In an Alternate Reality IV

Devil in the Shadows

Evening came and the sun began to set. The sky had an arrangement of different purples and oranges as the sun ran lower. Eren was walking along an old, abandoned road that led to the old Survey Corps Headquarters. The same place where he was first introduced to the Levi Squad.

As Eren followed the dirt road's lead, he just took some time to feel the air and the silence that surrounded the area. Lines of trees keeping order of the path, the rustling of the grass as the wind swayed, and the crunching of the dirt in every step Eren took.

Eren had his hair loose and walked with his hands in his pockets. In the distance, Eren could see the Castle where his journey in the Survey Corps first began. Eren looked down and saw a rock which caused a faint smile to ground on his face as he remembered Oluo running his mouth when he first joined.

"I should hurry."

-

Eren was in the front courtyard of the Castle where he began to look around. The castle was in shambles. All those hours they spent cleaning didn't hold up; it was all overgrown with weeds. He opened the front door and was met with all the built-up dust of it not being used in over 4 years.

It was dark inside the Castle, but that was no problem for Eren. His eyes allowed him to see perfectly fine in the night and the faint pink glow that emanated from his eyes made for a light source.

Eren navigated himself through the Castle and went straight for the basement where he once slept. He lit up one of the only candles he had down there and went straight for the mirror that was mounted on the wall.

He looked at himself in the mirror and noticed the faint traces of the pink shards that appear in his eyes. He leaned in for closer inspection as he thought his eyes were deceiving him, but this was no trick. The shards were there.

"Huh? That's strange. Maybe I just never noticed them."

Eren sighed, then moved from the mirror and to the bed. He rested his right hand on his head and the other to his side.

"I need to come up with a plan. I heard they moved Zeke to an unknown location. I must find him but before that, I need rid of those Jaegerists. I'm on pursuit now. If I want to rid of those Jaegerists, I will have to rely on stealth, but there's only one issue..."

Eren looked at his hand and he could see a pink glow reflecting off it.

"These eyes will be a dead giveaway. I will have to hide them one way or the other, but how?"

He searched the room and saw a black cloth on a table. He stood up, picked it up, then wrapped it around his eyes. He had his eyes closed as he did so and when he opened them, he could see straight through the cloth. He rushed toward the mirror and looked at himself.

"What the?! This is weird, but it will help nonetheless. I should be able to sneak around with this..."

He took the cloth off his face and lied back down on the bed.

"I will start tomorrow night. After I've dealt with the Jaegerists, I'll locate Zeke and I know exactly where to start."

-

Hours earlier before the attack, Levi was keeping watch of Zeke in that underground jail cell. Gabi and Falco where in the cell next door with another guard watching over them. Ever since Eren schooled Gabi, she has been far quieter. He was far too nice for a man who obliterated the Liberio Interment Zone. Since the day their lives were spared, Falco has been worried about Gabi.

"Gabi....Gabi are you okay?" Falco asked.

He received no response. Gabi was sat against the wall with her knees to her chest. She was still trying to comprehend it all and began to speak.