Titan's Bane

Chapter 5

Levi scowled as he mounted his horse. He glanced over his shoulder at the small group. "Erwin, you must be crazy" he mumbled. Erwin had barely given him any information, other then a destination. "Who knew we would find something inside of Wall Maria" he sighed. "Move out!" He yelled. Levi's horse galloped forward, followed by the others. The gate slammed shut behind them. Last time Levi had been outside Wall Rose, he had lost his squad to Annie. He tried not to think about it. They headed west, the same way Erwin had said to. *a pair of survivors came through the underground pass* his words echoed in Levi's mind *apparently they unearthed a large set of iron doors while the were trying to bury there friend. The doors are the entrance to some sort of bunker*. "But to send us so soon" Levi mumbled "was this really the best choice?". The ride was long and uneventful, not a singal titan. When they reached their destination, they were awstruck. The doors were at least three meters tall. To the left was a handprint on the wall. Above it read "only a Jeäger may pass through these doors". Everyone in the group turned to Eren. "Wait" Levi said "it might not be him, 'Jeäger' means 'iron warrior'". "How does that help us at all" Jean asked. "I don't know" Levi admitted. "Why don't we just put Eren's hand on the print" Riener suggested. "I suppose it's worth a shot" Levi sighed "go on, Eren". Eren swallowed hard, dismounted, and walked up to it. "Here goes" Eren sighed, then hesitantly placed his palm upon it. There was a strange light from underneath his hand, and the doors slowly opened. Everyone was dumbfounded, never had they seen anything like this. They slowly marched into the ruins. It was dark and grim. Inside was a small metal room with arrows pointing up and down on the wall. "Eren and Reiner" Levi ordered "come in here". They did as they were told. "I'm not entirely sure, but I think this might move" Levi told the others "wait here". He pushed the down arrow, and down they went. "What is this place?" Eren asked. "Hell if I know" Reiner replied. Hundreds of questions formed in their heads. They continued through the lower facility, the entire thing seemed so alien to them. They came across a set of doors similar to the entrance. To the side there was a black pain of glass and another handprint. Eren placed his hand on it, and the a light emerged from the glass. They all jumped back,weapons drawn. The image of a man appeared on the glass. "Hello Mr. Jeäger" he said "this is a prerecorded message meant for wichever of my descendents finds this facility. You'll find behind these doors a weapon for slaying titans, I just hope you'll find this place before humanities destruction.". The glass went dark again, and the doors opened. Inside was a large glowing tube of glass leaning against the back wall. As soon as they entered it made a hissing sound and opened, revealing a boy about Eren's age sleeping inside. He wore strange clothes, and had messy brown hair. He slowly opened his eyes which were.....red? He rubbed his eyes. "How long have I slept?" He asked looking defeated "what year is it?". "Eight hundred and fifty" Levi said. "That doesn't make sense" he said "unless...". He paused, his face grim. "Those bastards" he mumbled "eight hundred and fifty years". He stood up, he was slightly taller then Reiner. "Do any of you have anything to do with Titan's Bane?" He asked. "No" Levi said "we're soldiers from the scout regiment". Though they all kept their composure, they were very confused. "Damn you, Jeäger" the boy mumbled. "What?" Eren asked. "Jeäger was the name of the bastard who ruined my life" he said. "Speaking of names" Reiner said "what's yours". "Daniel Roark" he grumbled "but the scientists called me Thunder". "You asked about Titan's Bane" Levi said "what is it?". "A program to research titans and create countermeasures" he answered. "We heard about a weapon used to fight titans, where is it" Levi questioned. "Your looking at it" he said, becoming irritated "I'll tell you more after we leave". *Geez, this guy's grumpier then me* Levi thought. "Wait for me outside" Daniel ordered "I'm going to grab anything of importance". "Let's get one thing straight" Levi growled "I'm in charge". "If you think you can command me, your mistaken!" Daniel snarled "if you think you can beat me, then try your best". *dammit* Levi thought *I can't fight him, we need to bring him back with us*. "Have it your way" Levi grumbled "let's go".

It had been a half hour since they went in. "Aaaaawww, I really wanted to see what was in there" Zoë complained. They all were on edge, so many things could go wrong. "Here they come" Mikasa said. Armin looked up, they had nothing. "What's going on captain?" Jean asked. "I'm not sure myself" Levi said "we'll know more when we get back". "Alright, let's go" Zoë said. "Wait" Reiner said. "Why?" Armin asked. "We found someone in there, he'll be coming out shortly" Eren said. "I'm already here" a boy unfamiliar to Armin said. He was walking out of the ruins. His eyes? What was with his eyes? They terrified Armin. He had a long bag strapped to his back. "This is Daniel Roark" Levi said "we need to know what he knows, but he won't tell us anything until we bring him back". "You can ride back with me" Reiner said. "That won't be necessary" he said, sighing "I just wish my car was still in tact". "What?" Eren asked. "Nothing" Daniel sighed "let's go".

Armin was amazed, Daniel could keep up with the horses just by running. They were lucky enough to not to run into any titans, again. They got back in less time then it took them to get to their destination. Once they got back, Levi and Daniel had a private conversation with Erwin, where they must have come to some sort of agreement. Armin was just getting back from the stables. Something suddenly covered his eyes, startling him. "Guess who?". Armin would know that voice anywhere. In a quick movement he grabbed her arm, spun her around, and pulled her close. Her back pressed against him, his arms were around her waist, his chin rested on her left shoulder and his cheek pressed against her. "Nice move" Annie giggled. "I felt like showing off" Armin said softly.

"Is that so, that's not like you"

"Guys act different when they fall in love".

"Your so sappy"

"Don't pretend you don't like it"

She kissed his cheek "have you eaten today?".

"No"

"Neither have I....let's fix that"

"Okay"

Eren and Mikasa sat acrossed from Daniel in the mess hall. "Um, y-you don't mind us asking questions, do you?" Eren asked. "No" he said, his voice low. "How old are you?" Eren asked. "Counting the eight hundred and fifty years I was in suspended animation, eight hundred and sixy six years old" he said. "What was it like back then?" Mikasa asked. "Not much better then today" he replied "humans waged war on each other over petty things". "You said something about a 'car'" Reiner said, using air quotes "what the hell is that?". Eren noticed that the others were gathering to hear what he was saying. "A car or automobile, as they were officially called, was a means of transportation, like horses, but completely human operated" Daniel said "I'm gonna miss em'". "Did you have any family back then?" Connie asked. Daniel was silent, he sipped his drink. "I could go for a beer right now" he muttered. Eren noticed he was fingering his necklace, it was a strange shape made of silver. Before he could ask about it Daniel got up and left.

Eren spotted Armin and Annie. He headed over and sat across from them. "What's up guys?" Eren said. "Armin was just telling me about the trip, not much happened" Annie said. "What are you talking about!?" Eren argued "finding Daniel has been the scouts greatest accomplishment! Who knows what knowledge he has!". "All you did was find a soldier boy who was broken inside" Annie said. "Broken?" Eren asked. "I can see it in his ruby red eyes, he has nothing left to lose" she replied. "That's the most dangerous enemy there is" Armin finished. "He has a good heart" Eren said irritably. With that, he got up and left.

Annie felt so sorry for him, he was how she used to be. He had lost everything, his heart was in pieces. Annie wouldn't be surprised if he wanted revenge on someone. Annie however, found something to repair her heart, Armin. Seeing him made Annie realise just how happy she was. She snuggled closer to Armin, and rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you, Armin" she said. He said something back, but she didn't hear because she was drifting to sleep.