Chapter 11: Taken

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Previously: Petra and her father talk. He's disappointed but supports her. Erwin tells Levi his punishment is only a disciplinary mark on his record. Levi feels the baby bump for the first time.

"How have you been feeling, Petra?"

"I should be asking you that, sir," Petra replied, placing the bright flowers in a light blue vase by the window sill.

Erwin sat in his bed, the left sleeve of his shirt hanging loosely due to the missing limb. "Thank you for the flowers. You didn't have to."

"It's nothing, really." She sat by his bedside. "I had the time so I thought I should visit."

"You should have come yesterday. Levi was here when Hange was telling me about Ragako village."

I missed him by a day, she thought, disappointed. Petra's thoughts turned to how the village's name had stuck in the commander's voice just now. "I forgot Hange and her squad were going there with a boy named Connie." After, the two were to head to some secret location where the rest of Levi Squad was and do experiments with Eren's Titan.

Erwin seemed to be considering something.

"Something wrong, sir?"

"I believe I can trust you with information. Hange told me and Levi about the truth of the Titans yesterday."

Petra's spine straightened at once, almost against her will. "What did they find out?" She didn't know why she felt such dread when she asked him. Hadn't their sacrifices been about this very thing? Before their focus turned to retaking Wall Maria, the Survey Corps' main focus had been learning the truth of the Titans to help set humanity free.

"Titans are humans. They were once people, just like us. But somehow they were turned. The specifics of that are yet unknown."

"So this entire time...I've been killing people?" Petra asked, shaken. For a second there, she wished she'd never asked. She could have gone on happily with her life. Taken pride in her high kill count and felt comforted by the knowledge that when she killed a Titan it was one less monster roaming around. But hiding from the truth wouldn't make it any less real or horrifying. What was done was done. There was no hiding from it.

"Levi made that same face."

Petra's head snapped up, surprised by his calm demeanor. How could he not be phased by this news? By his orders, countless soldiers had died while fighting Titans. Titans, who, it turned out, were people all along. Then again, he'd had a whole day to process it. To fully wrap his head around this shocking reality. "It's just..." Petra began helplessly, not sure what exactly she wanted to say.

"It's a hard thing to hear. Especially for someone who was a member of the Corps' elite squad," he said sympathetically. "But I wouldn't fret too much over it. They may have been human once but they were nothing but killing machines when you took them down. They were just monsters feeding indiscriminately on men, women, and children. There was no reasoning with them. It was for survival only. There was nothing we could have done."

Really? Just like that? Logically she knew the commander was right. What he said made sense. She knew it and agreed with this thinking. Still, she couldn't wave it off so easily. "I just need some time to come to terms with it," Petra said. She knew she would accept it and move on, but for now, she needed time to digest it.

A knock came from the door, interrupting the silence that had fallen.

"Enter," Erwin called out.

Two MPs stepped into the room. "Commander Erwin," the tall, brown-haired woman said, holding up a letter, "you've been summoned to Mitras to speak with the Assembly of King Fritz."

"Very well. Petra," Erwin said, turning to face her, "thank you again for the flowers and coming to visit me. Take care of yourself."

"And you as well, sir. I'll get going." She felt the two MPs watch her as she left.

Levi found himself looking at his hand often, remembering the feeling of touching Petra's stomach. It was so tiny right now. Not even a baby yet. Just a little thing of flesh causing its mother to have a little bump in her belly.

Levi marveled at the thought of Petra growing his child inside her. Such an extraordinary thing. In five months, he was going to be able to physically hold a little person that was half him, half Petra. He was beyond awed at thought of it.

It was silly, really. Millions of women had given birth. It was nothing new. A baby wasn't exactly a rare phenomenon. But he couldn't help but be amazed by it anyway. Maybe millions of women had given birth and it was a common thing, but Petra was going to give birth to his baby. For the very first time, he was going to be a father. This was going to be only their child, no one else's. There would be no one else like this kid ever again. Something, someone unique that came only from him and Petra coming together. And the whole process carried risks and took nine months to finish every time. How could he not be amazed by it?

"Do you need to wash your hand?"

"Hm?" He was pulled out of his thoughts by Hange. She sat next to him at the empty table. His squad had already gone off to bed after another day of experimenting on Eren's Titan.

"You keep staring at it," Hange noted curiously, an empty tea up before her.

