As soon as those words were uttered, simple though they were, there was a whirlwind of activity. Everything ignited into movement as though we physically lit a flame, and we were unfortunately at the mercy of the soldiers that captures us. We were hefted to our feet as soon as this Erwin Smith gave the word, and we were rather forcefully escorted through the city. 

If we deviated even a step from the path or even dared to avoid a broken bottle or the dried, disgusting puddle of sick left behind by a drunken fool, a pushy soldier was always quick to brandish their sword and keep us in line. Honestly, we were going willingly. They didn't need to be that damn pushy about it.

Oh, and that's not even mentioning how strange we looked.

People normally would look at us when we walked by, that was a given. Being who we were, with the gear we had and the jobs we did and the people we helped. We had a bit of a reputation that preceded us and people would just... look. They would watch us, with hope in their eyes and knowing damn well that we would give the Military Police a damn good run for their money.

And we always would.

But now, they looked at us strangely, clearly confused and clearly wary of the Scouts. In their green cloaks, it was obvious that they were not the Military Police, and the fact that they had caught us...

I recognized a few of the faces. It was hard not to, given that we were walking through a well-populated and busy part of the city for this day. There was Nicholas, one of our regulars. There was Lenny, the owner of the bar we frequented often. There was Ingrid, a woman I didn't know too well but if I wanted a fun night of drinking, I could always count on.

And there, with his guitar strapped to his back... was Mason.

We locked eyes and I couldn't quite decipher what it was his expression was saying to me. His eyes looked to the soldiers, then to the group, and then to me again, to the way my hands were cuffed behind me. Disbelief found his eyes, then something like fear, with more than a little bit of concern mixed in, too. 

I wanted to say something, but I didn't put it past these soldiers to go after whoever was associated with us, so I kept quiet and looked away. I wished, as we turned down another street, one just on the outskirts of our neighborhood, that I had a chance to speak with Mason and to our usual contacts and not only that, but to get home for just a moment to gather our belongings. We had loose ends to tie up, things we thought we'd have time for, but didn't, and I felt awful.

I glanced over my shoulder towards Mason once more, who looked like he wanted to break from the crowd he'd found himself in to run to my side, but I shook my head. I hoped he saw in my eyes what I wanted to say: Mason, my dearest friend... I'm sorry, but I'm going where you cannot follow. Not now.

Now now... but maybe one day, he too would get to see the surface. We would reunite, I knew we would. I only wished I could say goodbye. But he stayed put, taking my silent cue, and I was grateful for it. The way they treated us, there was no way they'd hesitate to capture Mason, who had committed more than his own fair share of crimes. These soldiers didn't want him, they wanted us. There was no telling what would happen to him if he acted out.

I looked now at the soldier with the big nose. "Excuse me," I said as politely as I could, "would it be possible for us to stop by our home for a few minutes?"

No answer. Well, that was rude.

It seemed the flour-covered soldier had heard me, however, for he replied with a coarse: "Why?"

I looked at him, trying not to laugh at the sight of him. I did what I could to appear to be meek and like a polite young woman, as though he would have forgotten that I had doused him in powder not even an hour ago.

"Well," I said, "there are things from home we'd like to have before moving to the surface."

"Like what?" His voice was little more than a scoff, something that made it perfectly clear that he had very little respect for me. I couldn't imagine why. "All the things you stole?"

"We stole only what we needed to," Farlan said. "But we've got plenty of things of our own."

"Yeah," Isabel agreed. "Like our clothes, and some books, and things like that."

The man smirked. "You're lucky you've even got the clothes on your back and that gear. We're wasting no more time on you."

"Moses," Erwin said in warning. "They're in the regiment now. They're to be treated with respect."

And that... was that on the matter.

We were not allowed to go home, not even for a few minutes, and we were not allowed to deviate from the quickest path straight to the stairway. Through the city we had all grown up in we were walked as though children, and up the stairs we were marched.

My wrists and arms were sore from being cuffed for so long, and without them to balance me, going up the stairs was slow going. I looked over at Isabel often, who was the one hit the hardest by this. She was younger than us of course, and something about all of this was probably very difficult for her.

"Isabel," I said quietly to her. When she did not meet my gaze, nor respond in any form to my call, I tried again, and this time, she looked at me.

"Amaya," she said, and I could tell right away that a damn of emotions she'd been trying to hold back were about to rush forth without warning and without regulation. "We're going to get split up, aren't we? I don't want to get split up. We're going to get put into different squads or battalions or... or... or something and I don't want to do that, I want to stay with all of you! But if we get split up then how will we learn to fight Titans or how to be a soldier and what if they make us go through their training? What if-"

"Isa," I said gently, "Isa, please. Calm down. We're not getting split up. Even if we are put into different squads or battalions or something we'll still be in the same army, so we'll still be able to see each other. All soldiers share the same barracks, and even if they train us to fly a certain way, when it comes down to doing what we need to in order to survive, they can't fault us for flying the way we know. Right?"

