enemy than humans and I didn't think Farlan or Isabel were ready for them. But they wanted me to trust them and let them go. So I did." Eren watched Levi closely, noting the sadness that slowly crept onto his face. Obviously something had happened. "On our second day of the expedition, the weather turned bad. It was foggy and rainy, the worst conditions for an expedition because it prevents us from hearing or seeing the titans. Isabel and Farlan told me to go ahead and kill Erwin in the fog. So I rode ahead. And I came across a decimated squad with titan tracks heading back in the direction of where Isabel and Farlan were. When I arrived...they were already dead."

"What happened?" Eren whispered. Levi sighed.

"I don't know exactly what happened. What I do know is that Isabel was eaten from the neck down, leaving only her decapitated head, and Farlan was bitten in half. When I saw that, I realized that I had been right. They shouldn't have come. If only I had told them to stay back, to not go on the expedition no matter what. I decided in that moment that they wouldn't want me blaming myself for their deaths so I turned my anger onto the titan. I decimated it and that was when Erwin appeared. Apparently the blonde bastard had known all about the assassination plot and told me that it wouldn't work out. The noble who had employed me was already being exposed for the various other crimes he'd committed and if that happened I would have no choice but to go back to the underground. But Erwin recognized my skills with the maneuver gear so he gave me a choice. Be punished for my crimes and go back to the underground or join the Survey corps. Obviously you can see what choice I made. Since then I've worked my way up the ranks and become known as 'Humanity's Strongest Soldier'. That's pretty much my backstory." Eren smiled at him.

"Thanks for telling me, Levi. I...honestly didn't think your past would be as dark and tragic as it was." Levi's eyes widened in surprise before he snorted softly.

"Brat what were you expecting my life to have been like? f*cking rainbows and sparkly sh*t?" Eren blushed.

"Well no but I didn't expect it to bethat," he said. Levi smirked at him.

"What about you?" Eren tilted his head in confusion.

"Huh?"

"What's something about you that I don't know? If we're going to be getting to know each other then you have to participate too." Eren frowned and thought for a moment.

"Oh! I like cats." Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Really? I took you as more of a dog person." Eren shook his head.

"Dogs are loud and always bark at me. I think it's because they can tell I'm a titan and it freaks them out." Levi tilted his head.

"So dogs don't get along with titans?" Eren glanced at him.

"Well the ones in the forest never did." Levi frowned.

"There were...dogs...in the forest where you were?" he asked, confused. Eren nodded.

"Yeah. They moved around in groups and had a slight tendency of living in caves near my territory. They had long muzzles and sharp teeth." Levi frowned.

"Um Eren, I think those were wolves, not dogs." Eren tilted his head.

"What's the difference?" Levi sighed.

"Dogs are domesticated while wolves are not. In other words, humans can't tell the wolves what to do or give them orders. A good, disciplined dog will listen to your orders." Eren stared at him in awe.

"I didn't realize there was a difference. But, I still like cats more. Because the ones in the forest would just come up to me and would even let me pet them a little," Eren said happily. Levi somehow got the feeling that Eren was not talking about the small domestic house cats that Levi knew or the strays he was accustomed to but decided not to say anything.

"Hey lovebirds, guess what? We're almost there!" Hanji called. Eren looked up and sure enough he could see the fort. It was bathed in the sunlight as the sun began to set. They had maybe an hour before it went completely behind the walls. Eren grinned at Levi who raised an eyebrow.

"Race you there!" he said with a laugh. Oddly enough as soon as he finished saying that, Levi was already shooting past him. His jaw dropped and Levi smirked over his shoulders.

"Make sure to actually try, Eren," he tossed over his shoulder. Eren urged his horse into a gallop, trying to bridge the distance between them only to fail miserably. His eyes narrowed and he jumped up in the saddle. He grinned and jumped off, biting his hand as he started to fall towards the ground. Immediately there was a flash of lightning and he ate up the distance between Levi and himself before he charged forward, easily passing Levi. "Cheater!" he heard Levi yell. He smirked and then felt something prick his skin. He turned and saw Levi shoot towards him, hooking onto his shoulders. He huffed and Levi smirked.

"If you can use your titan form, I can use my gear," he said smugly. Eren huffed and tried to swat Levi gently off as he ran but Levi easily evaded his hand. Once they were close enough, Levi used Eren's moving hand as a launchpad, pushing further off him and immediately latching his gear into the stone. He pulled himself in and reached it just a few seconds before Eren. He smirked at the titan who almost pouted at him. "I win."

