Summary;
Turns out Levi's a mini-celebrity on the entire Marleyan continent, minus the fact that he has no fans. Erudition's a psychopath, and Kramer is our awkward, confused mc for now.

─────•~❉᯽❉~•─────

"Oh, a wonderful specimen you've brought this time, boys. I truly wasn't expecting you two, so my apologies for the clutter." Erudition is practically vibrating from excitement. Kramer has never seen him this happy. It's terrifying.

He wishes he were anywhere else than here. Sheer feet away from Erudition. His clip pinched on his lab coat reads clearly; E. Yeager. The entire family line is clearly deranged. His cousin betrays Marley and runs off to Paradis to have another life, and we're stuck with the phyco. At least Grisha was mildly useful. A doctor.

Until he was found guilty of treason, of course.

And the Owl. He was the one who freed him, wasn't he? There had been no more Owl sightings after the day of the rebel's execution. It was obvious none other than him had found this out yet, seeing as none of his superiors had said anything. It was like they pretended the Owl hadn't even existed.

Back to Erudition.

He's a scientist for the Marleyean military, at least that's what his report says. Those who survived his experiments say he's a sadistic, cruel man.

Erudition spoke again.

"My, my boys." A pause. For dramatic effect, clearly.

"Do you know who this is?" Erudition's grin became deranged. And then he started to laugh. Striäk and Kramer could quite literally do nothing but stare.

"This, boys, is the infamous captain Levi of the survey corps! The son of Marlow! " He started laughing again.

Kramer paled. The captain Levi?! He, Kramer, a practical nobody from the Marleyean army, had captured the Levi Ackerman? Levi's name was infamous on Marley, usually going under the title of the Devil of Paradis. He would kill himself if there came a day the title was passed on to someone else. Someone worse than Levi Ackerman. A demon who outranks the devil.

This captain's mere existence had been a creation of Marley, and he had repaid them with fear. Levi's father, Marlow, had been a man of distant Ackerman blood. He was sent as a Marleyean warrior to Paradis to find an Ackerman clan member so the resulting progenitor could be a weapon against the Titans and Ymir in the future. At the time, it was speculated that capturing an Ackerman clan member would wring out the Founder.

After hunting down an Ackerman, Levi's mother, they had gotten married. There had been many rumours about why they had officially married, but the main one was that it would appear as a better situation to create the child. Any ideas of true affection between them had been shut down during his absence.

He kept them updated every few months by sending encrypted messages through a portable radio, the peak of technological engineering at the time.

Profanities had still made themselves known, though, and a widespread plague-like rumour began to circulate. Marley's war hero, married and fell in love with a Paradisian she-devil? The headlines were divided. Eldian sympathizers were supportive of his decision, while strictly Marlayean reporters were raucous.

But upon his return to Marley, years later, without the promised child, that's what he had claimed on the Marleyean Radio. He had married and truly loved that Paradisian woman. But he dedicated himself to his country more.

He had also publicly announced Levi's name to the Marleyean authorities, labeling him and his mother as enemies of the continent from the day he was born.

According to Marlow, after Levi's mother had birthed him, Marlow attempted to steal Levi, but he underestimated his mother and was stabbed by a hairpin, as he had shown them the scar upon arrival. At least that's what Marlow claimed upon investigation. Marlow was honored to this day. His son, on the other hand, was feared and disgusted by the entire Marleyean continent.

Kramer didn't know why they blamed Levi for his father's tragic injury when it was his mother who had stabbed him. He probably didn't even remember his father in the first place.

Erudition finally calmed down enough to talk again.

"Do you all know what this means, gentlemen?" Eruditon asked, a wide grin on his face. Kramer most certainly knew what it meant, but he shook his head anyways.

"We - Marley, can create a new breed of soldier, of humans made with the power of the Titans. Imagine that! The Ackerman were the people of legend. Faster than an arrow, stronger than a hundred men, the ability to heal from anything! A Titan's abilities given a human form! Imagine an army like that!" He threw his hands up and started to cackle again.

Striäk and Kramer spared each other a glance, but it stopped Erudition in his tracks.

"Oh, I should thank you boys of course. But I see what's happening. You both can supervise his experiments? Yes! A brilliant idea. You will witness Marley's progression and eventual success. You both can be my assistants."

Kramer forced a smile and nodded.

"Well? What are you boys waiting for!? Go get changed! There are extra lab coats in the back locker room. Oh- and make sure to wash your hands. Once with soap and water, after with rubbing alcohol, and the next with a special detergent. It's necessary during an inspection." Erudition barked and pointed to the door behind him.

Striäk spoke up, "Dr. Jaeger, sir. Are we to begin immediately?" Erudition looked like he had been gravely injured by the question.

"Of course!" Kramer turned to the man - Levi. The Levi. - laying on the gurney, still unconscious. He had been out for roughly a day and a half. The anesthetic gas seemed to have been working.

