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"JEAN, I REALLY don't think its a good idea."
"I just want to see her! I have a right—"
"Its better if you don't see her like this—"
"I'll be the judge of that." Jean says firmly. "Now please, move."
Hanji doesn't appreciate his lack of respect towards a superior, but she knows what anguish can do to a person. She understands completely. Sighing, she moves out of the way and opens the door wider for Jean and Armin to enter.
Armin sees Johanna lying still in bed and the breath gets trapped in his throat. "Oh my god..."
Where to begin? She is pasty pale, as though all the blood in her system has stopped cycling. That isn't the worst of it, though. The healthy pink in her lips has been replaced by a revolting, sickly black color. Almost like she ate something rotten. The thin veins on her eyelids, which normally go unnoticed on anyone, turned a frightening shade of night as well, sprouting and fanning out like roots of a diseased plant.
Jean inches closer to her bedside, hardly believing the person before him. He drags forth a chair and slowly sits, scared of making a disturbance, any twitch might trigger Death's process to go faster.
Armin places a hand on Jean's shoulder, quite stunned himself. "What... what is this? I've never—"
"Devil's Thorn. A rare plant, but it exists." Hanji says grimly. "She was just unfortunate enough to come in contact with it during battle. It's... really a case of bad luck." She looks down at the floor. "Titans aren't the only danger out there, you know."
"This can't be happening." Jean holds his head in his hands, overcome with anguish. Surely, this must be some kind of joke. Poison? He never imagined this is how she'd go out.
Armin sees the veins on Johanna's forearms. Black and engorged, too. "I'm guessing there's no cure?" He inquires, tearing his eyes away from Johanna's still-form, unable to look at her any longer.
"None that we know of." Hanji says and she steps forward. She bends over Johanna to gently pry one of her closed eyelids open. The veins on the whites of her eyes were starting to darken, too. "We're monitoring her. She has ten more hours, give or take."
At this, Jean breaks down. He sniffles as tears roll down his cheeks. He isn't embarrassed at all for being emotional in front of others. He just wanted his best friend to be okay.
Armin rubs his back comfortingly. He turns to Hanji, "Where's Eren?"
"He's with Corporal Levi. They went out on a mission to find a cure in the underground black market. They both think there might be a chance to save her." She sighs.
"You hear that, Jean?" Armin says, trying to soothe his friend. "Don't worry, the Corporal and Eren will find a cure. She'll be alright."
But looking at Hanji again, something about the bleak expression on her face tells Armin that the odds are against them.
꒰ 🥀 ꒱
(The Underground)
"Prepare yourself." Levi says. "Not just physically, but mentally."
They are in a back alley behind some buildings sandwiched together, standing in front of a closed cellar entry. This isn't exactly what Eren had imagined. How much can fit in a cellar?
Levi slips his hand in the handle of one of the cellar doors. "You're gonna see some things in here that you wish you hadn't."
I've already seen some things I'd like to investigate, Eren thinks, remembering the epitaph in the cemetery. But he doesn't question it. He knows that now isn't the time.
Levi opens the cellar to reveal an ample staircase leading down. Loud chatter can be heard from below. Eren goes in first.
He takes in his surroundings once he reaches the bottom. Its large. Far larger than he expected, a space about the size of the courtyard at the Cadet Corps. Merchants are set up everywhere he turns, some with kiosks and others simply sat on the ground with a mat, displaying all their products. And they aren't just any products, either. As Eren walks around, bustling past people, he does in fact see things he wishes he didn't. Human organs, human hair, both alive and dead animals, drugs, and strange weapons. There was also vast arrays of outlawed alcohol, and raw jewels, which he can only guess must've been pillaged.
"Careful," Levi says.
Eren almost bumps into two men carrying a huge moldy barrel full of... well, he doesn't really want to know.
"Alright, here's the plan." Levi says, and he points ahead to a tent set-up with a grouchy-looking merchant. "You see that asshole over there? He's a jack of all trades. The king pin of this business. He has anything of everything. You're gonna go over there and stall him while I sneak into the back tent with his stock. I don't care how you do it, just keep him occupied while I look around, got it?"
"Got it." Eren nods.
"Let's go."
