"Here's your bed!" Isabel said, preceding to jumping in said bed. "Right below mine!"

Charles nodded and dumped his stuff on the bottom bunk of the bed. Isabel chewed on a piece of bread as she watched him shift through his belongings. Levi had managed to save quite a bit of money from the fire and to Charles' surprise, her ocarina. He stared at it.

Isabel followed his gaze and she saw the weird shaped instrument. "What's that?"

Charles broke out of his reverie and he picked up the instrument, placing it carefully in his drawer in the bedside table. "Nothing."

"Hmmm..." Isabel kept chewing.

Charles split the money in half and gathered one half into his bag again. He carefully button it closed and tucked it below the bed in the far corner. He grabbed the two slabs of wood that had fallen out of his sack and carefully measuring the height of the underside of the bunk bed, went out to saw the wood in the correct size. Isabel hopped off the bed and followed.

When he passed Farlan at the dining table, reading a book, he dropped the 50 percent of money in front of him. Farlan looked up but before he could say anything, the boy had already went out the door.

Isabel sneered playfully. "Our lovely item doesn't like you."

"I don't need him to like me," Farlan pocketed the money. "I need him to work."

Charles reentered the room, the wood tucked under his arm. Farlan stared at him as he passed.

"Levi doesn't like dirt, so make sure to clean your shoes before you come in," Farlan advised. "And keep the area around your side of the room spotless."

Charles paused and scrutinized Farlan from the corner of his eye. "Okay."

Charles went back into the bedroom.

Isabel busted out laughing.

"What?" Farlan hissed.

"You do care if he likes you!" Isabel guffawed.

Farlan tsked. "It'll affect our teamwork if he can't trust me."

Isabel hugged her stomach, gasping for breath.

A tick mark appeared on Farlan's forehead.

"This is golden!" Isabel wiped away a tear. "You're trying to use Levi onii-sama to get close to Charles! Ha! I don't know why but that's hilarious!"

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," Levi said from the kitchen.

"What're we having?" Farlan said, trapping Isabel in a choke hold.

"Air... air...!" Isabel said hoarsely.

"Stew," Levi answered, ignoring the situation in front of him.

Having finished making a false wall below his bed to hide the money, Charles dusted off his hands and got to his feet. He heard his stomach rumble and stretched his arms. He shouldered his sack and exited the bedroom again.

He saw Levi spooning out food in bowls and the other two waiting patiently. Isabel was drooling but her avid attention diverted to Charles when he came into her line of vision.

"Come and eat! Levi onii-sama's cooking is the best!"

"I was actually going to scavenge for food on the surface—"

"What're you talking about?" Farlan was half twisted in his seat, arm over the chair. "If you're going to be living here, you have to eat off our table."

"But I—"

"Stop standing there like an idiot and sit," Levi pointed at the chair across from him indifferently. "If you don't hurry, Isabel will have eaten your share."

Charles hesitated for a fraction of a second before striding over and joining their meal.

"Heehee..." Isabel grinned widely. "Itadakimasu!"

"Itadakimasu," Farlan spooned some food into his mouth.

Levi did the same.

Charles glanced around at them for a second before grabbing his own spoon.

"Oh, shoot!" Isabel said suddenly, slamming her palms on the table. "I almost forgot!"

"Don't do that while we're eating, Isabel," Levi reprimanded, wiping away some of the stew that had fallen off his spoon.

"Sorry," Isabel apologized. "But I was planning something. Be right back!"

She came out of the kitchen with four glasses of water. She handed one to each and held up her own. She lifted it up and beamed.

"To our new member Charles!"

Charles' face was glazed with overwhelming shock. Isabel gave him a closed eyed grin.

"And to the hope that he won't be killed by Levi onii-sama anytime soon!"

"What kind of toast is that?" Farlan grimaced.

"Hm?" Isabel blinked. "Did I do it wrong?"

Farlan shook his head, an exasperated smile on his face. "Never mind."

