A Promise (An Attack on Titan Fanfic: Erwin Smith)

Military Tribunal

When the testimonial hearing of Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert was adjourned, Erwin together with Levi and Isanna were led underground into the dungeon where the Military Police was holding Eren in a cell. 

"This place is disgustingly filthy," Levi quietly spat with a disgusted face as they trekked through the dim and narrow dusty hallway that was made of bricks, only lighted with a few fire torches hanging on the wall. It was eerily silent, echoes of their footsteps bouncing against the confined space. 

"Levi," Isanna called, eyeing him at the corner of her eye, "you wanna stay here and sign up as a temporary janitor? I can put up a good word to Dok for you."

He immediately wrinkled his forehead at her. "No."

Isanna merely chuckled as they continued down the corridor, until the small group reached the end where a cold cell was located, guarded by two Military Police soldiers and accompanied with a fire torch that was crackling at the side. The soldier who had guided them promptly saluted and left them to speak with Eren.

There was a splintered wooden chair in front of the prison cell, and Erwin offered Isanna to take the seat being the gentleman he was, but she rejected his offer because as the Commander, he should be the one sitting down. 

"You guys can flirt and suck each other's faces—or even fuck each other and I wouldn't give a shit," Levi finally butted in when he was getting irritated at them, "but save it for later so we can get this over with."

His blunt words caused Isanna to redden up profusely, feeling rather embarrassed especially since there were two other soldiers who were guarding the cell, and Eren himself who had now woken up from his three-day coma. She resisted the urge to strangle the short Captain. 

Erwin however, remained impassive as usual. Following Levi's statement, he decided to take the seat and face the boy who was chained down to a small bed behind his cell, meeting his confused green eyes with his stoic blue ones.

As the Commander began introducing himself to Eren and relayed everything that had transpired while the teenager had been in a coma, Isanna stood to his right side while Levi was to his left, listening to Erwin as well. When he finished, he asked Eren if he had any questions. 

".. Where.. am I?" the boy finally asked in a shaky voice, his head still clearly in the clouds after listening to Erwin right after he had woken up after three days of unconsciousness. He lowered his gaze and tried to lift his hands, but both of his wrists were shackled down with heavy, cold chains. 

Erwin answered that Eren was in an underground prison cell and that he was under the custody of the Military Police as of the moment. 

Both Erwin and Eren continued on with their conversation, with the former lifting up the teenager's key necklace and relaying to him everything that they had heard from his friends' testimonies concerning his father and basement back at his hometown. 

"Back in your basement in Shiganshina," said Erwin, still lifting the key for Eren to see, "lies the answer to all of these mysteries surrounding your titan powers. Am I mistaken?"

"No, sir.." Eren replied, hesitation in his voice, ".. probably not.. or so my father said."

Isanna heard Levi softly click his tongue before making a comment, "You lose your memory, and your father's gone missing, huh? What a convenient story."

"Don't be such a dick." Isanna quickly went into Eren's defense and frowned at the Captain.

Erwin glanced at Levi. "I thought we already established that he had no reason to lie." When he did not answer and pressed his lips tightly together, the Commander turned back to Eren.