Eren turned back and, sure enough, he was pouting. Levi merely snickered at Eren's pouting face before extending a hand to help him up. Eren's titan form dissolved as he grasped Levi's hand and allowed him to pull him up onto the wall of the fort.

"Could you guys maybenotabandon your horses next time?" Erwin asked as he and Hanji arrived. Levi smirked.

"But we knew you guys would be there to pick them up for us?" Erwin sighed. Eren giggled a bit and then felt an arm curl around his waist. He glanced up at Levi as the older man pulled him closer. "Now then, we are going to head to my room and we're not going to be coming out until late tomorrow morning. Tell everyone not to disturb us." Eren blushed as Levi picked him up.

"L-Levi!" he whispered.

"Wrap your arms and legs around me Eren," Levi ordered. Eren hesitantly did so, blushing the whole time. He heard a soft chuckle and Levi kissed his forehead before he jumped off the wall and shot across the fort. They reached the window of Levi's room and he quickly opened it. Eren frowned.

"Do you always leave your window unlocked?" he asked. Levi sighed.

"It makes it easier when I want some fresh air in my room." He entered his room and gently set Eren on the bed. Eren was confused when Levi walkedawayfrom the bed instead of joining him on it. Then he watched in shock as Levi pushed hissix foot tall black ironwood wardrobein front of the door. Once it was securely in the way he wiped his hands and nodded with satisfaction. "That should keep any intruders out."

After saying that, Levi slowly turned to Eren, his eyes dark with lust. Eren swallowed nervously and Levi chuckled.

"Are you sure you're ready for this Eren? I can always wait," Levi said as he pulled off his boots.

"N-no! I'm ready! I just um...don't know what to do?" he trailed off. Levi's eyes swept over his frame appreciatively and he spoke, voice deeper than before.

"You can start by taking off your clothes," he said. "I'll give you an example so you know what I mean." Levi slowly popped each of the buckles on his harness open before sliding it off. Then he reached up and within a few tugs his cravat was falling to the floor, exposing a small amount of his pale throat. Eren swallowed thickly as he watched Levi's movements closely.

Levi smirked and his delicate, pale fingers came up and delicately, as if plucking petals from a flower, he opened the buttons on his shirt. Eren felt his dick twitch eagerly as more and more of the pale, muscled expanse of Levi's chest and stomach came into view. Once his shirt was completely open Levi rolled his shoulders and slid his arms out of the sleeves. Eren's dick was almost painfully hard at this point, just by watching Levi take off his f*cking shirt. Levi smirked when he saw the state Eren was in.

"What's the matter Eren? I haven't even started taking off my pants and you're already like this?" he murmured, stepping close enough to lean over Eren. Eren let out a soft whimper when he saw Levi seemingly towering above him with those lust filled eyes. Levi chuckled and one of his hands came up to stroke it's way down Eren's throat. Eren shuddered at the feather light touch. Levi smirked down at him. "Keep watching Eren, otherwise you won't learn anything," Levi said, turning around to give Eren some distance. Eren groaned softly as he saw the muscles in Levi's back ripple with each movement. Levi turned towards him and chuckled.

"So eager, aren't you?" Eren nodded desperately and watched as Levi hooked his thumbs beneath the waistline of his pants. Then Levi slowly pushed them down and Eren gulped as he realized how tight Levi's boxers were. They only seemed to emphasize the large bulge in the middle where Eren knew Levi's co*ck lay waiting. Not to say that his underwear was the only thing that drew Eren's attention, no. Seeing Levi's thick, muscled thighs and lean calves finished by delicate feet had Eren eagerly waiting for more. Levi smirked. "I'm not taking off anymore until you do."

"What? Levi, please!" Eren whined. Levi smirked.

"Do you need my help to get undressed, Eren?" Immediately all the blood that wasn't headed for his dick rushed to his face and he shook his head.

"No, no, I can do it myself," he sputtered nervously. Levi smirked and leaned against the wall.

