Time for some explanations. What is going on in the Survey Corps and what exactly is the meeting with the King about? Read on...

Thanks for your appreciation! :)

Also, MANGA SPOILERS FOR LEVI'S BACKSTORY. I have edited the summary with this info.

Happy reading!

Chapter II

"Stop the carriage."

Erwin, who had been in the midst of perusing some papers, looked up at Levi.

"What?"

"Stop the carriage. We're walking."

Erwin looked at him for one long moment before rapping on the window behind the coachman.

"Stop here, please. We're getting down."

The coachman stopped the carriage without a word. Levi held one of Erwin's cases before he could protest, and started walking even before the carriage had left.

Erwin, with his long-ass legs, caught up with him soon enough. Levi felt grudging appreciation at how accommodating Erwin was being. He wondered if he already knew why Levi was acting like this.

"Where is this?" Erwin asked after two minutes of walking. Of course he fucking knew.

"We're barely two blocks from the Palace, Erwin."

"I know the streets of Mitras well, Levi."

Levi was quiet. When they were less than a block away, he finally muttered, "We just crossed into the Upper Shelves."

"Upper Shelves," Erwin murmured. "When I read of that place as a child, I always wanted to go see it. It seemed magical to me somehow, a place named after furniture."

"It seemed magical to me too," Levi said shortly, glancing at an ornate fountain that they passed by. "Then I actually saw the place. It was just as dark as my shitty home."

Erwin looked at him. "And where was that?"

"What?"

"Your home?"

Levi stopped abruptly, Erwin in the next second. "Back there." He didn't point.

Erwin looked back at the way they had come. A pristine residential neighbourhood lay behind them, with wide tree-lined streets and grand houses with imposing doorways.

"Not too far," Erwin said slowly.

Levi snorted. "No. Whores are kept away, but never too far away."

Erwin froze and Levi nearly kicked himself. He didn't know, he hadn't told him yet. Erwin felt so familiar now that the fact that they barely knew each other was jarring. And Erwin always acted so understanding, like he knew everything. But of course he didn't know what Levi's mother had been. Very few people did.

Well, fuck. Levi thought dully.

They looked at each other helplessly for several long moments, at a loss for words. Then Levi turned away violently. "Come on. You don't want to make royalty wait."

They walked in silence to the palace.

Levi had been to the throne room before, and had already seen the King. This time, they went to the Council Chamber, but his impression of the King remained the same.

"The most bored man in existence," Levi had told Erwin, who had smiled.

His Royal Highness King Fritz looked down at Levi (even in the smaller meeting room his chair had to be fucking raised) with the same sort of resigned langour as he had a year ago.

"Your Majesty."

Both of them did the customary salute and added the extra bow to the King. No, it didn't rankle within Levi to have to bow to someone; he wasn't a fucking firebrand, thank you very much. Levi was strong, sure, but that bored old man had power. Levi understood power, and kept his distance from it.

Erwin, however, seemed forever shrouded in a miasma of dangerous power. It was impressive and terrifying at the same time.

"Commander Erwin Smith, Captain Levi."

One of the noblemen, Levi hadn't bothered retaining his name, looked less than pleased at seeing him.

"Our discussions here were supposed to be confidential, Commander Erwin."

"Captain Levi is here to help with the planning of the logistics," Erwin said in his usual polite cadence. "I have told him nothing yet."

This is bad, Levi realised. Erwin always planned ahead, always had contingencies in place. Levi knew, because Erwin would tell him or Mike. That he had purposefully brought Levi here without preparing him meant that Erwin was playing a lone hand in this game. And Erwin always played solo when the game was at its most dangerous.

Why was he with this man again?

"So what is it then?" Levi asked in the uncomfortable silence.

Some of the noblemen turned to the King.

"Your Majesty?"

The rat-faced old man stirred. "Captain Levi has earned the title of humanity's strongest," he said finally, "and would no doubt contribute much to this discussion." He waved for a glass of wine. "Tell him."

Without further ado, Erwin took one of the empty chairs. Levi followed a split second later.

Another nobleman stood up from his seat right next to the the King. Must be an important noble, Levi mused darkly, noting his place at the table and his richly embroidered clothes. His voice booming in the room, the noble addressed them all. "So, for Captain Levi's benefit as well as some of the others," he glanced at the first noble, "let us recap what we discussed last time. Commander Erwin?"

