I decided to put out one more chapter before my busy work week begins. I hope you all enjoy and thanks again to everyone that takes the time to read my story.

"I was wondering when you were going to get back in. Can you make us some tea?"

Added to the list of qualities that Xevera lacked was cooking. Her sister was clearly not meant to be a house wife. She hated cleaning, organizing, and cooking. Xevera could make a cup of tea like anyone else, but she refused to. If Xevera ever married, it would be a true miracle. Her sister had a love interest, it was just one that she preferred not to talk about.

"We don't have any tea."

"Tanith brought over some not too long ago."

That was something she should have saw coming. Ever so slowly she made her way over towards the kitchen and began preparing everyone something to drink. The only positive side was that she did not have to cook. Alise truly hated when her sister volunteered her to cook for anyone. Being second in command did not make her Xevera's servant. Some days she felt just like that. As she brewed the tea, she wondered why Xevera had not requested something else. One look over her shoulder told her why. It was Xevera's dying need to play match maker.

Back when they had first joined the Survey Corps, Alise did have a minor crush on Levi. It was something about the look in his eyes that attracted her. His personality was favorable to a degree and his tone was fascinating. Granted he was not as charismatic as others, but he had his own charms. With time her crush slowly faded away. The problem was, Xevera did not listen to her. She had made the mistake of telling her sister how she felt a long time ago and Xevera never let it go. Xevera told her to act on it and she refused. In their line of work, doing stuff like that was out of the question. When he became a captain, he became further out of reach.

Maybe Xevera would have dropped the matter if Alise would have tried looking at someone else. There was no one else that caught her interest. That was mostly because she was not looking. She was too busy trying to keep her sister alive to worry about falling in love. There was no point in falling for someone, especially when she could be killed the moment she stepped foot outside of the Walls. It was not odd for people to die inside the Wall either. While love sounded nice and promising, it was better to just protect the people she allowed to get close. Xevera could believe what she wanted, but Alise was certain she did not care about Levi.

With everyone's drink in hand, Alise placed down Levi's drink first and then moved to her sister and Hange. Once everyone had their cup she had begun to move away.

"Come join us."

Xevera's tone said that she was not asking. Even if Alise wanted to say that she was tired, Xevera was not going to listen to her. As she looked over the table, she noticed that the only open seat was next to Levi. Sitting next to him did not mean that she had to talk to him. There would be no ninth conversation.

"Commander Erwin is putting a lot of interest in Eren. This is a risky play, but I am curious to see how this all plays out. Anyway, Hange, what plans were you itching to talk to us about."

"Tomorrow, we are going to capture a Titan. It is the perfect opportunity to collect one and I was wondering if you all wanted to help."

"No."

Levi got right to the point and from the look in his eyes, Alise could tell he was not going to change his mind. She had to side with him on this matter. She was not a fan of collecting Titans because of the risk. With their squad being the way that it was, it was best if they stayed away from such matters.

"I am in."

Alise nearly choked on her tea when she heard Xevera. Had her sister really just said the unthinkable.

"Pardon, but our squad is not cut out for something like that."

"Some of you all can be a bit worthless at times."

Alise turned away from her sister to look at Levi. She could have sworn that she was talking to her sister. Since he wanted to comment, she had no problem with addressing him.

"I didn't know I asked for your opinion. If you think pulling rank is going to cause me to back down, you don't know me that well."

"I never thought that. I do stand by the fact that most of your squad is useless. I watched the way they performed today and most of them live up to their label."

Levi's tone was annoying her more than usual. Just as Alise went to say something, Xevera's laughter interrupted her.

"Some of them are acting as if they just want to be fodder. Alise, how did training go tonight?"

"Maya got her first kill today and the others performed well."

"That is good. Regardless the squad still won't be of any help. I think a day away from Titans may do them some good."

"Are you taking back what you said to Hange?"

"Of course not. Both of us can handle more Titans than anyone in our group. Since she needs help, we are going to help her out."

"Not like I have an option. As long as Levi's squad is not there to get in the way, I am sure everything will go smoothly."

Alise could not resist throwing another jab at Levi and the look he gave her did not mess with her. Hange got a kick out of it as well and when she started laughing, Alise allowed the topic to be dropped.

"Hange, come with me. I have some stuff I want to go over with you."

As her sister left the room, Alise stood up quickly from the table. Since her sister was not going to clean, she decided it was best if she cleaned up. Once the table was cleared, Alise noticed Levi still had his cup.

"Are you finished or would the captain like some more tea."

"No, it didn't taste all that great."

"Well at least that is something I can agree with you on."

The tea had a funny taste to it. She had no idea where Tanith had gotten it from and she did not care. That was just one product she would never use again. It was better to stick with the tea that she liked.

"Would you care for me to pour it out then?"

"I don't waste food."

Alise did not bother to press the matter and took up sitting across from him. She had no idea why she was still sitting there. Levi had not moved to leave, and she saw no point in rushing away.

