Chapter 25

I do not own SNK/AOT. Please enjoy and tell me what you think! I don't really know where this story is going, but I have some things planned for Julia in the future I hope I can use!

I sneeze right as I walk into the house. I sense a case of last-minute cleaning, and from the look on Levi's face, I'm right. As I step into the kitchen, my body is slammed by a teenage girl with brown hair. "Julia! Thank goodness you're here! They were accusing me of stealing bread, when I told them I don't know how it got in my bag!"

Looking around the room, I become filled with emotion as I lay eyes on everyone of the new members of Levi's squad. "You should be nicer to your squad members, even if they steal bread," I say.
Sasha's face falls. "Not you too!" I laugh. "I caught you several times back at the old headquarters too, kid. I just never said anything."

They all laugh and we exchange greetings. I love seeing smiles on their faces, especially when otherwise we're all so tense and depressed. Hanji and her people arrive a while after we did.

I brew some tea for them to huddle up and talk about what we all want to know. Of course the first topic is the squad's cleaning abilities. Armin describes his wall-plugging strategy once more and he tells us that the time needed to take back wall Maria would be less than a day. "But as expected, now that I say it again, it sounds about as likely as catching clouds." Armin's head drops slightly.

Levi says, "Whether those clouds can be turned into something all depends on this guy."

It's true...Eren has all of humanity resting on his shoulders right now. "Yes. Understood," Eren says.

Levi turns to Hanji. "You heard him. He wants to do it. It falls to you to choose a suitable place for experimentation."

She nods. "Yes...of course, so long as I live, that is my responsibility."

"Huh?" Levi questions.

She says that the Garrison is patrolling the wall with a general mobilization, which requires a large amount of effort and personal. The security in the walls is loosening and at the rate this is happening, they won't be able to maintain peace. Wall Maria must be retaken.

We are the same, I think, when it comes to the safety of others. We want a world where people can live without fighting. We want that peace.

"I can't stand to sit like this! We have to move quickly! However, I want Eren to keep a low profile for a while longer."

"But why is that?" Armin asks.

"The situation is more complicated than we thought," she says.

Hanji proceeds to drop a bomb on us. "Pastor Nick has died." No way, that old scaredy cat? "How?!" I ask.

"This morning, within the grounds of the Trost District Military Barracks, Pastor Nick was found dead. The cause of death is unknown but...he was killed…" She looks as if she's beating herself up on the inside. "To think they'd kill him by using the Military Police. I was too naive. I have responsibility in his death."

"They must have asked whether he had revealed a connection between the wall religion and the Reiss family…as well as the whereabouts of Eren and Historia," Levi says.

Apparently, all of the Survey Corps knows about this. The Central Military Police are being monitored by us, but they could still find this place. The police want Eren's power for some reason. Then there's Levi. Hanji wants us to lie low, but of course, he has to input a few words about that.

"Well...as I see it, there are two ways to go now. Go out before we get stabbed in the back, or go out after eliminating the one that will stab us in the back. Which will it be for you, Hanji? Go out before getting stabbed?" Levi asks.

Suddenly, Hanji's face turns serious. "Both. Let's do both at the same time."

"Well...that's what Erwin would say as well," my husband says.