Part 48
[S3]
Signs

"Seriously, Sasha, did you really just try to take more food?" Connie questioned, placing a bag of freshly picked potatoes down onto the table. "How about we let Captain Levi know? Maybe he'll chop you into small pieces for you taking all the time."

"Eee!" Sasha shrieked, holding her hands up in surrender. "Don't do that!"

"Hey!" Eren bellowed, clutching his broom as he watched the others come into the cabin they had all been seemingly told to hang low in. "Oh man, tell me you all wiped your feet before coming back in?!"

"Nah." Came Jean's response. "Can't you see we're all carrying things?"

"Do you seriously think Levi would accept that attitude? Even Fury and we all know what she's like!" Eren's eyes were widened in distress. "I even folded your damn bed this morning!"

"Would you quit your nagging, you ain't my mom!" Jean quickly yelled back at the fretting Eren.

"Gentlemen…" Came the stoic voice of Mikasa as she clung to a collection of firewood with Armin next to her.

"Wait… Are you chopping firewood?!" Eren asked her, shaking his head as Mikasa simply walked on to avoid the obvious answer.

"I reminded her she was grabbed by a Titan and that she should be resting…" Armin muttered, pouting almost. "You should be in bed, Mikasa."

"… Tried to tell her that myself, but she never listens…" Eren spoke quietly. "Even saw her doing sit-ups this morning…"

"Peeping Tom!" Jean quickly accused.

"… This is like we're all back at the Cadet Corps." Came the timid voice of Historia, who had remained in the cabin with Eren to help him clean by orders of Levi himself. "I still wonder why it is we were all chosen to be the new Levi Squad, though."

"Protecting both Eren and you, Historia, is now such an important mission. I believe Fury is also a part of all this too." Armin made aware.

"Hah, nope!" Sasha laughed, shoving a piece of bread into her satchel, which caught the eyes of Armin as she did so. "Probably because we're all so talented!"

Armin himself sighed. "What did you just put in your bag?"

"Definitely nothing that resembles bread…" She replied in a mutter.

"Put in back, Sasha." Jean ordered, walking over to her with Eren following suit.

"Can you all quit it; we gotta get back to cleaning!" Eren himself begged the others as the front cabin door opened, bringing in both Levi and Fury, both dressed casually and out of their uniforms.

"What's this noise about?" Levi asked in a stern manner, walking towards the dining area table. He traced the tips of his fingers underneath the wooden table top. Fury rolled her eyes in the process as the small male squinted his eyes as he rubbed the essence of dust off his fingers. "I'm quite sure I gave you all enough time…" He went on to say, hardly pleased at all at what had already been cleaned anyway. "We'll discuss this inadequate cleaning at a later time. Eren, Hange is waiting to get started with the experiment."

"Right, Captain…"


Later that day…

"What's wrong, Eren?!" Hange called out the bewildered Titan below her. Eren's form was brittle and weak. His body consisting of little muscle tissue. "Get up! The future of humanity depends on you too, you know!"

"Hey, Hange…" Fury muttered. She appeared more distant than usual these last few months. "Don't think he's the same as his last transformation."

"He's not even 10 meters high…" Levi pointed out. "Plus, his scrawny ass is hanging out."

"I can see that!" Hange bit back in her response, clearly agitated as she and Eren had been working hard to help Eren himself unlock more potential powers within his Titan form.

"Eren!" Mikasa cried out, jumping from her horse below the others and rushing over to her childhood friend.

"Tch…" Fury disapproved. "There she goes again, babying him."

"We're done here." Hange issued her order, sliding down the Cliffside to reach Eren and to help pull him out of his Titan. "Sweet… Mother! You're still hot!" She exclaimed, doing her best not to touch the boy's skin as it radiated with smoke due to its heat.

"Another long road ahead…" Levi muttered to himself, turning to Armin. "And especially before we can get him to use his hardening ability again to seal the damn wall."

"Yes, Sir." Armin nodded. "I knew we'd have to grasp at straws."

"Strategically, it's not a bad plan." Levi attempted to encourage. "Instead of lugging supplies like mules, we just need to get Eren there. Whether we are grasping at straws, it all depends on him."