They split up and Eren approaches the merchant's kiosk. He stands in line behind the customer ahead of him as the merchant sells him what appeared to be a pair of canine eyeballs. Eren spots Levi coming up from behind. He quietly slips into the tent behind the kiosk, unnoticed by the merchant, who now turns to Eren expectantly.
"Well?" He says gruffly. The piercing in his lip moves along with every word he spits. "What is it you want?"
The merchant can hardly see Eren's shadowed face beneath his hood.
"Um, what... what do you have?" Eren asks.
The merchant raises an eyebrow, irritated. "Are you kidding me? Who comes here not knowing what they're looking for? And take off that damn hood. I don't sell to disguised customers."
Eren obeys and takes off the hood. It's not like anybody will recognize him down here, anyways.
"Say, aren't you a little young to be buying from here?
While Eren handles the merchant, Levi scours the inside of the tent for anything that resembles medicine. He opens boxes and unstacked crates, rummaging through them wildly. Every time, however, he'd find something completely opposite to what he wants. Time is running out. He believes in Eren, but he knows from experience that merchants aren't stupid. Its in their nature to always keep an eye out for their stock— their only source of money.
He has minutes. Minutes to find a cure.
He can faintly hear Eren's conversation from outside.
"Perhaps I am young. But I've got the big bucks. It's okay if you don't want to sell to me, though, I'll just find another—"
"No! Never mind what I said earlier, here's what we've got new in store."
Levi hurries and opens more packages, taking out containers of organs and weird plants and rare delicacies he's sure were stolen from rich people at the capital. Still, no sign of medicine or anything medical related.
"How about this wolf's skin?"
"Um, no."
"Jewels? I've got real and fake."
"I already have jewels. What else do you have?"
Levi rummages through a trunk only to find books in a language he couldn't read. Fucking brilliant.
"Oh, I get it. You're a man that likes flights of fantasy. I have a wide variety of drugs that'll take you to other dimensions. Take your pick."
"Uhh, actually, that's not..."
Then it finally dawns on him. Levi looks up and sees shelves. Shelves packed with vials and jars and bottles. He stacks two crates on top of each other and stands on them, picking up different concoctions and ointments and reading the labels on them. A lot of them are for diseases he's never even heard of, just like Devil's Thorn. So surely, there must be something here that could help Johanna.
"I can get you a nice prostitute. Just give me your address and I can send her over sometime this evening."
"No! I- I mean, no thank you. That's not really my thing—"
"Then what is it you want, boy?!"
Finally, luck strikes. Levi picked up a glass vial with a red tonic inside. He reads Devil's Thorn Remedy on the label and his heart soars.
"CORPORAL!"
One, Eren calls out to him.
Two, a trio of men walks inside the tent. Employees of the merchant.
Three, a gunshot.
The second the bullet flies, everyone is sparked into action. The employees attack Levi and he fights them off, having slipped the vial into his cloak pocket. He takes the first merchant and snaps his neck, dodging the other two as they make a grab for him. He takes off a machete on display and makes a swift slice to both their chests. They double over, hacking and coughing, and Levi kicks them down. He doesn't bother finishing his work-- they'll bleed out on their own.
Eren hurries inside the tent and relaxes, realizing Levi has taken care of the situation already. "Did you get it?" He asks.
Levi nods and shows him the vial, tucking it away again. "The merchant?"
They step out and Levi glimpses towards the front of the kiosk only to find the merchant lying dead on the floor. He looks at Eren and the handgun in his grip.
"I had to." He says, not proud whatsoever. "He pulled a gun on me. I think he knew the moment I yelled—"
"It's fine. We got what we wanted, now let's—"
"HEY!"
A glass bottle comes flying at their heads. They both duck and it smashes behind them.
Ten merchants all with weapons come running at them, their haggard faces beyond furious. What do merchants hate more than thieves? That's right. Nothing.
"Run!" Levi says and they dash off, shoving past people and jumping through kiosks just to avoid the knives being thrown at them and the bullets cutting across the air. Eren opens fire and manages to shoot two more merchants, meanwhile Levi went one on one with any merchants trying to block their way. Everything happened all too quick— Eren gets tackled from behind, the gun knocked out of his hands. A merchant with several rings on his fingers delivers a punch to his face, making Eren see stars.
Then... somewhere in the flurry of the chaos, a kerosene lamp is knocked over.
"FIRE!"
