Next chapter! So the same thing that applied to last chapter also goes for this one. Time passes between each break, and the jumping around is meant to be a little confusing. But if something is really unclear put it in the reviews and I'll try to clear things up. I meant for there to be some slight confusion but not like a maze or riddle lol. Enjoy!


"How did they find us?!" Armin chances a peek through the curtains. "Oh no." He leans back on the wall and shuts his eyes, panic and uncertainty flooding his system.

"Jaeger you take her. They might not try anything with you." Jean says to Eren, who nods knowingly. He should be able to protect her.

"I'm coming too." Krista speaks up.

"Alright fine. Just go!" Armin can't help but drop his voice to a strained whisper.

"We'll try our best to hold them off. Go!"

"Come on, wake up Munchkin, it's time to go." Krista makes sure that Ina's hood is up.

"What's wrong?" Ina asks sleepily. She can hear the worry in Krista's voice.

"We have to go, Ina." She hears Eren. He also sounds worried. Ina tries to wake herself up more, but she's just so tired.

Krista helps place the exhausted child on Eren's back.

"Hold on, Munchkin."


"We found her, by the way."

At this Levi's head snaps up. He's hoping they don't mean what he thinks they mean.

"The little brat that started all of this."

Levi just glares at the guard. He's lying.

"Pretty little thing, wouldn't you agree, captain?"

He's baiting you. Don't fall for it.

"Pretty, but annoying. Or so I've heard from some friends of mine. Far too whiny. Bet I can find a better use for that mouth of hers."

"You stay away from her." Levi growls. Just the thought of what could happen should any of these men get their hands on her makes Levi tremble with a strange mixture of anger and fear.

"She has nothing to do with this. You have me, she's nothing to you. Leave her out of it." He can't help but resort to this. He can't let them harm her.

"Oh, but Captain, we want her here. She owes the military police some answers."

"No!" Levi almost can't help himself as he argues pointlessly. It's like trying to negotiate with a brick wall. Deep down he knows it will get him nowhere. But he has to try.

"Please just keep me, leave her alone." He begs. "Do what you want with me, I'll cooperate I swear."

"That so? Why so adamant, Captain? She your bitch?" The guard smiles. "Word on the street was that you'd picked up a street mouse a little while back. Hey, no judgments man, but a lot of us were still surprised by your choice. We thought you'd go for a cute little boy." He snickers childishly.

Levi is disgusted by this guards implications. They're lower than pigs, these bastards.

"No." Levi breathes. "She's my daughter. Please… She's my baby."

Levi should know better than to try and appeal to their humanity. What do they care?

"Please don't hurt her. I'll do anything." He never thought he'd be caught begging. Groveling at the feet of a low life MP. He never thought he'd ever be this desperate. Willing to give up his freedom, his dignity, everything, so his daughter could be kept out of harm's way.

"Please…."


"Sissy? Wake up, sissy." Ina whimpers as she shakes Krista's still form. "Sissy?"

"Ina, we have to go." Eren tries to pull Ina away.

"What's wrong with her? Why did the horse fall?"

She heard the sharp cracking noises but wasn't sure what they were. When the horse fell down, Krista and Eren hugged her tight from the front and back. Ina thinks that's why she didn't feel hurt when they hit the ground. She doesn't understand why Krista didn't get up afterward though.

"Big brother what's happening?" Ina whines.

"Ina she's been shot, we have to go!" Eren yells and grabs her. "She'll be fine, it's a leg wound. She must have hit her head in the fall."

"We- we cant leave her, brother!"

"Ina, it's you who they want. Let's go!"

Eren takes her hand and they keep running.

There's yelling in the background. The barking of dogs. They really are coming for her. Sissy has already been hurt. What about everyone else? Are they okay? Is all of this happening because of her? Are people getting hurt because of her?

"Stop now or we will shoot!"

Ina turns and sees nothing. Who are these people? What do they want? Why are they hurting the people she loves if they just want her?

"Fire!"

"Wait!" Eren pulls Ina toward him and shields her from the oncoming gunfire. He yells in pain and jerks forward, but keeps a tight hold on Ina.

"Big brother?" Her words fall on deaf ears as eren continues to plead with the nearby soldiers.

