Chapter Text
"Hanji!"
Armin had stripped Eren down, he tried not to focus on all the blood his friend was losing.
"Hanji!"
He knew he was beginning to panic, but Eren needed her help
"Armin, shut up, I didn't let you in here to distract me"
"Hanji, Eren's not having a miscarriage..."
Hanji looked up, the bullet had been removed from Levi's shoulder and she was beginning to stick the damaged tissue back together
"Then what's going on..."
"He'd been shot... something's weird about the bullet, it's foaming, and eating away everything it touches... what do I do...?"
"Shit, alright Armin, I need you to pull that bullet out, Eren's not going to heal with it in there..."
Armin's face paled and wobbled slightly
"Come on Armin, Eren needs you..."
"But... I've never done anything like this and it's eating into his spine..."
"Eren's a titan remember, you just need to get that bullet out, and clean the wound, once that's done he'll heal himself... come on, if he loses any more blood, he really will lose that baby..."
Armin nodded, rolling Eren off his side and onto his stomach, he winced, hoping that his friends child would be alright.
Looking at wound on Eren's lower back he could see bones being dissolved and the skin around wound was bubbling. He moved and grabbed the tweezers that Hanji had been using, he stopped for a moment to rinse them, Hanji shot him a glare and he realised his foolery.
As soon as the tweezers entered the wound they began to dissolve, Armin tried not to panic, he was stabbing around blindly now, desperately trying to find the bullet before the instrument melted away completely.
"Hanji!"
He couldn't find it, his panic was growing, as was the wound on Eren's back, Hanji looked up and swore, the wound now spread almost completely across Eren's back.
"Armin, we need to dilute the compound, grab me some water..."
Hanji looked down at Levi's shoulder, the last thing she needed to do was close, the scar wouldn't be pretty, but it'd heal, she could only hope it wouldn't cause her friend too many issues once it had.
She didn't bother washing her hands before moving onto Eren, she could see the original entry site, pieces of the melted tweezers were bubbling in wound. She had no idea what the compound was and wondered if she could safely extract a sample. If Eren couldn't heal through this, it would be a big advantage in the war against the titans.
Armin finally came back, a half filled bucket in his hands
"Armin I need you to pour this over Eren's back... don't worry about hurting him, he'll only be hurt worse if we don't..."
Armin nodded and tipped the bucket forward, Eren picked that moment to finally regain consciousness, his screams shocked Armin and he dropped the bucket
"Armin, hold him down"
Armin moved up so he could push down against Eren's shoulders, he whispered to his friend, trying to be reassuring, trying to tell him that he'd be alright. He'd thought Hanji was going to sedate Eren, but instead the woman was working on his back, ignoring Eren's screams. He hated the relief that washed over him when Eren finally passed out from the pain.
Hanji frowned, the shell had all but melted away, all the could do was slowly slide if from Eren by the very edge, which kept slipping from the grip of her pliers, they two were melting down. Finally she got it free, a mere sliver of what would have entered Eren.
"Armin, we need more water... can you do that..."
Hanji looked up at him, the panic was clear
"Alright, stay with Eren, I'll do it myself..."
Hanji grabbed the dropped bucket, rushing from the room. She couldn't blame Armin for melting down, after all Eren's body was melting from the inside out and showed no sign of healing. She didn't know what she was going to tell Levi if Eren died on her watch.
Dunking the bucket into the barrel, she ignored the weight as she struggled back with it. Armin was still standing next to Eren shaking. Less than gracefully she upended the water over Eren's back
"Armin turn him on his side for me"
Armin nodded and pushed Eren up, Hanji poured a slow steady stream until the bucket was empty.
The pair watched with baited breath, the tiniest almost invisible wisp of steam began to rise and Armin sagged from relief, Hanji barely caught him before sitting him down.
Standing up she watched as Eren's wound began to steam, it was no where mere as fast as usual, it'd take days at this pace before Eren would be stable enough to even move him. She went to examine the sliver that had remained of the bullet, but it'd dissolved away to nothing. Maybe Hannah would be forthcoming with the answers, once she realised she wasn't going back to Marley anytime soon.
