ONE ʙʏ ONE

ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-sɪx

Just after Hange left, Eren began to explore the 'base' since he didn't leave for school. He was terrified of Levi. There was no way he was going to the one place Levi could get him, and even then, he was going to struggle to ever leave the four walls he woke up in.

Brushing off the thought of the raven, Eren explored the area. There was one large room with smaller connecting ones. There was only one bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom that all looked run down but useable. The center area, Eren guessed, was Hange's makeshift computer set up. A chair blocked another door, but Eren was too curious just to ignore it.

He moved the chair out of the way and twisted the doorknob, and not surprisingly, it was locked. The teen was about to shrug it off, but then a muffled voice groaned painfully. There was a brief moment of confusion before Eren snapped back into reality.

"H-Hello?" Eren called out.

The same voice grunted back in a panicked way, begging for help. The teen nearly dropped to the floor as he tried to yank at the door vigorously. After a few minutes of struggling, he had to give up and find another way in.

He hesitantly asked, "Are you okay? Can you talk?"

There was no clear answer, and only muffles of hyperventilated breaths came through the other side. Eren was quick to look around Hange's desk, flipping over monitors and keyboards. A key was nowhere around, and Eren started to worry. Then he paused and thought for a moment.

"Please, let it be there." Eren prayed as he returned to the door and ran his fingers across the top of the door frame. Suddenly he felt a small piece of metal. "Thank God!"

Eren pulled the key down and scrambled to get it in the door lock. The lock finally clicked open, allowing the teen to swing open the door. There laying on the floor, was a bound and gagged Erwin, writhing against the binds.

"E-Erwin?" Eren stuttered out. "W-What's happening?"

Erwin sat up on his knees with a pleadful, teary look. Eren reached out and undid the cloth around Erwin's jaw, finally allowing the other to breathe properly.

"W-Where's Levi?" Erwin wheezed. "You're here – he's gotta be close behind."

Eren cringed, "Oh God, please don't say that."

Eren went to undo the ropes, assuring, "Don't worry, Levi is far from here, hopefully. Hange's helping me, but-" He stopped and let go of the ropes. "Why does Hange have you tied and locked in a closet?"

Erwin paused before replying, "She's crazy, Eren! Levi's probably worried sick about you right now!"

"Levi's crazy!" Eren retorted. "Don't tell me you still side with him!"

Erwin glanced away, and with a hint of guilt in his voice, he admitted, "Eren, I have to choose the stronger of the two to survive. You should do the same and stay with Levi. He only wants the best for you."

Eren paused and stared at the brute in disgust, sickened to think what Levi had done to him. Then it truly dawned on him that the Armin he knew was the exact same way – a mindless drone. Levi's manipulative persona was dangerous, and Eren started to fear that the raven would try to manipulate him.

A phone on Hange's desk began to ring, making the two teens pause for a moment. Eren moved away from Erwin, leaving him tied, and looked at the contact. His heart dropped as the name read 'Levi'. He didn't want to answer it, but there was a part of him that wanted to hear what the boy had to say for himself. If Hange really was crazy, he would figure it out before she got back.

Eren answered the call and placed the device to his ear, and with a quiet, dull tone, he stammered, "H-H-Hello, Levi."

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Levi was shocked to hear Eren's voice, but he shook his head and replied, "Eren? Wha - Why do you have Erwin's phone?"

The raven hooked his device into the monitor in front of him and Armin. Immediately, Armin went to work, trying to locate where the signal was coming from. The screen flashed over different streets nearby.

"That's the first question you ask?" Eren sassed back. "What the hell is wrong with you? Hange told me everything."

Levi felt his breath hitch in his throat, but he still slyly retorted, "Eren, that girl isn't stable. I would know; I worked with her."

Armin scanned across the county, but nothing was coming up. Levi leaned and whispered for him to hurry. The blond nodded and tried tracing outside of town.

"Why would you do that to Mikasa? Why did you brainwash Armin?" Eren shouted through the phone.

Armin pulled his hands off the keys, silently wondering, "What's he talking about?"

Levi snapped his fingers and pointed to the monitor, warning him to hurry or else. Armin jumped and whipped his focus back on locating Eren. Levi continued to stall, deciding to make himself seem the better of two evils.

"Look, I'm sure what Hange has told you hasn't been the truth," Levi argued. "Eren, we need to get you away from her."

"Why?"

Levi mentally apologized to Hange before attesting, "She's known for human experimentation. That thing has tried using me as a lab rat a few times, but now and then, she kidnaps people and experiments on them against their will."

The call went silent for a moment as Eren tried to find the words to say. Armin had managed to pinpoint the signal to an abandoned factory unit, but the locating system began to malfunction. The teen tried to work his way around the error.

"Y-Your lying." Eren accused softly, feeling a bit of doubt.

Levi smirked and continued to warn, "I'm not – you can ask my uncle. Listen, she's mad at me for stealing her flash drives and notes, and I know she's going to use you against me." His cracking voice didn't match the sinister expression on his face.

"Eren, I-I'm so sorry for everything – just come back to me before you get hurt."

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Sorry for the long wait. I've been working through some personal life things. And what is up with Wattpad breaking down? Did you all notice their servers having a meltdown?

Will Eren go back to him, or will he stay with Hange???

Toodles~