"I don't know," she responded, and I wanted nothing more right now than to hug her close and tell her that everything was going to be alright. "How can you be so sure of anything that you're saying?"

"I..." I faltered, all words dying in my throat at the question because she... she was right. "I'm not. Isa, I don't know what they'll do to us up there but I will do all that I can to keep us together."

She nodded unsurely and I wished for there to be something solid I could tell her, something I was sure I could do, but as it was... nothing was in my hands anymore. We were at the mercy of this Erwin Smith, and of the Scout Regiment.

Only... maybe that's what I could do. I glanced sidelong over at Erwin Smith. His eyes were serious, focused, trained ever upwards. He had a cool, calculated sort of gaze. As we ascended further and further up the stairs, I made to approach him, and walk aside him, when a sword was swiftly placed between us.

"Hey, whoa," Farlan said, far quicker to anger than I was. He slipped between us now, sizing up the soldier brandishing his sword. "Take it easy there, huh?"

The words were simple, but there was a clear, underlying threat beneath it all. And then the other soldiers got involved, but before I could say anything, Levi was stepping forth, putting more space between me and the soldiers and, of course, Erwin.

Before anything could happen, I piped up: "I was only trying to speak with Smith there. Everyone calm it down!"

"All of you, stand down," Erwin ordered, which effectively put an end to it. When his eyes found mine, something strange passed across his face. "You wanted to speak to me?"

"I did," I said politely, "if that's permissible."

"It is," he replied cordially, then addressed his soldiers. "There is no need to spill blood over something like this." Then, he looked back at me. "With me?"

I nodded and hurried to reach his side. Now several paces ahead of everyone else, I figured I could speak my piece and start to get to know this man, he who had outsmarted, cornered, and caught us.

"Allow me to formally introduce myself," Erwin said. "I am Squad Leader Erwin Smith. And you are?"

"Criminal-turned-soldier Amaya Ikeda," I answered, smiling up at him. Something like amusement glittered in his eyes, and it appeared to me as though he was holding back a chuckle or two, which admittedly... turned my faux smile into a true one. Huh.

"Amaya," he repeated. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," I responded.

"Was there something you wished to discuss?"

God, did all people from the surface speak so formally? This was exhausting.

"Yes, actually," I answered. "It's about the regiment. Growing up down there, we don't really get a lot of news about the military other than the MP's."

"But it seems that you have become quite proficient at evading them."

"Well," I said sheepishly, "they hated us. What were we supposed to do, just let them catch us?"

"I suppose not," Erwin mused. "Is there anything about the Survey Corps specifically you want to know about?"

"Um... There's a lot, actually."

"It's a long trip to Wall Rose," he told me.

"Wall Rose," I repeated. "Is that the middle one?"

"Yes," he answered. "Maria is the outermost, then Rose, then Sina. This city is beneath Sina."

"Ok," I said slowly. "So... what? The base is in Wall Rose?"

"It is. There is one large base in the countryside, and district offices elsewhere, depending on where we set off for expeditions."

"I see," I considered. "So, regarding us, do you think... Are we going to be welcomed?"

"It will vary from individual to individual," he told me. "I saw firsthand the skill you four have."

I looked up at him directly. "What do you mean? You saw us get caught."

"Today, anyway," Erwin said. "Of course, that was after you four put up a damn good fight."

"Uh huh," I said, unconvinced. "Seeing us fly the hell away from you couldn't have been that impressive."

"This isn't my first time in the city," Erwin went on to say. "I happen to remember seeing all of you deal with a few... hoodlums a while ago."

"Hoodlums...?"

The use of the word was deliberate, important. It was obvious he was putting emphasis on it and I forced myself to think back, my gaze drifting away from his.

Ah, I remember.

—

One Week Ago:

What used to be a small oasis of sorts, one only Levi and I knew about, became a regular spot for the four of us to unwind once we had released the bird. That hole in the became ever more covered in greenery, and today was assuredly a beautiful summer day up top. The sun's rays were warm on our skin, but it was stuffy and nearly stifling when it met the humid air of the city.

But anything was better than looking up to see only rock, the same ceiling I had always known. Here, there was no ceiling. Here, we could pretend we were free.

Hanging vines and shrubs hung over the edges of the hole, and flocks of birds whistling merry little tunes flew far overhead. We'd brought some food out here and were having a picnic of sorts, a testament to the beauty of the day, and it was wonderful. Food as delicious as we could hope for filled our bellies, the melodies of birdsongs filled our heads, and light conversation passed back and forth between us.

