I Love You... In Every Universe (AOT Alternative Universe)

59. The Basement

AUTHOR'S POV:

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Bertolt began to glow as he transformed, Mikasa and Armin fleeing.

A massive spheral explosion erupted in Shinganshina.
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"Armin, get down!" Mikasa yelled, holding out a hand toward him.
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The shockwave ripped apart the homes caught up in it.

Then everything turned white.
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The silence was interrupted by soft, shuddering breaths.

"It hurts." Bertolt's voice echoed as a skull appeared, left half muscles and right half bone. "It hurts so bad." Bertolt said.

Armin opened his eyes in a daze. Darkness surrounded him and he stared up at the half-muscle half-bone skeleton.

Its lone eye teared up and began to cry.
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On the Wall, Armin muttered softly, "Bertolt."
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"It hurts." A female voice said.
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The words snapped Armin out of his head and he looked over to the person lying on his left.

"It hurts so bad." Sasha said, eyes closed, forehead bandaged with burns on her face.

"Sasha? Sasha!" Armin said, lifting the blanket and saw the bloody bandage around her chest. "You're in terrible shape. What happened?" He looked around and saw some injured recruits who were laying on their blankets.
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"So you are up." Erwin said, standing beside him.

"Commander? What happened here?" Armin asked, looking over at him.
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"Armin!" Eren yelled, running over.
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"Eren?" Armin exclaimed.
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Eren hugged him. "I'm glad you're back!" He squeezed Armin, crying.

Armin gasped, confused at Eren's actions. "What?"

Levi came up from the side of the Wall. "You're up?"

"Captain, what in the world happened here?" Armin asked as Levi came to stand before them. "I remember Bertolt becoming a Titan... What about the others?! Are they okay?!"

"That's as far back as you remember?" Levi said, pulling out a flare gun.

"What?" Armin asked.

"Eren, tell him everything." Levi told to Eren before firing a green smoke signal.
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Down in the city, Connie, Jean, Mikasa, Faye with Floch, Marlo, Hange and some other recruits took note of the green smoke at once.
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With wide eyes, Armin remained speechless.

"Well? Did you follow it all, Armin?" Levi asked when Armin remained silent.
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Mikasa sat in between Eren and Faye while Connie and Jean sat beside Sasha.
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Hange and Erwin stood before them.
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Floch and Marlo kept an eye out not far behind the group, holding up spyglasses.
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"Are you telling me the Survey Corps is the thirty-eight of us here and that's it?" Armin asked.

"As far as we can tell, yeah." Jean replied, holding a water flask.

"The battle to retake Wall Maria ended four hours ago." Faye informed Armin. "We've been looking for survivors, but haven't found any yet."
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Connie brought the water flask to Sasha's lips.
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