Year 850
*KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Hey, Sasha! You try to steal any more food, we'll have Captain Levi chop you into bite-sized pieces. Got it?" Jean says as carries materials.
"Oh, lighten up, Jean. The girl's hungry," I say as Sasha smiles.
"And! I would never, probably..." Sasha says as Armin swings open the door.
"Ugh..." Jean grunts as he puts down the sacks.
"Hey! Did you guys even wipe off your shoes before you came in?!" Eren shouts as I make my way to the table.
"Huh? Are you kidding me?! Don't you see all the stuff we're carrying?" Jean yells.
"You idiot! You really think an excuse like that is going to fly with Captain Levi?! Bad enough I had to make your bed for you!" Eren shouts as Connie, Sasha, and I try not to laugh.
"Oh, shut it!! Who are you, my mom now?!" Jean yells.
*CREAK*
"I'm back," Mikasa says holding an ax and wood.
"Wait, you were chopping firewood?!" Armin yells, worriedly.
"Gotts stay in shape somehow," Mikasa says as Amin holds out his hand.
"You were grabbed by a Titan! You should be in bed recovering!" Armin shouts.
"Is this how it's going to be forever," I say smacking my head down on the table.
"I think you're wasting your breath...I caught (y/n) and her training together," I perk my head up.
"Hey! Don't involve me in your petty arguments!" I shout at Eren as Jean whips his head around.
"Oh, so you're a nag and a spy!" Jean shouts.
"What?! How in the hell!" Eren and Jean continue to bicker as Mikasa walks away with Armin chasing her.
"Mikasa, you know you're only human, right?" Armin says as Mikasa walks away.
"Heh...It almost feels like we're back in the Cadet Corps, huh?" Sasha says, inspecting potatoes.
"Very..." I say rubbing my temples.
"Chaos makes you wonder why they chose us for this new Levi Squad," Armin says.
"Speaking of...(Y/n)? When were you going to tell us about your joining early?" Connie asks.
"I would've sooner...But y'know. Never really got the time," I say walking around the table.
"Makes sense...Protecting Eren and Historia is such an important mission," Armin adds.
"Well then, that only leaves one explanation! It's because of how talented we are!" Sasha says picking up potatoes and bread.
*SNAG*
"Sasha...What did you just shove into your bag?" Armin says sighing.
"It's something that's definitely now bread..." Sasha slowly turns around as Armin grabs her hand.
"Really? What did I tell you?!" Jean says walking over.
"C'mon, put it back," Connie says with his hand on his hip.
"Hey! Can we focus here? We've gotta finish cleaning before Captain Levi comes back!" Eren says, holding a broom close to him.
"Sasha...Bread," I say as Armin grabs the bread.
"Ugh, seriously?" Sasha hesitates.
"What's all this commotion?" Someone asks.
"You know we have to conserve our rations!" Armin says.
"You really think you can just keep pullin' this crap," Jean adds.
"Well! I'm sick of-" As Jean tries to complain more, Captain Levi walks further into the house.
*SWEEP*
Levi walks up to the table and swatches his hand underneath.
"I'm quite certain I gave you enough time..." Levi says inspecting the dust left on his hand.
Eren rests his hand on his forehead while the group of us shutter.
"Never mind. We can discuss your utter failure at a later date," Levi says as he wipes off his hand with a silk cloth.
As I went to go mess with my ring, I picked up nothing.
'Oh no! I must have left it in the fields!!'
I tense up, "Eren," Levi speaks.
"Huh?" Eren responds.
"Hange is anxious to get her experiment underway," Levi says as Eren's glare tightens.
"Right. Yes, sir," Eren says.
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"RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
*THUD*
"Eren!!" Mikasa yells as Eren collapses.
"What's wrong, Eren?! Get up! The future of humanity depends on you, damn it!! Get up!!" Hange screams as Armin and I look down.
"Third time and his form's changed again. He's not even ten meters tall, and some of his body lack muscle. Plus, Eren's scrawny ass is hanging out," Levi comments as I sigh.
"I can see that!" Hange shouts, drawing her blade.
"Eren! Think you can still move?! Give us a signal or something, will ya?" Hange yells as Mikasa rushes towards Eren's body.
"Great. Brat's at it again. Off to rescue. She never learns does she?" Levi comments as I nod to the side.
Hange sighs, "There's no response. We're done here." As she hops down as Moblit follows.
As they make their way on top of Eren, Hange grips Eren from underneath his arms and starts to pull him out, " Hot!! You think you could ease up on the steam a little?!" Hange shouts.
"Hey, be careful! Can't you see he's bleeding?!" Mikasa shouts in Hange's ear.
*SNAP*
"Ahh!! You see his face, Moblit?! Sketch it, quick! We gotta get this!" Hange says with one eye twitching.
"Oh my...She pulled his face off," I say as Levi takes a deep breath out of annoyance.
"Section Commander! Have you no compassion at all?!" Moblit yells back.
