Chapter 19
To you, 2 and a half years earlier…
Levi is almost finished clearing the hideous amount of paper work on Erwin's last mission from his desk when he hears a light knocking on his office door, three mini taps in succession, indicating it must be Petra.
"Come in, Ral!" Levi calls out and Petra quietly lets herself in and closes the door softly behind her.
"Lance Corporal, Commander Hange has asked me to let you know that she wishes to speak with you in her office immediately." Petra says, standing rigidly with her hands behind her back, not quite making eye-contact with her superior.
"Well can't it wait? I still have all this shit to clear." Levi remarks, gesturing towards the small piles of papers still left lying around.
"I got the impression that it can't, Lance Corporal." Petra responds, still in perfect form until Levi rolls his eyes and drops the file he'd been holding haphazardly back on to his side table.
"You can relax Petra, there are no higher ups around and Hange can barely remember to wash herself never mind rank or decorum. Let's go." Levi instructs, ushering Petra out of his office and locking the door behind him before they set off in the direction of their Commander's office, "Do you know if it's about Erwin?"
"I'm not sure, last I heard he was awake at least. Forgive me for asking Levi, but is it true he's lost the use of his right arm? That's the rumour going around right now, and I know I shouldn't be listening to idle gossip but…"
"He's lost the arm completely." Levi confirms with a grimace, "But that's strictly confidential, you understand?"
Petra stops in her tracks for a millisecond, shock evident in her expression before she rights herself and nods curtly, continuing to walk alongside her Lance Corporal as if she hasn't just been let in on probably the best kept secret on base right now.
They reach Hange's new office, that she's inherited from Erwin, in no time. They are currently based at their remote Headquarters in the Trostian countryside, as they have been for the last 3 years, and although the setting is familiar to him, he's still never found himself completely settled here, not even in the comfort of his own office quarters. The plan is to move Headquarters to Stohess in the next year or so, but Levi isn't quite sure he's ready to pack up and leave his home town any time soon.
Petra instinctively reaches up to knock before Levi simply lets himself in without so much as an introduction, she scurries in after him and closes the door behind them.
"Commander Hange, I have retrieved Lance Corporal Levi as per your instructions." Petra says, falling back into her stiff posture out of habit rather than fear of discipline at this point.
"Thank you Ral, you are dismissed." Hange orders politely. Petra nods and salutes to her superiors in their distinct way with a hand over her chest before leaving the room quietly. Hange waits until she can hear her retreating footsteps before she addresses Levi for the first time today.
"Levi, I imagine you're wondering why I've summoned you here so suddenly and without appointment." Hange says, moving next to the coffee machine she was permitted to have to herself and pouring two steaming cups, proffering one to Levi. He knows it will taste like shit, Hange can't make coffee to save herself, but he takes it anyway. She sits in her chair and gestures for Levi to sit in the one opposite her desk.
"I'm assuming that due to the lack of company and the fact it couldn't wait until I'd finished what I was doing, it's important and something you'd rather not say in front of the others, so I'm gonna hedge a guess and say it's to do with Erwin?" Levi deadpans, sitting in the chair and setting his coffee on the incredibly messy desk that makes him want to gouge out his own eyes rather than look at it.
"Well, you'd be wrong. There's been no change as of yet, he's still awake and cheery as ever, but no more word on a prosthetic or if he's even coming back. He'll probably call once he's gotten used to things a bit more. I actually called you here because I wanted to talk to you about a strategist for your team." Hange says, clasping her hands and resting her elbows on her desk.
"But I already have a strategist." Levi says confused, before Hange raises an amused brow and he remembers, "Well, I did have a strategist, but I imagine you'll be far too busy now."
"You know I'd do it if I could Levi, but between leading my own team and acting as strategist for yours I was already stretched, but now it's pretty much impossible."
"I know you would, and you were already doing far too much as it was anyway. This is why Eyebrows named you his successor and not one of the other squad leaders. But a new strategist? We don't have anybody else with that skill and I don't have the time to get one trained up. Any anyway, nobody is as good as you, you could just look at the site plans and resource and be able to provide a strategy without the need to even step into the field with us."
