Levi wasn't exactly on a good mood. It was a cloudy afternoon with a chilly wind, and they had been riding all day. Erwin had sent them to help a village, that was apparently under the tyranny of bandits of some sort. They had been in charge of the village, keeping the people as prisoners for at least two weeks now. One of the villagers had managed to escape and make his way to the city. Levi had to admit it was well done from the man. He had informed there were fifteen attackers, and since the village (Population: forty-seven) was full of farmers, they had been defeated by the men quite easily. It was lucky, that the one guy had managed to escape – no one really went to the outer villages to check what was going on unless they had a reason to.

So, Erwin had sent both Hanji's squad and the Special Operations Squad. Suppose this was a special operation, Levi thought. He glanced back at his squad. They were riding quietly, although Eren and Jean kept arguing about something – but nothing exceptional in that.

Levi knew that the sixteen-year-olds were actually all very capable warriors. Mikasa was the best soldier of her own generation, Eren was a titan shifter and Armin was a genius. Connie and Sasha were average on their fighting skills, but still they were a great pair and even though they messed around a little too much for Levi's taste, they were good soldiers. And then there was Jean, of course – who was excellent with 3DMG, and had the best sense of leadership in that pile of brats. They weren't the same as his old squad – even the thought of them caused a painful sting in his heart – but Levi had already accepted them all. This was his squad now, and he was proud of them.

"We should reach the village tomorrow at noon", said Moblit. The man was Hanji's right hand, and very conveniently he had visited this village before, and therefore knew where it was. They would be able to ride for a couple more hours, before they would need to take camp.

"I'll take the first watch", Levi informed the others. Moblit joined him.

"Are you sure, captain? You should be in your sharpest tomorrow", Eren said, sounding worried.

Levi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Didn't the brat realize he slept three hours in a normal night? Anyway, he was right. This night even the captain would require more sleep than normal.

"Tch", he replied. "I'll wake you and Gisela up in a few hours." He glanced at the woman who was a part of Hanji's Squad, and she nodded back at him. Gisela Berit was a trustworthy soldier, and most certainly would not fall asleep.

About half an hour later, the whole camp was asleep on their sleeping pads, under their thin blankets. The horses were unsaddled and soldered, standing asleep in the shadows. A nightbird was singing in the distance.

Levi pulled the trigger of his maneuver gear, aiming at the nearby tree. He flew through the air, perfectly coordinating his landing on the big branch. Up here he would see everything he needed to see. Moblit stayed on the ground, watching over the sleeping figures so that Levi could focus on the possible outer threats.

With a sigh, the captain lifted his hands on his mouth, breathing hot air to his freezing palms. It was a cold night. He would stay up on his feet on this branch for the next three hours, and he was fairly certain he'd be frozen to the bone by then.

Levi glanced over his shoulder, looking at his sleeping comrades. He couldn't help the flashback that crept into his mind. The sight of his old squad mates, sleeping next to Hanji's, Mike's and Cholris' squad. It had been an expedition, about five years ago.

Squad Leader Chloris had died about three years back, and Levi's own squad… well, it had been like a year.

Levi missed them. He couldn't help it, but he missed them so fucking much. It wasn't like his new squad was a bad one or something, in fact he actually liked his brats.

But still, the thought of Petra's bright eyes and cheer laughter caused his heart to clench. Levi always knew that Petra had been a little bit in love with him, but he had chosen not to return the feelings. At least he had chosen not to show anything. And Auruo… Levi had always found it irritating how the man had imitated the captain's style and behavior, but when it came down to it, the man had been one of the best soldiers he had ever known. And Auruo had always looked up to Levi, been a loyal and trustworthy comrade.

And Günther, that tall bastard, had been a young and a very skilled soldier. Levi would always remember how he would try and keep Auruo in discipline, with or without results. He had been an honorable man and a good soldier, but despite all the bloodshed and cruelty the young man had witnessed, he had managed to remain as a light-hearted human being, who knew how to live a normal life next to the soldier's hard path.

Then there was Eld… he had been the second-in-command of the Special Ops Squad, and had actually been only a few years younger than Levi himself (and still, thirty-four-year-old Levi knew that he actually looked like a fucking brat. He couldn't help it that his features weren't very mature… and it didn't really help that the captain was short as hell.). And after that expedition, Levi had been the one who had to take the news to Eld's lover. He had to close his eyes for a moment. The captain could still remember how the color had ran out of the girl's face, and how she had collapsed against the captain, tears streaming from her bright brown eyes, shoulders shaking in the rhythm of the sobs. Levi had hugged the hysterical girl, tried his best to calm her down.

