Part 33
To Halter the Enemy
"You've all… thought this through, haven't you?" Fury questioned, stood with folded arms and a distant look upon her face. Her narrowed eyes moved to land over onto Levi, who sat with folded legs upon a chair; his own gaze peering out of an open window watching as innocent children played among themselves in the streets below.
"…You're okay with going back down… there?" She asked him. His head turning her way. His features barely changing.
"This is the best solution we've all got." He told her as around them sat Pyxis and Erwin himself. "Luring her down into the Underground may alter her from changing. And it also means you don't have to use your voodoo shite."
"But if it comes to it, can you use it, Fury?" Asked Erwin, lifting his head from a map layout in front of him atop his desk.
"I'm not sure…" She solemnly responded, causing Levi to roll his eyes. "I mean… back in the Forest of Giant Trees, I remember that I tried. I... tired as I had to endure watching as she killed Levi's Squad. Either I wasn't trying hard enough or… these Titan shifters can't be controlled by what I have…"
"Perhaps it's down to them still having full control over themselves?" Pyxis suggested, raising a small flask to his lips; drinking from it. He may be intoxicated most of the time but he was a smart old man.
"You're saying she may not be able to bring Titan Shifters to a halt because of the will they still possess?" Erwin muttered, furrowing his eyebrows.
"So this makes it all the more important that those brats can convince her to go down into the Underground with them." Levi spoke out, standing from his chair and straightening his cravat. He hissed slightly as a sharp sting traversed up his leg from his ankle. Thus causing Fury to avoid looking at him. Yet more guilt to do with Levi being caused to build within herself. "In the meantime, we use Eren's doppelgänger to help convince the Military Police into thinking we're bringing him back to the Courtroom for his sentencing."
Erwin nodded. "Yes. We also have Scouts in their disguises as the common folk awaiting among surrounding rooftops in case something goes awry and they need to pin Leonhardt to prevent a shift into her Titan Form. This is all risky, I accept that. But to corner her into thinking we're on her side is all we've got right now."
"…You're using the very kid it seemed she was trying to capture in luring her down there. This is more than risky, Commander." Fury said aloud, sighing in the process. "What's the plan if things fuck up and she does shift? We'll have more than some other shifter to worry about, but the civilians too."
"You care about people all of a sudden, do you?" Levi asked. A fair question, as Fury herself has always made her cynical views over people known to others around her. Fury did not respond but her own point was fair too.
"Wait… no." Fury rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "If she shifts, you're all expecting this Eren to shift too to stop her from escaping, aren't you? As I presume that's what she'll try and do once she realises she's been backed into a corner. An animal backed into a corner will only use aggression to find its escape."
"We're going to need you too, Fury." Erwin revealed, almost ignoring her words. "Both me and Levi witnessed Leonhardt's Titan abilities back in the Forest. She called out to nearby Titans to her in aid of her initial escape. If she does that again, you are going to be needed more than you know. For Eren will be too preoccupied, as will the nearby Scouts who will be aiding him."
"One or two Titans, maybe, but a crowd of them? Erwin… I really don't know about this." Fury's gaze suddenly landed on her shoulder. A firm hand squeezed it, offering confidence. It was Levi's. His appearance still as stoic as ever.
"You've been gone for 4 years. And when I see you again, I witnessed you controlling a Titan to ensure our way back to the Wall. It's still creepy as fuck, but we all have our part in this. Me and Erwin will distract that screw up, Nile, whilst we have to rely on the likes of you and Hange to make sure all goes to plan. If it fucks up, so be it. Lives will be lost but we have to capture Leonhardt alive for questioning."
He let go of her shoulder, blinking slowly as the little man departed from the office to prepare. Even Fury knew that without the likes of Levi being around to help in fighting, if things did screw up… Well, she didn't want to think of the death toll.
"… Working alongside another Titan Shifter to simply capture and bring in another Titan Shifter. What a fuck up…" Fury muttered to herself as Pyxis too left the office; his head arched back as he drank the remains of liquid in his flask.
"I'm putting a fair amount of hope in both you and Eren, Fury." Erwin admitted, his gaze soft upon her. "For what it's worth, I'm still sorry for breaking you into doing what you did to me. Uncalled for, perhaps. But worth it in the end."
"I refuse to be an object to be used, Commander…" Fury mumbled, gritting her teeth slightly. "Not again, anyway…"
"You're helping humanity now. As well as me. For you've opened my eyes in helping me believe that there is a future for humanity somewhere down the line. We just have to do what is required to reach it." Eyes still soft, the Commander's lips curved slightly into a warm smile. "Don't die. I need you to come back to me. That's an order."