"Then show me," he challenged. Eren blushed and with shaking hands pulled off his boots. He didn't have his harness on so he hesitantly gripped the end of his shirt and pulled it over his head. He clearly wasn't dressed to be sexy but he wanted to show Levi he could be sexy too. Then he hesitantly gripped his pants and slid them down. He pulled one leg out of them at a time and heard a soft groan as he stretched them after pulling them out. He glanced at Levi in surprise but other than the lust on his face, Levi was still as unreadable as ever. Eren frowned, he didn't feel like he was being taken seriously. So he made the first move on the next article of clothing. Levi's eyes widened as Eren slowly pushed his underwear down. His co*ck sprang up to attention now that it had been released from the confines of his clothes. Eren blushed and looked at Levi.

"How was that?" he said, challenging Levi. A shudder ran through Levi and he smirked. Eren paled as Levi stepped forward, away from the wall and Eren realized exactly how much the bulge in Levi's underwear had grown.

"Getting co*cky, Eren?" Levi teased. Eren blushed as the older man joined him on the bed and pinned Eren beneath him. Eren swallowed as he looked up at the gorgeous man above him.

"What are you going to do about it?" he asked. Levi's eyes seemed to grow even darker as lust caused his pupils to swell, the silver iris now a thin ring around them.

"Eren, you really shouldn't tease me right now or I might take you dry," Levi murmured, his voice husky and rough. Eren's eyes widened and Levi leaned over to open the dresser, pulling out a bottle of oil. He leaned back, sitting between Eren's legs. Eren let out a soft 'eep' and tried to close them but Levi merely pushed them open further. "I have to stretch you down here Eren, otherwise it'll hurt like a bitch when I go in. So be a good boy and stay quiet while I spread your asshole open."

Eren blushed at his words and watched as Levi poured the oil on his hand. Once he was sure they were slick enough, he gently prodded Eren's hole with one finger. Eren flinched at the odd feeling of someone touching down there but hesitantly settled down and let Levi do what he wanted. His eyes widened as the finger slid inside him. It was thin, not as thick as Eren was expecting, but it just feltoddto have something going in where most things went out.

"Are you okay Eren?" Levi asked. Eren nodded.

"It feels weird, that's all. I'm fine." Levi nodded and Eren wiggled slightly as Levi began to massage the walls of his asshole with his finger. Eren shuddered and felt a second finger slide in next to the first one. His eyes widened and he winced a little, feeling the pain begin to recede as his healing automatically kicked in. Levi began scissoring his fingers, spreading them open and closing them inside of Eren's ass. He wiggled a bit at the feeling of his hole being spread to the sides. Then Levi brought them back together and pushed a little deeper, curling them up just a little bit.

"AH!" Eren yelped as sparks of pleasure shot through him. He gasped and glanced down at Levi who smirked.

"Found it," he murmured. His fingers gently continued massaging the spot and Eren yelped and jolted each time he did.

"Wh-what is that?" he gasped, shocks of pleasure still running through him. Levi smirked.

"That is known as the prostate. It feels good to have someone touch it, right?" he purred as he slid a third finger in and started massaging the prostate again. Eren jolted and rolled his hips forward, gasping.

"Levi, it's too much! So good!" Eren whimpered. A fourth finger slipped in and Eren winced but the pain was quickly overridden by the pleasure. Levi smirked. He moved his fingers to spread Eren, leaving the prostate which caused Eren to whine. Levi chuckled.

"Easy Eren, I promise I'll make you feel good soon but I need to stretch you out first." Eren whined and shifted his hips, trying to push his prostate against Levi's fingers. Once Levi could easily move all four fingers inside of Eren, which still caused the boy to jolt and moan, he pulled them out. Eren glared at him, unhappy. First he'd stopped touching his prostate thing and now he pulled out entirely?? Immediately those thoughts were quelled as Levi took off his boxers. Eren swallowed at the sheer size of Levi's co*ck. It was slick with precum and Levi reached down to stroke it a few times, making it more slick. Then he poured an ample amount of oil on it and stroked it some more, pulling the foreskin back. He pressed it against Eren's hole and smirked. "I'm going in Eren, don't bite your tongue and remember to breathe."

With that Levi pushed slowly into Eren. Since he'd made sure to thoroughly stretch Eren it wasn't painful for Eren, but it was thicker than the fingers. Eren let his head roll back with a moan as he pushed his hips forward, trying to get more of that thick co*ck inside him. Levi chuckled.

"Does it feel good?" he murmured, leaning forward to whisper into Eren's ear. Eren nodded and looked at Levi with eyes glazed with pleasure.

