.˜"*°• L I T T L E M O N S T E R •°*"˜.

          Days had passed since the meeting, and Levi was still just as pissed off as he had been at the time. He had paced Erwin's office in the moments after the three men had left, a scowl on his face as Erwin had attempted to make sense of the situation. 

The Prince was afraid, that much was clear. Levi understood why, his father had been killed and his people had been massacred by the actions of an unknown organization that they knew absolutely nothing about. Thomas Fritz was still young, and would need a lot of assistance to take the reins of Paradis. Erwin just didn't understand why it was Alec Rhydduch he had turned too for that assistance. It made no sense, Alec had hidden himself away in a tiny, rundown little village after he retired from the Military Police in order to train his children. The King who had recently been murdered had never been fond of Alec, so it was a mystery as to why he had suddenly appeared from thin air. 

Levi was certain Alec had taken the King's assassination as a chance to swoop in and brainwash the Prince into getting what he wanted. And he had. The Duo guard was being reinstated to the throne, and the two families were about to be bound by the same four laws that they thought they had permanently escaped from. The young Prince would have probably jumped at the idea of having that kind of protection again at a time like this. 

He crossed his arms over his chest, his horse nudging his shoulder gently as he watched Artemis from afar. She stood in the middle of the courtyard within the rest of the Scouts, looking like a lost puppy. He let out a sigh, pushing himself to walk forward. 

He had avoided the Rhydduchs at all cost over the past couple of days, not wanting to face them knowing what he knew. So he had yet to tell Artemis of her Squad reassignment. 

"Brat,".

As if completely accustomed to the nickname, Missy spun around and watched as the Captain approached her with his horse. "Captain,".

His cold grey eyes flickered to her head. "Hair up,". 

Missy bit the inside of her cheek as she lifted her arms to gather her brown locks into a knot at the top of her head. "Where have you been?".

"Working," He replied shortly. "Come with me". 

Missy didn't bother to question him as he turned to walk away, trailing after him with her hand grasped tightly around Comanche's bridle. He led her to his own squad, motioning to them with his hand. 

"Your new squad members," He announced. "Play nice". 

Missy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she shared glances with the three men in front of her. "This is the Special Operations Squad". 

"That we are," One of the men chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Welcome to the Squad, Artemis. I'm Gunther". 

Missy nodded slowly, taking in his short brown hair and dark eyes. He had a gentle face, but Missy wasn't going to be fooled so easily. If he was part of this squad, he had to be even more of a monster on the field than she was. 

"I'm Oluo," The second man grinned smugly, hooking a thumb towards himself. "The heart of the squad, if I do say so myself". 

Levi let out a scoff as Gunther shook his head in disapproval. "You keep telling yourself that, buddy". 

"I'm Eld," The last man said, giving her a gentle smile. "We're happy to have you, Artemis". 

Missy swallowed thickly. Amara had said those same words to her the day she had joined her old squad. She pushed down the thought and offered the men an upwards twitch of her lip.

"Don't mind her," Levi replied, busy adjusting the straps on his horse's saddle. "She's not a people person". 

"So exactly like you then, Cap," Gunther snorted, tilting his head back towards Missy. "We're used to introverts in this squad. Oluo's enough extrovert to cover all of us".

"I told you," Oluo sighed, mounting his horse in one swift movement. "Life of the party". 

▪──────────── ⚔ ────────────▪

Missy clutched the leather reins as she rode with her new Squad back towards the inner gate of Delegade. Today was the first day of Operation Cleanup, and she would be lying if she said the thought of returning to the dismembered town didn't stir something dark within her chest. 

She glanced sideways at Zero as he rode next to her. He hadn't said a word to anyone as he had joined the formation. She hadn't seen him since the mission, but the dark circles under his eyes and his paled skin was enough to convince Missy that he probably should've sat today out. 

After all, today's job was picking up body parts and bringing home their fallen soldiers. Missy didn't want to imagine how he would feel if he found his little brothers corpse today.

Or what had been left of it. 

To be honest, Missy wasn't sure how she would react herself if she happened to be the one to find the severed head of Arro Gillard. Those lifeless hazel eyes had plagued her nightmares the past few nights, so she didn't think she had it in her to look into them again. 

As soon as they rode into the abandoned district, Missy felt the bile rise in her throat. Even in the open area, the stench of rotting flesh was heavy in the air, filling her nose with the putrid fumes as she jumped off her horse, tying him up next to Levi's. They used their ODM gear to manoeuvre their way over houses, stopping once they'd reached their designated search area.

"You know the drill." Levi said bluntly to the rest of the squad, aiming his gear at a nearby house before jetting off in that direction.

