So, that lie about me tripping absolutely had not worked, evidently. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, really. Still, while Farlan had been exceedingly concerned about my injury and the fact that it was so deep and long, and was on my damned neck of all places, he was easily distracted, and that was something I could have anticipated.

Oh, yes, he was far more interested in counting the wad of money that I'd been given, and so I let him do it, at least to get him out of my hair. I couldn't have two men fussing incessantly over me, of course.

Levi, on the other hand... He was far more upset. As if knowing this and wanting nothing to do with it, Isabel went off to help Farlan and to check on the bird and I was so close to pursuing her and calling her out on it, but Levi had dragged me into his bedroom to actually clean and dress my wound.

So, you know. At least it was properly cleaned, at any rate.

As far as other developments from the past few days, well...

Teaching Isabel to use the gear was quite the daunting task. It spanned across several days, and I'd have wondered if it was because of my teaching style if not for the fact that Farlan and Levi had a crack at it too. She was just so full of energy, it was hard to rein her in to teach her the specifics of flight, the intricacies of using the gear.

Day by day, the bird got better, gathering strength.

Day by day, the cut on my neck got better.

Day by day, Isabel got better with the gear.

Day by day, I got a little more used to sharing a bed with Levi.

It was strange, yes, but also warm and comforting. I was also pleasantly surprised by how much better I felt after my confession from the other day. Or... our confession, I should say.

Goodness, if I had been expecting anything at all, I certainly hadn't expected him to come right out and say it back, to return my feelings. I had expected him to have some kind of feelings towards me, based solely on how he treated me. That's how relationships worked on a foundational level. And besides, how couldn't I figure such a thing? I got special treatment, it was obvious. I just had no way of knowing just how far it went, because he was so very good at keeping his emotions in check and in hiding what he was truly feeling.

It was a damn good thing that I was learning to read him, wasn't it?

Like everything else, it got better day by day, and as the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months, we all grew closer. We went to work each day, made some money, and had lots of fun doing it, actually. The four of us worked as a well-oiled yet incredibly dynamic machine, one where we supported each other always, and honestly... It was wonderful.

It was hard not to grow to love Isabel, just as it was hard not to love Farlan, just as it was hard not to give Levi a hard time about how much he truly loved us, too.

...Not that he would ever admit something like that. But we all knew, so he didn't have to say it. We knew because he treated us as equals, he trusted us, and he cared for us in that weird way that only he could.

In short, everything was great.

But of course, it wasn't to last.

—

Year 844:

"Amaya," Isabel called cheerfully. "Look, look!"

I peeked over my shoulder to see Isabel shoot out a wire up high and propel herself upwards, only to release it and start to free-fall. I knew she knew better than to let herself go completely, and so even when her eyes closed, there was a wide smile on her face and she was very aware of her surroundings. I turned over myself, starting to fly backwards to watch nearly with bated breath as she accelerated towards the dirt below.

But at the very last moment, she let out a burst of gas and shot both wires out at the same time, cushioning her fall and launching herself back up to the height I was at. "Cool, huh?"

"You're like a little bird now," I said with a smile, an excited one that grew as I heard her jubilant laugh bubble out of her throat. "I told you it'd become second nature after a while!"

"How come it takes those soldiers years to learn this?"

"I don't know, Isa," I replied as I fell back a little, falling into line with her as we cut across the city. "As far as I know, they do lots of prep work before they learn the gear because it's so dangerous."

"Ha! It takes them years to do what took me, what? A month?"

"Sure," I said with a smirk, looking over at her. "But... maybe don't ask how long it took the three of us to learn it."

"Huh?!"

"I'm only teasing," I said in a sing-song, sickly sweet voice. And then I looked down, my smirk shifting into a smile. "Ah, we're here. Come on, little bird."

We landed before a pub, fixed our cloaks around us, then went inside for a night of merry-making, drinking, and card-playing, and all for Farlan's birthday.

—

The four of us returned home in a drunken frenzy, or at least, that's what it seemed like. It sounded like we had brought the entire bar home with us, and only two among us were even drunk! Farlan was shitfaced, which was fine considering the fact that it was his birthday, but so was Isabel. She was adorable when drunk, and if she was cheeky before, she was far more cheeky and confident and not to mention loud when inebriated.

But when Levi held the door open and I was first through the door to get home, Farlan and Isabel were paraded in after me until Levi could finally get inside too, but the pair didn't exactly seem to be in a rush to get in the door, to take their cloaks off, or get out of the entryway so Levi could follow suit. Now safe at home, Isabel and Farlan continued their happy little song and somehow, their brains connected in such a way to make me the subject of it.

"Amaya, Amaya, Amaya," the two sang.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head incredulously as I made my way to the couch to drop down onto it. I hadn't meant for it to be one, but the two took it as an invitation and they collapsed down onto the cushions on either side of me.