It wasn't like it was any better with the other families… Hanji and a few others had offered to take the news, but Levi had wanted to do it himself. Petra's father had probably been probably the worst. Levi remembered how the man had tried to come and talk with him when they returned, how excited he had been… How could he have told the man that his daughter hadn't made it? How in the hell was he supposed to tell a man that his child was dead and gone, and they hadn't even brought a body back? Levi had gone to the Ral's house, told the news with a stone expression and watched yet another family collapse down in tears, eyes filled with disbelief that then turned into horror and pain. And Levi's task had been to tell these broken people how it had happened. How their child had died. And why the humanity's strongest hadn't been able to keep them alive.

Not a day went by without Levi thinking about his fallen comrades. Not just his former squad members, but Isabel, Farlan and so, so, so many others. When he looked down at Hanji, he realized how few of the original Survey Corps was still alive. When he thought back to all those years ago when he had joined the Scouting Legion, only four people from that time were still around. Erwin, Hanji, Mike – and Levi himself. They were all that was left. New people came and went, lived and died. But somehow, they were still alive.

It was so unfair, he thought. Of course it was unfair, this fucked up world did that to people. How many times had Levi been outside the walls on a mission? How many times had he returned without the people he cared about? How long would it take for all his friends to go six feet under?

Well aren't you a ray of sunshine, he thought bitterly. When did you become such a pessimist? Tomorrow he would lead these people to fight, and he would damn well make sure that they all returned alive to the Headquarters.

Levi jumped down from his branch, walking towards Eren. He kicked the boy awake (not too hard, just enough to wake him up). The titan shifter slowly blinked his green eyes open.

"Is it morning?" he murmured.

"No, you dumbass. It's your watchturn", Levi answered, keeping his voice down. Eren was up in a flash, blinking the dream away from his eyes. The captain eyed at the yawning brat, before making his way to his own sleeping bag. Moblit was waking up Gisela, so Levi concentrated on dropping his gear without too much noise. He crawled under the warm fabric and closed his eyes, trying his very best to fall asleep.

It was impossible to tell how far the day had gone, since the sky was covered by the dark clouds and the sun was nowhere to be seen. However, Levi would guess it was about midday – just like Moblit had predicted. Jean, who had gone to scout ahead, had returned and informed the village was about half a mile away. According to him, there were also some nasty-looking guys patrolling around the place.

Hanji rode her horse closer to Levi's. "There's something strange about this whole situation", she murmured. "What on earth would be their motive to keep a village on lockdown for two weeks?"

Levi shrugged. "Who the fuck knows what's in their little heads? Maybe they just want to rule." Hanji didn't answer, but blinked her hazel eyes.

"We need to start thinking about how we're going to do the attack", Levi said.

"We should send in a spy first", proposed Moblit. "On a stealth mission."

"That's not a bad idea", Hanji admitted. "We need to learn more about how things are in order there. Someone who won't get caught..." The woman glanced at Levi. "Thoughts?"

The captain shrugged with his regular, dark expression. "As you said, it's a good plan. As long as they don't get caught."

Hanji frowned. "Hmm, yes. Who should we send?"

Levi's Squad members were immediately offering themselves. The captain eyed at them all. Mikasa or Moblit could maybe do it. But should they? What if they got caught? Levi found himself getting concerned over his comrades.

"I'll go!" they all shouted. Levi sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Then the captain stood up.

"Shut up, everybody", he growled, glaring at the brats. "I'm going."

Hanji raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

Levi nodded. "I'm small and quick and also happen to know how to deal with getting caught."

His friend nodded slowly. She shrugged and glanced back at her squad, then back at Levi's.

"Levi's going."

The captain ignored his squad's horrified impressions. Were they actually worried?

"Be careful, captain", Armin cheeped with his girly voice. Levi rolled his eyes.

"Excuse you, but have you met me? I'm humanity's strongest fucking soldier. I'll be back by dusk", he growled as he removed his gear once again.

"Change into your spare clothes", Hanji ordered. Levi raised his eyebrows.

"Seriously?"

