The Path Back to You | Levi x OC

Chapter 15 - Thick Skin

Anastasya

For the second time that day, Anya made her way to where Annie was being kept underground. However by the time she arrived, Hange had gone, and only two Scouts remained, guarding the young recruit. She stepped forward, her previous rage now replaced by curiosity, and touched the crystallised shell, tapping it slightly. It seemed truly impenetrable. She walked around the structure, examining it from every angle, then placed a hand over where Annie's face was. The young Military Police recruit wasn't unattractive; she had blonde hair, rosy lips, a curving nose, and pale blue eyes which were now shut tight. In that moment she seemed comatose, and Anya doubted anything would change anytime soon. However, she still believed she could hear what was happening around her.
"Titans inside the walls, huh? Now that's interesting," she murmured, before turning to one of the guards. "Did Hange say where she was going?"
"I think she said something about the library," he replied.
"Hmm. Thanks."
She hurried back up to the city and made her way to the library located within the Military Police's building, fleetingly wondering what Levi was doing. She knew that he wanted to talk to her. Knew that he had seen her hesitation when dealing with the Female Titan. It was a conversation she wanted to avoid for as long as possible, simply because admitting her fear to him would cause her to stop and face up to the fact that she wasn't how she used to be, and she didn't want to consider the possibility that she might never be the same again. If she just had some more time, she would figure everything out. That's what she kept telling herself. She pushed her anxiety down as she at last reached the library. She burst into the candlelit room and found Hange hunched over a microscope.
"What if the wall is made of hardened Titan?" she asked, refocusing on the current situation.
Hange looked up immediately. "I was thinking the same thing! I retrieved a fragment of Annie's Titan skin when it broke off after she kicked Eren earlier. I've just been comparing it to the piece of wall I took. Come and see."
She went over to the microscope and peered through. When she had thoroughly studied one of the samples, Hange switched it with the other.
"They look the same," she said, straightening up with wide eyes.
Hange nodded.
"It looks that way, doesn't it?"
"I went to see Annie again. Do you think fire might have an effect on the casing?"
"I hadn't considered that... I need to study this more. Confirm for sure that it's the same structure."
She moved to let Hange at the microscope again. At that moment, Moblit bustled past, arms full of documents.
"Hello Captain! Section Commander! What are you doing? We're supposed to leave in five minutes!" he said. "Please hurry up!"
"Yeah, there's just something I need to confirm-" Hange looked up from the microscope, then looked at Anya, mouth hanging open. "They are!"
Anya glanced at the doorway. Levi lounged against the frame.
"Hey. Get moving," he told Hange.
"Ah, sorry!" she replied. "What about him?"
"He's been ready for a while now."
Hange nodded and swiped the piece of Titan skin from the desk and hurried from the room, leaving Anya and Levi alone for a moment.
"You're coming with us?" she asked him.
"Yeah. Not much choice. I'll be babysitting Pastor Nick."
Levi looked less than pleased at the prospect, and she frowned.
"He's coming with us?"
"Hange thinks it might loosen his tongue, once he sees Ehrmich district and the chaos unfolding there."
"I don't think so, somehow," she replied. "Come on."
She made as if to move past him, but Levi grabbed her arm.
"Hey. Are you all right?" he asked quietly.
"Ask me in twenty-four hours, and maybe I'll have an answer."
For a moment, she wasn't sure he was going to let go. However, he sighed and slowly released his hold on her.
"Fine."
She met his steely gaze, willing him to understand, somehow, that she wasn't freezing him out specifically. He nodded, just slightly, and they went together to catch up with Hange to collect Pastor Nick, who seemed utterly terrified of Anya for whatever reason. Once they had him, they strode out to the wagon. Eren, Mikasa and Armin were already seated.
"Hey! Sorry to keep ya. Took longer to prepare than we thought," called Hange, waving.
As they climbed in, Anya going first, Armin looked up, shocked.
"Um... Isn't this a priest from the Order of the Walls?" he asked, as the four of them settled in  opposite.
"Yeah. Nick and I are best buddies," Hange replied, putting an arm around the bedraggled priest, much to Anya's amusement. "Don't let him bother you. The whole makeup of this squad doesn't make any sense." She leaned forward to look at Levi and Anya. "Does it, guys?"
"No, I think it might," Levi regarding the trio with his usual, apathetic expression. "Erwin picked them out for a reason."
Anya was lost in her own world, taking in the sight of the soldiers and shadows and torches in the bustling courtyard. A strange, out-of-place warmth filled her, and her apprehension began to melt away, allowing her to feel more like her old self again. This was what she had missed. The sense of belonging to a group of people, rather than being out on her own, fending for herself. As the gate opened, Erwin, way up at the front of the formation, addressed them all.
"The situation within Wall Rose is unclear!" he shouted. "But everything up until Ehrmich is safe. We'll save time going through there. Move out!"
With that, he wheeled his huge, pale grey horse round and spurred it through the open gate. The regiment followed on immediately.
"Take us out," Levi directed the soldier driving their wagon.
"Yes, Sir!"