As a trio of birds, feathers white and stark against the blue sky flew by, Isabel spoke. "I wonder where they're going."

Isabel and I were laying down on the rock next to each other, arms behind our heads to support them in a relaxed sort of way. Farlan was sitting a few feet away from us, while Levi sat off to the side, a lazy elbow propped against one bent knee.

"Far away," Farlan answered surely, a smile on his face. "They can even fly beyond the walls. To places we couldn't go even with this gear."

"Beyond the walls," I repeated. "Hard to believe they're even there. But one day, wouldn't it be nice to follow those birds, as far as we could go?"

"It would," Farlan said quietly.

"You got that right," Isabel said, smiling at the thought. "Just you wait," she said either to the birds or to us. "I'll go with you someday."

Levi stood. "Let's go."

"Aw," I whined. "But I haven't even finished digesting my food yet."

"Me neither," Isabel said.

"We aren't flying back, so you won't throw up," Levi said, leaving little room for argument. Isabel and I pouted up at him anyway, and Farlan stood, stepping between us to reach his hands towards us.

"Come on, you two."

With over-dramatic sighs, Isabel and I each grabbed one of his hands and let him help us up. When we were standing she giggled, looping her arm with mine. We all walked together down the tunnel heading back to the city, Isabel and I leading the way while singing a fun song Isabel learned a few days ago.

It annoyed the boys, of course it did, but we were having too much fun to care and when at last we made it back to the city, we headed home. After a quick turnaround and a quick loop of the city by gear, we were once again walking through the streets, cloaks covering it all on the way to, of course, another job.

But as always, It didn't take long for us to find trouble... or more accurately, this time anyway, for trouble to find us.

Past an unruly group of thugs we walked without incident... Well, at least, that's what should have happened. Instead, Levi - leading the way - accidentally bumped into one of them, who made a bigger scene out of it than it should have been.

Perhaps it was on purpose. Levi had been walking in a straight line and even if he was in a pissed mood, he wouldn't purposely go out of his way to bump into someone. Perhaps it was truly an accident, but when the man reacted as he did, I couldn't help but think that it was on purpose.

"Ow," the man exclaimed. "It hurts!" When none of us responded to him, and only passed him by silently, he continued in a much more forceful answer. "Hey, you! Stop right there!"

Levi didn't even so much as glance over at the man as he started to walk alongside him. "Yeah, you! You little shrimp! You run someone over without so much as an apology?"

Levi still did not answer.

"I know you can hear me, shrimp!"

Isabel turned and watched as the man stopped dead in his tracks, clearly confused as to why we were ignoring him. "That con man's yelling at you," she said quietly.

"Give it up," a bystander pleaded. "Don't you know who they are?"

I butted in when the man started to protest again and I set a hand on Levi's arm and squeezed my way between him and the man. The man was easily a head taller than I was, maybe more, but I was not scared of him.

Who was he to call Levi a shrimp? Not everyone here was blessed to be tall down here. It was a difficult thing to be sure, considering that nearly everyone was malnourished, underfed, and terribly confined. And what an incredibly childish thing to say!

I squared my shoulders and glared up at him defiantly. "It was an accident, bud," I said. "Let it go."

The man looked around me and focused on Levi instead. "You always let your whore do the talking for you?"

My eyes narrowed. "You call every woman you see a whore? Just admit you can't get laid and be done with it." Then, I started to walk, leading the way once more along the road. "Come on, guys."

"Hey, stop! I wasn't done talking to you!" The distinct sound of a gun being loaded is what sent me over the edge, and I turned. Was he really about to shoot us over something so stupid? "I said stop or I let the air in through your head!"

"We don't have time to get distracted here," Farlan said.

"Doesn't matter how late we're running," I said. "If we die, we're missing it anyway."

"C'mon," Isabel said cajolingly. "What's wrong with a little fun before work?"

Levi got to work before any of us could. He shot a wire out, sending the grapple just skating across his cheek to latch onto the barrel behind him. They all rattled as Levi retracted the hook, and with its great heave they were all yanked off balance and they came tumbling down onto him.

"Guess this is our warmup," I said with a laugh, turning to face a man, one of the man's partners, as he came rushing at me. He had a knife in hand, but I smirked, knowing I didn't need one. I waited until he drew closer before rolling out of the way, simultaneously sending a wire out to catch in the foot of one of the men going after Isabel. "Need help, Isa?"

"No," she answered, "but I appreciate it!"

The wire tripped the man who had been coming at me, and I laughed as he tumbled to the ground. By the time I looked up again, there was a pile of men on the ground, courtesy of us three, and then Levi, now zipping up into the air only to accelerate towards the original man, slamming his feet into his chest and sending him to the ground.