"Captain, you find all of our squad to be useless?"

"I said some, not all."

"If you find us to be useless, then some could argue that your squad is useless. After all, we suffered a massive loss and you all were supposed to be the elite ones of the group. Some would even go as far as to call your squad our saviors."

"What some say is not always the truth. The fact still remains that you are still alive to have this conversation. Our squads performed to our best to make sure the rest of us got back alive. None of us are gods, so don't look for miracles each time we encounter a Titan."

"I will never assume that you all are gods nor anyone that I work with. In the end, all of us are just crazy humans who have the nerve to either kill or study Titans."

Alise turned her head when she noticed Hange walking back into the room followed by her sister.

"Are you two still at each other's throat."

Hange held a mildly concerned look on her face as she spoke.

"No, Hange. I am actually headed up to bed. You all can discuss without me."

Alise did not bother to look at her sister as she made her way up to her new room. Unlike the other members, she was sharing her room with her sister. It was nice since she did not have to hear useless conversation while she tried to sleep. The down side was that her sister was going to have her up bright and early. If she managed to fall asleep first, then she could avoid the questions that were sure to come about Levi.

While she had not managed to fall asleep first, when Xevera came in during the night she did not pester her. Alise had faked being sleep, but she knew Xevera saw through it. It was nice not to be pestered and while she did not get to sleep for long, she enjoyed the bit of rest she did manage to get.

Before Xevera could kick her bed, Alise sat up and waved her hands in front of her.

"I am up. I am going to get ready."

"To think if you did not get up, I was going to shove you out of the bed."

"Lucky me."

Alise rubbed her back as she headed towards the bathroom. The water was not all that great, but she was glad to be clean. For the rest of the morning she allowed herself to stay in her mind. She had no idea what she was walking into, but she was going to have to be on her toes. Capturing was not an easy task. It was far easier to kill in her opinion. As they rode towards their destination, Alise finally broke her silence.

"What Titan are we going after?"

"We are going after two of them. Hange and I thought it would be a good idea to get a male and female."

"One was good enough. Two is being a bit reckless, if you don't mind me saying."

"We live a reckless life style, so this is nothing new."

"What strategy did you all come up with to capture these two Titans. I am going to tell you now, I am not going after any of the bigger ones."

"No worries, with the room we will be using, big is out of the question."

"Well, tell me about the strategy."

"Instead of targeting one Titan at a time, we decided to set up two traps. I am going to man one and Hange is in charge of the other. We managed to get a few more recruits, so it will be no problem."

"Do you expect me to believe that you all will wait patiently until some unlucky Titans wonder into your trap."

"Of course not. Titans like food, so we are going to tempt them with that."

The smirk that had formed on Xevera's face told Alise just what Xevera meant by that.

"You picked me to be bait. I cannot even get a break from that. Why couldn't I pull the trigger for the traps or something."

"Being bait is not that bad. After all, you will be the one that picks out one of the Titans that Hange gets to use."

"I feel so honored Captain. Forgive me for not jumping for joy right now."

"No need to be so sarcastic."

Alise stared at her sister but did not bother to say anything. When they reached the Wall, they decided to take the lift up. Gas needed to be conserved and Alise used the time to lightly stretch.

When they reached the top, Hange was not the first person to greet them. Tanith was bubbling over with happiness and practically tackled them when they got in striking range. Despite being hugged tightly, Alise did not bother to push her friend away.

"Tanith, you just saw us yesterday."

Alise pulled back lightly as she spoke.

"I know, but with all this stuff going on, I just wanted to hug you guys. On top of that, I heard you all were helping Hange out. Now I really want to hug you all because I could lose you all. Why couldn't you all try capturing them at night. It is less of a risk you know."

"We are all about taking risk."

Xevera patted the top of Tanith's head as she spoke.

"I know, but I still cannot help but to worry. You all better come back with all your parts."

Tanith released them from her grip and quickly adjusted Alise's jacket. When she was done looking them over, she resumed her duties of helping load the cannons. Alise had thought of saying something encouraging but decided to just follow after Tanith. The faster they started their mission; the easier things would be for them.

Alise stood silently as Hange and Xevera spoke. She offered a small smile to Hange when the woman thanked her for helping out. If Hange recalled, she had not truly volunteered for the job. Pointing out the facts was of no use. She had a job to do now and she was assigned to work with two other people. While she had heard their names, she did not bother to commit them to memory. Her focus stayed on the objective at hand. When the traps were set, she motioned for the people to follow behind her.

A lot of the Titans did not catch her eye. Some looked to scrawny and others were not interesting enough. The thought that she was being too picky had crossed her mind. She really did not know what she was looking for. Xevera would have been better out here then she was. At least Xevera took notes on some of the Titans they encountered. All Alise did was cut them down. She did not care about their behaviors or their habits.

"That is the one."

