CHAPTER 7 - The Underground Cell

---

"Historia, what is this about?" Erwin said as soon as all of them was able to sit down at the long rectangular table.

"Yeah, calling us early in the morning is such a bother." Jean said as he yawned and stretched his arms before he received a smack on his head that Sasha gave. Making all of them inside the room laugh, except for Mikasa and Levi who were just watching the others.

"It's about the underground of this castle." Historia started that made the whole atmosphere become serious. They kept quiet as they prepared themselves to listen to what Historia was going to say. "I found out that it is connected to the underground of the old lands of the Reiss family. I still have not gone there because Mr. Thomnas forbid me from going there. He said that it's unsafe for me to go alone." She said as she looked at them one by one before she continued to speak.

"I entrust the underground to you guys." She said when Armin suddenly spoke from her side.

"But Historia, isn't there any other way to get there? Like a passage through your old house? There must be something in there." Armin said that made Reiss shrug her shoulder.

"I don't know. I am not that familiar with the Reiss' house. I've stayed here in the castle for the passed three years, I didn't get a chance to familiarize myself with it." She said, answering what Armin asked.

As soon as they finished of their meeting, they left the private room as the special operation squad, along with Hanji and Erwin went to their quarters inside Wall Sina.

They decided to have their own meeting on what they were going to do about it. Getting cautious with their plan as they remembered what Historia had told them.

"Don't let anyone know about this." The queen said as she looked at Armin who asked.

"Even Sir Thomnas?" He asked, before Historia nodded with her serious eyes.

"He should be the last person to know about it. I quite felt that he was intentionally telling me to avoid that place. One time I heard a cry of a child down there, I am sure there are people there."

"There must be a hidden underground cell there." Erwin said as they were discussing their plan on going to the place where the Queen told them.

"I never trusted that Thomnas." Sasha said that caught everyone's attention.

"How come you knew about him already?" Jean suddenly asked as he placed both of his arms on the table.

"We met him before, at the private library of the former kings and queens of Reiss." Connie said as he looked at Sasha.

"The library where only the one who holds the memories of the ancestor Reiss was allowed." Armin said before he clenched his hands as he furrowed his brows.

"I knew it. He knows something. About the Ackermans and the Asians." Armin said as he looked down to the table.

"We should make a move as soon as possible, before that Mister Thomnas you were talking about get ahead of us." Levi said as Erwin and Hanji nodded.

Their meeting was dismissed as soon as they decided on when would they do their plan. And as what Levi just said, they would do it as soon as possible.

They would be doing it before the next sunrise occur.

"We only have to sneak out without anyone knowing it, right?" Connie asked who was walking beside Sasha while they were on their way towards the Military Police' underground cell.

"How are we gonna do it anyways?" Sasha looked at Connie with furrowed brows as she was about to hit his head, when suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist that stopped her from doing it.

He looked at the person who held her before she felt her cheeks get warm when she saw who did it. "Hey, you hit like a man and it really hurts. I know how much pain can your hand give so please don't do it." Jean said before he slowly let go of Sasha's wrist.

Connie smiled and chuckled as he looked at Jean. "Thanks Jean. I didn't know you're that thoughtful." He said before Jean hissed.

"Seriously, I only did it because once you shout after being hit by her the military police will notice us. You'll only be ruining our plan." Jean said as he walked ahead of the two.

"Seriously, can't he be honest for once?" Connie said as he took a glimpse on Sasha before his eyes softened as he watched Sasha stare at Jean's back.

He sighed as he continued to walk, following the people who were in front of them.

"Mikasa, Levi..." A voice suddenly said that caught everyone's ears. "The two of you should go to the Reiss' house and look for the entrance there."

"But Erwin, didn't we already have a plan?" Levi suddenly asked as they continued to walk.

"I've discussed it with Armin. He suggested this new plan and he is right. We need to know the other entrance of it, if it is located that far to the Reiss' house. Probably, if there really are people there, there is someone behind this." Erwin said as he took a glimpse of Levi and Mikasa who was walking at his back. "And he might be using the other way to get there. Most probably."

Erwin stopped walking as he turned his back at the two. Levi and the others stopped walking as well as they listened and watched Erwin speak.

"You two should go. We can take care of the things here." He said. A tch was released from Levi's mouth before he sighed.

"Fine." He said as he turned around and walked, but then, he stopped as he turned back and looked at one person. "Oi, Mikasa."

Mikasa nodded at him, as she started to walk and followed her Captain. Erwin shook his head as he looked at the two, while smiling.

"That girl is slowly absorbing Levi's attitude." Erwin said as he turned his back before he faced Hanji. "She didn't even salute on us."

