Armin turned off his computer and ran through his checklist again.

1. Remove all incriminating photos and posts on the internet. Armin did not really use social networking sites that much so there was nothing to delete. Check.

2. Don't wear stupid clothes or anything that would make you stand out too much. He was wearing a plain white shirt, dark denim jeans and casual sneakers. A safe ensemble, he thought. Check.

3. Don't do or say anything stupid in the presence of competitors. Armin still wasn't sure what Levi considered stupid. Still, he would try to be careful with his actions and words during the opening ceremony. So check.

4. Don't tell ANYBODY about the annual diss battle and avoid talking about it with your teammates. Sure, he can stay quiet about it. Check.

5. Ask permission to go out. Lie if you have to but never go AWOL.

Armin never really liked lying, especially to his grandfather. However, he knew that bending the truth was sometimes necessary. Still, he wished he did not have to deceive anyone.

He lit up a match stick and burned the checklist. It was best to erase all potential evidence. The diss battle was not a secret that was only for him to keep after all. It was a secret he shared with several others and he did not want to be the one who would mess up and expose that secret.

It bothered Armin why Levi kept stressing the importance of the whole thing being kept confidential. Why go to all that trouble? It was just a diss battle after all. People from all over the world participate in those. It's not like it was something illegal.

Armin snatched his backpack from his bed and made his way to the living room where his grandfather was watching the news. Every evening, the old man would usually be out working as a pianist at The Garrison, a popular jazz bar in town. But ever since he broke an arm, he had been staying at home every evening.

"Hey grandpa, I'm going to study for entrance exams. I'll be back before midnight" said Armin, uttering the words a little too quickly.

His grandfather's brow furrowed in concern.

"Alright. Don't overwork yourself though. I know things have been difficult for you lately," he said. The old man gave his casted arm a jerk and smiled bitterly. "Sorry I couldn't help out."

Armin forced a smile.

"Don't worry. It's nothing I can't handle," he said reassuringly. "Though you really should recover soon, grandpa. I heard that the regulars down at The Garrison were not too thrilled with Hannes', um, avant-garde piano-playing."

The old man chuckled at this.

"Guess I should take your advice and take it easy then." he said. Then his expression shifted into something mischievous.

"Best you head on out now. Wouldn't want to keep your 'study buddy' waiting."

"Who? Eren? Yeah, he tends to lose his patience easily, doesn't he?"

His grandfather looked at him with discerning eyes and Armin felt a knot in his stomach start to form. Ever since he was a kid, his grandpa always knew when he was hiding something. The boy always wondered if it was because he was too transparent or the old man just knew him too well that he could tell a bluff from a lie.

"Well. I better go now. See you later, grandpa."

"Bye, m'boy. Stay safe, you hear me?!"

Armin's thoughts drifted as he zipped through town on his bicycle. During the past few days, the team (sans Annie, who preferred to practice alone) had been meeting after school at the music room. He and Eren would brainstorm, write lyrics and recite their diss in time to a beat while Levi tried to tear apart their efforts. He was very strict, particularly with Armin. Everytime the blond messed up, which was often, Levi would go off on him like a land mine and make him repeat from the top. The whole experience did not exactly give him a self-esteem boost but he noticed that the more Levi berated him, the more he became desensitized making it easier for him to hold back the tears.

Annie's challenge had undoubtedly aroused something within Levi. Not only was the man much harsher on him than on Eren, Armin now had to meet much higher standards in order to get his A+. Unlike Eren and Annie who automatically earned the high grade by simply joining the competition, he was expected to win at least two battles before Levi gave him the grade. This was quite unfair but he knew that he was in no place to complain. It was, after all, better than having no way of saving his scholarship.

Armin slowed down as he approached Cafe Maria, the coffee shop where he worked part time at, and the team's meeting place. After chaining his bike near the shop's back door, he made his way to the outdoor tables set in front of the cafe. Eren waved at him. He was sharing a table with Annie and...

