The warehouse was even worse than it looked in the photos. It was the last place a super-abled person had attempted an attack, and it had been abandoned for months since then. A chunk of the roof had been ripped off clean and one section of the wall had been blown in, as if knocked down with a sledge hammer. There were also untouched boxes of goods lying around in various states of ruin, and most of the building was charred. Eren touched the wall and his hand came away covered in soot. He sniffed the black powder. “The report said nothing about the building being burned,” Samantha said from behind him. She was down on her haunches, examining marks on the ground. The markings led all the way into the warehouse, as if someone with very hard legs had walked into it, breaking the very ground beneath them as they walked. “Strange,” Drake offered. “This place was definitely fried.” He had spent most of the investigation ignoring Eren and keeping to himself. A welcome
Be thorough and careful, the professor had said in his message.It was characteristic of him, Silas, with his thoroughness and fastidiousness. But Eren had taken it to heart. Which was why he suggested they scope the warehouse after the fight, and find anything else that they could. Samantha and Drake came up empty, but Eren found a strange, blue gem near the back of the warehouse. He opted not to tell the others and stuffed it into his pocket immediately, saving it for later inspection. Some things, he decided, he would keep to himself.All the way home, he palmed the gem in his pocket. It was smooth to touch. Samantha and Drake were silent, each with their own thoughts. When they arrived at the Academy, they reconvened with Sid and Gaine.“So you are saying whoever it was that attacked you might be inside the Academy right now?” Gaine asked. His distress was evident.Samantha shook her head. “I doubt that this is the case. We saw his face.”“Was it someone you recognized?”“Sa
Eren waited till around midnight before he moved, trying to make sure he was sufficiently rested.He found himself sneaking out of his room the second time in the last couple of days. He was a bit more careful closing the door now; it drifted shut with nary a whisper behind him, as he began to embark on his mission.A small pouch was attached to his belt, and in it were all the bugs and miniscule listening devices he was supposed to install throughout all the locations sent to his communication device. Most of them were relatively simple and accessible, though a few of them gave him cause for concern.He wouldn’t let that stop him, though. He might not have suddenly become even more skilled at stealth overnight, but he had long since familiarized himself with the lay of the campus, using the resources available to him. That, coupled with his experience from the last time he had done something like this, meant that this would probably go smoother this time.It was in the very early
Eren yawned noisily as he entered the lounge, a small backpack strapped across his shoulders. The automatic doors slid silently behind him, and he blinked away as he beheld the occupants of the room.“Hey, Eren. Rough day? Where’ve you been anyways?” asked Sid, who was sitting on a futon. He was playing card games with Gaine, who was sitting next to him.Gaine shot Eren a glance.“You look like death warmed over, Trost.”“Fuck off, Winchester.” Eren growled noncommittally as he threw the backpack on the bed, collapsing on the mattress. He didn’t want to admit it, but his activities this morning, undertaken so soon after returning from a mission no less, had really tired him out.“You’re late, by the way. What took you so long?” Sid continued persistently, his thoughts focused on Eren but his eyes practically glued to his game.“I was studying.”“That’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one.” Gaine butted in with his unwelcome commentary.“Fuck off. Are you implying that I don’t study?”“Oh,
The tournament had been going smoothly, though nothing had particularly caught Eren's eye so far. He wasn't a fan of the gladiatorial nature of the tournament, and sitting amongst the crowd made him remember the contempt he had felt for the crowd that had witnessed his own match.He was mostly apathetic to the entire thing, and his eyes had started to droop in boredom when he heard Drake mumble from where he sat next to him.“Ha? Isn't that Elrond?”Eren perked up minutely, gazing down at the arena below them. Indeed, it seemed it was Elrond fighting against someone he didn't recognize.“Elrond? You recognize him?” Eren heard Samantha say, but he didn't listen to Drake’s response.Eren felt complicated emotions surge through him at the sight of the boy, who seemed to be losing against his opponent, a blond haired girl with some sort of prescience that let her predict his attacks. Elrond hadn't been one of Eren’s many bullies; far from it. He'd just been a classmate that had stood
Eren's heart pounded as he jumped from his seat and ran towards the battle field, the cacophony of screams and yells from terrified students ringing in his ears.His eyes scanned the chaos until they locked onto the figure of Justin in the midst of a fierce battle with Samantha and Drake. Without hesitation, Eren sprinted towards them, his muscles flooded and reinforced with MANNA as he weaved his way through the throng.He heard Sid and Gaine calling after him, but he ignored them.He saw when Drake raised his hand to strike Justin, and he knew at that moment that he wouldn't make it fast enough to stop Justin from countering."Watch out!" Eren shouted, but it was too late. Justin's powerful strike sent Drake stumbling backwards, staring dumbly at his mutilated arm.Eren's adrenaline surged and his body was filled with a nearly addictive energy as he launched himself at Justin, landing a well-aimed kick that knocked the wind out of the boy.He landed next to Samantha, who, recoveri
Incidents involving The Waker continued to plague the school and its surroundings. Students, fueled by the potent drug, were losing control, and the consequences were dire. Eren and his group had been tracking the situation, trying to stay one step ahead of the chaos. The Waker was their responsibility after all, since they were the one's to discover it in the first place. Making the Ten one of the leading response teams for Waker incidents had taken a bit of convincing, mostly of the higher-ups who were hesitant to grant such jurisdiction to what amounted to volatile teenagers. A little… pressure, one could say, had solved that for them. Mostly from those in their team who had important connections, and the political know-how to leverage such connections. So instead of being limited to investigating the incidents, they were now slated as first responders in case an incident happened somewhere close to them. Subduing the students didn't usually take much when they were all
With precision and stealth, the team managed to track down the designated location. All they had to do, then was wait for their target. Eren, who had been following them from a distance, could almost appreciate the way they were going about this. When the group finally huddled in a corner some distance away from the location, Samantha spoke; “We know you're there, Eren. Come on out.” Eren jumped, his heart pounding. How had they noticed? He approached them, thinking that staying back would be pointless. There was a question on his lips, but Gaine spoke first before he could. “Did you really think you were going to sneak up on us?” Gaine said, smiling. Drake snorted. “Snowflake is definitely stronger than he was before, but he's still just as stupid.” “Silence,” Samantha interrupted, gesturing towards the meeting point. A car was pulling over at the mouth of an alleyway, and some people in dark clothes walked out. Eren recognized them; gangsters. A man, who had been hidi