Chapter Text
“So, glad ya got in the easy way?” The light voice asked as the owner sat backwards in the wooden chair, crossing their arms over the back of it. The dimly lit room, only supported by one or two candles, showed a woman with brown hair tied up into a ponytail and glasses sitting in a chair. As your eyelids slowly blinked the sleep out of your eyes, you looked around and noticed the woman sitting there. Your eyes immediately wrenched wider as you tried getting up, only to realize that when you shifted, you felt a pain around your arms and stomach. So you looked down to find yourself chained to the wall.
“In all honesty, it could’ve gone worse. Levi could’ve killed you, or you could’ve ran into a titan along the way and got eaten alive.” The woman continued, holding up two fingers and dwindling them around in the air. The bridge of your nose crinkled as you frowned at her, and kept your eyes low to avoid eye contact. You noticed that they didn’t seem to have their odm gear on, so they must not be hostile. But you can’t be too careful, never know what you can expect in the walls.
“I’d rather be eaten by a titan than be kept down here.” You grumbled out, looking down at the floor. The woman lifted a brow and let their arms slump against the back of the chair. “What, here? In the dungeon? You’re saying you’d rather be titan chow? Well that’s a first.” They admitted with a chuckle. Their voice bounced around the brick walls, and it irritated you. How could they sound so calm, or happy? They captured a rogue garrison! What made them think you weren’t going to kill them, if it weren’t for the fact you’re still securely chained..to a wall.
You finally lifted your head to get a good look at their badge. You noticed the colors blue and white, the Wings of Freedom. You scoffed to yourself, then rolled your eyes before clearing your dry throat. “You were part of the Garrison, correct?”
“ Were? ”
“Yes, cadet. Were. That is, until you thought it’d be a bright idea to attack your teammates right after us scouts came back from a titan mission. Lucky it was me instead of Levi, or else you’d be dead!” They chirped with a grin, pointing their thumb to the dark corner where if you weren’t squinting, you’d think nothing was there, but there stood a shorter guy with black hair. That’s how poorly lit the room is. You rolled your eyes yet again and clicked your tongue. “Right…’Humanity’s Strongest Soldier.’” You commented bluntly, as if to add insult to it. The woman chuckled at you. “I’ve never seen someone be so unbothered by his presence! What a wonder you are, cadet!”
“I’m certainly no wonder of yours, now take these chains off, or I’ll cut your throat out!” You shouted, straining in the painful chains that felt like dull, rusty knives that were almost in pieces dragging against your arms and stomach. You stopped when you felt like blood was dripping from your arms, and you glared at the woman as she let out a cackle. When they stopped, they looked back down at you with a cheeky grin. “And how do you think you’ll ‘cut my throat out’ if you’re in these chains, hm? And how do I know you won’t kill me if I let you out?” They shot back with a warm smirk. Your face remained indifferent and you kept shifting in the chains.
“These chains are connected to the wall, meaning there’s left over chains on the floor. With enough sweat and piss, I could get myself out of here.” You grumbled, your nose wrinkling even more. They only stared with a wide smile.
“Ah! So I see you know your acids? You’re smart, cadet! I won’t lie! But you still have to stay with us scouts in the meantime while the government decides what to do with you.” They pointed a finger at you at the end of their sentence. You let out a loud huff then continued to maintain your breathing in the humid climate of the room. The air climate seemed to make you sweat, and it was starting to get uncomfortable. You needed to wipe it off, but your arms were bound, so you couldn’t. Wiping off sweat is a good enough excuse, right?
“What does this have to do with the government?” You questioned as a bead of sweat rolled down the back of your neck. It was itching so bad, but you had to put up with it for however much longer until they decided to release you. You ignored it and kept on with the conversation. Their eyebrows jerked up in confusion. “You..don’t know? That’s surprising, since you’re the one that did it.” They started with a nervous chuckle. You slowly lifted up a brow.
“Well, you kinda decided to take one of your blades and stab one of the Garrison soldiers. That quickly got word to the royal government, and we fought tooth and nail to keep you here so they didn’t completely execute you.”
“ Execute me? ”
“Four eyes, you only kept them because you wanted to test their hunting abilities.” The short guy, Levi, spoke up from that dark corner. Your gaze flickered over there before you squinted to identify his black hair. The woman let out another nervous chuckle. “So what if I did? We do need to take in as many recruits as we can for the next titan mission!” They exclaimed before turning back to grin at you.
