When I grow up I want to be careful.
"Ehi keep moving. You'll end up like a little lost kid." Levi exclaimed, irritated by the priest's constant hesitation. He found it incredibly annoying with his constant silence on matters concerning the salvation of all humanity, as if it didn't even concern him.
Elizabeth was behind him, aided by the fact that they were both back to lean against the wall, in a strong dizziness, without being seen.
"This is..."
"What did you expect you'd see? This is what happens when the wall falls." Levi answered observing how the refugees were brought down to the underground, now left homeless and without anything but themselves. The Captain stopped the advance of the priest only to prevent him from going in the wrong direction; he had to see.
"Ehi where do you think you're going? Take a good look at the faces of people who've lost everything. The faces of everyone you and your people abandoned. If your church's wish comes true, and titans come flooding through the Walls we'll all be gobbled up in their stinking mouths and die in the most miserable way possible. All of humanity digested as one."
Hange, now ready to leave with the rest of the team, turned to the three left behind, noting with her eyes the effects of the first treatments she had given to Elizabeth.
"Have you had a change of heart yet?" the squad leader asked the priest who still showed no sign of speaking. "We don't have time for this! You know, don't you?! Will you talk or won't you?! Make up your mind already!"
"It's all useless..."
"I cannot say anything. The other believers are the same as I and that will never change."
Elizabeth pulled away from the wall, stepping up to them and carefully pondering the priest's words.
I cannot...
"Well, thanks for nothing! We're so grateful for all the help you've been."
Hange turned angrily, determined to get on the way with the rest of the team, but luckily Nick seemed convinced of something and decided to give them some information.
"It's too great a decision for a single person to make. The Order of the Walls must always adhere to be sacred will we're bound to obey."
"Whose will? God or something?"
"I cannot say anything. However I can inform you of a name, who under their sacred will, we were instructed to monitor."
"Monitor?"
"That person joined the Scout Regiment as of this year. Their name is..."
In the conversation between Hange and Nick, Elizabeth's attention was then captured by a particular girl who she remembered being a friend of Eren's, to whom, however, no one paid attention.
"I apologize. My name is Sasha Braus. 104th Corps of Recruits. "
"Nobody paying attention to you eh. I know the feeling." Elizabeth murmured noticing that the young woman had turned to look at her too, stopping when she saw that at least one person was listening to her.
"You must find her at once. Only she may know the truth which even we cannot perceive. This is all the information I can share. The rest I leave in your hands."
"Excuse me! 104th Cadet Corps! Sasha Braus!"
"Come on, we have to hurry ..." Eren's eyes widened at Nick and Hange's words and hurried to run but bumped right into Sasha, making her fall to the ground.
"Sasha ?!"
Elizabeth went to help the young woman to get up who, as soon as she stood up, seemed to remember the reason for her presence in that place.
"Upon my arrival I gave my report to the Commander. Afterwards I was entrusted to deliver this message to the Section Commander!"
"All right. Thank you."
The Vice Captain grabbed a cooked potato from a nearby supply wagon and immediately handed it to the girl who must have been on the front line too, or at least had the expression of someone exhausted.
"What is it Section Commander?"
"I don't like that look..." Elizabeth added to Eren's words, just as the team leader finished reading what had just been delivered to her.
"Oh well... I was finally able to get my hands on the background report for Annie Leonhart. It taken so long to get it because managing there reports is such a mess right now. According to this there are two other belonging to the 104th Cadet Corps who came from the same are as hers and those are Reiner Braun and Berthold Hoover. Thanks to the chaos five years ago pretty much all of their family records are spotty or missing. However during the long-range scouting formation their unit was given false information. They were among those purposely told that Eren was in their wing."
"The female titan attacked from the right wing." Armin exclaimed more to himself than to the others, and Elizabeth fully caught Hange's conscious gaze, who remembered the conversation she had had with her hours ago.
As usual, she was right.
"What does it mean?"
"That they might have informed Annie, right Armin?" Elizabeth answered Sasha, but turning everyone's attention to the young man in question.
"Yes Vice Captain."
"Thing? But why Annie? "
"Eh, wait Armin what are you saying?"
"Oh here we go again..." Elizabeth murmured wearily. Eren was a dear and helpful boy but if there was one thing that bothered her was his attitude of disbelief towards his companions. How many things he still had to learn about life.
"Calm down Eren. Of course this information proves nothing."
Luckily Hange was able to stop him in time and make him calm down momentarily, but perhaps not enough because he was still on a war footing against whoever accused his comrades.
"Armin... How did they relate to Annie when they were recruits?"
"I knew Reiner and Berthold were from the same place but they didn't seem close to Annie."
"I agree. I don't recall ever saying the pair talking to Annie that much. Well Annie didn't talk to much in the first place."
"When we ate Anne would always sit alone and munch on food by herself. Oh I've got something! I heard a rumor she liked sweets even though she looks so grouchy."
"I don't remember..."