Hange grins broadly, "Well luckily for you, munchkin, there's no need to train somebody new. You see, I went to a Highschool in Shiganshina about a year ago to do a presentation on careers within the military and was introduced to this kid, and honestly Levi, he's one of the brightest I've had the pleasure of speaking to. His teacher told me all about him, we go way back so he introduced me to the him at the end of his class schedule. The kid was looking to go into politics or whatever, but apparently he has a knack for strategy and planning, so I set him a couple of tests rated easy to hard…"
"Is this story actually going anywhere, Four Eyes? I'd rather not die of old age." Levi remarks, looking positively bored as he sips his brown mulch.
"I'm getting to it! But yeah, he passed all of my tests with an at least 90% pass rate! He was able to predict the outcome of all the scenarios I gave him to almost perfection. Even I could only do that after months of training, and for most it takes years to become that accurate. He's an absolute natural. So, I kind of took him under my wing and have been mentoring him ever since, mainly online but I have seen him a few times since. And the last I spoke to him, he'd turned 18 and decided to join the military."
"Okay, so this kid must be like what? 19 at most?" Levi asks.
"He's turning 19 in a few months, and he's still in basic training." Hange confirms with a nod.
"So, he's 18. How exactly is that gonna help me right now Hange? This kid will need to go through his full training and move up the ranks before he could even be considered…. wait, that's why you wanted to speak to me alone right? You want to pull him out of training and put him on my team, don't you? That's your plan, isn't it? Tell me I'm wrong." Levi demands angrily and Hange at least has the good grace to look a little uncomfortable.
"It's like you said Levi, it would take years to train up an even half way decent strategist, especially for an elite squad like yours. You need the best of the best, and Armin is the best! I can guarantee you that."
"So, Armin is this kid's name then? It's still fucking insane Hange! Do you even realise the danger you'd be putting him in by placing him in my team? My squad have experience that this kid couldn't even imagine, they're trained killers, they've seen things that would turn his stomach at the sheer mention of it, they're willing to die for each other for fuck sake! And you want to put an 18-year-old, who hasn't even completed his basic training, in the midst of all that and expect me to feel good about it?! That's crazy, even for you Four Eyes."
"He could train with your guys Levi! They're just waiting around the barracks and doing mundane tasks until they're called up for the next mission, this would give them something to do, and Armin would get far more useful experience with them than he would anywhere else and you know it!" Hange argues, "And believe me, you're going to need a strategist and soon. We've found a suspected cell in the middle east linked directly with Underground headquarters. It's remote, and it's hidden, and it's everything those Underground bastards need to keep a low profile. If we manage to take them down, then we may even take down the whole network. The world could be free of them Levi, could you imagine it?"
"Then why can't we just move in now? You seem to know enough about it, we can plan it with you and have it done faster than they can even suspect?" Levi asks, almost leaning over Hange's desk in barely concealed excitement and adrenaline.
"Because one of the other teams are over there right now and came across it by sheer chance. It looks like they have hostages, women and children, they're using for human trafficking purposes. It's believed the husbands and fathers have been taken forcefully as Underground soldiers. If we send that team in now, innocents will definitely die and the cell will just move elsewhere, and we'll likely never find them again. And we have no way of knowing if they've seen us snooping around already, they may be ready for an attack if we were to send you in right now, then we'd be back to square one and down our best men."
"So what? We let them continue what they're doing, and we just sit here and do nothing? On the basis of what? That those clumsy assholes on Ness's team aren't sure if they've compromised the whole thing? That's bullshit Hange, and you know it! Every second we wait could be another innocent life lost or wrecked beyond repair!"
"I know Levi, but this has to be a waiting game, and you'll need a strategist in the field with you when it does happen. In the meantime, we fly over there and get settled, Armin would come too, and he can get acquainted with you all. There'll be enough time between arrival and the first time we send you out for him to get a taste of who you are and what you do. Believe me, he knows exactly what he's getting himself into, and he's more than ready and willing to learn."
Levi lets this information sink in for a moment, could it really be possible for them to eliminate the Underground? Is it worth bringing in an inexperienced kid purely based on an idea alone? Not only would they be breaking protocol, but their morals would be brought into question also if they were ever found out.
