Two days had gone by since Lana's trial. Levi had drawn up a document and passed it to specific Survey Corps soldiers. Armin, Jean, Eren, Mikasa, Historia, Sasha, Connie, and Lana all received this document. This indicated that they were to be a squad of their own with Levi as a squad leader. Although technically, the squad was unofficial it was still meant to keep all of those who were heavily involved with the recent events together in one unit. They all received instructions that in a few days they were all to head towards a secret location within the woods.

This location would allow them to train without the interference of the Military Police Brigade. With everything that has gone on and the MP's new involvement, the MP's began to question the Survey Corps and their integrity to the royal line. They believed that the Survey Corps was hiding information. They wanted to know everything that the Survey Corps was involved in and to potentially take custody of the unique individuals.

In order for the Survey Corps to be able to continue with their experimentations with Eren's potential, it was determined that they needed to go about it out of sight from the Military Police Brigade. It was believed that if they were to interfere with the experiments, then they would just try and take Eren for themselves disrupting all of the work that they have done to achieve their goal. With Eren being the key to finding out the truth of the titans, it was very crucial that the Survey Corps remains the primary regiment to have Eren involved in.

Those who would be under Levi's command were preparing wagons for their departure. It was decided that the other Survey Corps soldiers would also be in on the whereabouts of the cabin to keep the area under surveillance from the MPs. Those who would not participate would be sent to their own posts with Commander Erwin or back at the Survey Corps main base.

As they were loading up the wagons, a few MP's had approached Lana and Jean.

"Excuse me, you're Lana right?" one of them asked.

She put a crate into the wagon and responded, "Yeah why, who is asking?"

"Here, we were told to give this to you by Vice-Captain Nicholas," the soldier said handing her an envelope.

Here name was written on it with a letter addressed to her inside.

Lana,

We want to show you what we have been working on since we have been within in the walls. We want to be able to celebrate reuniting with one another. Please meet us in town in the main center. Please feel free to bring some of your Survey Corp friends. Please do dress in your uniforms as well.

Nicholas Elric

Vice-Captain

Military Police Brigade.

Lana had brought the letter to Levi's attention. She was slightly hesitant to go at first, but she did want to attend this event before they set off. Levi approved and decided that the entire squad would accompany her into the city for this event.

With uniforms on, they made their way into the city to see what was going to be set up. As they approached the main center what was there was definitely something that no one had expected. What was set up was a large stage with a curtain drawn across it. There were people dressed in colorful costumes walking near it. Some were stretching while others were having a casual conversation with each other.

Up on the stage stood Nicholas. He was wearing a pair of white pants and his brown leather boots. Although, he was wearing a dark green costumed jacket that had the MP emblem on the back of it. On top of his head was a dark green top hat with the small emblem placed on it.

As Lana and the others had approached he called out to them.

"You made it!" He said excitingly as he jumped off of the stage.

"Nicholas…what is all of this?" Lana asked with a slight chuckle in her voice.

"Well, what better way to celebrate than to put on a show for everyone to enjoy. Like the old days."

"You have got to be kidding me," she responded as she began to walk closer to the stage.

She lifted herself up onto it and began to walk around the front. She gazed up at the others. Sasha, Connie, Eren, and Armin were all excited to be there as they were amazed at the costumes. Jean was trying to keep to himself, but it was easy to tell that he too was looking forward to the show. Mikasa and Historia didn't seemed too thrilled to be there. Levi was watching Lana, not really taking his eyes off of her.

She waved at them from up on the stage and gave a slight giggle. That giggle was enough to catch the attention of someone who was off stage.

"Lana?" came a male voice. "Lana is that really you?"

A young man with shaggy white hair had come out of the alcove of the stage. He held out his hands to guide himself as he was unable to see. A bandage wrap was covering his eyes. He slowly was making his way out towards the stage.

"Felix," Lana whispered to herself. Upon realizing that it was him she ran over to him. "FELIX!" She grabbed a hold of him in a hug as the surprised Felix was trying to keep himself upright.

"Wow, it really is you isn't it?" he responded fixing his red bow tie as she let go.

"Felix, you've grown so much!"

"And you're still as short as ever," he replied patting her head.

Two young women who were identical to one another had peered out from behind the curtains.

"Is that who I think it is?" one asked.

"I think it is who you think it is," the other replied.

