Isabel is released from the infirmary three days after their arrival and Dr. Jaeger made sure that their wounds and cuts were taken care of. The Commander tells them that the whole community is actually just a closed off section of a village and he himself escorts them to where their new home would be.
It's a two-story house with two bedrooms and a small backyard.
"It's a bit dusty. You can ask Petra next door for cleaning supplies or if you need help with the cleaning. She'd be more than willing to help you, I'm sure," The Commander says before dipping his head in goodbye and slipping out the door.
"I'll go ask Petra for cleaning supplies!" Isabel chirps and Levi instructs Farlan to accompany her and to return as soon as possible. The dust and dirt irks him and the sooner they get the place spotless, the better. He rummages through their meager belongings for something to cover his nose.
They return with brooms and buckets and a particular girl with hair the color of sunset and eyes the color of honey. She constantly visited them in the infirmary and chatted with Isabel. He thanks her for that; it would do well for Isabel to have another girl to talk to.
"Petra offered to help," Farlan says and rolls his sleeves.
With an extra pair of hands, they got the house cleaned in no time. Petra runs back to her home yelling I'll be back with food! over her shoulder and, surely enough, she's back in an instant with a loaf of bread and a few apples.
Petra places an apple in his hands before he can even protest. He gives it back but she insists and in the end, it was Farlan who ate the apple. She tells them that there is hot water only in the mornings and that food rations are handed out on Mondays. She says that the Commander instructed her to give them a tour of the district tomorrow.
"Why?" the question came out a little too harsh than he'd intended and she gives him a disappointed look.
"For you guys to meet everyone, of course. The boys are excited to see the new girl in town." She smiles at Isabel and the younger girl blushes.
"How many are you here, anyway?" Farlan asks and takes a bite of another apple.
"A hundred, more or less, most of them kids," she says.
There's a knock on the door and Levi groans. He gave the rooms to Farlan and Isabel saying that he'd sleep just as well on the couch.
He considers slipping on his old and grimy shirt but thought better of it. He checks his watch. It's 6 AM. Who the hell?
He opens the door and standing in front of him is Petra, holding a bundle of clothes in her arms. He can feel her eyes roving all over his well-toned body.
"Had your eyeful?" He says the moment her bug eyes meets his.
She blushes a pretty shade of pink and looks down, "I, ah, here." She shoves the bundle to his face.
"I hope they fit. See you later," she mumbles and dashes off in the early morning light.
He doesn't try to go back to sleep and sorts out the clothes instead. He hands the ones for Farlan the moment the other boy walks out into the hallway and tells him to get ready. Petra might show up any minute now. He changes into the new clothes she gave, it's a tight fit but it's clean and he can manage.
She arrives with breakfast and he tries to refuse his share but she insists and Isabel makes a jape about him wanting to be spoon fed by Petra - she blushes ever so slightly and it doesn't go unnoticed by his eyes – but they laugh about it, except for him of course. He thinks that he's forgotten how to laugh. Hell, he can't even remember that last time he laughed.
Petra took them to meet Dr. Jaeger's family first. He has a son named Eren and an adopted daughter named Mikasa. They're younger than Isabel and so much younger than him and it irritates him that he is smaller than both of them.
She introduces them to Mike, the Commander's right hand man and who is in-charge of training the kids how to handle guns and how to fight.
"You're turning kids into soldiers?" he's angry; both Isabel and Farlan can tell but they don't say anything to calm him down.
"We don't like it but we have to," Mike answers, his voice woeful and filled with regret.
"Only a handful of us know how to fight and how to survive. And if we don't train them, the risk of getting overwhelmed and overrun by those things is higher. And what if we die while out scouting? Who will replace us and protect the little ones and the elderly - if not them? I hope you understand why we have to do this." Petra explains. She looks at him, her eyes sincere, and Levi understands.
"What's that?" Isabel stops and points at a rectangular piece of metal with sheets made out of crystals mounted on top of a house.
"Oh, those are solar panels. They supply electricity for the whole district. There are only five houses installed with those things and that's the only house with electricity 24/7. The other four provides for the whole district and only for 12 hours each day," Petra answers and motions for them to get going.
"What do you think is so important about that house?" Farlan asks him and Petra overhears. She says that it's their pitiful attempt at a research facility. But she smiles and tells them that despite the lack of equipment and a better facility, their research team delivers.
He vaguely wonders why she didn't take them to meet the research team.
