AN: Hey, guys. Quick, but important, announcement. I realized that I have started to rush my chapters and not give them their due time (It may not seem like it to some, but I can tell.) I have been wearing myself out more doing the chapter-a-week thing for Blacksmith's Tale. I need to slow down and take it easy so I can continue producing, hopefully, quality chapters. So, with that said, I am going to start uploading chapters every OTHER Monday. It'll give me time to work out the proper kinks and more time for the manga to finish so I can completely figure out the ending, though I've got a very solid plan.

With that said, enjoy this chapter.


Chapter 49: The New Normal

Dillon thought the worst was behind him. After all the crap he had to put up with for the past few days, one would think he would get some sort of reprieve. Instead, he was dealing with the eccentric, human-formed thing known as Hanji grilling him as he laid on the infirmary bed. Then again, it was more bearable than adding more of Annie's traumatic memories into his life. "The mind links are permanent unless you decide to sever them. Just concentrate on where you feel the link and sever."

"Why would I do that?" Hanji asked. That stupid grin of hers was back with a vengeance. "The uses it can have on the field are limitless. Talking with people far away without having to go to them. You know how much time that can save, Dillon? Hours! Full-blown hours. Is there a limit to how many you can set up? Please tell me there isn't!"

Still, this was a very nice distraction from the bombshells of yesterday. The last thing he needed was to dwell on Annie's revelation of her limited lifespan until he was ready to talk it out with her. He wasn't ready, and neither was she since she hadn't approached him about it. So, they gave each other privacy even with the mind link. Unless something severe happened, they couldn't tell what the other felt for the time being.

For now, all the Psion had to do was try to keep with Hanji's quick pace of words. "It's, uh, just the matter of me opening the parts of the mind and making the connection. I haven't tested how many connections I can make, or how much the brain can handle."

"But how exactly does it work?" she pressed, moving closer to him. "Think hard, Dillon. This could be vital."

He gulped, hoping that whatever he had to share would get her face out of his. "I need to borrow your notes."

She shoved it into his hands, eyes locking onto the paper and bouncing like an overexcited puppy. "Show me, show me, show me!"

Dear God, woman, get a grip. He rolled his eyes and drew two circles across from each other."Okay, pretend these are our minds," he began as he added a line that connected the two. "This is the mind link. They are connected to these parts of the brain, and only these parts. Now, if we added another person that wanted to talk to me mentally..." He added a third circle and drew a line that hit the circle on the left in the exact same spot as the first line. "...same spot, but it's blocked off from you."

"Why would they talk to you and not me?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes at him.

Dillon refused to be honest with his answer and just drew another line connecting the right circle. "There. Now you're part of the group. Now, if you wanted to just have a conversation with me or that guy, you'd need to concentrate on my link or his. When it comes to both of us, you'd have to focus on both. Takes a bit more effort, but it's not that hard. Just try not to talk over each other, and you shouldn't be overwhelmed." He had a feeling Hanji would be the "overwhelmer," and he didn't care if that wasn't a word. "At least, that's how my dad explained it to me." And just like that, his mood considerably dropped.

Hanji didn't seem to notice, even when she snatched her notebook back, jotting down some added notes. "Now, we're getting somewhere. Tell me about your ability to move objects."

He knew he should've stayed on topic, but he needed to know. "Hanji, what happened to my dad's body?"

The Section Commander paused, slowly closing the book. She let out a sigh and responded, "He and Elise were cremated. Bodies lying out in the street can spread disease, so they had to be disposed of fast."

"I see." Of course there was no body. He couldn't even bury the man. So much for that.

"That's why I saved you this." Hanji reached into her jacket pocket and handed him a small, rectangular box. "Well, technically, the ones who did the cremating did. I just retrieved this after we got back from the mission."

Dillon's eyes widened in surprise. "How long have you been carrying that?"

"Since this morning. Once we were finished, I was going to give this to you, but now that you've brought it up, now's a good time as any." She placed the box on the nightstand by his head.

"Thank you," he said sincerely. His eyes locked onto the brown box. All that was left of his father contained in something so small. "Now, I get to bury him."

"When you do, I'll have Keiji and Nifa give you a hand." She held up her hand to stop him from protesting. "Need I remind you of your condition? You're not going outside without supervision."

"Right." Dillon cursed his injuries once again. He wanted to get a clean bill of health already so he could move on with his life instead of it being contained in this damn room.