He lifted his own glass and it clinked warmly with Isabel's. "To Charles!"

Levi didn't repeat him but his glass joined its brethren. They stared expectantly at Charles, who was frozen in his seat.

Farlan chuckled. "You okay there, Charles?"

"Shishishi," Isabel laughed through her teeth.

Charles' face morphed into a smirk and he lifted his own glass. "The most infamous thugs of the underground, huh? I would never have guessed."

"Yahoo!" Isabel cheered. "Victory!"

"Wrong, Isabel," Farlan sighed.

"What else should I say in this situation?!" Isabel pouted.

Charles laughed.

Time Skip

The whizz of gas and wires, the figures were mere blurs in the air. Twisting and shifting their weight at the call of each maneuver. The most prominent figure looked to be the expert of the three, flying through the tiniest of crevices and making the sharpest of turns. Not saying that the pair behind him weren't good. They were practically specialists. The tallest seemed to be best at utilizing a small amount of gas, never making a wasteful move. The scarlet haired one was more aggressive with her movements, but nevertheless excellent ones.

"Cut them off!" the captain of the squad pursuing them ordered.

"Yes, sir!" answered one soldier and he and his comrades headed to the right, zooming forward.

"They're slower today!" the captain noted. "We'll get them this time!"

A shadow flew over them and the captain looked up. His eyes enlarged. The hooks dug into a stalagmite and Charles propelled himself forward.

"Who..." the captain couldn't form words.

Charles smirked. He pointed at a buckle on his side and the soldiers all checked their own. The belt attaching their 3D maneuver gear to their bodies were unlatched and they were quickly slipping out of the metal, loosening on their thighs.

"Oh, well, we're fucked," one soldier managed to say before the equipment on his right thigh unattached and he hastily grabbed the other and hung on for dear life.

The rest followed and Charles barked with laughter before catching up with his group.

He released his wire and it spun back into the gear. He landed on the street and untied the cloth that held his bangs back. The locks of hair fell onto his forehead again and tickled the skin underneath. He ruffled it and looked at the others.

"You guys are getting lazy," Charles frowned. "Just because I'm supporting you doesn't mean you get to rest your asses."

Isabel had her hands behind her head. "They weren't much of a threat before you joined us anyway. What's the big deal with saving our energy for better things?"

Farlan slid his gas tank back into his maneuver gear and tightened one of his belts. "It's such a pain to refill these. We always waste most of it while running away from the people that catch us at it."

"There's no point whining about it," Levi said. "It's necessary for these metal beasts to work."

"That's why I said that I can do the refilling alone from now on," Charles said as they walked down the street. "That way the Military Police won't be on our trail every time."

"You're more likely to get caught because of some foolhardy blunder. Carrying an armful of gas tanks will draw more attention to you, and you're insignificant presence will be easier to see."

"I can always go multiple times. It's faster with the 3D gear to get to the surface and the Military headquarters aren't that far."

"You're too thick headed to go alone," Levi countered. "Besides, if we don't have something to do, Isabel will get fat."

"Why me!?" Isabel demanded, filling her cheeks with air.

"I am not thick headed!"

Levi ignored the both of them. "Farlan, let's eat out today. There's no food to cook back at home."

"I can get food!" Charles raged. "Why do you keep refusing to let me go to the surface?!"

"We can't risk the Military Police—"

Charles made a strangled noise. "I can handle those lazy lay abouts! Can't I, Farlan?"

Farlan raised his hands. "Don't drag me into this."

"Farlan, bend down," Charles said suddenly and pointed at the ground while Levi mentally sighed.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Where should we eat today?" Isabel asked Levi.

"Somewhere with food," Levi answered indifferently.

"No, duh."

"Like this?" Farlan asked his feet, bent double.

"Perfect," Charles said.

