Chapter 35: Crimes not Committed

At the heart of the chancellery is a grand hall; a large throne stands at the head of the hall upon an elevated floor of marble, polished to reflective shine, with crimson red curtains covering the enormous windows that flanked the seat of power and a small table holding a red cushion on which a golden crown rested upon which shun as the light from the candles hit its shiny surface.
On the seat of the throne and next to the crown was an old man; dressed in fine silks, he sat with his elbow resting on arm rest and his clenched fist holding his head, he drifted between sleep and consciousness as he watched as the king and the members of the assembly sat upon smaller chairs were engaged in a heated debate.

"Have we gotten any word back from Dimo Reeves?" Asked one of the men, a large man dressed in extravagant clothes.

"Nothing yet, no word on whether he had successfully apprehended either Eren Yeager or Historia Reiss." Rod replied, leaning forward in his chair. "If Reeves is unsuccessful in his mission then we will have to quickly dispose of him and find another way to go about capturing them."

"We don't have the time for that!" exclaimed another,he was dressed in the black robes and iron necklace of the clergy, with an anxious look on his face. "Right now, as we speak, commander Erwin and the scout regiment as apprehending our allies and trying to uncover the secrets of the walls! Who knows what Nick had told them before the interior MPs got to him."

"This wouldn't have happened if you had kept your composure during the meeting." commented one of the men. "You and those damn noblemen gave it away; we had to placate Erwin to lower any suspicions he had."

"Now he's on our trail and has enough power to start digging, if Nick is anything to go by then he's seeking out all the right people to find his answers." said Rod.

"Our spies have said that he's had meetings with ranking members of the Garrison, including commander Pixis." Said the tall man dressed in smart clothes. "If I had to guess then I'd say he has the information he wants and is now organizing a coup against the government."

"Not like we have any evidence of that, and even if we did we still couldn't act." stated the large man. "The bastard got it in everyone's head that the royal government has been undermining the recent success of the scout regiment; if we act against him in such a manner then the walls would turn into chaos."

"Or worse, we may have a civil war to deal with." added another.

"What should we do?" asked one of the men, throwing the question to the group.

"There's very little we can do." Rod admitted. "I had hoped that by offering the Elrics an easier path towards their goal they'd join us and help re-establish order in these walls while we'd capture Eren and Historia, but it seems they may be dedicated to the cause of overthrowing us."

"That means we have more than the scouts to contend with." said a member of the assembly. "Should we somehow eliminate Erwin smith and his subordinates then it's likely the Elric brothers would continue to resist us, that being said it seems as though they are unaware of the political capital they have by virtue of their arrival; if word got out that they were sent here by some kind of divine deity... that kind of influence could spark a revolution within its own right."

"Damn it all!" The large man exclaimed as he clenched his fists. "Our backs are up against the wall and all our current efforts have yet to succeed."

"Yikes, with leadership like this I'm surprised humanity has gone to shit already." said a voice coming from the doors; the group of men turned their heads towards the door to see a tall man, with a slender build, wearing a long black coat and bowler hat covering most of his face. He flicked his hat upwards slightly, revealing his long face and rough brown hair and beard.

"Captain Ackerman, to what do we owe the pleasure of your appearance?" said one of the assembly members.

"Well, my lord," He replied in a mocking tone of voice "I couldn't help but overhearin' ya talking about your current predicament, sounds like y'all are caught in a shitty situation and you ain't got the toilet paper to clean yourselves up." He said as he strutted his way towards them. "Everyone you hire is either too incompetent to do their jobs or you can't touch a hair on that bush Erwin calls his eyebrows without making half the walls upset."

"We're quite aware of the situation." Rod replied, from his voice it was clear he was annoyed. "What exactly do you propose then?"

Kenny stared at Rod for a few seconds before a wide grin began to form on his lips. "Why it's simple your highness, just some out of the box thinking, instead of going for the whole scout regiment why not just goes after the guys who are immediately in your way." The way he spoke suggested that the idea was so obvious. "They used the stories of Leonhart's capture and the battle of Stohess to get the regiment in the good graces of the masses and, by extension, Erwin whose the face of the scouts; so why not instead muddy the image of the people who guard Eren and Historia, the special operations unit."

"And how do you propose we do that?" asked one of the assembly members.

"Leave that to me," He replied in a tone which they could only assume was trying to reassure them. "I got it covered." He slips his hand into his coat pocket and pulls out a badge, the rough edges and loose strings connected to it suggested that the badge had been torn from its waist coat; the blue and white wings of the scout regiment with the post listening "Special Operations Unit" on display for all in the room to see. "The guys I took it from didn't need it anyway, on account of them being corpses." He remarked as he slipped the badge back into his pocket with a sly wink to Rod Reiss.

