Isabel squinted her eyes at the dark corner of the room, trying to discern the boy that Levi said was sulking there. When she took a step closer, her eyes finally adjusted and she tilted her head.

“Hey, Charles,” she squatted down to his level. “Why do you look so scary?”

Because Charlotte did look menacingly frightening. She had her knees folded up and her arms wrapped around them. Her brilliant green eyes stared blankly ahead, the life fading out of them. Blood was dried on her hands as well as the knees of her pants. Her skin was ghostly pale, drained of any life.

“Come over here and eat,” Isabel coaxed. “It’s curry~”

Charles stared ahead, unfeeling, an empty vessel.

Isabel pouted. “Charles… Charles… Wake up…”

“Leave him alone, Isabel,” Farlan said at the table. “He’s broken.”

“Don’t talk like he’s some toy!” Isabel pointed at Farlan, shaming him.

 Farlan didn’t look impressed as he spooned another bite of curry into his mouth. “What’s the point in having him around if he can’t work?”

“He can help in some way!”

“Like what,” Farlan inquired disinterestedly. “Look at him Isabel. He’s been unhinged and I doubt anything can fix him at this point.”

Isabel gritted her teeth and clenched her fist, unable to retort.

They heard somebody descending the stairs from above and saw Levi had shown himself. He had a book in one hand and a bag in another. Without a word to the others, he walked over to Charles and dropped the bag at his feet. Charles’ eyes dully fixated on it.

“I managed to retrieve this from the rubble,” he said plainly. “It has some money to get you by and I’m sure you can handle getting food whenever it runs out. So, get your fucking, useless being out of this house. You’re intruding on our time and space.”

“Levi onii-sama!” Isabel shouted in shock.

Charles shifted a bit and grabbed his bag. He got to his feet and headed to the exit. Isabel rushed forward and kept herself between him and the door, arms and legs spread out defiantly.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Isabel snarled.

“Isabel,” Farlan said warningly.

Charles gazed vacantly at her stomach, not bothering to say or do anything.

“What’s the matter with you two?!” Isabel demanded of her friends. “We’re the ones that asked him to join us and now you’re going to cast him aside just because he’s depressed?!”

Levi gave her an emotionless stare and Isabel kept eye contact in pure pigheadedness. Levi turned to Charles.

“What are you thinking about right now?”

Charles’ eyes moved slowly to look at him. “You should’ve left me to burn.”

Isabel faltered at his words. Charles exhaled softly and pushed passed her and out the door. Isabel stared at the wood that separated them from the boy that just left.

“Where is he going, Levi?” Farlan asked as the man in question sat down on the other side of the table.

Levi placed the book on the surface and lifted a cup of water to his lips. “Take a wild guess.”

Farlan’s eyes wandered to the book and he picked it up. Flipping to the third page he scanned the title and the author.

“Flucht, By Lizzy Everheart,” Farlan muttered under his breath. He turned the page and he skimmed the words, his eyes widening in wonder and astonishment. “This…!”

Levi lowered the cup and took the book back. “A prohibited text converted into a fictional literary work.”

He flipped through the pages while Isabel, finally intrigued by their conversation, pulled up a chair next to Farlan.

“There’s a pattern,” he laid the book out on a certain page. “The first few words of a line connect to the first words of the next. It goes three, five, three, two, one, seven, fifteen, and then one again.”

Levi pointed out the words, tracing his finger over the printed letters. “Brilliant, really. Even with the code, the storyline is smooth and a decent read while taking a crap.”

“No wonder they killed his sister,” Farlan said, enlightened. Levi snapped the book shut. “But, what does it have to do with where Charles’ is going?”

“It has to do with our decision,” Levi leaned back luxuriously into his chair. “He’s going to kill every Military Police soldier he runs into.”

“What?! Is he mad?!” Isabel exclaimed.

“Without a doubt,” Farlan deadpanned.

Levi tapped the book on its cover. “The decision we have to make is whether or not he’s worth getting mixed up in this political shit. There’s no guarantee that the Military Police don’t know about him and if we’re related to him in any way, they’ll be throwing in more “effort” to catch us. But if we let him go, I doubt we’d run into another person who can utilize their strange lack of presence to their advantage as well as that brat.”

