~This chapter has been revised/rewritten for improvement purposes~

My apologies for any spelling or grammar errors you've come across.

All credit goes to Hajime Isayama on creating Attack on Titan. I ONLY own Alice Arlet, my OC.

*knock* *knock* knock*

Those were the only sounds I've been making for the past minute.

knock* *knock* *knock*

"Captain Levi?"

Here I am, standing outside my Captain's office door to hand in my report but there's no response. Is Levi not in his office?

*knock* *knock* *knock*

"Captain Levi. It's Alice. I'm here to drop off my report." I said, knocking his door once more.

"What?" An annoyed Levi said as he opened the door. He stood there with his hair ruffled up and dark circles shown under his eyes.

I couldn't help but to blush at the sight of this. Captain Levi looks kind of cute like this...

"I-I'm s-sorry Captain Levi." I spoke up, saluting nervously towards him. "W-were you taking a nap?"

"I was." He answered, still annoyed. "It's whatever. I'm up now."

He moved to the side and opened the door wider, allowing me to step in. As I entered the room, Levi sat back at his chair as I stood in front of his desk.

"Here's my written report about yesterday's expedition." I said, placing the sheets of paper on top of his desk.

Captain Levi grabbed sheet of papers and skimmed through my report. He then neatly placed them on top of a different stack of papers. "Good. Now, let's discuss about yesterday."

I cocked an eyebrow and stared at my Squad Leader. "What about yesterday?"

"Since yesterday was your first expedition, I'll be less harsh on you." He spoke while grabbing a clean cloth and wiping off some dust from his desk. "If you see soldiers who are grabbed by titans, don't be reckless in trying to save them. You can get killed yourself."

I sensed the serious tone in his voice as I twirled my fingers behind my back. "S-Sorry Heichou...I guess I wasn't thinking when I saw a comrade in the hands of a titan."

He's talking about yesterday...when I tried to save one of our fallen soldier. I witnessed the man get grabbed by on those them and got bit by it. I remember rushing towards that titan and killing it instantly. That soldier was lying on the ground, coughing up blood and not breathing. That's why I performed the chest compression on him. It's a shame I didn't realize that he died. It was definitely something I wasn't used to yet.

"We've all been there Arlet. Petra was like you on her first expedition. If a soldier is on their last breaths, do your best to ensure that they died in peace and not in vain. That way, these soldiers can feel like heroes in death."

I didn't say anything. I just stood there and stared at my Captain. I thought Levi would be more harsh and blunt towards me.

"Keep this in mind." Levi spoke as he clasp his hands, placed his elbows on hard surface and rest his chin on the back of his hands. "I don't normally show leniency or acts of kindness towards others. Consider yourself lucky Arlet."

My cheeks grew hot after hearing him say that. I could even feel my heart beating a bit faster as a smile grew on my face. "I'm glad to hear this from you Levi." Instead of saluting, I bowed slightly towards him, a smile still on my face. "Thank you for this discussion."

As I lift my head up, our blue eyes met and I couldn't help but to feel myself melt from the sight of those eyes. Sometimes I wonder what Captain Levi's thinking. He's always so quiet, calm and expressionless. He is humanity's strongest soldier after all, maybe it's best for us to not know what Levi's thinking. If anything, Commander Erwin might be the only person who knows that Levi's thinking about.

"Whatever." Levi said, snapping me out from my thoughts as he fixed his ascot. "I just want to remind you that you're only on my squad because Commander Erwin placed you there. Not me."

I lightly gulped in hesitation as I braced myself for what might actually be his scolding demeanor.

"Usually, I handpicked the strongest to be placed under me." He stood up from his chair and walked up to me.

I could feel my heart beating faster as he takes a step closer towards me. "I-I'm sorry if I've been a burden to you Captain..." I twirled my fingers behind my back once again as I felt Levi's hand on my left shoulder. He stood aside of me and spoke quietly. "I always trust Erwin's judgement. Although you've been on my team for a few months, I want you to impress me with your skills. You were top ranked from your cadet days right? So until then, keep trying if I'm going to consider you as one of humanity's strongest soldier like me."