"When does he join my team?" Levi asks suddenly, "And don't give me that look, I know you're only 'asking' as a courtesy and the kid's coming whether I like it or not."
"He flies out in a week, same as us, you'll meet when you get over there. I know you don't think this is a good idea, but right now I don't see that we have much choice Levi." Hange says, and Levi thinks she looks incredibly tired. He's been used to her running around on little sleep, but this is different, as if the fatigue has seeped in through her skin and reached all the way to her bones. He decides to cut her a little slack.
"For the record, I don't think this is a bad idea. I think it's a horrible idea. I just hope that I'm wrong." Levi sighs, drinking the rest of his disgusting coffee and moving to stand.
"Well, all I can say is let us all just hope and pray that you're wrong in this. But Armin is fantastic, and I have full faith in your team." Hange says with a salute as she stands, unofficially dismissing Levi from her office.
"Tch, at least one of us has." Levi mutters under his breath as he turns to leave.
If there is one thing that Levi is certain of when they arrive at their destination a week later, it's that he HATES unnecessarily hot weather.
Hange had been rather elusive about the exact whereabouts of their location, since they'd travelled thousands of miles to a remote hangar in Belarus, only to be flown to a secret base by private military plane several hours later.
It's not a foreign concept to Levi, not knowing exactly where he is, obviously the less people that know, the more successful the operation is likely to be. In theory at least, and technically Levi's team aren't supposed to exist anyway, so when Hange refuses to let him in on the information, he doesn't argue the point any further. He just knows that wherever he is, it's freaking hot.
The sun is high in the sky and scorching, beating down on the snowy white skin of his arms and face, leaving angry splotches of red in it's wake. He's always burned in the sun, secretly envious of those that could go home on leave with a magnificent tan rather than his severely sore sunburn. The pleasant summer breeze he'd become accustomed to back home is practically non-existent here, instead air is thick, clammy and makes it difficult to catch his breath without feeling weighed down by the heaviness of the horrendous heat. His clothes are thin and standard issue, but already uncomfortably sticking to his body with the sopping sweat on his skin. He feels disgusting and in desperate need of a cold, refreshing shower, but he doubts that even ten thorough washes would take the stink away to an acceptable level.
Levi is unpacking his belongings in his private quarters when he receives the message to come to down to the mess hall so he can have dinner and meet the newest member of his team. With an audible sigh, he sprays a little deodorant to help with the consistent tap of perspiration he can feel coming from his armpits and switches on his busted-up air conditioner which helps the room cool down ever so slightly before making his way down.
The tiny 'hall' is bustling with people when he arrives and he can already spot his team huddled together in the far corner table, eating and chatting as they relax after their long trip. Like him, they have no idea where they are, but they also haven't been fully briefed yet on the reasons why they're here either. His team are fantastic that way, always act first and ask questions later, putting their full faith and trust in him no matter the situation. They are also the smallest team on site, a mere 5 of them including Levi, while the others have at least 10 or 12 including their own team leader. Levi handpicked each and every one of them from their days fighting on the front lines for the varying degrees of bravery and intellect they've shown on the battlefield.
"Levi! Over here!" Hange calls to him, waving wildly and ushering him over. Levi can see a young blond man with chin length hair, around his height and no older than 18 standing next to her, looking like he's about to shit himself. Must be the new kid, he thinks.
"Commander Hange!" Levi says, saluting and standing to attention due to their abnormally large audience.
"Lance Corporal Levi, I would like to introduce you to your new strategist. This is Private Armin Arlert of the 104th training regiment in Shiganshina." Hange says, gesturing to the boy next to her, who to his credit salutes back to Levi with a firm, unwavering stance, "I have already filled him in on the specifics of this mission and trust you'll inform your team with due care."
"Yes Commander, I am sure Arlert will be able to help me out in that regard." Levi nods to Armin, and Hange grins in response.
"Fantastic, then I'll leave Armin in the capable hands of you and your squad, Levi. Both of you get yourselves something to eat and a good night's sleep for training commencing tomorrow. I'll brief you both in the morning." Hange says, saluting to them both and leaving them to themselves.
