UPDATE:
I have decided to postpone the other story I mentioned,

In order to work on my other stories:

Fall, The Beauty in All of Us, and Starlight.

As I may have bitten off more than I can chew! XD

When Fall and this story are completed, I will then work on it! :D

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Chapter Two:

The Burdens of Our Past

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Rico slid down the wall, placing her forehead on her knee. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't bring herself to. There were many ways that she would be okay with dying; execution, disease, old age… But the one way that she didn't want to go? She didn't want to be eaten by titans. Any other way… And she would be happy. She looked up to Erwin, watching him pace. "You may have to leave me." She said with confidence. She raised her shirt to show him the wound in her gut. It was starting to become infected. "I'll slow you down. With this and my ankle… Dragging me along isn't worth the risk to your life."

"Shut up." Erwin said, kneeling in front of her. After all she had went through, was she really going to give up now? "I'm not leaving you." He examined the wound in her gut, it was a bad wound. "Rico… If this doesn't get treated…"

"If I don't die from it? I won't be able to have kids." She nodded, understanding. She had thought of that already. "Never planned to though." Still, even if she didn't plan to… Plans change. Not being able to was a different sort of limitation. "The infection will kill me first, though. Either this one, or the one that will inevitably form in my ankle." Would she be able to continue to lead the garrison after this? If her leg was permanently damaged… It was unlikely. "Your head though." She reached for the back of his skull, and he winced when her fingers made contact, "This worries me."

He nodded, sitting beside her. "We need a plan." He spoke calmly and softly, trying to keep his thoughts together. "They could not have gotten out here across the surface. They would have died. Furthermore, if they traveled across the surface… The blood on your face would have dried before we got here." He remembered the blood dripping down her face from when he had first woken up, it was still fresh then. "Even on horseback, there's no way that they could have done it."

"They've also been communicating with the MPs." Rico said aloud, brainstorming. "When Kort came to us after their meeting, saying it had been a bust, he was too clean. He would have had some sort of dirt on him or an injury, or at least not looked so calm." She had seen the mess of the scouts every time that they returned. There was no way one of them came back without a speck of dirt, not even Levi. "So that leaves us with… Underground tunnels… Or a giant flying horse."

"We're currently underground, so tunnels are not impossible, or even improbable… If the garrison built tunnels underground in the past, do you think you could figure out where they are?" He asked, he was sure that she had memorised countless floorplans from the last decade or two, which would have been required for her position. Anything beyond that into the past… Especially about Wall Maria… Would have been mostly irrelevant.

"Well…" She sighed, drawing in the dirt on the floor. "Well… If I had to stake my life on it… Which I do given the situation…" She closed her eyes, trying to think, but she was so dizzy! "They would lead from one bait town to the next. I think it's safe to say that we are in one of Wall Maria's bait towns… Given that these people would want to avoid titans as much as possible… I would say the northernmost. Or… Quinta." She said, circling the western and northern bait towns of Wall Maria. "Quinta survived six months after Wall Maria was abandoned, before the people began to starve and had to flee the town. Of course, that's just the official reports." Hardly anyone made it out, so the reports were sketchy at best. She tapped her fingers on her leg, desperately racking her brain, "Oh I don't know!"

Erwin wrapped an arm around her, crossing out Quinta. "Then we pray the tunnel leads to Utopia." He circled the northernmost city of wall Rose. "But what part of the wall would the tunnel be built in? If we could figure out where we are, how will we find the tunnel?" These tunnels… They could be used for taking back wall Maria! How could they have not known about these?

"Below the gate?" She questioned, feeling unsure. "I would say that it has to be a part of the district that connects to both the main wall, and the wall of the district. So somewhere in line with the gate." She looked at Erwin's face, he seemed so.. Concentrated. "If we find the tunnel, it's likely to be heavily guarded… Normally I would suggest waiting it out but… We don't have a choice."

"You grew up in Sina, right? Ehrmich, if I recall correctly." She nodded, "So you know your way around weapons." Ehrmich was known for the amount of weapons that the citizenry secretly had. It was believed to be the seat of many attempts to rebel against the king. It also produced a large number of Military Police members, despite it already being in wall Sina. He couldn't help but wonder as to what lead her to join the Garrison Regiment. She should have been perfectly happy back at home. She could have probably married into a noble family, as Brzenska family was pretty well known. "Why are you here, Rico?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, curiously, "Because I was taken against my will?"

