Chapter Text
Normally, Eren hated going on client visits with his dad. You’d think being a doctor would be more interesting but Eren knew better. It was normally all boring exams and talking a lot but today had been one visit he was looking forward to. He actually liked going to the Ackermans who were pretty well known here on Alderaan due to some political stuff with the Organas or whatever. Eren just liked it cause he got to see Mikasa, He thought it was gonna be a good day but obviously he got that wrong.
Instead of having a fun day with his friend Eren now found himself at the Organa residence and in the middle of a full-scale emergency, simply wandering around not sure what to do with himself.
"Eren! There you are!"
A familiar voice helped Eren snap out of his thoughts and as he looked up he could see his best friend Armin heading towards him. Eren had known Armin for years. His grandfather was the old security chief of the Organas so they were often found there. Which is how Eren met Armin.
"I heard there’s an emergency, what’s going on?"
Eren arched an eyebrow. "How do you know something’s up?"
"Well, my grandfather still has some connections… and I may or may not have sliced into the security camera network." Armin replied with a bit of a smug grin on his face.
Armin was always a genius, especially when it came down to technology. Sometimes it seemed like anyone would be better off having Armin around than an astromech droid.
"I thought you and your dad were visiting Mikasa today? You look worried, what exactly happened?" Armin continued.
"Well, we were…"
Their visit should’ve been routine, but when Eren and his dad arrived at the Ackerman residence it quickly became apparent today things were going to be different. The first clue was when they arrived there instead of Mr. Ackerman’s kind, welcoming words there was only silence. Grisha called out to them but there was no answer.
The door was open and not in the sense of it was ‘left open’ but it was broken open. Eren could tell Grisha was growing visibly concerned. Despite that they decided to take a look inside and neither of them would ever forget what they found in there. The place was ransacked and in complete disarray.The worst was there on the floor, among the mess, were Mr. and Mrs. Ackerman. Seemingly both shot and MIkasa was nowhere to be seen.
The one thing that caught their attention was a small hologram which turned out to be a holorecorder, on it was a ransom note. Pirates were here and they had Mikasa, wanting to ransom her to the Organas.
"…so they my dad grabbed me and we rushed back here to inform Senator Organa."
"Poor Mikasa. So what's the plan now?"
"My dad is with Senator Organa right now to call the Jedi for help."
Armin’s face lit up as bright as the two suns of Tatooine. He always admired the Jedi. "Woah, really?! So a Jedi is coming here? That’s so cool!"
Usually Eren would join in his friends enthusiasm, but he was way too worried about the whole situation to do so. "Even if a Jedi comes here they’ll never be in time. We have to do something now, Armin!"
"You will do no such thing!" Grisha’s stern voice startled both 9 year-olds. "We need to let someone who knows what he’s doing take care of this."
"But dad…" Eren tried to argue before Grisha interrupted him.
Grisha’s face softened. "Eren, I know you are worried about Mikasa but there’s nothing we can do. I need you to stay here with Armin."
Eren lowered his head in defeat which Grisha took as enough of a response.
Eren and Armin spent the rest of the time trying to convince themselves and each other that their friend was going to be okay. That Dr. Jaeger was right and that once the Jedi would get here everything would be better.
The Jedi arrived at Alderaan surprisingly fast, within the rotation actually. Though Armin had never seen a Jedi before, he had heard lots about them and needed to see the Jedi so he and Eren joined with Grisha and Senator Organa to greet him.
The Jedi was surprisingly short; he had short, black hair styled in an undercut, as well as narrow, initimidating grey eyes with dark circles under them. His face nor his voice portrayed any sort of emotion as the man introduced himself as Levi.
"Master Jedi, I am very glad you could make it here so quickly. I am senator Bail Organa of Alderaan and this is Dr. Grisha Jaeger and his son, Eren."
"Name’s Levi. What’s the situation?"
"Right, if you’d follow us then Dr. Jaeger will fill you in on the details, he discovered the problem."
The Jedi gave merely a nod in response and followed Senator Organa. Eren walked by his father’s side to follow too, untill Grisha stopped him. "Eren, wait here with Armin, okay?"
"Why can’t I come along? Maybe I can help!"
"Eren, we’ve been over this. There’s nothing you can do."
With those words Grisha turned around, leaving Eren to wait with Armin. Eren didn’t like this. He hated feeling helpless but he had an idea.