"LANA" they both shouted as they ran out from behind the curtain. Their tutus swishing up against each other as they tackled Lana down to the ground.

"Nico! Nisha!" Lana called out grabbing a hold of both of them.

"Alright, alright everyone. We are all excited that Lana is here, but there is no need to tackle her down alright?" Nicholas responded pulling the twins off of Lana.

Nico's green dance suit sparkled in the light as Nisha's pink dance suit twinkled with every move she made.

"I love your outfits, girls," Lana said getting up from the ground.

"Really, you think so?" Nico replied.

"We made them ourselves!" said Nisha twirling.

"We can make you one!" said Nico.

"And make it like the guys with your fancy military stuff!" said Nisha.

"Maybe a bodice like you wore before," Nico replied moving her hips from side to side.

"And put the feather things on it!" Replied Nisha excitedly.

"We can make it green."

"With blue and white accents!"

"We can even make it sparkle!"

"Girls, that's flattering and all, but I'm not coming back," Lana replied trying to calm the two down.

"What do you mean, you're not coming back?" Felix asked as he was saddened by the thought of Lana not actually returning.

"Well…I'm not a performer anymore you see. A lot has happened to me since I've been away. I don't think I could ever go back to performing."

The girls were saddened by the thought but were interrupted by Keith. He approached them wearing his signature outfit that he had worn for years, only it was modified to show that he was a member of the MPs just like how Nicholas' was. His small green hat was decorated with a white trim and feather and the patch of the MPs was proudly displayed on it.

Lana jumped down and joined the others as they had found seats right in the front row. They waited for the show to start as Nicholas had stood at the center of the stage.

"Come one and all! Join us tonight and see a show you may have never set your eyes upon! Watch a man throw daggers and never miss his mark! Meet the snake charmer who is sure to charm you with a wink of his eye! Witness the strongest man test his strength and push himself to the limits. Watch people swing from daring heights just right above us! You do not want to miss this folks!"

The more he called out, the more and more people were drawn in. Soon the seats were completely filled with people who were passing by. As people began to sit behind them, Levi could hear their whispers.

"Are those Survey Corps soldiers?" they whispered.

"I think so. What are they doing here?"

"Who knows, maybe they just wanted to have a good time?"

"Couldn't they be doing something better with their time? I mean working?"

"Tch," Levi responded to their whispers as he kept his head forward.

As the show was about to begin, Nicholas stood proudly up on the stage with a cane in hand. The head of the cane was modified like his costume. Before it had the head of a bird and once drawn, became a thin bladed sword. Now it had the unicorn head, and it was undetermined on whether or not it was a sword at all.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, people of all ages!" he called out starting the show. "We here are celebrating a wonderful event to have ever befallen us here at the Sidonia Circus. We are welcoming a very dear friend back into our arms. Lana please join me on stage!" he said reaching out towards her.

Shocked and embarrassed, she got up from her seat and jumped up onto the stage.

"This woman right here has been considered missing for years and here she is standing before us! Tonight we honor this exciting moment! So without further hesitation let us start the show!" He shouted as music began to play.

Lana was about to walk off just as Nicholas had grabbed a hold of her arm. He held onto it tightly as the others were running onto the stage to start with the opening act. Nico and Nisha danced around the two of them as Felix stood off stage. Felix had begun to sing as the two girls were dancing about. As Lana listened to his voice she began to feel very proud of him and what he has become. Never before had she thought that Felix would gather up enough courage to be on the stage. She always thought that he would be a supply boy for the circus.

Lucas had walked onto the stage with Keith proudly sitting on his shoulders. In his hands were daggers to which he had started juggling. As he was juggling, Lucas was moving him around causing Keith to have to maintain his balance and not drop any of his daggers. Others had wandered onto the stage doing tricks and flips surrounding Lana and Nicholas.

With all of the whimsical movements, Lana was brought back to a time she had once forgotten. Her eyes were wide and brightly filled with joy. She smiled like no one had ever seen her smile before. She couldn't help but to laugh in embarrassment and covered her mouth to conceal her smile.

When the song ended the performers took their bows and began to return back stage. However, four remained on stage and stood behind Lana and Nicholas. Lucas stood up straight, his green shorts held up by white suspenders. Jack was next to him wearing a dark green cloak with the MP emblem on the back. His eyepatch also had a patch of the emblem on it. Keith stood nearby with a large smile on his face. His bright blue eyes twinkled in the light in excitement.