*
Levi groaned in pain, his shoulder was fucking tender and he felt like the whole room was swaying, given how foggy his head was, it took him longer than he'd care to admit, to realise, it indeed was. Scrunching his nose he pushed himself up before moving his injured arm across his chest, he knew better than to mess with a shoulder wound, but he needed to see Eren
"Levi!"
He jumped, he hadn't realised Hanji was near him, hell he hadn't even realised Eren was laying on the bed next to his.
"Levi, you and Eren are ok"
Hanji was talking loudly and slowly, like she thought he was brain addled or something, he shot her the best glare he could before swinging his legs over the side of the bed, it was then he finally realised Eren was right there. He snarled at the damage to his omegas back.
"It's alright, he's healing... it's just taking a while... how do you feel?"
Hanji's face hovered in front of his and he reached out with his good arm to push her away
"Fine. What happened?"
"Hannah tried to get us all killed, but she's a terrible actress, once we were outside Mikasa subdued her and we made our way towards the boat. Mikasa was the one who spotted Eren carrying you, so you'll have to ask him for the details when he finally wakes up..."
Levi nodded
"And the baby? He said he was cramping..."
Hanji frowned
"We thought he was miscarrying, which meant a delay in treating him, it's not like I could stop it if he was, it wasn't until Armin stripped him that found he'd been shot in the lower back. We don't know what kind of bullet it was though, it seemed made for titans, and contained some form of corrosive agent... but it's out of him now and the wounds been cleaned, he's been slowly healing... it's been about 12 hours since then..."
Levi nodded, he wanted nothing to crawl into bed next to Eren and pull him close. But the wound on his back... levi had never seen anything like it, even in the underground.
"Hanji, help me move the bed closer..."
Hanji rolled her eyes
"Levi, your in no condition to be moving beds... besides Eren's right there..."
"Hanji..."
"Levi stop being a baby, go back to sleep and I'll come check on you in a few hours"
Hanji turned to leave but stopped when she heard Levi moving
"Levi, I told you to leave it"
"Hanji either you help me or you get out"
Hanji sighed and moved back, she shooed Levi out the way and slid the bed against Eren's
"Better?"
"Yes, now get out"
Hanji rolled her eyes and ducked out the room, she waited a few minutes before sticking her head back in the room. Levi was laying on his side, Eren's hand in his, his lips were moving, quietly whispering to Eren. She smiled slightly at the scene.
*
Erwin was pacing on the upper deck, Hanji had told them that both of their friends were going to be alight, though she'd pulled him aside to fill him in further on Eren's condition. He like Hanji felt, that these bullets could be a pivotal weapon if they could reconstruct them. He looked up as Hanji rejoined him, she smiled before informing him Levi was awake now and moving alright, though it'd take a while before he'd have full use of his shoulder. Erwin sighed, his best friend had been injured over an omega, omegas had no place on a battlefield, if it wasn't for Eren, this whole mess never would have happened.
"How long before I can see him, I need to ask about what happened in Marley, if we are going to push Hannah for information we need to be able to trip her up in her own lie"
"He's with Eren now, so probably wait a few hours, he needs to spend sometime with him..."
Erwin turned towards the door that lead towards the lower deck.
"Erwin! Leave them for now!"
He waved his hand in dismissal. He wasn't going to question Levi, he just had to see with his own eyes that the man was alright.
He knocked lightly before opening the door to the room Eren and Levi were recovering in. Having got no reply he pushed it open. Eren was laying on his stomach, his back looked disgusting, the wound was oozing and steaming slightly. Levi was curled against Eren's side, both his hands holding Eren's. Erwin felt a prang of annoyance. The two fools were in a world of their own. He slipped out of the room, not bothering to close the door. He strode down the hallway to the commons, Petra immediately jumped up as he entered, seriously why couldn't Levi have fallen for a woman like her... why'd it have to be Eren?
"He's alright Petra, they both will be fine..."