Now standing atop the much larger man, Levi turned to look at us. "Hey," he said simply. "What happened to the smaller ones?"

To copy him, Isa hopped up onto the man she took care of, and I crossed my arms over my chest with a smile. "Taken care of," I said simply.

Maybe I was wrong, but he looked quite impressed, and perhaps even a bit proud of us, making my heart skip a beat. "We lost some time, didn't we?" Farlan asked.

"Let's go by air," Levi advised.

"Anything to get away from these hoodlums," I said, smiling as we all took to the air to put some space between us and the numbskulls who had the audacity to try to pick a fight with us.

But... something had felt strange to me then. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

—

"There were... soldiers watching us," I said slowly, piecing the words together as I spoke them. I blinked once, then twice, the glaze of memories fading from my eyes as I focused once more on my surroundings. There was a nearly mischievous look in his eyes when I looked up into them. "You were one of them."

"I was," he answered.

"But why? And how?"

"What do you mean?"

"How does a squad leader of the Scout Regiment, a resident of the surface, hear about a few lousy street rats? And how could we be any better than trained soldiers?"

"People talk," Erwin said simply. "Soldiers, of course, are no exception."

"The MP's talk about us?"

"They do," Erwin affirmed. "They speak often of a group of thugs that evade them well, and evade them often. But not anymore."

"Because you caught us," I murmured. "Listen, there's so much I want to ask, but I really need to know if our crimes really will go unpunished."

"Do you believe I would go back on my deal?"

"I don't know you well enough to tell if you're being sincere," I told him. "If you've been keeping tabs on us, I'm sure you know the crimes we've committed. So honestly, I'm expecting us to get to the surface only to be brought to the gallows to be hanged. I don't know how it works upstairs, but if we've got a price on our heads, it's a high one."

"You think we only hunted you down to collect a bounty?"

"Growing up as we do here," I said, "it's something of a habit to be incredibly defensive."

"I see," he considered. Erwin looked up and away, and just in time for us to approach the final landing before the top of the stairway. Mere feet separated us from the surface now, and...

I faltered in my step, slowing to a near-complete stop. Erwin must have found something amusing about my reaction, and the way my eyes went wide and my mouth dropped open as I considered the fact that finally, finally, we were to enter the real world.

But he carried on, and the soldiers brushed past us, and even Farlan and Isabel bounded up the final few steps. Levi, in a surprising turn of events, stopped by my side. He glanced sidelong at me, his eyes searching my profile for something.

"Levi," I said softly, "this isn't a dream, is it?"

"Does it feel like one?"

"Yes," I answered, nodding slightly. "It does. Pinch me?"

He did not. Instead, he took my wrist in hand and started up the final few steps. I had no choice but to follow, and so I fell into step alongside him.

This was it. Only a few more steps remained.

Levi glanced over at me, as though to make sure I was still doing alright.

We could now see the top, and it was the ground. Our ceiling, or what once was... Now it was our floor.

I looked down at my feet as we traversed the final few steps and over an imaginary threshold I passed. With the passage through it, I was able at long last to take my very first breath of air. The feel of real air in my lungs, not ventilated nor muggy nor heavy with dust and thick with the smell of grime, made me gasp.

The soldiers found our reactions to be novel, and apparently rather funny, but we did not care. Isabel was beaming as she walked around herself in a circle, Farlan looked dumbfounded as his gaze panned slowly from one side to his other, and Levi did what he could to hide his astonishment.

I couldn't help it when tears rimmed in my eyes and threatened to fall. My breath escaped me in a shaky exhale, and with it went so many years of hoping and praying and dreaming that one day I might be in this spot exactly.

Goddesses, it was so bright.

We found ourselves in what seemed to be a busy plaza, with large brick buildings just before us, shops with large display windows that glittered in the sun and the people...

Some were as pale as we were, but others were tan, while others had cheeks covered in brown specks and they were sun-kissed, muscular and tall and dressed so beautifully... The women wore long dresses, and the men wore suits, and... they were looking at us.

A group of hoodlums, flanked by soldiers...

We were street rats through and through, with dirty clothes and pale skin and an assortment of scars. We did not fit in, clearly.

Levi, for all his heightened instincts, must have been able to feel my sudden trepidation, my hesitation. It wasn't that I wanted to fit in. None of us really truly had. But I felt so out of place, because... to be a criminal among the normal people, those who had grown up with the sun on their skin, the wind in their hair, those blessed enough to not be condemned to live in a cave... I could hear the whispers, see the judgment in their eyes.

Levi let go of my wrist and instead took my hand, pulling me along. "Come on, brat."

