There was something incredibly, uniquely special about seeing someone live a dream, and finally fulfill something they've always wanted to. Ever since the idea was planted in our heads that we just might make it to the surface, Farlan had expressed his desire to see the sun rise on one edge of the horizon and set on the other, from the highest point possible.

It was something that none of us had ever gotten to see, and the rumors of it happening seemed almost too good to be true. I mean, to see the sun by itself was one thing, but to watch it rise on one end of the sky and set in the other? How was it possible? And did it actually happen?

We had no way to tell, but Farlan made it clear that he wanted to see it, though he made it clearer that he was skeptical of the entire thing being true at all. Honestly, I think he wanted it to be true, but he remained cynical and skeptical to protect himself from possible disappointment.

Well, while the way we got to the surface wasn't what we anticipated - alright, hold on. It was very much not at all what we wanted. I mean, instead of us paying our way up and buying our own citizenship and buying our own home and using our own money, we got to bypass all of that by being made into soldiers. It wasn't ideal, exactly... but it would do for all intents and purpose today.

Similarly, the way Farlan got to live out this dream of his wasn't exactly what he anticipated, but it worked, and we all got to be there for it.

Apparently, it was routine for soldiers fresh out of training to be subjected to the awful punishment of cleaning the wall, but to be frank, I didn't mind it. Was it a chore, a clear one? Yes, but I was no stranger to that. Was it mindless and nauseating? Of course, but Levi had long since desensitized us to that sort of thing.

If it had one consolation... it was the view.

It was our first time atop the wall, and to think, we had gone from being as deep underground as was possible to as high in the sky as this...

Flagon had led us here, telling us that we were to scrub until our fingers bled. But really, who was to enforce that, when he'd left? He wasn't here anymore, and no one was here atop the wall save for a few Garrison soldiers several paces away checking on their cannons or something, but even they were chatting away and enjoying the sunrise.

I figured we could take a page out of their book, right? I mean honestly, it was shaping up to be a beautiful morning, so why waste it by working? We'd gotten here before dawn, and now that the sun was sure to rise, we all stopped scrubbing, at least for now, to watch in silence as the sun rose over the horizon.

We had traveled here, to the southernmost district of Wall Maria, and here at the edge of humanity's reach... I knew that we weren't actually free, that we weren't beyond the walls, that we were still trapped, that lying dormant just waiting for the sun to rise were Titans, slumbering peacefully. But from way up here... it was all too easy to at least pretend that we were free, and I think we all were.

For now, I took the lead. I set my brush down and crouched down by the edge of the wall. "Amaya?" Farlan called, pausing in his movements. I was suddenly the attention of three sets of eyes as I lowered myself to sit on the edge of the wall and let my legs hang over the side. "What are you doing? It's not like you to shirk your work."

"No," I agreed. "But I think we deserve a break, don't you?"

When I gestured with a movement of my head towards the horizon, Farlan's eyes followed my own and he smiled, cluing into what I meant. He sat down next to me with hardly a single moment wasted, and I was soon flanked by Isabel, too.

"Come on, bro," Isabel called to Levi. "Sit with us!"

"We've got work to do," he replied, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Come on," I echoed, looking over my shoulder at him. "Since when do you want to please our commanding officers?"

"I don't," Levi replied, and right away, I knew what the issue was: we'd been assigned to clean. 

If he had the time and resources, he'd scrub every square inch of these walls without needing to be asked - but when he met my gaze, his eyes seemed to soften, and when I smiled, he set his brush down and approached. He stood a foot or so behind us, his arms crossed over his chest and he allowed himself to look out at the horizon as we were.

Flagon had assured us that we'd be here all day, and honestly, as the sky started to lighten up and become streaked with vibrant hues of pink and blue, I figured it might not be that bad. When the sun at long last peeked above the horizon, my breath caught in my throat and I was only reminded to breathe when I heard Farlan let out a low whistle.

"Take a look at that," he said, clearly awestruck and struggling to find other words to say.

"Incredible, isn't it?" I mused.

"Wow," Isabel said. "It's so pretty!"

"To think," Farlan began, "if we didn't take this job, we'd have had to pay to see this."

He was right. Whether for just a day or to live here, we would have had to pay if we wanted to get here from that damned city. To be here now... It really did seem too good to be true. But it wasn't. We were here.

"Someone pinch me," I said. "I want to be sure this isn't a dream."

"It's not," Farlan assured me with an easy smile, chuckling when I squinted as the sun continued to rise and I made the mistake of looking right towards it. "Don't you dare look away, Amaya. You wouldn't want to miss this, would you? Just open your eyes."

—

I tried to open my eyes, but I didn't yet have the energy to do so, and when I came to, my head hurt. That pain seemed to overtake all my senses as my body focused on the pounding of my head.

Goddesses, it felt like my brain was trying to break through my skull and now, as I slowly started to wake up, it was incidentally the pain of my body that woke up my other senses. I could so clearly feel the skin of my chin burning, my head pounding, my ears ringing..

I finally summoned up the energy to open my eyes, and blinked a few times to clear my vision and try to focus on something, anything, other than the pain. I was sore all over, aching in places I'd never ached before.

But at least with my eyes open now, I could make sense of my situation. First off, wherever I was, it was dark. This was a ceiling I did not recognize, and though there was a cloak draped over my body, and another under my head as a makeshift pillow, I could tell that I was lying on a cold and hard stone floor.

Strangely enough, despite how ambiguous my surroundings were, these details at the very least comforted me.

All I could remember was diving in to save Jean. I figured that if I had been taken by our enemies, they wouldn't have had the courtesy to make sure I was comfortable - so, if my logic worked out, then I was not with my enemies, else I'd be tied up, or otherwise restrained or bound or even gagged. Besides, these cloaks belonged only to scouts.

I lifted my head despite how heavy it felt and took a look around. I appeared to be in a warehouse, perhaps the same one as earlier, where we tailed those who stole away our body doubles.