"Experiments over!" Hange called out from below. "Disperse!"

Fury frowned slightly she pulled the hood of her hoodie over her head, beginning to make her steps towards meeting back up with everyone.

"You ride in the same wagon as Eren and Historia." Levi ordered her, his eyes fixed upon her. "I need to head back for Trost District with Hange's group."

"Fine." Was Fury's simple reply, not even bothering to look Levi back in the eye. She decided to continue walking. Levi's eyes still fixed on her as she moved further away from him.

"She needs to be kept safe just as much as Eren and Historia." Levi recalled a conversation he had with Pastor Nick. "Only she… Only she, without becoming a Titan, can control them as well.
And she is most likely the only one left within these walls.
… She needs to be kept safe…"


"I see… Another failure." Came the disappointed sigh from Erwin as he sat in his office alongside Levi himself. "If the plan had worked out, we could have plugged the hole in the Shiganshina District in less than a day…"

"It's because we lack information." Levi insisted, tapping his finger on the table he was sat near. "Might be a different matter if there were books laid around about hardening abilities. Nevertheless… We have Historia. Perhaps we can learn about the walls through her?"

"I read the entire report about her upbringing." Erwin muttered, gazing outside of his window. "She's the illegitimate daughter of Rod Reiss, and by no means was it a happy upbringing. Though the real mystery here is why a mere Lord would know any secrets about the walls."


The Next Day

"Eren! You should be resting!" Mikasa insisted as she was fighting through the fact that she was left to clean the dishes alongside Fury.

"I'm fine. Slept most of the day anyway." Came his tired response. "Besides… My fault our plan for retaking wall Maria got shelved."

"All I care about is getting a shot at that Beast Titan." Hissed Connie, as he was drying plates with a quiet Historia. "Whoever that damn ape is, I'll never forgive them." Connie then sighed, noticing his hard grip on a plate he was holding. "Almost time to switch lookouts…" With sad eyes, he then gazed to his friends who were looking back at him with eyes of worry. "Mikasa, Historia, let's go…"

"… Must be nice…" Fury stoically spoke out. Her face lacking any emotion and her own eyes showed their own tiredness. However, her words nonetheless gained Eren's attention, despite these two never seeing eye to eye. "You all seem to have goals in mind... Even though they will not be easy or even possible to reach…
Me… Since I lost Farlan and Isabel, even Hexis, I haven't known what I've wanted for a long time…"

"You wanna help us though, right?" Eren questioned with a raised brow. He couldn't quite believe the calm tonality of which she spoke to him in. Was Fury also opening up?

"Perhaps, but…" Fury sighed, her eyes now narrowing. "Back then, it's true, I never cared less who lived or died around me who were of no matter to me. Yet now… Even I'm beginning to think differently.
We've all chosen our paths. Some of them have led to friends dying. I have no right to try and change those facts."

"You're not shouting at me…" Eren muttered, giving Fury a reason to turn and look up at the taller boy. "When we came here, Historia told us all about herself and even you shared a little of your past too. Since then, you've not once insulted me and you rarely even attempted to either."

"… Because it's a chore." Fury replied, leaving Eren confused. "The Fury everyone seems to know me by, I think it's time she left now."

"Hah. I can only agree that this will be for the better for us all, including you." Eren chuckled, gaining a frown from Fury. "It always did feel like you were hiding behind a façade. Forced and unnatural. Kinda made me feel sick… B-But the you right now, well, that seems like a Fury I could get along with!
You may still be painfully honest at times, but it's a step towards being normal. And… You also still have time to figure out what goal you want to set yourself too."

"Hange and the others have come back!" Came the sudden bellow of Sasha's loud voice as she called from elsewhere in the cottage.


"What's going on?" Levi asked Hange, as they were all gathered around her.

"He's dead… Pastor Nick." Hange revealed, her visage distressed, as the others gasped slightly, not including Levi or Fury. "He was… Murdered. I believe it was this morning, in the Trost District barracks."
Hange dragged her distressed state over to a nearby armchair, proceeding to sit in it as she brought her head into the palms of her hands. "I figured the Church would want to deal with Nick since he was co-operating with the Scouts. That's why I hid his identity and had him stay in the barracks… To think they would use soldiers to kill him, however… I was careless. It's entirely my fault."