Petra nodded before sinking back down in relief, Olou shot him a dirty look.
"What we need to do is figure out how we're getting home. Eren may have used his powers last time so they didn't remember seeing us as we made our way to their harbour, but this time we won't be able to rely on him"
He looked around the room, Hanji hadn't returned down deck yet, but everyone else was there
"We'll need all the help we can get once we come ashore, Marley would have already contacted its bases on Paradis and I'm expecting a rather large and unfriendly welcoming party"
"Well the four of us can deal with that..."
Erwin looked at Ymir suspiciously
"We may not like you all that much, but we already told Eren we would follow him, we want to believe in the hope he has for the future..."
Erwin nodded, the feeling mutual, no one here trusted the shifters after all.
"Alright, but then what? We still need horses and provisions..."
"If you can give us a few hours we can deal with that too... the only real risk to getting you all home would be Zeke. He's fucking crazy..."
Erwin glared at Reiner, a titan shifter calling another shifter crazy... it was almost comical. He knew what Eren and Levi had told him about the man, but he still found himself doubting it, well everything other than the fact the man was a titan, hell he'd even doubted that he was really Eren's brother.
He looked to Armin, the teen was still in shock, Mikasa had tried to get him to rest, but the blonde teen had refused to until he knew Eren was alright. It was kind of amazing how loyal Eren's friends were to him.
Hanji entered the room smiling, Mikasa immediately barraging her with questions about Eren, completely ignoring Petra glaring in her direction.
"Mikasa, Eren will be fine, he can heal through everything right? He's with Levi at the moment, I promised didn't I? That I'd tell you when I had actual news..."
Mikasa pouted, and Hanji laughed. A pout didn't suit the pretty teen at all.
"So have we decided what we're going to do when we make land?"
Erwin nodded
"Yeah, our 4 shifters volunteered to take care of everything for us"
"Oooh does that mean you'll shift? Can I watch you! I've only seen Eren up close"
Hanji was positively drooling and Annie was glaring.
"We aren't lab rats. We aren't your friends either. If not for Eren we wouldn't be here at all, and I'm starting to doubt that following him was even the right thing to do"
Her words were so cold that Armin shivered.
"Are you saying we can't trust you?"
Erwin's voice was steely, if this continued any further things between the two groups could very well fall apart.
"I'm saying we follow Eren... at least for now. He's placed his trust in us, and he doesn't think any lesser of us, despite what happened in the past"
Hanji stepped in before they could continue
"Look we have a few more hours until we'll hit the shoreline. We all need to be well rested, I'm ordering all of you to get some sleep"
Olou began to mimic her immediately and chomped down hard on his tongue, blood dribbled from the corner of his lips and Hanji didn't bother hiding her laughter.
She stayed there until everyone settled down where they were, it seemed neither group trusted the other not to act while they slept.
*
Eren moaned in sleep and Levi was instantly awake, his omega was trying to move
"Eren... Eren it's Levi..."
Eren stopped his struggles and flopped limply against the bed
"Levi... it hurts..."
Levi winced at how dry Eren's voice was, his lover hadn't eaten or drunk anything since before their Marley escape adventure.
"It's alright... I'm here... the babies alright... just stay calm for me alright"
Eren had tensed when Levi had mentioned the baby, he could vaguely recall being certain he was miscarrying.
"Are... are you sure... I mean... I thought..."
"Yeah... Hanji thought so too... but you were shot, some kind of Marley bullet, it messed up your back, but Hanji says your healing now..."
Eren let out a small sob, he was so relieved. Levi squeezed his hand firmly
"What about your shoulder... ? There was so much blood Levi and then you collapsed..."
"You saved me... you saved all three of us..."
Eren shook his head, but Levi finished his sentence
"You got us to the ship... I knew you were hurting so badly... and you were so scared, but still... you did what I couldn't"
Tears streamed from Eren's eyes. They wouldn't have needed saving if he hadn't pushed for this trip to Marley. Levi's injury was his fault. Everything was his fault.
