(Warning: This story contains some triggering factors such as kid napping, needles, restraints, and death. Mild to harsh language is also used. Please be wary if you are sensitive to these topics. (it's not that bad though)
(Ps: Words in apostrophes are thoughts)
(Pps: I had to put that in the title cause the story isn't coming up in search fml sorry)
'Run. Run. Run!'
Your small legs pounded against the ground, sprinting away as fast as you could from the smugglers that were hot on your trail. You didn't know what they wanted you for, but it was clear they weren't going to go away without a fight.
*SNAP*
You felt a white hot pain shoot through your leg, and then your body came tumbling to the dirt below. You looked down to see your foot pointed at an unnatural angle, and quickly turned your head away to not see the disturbing sight. Even with your broken ankle, you tried to claw your way back up to keep running, but it was to no avail, for the footsteps of the criminals were now loud in your ears, and in no time you felt yourself get dragged back up off the ground, becoming face to face with your captors. Your eyes were wild, and you furiously tried to fight back with your arms and other leg, kicking, biting, and scratching as hard as you could. The men grunted from your surprising strength, but without another sound they pulled out a gag and blindfold, covering your eyes and mouth. The last thing you remembered was the fading of your senses, and the final words you shrieked before you blacked out.
"MOOOM!!! DAAAD!!!"
"HEEEELP!!!!!"
~*~*~*~
"Mmmm..."
Every muscle in your body ached, your eyes practically creaking when you opened them. When you went to rub the sleep out of your eyes, you realized you couldn't move your arms.
Or your legs.
Or anything for that matter.
"Wha...What?"
As you continued to struggle against the straps holding you down to some sort of table, a sharp pain came from your leg.
That's when it all came flooding back.
Looking around, the stingy room you were in and the hospital gown on your body made you come to terms with the fact that you were far, far away from your home in Wall Maria. Slowly, you began to cry silent tears, fearing for your life and hoping that by some miracle your mother could come to comfort you. Just as your sobs were about to get louder, a door at the back of the room opened behind you. You were lying on your stomach, so you couldn't see who it was, but nevertheless your body froze with terror. The footsteps echoed lightly off the concrete walls, and along with a man came a cart filled with horrifying tools. Your voice cracked as your eyes widened, and you began to struggle once more.
"Hush, child." Came the deep, raspy voice of the man next to you. He was tall, past 6 feet, and had greying brown hair. He wore a white lab coat covered with several different substances that you definitely didn't want to know about, and blue surgical gloves.
"It's time to have some fun."
That's when it started. For hours, syringes peirced your skin, and incisions were made all over your back. It was trechourous, the pain seeming to never end. This man, who you learned was called Garrett, became your worst enemy within a minute. Merciless, dark, and a maniac. That's what you characterized him as.
The results of what he did weren't something you expected.
After a month of these brutal tests, your back began to ache like crazy. It felt like...like your bones were moving. Another month past, and the pain became unbearable. That was when Garret unstrapped you from the table and brought you into a small cage, one that seemed more fitting for a dog than you. He locked you up there, feeding you scraps of food and painkillers, keeping you attached by the ankles to the concrete wall so you were sure not to escape. After a while, now that you were free to move your limbs, you could reach behind you and feel pointed structures of thin bone and skin protruding from your back, and what seemed like...feathers?
'What on earth did he do to me?!'
Finally, after a full year of testing, injecting, cutting, and pain from your back, your mystery appendages had grown large enough for you to see them. Stretching out the new limbs, you reached them around your body so that you could get a good look.
Shiny, velvety white feathered wings looked back at you, and your eyes widened with a sudden burst of glee. The wings were colored a bright white at the top, but the further down you looked they slowly faded to a faint blue, then to a navy blue, and then at the very tips, a velvety black.
'Wow. Wings.' You thought as you stretched them in and out from your back, testing them out.
'Cool!'
Your joy was sliced to bits when you heard the door to your cage room being opened, revealing Garrett holding a sickening smile on his face.
"You're ready."
The vagueness of his statement was enough to make your head spin with worry. Ready for what?
