𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙋𝙖𝙨𝙩 || Eren Jaeger

𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆

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"JEAN, I REALLY don't think its a good idea."

"I just want to see her! I have a right—"

"Its better if you don't see her like this—"

"I'll be the judge of that." Jean says firmly. "Now please, move."

Hanji doesn't appreciate his lack of respect towards a superior, but she knows what anguish can do to a person. She understands completely. Sighing, she moves out of the way and opens the door wider for Jean and Armin to enter.

Armin sees Johanna lying still in bed and the breath gets trapped in his throat. "Oh my god..."

Where to begin? She is pasty pale, as though all the blood in her system has stopped cycling. That isn't the worst of it, though. The healthy pink in her lips has been replaced by a revolting, sickly black color. Almost like she ate something rotten. The thin veins on her eyelids, which normally go unnoticed on anyone, turned a frightening shade of night as well, sprouting and fanning out like roots of a diseased plant.

Jean inches closer to her bedside, hardly believing the person before him. He drags forth a chair and slowly sits, scared of making a disturbance, any twitch might trigger Death's process to go faster. 

Armin places a hand on Jean's shoulder, quite stunned himself. "What... what is this? I've never—"

"Devil's Thorn. A rare plant, but it exists." Hanji says grimly. "She was just unfortunate enough to come in contact with it during battle. It's... really a case of bad luck." She looks down at the floor. "Titans aren't the only danger out there, you know."

"This can't be happening." Jean holds his head in his hands, overcome with anguish. Surely, this must be some kind of joke. Poison? He never imagined this is how she'd go out.

Armin sees the veins on Johanna's forearms. Black and engorged, too. "I'm guessing there's no cure?" He inquires, tearing his eyes away from Johanna's still-form, unable to look at her any longer.

"None that we know of." Hanji says and she steps forward. She bends over Johanna to gently pry one of her closed eyelids open. The veins on the whites of her eyes were starting to darken, too. "We're monitoring her. She has ten more hours, give or take."

At this, Jean breaks down. He sniffles as tears roll down his cheeks. He isn't embarrassed at all for being emotional in front of others. He just wanted his best friend to be okay.

Armin rubs his back comfortingly. He turns to Hanji, "Where's Eren?"

"He's with Corporal Levi. They went out on a mission to find a cure in the underground black market. They both think there might be a chance to save her." She sighs.

"You hear that, Jean?" Armin says, trying to soothe his friend. "Don't worry, the Corporal and Eren will find a cure. She'll be alright."

But looking at Hanji again, something about the bleak expression on her face tells Armin that the odds are against them.

꒰ 🥀 ꒱

(The Underground)

"Prepare yourself." Levi says. "Not just physically, but mentally."

They are in a back alley behind some buildings sandwiched together, standing in front of a closed cellar entry. This isn't exactly what Eren had imagined. How much can fit in a cellar?

Levi slips his hand in the handle of one of the cellar doors. "You're gonna see some things in here that you wish you hadn't."

I've already seen some things I'd like to investigate, Eren thinks, remembering the epitaph in the cemetery. But he doesn't question it. He knows that now isn't the time.