DILAN'S P.O.V.

"Come on then, Dil. Come at me." Her brother smirked at the other end of the alleyway, getting in his stance. Dilan was 10 now and after years and years of whining her brother was finally teaching her combat training. The lessons were going alright in her opinion, she still sucked but they were working on it.

Dilan took a breath before attacking. She lasted five seconds before she was on the ground on her ass. Dilan groaned and looked up at her brother who was giving her a smug smile.

"You're really taking that 'don't hold back on me' thing to heart, aren't you?" She frowned. He laughed and gave her a hand.

"No one starts good. It takes a lot of time and training." He reassured. Dilan sighed and nodded. "Let's work on your stance, yeah?" He said, starting to move her arms and feet in the right places. Dilan knew she was too skinny and small. She needed to gain some weight and muscle before she would be able to take down anyone efficient. Her brother was massively tall now, being 17 and he was very muscular.

"Who taught you how to fight, brother?" Dilan asked, tilting her head. He smiled.

"You know about my friends?" He said and Dilan nodded. Her brother had a small gang that he did jobs with to get a lot of money. Apparently they were saving for a surface citizenship. He was saving up extra money on the side for a citizenship for Dilan too since his friends didn't know that she even existed. "Well one of them. He's an amazing fighter. Miserable bastard but amazing at combat. I was already okay before I met him, but he gave me some pointers." He explained. Dilan smiled.

"That's cool! Can he teach me too?!" She asked excitedly. Her brother sighed.

"You know I don't want you near them. They are good people and I trust them but you're the most important person in my life. I can't have you getting involved with dodgy business." He explained kindly. Dilan sighed. She had heard it a thousand times, but she couldn't argue with it. He was the most important person in her life too. Not that she had any others, other than Mama P. She was a nice lady. "Besides, I don't think you guys would get along." He chuckled. Dilan frowned, pushing the centre of his chest.

"And why's that?" She glared. He laughed and shook his head.

"Because your weirdly similar. Is it slightly embarrassing that he's way better than me and two years younger?" Her brother chuckled and scratched the back of his head nervously. Dilan gave him a deadpan look.

"Extremely embarrassing, bro." She said seriously. He laughed and rolled his eyes, mumbling something about them being 'really similar' before ruffling her hair and getting in stance again.

"Come on then. One day you'll surpass me, yeah?" He grinned. Dilan got in her stance and grinned back.

"Of course."

Dilan blinked open her eyes to be met with darkness and let out a small sob. She felt the warm tears sliding down her cheeks and did her best to calm down.

"Brother, I miss you." She whispered hoarsely.


LEVI'S P.O.V.

Getting to the underground entrance wasn't hard. He hid in an alley way and changed into his survey corps uniform which let him enter the underground. When he got deeper into the structure he grappled onto a roof of a building before changing into a simple black pants and white shirt, slipping on the 3DMG afterwards and pulling the cloak around him. it wouldn't do well for people to know he was a soldier. Not today.

Levi sighed once he was done, making it to one of the brat's secret cupboards in the walls before shoving his duffle in the crack for safe keeping. He was sure she wouldn't mind. He was about to save her life. Now that he was ready it was time to start his plan. The first step was to go back to Madam Han's place and look for clues.

It took a while to get there considering he couldn't use his 3DMG freely in the daytime without attracting attention. He made it to the building and looked around the corner, cursing as there were Military police stationed at the entrance. It was probably Erwin's doing, to make sure the gang didn't retreat back to their base once the military was gone. A good idea really but irritating for his mission today. He could knock out the guards easily, but they would alert the commander once they woke up. Meaning he had to break in. Simple enough although he wasn't as crazy as the brat to simply walk in the front entrance.

Levi got around the back of the building and slipped into a window that was broken from a raid. Thankfully no guards were stationed inside the building. Erwin probably thought it would be unlikely that they would come back. The guards were just a contingency. Levi walked through the dark hallways. It was a tense atmosphere and a heavy silence covered him like a thick blanket. Every crunch of glass under his boot, every creak of the floorboards had him on edge. He shook away the feelings and pushed forwards, descending down into the pitch-black basement. The torches had burned down long ago. Thankfully the doors had been broken in by the corps when they infiltrated so there was no need for a key.