The stone floor I was laying on was cold and hard, and I damn well knew that, but I dropped my head back down to the cloak with a sigh anyway. Dammit, my body was so sore.

I could hear faint voices once the ringing in my ears died down, even just a bit. I waited a few more moments to wake up further before I attempted to sit up. I thought I'd given myself enough time, but my vision swam as I sat up, and my body protested but complied as best it could. I held a hand to my temple, trying to focus on something other than the pain.

As soon as I was sitting up and wasn't quite as dizzy, I took a look down at my arms, seeing bandages that definitely weren't there earlier.

With a furrowed brow, I unraveled one, knowing that the damn things weren't there for no reason. I hadn't put them on, so it only provided more evidence that I had not been captured by someone who wanted me dead.

When one bandage fell away from my arm, I was met with the sight of fresh scratches, scrapes, and bruises etched across my forearm, along with the remains of the worst of the burns I'd gotten when fighting the Colossal Titan that still had not completely healed yet. I turned my arm over, the slight movement bringing its own discomfort and pain but there was a throbbing on my elbow and sure enough, there was the culprit: a large bruise.

I could only assume I'd landed on it when I fell. The scratches and scrapes were probably from rolling on the stone road, as was the soreness, and though my memory was clear, it was all too possible that I'd banged my head against the stone road when I'd fallen as well.

I heaved out a frustrated huff. If I hadn't insisted on rolling my sleeves up to fight, I might not have gotten the cuts at least, especially not the deeper ones. But, well, if the sleeves had been down, I would have ruined a perfectly good shirt... I wasn't sure which option was better. I stifled another sigh and rewound the bandage around my arm.

With that done, there was really only one logical step to take from here if I ever wished to completely gather my bearings, and that was to stand up - though the thought of doing so alone brought the promise of more aches and soreness to my limbs, as though my very arms and legs were begging me not to move, but to rest instead. I didn't listen.

"Here we go, Maya," I said quietly to myself, getting my feet under me in preparation to stand. When I gathered the energy, I pushed myself to a standing position. The movement took more out of me than I anticipated, but though I swayed slightly, I was standing. "Not so bad, huh?"

Now that I was standing, I was now privy to a host of new pain, including a particular soreness on my right hip. Since I was alone, I had no shame in tugging down one side of my pants to see and sure enough, I was right. There was a large bruise right on the bone, a disgustingly deep purple and extremely tender to the touch.

I huffed and fixed my clothes, re-tucking my shirt into my slacks and running a tired hand through my hair. Feeling the knots and tangles, I couldn't help but frown. Goodness, I must be a sorry sight.

I took a few slow steps towards the sounds of the voices. It was just at that moment that I noticed that my gear was off. I hadn't even thought of it, and yet it should have been obvious, right? I looked around, but it was nowhere to be found, which was an even worse omen, for the following thoughts were now racing through my head: Shit. Had it gotten damaged further? Was it now completely unusable?

Hell, I wasn't even wearing the straps and harness right now. If a fight found me right now, I'd be screwed. Well, maybe not, not if I had...

I crouched down, reaching into my boot for my knife. Only, there was no knife. Fuck. Don't panic, Maya. Stay calm.

I went back to where the cloaks were and sifted through them, but there was still no knife. I mentally cursed, and then did so aloud, because that knife was from El, and I'd been using it since I was, what? Fifteen? No, longer than that, surely. That knife saved me many times and it was one of my few keepsakes from him.

Combative advantages aside, that knife meant a lot to me for the connection it offered to El. Without it, I now had nothing of him with me. I normally wouldn't be so sentimental, but when something that connected me to my father had saved my life countless times...

I didn't want to be without it. I really didn't.

I bit my lip and kept myself from cursing further. No matter how sure I was that I was among comrades, there was no guarantee until I took a look around. Until then, it was too dangerous to make any noise. So, I returned to mentally cursing. Shit. Shit!

Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it now, so I gathered the cloaks into my arms and folded them. I picked them up and headed over to where I heard the occasional voice, and from where I saw faint flickering light piercing through the darkness. As I stepped around a stack of boxes, I could now see Connie, Jean, and Armin sitting on boxes surrounding a small lantern. Levi was sitting on a box too, without a shirt while Sasha was tending to a wound of his. 

Seems none of us had gotten out unscathed, then.

The first one to notice me was Jean, who just so happened to look up from the lantern at the right moment, and his eyes widened. "Captain," he said right away, "you should be resting." Everyone's attention was drawn to me, but I waved his words off and their attention away.

"I'm fine," I assured him, coming to a stop next to Levi. Of the group, I noticed a few missing: Eren, Historia, and Mikasa were all unaccounted for. "Did we lose them, then?" The silence I was met with answered me. They knew I meant Eren and Historia. "But what of Mikasa? Where is she?"

"She's on watch," Levi answered me, and I glanced down at him now. There was something strange in his eyes, something not quite unlike regret, but it couldn't be - this was Levi I was looking at, of course. But with the loss of Eren and Historia, the two we especially needed to protect... Hell, maybe it was regret, or at least a hesitation to admit that things had gone so horribly sideways.

I sighed and sat down on the box next to him, being careful not to jostle him too much, so as not to disrupt whatever injury Sasha was still tending to. I set the cloaks on the box at my side and set a hand on his knee, a silent request for reassurance.

Levi took my quiet cue right away and I think it had to do with the fact he needed some, too. He put his hand on mine, and I flipped my hand to link our fingers together and turned my head to meet his eyes. He knew I wanted an explanation, but there was no way in hell I'd get one with all the kids around to listen. Just as I opened my mouth to ask that we might slip away for a moment or two, Levi squeezed my hand suddenly, the quietest of pained hisses escaping his lips.

"Oops," Sasha said, sounding panicked - and if I were to tend to the injuries of my commanding officer and made a mistake, I would likely panic, too. "Sorry, captain."

Mikasa stepped into the circle then, likely intending now to swap out with somebody for watch duty.

"I'll take over for you there, Sasha," I said, standing and taking my hand from Levi's.