"Eren... come on... hey, you need to calm down... think about the baby, we can't have you getting too upset"
Eren nodded and tried to take deep breaths, it only increased the pain he felt in his lower back.
"Do you want me to get Hanji? Maybe she can give you something for the pain?"
Eren nodded, he didn't want Levi to leave but his back was on fire and he'd begun cramping again. He tried not to cry when Levi left, but he felt like he deserved the pain, that it'd serve him right to lose the baby.
Levi returned with Hanji, the woman came over and immediately began examining the wound, Eren moaned from pain as she poked around the edges
"Eren... I'm going to give you a sedative alright... you're wounds healing, but it's going to be a very slow process, we'll be back at Paradis soon, and we'll have to move you, so it's probably best you're out of it for now..."
Eren nodded slowly, he wondered if he should mention the cramping, but he didn't want to worry Levi. He could hear Hanji moving, before feeling her injecting him, it was a few moments before his eyelids started to droop and he slipped into the gentle darkness.
Levi looked up at Hanji, she didn't look terribly happy
"Hanji, spit it out already..."
"Things are falling apart, the shifters only trust Eren and Erwin's made his feelings very clear on everything"
Levi swore, seriously couldn't they wait until they weren't in the middle of the ocean to start arguing?
"That's not all... I know that look of yours"
"Petras mad at Mikasa and jealous of Eren, Armin's still freaking out over Eren and I'm worried what we're going to face when we reach the shore"
"... and?"
"And I'm worried about Eren's slow healing"
"Hanji, it's not the first time"
Hanji shot him a curious look and Levi rubbed his face with his good hand
"It's happened before, once when he was impaled and his back was broken, the other time after her given birth"
Hanji nodded
"That alternate life right"
"Yeah, first time it excelled his pregnancy so the brat was only pregnant for a few days, second time he didn't heal until after he'd shifted"
"I still can't get used to it, that he's your omega, that he'd having your child and you're actually happy about it"
"Oh trust me, first time around I was less than impressed, but Eren just has a way about him, he struggled and fought so hard against his past and he just draws you in"
"So you really love him?"
"Yeah, I do, I can't live without him"
Hanji nodded, she thought of the two women who would be less than impressed to hear that.
"Erwin wants to talk to you too by the way, about what happened. You probably don't know, but we have Hannah with us. She tried to get us all killed..."
Levi wanted to explode, seriously, why couldn't things go nice and easy. But then again life was never easy.
"Keep an eye on Eren for me?"
Hanji nodded
"He was down in the commons, I told them to all get some sleep"
Levi smiled slightly at her, he could picture how well that would have gone over. He pressed a kiss to Eren's damp hair, he hadn't realised that Eren had a fever. He looked up at Hanji but she nodded like she already knew.
Levi swayed slightly as he walked down the hall, he hadn't even realised everyone was in the commons when he'd fetched Hanji, Erwin saw him in the doorway and quietly made his way over, taking Levi by the arm he guided him up to the deck.
Levi pulled his arm back, apparently his friend was blind. The bandaging should have been obvious enough that he had hold Levi's sore arm.
"Hanji said you needed to talk to me, something about Hannah"
"Oh yeah, but first, how are you? How's your shoulder?"
"Erwin in fine, Eren's going to be fine, the babies fine... what is it you want to know"
"Levi I asked about you, not Eren"
"Erwin, I thought we were all good, I'm not having you start trouble with Eren again, now what do you want to know and why do we have Hannah here?"
"First tell me what happened when she took you to see Eren"
"Erwin, stop obsessing over my mate"
Levi snarled, hoping Erwin would take the hint, he wasn't talking about Eren with him.
