A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

As the bell tower tolled the late hour, the winds picked up from the south and cut cleanly down Trost's streets. They swirled the bloated clouds obscuring the moon. They made all the scaffolds creak, and whistled through broken-down walls. The whole of Trost shivered in this wind.

Leaves and pieces of debris scattered, but the tired, sallow-cheeked people in the streets did not move much. They shuffled closer to the fire-lit braziers, or withdrew into the shadows, resembling skeletons in ragged coats. Below the awning of an abandoned shop, some loud-mouthed men scuffled over a bottle of rum. Passersby ignored them. A girl barely thirteen sat on the threshold of a collapsed house, head buried in her arms. She hadn't moved in hours.

The stressed neigh of a horse turned a few heads and a cart rumbled past. The reinforced wheels spit pebbles and dust, they rolled so fast. Several shadows shouted and darted after the cart. Gathered around a brazier, four bent-over figures watched the chase.

"Ruffians and thieves. They always go after the carts," one of them said. The old man had a biting snarl in his speech, like a cough constantly trying to burst his lungs. The other man and two women with him nodded in agreement.

"Hey. Liebs Corporation has been delivering a lot lately," said the man whose voice carried a dried-up sneer.

"They're supporting rebels." This from the old woman, her voice ancient but firm.

"What!" the second woman asked fearfully. Her young voice couldn't rise above a whisper.

The old bird cracked a smile. "It's true. My son works for Liebs and I know what he does."

Her words received mixed reactions of doubt and fret. The group huddled closer around the fire.

"Is there going to be a revolution?" the frightened one asked.

"Hmph! I heard the Survey Corps and Garrison were starting something," the growling man said.

"Not the Garrison!"

"Bite me," the second man drawled, "When have those wall-menders ever done anything, except take our food?"

The elder spoke sagely as she warmed her palms. "The Survey Corps are here. I know. They're hiding from Central."

"Hush, old sow!" the coughing voice barked. "Your son with them? He's stirring trouble where he shouldn't."

"Yes!" whimpered the frail voice. "Trouble, trouble and war!" She clapped a hand to her mouth.

"Damn my head if I know what's really happening." The bored man sighed. "All I know is there's no food. And no one to keep me company at night except my addled granny." He spat.

The young woman breathed fast. "I feel sick. We can't be going to war, we can't..."

"Against the Military Police, no less," the old man grumbled. "Impossible!"

Firelight danced on the contours of the old woman's wrinkles. "Trost has done the impossible before. Look, child." She turned to the girl and nodded at the Wall. "Look at our gate. You know what we call it?"

"Useless?" The grandson smirked.

"No, young man. We call that gate the site of humanity's comeback."

The wind shifted direction and rushed along the ground. It blasted fruitlessly against the jagged grooves of the massive boulder blocking Trost's front gate. The stone was still black and burnt from the residual remains of the monster that put it there.

The watch guards on the Wall were all volunteers, some not even in uniform. They meandered the perimeter, leaving whole sections unchecked for hours. No one wanted to be up there very long; the high altitude and exposure could affect a man's stomach.

The few and bold stuck it out. Two guards crouched by a cannon, one holding a lantern while the other did inspection. He sucked on a cigarette, mumbling to himself. His comrade had long given up trying to understand him.

"Can you fix it?" he asked irritably.

Muttering.

The other guard sighed then frowned as he heard fast footsteps. He turned to see a boy in Garrison uniform running along the ramparts. "Hey! Careful you don't fall!" he called after him. "Tch. Greenhorn."

"Who was that?" his friend asked.

"How am I supposed to know? These days anybody can get up on this damned Wall."

The Wall ramparts were shrouded in nigh total darkness. If not for the braziers every few yards, a man could walk blindly off the edge. Though the beacons had plenty of fuel from the debris piles, many were cold because no one bothered to light them.

Barely breaking a sweat, the boy jogged straight through the dark spots. His skin cooled in the wind and his heart held a steady, laborious beat. His stride slowed as he neared the gate and finally reached a brazier. Gulping in air, he pulled back the hood of his coat. The fire glowed on a bold, tanned face with eyes like green pearls. They gazed skyward.

I escaped her. For now.