"Very well, we will leave it to you." Rod replied.

In the brightly lit hallways of the chancellery, Kenny leaned up against the wall staring at the ground with a bored expression on his face as he waited beside the door for the king to let him in. The rattling of the door handle and the click of the lock caught his attention as Rod opened the door, peering through the small crack.

"Come in." he said as he allowed Kenny to enter, Kenny walked into the room, he observed the office which Rod occupied; there was nothing special about his work space, some fancy furniture and nice carpets to match the curtains covering, if anyone had entered it they never would have guessed that this is where the king worked in the chancellery. "Take a seat, Kenny." The tone in Rod's voice was cold and unwelcoming.

"Thanks, your majesty." Kenny replied in an almost disrespectful manner as he took his seat at Rod's desk.

"So this plan of yours… how do you intend to go about it?" Rod asked as he peered through the window in his office.

Kenny lifted his legs up and rested them onto the desk as he leaned back in his chair "gonna have to cut a few throats, all of them bein' from big named people, then use the badges to frame the special ops' unit."

"Like who?" Rod asked, glancing back to Kenny.

"One guy that comes to mind is the mayor of Stohess." Kenny replied "Recent attack on the government building and the poor bastard getting roughed up by some thugs, we could probably pin it and his murder on them."

"It would put commander Erwin in a difficult position; condemn the special operations unit, and in extension the Elrics, or side with a bunch of criminals and traitors to the crown." Rod added.

"That's the idea too." Kenny replied. "So… do I have the okay on this?"

"Yes." Rod replied, glancing back at Kenny with a cold look on his face.

"Pleasure doing business with ya, Rod." Kenny replied as he lifted his feet off of Rod's desk and onto the ground, making his way out of his office.

"Kenny." Rod called out just as Kenny fingers touched the door knob. "I'm putting a kill order on Elric brothers; I want you and the interior MPs to eliminate them."

"Sure." Kenny responded as he opened the door. Outside in the hallway he found his second in command waited patiently for him; she had been staring outside of the window at the clear night sky and the busy streets of the capital.

"Captain Ackerman." She said as she placed a clenched fist over her chest.

"Yeesh, you don't have to do all that saluting crap with me." Kenny said, waving his hand dismissively. "So what brings you here?"

She handed him a letter "Letter from Dimo Reeves." Kenny took the letter from her and read its contents.

"So Dimo managed to do it huh." Kenny said, scepticism in his voice "Oh and look at that, he wants me to meet him with Eren and Historia at the abandoned mines and he's even kind enough to provide most of the security for the transfer."

"You think it's a trap?" Traute asked.

"Of course it is, ya idiot." Kenny replied. "Levi must have got to him and Dimo must have cut a deal with the scouts." he waved her along, signalling to follow him. "Still it'd be rude to refuse and hopefully we'd be able to take out Levi's squad in the process."

"Fighting both Levi and the Elrics will be a challenge." Traute commented.

"Trying to kill them will be tough." Kenny responded a sinister grin then began to form on his face. "Killing Levi and capturing the Elrics will be tougher though." Traute looked up at Kenny a little surprised. "Killing those two would be a waste, so I say we capture one of them; who knows they just might be important to helping us realise the grand dream."

"What the plan then, captain?" Traute asked.

"We know where Levi and his team are sleeping, right?" Kenny asked.

"Yes sir." Traute replied.

"I'm gonna need you and a bunch of our guys to sneak into their base." Kenny ordered. "Once inside try to get a feel for the place and keep your eyes on the targets, I doubt Levi would really send Eren and Historia to those mines, also try to find out where they're keeping Leonhart too."

"I won't be accompanying you to the ambush, captain?" asked Traute "it might be dangerous; taking on Levi and the Elrics even with the others backing you up."

"I'll be fine." Kenny replied "Everything that midget knows, I taught him and I can handle a bunch of kid soldiers. Now, if you don't mind, I have a meeting with the mayor tomorrow night."

"Come in." said a voice on the other side of the door. Kenny gently pushed the door open and walked into the mayor's office. "Captain Ackerman, it's good to finally meet you." He said as he shook Kenny's hand. The mayor was a large man, fat off his wealth and power, with a thin moustache above his lips and short black hair and wore smart dark clothes over a white shirt.

"Sure, so let's get to down to it, tell me what happened that night you got attacked." Kenny asked as he sat down onto an empty chair.