"It feels good...more Levi...please," he whimpered. Levi felt Eren's walls clamp down more around him and he had to keep tight control over himself to prevent himself from slamming into Eren. He groaned and pushed more into Eren a little faster. Eren moaned and his back arched as Levi slid all the way to the base. He groaned and pulled Eren tighter against himself while the boy gasped in pleasure.

"Eren...Eren, I'm going to move now," Levi warned, forcing himself not to move until Eren had been warned. Eren nodded and Levi pulled out before he pushed back in, faster than before. Eren moaned, long and loud as he felt Levi's co*ck fill him again. Levi shuddered as Eren rippled around him, gripping him and trying to suck him deeper inside. He pulled out and thrust in faster and faster. Eren keened and his back arched as Levi found his prostate on accident. His eyes were wide and as Levi pulled back and thrust back inside Eren started to speak.

"Levi!! f*ck, Levi, so good!" he cried. Levi leaned down and kissed Eren without stopping the piston like movement of his hips. Their tongues tied together, sliding and twirling around each other as they tasted each other. Eren moaned into the kiss, tears of pleasure dripping from his eyes. Levi broke the kiss to start sucking and biting,hard, on Eren's throat and shoulders. Eren yelped and Levi groaned when he felt Eren clench down on him every time he bit him. He smirked.

"You like that, huh?" he groaned, nipping Eren's skin as he thrust. "You like when I bite you?"

The possessive instinct in Levi roared to the surface when he saw the boy under him, tears dripping from his eyes, moaning for more with beautiful dark red bites and hickeys on his caramel skin. He grinned and thrust faster, hearing a squelch each time he drove completely into Eren, likely from the oil.

"More! Levi, harder! B-bite me please!" Eren moaned, thrusting his hips down into each of Levi's thrusts. Levi resumed biting Eren viciously, barely avoiding breaking skin, while his hands moved to grip Eren's hips and practically yank the boy further onto his dick. Eren's moans and screams of pleasure seemed to bounce on the walls, the bed sounded like it was about to break from the number of creaks it gave, and Levi and Eren were lost in each other and the pleasure they provided.

"Eren, I'm...I'm gonna cum!" Levi groaned. Eren nodded, drool escaping the corner of his mouth as he moaned.

"M-me too! Levi!" Levi continued pounding ferociously into Eren's ass while the boy in question wrapped his arms around Levi and clung to him desperately. "L-Levi! Cumming! I'mcumming!!" Eren moaned as his co*ck spurted white onto their stomachs. Levi felt Eren squeeze tightly around him and he groaned as he thrust in again, burying himself as deeply as possible before he spurted his cum into Eren. Eren's eyes widened and he let out a soft little moan before looking at his stomach.

"What's wrong Eren?" Levi asked, riding out the last bit of his org*sm. Eren reached down and touched his stomach, ignoring the sem*n on his stomach.

"It's warm..." Eren murmured. Levi groaned as he pulled out and Eren yelped, trying to shut his legs. Unfortunately for him Levi was still sitting between them so he couldn't close them. Levi frowned.

"Eren? What's-"

"Don't look!" Eren yelped, hands heading down to cover his ass. Levi's eyes widened as he realized that some of his cum was beginning to drip out of Eren's ass. The boy in question flushed bright red. He covered his face, waiting for Levi to comment on how disgusting it was.

"f*ck, that's hot." Eren's eyes widened and he moved his hands to look at Levi who's gaze was still trained on Eren's ass. Levi's silver eyes came up to look at Eren and he smirked. "Seeing my cum leak out of your ass is surprisingly hot."

"Eh?" Eren whispered. Levi's eyes narrowed.

"So hot in fact, that it makes me want to go for round two," he purred, gesturing to his steadily rising co*ck. Eren's jaw dropped.

"I don't think I can do that!" he said. Levi smirked.

"Don't think you'll get any sleep tonight Eren," he purred. Eren yelped and despite his many "I can't"s and "it's not possible"s he still welcomed Levi into his body. He continued to do so until he passed out right after cumming for what had to be the seventh time. When he woke up, Levi was laying next to him, still asleep. Eren looked at him and smiled, happy they'd finally done it. He glanced in the mirror and flushed red when he took in the sheernumberof the hickey and bite marks that adorned his throat, shoulders, and even his collar bones. Arms wrapped around his waist and he yelped as he was pulled back down into Levi's embrace. Levi smirked as he took in the sight of Eren's throat and shoulders.

