Chapter three:

To the rescue.

''Won't this delay our mission?'' Eren asked as they were searching the attic. ''Rescuing a Surveyor?'' Levi asked, and Eren nodded. ''Obviously, yes. But when we explain it to Erwin, he'll understand. I'm certain this is what he would do as well.'' Levi continued. Eren shrugged, then exclaimed as he went trough the belongings of the lady's late daughter. ''Wow! She has kept her DM-gear, that must break more rules than I ever did.'' ''But unlike yours, her infractions actually help us." Levi deadpanned, then said, "Let's see if it's still in working order, this could improve our chances dramatically."

'''What happens if we do mess up? Do we even have a plan this time?'' Eren asked. ''The execution's around eight in the evening, but usually the preparations are done long before then. Most of the time, they keep the prisoner nearby, making sure they can't get far, in case they do escape. Besides, seeing them prepare the execution usually makes people lose all hope.'' Levi said. ''So, whoever it is must be nearby. But wouldn't they be guarded by at least two people?'' Eren asked.

''Yes, that's the tricky part. One of us has to distract them, while the other helps the prisoner escape. Preferably, we get the guards as far away as possible. All this would have been easier had there been more of us, but we'll have to make do.'' Levi said. ''All this for someone who might help us.'' Eren said, it sounded like a lot of risk. ''We owe it to them. Whoever it is, they fought for freedom too.'' Levi told him.

''What if we mess up?'' Eren asked. ''Then we most likely die.'' Levi replied. Eren gulped, he had faced death before, but still, it sounded bad each time he came close to it. ''I could use my shifting ability and become a titan to help us out.'' he said. ''No way, we're not doing that again. It went wrong before, twice, and it would most likely go wrong again.'' Levi told him. ''Are you okay up there?'' they heard the lady ask. ''Yes. Everything is alright.'' Eren said. ''Good to hear, I'm making some soup, would you like a bowl?'' she asked. ''Oh, yeah, I'm so hungry.'' Eren bolted downstairs.

''Isn't it nice, cleaning out the attic like this?'' Levi heard someone ask, he turned to see Armin going trough a box. But rather then sorting out strangers'stuff, it seemed to be some books. ''Uh, yeah, I guess.'' Levi said, what was going on with him? Armin smiled contentedly, before he blew some dust of a blue book. ''It has been so long, I never thought I'd see these again.'' he told Levi.

'You still won't, this is not real.' Levi thought, as he walked over to Armin and looked at the blond studying the book. ''My grandfather gave me these. It's the greatest gift I ever received back then, and now, I still appreciate it the most. Besides being with you, that is.'' Armin told him. ''Glad to hear that. May I look at that?'' Levi asked. ''Sure thing, Heichou. But you should answer Eren first.'' he pointed behind Levi.

Levi turned to see Eren give him a weird look. ''Are you okay?'' Eren asked. ''Yeah... I am. Something wrong?'' Levi replied. ''She has called for you, twice now, but you didn't reply. Aren't you hungry too?'' Eren asked. ''Yes, ehrr, give me a moment, I'll be right with you.'' Levi said, and Eren nodded, before heading downstairs again. Levi looked back, but of course, Armin and the box with books had disappeared.

''What's going on with me?'' Levi wondered, before he sighed, and headed downstairs. ''That smells marvellous.'' he told the lady, who served him a bowl of soup as he sat down. ''Glad to hear it, hope you don't say that to flatter me.'' she teased, before taking a spoon herself. ''I wouldn't dream of it.'' Levi assured her. ''Good. So how are things with that boy you liked? I didn't get to hear much about him last time.'' she asked.

Levi smiled sadly, he should've expected that question. ''He managed to escape with us, but, for unknown reasons, he didn't make it. He passed away seeing the ocean, which was his dream.'' he told her. ''Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure had things gone differently you two would've been very happy together.'' she said.