Entering the hallway, Levi grabbed on off the torches off of the wall, lighting it by creating a spark off of two rocks. He had learnt how to do that long ago. As a child in the darkness of the underground, even if the flicker of light between the rocks didn't amount to anything since, he had nothing to light, the warmth the light brought him was more than he could ask for. Levi shook his head of the memories and picked up the burning torch, lighting a few of the others as he descended down the hall. Levi covered his mouth as a foul smell wafted up his nose. The smell of death. He had been around it enough to recognise. You couldn't mistake a smell like that. sure enough, as Levi rounded the corner the torches fire lit up the rather large stack of guard's bodies that Levi and Dilan had massacred. Guess the corps didn't deem them worthy enough to be removed. He would have to agree. No good person could condone child trafficking.

Levi spared the spot where he watched the brat bleeding out, his eyes flickering to the stained patch of wood, red with her blood. He supressed a shiver and moved on, scouring the place. He had gotten a decent layout of the building before when the corps went back to arrest the other criminals. The one thing that always bothered him was that Madam Han's office was never found. He knew she must have one. She had dealings all over the underground, she needed a place to log that information. The woman was clearly a privileged fuck going around calling herself Madam meaning it was unlikely she would just share an office space with the lab. Unless she kept her records somewhere else... but that didn't help Levi, so he decided to believe it was the first case.

A few hours later and he was getting frustrated. He had searched the place top to bottom. Nothing. If the corps had taken the records, he would have been told about it. The labs were empty, repossessed by the military and destroyed. Was it possible the records he was looking for were accidently destroyed too? No. If they were... he had no idea where to start looking for Dilan. It could take months to find her at this rate. Would she even last months? What were they doing to her? Why would they let her live in the first place?

Gritting his teeth at the thought Levi punched the wall in his frustration. What surprised him was that... his fist went all the way through.

Setting the torch in one of the holders Levi stepped closer to the wall and knocked. The unmistakable vibrations of a hollow wall rung through his ears and he blinked in surprise. This place was a maze. Did he really just miss a whole section or... was this place supposed to be hidden. Levi took a step back and looked at the wall, illuminated by the glow of the flickering fire. Levi grazed his eyes over the wooden panels, smirking when he found it. It was subtle, but there. A small dent in the wood in the shape of a circle. He stepped forward and used the hold to push forwards. He heard a click and slid the secret door to the left opening up a whole new section and sighing in relief. This was what they missed. Levi grabbed the touch and entered the eerie space, lighting it up with the crackle of the fire.

There were two rooms, the first being a staircase that descended further into the darkness. Levi assumed that was how they escaped capture but left that for now. He turned the knob of the second door leading to the office space he was looking for. A grand mahogany desk stood centre with dark oak bookcases surrounding it. A prestigious looking oil painting of a tiger took place behind the desk and Levi couldn't help the eyeroll.

He propped up the torch and wasted no time, moving around the desk and pulling back the chair to sort through the draws. Most were filled with an assortment of stupid crap like letter openers and wax to seal letters. But the last draw caught Levi's eye. It had a lock on it. tracing his fingers over the metal indent he grabbed his knife from his belt and jammed it in the crack. It took a bit of effort, but the lock splintered and the draw slid open with a loud click. A click that Levi didn't like the sound of and managed to drop to the floor at the last second before some sort of piston fired a dart, the force so strong that it embedded itself into the wood behind him.

"Shit." Levi whispered, standing up and getting a better look. The dart was coated in something thick and sticky. Something he had no doubt would have killed him if it got into his blood stream. Someone really didn't want him getting in that draw. Call him crazy but this was a good sign in his books.

Careful to mind other traps, Levi opened the draw again and peered inside. A sense of satisfaction filled him as his eyes laid upon a ledger of partnerships and a check book of sorts. He took them both in hand before he heard a large bang outside, and his head snapped up. Perhaps the guards had heard him. He didn't see how though. Levi was about to leave when something sliver caught his eye in the light of the torch. He took a second look and noticed a fake back to the bottom of the draw. It had shifted a bit, showing the part of the contents below. Levi put the books on the desk to pry up the rest of the fake back and blinked at a silver key. Levi wasn't sure what it was for, but he knew he sure as hell didn't have the time to find out as the footsteps were getting closer.

Levi grabbed the key and the books, stomping out the torch before swiftly descending the steps, hiding in the darkness of the shadows. He heard muffled talking and someone yelling. He recognised that voice... but who? Those people weren't the MP's from outside. They wouldn't know how to find this place, too stupid for that.