Just as he said it, Erwin approached us. "I don't suppose any of you know how to ride a horse?"

"Not sure if you've noticed," Farlan said, "but we don't happen to have a need for livestock or work horses down in a cave."

Sure, we'd seen them. There were special tunnels made for horse-drawn carriages to enter the city for big deliveries, but for the most part, it made them too skittish and most things were carried or pulled along in carts.

It didn't take long for a few carriages to be secured. The front was taken by Isabel and Farlan and a pair of soldiers to ensure they didn't try to escape, and the same went for Levi and myself in the second carriage. It was strange and more than a bit upsetting to be separated from them for any length of time, but I'd taken a good look into Erwin's eyes while we spoke and from what I could see, he was being genuine.

He saw value in what we could bring to the regiment. How far that would protect us, I couldn't be sure, but when he mounted a horse - and damn, did I far underestimate how big those animals were - I decided to lay some faith in his words, for whatever good that would do for us.

I suppose I would only have to wait and see.

—

"So," I said, leaning forward to look out of the window of the carriage I was in, "what time of day is it?"

"Late afternoon," one of the soldiers answered. "The sun sets in the west."

"Ah," I said. "I think I've heard something like that, once. Does it rise there, too?"

"No," the soldier answered, clearly bored and clearly growing tired of my questions. "It rises in the east."

"So we'll see the sunset?"

"Listen," the other soldier with us said sternly, "I'm trying to nap, here. Mind shutting up, street rat?"

I didn't waste my breath arguing with him, or trying to build a bridge between us. If they didn't want to, they didn't want to. But goodness, did they have to be so rude about it? We were only poor, lowly scum. Was such verbal warfare necessary?

I stayed quiet for only a few minutes more, until I could hear the soft snoring of each of the soldiers. I looked away from the sun only to look at the wall it was about to dip beneath. They were all this pale, stony gray, not the stony gray and brown of the underground but clearly treated in some way or another.

"They're... quite the eyesores, aren't they?" I asked Levi quietly.

He followed my gaze, looking out his own window. He was sitting in the seat across from me and as such, I could see the golden light of sundown dance across his features and glitter in his eyes. Warm gold, and the cool blue of his eyes... It was a strange combination, but a pretty one to be sure.

It was strange to me that I chose now to look at him, and not the stunning scenery around me. Did my heart so value his own opinion that I looked to gauge it now? I tore my eyes from his profile to focus instead on that which I had always longed to see: the sky, the landscape, the world which I was too poor to see.

"From one cave to the next," Levi responded.

I knew where he was coming from, but... were they really the same? We were going, literally, from one cave that we'd spent our entire lives in through no fault of our own, to a cage. Sure, in this cage we could see the sky, but was a bird in a cage no less confined than one forever underground?

"I know the circumstances for it aren't what we expected, nor what we wanted," I said to him. "But we're still here, and we're together. Being in this regiment won't be easy, and I'll admit, I'm scared to fight Titans, but... in a weird way, we're getting what we wanted."

"Not you," he said surely, and it was this sureness that confused me.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Besides wanting to be up here," he said simply, "you wanted to go beyond the walls."

"Well," I said with a light laugh, keeping in mind that there were two slumbering soldiers just beside us, "that might not happen for a while."

I looked back out the window. El had grown up here... well, not here, exactly, but on the surface. Maybe he had family here that I could meet. Only, would they want to? They might not even know that El had adopted not just one, but two children. The military would have let his family know that he died. But would they have informed them of his daughter, the sole person there with him as he died?

Perhaps I could be granted the ability to speak with them, to send a letter, or... anything.

Erwin Smith. He was a resourceful man. I would talk to him, get to know him, and perhaps get him to trust me, wholly and completely. Do that, and it would be an easy thing to entice him to let his guard down around me, and then...

I would either get that documentation, or kill him to do it.

Being in the military was never the goal for Farlan, Isabel, and Levi. At one point in my life, it had been a goal of sorts of mine, but now anymore. Right now, I wanted out. The four of us wanted to live peacefully, and together. That was it.

This had never been part of the plan.

Still, we were trained and more than able to handle ourselves. A bump in the road would not be enough to break us apart.

To that end... I was not worried.

—

The sun dipped below the wall long before it would have fallen below the horizon, but as such, the land within the walls was bathed in shadow before night even fell. The sky was still streaked with the watercolor beauty with sunset, but the landscape around us was dark as the shadow from the walls loomed over us.

We left Wall Sina, and as the oranges started to be replaced by inky purple and stars began to blink in and out of the sky - at which point I all but hung out the carriage to look up at them, only to be yanked back inside by the soldiers, which nearly sparked a scuffle between them and Levi - we apparently passed through Stohess and after that, entered Wall Rose.

