A.N. Another challenge issued by SonicWinchester. This time, it was a request for a fic based on a song I actually like this time, Viva la Vida by Coldplay.

I started in the gutter. I was less than trash. The son of a prostitute. I was destined for a life of crime, and I would be damned if I was going to stay as filth. If I was going to be a criminal, might as well be the best.

Farlan, Isabel and I had found some ODM gear. Well, we used the term "found" loosely in Undertown. We became the trio Undertown respected, and in some cases, feared. Then Erwin came along and dragged us into the Survey Corps. Life went downhill from there. Friends were lost. I rose in ranks. But I never again let anyone close. Why should I? I was Humanity's Strongest.

From Undertown's lowest, to it's highest, to the Surface's lowest. Now I was, aside from Erwin, or the King, one of the most recognizable and respected of people. People worshiped the ground I walked on. I was someone that everyone respected. What I said, went.

Then Maria fell. I had to watch them weed out the old and the infirm, sending them on a suicide mission. Would Isabel, Farlan and I have been among them if Erwin hadn't found us? Not that it mattered for them…

We had left from Trost heading out into what had once been the interior of Wall Maria on a regular scouting mission. It was quite eerie to see cities I had once passed through, that were once teeming with life, overgrown and destroyed. The mission had been a waste. We made no headway, and lost over thirty percent of our ranks. Petra, who reminded me a bit of Isabel, had had to watch a comrade bleed out.

The sight that greeted us as we approached Trost was horrifying. Titans were scratching at the remains of the gate, thankfully blocked by a large boulder. We used our gear to scale the wall, and were shocked to see Trost empty of all but soldiers and titans. One titan, a fifteen meter class, was slumped against the boulder, showing minimal signs of decay. As we watched from atop the wall, a small blonde sliced the neck shallowly, and reached in, pulling out another. The blonde seemed to be having trouble, and a silver haired Garrison member sliced him out, causing the small blonde to tumble about nine meters to the ground, clutching the limp form of their companion to their chest.

Useless. Once inside a titan, you are as good as dead. If the acid doesn't kill you, the burns from their superheated body will, and I could see from where I was at, that even if this person survived, which wasn't looking likely - they hadn't moved yet and their face was a mass of burns - they would be horribly maimed for life, probably blind.

Of course, blondie had been too engrossed with the burn victim to notice several titans approaching. I leapt from the wall, and executed my usual strike, taking them both down. A third person had approached blondie and the burned person, a pretty young girl with midnight black hair. It had shocked me to notice the two were wearing the mark of the Cadet Corps. They had sent the cadets to fight? The burned kid was surprisingly awake.

That was my first encounter with "Humanity's Hope".

If only I had known things would go downhill from there.

Not only did Erwin make me go to court, he made me guardian of the brat that could turn into one of those beasts. But hey, he was somewhat amusing. Erwin won his little prize, we got the brat, but he was put in my care.

The kid was obsessed. Everything became about testing his powers, keeping the kid safe. Somehow the brat wormed his way into the hearts of my team, even after they tried attacking him after his accidental partial shift, yet they were ready to die for him.

And die they did.

My team. Eld… the calm, rational member. Olou… the loudmouth who thinks he's second, when he's really just a grunt. Great for a laugh - he wouldn't try to be funny, but he always bit his tongue, making quite the fool of himself. Günther, my second in command… he reminded me of Farlan in a way.

And Petra. God, why Petra? She was like Isabel, young, and full of spunk and cheer.

A piece of me died as I passed each of their bodies while trying to find the brat. Why? Why must my friends die for someone else? Why couldn't I save them? What is the point of being Humanity's Strongest when I couldn't even save my own team?

I could hear the brat's roar from up ahead, as well as crashing. Guess he felt the same as I did. The crashing and roaring had cut off suddenly, which had spurred me on, as well as a shriek of a name, screamed in pure agony.

I knew that sound… it was the sound of mourning. The scream turned into shrieks of "give him back" as I gained on the screamer. I found it to be Ackerman, and she screamed for a female abnormal to give Eren back.

Ackerman got more and more reckless, until I had to intervene. She did not seem to understand that he could be dead. The evidence had pointed to death. He was bitten out of the titan, and was either in the mouth of the titan, or in her stomach, both of which are fatal. To humans, at least. What she had said haunts me still.

She blamed me for Eren's fate.

My only thought in that moment was 'she's just like me.' I had played along with her, acting as if Jaeger were still alive. I had serious doubts, but she would not believe he was dead until she saw a body, so it became a recovery mission, at least in my eyes. In hers, it had still been a rescue.

We had caught up to the female titan, and as I sliced her up, Ackerman went rogue and attempted a kill, and to prevent her from sharing the fate of my team, I flung her out of the way, landing on the titan's hand. As I did, something cracked in my leg, and I knew then that I was out. I would not be going on missions after this one, not for a long time.

Why must I sacrifice everything? Why can't things just go right for once? Still, I pushed off from the titan's hand, and sliced her cheeks, her jaw fell open and revealed Eren, covered in titan spit, and not moving. I grabbed the brat from her mouth, and the look of hope and relief on Ackerman's face almost made it worth it. The brat had remained unconscious until we were almost back at Wall Maria, Ackerman hovering over him the entire way. I once had friends like that.

We had entered the city, and I dismounted to lead my horse, concealing my limp. Why should I be allowed the luxury of riding when my team died? Families had approached us, asking where their loved ones were. This time we had nothing to give them to bury. Just a "we are sorry for your loss".

The hardest was Petra's father. He had a hard time realizing his daughter was gone. I just kept walking. The pain was penetance for their deaths. I knew that the failure of this mission meant we would be called to the capital.

The brat didn't really have a clue about how the world works. He refused to believe his friends when they presented evidence as to the female titan's identity. I tried to tell him. I truly did, I staged an intervention of sorts, and he did not believe us. It wasn't until she transformed that he believed us, but he still was reluctant to transform. Stupid brat. I was stuck across town, while horseface who had posed as the brat, and Erwin, went to go help the rest of the group.

Why must I be so helpless? I stood there in the empty streets as all the soldiers rushed towards the fight. I slowly made my way towards the fight.

I used to rule the world

Seas would rise when I gave the word,

Now in the morning I sleep alone,

Sweep the streets I used to own…

Life is fickle. There isn't much else that can be done, but to keep living.

A.N: The italics are lyrics from Coldplay's "Viva la Vida", the song this is based off of. I hope it was satisfactory.