Erwin was prepared, it seemed. "We have decided to implement a new Expedition outside the walls."

We?

"The scale of this expedition is our biggest yet. The recent fall of Wall Maria and the current Refugee Crisis which is expected to worsen, has compelled us to take this decision." Erwin was looking everywhere, at everyone but Levi. "It is to be a Reclamation Expedition."

"A what?" Levi couldn't hold it in.

Erwin finally looked at him, his face almost as dead as a corpse. "It is to reclaim Wall Maria."

Reclaim? How? How the fuck-

"How?" Levi demanded.

"By sending out a large force. The sheer number of combatants will ensure-"

"We don't have large numbers," Levi interrupted.

The booming noble spoke. "We can recruit more people."

"Yes," Levi said impatiently. "That's what the Training Corps is for. Even then, the recruits need three years to train-"

"We are lucky enough to have several thousands of able-bodied men and women who could fight for our cause."

Levi understood. He had understood the moment Erwin had looked at him. He had understood from the dull, polite faces of most of the nobles in the room. He fucking understood everything.

"You mean the refugees."

Some noblemen in the back fidgeted nervously.

The important noble shrugged and said casually, "I mean all the citizens of the Walls."

"From all the Walls?" Levi asked him smoothly.

"The decision has already been approved by His Highness, the King," Erwin cut in. "All that remains now is to plan its execution."

Levi was suddenly aware of the gaze of every noble on his face. There was a certain amount of breathlessness in the air as everyone waited to see what the famous Captain Levi would say.

As for Levi himself, he wanted badly to tear that expressionless mask off Erwin's goddamn face and see what he really thought of this madness. He wanted to scream at these fat fucking hedonists, he wanted to cut open their heads and pour in all the misery, every single gory encounter that he'd had with death so they'd know what it really meant. But no. He would not give those rich shitfaces the pleasure of reacting how they expected him to.

"So how is this recruiting going to go?" He asked. Many nobles sighed visibly with relief, others looked surprised at his calm demeanour. Only a few nobles and the King continued to look unconcerned.

But Levi only cared about Erwin, who of course, remained as impassive as ever. "That is what we intend to discuss today."

They set to it then, methodically and ruthlessly. Levi felt increasingly like a puppet, parroting Erwin's words or backing them up, as required. He felt as if it was someone else sitting at that grand table, saying words and agreeing to things he had never thought he would even consider.

He nearly snapped only once. The booming noble, who was running the conversation as much as Erwin was, said at one point, "I must say, Captain Levi's astute reasoning does put me in mind of something."

Levi directed his expressionless glare at him. He had a feeling that he would not like what was coming.

"Regarding?" Erwin had a polite questioning look on his face, but Levi could see his extra firm grip on the papers in his hand.

The noble answered, "Well, the point about the Training Corps. We do have a prodigious number of trained individuals in that branch."

Levi didn't want to hear any further. "They're kids."

"They're soldiers in training." The noble shrugged. "They can handle themselves."

Levi leaned forward, pressing his hands on the table. "They're fucking kids," he growled. "And they're not completely trained."

Erwin shot him a warning glare, but Levi couldn't care less. This was bullshit.

The noble seemed willing to ignore his language. "Yes, I suppose the younger, fresher recruits are not ideal. But the third years… maybe even the second years would greatly add to the skilled numbers."

The man was talking of thirteen, fourteen year-olds. "I'm sorry, I don't think you heard me last time," Levi said flatly. "They're kids."

"Levi."

The noble, that fucking asshole, actually smiled. "Now, Captain Levi, it is quite heartening to see you worry. But, I assure you, there's no need for it. Since your induction into the Survey Corps was… unconventional, I suppose it explains your ignorance in this matter."

Levi imagined to himself the noise that that man would make if he slit his throat then and there with the knife hidden in his boot. It was a pleasing sound and it calmed him. The noble continued smoothly, "But Commander Erwin, I'm sure, is well aware of the capability of these trainees."

Erwin answered almost reluctantly, "The recruits do have to have a certain skill set to advance that far in training."

"Exactly. They've dedicated their lives to our cause, after all. They will have the honour of serving humanity first hand!"

The senile King spoke at that moment. "True, very true," he mumbled.

"Your Majesty," Erwin said, "however trained those recruits are, they are still children. A lot of families willingly send their children to be recruited. They would protest and cause trouble."