"Wait! Please! We surrender." Eren yells. Praying to everything that Ina won't be hurt.

"We surrender!"

"Eren you're hurt." Ina whimpers. "Big brother!"

He doesn't answer her. Can't. His mind is focused on one thing. Protect.

He can't risk Ina getting shot. They clearly don't care. Eren's only choices were to run the risk of Ina getting shot, or handing her over. They can't outrun these bullets. Neither were pleasant alternatives.

Please forgive me, Captain.

Eren thinks as he hears the footsteps of several MPs approaching him and Ina.

"I'm sorry, Ina. I'm so sorry." Eren whispers, still cradling her in his arms. "I'm sorry." She can hear the sorrow in his words. "We tried…"

He pulls away from her for just a moment and starts to look her over. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

The sadness in his eyes breaks Ina's heart.

"I'm fine but I- you're bleeding!" Ina exclaims.

"Don't worry about that. It'll heal. What about you?"

"I'm okay, big brother." Eren doesn't understand how she could sound so calm. "It's okay. I don't want you to get hurt anymore." She looks into his devastated green eyes.

Ina pulls herself from Eren's arms and runs toward the MPs coming up from behind her and Eren. "Ina, no!" She stands defensively in front of Eren, unwilling to let them hurt her family.

"Leave him alone!" Ina wishes her voice would sound like less of a squeal and more like Mika right now. They get to her before eren can.

Her moment of bravery is over right as it starts. An MP grabs her by the shoulder and shoves her to the ground. He places his foot right between her shoulder blades and let's his weight rest on her. Ina gasps as she feels her spine move in a way that it shouldn't.

"Look at me! Look at big brother!" Eren says to her from where she struggles underneath the MP. "Don't fight them, Ina. Don't struggle." He maintains eye contact her even as he too is forced flat on the ground. A heavy foot on his back and a rifle pointed at his head.

"Big brother…" Ina reaches out to him.

"Don't you hurt her, you bastards!" Eren growls. "She's not resisting! Don't hurt her!"

"Leave my brother alone." Ina whimpers. The only response she gets is the soldier's foot pressing down more and more onto her back. Ina cries out. She can't breathe.

"Stop it!" Eren yells right before he is hit over the head with the butt of a rifle. His eyes flutter closed.

"No! Big brother! Eren!" Ina tries to free herself to run to him and nearly succeeds, but more soldiers are surrounding her. So many rough hands on her body.

"Why'd you hurt them?! Why?! You monsters!" Ina yells. She cries out in pain when her arms are forced behind her and handcuffed. It's been so long since anyone treated her this way. Ina almost forgot how familiar this was.

"Papa…" She mumbles before they hit her over the head. Her world goes white in an explosion of pain before


"What are you doing here? Where's Ina? Jaeger look at me!" Levi fights against the chains that hold his arms above his head.

"Two minutes. Then you'll stop your bitching, freak." The guard who brought Eren to Levi's cell leaves the two scouts alone.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm so sorry! They were shooting at us I had to or she'd have been killed. I tried! I'm so sorry!" Eren falls to his knees in front of Levi's cell. He's a complete crying mess.

"What happened? Jaeger, were you shot? Was anybody else hurt? Where's Ina?!" Levi doesn't think he's ever felt more afraid than in this moment. He doesn't know where his baby is or what has happened to her. She could be hurt. She could be dead.

Levi is one of very few people in the world who knows what it feels like for your heart to physically stop beating, even if only for a second. At the thought of losing Ina, that familiar collapsing feeling hits him right in the center of his chest.

"Jaeger where is Ina? Is she hurt?!" Levi asks again. It takes every fiber in his being to hide how utterly terrified he is right now.

"She wasn't shot. That's why I surrendered sir. I didn't want them to shoot her. I didn't… I didn't know what to do." Eren sobs. "They…. They took her. I'm sorry captain, I tried to protect her. I wasn't strong enough."

Levi's stomach is churning. He never wanted anyone else to go through this. These young soldiers are his responsibility. They should never think they have to put their lives on the line. Not for him. The fact that they were willing to do this… It means more to Levi than he can even understand.

"Where are the others? Was anyone else hurt? Jaeger, eyes on me." Trying to keep the kid's attention is proving difficult.