My face grew hot and my palms were getting sweaty. He's willing to consider me as one of humanity's strongest soldier? Like him? That's unbelievable... "Yes Captain Levi!" I yelled out, saluting towards him immediately. "I will show you what I'm capable of and prove to you why Commander Erwin has placed me under you!"

I could faintly see the corner of Captain Levi's lips curl up but then went back to his expressionless structure. "Good. I need you to go to Erwin now."

"Eh? Why?" I asked, staring at him and blinking in confusion.

"He mentioned about wanting to speak to you after you handed in your report." He answered, walking back to his desk and sorting out the sheets of paper. "Don't make him wait too long. Get going."

"Y-Yes sir!"

With that, I saluted towards my Captain once more and exited his office. I made my way upstairs and walked towards Commander Erwin's office. Standing just outside his door, I let out a nervous sigh and knocked. "Come in." I slowly opened the door and headed in. Commander Erwin was sitting on his chair, facing towards the window. I saluted towards the man. "Good morning Commander Erwin. I was told by Captain Levi that you wanted to speak to me sir?"

"Yes." Erwin spoke as he slowly spun his chair towards me. "Please have a seat Alice."

Without any hesitation, I sat on the chair and stared at my Commander. "Have I done something wrong Commander Erwin?" I asked him, feeling a little nervous.

He shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. "Alice. Do you remember what you told me when you first joined the Survey Corps?"

"Y-Yes. I do." I said, looking at my Commander in confusion. "The very day I joined this regiment, I mentioned that my purpose as a soldier was to protect humanity and live as a strong warrior." I tightened my fists as I took deep breaths. "I also said that I'm willing risk my life in order to save others."

Erwin nodded his head as he unfolded his arms and rest his elbows on his desk. "That was exactly what you told me. You're a very compassionate person Alice. You're also very strong-minded and well skilled."

As I sat in my seat, I raised an eyebrow at Erwin. What's with all these compliments all of a sudden? That's quite odd of Erwin...

"Can I ask you a question sir?"

"What is it?"

"Why is it that you placed me in the Special Operations Squad?" I asked, not wanting to offend Erwin's wisdom. "I mean, I thought this Elite squad were to be handpicked by Captain Levi himself."

Commander Erwin just stared at me for a long minute before responding, "Even though you weren't picked by Levi, I strongly believe you have potential to be a part of his squad. As a cadet, you were highly observed by each commanding officer and sought out to have you join our branches. In the end, you chose this branch. From my perspective, you got what it takes to truly be a soldier in the field."

He then sat up from his chair and looked out the window.

"Alice."

I stood in place, not moving an inch as I anxiously waited for him to continue.

"I have chosen you to be Levi's third-in-command. After Eld."

My eyes were wide as I stared at my Commander in shock. "M-Me?"

Me? Third-in-command of the Survey Corps' Special Operations Squad? Out of all people, why me?

"Yes. You." Erwin said, turning around to face me. "I have already spoken this to Levi. Although we haven't truly seen your skills outside the Walls, I believe in you Alice."

With my eyes still wide, my jaw dropped slightly but I quickly shut it. "W-Wow Commander Erwin. I-I can't believe this...I-I promise to not let you down. I will not let the two of you down."

I saluted towards Erwin as I felt my heart beating rapidly in excitement. I can't believe this is happening. I've only been on the Survey Corps for three months and I've been given as the third-in-command. Commander Erwin must really trust me to be given this position.

"Thank you Commander Erwin." I saluted towards him again. "If you excuse me.."

Just as I was about to head out, Erwin called out to me again. "Alice, wait." I stopped my tracks and turned back around. "Yes Erwin?" He walked towards me and stopped a couple inches away. "There's a question I would like to ask you in the future. Now's not the time to ask but when the right time comes, all I'm asking for is a 'yes' or 'no.'"

"Huh?" I cocked my head, raised an eyebrow and blinked rapidly in confusion. "You sure are strange Commander Erwin." Giving him a faint smile, I waved at him and left the room.