"L-Levi?" Eren asked, nervously wondering if Levi would ask for another round because there was no way in hell Eren's body could last another round of sex, even with his titan shifting abilities. Levi smiled and pulled him back under the covers.

"Go back to sleep Eren, it's too early to be up after last night." Eren blushed but nodded hesitantly. He was drifting off when he spoke again.

"Levi?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." He felt a soft kiss on his forehead before he was pulled more securely against a firm chest.

"I love you too."

Chapter 50: Post Historia

Chapter Text

The Day After

"EREN!" Mikasa slammed the door open, breaking the wardrobe that had been in the way. Her jaw dropped and she let out a screech of horror to see Eren lying naked in bed with Captain Levi, who was also naked. Eren jolted and looked around in sleepy confusion.

"What? What?" he yawned. Levi glared at Mikasa with frightening intensity.

"Cadet, get the f*ck out of my room, NOW. Eren and I will be down in a bit so get your ass down there and wait patiently like a good little brat," he snarled. Eren yawned and stretched, revealing the many bites and hickeys thatsomehowhadn't healed over from last night. Mikasa was horrified because most of them were dark purple or red. Levi had practically mauled Eren's neck and shoulders in order to get the marks to stay. He smirked at her horrified expression before his arm snaked around Eren's waist and he pulled him back down into bed.

"L-Levi??" Eren yelped in shock. Levi shushed him gently with a finger pressed against Eren's lips.

"Relax Eren, I won't do anything you don't like," he purred. Eren blushed.

"Sh-shouldn't we get up?? The others will probably be wondering where we went by now," he said, looking away. Levi smirked at Mikasa over Eren's shoulder and she huffed before leaving the room. Levi snorted.

"They know where we went Eren, they just had the common decency not to invade in our private time. But if you insist on us going out and greeting them as the newly-introduced-to-sex-couple we are, then I suppose we'll just have to do that." Eren blushed and glared at Levi.

"You're mean." Levi kissed Eren's lips.

"And you're precious. But, we should get up and explain before that crazy murderous sister of yours tries anything. I get the feeling she already wants to gut me for laying a hand on you. So we should go." Eren paled.

"Oh right...Mikasa...how am I supposed to explain this to her??" Levi shrugged.

"Just tell her the truth, you and I are dating. I don't intend on hiding anything."

"But won't that cause problems for you?? You're my superior officer, I thought those sorts of relationships weren't allowed?" Eren said nervously. Levi chuckled.

"Eren, you're a king. You make the rules. And even if you don't make the rules on this one, the man in charge is one of my oldest friends. You think I can't convince him to look the other way for us?" Eren paused and thought about it. Erwin probably would make an exception for them considering the circ*mstances. After all, he didn't try to stop them even after Levi made his intent of f*cking Eren as soon as they got back to base clear.

"Okay...then...do you have clothes in my size?" Levi frowned when he took in the sight of the clothes lying messily on the dirty floor. He sighed and went to his dresser. Then he noticed a small wooden paper parcel right outside his door. He picked it up and noticed a paper attached to it. He unfolded it and read the note.

Dear Levi, this is a set of clothes for Eren as I doubt that you'd ever let him wear the same clothes two days in a row, particularly after they'd been lying on the floor all night. You can thank me later. -Hanji

"So four eyes can be useful every now and then," he said with a snort. He rolled his eyes at the sight of the broken door and wardrobe. "Eren, we're going to get changed in the bathroom. I don't want anyone peeking at us from the hallway."

Eren nodded and went into the adjoining bathroom while Levi collected his own clothes from his dresser. He gave the parcel to Eren and watched as Eren pulled out the clothes. He put them on and Levi bit his lip, struggling not to smirk with approval. The pants were loose around the base but the thighs and ass were tight as hell and sinful enough to match. The shirt was a long sleeve but the neckline was wide enough that it exposed a significant amount of Eren's shoulders and did absolutely nothing to hide the marks Levi had left. Not to mention that the dark blue green part brought out the teal and gold in Eren's eyes.

"What?" Eren asked, noting Levi's stare. Levi bit his lip harder before speaking.

