Gonna see more of the surface in this chapter, specifically Jean and Levi. And Levi having difficulty dealing with how tall Jean is even when the boy's sitting down. Just wait until he has a talk with Bertholdt.
As for the Underground and Marco…they don't really play a huge part for this chapter. This one's more of a Surface chapter. What goes on here with Marco, Farian, and Isabel will be explained in Chapter 4.5.
A little reminder too, this story follows canon with A Choice With No Regrets only up to the first chapter. So all that is going to be canon is that Erwin captured Levi and forced him to join the Scouting Legion, and that Levi was the leader of a gang that consisted of him, Isabel, and Farian. NOTHING ELSE except for one thing STANDS TRUE FOR THIS STORY. Since the new stuff for it is well…new, I won't say anything about it here. It becomes AU after Erwin captures Levi.
This story DOES follow canon to a certain extent with the main manga/anime(more so the anime, but it does have some things the manga did that the anime didn't, and seeing as the anime stopped before the good stuff…) but it will become full AU from the manga when the new Squad Levi forms. Let's just say that Levi's squad is going to be a bit jumbled. (and I hope some of you will be happy with a little twist that snuck it's way into the story!)
Chapter 3: The Difference Between Two Worlds
His breath came out in harsh pants as he glared at Armin. "Fight like you mean it!" Jean spat. "Do you think others'll go easy on you just because you're small?"
Armin looked worriedly at the other boy. Something was wrong, that was easy for Armin to figure out. "Jean maybe we should stop, we won't be fighting each other on the expedition. Commander Erwin said we won't be fighting at all. It's ok to take a break!" He jumped back as Jean swung at him again but was not ready for Jean to tackle him to the ground. "Jean! Stop it!"
Their mock fight had caught the attention of most of the others training near them. Ymir and Connie egged them on, only to be silenced by Reiner. Petra and Christa were watching with curious eyes from behind Auruo, who kept them from getting closer. Christa gasped in surprise as Armin managed to flip Jean off of him, getting onto his hands and knees before Jean tackled him again.
"Jean he said to stop!" Eren caught sight of the brawl, running over with Mikasa and Bertholdt not far behind. He tried pulling Jean off of Armin, only to have Jean swing a punch at him. Grabbing the back of Jean's shirt by the collar, Bertholdt pulled him off the ground and held him a few inches into the air, watching blankly as the other struggled.
Mikasa helped Armin to his feet, Eren helping her checking him over for any bad bruises or scrapes. "Jean. Stop it." She growled.
"What the hell is going on over here?"
Jean stilled in Bertholdt's grasp, subdued by the glare Levi gave as he walked over.
"Well?"
"It's nothing Lance Corporal." Armin murmured. "I just overreacted."
Eren looked ready to protest, but stopped at a glance from Levi. "Really now?" The disbelief in Levi's voice weighed down on Armin. "Kirstein, come with me. There are some things we need to talk about."
"How did we not see it before? I mean you two do look alike!"
"Not really Isa. Levi and I haven't looked alike for probably ten years."
The three days since Marco had told Farian and Isabel one of his secrets had passed all too quickly. He learned something in that time; Isabel did not get over shocking things quickly.
"But you both glare the same!"
Glaring at her did not help Marco any.
The three of them were currently walking towards the underground town. They decided it was time for Marco to see exactly how things differed from the surface.
It was not their only reason for the trip. Word had gotten to them that the Military Police were paying more attention to the crime in the underground. Their best bet was to lay low and not draw attention to themselves, which meant leaving the maneuver gear behind.
Marco had to admit was excited to finally learn more about the world he had been thrust into. The stories Farian and Isabel had told him were enough to keep his curiosity curbed for a while, but he was dying to know what it was really like.
"Don't have to high expectations." Farian warned. "This isn't like the surface, its worse."
He could not understand how anything could be worse than the constant fear that any day, at any moment, the walls could crumble and humanity could be at the full mercy of the titans.
Being underground had relaxed him and his guard had fallen. There were no titans to watch out for, shifters or otherwise. The most he had to be wary of was using the gear and missing a holding point. He had not felt that relaxed since he was little.
Marco remembered the last time he was that relaxed. It was hazy, but there. He was five at the time, Levi was teaching him how to climb trees. The last time he had been relaxed, had been the last time he saw his older brother. After that day he was always worried about something; about his brother, about what would happen to both of them when others found out about his disappearance, and then, five years later, about joining the army.