Charles placed his hands on Farlan's back and Levi caught sight of something from his peripheral vision. He went for his knife but Charles had already spun into action. He had lifted himself up and, doing a handstand on Farlan's back, kicked out his legs like a pinwheel. The soldier that had been sneaking up on them didn't know what hit him.

"Duhak!" the soldier cried as he crumpled back on to the ground.

Charles flew into the air and landed on his feet lightly. He laughed through his teeth and gave his friends the peace sign. Levi closed his eyes and sheathed his dagger again. Farlan whistled.

"Nice," Farlan ruffled Charles' hair.

Charles grinned in pleasure at his touch but his expression shifted into playful annoyance. "Don't mess up my hair!"

"Oh," Farlan said menacingly, he grabbed the boy in a headlock. "What did you say?"

"Ah! Let me go!"

Levi pushed passed the pair roughly and went to examine the soldier. "How did you know he was there, Charles?"

"Hm?" Charles' eyes wandered over to the knocked out soldier. "Some of the Military police separated to cut you guys off. I assumed we were going to run into at least one so I had an eye out."

"Let's strip him of his gas!" Isabel said happily. She crouched down and unlatched the tank. "Score!"

"How about we go eat at one of the restaurants where the owners are frightened of Levi? Maybe they'll give us a discount," Farlan said as Isabel handed Charles a tank.

"Whoo hoo!" Isabel hooted. "I'm going to eat up a storm!"

"We don't have enough money for that," Farlan said.

"I beg to differ."

They turned to Charles who threw a pouch of money in the air and caught it again. He smirked. "Military Police are quite generous."

Farlan grinned and Isabel punched the air.

"That's my little brother!" Isabel yelled. "I'm going to stuff myself senseless!"

Isabel half pulled half carried Charles forward, Farlan close behind.

Levi stayed behind and he crouched down in front of the apparent unconscious man. He stared with those cold stones and he saw the tiny twitch of the soldier's fingers. He grabbed the front of the uniform and shoved the man against the wall.

The soldier took a panicked breath and his eyes flew open. Levi tightened his grasp. "What's your primary reason for sneaking up on us, piss under pressure fodder?"

The man took in raspy breathes, clawing at Levi's grip.

"You're wasting my time," Levi said, almost bored. He fingered his dagger.

"I-it's... it's to... that boy...!"

Something blazed into Levi's gaze.

_

Charles skidded to a stop when he saw Levi appear in the light. He sighed. "Come on, Levi. Try to keep up, will you?"

Levi nodded. "Where are the others?"

"They're getting us a table at the restaurant," Charles fell into step beside Levi. "What were you doing?"

"Business," Levi answered shortly.

"There's a restroom in the restaurant you know..."

Charles dodged a punch and bolted down the street.

"Get back here, little brat," Levi almost hissed, running after him.

"No way! It looks like it'll hurt!"

A Few Days Later

"Levi," Charles moaned, his chin resting on the wooden table. "I'm hungry."

"Be patient," Levi said from the kitchen. "I'm almost done."

"Levi," Charles called. "I want roasted chestnuts."

"We don't have chestnuts to roast."

"Levi," Charles said again. "I want to go up to the surface."

Levi slammed the pan of fried rice and vegetables in front of Charles. "Don't rest your head on the table where we eat. It's dirty and bad manners."

Charles grumbled and lifted his head off the table. He yawned as Levi took his place across from him. Charles picked at his food and Levi watched him, spoon in hand.

"I thought you said you were hungry," Levi broke the silence.

"Lost my appetite I guess," Charles said. "I'll give my share to Isabel when she gets back."

"Are you trying to starve yourself?" Levi asked threateningly. "Eat. Or you won't get any more food today."

Charles glowered at him and shoved some food into his mouth. "I'm eating! I'm eating, see? Happy?"

Levi nodded and went to work eating his own sustenance.

The door opened after a few minutes had passed and Farlan and Isabel entered the room. Isabel had went straight to the food but Levi had slapped her hands away, telling her to wash up her disgruntled state before eating. Farlan did the same and they both came back looking spotless. They pulled up their own chairs and Isabel went ahead and stuffed her cheeks like a chipmunk.

