Full Summary: An unfortunate ambush costs detective Levi his bones and his memory, but that's okay. He is the kind of man that could live through the loss of a tragic recollection or two, but what happens when he confuses his own identity with somebody else's? What happens when he claims his real name is: 'Eren Jaeger'? And what happens when this so-called Eren Jaeger's former girlfriend shows in the picture? Will her arrival unlock the mystery to the crimes that had been taking place since Eren's death? Or will her charming presence loll the broken detective into a new love he so desperately refuses? [Crime AU] featuring multiple ships.

Author's note: Okay, I'm sorry if this chapter may be confusing and I'm sorry if it's long and I'm sorry if it's boring (whew, lots of apologies to make). I've just had a hard time thinking up ahead for what happens next. Thank you for your reviews and any form of feedback for this wloud be appreciated. :)

Chief Erwin Smith-25/10/13-6:28am-Hospital Cafeteria

There was a motto he followed his entire life. 'Drink the coffee in one gulp' especially if it were black. You do not want a taste of cold black coffee in the morning. "It'd taste like shit." A certain acquaintance of him would exclaim. Said acquaintance is the reason why he'd forgotten about the tiny cup before him and now he needs to dump the whole thing in trash. Erwin signed, his fingers rose to push the stray locks of his usually neatly combed hair. He sat there, in a lonesome table at the very end of the hospital's cafeteria. A blond news reporter was mouthing the exact same news he'd heard only a bazillion times during the last 10 sleepless hours. His back hurt. His head held the supernova of aches. And the files he'd been handed 3 hours ago were waiting for his close inspection. He wasn't ready, though, not yet. He still restrained the urge to sprint towards the emergency room, where he'd sat from the moment they reached hospital. The blond male rested his head between his palms, wearily rubbing his eyes. He felt a comforting touch on his shoulder and he turned, smiling slightly and murmuring a greeting to his friend. Doctor Hange Zoe sat opposite from him.

"I was there." She said tiredly, he nodded. "They wouldn't tell me anything about his condition, though."

"He's been in surgery for hours now." Erwin muttered. At that, the bespectacled woman raised her brow.

"Surgery on what exactly?" She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "On his legs? Is he ever going to walk again?"

"Better ask, is he ever going to wake again?"

"He landed on a van right?" Hange inquired. "Isn't that supposed to lighten his fall?"

"You're the Doctor." That was a mere statement. She was a Doc alright, but a doctor of the dead. She worked in the morgue and had assisted Police in numerous cases before, identifying causes of deaths, times, weapons used in crimes and even deducting the features of their killer. Hange was a major expert in these things. Plus, she was the only person he knew who got excited when facing new corpses. She was also one of 4 people in his life whom he trusted unconditionally.

Her pallor was intriguing. This was a woman whom he'd ever seen laughing, ever ecstatic. He liked her for that very quality, her innate ability to cheer people up, him mainly. She wasn't going to make it easier for him now, not by a long shot. Her eyes were slightly ablaze, with fire of her own grief. People usually extinguish facing these sort of circumstances, but they only made Hange's fire brighter.

"I saw her.." she uttered. He braced himself for her to continue. These words he's been waiting for, from the moment he'd seen Interrogator Ral damp with her own crimson blood tainting the wooden tiles of her brother's apartment's floor.

He dreadfully braced himself.

"They've brought Petra to the morgue, 3 hours ago. They wanted us to dissect her body. I left."

Her eyes were dead at the mention of her murdered friend. He longed to comfort her somehow, but he couldn't since he himself needed comfort.

He watched her now, as her expression darkened. She leaned forward, pressing her elbows on the table. There was a dark aura emanating from her body, one he hated seeing, one he easily identified because he felt pretty much the same.

"Hange." She looked up questionably and he fixed her with a stern look. "It's not your fault in anyway, so stop blaming yourself."

"I know that Erwin. I was just thinking_"

"Don't think."

"Erwin.." She started reasoning. "I was thinking, maybe we were too hard on Levi. I mean, if he… if he.. doesn't come out alive or at least whole. I would think 'hey I blamed him for the last moment of his life for what happened between him and Petra while I had no right to intervene or judge'_"

"You had every right Hange. You were his only relative and you had every right to oppose him for cheating on Petra_"

"NO I DIDN'T." Erwin was astonished by her outburst. "No I didn't." She repeated in a much lower tone. "I did the exact same mistake with Mike, and I had no right to judge Levi for… for…" He saw a tear slide and land, staining the table cloth. The woman draped a hand on her mouth, blocking her sobs. She took a breathy inhale and faced him again, wiping her shining eyes and forcing a tight smile to her lips. "Sorry about that." She touched his files lightly "Did you hear the full report? They said Police was mistaken about the number of hostages."

