"Levi, with the loss of your first Special Operations Squad, you will need a new one... have you thought of possible candidates for your new squad?"
Ever since the death of his first Special Operations Squad, Levi has been asked by Erwin for his new squad. He had taken a lot of time to think about it, and had seen them in action and saw their dedication to their cause, they were still rookies, but with everything they went through, he knew that they were good enough for his new squad.
He gave the names of his new squad, the first couple had Erwin surprised, but the last name had him doubt a little.
"Are you sure about that?" Erwin asked.
"Yes." Levi said.
"I hope you're not deciding because of –"
"I've seen her fight, and from what I heard, she had ten kills and three assists during the Battle for Trost. I told you before, the reason why I'm taking her is because of her skill." Levi said.
"I'm trusting you that this won't compromise your priority of this mission."
Levi glared at Erwin.
"It won't."
~*~
Wall Sina
Sitting in his office, with his son standing by the window, waiting for what he was to say, Lord Reed continued on with what was to happen for the coming days, their move that could change everything.
"Rod Reiss is making his move, we could use this chaos to take her." Lord Reed said.
"So, you want me to take my men, engage battle with Kenny the Ripper and the Scouts and just take her?" Captain Reed said. "And as well as kill Historia Reiss? You ask too much, Father."
"You wouldn't have too much on your place if you have just done your job!" Lord Reed slammed his hand on the table. "It was simple, let the Rod Reiss' bastard be killed at the mission on retrieving Jaeger and make them believe that the girl is killed as well! If you have done that, then we wouldn't be having this problem!"
"The bastard was being protected by a Titan." Captain Reed said.
"Then you should've done everything in your power to finish the job."
"It was too risky, Scouts, Garrisons, and other MPs were there –"
"You graduated number one in your batch of cadets, and yet you couldn't think of a plan to finish the job..."
Captain Reed's jaw clenched, and his hands balled to a fist. He hated it whenever his father would go on about his failure.
"Well, there's nothing we could do about it now!" Captain Reed said. "We will still have time, and I can fix this."
"You better, or the death of your sister will be in vein."
Unknowing to the Reed family, Lord Reiss had his own plans. The nobleman knew to never trust Lord Randal Reed, and always suspect the worst from him. So, when he heard about Lord Reed's daughter has a child who joined the cadets, he knew that it was a threat.
"You won't just be battling the Scouts, but also Lord Reed's very own men." Lord Reiss said.
"Lord Reed?" Kenny said.
"Yes." Lord Reiss nodded. "And I need you to kill Lord Reed's granddaughter... Iris Reed."
~*~
One Week Later
Ignoring what was happening around her, Iris continued on with sweeping the floor of the new Levi Squad's temporary base. Helping her with the cleaning was Eren, who she thought was over exaggerating with his cleaning. When they heard the sound of the door opening and Jean's voice, the two of them stopped to check.
"DID YOU WIPE MUD OFF YOUR SHOES BEFORE YOU CAME IN?!" Eren exclaimed.
"What?" Jean said. "Are you kidding me? Can't you see the stuff we're carrying?"
"You idiot! You think that excuse is going to be enough for Captain Levi? Bad enough I had to make your bed earlier this morning!"
"Who are you my mom now?!"
Leon placed the crate of rations on the table with a sigh. He went to Iris' side and bumped his hip with hers.
"Eren's pumped up." Leon said.
"He's overreacting." Iris said, dismissing the conversation.
Leon frowned at her odd behavior. He didn't understand why she suddenly went silent and barely spoke to him, and that she barely cursed, but he had a hunch that it had something to do with her father. Before they were chosen for the new Levi Squad, he noticed the sudden lack of
"life" in Iris, but when they were suddenly personally picked by Levi for his new Operations Squad, he noticed the drastic change in her personality.
"I saw you cleaning earlier before anyone woke up, I'm sure you cleaned the whole place..." Leon said.
"It's not enough." Iris said.
"We're back." Mikasa said.
"You were chopping firewood?!" Armin said.
"Gotta stay in shape somehow." Mikasa said.
"You were grabbed by a Titan, you should be resting!"
"You're wasting your breath, I caught her doing sit-ups earlier too." Eren said.
"SO, YOU'RE A NAG AND A SPY!" Jean yelled.
The sound of Eren and Jean yelling, Armin chastising Mikasa brought back a sense of nostalgia to Leon and the others, he smiled at the "liveliness" of everyone, he hoped that it could at least bring back Iris back to her normal self.
"Funny, it feels like we're back at the Cadet Corps, huh..." Sasha said.
"Chaos." Armin said. "Makes me wonder why they chose us for this new Levi Squad. Protecting Eren and Historia is such an important mission."
"I guess it's because we're all so talented, I assume." Sasha said as she snuck something into her bag.
"Sasha, what did you just shove into your bag?" Armin asked.
"It's something that's definitely not bread." She replied.
"Really? What did I tell you?" Jean said.
"Come on, put it back." Said Connie.
"Hey, can we focus here? We gotta finish cleaning before the Captain gets back." Eren said.
