"I told you once, and I'll tell you again! You can take your Titan somewhere else!" The guard had been yelling at Emi ever since she got to Wall Rose. She had asked for entrance so that she could get to the Survey Corps HQ, even though she had no idea where it was. She had found a cape and was pretending to be one of them.

"How can I get in?" Emi asked, getting slightly annoyed. She said that she had found a friendly Titan and was trying to get to the HQ to experiment, but they didn't seem to be buying it.

"You can't! How many times do I have to tell you that, girl? I'm losing my patience, so scram!" the guard yelled. Emi glared at him again and Buddy took a step closer to the guard, making him shake in fear.

"Go get Captain Levi, he'll tell you that I'm good," Emi said. The guard looked to his friend, and the other one ran off to tell Levi. She sighed in relief because she knew that he would let her in. Like she said before, she was too valuable for him to leave outside where the Titans could easily get her.

Now all she had to do was wait. Hopefully the place wasn't an hour each way, and she wouldn't be outside for too long. If it became dark, Buddy wouldn't be able to move. He would have been able to move even after dark if he had rested enough, but Emi didn't consider that this might happen, and she didn't let him sleep all day the day before.

---

It actually wasn't that long before Levi got there, along with a girl that Emi didn't realise. She looked excited to see the Titan, and didn't pay much attention to Emi. She was relieved to know that there would be enough time to get Buddy to the HQ, judging by the time that it took them to get to the gate.

Levi put a hand up when the girl went to speak, and she instantly closed her mouth.

"What happened?" Levi asked Emi.

"I, uh, got lost in all the commotion in the woods. My gear broke and I dropped it so that I could run faster. I thought it was all over when this Titan found me, but instead he placed me on his back and started taking me back here," Emi said, coming up with an excuse on the spot. The guard straightened and looked guilty as Emi lied through her teeth. He thought that he had denied an actual member of the Survey Corps.

"Very well. Let her through. We will keep the Titan, and give you another set of gear. Maybe this Titan could help," Levi said. He obviously remembered her from before, and she was happy that Buddy would have a place to stay while she got Mage and Melody.

Buddy went through the gate and looked around as they walked through the small village. Emi looked around, too, but she mostly watched as frightened villagers hugged their children close, believing that the Titan would kill them at any moment. Emi almost glared at them before remembering what they thought Titans were. She looked straight ahead as they walked straight through and into the space between Wall Rose and Wall Sina.

"I thought you said that you never wanted to be associated with us," Levi said. Emi growled but kept her glare off of Levi.

"I didn't. I saw strange Titans and went to investigate. I came through once I saw what happened. Something's wrong," Emi told him. She felt her fingers lighten up on her grasp on Buddy's hair.

"Do you know her?" the girl asked. Levi looked to her and then at Emi.

"Somewhat. We fought in the woods earlier, and she let me leave," Levi explained. The girl's expression brightened.

"Oh, okay. I didn't recognize her, so I was confused. What are we gonna do with her?"

"Well, first off you could stop speaking like I'm some animal and I have no idea that you're talking about me," Emi said, glaring at the woman.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she chimed. "I'm Hanji. You are?"

"I'm not important. I just need somewhere to keep my Titan. I hate coming tok yoy for help, but I do need it. Would you be willing to watch him for a bit?" Emi asked.

"Yes!" Hanji said.

"What do we get for it?" Levi asked.

"To watch a Titan? Y'know, learn more about them," Emi said, hoping that it would sway them.

"Yes!" Hanji said. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and Emi knew that she had Hanji, she just needed Levi now.

Emi sighed when she realised that Levi wasn't having it. "What currency do you use?" she asked. Hanji pulled a coin out of her pocket to show Emi. It was the same type of coin that Melodia used. "I could pay you more than you'll get in your entire life and still have enough money," Emi said.

"You come to the Survey Corps HQ. You'll have a place to stay, food to eat, and you'll be able to be with your Titan. You work for us while you do whatever it is you're doing," Levi told her. She paused a minute to think. "You can keep your money, that's all that I want."

"Deal. But I have to leave for tonight, and it's very possible that I won't be back for a few days," Emi said. She put her hands on her hips.

"What are you doing?" Levi asked.

"I need to get a couple things so that I can do my work," Emi told him.

"What could you possibly need that might take days for you to get?" Levi asked.

"Very important things. Books that have information I might need, notebooks of the different types of Titans so that I can see of there's any resembling the ones that destroyed the gates, I also have money, and a few other things that I might need."

"You will share all of your information with us."

"No. I'm already working with you, and those things contain some very personal information. Whether you like it or not, you're not getting to any of those things, and I expect you to not try and take them, otherwise I will leave."

Emi could tell that Levi wasn't happy with this, but she knew that he would go along with it anyways. He had to keep her with them no matter what.

"So are you not going to tell us your name?" Levi asked. He was looking straight ahead and seemed interested only in getting to the HQ.

"My name doesn't matter. I'm planning to be back out and have this whole situation done within a month or so, and then everyone can forget about me. Why would you need the name of someone who is just going to get forgotten?" Emi asked, looking up at the sky. The sun was starting to set, so she hoped that they would be there soon.

"You know our names, why shouldn't we know yours?" Hanji asked.

"I never asked to know your names. I overhear people talking about Levi a bunch, and you just told me. I don't have to return any favors, because I never asked for them," Emi told her, sending a slight glare towards the girl. Hanji moved slightly away from Emi when she saw the look in her eyes. Levi wasn't happy with her reply, but decided against saying anything to her.

Soon enough, the sky was filled with pink and orange hues as the sun sank behind some hills which sat on either side of a valley. The earthy green color of the grass was disrupted only by two things. One was a lake, which reflected the colors of the setting sun on it's crystal blue surface, and the second was a grey, castle-like building with a blue roof. The building reminded Emi a lot of the castle she lived in back in Melodia, but she couldn't figure out if it was a good or bad thing.

As they reached the headquarters, Emi hopped off of the Titan. "He's going to freak out a bit, but if you get his attention and throw a stick, he should be calm enough until he goes to sleep. After that, he should be distracted enough until I get back. If he starts looking around for me, just play fetch with him until he stops," she told the two. Hanji nodded and watched with an excited smile as Emi picked up a stick and threw it as an example. The Titan happily chased after it and brought it back to her, so she gave the stick to Hanji, who threw it and watched in delight when Buddy brought it back.

Emi spun around and started walking off, but Levi stopped her. "Are you just leaving?" he asked. She paused and looked at him, confusion plastered across her face.

"What else would I do?" she asked.

"Wait until morning," he suggested.

"But that would wast time, and I can't waste time, because I have to figure this out as quickly as possible," Emi told him. She turned around again but looked over her shoulder with a smirk. "Besides, I don't think the guards would appreciate seeing me making a fire, pouring blood into it, and then chanting off mostly inaudible words," she said. She quickly ran off, using his confusion to get away without him asking any questions. When she was far enough away, she sighed, knowing that it would be a long night- possibly more.