"Yes." Erwin refused to elaborate. That was a very touchy subject. One he didn't want to approach. Not while his closest friend was lying on a very thin line separating the living and the dead. He stared as Hange rose to grab a couple of bagels and coffee of her own. His entire leg started vibrating and he extracted his phone from his pocket, taking the call.

"They need me back at the station." He admitted the moment she was back. She handed him his coffee silently and his share of powdery doughnuts, his first meal in a couple of days. He really should learn not exert himself to this point. Who knows? Maybe your friend could go ahead and decide he needs to throw himself four stories up high. You'd certainly need nutrition when that happens.

She hummed thoughtfully, and he gulped his coffee at once, feeling its sour taste burn his internal organs. It was enough to wake him up though and he rose, grabbing his jacket and slumping it on one shoulder. Hange followed suit, holding his folder. They walked together in silence, stopping short before the emergency door. Peering through the glass panes, they saw that it was empty.

Shit. Erwin thought frantically. He resumed his poised demeanor and inquired for a passing nurse's guidance. She led them to a closed door and instructed them to wait. They sat beside each other on a nearby bench, Hange threading her fingers through her sleeves nervously. He gripped her right hand, offering her comfort they both sought. Moments later, the doctor emerged and headed towards them. They stood in unison, expecting the worse.

"We did our best." The man confessed. "We dug the bullet out, we put his breaks in casts but the rest lies of his shoulders."

"How bad?" Hange croaked, unable to form a full coherent sentence. The doctor, seemingly understanding gestured for Erwin to set her back down. He gave her a reassuring squeeze and stood opposite the middle aged man.

"He has a couple of breaks in his left calf, some minor fractures in his ribs and we speculate his right leg took most of the impact. 16 stiches, double fractures including muscle rupture near his thigh. It's a medical wreck."

Erwin swallowed, telling himself it could've been worse.

"And…"

"Scalp fractures are tricky though. We've attached him to EKG, but that's the best insurance he'll ever wake. We still have no clue whether he would, though. There'd been no encouragements on his part all during the operation. Even if he wakes we're not sure whether he'll resume his previous state of mind…"

"He landed on a vehicle, is there a possibility the real damage had been evaded?"

"Narrowly." The grim faced man pursed his lips tightly. "I agree it could have been worse. However, at this very moment, it's hard to speculate when his comatose state might end."

Erwin mouthed a quiet 'thank you Doc' and moved beside Hange. "Hey." He tried shaking her out of her daze. Instinctively, she cringed, watching him through her thick spectacles.

"Doctor says we can see him, only for a short while. Come on." He helped her to her feet. His fingers tightening on the doorknob, pushing the door open. He sat her on a deserted chair by the heavily equipped hospital bed and left. Just left. He knew it would be a waste to dwell on that glimpse he'd caught of Levi. Covered all over in white, his head wrapped in gauze. It was one thing to inspect murdered bodies for clues and entirely another to watch your best friend as he withers and dies on a hospital bed in an awfully solitary hospital room in Manhattan. Erwin inwardly signed, knowing where his next stop were to be, hoping that burying his head in homicide cases can make him forget, that miserable glimpse.

Chief Erwin Smith-25/10/13-10:13am-Police Station

"Alright Nanaba, got the projector?"

Nanaba raised her hands, gripping said machine. Mike just grinned and gestured for her to pose it on the table, lecturing her on how to properly wire it. Chief Darius pounded his fist on the slick surface of their meeting table, acquiring full attention.

"Smith!" He called. Erwin, midway through a yawn, clamped his hand over his mouth. He gave Darius a distant greeting just to prove that he was there.

"Did you read the files we got you?" Darius enquired. Erwin nodded. He did read a full analysis of the unraveling crime, tagged along were photographs of their unfortunate victims. His mind was a jumble though and he failed in distinguishing any sense in their current clues. Given the rate of their loss, it was a wonder no one got stripped of their badges, yet.