Eren doesn't even seem to hear him, and that worries Levi even more. "I'm so sorry." He repeats time and time again. "We tried, Captain. I swear we did everything we could."

"Jaeger, shut up for a minute!" Levi yells over Eren's frantic apologies.

"I'm so sorry." Eren's green eyes are glazed over and wide with panic. The way he mumbles his apologies shows Levi that Eren really isn't all here right now. He doesn't even seem to notice the blood still dripping down his sleeve. The kid is becoming more pale by the second. He isn't healing. What the hell is going on?

"It's alright, Eren. You did your best. Now answer my question, was anyone else hurt?!"

"I'm so sorry."

"Eren. Dammit, brat look at me!"

"I don't know." Eren finally answers the question. Although it's not the response Levi was looking for. "They separated us. I'm so sorry!"

"Enough with the apologies, brat."

"She was so brave, captain. You should have seen her." Eren can't help but cry. He couldn't protect her. Whatever happens to her is his fault.

"You would have been so proud of her. She was so brave."

Levi will not cry in front of a subordinate. He will not.

"Eren… You're hurt. You need to go to the infirmary. Where are the others? Are they with you?"

"I don't… Don't…" Eren sighs heavily and rests his head on the bars of Levi's cell, his eyes closed. He hasn't yet passed out, but he's definitely on his way there.

"Brat? Hey, Eren!" Levi yells. "Guard!"

"I'm fine." Eren's voice is a whisper. "I'm fine. We're fine. But Ina… I don't know where she-"

"Don't worry about that. You've done all you can. It's alright, Eren. Just find the others. Do me a favor and make sure everyone is okay."

The MP strolls in, whistling a merry tune.

"He needs medical attention!" Levi yells.

"Move your ass, freak." The guard nudges Eren with his boot. The younger scout finally opens his eyes again and glances at Levi, whose head is hung low with despair and worry.

"I'm sorry, Captain."


Don't look. Don't look. Keep your eyes closed.

Ina has been curled up in the corner of her cell for as long as she's been here. She's been alone for a while and her eyes have remained shut since she regained consciousness. Big brother and sister are gone. The monsters must have taken them away. She's so worried about them. They were hurt. If Ina weren't so afraid and confused she'd try to look for them. But right now, she can't move. Can barely breathe. It's only a matter of time before one of the monsters comes in here to hurt her. She remembers the drill. They waste no time. They take what they want, then they dump her somewhere on the street.

Don't think about that. Think about Papa. The sun going to sleep. The stars. The pretty sunflowers. The ocean.

The door opens.

"Wakey wakey."

The familiar voice makes her entire body ache.

Papa. Stars. Sunflowers. Ocean.

"Aw, is someone a little shy?"

Papa. Stars. Sunflowers.

"Come on now."

Papa… Stars.

The door locks. Footsteps. Coming closer. A low chuckle.

Papa.

Her body feels as though it catches fire when he touches her. No. No. NO!

Papa!

Ina doesn't hear herself crying for her Papa. She doesn't realize that she is fighting off the ever impatient and irritated MP.

"Papa! Papa!"

"Quiet down you little bitch!" He slaps her across the face.

Once he starts to hit her he doesn't stop. Ina can do nothing but scream and cry for her papa.

"Help Me! Papa!"


"Make it stop." Krista has her palms pressed against her ears, but she can still hear the shrill cries of a small child.

"Please… Make it stop."

Why is this more painful than the concussion? More painful than the wound in her leg?

"Ina..." She sobs quietly.

There's a scuffle outside the doors of the infirmary. Krista tries to focus on that to to block out the pained screams of her little munchkin.

"Get off me!" That's Eren's voice. He sounds furious. "Let me go!"

She hears Eren yell in pain a second later.

"Do you want us to knock you out again?!" A random voice threatens.

"Let me go! Get away from her! You bastards! Fucking cowards!" The struggle doesn't seem to let up.

"How dare you touch her! Get your filthy hands off of her!"

A very distinct thwack is heard, followed by silence. The doors to the infirmary swing open. Two MPs enter, an unconscious Eren between them.


"Where is she?!" Levi asks. Demands. "Where's my daughter?!"