Is that Mikasa?

"Yo," Eren greeted him. One look at his face and Armin could tell the other boy was having a bad day. It was evident why from the annoyed glances he threw at the dark-haired girl beside him.

"You ready for Levi's tutoring session?" Eren asked cautiously.

"Y-yeah, I guess... Um, hi Annie."

Armin gave the girl a friendly smile and she retuned the gesture with a nod. Then he turned to Mikasa who was contentedly sipping on a protein shake.

Armin deduced that she followed Eren to their meeting place. That was not good. Levi had so thoroughly reminded them to never involve any 'outsiders'. He would definitely not be thrilled to see Mikasa with them.

"Uh, hi Mikasa. How's the shake?" he asked her.

"Pretty good."

Eren laughed nervously.

"Well it better be good, alright. It costs five freaking dollars!" he said.

Armin checked his watch. Levi would be arriving anytime soon. They had to find a way to make Mikasa leave or else they will suffer the teacher's wrath.

Eren saw the urgency in his friend's eyes and knew he had to do something about the situation as soon as possible. Rising up from his chair, he took Mikasa by the wrist.

"Okaaaay. I bought you your five dollar shake so you can go home now, Mikasa. Goodbye!" he said in a rising tone.

"But I haven't finished yet."

Just then, a black car with dark-tinted windows stopped in front of the cafe with a small screech, and Levi emerged from the driver's seat. He called out to them and his eyes narrowed into slits when he saw four teenagers walk up to his car.

Armin, Eren and Mikasa squeezed themselves into the backseat while Annie took the right front seat. Doors closed and an awkward silence filled the air.

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"Somebody please tell me what the fuck Ackerman is doing in here" he said.

Eren groaned, slapping a palm against his own face.

"Look. Just for the record, I didn't ask her-"

Mikasa lifted a hand, shutting him up.

"I'm his chaperone," she said.

Eren shook his head vigorously.

"No. No, you're not. She's not. She followed me here!"

The girl looked away, tugging at her red scarf.

"I just want to make sure you're not getting yourself into any sort of trouble."

Eren scoffed.

"What trouble? It's just a tutoring session! See, there's even a... a responsible adult present. And who the heck brings a chaperone to a study session anyway?!"

"It's just that," Mikasa glanced at Armin's backpack, "you didn't bring anything for studying at all. Not even your text books."

Eren's angry expression morphed into a confused look.

"... What?"

Armin did not notice it earlier since he was too startled to find Mikasa with the other two back at the cafe but now that she had mentioned it, he realized that Eren forgot to bring his books, or as Levi liked to call them, 'props'. Armin gulped. Based on how the conversation was going, he could tell that their act was about to fall apart.

"All those times you purposefully disappeared after school... You didn't really study for entrance exams, did you? Why did you lie, Eren?"

Eren's face paled and his mouth hung open. He tried to conjure up alibis in his head but he knew that Mikasa, sharp as she was, would never believe any of his pathetic excuses. To his relief, Levi spoke up.

"Listen, Mikasa. Eren is safe with me and I won't let him run around causing a shit storm. So please, stop worrying."

"If you guys aren't really up to something shady, then let me go with you."

"Just let it go. What I do is none of your business." said Eren.

Levi snapped at him. "Shut up, Jaeger."

"Sorry. You can't come but I assure you he'll be back before midnight. I might not be the best role model out there but I'm still your teacher and I don't tolerate kids involving themselves in shady business. So please, stop worrying so much and go home."

"I'm not going anywhere. Not until you tell me where you're headed."

"Not far. Don't worry."

"Where exactly?"

"It's classified."

Mikasa met Levi's intimidating look through the rear view mirror. The girl immediately understood the meaning behind his gaze. It was a look that said: "For your own sake you better stop prying. Or else."

Message received. Then and there, Mikasa decided that the wisest thing to do is to not get herself involved further and to get out of there ASAP. But she wasn't going to walk out alone.