Anya briefly shut her eyes, enjoying the refreshing night air as it caressed her face. However, she soon opened them when she heard Eren getting himself worked up. Again.
"There's Titans inside the walls and he's known about it?!" he exclaimed, glaring at Pastor Nick with his fists clenched.
"Yes, though he's kept his mouth shut this entire time," said Hange. "But now he's coming with us to witness the harsh reality. Will his beliefs be strong enough for him to stay silent? Or will seeing it with his own eyes make him question himself?"
Eren stood up, slamming his hands down onto the wooden table between them, causing Pastor Nick to flinch.
"No, no, no!" he growled. "This is all backwards! If there's something you know, tell us about it! Nothing's more important than keeping humans from going extinct!"
Eren suddenly gasped and clutched his head.
"Eren!" said Mikasa, as he retook his seat. "Settle down. You're still not fully healed."
Levi suddenly produced a pistol from within his black suit jacket, careful to keep it low and inconspicuous whilst he  pointed it at the pastor.
"There's more than one way to get answers," he said darkly. "I may be injured and useless right now, but it doesn't take much to watch one man. I'm hoping we can settle this without blasting a hole in anyone. Aren't you?"
"Threatening him doesn't work, Levi. Believe me, I've tried. It seems to be that this priest is capable of sound judgement. Which makes me wonder if the reason why he won't talk is because he knows something more important than the fate of humanity," said Hange.
Anya leant forward and turned to the pastor, who jumped when he met her gaze, shuffling as far away as possible.
"Maybe a spot of torture, then," she suggested, smiling like a devil. "Wrangle whatever sound judgement he has left right out of him."
Levi put the gun away and sighed.
"Behave," he said.
She sat back and chuckled.
"Says the one who just pulled a gun on a holy man."
They all fell into a tense silence, until Levi noticed that Hange was staring at something in her hand.
"Hange." When she didn't reply, he tried again, leaning forward slightly. "Hey, four eyes. Are your hobbies so boring that playing with rocks is somehow fun for you?
"Yeah. That's right," she said.
Anya realised that she was holding the piece of Annie's Titan form that she'd brought along.
"But this is no ordinary rock. This is a hardened fragment of skin, left behind by the Female Titan," she said, turning it this way and that.
"Huh? It didn't disappear?!" asked Armin.
"Right!" said Hange. "Annie reverted from a Titan, but it's still intact even though it broke off her body. It didn't evaporate. It didn't disappear. Anya noticed the same, so we looked at the fragment of skin, along with a fragment of the wall, and the two are practically identical."
"In other words," said Anya, lounging back in the wagon, "the wall is formed of Titans themselves; they're not simply encased in concrete and stone. It's made from their skin."
"That's exactly what Armin was saying," said Mikasa, awestruck.
"Th-then-"
Armin tried to speak, but Hange clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Let me finish! As it stands, we'll be hard pressed to fill the hole in Wall Rose. That is, unless we can find the perfect boulder to plug it. But if...but if Eren, in his transformed state could use the Titans' hardening ability to seal the hole in the wall..."
"Use me...to seal the wall?" asked Eren, suddenly pale.
"It should be made of the same material," said Hange. "And seeing how the hardened section won't evaporate, even after you revert from a Titan...it's possible."
"I think it's well worth the risk to try," said Armin, "and assuming it really does work, reclaiming Wall Maria is feasible, too. Up until now, we've had to transport a large quantity of materials and supplies. That's why the need for outposts past the wall limited our progress. But if we don't have to accommodate supply wagons... we could quickly make our way to Shiganshina. What if we carried out the plan at night?"
"At night?" Hange asked.
"Yes. During the night, when Titans can't move."
"I hate to break it to you, but some can move at night," said Anya.
"Huh?" Armin asked, horrified.
"We think that they take light from the sun for energy. Moonlight is reflected sunlight. So, it's far weaker, but when I... When I was out beyond the walls, I witnessed Titans moving in the dark. Not many, but enough to cause a problem."  The trio looked horrified, but she leant forward, already having a solution. "Therefore, the best time to do it would be on the new moon."
"That's a good idea..." said Hange. "If the group was small enough, you could sneak all the way to Wall Maria. The current situation is as bad as it gets, but...we still have a glimmer of hope."
"Assuming Eren can, in fact, seal the hole," Anya said, watching him closely.
"I realise asking this is hardly fair, but...think you can do it?" Hange asked him.
Eren froze, looking as though he were having an inner crisis. Before he could respond, Levi cut in.
"It doesn't matter what you think," he said. "You have to. There's no other choice. We're out of options. Our forces are struggling so desperately, there's nothing else they can do. You have to succeed."
Anya knew precisely what Levi was doing. If Eren was made to believe that everything was riding on him, he would somehow muster the ability, despite not knowing if he had it.
"I will!" he told them all. "I'll do whatever it takes to seal the wall! Whatever it takes..." He produced the key he wore on a cord around his neck. "The basement. My dad's basement. If what my dad said was true, we'll find the answers to everything there."
They fell into another, thoughtful silence, until Anya tipped her head back to look at the flickering, amber torches above the gate in the distance.
"We're here," she announced.