The conversation that Striäk and Kramer had endured earlier, of 'what should have been done' and 'what we should do' came back to him. When they had decided on a truce. The man would get to live but would be sent to Erudition as Striäk had suggested.

Now, guilt and horror crept into his consciousness. If this was Levi Ackerman, then bringing him to Erudition would be a bane, not a mercy.

"Oi! Kramer?" Striäk called, he was already halfway out the door.

"Right." He mumbled, following him. Erudition had moved to his desk and had already started writing his ideas in an open journal, a grin like no other was on his face. He shut the door loudly behind him, almost slamming it in anger and hatred. If the man lying down on the cot was actually Levi Ackerman, it would be best to leave him alone, keep him as a prisoner, and not experiment on him like some lab rat. He was dangerous.

An image flashed before his eyes, Levi laying on the beach, sputtering water and blood, his arm bleeding.

He was dangerous, no doubt about it, but, as odd as the realization was, he was also oddly human.

─────•~❉᯽❉~•─────

The walk to the 'back locker room' was surprisingly long, and for an indescribable reason, he didn't know why, but he felt the need to voice his thoughts.

"Do you think Marlow should be informed?" He asked. His voice sounded meek, even to his ears.

"If Erudition's right, which he most likely is, then he's his son. He should at least be informed." A pause. "But it would be better if he wasn't. Levi's an enemy of Marley. Marlow may publicize his homecoming, and get both of them in trouble." Striäk had stopped to open the door, holding it for Kramer.

"We can force him to be bound to secrecy?" Kramer suggested.

"None of us know how a man may react to seeing his son again. Family, such an interesting bond." Striäk pulled on an apron, tied the strings behind his back, and strolled to the sinks.

Kramer did the same but made sure to wash his hands thoroughly. Even though he felt sympathy for Levi - Ha, an Eldian soldier of Marley felt sympathy for the Devil of Paradis. Now that was ironic - he needed to clean his hands, especially after punching him and carrying him to base camp, and then to his cell. The people who had escorted him onto the gurney and into the truck were wearing full-body suits, for Güte's sake. Who knew what things he could have brought back from Paradis, what horrid, gruesome things? A disease, or an infection, or some horrible regression-inducing parasite that caused one to become animalistic? Who knew? Maybe Levi was hopefully some random soldier, and not one of the most valuable people on the island, and they could just kill him now, once and for all. And get rid of the Paradisian filth here, bury his body where no one would find him, and ignore his fleeting existence in the world.

All his hopes were immediately castigated, once the door opened.

"It's him! It's actually him!" Erudition was grinning wider than Kramer had ever seen him, a paper was waved in his hands.

"I ran some tests on him, comparing his DNA with his father's, and boys, gentlemen, we have taken a capacious leap in Titan science. I truly cannot thank you two enough." He pats them both on the back, his hands, now gloved and stained with a light amount of drops of blood, are pulled behind him, fingers intertwined with each other, as he all but rushes out of the room. A whistled tune follows him out.

Kramer heaves in a gulp of air once the skirl is gone. It's Striäk who speaks first.

"We don't tell him."

"Excuse me?" Kramer quips.

"We don't tell Marlow. We can't tell him. He might, and probably would, take Levi away, and Erudition'll know it was us who told him."

They both halted.

"I don't know about you, but if my long-lost kid suddenly showed up, I'd want him back. Plus, don't believe the Marleyean reporters, Marlow did love that woman and his son." Striäk announced.

"How do you know?"

"Because he told me." Striäk sighed.

"You spoke to Marlow?" Kramer responded. He would have probably yelled if it weren't for the fact that they were in a lab with a mad scientist right down the hall.

"Yes, I did. We were friends before, but we lost touch recently. Best friends. Grew up in the same internment zone and stuff." Suddenly, Striäk seemed years older than Kramer thought he was. A solution suddenly came to Kramer.

"Wait. We could wait. Until there are more people on board with this whole human experimentation fiasco, then we could have less possibility of being found out." Kramer hinted.

Striäk was back to the harsh soldier he knew in less than an instant. "Are you saying we should betray Marley's experimentation division for one cruel act of examination? Are you suggesting that we encourage Marlow to steal his son? Because that's what it sounds like you're saying to me." Kramer tried to say something, but Striäk continued.

"Because if you plan to betray Marley, then I'm going to have to report you to the authorities." He gripped Kramer's wrist tightly, turning it behind his back. Kramer scrambled and pulled at his arm, but it was secured in a death grip. Striäk shoved him against the ground, and he heard the chime of handcuffs.

No. No, no, no, no no no

The comeuppance for treason was Paradis-

Striäk's voice was above his ear, the words were whispered. "I will report you." A pause "And myself."

Kramer shuddered a laugh. It sounded like a wheeze.

"You scared me half to death! You did that just to be dramatic?" he hissed.