Should he tell her? Normally Levi wasn't one to share personal, intimate info. But he wanted to talk now. Babble like an idiot and tell her what he had felt. Let the pride and awe he felt out and speak about the baby bump nonstop. He'd been holding in it and savoring it for himself since they came to the isolated cabin in the mountains. "Petra has a baby bump," he blurted before he could control himself. It felt good to get it out and he wanted to keep going. He wasn't even sure what he wanted to say but he wanted to keep talking about it.

"Ah-ha!" Hange claimed triumphantly, a gleam in her eyes. "So that's why you've been so chipper all this time!"

"When was I ever chipper?" Levi couldn't see it. Did his squad also think that? Were they thinking of him as some goofy idiot now? Am I on a slow path to becoming one of those parents who talk about their kids all the time? He hadn't thought of himself as overprotective, either, yet he'd fussed over Petra to the point of her grumbling in annoyance at him once or twice.

"Don't look so horrified," Hange started to laugh. "Like it's something to be ashamed of, being happy. It's nice to see, actually. I mean, it's not obvious like it would be with other people, who smile uncontrollably and act super positive when they're experiencing joy. Your joy is much more muted. But I've known you long enough to see it. How was it? When you felt the bump. You must have been thrilled."

"I was." He still was. "It was strange. A good kind of strange. Everything else kind of faded." It was just him and Petra and feelings he couldn't quite explain, all centered on that little bump.

"I never thought you'd be so over the moon about becoming a father. I'm glad to see it, though. And that you're so happy."

"Petra's put the responsibility of choosing a name on me. She's purposefully picking horrible ones to make me come up with a name myself."

Hange gasped in excitement. "Oh, right! She's four months in so it's safe to start brainstorming names! Hmm, what are some good ones? Let me see. What does Aunty Hange want her little niece or nephew to be called?"

"I will not allow my child to be named after some cannibalistic weirdo, I'm telling you now, Four-Eyes." What a sharp, sweet thrill it was to say that. Naming my child. My child. My baby. It would be all his. His and Petra's. You're being ridiculous, he thought to himself. Not that it stopped his silent giddiness. Our baby. All unique. The kid would look like him and Petra. That made him even giddier.

"I have a few suggestions I think you might like..." And off she went.

Levi regretted telling her as she kept going. When will this end? He had wanted to pick a good name for his kid. It was going to stick with him or her forever. So he wanted to have a good list to choose from, but Levi had not expected for Hange to go on for this long. He should have known better. Who knew how much research she did while coming up with names for her Titans?

She rattled off name after name for the next twenty minutes straight before finally running out of steam. "I'll think of more tomorrow," Hange promised brightly before heading turning in for the night.

Oh goody. Levi thought, sighing.

In his room, thankful for the peace and quiet, Levi pulled out the small, handheld notebook he'd bought specially for one purpose. On the left side of the page, he had girl names written down, and on the right were names for a boy. He noted down the few names Hange had mentioned that he had liked and stuck out to him.

Shirt pulled up and hand on her belly, Petra sighed at her reflection in the long mirror. Her abs had dissolved and her stomach had become smoother and rounder. On her small frame, the sixteen weeks of pregnancy would be obvious if she wore a tight fitted shirt. Or she'd look a little pudgy. I'm going to look like a cow once I hit eight months. The thought of being so fully round because of the baby both excited her and made her groan. She was not looking forward to the pregnancy wreaking havoc on her perfectly conditioned body. She had been fully aware of the kind of chaos pregnancy inflicted on women in both body and mind and accepted it, but she'd still bemoan becoming so huge while also taking delight in her child's growth.

Finished dressing in her civilian clothes, she went to the note folded on her bed. Yesterday, the commander had sent it to her. Erwin's neat, familiar letters greeted her as she read the note one last time.

Petra,

You are to go on maternity leave effective immediately. Do not waste any time. This note serves as my approval and you can give it to the infirmary doctor to put in your file. You can officially take your leave with full benefits and it won't be considered desertion.

Erwin Smith

Petra didn't know what brought it on. The commander knew she had planned to stick around maybe a month longer before going home. But she couldn't ignore the urgency in the note. For him to order her to leave now meant it had to be something serious.

She wished she knew what was going on. It wasn't the first time she wasn't in on the know. But she was a loyal soldier always and she followed her orders so she did what he'd told her to do.

Soon after receiving the note, she had sent her father a letter informing him that she was coming home sooner than planned. He wouldn't ask for an explanation. Her father would just be happy to know she was coming home a month earlier. Petra felt nervous about how their friends and neighbors would react. According to his last letter, her father had already told everyone about the pregnancy so they would hopefully get over it before she returned.