Wall Maria being breached cemented his decision to join the Training Corps and find his brother. Relief had flooded him when he saw Levi in the Scouting Legion, only to be replaced with fear. Of all the branches for Levi to join, Marco wished it hadn't been that one. As the years went on, he did feel resentment for Levi just leaving him like he did, but the worry over him would always be there.
His hand came up to his neck, only to stop short of grabbing something that was not there. The necklace. Around his neck, hidden under his shirt, had been a necklace with the wings of freedom on a pendant of sapphire and what looked like ruby. It was part of a matching set, the other one being made of obsidian and ruby. That's right. I lost it in Trost.
Had it just been the necklace that was lost to him, he would worry. It was what the necklace held beside the wings of freedom that made him mourn its absence.
"Oi, Marco. You still here or are you daydreaming about the surface again?"
He shook his head at Farian's question. "Sorry Farian, just thinking over some things."
"Well quit your thinking." Farian ordered. "We're here."
Jean followed Levi into the large building that served as the Scouting Legion's base. The only sound echoing off the stone walls were their footsteps, neither eager to break the tense silence between them. The room Levi lead him to was void of any living being, but there were shelves lined with books; old ones that Jean believed could be older than the walls themselves, new ones that looked freshly bound, and the odd note paper sticking out from between every few books. Three chairs and a desk were pushed near one wall, two of the chairs sitting in front of the desk, one behind it.
The small jump Levi had to do to be able to sit on top of the desk happened without comment, and Jean took a seat in one of the chairs in front of him. "Kirstein today's training was to test your abilities to handle tense situations, not to flatten your teammate to the ground." Levi began.
Jean looked down to his hands resting on his lap. "I know Lance Corporal; I got carried away. It won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't, or your ass will be staying behind on the expedition." Jean flinched at the threat. Staying behind was a worse punishment than anything to most of the legion. If Levi or Erwin left someone behind, it showed the lack of trust they had in the person to keep everything under control.
"It won't happen again." He repeated.
Levi stared at him for a moment, slightly impressed that Jean had not flinched under the drilling gaze. "What brought on that little show?" At Jean's silence, he continued, "I doubt you have anything against Arlelt, his bratty guard wolf wouldn't let that stay for long." He paused. "Perhaps, it has to do with someone who…was close to you."
Looking up to meet the Corporal's gaze, Jean's mind flashed with pictures of Marco. Memories that he had tried to bury resurfaced, and it took effort for his eyes not to water at them. "I just…it's hard without Marco." He admitted. "Him, me, the others…we had everything planned out. We wanted to join the Military Police, but deep down, I guess Eren had a tight hold on all of us."
He stopped, but a slight wave from Levi told him to continue. "We were going to be Squad Leaders together. The twelve of us, we were going to be the greatest squads the Scouting Legion ever saw. Marco, Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Sasha, and Connie were one team. I was with Christa, Ymir, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie." Jean sighed. "But then…and Annie joined the Police…"
"But it all falls back on Marco." Levi summarized. "The lashing out, the willingness to readily give up your life; all because of a fallen lover. And not just you, all of you little shits are nothing but insomniacs."
"Seeing what the titans can do really shook us." Jean defended them. "Marco was in the top ten of our group, it showed us that we're all nothing but prey."
"So you take out your anger over that feeling on each other?"
"No!"
Levi raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He got off the desk, standing in front of Jean and glaring into the boy's eyes. "Kirstein, you aren't the only person in the Scouting Legion who Marco was close to at one point."
"Huh? Who else?" Jean asked confusedly. Marco had never mentioned anyone else. Not a friend, not another lover- though that was impractical, with the two of them being almost inseparable since they were twelve- not even a family member.
But there was a flash of emotion in Levi's eyes. "Marco, was my younger brother." He paused, letting the words hang in the air for a moment.
Jean looked at him in shock. He would have never guessed, no one would have guessed, that they were related. When he said nothing, Levi spoke up again. "I left when he was six, I was twelve." With a small wave of his hand, he gestured to a picture on the desk. In the photograph were two boys, one significantly smaller than the other. The smaller boy, Jean recognized him to be Marco, was grinning widely. His feet dangled off the tree branch the boys were on. Standing beside him was Levi, his eyes shut and a slight smirk on his face.
Jean could see the resemblance in the two boys in the picture. Levi's hair was a bit longer, looking more like what Marco's did a few weeks ago. They looked like brothers, more so with the subtle details.
While Jean was looking at the picture, Levi began to speak again. "That was the last time we saw each other. Although I'm sure he was with the rest of you when we left before the Trost attack."