Everyone runs towards the exit, except the merchants of course, who now distracted, run back to save some of their stock. Eren picks up the gun, shoots the last merchant trying to fight Levi, and they both rush towards the exit, getting swept away with the crowd.
"They're getting away!"
The second they set foot outside of the cellar, its only to continue their escape as more enraged merchants tail after them. They race up the beaten path and try desperately to outrun them. Levi leads the way and Eren is right at his heels. He turns the corner and Eren follows, barging into an abandoned home and jumping off the balcony onto another roof. They choose to stop once they can't hear footsteps or angry shouting behind them anymore, and after some more 40 or 45 yards for good measure.
Eren pants as they come to a rest, leaning against the back wall of a crumbling two-bedroom loft. They drop down besides some trash cans to relieve the ache in their legs.
Levi wipes the sweat off his forehead. "It's been a while since I did that."
Eren doesn't know what to say. He is still processing the fact that they actually made it out. He does know one thing for sure, though... He wants to get the hell out of here. Fast.
He forces himself to stand up again. "Come on, we need to hurry."
"Rose."
"What?"
Levi steadies his breaths. He looks up at him gravely. "Rose. Her middle name is Rose."
Eren furrows his brows, and slowly turns to face him, more confused than he'd ever felt in his life. "How—"
"Shut up. Don't ask questions, just listen." Levi stands up slowly. "But most importantly... do not tell anyone."
꒰ 🥀 ꒱
Faint.
Her pulse is much too faint. Hanji presses her thumb to Johanna's neck again and then checks for a breath. She is slipping away.
Hanji then looks outside the window. Night time. Almost 24 hours have passed. And still no sign of Eren and Levi.
Hanji pushes a lock of hair behind Johanna's ear and frowns. "You served your duties well, soldier." Lifting the edge of the crisp white blanket, she raises it to pull it over Johanna's head.
BANG! The door slams open against the wall.
"No! Are we too late?" Eren exclaims as he and Levi rush inside.
"Do you have it?" Hanji asks, startled.
Levi takes out the vial from his pocket.
"There might still be time." She takes it from him quick as lightning and they help prop Johanna up. Hanji opens her mouth and lets the tonic spill inside, making sure she swallows without choking. Once the vial is empty, they lay her back down and wait.
Seconds.
Minutes.
But nothing.
Eren feels like he could sink through the floor with grief. "We're too late." The words are bitter and he regrets saying them immediately, because it makes the reality more real.
Levi turns and faces away from them, staring blankly out the window. He's on the verge of a mental breakdown, he knows it. He tries to pretend this isn't happening. He tries to fool himself into believing he isn't here right now, in this room, with an already-gone Johanna lying peacefully on her deathbed.
"Levi—"
He raises a hand to silence her. "Don't, Hanji. Nothing you can say—"
"No, Levi. Look—"
He turns and sees what Hanji and Eren are both staring at. The gash on Johanna's forearm is healing, the black pus stripping away and the wound closing.
"It's working!" Eren says, gasping with joy. "It's actually working!"
Then the lips, then the eyes, until the poison is eradicated and her skin regains its healthy flush. Johanna coughs several times, stirring awake from her unconscious state.
Her eyes gradually open and she looks at the faces around her, listless. "What hap— oh!" Eren pulls her into an embrace before she can finish. He squeezes her lovingly, and she pats his back cluelessly. "Um, is everything okay?"
"It is now." He sighs in sweet relief.
"Corporal... what happened to you?" She asks, looking at him over Eren's shoulder.
He has a purple bruise on his jaw and his clothes are dirty, something Johanna never would've thought possible. When Eren lets go of her and sits up straight, she sees he too has been in some kind of fight, judging by the nasty black eye and split lip he has.
"You too? Okay, I've obviously missed out on a lot." She says shakily, sitting back against the headboard.
"Well, I think Levi can fill you in on the details. Right, Levi?" Hanji speaks up, looking at him pointedly.
Levi's mouth presses into a hard line. He knows exactly what she means by that. But he isn't sure if he's ready.
"I'll take this one here to get patched up." Hanji indicates to Eren, heading towards the door. "That lip looks like it might get infected..."