"No, Rico. Why did you join the military?" Everyone he knew used their service as an escape. It was a way to get away from something. "Everyone has a reason."

"... I don't tell people that reason." She shook her head, "Come to think of it… I've never told a single person. I think it's a secret that I'll take to my grave." She sighed, forcing herself to stand up, "Now we just need to figure out how to get our hands on their guns. That's why you asked if I was from Ehrmich, right?" He nodded, getting up as well. "I can shoot. Everyone from there can. It's almost… A coming of age ceremony when you get your first gun there." Her first gun had been a small pistol, then a shotgun. "You ever fire?"

He nodded, "In training. That was about it. My dad didn't like guns, even though we had one in the house."

"Why did you join the military, Erwin?" She asked as they started limping along, Erwin supporting her again. She guided their way through the maze as they spoke, mostly following her instincts, combined with that she knew if Wall Rose. They had the element of surprise on their side, there was no way that Kort would suspect that they had made it out of that room alive. Thank you, Erwin. For not giving up on me.

"To find out the truth. I want to know the truth behind this world. It's my reason for living. My father was on to some things and he was killed for it." That required getting to Shiganshina, with Eren's key. Then he would know what his father had died for. He couldn't wait for that day, the day that everything would make sense… The day that his father would had died with a purpose. If his father hadn't died for the reasons he did… There was no telling what Erwin might have done with his life. Perhaps he wouldn't even had joined the military at all. In which case, the scout regiment would be nothing what it was today, not to brag, but those were all of his achievements. His plans. His strategies. They wouldn't have those had his father not died. So those who had killed him to prevent humanity from knowing about the outside world had made a big mistake, perhaps their biggest yet.

Rico nodded with a smile, looking into his eyes. They were so fierce, so pained, but behind all of that was kindness. It was the deepest regret that humans could not live a life of peace. "And after that?"

He shrugged, which hurt Rico, "Oh sorry sorry…" He looked her over to make sure she was okay before continuing, "I don't know, honestly. That's been the goal of my life for so long… So I'd have to find a new goal." Perhaps he'd get married and start a family. Yeah, that would be nice. They would finally have the secret to defeating the titans after all, so his children would already be born into a much better world than he was. "Do you have any long term goals?" She didn't seem like the type, she was so… Alive. They type of person that lived in the moment, no matter how scary and harsh it was.

"One." She nodded with a fond smile, her eyes shining, "I just want to be happy!" She laughed, feeling free just saying that. "That's it. That's my goal for life. I want to die knowing it was a good run. No regrets." She had lots of regrets. But she had to make up for those somehow. To remind herself that her mistakes only made her more human.

"It's a good goal." He smiled, leaning on a wall to take a break. "Do you have a plan as to how we're going to get one of their guns?" He asked, they would need to get one before they could get another.

She nodded, "Kill them." Simple. She wasn't sure how. "I could always distract them, and you get up from behind and snap their necks." Her eyes had so quickly changed from their previous glee to hardened steel. She couldn't move to kill someone, not with her leg, she couldn't even walk on her own, let alone handle a struggling man. "Then we see if they had a map of this maze on their person."

He nodded. All was fair in love and war. The Freedom Hunters had made this war. It had been war for a long time, ever since Christian Hoover roamed the streets.

They came across a young man, kneeling down on the ground, petting an adorable little tabby cat. He was wearing the same black uniform as Kort, with the same tattoo on his left arm. "There kitty kitty!" He laughed, it was a beautiful sound. He had such a rich shade of brown hair accompanied with blue eyes. His cheeks had a tinge of rose to them as he picked up the cat, holding it in the air, "Well aren't you the cutest! Look at those little bean toes!" He played with the cat's paws, and it meowed in response.

Rico almost felt bad that this was the man that they came across. He looked so sweet and innocent! Though they had made up their minds. Erwin gently set her down, sneaking off so that he could corner the man from somewhere else. Rico waited for a moment before shuffling out from behind the corner, her heart torn in two. Could she really kill another human being? "E-excuse me…" She said shyly, playing a damsel in distress.