Levi notices that Armin is still standing rigidly at attention and is tempted to leave him there just to see how long it will take before he breaks, but it's been a long day and Levi doesn't have the heart or patience to do that to the kid.
"At ease, soldier." Levi instructs and Armin relaxes immediately, rubbing his sweaty palms on his pants anxiously "No need to look so green kid, I won't bite. But I am starving, so we should probably get something to eat before those greedy shits get all the good stuff." Levi says, tilting his head in direction of some of the members of other squads piling their plates up high like they'll never be fed again, they're lucky they don't have to survive on basic rations like Levi had in his early military days.
"Yes, Lance Corporal, thank you." Armin says, following Levi as he makes his way towards the food and picks up a tray.
"Call me Levi kid, that lot all do." Levi insists, pointing towards his team who are now laughing and joking together going by the guys' shaking shoulders and Petra smacking Oluo's shoulder in annoyance, "Just remember to call me by rank when the higher ups are around. Hange and the others don't give a shit, but it's polite or whatever."
"Okay…. Levi. But before you sit down, I would just like to say thank you for giving me this fantastic opportunity by letting me join your team! I will do my very best to meet your expectations and live up to the standards of everybody else." Armin promises earnestly, picking up random things and placing them on his tray without really looking at them.
"Well, I hate to burst your bubble kid, but it wasn't my choice to have you here. And I'm not going to lie to you, if it were up to me, you'd be back in Shiganshina completing the rest of your training and a million miles away from here. It takes time and experience to be a competent soldier and even longer for me to even begin thinking you worthy of my team. Unfortunately for the both of us, I don't have a choice and in need of somebody to act as a strategist, and Hange seems to think you are the only option we have for the job. So that means we've both drawn the short straw here." Levi says, biting into an apple with one hand and resting his bowl of stew and bottle of water on his tray in the other.
"Be that as it may, I won't let you down! But if I could even just ask, is there any advice you could maybe give me on the job? Anything you think that would make you and your team trust me even just a little more? Anything at all?" Armin asks, following Levi as he makes his way to the table to eat. Levi turns around slowly and looks Armin straight in the eye.
"Just try not to get us all killed kid, and then I won't have to kill you myself." He deadpans, taking another bite of his apple and walking away.
"O-Okay." Armin says half-heartedly as Levi moves just out of earshot.
A little while after dinner, Levi calls a meeting in one of the unoccupied areas of the barracks, in order to officially introduce Armin to his team.
Armin had elected to sit alone rather than chance joining the rowdy table after Levi had decided to go and sit with Mike Zacharias, one of the other Team Leaders, so he's yet to meet them properly.
Levi brings Armin over to stand next to him as Petra, Oluo, Eld and Gunther arrive, looking both tired and confused at being summoned at such an odd hour of the evening, as usually they'd be beginning to retire right about now. Petra gives Armin a small smile as she locks eyes with him, Oluo does his best impression of Levi by standing with his hip cocked and arms folded across his chest, Eld simply sits in one of the unoccupied seats and Gunther yawns loudly as Levi addresses them.
"Alright everyone, I know it's been a long day and we're all tired as shit, but before you go to bed, I'd like you all to meet Armin Arlert, he's here as a strategist and is officially the newest member of our team. I hope you'll all make him feel welcome, I don't wanna have to discipline anybody for being a shit for no good fucking reason." Levi says, slyly looking over at Oluo as the man shifts uncomfortably at the words. Armin greets them all with a soft 'Hi' and waves slightly to the small group.
Eld gets up out of his chair without a word and is the first to officially introduce himself to Armin.
"Hey kid, I'm Eld Jinn, it's good to meet you." As Eld says this, Gunther takes the opportunity to yawn even louder so that now even Levi looks at him with utter disdain at the action, "And this lazy sack of good for nothing is Gunther Schultz, he was the newbie of the team, but it seems he's now lost that title. How's that feel Gunther? You've managed to go from the baby that everybody dotes on to officially, completely useless." Eld jokes, smirking to himself as Armin stares wide-eyed between the two of them.