Eren, Sasha and then Mikasa also tried to add details that might prove useful but in the end they couldn't, they just couldn't see anything wrong with those two.
"As their comrade I'd find it hard to believe. Set aside Berthold who doesn't say much, Reiner is like everyone's big brother and he's not devious enough to deceive all of us."
"I agree. Reiner gave everything he had fighting the female titan with me. He would have gotten crushed in her hand if he hadn't..." Armin muttered, joining Eren's statements, but was stopped by the very person who had trusted him first.
"You disappoint me you know. You see... you have a terrible habit of stopping at appearances. You must learn to look beyond what a person is showing you. I too can befriend Eren and then kill him in his sleep. Indeed, it is precisely that closeness and that trust that he feels in me that makes him an even easier prey, because in my presence he would always let his guard down. Do you understand what I mean?"
Armin watched the Vice Captain closely, fully understanding what she meant and finding in complete agreement with her.
"Reiner managed to escape but Annie suddenly changed her course and rail in the direction of Eren. I did mention that Eren might be at the rear of the center rank but Annie was too far away to hear."
"Seriously?" Eren asked his friend, a fit of anger that was stopped in the bud once again by the team leader.
"Did Reiner seem overly interested in Eren's location?"
"I told Reiner about Eren's location because he had asked me where he was. I also remember that the titan stared at the palm of his hand. Maybe Reiner had carved something on it with his blade. He would be capable of it. "
"I can not believe it. Why are you saying such a thing? Be very careful... "
"Eren!" This time Hange raised his voice. Eren was not at all helpful in behaving that way and should have taught him once already. "Listen to me. Listen to me all. Elizabeth is right. When we meet Reiner and Berthold we don't let them know we suspect it. You also don't have to make any reference to Annie Leonhart. Now it doesn't matter if they were his accomplices or not, we must dress them in an underground place and imprison them. Understood? "
"Yes!"
"Don't you seem to forget something in all this?" Elizabeth asked raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms over her chest.
Everyone stood looking at her for a few moments without understanding what she meant, except for Levi who just rolled his eyes.
"Right..." murmured the squad leader recalling the theme of the conversation prior to Sasha's arrival. "So, who is this girl in the 104th?"
"She's the smallest one of us." Eren answered, with Armin beside him trying to add something. But in the end the one who gave a more useful answer for Hange was Mikasa.
"She has long blonde hair and she's cute."
"She's always hanging around Ymir."
"Eh? Ymir?"
Elizabeth understood who they were referring to and this was another person she felt she had to keep under control. That was a very special Survey Corps, she had to admit it...
"Everyone understand?" Hange asked for confirmation after explaining the plan to everyone.
"Yes!"
"We've got to go!"
"Calm down Eren."
Eren was already ready to leave but they always did it without the slightest thought and this time it was necessary for everyone to know what their task was and to keep remembering it.
Levi stopped him, keeping his tone calm but just so as not to show that, in all that situation, he had noticed a certain unease in Elizabeth.
Twice she had already leaned against the wall hoping not to be seen but nothing had escaped his gaze.
"You all listen too. We're going our own ways now. The rest is up to you. Erwin may have thrown together your squad but everything's riding on you. Got it Armin? Work with Hange and combine your knowledge."
"Yes!"
"Mikasa I don't know why you're so attached to Eren but use the utmost of your ability to protect Eren at all costs."
"Yes. Of course."
"And finally Eren. Learn how to restrain yourself, don't succumb to rage and lose sight of the goal. We can't afford another mistake."
"Yes!"
The Captain's orders were clear to everyone but the last word was given by Hange who was the only one who knew what was happening and turned right towards the aware blonde.
"Elizabeth you stay with Levi. It is better that you rest for a few days..."
"Yes. Okay." Elizabeth murmured strangely reluctant to Levi's opinion. She was a person who hardly stayed behind except because she was truly aware that something was wrong with her. If she had given up fighting she was really aware that in those conditions she was useless and harmful to herself. "It's going to be a long night…"
Elizabeth was sitting next to Levi, directly across from Minister Nick who had fallen asleep, leaning against the wall.
Her eyes tried to closed and she was struggling to stay awake but she didn't want to give in.
Taking advantage of the priest's sleep, Levi reached and hand out between those of Elizabeth who was held together on her legs, and squeezed one in his own.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked definitely worried but now freer to be able to demonstrate it without being seen or disturbed. "You're sick?"
"No, it's all normal. I'm fine, don't worry."
And it was true. She had started Hange's treatment at the same time she had told her about it, before starting to work with her, and she was beginning to feel the first effects due to the stress and fatigue of that period.
How much she would have liked a couple of days off to relax and not think about anything anymore.
"You make it easy."
"I'm just a little tired."
"Do you want to lie down a bit? I can manage alone with him."
"I know, but I don't want to leave you alone." she replied smiling and closing her eyes as he leaned over to leave her a quick kiss on the lips.
He knew perfectly well that, stubborn as she was, she could not answer anything else or even give her the order because by now she was no longer his subordinate.