You're questions were cut short by his brooding footsteps, and in a swift and forceful motion he tugged you to your feet, gripping your wrist like a vice as he unlocked your ankles from the wall cuffs, but only for him to handcuff you within a second. He grabbed ahold of your arm and proceeded to tug you along, you struggling to keep up since even though your ankle had healed, it was still incredibly sore.
'Now's my chance to escape!' You thought as you were dragged along. Eyes darting around to scan your surroundings, you noticed the room he was leading you to. Inside laid a surgery table, surrounded by carts covered with several different torture devices and machines. Your will to get out was now stronger than ever.
On the way to the surgery room, you noticed the hallway that lead out to a different direction.
'Make a run for it in 3, 2, 1, GO!'
The second you were in line with the hallway you tugged as hard as you could away from Garrett, ripping his hand away from his hand. Ignoring the burning pain in your ankle, you dashed down the corridor.
You felt as though everything about you had changed. Your legs carried you faster than they ever have before, your eyes scanned your surroundings like a hawk, and your ears took note of every sound around you. You were like a superhuman.
"GET HER!"
Once again, your brief moment of joy was shattered as you heard the pounding footsteps of your enemies close behind you. In the facility that seemed like a disgusting combination of a prison and a hospital, you took lefts, rights, and hopped up stairs in a desperate attempt to make it out of this place with your life. As you reached the top of what seemed like the hundredth flight of stairs, your eyes met a glorious sight.
A balcony.
'I do have wings, but I don't know how to fly!' You thought frantically, panicking as you tried to decide if you should take the risk.
The banging of boots against the floor made you come to a decision.
With a final sprint, you darted to the balcony, hopping over the barrier and turning around to face Garrett and the guards that had been chasing you. With a final salute goodbye, you let go of the railing and free fell, going for so long until finally you opened your wings so that they carried you up high into the sky.
However, you then realized that what you were soaring in was in fact, not, the sky, but rather heading towards a rocky, jagged ceiling. Glancing down at the ground below, you saw buildings that all seemed to be crumbling, the whole city seeming to be covered in a thick musty brown dust.
'Where am I?'
Your distracted young mind caused you to loose concentration, and your body wobbled in the air as your wings wavered. Quickly, you came drifting to the ground, tumbling to the dirty ground in a heap. Groaning, you used your arms to lift your body up, and looked around to analyze your surroundings.
You were struck with a wave of both relief and grief, for you were far from home, but you were also far from Garrett.
Standing up in the secluded alleyway, you spotted a tall building with an open window that led to an empty room. Swiftly, you made your way to the building and scaled the wall with the assistance of your wings, hopping into the empty room with ease. Once again, you looked around, and then nodded to yourself, hands on your hips.
That was where you made your new home.
~*~*15 Years Later*~*~
The hood of your black sweater draped over your head and large brown purse in hand, you marched down the street of the Underground City, on your way to one of the street markets.
It was time to get this weeks food.
Not wanting to cause too much trouble, you meandered around the different carts, every now and then snatching a bit of food and shoving it into your bag. It was dull and not very good quality, but it wasn't like there was anything much better around here.
A couple apples, potatoes, string beans, and even a sliver of meat made their way into your bag. Just like that, your 'shopping' was done, and you made your way out of the marketplace without an eye on your trail.
On the way back to your apartment, you felt like someone was watching you. Following you. With a sharp inhale, you spun around, only to be greeted by an empty alleyway.
"Oi, I know someone's there." You called out to the quiet space. Only more silence. Letting out an annoyed sigh, you crossed your arms and tapped your boot impatiently.
"Just come out already ya coward."
Finally, two large figures emerged from the dark corners of the alley. They were heavy set men, gross and sweaty in every sense of the words, and dressed in grimy clothing. Your face contorted into a grimace at the unfortunately familiar sight. What could you say, there were a lot of disgusting pigs around this city.
"What's goin on, pretty lady?" Said one man, who was bald with a mustache and wore a dirty white tank top, a knife in hand. You scoffed.
"Oh nothing much, just been putting up with scumbags like you." You spat back.