"Daughter? We've triple checked, captain. Levi Ackerman has no children."

"Please! I just need to know that she's alright."

"Oh she's more than alright. She's where she belongs. I have to tell you, it's great to have her back."

"What… What did you do to her?!" This MP in particular has been rather vocal about how he planned his encounters with Ina would go. Levi feels sick just thinking about it.

"Nothing, Captain." The guard smirks. "Nothing she hasn't already experienced before."

"Don't hurt her!" Levi fights his restraints until his wrists cry out in pain. "If any of you touch her I swear-"

"You'll what?" The guard rolls his eyes. "Watch yourself, Captain."

"Don't hurt my baby!" Levi isn't even sure what part of him the shout came from. There's no shame. No pride. Just pure fear. Fear that someone will put their hands on her. They'll break her, after Levi and the others spent all this time putting her back together. Cementing the pieces of her fractured spirit with their unconditional love and support.

"Please… She's just a little girl. Please"

"Captain Levi, humanity's strongest, groveling like the pathetic little slug he is." The guard laughs bitterly. "Look at you now."


"Stand at attention!"

The young and exhausted members of the 104th class jump to their feet at once. Even Krista, who rests all her weight on her uninjured leg. And Eren, who is still not healing like he normally would. Commander Nile Dok enters.

"I've arranged for your immediate release. None of this should have happened."

"Permission to speak, Commander." Armin is the first of them to grow bold enough to ask.

"Granted, cadet."

"What's going to happen to her?" Dok makes no comment about the tremor in Armin's voice.

"To whom, may I ask?"

"You know damn well who!" Eren bites. "The one person who doesn't belong here."

"If I may." Connie starts before Eren can continue. "Commander, she hasn't done anything wrong."

"We were taking care of her, sir." Sasha speaks up. "She's just a baby."

"Just let her see her father. He doesn't know if she's okay. They need to see each other." Eren tries his best to keep it together. All of their patience and self control hangs on by the weakest of threads.

Commander Dok says nothing. He just watches the worry and pain in their eyes.

"I'll return once your release has been processed."

"With all due respect, sir. We're not going anywhere if she's not." Jean sits and his comrades quickly follow suit- with Mikasa aiding Krista.

"She's one of us, Commander. We're not leaving here without her." Mikasa barely looks in his direction.

Dok chuckles. "Only the most stubborn join the scouts."

"This isn't fucking funny!" Eren explodes and jumps back to his feet. Mikasa tries to grab him but he pulls away.

"Do you even know what your men did? They shot at a child! They beat her within hours of coming to this place! How fucking dare you stand there and laugh!"

"I assure you I meant no offense."

"Is that so?!" Armin can't sit quietly any longer.

"Well let me just say, Commander we are greatly offended by the conduct of your subordinates and your sheer lack of law and order. Ina could have died today, and not a single person here would have been held responsible."

"It'd be as though she never existed." Eren and Armin seem to be playing off of each other. Picking up where the other leaves off.

"As the Commander of the Military Police I take full responsibility for the actions committed against the child-"

"Her name is Ina. Use her fucking name!" Nobody, not even Mikasa or Armin has ever heard Eren this angry. And he's always angry about something. This is a new level of fury for him.

"You owe her that much dammit! Her name is Ina! Call her by her Goddamn name!" This time when Mikasa grabs Eren's arm he backs down.

"I take full responsibility for what happened to Ina. I may not have personally witnessed the crimes, but my inaction caused her great suffering; not to mention the other children my men have no doubt also abused. A full scale investigation will be launched. And a new set of standards will be written into our training regimen. I will personally see to it that every soldier who is even suspected of having mistreated a child is stripped of their title. Before you say anything, young man. I know this is not enough."

"Your damn right it isn't." Eren agrees.

"I'll get you an update on Ina."

Dok knows that anything else he says will only earn him another tongue lashing from that hot headed teenager. He deserves it. But his pride can only take so much at one time.


And that's another one down. Again, idk how you guys are going to feel about this. I'm not good with climaxes and this is probably the most intense piece I've ever written. I hope you guys like it. lol can y'all tell how insecure I am? Sorry about the tardy update. I don't really have much of an excuse. Anywho, here you are. Next update should come shortly.