Another loud back made Levi decided he didn't want to stick around and find out as more men entered the room, starting to yell and throw things.

The darker he got, the edgier he got, the colder he got. It seemed as though he had been walking for hours. When the hell did this end? Was it some sort of loop? Had he been walking around the same place all this time?

Rolling his eyes at the depressing thought, Levi rounded yet another corner and his eyes widened at the light at the end of the tunnel. Never had he been so glad to see the underground. Jogging the rest of the way Levi exited the tunnel, blinking a bit as his eyes adjusted to the new light intensity. He was at the top of some cliff, the underground below. How the fuck did he get up here. He didn't remember going up steps... maybe some of the pathways were sloped? Okay... well this is fucking creepy. Levi looked around for any signs of life but found none around the tunnel, it was discrete and well-hidden and there was a path back down to the main section that Levi assumed the gang had used to escape. Deciding he was done walking for now he jumped off the side of the cliff, using his wires to descend down into the darkness. It was night now anyway. Not many were about. Not many who cared anyway.

The darkness marked the end of the window it would be safe to roam around the streets without paying attention. He needed to focus on the books, and he couldn't do that if he could be about to be murdered at any turn. So, much to his reluctance, Levi found the cleanest inn that he could and paid for a room. It was small and unhygienic but really the best he could find in the underground. He wished he could stay at his own place, but he knew it was likely to have been raided and repossessed a long time ago. He wondered where Dilan lived. They had never been able to follow her to her home. She had skilfully managed to keep that part of her life a secret from them. Of course, Levi knew they only knew the parts she wanted them too. The brat was smart like that.

Opening the ledger and sitting down on the bed, Levi leafed through the musty pages of the leather binding and his eyes widened at the sheer number of criminals listed under partnership. The book was coded using different symbols. Some had a hollow circle next to the name, others a circle filled in. A lot of them had an 'X' which he assumed meant either diseased or taken care off. It was going to take him a long time to get through all this. Besides being useful to find Dilan this book would be golden for the corps. Although it was kind of worrying how strong Madam Han's hold on the underground was. Levi had a feeling the corps interruption didn't even make a dent in their profits. They would be back, and it wouldn't take long.

Setting down the ledger for a minute Levi picked up the check book, scanning through the most recent payments. Levi grit his teeth at the name. Kenny Ackermann. It seemed as though Kenny had been on Madam Han's payroll for quite a while now. Give or take three years. Originally, he worked on assassination but recently started contributing to her child trafficking operation, using his mercenaries to make the kidnappings more efficient. Fucking sick bastard.

Levi was flicking through the most recent pages looking at a few of the names. The most recent check was to a Jack Billings. Jack... where had he...

"Fuck." Levi hissed. Jack was that creepy bastard from the whore house Dilan got information from. He knew about Madam Han the whole time and just threw them off by shoving Kenny in their direction. This check was dated the same day Dilan talked to him.

Did Jack sell them out? Did Han know Dilan was coming? Why didn't she prepare? Why did she let them ruin her building? Her business? Unless... that's just what she wanted them to think.

Levi sighed and rubbed his head. There were too many questions and not enough answers. Still, there wasn't much he could do right now. What he did plan to do though was pay Jack a little visit. He was going to get some information and he'd use force on the slimy bastard if he needed to.

DILAN'S P.O.V. Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap. ...creek...

Dilan shivered as the door to her room was opened slowly and blinked at the light that flooded inside. The world was spinning from the hunger and dehydration. Hanging from a rope in the ceiling probably didn't help but she could still make out the small silhouette of the woman she had grown to hate as much as Erwin smith. Madam Han was a real bitch.

From what Dil could tell the woman was old but her army kept her safe. She was small and dainty but untouchable. What Dilan wouldn't give to ring the woman's neck right now. She had so many questions to yell at her. Why the fuck did you save me? Why the fuck have you tortured me without asking any fucking questions? Why the fuck is you always smiling? It was driving her mad and she couldn't take much more. The drugs were keeping her weak and she couldn't fight back. She wasn't even sure if this was real. She had been having plenty of hallucinations. Did she even escape or was that fake too?

"You've been a very naughty girl, Dilan." The woman's throaty voice rang out through the darkness as the door was slammed shut behind her. Dilan couldn't help the growl that bubbled in her throat, although the nose was met with a sharp pain in the back of her head as the crazy bitch wacked her with that annoying wooden cane of hers. "Tut, tut, tut. That's no way to treat your elders." She continued, following her sentence with another bludgeoning smack in the back of her head. Dilan winced as she felt the warm blood sliding down the back of her neck, coating previous stains.