"Whatever, asshole." Gunther shoves Eld's shoulder playfully before shaking Armin's hand, "What's up man? As you heard, I'm Gunther, I'm your resident Eagle-Eyed sharp shooter. The best there is, and that's a fact, don't let these amateurs tell you otherwise! Eld didn't mention, but he's the 'Heavy' of our team. Practically flies into battle without a care in the world, once took like 10 bullets and stayed standing just to finish the fight!" Gunther insists with feeling, wrapping an arm around his blond friend. Armin is taken aback before the man with the slightly wrinkled face speaks up.
"Tch, do you have to exaggerate everything? He was grazed by 2 bullets, not 10, and then ran around for a little while until he passed out from blood loss. If anybody should be considered the 'Heavy' around here, it's me. The name's Oluo Bossard, and you're looking at the guy with the biggest kill list and sharpest tongue in the military." The man says, looking down at Armin smugly until the ginger woman next to him snorts.
"Ha! You're such a liar, Lance Corporal Levi has the biggest kill list, you just have the biggest ego. And you stutter all over your words all the time, you're just showing off for the new guy. Sharpest tongue…." The woman giggles and shakes her head in amusement.
"Well Petra, you certainly weren't complaining about my tongue that night we spent holed up together in Russia…." Oluo says, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"It was a long, tiring mission, clearly I was delirious." Petra deadpans.
"Delirious with pleasure." Oluo retorts.
"I hope you bite your tongue off and die." Petra says finally, shoving Oluo aside and smiling warmly at Armin, who looks as if he doesn't know what to say, do, or remember who he is at this point in time.
"It's nice to meet you Armin, I'm Petra Ral. I hope we can work well together going forward." Petra says, shaking Armin's hand firmly and purposely ignores the other guys, who are now making faces and imitating her behind her back.
"Well that was certainly an event, you morons couldn't even be serious for just a second to show the kid we are a highly skilled, well-functioning squad that's a step above all the rest? None of that ring any bells?" Levi asks, rolling his eyes and scowling at the four of them, "Tomorrow, you're all on cleaning duty, no ifs, but or ands."
"But sir, that's not fair! I took the meeting seriously I swear!" Petra whines, her long, strawberry blonde, French braids on either side of her head that reach far down past her waist make her look like a scolded child, and Levi is in a good mind to give her a time-out.
"You introduced yourself without making yourself look a testosterone filled douchebag, congratulations. But did any of you actually take the initiative to ask any questions about Armin? Does anybody here actually remember his last name?" Levi asks, and the team have the good sense to look ashamed of their behaviour, "This is not what I want to see from my best soldiers, so tomorrow after cleaning, you will all take the time to get to know Arlert, show him the ropes, and get a thorough understanding of exactly what he's here to do."
"But Lance Corporal, with all due respect, none of us here actually have any idea on what WE'RE here to do." Oluo remarks, and the others begin to nod in agreement. Armin shifts uncomfortably as Levi motions for them all to take a seat.
"Which is also partly why I've called you here. Now, I don't want anybody getting too excited and this information doesn't leave this room, the only other team that's aware of what's going on are Ness's guys, and that's only because they were the ones who found it in the first place. But Commander Hange believes we've found a terrorist cell here belonging to the Underground." Levi confirms.
"THE UNDERGROUND!" Gunther bellows and starts to stand up quickly.
"Shhh!" Petra says, smacking him so he sits back down, to which he responds with a "Sorry…."
"As I was saying," Levi begins, glaring at Gunther before turning his attention to the others "Ness's team came across it randomly somewhere near here, close enough so we can keep tabs on any changes but far enough away that they shouldn't get too suspicious of us poking our heads in. Now, obviously as the cell was found by a separate team, we need to allow them time to do their own investigations before we can take over as per protocol…."
"But that's bullshit! We've been tracking the Underground forever, this is our bust!" Oluo interjects angrily.
"Did I say I disagree?" Levi asks, rolling his eyes, "I'm well aware and I'm as pissed off about it as the rest of you, but here's the thing, this also gives us an advantage."
"In what way Lance Corporal?" Eld questions confused.
