"What the fuck are you guys doing?"

The teenagers laughed into their hands, trying to hide their smiles.

"It's a tribute sir," Springer giggled like an idiot, "To the new special ops squad!"

Levi raised a skeptical eyebrow- his cravat was tied around a tree branch about the size of his foot. They had stuck it in the ground like a flag. The group was huddled around a campfire.

"If I don't get that back in about three seconds, there won't be a new squad." The corporal glared.

The group laughed unanimously- except Ackerman. She just sat next to Eren looking bored overall.
Armin was the one to untie the cravat and hand it back. Levi snatched it- he prepared to yell at them, or stomp away. But, he was almost taken back seeing the kids so…carefree? He was pretty sure he'd never heard them even laugh before.

So he sat down next to Eren, the cloth still in his hands. He could almost hear the surprised looks on their faces, but they said nothing. The fire crackled.

"Do you want some, Captain?" Eren smiled, and held out a loaf of bread. It actually looked fresh.

Levi blinked, "Where did you get that?"

Sasha coughed nervously and hid her face behind Jean's back. The taller elbowed her, and she squeaked. The kids laughed, and Levi rolled his eyes, ripping a piece of bread off of the loaf.

These were kids. Levi had to constantly remind himself of that. These were teenagers thrown into a war they were too young to fight. So, he sat with them until the moon reached the middle of the sky, and he ordered them off to bed. Eren gave him a smile and a nod before going back to the bunk room.

The captain nodded back, straight faced.

Six days.

Six days and they still hadn't found Eren.

Six whole fucking days.

Levi was beyond pissed. They were the scouting legion for a reason. Now why couldn't they fucking scout?!

The whole situation was frustrating as hell. The kid was just there, walking around and being a brat with his friends. They were going through city- they had a meeting with Erwin somewhere. Then, the next second- gone. Nope, nothing. His damn sister ran off for half a week, only to come back half-starved and fucking crazed looking for the idiot.

It's almost been 7 days and all they have is a half-lead. Erwin looks about ready to rip his hair out. Well, If he does, at least he'd win the bet about Erwin's hair being a toupee.

Levi crossed one leg over the other and listened to Hanji and Erwin debate over if they should go through with the next planned scout outside the walls- without Eren. The corporal grumbled and leaned his head in his hand, elbow on the edge of the couch.

"We have to find Eren!" Hanji's eyes squinted into something serious. "I won't let anyone else experiment on him!"

Erwin's voice was on that fine line between calm and anger, "We don't even know if he's alive."

"If he was dead," Hanji stressed, "We'd see a giant titan rampaging through the city!"

"But what if he's out of the city, Hanji." Erwin slammed a hand down on the table, and she jumped. "We can't spend all our soldiers on finding him."

"He's not outside the walls." Hanji sounded confident. "He's here! I know it!"

"Levi." Erwin looked over to him, "What is your opinion on this?"

"I think this is fucking retarded." Levi snapped.

"Levi." Erwin and Hanji stressed simultaneously.

The corporal sighed, standing up, "Fine. Give us one more day- let me and my team go out and look. If we can't find the brat, then we'll declare him dead. Good enough?"

"No! We need to-

His bored eyes looked up at the new voice-

"Sir," Kirschtein stood at the door, saluting. He looked somewhat out of breath. "Permission to enter?"

"Granted."

The kid took a step in and stood his hands at his sides, "Sir, we think we've caught one of his kidnappers."

"…What?"

"He's a scientist. From Trost."

"And what makes you think he's his kidnapper?" Levi raised a sharp eyebrow.

"He was carrying Eren's key."

The room was still. Erwin asked in a low voice, "Where is he now?"

"In a jail cell."

Erwin reached for his jacket slung around the back of a chair and Hanji jumped to gather papers off Erwin's desk. Levi was already halfway down the hall.

"Eren will be fine, Mikasa." Armin gave a comforting smile, "This is Eren , remember? The guy who got eaten by a titan and lived."

"I know." Mikasa pulled her scarf over her nose. It was almost summer, but Armin knew she would wear it despite the heat. "I still worry."

"We're all worried." Armin patted her arm, "But the commander is questioning the scientist. Maybe this will get us a better lead?"

"Hopefully."

"Now that I think about it…" Sasha tapped her chin, "Jean, how did you catch this guy?"

"He was swinging around the key like a fucking yo-yo." The teen had his shoulder up against the wall, and his arms crossed. "So I punched him in the face."

"It could've been any key, Jean." Connie smacked his forehead.