"Don't pull that rubbish with me. I want to know what happened, what you talked about and why you felt forced to kill their military commander"
Levi stared at Erwin for a moment, piecing the pieces together, that must have been the gunshot after they'd have started making a run for it
"It was Hannah, Hannah shot him"
"Levi you realise how that sounds right, what reason did she have to kill him"
"He told Eren about how Marley and Paradis used to be united until one son got the titan power and the other got jealous, basically a huge war spurred by sibling rivalry. Malcom wanted Eren to use the coordinate and change everyone's memories, you know, show them we aren't that bad... Eren didn't want peace on a false pretence. Malcom got mad, saying that Eren had to stay and basically I broke his nose for it and grabbed Eren before running, we heard a shot, but that was after we were out the door. That's when Hannah must have killed him"
Erwin was less than impressed, Levi should have just let Marley take Eren for the moment, the boy could protect himself well enough.
"After that we got a little lost trying to find an exit, finally found a window and took the chance. Eren used his powers to find where you were and we headed that way"
"Levi, why do I feel like you're leaving out a whole heap of detail"
"Because your paranoid, now tell me what happened with you and Hannah"
"She came running to us saying the commander was dead and we needed to go, except she wasn't completely convincing..."
Erwin's story was the same as the one he'd heard from Hanji, just a little more in depth. The mission had gone to shit and there was only one likely outcome. Marley and Paradis would be going to war.
Both men stood quietly, leaning against the railing on the boat, neither wanted war for their home, but thy doubted Marley would want to try talking it out. Erwin was already strategising, while Levi was planning for Eren's future, there was no way his pregnant omega was going on the battlefield.
"I'm taking Eren... when war comes I'm taking Eren, they'll be after him first..."
"Levi you can't, well need you both on the battlefield"
"Erwin, I'm not letting my pregnant mate fight"
"Well maybe you should have thought things through before getting him pregnant, this is exactly why omegas don't belong in the military"
"Don't talk about him like that, I'm not having it"
"Well you both should have considered your positions, you should never have fucked him Levi. Why couldn't you settle down with someone like Petra, she's been crazy for you since she met you"
"Oh so the problem isn't because he's a shifter, it's because he's a guy?"
"Levi, don't put words in my mouth, you know..."
"I know what? News flash Erwin, women can get pregnant too"
Erwin turned to face him properly, he pulled himself to full height like he was trying to intimidate the alpha.
"Look, you don't have to like it, you don't have to understand, but Eren is mine. If you can't deal with it, than look away"
"He's 15 years younger than you!"
"He's also my fucking soul mate. Now I'm leaving, I'll be down with him, if you decide you've calmed down enough to talk rationally, you can find me there"
Levi turned and forced himself to walk away, he wanted so badly to beat his friend into a twitching pulp, make him understand how important and wonderful Eren was.
*
They'd run ashore to the north of the Marley base, Bertholt had shifted in order to help them all off the boat, Eren was blissfully unaware of everything. Hanji had bound his wound as tightly as possible and Levi had redressed him, given that he couldn't actually carry him, he was now in Gunthers arms. He watched the looks Petra was sending his brat and sighed, they'd really need to talk about this, things weren't as alright as he'd been lead to believe. This was exactly why he hated people, you never knew what to believe.
Bertholt shifted back and the group of soldiers settled on the beach to get a sense of their bearings. Marley's base laid practically east of the walls so that meant they needed to head roughly south-south west. The gathered up the supplies they had before setting out, Reiner and Ymir at the front, Annie and Bertholt at the back.
The going was slow and no one spoke, Levi felt like he was about to go crazy from the tension. He wanted something to happen already and it wasn't long until he got his wish.
It was only 3 4m class titans, but that was more than enough to reassure him he was home. He wished they hadn't stashed their manoeuvre gear before heading over to Marley, even if he was one armed, he was itching for a fight. Reiner left Annie to deal with the 3 titans on her own, she shifted back, her expression one of boredom. When night fell they made a small camp, Reiner and Bertholt disappearing from the group.
Levi was the last to sleep that night, he didn't trust the two men, even if they seemed different in this timeline, even if Eren had called them out before they could act. In fact Ymir was the only one he could trust, and that was because he knew Eren told her all about her time with Historian and how crazy the petite blonde was for her. His suspicious of the two shifters only grew when they returned leading horses laden with supplies, the smell of blood clung heavily to them, he wondered how many unsuspecting victims they'd slain.
