It had been a quiet couple of weeks since the scouts had gotten Eren back, Levi had to form a new squad and Lando got selected. Lando was actually pretty happy with this, he got to be with Levi a lot now. Lando had his cleaning gear on and was scrubbing underneath the table when Jean, Armin, and Sasha walked into the cabin.
"Hey!" Eren said. "Did you guys wipe the dust and dirt off your shoes before you came in?"
"Say what?" Jean said. "No, we didn't. Can't you see all the stuff we're carrying?"
Eren jogged over to Jean.
"Do you seriously think that attitude will satisfy Captain Levi? If I hadn't given you your sheets hospital corners this morning…." Eren said.
"Quit nagging!" Jean yelled. "Who are you, my mom?!"
"Ptsd…" Lando said with a sigh.
Armin giggled from across the room when they all heard the door open to the cabin.
Mikasa and Historia walked in carrying firewood.
"We're back," Mikasa said.
"Wait, were you just chopping firewood?" Armin asked.
"Gotta stay in shape," Mikasa said.
"You got grabbed by a Titan!" Armin said. "You should be in bed."
"I already have to deal with him not resting," Armin said looking at Lando.
"I'm mostly healed up now," Lando said. "And how could I sleep in this pig pen? You guys are filthy."
"I try to stop both of them, but they won't listen," Eren said, defeated. "I saw her doing sit ups earlier."
Jean seemed to take offense to that and made a sound.
"How dare you, peeping Tom!" Jean yelled.
Eren and Jean got into another argument while Armin warned the injured.
"Mikasa, Lando you both know you're not wild animals, right?" Armin said concerned.
"It's almost like we're back in the Cadet Corps," Sasha said with a smile.
"Why do you think we were chosen for the new Levi Squad, though?" Armin asked. "Protecting Eren and Historia is such an important mission… Lando and Mikasa are capable but…us?"
"Because we're talented I assume," Sasha said while stuffing a potato in her bag at the speed of light.
"Sasha…" Lando said. "What did you put in your bag?"
"Nothing bread-related," Sasha said.
"Why, you!" Jean said, walking over.
"Give it back," Conny said.
"Hey, focus! We gotta finish cleaning before the captain gets back!" Eren said.
As they were telling Sasha to give it back the door opened again. Lando reached for the nearest broom and started sweeping in a random spot as Levi walked in.
Nobody else seemed to notice but Eren, who was looking at Levi scared.
"How many times have you done this?" Conny asked.
"Our food reserves are precious," Armin said.
"Cut the crap, potato girl!" Jean said.
"What's with all the commotion?" Levi asked but no one heard him.
Levi walked over to the table and caught everyone's attention, he put his fingers under the table and brushed around no dust. Levi walked over to the other side of the table and did the same thing.
Lando was nervous he hadn't cleaned that side yet because of the Jean and Eren argument and the Sasha thieving incident.
"I'm quite sure I gave you enough time," Levi said. "Anyways…We'll discuss your lax cleaning job another time. Eren, Hange is itching to get the experiment started."
They all got ready to go and hopped on their horses and rode out to where the experiment was taking place. There was a cliff above where Eren was going to transform, the new Levi Squad was ordered to form a circle around Eren while he transformed.
Eren transformed but it looked rough, it looked slim and barely able to stand up before falling down.
Mikasa did her classic of screaming Eren's name while Lando sighed they were going to be here for a while.
"What's wrong Eren?! Get up! The future of humanity is riding on you! Get up dammit!" Hange yelled.
Lando looked at her while she and Levi had a conversation where Hange looked more than angry after whatever Levi told her.
"Eren! Can you still move?!" Hange yelled down. "Give us a signal or something!
There was no signal Mikasa panicked and ran over to cut him out while Hange using her ODM gear did the same and helped Mikasa cut out Eren. Hange pulled out Eren and the muscle from the Titan was still hanging on his face.
"Woah!" Hange yelled. "Check it out Mobilt! Eren's face! Hurry up and sketch it!
"Section Commander!" Mobilt said. "Are you lacking in human compassion!?"
Mikasa cut Eren out herself after that whole thing.
"Sorry, I got carried away…." Hange said. "Experiment over! All troops, disperse at once."
"Roger!" An officer who was with them said.
"Make sure there's no witnesses!" The officer said.
"Yes!" Jean said and took off.
Lando didn't say anything but took off as well, he wasn't really looking all that much. Lando enjoyed a nice ride around for a little bit before heading back. They were all ordered that they were done for today and to return to the cabin. Levi and Hnage went into Trost for something while Levi squad was to stay at the cabin, Lando drew in his journal for the night and went to sleep. The next day Levi or Hange hadn't come back so it was more chores for the entire day. The only interesting thing was when Eren woke up.
"Eren!" Mikasa said as Eren opened the door to the beds.
"You should still be in bed!" Mikasa said.
"I'm fine," Eren said tiredly. " I already slept for a whole day. Besides it's my fault the strategy for retaking Wall Maria got shelved."
"It's not your fault," Mikasa said. "So don't worry about it."
"All I care about…. Is getting a chance to fight that beast Titan." Conny said. "Whatever that damn ape is, I'll never forgive." Conny was cutting a potato but started shaking, but he regained himself.
"It's about time to switch the lookouts," Conny said. "Mikasa?"
"Hm," Mikasa said and they both walked out of the cabin.
Jean and Lando were on lookout duty, Lando had been on lookout duty all day refusing to switch. Lando didn't like how many people were in there; he struggled with crowds and noise.
