She stared at him for a few seconds longer than she meant to.
Then looked away.
Her throat felt dry. Her chest felt... tight.
She pulled the cloak a little tighter around herself, then shifted onto her knees. Awkwardly.
Almost stiff.
"Hey," she said, voice low and quiet.
Meeyn opened one eye.
"Mm?"
She hesitated — then glanced down, away from his gaze.
"...Thanks," she muttered.
He blinked, lazy as ever.
"For what?"
A pause.
Then, more quietly — almost like it pained her to say it —
"...For saving me."
Meeyn arched a brow slightly, sitting up a little.
Annie didn't look at him. Her eyes stayed on the floor.
"I don't... usually say that," she added, barely above a whisper. "Or know how to."
He tilted his head slightly, watching her for a beat — then smiled faintly.
"No problem," he said, voice soft but easy.
Annie glanced at him just briefly — then looked away again, heat rising faintly in her cheeks.
The silence stretched for a moment.
Then she said something else — even lower, like the words themselves had weight.
"...Also thanks for... trying to stop those Titans yesterday."
The words were thick with something harder than embarrassment. Regret. Confusion. Guilt.
She wasn't sure why she said it.
Meeyn didn't answer at first.
He just smiled — faint.
Just leaned back again, folding his arms behind his head once more and looking up at the patchwork roof overhead.
"Mm," he hummed quietly.
Annie sat beside him in silence, unsure what that meant.
But somehow, that was enough.
Scout Regiment Headquarters, Wall Rose – Morning After the Stohess Incident
The air inside the dimly lit meeting room was thick with tension.
The wooden table at the center was scarred, its surface littered with maps, crumpled reports, and half-empty mugs. Around it sat the remnants of the Scout Regiment's leadership, their faces drawn, eyes bloodshot from sleeplessness.
Commander Erwin Smith sat at the head, his broad shoulders squared, his eyes scanning the room with a calm. To his left, Captain Levi Ackerman leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, his expression a mask of cold indifference, though his sharp gaze missed nothing.
Across from him, Section Commander Hange Zoë fidgeted restlessly, their glasses glinting as they scribbled furiously on a notepad, muttering under their breath about "new variables" and "unprecedented phenomena."
The rest of the table was filled with senior Scouts—veterans who'd survived countless Titan encounters, now grappling with something far less predictable.
The door creaked open, and a breathless courier slipped inside, saluting stiffly before handing Erwin a sealed letter.
The room fell silent as he broke the wax seal and scanned the contents. His jaw tightened, almost imperceptibly.
"From the Military Police," Erwin said. He set the letter down, sliding it toward the center of the table. "A gag order. Effective immediately."
Levi's eyes narrowed slightly, his voice low. "Another one?"
Erwin nodded. "No one is to speak of yesterday's events in Stohess. Not the Female Titan. Not Annie Leonhart's exposure. And especially not…" He paused, his gaze flicking briefly to the ceiling, as if the memory lingered there. "…the unidentified individual."
A murmur rippled through the room, quickly stifled as Erwin's stare silenced it. Hange leaned forward, their voice sharp with barely contained excitement. "You mean the floating man. The one who tore Eren's Titan apart like it was paper and vanished with Annie in his arms?"
Levi shot Hange a sidelong glare. "Keep your voice down, four-eyes. Walls have ears."
Hange waved a dismissive hand but lowered their tone, though their enthusiasm didn't waver.
"Come on, Levi, you saw it! That wasn't Titan power. That wasn't anything we've ever seen! He didn't use ODM gear, didn't bleed, didn't even flinch when Mikasa went for him—" They gestured wildly, nearly knocking over a mug. "We're talking about a whole new category of threat—or ally!"
"Threat," Levi said flatly, his voice slicing through Hange's excitement like a blade. "He didn't ask permission before ripping Eren in half. Doesn't scream 'ally' to me."
Erwin raised a hand, silencing the brewing argument. "Speculation is useless without facts. What we know is this: an individual with unknown abilities intervened in Stohess, neutralized both Eren and Annie, and extracted Annie Leonhart before we could secure her.
He displayed powers that defy our understanding—flight, manipulation of some… substance, and strength far beyond human limits." His voice grew quieter, more deliberate. "And he did it in full view of half the district."
The room shifted uncomfortably. A grizzled Scout named Dieter, his face scarred from a near-miss with a Titan's teeth, spoke up, his voice rough.
"Civilians saw it too. Merchants, kids, even some nobles. They're already whispering. 'Ghost in Black,' they're calling him. You can't gag a whole city."
"You can try," Levi muttered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "The Military Police love their delusions of control."
Erwin's expression didn't change, but his fingers tapped once against the table—a rare tell of frustration. "The gag order isn't just about containment. It's about fear. The Interior MPs are rattled. They're not equipped to handle a variable like this, and they know it. If word spreads unchecked, it could destabilize Wall Sina's fragile order."
Hange snorted, pushing their glasses up. "Fragile? It's a powder keg. One spark—say, a floating man who can shred Titans without breaking a sweat—and the whole thing goes up and the titan inside the walls.
The nobles will panic, the church will scream about demons, and the civilians will either worship him or riot."
"Which is why we're not adding fuel to the fire," Erwin said firmly. "The gag order applies to us as well. No discussions outside this room. No reports beyond what I personally authorize. Understood?"
A reluctant chorus of "Yes, sir" echoed around the table, though the unease lingered. Dieter leaned forward, his voice low. "What about the cadets? They were closest. Arlert, Kirstein, Ackerman—they saw everything. You think they'll keep quiet?"
Levi's gaze flicked to Erwin, a silent question. Erwin's lips pressed into a thin line. "They've been briefed. Mikasa Ackerman, in particular, is… motivated to comply, given Eren's condition. But they're young. Emotional. We'll need to monitor them closely."
Levi exhaled sharply through his nose. "So we sit on our hands and hope no one else gets curious?"
Erwin didn't answer immediately. His gaze shifted toward the nearest window, where the light of the rising sun filtered through the cracks in the blinds. For a moment, silence reigned—until another knock broke it.
A second courier, this one mud-splattered and pale, stumbled in without waiting for permission. His voice shook as he spoke.
"Report from the eastern watchtower near Wall Rose. Titans have been spotted… inside the wall."
The silence that followed was absolute.
Hange was the first to move, slamming their palms onto the table and leaning forward. "Inside Wall Rose? Are you sure?! There must be some mistake—"
"No mistake, ma'am," the courier replied hoarsely. "They're already advancing inland. And we… we can't find the breach. There's no sign of where they came from."
Erwin stood slowly, his chair scraping back against the wooden floor. His voice, when he spoke, was grim.
"Sound the alarm. Mobilize every available unit."
Levi stood too, eyes narrowing. "So Wall Rose is compromised. And we don't even know where."