Your Promise | Shingeki No Kyojin ;; Eren Jaeger |

Chapter Twenty-Six

Rose

We all gather around Mikasa and Eren, Armin assisting Mikasa in getting him out while the rest of us watch. I hold onto Jean's arm, sniffling with tears seeping out of my eyes that have failed to be restrained.

"I-I thought that he was gone..." I manage to speak.

"I thought so too," Armin grasps Eren's limp hand and squeezes it tight. "Eren... What happened?"

The rest of us observe the crumbling buildings and scattered debris surrounding us, smoke rising from the ruins. "Eren did... All of this?" Jean hesitantly questions.

I lose grip of Jean's arm, falling on my right knee and press the sides of my temples. "Ugh..." I groan in pain as everything around me starts to spin. My head pounds and breathing becomes more and more difficult by the second. Despite my efforts to stay conscious, I fall to my side and shut my eyes, turning everything black.

Third

"Rose... Rose!!" Armin cries out to the fallen girl. He checks her leg, noticing her blood spreading across the white pants she wears at an incredible rate. "She's lost too much blood,"

"Will she be okay?" Mikasa questions.

Armin checks Rose's pulse and nods. "She'll be fine but not for long, her pulse is faint,"

"Then we need to get these two into the interior for treatment," Reiner instructs.

"Right. Alright, let's go, everyone," Armin says and helps Mikasa up as she carries Eren. Jean puts Rose over his shoulder and carries her as well as the group advances toward the wall.

After somewhat struggling to get to the wall with unconscious bodies in hand, they reach the top and enter the lift to go down. "Does anyone wanna carry her now? She's a lot heavier than I thought," Jean speaks up.

"You're lucky she's out or else she would kill you if she heard you say that," Mikasa comments bluntly.

"Oi! Then none of you guys better tell her I said that!" Jean panics.

Reiner chuckles and then extends his hand out to Jean. "I'll take her if you want," Jean then hands Rose over to Reiner and he carries her.

As the lift reaches the ground, the group is surrounded by the Garrison Regiment, standing like they're prepared to pounce.

"Get Jaeger!" An officer commands and the soldiers begin to move. One of them snatches Rose from Reiner's grasp but the officer shakes his head in disgust. "Jaeger's the boy! You got it wrong!"

"Oh, right!" They toss Rose's still body to the ground at the feet of the captain and attempt to catch Eren. However, Mikasa deflects their attacks and holds the blade to a soldier's neck.

"You won't take him away," Mikasa glares at the soldier, sending a cold chill down their spine causing them to retreat. "Everyone else, get out of here before it gets worse,"

"Mikasa-" Reiner starts to say but is cut off abruptly.

"Just go!" Mikasa yells and they all exit the lift, holding their hands up as the Garrison Regiment inspects them before letting them go.

"Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert. Hand over Eren Jaeger at once. If you refuse to cooperate, we will signal for the canons to blow you to smithereens!" The officer announces and glances down at Rose. "Your little friend will also feel the punishment,"

Armin stutters in disbelief. "N-no, they can't do that... We're so close to residential areas,"

"Don't worry, I won't let them lay a finger on Eren or hurt Rose," Mikasa's grip on the hilt of her sword tightens and she clenches her teeth together. "I'll protect them both!"

Eren

Voices overlapping and shouting at one another slowly bring me to consciousness as I open my eyes. Mikasa and Armin stand in front of me, armed, alert, and ready to fight. Looking beyond the two, an entire fleet of the Garrison Regiment surrounds us with soldiers standing on the wall as well.

Mikasa catches me in her peripheral and gasps. "You're awake!"

"Eren!" Armin falls down to his knees beside me, clutching my arm. "Please, tell them everything. I'm sure they'll understand!"

"W-what's going on here? Why are they threatening us?!" I ask Armin.

"There's no time to explain, if you don't answer then they'll kill us all, including Rose, she's already critically injured and unconscious!" Armin points to a soldier who holds Rose's arms behind her back as she lies face down on the ground to prevent her from escaping if she wakes up.

Her uniform is drenched with blood, her face contorted in pain even while she's unconscious. I clench every muscle in my body to the point where I begin to shake. "You... You bastards! What did you do to her?!" I stand to charge at them but Armin holds me down.

"Don't provoke them, Eren, just please answer them!" Armin pleads.

"Silence, you pests!" The commanding officer roars. "Cadets Jaeger, Ackerman, and Arlert!! Your actions constitute treason! If you answer falsely or move an inch, we won't hesitate to fire our cannons! Answer truthfully; What exactly are you? A human or Titan?"

I freeze and scoff. "What kind of question is that? Do they believe I'm a terrible monster?" Shouting back, I respond by saying, "I don't understand your question!"

He scowls. "You dare to feign ignorance? Say that again and we'll blow all of you to smithereens!" He shouts. "We have reports of witnesses saying they saw you emerge from a Titan, from your true self. We let a beast such as yourself through the walls and the Armored Titan could appear at any moment to wipe out the rest of us. We do not have the time, supplies, or soldiers to spare anymore so answer me. If you don't, we will fire!"

"Captain, we should kill them while he pretends to be human," The soldier holding Rose suggests. "They're severely outnumbered and this one here is gravely injured. We have the upper hand right now, we must take advantage of that,"

A shivering chill runs down my spine and I lunge forward in rage but Armin "Get your filthy hands off of her!!" I scream, my throat straining.

I stare at Rose for a moment, her limp body being treated like a ragdoll. Her uniform is torn, soiled with dirt and blood. Her hair has fallen out of the neat braid I saw her in prior to the mission all tangled and messy. 

"Was this all my fault? If I was a Titan, did I hurt Rose and others...?" I glance down at my arm. "My arm and leg are back also, the only logical explanation is that I regenerated... Like a Titan." I clench my fist and furrow my brow. "Rose, I wanted to be the one that finally kept their promise, and I have, I just need to get us out of this situation. I'll find a way to get us all out of here, please hang in there!"