Farlan opened up a newspaper and began reading. Charles scanned the front cover. The main headline was named Survey Corps: A Declining? He chewed on his food while his eyes went to the smaller topics. A clothing incorporation had become popular in the Sina district, there was a missing child, an assassination group was going wild, and a new plague had sprouted in Wall Maria.

"After you're done," Levi stood. "We're scouring the house."

"Eeeeeeh?" Isabel protested. "Not again."

"We cleaned up a few days ago," Farlan added, also not inclined to do anymore housework.

"That doesn't mean the dust and dirt went on vacation over that time," Levi pulled out a broom and tied a white bandanna around his head. "And somebody decided to track mud through the back door."

Isabel and Farlan glared at Charles who whistled a tune nervously, averting their eyes.

He met their gazes and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Ha ha ha ha... aaah... sorry..."

Isabel and Farlan kept glaring and Charles sweatdropped. He stood from the table and ambled off.

"Cleaning, cleaning, haven't got enough of that..." Charles escaped from the room, grabbing a mop from Levi as he went.

They stared after him and after a few seconds, Levi's attention snapped onto the pair at the table.

"Be thorough," he said, tossing a rag at Isabel and a bottle of bleach at Farlan.

"Yea, yea," Farlan groaned, standing up from his seat. "The sooner we get this over the better."

Isabel slammed her face into the table.

_

Charles tried to crack open a window. The air was musty in the attic and the barrels of water and food sat forlornly to the side. Feeling some resistance from the window, Charles leaned the mop onto the wall and freed his other hand. Grunting in effort, he tried to push the window out. After a few attempts, Charles grumbled under his breath and braced his shoulder. Throwing himself against it once, twice, three times, on the fourth try the window popped open and Charles had to catch himself before he fell out and down two stories.

"You little bastard," Charles spat at the window. "You're mocking me aren't you?"

The window didn't respond.

Charles stood as still as wood for a second before he sagged in exhaustion. "I'm going crazy..."

He grabbed the mop again and soaked it in bleach. "How long has it been since Levi let me go up to the surface?"

Charles gave the floor a rough cleaning and knowing it wasn't enough to satisfy the world's greatest dickhead, folded up his sleeves, dipped a rag into the solution and got on his hands and knees to proceed to make circular movements on the wood panels.

You missed a spot.

A tick mark appeared on Charles' forehead, her arm increasing its speed. Levi's instructions and criticisms echoing in his head.

Apply more pressure, incompetent brat.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Charles' arm became a blur and the floor gleamed brightly as the boy threw his head back and breathed heavily.

He wiped at the corner of his mouth and used the back of his arm to dry off his damp forehead. "This is bad... I've developed a complete immunity to the scent of bleach..."

Charles stood up and grabbing the mop and the bucket of chemicals, descended back down the stairs. Since when did I need that damn indifferent jerk's permission to go to the surface? As it is, I'll lose my mind in less than a week.

He passed by Isabel and Farlan who didn't notice him and were concentrated on scrubbing the dried mud off the floor. Placing the bucket down beside them, Charles snuck out to wring the access bleach out of the mop.

He glanced around discreetly. He could easily leave undetected when it came to Isabel and Farlan, it was Levi he had to watch out for. After automatically cleaning the mop with water and soap (because Levi couldn't stand dirty cleaning devices either) Charles shifted into stealth.

With light footsteps, he sneaked down an alleyway and rounded a corner. Even with the house out of sight, he couldn't let down his guard. Sprinting through streets and shadows, taking care to divert all attention from him.

When he was a good distance away from the house, Charles smiled. He was going to drink in the fresh air without being chased by people who had nothing better to do. Scratch that, chasing them was the highlight of their life.

Maybe I'll steal a cake for Isabel. Which kind did she like again?