"Oh, don't be such a sourpuss," Hanji chided with a toothy grin. "Don't you want to live?"

Dillon shut up immediately. Never, ever say that again.

In the blink of an eye, she moved on. "Now, then, your weaknesses seem to be obvious. Overexertion, getting overwhelmed, and acoustic rounds."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "Acoustic rounds?"

"Levi fired one at Elise when they fought in the Underground," Hanji explained. "Then again, those rounds can disorient anyone." She shrugged. "Still, it'll come in handy if you try pulling a fast one on us."

"Thanks for thinking of me," he deadpanned. That's when Dillon remembered something vital. "This information is going to Supreme Commander Zackley, right?" Which meant it would be only a matter of time before the Military Police got their hands on it.

"That was the deal," she confirmed. "He was a bit irritated that we provided crucial details on Annie and next to nothing on you."

"I see." With all that was going on, it was so easy for him to forget about the corruption within the Walls. He was so focused on himself that the big picture was completely lost to the winds. He was one of the most hated people in the country within the most hated regiment. Once they knew his weaknesses, they could use it against him should things continue to crumble as they have been.

As his mind dwelled on the matter, a thought occurred to him, something he never truly pondered. If the corruption was so deep, he could smell it, if officials went out of their way to kill or arrest people they deemed a threat to them, then why…?

"Hanji, when this information is delivered to Zackley, I need you to add a question if you can," Dillon requested.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What's that?"

There was one way of finding the truth, and he would get it from the man who protected his family for so long. "Why has my family survived this long?"


Even in the Scouting Regiment, the food was terrible. Cold soup that was probably leftovers from a few days ago, bread that was beginning to grow stale, and beans that turned to mush inside Jean's mouth. How Sasha could wolf down the crap was a mystery. That being said, complaining wasn't going to get him anywhere. This was what he, and everyone else were stuck with. Option Two was starve, and he wasn't desperate enough to pull that stunt.

Once he filled up his tray, Jean approached the table where Sasha and Connie were at. Eren and Armin were nowhere to be seen. Then again, they were probably eating with Mikasa in the infirmary. Made sense. "Hey, guys," Jean greeted as he sat next to Connie.

"About time you got out," Connie said, eying the bandage around his head. "Looks pretty bad."

"Looks worse than it is," the brown-haired teen assured. "The docs said that if I hit my head any harder, my skull would've cracked."

"Always knew that your thick skull would come in handy one day," Sasha teased, patting him on the shoulder.

Jean rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Potato Girl."

That knocked the smirk off her face. "It was just one potato," she mumbled with a pout.

Jean held back a snicker as he noticed something. "Hey, where's Krista?"

Connie looked away, an awkward look on his face. "She, uh, has been keeping to herself ever since she got back. I tried talking to her, but she just walked away. Worst part was her eyes."

"What about them?" Jean wondered.

"It was like someone sucked all the life out of them." He shuddered a little bit. "It was so creepy. I mean, this is Krista-"

"Historia," Sasha corrected quietly.

"Right. Historia. She was so happy most of the time. Seeing her like that is so… weird."

"Can we all just agree that Ymir is a piece of shit and that she needs to die a horrible, painful death?" Jean asked.

"I'll drink to that," Sasha answered, downing her mug of water.

"Same," Connie added as he did the same thing.

"Still, you wouldn't have liked seeing Dillon," Jean pointed out with a shake of his head. "Guy was on the brink of insanity, barely holding it together. When he finally went nuts, I couldn't even recognize him anymore."

"Makes me wonder if the Scouts are for crazy people," Connie muttered. "Oh, who am I kidding? We joined the only regiment with the lowest survival rates. Of course it is."

Sasha would've commented on that were it not for a familiar blonde catching her eye. The girl usually waited until everyone was gone to get some food for herself. Sewing her doing this publicly was unlike her. Then, Sasha took note of the newly-ordained Scout emblems on her uniform.

"What are you staring at?" Connie asked, looking in the same direction as she did. His face fell immediately. "Aw, hell, it's her."

"Annie?" Jean followed in his comrades' actions, surprised to see her. "Huh, and here I though she kept to her-" His stopped mid-word, his jaw falling open. "Scout emblems? Is this happening?"

"Hey, Annie, over here!" Sasha called out, waving her hand.

Connie whirled around, a look of horror on his face. "Shh! Are you crazy?" His voice dropped to a loud whisper. "She could kill us all with a fork. What is wrong with you?"