Levi met Farlan’s intense gaze. “It’s up to you, Farlan. It was your idea to invite him in the first place. But you should hurry and make a decision if you want to keep him from doing something stupid.”

_

Charles gripped the knife, her hand still and calm. The night was high and there were barely any people left on the streets, which was immensely fortunate for many reasons. Charlotte didn’t bother with stealth, and she was in plain view, strolling down the middle of the dim street.

The moon was smiling up ahead, throwing its iridescent fluid onto the neat cobblestone road. It threw shadows across the boy’s face and provided enough light to see ahead. The blue reflected off the blade ominously, almost preparing the sharp weapon for its crowning of scarlet red jewels.

The gravel crunched underfoot and Charles’ eyes hooded. She didn’t give a fuck anymore. Living was pointless and if she was going to die, she was going to bring down as many corrupted Military Police scum as possible with her. After all, it’s probably a boring ride down to hell, perhaps a couple of her victims could accompany her.  

“Oi, damn brat.”

Before Charlotte could react, somebody covered her mouth with a cloth and forced her left arm behind her back.

“Kgh!” Charlotte grunted, trying to shove the person off.

“You’re emitting too much of a presence,” Levi whispered coolly. “Even the most mentally disabled Military soldier would avoid the area around you.”

Levi tried to pry the knife out of her fist but Charlotte’s grip tightened to the point her knuckles turned white. Levi gave up trying quite quickly and resorted to the easier way. He kicked the joint in her knees and forced her face down on to the cobblestone.

“Let go of the knife,” he said plainly.

Charlotte still didn’t yield.

“You’re dragging this out, little shit,” Levi forced Charlotte’s arm further up her back, pinning her other arm to the ground to keep her from removing her gag.

Charlotte’s eyes widened and her gasp of pain was muffled, she threw a look of pure hatred at the teen.

“The knife,” Levi repeated.

Charles’ gaze was piercing but slowly, her hand peeled open. Levi grabbed the knife and holding both her hands with one of his, utilized his free arm and mouth to tie a cloth around the blade. He slipped it into his pocket and proceeded to push Charles forward.

“Do anything, and I will cave your skull in.”

Charles struggled against her bonds as Levi led her back to the underground.

Damn bastard tied it like some kind of pro.

Levi pushed her roughly, almost causing her to fall.

“Stop squirming.”

As soon as they were in the safety and never-ending shadows of the sewers, Levi relented to removing the gag. He immediately plugged his ears as Charles colorfully cursed him out and wished him overly dramatized deaths.

“Make up your mind, will you?! One minute you want nothing to do with me and the next you’re shoving my face into painful ass stone streets! Do you have such a one track mind that you can’t decide if you want me around or what?!”

“It was Farlan’s idea—“

“Fart’s idea, my foot!”

Charles scowled at the thug. “Untie me.”

“And what’re you going to do after?”

“I’m going back to the surface, obviously.”

“Then, no.”

“Quit meddling in other people’s lives!” Charles screamed. “I barely know you, so why do you care?!”

Levi kept eye contact with her calmly. “Because it’s a waste.”

Charles let out a bland, humorless laugh, shaking her head. “You don’t make any sense.”

“No. You’re the one with the shitty logic. You’re practically handing the Military what they want. If they killed your sister, they’ll undoubtedly be targeting you.”

Charles’ eyes narrowed.

“You’re letting them win,” Levi leaned forward. “Or are you too stubborn and idiotic to figure that out?”

Charles saw the opening she had been waiting for and zoomed into action. Using her teeth she ripped Levi’s pocket, letting her knife fall out. She clamped it by the handle in her mouth and ran. Rounding a corner and hearing Levi’s pursuit, speeded up.

She felt a shadow loom over her from behind and she turned, wide eyed.

When did he catch up?! What is he?! Some type of superhuman?

Levi shoved Charles against a wall and Charles kicked out with both feet to push him away. Charles did a simple but difficult in practice maneuver, she jumped over her tied hands, pulling her feet through and allowing her to move more easily. When she was about to use the knife to cut the rope, Levi kicked her, causing her to fly to the side.

The knife clattered away and Levi bulleted forward, not allowing a second for Charles to recover. She panted as she stared in shock at the black haired teen. He had her hands held tightly above her head and his gaze was as cold as burning ice.

“Dense brat,” he spat. “Throwing your life away.”