"Yes?" I asked. "Can I help you?"

Farlan continued to hum, to keep the tune, as Isabel spoke. "Amaya," she said conspiratorially, leaning towards me, "did you know you're like my sister-in-law?"

My eyebrows pinched together with confusion. "What?"

"You see," she started seriously, looking right into my eyes with such an intensity that I hadn't seen in her eyes before. "You're not my real sister, but I call Levi-bro, Levi-bro."

"...Right."

"So," she said, "since you and Levi-bro are together, that means you are my sister-in-law!"

"Uh huh," I said, unconvinced. "And who told you that?"

"It's obvious," Isabel said, and I shot a glance at Levi. We hadn't told them anything of the sort, so I was excited to hear what her reasoning was. Levi's eyes were wide when he lowered himself gently to sit on the loveseat, and I smiled, knowing that the look would be wiped clean from his face if Farlan and Isabel's attention shifted to center on him.

When it became clear that Isabel wasn't going to continue unless prompted, I took it upon myself to prompt her. "And how is it obvious, Isa?"

"Well," she said slowly yet incredibly clearly, which was quite the feat considering she was drunk and she didn't even so much as slur, "you two share a room. I haven't been in there, but I peeked once and there's... Amaya, look at me."

"Sorry," I said, stifling my laugh behind my hand, not having realized my gaze drifted away towards Levi to gauge his reaction. "Sorry. I'm listening, I promise."

"There's only one bed," she said as though this was some great scandal. "And get this: I don't think Levi sleeps on the floor, and I don't think you'd do it either, so... you have to share the bed!"

"We're both adults with plenty of self-control," I said, chuckling a bit at the thought that I was trying to reason with a drunk girl. There was no way she was going to remember this, and there was no way to get through to her on this. Oh, no. This was an uphill battle, and one that I was not going to win.

"There's something else," Isabel said.

"Go on," I prompted.

"This one is super important," she said, and I did what I could to wipe the smile from my face. "Really, very, super important. The most important hint."

"Mm-hm."

I sent another look towards Levi, one that playfully told him to listen too. With the way he was leaning back in his seat, I knew that he was listening, but that he was having as much fun with this as I was.

"When you give us tea," Isabel said, "you always start with Farlan, and then me, and then Levi."

Huh?

"...Ok?"

"There's this saying. It says that people save the best for last. And so you think Levi is the best, don't you?"

"Oh, wow," I said with a laugh. "That's a stretch. Here, I'll let you in on a secret: I go in alphabetical order."

"Oh," Isabel considered seriously, as seriously as a drunken girl could. "Huh."

"Then how come you're always last?" Farlan asked.

"I don't prioritize myself," I answered. "I always serve myself last, no matter what."

"And that's why we love you," Farlan cooed, throwing an arm around my shoulder and pressing his cheek to mine. I laughed, and Isabel shared the same sentiment and looped her arms around mine before pressing her cheek to my shoulder. I couldn't very well move, but I smiled and glanced over at Levi, wondering what there was to be done about these two idiots. Levi shook his head at me, silently telling me not to bring him into it.

But then... I heard a sniffle. "Isa?" She was starting to cry. "Isabel, what's wrong?"

"I love all of you so much," Isabel said honestly.

"Oh, goodness," Farlan said through a long, drawn-out sigh. "She's an emotional drunk."

"So are you," I said, shooting him a look before looking down at Isa who buried her face against my shoulder now. "Isabel, it's alright. Don't cry, little bird. We love you too, you know."

She sniffled. "Do you mean it?"

"Of course," I said with a smile. "Would I ever lie to you?"

"No," she said, "I suppose not. I just don't ever want to be without you guys! So when we make it to the surface, we're going to stick together, right?"

"We will," I assured her. "Nothing will separate us."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

—

Weeks Later:

"Another job well done for our esteemed actress," Farlan said with a smile as we turned the corner.

"Oh, please," I said, knowing he was referring to me. "I'm hardly esteemed."

"But you were able to convince that idiot that you were one of his many wives," Farlan argued, leaning down slightly to my level.

I scoffed. "I'm just a good liar, I suppose," I said lightly.

"It's just good acting," Farlan insisted. "Right, you two?"

"Even I almost believed it," Isabel said with a cheeky little smile. "You had me fooled, Amaya!"

"Like that's difficult," Levi muttered, making her huff indignantly while Farlan and I chuckled. All laughter and banter died in our throats and our moods soured as we approached our home only to find a newcomer - a withered, dignified looking man who was definitely not from this city - waiting for us.

We stopped, and Isabel was the first to speak up. "What, old man? Need something?"

"I'm here to offer a job."

"You've got the wrong place," Farlan said. "We don't do odd jobs."