The man turned around, blue eyes meeting hers. "Ah!" He yelped, getting up, and the cat ran away. "Are you alright Miss?" He asked, running over to her, when he saw the Garrison symbol on her jacket, "You're... One of the people they captured. How did you get out?" He looked at her ankle, eyes narrowing, there was no way that she made it out by herself like that, not this far from the dungeon. "Call your friend off, I'm not going to turn you in." He said, eyes losing the glimmer that they had a moment ago. "Sit down, let me treat those wounds." He guided her down, reaching into a bag on his hip and pulling out some bandages. Rico couldn't help but wonder if Erwin would continue. "I know the awful things they did to you two, I'm so sorry."

"What do you mean?" She asked. Wasn't he one of them? He was wearing the exact same things that Kort was? Was this just a ploy until the rounds changed, and his backup would arrive? He was quick witted. He had quickly figured out that this was a trap, and despite that, he wasn't trying to kill them. She watched as he injected her ankle with something that looked like morphine, before cutting it open with a knife. She whimpered, tears coming to her eyes. This certainly wasn't the place for surgery! She let him get that close… Seeing him with that little kitten showed what type of person he really was. She doubted that this was an act.

"Most of us are against it. But apparently Hoover himself ordered it. I don't know why… They just want information. But it's stupid. Kidnapping two high profile people like you would only draw attention back to us." He put the knife away, bandaging the wound, "Sorry I had to cut you, it was to relieve the pressure. You could really hurt yourself having a compound fracture like this and not getting treatment right away." He smiled at her, tending to her other wounds. She couldn't help but wonder what on earth had possessed this man. He was so kind! "And to hurt a lady like this… It's a shame. Let alone not even giving you a chance to fight back. I bet you could have kicked their asses had you not been bound."

"You're right." Erwin said, coming up beside the man. He had been listening. Rico didn't feel threatened by him. And besides, if he could treat their injuries, they might as well keep him alive for now. Especially since he seemed to know what he was doing. "Who are you?"

"Ah, sorry sorry!" He said, showing his perfect smile. "My name is Zhukov Kilman. I'm a doctor from Stohess. And you both are Commanders Rico Brzenska and Erwin Smith. I'm a huge fan of you both." He looked back to Rico's wounds, "I'm going to need you to remove your shirt, ma'am." Rico nodded, slipping it off, "Ouch, that must hurt. It's infected…" He reached into his bag again to get some antibiotics, "Swallow this. It's not poison, I promise."

Rico looked to Erwin, who nodded, and she swallowed the medicine with the water from Zhukov's kanteen. They didn't have any choice but to go along with him for now, after all, they needed his help. "Do you know your way around? Could you help us get home?" The man looked nervous, and she sighed.

"Hoover has my sister and her daughter. He said he would let them live if I worked for them here. So… I do as I'm told. It's been two months since they moved me here." He sighed, feeling so lonely, "They needed a doctor so desperately… They would do anything to keep me here. They send me locks of their hair to prove that they're alive…" He looked like he was about to cry. He just wanted to go home and see his sister and his niece.

Erwin pitied him. It was pathetic. He seemed quite skilled, he probably could have saved a lot of lives. "What are their names?" None of Hoover's victims lived. Erwin had investigated all of the cases alongside the military police. Of course, there were some that he excused himself from, because of an expedition or planning. The man was talkative though, admitting these things to strangers.

"Lillian and Emily Kilman." He said with a smile on his face, they were his pride and joy. "Emily is a bastard, but we love her just the same. Lillian never told the father, said he was too busy to worry over those things, that he needed to save the world." He saw Erwin grow pale as a sheet, "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." Rico saw his expression as well, and it worried her. She had never seen Erwin so tense.

"I'm fine." He said with a sigh. You never told me? Lilly… I'm so sorry. He knelt beside Zhukov, "I have to bring you some news. I… worked almost every single Hoover case when I could. Whatever promises he made… They were always lies. Lillian and Emily are dead, I'm sorry." He felt his heart tear in two.

Zhukov laughed, though he looked weary, "You're joking! You're just saying that so I'll help you out… Right?" Erwin shook his head, and Zhukov stopped what he was doing, his hands were shaking, "Please…" He had the utmost respect for Erwin, even though he had never met him. He was going to save humanity after all, so he wouldn't lie. Commander Erwin Smith wouldn't lie to the man saving his comrade's life. "Were they in pain?"