The opened and came Levi. For a moment, the father and daughter caught each other's gaze but Iris broke their stare and went back to cleaning. Levi's eyes down-casted and went inside.
"What's with all the commotion?" Levi spoke.
Unknowing to the group that surrounded Sasha, Levi came to their spot, he brushed his fingers under the table and found dust. His presence was only known when the group went silent.
"I'm quite certain I gave you enough time." Levi said. "Never mind, we can discuss your failure at a later date... Eren, Hange is anxious to get the experiment right away."
"Right, yes, Sir."
"Our mission is unknown to the public and government, that's why we're deep in the mountains, to hide as we continue on with Eren's training. While he and Hange conducts the experiments, the rest of you will be on guard, making sure that no one is watching us, and you will make sure that we were never there, understood?"
"Yes, Sir!"
~*~
It was the third time they tried, and Eren's form kept changing. He was scrawny, his legs couldn't hold his body upright, it wasn't the same Titan when he first transformed. With a loud screech, Eren's Titan fell on the ground, startling the others that were riding their horses around the area.
"WHAT'S WRONG EREN?! GET UP!" Hange yelled. "THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY DEPENDS ON YOU, DAMN IT! GET UP!"
"Third time and his forms' changed again, he's not even ten meters tall." Levi said. "And his body lacks muscle, plus Eren's scrawny ass is hanging out."
"I can see that!" Hange said. "EREN, YOU THINK YOU CAN STILL MOVE?! GIVE A SIGNAL WILL YA!"
"Eren!" Mikasa jumped off her horse and went running towards Eren.
"Mikasa, hold on!" Jean said.
"Great, the brat's at it again, off to the rescue, she never learns, does she?" Levi muttered.
"There's no response, we're done here!" Hange jumped down the cliff and went to Eren to get him out of the Titan.
The events that followed after were chaotic, the rest of the Levi Squad were tasked to secure the area, make them "disappear, as if they were not there" as the officer said. After, they were tasked to return to the cottage and make sure to keep a low profile, while Levi left with Hange and her squad and headed to Trost to meet with Erwin.
~*~
"I see, another failure... imagine if it would have worked, we could have plugged the hole in Shinganshina in less than a day."
Levi sat quietly on the chair, listening to Erwin. They were to discuss about the latest experiments being conducted, and as well as the mission in hand.
"What we need is information." Levi said. "It's not like there are books about the subject, that'd be too easy. We do have Krista – no, Historia Reiss, maybe she could give us an insight about the Walls..."
"I did some digging before she joined the cadets... the illegitimate daughter of Lord Reiss." Erwin said. "It was not a happy childhood... Lord Reiss is they key to all of this somehow... how could a regional Lord know about the secrets of the Walls..."
"But it wasn't just Lord Reiss." Levi spoke. "You forget, there is someone else that knows as well... Maria."
Erwin's eyes widened in realization. How could he miss that? How could he forget? Historia and Eren were not the only mission they had, but also Iris, a mission that is only known by a few Scouts, namely, himself, Levi, Hange, Moblit, and Leon.
"I didn't give too much importance about it whenever Iris would tell me when she was a kid, but Maria would tell Iris stories about the world beyond the Walls, and history of humanity..." Levi said. "We know about Maria's true identity, her past, and her family... the Reed family is just as important as Lord Reiss, and they're hiding something – more secrets than Lord Reiss himself."
"We have both established that months ago... with the information gathered by Mike, we know now that the Reed family is hiding something in their home – " Erwin asked.
"Iris is just as important as Eren and Historia –"
"I understand, and that is why her safety is given to –"
"Mike is dead, Erwin." Levi said, glaring at the man. "And so is his squad. I know that they were the ones looking after her for the past seven years when it should have been me. You should have told me sooner, so I could have done something about it."
There was a tense silence between the two men.
"It was for your own good." Erwin said.
"I'm her father, she has and will always be my responsibility."
"She's a soldier now –"
"She's my daughter, and she's just as important as Eren and Historia. So why are you not giving me the orders to tell them – to tell her? Make her a priority of the Special Operations Squad, put her in hiding?!"
"Because she knows too little –"
"Then give me the damn orders to tell her, let me tell her who her mother really is."
"With your current relationship with your daughter, do you think she will listen to you?" Erwin glared down at Levi. For years, the man had never spoken against him, he was the perfect soldier, setting aside his emotions from his mission. But now, with Iris' involvement in everything, his judgement is being clouded by his emotions to fix his relationship with her. "Neither of you knew who Maria Reed is. The woman you knew in the Underground – the mother of your child – is nothing but a lie. She hid her life from you and her own daughter... if you tell your squad, they will ask questions that even you or I can answer. If you tell Iris, she will find the answers herself, even if it meant going rogue, compromising our mission and putting herself in even more danger... have you thought about that, Levi?"
Levi was silent. Once again, Erwin was right. He hated that the man knew what was better for Iris, he that he had to follow his orders when it comes to the better of his daughter. But he had to follow orders, not only for the success of the mission, but also for Iris' safety.
"Are you having doubts, Levi?" Erwin asked. "Have you forgotten what I told you?"