"It wasn't! I've seen that idiot wear that thing for like, five years. I know what it looks like." Jean huffed.

Mikasa glared, "If you're wrong…"

He held up his hands in defense, and she continued to scowl. The squad was positioned in the lobby-like area just above the jail. They lounged about waiting for news.

There was the sound of a door slamming, and then footsteps. The squad jumped to attention just as the commander appeared in the doorway. Erwin nodded to them, and they relaxed.

"Sir-"

"Commander did you find out anything?"

"Do you know where Eren is?!"

"Shut up." Levi appeared behind him. He tossed an item up in the air, and caught it again. He then threw it over to Mikasa, who caught it with one hand.

She looked down- it was Eren's key, definitely.

"We're calling a meeting." Erwin briskly walked out of the room. Hanji looked a little too smug.

The situation made Levi think about the day they conspired to capture Annie. Annie, who was still sitting dormant underneath the city.

The soldiers sat around a wooden table. Erwin sat with his hands clasped together. One strand of hair sprung a different direction than the rest, distracting from his usual neat look.

"That scientist knows where Eren is." Erwin tapped his thumb against the table. "He's somewhere in the Trost District, but refuses to release any details."

"Oh come on," Connie whispered under his breath.

"Get somebody to beat it out of 'em." Jean growled.

"We have people on interrogation duty." Erwin answered sternly. "You all are in charge of searching Trost."

"Sir, you want us to look for Eren in an entire district?" Sasha tilted her head.

"No," Hanji interrupted, "We want you guys to check warehouses. Jails, major buildings, or upper class homes. Eren is going to be somewhere with lots of space. I know how scientists think; we don't like tiny work spaces."

"What if he's in a basement somewhere?" Armin questioned.

"The military police have agreed to search homes." Erwin answered.

"I can't believe we're teaming up with those fucktards." Levi crossed his arms.

"You're with the search team, Levi."

"Great."

Erwin looked too tired to deal with Levi's shit, so he continued.

"I'm giving you guys 24 hours. If you don't find him within then, it's highly likely the kidnappers will know you're looking for them, and relocate Jaeger. If they do that, the probability of you finding him is slim to none. You have permission to eliminate any oppressors."

The young squad looked at each other, almost nervously.

Armin didn't want to kill anyone. None of them did. Although…Mikasa's eyes were deadly. She answered Erwin with a steady voice, "Sir, yes sir."

Levi pulled on the gas handle and propelled himself over a building. The air pushed against him, ruffling his hair and his clothes. The corporal's instincts immediately picked up Arlert twisting around a building to his left, and Springer running across a rooftop on his right. He aimed for the steeple of a chapel and used it to sling himself faster. They had been searching the streets for hours. Levi couldn't call it a complete waste of time…they happened to stumble upon a drug warehouse. So, you know. You win some you lose some.

Levi felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. It almost caught him off guard enough to loose balance in his straps.

He blinked, confused. He was so immune to the dropping feeling of flying, mostly due to all his training. This wasn't some kind of physical reaction.

Oh hell no…I'm not actually worried. Fuck that. Levi breezed past a building, and prepared to land on a rooftop. I don't actually care if the brat lives or dies. The corporal tried to convince himself. Honestly.

His feet skidded across bricks, and he pulled in the wires. Ugh, this will be the eleventh building today.

He saw Arlert land on the roof across from him. The captain nodded, signaling with his hands. "I'm going to check here, you go on."

"But sir," Armin called, "what about back up?"

"We'll cover more ground this way." Levi hooked onto the side of the building and lowered himself to the ground. "Move on, Arlert."

"…yes sir."

The sounds of wires and gas faded, and the timid voice was gone. Levi's feet touched gravel, and he looked up at the sign. It was decayed; vines had grown into the cracks of the wall. He peaked into a dusty window, and squinted. Ugh, gross. It was dead silent. So, he kicked in the door.

It made a loud crack, but swung open easily. He brushed dust off his leg and continued in, fearless.

The farmers market was empty. It looked like an abandoned store. Little wooden shelves hung sideways, rotten. As he walked, dust kicked up into the air. He wrinkled his nose, and paused to slip his cravat off his neck. He held it to his nose, and continued in.

An empty table, a couple soup cans, broken glass.

The place had been raided long ago. He walked over to a pale wall, and ran his fingers along burn marks there.

A fire? He looked around for more damage, but there was none. Levi finally sighed, and scowered the whole room again. He looked for holes, cracks, anything that could lead to an underground anything.

But nothing.