"What do you want from me?" Dilan asked, her voice strained, her tongue tasting like sandpaper. She hadn't spoken for a long time. and there was a reason for that. It was always met with pain. "Fuck." She hissed as the heavy piece of wood was thrust into her stomach, winding her. She had to give it to the Madam. She had Dilan's respect for torturing personally. Of course, it wasn't always her but the woman came around every now and then to feed her mind boggling riddles and fuck up her torso.

"I talk, girl. You listen. I thought you would know that by now. And yet... I finally put you on duty again and you escape first chance you get. I was very disappointed when I heard." She said, feigning a sad tone as Dilan was smacked in the ribs. She gasped for air, trying not to make too much noise. The woman indeed had put her on 'duty' again after a more torture. She was cleaned up, given some time to heal before shoved into a cell and restrained on a bed, the sounds of sex from the other sells ringing in her ears and bringing her close to the edge of a panic attack. She stayed strong though. She managed to escape the same day, but she was too weak to get far enough. The drugs were doing real number on her. "Going to be good? Are you ready to go back? surely the bed is better than here." She said, a smile clear in her tone. Dilan shivered.

"Fuck me up all you want. I am never going back there." She replied, bracing herself for the pain. But it never came and that put her whole body on edge.

"Fine. Have a few more weeks strung up like a rat. Duty will be waiting for you. I'm sure by the time my boys are done with you, you'll be begging for work." Han chuckled menacingly as there was a knock on the door. It opened and she left before the darkness returned. Only then did Dilan allow herself to crack.

"Fuck. I need help." She whispered, hanging her head low. Brother give me strength.

LEVI'S P.O.V.

Levi woke early the next day. He took time to hide the ledgers in one of Dilan's cupboards deciding that was the safest place for them before making his way to Jack's whorehouse. He was pissed to say the least, but he would control himself. At first anyway. His hope was that this slimy bastard knew where Madam Han was staying. Or where her second base was. Any information would be useful at this point and this guy knew something. He was certain of it. It was just the matter of how much force he needed to apply before the man would crack.

Levi reached the place a while later and didn't hesitate to enter the grimy place. It brought back terrible memories, but he didn't have time to get into that.

"Good morning sir. How many lovely ladies will you be requiring?" Jack asked, counting some coins at the desk. Levi took down his hood and walked over. The man looked slightly phased for a moment before placing him. "Y-you're the guy from before! The guy with Dil. Now that the scary bitch is gone, I got to ask. You hit that?" He grinned. Levi frowned, not appreciating the shit's disrespect, grabbing the back of the owner's head before slamming it onto the counter, in honour of Dilan of course. "The fuck!" He squirmed but Levi had him in an iron grip.

"I know you fed us false information, I know you snitched on us to Madam Han and I know you are in her payroll. Start talking now before I make sure you can never use that dirty little mouth to snitch ever again." Levi hissed menacingly and the man paled.

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about." He decided to go with. Levi let out a low humourless laugh and had the guy flinching.

"That's the way you want to play this, huh? Who am I to judge?" Levi scoffed, letting go of the man to shove him against the wall. In one quick movement Levi had jumped over and now was sitting on the countertop, one boot swinging over the edge, the other shoved into the mouth of this scummy shit. He was gasping, desperately trying to pull the shoe out of his mouth and Levi grimaced at the image as tears sprung in his eyes from the lack of proper air flow. He took the foot out of his mouth and hoped down from the counter, shoving him against the wall again, elbow to his throat. "Why are you making this hard? Do you want to die today?" Levi question casually. Jack breathed out shakily.

"N-NO!" He cried. Levi rolled his eyes.

"Then tell me what you know. I won't ask again." He snarled. Jack shrunk back on himself.

"I-I tell you and she'll kill me!" He wailed. Levi gave him a bored glance.

"You have two choices. Tell me now and die in 20 hours or don't tell me and die in 20 seconds." Levi suggested, putting more pressure on his sweaty neck. The man really was grim in every way. He gasped and cried, begging Levi to stop. Levi ignored him. "Do you seriously need a countdown? I will not make this quick." Levi added, taking the knife out of his belt and dragging it along Jack's forehead watching as the blood seeped into his eye and he shivered.

