Attack on Titan: A Blacksmith's Tale

Chapter 51: Stabilization

As per usual with catastrophes involving her boyfriend, nothing got in Annie's way as she stalked down the halls towards the infirmary. All she had to do was relay that he was in trouble to Levi Squad, and they wisely let her go. The last time she felt a surge of anger like that, his stupid father made the bright idea of betraying him. Either Carolyn magically appeared and said something to set him off, or this was something else. She really hoped it was the former. It would finally give her the chance to have a "chat" with the ex-scientist. Oh, the things she could do to her provided Dillon wasn't watching.

Once she saw a doctor exit the infirmary, Annie approached him. "Doctor, what happened to him?"

The man sighed, shaking his head. "He attacked a comrade of his and threatened to kill her."

"Her? Who?" she pressed.

The doctor knew who the girl was, and he knew leaving her in the dark would be unwise. "Her name is Historia Reiss."

Annie was taken aback. "Historia? Why would-?"

"Miss, I don't have time to answer your persistent queries," he interrupted. "If you wish to talk it out with him, do so. It should help. I need to speak to Captain Levi immediately." Without another word, he went to go find him.

She scoffed before slowly opening the door.

The first thing she noticed was that Keiji and Nifa were flanking both sides of the bed. The two were tense as if Dillon was about to explode into a ball of fire. Said blacksmith was sitting on the bed with his hands together and his head facing the floor. Glass littered the floor from a broken window with the wind whistling into the room. Next to the window was a sizable crack in the wall.

"Had a feeling you'd show up," Keiji said. "Nifa and I had to subdue him before things got worse."

Annie didn't speak to him as she slowly sat next to her boyfriend. She could feel the shame emanating from him. All she asked was one word: "Why?"

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Dillon responded with a hoarse voice. "It was... it was stupid."

"If it was stupid, I wouldn't be here," she told him, taking his hand into hers. "What happened?"

He couldn't bring himself to say it, so he relayed her the memory of what happened. From the deal he made with Ymir, to him attacking Historia. She saw it all.

Annie's eyes narrowed dangerously when he was through. "That dumb bitch doesn't know a damn thing."

"I still hurt her," Dillon said softly. "I'm supposed to better than this. Not like my..."

"You're not your father. Don't go there," Annie warned. "He was a messed-up Psion that bottled everything up to live a happy life."

"Annie, the comparisons are there and you know it," he shot back, glaring at her. There was a bruise on his cheek that was clearly created from a fist. Before she could even think of lashing out at his bodyguards, he said, "I launched an attack that barely missed them, and Keiji hit me hard enough to snap me out of it." He sighed. "My dad was messed up. I'm messed up. He attacked me. I attacked Historia. He was ready to kill my mom. I was ready to kill you. You can't deny what I'm turning into."

Annie looked completely loss on what to say to him. No matter what advice she or anyone else gave, it barely changed anything to the point he was becoming unreceptive. All she could do was wrap her arm around him in an attempt to comfort him.

He leaned into it slightly, but he didn't fully commit. "I need to fix this," he said.

"Dillon, how many times are we gonna go through this?" she asked with annoyance. "Trauma doesn't go away because you want it to. It takes time."