"Alright, let's begin." Darius called. Immediately, all attention in the room shifted towards him. "On 7:31 sharp we received our first 911 call, we confiscated a tape so…"

They hear it. The 911 dialer, a female, rationally trying to reason with a confused Manford, the guy then started muttering gibberish about having caught her (meaning his wife) before she ran away (stated straight from Manford's disgusting mouth: "That Bitch.. Cish.. Cish.. was gonna take the kids and dust eh?") The call was abruptly hung off at 7:32 sharp.

"7:37 pm" Darius got the second tape rolling.

"Excuse me?" a hushed voice, a male. "911 calling, what is your emergency?" the dialer, they, wary. "Yes.. Um.." the man continues in the same hushed tone. "There's a guy at the door, Um.. armed. Hold on a sec." pause "Sir, I'm not sure I'm_" "Chris.. get my gun." Footsteps. "Sir, stay with me, what is your location?" Gunshot, another and another, by now the dialer is desperate. "Sir." She keeps calling, until another voice emerges from the chaos, a female "Christa, what the fuck? Why?" another female, gentler and weeping. "I'm sorry…. Kuh.. I'm so sorry.. I didn't mean to shoot him." "Ugh, Auruo, wake up… come on." "Sir." "Christa call for help." The voices clash, within this havoc of emotion, nothing can be distinguished. Except a new voice, an intruder intervenes. "Christa, haul him off, he's dead. Ymir, get that phone off will you." A click. Their suspect hung up. Silence, dead fucking silence followed.

"Upon attentive inspection of Auruo Bossard's apartment, we sighted his body. It relates." said Chief Darius Zackly "The facts add up. A gunshot was heard at 7:39, according to resources from the morgue, Bossard died at around that timeline. The couple of other voices that were taped belong to his roommates. Nanaba?"

Nanaba smiled, grasping firmly at a remote. The pictures slid into the screen. An angel faced girl, blond features, peaceful sky blue eyes. "Christa Lenz, 26, nurse and she's been Bossard's roommate for a couple of years, so was Ymir." A freckled face appeared. "Ymir Causburg, also 26, cashier."

"Any known family for either of them?"

"Bossard had Petra_" pause, dense and awkward. "Lenz has a mother in Arizona, no known information about Causburg though." Mike burst. Darius gratefully nodded, a list containing the pictures of the victims appeared.

"We were counting the firearms…" Darius lifted a plastic bag, inside rested a tiny gun, looking antique. "This belonged to Auruo Bossard, we also found it lying several inches away from his body, whoever killed him has used this and whoever killed him forgot to wipe his prints but we'll get to that later." Chief tossed the wrapped weapon on the slick surface, it landed inches away from Erwin, around a great multitude of files.

"Go on Zackly."

"Then there're 7 bodies in Manford's apartment, received drug overdose. Estimated time of deaths' between 8:39 and 8:52, next we have Manford, died on top of stairway to the 6th floor, multiple bullet wounds to his neck and the back of his knees, the question here is Who killed Manford."

"Wait, there were only 7 hostages right? Where're the other 6?" Erd Gin had one fucking loud voice, expected coming from him as he was their youngest and newest addition to the station. Mike signed. "In addition to Lenz and her friend, there's 4 other people but_"

"Listen up, Lenz girl had a gun in her possession when we found her body so we're really reluctant about considering her among the hostages, the bullets in Manford's hole match that very brand." Darius pointedly fixed Erwin with a tense look.

"You mean Christa Lenz murdered Richard Manford?" Erwin questioned, doubtful.

"Not only Manford. The finger prints on the first gun, the one used in Bossard's murder, also belong to Christa Lenz."

The room went through a ruckus, until Erwin spoke up. "I think we should revise the second tape, we heard 5 sets of voices, 4 of whom were familiar. The dialer, Bossard, Lenz, Causburg, were there. Who's the fifth though?"

"More importantly how the fuck did we reach the conclusion that there were 13 hostages in the first place."

"The rookies counted the number of evacuated residents comparing with the original number."

"When we've contacted Manford, he started bragging 'bout that!"

"Well I guess we either miscalculated, or Manford's been a little bitch bragger." Mike said, cutting their hostile line of conversation.

"I agree for the latter." Darius exclaimed "Lenz killed Manford, but she was murdered suit by a bullet in the heart. We assume Ymir Causburg was her accomplice because the pair had the same bullet brands lodged in their limbs when they died. Been killed under Levi's hand, so it seems."