"The Military Police." Armin spoke out. "Did they hurt Pastor Nick just to find out what information he gave to us?"

"Most likely." Levi answered as he spun the remains of his tea around in his cup. "But it was the Interior Military Police, which means there's something more behind it." He then turned his attention to Hange directly. "So, how many nails did Nick have ripped off? You saw, right? How many?"

"I only caught a glimpse of his body." Hange revealed. "But it was all the nails from what I did see."

"People that talk, talk after one." Levi went on to enlighten. "If they don't, peeling more won't make a difference.
Pastor Nick… Never did like the man, but… He didn't turn away from what he believed, all the way until his end.
In other words, they don't seem to have any idea that we've caught wind of the Reiss family. Though, someone in the Government is up to no good, and their eyes are fixed on us."

"Captain Levi!" Entered a redheaded Scout called Nifa. "I have a message to deliver to you directly from Commander Erwin. "I went to tell him of Pastor Nick myself, but he sent me away with this message in mind."

Levi's eyes then frowned as he read his Commander's words. His deep hues then looking up at everyone around him once he finished reading the contents. "Get your gear." He ordered. "We're leaving, now."


Nightfall had fallen around them all. Gazing down at the homely cottage, they once found safety in not a few hours ago, as members of the Military Police were currently kicking its doors down.
Armed with guns, clearly intent to shoot before asking their questions.

"If we hadn't left when ordered, what would've happened to us?" Connie questioned, as they all lay low among the natural darkness of the night.

"How did Commander Erwin...?" Armin's thoughts trailed off at this point.

"New orders came from the Government." Levi revealed to his squad. "There's been a freeze on all Scout Regiment activities outside the wall. And they're telling us to hand over Eren, Historia and Fury."

"By the way…" Nifa spoke up. "Right after the Commander gave me his message; the Military Police came for him."

"What?!" Fury barked, though she had every right to, despite the others not knowing exactly why she was so concerned about Erwin. "Why are they treating him like a criminal?!"

"Someone's not working from the shadows anymore…" Levi muttered. "They're making moves for everyone to see now."

"To go that far to protect the wall's secrets…" Hange sighed, pushing her glasses up. "What's more, why do they want us to hand over Fury, Historia and Eren? Not to kill, but to obtain?"

"Who knows…" Levi replied. "But it's clear they're after these three. We need to move them to the Trost District."

"Why?" Nifa asked. "That's the same place they killed Pastor Nick."

"It's worse to head towards the interior. With Trost in a panic, it should be easier to slip in." Levi answered. "And if it somehow comes down to it, we can use our ODM in the city. And not knowing the enemy puts us in a tough spot. I need to find out who's behind this." The Captain then moved his eyes to Hange. "Lend me some of your squad."

"If that's the case, Hange, we should go after Erwin." Fury suggested in a hurry.

"No." Came Hange's reply. "Moblit's with me, the rest, including you Fury, stay with Levi."


The Next Morning

"Try not walking in a cluster." Levi hissed quietly to his comrades behind him. "We'll stand out. Walk normally."
Levi kept his adept hearing on high alert. His eyes shifting around what was in front of him to be aware of any suspicious activities.
The rattle of a horse-drawn cart was soon surely heard around him as it echoed among the cobbled street. Moving to look behind him, the Captain's eyes soon widened as he saw the cart from afar etching ever closer towards his squad. "Get out the way!" He ordered, shoving the likes of Fury aside.

"Historia? Eren?!" Sasha called out as the cart darted through the group. Two males pulling both individuals into the cart with them as the bolting horse pulled them through.

"Snatched again, huh?" Fury muttered with a light joke, even for her. However, the panic was inconsistent and unneeded. For the two, which the kidnappers took were simply Armin and Jean in disguise as Eren and Historia, who were hidden away in a covered cart elsewhere in the same district.
They all split up, each going to where they were all expected to be in order to at least get Eren and Historia through the district without too much attention.

Mikasa made her way to the warehouse in which the disguised Armin and Jean were now being kept. She waited patiently, looking for the right moment to free her friends.