Charles gritted her teeth. “Death is better than living without a purpose! What can me joining your little gang let me gain?! It’ll kill me to act like nothing happened!”

“Dying a pointless death is worse. When you’re alive, you can make decisions and advancements. You can avenge your sister’s death. What can death help you gain?”

“I’ll be away from you!” Charles bellowed. “I’ll be away from this filthy world! Away from scum!”

“And you’re going to let that scum take your life away? You’ll be dying at the hands of a human in a titan infested land. Do you know how pitiful that sounds?”

Charles recoiled. She was being swayed by this jerk’s words. And she hated it. “Then what do you propose I do?”

Levi stared unblinkingly. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s not to avenge your sister?”

Charles bit the bottom of her lip so hard that it bled. “That’s the problem. I don’t care. I don’t care if I get revenge or not. If I do, then great, but it doesn’t matter if I don’t. I don’t have a purpose in life anymore. Now that ne-san is gone…”

Because everything, the future, dreams, and goals were all focused entirely on or with Lizzy.  

“I should want revenge. I should feel all fired up and filled with bloodlust. Maybe something’s wrong with me, but I don’t have any of that. I’m… empty…”

Levi scrutinized him.

“What’s wrong with me?” Charles asked no one in particular. “It’s only right for me to want to kill the people responsible. So why don’t I feel that?”

“It’s the shock.”

“Is it really? Or am I just a messed up human being?”

Levi released his hands and stood. “We’re all screwed up in our own unique ways. Especially, humans.”

_ _ _

“Which of the new recruits do you find interesting?” Hanji asked for the sake of a conversation as they prepared the wagons and equipment.

Charles tightened her belt before facing Hanji. “That Armin kid.”

“Why?”

Charles pulled her hair out of the cropped jacket she had just put on and moved on to saddle up her horse.

“He’s…” Charles finished off the saddle, thinking about how to explain it. “He knows how to manipulate people. He knows how to react to another person’s body language and use what he knows to his advantage.”

Hanji blinked. “We’re talking about Armin Arlert right?”

Charles nodded. “Blond, looks like a coconut.”

Hanji hmmed thoughtfully. “I guess it might be true… somewhat…”

Charles hopped onto her horse and it trotted forward. “I’ll go check on the other preparations.”

_ _ _

“Levi onii-sama!” Isabel waved her arm around Levi to make sure nothing was there. “Where’s Charles?”

“He went to go reminisce,” Levi went straight to the back to wash his hands.

“Reminisce?” Isabel said in confusion.

“Are you sure it’s safe for him to go there?” Farlan asked when Levi came back in. “The Military might still be around.”

Levi didn’t answer for a few seconds. He poured himself a glass of water and pulled out a chair to sit.

“He can hold his own,” Levi said. “Probably.”

Charles was standing on the border of stone and ash. Her eyes were dry with sorrow and pain. She lifted a foot hesitantly and stepped forward. The ash billowed up at the sudden pressure and she kept herself going.

Ne-san. Gomenasai. I couldn’t even save your body.

Charles’ expression remained hollow as she stopped in the middle of the ash pile.

Is it because of you that I don’t want to seek revenge? Are you trying to keep me from dying?

She crouched down and ran a hand over the white flakes.

Ne, Lizzy ne-san. I’m going to be a part of the flying thugs. Strange turn of events, huh?

Charles reached into her bag and brought out the golden apple that Levi had returned to her. Cutting a slice out, she put the rest of the fruit on top of the ash and bit into the slice. 

This is for you. It took a while to get it but it should still taste okay.

Charles slowly rose to her feet and twisted around, making her way to her new place of shelter. There was a little melody of strings and her eyes widened. She whipped back around, trying to place the sound to an object.

“Must’ve been my imagination,” she muttered and stomped away.

Goodbye… ne-san. You managed to escape this god forsaken world so quickly. I’m jealous.

Lizzy finished up her song, lowering her voilin, she smiled behind her sister. Biting into the apple, she turned and walked into the blinding light.

Don't forget to sing, imoto.

_

The door creaked open slowly and the three looked up from their spots. Isabel was upside down on the worn out couch and the boys were relaxing at the table. They recognized the silhouette and they watched the person step inside. Hands in their pants pockets and a cheeky grin on their face.

“My name is Charles Schatten! Please take good care of me.”