He turned and punted an empty can. It flung against the wall, and made an echoing clang noise. The corporal whispered and ran his fingers through his hair, "Fuck."

Levi breathed in fresh air, and retied his cravat. He looked back at the hole he had kicked through the door and shrugged. He gripped the triggers of his 3d gear and prepared to fly.

But there was movement.

Levi stopped, and whipped his head around. He'd for sure seen it; a figure moving towards the back of the building. He stared; but nothing was there. Levi squinted. There's a cloud of dust. He drew his sword and took off around the corner. He propelled himself into the air, hoping to get a bird's eye view.

There.

Levi's eyes widened. A white coat.

He landed on top of the roof, and ducked behind a chimney. He watched the man shakily approach the back of the farmers market. There was a door, he knocked three times. Levi slid forwards, and watched as he was welcomed inside.

"Put that damn gun away, it's just me."

"Hey man, nice to see ya." He grinned, and clasped the scientist on the shoulder. "Did you get what we needed?"

"Yeah, it was real bloody close though." He sighed, rubbing his hands on his pants. "The scouting legion is searching everywhere."

"We'll move 'em to the other location tonight. Can't be movin' during day, ey." The guard laughed.

"Yeah. They're not like the military police. Can't just pay them off to keep quiet," He laughed back.

They stopped at a noise. Three knocks.

The guard turned to his friend, "Hey, do you think that's J?"

"Probably, "The scientist shrugged, and moved towards the door. He threw open the deadbolt, and smiled, "Did you find-"

He didn't even get the door open all the way.

Captain Levi, in all his glory, delivered a knee straight to his stomach. The man's eyes blew open wide, and fell forwards. Levi then took the butt of his sword and brought it down to the back of his head, knocking him out cold.

"You fucker!" The guard yelled, and raised the shotgun. Before he could fire, Levi had grabbed it, twisted it out of his hand, and smacked him across the face with his own gun. The man slid against the wall, and was quiet.

Levi threw the gun down on the floor, and rubbed at his nose. This place smells like shit.

He was standing in the middle of an old hallway; It smelled like chemicals and rotting meat. Levi cautiously walked down the hallway, not quite sure what the hell this place was.

He passed multiple doors- he'd peak in only to see office doors. Some had desks with papers scattered about, and others had chalkboards with formulas written about them. He turned down another hallway, Come on. Where is this brat? He has to be here.

He glanced in another room; he covered his nose. The smell of chemicals flooded the room. Levi looked through, eyes watering a little. He saw beakers, needles, wires, all kinds of equipment. The room was empty, except for the blood that coated the floor like paint.

Levi gave one more look around, and closed the door to move on. He reached the end of the hallway- a locked door. Without hesitation, he kicked it open.

It nearly snapped off its hinges; he was in a jail. That's all he was able to notice before a guard yelled,

"Hey! Who are you?!"

A hand ripped at his shoulder. He dropped his blade, and used both hands to rip the fingers backwards. The man screamed as he broke bone. The corporal elbowed his face, and let him slump against the floor. He scowled at the blood on his hands. Disgusting. He leaned over to pick up his sword, but froze.

W...what the hell is this.

He was in a jail… full of people.

He stood up, forgetting the sword on the ground. His usually narrowed eyes opened wide. The smell of rotten meat was now overwhelmingly strong. These people… weren't normal.

He looked up to stare directly into the eyes of a disfigured man. His limbs were twisted into revolting angles, and half of his face drooped. Levi resisted the urge to jump backwards, and for once he felt his heartbeat quicken in surprise.

The man said nothing- he just stared. He stared at Levi with empty eyes.

Levi masked his face, and stood up. I need to find Eren.

He began to search every cell. Every horrifying cell.

There was a woman covered in purple welts, a boy with no arms, a man with a jaw hanging like an old cloth. Levi walked past each one; each step becoming harder than the next. A teenage girl looked like a mutated reptile, and another looked like a hairless cat.

He'd seen so many people die. He'd seen soldiers die in the most horrific way possible…but they were dead. These people were alive. They didn't make a sound, like they weren't even human anymore.

Levi reached the last cell. He realized this one was hardly a cell. It was like a small room itself- the walls were cemented with barbed wire, as if the creature inside was hazardous. He yanked open the door.

"Armin? Where did the captain go?" Jean met up with the blonde on top of a rooftop.

"He went off on his own." Armin shrugged.

"Should we go find him? I mean, it's been a while."

"I think we need to find Mikasa." Armin rubbed at his nose. "I haven't seen her all day."