Sasha and Connie made their way to higher grounds, followed by Fury and Levi, who had made their way to meet up with a scouting Nifa as she kept her fixed gaze upon the cart that moved through the nearby streets, for it contained Eren and Historia.
She took her cover behind a chimney, Levi next to her with Fury close enough to him. For she too would be safe with Levi with her… Right?

However, something felt wrong, for Fury. Things seemed to be going too perfect in terms of their scapegoats. And she still couldn't shake the feeling that her own hidden truths would be coming out soon.

"… How's your leg?" She quietly asked Levi, clearly still being the cause in which why he had the injury still somewhat bothered her conscious.

"I can move well enough…" Came his own hushed response. "Stop fretting."

"Road is still crowded." Nifa informed. "Nothing unusual still, Captain. Not much farther now until they reach Commander Pyxis. What goes of the scapegoats?"

"As success…" Levi stoically replied, receiving a frown from Fury and a risen brow from Nifa.

"You don't look too happy about that, Sir…" Nifa muttered, pulling her hood up further.

"Something isn't right…" Fury's thoughts spoke to her as she noticed the deep thought upon Levi's face. Did he feel it too? "It can't just be the Military Police behind all of this… Arrogant, surely they wouldn't pick amateurs for such a job. Why does this all remind me of how… Of how HE'D do something like this?"

"Wagon is about to move again." Nifa made aware, snapping both Levi and Fury from their similar thoughts, even if they didn't read each other's mind.

"Have either of you heard of Kenny the Ripper?" Levi asked aloud. Colour dropped from Fury's face as she knelt beside Levi. Her own eyes couldn't help but widen slightly as a sickening feeling erupted in the pit of her stomach at just simply hearing Kenny's name spoken.

"That mass murder over in the Capital?" Nifa questioned, as Fury remained silent. "The one that slit the throats of over 100 Military Police? That's just an Urban Legend to scare the kids, right?"

"No, he's real." Levi corrected. "And so are the stories. I lived with him for a short while… When I was a kid…"

"Why are you even bringing this up?" Fury hissed at him, which only gave Levi reason to lift his brow at her odd outburst.

"He wouldn't care about using amateurs." Levi continued, in his thoughts, though his gaze moved from watching the moving cart and to how he noticed that Fury became slightly uncomfortable. "If a group was trailing their target, it would be from both rear angles, and… a place high up, with a view…"
Levi's eyes then widened as the harsh realisation happened. "Fury!" He echoed, pulling her aside with him as the opening of a gunshot hailed their way. "Nifa!" Levi then called out to his fellow comrade as the bullet itself tore through the girl's face, misshaping her features, leaving her unrecognisable as the blood patterned the chimney bricks behind her.

"… Oh shit… What the fuck…" Fury breathed hard as Levi's eyes remained widened, hiding with her behind their own small safety of another chimney. To her left, Fury witnessed men atop the rooftops aiming and firing their guns at fellow Scouts who had been following Eren and Historia's cart.
Fury's heart quickened. The familiar sound of the guns being shot had painfully reminded her of the day she first heard them back down in the Underground when Kenny had placed a bullet right through the cruel men who nearly beat her death that day.

"Yo, Levi!" And there it was. A familiar voice to the both of them. The voice belonging to Kenny. Fury's body stiffened, her suppressed fears coming back to haunt her as her eyes widened and shook; her blood becoming cold at hearing his voice after all these years. "And how's it going, my little fury? You two done any growing yet?"

Levi's eyes soon sharply darted over to Fury next him. It was all to be revealed now. For he just heard it himself. Kenny knew Fury. More than he was even yet to understand. The Captain was now left confused. Did he have a sudden reason to feel betrayed by Fury herself? Levi was even going as far as to ask himself if Fury was allied with him, after all these years.

"Nah, neither of you have changed!" Kenny mocked, loading his next set of pellets that were used as his bullets. The hand cannon in which they were attached too were also used as Kenny's own ODM. Different from the ones used to kill Titans. No, his ODM was designed for hunting down people.

"You… Know him?" Levi shakenly asked Fury, however, the young woman was still too frozen in her own fear to even warrant looking at Levi. Yet, perhaps, all Levi needed right now was a look from her to determine whether she was now his enemy too.