The clang of metal hitting metal drew Jean's attention back to the Corporal. Levi was holding something in his hands, and Jean noticed the pendant around his neck. It was the wings of freedom; beautiful obsidian where the blue wing would be, and in place of the white feathers were deep rubies. "Before I left, I gave him the matching necklace to this one."
Jean closed his eyes. He remembered Marco's own necklace; warm sapphires instead of obsidian and the same rubies in the same place. Marco always hid it under his shirt during the day, but at night he would always grab it and whisper something to it before falling asleep.
The memories of the necklace brought more memories of Marco, and with them tears sprang up in his eyes again. He kept them close, until there was a sudden weight around his neck. He opened his eyes. Levi was standing right in front of him, his hands busy getting the clasp of a necklace shut to keep it around Jean's neck. Looking down, he saw the familiar red and blue stones.
"It was the only thing of his recovered in Trost besides one of his trainee jacket badges." Levi's voice was softer than Jean ever remembered hearing it. "Although, it seems to have gained more weight."
The tears that had sprung up finally fell as Jean raised the necklace up to eye level. Resting on either side of the pendant were two silver bands speckled with the same ruby red gems as the wings of freedom.
"I know we're still young, but, I just want to find something that can stand as a promise for both of us. A promise that we'll survive, that we'll make it. Together."
He let out a choked sob, remembering what Marco had told him just hours before the wall had been kicked in. Jean slid from the chair to the ground, resting on his knees and gripping the pendant and rings to his chest tightly. The sobs and tears would not stop, even as he moved to unhook the clasp and take one of the rings off. It fit perfectly on his ring finger and made him sob harder.
Levi leaned back against the desk, aware of the door opening and a blonde blur falling beside the boy on the floor. Armin's arms wrapped around Jean, hugging him tightly. Two others, Levi vaguely remembered Eren saying they were Sasha and Christa, were waiting by the door with a sad smiling Hanji and worried Petra.
"He wanted to make sure everything was ok." Hanji explained, nodding to Armin. "I don't think any of them have had a chance to really grieve over what happened."
As Sasha and Christa joined the two boys in their hug, Jean buried his head in Sasha's shoulder. "What am I supposed to do?" He whispered brokenly, wrapping his arms around the other three.
The question went unanswered for a moment. "Fight." They looked up at Levi. "You're supposed to fight. It's what the Scouting Legion does. We make sure that no sacrifice is in vain." He glared heavily at Jean. "My little brother died probably saving your ass, because he takes relationships to heart. If he loved you, he was willing to die for you. Don't let that go to waste."
Levi was right, Jean decided. He would fight. Fight, and win. Looking at the pendant in his hand, and the ring on his finger, his determination grew. He stood up, looking apologetic when Armin and Christa were pulled off their feet with the force. Sasha had fallen backwards, grinning at the look on Jean's face.
"We'll fight. We'll win." Jean vowed, nodding to Levi before turning to Armin. "We gotta train some more. Don't think no one saw you fall off your horse that one time. Sasha, help him out with balance. According to Bertholdt it's gonna rain later on, so try to get that done beforehand."
"Yes sir Squad Leader sir." Sasha teased, wiping away a few tears before giving a mock salute and grabbing Armin's hand. "I'll have him doing hand stands on horses before you know it!"
As she ran out, Armin in tow, Jean yelled to her; "And no snack breaks! I'll know if you stole anything Potato Girl, I'm helping cook tonight!"
"Jean, Ymir's looking for a sparring partner. I think you two can help each other." Christa told him.
Jean nodded. "Right. Let's go then! Goodbye Lance Corporal, Squad Leader Hanji, Miss Petra." He grabbed Christa's hand much like Sasha did to Armin and made his way out of the room past the two smiling women.
"Well Levi, I don't know how you do it, but you seem to have fixed whatever spell was on the new recruits." Hanji laughed. "I'm sure their mood'll get infectious in no time!"
Levi rolled his eyes, walking to the doorway where Hanji and Petra were standing. "It's just a matter of knowing what you're dealing with." He wrapped an arm around Petra as she rested her head on his shoulder. "A guard wolf needs harsh training, but a mourning fox needs even harsher treatment."
"Are you sure you and Erwin aren't related?" Hanji asked with a serious look. "That sounds like something he'd say."
"No relation." Levi said. "I don't have any relatives now."
Petra frowned. "Levi…"
"It doesn't matter." Levi told her. "It's just one less thing I have to worry about losing."
It's short…but I think it's at a good stopping point with Levi there. The next chapter is longer, and wait until I write chapter 5, 6 and 7. Those are during the Female Titan arc. And with the outline I have for them…they're gonna be pretty huge.