The man wasn't giving up that easily. "We'll pay-"

"Get lost," Levi said firmly, offering little room for negotiation as he started to walk again. We fell into step after him, passing by the old man, none of us daring to meet his eyes... except me. I looked at him as I passed and I tried to look beyond them, to look for a sign that he was lying.

He wasn't.

As far as I could tell, this stranger was being honest. But still, I was wary and I had a bad feeling about him, especially when he spoke once more, looking right at me. "We've already made the down payment."

"You're nuts," Farlan said. "We've never even met you."

"Yes," the stranger said, "but I believe you know this fellow."

We followed his gaze and sure enough, there was an ornate, covered carriage and... Yan was getting helped up into it. I glanced at Farlan who was the most visibly upset by this. We all worked with him, but Farlan had known him for years, and...

"Yan!"

"His leg requires help," the man said uselessly. We all knew that already. "He needs a hospital on the surface." His voice was empty, impassive.

He didn't care about Yan, and whoever was setting this up did not care about Yan. I had half a mind to believe that Yan wasn't really about to get the help that he needed, not without a fight of a life weighed down with debt.

This just didn't feel right. Especially not when the man said: "Isn't that right, Levi?"

How the fuck did he know his name?

"What is this?!" Farlan spoke out.

"I told you," the man responded evenly, "a down payment. Now will you listen to me?"

Levi made the choice. "Fine."

I looked at him, incredibly shocked by this. Was he really considering this? Or did he just want to allow the man to speak his piece because Yan's life was on the line? There was no way he trusted this, and when the man started to walk, Farlan and Isabel followed closely behind him but I hung back to wait for Levi who didn't take long to reach my side.

"I don't trust it either," he said simply to me, his voice not daring to rise above a whisper. We began to walk side by side, and I looked towards the man now leading the way to an undisclosed location.

"I don't like this," I said, though I'm sure he knew it already. "Do you really think they're going to give Yan the help he needs?"

"No," he said. "At least, not until we agree to his terms."

"The job," I clarified. "But what could be worth that much...?"

"I don't know."

"And they know your name," I said softly, looking at Levi. He only nodded, and I was sure it unnerved him as much as it unnerved me.

"We just need to be careful," he said.

It did not take long for us to reach our destination. Even with his brisk pace, the part of the city he led us to was not far from where we lived. And our destination... the 11th Stairway, the very same that Isabel had tried breaking through to rescue the bird.

But there was little time to reminisce.

The man led us right to the stairway, and with only a nod to the guards, we were allowed to pass through without incident. I locked eyes with the guards, those same men who had chased Isabel all the way to our home that day. They were glaring at Isabel, but she seemed far too enamored to pay any attention to them at all.

I hesitated to follow their lead, to start up the steps, but Farlan took hold of my arm, and I kept pace with him.

Never had I gotten so close to one of these stairwells. Never had I paid to go through, even for a day. It had always been a dream of mine, and yet to be allowed up now, if only for a few minutes, and to be granted such a gift by a stranger I could not bring myself to trust was strange. Very strange.

With each step upwards, I found myself considering more and more the possibility that at the top of these steps, that doorway led only to more dirt and rock, another purgatory-esque city for which there was no escape. I had seen sunlight, I had seen the night sky, but only ever through a hole in the rock.

What if I had made them up? What if they had all been an illusion? A farce? A mirage conjured up by my brain to make me believe that there was something up there?

The four of us were silent, just as the man was. Only the occasional scuff of a shoe against the dust-covered steps broke the silence. There was no wall and no railing on the edge of these steps, and so I could look out and see the whole city, built into the cave's natural architecture and adhering to its sacred geometry.

I was scared.

But when we reached the landing and passed through the darkened doorway, it was only a short walk further before there was light. It was faint at first, but at the top of another stairway there was a stream of light, too constant to be firelight and too bright to be from a lantern.

We continued to climb. My legs were aching, my lungs were burning, my throat was dry, and my hands were clammy with nerves.

The surface... it was so close now. It was easier to breathe here, and I drank in each delicious breath of air. No, not just air, it was fresh air...

A breeze traveled down to meet us, the air whistling past the torches set to each wall and bothering the flames, and it carried with it the scent of something beautiful, something natural, something I had never smelled before.

We reached another landing, turned, and... there it was.

Only a few more steps kept me from reaching the surface, now. I didn't notice Isabel stop walking, nor Farlan, nor even Levi. I kept following the man, and took the first few steps up when a hand grabbed hold of the back of my shirt and pulled me back down. It had been Levi, and now he let go of me to look now at a man waiting for us in a wagon nearly as ornate as the last one we had seen, the one that Yan had been loaded into.

"Is that them?"

I glanced briefly at who was addressing us, then looked past the wagon and towards the sky. Even this small piece was bigger than what we could see through the hole in the rock, and there were these beautiful, puffy clouds and it was this beautiful blue, and the rock of the stones seemed to shimmer with what I could only assume was heat from the sun and goddesses, it was so warm!