"Well, if we'd been forced to move in on this one without a proper strategy in place, we'd be going in completely blind. But now that we have Armin, we can prepare ourselves properly, take them by surprise. And if we plan this right, if Armin plans this right, we might even find a way to take down the whole of the Underground, in one complete swoop. Imagine it everyone, living in a world without constant fear of terrorist acts, knowing that the crime in your city will go down, drug trafficking, human trafficking, they'll no longer be able to get prostitutes and their pimps into the country…. A world like that, it's something worth fighting for, isn't it?"
"It is Lance Corporal, but do you really think we can do it?" Petra asks, "Do you really think the five of us could do that all by ourselves?"
"The five of us? No" Levi says, and puts his hand on Armin's slim shoulder, "The six of us? I think we've got a pretty good fucking chance. But I'm going to need you all to put a little extra work in before we move out in the next few weeks. Arlert has been working closely with Hange over the course of his last year and he's getting prepped tomorrow before he starts working closely with Ness's team in order to make us a plan and complete our strategy for attack and defence. He has a brilliant mind, from what I've been told, but we're an elite team and we've trained our bodies to be the best that they can be, Arlert hasn't yet had that opportunity."
"Leave it to us Lance Corporal, we'll whip him into good shape." Oluo insists passionately and Armin gulps visibly.
"Don't worry Armin, once we're done with you, your body will be a killing machine!" Gunther amends, and nobody argues, even Petra is smiling broadly at the suggestion.
"That's what I like to hear, now all of you get to bed, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and who knows what the next couple of weeks will bring? Get some sleep, and I don't want to hear about any of you goofing off, sneaking out or hooking up when your head needs to be in the game." Levi says pointedly at Petra and Oluo, who blush and grin respectively at the instruction, "Dismissed!"
As Levi had expected, the next few weeks go by in a busy blur. So much so, that he can barely keep up with the days as they go by and he ends up forgetting what he even did the day prior.
Erwin has been in touch several times since Levi left Trost and has since informed him of his upcoming official retirement as Commander, leaving the title to Hange if she wishes to keep it. Erwin believes the loss of his right arm to be the career ending in that field, but looks forward to a bigger and brighter future, expressing his interest to start a company providing the biggest and best security service for A list and high-end clientele for as long as they require or desire. It's a step down excitement wise, but Levi thinks that it oddly suits his best friend.
Hange has been keeping him busy with constant updates on the suspected cell that the other team have been investigating, it's now been confirmed that the large estate is in fact a halfway house where women and young children are being kept until they can be shipped away and auctioned off to the highest buyer. There had been hell to pay when it was decided that Levi and his team would only begin their raid on the morning that next set of girls would be sent for purchase. It was agreed that the truck carrying the 'cartel' would be allowed to leave and Levi's team would bust in unexpected while Mike's team follow and retrieve the truck.
The next shipping date is due for tomorrow, according to the translator who'd listened in to the conversations heard through bugs that had been expertly placed and hidden from plain sight. Only 24 hours until Levi and his squad embark on their most challenging mission yet, bringing down the Underground.
Armin has been working tirelessly on a plan for them all to infiltrate the massive halfway house using stolen blueprints and set up what he calls the 'buddy' system. The system consists of each member of the team pairing up with another who has contrasting skills to allow for a diverse mini-team attacking the three entrances on different sides of the house, while defending on opposites sides of the area. The buddies will be Eld and Gunther, Oluo and Petra, and Armin will be with Levi. An incredibly simple, but very effective method of ensuring eyes on all sides, no matter where they may end up.
In addition to his strategy plans and research, Armin has been spending an incredible amount of time training alongside his comrades. Despite what Levi had said about them all taking responsibility to conduct Armin's training, he hadn't actually expected them all to follow through with it at all. However, to his surprise, he more often than not finds the boy practicing combat skills and working out with all four of them, each taking turns explain something in great depth or giving him pointers on how to fix his follow through. Levi watches as the kid listens intently to every single one of them, soaking up all of the information and improving almost instantly.
Levi can very clearly see the muscle mass that Arlert has gained, and it's none too shabby. Not as much as Levi would have hoped for of course, but realistically very impressive for the short time of 3 and a half weeks he's kept at it. Armin, he notices, has also become far more relaxed around the rest of their team, laughing and play fighting with them as they eat dinner or mess around before it's time to call it a night. He's come through in leaps and bounds, and he looks like he belongs with them, like he is one of them.