"Yes. If you get caught, no one will know who you are", she answered.

Levi furrowed his brows. "You're probably right", he admitted. Better safe than sorry. He walked to his horse and dug up the spare clothes, (everyone were made to pack at least one set of new clothes in case of an accident) and then walked behind the bushes.

The clothes he had packed were the same ones he had used all those years ago when he was just a kid in the Underground city. He barely never wore anything else but his uniform, but these would do. He changed his white dress shirt into a rougher fabric, white as well. Then he put on his old, brownish-red vest and his little loose, black trousers. He then sat on a rock and slipped off his long boots. Levi grabbed the black lace-up boots that reached a little bit over his ankle. He had always like these shoes – partly because there was a blade attached to the left one. If he'd rub it against the ground, the blade would stick out and he could kick someone's stomach open.

Levi then attached his belt and looked down at himself. It was a bit cold since he didn't have a cloak without the Survey Corps logo, but he would manage.

He frowned at the sky that had started to drop water on them before walking out of the bushes and packing his clothes and gear on his horse. He then turned to Hanji and crossed his arms.

"Happy now, Four-eyes?"

The woman grinned back at him. "You look astonishing, Levi. I'll see if I can find something for you to defend yourself with."

Hanji then brought him three knives she had managed to gather from the other soldiers, and Levi accepted them. He had two knives of his own, too. Levi hid the two he owned into his boots, the rest he attached onto his belt.

Still he felt his brats' nervous eyes on his back.

"If you're not back by dusk, we attack", Hanji said, squeezing Levi's shoulder. The two looked at each other in the eye. Levi could sense her worry, but also trust. Hanji had always trusted him, and with time the captain had also learned to trust her. And even though she was crazy and filthy and impossible, she was also brilliant. And yes, Levi trusted her with his life.

"I will be back", he replied before disappearing into the rain.

Eren stared at the ground. It was impossible to stay still, though. He shifted all the time, played with his fingers and kept glancing at the direction where Levi had disappeared over three hours ago. He knew that it was still hours until dusk, but he knew that every single on of his squadmates felt the same concern. Not necessarily just for their captain's safety, he was the humanity's strongest soldier after all, but also for the whole mission. If Levi got caught, they would know something was going on. Eren jumped on his feet and started pacing.

"Eren", sighed Mikasa. "Sit down."

"I can't", the boy answered through gritted teeth. "I have to move or I swear I'll explode."

"Are you worried for the captain?" Armin asked.

"Obviously. But also for this whole attack. I mean – aren't you?" he answered, glancing both his friends. How could they just sit around, while their captain was in grave danger in enemy terrain? Not to mention the battle ahead!

Hanji glanced at Eren and sighed. "Eren, calm down. Levi's fine."

"Yeah, probably", the boy answered, furrowed his brows and kept pacing. "But we can't know for sure."

"As he said", Mikasa stated, "he is humanity's strongest soldier."

"Also he's very experienced and knows what to look for", Armin added. Eren knew that they were right, but he couldn't help himself. Not one of his squadmates, not even Mikasa, could try and say they weren't fond of their short and grumpy leader.

"You think commander Erwin would have allowed this?" Armin asked suddenly. "Endangering humanity's strongest, I mean."

"Well, the commander isn't here", Eren growled out.

"Eren, chill", Jean cut into their conversation. "Commander Erwin would want us to trust Levi, obviously."

"Shut up", Eren replied angrily. "I hate sitting on my ass and not knowing what's going on."

Hanji grimaced at him. "You know Levi would be offended from your lack of trust."

"I do trust him!" Eren snapped. "But aren't you worried at all? He's your oldest friend."

The glassed woman turned her hazel eyes towards him. "He is my best friend and yes, I'm worried. But you should know him by now", her serious expression turned into a grin. "That little cleanfreak knows what a stealth mission means, and he's so short and skinny that he'll probably fit through any crack he wants-"

"Hello?"

Eren turned around and towards them walked pair of pale children – a girl and a boy.

"Hanji-san?" the little girl asked, her big blue eyes wide as plates. Hanji walked to the kids, and the others followed. Eren's fists clenched. Where was Levi?

"Levi-kun helped us escape and told us to go to Hanji-san", the little boy whispered.

"Okay, is Levi-kun alright?" Hanji asked with concern. To Eren's relief, the children both nodded.

