Guilded Cage

Past

Levi POV
“It's been two weeks.” Erwin eyed me. “Why haven’t you done anything? He is growing stronger!” his anger was boiling under the surface. I slammed the paper down.
“I won’t go after him when he can’t fight back.” I told him. Erwin glared. He didn’t like my little morals.
“You are keeping an eye on him?” he demanded. I sighed sitting back in the chair.
“You're not from the underground, Erwin…” he opened his mouth to protest, I held up a finger. He waited. “If you were I would have sent you in there to watch him. As it were, I do have my spy’s keeping track of his every move.”
“Then you have a plan.” He asked.
“Kill Kenny" I muttered.
“A more thought out one.” He almost yelled. I chuckled as Eren walked in carrying a tray of drinks.  He was technically fully healed, but he still needed to build up strength. Erwin and I both dove for the tray. We almost ended up wearing the drinks. Eren was prepared for this doing a quick ballet move to keep the tray, and us idiots, safe.
“Stop treating me like an invalid.” He complained as he sat the drinks on the desk. As he passed them out I looked up to Erwin.
“No matter what we plan, it will come down to me facing Kenny, alone. Most likely with the ODM gear. It won't be safe for anyone in our path. That’s why I want you in charge of the carnage.” I said.
“Take Jean, Marco and Mikasa. They are the best on the gear.” I added.
“What about…” his voice trailed off but we both turned to Eren.
“Hange and Armin have their instructions on that.” I said.
“Levi, I don’t like this at all. We grew through the ranks side by side. You going off alone.” He shook his head.
“Wait, Levi was in the military?” Eren blinked.
“Technically, I still am. Special ops. Its why I disappear sometimes.” Eren looked shocked. Then he snapped his mouth closed.
“You know a guy named Pixus?” he asked. The room suddenly drew silent.
“How do you know that name?” Erwin asked. Eren grinned.
“Next time you talk to him, tell him I said hi.” With a smirk he turned to head out the door. Erwin caught his shoulder.
“How do you know him?” he demanded. Eren looked up at him.
“If you tell him I’m alive and in danger you will have the garrison to fight with you.” He said as if he was telling us the sky was pink today.
Armin came in. “Lets see how smart you are.” Erwin called the kids bluff. Yanking his phone out he called a number. He put it on speaker. A gruff voice answered.
“Erwin, this better be good.” It growled out.
“One question, you know a smart mouth brat name of Eren Yeag….”
“Is he alive? Where is he? Erwin!!!” Pixus yelled. Eren laughed.
“Calm down Pix, I’m alive.” Eren said.
“My God kid we've been looking for you for months. You know about your mom…”
“Yeah, Levi told me.” Eren stated.
“You're with the Ackerman's?” there was a hesitant note in his tone.
“All but Kenny, who incidentally wants him dead.”
“How many troops do you need? Where do I send them?” Pixus demanded
“Right now I would prefer to talk to you face to face. Meet me at St. John's café on Hertel, one hour.” I said.
“I'll be there.”
“How?” I demanded of Eren.
“Let's just say he owes me.” Eren took Armin's wrist and walked out. Erwin and I looked at each other.
An hour later I stood in the shadows of a huge weeping willow tree. The branches covered a small space that I waited in. Right on time, Pixus ducked through the foliage.
“Why are you helping Eren?” I demanded.
“That kid saved my granddaughters life. I owe him a debt that I can never repay.” I watched him silently for a while.
“Come with me.” I turned, ducking out the opposite why he had entered. Down the creek bed, over the bridge I had a car waiting. Erwin opened the door as Pixus and I darted inside. We didn’t talk not until we were back at my compound.
“Never thought I would see the insides of this place.” Pixus looked around as if this was some museum.
“Pixus!” Eren cried darting down the hall. He skidded to a stop before the old drunk. One hand fisted over his heart, the other behind his back. Odd? I thought. Odder still, Pixus returned the salute, something a superior officer didn’t have to do. Then the two laughing fell into each other shaking hands.
“I want to know…” I said eyeing them. Pixus sighed.
“My daughter and her husband were murdered several years ago. My granddaughter was kidnapped. We had no clues, no leads. Then this little brat walks into the garrison headquarters towing her behind him, asking if I lost someone.”
All eyes went to Eren. “Let's go to the library.” He said. We looked up, once comfortable, and Jean brought us all drinks Eren drew a breath as he sat down across from us.