Eren knows what she means, too. He wishes he didn't have to leave Johanna's side so soon, but he also knows that what Levi has to do was vital. He gives Johanna a quick kiss that means 'I'll be back later', and follows Hanji out of the room. Before he closes the door behind him, he peeks his head in and mouths an obvious Good luck! at Levi.
Then the door closes.
And Johanna and Levi are left alone.
Johanna, of course, isn't sure what to do or what to say, still drowsy from her profound full-body shut down. She looks down and sees someone changed her out of her uniform, swapping it for a long hospital gown.
What happened to her?
"How are you feeling?" Levi speaks up, trying to get a conversation rolling somehow. He despises awkward silences.
"So confused."
The smallest, most faintest of smiles tugs Levi's lips. He sits down on the edge of the bed. "Thats not exactly what I meant, but alright."
"Oh," Johanna says, clearing her throat, "I feel fine. A little dehydrated, but fine overall."
"What do you remember?"
Johanna ponders for a moment. "We had just returned from battle. I was with Eren on top of the wall, and... I don't know, thats it."
"You passed out due to poisoning from a shitty plant." Levi says.
"Oh." Johanna looks down at her forearm where she recalls getting pricked by a thorn. "How bad was it?"
"Well, you only had twenty four hours left to live. Eren and I searched for a cure and... we almost didn't make it back in time." Levi says, zoning out and looking towards the window. He isn't ready to make eye contact yet. "But you're still here, somehow. Hell, what are the odds?"
"Judging by the state you and Eren are in, something tells me you guys went to great lengths to get this cure." Johanna says calculatingly. She half-smiles and averts her gaze, twiddling her thumbs. "Thank you."
All she can see is the back of him. She used to hate not being able to read him, but now its kind of grown on her.
"So... Did I fail the job you assigned me? I'll try to be more careful on the battlefield next time." She sighs.
"Never mind that. You did good. You're probably the reason Erwin is still breathing in the next room."
Johanna blushes embarrassedly. Handling praise is tricky for her. "I only did what any soldier would do."
"... The stars are out tonight."
Johanna blinks, a bit thrown off by his random statement. She peers out the window and sees that indeed, the stars are especially luminous this time of night. Like crushed diamonds against a landscape of dark velvet. Its a captivating sight.
"Since when are you a star enthusiast?" She asks.
He hesitates. Now is his chance. He won't get any more opportunities. Its exactly how Erwin said... we don't know when our time ends.
Finally, Levi makes the brave decision to face her. Looking at her straight in the eyes is hard, but he summons up the courage and refrains from looking away— or worse, running away.
Its now or never.
"Let me tell you a story." Levi says, "It'll be difficult, but please stick till the end."
This is the absolute last thing Johanna expected him to say. But nevertheless, she gets comfortable, fixing her pillow behind her back, and nods as a sign for him to start. When the Corporal asks you to listen, and Johanna has learned this the hard way, you listen.
"There once was a young man. He grew up in the Underground where life was very tough. But he had been sharpened since he was a little kid to get out of the most dangerous situations, so naturally, he became a notorious thug. For a long time it was just him and his two friends by his side. And despite living in such a disgusting shithole, they felt like they were on top of the world. Then... Then there came an encounter."
His tone is heavy with reminisce. Johanna isn't stupid. She knows all too well this so-called story is about him. She's heard rumors that Humanity's Strongest originated from the Underground City. And plenty of other theories that she is sure aren't true. But putting all that aside, she continues to listen attentively even though she has no clue why he suddenly wants to spill his life details to her. This is all very out of the blue.
"The encounter." Levi resumes, and that faint smile makes an appearance again. "The young man met a girl about the same age. She had tan skin despite the lack of sunlight, impossible to tame curls, and these remarkable amber eyes. The kind of eyes that haunt you for the rest of your life."
Johanna smirks knowingly. The story is taking an interesting turn.
"They hated each other."
Oh... The smirk is wiped clean off her face.
"God, he couldn't stand her at first. June, her name was. Where he was reckless, she would always take it to another level, getting herself into all sorts of trouble. She was emotional, stubborn, and yet... incredibly smart. She had an obsession with the stars, and she swore she would see them someday." He let out a scoff. "The young man thought she was naive and childish, but eventually... she grew on him. And before he could stop it from happening, he was in love."
A shooting star— a thin glimmer— darts across the night sky. So quick that Johanna almost missed it.