The sun shone onto my skin, warming it and no longer did I care that they were flushed from so much walking up stairs. No longer did I care that my lungs were still catching my breath from traversing them all because I was left breathless by this sight anyway.

Goodness, I could hear voices, melodic and happy, reaching us from beyond what we could see. I could hear horses, and children, and people calling out prices and wares and specials. I could hear... was that a bird whistling? Was that the breeze rustling all the leaves in a nearby tree?

"Yes," the man who led us here said, "their skill is certain."

"Who the hell are you?" Levi asked.

"I know that you're suspicious, but you can trust me," the man in the wagon said.

"Oh," I said with a faux sense of cheerfulness. "That's a surefire way to make friends with anyone."

"Why's that?" Farlan piped up to the man, burly as he was pretentious.

"Me meeting you in person is one form of proof," he answered as though it was obvious. "I'm taking a big risk, too."

Sure looks risky, I thought. Having to stand in that chariot of yours. What a risk, making your big body exert itself like that. Oh, the humanity.

"Did you get my payment?"

"I don't know about the surface," Levi said, "but we call that a hostage here."

"You'll be handsomely rewarded for completing the job."

"Leg surgery for everyone?" I asked. "How generous."

"Listen," the man said. "If you succeed, not only will you receive an enormous sum of money... but surface residency, too."

"What?"

"Eh?"

I couldn't say anything. My shock was too immense.

I could tell the man was smirking - perhaps cruelly, perhaps knowingly - and I'm sure that eliciting such a reaction from a bunch of street rats was nothing more than simple fun for him.

"How can you promise something like that?" I asked.

"You might have heard of me," the man answered. "I find my name thrown around often in these parts."

I knew the answer before he even said it. "Councilor Lobov," I said.

"Pleasure," the man said, nodding his head as though it really was a pleasure to meet people like us - those who had never seen the sun. "Now, are we in business?"

—

"Levi," I said quietly, stalling in my pacing to look at him.

He was sitting in his bed, his back to the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him. He looked up from a piece of documentation to look at me, one eyebrow arching up as though to prompt me to continue and ask what I so obviously wanted to ask.

"When he said what he did," I began hesitantly, "about the target coming after us no matter what... I know he meant the Survey Corps, but specifically he meant Erwin Smith, didn't he? He knew our names, but if we're wrapped in this as he said we are, then the Survey Corps knows too, right?"

"You're worried," he said, without even the inclination of a question. It was obvious, he didn't need to ask.

"I am," I replied. There was no point in lying.

"Why?"

"I don' t know," I said uncertainly. "It just feels different. I've just got this awful feeling about it."

"Because it's the Survey Corps?"

"No, no," I answered, "nothing like that. Soldiers are soldiers and if the MP's are the best, then I doubt the corpsmen will be a problem and killing some Squad Leader shouldn't be a problem if his head is as far up his ass as the MP's higher-ups are. But what could possibly be so important to the councilor that he would go out of his way to provide medical treatment for a street rat and go to four more for help? I get it, there's a scandal and he's trying to save face, but to go to a group of thugs?"

He wanted to pull his funding from the Scouts and reroute it to his own, perhaps more sounder investments. But to do this...

"I don't get it either," he said. "But if we do this right, we secure citizenship."

"That part is exciting," I told him before looking over at him with a smile. "Can you imagine?" I excitedly crossed the space to sit on the side of the bed Levi had let me take, and I faced him with my legs crossed in front of me. "We've been saving for so long and to just be given citizenship... I might have this horrible feeling that something is off, but I can't deny how incredible it would be for us all to be there together."

A coy little smirk reached his lips. "I don't know," he said slowly, teasingly. "You almost left without us today."

"Oh, that," I said sheepishly, remembering it, how I just kept walking instead of stopping at the landing like they had. If I had kept going, who knows what might have happened? Still, I had stopped, so it was fine. "Well, what can I say? I was more excited to see the sky than I was to listen to that old man prattle on."

"Say we get citizenship," he said. "What would you do?"

"Goodness," I said with a playful smile. "Is Levi offering a hypothetical?"

"Humor me."

"Well," I mused, thinking it over, "I think what money we have saved up already could be used to get... something, I don't know. But maybe we can find a pretty place for us all to live, but maybe we can all just be neighbors? But to decorate a place with flowers and to see trees and birds and things, I think it would be wonderful."

"You'd settle down in one spot right away?"

"I'm not sure how much there is to travel around up there," I said. "Everyone stays put in walls, right?" I had an idea, then. "Oh, maybe that's what I can do."

"What's that?"

"Leave the walls," I said quietly. "No matter where we go, it's probably safe to say that no one will be too pleased with us for the crimes we've committed. But beyond the walls, well..."

