Equanimity » Levi Ackerman

20 | 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔴 𝔏𝔢𝔳𝔦 𝔰𝔮𝔲𝔞𝔡

𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌: Altered timeline!

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"It works!"

"Calm down four eyes." Levi huffed out.

Maria gave the brunette a halfhearted smile as Levi helped her to the chair closest to Hanji. The woman was still laying on her back on one of the stretchers. Hanji still couldn't move as much as she wanted to, but seeing her friend walk again riled her up enough to get up onto both her elbows. The honey-blonde noted the red patches on her skin and worriedly reached out to examine it.

"What happened out there? You look awful..." Hanij's expression turned sour, making the small woman pull back her outstretched hand.

"They're just minor burns, I'll be fine." Her brown orbs had a serious look in them, already telling Levi exactly what he needed to know. "Our suspicions were right. The colossal and armored titan are in fact, Bertholdt Hoover and Reiner Braun. They've successfully taken Eren captive and fled beyond the walls."

Maria balled her hands in fists as she dropped her gaze.

"This again." The low tone in her voice caught both her friends off guard. She couldn't help but think about all the shit they'd gone through in the past few weeks. It wasn't uncommon for the Survey Corps to experience heavy losses. Soldiers would die in expeditions all the time, and after they returned to the safety within the walls, people would cry over their loved ones. Yet, never in these five years had she seen so much chaos within the Corps and let alone the Special Operations Squad; ever since Eren joined them. And now this. Eren is going to be a constant target, and for what reason?

"Erwin and the reinforcements have gone to retrieve him," Hanji began. "I have no doubt, Mikasa will get him back. She's been protecting him from the beginning."

The honey-blonde knew she was right, but even if they would get the boy back, it would result in an endless game of cat-and-mouse. Surely they would know that too, for Eren had been a target ever since the 57th Expedition, maybe even before that for all they knew.

"Where's your Executive Officer?" Levi crossed his arms while Maria's eyes darted around the room. However, as Levi asked this question she came to the conclusion the brunet hadn't returned with Hanji.

"Moblit's gone to Ragako village. Something has been bugging me ever since the scouts returned from Ragako. They reported all the homes and structures in the town had been broken apart, but there were no signs of blood or corpses. I've been wanting to go myself, but as you can see, I can't."

Levi pushed himself forward and crossed the room. "Shit's gonna turn on us no matter what we do. They're keeping a close eye on us since we've captured Annie Leonhart and nearly destroyed Stohess in the process. Now she isn't of much use in that damn crystal, we're still bound to find the answers ourselves."

"You think they're going to put us on hold again?" Maria breathed quietly as she locked eyes with the small man.

"Most likely. It's best to gather as much information as we can, and I think Ragako will be a good place to start." Hanji sighed out before Levi could open his mouth. "My priority right now is to get you back into your gear again." The ravenette made clear.

"Then all we can do right now is wait for everyone to return and think everything through before we head back to headquarters."

· · ─── · ·

The Scouts returned to Trost District that same day. Right now, it would just be a matter of time before Erwin would be reprimanded for his course of action. Although their first priority was to recover Eren and retreat, they still lost a lot of soldiers. Not only was he to blame for the heavy losses within the divisions; he also lost his own arm in the process. With a heavily wounded Commander of the Survey Corps, it wasn't hard to keep the Scouts on a tight leash.