Erwin wants to ask me a question but claims that now's not the right time to ask? That sure is strange of him to say that. On the other hand...I'm really honored at the fact that Erwin's given me the position at third-in-command. I wonder if all my friends knows about this. Would they be happy for me?

After all, I'm still sort of new in the crew. Plus, I'm still a young soldier. I really do hope that I can live up to Erwin's and Levi's expectations. I wouldn't want to be a failure and a disappointment to them.

I will do whatever I can to ensure safety for our civilians. Especially for all my friends and family.

"Alice!" I heard a familiar, overly emotional high pitched voice call out to me.

I was already walking down the hallways of the bottom level when this voice called out to me.

"Alice!"

As my name was called once again, I felt a hard smack to my back before I had the chance to turn around and greet the Titan researcher.

"Hange!" I shouted her name in annoyance. "That hurts!"

I tried to rub my back and pouted as she gave me her cheesy apologetic look. "Oh! Sorry! Sorry!" Hange said, waving her hands in the air. "I'm just excited to see you!"

A chuckle escaped my lips as I stared at Erwin's successor. "It's actually nice seeing you too Hange."

She adjusted her glasses and started jotting down notes on her clipboard. "Where you heading to?"

"Home. I guess."

Hange shrugged her shoulders as we stood next to each other side by side and started walking down the halls.

"Did you just come from Commander Erwin's office?" She asked.

I nodded my head in response. "What about you? How's your research going? Learned anything from yesterday's expedition?"

I saw all movement from her hand stop. She then raised both hands in the air and groaned. "No! I got nothing! I wasn't able to capture any titans this time!"

"It's okay Captain Hange. There's always next time I guess. Although we did lose a good sum of soldiers yesterday."

"You're right Alice. The memorials for our fallen soldiers have already been prepared for their loved ones to mourn."

I placed a hand over my chest and tightened the grip of my shirt. This is something I have to get used to. No point in moping on everything. There's always a next time and each attempt we do, there's a good probability of humanity's success.

I could tell Hange was eyeing me through her peripheral vision. She then placed her clipboard underneath her armpits and reached towards me. It wasn't until then that I realized her fingers were pinching my cheeks.

"Oh! You're just too cute Alice!" She exclaimed.

"W-Wha!?"

Feeling embarrassed by this sudden harassment from Hange, I squirmed around to free myself from her grasp.

"H-Hange!" I tried calling out to her through my pinched, puffed cheeks. "S-Stop that! It's embarrassing!"

She didn't listen to me and only laughed towards herself. "Why would I stop? It's too cute!"

"Oi. Hange." Levi's voice was heard down the hall.

The both of us jumped in surprise from hearing Levi's voice as Hange finally let go of my face.

"Ah! Levi! Good to see you!" Hange yelled as she chuckled and scratched the back of her neck.

The both of us eyed the serious man as he approached us. "What were you doing to her?" He asked Hange sternly, glancing towards me.

Hange let out a small laugh. "Nothing! Just pinching her cheeks. They're too cute. Don't you agree?" She went back to pinching my cheeks.

I could feel my face getting hot and red in embarrassment. How embarrassing of Levi to see me stuck in a situation like this. Why does Hange have to be like this...

Seeing Levi's eyes making contact with mine, my face grew even hotter as I heard him whisper something I never expected.

"Hn. Cute."

Did he really say that? Even though he said it bluntly, did he mean it in a sarcastic way or was he serious?

"Did you hear me Arlet?"

"Huh?"

I moved away from Hange and stared at my Captain. "Sorry Captain. I wasn't listening."

Levi let out a heavy sigh and turned around. "You're coming with me. We're going back to my office."

I raised an eyebrow and stared at his back. "L-Levi? I was actually planning on going home."

"Just shut up and follow me."

Without any hesitation, I immediately followed after him and waved 'goodbye' at Captain Hange.

The walk back to Levi's office was quiet as we entered the room in silence.

"Close the door." Levi finally spoke.

Doing what I was told, I closed the door and anxiously waited for what's next.