"He wrote a letter for you", the little girl said and gave Hanji a damp piece of paper.

"Thank you. You've both been very brave", Hanji said and patted them on the head. "What are your names?"

"I'm Rikki", the girl said, "and this is Milo." Eren's heart ached for the children – they couldn't have been more than seven-year-olds.

"Someone give these two a blanket and some food", Hanji commanded, and the two were taken to cover by Gisela. Hanji turned her attention back to Levi's letter. The color ran from her face, and Eren was dying to know what it said.

"I'm going to read this out loud", she said with a grim tone as the soldiers gathered around her.

"We've been fooled", she started, and Eren already felt his heart drop. "Send for backup – get at least twenty more soldiers. Do not attack. There is an underground sewer system very near to the village. The kids can show you. I need you to meet me there after dusk."

Hanji clenched her fists. "Dammit", she cursed and gestured Jean, who was the fastest rider, to come closer.

"Jean. I need you to ride back to the city, go straight to Erwin. Give him this. Explain the situation. And take Connie with you – I won't have you going alone."

Jean and Connie saluted. "Roger."

The two were immediately ready to ride. A cloud of dark mood was now hanging over the squads as their two messengers galloped away.

The waiting hours were pain. Finally Hanji got up and nodded to Moblit and Eren to come along. The older of the two kids, Rikki, came along. She looked a bit better how that her hair wasn't wet anymore and she had some food in her stomach.

"Over here", she pointed out. The four were creeping in the ditch, until they reached a pipe on the dirt wall in their right. Hanji raised her eyebrows. The pipe wasn't very big, Eren noticed. A human would need to crouch to move there.

"Eren, you're smaller than us. Get in", Hanji patted the boy on the shoulder.

"Huh?" he jumped and glanced into the dark.

"It shouldn't go on for too long", Rikki said. "There are bars to block your way to the city."

"I have a candle for you, though", Hanji said, digging up a candle and a tinderbox. Eren nodded and took them, and a few moments later he was crouching inside the rusty, smelly, metallic pipe. The pipe twisted and turned, making the forest disappear from his sight. He turned his head on. There was a stream of water in the bottom of the pipe, and time to time it sometimes deepened and then disappeared into almost nothing. Eren winced when he hit his head to the ceiling – he had to stop his claustrophobic feelings of getting buried alive.

Then the boy gasped shortly. There were indeed bars ahead. They were rusty, but thick – therefore unbreakable by the tools they had there. Eren touched them and then, to his horror, a drop of water fell right on the candle flame, killing the light. He blinked rapidly his eyes before realizing that there was another source of light. On the ceiling of the pipe, there was a small, human-made hole with less thick bars. It showed some night sky above. Eren heard some indistinct speech from above. He then heard his own breath get heavier as he heard rustling sounds from the other end of the pipe. Someone was coming.

Eren squinted his eyes in the almost nonexistent light. Levi's pale face then appeared to the other side of the bars.

"Hey brat", he said with his low, but still smooth voice. He was keeping his voice down.

"Captain", Eren greeted with a smile. Levi looked to be okay.

"They sent you in here, then", he grimaced. "Just don't turn into a titan."

"I won't", Eren promised and blinked. He was eager to hear what the captain had to say.

"Listen up then", the captain said, shifting to a more comfortable position. The light source created ghostlike shadows on his face.

"I've gone undercover. They think I'm one of the villagers."

Eren breathed out. "What? Didn't they notice?"

"They don't count really well. And I've put out a story that I've been very sick until now, and that's why most of the bastards haven't seen me around before", Levi explained.

"They believed that?"

"They did. And as long as I keep a low profile, they'll never even suspect me."

Eren felt concerned for the captain never the less. "What if they find out?"

"Then I'll deal with it. The people of this village are supporting me in any way they can, and if it came down to it, they'd hide me", he said quietly, glancing up with concern.

"If you say so", Eren murmured.

"Now then. I don't know if these dickwads are some weird-ass fucked up bandit clan who decided to take their robbing to the next level, and frankly I don't even care", Levi hissed under his breath. "But there is a shit ton of them. Thirty-six, to be exact. I've asked around and the others confirmed it."

Eren nodded. He would remember that.

"The guy who "escaped" was probably just one of these fuckers. Their plan was to lure us here all along", Levi continued. "Wanted our gear, maybe even ransom."