The lands of Wall Rose were spread out before us. The road passed by wide fields, patches of trees, and a few different villages. We made a few stops, just to use the bathroom and such things, and at each point we were advised to get some sleep, but who in their right mind could when faced so suddenly with everything they had ever wanted to see?

When morning broke, and my eyebags effectively had eyebags, we still had not reached the base. We still hadn't reached it, not until another day passed. The sun was setting when we arrived, and it surprised me at how long we'd traveled only to still be within Wall Rose's territory.

We didn't quite travel long enough to pass through Wall Rose that I could tell, but we were closer to that wall then we were to Wall Sina. It was a beautiful countryside that I could tell, with sprawling fields and a thick forest and at the very least, the long ride allowed us all to take in the sights that we had longed to see.

When finally we got to our destination, I was awestruck by what I saw. The base looked like what I thought a castle might, with gray stone and towers, courtyards, stables, and spires, all bathed in this beautiful orange glow.

Oh, and it was big. I'd be the first to admit that I didn't know much of what happened up here, or much about economics, or about the military, but if the Survey Corps were supposedly the smallest branch and had the money for a castle, then they couldn't really be so poor, now could they?

The carriages came around to the front of the castle, which already was a vibrant hub of activity. The air was agitated with energy here, and I realized all at once as I stepped off the carriage and took a few steps out of the way, that we were about to be paraded through an active military base.

Oh, goodness.

"Erwin," I said hesitantly after approaching him.

"That's Squad Leader Erwin to you, rat," one of the soldiers spat.

"Leave her be," Erwin told the soldier, who scoffed and walked away. Then he turned his attention to me. "Yes, Amaya?"

"Does the regiment know that... we are who we are? And do they know we're joining them?"

"No," he answered simply. "You will be introduced and given your assignment in the morning." His eyes searched my face briefly, and he looked somewhat amused, perhaps even a bit concerned. "You should've slept on the trip."

"I've done more on less sleep," I muttered. "And I couldn't sleep, not after a lifetime wanting to see the surface. No, even if I wanted to, there was no way I'd fall asleep."

Erwin stood a little straighter and addressed the four of us. "I have to check in with the commander. Moses here will look after you." With a stern look to the soldier, the nasty one who didn't like us, the soldier nodded, silently agreeing to the command.

Erwin walked off, as did Moses. "I have to get you processed," he said sternly. "Don't move."

This was awkward, wasn't it?

"Levi," Farlan said hesitantly. "Entering the Survey Corps... Doesn't that mean...?"

"I got no intention of enlisting," Levi said, not even looking at him. "I came here to get closer to that blond jackass."

"Right, but..." I trailed off unsurely. "If we're ordered out on an expedition, we have to go. Whether we officially enlist or not, we... you agreed to have us join."

Levi looked at me at that, something sharp and dangerous in his gaze. "Do you not agree with my decision?"

"I think it was the better one of the two," I said, refusing to back down, "and I would have made the same one. But for all intents and purposes, we're enlisted soldiers and we're to do as our superior officers say."

"I'll wait for an opening," Levi said, looking away now, "and then I'll kill that rat bastard."

Farlan was quiet. Isabel was quiet.  I was quiet.

"Don't you remember my plan?" Farlan finally asked. "If you're still lost, let me refresh your memory. There's no way they'll ever make contact with us again. It'd be pointless to kill Erwin now. This is our big chance. I know it'll work. Trust me, Levi."

It was a damn good thing we were alone in this courtyard. Something passed between the two men, something indiscernible.

"Levi," I said gently, calling his attention to me. "Is killing Erwin just about the fact he caught us? Is it about pride?"

He was quiet, and I could see in his gaze that there was something he wanted to say, but would not... or maybe could not. I'd have to talk to him later about it.

I met Farlan's gaze, and something we had discussed only a few days ago returned to my mind. It was while discussing the plan. Isabel had been out, but had come back while we were talking and one of her pigtails had been cut. I rushed after her to comfort her, only for her to cry into my arms, threatening to kill who did it to her, but it was useless because as Farlan had told me, Levi had gone out to kill them himself.

"They've both gone mad," Farlan had told me. "All they can think about is dragging everyone else down to where they are..."

This could go very wrong very quickly. Hell, I'd have to talk to Farlan too, I guess.

"Your four," Moses called, returning from inside. "This way. And be quick about it."

—

We were kept, for the time being, in a small barrack meant for overflow soldiers. As far as I could tell, it had never been occupied before us. As I would find out, I was correct; there was no reason for there to be overflow barracks for a regiment that only got a handful of soldiers at a time while losing dozens with each expedition.