Sasha gave him a look. "Connie, get a grip. We have to work with her."

The bald-headed cadet shook his head, standing up. "Screw this. You wanna play buddy-buddy with her? Leave me out of it." He left the mess hall right before Annie showed up at the table.

"You sure you want me to sit here?" the Shifter asked dubiously.

"Of course. We don't mind. Right, Jean?"

Jean felt two pairs of eyes on him, putting him on the spot. Making matters worse, the Scouts in the mess hall were watching this exchange intently. It didn't take long for him to come to a decision. "I don't mind." Sure he'd never forgive Annie for killing Marco, but treating her like the plague wasn't going to help matters.

Slowly, Annie sat herself next to Sasha. "Thanks, I suppose."

"I see you have the Scout insignias now," Sasha said, indicating the new emblems.

"Levi gave them to me yesterday," she explained. "It was either that or take my chances with the entire regiment as my enemy… again "

Jean quietly ate and drank as he listened to this exchange. While he was willing sit at the same table as Annie, he just wanted keep to himself until she left.

Unfortunately, Sasha made that plan impossible. "Jean has been recovering well from the mission. Haven't you, Jean?"

The thought of strangling Potato Girl sounded very good as he felt Annie's eyes on him. "Yup," he answered curtly, raising his mug to his lips.

Sasha glared at him and was about to rebuke him on his rudeness, but Annie stopped her.

"I can deal with this." She took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry for almost killing you, Jean."

Jean's eyes widened, sharply swallowing the water. He dropped the mug on the table as he began having a coughing fit. The water went down the wrong way and he was suffering for it.

"Jean, hold still," Sasha advised, standing up. "I can-."

"Don't!" he hacked out as he slowly began to take control of himself. "I'm not dying."

"Not the reaction I was expecting," Annie admitted.

Once he was done having a fit, Jean looked at the Shifter and asked, "How can you apologize so casually about that?"

She shrugged. "Never was a people person. If you're expecting me to get weepy over you, you can forget it."

Jean grunted in annoyance, but he chose not to respond… for two seconds. "I bet, out of all of us, you were looking forward to killing me the most."

The table grew eerily silent with Sasha let out an exasperated sigh while Annie stared down at her untouched food. Neither of the girls could blame him for his bitterness, nor would they.

"No, I wasn't," the Shifter said softly. "I didn't care what side I was on. We were comrades, Jean. You're a pain in the ass, but I didn't want to kill you." She paused for a moment. "I never got the chance to thank you."

That took him by surprise. "Thank me for what?"

"You protected Dillon from Bertholdt when I couldn't," Annie explained, finally choosing to look at him.

Jean gazed at her for the longest time, as if he was analyzing her silver-blue eyes. He could've said, "You're welcome," and moved on, but he had other plans. "I swear it's like I'm staring at a blonde Mikasa."

A sour look crossed her features. "I'm not like that mutant."

Sasha tapped her spoon on her chin in thought. "You know, when you think about it-."

"You start comparing me to her, I'll make you choke on that spoon," Annie warned with a glare.

Jean glanced around to see if any Scouts would use that statement as an excuse to attack her. Fortunately, Erwin's warning days prior kept them at bay. He let out a small sigh of relief before returning the favor. "Thanks for, uh, fighting Reiner out there. If you weren't there, I don't know what would've happened."

Annie went back to the silent treatment, stirring her soup.

Even though he knew her so little, he had a feeling she believed she didn't deserve the thanks after the damage she caused. It wasn't his place to try and convince her otherwise, not that he had any inclination to do so.

"Now that you're a Scout, what happens?" Sasha wondered, trying to spark some sort of conversation.

"They want me to train Levi Squad today and Eren tomorrow," she answered. "I was told about the squad this morning."

That got his attention. "Levi Squad? For what?"

"Fighting mindless Titans isn't the same as fighting Titan Shifters. You know that," Annie reminded him. "I was able to take them all out during the Expedition. That's why Levi wants me there."

Jean shook his head, bewildered. "The best of the best having to spar with you?" There was no question in his mind how well they would take this news.


"Captain, is this a joke?" Gunther demanded, his many years in the Scouts preventing him from slamming his hands down on Levi's desk.

The captain stared up at him from his chair. "Have you ever heard me tell a joke, Gunther?"