Nicholas had grabbed a hold of Lana's hand and held it up high. He swung their arms down and bowed towards the audience.

"Alright, Ladies and Gentlemen that was quite the opening act wasn't it?" Nicholas coaxed the crowd as he stood upright still holding onto Lana's hand.

The crowd responded with a roaring cheer and applaud. Lana looked over to see Jean and Connie whistling as the others were clapping their hands. Eren was star struck at what he witnessed and it seemed that Mikasa was as well. Lana gave a small smile to them and a little wave. Levi didn't exactly seemed amused but he didn't exactly appear annoyed either.

"Now I just want to take a moment here. Tonight we have some other special guests with us," he gestured his hand outward towards the Survey Corps. They all sat rattled as they were looking at one another.

"Now if they wouldn't mind joining us on stage please!"

Some of them looked speechless, whereas Connie and Sasha were not hesitant to run up the stage. As the two of them took off like little children in excitement, the others soon followed. They all walked up the steps of the stage and were standing before the audience. Levi walked passed Connie and Sasha and stood right next to Lana. Nicholas looked over towards him and gave a sly smile towards him. Levi didn't respond to him and looked straight ahead.

Sasha was waving at the audience in excitement whereas Mikasa was very timid standing next to her. She held onto her red scarf and pulled it up over her mouth.

"I want everyone to give these guys a round of applause. If it weren't for them we wouldn't have Wall Rose still intact. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be knowledgeable on the titans. If it weren't for them we wouldn't have our Lana!"

The crowd began to murmur but soon the murmur was turned into cheers. A sound could be heard behind the soldiers. They all looked behind them to see a large flag being dropped from the catwalk. The flag was green and had the Wings of Liberty proudly displayed on it. Eren's jaw dropped as his face lit up. Jean smiled at the sight as Historia was amazed at the treatment that they were receiving. Even Levi showed some signs of gratitude for all that Sidonia Circus was doing for them.

Lana was happy. She looked down at her feet and decided to do something. She let go of Nicholas' hand and stepped out in front of him. Recently she had come to learn the rules and regulations of a soldier thanks to Erwin and Levi. With her right hand she made a fist and slammed it just below her right shoulder. Her left hand clenched was brought to her back touching the right side of her hip. This was the salute of a soldier. She puffed her chest out and stood up straight with her legs shoulder width apart. Proudly she stood before the audience with a determined smile.

Levi was shocked by her action. He stepped forward by her side and did the same. The rest of the squad followed their lead without any hesitation and they all stepped forward. They all stood before the audience with great strength and power behind their stance. The crowd went wild at the sight.

As they were dismissed, they began to walk off the stage as the crowd continued to cheer them on. The sound of their yells and clapping brought up their spirits substantially. As Lana was walking off behind everyone, Nicholas had grabbed a hold of her arm.

"Where do you think you're going missy?" He asked as she turned back.

"Umm…to my seat?" Lana questioned his actions.

"You know what always comes after the opening act don't you?" Nicholas responded with a grin.

"You can't be serious Nick, there is no way," she responded as she got the idea of what he was talking about.

She peered over his shoulder as two long red strips of fabric came down from the cat walk.

"There is no way Nick. I am not performing," she responded as he let go of her arm.

"Oh come on! It's just one performance," he responded spreading his arms out wide.

She looked back at the squad as they were waiting for her to return to her seat. She looked back at the smiling Nicholas, and then at the fabric. She knew that there was no way that she would be able to talk herself out of this one. With a sigh, she gave in and walked back towards the center of the stage. She looked up high above to see who would be in control of the fabric if it were to break. Above she could see Lucas standing there with a large smile. In the alcove she could see Nico, Nisha, and Felix all giving thumbs up to her in excitement.

Lana grabbed a hold of her face and rubbed her hands all over trying to piece together what she was about to do. She was hoping that she wouldn't regret her decision, but in the end she was able to do a routine one more time.

"Ladies and Gentleman I present to you…Mystic Lana…of the Survey Corps!"

The crowd began to cheer as she grabbed a hold of the fabric. A smile came over her face as she felt the soft texture of the fabric against her skin. It was a feeling that she never thought that she would feel again. Her memories came flooding in as she remembered all of her performances. The crowds cheering, the gasps, the music, and the wind flowing through her hair as she moved. She would often get lost in the moment and sometimes forget where she is, often distancing herself from reality each time she moved.