"Thank you, captain," she said, smiling and letting me take over stitching what appeared to be a thick gash in his right upper arm. Connie began speaking to Jean then, and Sasha offered to go on watch duty, and with everyone distracted, I took the chance to speak with Levi.

"What happened?" I asked him quietly.

"What do you remember?"

"Everything," I assured him. "Of course, everything until I got knocked out. I remember dropping onto the cart to protect Jean, but..." I trailed off, and that's when Levi picked up talking.

"Armin killed the one that knocked you off," he started off with, and with just those few words, my heart just about dropped into my stomach.

"Armin," I murmured, glancing his way briefly, distracted from my work on his injury. "The poor thing..."

To think, Armin had killed someone for the first time (and hopefully the last), and Jean had nearly gotten killed by a person so ready to kill him, without hesitation... I didn't want them to have to kill anyone today, but I supposed it couldn't be helped now. At the very least, it'd explain the forlorn look in both of their eyes, shining through so clearly in the wavering firelight.

"If he hadn't," Levi said slowly, "Jean would have died."

"I know," I said, "but you know what it's like to kill someone, and so do I. It's not easy. And for the first time, in this way..."

"It doesn't matter," Levi said, and I looked back at his injury. "They got away with Eren and Historia."

"Who were they, exactly?" I asked as I continued tending to his wound. "Any ideas? They were quite good at fighting us."

"I have some idea," he said, eyes drifting from mine. 

And... that wasn't a good look. He didn't just have an idea, he knew. But how could he, unless he knew them personally? And if that were true, then... it could only mean that it was someone or something he knew from the underground. It's the only explanation, wasn't it? We didn't ever speak with people from the MP's, much less the interior squad, at all. So for him to have an idea...

The light from the lantern flickered in his eyes and shadows danced across his face. I didn't think it'd be a good idea to press him for answers now, not when it was clear he didn't want to talk about it.

I freed up one hand and tucked it under his chin, guiding him to look at me. I went to say something but my words died in my throat at the sight of a small, horizontal cut on his left cheek, dried blood lining it. I swiped my thumb gently over the cut, frowning slightly.

"What happened there?"

"When I was trying to get away from some of them," he said as I continued to tend to his wound, "something got kicked up and cut me. Stop fussing over me. How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," I told him, focusing on tying off the last stitch, "if a bit tired and sore. That bitch just got a lucky hit on me." I secured the stitch with another throw, snapping off the excess thread once it was good and tight.

I checked over Sasha's work, finding that she'd done a rather good job, given the circumstances, the knots secure and the stitches well-placed. I couldn't imagine it was easy being tasked with sewing up your commanding officer's wounds, but she'd done well, given the circumstances. Behind Levi on the box was a roll of bandages, and I wound it around his injury so it could properly heal. I tied it off and patted his shoulder gently once I was finished.

"There," I said gently. "All done. I do believe you'll live, my love."

"Don't let it happen again," he said, a worried furrow in his brow and a frown on his lips. It'd already been a few minutes since I'd spoken about how I felt, but I didn't need him to clarify what he meant - and he was not talking about himself, but about me getting hurt.

"I won't," I said as surely as I could, accentuating it by leaning in and easing away his frown with a lingering kiss. It was clear he was irritated; a lot had happened today, and I knew it was something more than just having lost Eren and Historia, and it went further than just him and I each getting hurt.

But he did, at least, kiss me back, and I drew way far sooner than I would have liked, but with the kids around, though distracted, I knew it was best not to press our luck right now. I stepped around him as he reached back with his good arm for his shirt, pulling it on over his head as I sat down on the floor, leaning back against the box and setting the cloaks in my lap. Just as I did, Levi, still seated atop the box though at least dressed now, looked across the small gathering at Armin.

"What's wrong?" He asked, and I followed his gaze and realized I wanted to ask him the same thing. Armin, the poor kid, looked horrified as he sat, and was still as a statue. "This grimy place kill your appetite?"

"No," Armin answered. "Jean, there's something I don't understand."

"What's that?"

"When I shot that gun to save you," Armin went on to say, "I honestly thought I didn't make it in time. Sorry, but..." He paused to take a breath. "Why was I the one who shot first?"

Jean visibly winced at the thought and suddenly couldn't meet anyone's eyes, or our waiting gazes, those lingering looks as we all waited for his answer. "That's..."

"Because the other person hesitated," Levi cut in.

"It's true," Jean admitted. "Armin, I'm sorry... I should've done what I had to do."

"I know what it is," Armin said, as though having reached an epiphany. "The person that I killed... I bet they were a nice person. Someone that was much more human than I am... I pulled the trigger so easily... I did. I'm..."

"They'd have pulled the trigger just as easily, I assure you," I said, but it seemed my words fell on deaf ears.

"Armin, you've got blood on your hands now," Levi said, and that direct sort of approach seemed to hit him hard. "You can't go back to who you were."

"Why would you say that?" Mikasa asked, demanding an answer of him. I lifted one of the cloaks and tried to find the tag; on each of our cloaks we embroidered our initials, just to ensure we knew whose was whose. This one in particular I found a J and K on, meaning it was Jean's. The other was my own.

I had supposed that someone had found the time to ensure I was comfortable after Levi surely tended to my wounds, and it seemed I had my answer. I certainly hadn't quite expected it to be Jean, but I suppose I should have known better.

"Embrace the new you," Levi suggested, as though it was really that simple. "Just think, if your hands were still clean, Jean wouldn't be here right now. I'll tell you why you pulled the trigger: because your comrade was about to die. Armin... Thanks to you getting blood on your hands, nobody on our squad ended up dead. Thank you."

"Think of it this way," I said, bringing their attention to me, "you're just like Levi and me, now. It's not a good feeling at first, but we've killed to save someone we loved, or even ourselves. In a changing war, you need to be able to adapt. You did a damn good job of that today, Armin."

"Captains," Jean started, "I... I thought it was wrong to be fighting other humans, and wrong for you to order us to do it. I was afraid to be hurting other people. But... I'm the one who was wrong. Next time, I'll shoot."