They didn't want us to be let into the general barracks and have the soldiers ask us who we were only to find that we were street rats hand-selected to live and work with them. Moses said it would cause an uproar, so we were to be kept here, just for the evening.

It was in a rather unoccupied wing in an unoccupied corner of the base. As big as it was, there was a lot of empty space because of how unpopulated it was. Isabel and I had a good time picking through old boxes of equipment and rations and wine.

"It's so old," Isabel whined. "It's all bad!"

"Actually, I think the older a wine is, the better," I told her.

"What? Really?"

"I don't know for sure," I said, smiling at her. Levi brushed past us then, walking purposely... elsewhere.

"Uh oh," she said as we turned our heads to watch him go without even so much as addressing us.

"Uh oh, indeed," I agreed. "That could mean trouble."

"You should go after him, Amaya," Isabel said.

"Hm? You think so?"

She leaned forward, getting into my face, and smirked wickedly. "I can see it in your eyes," she said teasingly. "You want to. Besides, of any of us, you're the one who can probably get away with bothering him right now."

"He has been in a mood all day, hasn't he?" I mused, watching him disappear down another corner on the other end of the hallway. "I'm worried about him. He hasn't really been himself. I thought he might be happier to get to the surface, but all he's able to focus on is killing Erwin."

"I get it," she said, "but..."

"But?"

"I don't know. We're finally on the surface and we're finally able to be around new people and animals is super cool, but I don't think we'll be able to leave here. Even if we finish the job, can people just... quit the military?"

"I... don't know, Isa," I said. "I really don't know."

"You can go see him, you know," Isabel said to me, nudging me towards the direction Levi had gone. "I think I wanna go bother Farlan. He's been too quiet, too."

"Operation: Cheer up the Stupid Men is a go," I said happily, making her giggle.

"Mission, start!"

—

I searched for Levi for a while. It took longer than I would care to admit, but this wing was rather mazelike, and it was only a single intentional clue he left behind that clued me into where he went. A single candelabra, still lit, rested on a box at the end of a hallway.

I went to it, knowing it was Levi's, then continued along. It was just beside a door that led upstairs to the next floor, which I went to. Only one door was open on this floor, for it was just as barren and empty as the first. The lone, open door here led to another stairway and though dark, I knew it was where Levi had gone.

Through the door I passed quietly, finding myself at the bottom of one of the circular towers. Up the stairs I went. When I reached the top, I took a moment to catch my breath and peek out at where I had ended up. The tower was made of the same stone as the rest of the base, and had raised battlements lining the edge. And there, sitting on one, was Levi.

I approached quietly; not that I thought I would startle him, but because I didn't want to ruin the peace that he had sought out. His heightened instincts alerted him to my presence nearly immediately and I expected him to make me leave, but he didn't. He turned his head to look at me over his shoulder, and I slowed in my step, linking my fingers together behind my back.

"Hi," I said in a somewhat embarrassed manner. "I thought you might like some company. Can I sit with you?"

A confused pinch found his brow. "You'd usually just sit and talk my ear off anyway. Why ask now?"

"It's been a long few days," I answered simply and with a listless shrug. "I know you, and I'd completely understand if you wanted to be alone right now."

He kept quiet for a moment, considering my words carefully. "I don't mind if it's you."

I smiled. "That was almost sweet." My smile only grew when he clicked his tongue and reached one hand towards me, a clear invitation if I so chose to take it.

I did.

I took his hand and let him help me to the battlement beside him. When I got settled, he let go of my hand, but I didn't mind, for I was now looking out into this big, beautiful sky littered with stars and painted with the most gorgeous blue.

It wasn't the same as seeing in the carriage. It wasn't the same as seeing it through the pitiful hole in the rock. "Can you even imagine what it must have been like for people to see this every single day? And it's the same stars, each time."

"But a different moon," he said quietly, looking up too. Sure enough, the sky was completely clear and tonight, the moon was this beautiful crescent shape, perfectly rounded and it appeared to be sliced precisely, more so than what should be natural. "Your brother wrote something like that, didn't he?"

"That's right," I murmured, thinking about it now. "He did. Oh, and he wanted to count all the stars, too." What he was referring to, of course, was when I taught him to read. Caden's journal was a perfect place to start, with simple language and admittedly not a whole lot of content to it. It was an easy read and thinking about it now...

"That was why I wanted to go back home for a few minutes," I said. "To get that, and the money we had stored away, and..." I sighed. "El's patch. All we have are the clothes on our back and the gear we stole, I guess."