"Armin? You said you sliced into the security camera network, right?"
Armin was taken aback. "Eren..we can’t possibly do that!"
"Don’t you wanna know what’s going on? Don’t you wanna help?" Eren replied a bit irritated.
To Eren himself it was always clear what needed to be done and nobody could ever stop him. Armin knew this too, he probably knew Eren better than anyone. So Armin knew it was pointless to argue and he had to admit, he was a bit curious as well. Not much later he and Eren were listening in on the meeting.
Levi’s demeanor was extremely calm, making it hard to figure out what he was thinking. He didn’t seem to beat around the bush either, always straight to the point. "We don’t have time to lose, give me the essentials, Dr. Jaeger."
"Well, to keep it short. A family, friends of mine and the Organas, has been murdered by pirates and their daughter kidnapped. We found a holorecorder at the residence with a ransom demand."
"Play it." Levi promptly replied.
In the recording Eren could see her, Mikasa, his friend, relatively unharmed but with a few bruises. A blaster was held to her head as some ugly Weequay pirate stood there demanding crates of spice in exchange for the girl’s safe release. The sight of it made Eren feel a mix of anger and desperation. He looked over at Armin, who saw the seriousness of it all for the first time. He looked shocked and extremely worried.
"Alright, here’s the plan." Levi said after the recording stopped. "Dr. Jaeger, you will accompany me and the spice on a shuttle to the rendez-vous point. You will act as the Organa representative there to deliver the spice. Once we confirm the girl’s location I’ll attack. I assume this won’t be a problem?"
Grisha seemed understandably hesitant, this could all go horribly wrong very easily. "I’ll do it. Assuming Senator Organa is alright with the plan."
Senator Organa gave small, but confident smile. "I'll have the shuttle and the shipment ready as soon as possible."
The meeting was concluded and preperations were being made, leaving Eren and Armin to process what they just witnessed.
Armin turned towards Eren to say something but as he did he saw the determined glint in his eyes. The one he has seen too often. The one that usually means his friend is about to do something brash and that nobody can talk him out of.
"I’m going with them, Armin."
"What?"
"I’ll sneak on board of that shuttle somehow and go help save Mikasa."
"But that’s-"
"I have to do this, Armin! You don’t have to help, I don’t want to get you into trouble."
If anything could be said about Eren it’s that he possessed an exceptional sense of purpose. Which wasn’t always a good thing but maybe this time he was right.
"Just be careful, Eren. Okay?"
"I will, don’t worry, buddy."
With a little bit of patience and a whole lot of luck, Eren managed to sneak himself aboard the shuttle. There weren’t many places he could hide however since the shuttle wasn’t very big. So Eren’s only hope would be to hide behind the crates of spice that took up most of the space in the shuttle and pray his father or anyone else wouldn't find him, at least not before it was too late.
He hid as best as he could and waited. Patience wasn’t really Eren’s strong suit, anyone who knew him could tell at least that much. After what seemed like an eternity to Eren, he heard two people enter the shuttle. One voice he quickly knew to be his father’s which meant the other person must’ve been the Jedi.
Shortly after the shuttle ramp closed and they took off. Now reality started to sink in for Eren. His father’s words from earlier invading his thoughts: "There’s nothing you can do."
"What am I gonna do?" Eren thought. "What can I do?"
Eren knew it was too late to back out now. No, he had to save Mikasa, so he was going to do just that.
"Master Jedi? Are you sure about all this? What if things don’t go according to plan? For all we know they might be keeping Mikasa somewhere else," Grisha said.
Levi arched an eyebrow at him. "If you have these concerns, why didn’t you voice them sooner?"
Grisha let out a sigh before answering. "We were in a hurry and I didn’t think about it then."
"You can’t always account for everything. If things don’t go according to plan then we’ll improvise. When the fighting starts just make sure to take cover."
"Right."Grisha nodded quickly.
Eren noticed Levi’s expression change a bit. It looked like the kind of expression you see when someone was listening for something very closely or when an artist is trying to figure out what isn’t right about a most recent work.
"What’s wro-"
"Ssssh." Levi interrupted. "Something’s wrong. I sense a presence."
Eren’s heart was beating rapidly. He quickly tried to make himself as small as he could, hoping they couldn’t see him and they’d just ignore it, however small that chance may be.
Levi turned his gaze towards the crates of spice "Oi! Come on out here, kid!"