"Y-You're a monster!" He shouted. Levi gave him a terrifyingly calm look.

"Perhaps." He said simply, feeling Jack starting to shake. It didn't take long for him to cave after that.

"Fine! F-fine just stop! Please!" He begged. Levi clicked his tongue but took a step back, sitting back up on the counter. Jack had to hold onto the wall to stop his knees from buckling from his fear as he hurriedly wiped the blood from his eyes.

"You try to run; you won't get far." Levi warned. Jack nodded quickly. "Tell me everything. I find you've left a single detail and I will find you before Han. I will gut you and string you up for everyone in the underground to see." He said darkly and Jack looked on the verge of passing out but nodded again. "Good. Go." Levi said, satisfied.

"O-okay fine! You're right, I'm on h-her payroll. E-every now and then her men come and take a few of my girls, giving me a fee for them of course." He explained and Levi grimaced but nodded for him to continue. "I've worked with her a lot over the years. I-I was one of the first to take part in the child trafficking when her business was small. I stored the kids in my basement and Han would let me make a profit until she wanted them for selling." He continued and Levi clenched his fists. Was Dilan... one of those kids?

"Well I haven't been in the game since you were a kid, as you recall." He snickered and Levi looked at Dilan, but she was avoiding his eyes.

Levi growled, loosing focus and got down from the counter again. Jack flinched and pressed himself up against the wall.

"If you even touched Dilan, I will kill you." He warned and the man gulped.

"I-I didn't, I swear!"

"Then what was that crap about knowing Dilan as a kid, huh? How the fuck do you know her?!" He yelled. Levi wasn't sure why he was being so protective, but he wasn't going to question it right now. Jack flinched and was quick to reassure.

"I found her outside my place passed out a good four years ago now! Thought she was one of my kids that had escaped. I'll admit, I brought her inside, but she woke up and overpowered me pretty quickly. Stole some food and ate it while holding a knife to my throat. She was interesting and I liked the look of her, so I offered her a real job for real pay. She declined and left but comes back for information time to time. My girls get a lot of whispers from their clients, so I know about a lot of shit that goes around these parts." He explained. Levi grit his teeth, wanting badly to put this bastard in the ground but he still needed information. He backed off a bit and crossed his arms, leaning back on the counter.

"Why did you tell Madam Han me and Dilan were looking for the missing kids?" Levi asked, refocusing. Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

"Because, anyone who's on the Madam's payroll must obey her! She's..." Jack looked around to make sure no one was listening even though the room was empty. "She's crazy and unpredictable. She could snap and cut you lose at any time so you must impress her. She may be an old woman but she sure as hell doesn't live like it. Her armour of soldiers is so thick, it would take years to penetrate it. You don't know what you up against." He said nervously, his eyes darting left and right.

"Noted. You know where she's at?" He asked. Jack shook his head and Levi gave him a look.

"I swear! I don't. I was never that close with her business. You would need to find someone who actually shares the business and makes a decent profit off of her. I get random payments depending on my value of contribution." He explained quickly. Levi frowned. That's fucking annoying.

"Got anyone in mind?" He raised an eyebrow. Jack thought for a moment, wiping some more sweat and blood off of his forehead with the back of a hand.

"I know I shoved this name in your face last time but I'm not lying. Kenny a big part of her operation, I'm sure of it." He said seriously. Levi sighed. He knew it was coming. Teaming up with Kenny was inevitable. Didn't mean he had to like it though.

"I suggest you get out of town. Quickly." Levi warned and Jack nodded. Levi pushed of from the counter and gave him a look so deadly, it looked like he had turned to stone. "You tell anyone about this little chat and I will make it my life's ambition to destroy not only you but everyone and everything you care about. And that, you slimy bastard, is a promise." Levi whispered darkly.

"I-I u-understand." He squeaked out a stutter. Levi nodded and left the filthy place as quick as he entered it.

As Levi jogged up to the place Dilan had taken him to before... Kenny's place... he muttered a sharp curse under his breath. The door was ripped off of its hinges and everyone on the inside was dead. It was a fucking massacre. Where should he go from here?


A/N: Hey guys! This was a really fun chapter to write even if there were no major events. I find it really fun to write Levi's p.o.v. We see he's starting to get protective over Dilan in this chapter which is important in terms of development. Levi's circle is small and there aren't many he would consider himself protective off. Not since his friends died. I was so excited for this next part I've already written the next chapter! Expect an update soon. Thanks for reading! X