*SHINK*
Mikasa removes the rest of the Titan's muscle that was pulling him back as Hange flys backward.
"Uh- I'm sorry about that..." Hange says looking at Eren.
"Not the outcome we'd hoped for. We're still a long way from being able to use Eren's Titan to seal the wall," Levi says looking at Armin and me.
"I suspected so, has to be a big job for someone who is still kind of figuring themselves out," I say.
"Yes. We've known all along this would be like grasping proverbial straws.
"The plan's strategically sound. And simple in theory. All we need is to get Eren there. This could still work, but it all depends on Eren," Levi says as Hange calls the experiment over.
As Armin and I walk off, Levi stops me, "I want you to ride back with Eren's group, I'm going with Hange's squad. We're headed for Trost," Levi says.
"Right," I say walking back off.
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*CREAK*
"What are you doing? You should still be resting!" Mikasa says as I shift my attention from my book.
"Yeah, even I'm resting and there's nothing wrong with me," I say stretching out on the couch.
"That's just because you're lazy," Connie lifts a brow.
"I'm alright. I slept for the whole day. But if you really insist on me resting, fine." Eren walks over to me.
"I'm not moving," I say resting my book on my stomach.
"I wouldn't expect you to," Eren says.
*PLOP*
As I laid flat on my back Eren walked over and threw my book across the room and layed right on top of me, resting my head on my chest and wrapping his arms around my torso.
"Besides, it's my fault the plan got shelved," Eren mumbles.
"No, you tried didn't you? Don't beat yourself up." Mikasa looks at the two of us.
Connie huffs, "All I care about...Is getting the chance to bring down the Beast Titan... That hairy bastard took everything from me. I want it dead!" Connie says as the knife in his hand starts to shake.
'Poor Connie...That Beast Titan turned his whole village into Titans...Couldn't imagine what that's like.'
Connie blinks hard, "It's about time we switch lookouts, you ready?" Connie asks as Mikasa nods.
As Connie and Mikasa leave the hut Eren looks up at me.
"What's wrong?" He asks as I relax my shoulders.
"When I took off my necklace back out in the plains, I must've forgotten about it...I didn't pick it back up..." I say closing my eyes.
"Oh, how could I forget!" He mumbles as he gets up and walks back into his room.
"Forget what?" I sit up as he peaks his head out of the room.
"When you weren't paying attention I grabbed the ring from off the grass," Eren says as I hold up the ring as my eyes light up.
"The rope was on its last life so I got rid of it," He says grabbing my hand.
"Plus, I think it would look better on your hand then around your neck," He sides it on to my ring finger as he helps me up as I stare at the stone.
"Eren, there is something I haven't told anyone, about the kidnapping...I made a deal with Reiner," He jerks his head back and furrows his brows.
"Why?! What was it?" He jerks my hand.
"When you were still attached to Bertholdt and passed out, Bertholdt hold me that there's still a lot of things I don't know about me... And that after you successfully seal the wall, I would go with them... I don't want you to think I'm betraying everyone... I want to know the full truth about my ring and me... I ask you not to tell anyone-" Eren stops me from talking.
"You can't go! Especially with them! You'd die!" Eren yells.
"You don't think I know that, Eren?! I know what will happen!" I yell back.
"Does Captain Levi know about this?! You can always forget about the deal!" Eren freaks.
"Eren, you're forgetting, this is a deal I made with them...Not the other way around. I want to know more things. But first I want to carry out my job as a Soldier!" I say as Eren runs up to me.
"If you won't change your mind then I'll force you to change your mind-!" Eren shoves me against a wall but gets cut off from doing any more.
"Hange and the others are back! We're meeting in the main room," Sasha shouts from the other side of the wall
Eren grunts, "We'll continue this later..." I lift my brow as he walks away.
'Later?!'
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"Now, what's this about?" Levi asks as we all are gathered around the table.
Hange takes a deep breath, "I'm sorry...Pastor Nick...He was murdered," Hange says as Sasha lets out a light gasp.
"Today, in the Trost barracks..." Hange goes on.
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"I figured that the Church would want to get their hands on Nick when they learned he was cooperating with the scouts. That's why I hid his identity and had him stay in the barracks. I would never imagine that they would use soldiers to kill him...This was my fault... I should have been more careful," Hange says as we all look at each other while Levi sips on his tea.
'Why...How is he holding it like that?'
"They tortured him. Presumably for information... Did they just want to know what exactly he'd passed on to us?" Armin questions as Levi sets his cup down.
"Most Likely. But these are the Interior MPs we're dealing with, so you can bet there's something deeper at work here. Now, how many nails were missing on good old Nick?" Levi asks Hange as she perks up her head.
"How many? You saw, right?" Levi asks again.
"I only caught a glimpse of him, but all the nail beds I saw were empty," Hange responds.
"People who talk, talk after one. If they don't, ripping off more won't make a difference. I'm impressed. I didn't think highly of Pastor Nick. But whatever his faults, he's stuck with his beliefs till the end," Levi says as Hange grips the chair tightly as I play with my ring.