'She's awfully kind, despite what happened. I'm sure that if anyone else told me such a thing, while I was still dealing with the loss myself I would've snapped. Then again, it has been years.' Levi thought. ''We're very happy that we were able to stay over again. Can we do anything to repay you for your hospitality?'' he asked. ''Not really. But if you could try not to destroy society again, I think I'd like that... Then again, I think no matter what happens, things will take a turn for the worse eventually.'' the lady replied.

Eren had a guilty look on his face, they would surely cause some trouble tonight. Freeing a prisoner, for their cause, still meant they were fighting against society too. But then again, it was a fellow Surveyor. What if it was one of his friends? He wished Mikasa had come with them, she would have changed the mood, or the subject, so they could focus on something else for the time being. For an introvert, Mikasa was good with other people. ''Something the matter? Don't you like the soup? I can make something else if you'd like.'' the lady said. ''Ah... it's nothing.'' Eren said, before they listened to a story the old lady told them.

Jean was gathering some supplies, as Connie and Mikasa went to see what he was doing. ''Are you leaving us? Where would you even go to? We're trapped between the sea, and whatever mess we left in there.'' Connie said. ''Don't jump to conclusions like that, idiot. I'm not abandoning the Survey, I'm headed after Levi and Eren to offer them assistence.'' Jean replied.

''Does Erwin know this?'' Mikasa asked, and Jean nodded. ''Maybe I should join you, to see how Eren is doing. I've been to Armin's place as well.'' Mikasa said, waiting just wasn't her forte. ''Ask Erwin, I'll be leaving in a few more minutes, but if you're to join in, I could wait.'' Jean said. Mikasa nodded, before leaving to find Erwin.

Connie snorted, and Jean gave him a look. ''What?'' he asked. ''You've grown. When we were trainee's you would have invited Mikasa, looking disgustingly happy to be able to just talk to her. Now, it was casual, as if you don't care whether she does or doesn't join. And you don't even mind she's only coming to see how Eren is doing.'' Connie said.

''I guess that's true. After what happened to Marco, and Armin-'' Jean tensed, not wanting to continue. ''I know, I mean, it was obvious if you asked me. But that's in the past. If they were alive and we had died, they wouldn't wallow as long as we do. They would look forwards to the next chance they'd get. You are not heading back to help Eren and Levi out. It's to allow you to move on.'' Connie said.

''You know, for an idiot, you're surprisingly sharp at times.'' Jean said. ''Of course, I learned that from the next best idiot I knew.'' Connie boasted. ''I hope you don't mean me.'' Jean said. ''No, you're way below my level. I mean Sasha.'' Connie said, an admiring tone in his voice, and then Mikasa came back, soft cooing emerging from a small cage she carried. ''He said yes, under the condition we send a pigeon to let them know we've found them. No one else can join, we need people here too.'' she said.

''Obviously. If we head back with all of us, people in there would go on a witch hunt and slaughter us all. Despite all that happened, they still fear the outside world. Those that stay here, have the best chance of survival and moving on.'' Jean said. ''Erwin used the exact same words.'' Mikasa blinked a few times, making sure she was talking to Jean. ''And we've got a midget Erwin. What's next, a copy of Levi?'' Connie joked, earning a sigh from both Mikasa and Jean. ''Joking.'' Connie said, with a wide grin.

''What we are about to do will cause trouble.'' Eren said, as they were cleaning for the lady. She had gone towards the market to buy some vegetables for supper about an hour ago. ''It is going to cause some, yes.'' Levi said. ''How do we even know it will end well? What if we cause devastation again, or get killed? I'm all for freeing this person, but we had a mission. If we had plenty of people to spare, this would be doable. But there is only the two of us. I'm sorry to say this, but Armin would agree with me, and finish the mission.'' Eren said.

At the mention of Armin's name, Levi froze. ''What did you just say?'' he hissed, ready to make this mission into a solo one. ''We should finish the mission.'' Eren stubbornly said. In his head, Levi counted to ten, before he said, ''Then, go on and finish the mission. If you really think duty is more important, you don't have to stay with me. But out there they know who you are, and I won't have your back. Maybe you would make it towards your objective, but you have to make it back as well.'' Levi said.