Missy looked around at the houses surrounding her on both sides. This area looked completely untouched, and if she thought hard enough she could maybe convince herself that nothing bad had happened here. She sucked in a breath, catching Gunther's attention from beside her.

"Come on," He said with a small smile. "We can start at the end of the street". 

Missy said nothing as she followed him down the cobbled path. She pulled her hairtie out, looping it over her hand to settle on her wrist before shaking her head gently. The further they walked, the clearer it was where chaos had ensued. They rounded a corner and were faced with another street. Missy frowned, her eyes lingering over a house that had the entire front of it destroyed, the remnants sprawled across the cobbled street. 

The two were silent as they climbed over chunks of rock, lifting up wooden panels and smashed tiles to check for any human remains. The smell of rotting corpse was still strong in Missy's nose, and she wondered whether Gunther could smelt it too. Her senses were much stronger than the average human's, thanks to her Rhydduch gifts, so if he could smell it she knew it wouldn't be half as bad for him. 

She paused, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand as she squeezed her eyes shut, fighting down the urge to vomit. 

"We've never had someone as young as you on the Special operations squad," Gunther spoke from a few feet to her left.

She watched as he hauled a piece of debris away, his muscles flexing under his shirt. She wondered whether he had noticed her internal struggle and decided to start a conversation to distract her. Either way Missy was grateful.

"Do you have any idea why Levi put me on this Squad?" She asked, continuing to rummage through the debris.

"A better question is why wouldn't he want you here," Gunther chuckled. "You're an incredibly skilled fighter, Artemis. Having you here is an honor". 

Missy's face softened a fraction as she processed his words. 

"Who says it was my decision where the brat went?" Levi said, announcing his presence by pushing over a chunk of rock with the sole of his boot. 

"It wasn't?" Missy questioned, straightening up to glance over at him. 

"No," Levi replied. "Erwin suggested you join". 

"You accepted the suggestion," Gunther shrugged, sending Levi an amused look. 

"And I suggest you shut your mouth," He replied. "Get to work, you've got body parts to find". 

Missy winced at his wording before leaning back down to rummage through the destruction. After half an hour of silent searching, she walked ahead of the group to round the corner onto the next street.

What awaited her was like something from a nightmare. Every single house had been crushed, either half standing or completely flattened. Blood coated the streets, painting the remains of the houses as if it had rained red. She froze in her spot, unable to look away from the scene. 

"Shit," Gunther swore, appearing behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Carry on to the next street, let us handle this one".

She shook her head, her eyes still glued to the blood-stained scene. "No". 

"Artemis," Levi warned, his tone stern as he appeared on her other side.

"No," Missy repeated, tearing her eyes away to glare at her Captain. "I'm a member of this regiment just like you are. I fought hard to be here and I'm not going to be baby'd just because I'm a girl. I'm not some frail little child". 

"I know you aren't," Levi spat, his jaw tightening. "You're still new-".

"Yes, I'm new to the regiment, " She muttered, taking a step forward. "But I've witnessed a lot worse than this, Captain, so do not baby me".

With that said, she powered forward, leaving the rest of her squad behind. 

Oluo gawked after her. "What the hell is she made of?".

Gunther sighed, walking after her. "The same stuff as the Captain, apparently". 

Levi rolled his eyes and marched forward, his eyes scanning the crumbling street as the squad began their search. Missy hadn't the slightest clue how much time had passed. She was glad that she had skipped breakfast that morning, as the smell of rot and blood was churning her stomach dangerously. The squad had found various body parts beneath the rubble, opting to place them all in a pile at the far end of the street. The sight had been enough for Oluo to throw up his own breakfast, his body hunched over as Eld pat his back comfortingly.

"I got something over here," Gunther called out from further down the street. "Don't come over if you've got a weak stomach". 

Missy frowned. Her stomach had indeed been grumbling threateningly the entire time, but her curiosity got the better of her as she made her way to where Gunther stood. She reached him, observing how his eyes were locked onto the floor a few meters away, an unreadable expression on his features. She followed his line of sight, and had to hold back a cry as she clamped a hand over her mouth.

"What is it?" Levi asked with a sigh, walking up beside her and scanning the area. 

His eyes landed on the corpse in front of them, and his lips pressed into a thin line, grabbing Missy by the shoulder and pushing her away.

But the damage had already been done. Another horrific image that would likely appear in her nightmares for weeks to come, if not months. Levi wrapped his fingers around her wrist, noticing that she hadn't moved. He pulled her by the arm, taking a step away from the corpse with every intention of dragging her with him. She didn't move, however. 