"Guys!" Connie yelled from afar. The two looked, and watched as the teenager hopped from another roof onto theirs. He came in too quickly, and skidded across the rooftop. Jean reached to catch him, and pull him to his feet. The younger yelled, "The corporal! The corporal!"

"What about him?"

"Is he alright?"

"I think he found it!"

It was hard to move, heavy and rusted, but the door finally creaked open.

Levi had seen Eren chained before. Once, back when they first met. This…this was something entirely different.

The teenager was slumped against the wall with his wrists chained above his head. He was visibly dehydrated, as he was pale and his bones showed through his skin. Eren's head was slumped forwards, hair covering his eyes.

Levi's brain short circuited for a moment, his hand still on the doorknob.

The shifter was covered in various lacerations. There were long cuts running across his arms, and straight slashes down his stomach, almost like someone cut him open and sewed him back up. His clothes were gone; the kid was sitting in his own blood.

"Eren."

There was no response. Levi crossed the room in one stride, and dropped to his knees, "Eren, Eren, Eren, wake up. Eren."

He wasn't quite sure where to grasp the teenager. He tried to grab his shoulder, but realized his back was covered in whip markings.

He raised his voice, "Eren!" Levi placed a hand in front of Eren's mouth, feeling for breath. He placed two fingers on his neck, and practically sang out of relief when he felt a pulse.

Eren groaned, and Levi reached for his swords. "I'm going to cut you free."

"Corporal."

Levi froze and looked down and his stomach dropped. Eren cried, silently.

Levi swallowed, and looked away, "Don't talk." He aimed for the chain. In one move, he cut it down. Without anything to hold him up, Eren fell forwards onto the ground. Levi reached down and pulled him back up into a sitting position.

"Eren, heal yourself."

"I-I-" the younger choked, "I can't- I can't anymore-"

Levi pressed, "What do you mean?"

"I can't-" Eren's voice shaked, "It won't-"

"Shut up, we need to go."

"I'm okay."

"Yes, you're okay." Levi assured. His voice wavered, and he internally cursed himself. "Can you stand?"

"Y-yeah," Eren seemed unable to open his eyes, they were pretty swollen. He tried to move his legs, but Levi realized they looked more like minced meat rather than legs.

Levi's voice shook, "Fuck- grab onto my neck." He instructed, "I'm going to lift you."

"No-"

"Do not argue with me." He said sternly. Levi slid his swords away and reached down to lift underneath Eren's thighs. This resulted in Eren's injured back having to lay across his forearm, and the younger yelled.

"We're leaving, okay?" Levi moved slowly, careful not to hit a wall. He moved past the cells, where the sickly people began to cry out. Eren closed his eyes, almost unable to look at them.

Levi turned down the hallway; he was met with two scientists.

"We've been breached!"

"You! You're the one who knocked out our friends," A man in glasses accused. The scientist picked up one of the fallen guard's guns. He obviously didn't know how to hold it, as his hands shook.

Levi's arms were full, he couldn't fight.

"You."

Four people spilled into the room,

"You are under arrest. " Armin Arlert stood at the doorway. Jean grabbed one and held them against the door. Connie held the other down as Sasha pried the gun out of his hands. Armin looked to Eren in Levi's arms, and his face fell.

Eren was knocked out for three days.

His sister never left his sight, holding his hand even as doctors operated. His friends would visit constantly, and for those days nobody saw Levi in the corner, patiently watching over to make sure everything was fine.

But there was still a problem- still so many questions. Nobody was quite sure what the hell had happened really. All the people involved were in the jail underneath headquarters- for three days Erwin did nothing but press them for answers.

And nobody knew what to do with the other experiments found in that laboratory….

Erwin came into the room, his presence alone shushing the commotion. Everyone looked to him as he ordered,

"Those who are not a doctor or a captain, please leave."

Eren's sister narrowed her eyes, "Sir,"

"Ackerman." Erwin matched her look. She gave one more look to Eren, before Armin gently grabbed her arm and led Mikasa out with him.

Now the room seemed much bigger, as only Hanji, Erwin, and Levi remained. Eren continued to sleep peacefully on the bed.

"Full report." Erwin broke the silence.

"I don't know where to begin," Hanji lifted up her glasses to rub at her left eye.

"What is the damage?"

"Two broken legs, thirty two lashes on his back, sixteen on the front, and two on each arm. He was insanely dehydrated, like he did physical work without nourishment. Internal bleeding has apparently stopped, but,"

She walked over to Eren and lifted the blanket back. She pointed to an exceptionally long gash that started at his sternum and ended at his bellybutton. "They cut him open here, like they wanted to see inside him. They stitched him back up, but not very well."