"Sir, with all due respect, you're asking us to put our lives in the hand of the Titan that killed our comrades," Petra protested. "It's one thing to throw her at the Titans, but to actually spar with her… it's too much of a risk."

Levi snorted at her. "I suppose you want to bow out so you can change your pants again."

The woman blushed in embarrassment, looking away. "That's not what I meant."

Eld, wisely, stayed quiet through all this. While he shared the same concerns, he didn't have a desire to personally voice his objections.

"I don't care of a damn what you meant." He stood up, not caring that he wasn't suppose to keep putting weight on his leg. "If you three want to act like a bunch of cowards, then I was mistaken to even form you into my squad. You will go out there, you will spar with Leonhart, and you will figure out how to fight her kind. Is that clear?"

The trio muttered their agreement, even if all of them were doing this under protest.

"Eld, Gunther, get out of here," Levi ordered. "Petra, sit down."

Once the two men left, she slowly sat herself in the chair across from his desk. "Yes, Captain?" She was expecting more reaming from him.

"You really think we wouldn't take precautions?" he asked her, taking a seat as well. "Leonhart knows damn well if she kills any of you, she's dead."

"Right." Petra looked uneasy, but protesting wasn't going to get anywhere with the captain.

"I need you to trust me, Petra," Levi told her. "I asked you to do this for me when you joined my squad just like I asked Gunther, Eld, and Oluo. Trust me on this."

"Captain… why are you telling this to just me?" she wondered. "You could've told all of us."

Levi set his elbows on the desk, putting his hands together. "You don't know this because you were unconscious. On the way back from the Expedition, your father came to me about a letter you wrote to him."

Petra's eyes widened in horror, stuttering profusely. "C-Captain, it's not what you think! I wouldn't—I mean, what I said in that letter, that doesn't-."

"Take a breath before you pass out," he said calmly. "Whatever you feel towards me is your business, not mine. I will say I'm the worst possible person to be 'devoted to,' but that's besides the point. You need to go out there and fight like you've always done. We were caught off guard when the Female Titan attacked us. I won't let that happen again."

She nodded. "I understand, Captain. If there's nothing else…?" She started to stand with trepidation.

"Don't expect me to start playing nice now that I'm aware of what you feel," Levi warned her. "You're part of my squad. If I have to run you into the ground to get things done, then I will."

Petra allowed herself a small smile. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

After she exited the room, Levi shook his head. "Unbelievable. What the hell does she see in me?" He honestly hoped she wouldn't even think of ever asking him out. She deserved a happy life.


For the fifteenth time, Connie kicked the ground he walked on, causing dirt to fly away in response. Being in the same building as Annie was nauseating. What she did to them, to their people, was unforgivable. It was because of freaks like her that his entire village was wiped out, turned in Mindless Titans. Men, women, children, they didn't give a damn. If he had his way, he would cut Annie's head off in a heartbeat, but he couldn't. The bitch was now a military asset and a Scout. That wasn't justice.

Knowing that he was alone, he sat on a log and allowed tears to fall. His family was gone. His mother was doomed to be a Titan until someone cut the nape. His father and his siblings… if all the Titans in Wall Rose were killed, then they were dead, too. Even his friends, Reiner and Bertholdt, turned out to be traitors out for their annihilation. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair.

"Connie?"

Quickly, the bald-headed cadet wiped away his tears before looking back at one of the last people he wanted to see. "Dillon? What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to take care of something, but it can wait." The Psion, with a small box in his arm, limped towards him, Keiji and Nifa ready to catch him if he fell. "Can you give us some privacy please?" he requested with a pointed look at his chaperones.

"Dillon, we can't leave you unattended," Keiji reminded him with exasperation.

"Then stand behind a tree or something. This is personal."

Nifa let out a sigh. "Come on, Keiji. There's a good tree right over there."

Keiji shot her a wide-eyed look. "Are you serious? We're supposed to keep an eye on him, not plant life."

"We have ears, too, you know," she pointed out as she dragged him to the tree behind the log Connie sat on. "We're a stone's throw away from them."

"If we get caught, I'm blaming you," Keiji warned.

Satisfied that the two wouldn't be bothering them, Dillon took a seat next to his friend. "I'm gonna take a wild guess that you're still pissed off at me."

"You think?" Connie asked bitterly, refusing to look at him. "You still stick up for Annie after what she did to us, to my village."

"I heard about what happened. I'm sorry," he said genuinely.