"Titans won't be a problem for you?"

"Oh, please," I said with a laugh. "Those bumbling idiots? Maybe it's naïve of me to say, but I think I've dealt with worse."

A light little chuckle passed through his lips. "Right," he said, completely unconvinced. "Like what?"

"Ah, you know... The typical scum down here," I answered cheekily. "Thugs, gangsters, thieves, mob bosses... Oh, and I've had to deal with you!"

When his gaze turned sly and he made to reach out to flick my forehead, the consequence of my playfulness, I caught his wrist in mine and redirected it... or tried to. He overpowered me, of course he did, but I ducked away from it only to forget that he had two hands and felt a sharp pinch of pain as his free hand flicked my temple.

"Ouch!"

"That did not hurt," he tutted. "Don't start."

"How do you know," I said even as I smiled and let go of his wrist. "I'm the one it happened to, so only I get to decide whether or not it hurt me."

"You're stronger than that," he said simply.

"So, listen," I said, sobering the mood a little. "No matter what happens, we're going to stay together, aren't we?"

"All of us?"

"Yes," I said quietly, "but us, too."

"If you're asking if I'm still waiting," he responded, "then I think you know the answer."

"Do I?"

"You're an idiot," he muttered. "You're sitting in my bed, and you're asking that question?"

"Ah," I said with a laugh, "I guess that's a good point."

"We should get some sleep," he said. "Gonna be a busy few days."

—

Our gear was on and ready, Lobov's messenger had briefed us and told us that our targets were entering the city today, and we were set to leave.

"Levi," Farlan called, "we're good to go."

I adjusted one of my own gas canisters, then turned to help Isabel untwist a strap that had decided to go rogue in her harness, and glanced over at Levi. He was facing away from us as the messenger left.

This morning had been a tough one already. All of us were jittery bundles of nerves... well, excluding Levi. How he could be so confident, I don't know, but perhaps it simply had to do with the fact that we all looked to him for strength and courage.

If our pillar started to falter, we could crumble.

Perhaps that was why, but I honestly wished he would express at least one of the concerns that he assuredly had about this. We knew as much as we possibly could about this job: Lobov wanted to pull funding from the Survey Corps, but the branch had some sort of documentation on him that he needed to prevent some big scandal or to clear his name or something. All we had to do was retrieve it and then kill Smith.

What we did not know was why the Survey Corps - those who went beyond the Walls - were sending a few of its soldiers here to get us. I had a feeling it was more than just so we would not go after them to retrieve their documentation or whatever file they had on Lobov.

All I really cared about was that we had a job and we had our own contingency plans in place if everything went awry.

The only thing left to do was to do it and so as the messenger left, so did we. If Lobov's henchmen knew where we lived, it was a safe bet to say that the Survey Corps did, too. If we weren't careful, we'd get cornered here.

So we left.

Cutting through alleyways and narrow streets, we walked as a group and with a brisk, meaningful pace. "I have confirmation that Yan's in one of the best hospitals," Farlan said.

"That's if they're being honest with us," I mentioned. "There is the possibility that they're telling us what we want to hear to ensure we keep doing what they want."

"True," Farlan agreed, "but the guy in the carriage is legit, too. The job's the real deal." When I nodded, he looked at Levi. "Are we doing it, Levi?"

Levi didn't answer, so I did. "We're too deep in this already," I said, looking at Farlan. "Do you really think we have a choice in the matter?"

"You seem tense, Amaya," Isabel said. "Are you alright?"

"I've had a bad feeling about this from the start," I said, shaking my head. "I just feel like this whole thing is going to blow up in our faces."

And this was true. I had felt this way, and though I'd said it already to Levi the other day, I repeated it this morning when I woke up with this terrible knot in my stomach, a leaden, dreadful sort of feeling that made me feel like something was about to happen, and it wasn't good.

When I had said it, I was the lone person among us who thought as much. Isabel had been bright and animated, Farlan had been confident and in high spirits, and Levi had been, as always, calm, cool, and collected. Levi had told me that I was constipated, then went to make his morning tea like nothing was out of the ordinary. But something about my words had hit Farlan and Isabel, and they had shared in that sentiment, at least for a while.

Isabel looked unsurely back at me, then up at Levi, who still had no said a word. "Bro?"

"Pretend like nothing's changed," he finally spoke. "But if that beardy is right and they come... we start the job."

"Goddesses help us," I muttered under my breath. When Levi broke into a job along a main street, so did we. When he leapt up into the air, so did we. And when he switched to the gear, so did we. I hung back on Levi's flank, Isabel a few paces behind me, then Farlan on Levi's other side.

Above a group of merchants we flew, and in her usual, mischievous way, Isabel made sure to swing low enough to knock their boxes over, sending their goods flying out to the ground. I glanced over at Isabel who was downright beaming at what she had done, and as the merchants barked out for someone to send the MP's after us, but the reality of the situation was that they were already on their way.