I shook my head, brow furrowed. "Slow down," I told him, using Levi's leg to help me stand up, Jean's cloak in hand. "That's now what we said."

"I never said anything about who was right or wrong," Levi said. "I don't even know myself. Are you really the one in the wrong?" Those words hung in the air, unanswered. It was purely rhetorical, and thankfully, the kids seemed to pick up on that. "Now then," he said, standing up himself as I crossed the space to make my way over to Jean, "it's about time we hear what he has to say."

Levi approached the man we'd apprehended earlier, or... yesterday? I hadn't thought to ask how long I'd been out, but it didn't matter much. The man was about the exact opposite of Levi: a portly, sour old man whose only similarity to Levi seemed to be his countenance, which was an unhappy sort of scowl and he didn't quite look happy to see Levi - which fit, because Levi didn't seem quite happy to see him, either.

But for now, I crouched down in front of Jean, shifting to center my full attention to him and set a hand on his knee. His tired, conflicted eyes met mine and there were these deep, dark bags beneath his eyes. While Armin had Mikasa to comfort him, Jean had no one - and while I had to get to business, I was more than happy to speak with him for a moment.

"It's never easy," I told him quietly. "Making that decision, I mean. I don't blame you for not pulling the trigger. I'm sure you've heard the rumors of Levi and myself being from the underground city? We were criminals, though I'm sure it must have been a lot harder leaping from hearing simple rumors to seeing us kill people. No one blames you for not killing her."

I paused for a moment, collecting my thoughts. The grave, honest reality of the situation settled in around me like a thick duvet; it shouldn't have been comforting, but it was, in that I had the knowledge and experience of dealing with this sort of situation and working through it. Selfishly, I didn't want to share it with him, I wanted to keep it for myself to allow him to remain innocent - but he was not innocent, not really. None of them were, really. But this look in his eyes...

I wanted to keep this truth to myself not to purposely keep him ignorant, but rather to protect him from it.

But it seemed there was no helping it now.

"The first time I killed someone... It was personal." I made to show him my knife, but then remembered all at once where it was, which was not with me, and so I couldn't. "A lot more personal than a sword, but that hardly matters. Just know that I cried for a long time afterwards. I felt broken, like I wasn't human anymore. I only did it because he forced my hand, but no matter how many times after that I've killed someone, it was never any easier. I haven't yet learned to reconcile with what I've done, the lives I've taken."

"How did you...?"

"It wasn't until I joined Levi and his partner," I told him. "I was well into my twenties. I was not still a teenager, as you are. It was only because Farlan, our partner, was in trouble. I was closer to him than Levi was, and I had to save him. It was less of a decision on my part than pure instinct. If I didn't, he would've died. It seemed natural at the time, purely reactive and instinctual - likely the result of where I grew up. Farlan had saved me before, and in that moment, it was just my way of repaying the favor and ensuring I didn't lose someone I cared about. That didn't make it easy, and it didn't make it right."

"If Armin didn't... I would've..." Jean shook his head. "I..."

"Jean," I said firmly, meeting his gaze intently, "stop thinking about that. Armin saved you today. Focus on that, and focus on making sure that tomorrow, he won't need to save you. I don't want to see you forced into that situation ever again. Your friends all care for you too much to see you fall - and so do I. So fight for your life, Jean. It's the only one you have. There are selfish people who'd like to take it from you, but please, do not let them. Understand?"

Jean's eyes softened and he nodded, seeming to take my words to heart, or at the very least, he was attempting to. "I.... Yes, captain."

"Good," I said, standing up. took his cloak and drew it around his shoulders. Satisfied that he now seemed far more settled than he was just moments before, I patted him on the head once then turned to join Levi. Mikasa had joined him by then, and I listened in to attempt to catch up on what was said.

"They'll make sure all my employees die in so-called accidents," the man we captured spat out.

"So," Levi said, "you'll die without a fight? Trost should have collapsed by now, but it's persevered. That's because the Reeves Company brings people and work together. But if the company was gone for good, just how few would survive the winter?"

The man considered it for a moment, and I surmised that this man was Reeves himself. "Are you suggesting I team up with you?" He asked.

"We just need to know where Eren and Historia are," Levi said. "If you're supplying the Military Police, we can figure something out."

Reeves countered easily: "But can you stop my city and employees from dying of starvation?"

Levi, for his part, answered easily right back: "I can't guarantee it," he said truthfully, crouching down. I crossed my arms in front of my chest, looking down at the man with what I hoped was a trustworthy expression, or one that would inspire him to act, or at least to help us to. "However, you can trust that we'll move towards that end."

When a look of understanding, or perhaps acceptance, crossed the face of Reeves, I smiled, but still did not quite know what to make of this. Honestly, I needed someone to fill me in, and soon. Just what were we about to get ourselves into?

—

I lowered myself into a chair and dropped my head into my hands, biting back my groan to keep it from passing through my lips. Were we really about to do this?

Earlier, we'd set off again, putting the gear back on and deciding to trust Reeves and his son for whatever good it might do for us. I wasn't sure how good of a plan this was: he was a merchant through and through, seasoned and hardy, manipulative and conniving, and he had to know that working with us would put him in danger.

But Levi decided to trust them, even going so far as to strike a deal with him, and because I trusted Levi, by extension, I decided to place in Reeves. Really, I was surprised Dimo had agreed to Levi's terms, for the terms he set were really rather greedy. Honestly, I was impressed more than anything.

Oh, and for those curious, this terms are as follows: Levi offered Eren and Historia, for three things; first, the Reeves Company would have to join the Survey Corps in opposing the Interior Military Police, as well as the Royal Government; secondly, the Reeves Company would have to trust the Survey Corps wholeheartedly (at that, Dimo had laughed, and told Levi that merchants use trust as a joke word, to which Levi stated simply that he was speaking to Dimo Reeves, and not a merchant, and he could choose for himself which was the right choice).