"Which means, they have to idea we know about the Reiss family," Levi says I look to my right to see Historia.
"But, the government is up to something. And we've got a target on our backs," Levi adds.
*CREAK*
"Captain Levi, sir!" Nifa says coming through the door.
"I have a message from Commander Erwin," She says handing Levi a letter.
"I went to go tell him about Pastor Nick, but he gave me this and sent me off," Nifa says as Levi looks at me and glares.
"Get your gear, now! We're leaving. Make it look like we were never here." Levi says standing up.
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"That was close. What if they had caught us? Would they rip off our nails?" Connie says as I place a hand on his shoulder, looking down at the house the MPs broke into.
"How did Commander Erwin know they were headed over?" I ask Levi.
"The governments passed down some new orders. There's been a freeze on all Scout activity outside the wall," Levi looks away from me.
"We are to hand over Eren and Historia," Levi says as we are all taken back.
"Captain. I didn't have time to tell you, but some MPs came for the Commander right after I left him," Nifa says as Hange adjusts her position.
"What? Like he's some kind of criminal?!" Hange asks angrily.
"They're bringing this fight out into the open. No more working from the shadows," Levi says.
"They're going to try to protect the wall's secret at any cost... But why? And what exactly are they after Eren and Historia for? They don't want them dead, so what are they planning?" Hange asks.
"Who knows? But they want these two and they're not going to be subtle about it. Which makes lingering here dangerous. We'll move Eren and Historia to Trost," Levi says as Mobit gasps lightly.
"We're taking them to the same district where Pastor Nick was just murdered?" Moblit questions.
"Heading back to the interior would be the worse. With Trust being all jumbled up, it would be easy to slip right in," I say.
"And if things go all to hell, we can use these in the city," Levi says showing off his gear.
"That is true," I say.
"We don't know the identity of our true enemy yet. I have an idea of how we can change that. Hange, I'll need you to lend me some of your squad." Levi says as Hange nods.
"No problem..." She says as she thinks.
"Alright, I'm going after Commander Erwin. Moblit's with me. The rest of you will go with Captain Levi." Hange says as she prepares a horse.
"Roger!" They all respond.
"Oh, Hange! I remember a conversation between Ymir and Bertholdt...I wrote it down, it's all there." Eren says handing her a piece of paper as I narrow my sight on Eren.
'Goddamn it, Eren! You better now have told Hange about my deal...'
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*DING* *DONG* *DING* *DONG*
The bell rang as we made our way into the Trist district.
"Try not to walk all clustered together. We'll stand out. Eren and Historia, just act normal," Levi says as we make our way through an alley.
"Why is the royal flag hanging everywhere?" Connie asks.
"Today I believe is the king's anniversary. Once a year they hand out extra rations to celebrate." I say as Sasha smiles widely.
"Please, don't," I say as Sasha frowns.
"May I please have your attention!" An MP shouts, drawing our attention to the platform.
"King Fritz has heard of the hardship in Trost. He's donating the royal family's reserves. Form a line! There's plenty to go around," The MP announces as the crowd awes.
"All that food and he's just giving it away?" Sasha asks in disbelief.
"Eh. Well, it's not like he needs it all. Not to mention, it's easier to control people when they aren't starving," I say as we continue to walk.
*TNK*
I turn around to see a guy looking at all of us. I squint at him as he makes his way into the crowd.
'That's off.'
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*CHATTER* *MUMBLE*
"Stop," I say as Levi looks behind us.
"Behind us! Look out!" Levi shouts.
*RUMBLE*
As we all look behind we find a dashing carriage headed our way as Levi pulls me to one side, losing his balance.
"Uh! Arm-! Oh- Uh- I mean Christa and Eren! Those bastards are off with them!" Sasha yells.
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"Well damn, Armin seems to uh-... Seems to pull of Historia well enough..." I say looking through a window.
A man was groping Armin as Jean looks away.
"Let's go," Mikasa says as she flys away as I cringe
' Poor fellas'
I hold my hands up and wave as I fly off.
*WOOSH*
"How's everything inside?" Levi says as I huff
"Great!" I say.
"If we wait much longer, they would look right through Armin's disguise," Mikasa reports.
"It's too good! Who knew Armin could pull off Historia," I say
"(Y/n), report to Historia and Eren...And try not to get caught," Levi says.
"Mhm!" I nod.
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'So, the deal I made with Reiner and Bertholdt... I'll stay here, continue until the wall is sealed...Then I'm off with the two of them. Will I return? Who knows... Probably... But I have too much to find out about myself in such little time I have. I won't be telling the others...Not even Jean, it would hurt too much. I wouldn't be able to go if I told him. It'd be someone else he would lose... Ah, shit! I don't know anymore... No! I have to snap out of it! I will pull through on my deal!'
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(A/N): Hellooo!! Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! This book has grown so fast and I know 1K may not be a lot but it is to me! So thank you all! Truly! Love you all and thank you again for all your support!!!! (Sorry for any spelling errors)