Bad News

Lara woke up very scared the next day. There was a certain screaming coming from the castle's corridors and it was a very familiar voice. She looked across the room and Levi was already standing, next to the bed he slept in, opening the door and looking down the corridor.

Last night, Lara had told her father that she would like to sleep alone in a room. Levi said that she wouldn't make it, for she was much used to sleeping in the company of Hange and would end up waking up in the middle of the night crying with fear, because at night, the castle acquired a somewhat ominous appearance.

But still, she insisted and her father was right. At exactly twenty-three minutes after Levi had tucked her into bed, he heard some knocks on his bedroom door followed by some whimpering coming from Lara, who claimed she swore she saw a Titan under her bed. He once more tucked her into an empty bed across his room and they slept heavily, because they were exhausted from all the cleaning.

"Who's screaming, dad?" asked Lara, rubbing her eyes.

"It's… Hange?" he replied, looking from one side of the corridor to the other, leaning against the door. "It's her voice."

Last night, Hange did come to the castle to talk with Eren for only five minutes, but unfortunately, he ended up showing great interest in learning about the Titans that Hange was studying. Lara tried to warn him through hand signals not to do that, but it was too late. She later found out that her mother had spent the entire night talking to the boy.

Getting out of her bed, Lara began to realize that the screams were calling names. She headed to the door and leaned on Levi to look down the corridor.

"Daddy? Is she screaming our names or is it just me?"

"It seems like she is."

"Should we scream back?"

"No. That would be way too embarrassing."

"I agree with you. But these screams are not normal. I think we shoul—"

Before Lara could finish her sentence, a completely mad and disheveled Hange appeared in the corridor, heading towards them.

"AHHHHHH! I've finally found you two! You won't believe it!" tears ran down her eyes.

"What happened, mom?!" asked Lara, worried.

Hange was so out of her mind that she couldn't speak, only articulate her hands and hop desperately.

"Spit it out, woman!" exclaimed Levi, impatient.

"It's… It's…. It's Sawney and Bean!!!"

"What's up with them?!" asked Levi, becoming more annoyed. "Don't tell me that now a pair of wings grew on their backs."

"Of course not, you silly!!!" replied Hange, even more agitated. "Someone… Someone killed them!!!"

"What?!" exclaimed Lara, starting to feel as anxious as her mother. "I can't believe it! How did that happen?"

Levi was now seeing both Hange and Lara hop desperately.

"I don't know!" answered Hange, staring at her daughter. "Baby, come with me, let's get back to our experiments base!"

Before Levi could say anything about it, Hange grabbed him by his shirt, dragging him down the corridor.

"Hey!" exclaimed Levi, tripping over his own feet. "Let me brush my teeth before we go, at least!"

"No, sir!" replied Hange, annoyed. "My Titans are more important than your oral health!"

♦♦♦

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Hange, completely out of her mind. "Sawney!!! Bean!!! This isn't happening! Someone tell me it's just a nightmare!!!"

All that was left of the two Titans were their skeletons, which by now were already evaporating.

Scared, Lara and Levi watched Hange's despair. Not only them, but many other soldiers that were helping with the experiments and some from the Survey Corps, including Eren and Erwin.

"D-Dad?"

"Yes…?"

"Do you remember that you've told me that mom screamed a lot when she thought she had lost me for good on that mission?"

"I do…"

"Was it like she's doing now?"

Levi paused, still staring at Hange with wide eyes.

"Actually, it was a little worse."

As Hange screamed, you could hear a buzz coming from the soldiers, wondering who could have killed the Titans. Lara watched Levi leave with Erwin and the other soldiers from 'Levi Squad' to return to the castle, for she thought it was better to stay at the base to comfort her mother. She approached Moblit.

"Do you know who's responsible for this?"

"No... When I got here early in the morning, they were already dead. A soldier informed me that the criminal escaped using an ODM gear."

"Hmm," Lara held her chin, thoughtful. "Moblit, I believe this crime was done by more than one person. Surely, they needed someone's help for this..."

"I agree with you… Come, we need to help your mom. Her blood pressure must be sky-high."

♦♦♦

At night, Lara followed Hange, Mike, Petra, Erwin, and some other soldiers to the summoning ceremony for the newly graduated cadets to join the Survey Corps.

She had spent the day in the infirmary with Hange, who actually had a really high blood pressure spike and felt very sick. Just like her mother took care of her when she was recovering from her broken rib and foot, Lara took care of Hange with all affection, even giving her a feet massage. Finally, Hange accepted the harsh reality that her precious subjects were lost forever.

"Don't worry, mom," said Lara, as she massaged Hange's feet, "I'm sure dad can capture a few more Titans for you…"

"Ah!" exclaimed Hange, lifting her hands in the air. "If one day Levi does this for me, I'll clean up his bedroom for three months!"

"If you give him a kiss, I'm sure he will," Lara gave a mischievous laugh. Hange turned red in such a way, that the nurse thought she was having another high blood pressure spike.

As Erwin went up the stage to give his typical motivational speeches, Lara noticed among the crowd of newly graduates some familiar faces of friends she had made in Winter Training, giving an encouraging wave to those who saw her from afar. They all looked very frightening and Lara came to the conclusion that it was because of the hell they had been through in Trost.

Lara spotted Sasha immediately, who greeted her with a small smile, followed by Connie and Jean. She also saw Armin and Mikasa, who greeted her politely, as well as a girl named Christa, Ymir, Annie, a boy named Reiner, and another boy that Lara just couldn't remember his name at all, sometimes calling him Bertholdt or Bartholomew, or even Benedict.

Erwin began his speech by praising Eren, saying that he was of great help to humanity in his Titan form. And then, Erwin ended up releasing information that left the cadets very disturbed: that they discovered that inside Eren's former house basement, many clues about the Titans may be hidden. But to get that, they would need to return to Shiganshina and retake Wall Maria.

Mike and Petra went up onstage and displayed a large map, indicating the route they would take to get to Shiganshina. As Trost's gate was now locked, they would leave from Karanes District, pass by the Forest of Giant Trees, and then head towards Shiganshina.

As Erwin continued to explain his plan, Lara whispered to Hange:

"Mom, that's the same route you've taken, back when you found me in the Forest of Giant Trees, isn't it?"

"Yes, sweetie."

"But, why didn't you go from Trost District instead? It's much faster…"

"That was Erwin's initial plan, but surprisingly, two weeks before the mission, a lot of ODM gears started to break and we ended up with a big lack of equipment. So, as there was a good supply at the Forest of Giant Trees camp, Erwin thought it was better to take that route to get more ODM gears."

"Good thing you guys went there, otherwise we would never have met and I would probably be dead for long now."

Hange felt an immense anguish invade her heart, and without meaning to, she imagined the scene of Lara being devoured by a Titan. Her eyes filled with tears and she ended up pulling Lara close to her, hugging her tight.

"Good thing indeed, baby. Good thing..."