"Of course I did. And in case you've forgotten, Erudition is right outside the door. His footsteps haven't left. Lower your voice. You spent years with me. You should know that by now."

"I spent years with the mask of you, not the actual you as it seems." Kramer retorted.

"I wanted to tell you my plan, but I had to seem as brutal as possible until then. We planned with a few other individuals you may be surprised to know. Your ideals align with ours. You aren't cruel like the others here." Striäk explained.

"I will tell you more when we get to a secure location." He murmured and let go of his wrist. "For now, we have to deal with erudition."

"Yes," Kramer stated dumbly.

He got up, covering his now-bruised wrist with his sleeve. Putting on another apron, he threw the soiled one in a nearby laundry bin in a corner. After washing his hands again, he turned to Striäk.

"Let's go." He held the door for him again.

─────•~❉᯽❉~•─────

"Erudition." Kramer greeted nonchalantly. Erudition didn't bother replying this time, only waving them closer.

He pulled on a pair of gloves and sauntered to him. Stopping a few feet behind him, he amiably asked; "How did you get his blood?"

"IV."

He glanced back at Levi and was disturbed to find a catheter stuck in his pale arm, draining blood into a bag hanging on an IV pole. It was nearly half full. He swallowed and went to examine it.

1000 ml

1 L

He was planning to drain a liter of his blood?! Striäk chose a more blunt approach.

"He could die." He observed as he went to look at the monitors littered around him. He seemed to understand what they were showing because he turned to Erudition after a few moments of staring at them.

"I'm aware," Erudition said simply.

"That is a risk I am willing to take. For Marley's sake." Striäk sighs, and peers over Erudition's shoulder to stare at his papers. He points out things and he and Erudition talk them over.

Kramer stares at the two men, feeling suddenly out of place as they continue talking about scientific things. He's never understood science, and up until a few minutes ago, he thought that Striäk never had either. It was odd, being the third wheel. After a few minutes, they seemed to be done, and Striäk leans back, claps Erudition on the shoulder, wishes him well, grabs Kramer by the arm and leads him out.

It happens so fast, Kramer is momentarily stunned as he finds himself staring at the back of Striäk's head. He pulls his arm away from Striäk's lightly, following him back to the locker room.

They peel off the uniforms in silence. Once they throw them into the laundry baskets, they leave. When they open the door, they're surprised to find that Erudition happens to have been waiting for them.

"Did you have another theory?" Striäk asks casually.

"Actually, yes." Erudition ruffles the papers he's carrying, flipping through another sheet of paper on a clipboard.

"I've had a few theories about the Ackerman genes recently, and I believe I came to a conclusion."

"I think the 'Ackerman Clan' isn't a simple term to define a singular genealogy or group of people, of some sort as we thought, but it may have been an actual gene that was changed in that group." Striäk frowned.

"I don't exactly understand." He peers at the files, skimming over them. Erudition elaborated.

"What I mean is, in theory, to not use up more of your time, gentlemen, is that the Ackerman gene will always be passed on, and will always remain recessive, and will become dominant once the Awakening occurs. While each parent will pass on one, they must be awakened individually. This is why Levi's blood tests show he's half-Eldian while his mother was fully Ackerman, and his father was half Eldian-half Ackerman. He has yet to Awaken his father's side of the genes and become a full Ackerman. I also believe that, if this theory prevails, this is how the full-blooded Ackerman tribe has remained 'pure' so to speak, even after all this time. I believe that the genes will be available in variation, in ranks if you will."

Kramer didn't understand a single thing Erudition had just said. Striäk spoke up.

"So, in simple terms, even someone who's one-quarter Ackerman, in theory, could become a Half-Ackerman as long as the Awakening prevails? And what of someone whose one-eighth? Would the same rules apply? Does Levi still have a chance to become a full Ackerman?" Kramer decided it was time to speak up.

"How would we turn him into a full-blooded Ackerman, though?" Erudition and Striäk turned to him. Erudition had a maniac grin on his face again.

"There are many theories as to how to, artificially in our case, Awaken an Ackerman, but the most common incentives, according to theory and the few surviving hand-written experiences, are life or death situations, and an order or choice of some kind." Erudition rubbed his face thoughtfully.

"Anyways, boys, I'd better see you both out." He leads them through halls, and a few moments later, they end up at the door.

"Don't forget to sedate him," Kramer adds as he steps down the stairs. He hopes that if he keeps spouting random stuff about keeping Levi stuck here, it might gain him Erudition's trust.

"Don't worry! I've been working on an anesthetic gas that should work as a direct antithesis to his natural Ackerman regeneration." He smiles as he nods at them, their cue to leave.

Kramer would love to do anything else than leave Levi with this maniac, but apparently, it's for his benefit. He glances at Striäk, whose been quiet the entire time. Kramer turns back and replies.

"Goodbye, Dr. Yeager!"

Another nod, and they're walking down the street in reticence.