Levi then walked over to his desk and opened his top drawer. There, he took out two pairs of rubber gloves and threw one at me.

I caught the gloves with one hand and raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Sir? What's this for?"

"You're going to help me clean my office." He said as he tied a piece of cloth around his mouth.

"Huh?"

Dumbfounded by this, I just continued to stand there and stare at Levi. "You want me to help you clean?"

He nodded his head. "You're going to assist me on minimal tasks outside those green capes."

"Really?" I questioned while putting on the rubber gloves. "Why do you want me to help you with these sort of things?"

"Don't worry about it." Levi said, choosing not to answer my question. "Let's clean. My office is filthy."

"Y-Yes sir!"

I grabbed a piece of cloth and assisted Levi in cleaning his office. I couldn't help but to smile. This quirk of Levi's is actually cute.

With that, the two of us cleaned in silence for what felt like hours. Of course, I don't mind the silence between Levi and I. I'm content with spending the little time I have with him. Even though Levi and I aren't that close, I'm really glad that I get to do something like this with him.

"Levi?" I called out to him, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"Commander Erwin spoke to me about being Third-in-Command for the Special Operations Squad."

"Oh."

"Can I ask you why though? He also mentioned that he spoke to you about this. What's your intake on me being in that position?"

I could hear Levi stop his cleaning as I did the same and turned towards him. He was just standing there, staring at me. "It's just as I said earlier. Erwin saw something in you which is why he wants you to be third in command. I will respect Erwin's judgement and see for myself just how truly skilled you are."

He then walked up towards me and stood uncomfortably close to me. His eyes were locked with mine and I could feel my cheeks getting hot. "I'll say this again. If I'm going to consider you as one of humanity's strongest soldier, impress me with your skills. Show me what you got. Got that Arlet?"

I rapidly nodded my head and saluted towards him. "Got it sir!"

I could barely see the corner of Levi's lips curl into a slight smile as he quickly turned his back towards me. "Good. Now let's continue clea-"

*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*

Captain Levi was interrupted by sounds of frantic knocks on the door. I rushed to the door and quickly opened it. Petra was standing at the door, look of fear and worry all over her face.

"CAPTAIN LEVI! ALICE! WE'VE GOT TROUBLE!" She shouted, the hint of fear never leaving her tone.

"What's going on?" Levi asked, turning towards his loyal soldier.

"Is everything okay Petra?" I asked her.

Petra took a deep breath before answering our questions. "We've been attacked by titans! Wall Maria has been attacked!"

I stood there and stared at my friend. What? Wall Maria has been attacked?

"What else?" Levi asked, waiting for Petra to continue speaking.

"Sir! It's been reported that a 60-meter titan was spotted outside of Wall Maria and made a giant hole in it. Now, titans are coming inside and attacking civilians in Shinganshina District."

I gasped and dropped the cloth that I was holding onto. Shinganshina District. My hometown is under attack.

Without any thinking, I ran out of Levi's room and made my way towards the equipment center. I could faintly hear Levi calling out to me but I ignored him.

My home is going to be destroyed. I need to protect everyone! I need to protect my home!

I geared myself up as fast as I could and was about to head out until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I slightly turned my head to see that it was Levi.

"Wait Alice."

"But Levi!" I yelled. "It's my home! My home is under attack! I need to find everyone!" I stopped my tracks and widened my eyes. It had suddenly hit me. Armin. "I got to find Armin!"

As I tried to run off again, Levi grabbed my hand to stop me. "Hold on."

"C-Captain Levi?" I was shocked to feel his warm hand grasping mine. "W-What's wrong?"

He gently squeezed my hand and stared at me. "Don't run off on your own and act as a hero. Only save those who are savable. Forget the ones that can't be saved. Got that Alice?"

I felt my heart skipping beats at the mention of my name. "Y-Yes sir."

"Go and be careful. I'll catch up to you there."

I nodded my head towards him and immediately took off. I grabbed Artemis and made my way through the inner gate of Wall Maria.

Armin. I'm coming for you. Please be okay and stay alive until I get to you.