In true Levi style, he didn't know what the right choice was, he just told Dimo to trust his instincts. Dimo had laughed once more in response.

As for the third term, well, Levi had kept all of us waiting.

"What kind of idiot accepts a contract without hearing all the conditions first?"

"Oops," Levi had responded to Reeves. "My apologies. Three: From now on, the Survey Corps will receive priority access to any rare or luxury food, drink, or product the Reeves Company obtains. Tea, for example."

"Seems you're even greedier than a merchant. I like that."

"You're a smart man," Levi said, then turned to look at me. "Amaya? Anything you want to add?"

"I can't seem to think of anything that hasn't already been covered," I said, honored that he'd thought to include me.

Reeves' eyes passed from Levi to me, and he nearly smiled... nearly.

"And," Reeves said, "it seems that you understand how important family is." A true smile, though still devilish, reached his lips when his eyes lowered further, traveling along my arm and following the line of my body to look at my hand where it rested by my side, and more accurately... where sitting snug on my finger, was my ring. His eyes found my own again. "I think we've got a deal."

And so, they shook hands, and with everything said and done, we had ourselves a deal. I was surprised by the whole turn of events, but well, they'd shaken hands and nothing more, so we were officially in business.

We'd followed a cart, led by Reeves and his son, holding within it several Military Policemen. We successfully took it over and by dawn, we had settled into another borrowed house with our hostages. Now, we were preparing to torture them for information.

Because you know, killing people and watching their captains kill people wasn't bad enough for these kids - we had to torture someone in front of them, too.

I'd honestly thought that Levi and I had put that part of our past long behind us. For us to have to return to this part of our lives... Things had gotten messy, even up here, that was for damn sure. I thought that things were more civil up here, but...

I heard someone enter the room I was in. I had headed into one of the abandoned bedrooms, hoping to find some time to gather my thoughts, but it seemed as though someone had sought me out. I looked up when the footsteps stopped, and because of the silence that found me, I figured I knew who it was. Anyone else might have seen a commanding officer sulking alone and would have apologized for intruding, so this could only be someone coming to kill me, or Levi.

I looked up, and sure enough, there was Levi, looking down at me steadily. "Amaya," he said, "we're almost ready. Are you coming?"

"I am," I said, standing up, but the look in his eyes told me he saw right through my words; I wasn't ready. I took a deep, steadying breath, trying to fool myself into being ready, even if I couldn't convince him that I was.

"You don't have to," he said, eyes narrowing slightly with concern as he looked into my eyes, surely seeing all that I didn't want him to see: my hesitance, my reluctance to duck back into this part of who we were, of who we used to be. He stepped closer to me, his voice dropping so he spoke lower, quieter. "Are you alright?"

"Not really," I answered, my volume matching his. "My injuries feel fine, and my head feels a lot better than it did. But doing this... This just isn't how I pictured the day going. I'm really not looking forward to torturing someone, though. I honestly thought we left that underground."

"I can handle them," Levi assured me. "Hange and Moblit will join us when they can. You can-"

"Levi," I interrupted, "I'm going to help you. I wouldn't make you do this by yourself." I took one of his hands into mine, linking our fingers together and meeting his eyes intently. "You know me better than that."

"And I know that sometimes you need a break," he reminded me. "You've always been like this. I know what it looks like when you're burnt out, brat. You've had a rough day, and I don't want you pushing yourself too far."

I smiled at the fact that despite the obvious care in his words and in his voice, he just had to call me a brat. "You also know that I'm stubborn as a bull," I finally decided to say, squeezing his hand gently. "Just like you are."

"That's right," he relented with a chuckle. "How could I forget?"

I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips, one that I hoped was as reassuring to him as it felt to me. He sighed against me, tugging me back with a pull on my arm once I pulled away.

"I'm right there with you, my love," I said when he pulled away and set his forehead against mine. "No matter what. Just like before, it's the same now. Whether it's killing Titans or torturing a soldier, I'm going to be here next to you."

"Tch," he muttered. "I'm not sure if that makes you brave, stupid, or too doting."

"Why limit it to just one?" I asked cheekily, smiling similarly. "Why not all three?"

One of his eyebrows arched upwards, and in a mischievous manner uniquely Levi, he said: "I think you're just stupid."

He pulled away after planting an indulgent kiss on my forehead, then stepped back further to offer up some space between us so he could reach behind him. I wasn't left wondering why for long, because from the waistband of his slacks he retrieved... a knife. My knife.

I couldn't help the surprised gasp that left me as he examined the knife, holding it by the handle. Relief flooded my system like a rush of water flowing around me. God, I thought it was gone for good, and I'd had no hope of going back to find it. I mean, a knife when sold to the right person would go for a good amount of money. 

I wouldn't put it past someone to just pick it up and either keep it for themselves or sell it off, especially with the handle engraved as it was. Still, I smiled widely, wondering if the smile was as goofy as I felt it was. All of this, and for a knife. It seemed so silly, and yet... It meant so much to me - one, to have it back at all, and two, that Levi put in the effort to get it back for me.

"You dropped this when you got knocked out," he told me, turning the knife over in his hand, seemingly inspecting the blade. His eyes then met mine as he continued. "Be more careful next time."

Skillfully, Levi tossed it into the air, catching it by the blade on its flat end, and offered the knife to me, handle-first. I took it gratefully in my dominant hand, letting out a sigh of relief at its comfortable weight. It was a soothing sort of pressure against my palm, one that ensured me that I could protect myself, and that I had a piece of my father with me. In a word, it promised security, and it was enough for me.

I ran my fingers gently down the handle, feeling the familiar etches and grooves that formed from the wood and what was engraved into it. The knife had El's initials engraved into it, and way back when El gave it to me, he had carved mine underneath his, signaling the change of ownership.

I pressed a thankful kiss to Levi's cheek, then ducked down to tuck the blade into its usual position within my boot. "Thank you," I said gratefully, standing at full height again and meeting his eyes, hoping they might convey all the gratitude I was feeling.

