Pretty Little Liar (Aruani Element Shifter AU) ✔️

Part Two: Thirty Seven

Meanwhile, while a scared Sasha and an agitated Connie spoke in hushed tones to Mike and Ymir, the female water-shifter was back in the hands of the scientists. Locked up tightly in a dozen straps and chains, she panted heavily, as the strong, sharp chemical entered her weak body.

The doctor, Hanji, and Captain Levi, stood in front of her, behind a glass wall in the segregated bunker outside of the council building.

"When will she be ready?" Levi asked.

"A few days," Hanji answered.

"Had she not escaped we would have finished the job by now," he muttered.

"She wouldn't have escaped if I didn't have to leave and go help all those wounded soldiers you bought back."

Levi ignored her.

"Do you think she'll be able to take down than fire shifter?"

"That's the plan. She has three of the elements. With all of them together she can make fusions and all sorts of new spells beyond their wildest dreams. I'm surprised you found her so difficult Levi."

Levi muttered: "She's something else. So much stronger than that big earth shifter. In fact, I'd say she's an eight."

Hanji blinked. "Woah."

"The earth shifter is a seven, and that water shifter too. What is she?"

"Let's find out," Hanji knocked on the glass and the girl woke up.

"Do you have a lighter?"

Levi took his lighter out and gave it to Hanji. She preceded in sparking a flame, to which the girl responded angrily. Then her eyes turned a triple colour of blue, white and green. She screamed angrily as she couldn't brake free. Hanji took out a monitor from a nearby drawer and counted the rating.

The result was a seven.

"Well, well."

"Will she be able to beat the fire shifter?"

Levi smirked. "If she wipes out the rest of them, leaving the fire shifter, we should be able to take her down."

"So she does the dirty work to begin with then you just jump in at the end?"

"If you gotta put it like that, then yes."

"She's not a toy," Hanji muttered.

"Says the woman who controls her like an animal."

"Whatever Levi."

Hanji left, pressing a button that turns the light off around the girl.

Levi stared at her piercing colourful eyes until they switched off back to normal. She growled quietly at him.

* * *

(Armin's POV)

We were alone again; just Eren and I. Christa was at home, and nobody else was back yet.

We were too quiet. Eren's arm had healed quickly thanks to Bertholdt's healing abilities, and he was able to make us lunch.

He only spoke when he'd put down the sandwiches.

"So, what did she say to you?"

I frowned. My meeting with Annie was circling through my head. There was so much I should have told her, and I said none of it. "Nothing really. Just what happened to her, and how angry she is at Ymir," I muttered. 

"Right," he dropped the subject quickly. We ate the rest of our food in silence.

A few minutes later a large thud send me jumping out of my seat. A bandage was covering my emblem so I hadn't seen that Mike had sent a signal.

He appeared in front of us, landing casually on his feet, before three others appeared behind him, falling straight to the floor.

"Fuck me, that's not fun when you're a normal human," Ymir muttered to herself. Mike ignored her.

Eren stood up as he saw their military uniforms. I recognised their faces from the battle.

"What are they doing here?" Eren growled, his eyes turning bright.

"Calm down, you idiot," Mike scowled, walking past us and pouring himself a drink.

I stared at the two who stood next to Ymir. "Eren? Is that you?" The girl spoke up, then turned to me. "Armin? Remember me? I'm Sasha. We went to school together."

She had no weapons on her. In fact, she only had on her military coat; underneath, her clothes were normal.

Eren stared at Mike. He wasn't used to being in such close contact with people his age, and had been bought up to hate anybody who had military statuses.

"Why are they here?" He growled again.

"Shut up, Eren. They're here to explain."

Sasha took that as a queue for her to talk. "We recognised you in the forest. It was our friend Jean who did that to you," she pointed at Eren's arm, then carried on. "I knew I had seen you two before. Armin was reported missing a year ago. And Eren disappeared years ago. Well, that's what the council told us. I knew something was wrong. The council were telling us that all these kids were being killed by shifters when they were actually turning into them. Your parents, Armin, think you've been killed. Your mum spoke to me."

I blinked. I hadn't thought about my parents.

Connie spoke up. "We're no longer fighting this battle. The council have been lying to us. All this time we've been on a man hunt for these murderous people that don't exist."

I couldn't really say anything. I was thinking about my parents and about the council and their lies.

"How can we trust you? How do we know you're not spies?" Eren only looked at Mike.

"I already checked that," Mike said. "So did Ymir. They're clean."

Ymir had been kneeling against the wall. "They've told us too much council secrets by now. Any trust between them has been broken."

"Okay," was all I managed. Eren seemed calmer. He knew he recognised Sasha. She caught his eye briefly and took out something from her pocket.

It was an old photo of the two of them, marked 'February 2009'. She held it out in front of Eren as he stared at it. 

"Yeah, I remember," he muttered.

Sasha smiled weakly, then turned to me again. "We want to help."

I looked at everyone. Mike was watching carefully, Ymir was kneeling closer, and Eren looked at me.

"Okay. What can you tell us?"