"Nothing, just thinking about how appealing those clothes are on you." Eren blushed and looked away. Levi chuckled and, after he was dressed in his usual uniform, followed Eren down to the cafeteria. As soon as they entered any conversation stopped and they stared at Eren. Levi was like a cat that knew it had you wrapped around it's finger, practically waltzing across the room with smugness radiating off him. Eren on the other hand, was more embarrassed than ever because he knew exactly how he looked. And even if Levi told him he looked good, he was still the king of titans. The flaming crown on his head was enough to prove that. In actuality, what the others were looking at wasn't Levi or even how Eren looked. They were staring at the sheernumberof marks that Levi had left on Eren.

Levi had grabbed them something to eat while Eren sat down with his friends. Conversations started back up again, a lot of it talking about how the hell Levi could leave marks like that on a titan. Mikasa meanwhile was glaring bloody murder at the Captain's back. Armin had merely sighed and given up trying to talk to her so he opened his mouth to talk to Eren but Connie beat him to the punch.

"Wow, he sure did a number on you, huh Eren?" Eren blushed as Levi set his breakfast down in front of him and sat down next to him. This started up a whole new round of whispers because everyone knew that Captain f*cking Levi did NOT eat anywhere other than the table for Captains and higher.

"Got a problem with that, Springer?" Levi growled. Connie held up his hands in surrender, knowing that if he pissed off the Captain he'd be scrubbing the floors for weeks. Armin clapped his hands.

"So, Eren, are you going to introduce us?" he asked with a smile. Eren blushed but nodded.

"Guys, this is Captain Levi my...boyfriend," he whispered. Levi smirked and nearly kissed the boy but held back because there were others around. "And Captain, these are the guys I trained with. Connie Springer, Sasha Blause, Jean Kirstein, Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, Christa Lenz, Ymir, Armin Arlert, and Mikasa Ackerman."

"It's nice to meet you," Levi said with a smug purr in his voice, staring Mikasa straight in the eye. She glared back at him before turning back to Eren.

"Eren, I don't like him. He's suspicious and I don't think he's good for you." Eren sighed.

"Already? Mikasa, you haven't even known him for five minutes yet. Give him a chance. I really do love him," Eren said. Mikasa winced and pulled back, glancing hesitantly at Levi before looking back at Levi. She sighed and nodded.

"Fine. I'll...trust your judgement." Eren nodded his thanks and Levi felt a victorious smirk tug at the corner of his lips.

5 YEARS LATER

It had been five years since Eren was legally deemed a member of the Survey Corps and allowed to live with the humans inside the walls. During that time Eren had proven himself time and time again. Mindless and abnormal titans were hunted down and killed over and over until they reincarnated as a sane being. At first there were a lot of people against the decision to kill titans until they became intelligent but, in the end, they were too big of a threat to be left alone even with the king ordering them not to eat humans. Eren and Levi both took part and for two years it actually became a competition.

Some titans later said they had trauma from being hunted like an animal over and over again. But whatever, there were still several humans who were traumatized from seeing their comrades and family get eaten by titans so at least now they're equal.

In the end, the winner of the competition was, of course, Levi with Eren as a close second. Mikasa claimed the title of third and, begrudgingly, admitted that Levi was strong enough to take care of Eren. When she had approached them after the results were announced with this dark look on her face, Eren had nervously glanced between the two Ackermans.

"Captain Levi," she said, walking up to them. Levi glanced at her and clicked his tongue softly, annoyed that his time with Eren had been interrupted.

"Is there something you need?" he growled. She stood in front of him and sighed.

"I...I admit that you're strong...Stronger than I am in fact. And I know that you love Eren. But understand this Captain," she glared at him with murderous intent practically oozing off her, "If youeverdare to hurt him, I will make sure you regret it. And I don't care if I go to jail for that. He is a brother to me and I do not care who hurts him. I will personally gouge their eyes out if they make him sad or feel bad in ANY way. Keep that in mind."

With that she turned and stalked off. Levi watched her with a raised eyebrow. Once she was gone Eren glanced at Levi who stared after where she'd gone.

"What a bitch," he said. Eren's jaw dropped and Levi noticed his shocked reaction. "What? Don't tell me you thought I was scared of her? She's an amateur brat. She's fifteen years too early to try and threaten me. Now come on Eren, we have a date after this, right?"

