Lost (Levi x OC)

Chapter 15 - Safe and Sound

Third Person's POV

Annie marched to follow the wagon she was supposed to guard, a task assigned by the Military Police. As she was passing by the road, a familiar voice called out to her.

"Annie!" Armin yelled in a hushed tone.

Annie stopped running after the wagon as recognition and ran towards a secluded area instead.

The image of Armin's form draped in green clothing appeared as Annie took a sharp turn.

"Hello. So, you're a full-fledged MP now," Annie's eyes widened as the blonde boy spoke.

"Armin... so uh, what's with the outfit?"

"I'm in the rain gear, you mean? Its a disguise. I need to conceal my ODM Gear, see?" Armin explained and lifted his coat slightly.

"What's this about?"

"Annie, we have a plan for Eren to escape. I was hoping you could help us," Armin answered, not quite honestly.

"Wait, escape? Escape to where? Trapped within these walls, where could you possibly hide?"

"We only need to hide for a short while. This isn't mutiny, we have every intention of returning. We only need to do so until we gather enough evidence to prove that Eren isn't hostile. That's all we want," Armin elaborated.

"You're serious about this? How can you be sure the evidence exists? And what is it?" Annie bombarded the boy with questions while staring at him, unblinkingly.

"I... can't say, I'm sorry."

Annie sighed upon hearing Armin's reply.

"Sorry, Armin, but I have to decline. My lips are sealed, though. Best of luck," Annie said as she turned to leave.

"Hold on, Annie, please!" Armin begged and reached out.

"They're going to kill Eren!" The statement put Annie to a halt.

"They'll kill him for no good reason because they only fear what they don't understand! they don't see that their fear could bring humanity into extinction!" Armin started and paused for a second.

"Maybe it's too late to change their minds... But what if we can? We have no choice but to bet everything on that!" The boy persuaded Annie.

Armin said that they were planning to use Annie's identity as a Military Police Officer to gain access outside.

"But why me? Do I really look that much of a good person to you?" Annie asked.

"A good person? I don't know. Actually, I've never placed value in those sorts of things. The way i see it, good is only a word to used describe people that brought convenience to them. Regardless, if you still choose to say no to this request, then at least in my eyes, that makes you a bad person," Armin said, his bangs casting a shadow that contrasted his bright blue eyes, giving him a more scary look of disappointment.

Annie took out her gun, making Armin create a shocked look on his face. She held the gun for a little while and placed it against the wall of the dark alley.

"Alright," Annie said, slipping a silver ring on her left index finger.

"Let's go."

---

Meanwhile, Eclaire hid on the roof of a house that was near the entrance of the Underground. She waited for the trio, together with the target to arrive.

'There they are!' Eclaire thought, then continued to watch.

It was quite odd for her to clearly hear their conversation, considering the distance she was at. But she did, and she learned that Annie didn't want to follow the trio underground.

Eclaire wore a worried expression on her face. She was worried that the plan would fail since she wouldn't go in.

And it did.

Eclaire continued to listen their conversation. It seemed like Annie caught on with what the plan and refused to follow them. Armin told Annie his suspicions and Annie did neither deny nor confirm it.

"And that moment... in the field where you saw me, but didn't kill me lead to our current situation."

Annie's expression couldn't be read, but her eyes showed sadness and regret.

"So we're here because I let you live. Of course, I never dreamed of a situation where you're going to corner me like this," Annie said, confirming that she was, indeed, the female titan.

And there was silence. Annie's hair dramatically swayed as it was dragged along with the wind.

"Why?" Annie asked with a melancholic look etched on her face.

Eren obnoxiously yelled, trying to deny the facts that were in front of him. He pleaded Annie to follow them underground to prove her innocence, but she sternly refused. Armin and Eren begged Annie to go with them.

"Enough! I'm not listening to another word of this!" Mikasa said, stooping the two teens from trying to persuade the blonde girl.

Mikasa's face showed anger and intense bloodlust, most probably because of what the female titan did to Eren, her beloved brother. She drew out her blade and created a dark look on her face.

Eclaire prepared her to fire her flare gun to signal the others.

'Mikasa's going to agitate her! What the hell are you guys doing!?' She thought as she panicked internally, but her face showed no sign of it.

"I'm going to carve you up again! Do you understand, titan!?" the black haired girl threatened.

As a response, Annie giggled. Her laugh got louder and sounded psychotic. Her hand clenched her forearm as she did it. Her blue eyes showed a gleeful look. This response fully contradicted her usual calm, stoic demeanor.

The trio stared at her, maintaining alertness. They raised their guard up. This plan cannot  afford to fail. Lives of the people here are at stake, especially when a potential- no, an actual rogue titan-shifter was within the walls.

Annie's laughter died down slowly as she composed herself, but her eyes still held the gleeful, mischievous look.

"You know Amin, its nice I could be such a person for you- for now, at least. And looks like you won your bet."

"But... I'm going to gamble, too!" Annie declared and moved her finger closer to her mouth.

Fortunately, Eclaire was quick enough to pull the trigger and signal the other soldiers who were hiding. The soldiers ran as fast as they could and stopped Annie from biting her finger. This caught Annie off-guard, releasing a gasp, which created an opportunity for the soldiers to put a cloth in her mouth, restraining her from biting herself.

But unfortunately, that wasn't enough to stop the blonde girl from injuring herself. Annie opened a hidden slot from her ring which held a sharp point. Mikasa saw this and pushed the three of them from the stairs. The three of them fell, but they were saved from the force released by Annie's transformation that shocked the soldiers.

Eclaire was on one of the nearby houses, so the force also affected her. But unlike the dead soldiers, she was once again, left unscathed.