"Ooh, we've got a clever one, eh?" Said the other, clad with a scruffy beard, tattered coat, and cleaver. Rolling your eyes, you put your bag down on the floor, and then slipped two long pocket knifes out your boots, flipping them across your fingers before gripping them tightly.
"Lets make this quick, shall we?"
The men's eyes widened, their stance wavering a bit. Unfortunately for them, their worry wasn't enough to make them back down. In fact, it only made them more cocky.
"Oh man! We're messin with the Devil's Angel!" Exclaimed the mustache man, a smile on his face, his partner nodding enthusiastically. What a poor mistake. Those dual blades were your signature weapons, better known to the public as your 'talons', and they were your go-to weapon whenever you had to get a job done.
And they were going to be the weapons to finish the job standing in front of you.
Within an instant, you darted towards the men with great speed, passing between them, and slashing their arms. Skidding to a stop, you spun around, their backs facing you as they tried to recover, and you made another attack. Sprinting at full speed, you grabbed their shoulders and used them as leverage to jump high into the air, and as you did a front flip, midair you threw the knifes at their faces, hitting them like targets. Once you landed, a chorus of roars erupted behind you.
"My eye!" Yelled the bearded man. The other let out chocking sounds, and you could hear the faint sounds of blood droplets hitting the floor, and then your knifes clattering at their feet. With a face void of emotion, you turned around to see the suffering men at their knees, sputtering for air. Waltzing over without a care in the world, you bent down and picked up your blades, which were now ridden with blood.
"Yeah, you messed with the Devil's Angel alright."
You spoke these words with a voice like dark silk, and you took slow, hypnotically alluring steps in between the men. You stood behind them once again, knifes clutched gracefully.
"And now you've learned not to mess with her again."
With a flash, you slashed their backs. You sliced through the skin on their necks, all the way down halfway their spine. What you were left with was nothing more than either dead, or mostly dead bodies. Without another thought, you made your way back to your bag, picked it up, and continued your commute back home. The only effect that moment had on you was the chill that ran up your spine and through your feathers.
~*~*~*~
It was a week after that day, and you were walking outside once again. The hood of your slightly tattered black sweater was up as usual, but you wore it unzipped with a black camisole under it, white pants, brown belt and brown almost knee high boots. Your hair fell down loosely over your shoulders, and as you walked along between alleyways you could feel your wings tucked tightly against your back. There were slits on the back of all your clothes, just in case you had to make a quick escape or air out your wings, but they were still well hidden.
As you walked down the street, you thought about how you hadn't earned your title of 'Devil's Angel' because you had wings. No one knew about them! Rather, you earned it from your insane skills. You held great pride in it.
Your cheerful stroll was cut short.
In the alleyway you were in, you heard the sound of wires being shot from above. Looking up, figures easily distinguishable as soldiers soared above your head. Their wires pulled them along, and they landed at the edge of the roofs that were on either side of you. Hopping down from the rooftops, they faced you, swords in hand. You didn't get to see the emblems on their backs, but took a guess it was the Military Police. Folks whom you were unfortunately very familiar with.
"Halt!" Called the tall blonde man in the middle of the group. You rolled your eyes, used to the strong shows they put on. In all due time these guys would be out of your way like every time before.
"What do you losers want?" You called back. The whole group seemed taken aback by your bluntness, but they stayed composed.
"You're (Name), yes?" Asked the blonde.
"Yyyyyeeeess." You replied in a comical tone. Again, the group was shocked by your behavior. The blonde cleared his throat.
"We're here to make you an offer." He said, blue eyes filled with determination and bushy eyebrows creased.
'Oh? I haven't heard this before.'
"Huh. Well then, ask away." You said casually, spreading your arms and gesturing with them as if your were setting a stage or welcoming them. One of the shorter men in the group 'tched', and you shot a glare at him before looking back at the other.
"Join us." The blonde said simply. This caught your attention for sure. Why in gods name did the Military Police want you to join them?
Well, it wasn't like you had to think about your answer.
"Hell no! You think I'd join the army of imbeciles you dumbasses call the Military Police?!" You exclaimed, spitting their name with venom on your tongue.
