Pretty Little Liar (Aruani Element Shifter AU) ✔️

Part Two: Thirty Eight

(Annie's POV)

I hate Ymir. I hate Armin. I hate everyone. I hate this whole situation.

I was still in the tree, waiting for Levi and the First Legion corps to come through the forest again on a practice scouting run. That girl with the black hair was still on my mind. That piece of paper was from that book.

I took out the piece of paper again. The spell was complicated, but I understoodd it quickly.

In that moment, I was so glad nobody else had seen that piece of paper.

I remember The Reverse Spell from when I first read the book, in the library right before I started the transition. I didn't think much about it until I heard about Armin. I didnt know the pages had been torn out though. Not until now.

It takes away a shifters power and takes them back to the last time they were human, before they transitioned. It wipes out their whole memory of shifters too. They go back to normal life. Shifters used to use the spell on traitors years ago, when being a shifter was a gift and not a burden.

I'm going to guess that Levi found it and tore it out, giving it to the scientists who are trying to get rid of us. Maybe that's his way of trying to find a more human way of  getting rid of shifters, by trying to turn us back to normal.

That, I assume, is what they were doing to that black-haired girl. It didn't work, obviously. Poor kid. She's probably dead by now. At least she managed to get the pages to us.

As I read the pages again, three things come into my head:

1. You have to be a powerful shifter to pull this off. Ymir managed the Switch Spell on Armin. That spell is on the page before.

2. Levi is an idiot. Only shifters can do spells. There is no way the scientists can change us. They can only kill us. As far as I'm concerned, that isn't a threat.

And 3. I can use the Reverse Spell on Armin.

The last one has me feeling guilty, and a bit nervous. Mike has been working non-stop with Armin; He isn't a bad addition to the shifters. But I can't bear the fact that he's been forced to change. Yes, we lost Ymir, who was one hell of a warrior, but worse of all is that he had his whole life taken away from him.

I was born for this role. So was Rainer, Bertholdt and Eren, and everybody else. Armin wasn't. I knew everything about him before I transitioned. His dreams, his hopes for the future. His whole life was ahead of him, and Ymir took that away. I'll never forgive her for that, and I'd kill her if I could, but I can't. She's still has an important part to play in this war, even if she's a weak mortal now.

I can't look at Armin properly. In his white eyes I see fear and uncertainty, and weakness. He doesn't belong here. He never should have been part of this life in the first place. Of all the people Ymir could have chosen, she had to choose Armin. He needs to go back to the life he had before. It isn't fair that he's here. And I care for him too much to see him get killed by anyone from the council.

I took a long hard drag on my cigarette, before throwing is away. In the distance, I heard yelling and hid further into the tree.

It wasn't long before Levi and his troops turned up. This was the same routine as always. I watched and listened carefully as they stopped, almost underneath me.

"Fuck," Levi muttered. "Nothing." Then he turned around to the rest of the corps. "There's nobody here. We'll start again in the morning. Scatter into groups of four and head back to base." They did so. Then two horses from the back came forward, with Hanji and Erwin riding them.

As soon as the rest of the troops had disappeared, Hanji cleared her throat. "Levi, two more corps members have vanished. Springer and Braun. They returned to base after the battle and now they've dissapeared. I can assume they're with Lenz."

"Fucking cowards. I don't care. Is she almost ready yet?"

"Yes. Almost."

"Good."

"Excuse me, but what if the fire shifter is stronger?" Erwin asked. I listened closer. I always get a buzz from hearing them say things like that about me. I can almost taste their fear.

"She won't be." Hanji grinned. "Nobody is more powerful than our little pet. Just you wait."

"Stop it. You don't know the extent of the fire shifters powers. Nobody does. We've only come across her once. Do not underestimate them," Erwin said.

"I never have. But they're rats, who need to be exterminated. And I'm not going to give in until they're wiped out." Levi wasn't even facing them anymore, and was speaking more to himself than anything.

"Come on, let's go," Hanji urged. "It's getting dark"

Before he turned around, Levi looked up, and I could have sworn he saw me up in the trees watching. I winked at him, and he turned away.

They left, leaving me alone in the trees.

What was this weapon they had? Maybe the black haired girl was trying to warn us about it. Whatever it is, it promises a good fight.

When I was certain the coast was clear, I jumped down from the tree, and lit another cigarette, before teleporting back to Mike's house.

"Annie?" Armin was staring at me with those scared eyes again. I sat on the windowsill, then jumped up and walked towards them.

"They have something. Something that they're going to use against us the next time we meet. It's very powerful." I threw some water from a glass left on the table onto my emblem, then waited until Bertholdt appeared, with Rainer following close behind.

Eren appeared through the door. He no longer had a sling on, thanks to Mike and Bert's great healing abilities.

"What is it?" Mike asked.

"Come with me," I told Bertholdt and Rainer. "Armin, tell them what I just told you," I said before jumping out of the window again, not moving until I heard two sets of footsteps following me.