All done, Petra thought, packing her suitcase. Last night, she had put her letter to her father to be mailed out, so it probably wasn't picked up until this morning to be delivered. Hopefully, it would get to him before she came home. He'd have her room all set up for her then.

Dad knows I'm coming and the commander's note is in my file, she mentally checked off her list. Everything she needed was packed as well. She only wished she could get in touch with Levi but the commander was probably keeping him updated and would get word to him wherever he was.

"Don't want your daddy freaking out when he sees we're not here," she said to her stomach, patting it. Her words caught up with her and she smiled giddily. As she often found herself doing these days, Petra daydreamed about what their baby would look like. More like her? Or more like Levi? Maybe a good mix of them both. Hope you at least turn out taller than us. What kind of quirks might their child pick up from them? And further she slipped into her own head.

Quit your dawdling and get going already, she told herself, trying to leave her daydreams behind. Otherwise she would be late and arrive after dinner. Knowing her father, he was going to sit there and wait for her, not having a bite of food until she joined him, even if he was hungry.

Outside the HQ, there was a carriage waiting for her. "Ms. Petra Ral," the man said, approaching her.

"Yes?"

"I'm here to talk you home."

"That's not necessary. I can have someone drop me off into town—"

"Where you'll have to find a carriage to take you home anyway." He gestured to her trunk. "You can't carry that on a horse. I was asked to escort you."

"You were?"

"It's for your own safety, ma'am. There's something happening," he said cryptically. "And you may be caught up as a pawn considering your connection to Corporal Levi. You received the commander's note, yes?"

Petra couldn't quite explain the strange feeling in her gut. But if the commander wanted her out of dodge he had to have a reason for it. She would trust he knew what he was doing. "I got his note," she said. Petra handed him her trunk. "Let's go. Thanks for the ride." She stepped into the carriage and was surprised to see someone already in there.

"Petra Ral?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Good. I'm here to escort you to safety."

The carriage began to move. Too late to jump out now. But the woman was relaxed and kept her hands visible. Nothing in her body language yelled danger. The woman was perfectly at ease. You are being too paranoid. Though the last time she had been in the dark about something, her squad had died, so she couldn't help but be leery. "You're here to protect me? Why? What do I need protecting from?"

"The Royal Government."

That answer was unexpected and rather unwelcome. "What?" Petra said, confused and nervous. What would the Royal Government want with her? She wasn't even an elite soldier anymore. She just did the paperwork now. Not even interesting stuff, just inventory and such.

"There may be some unsavory characters coming after you because they want to get to Corporal Levi. You're a member of his squad. Someone trusted, competent, and close to him. And if the rumors are true, you're even carrying his child."

"What exactly is going on? Why is the Royal Government coming after us?"

"They think you might have information pertaining to the whereabouts of Eren Yeager, along with other potential leads. They got suspicious of you when you visited Commander Erwin a couple of days ago."

"I have no idea what this valuable information or potential leads they're looking for are but I certainly don't have any. I only take care of the paperwork. Biggest risk I face on a day-to-day basis is maybe getting a paper cut." Petra recalled how the true purpose of the 57th Expedition was hidden from Squad Levi aside from their captain. "I don't know why they're looking for Eren but the commander has always played his cards close to the chest," she said truthfully, "so Eren's whereabouts weren't disclosed to me. I've been on administrative duty for some time now. Why would I be informed of anything relevant?" The commander had shared the truth of the Titans with her, though, and the way he'd said it implied she should keep silent about it. As far as she could see though, it had nothing to do with Eren's current location.

"The people after you may not be as bright as you and I. Dumb and desperate is a dangerous combination. They'll go after you because they can't understand one doesn't just give crucial information to a pregnant woman then leave her out in the open."

If you were expecting it meant the pregnancy could be leveraged for information. I can take care of myself but I'm not invincible, Petra thought. Especially the closer she got to the third trimester. Anyone smart would know this and know better than to leave someone exposed if they were holding dangerous information. But if the Royal Government's thugs were desperate and stupid enough as her companion said, then they wouldn't hesitate to go after her.

"Where are you taking me?" Petra asked, knowing they wouldn't drop her off at her father's house. After the HQ, that was the second place anyone looking for her would check.

"To a safe house," she said, eyeing her critically. Most likely she'd guessed Petra knew the carriage wasn't headed home.

"But I sent my father a letter telling him to expect me home today."

"Write another one. We'll have one of our guys deliver it—but only once cause there will be no back and forth exchange. Too risky. Explain there was a mistake and you won't be returning home just yet."