Erwin's eyes turned cold, and Levi pestered, "Why can't he heal himself?"

"All this," Hanji's fingers ghosted over a bruise on his face, "All this is what didn't heal. It's like they were trying to find his limit."

"What do you mean?" Erwin demanded.

Hanji brought them closer, and pointed to the little white dots and lines that seemed to coat Eren's body. They were hardly noticeable; like a mark that would fade in a few days.

"See these? Each one of these marks is a deep cut, burn, or injury that healed. They're everywhere, as if they were testing Eren's healing limit. As they hurt him he'd heal, and heal, and heal, until he just ran out of energy. I can only imagine what he went through. He can regenerate, but he's not immune to pain."

Nobody really responded. Levi could only think He's just a kid, he's just a fucking kid.

Hanji swallowed, "See this?" She gently lifted up Eren's arm and pointed to a white line that went around the circumference of his arm. Erwin and Levi leaned in. "It looks like they cut this limb clean off. I did a test, the cells are indeed newer than the rest."

Erwin leaned back, "Good god."

Levi demanded, "Will he heal?"

"Yes," Hanji nodded, "Faster than a normal human, but much slower than his usual rate. He was really, really close to dying, guys."

Erwin sat down in the nearest chair, and ran a hand through his hair, "Whenever I talk to the scientists all I get are mad cackling and theories. It seems like they just did this for the kicks of it. There's no ulterior motif that I can find."

"If I can maybe get a journal," Hanji tapped her chin, "Or any kind of records, I might be able to know if there was a reason for all this…and maybe we can figure out what to do with those other…victims."

"Well those fuckers are going to sit in jail for a long, long time." Levi left the room angrily, muttering, "I'll see sure of it."

Hanji and Erwin exchanged looks.

Later that evening, when everyone had gone to bed, Levi took the seat next to Eren's bed. He crossed one leg over the other and sighed, "You brat…"

He tried sleeping, but he had deemed that pretty much impossible a couple years ago, so he slumped in his chair and made sure Eren continued to breathe.

An hour later he heard the door creak open, and a figure pause.

Levi called with his eyes closed, "I know it's you, Ackerman."

"Sir-"

"Go back to bed," The captain sat up and looked to the girl, shadowed by the lights from the hallway.

She asked, sternly, "Please, sir, just let me-"

"If he wakes up, or something, I'll come find you. I need you rested and alert tomorrow."

Levi could practically hear her internal conflict, before she nodded, and closed the door.

He wasn't quite sure when he dozed off in that creaky wooden chair, but he awoke to a sharp gasp.

Levi jolted up in his chair, and looked over to Eren's bed.

The younger had sat up, and was breathing hard, coughing and shaking. He had a hand around his own throat, and a couple tears escaped. The captain felt his stomach drop again.

"Eren," Levi called, calmly. Eren's head whipped over- eyes dilated and chest heaving painfully.

"Corporal?" He shakily ran a hand through his own hair, and wiped angrily at his eyes, "Where am I?"

Levi hesitated for a second, before leaving his chair and sitting next to Eren on the bed. "Safe."

He breathed, "Oh my gosh, how long was I out for?"

"Three days."

"Holy shit."

"How do you feel? Don't move too much-sit back down, idiot." Levi pressed a hand to his chest.

Eren winced and leaned back down, "My legs hurt. My everything hurts. Did you save me?"

"I found you." Levi answered.

"Thank you."

"Go back to sleep."

"I slept for three days, sir."

"Then rest. Everyone else is still asleep. Want something?"

"No...no." Eren rubbed at his swollen eye, and Levi slapped his hand,

"Don't do that."

"It itches."

"I don't care."

Eren sat still, and quiet. Levi returned to his chair and crossed his arms. Eren sniffed, and resisted the urge to cry.

Levi gazed at Eren with steady eyes; he still bloody and visibly in pain.

"Did you dream about it?"

"A-about what?"

"That place."

Eren swallowed, and breathed, "Yeah."

"Do you want to talk about it?" What the hell am I doing?

"No." Eren answered, sternly.

Levi hummed. There was a pause, and he said, "You know you're going to have to make a statement."

"I know."

"…go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a shit storm."

Thank you for reading, i hope you liked it ^-^ I don't know how long this will be, but i've been wanting to write something in the snk universe, so, whala

Sorry for any mistakes