"I'm going to miss you, Y/n..." Pieck mumbled as she held me tightly. I chuckled to myself and smelled her hair. It was scented a nice honey and strawberry mix. Sweet. Just like her. She pulled away and smiled at me. Professor Ackerman and Hange were standing behind me. Waiting for us to say our goodbyes. It wasn't like I wouldn't come back. I just had to go for a few weeks. I'd be back in no time. On top of that, I would even come back because of my studies. I still had exams and seasonal map readings to take care of. Plus, Eren seemed fine. He wasn't any different, and if I hadn't known about Hange's lab, I wouldn't have suspected anything.
"Don't worry Pieck. I'll rarely be gone for more than a day. I still have school. When I get back, I need to visit the lab here and there but I won't be staying there again... at least not for some time." She gave me a look that reminded me of mixed emotions. It was understandable. The whole thing did seem extremely dangerous after all.
"Come on brat. We're on borrowed time." Ackerman sassed. Hange entered the car behind them. To be honest, I was scared. So scared. I just didn't have it in me to show Pieck. I couldn't let her worry about me more than she already did. I smiled at her ad a single tear dropped from her eye. She gave me a cute, short wave as I entered Hange's car. As we drove away, I could only think about when I was going home.
"So, Y/n! How are we feeling?" Hange asked in a jolly voice. They seemed way more relaxed and actually pretty excited. They were rumoured to be kind of obsessed with their test subjects.
"I'm okay." I shrugged and leaned my head against the window. The scenery was changing faster than I could comprehend. Were we going past the limit? Hange put a hand on my shoulder, which scared me for a moment.
"You shouldn't be nervous. I'm sure you'll love my patients. Some of them are real sweet!" Hange cheered and put their hand on the wheel again. These patients seemed unapproachable, yet Hange made them seem like mere kindergarteners. It really made me question what their idea of "real sweet" was. I could've stuck with 3 part time jobs instead of this. Maybe 4... but still.
"So um... how did you get to know professor Ackerman?" They scoffed lightly and smiled. Probably recalling memories.
"Levi? I used to work under Historia. The college- I mean." I couldn't tell what they were thinking. They were smiling but their facial expression didn't seem all that bright.
"You stopped for your research?" As they continued focusing on the road, they pulled their hair to the side, revealing an eyepatch. My eyes certainly widened, but I didn't make my shock all too evident... out of respect. Things must've been traumatic.
"I was in an explosion... I lost my longtime partner in it." I remembered the funeral I attended with Reiner. His friend was a victim. One who sadly met his tragic demise. I couldn't even begin to imagine what Hange must've seen.
"I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you find peace someday." Hange shook it off as nothing and continued talking.
"I used to work at a different lab part-time when I was a teacher. Those were the days I'd spend time drinking tea in the teacher's lounge with Levi. Sometimes Erwin would sit with us, but he always came up with different excuses to leave. I wonder why?" They laughed.
"I see. That's nice." They smiled at my words as means to reply.
"Before we head inside... don't be afraid. You might even recognize some people." RECOGNIZE PEOPLE?! You weren't exactly sure if that was a good thing or not. On one hand, you wouldn't be alone with complete strangers... but on the other-
"Let's go." Hange exited the car and slammed the door shut. I followed suit and quickly caught up to them. The building was definitely high-tech. It was modern and minimalistic. It had a cool touch to it. Given the fact that it was pretty secluded as well made everything more beautiful. It was like a sanctuary.
"Hange! You're back. Just in time too!" What looked to be an assistant of sorts jumped out in front of us. She was panicked and her hair was a bit messy. Kind of like Hange.
"Did you make any progress with Zeke?" Hange asked, but the girl shook her head and handed them a clipboard. They looked beyond frustrated.
"Do you think it's possible to assess him still?" The assistant stood there for a few seconds before lowering her head in shame. Shaking it.
"No need to feel down!" Hange called,
"It's not the end of the world, and he isn't some dumb guy who has no idea what he's doing. He's smart. Hell, he's rich. Tell me, Camilla. How do people get rich?" Hange quired with the utmost excitement. I had never seen anyone so cheery about something going wrong. Assistant stalled for a while before deciding on an answer.
"By winning the lottery?" ... wow. To think she somehow managed to get a job here... that surely was beyond me.
"Close enough! By becoming successful! How do you become successful? You work hard!" Hange screamed. They weren't upset or anything. Quite the contrary... they were manic. Practically drooling. It wasn't that pleasant to watch, but alas, they were going to be my boss from then on.
"Hange. He came here of his own volition. Should we just let him leave since he isn't talking?" They nodded and signalled for Camilla to leave. So she did. Turning around to face me, Hange grabbed my hand and led me down a flight of stairs. From there on, we entered a slick steel elevator with a dark red interior. The handles were gold and so were the buttons. Whether or not it was real gold, I didn't know and I wasn't sure I even wanted to ask. Hange pressed the button to the basement floor. It was just a floor beneath us, yet it took the elevator some time to get us there. Perhaps it was far underground...?
"These people are sane... ish." Hange spoke. What's that supposed to mean? Either you're sane or you're not. Right?
"You see. I have logged developments." They pulled out a tablet from their overly large pocket in their coat.
"They tend to become feral. Almost like monsters... if subjected to any... self-harm." You nodded your head as you looked at the screen. There were some gnarly examples of people physically looking unnatural.
"Say, you're close with Finger, right?" Hange turned around as we stopped at a fancy concrete door. Everything there was so simple and minimalistic.
"Um... well. Yes." I answered, not knowing what to expect. They were quite unpredictable after all. They gently padded my shoulder and smiled sweetly, much to my confusion.
"I hope it doesn't affect your performance here. She's still the same person, you know? She's still... her." I had officially surpassed extreme confusion. What the hell did they mean by that?
"I'm sorry?" I watched as their eyes perked up and their face lit into a nervous, but upbeat one. They smiled and laughed it off.
"It's nothing! I was messing with you because you look like you miss her a lot." Their words were sweet and made me feel better about them, but I knew it was complete bullshit. Something was going on. Something that definitely wasn't right. Pieck was somehow involved with this. But how? Pieck didn't seem like the type to associate herself with places and environments like this...
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WOOOO!! FIRST CHAPTER OF THE SEASON! I have so many twists and turns planned for this story.