"Yes, it was not that long ago, there was an attack near government building; most of our security left to intercept and control the fire at the warehouse. The thugs managed to enter the building, found his way into my office and then threaten me to keep quiet about what happened during the titans attack on Wall Rose."

"Anything specific or any idea why?" Kenny asked.

"No, he just said to keep quiet about the whole thing." The mayor replied.

"Any kind of description to add?" Kenny asked.

"He was wearing ODM gear, so he must be a soldier or perhaps has some kind of connection to the military."

"Would you say he looked like this?" Kenny asked as he handed him a portrait of Levi

"That's captain Levi." replied the Mayor.

"You've seen him before?"

"Yes, he usually around commander Erwin; I wouldn't say it was him, Levi is rather short while the man who attacked me was about average height and had brown hair slicked back unlike Levi's black hair."

"Hmm… alright, it's not much to go on but we'll work with it." Kenny said as he got up from his chair and walked over to the mayor.

"Thank you, captain Ackerman." The mayor replied as he got up to thank him, the two shook hands and they looked at each other.

"Rest assured mayor." Kenny replied. "We will find your murderer."

"My mur-" Kenny quickly pulled the mayor closer to him, while slipping his left hand into his jacket pocket and with almost disgusting ruthlessness he slit his throat. The mayor tried to scream yet Kenny quickly covered his mouth and held him close as the life quickly poured down his open neck and onto his clothes and the floor. As soon as Kenny let go of him did the mayor's lifeless body collapse onto the ground; Kenny knelt down beside him and placed scout badge into his hand before closing it. Gently and carefully, Kenny began to mess up his office; the chair lying on the ground, a few books scattered across the room, a broken shelf and a bloody knife…

It's for a grand dream.

In the dimly lit cell, underneath the castle, Annie practiced her kicks as far as the chains would allow she tried to thrust her leg upwards while visualizing the rest of her actions. Her body was drenched in sweat as she sat down onto the floor as she took a short break to heal her ankle which had been bruised from the metal cuffs.

Soon… she thought I'll find my opening… the sound of approaching footsteps catches her attention; Mina, about the only person other person that visits her aside from the guards.

Mina opened the cell door and walked inside; in her hands were a bucket of water and a small piece of cloth, she laid them before Annie sat down while Annie placed the wet cloth over her face to cool down.

"How's your day been?" Annie asked as she wiped around her neck.

"The usual, just guard duty and training." Mina replied, from the way she spoke it seemed as though she was upset about something.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's nothing." Mina said.

"No its not, what's on your mind?" Annie probed.

"Armin had an argument with Alphonse about something and they've been a bit distant now." Mina said "It's just sad to see them like this, I want them to be friends again; they were good friends and it's been hard for hi- them."

Hard for him huh...

"So which one of them do you like?" Annie asked, catching Mina off guard. "It upsets you to see them like this, seeing him in a bad mood."

"I do not." Mina replied defensively.

"It's not Armin; you were just friendly with him, Eren and Mikasa during the cadet corps, so it's Alphonse." Annie deduced. "Infatuated with the guy who saved you in Trost huh? How corny." she teased.

"Oh shut it." Mina replied, a flash of red appearing on her cheeks "You know, Bertholdt had a thing for you."

"Did he?" Annie said, slightly perplexed "I never knew."

"Really?" Mina questioned "He was always staring at you."

Huh… I never knew you felt that way, Bertholdt…

"You guys must have been close for years." Mina said. "Since before you came here."

"Yeah…" Annie replied, looking at the ground sombrely "We were maybe ten or eleven when we…" she stopped, not wanting to finish her sentence.

"We're there more of you?" Mina asked "Other shifters who came here?"

Other shifters? Did they send Zeke and Pieck? They don't know about Marcel.

"No, there was another guy with us but he died along the way." Annie said.

"What happened?" Mina asked.

"A titan ate him." She replied. "Five meter."

Mina flinched slightly as she looked to be slightly shaken by what Annie told her; she assumed that Mina must have been disgusted by the idea of a small child being eaten by a titan.

"What did it look like?" Mina asked, her voice shaking slightly.

Weird question… "Five meters tall, long messy black hair and black eyes with a big head."

Inside the library, Alphonse observed Hange as she practiced manipulating the fragmented pieces of a blade into different shapes and objects. "Nice work, Hange." Al complemented as he admired the small metal swan that had been made from the broken pieces of a flesh pairing blade.

"Thank you, Alphonse." Hange replied as she picked up the swan and began to admire her own handy work. "Have you been able to practice performing alchemy at a faster pace?"