"Is it dangerous? Whatever Captain Levi and the others are involved in."

"Very much."

Seriously, of all the times for me to be out of commission. Why couldn't this whole thing have gone down before she got pregnant or well after? "Can you tell me where exactly we're going?"

"Somewhere in Wall Sina."

"Really? Is that a good idea?"

"What better place to hide from the Royal Government than right under their noses?"

"Good point. Wait, what's your name? I never got it."

She held out her hand and they shook. "Name's Traute Carven."

Levi waited patiently while Nifa pulled Hange outside to talk privately with her. After they were done, he was hoping to ask Nifa about Petra. He and his squad hadn't left the cabin to go anywhere but train outside. It was only Hange who came and went freely, heading into town and coming back.

"Where's Nifa?" Levi asked when Hange returned alone. "I wanted to know how Petra was doing." Was she eating enough? Did she get enough sleep? He hoped she wasn't doing any heavy lifting or worrying about him and Eren.

"She's gone."

"Did she mention anything about—"

"Just a minute, Levi." Hange called the squad in and told them about the message Erwin had sent. After she sent them off to pack so they could move out, she nodded to Levi. "Follow me."

Puzzled, he did as she said and they exited the cabin, going to the back. Hange stopped before the entrance into the forest, safe enough away from the cabin that if someone was eavesdropping they wouldn't be able to overhear.

"Why did you bring me out here? Did Nifa mention something sensitive that wasn't in the message?"

There was a guarded look on Hange's face. "She did."

"Is it bad?" From the face she was making, Levi braced himself for the worst. Automatically his thoughts jumped to Petra. Something must have happened to the baby. His stomach roiled. "Is it my..." He felt too scared to even voice it. The last time he felt this frightened was on his first expedition beyond the Walls, trying to find his friends in that horrific storm.

"No, there's no news about the baby."

It was like he could breathe again. Tension leaked from his body, his muscles relaxing, but not completely. The cautiousness in her voice still had him on edge. "Then spit it out, will you?"

"Two days ago, Petra's father received a letter telling him she was going home early. He came to pick her up that very day, during the late afternoon. But she'd left to go home half an hour before he arrived. When he got home after work in the evening, there was a letter saying her first letter was incorrect. That something came up in the morning and she was staying at the HQ for a month longer like originally intended."

Levi felt ill. This is what she meant. When Hange had said "She's gone" she had been referring to Petra, not Nifa. "So Petra's neither at her father's house nor at HQ?"

"No. As far as the soldiers at HQ knew and according to the paperwork, she went on maternity leave. The second letter father had received from her said she was at HQ still. If he hadn't dropped everything and shown up to take her home himself, no one would have even known she was missing."

Missing. The word echoed in his head. How could she be missing? She was a grown woman. She couldn't disappear into thin air. He felt the world crumble under his feet, feeling almost dazed. Levi felt his face go from a numbed sensation to a tingling one. My ears are ringing, he thought absent-mindedly.

"Here's where it gets stranger. She got a note from Erwin telling her to take maternity leave early. But it was forged. The note was pulled from Petra's medical file yesterday when her father came back to HQ to figure what exactly was happening, since he was getting contradicting information about Petra's whereabouts. Erwin got the note last evening and verified he never sent it but the writing was almost identical to his. Whoever forged it was very skilled."

Without a word, Levi turned and started walking toward the cabin.

"Where're you going?" Hange hurried after him. "Levi, I know you don't want to hear this, and I feel sick just saying it, but we need to prioritize Eren and—"

He stopped and shot her a frosty glare. "I know that, Hange. There's only one reason for Petra to be taken. To get to me. Ultimately, the end goal here for them is to get Eren and Historia. So that's what we'll do. We'll give them what they want."

Her face paled at his words.

"They'll be decoys, not the real Eren and Historia."

"Oh! I see," she said in relief, then looked guilty for being glad he wasn't suggesting they trade the two for his future wife and child. "That's a good plan. We'll use them to lure out the people after us and question them. Find out what they want with Eren and Historia and where they've got Petra."

"I don't care what I have to do to make them squeal. I'll torture it out of them if it comes to that," Levi said darkly, the violence clear on his face. It was the one skill set Kenny had taught him that he'd never really used. But he wouldn't hold back against anyone who got between him and finding Petra.

Levi and Hange joined with his squad and left well before the MPs stormed the cabin.