Suffice it to say that Levi ignored Mikasa's warning because there was no need for it. After all he and Eren had gone through together there was no way he'd ever let his precious titan feel sad. But that didn't mean that Levi wasn't concerned about how Eren felt towards him. Despite having been together for five years, they hadn't progressed further than sex. Which Hanji said was normal but Levi felt like it wasn't and was worried that Eren felt like he was unsatisfactory to Levi in any way. So, not two weeks, after Mikasa left her warning, Levi took a leap of faith and crossed a major bridge in a relationship.

"This is a nice restaurant Levi," Eren said, cutting off a piece of steak. Since they had not only regained the territory within Wall Maria but also expanded further out with the help of the titans, they had more area to grow crops and raise livestock. As such everyone's standard of living grew. Underneath Mitras in the Underground slums the door to the titan library was kept open all the time. Members of the Garrison and Survey Corps brought supplies through there and straight up to the capital. As such the Underground city had drastically changed, becoming almost as wealthy as Mitras itself. They had also made everyone who lived in the Underground a citizen of the walls so now they could freely walk above or below ground. At first, there was a lot of crime spreading from the Underground but that had quickly been curbed with the appearance of the Titan King and Underground City's Demon, Levi the Strongest.

When Hanji had found out about Levi's nickname she laughed her head off for hours. In the end Levi nearly choked her to death trying to knock her out to get her to stop laughing. She was recuperating in the gentle embrace of her new lover, Erwin. Eren had been extremely surprised when he found out that Hanji and Erwin were going out but that was a story for another time.

"It is, isn't it?" Levi delicately set down his fork and knife and watched Eren eat for a moment. "Hey Eren, I have a question for you."

"What is it?" Eren asked, noting Levi's serious face. He set down his cutlery and waited for Levi to speak. Levi got up and came around the table to stand next to Eren. He clasped Eren's hand between his own and Eren tilted his head, the picture of innocence as always.

"Eren, I love you. You know that, right?" Levi said.

"Yes...I know that. And I love you too," Eren said, confused at Levi's attitude. Levi knelt down on one knee and let go of Eren's hand.

"Eren, I love you forever. When I picture myself in the future I can't see myself anywhere other than by your side. Whether it's killing titans, eating dinner, going to bed, whatever. It's always with you. But I'm possessive, Eren. I want you all to myself and you've seen it before. You've seen how I can get when it comes to you." Eren thought back to the multiple times when Levi had been possessive. It usually happened anytime someone came up to him and wasn't someone Levi knew. In which case he'd glare at them like he was about to shank them right then and there. They left quickly and then Levi would drag Eren off for some rougher-than-usual sex. It was usually in those situations that Eren found himself tied up, blindfolded, and completely at Levi's mercy. Which, there was very little of in those situations. Not that Eren minded that.

"I'm aware. And I don't mind it," Eren said with a smile, his dick twitching as he thought of the last time it had happened. They'd gone to a pub for some drinks and some drunkard came up to Eren and started flirting with him. Eren, being the innocent being he was, had no idea that he was being hit on. So when Levi came back to find Eren laughing at the drunkard's sh*tty jokes he'd ended up punching the man and dragging Eren back home. Once home he tied Eren's hands behind his back and covered his eyes with a blindfold.

Eren had felt Levi push him to his knees and was confused at the rough treatment but didn't mind. It was a rare treat compared to the usual gentle Levi. In fact, if Eren didn't know that Levi might beat the other person to a pulp, he might try flirting with others just to get Levi to treat him that way. He heard the sound of fabric rustling and then felt something hot and firm smack his face.

"Open." Levi had ordered. Eren had hesitantly opened his lips and had been in for the face f*cking of his life. Levi was not gentle at all and Eren loved it. When Levi came in his mouth Eren had opened it and showed Levi that he caught it all before swallowing the salty liquid. Levi had groaned and the next thing Eren knew he was being thrown on the bed and his clothes were practically ripped off. That night they had gone three rounds and when Eren collapsed on the bed after the third, Levi had gently untied the blindfold and ropes, rubbing and kissing the skin that had been rubbed sore. "Eren, don't ever talk to strangers again. If they aren't me, someone you recognize, or someone I recognize, treat them like they don't even exist, got it? I don't want to see you laughing at someone else's sh*tty joke. That's something reserved for me."