"I'm getting there; having to come up with all the correct equations, elements and amounts in the space of seconds is pretty tricky." Hange replied.

"Don't worry, you're making good progress." Alphonse assured her. "Okay, let's move on to-" suddenly the library door slammed open, interrupting Alphonse and stealing their attention; it was Mina.

"Sorry you guys, squad leader Hange I think I might have found out something important from Annie."

"Alright, we'll discuss this in my study." Hange said as she got up from the table. "We'll have to do this another time, Alphonse."

"Of course" Alphonse replied. Hange quickly left the room; Al could hear them jog down the hallway as the sound of their running echoed off the stone walls. He began to organise his notes and leave when a knock on the open door caught his attention, he turned to see Armin at the doorway, holding a bunch of papers in his hands. The two stared at each other for a few seconds in silence, waiting to see who would talk first.

"Hello, Al." Armin was the first to speak.

"Hello Armin." Alphonse replied; the tension in the room was uncomfortable for both of them, Armin stepped inside and sat opposite to Alphonse.

"Alphonse, I've been giving it some thought and… I want to say that accept your judgement on it."

It

He didn't want to say was "it" was but the two knew exactly what he was talking about. "You're right in saying that it's something evil, that's not up for debate; I want to believe that we'll defeat Reiner, Bertholdt, the beast titan and whoever's behind this without having to resort to such a terrible weapon."

Alphonse sighed softly as a feeling of relief came over him at what Armin had said. "I'm glad you feel that way, Armin."

"If those three are really what stands in our way, if they're the biggest challenge we have to overcome, then I think we'll be able to do this without having to sacrifice our humanity." Armin sighed slightly "but…" and with that Alphonse felt his heart drop. "We know so little about the enemy and we don't know if those three really are the best that they can throw at us; I'm scared that what we're facing now will only be the beginning of our problems or that whoever or whatever is trying to kill humanity might have some kind of immense power that we can't match." Armin and Alphonse both looked each other in the eyes; Alphonse didn't like what Armin was saying but he could tell neither did Armin. "We shouldn't have to use something like that, but at the same time, we shouldn't totally rule it out."

Alphonse took in a deep breath before gently sighing "Armin, in the past I, my brother and our friends had to face people who had more stronger and more powerful than us; we didn't have to do terrible things unless only absolutely necessary, we had to fight a person who tried to be God, trust me when I say that I doubt there's anything the beast titan has or this world has that can match us." Alphonse knew that the task ahead of them would be immense but he believed that will eventually overcome it; the most dangerous threat to them seemed only to be the titans.

If we can find a way to beat them or… maybe turn them back into humans then we'd have left these people being better off.

"I hope you're right, Alphonse." Armin replied as he laid out his notes.

"I know so." Alphonse declared with a soft smile. "So, let's get down to it; anything new on your research?"

"I've been going over what went wrong and I think I know why; a slight modification to the transmutation circle will either result in explosions or flames.

"Interesting, I remember Roy Mustang had two gloves which differed on the type of flames he produced." Alphonse mentions.

"So that must be it." Armin replied "Of course, now we have to find out what changes need to be made."

"Alright then, so we know what we have to do." Alphonse replied as he went over the flame circle.

In the large mess hall, Levi squad and Hange's team leaders met once more to discuss their next move; accompanying them was Dimo Reeves and his son Flegel. Some sat down while others stood up as they waited for everyone to arrive.

"Good work, Nifa" Levi said as he handed her a mug of water "I know it must not be easy to make those night runs."

"Thank you, Captain." Nifa replied as she wiped her mouth.

"So Hange can't make it?" Levi asked as he turned to his squad

"No sir, she left to relay the information I got to commander Erwin." Mina replied.

Levi sighed "Right before we this, damn it shitty glasses." Levi remarked. "Alright, let's get started then, so the Reeves Company has agreed to work alongside us in our plans and have helped set up the next mission." The group all turned towards Dimo and Flegel who had sat silently.

"Thank you for the trust, soldier." Dimo replied "I hope you'll honor your end of the agreement. "

"We will, that I can promise." Levi replied.

"Hope you don't mind me bring my son along." Dimo said as he placed his hand roughly on top of Flegel's head.

"No, its fine" Levi replied "If he's with the company then we can trust him like I trust you. Welcome Flegel, hope you're comfortable." He said in an almost dull tone, while not comforting was a stark difference from his usual intimidating one.

"Levi huh?" Flegel replied "If you wanted to make us feel comfortable then how about some snacks." Everyone looked in the room looked at Flegel, shocked that this chubby young guy could be extremely rude to humanity's strongest soldier.