I watched as not only Levi, but Farlan too did unnecessary flips, adding flair that I would usually appreciate. "Don't go wasting all your gas here," I said teasingly, doing what I could to push the wad of nerves building in my stomach down. "I won't waste any of mine to save your sorry asses."

"I don't believe that," Farlan called back. "With that big old heart of yours, who are you kidding?"

"Oh, hush," I said, knowing he was absolutely right. "Focus on the job."

Isabel cut in then, with a jubilant, "Woo-hoo!"

Farlan was the first to notice movement far behind us. "Levi," he called. "We've got company!"

Levi looked over his shoulder, as did Isabel, and as I did, to look. There looked to be four soldiers clad in the Military Police uniform, which was standard. They liked sending one after each of us, not that it ever worked, but beyond them... I couldn't quite see them clearly, but there looked to be other figures several paces behind the MP's.

"Hmph!" Isabel tutted. "The Military Police, huh? They never learn!" Then, with a smile, she looked up at Levi. "Levi-bro! Was that a cool line or what?!"

With only the words "you moron" as his response, she pouted, but I looked over at her. "I thought it was good," I told her, which got her smiling again. Levi swung low, threw another unnecessary twirl or two in there, and I rolled my eyes in response. We could do without all this pomp and circumstance, couldn't we?

It didn't take long for us to love the MP's, making way easily for a set of hooded figures to take their place. "Rainy day in the city," I snarked. "What's with the hoods?"

Levi broke away from us, doing an impressive series of movements before falling back in line with us. The soldiers... were actually keeping up rather well with us. "Their movements," Farlan said, surprised. "It's not the MP!"

"Yeah, there's no doubt - it's them," Levi said. "That symbol is the Wings of Freedom. It's the Scouts."

"Heh. Given that they fight Titans, it's no wonder they're good," Farlan said.

"You know what this means?"

"Of course," Isabel said confidently.

"It's job time," Farlan agreed.

"Business as usual, guys," I said. "See you at our rendezvous point."

"Got it," Farlan said.

"See ya," came the response from Isabel.

"Stay safe," I called, before swinging low. Looking over my shoulder, it seemed that I had caught the attention of one of the soldiers and I smiled. Playing the part of a confident, streetwise thug, I slowed momentarily, letting my wires go so I could run a few paces before skidding to a stop on the dirt road.

"Nice to meet you," I said, waving at the soldier. "I like your cloak, it looks very warm. Do you mind if I try it on?" The soldier swung low, not compromising speed nor precision and I smirked at their audacity. "Ah, is that a yes?"

...it was not, but with an expertly placed wire of my own, I moved out of the way just in time.

"You could've just said no," I called to them. "Still, it does look nice, and I would still like to put it on."

I ducked away into an alleyway, running about halfway down and hearing the soldier noisily follow behind me. This soldier might have been formally trained, but I had something they could never hope to learn: knowledge of this accursed city.

I vaulted through an open window then ran along a hallway. This was an abandoned building, at least in name. But it was used regularly for drug deals and things of that nature, and occasionally just as a place to drink and meet with all sorts of unsavory types.

"Amaya," one woman called happily. "Been a while since we've seen you around here!"

"Just making sure everything is still in place," I said, running past her. She did nothing but shield her candle flame with one hand as I breezed past.

"Like anyone would change it," she said just as the soldier climbed through the window. "New friend, dearie?"

"Something like that," I called from another room now.

I found myself now in a dust-filled room, one filled with boxes and bags of unidentified origin and content. Ducking behind a stack of boxes, I rummaged around for what I knew there was: old, disgusting bags of flour. I hefted it up, and when the soldier turned the corner, he was met with the full force of it being slammed into his face. Now lost in a flurry of flour, the sound of his sputtering and coughing was the only thing cluing me into his position and so I reached out, found his cloak hood, and yanked it off his body.

"Wha- hey!"

Silent as a shadow, I withdrew, passing through the room again and walking by the woman once more. I threw the cloak over my shoulders, smiling at her as I clasped it. "Isn't it nice?"

"Suits you," she said, then gestured to the other room. "What do I do about him?"

"Just let him go," I said. "He's only after me and the group."

She laughed. "You lot are always getting into trouble."

I climbed back out through the window, grabbed my controller grips from their holsters once more, then took to the sky. I followed the sounds of commotion and soon found myself watching as Levi fought with a large, blond soldier with a huge nose. Hm. Must be lots more to smell up top. I wonder if maybe he didn't want to plug his nose with something here, this place surely felt foul. I almost wanted to ask, and maybe I would get that chance.

Still, there was a fight going on, and I had to focus. The momentum of whatever had happened was making Levi slide on his back as the soldier approached.

