A Second Chance (Marco x Fem Reader)

Chapter 20

"Of course this relies on the squad's skill", he added, moving out of the way so you could see. He had drawn the most simplified outline of a human as possible, short lines forming a circle cutting trough its arms and legs.

"The idea is to cut you right out of the titan's neck. We'd end up cutting the ends of your arms and legs off, but they'd just grow back like a lizard's tail", Levi paused and looked up at Eren, the slightest hint of smirk precent on his face. "It's creepy, really..". You also looked over at Eren, curious as to how he would react. Though his body parts would regenerate, you would imagine it would hurt having them cut off either way. Eren looked stressed. It was a look you saw a lot of these days. It was actually rather surprising if he didn't look stressed, or any emotion close to that .

'Poor Eren, he is really going through it'

"Wait, I don't know how they grow back... Is there some other way-", he started saying, sounding more and more frantic as he spoke, though not raising his voice. Levi's eyes narrowed, making Eren shut up.

"So you're saying you don't want there to be any sacrifice or danger?", he asked unimpressed. You could see Eren was dumbfounded, not knowing where to go from there.

"Eren, I'd say anything is better than your starting point, which is actual death. I can only imagine how much it would hurt to get your limbs cut off, but I know you are strong enough to endure it", you encouraged him. He looked at you with painful eyes, but you could see your words calm him down. His eyes got their confident spark back. Eren gave you a grateful nod and smiled.

"I understand the risk sir, and I'm willing to give this method a go", Eren said, looking back at Levi. You did the same and noticed Levi looking at you with curious eyes. He swiftly turned his gaze back to Eren.

"D-does that mean I can do experiments?", a feverish voice stuttered from the corner to your right.

"It's very risky.. But that doesn't mean we can't use him to investigate", Levi said, side eyeing Hange, not bothering to turn his head fully.

"I can be in charge of planning this, right?", she asked, calm but with an undertone of suppressed excitement. "This is well worth the risk of any of our lives...", she added quietly to herself. You looked over at Eren who looked absolutely terrified.

~

Eren was placed in a well, Hange and Levi standing next to it to give him the last instructions. You sat patiently on your horse, a little distance away, with a notebook placed on your lap, ready to write down anything that were to happen. Moblit was on his horse beside you, explaining the best techniques to ensure you get the most important things written down fast. He is well accustomed to taking notes and sketch drawings on the go, as he has to do that constantly in his profession with Hange. He showed you a couple of examples.

"Wow, Moblit! You are really good at drawing! Is that really a live sketch, must have taken you hours!", you exclaimed amazed, looking at a sketch he made of Sawney and Bean as they got captured. He smiled at you sheepishly, and you got a feeling he was as modest as you, not one to enjoy boasting about any special ability they may possess.

Levi and Hange joined the two of you, Hange holding a flare gun pointed towards the sky. A green flare was sent up, signalling for Eren to start transforming. You grasped a better hold of your pen, eyes not leaving the well.

Nothing happened. In fact, it had been several minutes, and not even a little flare of the usual intense golden light was to be seen.

"Did he not see the signal?", Hange wondered.

"No... His ability just isn't that reliable...", Levi said beat, motioning for his horse to move towards the well. You sighed, feeling bad for Eren. Things just never seemed to go his way. You suddenly got worried something bad happened and quickly motioned for your horse to gallop towards the well, passing Levi and Hange on the way.