The Loop II

Untitled Part 5

She wakes up and stretches, no light comes through the bedroom window to greet her eyes. It's strange, the window is nothing but a paint job. The furniture in this room is all one-dimensional. Yet somehow, she is lying on this one-dimensional bed. She rolls over with a sigh.

And screams.

Overnight her stomach has grown, it looks as if she put a basketball under her night gown. Round, firm and very obviously pregnant. Any joy she might have felt is lessened by the implications.

This thing is not human. It may have started out that way, but this is no longer the case. She stands up and heads towards the bedroom door. She's going to make it out this time. That thing is not going to stop her.

In her dreams she heard her Levi, and two other voices she did not recognize. She tried to call out, but they did not hear. If she can get past the threshold the bedroom has become, maybe she can communicate.

She has also been wondering about the painting. She noted the difference in it. Something has taken her place in her world and left her cast adrift in its own.

Did her painting cause this? Did it give this thing opportunity, like her painting of her and Levi's hands did originally? If so, can she paint herself out and cast this thing back?

It's worth a shot, she thinks and continues forward. If she can access her studio, and if her painting works the same here as it does in her own reality; it might just work.

The baby starts kicking as she gets closer to the door. She has to stop in momentary awe as she soon hears its voice as well. It's a strangely somber voice and almost like Levi's. Out of place for a child in the womb, but given everything she's been through, not alarming enough to get her to pause.

"It wants you to escape. That way it can get me, momma. It's spent too much time on your side. If it comes after us here, it will be trapped again."

"Sorry sweetheart, if I can get to my sanctuary, I can stop this once and for all. We have to try."

The silence from her womb has an energy she can almost feel. Pensive and calculating. Feeling understandably unsettled, she again makes her way to the door.

"Wait for daddy to distract it. He's coming back."

"You know of your daddy?"

She can feel the child nodding inside her.

"The titan-killing man. The Erwin man and the Hanji woman are with him. There's someone called Pastor Nick too, but I can't get a sense of him. He's hidden."

Hidden? The way her unborn child says that makes her uneasy. Why would a man of the cloth be hidden away from her child's view? Is this even her child?

She decides to wait after all, seeing the merit in the unborn child's words. Besides, Levi's got his best friend with him now. He's got Hanji with him, and she feels like everything is going to be okay....

"No, Erwin! Everything is NOT going to be okay!", Hanji screams. "Trinity is at risk! Levi's child is at risk! We need to go back, and we need Pastor Nick!"

Erwin sighs and repeats himself for the hundredth time.

"We have titans beating down our walls. I need Levi out there fighting. I know what this means to him, but until this current threat is over, there's nothing we can do! And besides, how much of this is Pastor Nick going to believe?"

"I know, Erwin. There is one problem though, if you want our titan concerns dealt with effectively."

"And what's that?"

"Levi's coming apart at the seams."

They sit silently lost in their own thoughts, said thoughts leading back to the exact same place.

....

"And you want me to help you fight this thing? A thing from another world? A thing I'm not entirely sure exists.", Pastor Nick states.

Levi nods and looks at the man hopefully.

"I can offer you assistance in the form of therapy, but-"

"He's not lying. I saw all this myself."

The two men look to Hanji, who has just entered the room. Levi looks to Hanji in relief and back at Nick.

"Therapy, huh?" Levi turns his attention back to Hanji. "Erwin?"

"He's not coming. Not until the current titan sightings are dealt with."

"Well, us three then. It's about time for bed for me." Levi gets up and the other two follow him back to his quarters.

"Bed?", Pastor Nick asks curiously.

"You'll see." Hanji says, a look of grim determination on her face.

"Wait!"

They stop and turn, waiting for the man to catch up before entering Levi's quarters.

"Erwin, decided to join the party?"

"Some party. Let's get this over with." He turns to Pastor Nick. "Decided to join us, did you?"

Pastor Nick gives Erwin a slight look of distaste and follows Levi into his quarters.