"Then why the hell is she still alive?" Connie demanded, glaring at him. "My people are gone. My family is gone. She did this to me, and for what? What did they ever do to her?"

Logically, Dillon knew Annie had nothing to do with Rakago Village, but given Connie's state of mind, trying to convince him of that now would be an exercise in futility. That being said, he wasn't gonna roll over completely. "Connie, I know how much you hate Annie. I was there, too. I told you I tried to kill her-."

"Why didn't you?" he interrupted. "You could've saved us all a lot of grief, and instead, you're letting her walk around as if she's one of us. She will never be one of us."

"I love her, Connie," Dillon declared, doing his best to remain calm despite his hardened gaze. "It's hard to believe. I get it, but I stand by my choice. You know how much she provided ever since she joined us. If you can't trust her, fine. Put your trust in me. I'm your comrade, your friend, and I would never backstab you. Can you at least believe that?"

Connie didn't answer him, looking down at the grass. He wanted to believe Dillon, but, if the stories had only a grain of truth in them, he wasn't all there. To him, the Psion was clinging onto a desperate line as if his sanity depended on it.

Said Psion let out a sigh, focusing his attention on the box in his hands. "I know what it's like to lose everything. My mother is in a coma. I don't know if she'll ever get out of it. My father… this is all that's left of him."

Connie's eyes widened in shock. "What? H-How?"

"I killed him," Dillon answered, closing his eyes. "He was trying to kill me. It was self-defense, but I was the one that ended his life. If you wanted more proof of how much a scumbag I am, look no further than this box."

He was stunned, to say the least. "I… I can't believe it." What could he say? Sorry he killed his dad?

"I keep thinking to myself how it could have ended differently," the Psion added. "Over and over, I run through so many scenarios in my head, they keep me awake at night. But… my dad is still dead. I can't fix that."

Connie didn't know why he felt like opening up, but he decided to. "You know, before I joined the Corps, I used to play a lot with Sunny and Martin. Sunny was as energetic as the sun, and Martin was the super-competitive type. We'd fight with sticks, play tag, the usual kid stuff. Can't tell you how many times we thrashed each other. Folks thought bears had attacked us." He chuckled. "I remember this one time where I made a bet with Martin. He hid a fishing pole somewhere in the village, and I had two days to find it. If I won, I could make him do one thing no matter what it was. If I lost, he would make me do something."

"Did you find it?" Dillon wondered.

Connie shook his head. "Bastard hid it under his bed. I almost pummeled him into the ground, but Dad reminded me what I promised. So, he told me to do one thing: shave my head."

Dillon threw him a look of surprise before laughing. "Seriously? That's how it all started?"

He rubbed his head sheepishly. "Yeah. I was the laughingstock in the whole village. I couldn't wait to grow my hair back. Then, I looked myself in the mirror one day and thought, 'You know what? I look pretty good."'

Whatever helps you sleep at night. The blacksmith thought with a roll his eyes.

The levity quickly faded along with Connie's smile. "It's thanks to Martin I ended up like this. Never thanked him for it. I was too stubborn to even consider it."

Dillon had no idea what to do. What words of comfort could he offer the teen that lost it all to monsters? "I bet if they'd be real proud of how far you've come, Connie."

"They all said I was too small to be a soldier," he said. "The whole village did. I wanted to prove them wrong. And now… they're all dead."

Dillon gripped the box tighter as he felt anger fill him. "The monster that turned them into Titans is still out there somewhere. No matter what you think of me, Connie, I will rip him apart for what he's done, and no amount of sob stories are gonna stop me."

"No, I'm gonna do it," Connie proclaimed with a fire in his eyes. "He destroyed my village. I will kill him. As long as I get that chance, I can deal with Annie being in the same regiment as us. Even if it was just the killing blow and nothing more, it's enough."

"Promise me you won't get yourself killed trying to avenge them," Dillon said. "I'd rather not lose another friend."

Throughout the entire conversation, the box remained unopened, and when everything was said and done, Matthew remained unburied.


AN: Well, lots of bonding moments this time around. I figured we could use a break from the intensity of the last few chapters. Surprisingly, my favorite moment to write was between Levi and Petra. In a way, I can see them as a couple, but I feel like alluding to Petra's feelings felt like the right call. I hope you guys don't mind.

Next chapter, though, the rematch between Levi Squad and the Female Titan commences. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I look forward to your reviews, and I'll see you all in the next one.