Sighing, Eren Jaegar tousled his earth-brown hair and took a more leisurely pace along the Wall. The rampart rails for carrying the cannons cut off and the next twenty meters stretched out naked and warped, like skinned flesh. As he walked, Eren looked out at the expanse beyond the Wall. Blackness. He couldn't see a thing.

Why does Squad Leader Hanji have to ask so many questions? Doesn't she know what "I can't remember" means? Eren bit his lip and sullenly jerked his hood back up. I probably only have ten minutes before Squad Leader knows I'm not in the john and comes looking for me. Shit. That's not very long-!

He stopped in his tracks as he saw a figure up ahead. It was a man in uniform, sitting on cloth-covered crates and wearing a long coat. Eren recognized the soldier's small but commanding stature and curtain-cut black hair.

Captain Levi? Eren slowly approached. I thought he was interrogating those two Military Police officers we took hostage. It was definitely the captain, though he wore Garrison colors under his coat. The whole of Squad Levi had adopted the façade for now, until Commander Erwin sent further notice.

Levi bent over his three-dimensional maneuver gear, meticulously cleaning it by lantern light. Concentration edged his perpetual frown. Cleaning equipment was a delicate process most soldiers hated. Every cog and part in the unit had to be tested and cleaned with a kit. Maintenance had to be done after every use; a worn cable or a faulty trigger could cause a fatal malfunction for users maneuvering mid-air. It didn't surprise Eren to see Levi buffing his gear for the sake of it.

If he's on break, I probably shouldn't disturb him. But...he looked back, started in that direction, paused, looked one way, and then the other. His feet moved back and forth in conflict.

"Hey, brat." Levi's emotionless voice stopped Eren dead. The captain's gaze remained fixed on his task. "Watch your noisy feet don't step off the edge."

Shit! Does he know it's me? Eren stood still with his back to him.

"Unless that's what you want," Levi said, buffing his gear's drum until it gleamed, "To jump off. Fall fifty meters. Nothing but a bloody splat at the bottom. Tch." He pulled a length of cable out of the drum, inspecting every fiber. "Suit yourself. I have no use for cowards too weak for this world."

He sounds more pissed than usual. I shouldn't be here. Eren took a step back the way he came.

Suddenly Levi looked up. "Hey, come here."

Eren cringed, his shoulders hitching. Then he sighed, turned around and showed himself. "It's me, Captain." He lowered his hood.

Levi's frown took on a second, barely perceivable layer of irritation and he turned back to his cleaning. "Take a seat," he ordered. "Not next to me," he added as Eren made for the crates. "There." He pointed at the pebble-littered ground.

Eren took his assigned seat, several feet away from his captain. He faced the dark expanse and relaxed his elbow on a propped-up knee. Silence comforted them both.

"You know the rules," Levi said. "You shouldn't be out on your own."

"You're here, sir," Eren said, faint resentment in his tone.

Levi's potent pause felt like a kick in the teeth.

Eren nervously rubbed his jaw. "Understood, sir." He started to get up. "Sorry to have bothered you, sir. I'll go."

"You ran away from her, didn't you?"

WHUMP. Eren fell back on his butt with an involuntary groan. Hiking both knees up, he ran a hand through his bangs. Damnit. He's going to send me back. Catching Levi's stare, he faced forward and tried to look composed.

"You have a constipated look on your face," Levi remarked, inspecting his blade canisters. "When people have shit to get out, they had better get it out."

Eren sucked in air through his teeth. "I'm fine, sir."

"Say what you want to say, brat," the captain drawled. "I probably won't kick your ass this time."

The boy blew out a big breath. "Squad Leader Hanji asks too many questions."

Levi's voice went flat. "This is news to me."

"It's just, uh..." Eren wet his lips, spitting out words as they came to him. "The more she asks...the more useless I feel. All this time we've been experimenting. I can barely remember anything except waking up feeling half dead, and confused! And I think..." He looked down at his hands, unconsciously hushing his voice. "There's something really important...I can't remember..."

He closed his fists tight, grasping at nothing. "Also, Captain, it's struck me - since my Titan power was discovered and I sealed the gate, people have called me humanity's last hope." He glared, voice rising. "I can transform into a monster and that's supposed to cause hope! I wish. All it's done, all I've done, is cause war and death and…shit!" Eren pulled up his hood, his tone more sour than Sasha's hoarded quarts of milk. "Jean said I'm more like humanity's last straw. Bastard."