"They planned many things. They planned to get married, to live their future on the surface so they could see the stars every night before bed. But before any of that could happen, June got pregnant. And she gave birth to a beautiful daughter. She was precious and they promised to give her the best life she deserved." Suddenly, Levi's expression turns somber. "But there were complications. Shortly after giving birth, June fell ill. She got worse every day. Until finally, she passed away. The young man was grief-stricken, but he vowed to take care of their daughter and fulfill their dream of leaving the Underground. He and his daughter would witness the stars for June."
At this point, Johanna is rapt. She stares at him in silent awe, waiting for him to continue.
"But... life has a way of ruining everything, I guess. Like I mentioned before, living in the underground was tough and cruel. The young man got in trouble with a gang of criminals. They threatened to kill him, his friends, and his daughter, who was only six at the time. Finally, the young man was forced to make a decision. It would cost him the one person he loved the most— his daughter." His brows furrow, torturing himself as he remembers. "In order to ensure she wouldn't get killed, because she most certainly would if she had stayed, he smuggled her in an oil shipment that was scheduled to be taken out of the underground the next morning. He left her with only one item— a blanket June had knitted for her. The shipment was taken up to the surface with his daughter hidden quietly under the tarp covering the wagon. That was the last time he saw her."
Wow... that's... so sad, Johanna thinks sympathetically. She never pictured the Corporal having such a tragic past full of loss and misery.
"Anyway, the years go by. The man's daughter makes it on her own, and she grows up beautiful and strong and highly independent. She enrolls to train as a cadet..."
Wait...
"She survives the battle of Trost alongside her comrades and her good friend, Eren Jaeger..."
Wait a minute...
"She is admitted into the Survey Corps under the Corporal's special orders—"
"Stop." A crashing realization makes Johanna tense up, "Stop, please—"
But Levi has no plans on stopping, neck-deep in his sorrow. "During the 57th expedition, they encounter the female titan and she tries to kill her, but he begs her to listen—"
Johanna rips the covers off her and in a split second she's on her feet, backing away from Levi as though seeing him in a whole new light.
"No. No, no, no..." is all she could say at the moment. Slow down, she wants to scream. The room is spinning. Slow down...
Levi stands up too, carefully approaching her. "—He begs her please, because he doesn't want to risk losing her again."
Fleeting moments flash before her...
"Johanna Archer... is that even your real name?"
"I don't know if you've noticed, but he's not the charming type. For him to make such a decision for a stranger like you... I wonder what he sees in you."
"Who made this change? I want to speak to whoever's in charge—"
"You're talking to him! I made the change. I switched you."
"It's not an apology because I don't regret it. And... I only did it cause I cared."
"Sometimes the truth is in plain sight. Sometimes you're just too blind to see it, even when it's right in front of you."
"You're just like your father."
From the moment they first bumped into each other three years ago on the way to the training corps... up to this very moment as he stands before her, both of them equally scared and vulnerable... this whole time he has always been here, watching out for her. And she just didn't know it.
"Johanna Rose..." Levi's footsteps grow closer and closer.
His voice... deep like a rumbling thunderstorm. She traces it back to the voice from her dreams, the fragments of lost memories that keep her awake at night. Something deep within her brain clicks. Finally, the indistinguishable man has an identity.
It starts with a gentle touch on her cheek, and before she can say anything about it, she is captured in a crushing embrace. The world freezes and falls away. Johanna is dumb with shock.
The feeling of being this small and this fragile... its familiar. Suddenly she is a child. Levi's strong arms hold her close, clutching and locking her in like he's dreamed of this moment since the start of time. Like he's been deprived of oxygen and now he can finally breathe. He keeps a hand on her hair, cradling her head into his shoulder, feeling her warmth and overcome with emotions he's kept buried under layers and layers of cold disposition for so many years.
Soon, Johanna hears sniffling... but not from her.
"I'm so sorry... I promise- I swear I'll never leave you again."
Absence. The absence ceases. The cup is filled, the cold hearth springs aflame.
Her life is coming together with the force of a train-wreck. Pieces of the broken puzzle she has spent forever trying to solve are finally falling in their rightful place.
A tear slips out the corner of her eye, drying on Levi's shirt.
"Dad?"
꒰ End of Chapter 6 ꒱