Eren realized he wasn’t getting out of this one. His dad really wasn’t gonna be happy with him but it’d be nothing compared to his mom when he’d get home. There was nothing else to do but to come out of hiding.
"Eren!? What are you thinking!? Did I not tell you do stay with Armin?!" Grisha hardly ever yelled at anyone but this was a matter of life and death and even he has his limits.
"I know.. I, I just wanted to save her." Eren said looking at his feet to avoid looking in his father’s eyes.
"I know you want to save her, Eren! But that’s not the point! You’re being too reckless, that’s why I’m mad at you!"
At this point the pilot’s voice sounded over the comms. "Master Jedi, we are approaching the landing zone. We have visual contact on the pirates. Beginning landing procedures."
A silence fell over the back of the shuttle, but Levi was the first to break it.
"Dr. Jaeger, you can continue the discussion later. Let’s get in position." Levi looked at Eren, there was something special about this kid but that could wait. "Just stay hidden, kid."
With a soft thud they felt the shuttle touch the ground in the Alderanian Mountains. A slight hissing sound was heard as the pnuematics work to open the ramp, the bright light blinding Eren but once his eyes adjusted he looked outside. Out there, waiting for them were at least a dozen heavily-armed pirates he could see and a pretty sizable ship, most likely belonging to said pirates.
Grisha and Levi unloaded several of the crates filled with spice, meant as the ransom after which they stepped towards the pirates and towards confrontation. Eren managed to dart out of the shuttle and, following Levi’s instructions, he hid behind the crates.
"Yer the Organa representative?" One of the pirates asked as he stepped forward. "Do ye have the spice?"
"We do, it’s all yours in exchange for the girl. We’d like to see her first though," Grisha said calmly.
The pirate gestured something to one of his fellows who disappeared into the ship. Moments later that pirate came walking back out of the ship, accompanied by a young girl with pale skin and long black hair and a blaster pointed to her head.
Eren started to feel sick, rage brewing inside him at the sight of Mikasa bruised and her hands bound. It took everything he had to not blow his cover.
"There is yer lil girl. Now hand over the spice!"
Grisha turned towards Levi and gave a quick nod before making a run for cover into the ship. Levi sparked his lightsaber which shone with a brilliant blue glow as Levi leapt at the first pirate.
Eren never saw anything like it. Levi’s lightsaber moved with incredible speed, slicing effortlessly through whatever it met. making it’s characteristic humming sound with even slightest movement of the blade. Enemy after enemy was send to the ground.
Several more pirates came running from inside the ship, ready to fight the Jedi threat. Blasters were firing without pause, brightly glowing plasma bolts speeding towards Levi, only to be masterfully reflected off the equally bright lightsaber’s blade every which way.
Several plasma bolts hit the crates Eren was hiding behind, dangerously close to himself. For a moment fear took over him as he realized how close he just came to dying. He flinched and hunkered down.
The fear quickly faded away and curiousity came flooding back. He looked back up over the crates searching for the continuation of the fight but instead his eyes were met with a sight that made his stomach turn. A loud scream was heard as one of the pirates came at Mikasa.
Levi was preoccupied with pirates who were equipped with vibroblades. Eren had to act, now, or Mikasa was not going to survive this.
Eren stood up and started running. "Stop!" he shouted, desperation filling his voice.
The pirate ignored him and put his blaster up against Mikasa’s head.
Eren kept running, faster than he ever had. His eyes focussed on the gun. His ears expecting to hear the discharge of the blaster any second. "No!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
Eren felt an enormous power inside of him. He outstretched his arms, ready to throw himself at the pirate and hopefully knock him to the ground. Instead he felt the power release from his body. The pirate was sent flying off the mountainside before Eren even reached him.
In his astonishment he came to a full stop. Perhaps Levi just saved him? Yet, as he looked over at the Jedi, Eren saw Levi cutting down the last pirate, meaning it couldn’t have been him.
Everyone’s attention quickly fell to Mikasa. Levi cut her bonds as Grisha came running from the shuttle. Eren expected to get an earfull from his dad for his reckless behaviour but Grisha was much too preoccupied with making sure Mikasa was alright.
Mikasa’s voice was soft when she spoke. "Dr. Jaeger, where do I go now? I have no family anymore."
Her comment made Grisha realize she had most likely been watching as her parents were murdered. It was a realization he’d rather not think about.
"I’m so cold." Mikasa’s voice was almost a whisper.