Dimo slapped his slap on the back of his head "Sorry, kid still got a lot to learn; we'll leave if you want so just quickly fill us in."

"It's fine." Levi replied. "What we're planning here is the decisive next steps in our mission." Levi shifted his head slightly towards Historia who had been sitting quietly next to Armin and Jean. "Historia, have you come to terms with the whole 'queen of the walls' role."

Historia didn't respond at first, instead she balled her hands into a fist and took a deep breath as if she was summoning her courage. "No." she stated, all eyes suddenly fell on her. "I won't accept it; I can't be the queen of humanity."

"Even though you promised the commander that, if needed, you will carry out any role that was needed of you?" Levi questioned, his voice was still calm.

"I didn't think it would involve me becoming the ruler of humanity." Historia retorted "You're asking for too much."

Levi then approached her "You're right, we are asking for too much, but you seem to be mistaken on one thing." He stopped, coming face to face with her; the tension in the room was now boiling over as everyone waited for something to happen. "That you have a chose in this matter." He then grabbed Historia but her collar and raised her from her seat held her up into the air, suffocating her as she struggled to break free. Almost everyone in the room watched both shocked and scared as Levi began to manhandle her. "If you don't want to be queen then run, fight, do everything you possibly can to stop us because we won't stop until your ass is sitting on that throne."

"Captain, stop this!" Connie urged.

"I guess this is how it's going to be." Levi said. "If you don't like it then fight back." Suddenly Levi felt a hand grip his shoulder tightly; he turned to see Ed look down at him, anger written all over his face.

"Let. Go." Ed growled as his hand's grip on Levi's shoulder tightens. The team leaders began to move in until Levi held up hand; signalling them to stand back.

Levi dropped Historia onto the floor, causing her to fall onto her knees as she began to violently cough; her friends quickly went to check on her, Ed turned his head back to see if she was okay. Suddenly he felt his wrist come under intense pain as he turned his head back to Levi grabbing Ed's arm as he tried to remove Ed's hand from his shoulder.

The two of them glared at each other as neither wanted to back down; despite the pressure Levi was placing on Ed's wrist, Ed was refusing to let up. "Let go, Ed." Levi ordered.

"Make me." Ed replied, grimacing from the pain.

"Alright." With his free hand Levi grabbed Ed's collar, pulled his forward then pushed him; sending Ed crashing into the ground. Levi squad's attention quickly turned from Historia and to Ed and Levi. Ed quickly got off the floor; he turned his attention quickly back to Levi and marched over to him.

"Ed, stop!" Petra ordered as she stood in between both him and Levi. Ed continued to glare at Levi before taking a few steps back.

"Captain, you're gone too far!" Jean yelled.

Levi turned to look at the scared and disgusted faces of his squad, Alphonse stepped forward, a disapproving look in his eyes. "That was uncalled for." Alphonse said with a stern tone.

"Alphonse, why did you let those titans live?" Levi questioned, taking Alphonse by surprise. "When the titan horde came down on us, you went out of your way to make sure you didn't kill them. Did the idea that they were human suddenly stop them from being humanity's greatest threat in your mind? What will you do when we inevitably have to face them once more? Will you try to save them, even when they devour hundreds of our comrades?"

"I… I didn't give up on myself, so I'm not giving up on them." Alphonse declared. Almost everyone in the room was confused by what Alphonse meant, all except Ed and Eren who knew. "We'll find another way."

"Okay, you go find another way while I do what's necessary." Levi replied, throughout this entire sequence of events his voice never wavered nor did it get raised yet nobody but him commanded the authority in the room. "What do you see yourselves doing tomorrow?" he asked, it was a simple question yet… "Will you have food on the table, will you get a goodnight's rest and will those around you be there tomorrow? These aren't things that normal people worry about on a daily basis; that's means I'm abnormal, likely because I've seen too many abnormal things. But… if Wall Rose were breached tomorrow and we faced an emergency then I'd be faster than any of you to react… to fight." Everyone listened silently as Levi lectured them.

"I'll fight, even if I have to face the hell of tomorrow again. You're all seen terrible things too and you might very well see more terrible things tomorrow." Levi pauses for a moment and took a deep breath. "I want to end this recurring nightmare and there are those who would stand in my way. But I'm fine with playing the role of the lunatic who kills people; I have to be ready to rearrange some faces because the hell of humans killing each other is better than the hell of being eaten, at the very least not all of humanity will be damned. But if we can quickly seize control of this world then we could avoid the deaths of a lot of people, and wouldn't that be nice?" he walked up to Historia, looking down at her. "So Historia, what's it gonna be? Will play your part or stand up and fight me; I don't care which just…

"CHOOSE NOW, WE DON'T HAVE TIME!" Levi yelled as he knelt down onto the ground to come face to face with her.