A single heartbeat was wasted on being worried before Levi got his hands beneath him and, using the momentum to his advantage, flipped to his feet. Quicker than a flash, the soldier was upon him, but faster than that, Levi had his knife in his hand.

Levi, with nothing more than his knife which seemed more like a butter-knife compared to the soldier's sword, managed to overpower him. One of the swords was knocked flying out of his hands, spiraling towards me, and I... caught it.

"Oh, holy shit," I muttered, having to let go of one of my controllers in order to get a purchase on the new weapon that had been presented to me. I redirected, making to swoop in to help Levi but a figure blew right by me, cloak billowing in the air. He intervened, engaging in combat with Levi.

"That's hardly fair," I said, diving down after him. I landed right in front of the soldier who I had stolen the sword of, and I brandished it before me proudly. "Don't make this an unfair fight," I said to him. "Two-on-one? That's not very honorable."

The man's eyes narrowed at the sight of me, and did he... did he just sniff?

"You're no Scout."

"No," I said, smirking now. I knew he didn't recognize my face, so I obviously wasn't a Scout, but he was referring more to the cloak around my shoulders and the sword in my hand. "Just a fan collecting memorabilia."

The big-nosed soldier didn't need to do a damn thing before a different set of hands suddenly seized my arms. I looked over my shoulder just as the guy with the big nose grabbed me too. The sword fell away from my hands and I looked now into the eyes of a soldier absolutely covered in flour.

"Oh, hello," I said as the two roughly shoved my hands behind my back, pressing my wrists together. "Ow." The distinct click of handcuffs told me that I had lost, at least for now. "The hell did I say about two-on-one being unfair...?"

I looked around for a way out of this. There was, of course, that magical spot I could kick to free myself for a few moments, but with bound hands, I would be hard-pressed to get away, especially without the use of gear. Knowledge of the city aside, the gear certainly helped quite a bit, so without it...

And besides... we were to put up a fight, but we were always meant to get caught. The documents came first, and that was something Erwin would not risk bringing here, if he was even among this group of soldiers.

Upon looking around, my heart sank into my stomach, for Levi was still fighting back against that other blond soldier. "Stop," he said in a trained, authoritative voice. "Look around you."

Levi's eyes found me first, cuffed and held by two soldiers, effectively restrained. I met his eyes ruefully, knowing that we'd been caught. But it wasn't just us. Noises of a scuffle reached our ears and we both turned to watch as Isabel and Farlan were paraded out into the small plaza we were in; Farlan calmly, but Isabel putting up much of a fight. They too were restrained by soldiers.

Four street rats, caught in a trap.

It was meant to happen this way, but it did not make it any easier to bear.

"Let go," Isabel cried. "Dammit!"

That's when they looked up and saw us. "Levi," Farlan called, surprise lacing his tone. Then, his fear-filled eyes found mine. "Amaya!"

We all watched as slowly, clearly, Levi uncurled his fingers from around his knife, letting it fall to the dirt with a metallic clang. I lowered my head and closed my eyes.

Nothing had gone wrong. It had gone to plan, just as I had feared, and I still could not shake this awful feeling.

What a mess this had become. These weren't MP's, these were Scouts. Weren't the MP's supposed to be the elite? Perhaps killing Titans progressed these soldiers more than initial training ever could. It seems obvious now, but...

I'd been naïve. We'd all been naïve.

What the hell were we doing, accepting such an awful job?

We were thugs, nothing more and nothing less, and had been running from our crimes for so long. Losing the MP's was easy, but now... now the goddesses had bestowed divine retribution upon us, atonement for our crimes. We took a chance we shouldn't have, and I had a feeling it would be the catalyst for our ruin.

Only... Lobov told us the target would have come for us anyway. They'd have always instigated this chase. If anything, I suppose I should have been grateful for the warning.

My heart beat rapidly, trying so hard to not only catch my breath from the chase and the fight, but also with the effort it took to keep my emotions at bay.

We'd been so hopeful. If this job were to go right, we would get what we had wanted for so, so long now. To get to the surface, to be citizens, and to be there together... It was too good to be true, and now we were paying the price for it. If we were dragged with the scouts... and dragged out to fight Titans with them...

Levi and the soldier let go of each other and stood now a few paces apart. "You're quick to understand," the soldier said, and I was struck with how handsome a face he had, one so dignified and healthy. It wasn't the downtrodden face people had here. He was clean, well-fed. Strong.

I was struck, in that moment, with a pang of jealousy. Here, people fought over scraps, but this solder was so incredibly strong, it was clear. If this had been a fair fight... if the odds had not been stacked against us... maybe the outcome would have been different.

The look in Levi's eyes was venomous and I found myself almost instinctively leaning against my bindings, trying to reach him. The flour-covered soldier holding me applied more pressure on my upper arm, pulling me back against him, and I let out my frustration in a huff.