They met most of the others when they helped the Commander hand out the food rations during lunch.
"We usually do this in the mornings but I figured that you guys would like to get a good rest," he hears the Commander tell Farlan. He tries to count the number of children and the elderly and sure enough, they number more than those who are physically capable of combat.
He's still packing the extra rations when Armin walks up to him. "Excuse me, Chief, but the Commander wants to talk to you," the boy tells him before running off and talking with the Jaeger kids.
He goes over to where the Commander and an old man is standing under the shade of a tree and waits until the Commander finishes talking to her before approaching him.
"What do you want?"
"I would like you guys to meet someone," the Commander says, absentmindedly scratching his arm.
I've met enough people in one day to last for a lifetime but instead he asks him who and when.
The Commander gives a short laugh, "Ah, I can't quite describe them. But you'llmeet them soon enough. I'll come by your place after dinner, yes?"
Levi nods and returns to finish packing the extra rations only to find that Petra had finished it for him. He gives her a thank you and she gives him a smile so bright he swears that he's going to be blind.
Later, Petra invites them to dinner at her place. He refuses, reasoning out that they have their own rations and could cook for themselves. He watches as her face fell, nods, and excuses herself, saying that she has to go and talk to Gunther about something.
"Petra was just trying to be nice, Chief," Farlan tells him later in the quiet of their new house.
"And her cooking tastes better than yours!" Isabel huffs and flops down on the couch.
"Shut up, you whiny little shit."
The Commander takes them to the Research Facility.
The whole place is filled with harsh bright light and for a second Levi is certain that he is going blind. The place is almost devoid of furniture except for a couch, a table, and a coffee maker. The place smells like ground coffee and tea leaves.
"My eyes hurt," he hears Isabel complain to Farlan and he shushes them.
"Dr. Zoe?" the Commander calls out and they came out of the bathroom, a toothbrush stuck in their mouth. They have thick rimmed glasses pushed on top of their head and there are dark circles under their eyes.
"Heya, Commander! Is there a prob – Who are you?" they say turning to Levi and the others.
The Commander introduces them to Dr. Zoe.
"Dr. Zoe here is the head of the research team."
"Please, call me Hanji." Hanji shook their hands and proceeded to lead them down the hallway. They came to a room less bare than the last. There's a fridge and various lab equipment and glassware; there are two computers on a single workstation and a person feeding an Arowana in an aquarium.
"Moblit, we have guests!"
Moblit greets them and excuses himself to make tea. The Commander sits on one of the two chairs in the room and Isabel wanders over to the aquarium. There's a beeping sound and Hanji bends over to type away on the computer and Farlan cranes his neck to take a peek at what's on the screen. He feels a bit uneasy and something in his gut tells him that something awful is going to happen.
The sound of Hanji's fingers on the keyboard stop abruptly and confusion flashes over Farlan's face.
The Commander sits up, "What is it?"
Hanji removes the toothbrush from their mouth and mutters to themselves "I have solved it. I can't believe it. I did it."
The Commander closes his eyes and sighs in relief – as if he'd been holding his breath for years.
They watch as Hanji straightens, walks over to where Moblit placed the tray, and gulps down a cup of hot tea. Hanji returns to where they are, sits down on a chair and screams at the top of their lungs, "Moblit! I did it!"
Moblit scampers to Hanji and a startled Isabel almost knocked down the aquarium. Moblit's eyes scan over whatever it is flashed on the computer screen and a sound escapes his lip that's a mix between a sob and a laugh. Hanji starts wailing in euphoria and Farlan wonders whether or not they're bonkers.
"What the hell's going on?" Levi seethes, his dread being replaced with irritation. He hates feeling ignorant and, right now, he feels like the stupidest shit on earth.
"Ah, Chief, I'm sorry. But I'm afraid that Dr. Zoe is not in the right mindset to discuss to us about their new discovery," The Commander says and gives a knowing look at a slightly calmed down Hanji.
"Ah, yes, we'll tell you guys in the right time. I apologize." Moblit gives them an apologetic smile.
"If you'll excuse us, Dr. Zoe. Moblit."
And with that, the Commander escorts them out of the Research Facility and back into their home.
"They're crazy. Shit fucking crazy." Levi says as he sits down on the couch.
"Maybe that's why Petra didn't take us to meet them earlier." Isabel muses before saying goodnight and bounding up the stairs.