"I'll do it!" Historia cried. "I'll become the queen."

"Good." Levi replied, switching back to a calmer tone as he helped Historia from the ground. "We'll be counting on you, Historia." Levi shifted his eyes back towards his squad; all of whom had a look of either disapproval or anxiety. "Nifa, what were the orders from Erwin?"

"Right, commander Erwin has set out a four stage plan: first, we will proceed with the mission to capture the head of the interior MPs and interrogate him or her for the location of Rod Reiss; the Reeves Company has set up the location and the time for the transfer, because of what we know and the extent to which the powers Eren's titan is capable of we cannot risk either Eren or Historia in this operation and as such they shall remain guarded in their current location."

"Secondly, once we have uncovered his location we will leak the information surrounding the powers of the coordinate and its relations to the people of the walls as well as the Fritz royal family being imposters, once that has happened then, hopefully, the royal government will have collapsed and we'd had taken control of the government apparatus with the help of our allies in the garrison with the full support of the public."

"Thirdly, we'll apprehend Rod Reiss and install Historia Reiss as the queen and help in forming a new government."

Nifa paused for a second "And finally… the scout regiment will aid in establishing the dominance of Historia's rule and 'sweep away' any remnants of the former government; from the interior MPs to any loyalists noble lords." The last part lingered in everyone's minds.

Sweep away…

"So it doesn't matter who we work with, we're still dogs of the military." Ed remarked.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Levi questioned. "You signed up for the regiment so you'll do as your commander tells you."

Inside the armory, Petra began to inspect her equipment as she prepared for the first stage of Erwin's plan. "Petra." Levi called out; Petra turned her head to see Levi standing at the doorway.

"Sir" Petra replied as she saluted him "what the problem?"

Levi walked into the armoury "I'm placing you in charge of the capture mission." Petra stared at Levi, shocked.

"You're not going to lead it, why?" Petra asked.

"The way things went during that briefing I don't think I have their trust at the moment, which could compromise the mission, so I'm asking you to lead them."

"You can count on me, sir." Petra replied resolutely.

"Thank you." Levi responded "So, you'll need to organise an away team."

"Ed has experience with you so he'll have to come with us; Mikasa is still in recovery so Alphonse will have to take her place, Jean and Armin will be needed to play as decoys for Eren and Historia and finally Mina."

"Mina?" Levi asked.

"I think she'll be able to prove herself in this operation." Petra replied.

"It's your call." Levi stated. "The rest will help in guarding the castle; they'll show the new guards around."

"There are new guards coming?" Petra asked.

"Yeah, we got a message from Pixis recently, saying that some of Ian's men are coming to help man the castle; he's on our side so I believe we can trust them. Organise your team and I'll meet you at the gate." Levi turned back and walked out of the armoury.

Petra wondered around the castle as she looked for the others, she heard a voice that sounded like Dimo Reeves come from the other side of an open door. She peered through to see Ed and Alphonse explaining to Dimo and Flegel about Ed's automail leg while Eren and Historia watched.

"Hello Petra" Alphonse said as he spotted Petra.

"Ed and Al, you guys need to get ready, we're moving out soon." Petra said, she turned to Historia who was sitting quietly "Historia, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." She replied with a gloomy expression on her face.

"What Levi did went too far." Ed said as he rolled his trouser leg down.

"Yeah, if you hadn't went up to him I'd of done it myself." Flegel remarked proudly, everyone in the room looked at Flegel like he said the most ridiculous thing they'd ever heard. "What?"

"Sorry for my idiot son, Lieutenant." Dimo said "Look you guys, I know you must be angry at Levi but when he spoke to me about improving the situation around Trost district and about trusting us, I believe he's telling the truth even when he's could just beat us all senseless and get what he wants like that. He knows what it means to have nothing; he's not a bad guy, am I correct in saying that, Lieutenant?"

"Yeah, he's just a bit awkward and blunt at times." Petra replied.

"If you don't mind me saying this, Lieutenant" Dimo turned to Historia "Missy… sorry, your highness; once you become queen, smack him and tell him this 'I dare you to hit me back." Petra was taken aback from the request, she was about to say something when both Eren and Ed began to egg Historia on.

"Yeah, you should do that." Eren said smiling.

"Get some pay back and the best part is he can't do anything about it." Ed added.