Levi breathed carefully through his nose, trusting Erwin to make the arguments. For these fuckwits, civil unrest seemed more of a concern than sending children to their deaths. Un-fucking-believable.

Several nobles began to mutter amongst themselves at that. The King, still looking as mild as ever, waved his hand airily. "Oh, that's not a problem. It's not like we haven't done this-"

"Your Majesty," barked the first noble who had protested against Levi's attendance, "Commander Erwin makes an important point. In the situation we are in right now, we must move cautiously."

Levi exchanged glances with Erwin, whose eyes were glimmering. Had the King just said what he thought he'd said?

Well, fuck.

The King scratched his beard. "Oh yes, I agree. Quite."

There was a pause as everyone waited to see exactly what the King agreed with. When no other explanation was forthcoming, the booming noble took control of the conversation again. "Alright, we'll only take the really skilled ones. I believe there are some four hundred recruits in the third year at this moment. They will do. By this point, the recruits and their families must surely be reconciled to the dangers of their chosen profession. They would hardly protest at such an honour."

Erwin began, "I believe they are still-"

"Now, now, Commander Erwin. The expedition needs these numbers as you're perfectly aware. It's either these recruits or," the noble shrugged, "we'll have to dip into our pool of veteran soldiers." He smiled then, a smile so manipulative and nasty that Levi felt a sudden urge to clean out his eyes and ears, to remove all traces of the man's presence from his senses.

"We have already determined the number of soldiers we will be allocating to the expedition." Erwin said tightly.

"Yes, and don't you think that it would be best to recruit more of those skilled in Titan slaying to bring up the numbers?"

Levi was itching to snatch the knife from his boot. That fucking asshole-

Erwin tapped a sheet of paper at his elbow. "I have already prepared the roster of soldiers from the Survey Corps."

"It's not necessarily final, is it." The obnoxious man shrugged.

"I believe I already made clear the importance of keeping Survey Corps veterans closer to humanity in order to protect them."

One of the other nobles called out, "He's right, Danglars. We need to keep the best close to us."

Assholes, all of them. Every single, fucking one-

"Now, I'm not suggesting we send Captain Levi here," Danglars the noble laughed. "He's too valuable to us, after all. But I'm sure there are some that can serve us better in the expedition."

A beat of silence.

"The Training Corps recruits will even out the numbers." Erwin gave in quietly. "They should suffice."

Danglars clapped his hands together. "It's decided, then." He shot a triumphant look at Levi.

With great difficulty, Levi managed to keep his deadpan expression. I will rip you to pieces, he thought, directing his anger into his glare, and slice you from ear to ear so slowly you'll wish you were devoured by a Titan.

Years of living a violent life had given Levi the advantage of looking as dangerous as he could be. The fat noble's smug look slipped off his face and he didn't look at or speak to Levi for the rest of the meeting.

It was a small, petty consolation. But Levi was a petty man indeed, and he managed to keep his humanity smothered by that pettiness until the meeting ended.

"I'd like to rip that man a new one," Levi spat venomously when they were back at the Survey Corps offices.

"Levi." There was a hint of warning in Erwin's tone. Levi snorted. "Don't worry. I can be as insolent as I please if I don't take names."

"Even so."

"Yes." Levi looked at Erwin speculatively. "You don't seem too upset. Were you pleased with how the meeting turned out?"

"Yes." Erwin's tone was as mild as ever, but his eyes glimmered almost maniacally.

Levi knew well enough by now to not question that look. So he didn't.

A/N: The inside of Levi's mind, as captivating as I imagine it must be, is probably a very violent place. He has also been in the SC for just over a year, so his thug instincts are still very much active.

The Underground is supposed to be right in the Centre of Wall Sina, so there is a very high chance that it is right under the Capital City. This explains why Levi said in the previous chapter that he didn't want to go "back". In the meantime, I imagine he's also been feted by the King when he earned his "Humanity's Strongest" title. This is why he has seen the King before.

None of the nobles have been named in canon. If you recognise where I got that nobleman's name from, good for you! It happened to be the book I was reading when I wrote this. :)

I am genuinely surprised that more fanfiction does not exist about the Reclamation Expedition. Guys, can you imagine how horrible it must have been? 250000 people were sent out to their deaths. Most of them led by the Survey Corps. I mean, Erwin has just been made Commander, and this is the first Expedition he gets to plan. Ugh.

So, one more chapter left. Let me know what you think of this one! Thanks for reading!