Mission Success: A Different Story

Plans Part 1

Eren sat on his bed, staring blankly at the wall across the room as he fiddled with the key around his neck. He had to escape. Everything he learned would be beneficial to everyone in the Scouts. He just had to get there. Somehow.

Ymir had already gone to get her Titan removed. No one knew if she was coming back alive. Krista was distraught with worry, so it was no good trying to get her to hop on board. Besides, they both seemed like they had settled here pretty damn well. Eren scowled at the wall. He was alone with this mission. The largest problem was getting back to the Walls. It took them three days by boat to reach here, so swimming was out of the question. So he would have to stowaway on a boat to the Walls. When do they go, and where would the best place be to hide?

Eren scratched the back of his head and growled in frustration. Thinking about great plans was always Armin's thing. Eren knew that he let his own emotions run him rather than the other way around, and pretending to be submissive had been extremely difficult. Now on top of that, he had to find a way to get back to the Walls covertly. It was damn near impossible, but he had to succeed at all costs. It was good that he had everyone's trust, it meant no one would suspect him of trying to escape. Now, time to get to business. 

Eren stood up and paced his small room. First, he had to learn more about boats, and what they looked like. That would help him find a place to hide. Eren growled and moved towards the door. To learn anything, he needed to head to a place of learning- the library. Problem was, he had no idea where it was. And he needed to be careful of who he asked. Reiner and Bertolt both knew he was terrible at reading, he had to have quite a bit of Armin's help through classes on occasion. He sighed as he walked towards the stairs that led to the dining hall. He really missed Armin and Mikasa. What would they do in his shoes? 

Eren chuckled, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. Armin would be able to outwit his captors, probably would have noticed everyone's weak points, and gotten out by now. Mikasa, she would probably muscle her way through, just to come home and make sure Eren ate breakfast and rested enough. Eren sighed sadly. He missed them just so much.

"Hello, Eren," said Pieck as she nonchalantly crawled up on all fours.

Eren jumped when he heard and saw Pieck below him. "What the hell?! What are you doing?"

She smiled lazily as she slowly pulled herself up using the banister. "Oh, just wandering around."

Ere looked at her quizzically. "On your hands and knees?"

Pieck chuckled. "Oh yeah...You see, it is because of my Titan. It is quadruped, which means I walk on all fours. As such, I tend to walk a little strangely at times. As a matter of fact, after a couple of weeks in my Titan, I do forget how to walk."

Eren blinked at her. " You can stay in your Titan for weeks?!"

Pieck nodded sweetly." Yes."

Eren scowled. "And I can only stay in my Titan for a few hours."

Pieck smiled understandingly. "Our Titans are built differently and have different perks. Mine happens to have great stamina and speed, but not a lot of combat ability. Yours..." Pieck squinted at him for a moment.

"What is your Titan?"

Eren frowned. He didn't want to give out too much info, but he actually hadn't the faintest clue. "I... actually don't know."

Pieck hummed, then sighed. "Bert and Reiner brought home a Titan, but don't know if they have the right one. I should probably speak to Zeke about this. What can you do in your Titan form?"

Eren fought to keep the scowl off his face and instead replaced it with a look of embarrassment."Not much. Transforming is just it."

Pieck sighed again. "I see. You don't know your ability yet. Oh well."

She blinked at him and shrugged. "You coming down for breakfast?"

Eren shook his head. "I actually want to go to the library."

Pieck smiled at him. "Oh, the library? I can show you where it's at."

Eren managed to smile at her. "Thanks, I would appreciate it."

"No problem," Pieck said, walking back down the way she came. "We have one of the best libraries in Marley. We have books on almost every subject, as well as some of the best stories. A very nice place to just sit and read. What are you looking for?" Pieck asked as she led Eren through the halls.

Eren hesitated for a moment. He wasn't any good with books; that was always Armin's thing. He could find the best book just by smelling it, it seemed. Eren would have no idea what book could actually teach him about boats, but Armin would. Pieck looked like she read a lot, though, so it might not be a bad idea to ask her.

"I wanna learn about boats. Like the one we came here on."

Pieck blinked at him quizzically. "Boats? Why boats?"

Eren shrugged. "Just cause it was the first thing I saw, and I want to understand how they made metal float. I'm used to smaller, wooden boats that we used to transport goods on the  river back inside the walls."

Pieck smiled as she reached for the handle on a large wooden door. "Well, as I said earlier, we have lots of books in here, and we have a section just on boats."

She pulled open the door and Eren's head nearly burst when he saw the size of the library within. It was enormous, larger than any library they had back inside the Walls. He could basically smell the words coming through the heavy tomes on the shelves.

" This is our library. And books on boats are over on the right-hand side, closest to the windows with the red drapes. Happy reading, Eren."

Pieck left Eren as he continued to gawk at the number of books that surrounded him. The sound of the door closing brought Eren out of his reverie enough to walk over to the windows with the red drapes and find the boat books he needed. After a few moments, he selected a few at random, sat down, and opened one.

It was written in a language he didn't know how to read.