He knew that whatever she had had, she would tell him when she was ready and that, maybe, she was just waiting to be alone with him to do it.
"It's because of a cure Hange gave me." Elizabeth murmured after a couple of moments in absolute silence.
The only sound that could be heard was the singing of some cricket and the night air starting to cool everything around it.
Elizabeth's statement, however, intrigued him, she was in those conditions for something that crazy team leader had given her and if she had hurt her he would have turned her from head to toe.
But at the same time, he also knew how much she cared about Elizabeth and found it impossible that she could give her anything to hurt her. So the question remained about the nature of this cure.
It didn't seem to him that she was sick, especially before leaving...
"What has she done?"
"It's not a bad thing, but now that I think about it I should have asked you first. Or at least talk about it before doing it. "
Elizabeth lowered her head guilty, as if she had done something and was now waiting to be scolded. Levi didn't know what to think, that wasn't Elizabeth's attitude.
"What is it about?"
The Vice Captain hesitated, torturing the fingers of Levi's hand which was still between her own.
"Of my infertility. Hange says there are chances it can get better."
Levi blinked a couple of times as his heart began to pound in his chest.
There was a possibility that Elizabeth's condition was reversible and one day they could create a family.
He would have lied if he said he hadn't thought about it. When she had revealed him it he was quite shocked, not expecting such a thing even if they had never talked about it.
But somehow Hange had managed to find a probable remedy.
He could clearly see how that speech was making his woman feel bad, by the way she was reacting, and he used her hand between his to squeeze one, intertwining their fingers.
"Heal it? You are not sick. I love you exactly as you are."
"You don't want to..." she began raising her gaze to his and finding it incredibly deep and sincere.
She loved Levi's eyes precisely because, despite her expression, they could never hide anything from her.
"Don't get me wrong. You are the only person with whom one day I would like to have children but if you can't then it's not a problem for me."
The Captain's voice remained low for the time, but calm and relaxed. "I don't hide from you, however, that I don't mind it."
"So you're not angry?" Elizabeth asked, unable to hold back a happy and joyful smile.
"No, I'm not."
Levi lowered his head just enough to rest his forehead against hers and deeply inspire the smell and essence of home and belonging that she emanated.
And that news had completely wiped out the previous bad mood.
"Maybe one day we could have a family."
"Maybe yes." he conceded, returning his mind to that scenario but feeling it more real this time.
The night had come to an end and with it the darkness that ensued. Now that it was day everything was more visible, especially the shocked and guilty look of the priest who, after a careful analysis of Elizabeth, it was clear that there was something very big and that many more people were involved than they expected.
One thing that did not escape the blonde was her reaction when Ymir was mentioned and made a mental note to talk about it with Hange on her return.
Some soldiers, two in particular, were talking where Levi and Elizabeth had their backs but loud enough to be heard. And the goal was precisely the elite Captain of the Survey Corps.
"Can you believe it? I thought it was an emergency."
"Yeah and everyone's just sitting around here."
"Hey Levi where are you hiding the titans at?"
"Uh... bad move." Elizabeth commented shaking her head and then bending it back a little but without turning towards them.
Levi, on the other hand, with his arm resting on the seat of the chariot where they had previously taken their seats, turned just enough to look at them distractedly.
"Oh? You all seem so disappointed. Sorry, a shame you couldn't fight titans today. If you're looking for another change there' plenty of expeditions outside the Walls. How about we join forces and face some titans together?"
Levi had instantly grasped the not-so-concealed provocation of the two but he wasn't the type to ignore it at all, he hit exactly where he had to hit, humiliating the opponent if necessary.
"Well, you know... we're busy with work on the interior." the soldier answered without knowing what to say. Coming to his rescue was yet another soldier who screamed in haste for someone competent.
"The advance squad is returned! Report it to Commander Pixis. "
"I understand... then there was no breach in the Walls." murmured Commander Pixis, leaning on his knees in front of an exhausted soldier kneeling on the ground, gulping down some water to catch his breath.
"Yes."
"It's as I thought."
"But something really terrible happened. On our way back to Trost to report we ran into a search party led by squad leader Hange. There were several 104th recruits with no maneuvering devices. And we found that three of them are actually titans!"
"No, really..." Elizabeth whispered as she listened to him, her voice so low, though, that only Levi beside her could hear her.
And he was happy to see that the night had brought her some rest, albeit without sleep, because the dizziness was gone and she was now holding up perfectly.
"What are you saying? Were there any others?! Three of them? Who?" Jean exclaimed with such impetuosity that even Sasha was frightened behind the other young man, but stopped by a hand of Erwin on the shoulder.
"Jean wait. What happened after you unmasked them?"
"The Survey Corps engaged in battle with the colossal titan and the armored one. But unfortunately shortly after our arrival the battle ended."
Elizabeth was relieved to know that they were all alive, or she would report their deaths and, perhaps, the corpses as well.
Hange had saved her, now it was her turn to do something for the team leader and it was to work her brain and help her understand what no one's eyes could see.