Levi finished cleaning. He stood and buckled on the unit and the blades. Then he walked over to Eren, gazing at the shadow-cloaked land beyond the Wall. Looking up at him, Eren made to rise. Barely did he move before Levi wordlessly grabbed his shoulder and shoved him back down. Eren sat still, red-faced.

The captain sighed. "All you ever do is whine, piglet."

"Sorry, sir."

A strong wind breached the Wall, ruffling their hair. Levi met it full in the face. "Eren. Did your shit-filled brain with its shitty memory forget why you joined the Survey Corps? You wanted to become strong, so you could kill Titans. What do you think the word 'strong' means?"

"Uh..." Eren tried to think. "More powerful, sir."

"Weak people think that," Levi said. "They have never known power, except when it's used against them. So they think if they had power, they wouldn't be weak anymore, and that must mean they're strong."

He stared down at Eren, eyes hidden in shadow. "Eren. You've come to possess a power that can level buildings, but tell me honestly. Do you feel strong, right now?"

Eren couldn't look at him. "No, sir."

"I'm Humanity's Strongest Soldier. You want to be strong like me?"

"I do, sir!"

Levi's voice drilled into Eren like a thin, precise needle. "Use everything you have. If you don't have any power, skill, or a perfect memory, make do. Use people who have those things."

"Use people?" Eren stared up at him, perturbed. He saw only cold candor in the captain's eyes.

"If they die, they should die useful. You know that."

Eren nodded. Everyone knows that. He felt his resolve returning, heating his blood and tensing his muscles.

Levi's condescending stare burned him. "Use everything and everyone you have to fulfill your utmost potential. That's strength. Are you at least trying to do that, brat?"

The wind stung Eren's face. With a grunt he stood to his feet and yanked back his hood. "Yes, Captain!"

"That's the best humanity can hope for." Levi met Eren's gaze with intent, burnished-steel eyes. "And humanity is used to paying dearly for the best. You could be our last straw. I couldn't say. Just try to remember - everyone hopes you're not."

Eren stood still, letting those words sink in. His face changed and he looked down at his feet.

Levi frowned. "You still look constipated."

"Sir, it's just..." Eren exhaled. "I know I'm doing my best, but is it enough-?"

"Tch." Levi faced forward, his contempt dropping on Eren like an anvil. "No. Idiot. Your best is shit right now. Can't you do better?"

"Uh!" Eren blurted before facing forward and standing erect. Eagerness churned in his every word. "Yes, sir! I'll put my all into it. I'll decimate the enemy." A vicious gleam brightened his eyes. "I'll soak the fields in Titan blood."

Levi made a face. "Tch!"

"I'll be the strongest soldier in the Survey Corps!" Eren crowed into the wind, oblivious.

The wind died, voice cut off like something slit its throat.

"Shut up," said the captain.

"Uh, I didn't mean-!" Eren fumbled, remembering who he was talking to.

Levi's left arm flung in front of the boy, silencing him. They both stilled, listening.

Something heavy moved out there.

Cautiously Levi stepped closer to the edge, squinting. Other guards on the perimeter moved to the edge as well, pointing and calling. They all heard them now. Footfalls. Heavy, slow footfalls.

Levi's face froze. "CANNONS!"

The Wall gave a violent shake as something leaped at it. Eren and Levi fell to their knees as a giant, long-fingered hand stretched over the ramparts. Higher it reached, becoming an arm - a huge, hairy arm.

Something punched Eren in the stomach. The captain had grabbed him by the waist. They jumped backwards, weightless, falling-! Two cables shot from Levi's gear faster than light, grapples anchoring to the inner Wall.

CRUNCH!

The giant hand gripped the top, right where they'd stood. Chips of stone and dust rained down as the cables stretched taut and Levi planted his feet. Grasping Eren in one hand, the captain tore off both their coats and the heavy garments flapped to the darkness. Both soldiers hung upright and steady as a shadow loomed over them.

Eren stared through the dust cloud at two, massive glowing eyes.

A Titan? The boy gaped. It climbed the Wall! Trost is breached!

Again!

It's happening all over again!

Author's Note:

I put this chapter through a hardcore edit so it's pretty much exactly as I like it now. I hope you've enjoyed the final product. I really appreciate any reviews, follows or favorites. Get ready for some action in the next chapter and click go!

Sarah