“ Recruit? You think I’m gonna just join the Survey Corps because you said so?! The hell is wrong with you people?!”
“Well, cadet, it’s not like you have any choice. Would you rather be rotting away in a cell underground for the rest of your life?” They suggested, keeping their grin as if they didn’t threaten you. You clenched your jaw before sighing. You gave it some thought, deciding that visiting the land outside the walls was way better than having brick walls as your only view for the rest of your life.
“I guess that’s a better alternative.. But what the hell made you ‘fight tooth and nail’ for a rogue like me, huh?!” You yelled out, your voice echoing through the four walls. They hummed then sighed. “I dunno, you just seemed interesting.” They answered simply. You weren’t satisfied, what about you was so interesting? The fact you attacked your other cadets?
“What the hell’s so interesting about a rogue?” You questioned. The woman in the chair could sense the venom in your voice, like your choice of words could kill. And they could, one day you almost drove someone to throw themselves off the top of the walls because you said some offensive shit. The only reason they didn’t was because one of the other Garrison soldiers stopped them before they even reached the edge, which wasn’t a far jog from where you were standing.
“I dunno. When we were coming back through the gate, all exhausted and sweaty, we immediately got word of what was happening. It was lucky that I got over there before Levi did. I saw how fast you were moving and thought, that soldier could be a great use for the Survey Corps! So here you are, in the Survey Corps now!”
“I’ll be damned! I’m not going to be forced in here to become titan chow for a scumbag of a commander! Not even by choice!”
“That’s the thing, cadet, it wasn’t your choice. After I suggested that the survey corps bring you in, the Garrison immediately agreed and signed the notary and gave you away. You belong to us now! Isn’t that great?” They chirped. Your eyebrows knit closer together as your jaw slightly dropped. ‘Gave you away?’ What does that even mean? Did they not want you in the Garrison anymore? Their reason was sound, sure, but what about the soldiers you dared to call friends, Like Rico and Ian?
You rolled your eyes and adjusted your position and wondered how you didn’t feel the chains dragging across your shirt. Now that you thought about it, being part of the Garrison was boring. You never did anything, besides let the scouts back into the walls from time to time, look at the scenery of titan territory and talk amongst one another. Other than that, you never did get any excitement. Maybe joining the scouts would be fun, right?
“...Whatever. As long as it gets me out of these damn chains.” You grumbled, looking down at the rusty chains binding you down. The woman grinned widely and looked back at Levi. “Yay! We have another recruit! This is so exciting! By the way, I’m Section Commander Hange Zoe! But you can just call me Hange!”
You deadpanned your expression at their cheeriness. You wondered how they could be so excited about some rogue Garrison cadet joining the survey corps. Shouldn’t they be more..disappointed..about having someone from the Garrison come join the scouts? You heard Levi scoff in the corner, so you shot your head over to the shadowy area.
“Don’t get too excited, cadet. You don’t know what they have in store for you.” He warned with a grunt. You wondered what that was about, until Hange got up from the chair and crouched in your face. When you turned your head back, the first thing you saw was their grinning expression.
“So, do you like doing experiments?”
“Not really.”
“Well, I’ll getcha into likin’ em! Levi!” They shot their head towards the short man. He huffed in response, which gave Hange an answer. “Go tell Erwin that this cadet’s going in my squadron!”
“Hell no! I take it back! I’d rather be rotting away in a cell than be in a squad with someone as loud as you!”
Hange quirked up their eyebrows and smiled. You saw their expression and frowned. How could they smile after you just yelled at them? Were they not offended? It all seemed like bullshit, and they must be putting on a poker face. You clenched your jaw again and kept eye contact with them. Hange chuckled then stood up in front of you. “So would you rather be put with the Levi squad?” They looked down at you with a toothy grin.
“If it gets me the hell away from you.” You grumbled back in response, looking up at them. They sighed then turned to Levi. “Do you want them?”
“They could use some discipline. And there’s no better way to do that than beating them senseless.” Levi started, stepping out from the corner. He got a good look at you, chained to the wall and still having the balls to yell at Hange. “I’ll tell Erwin about this cadet, and their situation. But for now, keep them here. We don’t need a rogue running around the Survey Corps.”
“Great! So you’ll be joining the Levi squad!”