She pulled back on the piece and began to walk backwards. Controlling each breath she made she began to lose herself from the crowd and closed her eyes. When the light music began to play, she opened her eyes and ran forward with the sash. By running at an angle she had jumped off of the stage towards the audience. As she jumped off, she wrapped her legs around the fabric as Lucas pulled her up. As the fabric was being pulled, she began to climb wrapping the fabric around her legs and torso in the process. As she began to swing back she grabbed a hold of the second piece of fabric.

Once having a hold of the fabric she began to dance to the music. Her movements were graceful as she soared through the air. The audience was captivated by her movements as if enchanted by a spell. She spun and twirled entangling herself in the fabric as she got herself ready for her next move. During her performance the ribbon that held onto her braid had come undone causing her braid to undo itself with each swing. Eventually her hair was flowing more freely in the air as she danced.

Down below, those in the Survey Corps watched and were enticed by the dance.

"She's…incredible," Mikasa said as she refused to take her eyes off of Lana.

"I guess that's how she was able to maneuver the device so well," Jean replied amazed at the sight.

"Yeah. No kidding. She is so graceful!" Armin responded.

As Lana soared towards the audience she threw out her arm and leaned her head back. The movement caused her to be flipped upside down. Before she was about to swing back, she looked over towards the Survey Corps. She made eye contact with Levi as he too was captivated by her routine. With a small impish smile and a wink she starting swinging back. He was caught off guard slightly by her smile as he watched her calmly move through the air.

For her final move, she had wrapped herself within the fabrics. Once the swinging had stopped, she looked up at Lucas in a moment of bliss. She let go of the fabric that she had grasped onto and let it unravel her freely. The fabric was becoming undone as her spinning movements were causing her to move closer to the ground at an alarming speed. The audience gasped in astonishment fearing for her safety, but Lana didn't care. She held her hands above her head feeling the cool wind moving through her fingers as she was falling. However, just as the last of the fabric had unfurled, she grabbed a hold of it causing her to swing so that her body was upright. She wrapped her legs around the fabric and gracefully slid her way back down to the stage as the music had ended.

She let go and gazed out at the audience who were on their feet cheering for her. Overjoyed with the excitement she had taken her bow. She jumped down from the stage and finally made her way to her seat as the others were complimenting her on her performance.

"That was amazing!" Connie proclaimed.

"How did you learn to do something like that?" Eren asked.

"Through a lot of practice and many broken bones along the way," she responded with a smile.

Historia's eyes glistened as she was amazed by the kind of person Lana was. She was almost believed that what she had just witnessed was the dance of a goddess. Historia was in complete awe of Lana and was almost too intimidated by her to approach her.

Lana looked over at Levi who had gotten up from his seat and made his way towards her.

"What did you think?" Lana asked him with a smile.

"It was beautiful," he replied with a slight smile on his face.

The 104th at that point were not only amazed by Lana's performance but by the fact that it had created a very small smile to appear on Levi's face. It was a little shocking to the point where Mikasa reacted to it, covering her mouth.

The show went on as other performers had taken their shine in the spotlight. Keith showed his resilient and fearsome skills as a knife thrower. He didn't miss a single one of his targets that were laid out before him. Even when Felix was treated as a damsel in distress and held onto a target board, Keith didn't even hit him once while he was blindfolded.

Lucas tested his strength to the audience requesting volunteers who wanted to make a mockery of themselves when put up against him. Jean and Eren tried their hands up against Lucas testing their strength in comparison, but like the others they were made to be fools.

When Jack came onto the stage, the crowd was mystified by the snakes that were draped around his arms. They hissed and slithered about the stage. He used the small flute which had entranced the snake to move at his will.

Nico and Nisha did a trapeze routine using what skills they had learned from Lana when they first joined. They swung through the air and frightened the audience at times as they flipped off of their bars and grabbed onto each other's hands. This even had tricked Lana as she was on the edge of her seat. At one instance it almost appeared that Nisha was about to drop Nico which caused Lana to lurch forward. Lana swung her hand back and grabbed a hold of the nearest thing without realizing what she had grabbed. Once calm, she looked back to see that she had grabbed a hold of Levi's shirt. With a slight glance of irritation from him she quickly let go and awkwardly sat back in her seat.

Others who performed did balancing acts on large balls, while some did juggling acts with various different objects. Dances and songs were performed by Felix and the twins together.