Hanji smiled at her husband as she looked at the two who was walking towards the opposite side where they were heading to. "Nah. Maybe she just forgot about it... Let's get going." She said as she continued to walk towards where they would be heading to.

"I wonder what's in the underground that Historia was talking about." Mikasa suddenly spoke out of the blue that made Levi look at her.

"We'll know it when we get there." He simply said, as Mikasa chose to keep her mouth shut after that.

Silence conquered them as they continued to walk towards the stable that was near them. The Reiss' household was no way near where were they, that made them grab a horse without any permission from the military police. They were like thieves as they started to quietly get two horses from the stable. Avoiding themselves in making a sound that could probably wake up or get the attention of the guards who were on night shift.

"Let's go." Levi said as soon as the both of them were on their horses.

The two had a long journey towards the lands of the Reiss'. They were on the farmlands as they tried to set their horses on a walk before they saw a light as a figure of a man slowly appeared, with a lamp on his hands, sneaking out from the old house of the Reiss' family as he walked towards a carriage. Levi and Mikasa went down from their horses as they tied them up on a tree near to the fence around the house. The two of them observed the man that they saw, as the hid on the bushes that were there.
The both of them walked cautiously, getting nearer to the carriage. Near enough to hear a voice that came from somewhere... Some place that the both of them did not know.

Mikasa was slowly straightening her knees to look at the people who were inside the carriage, but the carriage's window was closed, and its windows were not transparent at all for her to see them. She bent down her knees again as she hid behind a bush that was leveled around her waist before the horse started to walk, leaving the two without being noticed by them.

As the carriage was already far away enough for them to move freely without being caught, Levi looked at Mikasa as he signalled her to follow him. The two of them walked towards a concrete road that could be seen behind the mansion.

"Hide!" Levi whispered, enough for Mikasa who was behind him to hear. They saw an unused broken carriage and immediately hid themselves there as they saw two bright fire lights that obviously came from a lamp, being held by people.

Mikasa sneakingly looked at the small opening of the carriage as she saw two men, wearing the uniforms of the military police that made her brows furrow. Mikasa pulled herself back as she sat up straight before she faced Levi. Levi looked at her with his questioning eyes, probably asking her why her brows were furrowed.

"I thought that this house is being taken care of the old Reiss' household. Why are the Military Police here?" She asked in a whispering manner, trying her best to lower down her voice, avoiding to get the attention of those the men who were roaming around the place.

"This is probably the work of the one who is handling things around here." Levi answered as he remembered what Historia told them in there meaning.

"The house is being taken care of the old household of the Reiss family. The other trusted government officials were taking care of it. As much as possible, the only thing that I wanted to do with that house is to renovate it to an orphanage, and until now, I don't know the reason why they couldn't give me the chance to do it."

It's not that they couldn't, it's just that they wouldn't. Levi thought as he looked at the window and saw the light faded slowly from their sight.

The two decided to go outside quietly as they heard another set of footsteps that they were sure it was not one of them who owned it.

Mikasa immediately looked at her back and saw a woman, wearing a dress of a housekeeper.

"Who are you?!" The woman said as Levi turned around and saw the woman as well. Mikasa looked abnormally calm about the situation, while Levi composed himself before he started to speak.

"Good evening madam, but we are here as the soldiers of the scouting legion, ordered by the present Queen Historia to check up on this mansion." Levi said that caught the attention of Mikasa, who was biting her lower lip, trying her best not to smile with what she was hearing.

"We didn't receive a notice from the Queen. How can I believe you?" The woman said that made Levi's eyebrows twitch.

"I am Captain Levi, from the Special Operation Squad, and this girl with me is Mikasa Ackerman from the same squad as mine. I believe that you've heard our names, even just for once." Levi said, trying to control his mouth as he quickly glared at Mikasa who he felt was making fun of him with her thoughts. She seemed abnormally stiff beside him while looking at no where.

The lady was startled as she bowed to Mikasa and Levi as a sign of greeting. "I'm sorry for my disrespectful attitude towards you sir, madam, I don't have a light that I didn't see your uniforms. Please, come with me and I'll lead you to the front door." She said before Levi nodded as his answer. The woman turned her back from Levi and Mikasa as she started to walk before the two started to follow her behind.

"Where did you get to learn to act?" Mikasa asked with her calm and stright face making her look serious when she actually was not, teasing her Captain more with it. "You're not as kind as that to any people." She added as she looked forward, as the right side of her lips was slowly going up as she could see in her peripheral view her Captain's pissed face.

"Tch. Just act accordingly." He said as he fastened his pace with his walk, leaving Mikasa a little behind.