"Brother…" Alphonse said, disapproving of the whole thing.

"Alright, enough of that, Ed and Al get ready; I want you in your gear and at the gate." Petra ordered.

A couple minutes had passed and Petra, along with those she had chosen for the mission, began to enter into the Reeves company wagon.

"You got everything?" Dimo asked as they seated themselves in the wagon.

"We're got everything." Petra replied.

"Good, it's gonna be a long ride." Dimo said as he lowered the tarp over the entrance. "Wait for these garrison soldiers to go through." They could hear the sound of horses passing through and the chattering of people around them.

"You guys okay?" She asked as she looked around at the faces of her squad mates; some looked anxious, others looked calm and collected, while Ed had already begun to fall asleep.

"Yeah, I'm just glad I just have to wear the wig." Armin replied as he tugged in his raincoat.

"Its better if we all have ODM gear on." Petra said "The cover story is that they found Eren and Historia like that."

As the wagon began to move, Petra peered through the cover to see the scouts and Captain Levi greeting the garrison soldiers. Levi was shaking one soldier's hand; it was a woman of average height, thin build with blond hair tied back, the garrison soldier turned her head towards the wagon and Petra could have sworn she saw her and smiled.

"Ed, Al and Mina, your job is to handle any of the guards" Petra ordered, she wore a large coat to hide her ODM gear. "Keep watch in the trees, I'll stay with Jean and Armin in the mines."

"Okay." Ed replied, they fired their cables into the trees and reeled themselves upwards; the leaves shook as they brushed past them and landed onto the branches. Ed watched as Petra entered into the mines, he turned to his left see Alphonse in the next tree; he crouching down onto a high branch watching the road.

The sound of horses pulling a carriage caught his attention; from his high vantage point Ed could make it out to be a small black carriage. It stopped at the entrance; the doors open and a group of five men dressed in black came out and greeted the Reeves men at the entrance to the mine. Their black hats covered their faces, hiding themselves from Ed as he tried to get a good look at them.

Why did I pick so high a spot? He thought berating him I can't see shit.

He watched as one of the men entered into the mines as the rest waited outside that must be our guy… Ed looked over to Alphonse and Mina who both seemed to be getting ready to take out bodyguards Petra, Armin and Jean have to capture the guy, we'll take these guys on.

Suddenly the man walked out of the mines along with Dimo Reeves as two of the other guys entered the mines what the… the two strolled into the forest, Ed watched as they got closer to the tree he hid in. As they stood underneath it, both he and Al listened in on their conversation.

"By the way, Reeves." said the man in the black coat; his voice seemed familiar to Ed, like he had heard it before. "Do you know a guy named Levi Ackerman?"

It didn't take long for Ed to realise.

'You know who that guy was, don't you?'

'Yeah, I did…'

He recalled that conversation with Levi but… Ackerman? Mikasa… is Levi related to her? Is that guy related to her, to them? The same guy who attacked Mikasa could be related to her, that thought confused Ed How, when, what? This guy's the head of the interior MPs? It can't be…

"Levi Ackerman? Never heard his full name before." Dimo responded "I'm sure everyone has heard of him; he's also the guy looking to kill us since we capture those brats, but you'll do something right?"

"I taught him a lot" said the man.

So that's how you know him, Levi…

"That midget is my pride and joy." in one swift motion the man pulled Dimo Reeves close and sliced opened his neck as the two other guards shot the Reeves men standing outside and the sound of more gunshots echoed from within the mines.

OH SHIT!

Ed quickly jumped off his tree branch; he positioned his leg ready to strike at his head. The guy quickly looked up and saw Ed descending on him; the two quickly got a look at each other. He was that guy that attacked them in the alleyway. He quickly raised his arm and blocked Ed's kick; Ed bounced off his arm and onto the ground.

"Same move? You disappoint me." said the old man as he smiled at Ed. Quickly the two other guards ran towards Ed, coming at him from both sides, when both Alphonse and Mina slammed into them and pinned them to the ground.

"Mina, go check on the others!" Ed yelled, as Mina rushed towards the mines Ed turned his attention back at the old man "Just who the hell are you?"

"The name's Kenny." He replied.

"Oh my God!" Flegel cried as he knelt over his father's corpse.

"Did you get him?" Petra yelled as she, Armin, Jean and Mina ran up to him and Al. Ed quickly noticed that her blades were dripping in blood.

"I see you took care of those two." Kenny said as he looked over to Petra.

"How the hell did you find out?" Petra questioned as she raised her blade toward him.

"I take it Levi's not here." Kenny said. "Shame, I wanted to see that little shit again."