The group had stopped on top of a building to scan the area when Alise spotted a female Titan. The Titan had messy blonde hair and blue eyes. The look in its eyes was rather amusing. Something like that was sure to be able to withstand Hange's experiments. Its height was perfect for the trap.

"You two stay behind us. If you think it is going to kill me, then strike it down and we will start over."

Alise landed on a building in front of the Titan and waved her hand at it.

"Runt, are you hungry? Come try to eat me."

The Titan was fast for its size, but Alise was not worried. It stumbled a bit when it began chasing her. Its stumbling did not slow it down. When Alise thought that she had gone to fast, one look over her shoulder told her that she needed to move a bit faster. After managing to clear a few buildings, the trap site was only a few feet a head of her. When she cleared the zone, the sound of the traps going off erupted behind her. Alise planted her feet on the ground and looked over the captured Titan.

"Captain my job is done. If I am permitted may I return to the base. There are a lot of things that require my attention."

"Go ahead, you did a great job today."

Xevera's praise was welcomed but not really needed. Alise performed well every day and she did not need her ego to be stroked. Since they were around others, Alise began to smile. It was better to look appreciative in front of everyone. She made sure to keep the smile on her face until she neared the Wall.

Once Alise was back inside of the base she began taking in the area around her. She did not know when, but someone had done all the cleaning for her. The recruits were nowhere to be seen and she doubted any of them would take on such a task. As she stood marveling at the work well done, the sound of supplies falling caught her attention. Inside the supply closet, Maya stood surrounded by a fallen broom and bucket.

"Did you do all of this by yourself?"

"I started last night, and I resumed this morning when I heard you all leave."

"You didn't have to do that. You all earned a day off, so why not go enjoy it."

"I thought about what you said. After everything that happened, I wanted to thank you guys for not giving up on me. More importantly I wanted to make up for the damage that I caused."

"Cleaning does not make you a better family member in this squad. Maybe if you were in Levi's squad this would count for something, but here it does not mean much."

Alise paused in her speech and then reached out and rested a hand on Maya's shoulder.

"It is still a good start. After I organize this closet, then maybe we can train together."

"I can help you with that. The others told me about how particular you are, and I promise you that I won't get in your way."

"As long as you promise, then I have no objection."

Alise placed her jacket on a nearby chair and then got to work on emptying out the closet. While they worked, Alise decided to get to know Maya a bit more. If she was going to be stuck with this girl, it was best she got to know something about her.

"When I was growing up, my father always told me that if someone did not stand up for the weaker people then no one would. He always looked up to the Garrison. He would have joined the Garrison if it had not been for his bad leg. He never had a son, so I figured that I would make him proud. My mother wanted me to get married, but if I did that then my father's dream would die."

"Your parent's dreams are not your burden."

"It is only a burden if you view it as such. When I was eight, I found out that my father actually came from money. He was supposed to take over my grandfather's business, but he got a worker pregnant. My grandfather was going to pay for my mother to vanish. On the night that she was supposed to leave, my father met her at the door instead of the other guy. He ran away with my mother and because of that, he was cut off. My parents struggled for a while before my father managed to land a job that took care of us. I signed up because I wanted to join the Garrison. I was part of the Garrison, up until Wall Maria fell."

Maya had paused in her speech and Alise found it best not to press the topic. If Maya did not want to talk about what caused her to join, then she was not going to press the matter. She was about to change the topic when Maya spoke up.

"I grew up in the Shiganshina District. For two weeks straight, I held high hopes that my parents were alive. I walked through the survivors more than once and I could not find them. I found one of my neighbors and they told me everything. My father, with his bad leg, had gone to save a small child that was standing around crying. In his condition he should have just kept running, but he didn't. His need to be a hero cost him his life. They said a Titan snatched him up and bite clean into him. My mother was so traumatized that she didn't even run. A Titan did not kill her, but some falling debris crushed her. I was supposed to be defending people and I was not there when my parents needed me the most. The Walls are useless, unless there are people out there doing something to keep the Titans back. I thought I was ready for the task back then, but I wasn't."

Alise placed away the items in her hand and let out a low sigh.

"Vengeance fuels a lot of people these days. I am sorry for your loss, but I doubt killing Titans will cause the wound to close completely. If anything, when you encounter a Titan, don't think about the people they killed. Don't fear them and don't fear me. When you encounter a Titan, think about the people they are going to eat. Every Titan struck down means someone has been given a second chance. Be it on this squad or somewhere deep behind the Walls."

"Alise, thank you for not giving up on me."

"I was never going to give up on you. I just was going to get rid of you and move on."

Alise allowed a smile to spread across her face before she started to laugh. She was never going to feed Maya to the Titans, but she was never going to tell her that. It was always best if Maya never forgot her hidden motivation. With Maya remembering what happened to her parents, she doubted the female would give into her fears again. While Maya worked contently next to her, Alise found herself reflecting on a hidden memory. Instead of allowing the memory to persist, Alise continued the task at hand. There was a lot that needed to be accomplished today and she could not be distracted.