Attack on Titan: A Blacksmith's Tale

Chapter 45: Demons of the Lioness

Annie stared at him dubiously, her blue eyes gazing at him with concern. "Dillon, I know you've been going through a lot lately."

"You don't believe me, do you?" he asked with a tinge of disappointment in his tone.

"Do I believe that you were visited by the ghost of the First Titan who seems to be mentally stalking you? No, I don't," she answered with crossed arms.

"I'm not crazy," Dillon protested.

There was a sharp knocking on the door. "I can hear that you're awake, Dillon," one of the last voices they wanted to hear said.

The Shifter rolled his eyes. "We're coming out, Hanji."

"Excellent!" Hanji seemed to have returned back to her normal, excited self. "There's a lot more to go through today."

Dillon began to have a sinking feeling. "How long was I out for?"

"You were out for the rest of the day," Annie told him. "I was confined in the infirmary with you until further notice." Carefully, she helped him to his feet. "I need you to put this aside and focus on the task at hand. We'll talk about this later."

The Psion was quite miffed at his encounter being brushed off as a delusion, but there was nothing he could do about. His previous experiences did him no favors in the sanity department.

She wasn't done. "And Dillon? My past is only going to get worse. Don't pull us out this time. Let them see it all."

He nodded as he was led back to the war room. Hanji, once again, was waiting with bated breath, and Levi had a cold, neutral expression on his face. Dillon hoped that another fight wouldn't break out this time, and that Annie wouldn't instigate the captain into losing his temper again. Once he was seated back in the chair, Dillon said, "I'm ready to continue."

"Then get to it," Levi ordered. As expected, the man had not changed one bit since yesterday.

Dillon's eyes glowed again, bringing them back to the crystal mindscape. "Where to now?"

"You lied to us about not knowing how Titan Shifters are created," the captain began, glaring at Annie. "The truth comes out now."

She let out a sigh, a basement door opening. Unlike the bright light and images the last memory had, this one was completely black. All light was swallowed up by this darkness. "It was only a matter of time before I had to come clean. You want to know everything? Follow me." She walked towards the entrance, but she stopped at the doorway.

"Annie?" Dillon asked, worried.

She didn't respond to him. It wasn't like Annie to falter. Usually, when she had a task in mind, she would see it through to the bitter end. Now, it was like she was preparing herself for something. Her emotions were purposefully closed off from her boyfriend. She didn't want him to feel what she was feeling. Taking a deep breath, she entered the darkness, disappearing without a trace.

Dillon followed her footsteps, the world vanishing once he was inside. For a moment, he didn't feel anything, much less see anything. However, he began to feel something hitting his arms and legs, trying to get to his face. He found himself curled into a ball as the memory finally appeared. Three boys, a few years older than Annie, were kicking her around like some sort of rock. He couldn't tell where they were. Too busy trying to protect his (in this case, her) face.

The emotions came back in full force. Even though he was ready this time, it didn't diminish the severity of them. He could feel her anger as more bruises formed on her body. He could feel frustration at how she was taken down by these three assholes. In a small way, he could feel like she believed she deserved this beating for being so weak.