Mikasa shrugged her shoulders as her straight face was still painted on her face. She followed the two on the front door before the maid opened the door for them.

"Levi-san, Mikasa-san, please feel free to check up the mansion." She said before she bowed at the two who just entered the large place.

Levi nodded as Mikasa noticed how the other maids inside the house was startled to see the two of them. The both of them started to hear some whispers as they started to pass beside them.

Levi furrowed his eyebrows as a sign of his irritarion towards the noise that the maids were causing. "Can't they shut up? As if they've seen an abnormal creature to start gossiping like that." He whispered, enough for Mikasa, who was beside him to hear.

"Well, it seems like it. Aren't you abnormal?" She said with her straight face, her eyes focusing on the hallway. Levi glared at her before he pulled himself from looking at her and started to face the hallway as well.

"Where the hell are we going anyways? We can't find any underground passage here easily. The place is freaking big." He said before he looked at the window that they were supposed to be passing by with when his eyes suddenly grew big before he stopped walking, making Mikasa stopped as well and look at where her Captain was looking.

"It'll be hard if we'll stick together like this." Mikasa said, indirectly telling her Captain that it would be easier for them to find the place if they would seperate ways in finding the underground passage, but it would be too risky.

"Shut up and observe the Military Police." He said as his eyes were glued to the two Military Police that they saw outside the mansion. The two men walked towards a small door that looked like a passage way to a basement of the small storage house of the mansion.

"Let's go there and follow the two." Levi said as he jumped on the open window to go outside of the house. Mikasa quietly followed as they were cautious about there surroundings.

"You sure it's safe to just follow them?" She said as she looked around to see if there were people around them. Levi did not respond as she soon followed her Captain dowstairs.

As she close the door, Mikasa unexpectedly stepped on something that made a sound. Twigs. She thought. "Be careful." Levi said as he continued to walk cautiously inside the basement as he observed the way, having quite a hard time.

"I'm sorry, it's too dark in here." She said, and the other just kept on quiet.

The both of them were depending on the small light that was being held by the two Military Police that was holding as they followed them from afar.

"Jeez, why do we have to guard those people anyways?" They heard the man on the left said, probably complaining about the ones that Historia had told them.

"Bunch of cry babies." Said by the other man.

The two's brows furrowed as they continued to walk, suddenly hearing cries of children made them curious on how many were there in total.

"This place doesn't even look like a basement. This is a freaking underground cell for criminals." Levi suddenly said, as they felt that they were getting nearer and nearer towards the place where the people were.

"This place is different from the place where we went before." Mikasa said tht made Levi look at her. "The place where Eren was tied... You think that place is connected with this place as well?"

Levi stopped walking as he saw torches hanging on the walls. "Most probably. There's a torch around there. Let's go."

The both of them walked towards where the torch was, before the two policemen noticed them, but the two did not care. The policemen suddenly grabbed their guns from their sides as they pointed it out against the two.

"Scouting legion, why are you guys here?!" The first man said before Levi looked at the other one who looked like he was hesitating to point his gun towards them.

"That's Captain Levi and Mikasa Ackerman, shouldn't we just let them be?" The second man whispered, but still, the two heard what he said.

"You're scared of them? Geez, we have guns, they only have their swords with them." The first man talked back that made Levi's furrowed brows furrowed even more.

"Shut up weakling. Relying on your weapons aren't you?" He said before he started to run towards them and kicked the man on his knees before he kicked him on his face as he held him on his hair. "You're just good at talking."

"Oi! Sean! What are you doing?!" The man that Levi was holding said, as he looked at the guy beside him, being held by Mikasa making him unable to move as well.

Levi nodded at Mikasa before Mikasa returned the nod. The both of them punched the two men on their jaws that made them fell asleep. Who knew how strong their punches were.

They left the two men there as they started to run freely on the wall, following the lightened torches as the cries were getting louder and louder.

Their eyes grew big, as they saw the underground cell that they were expecting.

They did not expect on seeing a lot of people.

-

He was hearing loud knock on his door in the middle of the night, that made him stand up from his bed and walked towards the door with his furrowed brows.

He opened the door and was shocked to see her crying. As soon as the door was opened fully, she entered the room and immediately hugged him as she cried on his chest.

"A-Annie, what's wrong?" Eren said as he hesitantly placed his hands on her back and head.

Annie did not respond, she was too occupied of thinking about something else. "Annie."

Eren slowly closed the door as he hugged Annie, only the moonlight coming from the window was the only thing that served them light.

As Annie hugged him tightly, Eren embraced her with his arms full of concern.