Levi takes the time to just watch them for a second in the social area before he calls them over for a briefing. Gunther is trying to master the art of making and throwing paper airplanes at Oluo's head, it's not going too well, so Levi doesn't feel the need to confiscate them yet. Eld is on one of the comfier chairs of the room, looking through old photos of himself and his wife together, he smiles lovingly as he flicks through them. Oluo and Petra are, as usual, bickering like an old married couple in the corner of the room again and he's about to step in and break it up before he notices Oluo bringing up his hand to stroke Petra's cheek and play with the long strands of her hair, as she melts into his touch, looking around to make sure no one is watching them before kissing him softly on the lips, making him blush. He averts his gaze to allow them a little privacy (even though he should probably be reporting their relationship) and sees Armin, furiously scribbling notes and tossing bits of paper away, which explains where Gunther is getting all of his paper from.
"Everybody, if I could have your attention please!" Levi raises his voice, and the others scurry into position, standing at attention with their fists over their hearts, a sign of the trust and faith they have in their leader, oddly poignant considering what they'll be walking into come tomorrow morning.
"I would like to take this opportunity to commend how brave you've all been, given the situation at hand, and I can honestly say I am honoured to be walking into battle with you five by my side. There is nobody else on this world I would rather take down the Underground with, and if you ever tell anybody I said that, I will deny it to hell and back." Levi jokes and the others laugh genuinely, surprised by his sudden change of mood from the grumpy, surly superior they'd grown accustomed to.
"Now, I don't want to hear another word out of you all tonight. Go to bed, get some sleep and I'll see you all tomorrow morning. You know the plan, stick to it, do as I say….and for God's sake, stay safe, all of you." Levi says finally, and the others reply with a "Yes, Lance Corporal!" before leaving the room to retire for the night, all except Armin.
"Didn't you hear what I said Arlert?" Levi asks, "You need your strength for tomorrow, you can read another night."
"I know Lance Corporal, but that's not why I'm still here. I know that you said you wanted to her nothing more from us tonight…. but I have to ask, do you really believe we can do this? My plan, it's not too simple is it? I don't know what it is you were expecting…." Armin trails off.
"I wasn't expecting anything, truthfully. I was fully expecting you'd quit and head on home after the first couple of days if I'm honest. But you didn't, you stuck with us, followed through and here we are now, ready to take on the biggest mission of our lives. And to answer your question, no I don't think your idea is too simple, overcomplicating things can lead to a messy outcome and I want none of my team's blood on my hands. Simple plans and easy strategies were the reason Hange was such a good strategist for my team, you're a lot like her in the way you think." Levi insists gently, and Armin looks at his superior with wide, curious, ocean blue eyes.
"But what if I fail? What if I am like the Commander, but unlike her, I can't pull off the simple plans and it goes horribly wrong? What then?" Armin asks, panicking and beginning to quiver slightly at the shoulders. Levi sighs.
"Look kid, I'm not great with providing comfort, never have been. But you've got to understand, I'm not saying all of this because I think you're a liability or secretly believe you will hinder my team, because you know I'd tell you outright. You have some of the best gut feelings and instincts I've ever come across in my whole life, the amount of times you've predicted when the other team would come back and give us the answer you suspected was honestly frightening, it reminds me so much of Hange actually. Tomorrow, you just need to hold your nerve and trust your instincts, because your gut doesn't lie to you and I think you're smart enough to know that. Just make the choices you think you'll regret the least, and you won't go wrong." Levi says, placing a friendly hand on Armin's shoulder and the boy nods up at him determined.
"I will, thank you Lance Corporal! I promised I wouldn't let you down and I intend to follow that promise through to the end!" Armin says, turning away and picking up his notes, he gives Levi a final salute before finally dashing out of the room and towards the sleeping quarters.
Levi shakes his head as he watches the boy leave, thinking that for once, he honestly has faith that they can actually pull this off in a few hours.
The sun is beating down once again, hot and unforgiving against the skin of Levi's lower face, compromising his vision a little more than he'd like. At least his protective eye-wear stops him from burning too much, and the helmet prevents sweat from running from his hair into his face.