"We're not the Military Police, smartass, this is the Survey Corps. Don't you know the emblems?" The shorter one growled.
Oh.
Well, you felt stupid now.
"Oh, uh, my bad. I didn't see your patches so I just assumed you were the MP." You said, still incredibly nonchalant. The SC were getting a bit impatient.
"I'll ask you again. Are you going to join us without resisting?" Said the blonde.
'Resisting? Oh, is this going to turn into a fight now?'
It's about to get reeaaaal interesting.'
"Hmmm, well, first of all, what's your name?" You asked.
"Erwin Smith." He replied. You gave a simple hum.
"Alright then, Erwin Smith-" You began to walk towards the group of soldiers.
"-It's nice to meet you. Now goodbye!"
And just like that, your walking turned into a sprint, and you took a hard turn so that you could scale the wall of a building that was next to you. Of course, the soldiers followed you, easily using their 3DMG to get back on the rooftops and chase you from there.
The chase had begun.
You dashed across roofs, skidded along tiles, and hopped between houses in order to stay away from the soldiers that had a clear advantage over you. Knowing this, it was clear you couldn't simply outrun them. Instead, you'd have to outsmart them.
The first chance you got, you ducked down into the streets and started kicking down anything in your path to obstruct their trail. Boxes, carts, signs, you name it, they all came tumbling down as you chucked them at the soldiers. Eventually, you gave up running and decided it was time to fight. Pulling out your 'talons', you spun around to face off the unfortunate lad that had lunged at you once you stopped running, who happened to be the short one. You raised you arms to block the blow the man tried to do, and daggers clanked against long swords, and you struggled for strength and power.
'So much power in a small package, eh?'
Metal clashed against metal in a fast and frantic fight, blades moving so quickly to block and jab that they were only a blur to everyone witnessing it. This fighting dragged on to multiple places, and for a majority of it you and the short yet feisty man glared into each other souls as if trying to communicate through telepathy that one of you was going to win, and that person was going to be
'ME.'
One final slash to his chin was enough to make him lose focus, and you darted to the nearest exit you saw. Your legs pumped your body forward, and in a way it reminded you of when you had escaped that ward 15 years ago. Just like the balcony, you saw a gate, and with a hop, jump, and a skip, you were out.
Wait.
You were out?!
The sun, the actual sun, shined down on you like an angel sent from above, and a glorious blue sky met your eyes like a blanked being wrapped around your body. You hadn't seen this sight in over 15 years,
But it didn't last very long.
"Hey! You can't cross the boarder like that! Get her!!" Came the scruffy voice of a guard. Once again, you took off running, taking a complicated path to confuse your pursuers. Anyone that caught up to you was fought off with ease, and soon enough you found yourself at the boarder of the city, and in the distance was a dense forest of large trees.
'Jackpot.'
Looking around to make sure no one saw you, you spread your wings, got a running start, and took off.
'Oh, WOW.'
Now that you were above ground, up in the real sky, the wind made it significantly easier to fly. The fresh air combed through your feathers, all the way down to your velvety black tips. You were refreshed.
Pumping your wings faster and harder, you reached a tree that was deep enough in the forest for you to be hidden, but had a small clearing so that you could peek out at the outside world. Flying up to a plethora of branches, you settled in, perched inside your igloo of leaves like a bird.
You let out a sigh. It was so surreal. You were back in the outside world, the fresh air brushing against your skin, and green trees and blue skies greeting you with open arms.
You were home.
~*~*~*~
-WooooooOOOOO! This was a hell of a long one, but I'm very glad with the results. I got the idea to write this story from a story on Quotev that I believe is called Humanity's Little Angel, which is also an Avian!Reader insert, but has a different storyline than what I'm going with. Seriously, read it, it's amazing. Now get ready for a great story here too, cause I've got some good plans. Congrats! In this story, you're a freaking badass!! Levi is going to have a bigger role next chapter, but for now, this is really just an expedition chapter. Tell me what you guys think in the comments!
I'll see ya later peeps,
-Eliza-