"And everyone says you clean up after us all the time," he said. "And yet I took my eyes off of you for a minute and you fell off a wagon."

"Well," I said playfully, linking my fingers behind my back and smiling at him cheekily, "maybe don't take your eyes off me, then." When a well-defined, distinct sort of blush creeped up his neck, I winked at him. I shrugged and my gaze turned serious, then. "Still, I didn't fall off, I got knocked off. There's a difference."

"I'm sure there is," he said indulgently. "Now come on. We've got work to do."

—

With aprons and gloves on, and a tray of tools next to us, we began the interrogation after taking the time to set Sannes - the interior officer we captured - in a chair, bound and gagged. We didn't get very far in our questioning, though, so far only breaking his nose and giving him a black eye, before Hange and Moblit joined us.

The door was slammed open, startling me. "Sorry, I'm late," Hange called, breezing into the room. "You're still going at it?"

"Yeah," Levi said, turning to Hange. "I'm pretty new to this."

"Sannes has been very accommodating and patient so far," I said, looking back at them, recognizing the lie in Levi's voice.

"Sannes," Hange greeted as they approached. "You should know I'm also a novice at human torture, so please bear with me!"

"Wait!" Sannes said as Hange picked up a tool, "What do you even want? Who the hell tortures without asking questions?"

"Oh, goodness," I mused, setting my chin in my hand and tilting my head to the side, feigning innocence. It was, of course, purposeful. We had meant not to ask, so as to frustrate him, to make him desperate for something, anything to appease us and get him out of here sooner. "Did we forget to ask them? I knew we forgot something."

"Oh, right," Levi said, "we do have some questions for you. Where are Eren and Historia? Why are you after Historia? What's the Reiss family?"

Sannes had no chance to answer before Hange exclaimed a loud, excitable, "Too slow! Can't you see that we're in a hurry?"

And there went another nail of his. We'd already pulled some off, but Sannes didn't scream nearly as much when we had done it. I'd gone almost too slow, excruciatingly slow I was sure, and the screaming was loud then. Levi had gone quickly, also unsure of the movement, yet ruthless, leading to some loud shouts himself.

But Hange... Hange ripped them off with an anger, a furiousness, that ensured that those were the most painful.

"Sorry, I can't peel nails as well as you," Hange lamented. "Just how many did you peel to get so good?"

"Too many to count," Sannes uttered ruefully. "Within these cramped walls, do you know why war has never broken out? It's because the First Interior Squad dirtied our hands to protect the peace. A teacher too smart for their own good, a stupid couple who tried to fly, a whore from some ranch in the sticks! Humanity has only made it this far because we erased them! You should be thanking us! I've never seen anyone get more pleasure out of torture than you guys! You're monsters!"

Hell, maybe we were. But if we were monsters, well... What did that make Sannes? What did that make Nick? And everyone else that hid information, suppressed curiosity? What did that make the King?

Even Bertholdt, Reiner, and Annie were mere insects compared to the monsters that Sannes and the others were. To deny us trying to rise above who we were, and that was cattle confined within walls... Honestly.

"But I'm not even afraid," Sannes continued. "I... I have... I have the King, I... I believe in the King and peace in the walls. That all the things we've done were justified... But... To think it hurt this much... Go on and torture me to death already. That's all I ever did with this blood-stained life of mine."

Levi sighed, and I fought the urge to do so myself. Sannes certainly looked defeated. Blood flowed steadily down his lip from his nose, trailing down his chin and dripping to his lap. "Time for a break," Levi said, turning and leaving the room. We trailed after him, leaving Sannes in the room alone.

"That's troubling," Hange muttered. "I'm beginning to feel sorry for him." I closed the door behind us, leaving it open only a crack, allowing light to stream into the room - and our voices, as well. This began the second phase of the plan, using one of Sannes' accomplices and a script we wrote up for him very quickly. I had been the one to draft the script based on Hange's instruction, and Moblit had given it the once-over and approved of it.

As I prepared it now, Levi and Hange began roughing up Sannes' fellow policeman Ralph, and Moblit and I stood off to the side, ensuring we stayed well out of the way. In this way, with the supposed betrayal that Sannes overheard, it didn't take us much longer to get the information we desired.

"The true royal successor," Armin echoed when we finally relayed the news, "is Historia?"

"In other words," Hange said, "both Eren and Historia are likely wherever Rod Reiss is."

Moblit presented a sketch of the man in question, and Levi spoke: "That's him."

"He's our target," I affirmed. "Eren and Historia are in trouble, and we're the only ones who can help."

—

Since we weren't spending the night here, I helped the young ones go through our things. It'd been a long couple of days, again, and I wanted them to be able to establish some sort of normalcy when they could. Giving them odd little chores like this would hopefully help with that - granted they did them, of course.

I could hear the ruckus coming from downstairs where the cells were, and I looked up from where I was sorting through what few extra canteens there were here, Mikasa at my side. Levi headed downstairs, muttering under his breath at shitty-glasses' behavior. It didn't take long for them to come back upstairs and at that point, we gathered into the dining room, surrounding the table so that the kids could be briefed on everything we learned.

They took it...actually, rather well.

But at the thought that Eren might be eaten, Mikasa started storming for the door, but Levi was there first, holding her back by the shoulder. "Calm down," he told her. "Even if you go on a rampage, they're not going to give Eren back to us. Anyways," he said, turning and releasing her, "we head for the lands of this Rod Reiss. Get ready to leave at once."

"Yes, sir!"

They hurried to leave the room, leaving just Hange, Moblit, Levi and me in the room. "I'll go tell Erwin what we learned about the Reiss family," Hange said as we headed downstairs. "I'm sure he's waiting to hear from us."

"Right," Levi replied.

"We can meet up on Reiss' land," Hange continued. "Hear from me at the usual spot."

"We'll be there," I assured them, hopefully sounding surer than I felt.

Everything was suddenly happening so fast. What we learned today, what Erwin's plan was... troubling, to say the least. There was a lot piled onto our plates, with more being added with each passing moment. Everything was planned so quickly, so expertly, my head nearly spun just thinking of it all. For weeks now, we'd hypothesized, planned, re-hypothesized, and re-planned, with little room to even breathe.