''You are a jerk.'' Eren told him. ''I know. But I'm a jerk willing to save someone who used to be on our team. You want to abandon him or her. What the hell even brought this up?'' Levi demanded. ''If you must know, that lady is treating us very kindly. She lost her daughter to the Survey, we killed the king, and we ruined this city. Another attempt will cause even more devastation. How much more do you want her and others to suffer?'' Eren asked.

''We have suffered losses as well. What has occurred to her daughter is most regretable and I'd like to take back what happened with the king, but still, we're aiming for freedom here. Freedom, unlike the word itself, doesn't come free. Freedom has a high price.'' Levi said.

''I know that! Anyone who trained with us, knows that. And you are jeopardizing our freedom, for an attempt that might not even succeed.'' Eren told him. ''And you are saying an human life isn't worth the attempt.'' Levi shot back. ''You are being reckless. We need to head to Shiganshina. And above that, you're not considering the danger to the citizens if it goes wrong again!'' Eren yelled.

''Are you even hearing yourself? The citizens that betrayed us? And you want to protect them from what exactly. All options we have is that either we save a companion, or die trying.'' Levi said. ''There is no time, for this. Do whatever you must do, but I can't stay around. We had one mission, Levi, that was to go and fetch those books. I've never been good with focusing on the mission, but at least I know what priorities we have.'' Eren said, before grabbing his cloak, and leaving the house.

''Is he for real?'' Levi wondered, but Eren was storming away pretty confident. 'If they catch him, it'll be even more of a hassle. But then again, if I go after him, he won't listen to me. Where is Mikasa when you need her?' Levi wondered, before returning to his cleaning duties. Surely Eren would come to his senses soon, right?

The tunnel was dreadful when Jean had escaped from it the first time. The stench was pretty nauseating, but aside from that, the dangers out there were unknown. No one had known what to expect leaving it. But heading back seemed even worse, despite knowing where he was headed this time. ''I despise this place.'' Mikasa told him. Jean gave her a ludicrous look, before saying, ''It's not a good place. I didn't like it when it posed as exit.''

''It's even worse as entrance. I'm not looking that much forward to heading back into that mess.'' she stated. ''Neither do I, but it's for the better cause. The sooner we help them find those books, the sooner we'll be able to leave again and never look back.'' Jean told her. ''That's if the plan is a succes. How come we never discuss how a plan could backfire and see if we can find solutions for that too. How come we keep striving forward, without looking back and see what we could do differently?'' Mikasa asked.

''That doesn't sound like the Mikasa I know. That sounds too pessimistic if you'd ask me. If we do that, then we would be no different from the people in there.'' Jean replied, and to that Mikasa kept quiet.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. ''Ah, you've come to your senses.'' Levi said, before opening the door, revealing the lady, followed by a few men. ''He! He is the one that killed our beloved king.'' she screamed, before the men quickly knocked out Levi, who was momentarily stunned by the lady's betrayal.

''So, where to?'' Mikasa asked, as they walked through the tunnel, back towards the inner walls. ''Well, we'll continue to walk towards the end of the tunnel.'' Jean said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. ''Well, yeah, but then? I mean, we don't even have a clue where Eren and Levi went to. What direction they took, and if we can meet up with them. Aside from that, we aren't as popular in there as we were before.'' Mikasa said.

Jean laughed, gaining a confused look from Mikasa. ''Sorry, but the Survey was never popular with anyone, aside from Eren who idolized the Survey a bit too much. But I guess they now hate us even more.'' Jean said. ''I suppose you are right.'' Mikasa said. ''There is no way of knowing where Eren and Levi went. We'll have to head towards your former home. Hopefully, we'll meet them there, or even catch up before that.'' Jean said, before adding, ''I know it's a bit hard to hear, but there is the fact that they might not make it, or we might not make it. Two teams at least stand more of a chance then one does.''

