A/N- 2021
So this chapter went from 5k+ words to just over 24k, and usually, I would split the chapter, but there just isn't a good place to break it, so here you go! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter!
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Come on... Where are they?
You shoot out your grappling hooks at some branches ahead of you as you continue forward. You're bound to come across the Special Operations Squad at some point unless Erwin was wrong about where they went, which you doubt. You do wonder why Erwin made Levi replenish his fuel and blades while not making you, though. Maybe Levi used more gas than you did? You frown at the idea. No, that doesn't make sense. He only used his gear during that last fight today; you've used yours to take out an Abnormal, a hoard of Titans, and the ones that charged Annie.
By all things logical, you should have used more gas unless you're just that good at maximizing your ODM gear use with as little gas as possible. It feels like a stretch for it to be that case, but you could believe it. After all, still having around a third tank of gas left after everything you've done today should be impossible. You should have an empty tank by now, but you don't.
Damn, maybe you're even better with the ODM gear than you initially thought you were.
A faint smirk comes to your face at the thought as you shoot your wires at a tree branch, gliding under it and retracting your hooks immediately after. You fly low in the air, maneuvering around trees that stand in your way while also keeping an eye out for Titans that could be nearby, along with searching for any signs of Annie. God, you still can't get over the fact that she's the Female Titan. You can't pinpoint just one emotion to describe how you feel about it, but you do know one thing- you want to talk to her.
You need to know why she did it. Even though she's always been a resigned and secretive person, you never expected this. The only goal she ever talked about was having an easy life then one day returning to her father. Was that all a lie, or is there some truth to it? She never told you where she's from, and if she came into the walls during the breach in 845, then she's not from Paradis Island. Where is she from then? You frown while continuing to head through the forest.
You know there's likely more to the world than this island. Even though none of the books people are allowed to have in the walls say anything about the outside world, there are some readings that you've encountered that talk about what's outside the walls. Your mind drifts to the book your one caretaker gave you that discussed Pharaohs and other land formations. You didn't think much of it as a child, but now... now, you wished you had asked about it.
A frown tugs at your lips as you think back to when you were a kid living with all your caretakers. Leon... he was the only one who didn't abuse you, and in fact, he treated you well. He was the one who snuck you the books you read and let you leave the house in the Underground City every once and a while. He helped train you and taught you, and even though you hated living in that house, you're grateful for him. The other four men- they can rot, for all you care.
But Leon... You wonder where he got those books he gave you. There's no way he bought them at a bookstore because the Royal Government makes sure that the only information and history people have are about life inside the walls for the past century, which you know is bullshit. Those books you had, and the one Armin received from his grandfather... They aren't books that the government would want you to have nor know about because they talked about life outside the walls. It's a fucking ridiculous concept for a book to be illegal, but that's the case here.
Another thing that bothers you is one of the things you were taught by Leon and your other caretakers. They called this place the walls are on Paradis Island, and they had to teach you what an island was, but they also told you to never refer to it as such with others. You never understood how they knew that, and when you asked, they would change the subject. What you also didn't understand at first was why they told you not to tell anyone, but as you grew older, you realized it's because no one knows you live on an island. The Royal Government keeps it a secret, which makes you wonder what else they hide. God, you want to expose them and figure out what else they know.
YOU ARE READING
The Shadow of the Underground (Attack On Titan X Skilled! F!Reader)
Fanfiction[Under Major Editing, and Being Continued :)] Shadow. That's what you've become known as over the years that you've lived in the Underground. You've done what you needed to, to survive- from theft to murder. You're not proud of it, but you don't reg...