Their plan went off without a hitch, Jean and Armin pretended to be Eren and Historia and were successfully "kidnapped." What they had not expected was the kidnappers to be Trost's well-known merchant boss Dimo Reeves to be the one behind the plot. Though that was soon proven false. Hange was quick to pull Reeves aside to work on making a deal with him.

Levi wanted a crack at him but thought it was probably for the best Hange negotiate first. His head was not exactly in the best place and he didn't want to comprise any chances that could lead them to Petra. Since clearly Reeves wasn't the mastermind here, Levi held himself back.

While Hange strolled through the forest trying to reason with Reeves, Levi and his squad were hanging around the empty warehouse, waiting. Across the room from him, the rest of the squad talked quietly, sitting on the wooden crates. At the opposite end of the warehouse were Reeves's men, including his loudmouth son Flegel.

"Is something wrong, Captain?" Eren inquired, joining him."You've been acting off since we left the cabin yesterday."

"I'm just anxious to find out who hired Reeves and his men to kidnap you and Historia."

"But there's more to it, isn't there? I thought maybe it was just me but Hange has been sending you worried looks, too. Was there something in that message you didn't share with us?" There was a slight distrusting note to Eren's voice. Maybe he was thinking about the 57th Expedition and how Levi had kept his own squad in the dark, logical as it had been.

"You really want to know? Cause I don't think you do."

"I do. Please, tell me."

"Petra's been missing for three days now." Levi watched as Eren's eyes widened, worry and shock crossing his face. He didn't seem to have put it together yet. "If you hadn't noticed, Petra isn't exactly the type to have enemies. There's only one reason she would be taken. To get leverage over me. And they want me so they can get to you and Historia."

An expression of pure guilt twisted Eren's face. "C-Captain Levi, I'm so sorry," he choked out, distressed. "This happened because of me. This is my fault."

"Don't be stupid. She's my responsibility. I should have hidden her away. I had a feeling something was brewing but I didn't think they'd go after her. Even if they did find out about our...situation, why would they think she'd know anything?" Still, he should have been cautious and taken measures to protect her. "We overestimated our enemies' intelligence or underestimated their cruelty. Maybe both." And Petra might end up paying the price for it.

"I wish there was something I could do," Eren said anxiously. "Or maybe she's not really missing. What if she felt crappy and went home early?" There was such a pure and hopeful note to his voice that Levi felt a bit bad for what he was about to say.

"Whoever took her tried to make the soldiers think she'd gone home. And they wanted her father to think she was still at HQ. No reason for Petra to do that of her own volition."

Eren's face fell as his hopes were dashed.

Having noticed his sorrow, Armin and Mikasa called out to him and he went back to them with slumped shoulders. From the gasps Levi heard soon after, he assumed Eren had filled them in. He could almost feel them shooting pitying and sad looks his way.

What's taking so long? Levi scowled as Hange and Reeves continued to take their sweet time negotiating. He noticed Flegel grumbling quietly with his buddies. It gave him an idea. Levi's patience was also all used up to wait even a second longer. Fuck this. He left the warehouse, ordering his squad to stay inside and keep an eye on Reeves's men. It didn't take him long to find the two. They were in the middle of a deep discussion when Levi walked up to them. "What the hell is taking so long?"

"Levi, we're just—" Hange said but he ignored her and zeroed in on the merchant boss.

"Working out a deal is—"

"Listen here, asshole," Levi talked right over him. "You might not be in any rush and want squeeze as much as you can out of this deal, but I want to get a fucking move on. The shitty bastards that hired you also kidnapped the woman I was gonna marry and is having my kid."

As he'd predicted and hoped, Reeves was distraught. "W-What? They kidnapped a pregnant woman?!"

Based on what Levi had seen, Dimo Reeves cared greatly for his son. Unlike most rich parents that spoiled their children rotten and turned them into entitled little shits, Dimo proved his love for his son by scolding Flegel instead of letting him get away with shit. He wanted to ensure his son grew up to be a good man. Levi had thought it might work better if he confronted Reeves as one (expecting) father to another. From the disgust and determination filling the man's face, he was right. "Will you help me get her back or will you stand in my way?"

"What do you need?"

"You're going to join us?" Hange asked.

"I am."

"Good," Levi said, pleased they were finally getting somewhere. "Now, in exchange for getting Eren and Historia, there are three things you're going to do: fully support the efforts of the Corps, trust us completely, and I get access to any Reeves Company baby goods I want for my kid. Do we have a deal?"

"Understood." Dimo Reeves held out his hand and they shook. "We have a deal."

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