DOUBLE TROUBLE ➳ levi ackerman

（ 09 ）TO CAPTURE A TITAN

FIADH HAD NEVER FELT MORE OUT OF PLACE. Sat alone on the couch in Commander Erwin's office, she watched as his eyes scanned down through the notes that she had taken throughout Eren's Titan-hardening experiments. Once he had finished reading, Erwin rounded on Captain Levi, and Fiadh was seriously beginning to question while she was allowed to attend a private meeting between two high-ranking military personnel.

"I see," Erwin said, and there was an undertone of bitterness to his voice. "Another failure, then. Imagine if it had worked; we could've plugged the hole in Shiganshina in less than a day."

"What we need is information," Levi added his own input. "It's not like there are books on the subject. That would make things too easy. We do have Christa—no, Historia Reiss. Maybe she can give us some insight into the nature of the Walls."

Captain Levi was sat in a wooden chair by a round table, his gaze fixed firmly on the floorboards as he spoke, and Commander Erwin was stood by the large window at the end of the office. Turning his head and averting his eyes to the darkened streets that sprawled out below, Erwin spoke again.

"I did some digging and found a report about her life before the Cadets," he elucidated. "The illegitimate daughter of Lord Reiss—hers was not a happy childhood."

Fiadh shifted in her seat, and she could almost feel herself sinking into the plush material of the red couch. Loudly clearing her throat, she scratched around her neck and shoulders and opened her mouth for the first time since she had entered Commander Erwin's office.

"Y'know, I really don't think it's okay for me to be here," she laughed nervously while getting steadily to her feet. "I mean, I'm not exactly high-ranking, and this seems like some pretty confidential information—"

The Commander and the Captain paid no mind to the fact that Fiadh had stood up and spoken, and Erwin proceeded to talk over her as though she was invisible or simply not in the room at all.

"Lord Reiss is they key to all this somehow. Why would a mere Regional Lord know the secrets of the Walls?"

Fiadh hoped that Erwin's question was a rhetorical one, because he was only met with silence as Fiadh and Levi offered him no response. Sighing to himself, Erwin turned towards the window once more and pulled the curtains shut, blocking out the silver light of the moon and plunging the office into the dim lighting of the flickering flames of candles and oil lamps.

"Doctor Broin," Fiadh instinctively perked up to her full height when Erwin addressed her directly. "Any updates on the anti-Titan serum?"

Fiadh shook her head, blushing slightly in embarrassment upon realising that Erwin still had his back to her and couldn't see her actions. "No sir, there's been no new advancements since yesterday."

"Have you made any progress in general?"

Commander Erwin's tone was curt, almost impatient, and it made Fiadh's heart skip a beat in alarm.

"It's—it's not an easy thing to make, Commander," Fiadh mumbled and, despite her reasonable defense, she still hung her head low in shame. "The serums keep—well—changing consistency when they come in contact with oxygen, and it's not as if we have appropriate test subjects. Unless we can manage to capture a Titan—"

"Then we'll capture a Titan," Captain Levi's voice cut through Fiadh's words. Shocked, Fiadh and Erwin whipped their heads around, staring wildly at Levi. His eyes were still anchored on the polished floor. "I'm sure Hange will be more than happy to assist us, and my squad too. Erwin, with your permission, I'd be more than happy to lead an expedition to capture a Titan if it means finalising the serum more quickly."