I let my eyes lower from the sky to the landscape bathed in moonlight before us. The Survey Corps grounds were mostly composed of wide space. Fenced-in pastures allowed for horses to graze, and the open fields were completely bare of grass and were likely meant for hand-to-hand combat training. But where most of the work was done had to be at the forest the castle sat near, which was ideal for gear work with winding trails, dummy Titans hidden within, and all manner of obstacle courses to keep soldiers' instincts sharp.

"The sun is always there," I recalled Caden writing, "but the moon loses its way sometimes."

He inadvertently referred to what was called a new moon, if I'm remembering it right. I didn't know much about it, to be frank, but all we had to go off of was rumors down there, so I didn't blame him for saying that it got lost in the sky.

The moon got lost, sometimes... but it seemed, so did we.

"Maybe we've lost our way," I said quietly.

"You don't agree with my decision."

"I said already that I did," I reminded him, looking at him. "I just don't like that those were our only two options. Either being hanged for our crimes or being thrown to the Titans... They weren't good options to begin with. If I had to choose one, I would pick this one because I think we might be able to work this into a good thing."

"You think?"

"Say we get the documentation," I proposed. "We can find time to leave, deliver it, and... I don't know." I huffed. "I don't know a damn thing, and I hate it. I had a bad feeling about this from the start and somehow, things keep getting worse. I'm happy we weren't handed to the MP's, but I don't think we need to kill Erwin and-"

"Why not? That bastard is the only reason we're here right now."

"He seems like he had further plans for us than just dragging us here to get us killed by Titans. I don't know, he seems like he really does value what we can bring to the table."

Levi clicked his tongue. "Don't tell me you're actually buying into his bullshit."

"I just think there's more going on than we know," I said. "I don't want to argue, and that's not why I'm here. You know damn well that I trust you, and I trust Farlan and Isabel. When it comes to the choices you've made, I've never once doubted you. Am I right?"

He was quiet, which told me that I was, so I continued.

"I'm hesitant to kill Erwin only because we were pardoned for our crimes only while he leads us. Without him, we're at the mercy of the law again and if we murder someone else, it won't look good for us."

I looked at him directly, and he met my eyes evenly.

"My goal is still the same," I told him. "We made it to the surface, but we're still in danger and I'm going to keep fighting for us. So whether that means we have to kill Erwin, or we can find a way to get around it, I'll do it." I smiled warmly at him, doing what I could to look reassuring. "I may not always agree with you, but I do always trust you. That won't change. I do have an idea, though."

"And what is that?"

"I've already had a conversation with Erwin," I said. "I bet that if I keep it up, I can earn his trust. And if I do that, he might let his guard down around me, making an opening if we need it."

He nearly scoffed at the idea. "I don't want you near him."

"Why? If it makes it easier for you to kill him, what's the harm?"

"I just don't," he insisted. "He outsmarted us once. He might see through it."

"Mm-hm."

"Amaya, stop taking this lightly."

"You wouldn't be jealous, would you? Of me talking with the tall, blond, muscular military man?"

"Absolutely not," he huffed. "Get that nonsense out of your head."

I laughed lightly. "You know, I'd have brought tea out with me, if I knew where the kitchen was. Or tea leaves. Or if we're even allowed to make it."

That made him chuckle and he flicked my temple. "You're an idiot."

"Ouch! I thought it would be nice to have tea and talk!"

He took my wrist in hand, and made to slide his hand into mine, but the sound of the door behind us opening had him letting go. We both turned inwards, looking over our shoulders to watch as Farlan and Isabel approached.

"It's beautiful," I heard Farlan say. "How could you two keep this all to yourselves?"

Isabel smirked. "I thought you'd been sneaking off to do something more inappropriate. Or maybe to kill that Erwin guy."

"Isa," I hissed embarrassedly.

"You two are so loud, I'd be too irritated to get any killing done," Levi muttered.

"Speaking of loud," I said with a smile now, "what do you have there, Isa?"

"We've got to start training and stuff tomorrow," Isabel said in explanation, lifting a bottle of wine or two or three. "Why not get some liquid courage in us?"

Conversation flowed easily from there, just as the drinks did... for Farlan and Isabel, anyway. I wanted to keep my wits about me here, and Levi never drank too much anyway. We sat there and talked and talked and talked, wasting yet another night away.

"Farlan," Levi said when things started winding down and Isabel was yawning at least once a minute. "I've decided I won't kill him for now. We'll go with your plan. I'm going to trust you."

Farlan smiled.

"Yeah," Isabel cheered. "I'll trust you, too!"

"Isabel..." Farlan said gently, reverently.

Isabel smiled.

"For the record, I trusted you from the start," I said to Farlan, then looked at Levi. "Both of you."

"And that's why you're my favorite," Farlan said warmly.

I smiled.

And finally... for all our antics... Levi smiled, too.