Erwin shook his head even though this was indeed lie. Whoever had killed them for Hoover had been unbearably cruel, they always were, he didn't need to read the police report to know that. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Zhukov started to cry silently, getting back to work, "I should have known that he wouldn't let them go. I was a fool for believing him." They would have been dead either way, right? "I'll help you." He said calmly, "I'll help you get out. Though on one condition." Don't worry Lilly, Emily, I'll be with you soon. Erwin nodded again, letting him know that he would agree to it, "You let me kill Christian Hoover." He was a doctor, but some people couldn't be allowed to live in this world.

"No can do. He's in a prison. He has been for the past couple of years. He's no longer calling the shots here, I believe it to be Kort. Do you know his last name?" This information would be quite useful to the military police, especially if they could get Zhukov to testify. If they could escape, they could also notify the MPs as to where exactly their base was, and they could wipe out these scum once and for all.

"Kort Danube. Apparently he used to live in the underground beneath the capital." There were a lot of rumors about the man. He was a bit upset that he wouldn't get to kill Hoover, but alas, he was a doctor. He was supposed to save lives, not end them. What was he thinking? "Alright Commander. You need plenty of water. Especially with those antibiotics. Commander Smith, please let me look at the head of yours." He guided Erwin to the floor, looking at the skull, running his fingers over it, even though he knew it would hurt. He had such small hands too, despite being so tall. He was probably as tall as Mike! "It's hairline fractures, but you should still take some anti inflammatory drugs just in case there's swelling in your brain." He pulled those out of his bag as well. He had basic drugs for everything in there. "Here." He set them in Erwin's palm.

Erwin swallowed them when Rico passed him the canteen, "Thank you." He felt Zhukov beginning to clean up the blood. "Zhukov. If I may ask. All of Hoover's… targets… Had been the wives and children of those he selected. He never focused on someone who didn't have those. He felt that they were harder to manipulate and control, because they would have another man watching over them." Sure, Erwin should have been there, but Lilly had just been an affair. If he had known she had a kid with him he would have been there for her! He wouldn't have left her! She knew what he was like before their relationship started… That he couldn't settle yet. But even so… It must have been so difficult on her. "Hoover is extremely sexist." To him women were weak, and to be controlled by men. It made Erwin sick.

"Well… I never married, and I don't intend to. I'm not interested in women, I never was… Lillian and Emily were the only girls that mattered to me. He had been desperate for someone with medical knowledge… Apparently I was the only one weak enough to agree…" If he had stayed there with them… Would it have made a difference? Would he have been able to fight of their attackers? There was a lot he could do with a needle. Erwin… was it you?

Rico looked at her ankle, she could see the swelling going down, even from underneath the bandages. Zhukov was a miracle worker! "You're not weak. You're kind. You were cornered, and had to make a quick decision. You did what you knew." She patted his back, feeling terrible for him.

He nodded, getting up, "Let me go get you some more water, and then we can go, I'll take you to the tunnel." He unhooked his gun from his hip, passing it to them, and Rico was the one to receive it. He stepped off, boots clicking on the concrete floors.

"I trust him." Rico said, looking to Erwin, who nodded in agreement. "You knew his sister. It was all over your face." He nodded again, more slowly, "You don't have to talk if you don't want to, but I'm all ears if you need."

"We had an affair. I don't know if I'm Emily's father but… It's likely. I can't believe it…" He was frozen in disbelief, "I never even knew she was killed. It must have happened during an expedition after we arrested Hoover… I'm just in shock." He was a father and he never knew. "I wonder if he has any pictures of Emily." Emily… He loved that name. He had always told Lilly that if he had a daughter he wanted to name her Emily. It was perfect for them, it started with an E like his name, and ended in Ly like her nickname. "I never even got to meet her…" And Lilly had never told him… because he was too busy? How awful of him… What a coincidence it was to finally meet her brother here. She had held him so dearly.

"She thought you were a hero that was going to save humanity." She pulled her knees to her, wrapping her arms around them. She thought the same of him. "She had her reasons. We all have our skeletons in our closets." Perhaps she should tell him? No… She couldn't. "I ran away from home because of an affair." She admitted, even though that was only a half truth, "You asked why I left Ehrmich? I was engaged to a man I didn't want to marry. He was an idiot, a slob, and completely incompetent. And I was in love with someone else. My father couldn't call off the engagement without starting a feud. So… I ran away with my boyfriend. We both joined the military. He died during the battle of Shiganshina." He had been a year ahead of her in the military, and had barely graduated when the battle occurred.