"Fine. I'll leave. But Eren and I are a package deal. If you won't let me go then he won't either."

Eren was outraged.

"What the fuck, Mikasa?!"

"Damn. That's the funniest joke I've heard the entire month." said Annie condescendingly.

"That's surprising. You look like you've never heard a joke your entire life." replied Mikasa.

"That the best you can do?"

"No. I was just joking around. Wait 'til I'm serious. You'll die laughing."

She held Eren's wrist in a vice grip and opened the car door.

"Let's go, Eren."

"Ow! Goddamit let me go! Levi, do something!"

"Wait." Levi called out, turning on his seat so that he could see the two teens who, at the sound of his voice, immediately stopped their ruckus.

"Ackerman."

"What?"

"Eren can go if I let you tag along, right?"

"Yes..."

"Fine, then. You can come with. But I'm going to have to ask for your cooperation on-"

"Let me get things straight. I don't care what you guys are up to. You can go do whatever and you won't hear a peep from me. But if this is something dangerous or illegal, I'm going to have to go home,"

She tightened her grip on Eren's wrist which ellicited a yelp from the boy.

"And I'm taking you with me." she said to him.

"Tch. Fair enough." Levi replied. "You got yourself a deal. Now, please. Get your asses in the car."

And that was that.


When Levi had told them that the venue of the battle would be 'Da Crib', it got Armin curious. What sort of place was Da Crib? Is it a stadium shaped like a cot? Is it a nursery's auditorium? He and the others asked about it on the road but everytime they did, Levi would tell them in a bored voice, "It's better if you see it with your own eyes."

Now that Armin was seeing the imposing structure's facade, its elegant ebony double doors and the majestic columns lined up in a row, his mind outright rejected what his eyes were telling him. Nothing made sense. Levi told them that they would be attending the opening ceremony for the diss battle.

So what were they doing outside Titansville City Hall?

Perhaps Levi could tell that the teens were perplexed because right when they were about to fire questions at him, he took quick long strides towards the main entrance.

"Just follow me" he told them.

They passed by the entrance guards who, to Armin's surprise, wished them good luck. He figured that they knew about the diss battle. Maybe the venue of the battle was the city hall after all, he thought. That, however, seemed unlikely because the place was completely deserted.

Levi stopped in front of one of the gigantic paintings along a corridor. The portrait titled "The Governesses of Humanity" depicted a scene where three women wearing garish dresses and stern looks on their faces, watched over a baby sleeping in a crib. The teacher tapped at a certain point on the elaborate frame and a clear 'ding!' emanated from the painting as it slid to the side, revealing a room which looked to Armin like an elevator.

"Woah." Eren breathed. "This is just like the movies."

"Yeah." Armin nodded, starry-eyed. "I knew they existed but I never thought I'd actually get to see one of those hidden rooms I read about in mystery novels."

"What are you guys standing there for? Hop on or we're gonna be late." said Levi impatiently.

When all of them were inside the elevator, Levi pressed the button with the letters 'DC' on them and they began their descent. During the ride down, Levi pulled out a white piece of cloth from his pocket and masterfully tied it around his neck. He did it so quickly it was as if he had been doing it for many years. When Eren saw the cravat, he did his best to conceal his laughter in a fit of coughs. Mikasa rubbed his back until he finally recovered. This gesture made Annie roll her eyes.

It took an entire minute before they finally heard the ding sound from before, and the door swung open. What greeted them was a small, empty-looking lobby. The only notable things about it were the huge double doors at the back of the room and the two buff men in black guarding them. Levi whipped out an ID card and showed it to one of the bouncers. The man examined it for a moment, nodded and gave his comrade a thumb-up. The other man then lifted a walkie-talkie to his mouth.

"Sweeper and Co. have arrived. We're complete." he said.

The bouncers then opened the doors in synchrony.

"Welcome to Da Crib, you guys."