Erwin had been the one to keep watch all night. Levi had just suffered his usual insomnia.
Mounting the horse, Levi frowned the animal was obviously skittish, not at all prepared for battle, that only increased his suspicious of Reiner and Bertholt. Gunther pushed Eren up into the saddle in front of Levi, Levi couldn't exactly hold him properly but the anger emanating from the alpha halted any objections.
They made slow progress as they rode towards the walls, Levi refused to ride too fast, he wouldn't risk Eren back. Marley didn't exactly make things easy, as they rode they came across titan after titan, the mindless abominations all seemed to target Eren, like sniffer dogs. Levi wondered if his unconscious omega was calling out to them.
The only time they were safe was at night, they tried to cover as many miles as they could, waiting for morning only invited slow progress.
*
Eren jerked awake, his senses screaming something was wrong. He whimpered from the pain in back and jerked as if to get away from it
"Eren, it's alright... calm down... I've got you"
Eren nodded and relaxed slightly, he realised the group had stopped and more importantly they weren't on the boat anymore.
"How's your back?"
"Sore... but... yeah... I've had worse... how close are we to the walls?"
"Maybe half way, Marley's rolled out the welcome wagon"
Eren nodded
"It's alright if you want to go back to sleep..."
Eren nodded and let his weight fall back against Levi, he'd forgotten about his mates injured shoulder
Mikasa moved her horse closer to him
"Is he alright sir?"
"Yeah, just sore"
Mikasa nodded and spurred her horse forward, Erwin and Hanji were already on the move.
*
The walls were crumbled, but not destroyed completely. Marley clearly had the advantage in the situation, from their vantage point they couldn't even count how many titans there were. Eren looked down at the sight, tears welled in his eyes, all he could think of was how many people would be dead, how many lives would be destroyed, the guilt boiled in his gut. He looked at his friends, none seemed to know what to say
"Levi, jump down... I'll take care of this..."
"Eren, you can't be serious... no one can take care of that many titans..."
"I can if I use the coordinate..."
"Eren! You can't! You have no idea what's going to happen..."
"I can't sit here and do nothing! I won't let our friends die!"
Reiner dismounted and moved towards Eren's horse
"Don't you even think about it!"
"Levi, just... trust me?"
"Eren it's not a matter of trust. It took 4 weeks to get here and your back still hasn't healed completely. You can't go into battle like this!"
"Reiner, please help Levi down..."
Levi gripped Eren, but the titan was stronger, he flailed trying to dislodge the mans hold.
"Just wait here alright..."
Eren ignored the pain in his back, the wound had mostly healed, but not completely. He spurred his horse into a canter, heading straight towards the titans group, he had no idea if his plan would work, but he just couldn't do nothing.
He began to panic at the numbers as he got closer, maybe he should have brought Hannah with him, shown the woman the horror of what Marley creates.
He cleared his mind, almost wishing he had Ymir to guide him. As he rode closer, the titans turned, hundreds of eyes and drooling mouthes all directed towards him. Pulling his horse to a stop, he dismounted, almost landing on his arse, pain flared up his back and through his stomach, he forced himself to ignore it.
He glared up at the beasts, their movements slowing before stopping. Slowly they turned towards each other, it was disgusting as they began to tear each other to shreds, Eren shivered from the sight, reduced to tears at the thought that all these titans were once human.
From his position Levi couldn't see what Eren was doing, it was Annie who piped up and explained that he'd dismounted, further that the titans had begun cannibalising each other. Levi eyed the scene with disgust. Ymir shifted, everyone eyed her as she launched herself towards where Eren was, Annie let out a small "oh"
Levi growled
"What's she doing?!"
"Eren's having a touch time, she's gone to get him"
Levi started to move towards Eren too, but Reiner pulled him back.
"Don't interfere, she'll bring him back just fine"
Ymir slowed as she approached Eren, the teen was on his hands and knees, struggling to breathe, she could see the wound on his back was bleeding quiet badly. He didn't even notice as she picked him up, she could feel the heat radiating from him. Levi wasn't going to be happy.
