5
843 - A few weeks later -
"Hange, Iris, Moblit," Erwin spoke, opening the door toward the dining room without any warning.
"Jeez, Erwin. Do you know how to knock?" teased Hange. The captain's blue eyes shined over the dim light that the candles weakly provided. His face was serious, like always, but this time it held more meaning.
"Hange, show some respect!" Moblit scolded, but only slightly.
"It's alright, Moblit. My apologies," reassured Erwin, who had already gotten used to Hange's informality.
The grin on Hange's face showed that she wasn't taking things seriously again. A sigh left Iris's mouth after taking a sip from her coffee.
"What is it, captain?" she stood up, greeting each other with a nod.
"I'm sure you've heard of the recent cases, yes?" continued Erwin. The brown-haired woman tilted her head in confusion.
"The one about the underground city?" Moblit questioned but neither Hange nor Iris knew what they were talking about. Underground city? That was a topic Iris knew nothing about. She hadn't even known a city could lie underground. Would that even be possible? Could the people there live without any sunlight at all? As Moblit looked around, he saw his friends' confused faces, he then proceeded to let out a sigh.
"To think that the two smartest scouts don't know about the underground city," teased him. He looked at Hange and Iris eye to eye. "Recent news about underground city criminals are surfacing all throughout the barracks. Some people have heard a lot about them, and I'm guessing you two haven't. I heard they've done some pretty suspicious stuff."
Erwin lifted his cloak, showing one of his gear. "Moblit's right. They stole 3DM gears from one of us. That itself is already illegal. We don't know their motives but we do know their whereabouts," Erwin explained further. Eyebrows furrowed, Iris and Hange look at each other once more.
"So we're not dealing with titans this time?" Iris asked.
With a shake from his head, Erwin uttered a no. "However, don't be too confident. We may be dealing with one of our own but we don't know what they're capable of."
"If they managed to steal one of our gears, it probably means they're using it for their own benefit," Hange's eyebrows lifted in disbelief.
"Which means... they managed to learn how to use it without proper training," she added. Iris listened, mouth slightly agape at the possibility. What took them two long years to train took some underground criminals a few? That alone seemed impossible, but then again, a walled city with titans threatening its population seemed impossible in and of its own.
"Erwin, you're saying we catch these criminals?" Iris questioned as Erwin sat on the empty seat in front of the three.
"No. I want to see what they could do first." A small smile appeared on Hange's and Iris's faces. She hadn't realized the relief she felt inside. Maybe it was because they weren't fighting titans this time, or maybe it was because the probability of any of their comrades dying at this mission was low. Either way, Iris was eager to see what these criminals were all about.
Just as he said, Erwin and other survey corps; Miche Zacharias and a select few followed. The squad carefully followed their leader along the trenches of what seemed to be the location of the underground city. With their hoodies on to hide their identity, Iris eyed a few children who were weak against the stone-covered walls. Their legs had a slight tremble while their skin didn't look healthy at all. Iris couldn't help but feel for those kids, why must they suffer down these trenches? And it seemed as if Erwin sensed the pity in your eyes.
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Freedom: Levi Fanfiction
Fanfic"The only way is forward", said Iris Schmidt, a refugee adopted by Grisha Jaeger. At the young age of 15, Iris watched as her parents were mercilessly eaten alive by a deformed titan. All she had known was a peaceful life outside the walls, secluded...