Eren grimaced. "It sure was good thing we decided to send in a scout, then."

"There are fifty-two normal village people here", Levi continued. "Twenty-three men, eighteen women and eleven kids, not counting the ones I sent to you. They're farmers and hunters, so they don't really know the required hand-to-hand combat they'd need to take down these fuckers."

Eren nodded. "Alright. Do you know if they've killed anyone?"

Levi shook his head. "No, but they're holding the head of the village behind bars. The idea is that when an attack comes, me and a few others go and free him."

"What about the children and elders?"

Levi nodded. "Yeah, there are nineteen of those, who can't take a stand in a fight. Those are the ones I plan to get out of the village through here."

Eren raised his eyebrows in wonder. "Through this pipe?"

"Yeah. Look, there's a keyhole here", Levi murmured and pointed at the bars. When Eren looked closer, he realized that the bars between them were indeed attached to something that could be called a hatch.

"That means I'm going to stay here. I couldn't get out of this village safely, anyway", Levi said with a darker tone. Eren blinked a few times.

"Why not?"

"They were expecting us, weren't they? I can't risk getting caught now – if they realize that the Survey Corps know their plans, they could slaughter the entire village and be on their way", said Levi, watching Eren from under his brows.

The teen gulped. "I understand."

"These fuckers use knives and stolen muskets. A few of them also have stolen 3DMG, and I think they're the highest in command. If it comes down to it, I can always try and steal one, but it would be only in a case I was caught", Levi mumbled under his breath, glancing up to the hole on the pipe now and then.

"See that hole?" he murmured. "That's where all the rain water comes down here. If a guard looks down, they'll spot us immediately."

"A guard?" Eren repeated.

"Yeah. There are ten guards on the streets at all times, and five are always guarding the wire fence outside the village", Levi explained. "There are night shifts and day shifts. There's also a curfew after the sun sets, so it wasn't easy to come here."

Eren nodded. "Got it. One question, though. How did you get past the wire fence?"

"Tch. They're thick", Levi replied. "I slipped through the fence when they were distracted. Got a few scratches, but otherwise I'm fine."

Eren was relieved not hear that. "What about the key thing? You need one for the cell and one for this thing, right?"

"Eren, I know how to pickpocket."

The brunet teen breathed out and nodded a few times. "Right. Orphan, Underground City."

"Exactly."

"Okay, what about the exact attack?"

Levi changed his position again. "We'll assume that the backup arrives three days from now. You sent messengers immediately, right?"

Eren nodded. "Yes. Jean and Connie left as soon as we got your message."

"Good", the captain mumbled. "Anyway, we'll give you a sign to attack in three days."

"A sign?"

"We talked about it already. There's a market place in this village. There will be a cart full of hay, and it will be set on fire. That's your cue to come in", Levi explained, lowering his voice. "There's this highground rock within the woods. You can see the whole village from there", he added. Eren nodded, making a mental note on that.

"You should take out the guards at the wire fence first", the captain said. "They are the ones with firepower. You'll need to stealth gank them."

"Okay."

Levi grimaced at him. "I sure hope I can last for three days."

Eren's blood ran cold. "What do you mean?"

"Without lashing out on those fuckers and beating them up is what I mean", he said grimly. "Already two of them have been rude to me. They called me short."

Eren couldn't help but to grin in the dark. "You know you sort of are..."

"Shut up."

Levi glanced up once again, frowning. "I think you'd better go. Hanji is waiting, I assume."

"She is."

"We're done here. See you in three days, brat."

Eren nodded with determination. "Be careful, captain."

Levi didn't answer, and didn't look over his shoulder as he making his way to the opposite direction. The brunet teen turned in the cramped space and started crawling back to where he came from. It was pitch black, but there was only one way to go so Eren felt his way through. Wasn't that hard, really.

It took a long time, but finally he made it outside. Eren gasped in the cold, fresh night air.

"Eren! You sure took your time", Hanji complained. "Tell us everything."

"I'll tell you at the camp", he replied. "Where everyone can hear me."

"You met Levi, then?" Moblit confirmed.

"Sure did."

Hee, the more I wrote this the more I realized this was gonna be a two-shot. It would have been a bit too long otherwise. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Reviews are always appreciated ;)

anna1303666 - thank you, very kind of you:3

Supergurkan - aw, glad you think so:3 thanks for the follow!