When it came to the closing act, everyone was on stage together and did a mash up routine mixing all of their skills together. Felix proudly sang as Nico and Nisha swung on the trapeze. Jack danced with his snakes and Lucas was lifting the balancers high up in the air as they were balancing on a ball with weights. Keith danced about tossing his knives to the jugglers who responded with dance moves of their own.

Lana was proud of what they had become. They had changed so much in the last few years that she had been away. In reality, all of them grew up and became the true stars that they are. The potential that was in them had finally broken out and shown themselves.

As everyone was taking their final bow, Lana had noticed Madame Nina in the alcove. Something was odd. She was not smiling, but almost seemed slightly angered. It didn't feel right to Lana, however she ignored her and continued to enjoy her company with her friends.

They began to head back as Lana was saying her goodbyes to her fellow performers. She told them that they had all grown so much and that she was glad to have them back in her life. She was proud of them.

As she was walking back with the others, the cool breeze of the night had filled the air. The group continued to proclaim their fondness for specific acts to each other as Levi and Lana hung back.

"That was quite the performance," Levi responded breaking the silence between the two of them.

"Thanks, although I was a little rusty," she said pulling her long wavy hair over her shoulder.

As the two continued to talk to each other, Jean was up ahead with Eren.

"So I wonder what else she could do," said Jean as he began to imagine all of the other sets of skills that she might have.

"Do you think that she does dances too? Like those twins?" Eren began to wonder the same.

The two began to imagine Lana in a costumed get up dancing to some music. Although their fantasy seemed to be on the more vulgar end as they pictured her outfit.

Redness came over Jean as he pictured her long flowing black hair swinging around her as she moved. The images were broken by the slight sound of her giggle. The two of them looked back to see her with her fingers by her mouth as she was trying to conceal her slight smile.

"Uh oh," Jean responded as he watched her.

"Uh oh, what do you mean uh oh," Eren replied looking back and forth between the two of them in the back and Jean.

Jean gazed back ahead as he continued, "Well look at them,"

"I still don't get it."

"Do you see the way she is smiling?"

"Yeah," Eren responded looking back at her.

"Now look at the Captain."

Eren looked back at Levi who seemed to be very relaxed, more relaxed than usual.

"I still don't get it,"

"You really are a dumbass aren't you," Jean said looking over at Eren.

Angered by his comment Eren threatened to punch Jean. Jean replied back saying that he could take Eren down. The two went back and forth which caught the attention of Lana in the back. She yelled out to them.

"Hey! Quit it both of you! I don't want this night to be ruined by you two arguing. Understand!" she yelled sternly at them.

The two were intimidated by her yell and quickly stopped their bickering and moved on forward.

When Lana was back in her own bed she saw a large package. It wasn't there prior to her leaving which took her by surprise. She asked the others who shared the space with her but they all denied their involvement.

She grabbed a hold of the small card that was on it.

As a way to say thank you for everything I went ahead a got you some things. I remembered you saying that you didn't like sleeping in your uniform or in the nude and so I got you these…

Lana pulled the twine that held everything together. Inside the package was a set of pajamas. They were soft and felt like they would be very warm at night. She continued to read the note.

Since I also have your journal I thought that you'd might want to have a new one to continue to capture your adventures.

-Hange

Underneath the pajamas was a new black journal that almost looked identical to the one she previously had. Surprised and excited for the kindness, she quickly changed into her pajamas and jumped into the bed. The other girls decided that it was best not to ask questions and decide to get themselves ready for bed.

Lana was cozy in her new comfortable pajamas. She curled up with a pen and a journal in her hands and began to capture everything within the journal. She wrote for hours until she had finally gotten to what took place today.

I still can't believe that I finally have found them again. It truly is incredible to see Nicholas and the others.

On the way back I was walking next to Levi as he and I were talking about my performance. He really seemed to enjoy it. He told me that I had beautiful movements and I was elegant. I admit that I was a little surprised by his compliments. Levi isn't really the type of person I had thought he was. When I first met him he was very serious and almost scary, but now he just seems like a really nice person who happens to be a little rough around the edges.

When dawn breaks for the new day we will be grabbing the last of the things and proceeding further. It seems that our little break from everything has come to an end. It is time to get back to work and be serious. After all, we can't continue to fool around like this for too long. Not when there are these titans who are still running around posing a threat to these people.