Carefully she carried him halfway back to their friends before laying him out on the ground, she turned back to the battle, the titans were beginning to lose interest in each other, letting out a roar, she launched herself towards them.
Levi was confused at her actions, what was she thinking leaving Eren there, he winced as she roared and the three shifters with them seemed agitated
"She's calling for us..."
Erwin looked down at the battle, before nodding, Bertholt pulled Reiner up onto his horse, the three rode down to the blood bath without looking back.
"Hanji, something's wrong. Help me up, we need to get to Eren"
Hanji took Levi's arm and swung him upwards, he was forced to use this pained arm to prevent himself from sliding off. She nodded to Erwin and started riding down towards Eren. As she grew closer she could see the teen was laying in a small pool of his own blood
"It's his back!"
Levi pushed himself off her horse and ran towards his mate, he shook Eren, but he was completely unconscious and burning up.
"Levi, help me roll him on his side, support his stomach and neck"
Levi nodded as Hanji rolled Eren towards him. A stench rose as Eren was rolled, it was like rotting flesh. Pulling out her knife she began to slice away the bandaging, Levi gagged at the smell
"Levi, I've got to cut him open, it's infected... I need to drain it..."
Levi scowled at her, the smell alone made it clear that infection was running rampant. Taking the knife Hanji sliced the wound open, rotten skin fell away and infected matter began to flow from it. She scampered back, unable to stand the smell. She thought she was a strong woman, but god this was awful. She didn't know how Levi could sit there and hold Eren. She was also confused by the infection. She'd checked Eren's dressings last night and he'd been healing well.
She looked up at the sound of horsehooves, she held her hand up to stop them, Mikasa and Armin would free if they got too close to Eren.
"Don't... I wouldn't go any closer... he's got a nasty infection"
Mikasa disregarded her words and dismounted, she strode to Eren's side, clearly disgusted at the state he was in. She moved to touch him but Levi snapped at her not to. He was so sick of people trying to help Eren, he just wanted to take his brat away. Mikasa wasn't having any of it, her fingers moved towards Eren's back, Levi's eyes flashed
"Don't fucking touch him"
He saw the hurt in her eyes and pulled back, tears began to well, Hanji stepped in to save the situation
"He's right, we don't know what caused this, he was healing just fine last night, it makes no sense at all for him to relapse like this. The trio jumped as a titans roar echoed through the clearing. They turned towards the battle, the titan numbers had dropped drastically, Olou followed their gaze and went to open his mouth, obviously to say something stupid, Petra shot him down with a glare.
"Guys? We should probably start moving, we're lucky those 4 have kept the titans interest as long as they have"
Levi shot Armin a glare, he wasn't moving Eren if he could help it.
"Levi, don't look like that... he's right you know"
"Hanji, he's missing half his fucking back"
"And he'll be missing a lot more of he gets eaten"
"And how do you suppose we move him?"
"I don't quite, we don't have anything to bind his back with"
"Here use my shirt"
Armin started pulling his shirt off, it was hardly sterile, but it'd hold until they get into the walls.
"We'll make a break for the walls, Bertholt should be able to boost us up to the top, our soldiers should be up there"
Levi nodded, it wasn't like any other plan was available. All they could do was hope for their friends victory.
Levi let Hanji take Eren on her horse, he shared with Gunther. He didn't trust himself not to deck Erwin if the man said something.
The horses were clearly not used to titans at all, Hanji had to fight to keep her stead moving forward. Sh waved to Bertholt, trying to get his attention, the titan was too busy fighting, it was Ymir who finally got his attention. Hanji motioned and he seemed to understand. Reiner and Annie moved into cover him while he moved the group members up to the top of the wall. Pixis was standing their yelling orders, clearly confused at their sudden arrival. It was only a few minutes before he was calling for manoeuvre gear for them all. Levi, Eren and Hannah were left there as their friends joined the battle.