Levi seemed to take notice of this, because he glanced my way. If he could see what I was thinking through my eyes alone, I wondered what would stand out the most to him.

My fear, that our futures were uncertain, that our dream of citizenship would remain unattainable? My regret, feeling that I could have done more, should have done more, to keep from getting caught and to help him and the others? Or perhaps the sick sureness in my eyes that I had been right, that everything had gone wrong because even if this was all according to plan, it felt so wrong.

"I trust that you'll do as I say," the soldier spoke.

There was a wordless compliance in Levi's eyes, and that set the tone for the rest of us. When the soldier pushed me to walk forward, I did. When a foot was pressed to the back of my knees to force me to kneel, I knelt. When the others were lined up on their knees as well, I dared not even look at them.

I was knelt on the end, next to Levi, with Isabel next to him and Farlan on the other far end. I wanted so desperately to say something to them, to assure them that everything would be fine, but I did not know that, and I knew better than to try to speak.

The cloak was taken from my shoulders and two of the soldiers went off to the side to help him clean up a bit. At least I had been a nuisance, today. Still, three soldiers stood around us, ensuring we had no way to escape.

"I've got some questions for you," that same soldier, assuredly the leader, said. "Where did you get these?" Even if he didn't hold up his controller grips, what he was referring to would have been obvious. He could have only meant the gear. I'm sure he did not care about where we got our clothes. Farlan, to his credit, was kneeling with his back straight, his eyes straight ahead. Isabel was looking around, and Levi... his head was downcast, his hair shielding his eyes.

I kept my eyes on the soldier addressing us.

"You're good at using it, too," he went on to say, looking right at me as though expecting me to answer. "Who taught you that?"

I remained silent, as did the others. The soldier looked at us each in turn, then walked up to Levi, choosing to speak to him directly. "Are you the leader? Have you had military training?"

If he did, I thought, what makes you think he'd be down here?

Finally, Levi lifted his head and his gaze to meet that of the soldier. At his defiance and his refusal to answer, the soldier with the big nose grabbed him by the back of the head and forced him down into the mud. It was not a deep puddle, but to be forced face-down into it anyway could be deadly. Adrenaline surged through my veins immediately and I leaned back, getting to my feet and-

I had thrown myself at the soldier holding him down, but another Scout had been quick to grab me and wrest me away and to my own stomach in the dirt. The soldier kept a knee pressed to my back, ensuring I could not move far, but I was able to turn my head to look at Levi who had done the same, one eye of cobalt blue meeting mine before going further to glare at the blond man orchestrating it all.

"Jerk," Isabel cried out.

"I'll ask again," the leader spoke. "Where did you learn to use ODM gear?"

"Nobody taught us," Farlan answered finally. "We're self-taught!"

"Self-taught? I don't believe it."

"We'll do whatever it takes to rise out of this filthy dump! People like you who bask in the sun won't get it!"

"Tell them to let them go," Isabel demanded, meaning of course myself and Levi. "You can't just do as you please!"

Wordlessly, an order was given, and Levi and I were let up. I winced as the pressure in my back lifted up and away, leaving behind a steady pain. But I glanced sidelong at Levi, watching as mud dripped from his chin, his hair.

And the soldier... so proud, so strong... knelt before him in the mud, sullying his boots and white pants.

"My name is Erwin Smith," he said. "What's yours?"

"Levi."

"Levi," Erwin, our target repeated, "will you make a deal with me?"

"A deal?"

"I'll look past your crimes if you lend me your strength. Join the Scout Regiment."

I hate this.

Smith claimed he would overlook our crimes, but that did not guarantee the rest of the regiment would, that we would truly be forgiven. That was a good thing. That was something beneficial. But at the same time, to be forced to go fight Titans...

Levi looked to be considering it, and my eyes widened. We still had to play a part, here. If we looked like we were expecting this, if there was no pushback, they would get suspicious.

"If I refuse?"

"We hand you over to the MP," Erwin told him. "And considering your past crimes... you and your comrades shouldn't expect to get the best treatment." Erwin stood, the very picture of a proud soldier.

What did he have on us, exactly? How far did his knowledge go? Would he so easily bring thieves, assailers, murderers, into his regiment?

Perhaps he would. Was the regiment that desperate for soldiers, or did he truly desire the strength a few street rats could bring?

"Make your choice."

If we didn't know that they were coming, if this wasn't part of some grand scheme... I wasn't sure what I would do if asked. I didn't know what the right answer was. Do we refuse, maintain our pride, yet get hanged for our crimes? Or do we go out willingly trying to secure our citizenship or die trying in the jaws of a Titan?

Levi made his answer.

"Fine," he said, an incredible sureness and finality to his words. He spat mud from his mouth, and with all the venom he could bring to his gaze, he looked right into the eyes of our captor. "We'll join the damn Scouts."