I sighed as I followed after Levi. Honestly... since when was overthrowing a government our job?

—

At the sound of footsteps, I looked up from a recent report I was reading. The rock I was sitting on was warmed by the sun, and though now in the clearing the sunlight dappled down rather indiscriminately from between the branches, I had found myself a wonderful little spot where it shone down upon me, illuminating what I was reading and ensuring I stayed warm even with the cool breeze that flowed through.

Jean, Mikasa, and Armin had returned safely, returning to the small forest clearing we'd set up in. Goodness, I couldn't believe how relieved I felt seeing that they had returned safely; it almost seemed like too much to ask nowadays that everyone returned back to us safe and sound. The faces of our enemies were not only hidden, but ever-changing with each new piece of information we learned.

"Captains," Armin said, "we bought the supplies. The Military Police were handing out these."

Earlier, Levi had settled on the ground just in front of me, reading his own set of reports, and he'd recently taken to resting back against my legs. I leaned forward now, setting my elbows on my knees as Armin handed Levi a sheet of paper. I read over his shoulder at the writing, a frown crossing my face.

"If this is true," Armin surmised, "the Scouts will be disbanded. I heard they'll be hunting for us tonight. They're also putting guards on all the vital roads, and it's impossible to get through without a pass." He paused hesitantly, clearly nervous. "Captains, what now?"

I reached for the paper for a closer look and Levi handed it to me. "If we don't hurry," Mikasa said, "Eren..." She trailed off, clearly not wanting to finish that thought.

"Calm down," Levi said. I reread parts of the page, finding a bit of particularly troubling news: they had Erwin in their possession. Not only that, but they had our names, and basic likenesses. They knew who we were and would be hunting for us, specifically. I could feel my heart drop into my stomach.

God, it was like we were back underground. There were times when the MPs would put posters of us up, and we'd tear them down immediately, storing them away and laughing at the sketches. But those were the MPs of the Underground City, and this was the Interior Squad, and now their main forces were being looped in.

"It's been a while since I've seen wanted posters of us," I mused to Levi quietly.

I took in a steadying breath, letting it out through my nose as I shook my head. We'd made it through worse than this. We had. So long as I believed that, we'd get through it. And we had a responsibility to these kids, now. I needed to lead them well, with Levi. I couldn't just leave him to do this alone.

"They're using a wagon," Levi said. "It'll take at least a day to reach Reiss' territory. We'll have to use that time to come up with a plan."

I ran a finger along the sketch taking up a section of the page. It was a rough sketch of Levi's likeness, set just above my own. The one of me was certainly less than perfect, but Levi's made me laugh. How couldn't it? They had his feline eyes, thin eyebrows, and perfectly parted hair, accompanied of course by a bored sneer.

However, one detail they didn't have was his jaw, the drawn one being far too soft and rounded out. I let out a quiet laugh, and Levi looked up at me sidelong, knowing exactly what it was I was laughing at and just daring me to poke fun at it - which I did.

"Sorry, my darling," I said quietly. I leaned forward and let him take another look at the drawing of him. "But they just can't get your sharp jaw, can they?"

I drew out a couple of laughs from the kids, and I smiled at their reaction. "Captains," Sasha said suddenly, her serious tone calling us all to attention, "I hear footsteps. They're coming this way."

"Pack up," I said, folding the paper up and setting it in my back pocket. "Welcome to the life of a criminal, darlings. We have to get going." I stood, adjusting my cloak around my shoulders. "Actually... this is perfect. I have an idea, and we need some Military Policemen to do it. Who's willing to run distraction today?"

"I will," Armin said determinedly.

"Good," I said. "Head to the river, then. I'm counting on you to come up with something good, kiddo. Everybody else, up we go, and be quiet about it."

Not even ten minutes later, Levi and Mikasa apprehended a pair of Military Police, young ones by the look of them. It really was fun watching them work, honestly. Now, I knew that this wasn't the time to marvel at their skills, but the two of them worked almost seamlessly together – that is, when she followed orders.

Once our hostages were secure, I dropped down from the tree. "If you two don't mind," I said, approaching the woman, "we'll be borrowing a few things from you." I smiled at them in a rather welcoming manner, or at least what I hoped was one. "Gear and jackets off, please."

The kids got to work, and I took up a position standing next to Levi and watching them work. "Captains," Jean said, approaching with two folded stacks of paper, their orders.

"Now then," Levi said, accepting them and standing up. "Stohess District Military Police." He drew one blade and set it on his shoulder, reading off the slips as we walked towards the pair. "Private Marlo Freudenberg. Same assignment, Private Hitch Dreyse. As for how we'll dispose of you..." He trailed off and I crossed my arms, watching amused as the pair's eyes widened with fear.

"Because of you guys," the woman named Hitch said, "over 100 people from Stohess District were killed!"

"Huh?" Levi asked, a clear challenge to her to keep speaking out.

"Hey," Marlo said warningly.

"You people," she continued. "You might think that you're all heroes of justice, but the victims and their families were dropped straight into hell!"

"Yeah," Levi said easily, "I know."

"You there," Hitch said, aimed towards the kids, "you're from the Southern Cadet Corps, yeah? Just like Annie Leonhart. Were you friends of hers?" Hitch looked down. "No... I doubt she had any friends, being as gloomy and aloof as she was. It's like she was a kid afraid of other people. I never got the chance to know anything about her."

She paused, perhaps for dramatic effect, perhaps to gather her thoughts.

"And the reason they still haven't found her," she turned suddenly to Levi, her eyes wide and angry as she spoke, her voice venomous and accusatory, "is because she was pulverized by a Titan into a puddle of jelly!"