Charles skidded to a sudden halt and backtracked. He blinked and tilted his head. A group of men were sneaking around, they looked through Charles when they were checking around and then ducked into a doorway.

So, I'm not the only one being shifty. Charles smirked. Looks interesting.

He walked through the front door, quite literally. One of the men looked up and saw that the door was open, he grunted and got up to close it.

"Stupid thing. Never closes properly."

"Is everyone 'ere?" another asked gruffly.

"Yeah."

"Right then," the man got to his feet. "On to business."

The others followed suit and they filed passed Charles and out a back door. Charles stalked them. He yawned. This was getting boring and it was subtracting from her time above ground. Just when he was about to ditch them, the men finally arrived at their destination.

"Sorry we were late, sir," the leader said. "The fourth division had a little trouble slipping passed."

Charles peeked around a broad backed man who had been obstructing his view. He saw a slim figure, their back facing toward him. Charles narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. The guy had black hair and slightly tanned skin. He was between the height of Levi and Farlan and he was wearing black slacks as well as a dark coat that reached his ankles. He looked young, younger than the thugs addressing him sir.

Who the hell...? Charles took a step forward. Is he forming a new gang?

The guy turned and his gaze landed straight on Charles. Charles' eyes widened as the boy quickly pulled out a pistol from his coat and shot at him. Charles barely managed to dodge it, a scratch manifesting on his cheek, just below the eye. The boy shot another couple of rounds and Charles stumbled backwards behind a barrel.

This bastard...! He's like Levi! Why do I always run into these troublesome people!?

The empty shots clattered to the ground and the boy loaded another round. "You've brought along a rat."

"When did he...!?"

"I know his type," the boy slowly strode over to the barrel. "No presence. But I've always been able to see them."

Charles tch-ed and prepared to bolt out of there. Damn, I didn't even bring a knife.

Charles strained her head. He closed his eyes. At most he had fifteen seconds before the guy reached the barrel. If he ran for the exit from which he entered, the enemy would have a free shot at him and he'd most likely die. Charles remembered that they weren't in a completely closed off alley, there was one more exit, on the other side. He also remembered that he had glimpsed a couple of weapons on the men in the cluster. And also...

Charles glanced up and spotted something reassuring on the roof.

This'll work.

Charles kicked the barrel and the colorless thug shot at it, blasting the wood away. Before he could focus on him, Charles sprinted passed. Time slowed and Charles grinned cheekily while the boy went wide eyed.

Charles ripped a dagger out of one of the fodders' sheathe and deflected the bullet aimed at his face.

"Stop him!" the young leader ordered.

Charles did a back flip and dodged the arms grabbing for him. He kicked one aside and ran down the opposite alleyway.

"Wait!"

Charles ignored the dude and looked up. As expected, Levi was running along the roof with his 3D gear. They locked eyes for a moment and Charles lifted a hand, still running.

Levi shot a grappling hook and jumped off the roof, he skimmed the ground and when he got close, grabbed Charles' hand and Charles wrapped his legs around Levi's torso.

Levi let a hiss of the gas escape and they shot upward, flying away from the tiny specks below them.

"You're always doing such reckless things," Levi said, concentrating on getting them home.

Charles smiled widely. "That's right! And your job is to get me out."

"Are you sure you want to employ me?" the wire whirred back into the equipment and Levi shot it back out to attach to a different building. "I might not take it seriously."

"Mm!" Charles nodded. "It's gotta be Levi."

Levi glanced behind at Charles. "Stop smiling."

"Eeeeeeh? Why?"

"It's annoying."

Charles rolled his eyes.

Back at the site of the meeting of assassins, the leader was looking up at the cave roof where two people were once cutting through the air. His comrades shifted nervously.

"Uh, sir?"

"I know him," the leader said firmly. "No, not him. Her. I know her."

"Her?"

The leader quickly wiped away the wetness in his eyes. "It's Charlotte. I've finally found her."