"Which means they've made an assault on him?"

"Yes." Erwin confirmed, relieved that he can finally include to the conversation with something he's positive about, no matter how sour the subject was. "He's been shot in leg…"

"Brings it up, he alright?" Mike questioned, seemingly the umpteenth person who'd asked the exact same thing since he's reached the Police station 2 hours ago.

"Yeah, Mike, not sure_"

"There's more." Nanaba cried, alerting the room. She seemed Darius' personal assistant in this case (something to rejoice with since no one had the slightest clue what was going on).

"Jimmy," She addressed the stocky investigator left to the bottom of their meeting table "remember when you enquired about the number of hostages? We weren't wrong. The count was fairly legit, except while 7 died under Manford's holding, 2 died while confronting one of our men and 4 died by electroshocks."

Erwin knew that. He was one of the first people to inspect the crime scene at around 9:03 when they all received the order for a direct assault. 9 minutes prior, Levi had fallen from the window and the crowd was going nut. They pulled him up on a stretcher and drove away and he barely restrained himself from riding up with him.

But that was their answer. When the agents rushed in, armed and fully prepared, they found 8 people under their custody dead, and an interrogator of theirs was shot and bloody but still squirming. They tried giving her first aid, but she died within minutes from their appearance. How she bore with the pain for those minutes that he wanted to know, but he also longed to understand why she flashed him with that frantic look. Was it fear of passing away, so tremendous that it made her mistake him as Levi during the last moments of her life as she mouthed her breathless words?

"Levi… You… mee.. meekx.."

But he waved Petra's bloody attire away. Locked amongst numerous similar situations, she was particularly dear to his heart.

Upon rising to the 6th floor, they saw it. 4 people, gagged, strapped to metal chairs, beneath which collided wires cabled to an old car battery. 4 people had their bodies scorched skinless, their hairs electroshocked. They were all dead. And at that point they understood the meaning behind those faint flashes in the 6th floor's widows. Even the helicopters they've sent to investigate hadn't managed to decipher much, other than the light bulbs twitching.

Clever trick Manford. But Manford was dead back then and they've all speculated that he divided his torturing methods between the 4th and the 6th floors, drugging those on the 4th and electroshocking those on the 6th, that a pair escaped and managed to shoot him, but then their agent appeared and killed them. Now, Erwin pondered.

"Manford was killed by Lenz right?" Darius repeated, seemingly voicing his thoughts "Clausburg and Lenz were killed by Levi, plus the extra 4 hostages that were gagged and blindfolded. The battery used was brand new, it's literally its first time functioning and its calculator indicates 8:51. Whoever shocked those people used a magnified shot, their death's timeline is estimated between 8:51 and 8:53. You can say they were killed instantly. However there's one piece left. Interrogator Ral died at 9:12 exactly, her shot wounds have induced at probably_"

"_8:50, it's a very crowded period of time really." It was Nanaba that took over. By now, every detective in the room was scribbling noisily on their folders. His, Erwin's, remained bare. "here it is. 8:39 to 8:51 drugged hostages' death timeline. 8:42 Manford gets shot, 8:48 both Christa and Ymir die, 8:50 Levi fell down and Petra got shot, we assume they maintained the same location from 8:48 'till 8:50, here's a question. If the gagged people died between 8:51 and 8:53 and we know activating the battery had to be manual, also if Detective and Investigator had an assault at 8:50 and by that time everyone was dead already, then who shot them? Who activated the electroshocking?"

"In short," Erwin said, folding his arms over his chest "there were others in the building? Likely more than one person and their presence had gone unnoticed because we literally focused our all on Richard_"

Nanaba smiled, cutting him gracefully "Exactly, Richard held 7 hostages at total in his apartment, when our previous interrogator slipped about the 14 hostages' thing he decided to follow from there, whereas they've been other suspects who held hostages of their own all along on the 6th floor."

Long silence, Erwin concluded that this meeting was indeed very dull.

"Idiots!" Detective Bradley fisted into the desk.

"They were laying low; there was no way we would've found out." Nanaba defended, tucking a stray lock behind her ear, looking as innocent as a child.

"Well, disperse for now." Darius commanded, everyone rose "We'll meet later to discuss the 2nd tape, my gut tells me our suspect could be found there. It's time for lunch anyway."