Armin stands with him back to back as they scan the surroundings of the front of the house before proceeding any further. Oluo and Petra have taken responsibility of the side entrance, while Eld and Gunther have the back, both pairs have confirmed their coast is clear while Levi awaits word from Hange on how Mike's team have done on their chase for the truck full of hostages.
"Any word Hange? The place looks quiet enough, we could move in." Levi says quietly into his communicator.
"Not yet Levi, we need Mike to check in before you go into the house. You don't know what you could be walking into, just stay put." Hange instructs, voice crackling a little due to the signal in the remote area.
The house is quiet, as Levi had said, but a little too quiet for Armin's liking. He understands that a bunch of the hostages have been transferred away along with a number of the foot soldiers that have been seen by Ness's team, so it's bound to be a little less rowdy. But it's completely silent here, and his gut is telling him that silence in this scenario isn't a good thing.
"Alright, Arlert, we're not infiltrating yet but I'm gonna get everyone to move in a little closer now, we need to be ready for the order, got that?" Levi asks, voice barely a hushed whisper as he begins to move.
"Lance Corporal, I'm not sure that's such a good idea, maybe we should wait for Commander Hange's order before we do anything!" Armin advises, hands trembling slightly on the rifle that still feels a little too heavy for him to carry comfortably.
"Don't be ridiculous Arlert, we're fine, there's nobody here, at least not this far out. I think they're all far enough inside that we'll go in unnoticed, they won't know what's hit 'em until it's too late." Levi insists, "Everybody, move 10 feet closer but do not, I repeat, do not enter the premises as of yet, we're still waiting for the go ahead." Levi calls over his communicator with the rest of the team.
"Affirmative!" Eld whispers back.
"Understood Lance Corporal." Petra answers also.
Just as they receive the answer from the others, and Armin has begrudgingly moved to stick close to Levi, a muffled crackling begins over the communicator, but the signal is too bad to be able to hear anything that Hange is trying to say.
"Stupid fucking thing!" Levi comments quietly, and Armin can't help but feel it's gotten even more eerie with silence the closer they've moved toward the house. His stomach is doing backflips and he just can't take it anymore.
"Please Lance Corporal, I think we should get back, I don't feel good about this. It's too quiet." Armin pleads, trying to convince the man to get back to where they were, and out of there completely if he can manage it.
"What the hell are you talking about Arlert?" Levi hisses as his communicator still crackles with Hange's voice barely audible in the background, he hits it a few times and the muffled noise just gets worse in sound quality.
"Lance Corporal Levi, with the utmost respect, you told me I should trust my instincts when it comes to this mission, and right now I feel like something's not right. Don't you hear how quiet it is? This is a halfway house, there's bound to be noise somewhere, anywhere! But there's not and we're standing right where they can see us!" Armin insists, shaking visibly now and rifle rattling off the edge of his helmet as he holds it high, "I think we need to go! Now!" he says, yanking on the cuff of Levi's sleeve and attempting to pull him back before he shoves the boy off him.
The cracking of the communicator is so loud now that even Levi has to cover it with his hand to muffle the sound.
"Listen to me Arlert, you're panicking over nothing, that's not your gut talking right now it's your nerves. And you need to get a hold of them before you put this whole operation in Jeopardy! I swear to God, if you cause any of my men get hurt with your bullshit, I'll have you court martialled, is that clear?!" Levi scowls as he spits the words out and suddenly the communicator is coming through loud and clear with Hange's voice, laced with urgency and fear.
"LEVI! THE TRUCK WAS FILLED WITH WOMEN AND CHILDREN BUT THE CAPTORS WERE THE HUSBANDS, THEY WERE ALL JUST HOSTAGES TRYING TO MAKE AN ESCAPE! THEY LET THEM GO TO TRICK US, IT'S A TRAP! ALL OF YOU GET OF THERE NOW!"
"Shit!" Levi curses savagely before shouting to the rest of his team, "EVERYONE FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"
The last thing Levi hears before his world goes dark is a high-pitched yelp behind him, and the sound of Hange's panic stricken voice coming through the communicator before it cuts out abruptly.
"Levi! Lev-"