He wrapped an arm around her, they were oddly comforted by each other's pain, knowing that they weren't alone. "We'll make it out of this, Rico." He kissed her temple, and looked up when he heard footsteps coming back towards them, "Zhukov-"

The man wasn't Zhukov, and he was pointing his gun at them, Rico did the same thing before Erwin even noticed. "What did you do with Zhukov? Why do you have his gun?" He took another step towards them, neither Rico nor Erwin said a word. "Answer me!"

If I pull the trigger… It'll be loud. It might hurt Erwin with him this close to me. Zhukov doesn't have a silencer. But the noise will draw other people to us, and so will a dead body.

"If you don't answer me I'm shooting-" He couldn't finish, as Zhukov came up from behind and stabbed him in the jugular with a syringe. The syringe didn't have a stop on it, so the blood shot out onto the wall, propelled by the force of his beating heart. "Zhu…" He looked so betrayed, and Zhukov didn't even flinch as the life drained from the man's eyes slowly. He took his gun, passing this one to Erwin. He had blood on him now, and he yanked the syringe out of his comrade's neck. It was his weapon now.

He grabbed two glass bottles of water, and handed them to them, which now had blood on them from his contact with the dead man, "Drink." He watched them down the water, "The rounds are changing, so we should go now."

Rico nodded, seeing all of the blood on the floor. Humans really had that much blood? It wasn't long before they got up. Zhukov supported Rico, as he didn't want Erwin to put too much stress on his body. Up close, Zhu smelled wonderful. He didn't smell like the stale underground air, or dirt and sweat, he smelled like candied rose petals and lavender water. He's so… gentle. She noticed the way he was supporting her, being careful to not cause her any harm. It was so considerate.

They arrived at the tunnel as it wasn't very far from where they had started. Zhukov signaled them to stop, and passed Rico to Erwin. "I can get to him, I'll feign injury and say I need help, and stab him. You two get the horses." They won't leave me behind, will they? "Get all of them, we'll bring them, that way they can't follow us."

Rico and Erwin nodded, and Zhu took a deep breath, stepping out into the view of the guard. "The prisoners…" He gasped, and his comrade ran over to him, "Help me!"

"Zhukov are you alright?" The man asked, holding a man he considered friend. Though he was one of the few that came here on his own accord. He was willingly contributing to the misery of others. "Don't worry, let me get help, stay calm." He took out a rag to stop his friend's bleeding, confused when he didn't find any wounds, "Zhu-" The doctor stabbed him with the same bloody needle he had used to kill the other man. He fell to the ground. Zhu felt pain in his heart, and confusion. He had just killed two people, barely an hour apart. How was this not hurting him? Why did he feel nothing?

Erwin helped Rico up onto a horse. There were five here, and fortunately they were all well tempered. "You okay?" Riding with her injuries was going to be quite painful. "If it starts to hurt too much, let me know, we'll figure something out."

She nodded, already in pain. She wouldn't admit it, not until they were home. Then she would complain up a storm to herself, in her journal. "You too. Don't fall off." She smiled, patting his head. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Zhu examining the bloody corpse of his friend, making sure that he was dead, so he couldn't talk. "He's dangerous." There's nothing more dangerous than someone who has nothing to lose.

"I know." Erwin said, mounting his horse. He had let the three other horses out of their pens. It was surprising that they had so few, however, horses were quite expensive, not only to purchase, but to take care of. He watched Zhukov come over towards them, covered in blood. It was a terrifying and contradictory sight, how a man so small and sweet could kill without batting an eyelash. "I'm sorry." He said to the man as he got on a horse.

Zhukov forced a smile, which was quite creepy given the blood on his face, "Don't be. They hurt two beautiful and kind people." Life is so precious, so sacred… Those who pose a danger to it should have their most precious gift taken from them.

Great. A murderous doctor, a man who just found out he lost a child he didn't know he had, and a cripple. This is going to be good. Rico sighed, snapping at the reins, and her horse took off, Erwin and Zhukov following behind before long.

They were going to make it back.