"Answer the question!" Petra demanded as she pressed the end of her blade to his neck.

"Have you ever killed anyone before you killed my men?" Kenny asked "Developed a taste for it?" he deliberately ignored the question. "Tell me missy, did Levi ever teach you about cornerin' a rat before?"

"What?" Petra exclaimed.

"Cornering a rat?" Armin muttered; a frightening realisation came to him "Guys it a trap!" He yelled. The violent rustling of the trees leaves quickly caught their attention as they looked up to see people, dressed in what looked to be ODM gear, fly above them.

They don't have blades… Ed thought as he watched them those are… "Everyone, get down!" he yelled as a volley of shots were fired from on high and struck the ground around them,

In the confusion, Kenny quickly rushed Ed; he tried to pin him to the ground and raise his knife upwards to stab his hand but Ed kicked him off with his left leg and sent him back, Kenny cushioned the blow with a quick block, and the two quickly got up to their feet. The rest of the team quickly moved towards cover as tried to avoid the hail of gun fire from the sky.

"Scatter and pick 'em off!" Kenny ordered, he turned back to see Ed who had taken out his second blade "Leave this runt to me." He said as he readied his knife.

"Ed!" Alphonse yelled as he tried to rush over to his brother, suddenly he was tackled to the ground by Mina as they narrowed missed the next volley of shots coming from the MPs.

"Damn it, I missed!" yelled one of the MPs

"Everyone, prepare to fall back!" Petra ordered "Armin, Jean grab Flegel!" the two had been taking cover behind some trees when they ran over to Flegel. "Al, Mina, move in to support Ed!"

"Damn it, we've got nothing to hit back with!" Jean yelled.

Alphonse watched as Kenny once more rushed towards Ed; his large knife clashed with his blades as the two were locked in a struggle. Al and Mina rushed towards him when the tree they passed suddenly exploded, sending shards of wood towards them, one of which stuck Mina's back as they collapsed back onto the ground.

"Mina!" Al yelled as he quickly got up; he grabbed Mina from under her arm and tried to drag her towards cover.

"In front of you!" Jean yelled, alerting Alphonse; he looked to see three of them flying towards him, their guns pointed at him and Mina. He knew he couldn't react fast enough to transmute when they'd already had their weapons pointed at him and he couldn't drop Mina and leap out of the way.

Had I'd still been a suit of armour I wouldn't have to worry about getting shot he thought grimly.

Suddenly a large wall of fire engulfed the MPs coming towards them; the MPs screamed in agony as they were unexpectedly being burned alive, their unbearable pain quickly ceasing as they crashed into the ground.

Alphonse turned to see Armin with a match box and burnt match in his hands. "We have to go!" Armin yelled, there was a look of anger on his face. "The fire should hold them off!" Al turned back towards Ed and Kenny; a wall of fire and burning trees separated him from Alphonse and the others.

"Ed!" Alphonse yelled.

Ed kicked Kenny back and took a few steps back himself in an effort to give himself some space, he looked towards Alphonse through the burning trees and shrubbery. Flame Alchemy… Armin managed to do it…

"After those rats!" Kenny yelled "Don't let them escape!" on the other side of the forest, which hadn't been set on flames, more of the MPs flew towards them.

"Al, just run!" Ed yelled "I'll find another way out!" the fire grew in intensity and quickly the sight of his brother was blocked by a thick cloud of black smoke.

"You're not going anywhere." Said Kenny, Ed turned to see him right just inches away from him. Ed quickly moved to the side as he saw Kenny swing his knife at him, Ed swings his blade at him but Kenny grabs him by the wrist and slashes at a cable connected to his gear.

What the hell? Kenny then punches Ed in the gut and quickly pries one of the blades from Ed before sending him back with a powerful kick. Ed crashes onto the ground, he could feel the burning heat all around him, he looked up to see Kenny staring at him from the same spot, holding one of his blades.

"Now it's a fair fight." Kenny said as he slowly walked towards him "Show me what you're made of, runt."

Ed quickly got up to his feet and glared at Kenny, he gripped the handle of his only blade with both hands "You're gonna regret that!" he yelled as he and Kenny charged towards each other.

Hello everyone,

Sorry this took a while; I was on holiday abroad and didn't get much writing done.

I say this before but thank you for the now over 110 favorites; it really means a lot of me.

A while back I mentioned that I had hoped to reach the Marley arc by the end of the summer; however certain things happened in my life and also the story plan for this arc had to be changed and improved.

So my hope is that we'll reach the end of the Uprising arc instead.