To her surprise she suddenly found a crimson scraft wrapped around her and as she looked up her eyes met the emerald green eyes of the brown haired boy who she had become so fond of and who had previously thought she’d never see again.
"It’s warm, isn’t it?" Eren asked.
Tears clouded Mikasa’s vision as she embraced Eren.
"Yes. It’s warm."
Eren wasn’t one who usually hugged much, but this situation was anything but usual. He knew she needed it right now. "You’ll be alright." Eren whispered to her.
Levi and Grisha loaded up the crates of spice again while Eren and Mikasa sat together in the shuttle. Levi decided clean up was a task for the local authorities and they began the flight back to the Organa residence.
"What will happen to her now?" Eren asked, breaking the silence in the shuttle.
Grisha couldn’t really answer that and let out a sigh. "I don’t know, son."
"Can’t we do something?" Eren asked almost pleadingly.
"Perhaps, but I’ll have to talk to senator Organa first."
Eren looked down at Mikasa, who was leaning against his shoulder with her eyes fixed on the floor.
It was silent for a little before Levi continued the conversation. "Eren? Right? What I’d like to know is what will happen to you?"
"What do you mean?" Grisha asked.
"Your son is strong with the Force. I sensed there was something different about him from the start. He already demonstrated his ability to use the Force when he saved the girl."
"And you want him to become a Jedi." Grisha added.
That caught Eren’s attention. "For real!? I can become a Jedi?!"
"Not so fast!" Grisha interrupted. "I think your mom and I should also have a say in this."
"Just don’t take too long to decide. I have to return to Coruscant soon," Levi said.
Upon their return Mikasa was quickly taken away by some medical personel, while Eren couldn’t decide if he should go with her or keep pushing his dad to go talk to mom about letting him become a Jedi.
Eren’s choice was made for him when Armin showed up though. His best friend started to relentlessly bombard him with questions. Armin became more and more jealous with every answer Eren gave him but Armin nearly passed out when Eren told Armin Eren might become a Jedi.
"That’s so awesome, Eren! What’d your parents think?"
"Dad is hopefully taking to mom about it, he didn’t seem nearly as excited as you though."
Armin let out the breath he was holding. "I could’ve guessed that. You can’t blame them though."
"I will become a Jedi. Then I won’t be helpless anymore. I’ll be able to save everyone."
"I hope so." Armin said with a grin on his face. "Let’s go check on Mikasa."
Grisha didn’t exactly have an easy time convincing Carla to let their son become a Jedi. Before he could even start with that he had to help his wife recover from the shock of hearing what her son did today. But by some miracle he pulled it off and so they found themselves saying goodbye to Eren.
Carla wiped away a few tears once she finally finished hugging Eren. "I’m gonna miss you so much. Be careful, okay?" her voice quivered.
"Be sure to listen to your mentor, alright?" His father added.
"Yeah, yeah, I will and I’ll miss you too." Eren knew it didn’t really sound genuine but he just felt too excited. He was anxious to get going.
Levi’s calm, yet somewhat impatient voice drew their attention. "Come on, we have to get going."
Eren looked back to Levi, his new master, and bit down on his bottom lip. "Can I go say goodbye to my friends first?"
"Hurry then."
Eren hurried over to Armin and Mikasa, unaware of what they were about to do.
"Grouphug!" Armin shouted as he and Mikasa pulled Eren in.
He groaned. "Guys, cut it out."
It only prompted more laughter from Armin and even Mikasa was smiling again, which left Eren with no choice but to endure it for now.
"I’m still so jealous. Promise you come back with some awesome stories some day," Armin said as they let go of Eren.
"You can count on it." Eren’s eyes fell on Mikasa; she already seemed a bit better than before. The Organa’s had decided to adopt her meaning Eren could rest easy knowing she’d be okay now.
"I guess you’ll want this back," Mikasa said as she made an attempt to take of the scarf, but Eren stopped her.
"It’s yours now, don’t worry about it."
She looked up giving him a little bit of a shy smile."Thank you." Mikasa gave in to the urge to hug her friend one last time, the boy who saved her life.
"Alright, I get it. I’ll miss you guys too." Eren said in an annoyed tone, but the smile on his face told her he didn’t mean it.
Now his time was really up though, Levi started threatening to leave him behind if he didn’t get on board quickly. With a last wave Eren said goodbye to his old life, ready to start a new one.