Chief Erwin Smith-07/11/13-4:33pm-Police

2 weeks bring nothing but collapsing hope. Levi remains imprisoned in his infinite slumber and sooner or later they will be faced with the decision of cutting him off the machine that's currently keeping him alive and breathing. On the case, they were in the exact same spot. They haven't budged an inch even with their current clues and whatnot. First time in a life case that includes hostages. He had always been the classic homicide detective, and he's getting pretty decisive about resuming his original line of work. Apperantly, these kind of cases were very inappropriate for his liking. Erwin was not one to back away though, but he was adamant that any homicidal case is far easier than this specific case. At least all criminals he'd preciously dealt with leave traces behind. The group behind this very havoc was nearly spectral, and they had no clue about their collective identities other than the voice in the tape. Very useless, very frustrating.

His phone buzzed.

"Chief Smith." He gave a halfhearted greeting.

"Erwin…" Hange, he instinctively dropped his pen.

"He woke up Erwin, he woke up." He could hear her panting, her pained laughs. She's been crying. And he found himself rising to his feet, slamming his folder shut and grabbing a coat, he literally flew to the hospital.

"How is he?" He enquired the moment he sighted her. Her face which he'd pictured alight with joy, was ominously dark.

"I don't know.." She murmured. He pushed her aside, shooting into the room. A nurse who was leaning into the bed, was whispering soothing words in the patient's ear. He was squirming under her firm grip, as much as he could anyway, what with his wrecked body.

"Levi?"

More fidgeting, the nurse glared at him.

"Who let you in."

Erwin, annoyed as he was, stated sternly "I am authorized, now Levi?"

A groan, her gaze turned pleading.

"Please don't call him that."

"Call him what?"

"Call him Eren." She instructed. He had half a mind of walking out, reporting the nurse to the administration for being crazy. He remembered he hadn't exactly read her name tag correctly and inched closer finally catching a glimpse of his friend.

Bloodshot eyes, clearly wild, were staring at him through the binding bandages around his head. He looked_

Confused and angry at the same time.

"Levi?" Erwin called, confused himself.

The nurse looked very very alarmed.

"MY NAME IS EREN JAEGER." Levi screamed and panted "What is wrong with you people? Who are you anyway? Fuck, fuck…" He groaned, his free arm clutching his ribcage. The nurse had her gaze fixed on the door. He understood why, the moment a whole medical team rushed inside, pushing past him, meaning to sedate Levi into blissed unconsciousness.

Erwin was very composed in nature, but he knew he should get out, lest he breaks someone's nose.

XXX

"I begin to believe that Levi's Doc is my new bestfriend." Hange murmured, pouring her coffee in a separate cup. They were at the Hospital's cafeteria again.

"You don't even know the guy's name." Erwin answered, indifferent.

"Nope, been hanging around with him for the past couple of weeks, while you spend those at the station, sleeping and eating there as Mike says."

"He ratted me out? To you?" Erwin questioned incredulous.

"Yes, we're friends Erwin."

"What does it mean, um, memory shifting? The one Doc mentioned beside memory loss?" he asked, shifting the subject 180 degrees.

Hange merely signed "It means Levi's lost his memory, his full memory, though his mind remained fixated on one thought solely. One subconscious thought, had caused his confusion. Now he thinks he's completely someone else. Identity shift." She explained. Erwin nodded.

"Why? Why did he, I mean, why did his mind choose Eren Jaeger? Of all people he could've become? He could've confused himself with me, for as long as this is going to continue."

Erwin's halfhearted attempt at joking felt placid. He heard her murmur "In all seriousness though…"

"Who the fuck is Eren Jaeger?" Hange questioned, her eyes dark.

"I don't know," Smith leaned back in his chair, pondering "but his name sounds vaguely familiar."

The bespectacled woman smiled slightly, eager. "Try to remember. Does Levi know him personally?"

"Not a clue but, I believe he was killed in a plane crash." Erwin smiled himself, because he did remember.

After all, how could anyone forget those green eyes?

Preview: "Do you want to know more about my brother?" She purrs, playfully nibbling his ear. His response takes form in a long nuzzle to her bare neck. "I don't care, you're a goddess Mikasa." She laughes. "He went to the military, he enlisted 5 years ago, Levi listen_" He crushes her mouth with his, shutting her up for good. She murmures in his ear, repeatedly, repeatedly "He was in the military, and now he's dead, he's dead... Eren's dead..."