"Artemis," Levi muttered, grabbing her face with one hand in an attempt to get her to listen. "Get out of here, you don't need to see this". 

The blood in Missy's veins surged with heat, but she squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to defy the order. "Levi, please-".

"What is it?" He asked, standing to block her view from the mess on the floor. "What do you want? Surely you would rather let us deal with it".

"She isn't an 'it!" Missy snapped, lifting her head to scowl at him. "Her name is Amara". 

Levi let her push him aside, watching as she inched towards the corpse on the floor. Her face was unharmed, although flecked with blood and completely drained of color. Her body had been bitten in half, everything from her waist down was completely gone. Dried blood coated the floor below her, but it still stuck to Missy's pants as she knelt down beside Amara's head, using a shaky hand to brush some of her black hair from her face. 

"Leave me," Missy whispered to the two men still stood behind her, watching her movements closely. 

Gunther opened his mouth but shut it again as Levi held a hand up, motioning for him to follow him. Once Missy was certain that they had gone, she let out a shuddering breath. 

"I'm sorry," She whispered, tracing her fingers along Amara's lifeless face. "You may have been seconds too late for Julius, but I was seconds too late for you". 

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, her features settled into a soft expression as her eyes traced the lines of Amara's features. 

"Thank you for being kind to me. I wish we could have become friends," Missy spoke, her voice barely audible. "I'll take you home to your family". 

She lost track of how long she remained knelt on that spot, only looking away from the girl in front of her after she felt someone tug her to her feet. 

"We're done here," Levi whispered, his eyes trailing to her blood-stained knees. "Let's get her back to the gate". 

The air was heavy with thick silence as they made their way back to the gate. Nurses were scattered around, making notes of all the found body parts and figuring out whom they had belonged too. Missy stood beside Comanche, stroking the side of his nose as she watched the Scouts and nurses work. Her eyes scanned the area, falling upon Zero who was sat on the floor with his head hung low. Apollo was stood beside him with his arms crossed, a distant look on his face. Missy wondered whether Arro had been found. 

Her question was answered once Zero lifted his head, his eyes red and swollen and his face an even paler shade than it had been that morning. 

"You okay?" Gunther asked, appearing beside her as he began untying his horse from the fence. 

Missy inclined her head forward in a short nod, still watching Zero from afar. Gunther followed her gaze and let out a deep sigh. "We'll get these people home to their families, where they can have a proper send off". 

Missy was silent as she listened to him. 

"With all the chaos going on within the walls, and the riots going on in Sina, I think the people will find some peace in being able to bury their loved ones".

Missy looked up at him, her eyebrow raised. "Riots in Sina?".

His eyes widened and his face flushed. "I- uh, I don't know if I was supposed to tell you that".

"Why are there riots in Sina?".

Gunther bit the inside of his cheek, running a hand through his short hair. "The Prince is holding an execution for the Garrison members who've admitted to being a part of that organization, but he's doing it privately". 

Missy gave him a confused stare, willing him to explain further. 

"People are scared, after the Kings death and the destruction of the gate," He continued, "The people who lost loved ones want to be able to watch the people who caused it meet their end". 

Missy gave him a slow nod. She could understand that. It was bad enough that her entire squad had been wiped out, but if it had been Eren or one of her other friends she would definitely have wanted to watch the men who caused it die. Hell, she would've wanted to end them herself. 

Eld, Oluo and Levi approached them, Oluo still looking a sickly green color as he clung onto Eld's arm. 

"Come on, we're heading back," Levi announced, mounting his horse. 

Missy followed his movements, pulling herself up on to Comanche's saddle. They made their way through the gate, choosing to travel at a slow pace.

"Are you alright?" Levi asked, his horse walking side by side with hers. 

"I'm fine," She replied with a frown. "I just wanted to say sorry to her, and get some closure. You know, to help with the grieving". 

Levi gave an understanding nod. "I don't mean to treat you like a child". 

"Then why do it?".

He kept his eyes on the road ahead of him, his fingers flexing around his reins. "I think it's because I still remember who you were when you first joined the cadet core. A girl who needed protecting". 

Missy remained silent, shifting in her saddle slightly.

Levi shook his head as if shaking the thoughts away, before turning his head to face her. "But you aren't that girl anymore. You're stronger now. You proved that to me today".

"I've been strong for a long time," Missy scoffed. "You just haven't noticed because you're always too busy scolding me for something". 

His grey eyes flickered to her hair which rested freely down her back. For once, he chose not to say anything about it.

"Stop being a disobedient little wretch and then maybe I wouldn't need too".