Mikasa was taken aback by that, but knew Jean was right. ''That's right.'' she said. ''Christa made us some cloaks, to cover our faces with. In there, we'll need to find some horses, and travel as fast as possible.'' Jean said. ''You don't have to look far.'' Mikasa said, making Jean stop in his tracks. ''Did... did you just make a horse-face joke?'' he asked bewildered, and Mikasa nodded. ''Figured, that any kind of humor you'd posses would be a bad one.'' Jean said, before they continued walking.

''Levi!'' he hears someone shout, looking up it is Armin, who's being dragged away, as well as some other members. The wall-priest is ranting against the judge, and both Reiner and Bertholdt are looking frightened. 'This again? This... After this things went really bad. Wait, no, before this, something was going wrong as well.' Levi thought. He looked up, as Erwin seemed anxious. There was something else too, but Levi couldn't quite place it.

'Armin died after this. No wait, actually, he died after the speech. So, if I'm not here to reminiscence about a trauma, then there must be something I'm trying to remember. Something I know, but what?' Levi wondered. If only Armin were in the real world as well, he'd know where to start. Or at least what questions needed to be asked. He started looking around, for any clues, but there were no unfamiliar faces, nothing out of the ordinary. Only Hoover and Braun remained, but he despised those inglorious bastards, and wouldn't trust any answer they might give.

A cold splash woke Levi up. He discovered that he was tied to a pole, with two men aiming a gun at him. The old lady stood there with a now empty bucket. ''I thought I could trust you.'' Levi told her. ''I thought I could entrust my daughter to the Survey. I thought I could entrust you to keep the king safe. None of that worked out, did it?'' she retorted.

'Got a point there.' Levi thought. ''Our duty is to protect mankind.'' he replied. ''And you didn't consider the king a human being? He was there for the people. Your group however, kept quiet about people who could shift into titans, mankind's enemy.'' one of the men said. ''It was vital information. The military could have used this advantage. The king wasn't as great a leader as you thought he was. He never even considered the option of freedom, exploring the outer world.'' Levi told them.

'You aren't doing yourself a favor here, Levi.' Armin's voice warned him. ''This lack of respect is what they have taught them at the Survey. My daughter, she used to make the same statements, and look where it got her.'' the woman said. ''Six feet under the ground. Same fate awaits you, my dear.'' she added.

Eren mumbled to himself, as he stomped down the street, making sure he kept his face a bit covered. ''We had a mission, one mission only. If we do this, it'd surely cause chaos. It isn't even like him to want to save someone.'' Eren stopped in his tracks. It wasn't like Levi, but he was sure that Armin would have wanted to give it a shot. Maybe that is what had urged Levi to do this.

But then again, Armin had been keen on his safety and not dying. Aside from that, if they succeeded they would explore the ocean and perhaps find other lands, maybe without Titans, or with reinforcements. Armin wanted to do that too. Eren felt torn here. If only Mikasa had been here, she'd know what to do.

'The one they wanted to rescue, they didn't even know who it was. Those outside the wall were waiting for them, so they could move on with what the Survey stood for in the first place. If we were to jeopardize that, surely that person wouldn't want that. I could try and retreat to see if we could get help, but I'd never make that on time. Not without a horse.' Eren thought. Christa had always mentioned she had grown up with horses, surely there must be a farm, or stables where she could've escaped to, not to far from the castle. Eren nodded to no one in particular, before attempting to at least find a horse.

As one of the men kept a gun pointed at him, and his arms were tied up, the lady lead the group towards the ruin of the castle. ''You are getting hanged tonight. Be glad you aren't the only one, some other piece of scum is getting the same fate as you.'' one of the men told Levi. 'I know. Eren and I had a fight about saving that person.' Levi thought, but kept quiet.

'At least now Eren stands a chance of getting those maps. Fate works in funny ways.' Levi thought, before getting a look at the cells. 'They held Armin captive here, before this entire mess started.' Then a familiar face looked up. ''Captain?'' the soft voice asked. Levi didn't know her name, she used to be at Mike's side a lot. ''They've caught you?'' Levi could hear her silent question, wanting to know if they only caught him, and if there were still any others out there. ''Affirmative.'' Levi said, and she nodded in understanding.