"Yes...Levi," Eren had panted, the crown on his head practically a halo as he smiled at Levi. They had shared a last kiss before Levi carried him to the bathroom and washed him gently, making sure to soothe Eren's aching legs and ass.

"That's good," Levi said, "I'm glad you don't mind. But Eren, I have something really important to ask. The only answers you could possibly give me are yes or no so relax."

"Okay," Eren said, nodding hesitantly. Levi inhaled slowly.

"Eren, will you marry me?" Eren blinked in confusion and Levi kept speaking. "I want you all for myself Eren. I love you and I want to keep you chained at my side forever. But I know how much you love being free. So I'm giving you the choice. Will you bind yourself to me with the invisible chain known as marriage, or will you turn me down and we can go our separate ways?"

Eren's eyes widened and hurt filled his eyes at the last part. "I would never leave you Levi! I don't want to go separate ways!"

Levi smirked. "Is that a yes?"

Eren pouted. "You're mean Levi."

Levi chuckled and pulled a box from his pocket, opening it to reveal a simple gold ring. Unbeknownst to Eren, inside was inscribed 'You are my moon, my sun, and my stars. You are my diamonds, my silver, and gold. I can only hope that if you accept this you'll also be my partner, my friend, and my lover. For now and all eternity.' He smiled up at Eren. "If you want it, it's yours."

"Of course I'll marry you Levi. I love you after all!" Eren said, pulling the ring from the box and slipping it on his pointer finger. Levi chuckled and slid it off Eren's finger, putting it on the correct one. He then kissed it gently, causing Eren to blush.

"I love you too, my dear fiance." Eren sighed and leaned against Levi, wrapping his arms around the older man.

"Mikasa's not going to be happy about this," he said. Levi snickered.

"I look forward to seeing her face at our wedding."

Sure enough, Mikasa had not been happy when she'd been asked to be the bridesmaid for their wedding, but because it was a request from Eren, she didn't turn it down. It was a massive celebration that took place outside the walls in the forest where Levi and Eren had first met. Not only were their friends there but also some titans such as the butler that had served Eren since he first arrived. Titans had become legitimate citizens and their strength and size was used when constructing highways and the like. Though, titans tended to stay out of the capital for more than just the fact that they don't fit in it. People still weren't comfortable with titans but Eren figured that would fade away with age. They just needed time to let it fade.

"You may now kiss the bride," Pastor Nick said. The Pastor had been extremely unhappy to wed a titan to a human but after a night time visit from Levi that shall not be described, he was more than willing to do it. Levi pulled Eren down slightly and kissed the titan, feeling Eren smile against his lips as the boy kissed him right back. There were gasps of shock from the audience as Levi and Eren parted lips, confused at the reaction.

"Levi! What is that???" Hanji cried eagerly, pointing to something above his head. Eren glanced over and his eyes widened as Levi's hands crept up and touched cool metal. Upon Levi's head a new crown had formed. This one almost looked like it was made of ice in contrast to Eren's fire. It was more delicate and detailed than Eren's simple crown but Eren didn't mind. Levi tried to lift it only for it to sit there on his head, not budging. Levi sighed in exasperation and Eren snickered.

"We're the same now," he said happily. Levi smiled at him and pulled him down for another kiss.

"I guess we are," he said. Eren giggled and leaned forward so their foreheads were resting together.

"I love you Levi."

"I love you too, Eren."

"Quit the sappy sh*t and come drink with us!" Hanji shouted. Levi and Eren smirked at her.

"You're just hoping that we'll throw the flowers and you'll shove everyone out of the way to catch them," Levi said snarkily. Hanji pouted and Eren laughed, throwing the flowers up high. Immediately some of his friends scrambled to catch them but oddly enough, the one to catch them was Annie. She'd been invited because Eren wanted all his surviving friends to be there with him. She stared blankly at the flowers before a faint smile crossed her lips.

"Alright, it's time for cake!" Hanji cheered, rushing to grab the knife. Once she held it everyone immediately gave her at least six feet of space to prevent her from stabbing them. Eren and Levi smiled down at the sight from the altar.

"Shall we go?" Levi asked. Eren smiled and took his hand.

"Let's go," he replied as they descended the stairs to, hopefully, take the knife from Hanji before she hurt somebody and cut the cake themselves. This was home. The loud friends, the crazy shenanigans, it had always been home to them. They were happy. Their friends were there and they were together. So together they'd explore the world and their future with one another.