"No," Levi said smoothly. "Because the Titan in hiding was Annie Leonhart herself." The two looked shocked, to their credit. So they didn't know. Good to know we weren't the only ones in the dark. "Goddammit, it makes me sick. Nobody knows a damn thing about this world... Not us or anyone else. Except for those bastards at the center of it all." In a way almost kinder, then, though no less serious: "We'll release you both as soon as we get out of here."

"Captain Levi," Marlo said suddenly. "Please let me help you! I don't think what you guys are doing is wrong! If I can help correct this world's injustice, I'll do whatever it takes!"

Huh. Well, that took me by surprise. I met Levi's eyes and hell, he looked as confused as I did, with his brows pinched together. His eyes met mine, and I merely shrugged. Marlo turned to me, then. "Captain Amaya, please!"

"What's with this guy?" Levi asked.

"What a strange one," I muttered, shaking my head. "But you know damn well that we can't trust something like this." I looked at Marlo seriously. "We were criminals before, you know. We've seen all these tricks before, from far more clever folks."

Marlo shook his head, clearly growing more upset by the second. It was obvious that he meant hi words; we only needed to give them a hard time. "I beg of you, captains!"

"Not a chance," Levi said. "I can't tell how prepared you are about making an enemy of the government." Levi sheathed his blade and walked away from them, pausing only to take one last look at the pair. I stayed where I was, firmly rooted to my spot as Marlo's eyes trailed helplessly after Levi.

When he noticed me looking at him, I could see the silent plea in his eyes. He wanted to help, but again... we had to refuse.

"Let's go," I said. "Sasha. Tie them up somewhere nearby."

"Roger!"

Levi reached a hand towards me and I took up position next to him, taking his hand in mine and linking our fingers together. We headed back up into the woods but didn't get far before Jean stopped us.

"Captains," he said. There was a fiery determination in his eyes, and my own eyes widened at the clear desire to do something, anything, to help. "Please let me do it."

There was another, silent request in his eyes, and it was so clear: Please let me redeem myself, his eyes were saying. Let me show you that I can do this.

"Of course," I said, nodding at him.

"Knock yourself out," Levi said, tugging me along after him.

"Make us proud, Jean," I said, waving him off. "What odd ducks."

I glanced sidelong at Levi, noting how pretty he looked here. We were in a beautiful area; it was a shame we were fugitives. Shadows danced across his face, light peeking in from between the branches. He looked at me, an uncharacteristic amount of concern in his eyes.

"Are you alright, Levi?"

"Just fine," he said. "But you're not."

"Huh?" My eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "What do you mean? I feel fine."

"Do you really?"

"I... Yes, I do. At least, I think so. Where is this coming from?"

"You're not yourself," he said. "You're slower than you usually are."

"Am I?" I let out a breath. "I hadn't noticed."

"Amaya," he sighed. "You let some dumbass hit you. You're never that careless - at least, not in a long, long time. You're usually calculated and smart, not impulsive. In any other situation, you'd have thrown your knife, not dropped down in front of an enemy like a fool."

"I..."

He was right. I couldn't argue with him, because he was right. It was a stupid move, one I normally would never have made.

"You're right," I said. "I don't know why I let that happen, or why I did it, or... I just don't know. I'm sorry, Levi."

"Don't apologize," he said, squeezing my hand firmly, "just don't let it happen again."

"I won't," I said. "...So long as you don't break your leg again." I nudged his shoulder with my own, and he clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed.

"I didn't... Never-mind. Sure thing, brat," he said.

We walked in silence then, and I allowed myself to think about what he said further. Was I really slowing down, physically and in my judgment? The last time I had gotten hurt which had left me unable to fight would be... well, it would have been when I was crushed by that Titan just after Farlan and Isabel died.

I'd gotten hurt since then, lots of times. I'd sprained my wrist, gotten bruised and cut and scraped all over. Hell, I had a scar on my cheek now, faint and pale now, when I was knocked out of the air by a Titan's hand and fell to the ground, landing on a rogue twig of all things that just so happened to pierce through my skin.

Oh, and underground, I'd gotten that scar across my neck, too... oh, when doing that last job for my old boss.

Sure, our fight was changing. But we'd gone on long expeditions before, days long, fighting Titans nearly nonstop for a week at a time. When Levi and I were in the vanguard, we'd been forced to fight for nearly a day straight when an old base got swarmed by Titans. That had been an exhausting day, physically, emotionally, and mentally.

...But I hadn't slowed down then. Underground, we'd been staked out for days at a time for some jobs, playing games of endurance with stubborn targets. What was different now?

I was used to fighting people, to doing whatever it took to fight and complete the job at hand. All this was for us was a job. We were used to these. Hell, it was probably why Erwin wanted us in the first place. He knew that a couple of thugs would be able to fight people, no problem, if it came to it. I didn't put it past him to think so far ahead, even back then.

I bit my cheek. If Levi thought I was getting slower, then more than likely, I was getting slower. The damn man nearly knew me better than I knew myself, or nearly. That was for certain. I guess this was payback for every single time I'd pestered him to take care of himself, to slow down in times of leisure instead of being forced to sacrifice it during a job or expedition.

I didn't feel sick or hurt, other than the nasty bruise on my chin and small scrapes lining my arms. I couldn't think of anything else that was out of the ordinary. Well. There was one thing. But it was only late. I was stressed and exhausted, it was just delayed. That was all.

"Hey," Levi said, interrupting my train of thoughts, his voice pulling me back to reality, "you're thinking too hard. You've got this stupid look on your face."

I couldn't help but laugh. "You've got such a way with words. You know how to make a woman feel special, Levi," I said.

"I like to think so," he said, "though I've only ever been with one, so it must only work on her."

"I guess so," I played along. "What a lucky lady she must be."

He hummed in response, thinking it over for a moment. "Only as lucky as I am."

I grinned, his comment warming my heart. I leaned towards him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You're sweet when you want to be," I said. "A proper sweetheart, even."

"Alright, alright," he said, looking away. I didn't have to look to know he was flustered. "That's my one line for the day. Don't expect anything else, idiot."

I rolled my eyes but smiled playfully. "I wouldn't dream of it, you foolish man."