Minister Nick was dead. Hanji was on the verge of tears, the nerves in her throat was a sign that she needed vengeance. Eyebrows furrowed to endure the sorrow bought upon by his death. The priest was stubborn as a mule but had humanity like nobody. They had ran him to earth to break his faith though for the good of humanity, Hanji had began to understand the importance of credence these past few days, these days, nothing was believed.
They had arrived outside the cabin where Levi and his new squad hid inside of. Daylight was bleaker then usual or was it her thoughts that made it seem that way? The horses were tied and they were ready to go inside. The inside of the cabin held no more warmth then the outside weather, the young cadets were sat around the square table. Historia and Eren were the focus of her sights as she pondered about the future announcement she'd have to give to them all.
"Right now... we need to get organised and plan our next move. Our goal is the same as before... that is to close up the hole in Wall Maria." Levi began the meeting before both teams.
"Sir... my idea was to have Eren develop the abilities to harden the shell of his Titan form and with this ability we would be able to plug up Wall Maria... that is if it is possible..." Armin informed the others.
"There would be no need for extra sources, no need for wagons... it should be night when we are out on the journey, since the titans are less active at this particular time... from Trost District to Shiganshina, if it's just us and the horses... I'm sure we can make it." Armin further pointed out.
"Overall... the mission to retake Wall Maria would take less then 24 hours."
Hanji obeyed the silence of the room, her mind weathered with fears and predictions.
"For that to happen... it all depends on this guy over here." Levi scoffed and his gaze challenged Eren beside him. "I understand that, sir-!" Eren answered back.
"Hanji, you heard him, he's for it... and you get to decide where the experiments will take place..." Levi turned on his chair to watch her expected out of control reaction to no avail. "Of course... it's my duty even if I am to die." Hanji felt pessimistic for her mind was clouded with the predicted wars in future. "Huh?" Levi felt uncomfortable by her use of words.
"The Garrison is fully mobilised and patrolling the walls... that requires an incredible amount of manpower. Patrols have become so infrequent, the cities cannot be maintained. Chaos could easily be compounded within the walls. There's no doubt... we have to recapture Wall Maria as soon as possible. I want the people of the walls to feel safe, again... I want the fighting to cease... that's why we should experiment on Eren and understand as much as we can about his abilities. His ability to control other titans... we will have the upper hand. That's why... without hesitation... we can't waste anymore valuable time... we must take action! Still... I want Eren to lay low for the time being." Hanji haunted the dumbstruck room with her last words. "I don't understand..." Armin failed to comprehend along with the others.
"I mean... it's complicated out there..." Hanji muttered under her breath, she felt the apprehension from the morning after she had witnessed the crime scene settle deeper into her very bones. Dread numbed her intellect, her sweat trickled down her spine. "You know... since the moment you've walked into this room, you seemed on edge as if you're holding in your shit. You've still got the same look on your face... why don't you tell us what we don't know, Hanji?" Levi analysed her tense expression and felt frustration for it and it was unusual for Hanji to be this fretful.
"Minister Nick... he's dead." Hanji announced to the crowded room with horrified beady eyes. Everyone was speechless, "Minister Nick was found dead this morning... inside the Trost District barracks... I don't know the cause of death but I'm certain it was murder!" Hanji felt her temper bend into heat as she sought justice.
"Nick was tortured by the interior first squad of the military police... then killed. I expected the military police would want to get their hands on Nick... That is why I hid him in the barracks after I changed his identity. I never thought they'd have him killed by soldiers... I was naive... it's my fault Minister Nick was killed." Hanji was devastated by her mistake that she felt had caused the end of another's life. Minister Nick she thought was always peculiar for his unreasonable faith but she did understand what it took to devote oneself to anything and she respected that in him. Everyone was silenced by the news she had given, the rays of light shot through the window by the bleak skies had escaped out of the room when one cloud intervened.
Levi felt exhausted by the guilt she stomached. He swallowed the bitter tea from his cup and embodied the wordless quiet. "They're interested in the whereabouts of Historia and Eren... the reason for torture." Levi concluded and moved his eyes upon Historia and Eren. "Right now... it's unclear who around us is a friend or foe... this location could be threatened alone." Moblit warned his superior. "This is why you have stopped your experiments on Eren, Hanji?" Levi moved his gaze upon her with pensiveness. "The inside of the walls is chaos... there could be more enemies alike Reiner and Bertholdt within the walls that we'll have to face... our focus shouldn't be the outside of the walls alone." Hanji explained the depth of the situation with anxiety.
"So... we should sit and drink tea instead?" Levi scoffed with disbelief written in his eyes. "We could knit if not that... we must stay low for now..." Hanji reasoned and gulped. "No... you're wrong... you think they'll stop after they find us? Run and get caught? Hanji... this isn't like you, aren't you clear- headed? You're timid because you feel guilty about Nick's death. How many of Nick's fingernails were cut off?" Levi began to question her. "Huh?" Hanji was dumbstruck by his way of words. "Didn't you see him? How many?" Levi repeated his question with impatience. "I'm not sure... it was only for a moment but all the ones I could see were cut off." Hanji pictured the memory.
"I see..." Levi understood. "If you're going to talk, you'll talk after one... it doesn't matter how many they rip off after that. Minister Nick was an idiot but it seems he held onto his faith to the very end." Levi lowered his gaze in thought.
"Oh... god." Hanji remembered the time she had threatened Nick upon the wall, she felt ashamed to have toyed with his faith as if it meant nothing and felt the injustice of it dawn upon her.
"Nick, hasn't talked... there's a good chance that the enemy haven't a clue about our knowledge on the Reiss Family... two options left if you ask me... run before we are caught... or... exterminate the enemies... Hanji, what do you propose we do?" Levi scrutinised his eyes and admired the wait for her answer. "Both! We do both at once!" Hanji's frustration subsided and she rejoiced in spirit. The lost ray of light rained through the window and painted the room in bright. "Huh... Erwin would've given the same answer..." Levi was awed by the foresight she conjured when in confidence.
Hanji found her feet and her squad began to depart out of the cabin to find their horses. "Oi..." Levi called to her before she left through the door and Hanji gazed upon him. "I don't have to teach you how to take a shit... do I? Next time, don't hold it in... you give out the commands, now. Erwin's constipation... look where it got him..." Levi crossed his arms over his chest and thought about the extent of danger upon Erwin's life in distaste.
"Haha... I'll have to make full use of your advices, Levi... you seem to know your way around darkness, better than me!" Hanji chuckled with weakness. "Tch-! The darkness... if you're talking about my past, I've never seen anything scarier than a woman who is in love with 15 meter giants." Hanji was hit by another one of his hidden compliments. Their gaze upon one another altered reality into some kind of dream like state. His features softened before her small smile and Hanji was called from outside. "I'll be back." She found reality by the handle of the door and stepped out.