“I was eleven. Used to run around the streets a lot back then. Mostly I was ignored. Sometimes I got into fights. Other times I watched, well everything. I didn’t really have friends since mom home schooled me due to my always being sick back then.” He began.
“One day, I saw these guys break into a house. At first I thought it was empty so I wasn’t to interested. Then I heard shouts and gun shots. This got my attention.” He scratched at his nose as he went on.
“I saw them dragging this little girl and her mother out. The woman she bit one of the guys holding the girl as she kicked the other. She yelled for the little girl to run, but she was just too scared. The big guy punched the woman in the back of the neck.” Pixus flinched at this, Eren didn’t notice going ahead with his story. “He did it too hard, killing her. They took the little girl with them.” He turned his darkened eyes to the window.
“I followed them. It was growing dark, starting to get cold. The little girl didn’t have a jacket or anything. They finally stopped well after dark in this house way out in the woods.” He was rubbing, twisting his hands together. It was obvious he didn’t like telling this story, even if he was the hero of it.
“I saw one of the guys leave. Which only left one inside with the girl, or so I thought. “ His body jerked with a bit of snide laugh.
“I simply walked up and knocked on the door. When the guy answered, I stabbed him in the artery in the leg. He collapsed blood went everywhere. He was dead quickly after.”
This made me jerk up.  Eren had killed someone? Why didn’t I see it? He wasn’t a killer! My brain screamed at me.
“…in the corner crying.” Eren was continuing. “I rushed to her thinking it was clear.” He rubbed at his arms. “I thought her eyes were huge because she just saw me kill someone. I was out of weapons, when the guy grabbed me from behind…” he stopped talking.
I moved to sit on the arm of the couch beside him. My hand on his shoulder. He didn’t look up at me, but his fingers found mine.
“I knew I had fucked up. I yelled at her to run, just as her mother had. But the doorway was blocked. She was just a little kid, I don’t know what I was thinking. She was the only weapon I had. I yelled for her to fight.” His eyes were haunted looking into a past I couldn’t reach back to.
     His lip twitched at the side of his mouth. “She was to scared to think, having seen her own parents die right in front of her earlier that day. I was just a stranger, why should she fight for me.” His smile was of wonder, but he wasn’t seeing us here in this room, he was seeing only that scared child.
“She fought, to free me. She head butted the guy holding me right in the nuts. He doubled over, his grip slacked enough for me to slip out. I turned elbowing him in the temple. He fell.” I saw his Adams apple bobbed as he swallowed.
“There was a board sitting near her with nails in it. I used it as a baseball bat, smashing it into his neck. Must have hit the jugular, when I yanked it out blood hit the ceiling.” He sighed heavily.
“That left only the guy in the doorway. He hadn’t moved. There was no other way out. I told her to dive between his legs, run to the trees and I would find her. She ran, I was right beside her. When she dove, I jumped kicking him in the face because he dived for her. I don’t think I killed him, but I still had the board. I hit him a few times with it, while I watched her run to the trees. Once she was hidden by the night, he had stilled….” Eren's shoulder rose then fell.
“I ran after her. Finding her hiding behind a tree. She came out took my hand, I gave her my hoodie and scarf.  When we got out of there, once we were far enough away she was able to tell me her name and who her grandfather was. I was a kid of the streets, I hung out with some of the garrison guards.” He chuckled a little.
“I knew who Pixus was. I took her to a guard I knew who would help us. When I told him who she was he tried to take her from me, take her to Pixus alone, but she wouldn’t let go of me. I think she was too in shock. So they had to take me along with them to Pixus.” Eren stopped talking. The room rang with the silence.
Slowly he blinked, turning those eyes back to us, he came into the present. “Pixus told me he would do anything for me. If I ever needed him, I just had to find someone in the garrison to let him know.” He looked around at all of us stunned into silence.
“I guess that’s all. I went back home. She went with him.” He shrugged once more. I cupped his beloved face in my hand, leaning forward I kissed him.
“I’m sorry you had to kill…” I breathed. “It’s a horrible thing for such a bright soul.” I whispered.
“Here you thought you were saving him from that by going after Kenny alone.” Pixus growled at me. I glared into his weathered face.
“No one here is skilled enough to get close to my dear uncle.” I spat. Pixus laughed.