Lando thought it was about time to switch lookouts when he heard the cabin door open, but he saw Levi and Hange coming back. Jean saw it too and rushed over to tell everyone, Conny yelled at everyone inside.
"Gather in the main room!"
Everyone gathered for what Hange was about to say.
"He's dead," Hange said.
"Huh?" Levi said. "What was that?"
"He's dead…" Hange said. "Pastor Nick. He was murdered. This morning in the Trost District barracks. Tortured all of his nails missing tell that. I figured the church would want to deal with Nick since he was cooperating with the Scouts. That's why I hid his identity and had him stay in the barracks, but….To think they would use soldiers to kill him….I was too careless. It's entirely my fault."
Everyone was silent while Levi took a sip of his tea.
"She should've kept him moving constantly at night…" Lando thought. "Wouldn't do any good to tell her that now though."
"The Military Police…." Armin said. "Did they torture pastor Nick just to find out what information he spilled to us?"
"Most likely," Levi said. "But it was the interior Military Police which means there is something more behind it. So, how many nails did Nick have ripped off?"
"Huh?" Hange asked.
"You saw, right? How many?" Levi asked.
"I only caught a glimpse of him but all the nails that I could see," Hange said.
"Is it okay if I speak Captain?" Lando asked.
Levi nodded his head.
"Nick didn't spill any information about us," Lando said.
"How do you know?" Hange asked.
"People will talk after one gets pulled," Lando said. "If a person doesn't talk after the first nail they won't when you pull the second off. We are lucky they didn't do anything intense or we would probably be arrested right now."
"Pastor Nick…" Levi said. "I thought he was an idiot, but…He didn't turn away from what he believed, all the way to the end."
"In other words," Lando said. "They don't have any idea we know about the Reiss family."
"Although," Levi said. "Someone in the government is up to no good, and they got their eyes fixated on us."
The cabin door opened and a girl came in wearing a cloak with her hood down.
"Captain Levi." The girl said. "A message from Commander Erwin." She handed Levi a note. "I went to tell him about Pastor Nick but he sent me off with this."
"Everyone out," Levi said. "We leave now."
Lando rushed and grabbed anything useful so did everyone else and they cleared out armed with rifles, all of them walked around up to a cliff overlooking the cabin as Military Police raided it.
"That was close," Conny said. "If we hadn't left right then, what would've happened to us?"
"Probably would result in us getting arrested or a gunfight would've broken out," Lando said. "We would be defending so we would win but likely sustain heavy casualties and that is saying that all of you are decent shots at most."
Conny shuddered. "The only person who is here is a good shot that we know of is you." Conny said looking at Lando "How are you so good."
Lando remembered Kenny forcing him to use only guns during the final year of living with him, he still used knives and swords but guns were the main weapon. Kenny would have him do assassination missions, Lando was the shot while Kenny was the spotter. Other times he would be in charge of sniping on jobs that would most likely end up in a shootout, or just for recon. It forced Lando to become good at shooting.
"I had a lot of practice," Lando said.
"But why…" Armin said.
Lando thought it was him thinking aloud like usual.
"What would make commander Erwin?" Armin muttered
"New orders from the government," Levi said, hearing Armin. "There's been a freeze of all Scout Regiment activity outside of the wall. They're telling us to hand over Eren and Historia."
"By the way." The girl who dropped off Erwin's message said. "Right after he gave me the message….the Military Police came for him…."
"That's treating him like some sort of criminal!" Hange said.
"We are all considered criminals now," Lando said. "But what's more important, whoever was working in the shadows just came into the light."
"To go that far to protect the wall's secrets…." Hange said. "What's more, why do they want us to hand over Eren and Historia? Not to kill but obtain them both?"
"Who knows…" Levi said.
"So they are protecting the wall's secrets…" Lando said. "And all of a sudden they want Eren and Historia….."
"It's clear that the enemy is after these two," Levi said. "Loitering around here is dangerous. We're moving her and Eren to Trost District."
"Why?" a soldier asked. "That's the same place Pastor Nick got killed."
"It's worse to head in toward the interior," Levi said. "With Trost in a panic, it should be easy to slip in."
"And if it somehow comes to it…" Levi said unveiling what was underneath his cloak showing his ODM gear. "We can use these in the city. Plus, not knowing the enemy puts us in a tough spot. We need to find out who is behind this. Hange, lend me some of your Squad."
"Of course," Hange said.
Hange started a thinking pose before saying "All right, I'm going after Erwin. Mobilt's with me. The rest of you will follow Levi."
"Roger!" Hange's Squad said.
Hange walked over to mount her horse.
"Hange!" Eren said. "Here," he said, handing her a note. "I remembered a conversation between Yimir and Berthold. Didn't get the time to tell you but it's here."
"All right," Hange said, putting it in her cloak. "I'll take a look at it later."
Lando didn't like going back to the city, they were asking to be ambushed. Someone knows or is guessing all of their movements, or that someone knows what Levi or Hange or Erwin is thinking.
Over another cliffside across from the one the Scouts are at, 2 people walk to look at the edge.
"They're rather quick on the move." A female said.
"Hmph…It's because that little runt is actually disciplined." A man said. "I know the other brat doesn't like what the runt is probably thinking, he was always smart that way, always looking 3 moves ahead."
"Two of them are acquaintances of yours?" The female asked.
"One of them is an old one." The man said. "The other I love like family." The man's face twisted into a grin beneath his cowboy hat.
"Interesting," The female said.
It didn't take two weeks for a new chapter!
I have a plan for when Lando will be revealed to be Levi's son. I know it has taken a long time but I'm going to ask you to wait a little longer.