Chapter One

"I'm a satellite heart, lost in the dark."

Levi pushed his horse to ride faster than the breakneck speed it was already galloping at. If they survived this, he could apologize for this later with carrots, a good brushing, and maybe a handful of snuck sugar cubes.

He wasn't the kind to ordinarily let a battle faze him, but how this had happened was inexplicable. He wasn't going to let a titan–no, a monster–take away what little he had. The titans had already taken too much. Too much for an ordinary soul to handle. He could see on the horizon the battle that ensued.

This was as dangerous as it got. If they didn't stop it here, they were going to be at a loss. Not just for information, but so many lives as well. Lives that didn't have to die. That could have lived…but for what? Just to die another day?

Levi shook his head. These were dangerous thoughts to have. He was, after all, humanity's last hope. Or so everyone seemed to think. Screw humanity, he thought, his bitterness evident even in his thoughts. Another shake of the head. He needed absolute clarity and concentration in order to do this.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the open air. A scream he recognized. Typically, he would have scoffed and gotten to work to save as many lives as possible, to kill as many titans as he possibly could. But this was no ordinary scream. Although the cacophony of battle, blood, and chaos surrounded him…

That scream froze him in his tracks.

No.

15 Months Earlier…

"Tch." Levi scoffed as he looked off into the distance. New recruits for the Survey Corps. But not completely untrained ones. They were from the Garrison – dimwits compared to most in the Survey Corps, of course, but they could be worse…they could be the Military Police.

He hated the idea that the top ten soldiers usually chose the path of cowardice – joining the MPs instead of fighting for humanity. Why the most talented, the most resourceful, truly, the best were corralled into protecting a place that in reality didn't particularly need protecting was unjust. But injustices surrounded them. Every single day.

He heard the heavy footsteps approaching before the person standing behind him addressed, "Captain Levi Ackerman." It wasn't a question of who he was – everybody pretty much knew who he was. Humanity's Strongest Soldier. What a joke. It was almost equal parts fortune and skill – maybe a little more luck on some days, on some missions. Plus, his strength wasn't granted upon him. He had worked hard, for countless years – the Underground had made him resilient. And just like that, he wasn't going to let some damn titans get the best of him.

"Hmph?" He made a general noise of acknowledgement. The soldier before him saluted. He nodded and the soldier relaxed.

"Commander Erwin is asking for you." Curt, and lacking the information he wanted to know. Why?

"Next time you attempt to deliver a message, you should at least include where the person you're calling upon is to go." He scolded, but not roughly as he would with his own squad.

"Oh…umm, he's—" The soldier was suddenly nervous and fidgety as he tried to expand his initial message.

Levi, however, cut him off. "Don't bother. I know where the Commander is." The soldier paled, but nodded. "You're dismissed." Levi all but shooed him away. In fact, if he could shoo the soldier away without facing another lecture from Erwin about his "lack of diplomacy", he would.

He may have been a "Captain" in all sense of the word, but his position in the military was somewhat circumstantial. It had only come about at the suggestion of Erwin. In fact, Levi was pretty sure that if he wasn't the man who he was today, Zackly wouldn't have agreed upon the title.

He left the young soldier standing there, mouth slightly agape. Idiot. He thought. Why would you summon somebody without directing them to where they're being summoned to? I swear, each year the titan fodder gets stupider and stupider.

He knew that was completely irrational of him to think – not everyone who transferred became titan fodder. But for the most part, unfortunately, it was true. These people usually didn't come of their own will to the Survey Corps. They usually were coerced or bribed into it. Coerced with threats or bribed with extra resources for their families. Of course, the extra resources ended upon their deaths, thus leaving the military more resources with which to bribe more soldiers. Or to feed the lazy MPs. The thought occurred to Levi. It was usually the latter.

He also knew that though Erwin wasn't exactly keen on using bribery or threats to have soldiers join the Survey Corps, he tended to turn a blind eye to it. The more soldiers to spare for expeditions, the better. Speaking of Erwin, Levi briefly wondered why he was being called upon. There definitely wasn't going to be a mission anytime soon. Not after the devastation inside of Wall Sina. Any money was going to rebuilding the city. And it didn't help that technically the Survey Corps was theoretically responsible for the damage – in a roundabout sort of way, or so Zackly had said in much more fluid language.

Bullshit. Levi had thought then, just as he thought now. Zackly wasn't always in agreement with the Monarchy, but his position was in correspondence to them. He couldn't air his grievances without losing his job. So for now, the Survey Corps was grounded; tasked with trying to coerce Annie Leonhart from her crystal, training Eren and training the regiment as much as possible. After all, if a mission was approved, (in Erwin's dreams, Levi thought) they had to be as absolutely ready as possible.

Levi looked up at the stairway leading to the second floor of their headquarters. It also led to Erwin's chambers – a main living space that he used as a meeting place and several doorways that Levi had no idea what led to where. Knowing Erwin, they were probably passageways to other places in the old castle itself. He sighed and braced himself for the climb. He wasn't arrogant, but he knew that if he asked for help, his pride would be bruised.

With a grunt, he placed weight upon his hurt leg and climbed the first step. Only twenty-seven more steps to go. After the nineteenth step, the pain was becoming more uncomfortable. But he was almost there. Damn Mikasa. He didn't actually blame her. She was still young – passion driven and blindly attempting to save Eren. Of course, admitting this didn't make his leg feel any better. According to the doctors, he was still going to be out for at least a month. If not longer.

As he finally took the last step, Hange sighed and stared at him. "You should've asked for help." She practically scolded.

"Shut the fuck up." He chose to mutter back at her, ignoring her seemingly obvious solution.

"You're especially rude this lovely morning. Using my incredible deductive skills, I'm guessing that you're irritable because you're not being particularly helpful in Humanity's fight." Her statement only earned a glare and steely silence from him.

"I'm taking your silence as agreement," Hange practically sang in a chipper voice.

Instead of answering, Levi chose to change the subject. "What's today meeting about?"

Instantly, Hange became a stoic figure of seriousness. Levi knew then, that as she was, so was the subject. "I have an inkling it's about the events that transpired in Sina. But until Erwin actually opens up the meeting, I have to say that I don't know." He nodded. He knew Hange very well, and he knew that she had to know. She had disappeared for two days, even after the fight between Annie and Eren had ended. No amount of scientific studies would've taken two days to determine that Annie was not coming out of her crystallized shell.

They walked together – well, Levi limped and Hange walked slowly in silent sympathy – down the hall until they reached Erwin's office. The door was slightly ajar and Levi could see that they were the last ones in. He was always punctual – except, apparently, today.

Commander Erwin stood at the head of the table. Around the table were various squad leaders. Clearly whatever this was, not only was it important, but it had to be discreet.

He acknowledged the two and Hange closed the door behind them. And thus, began discussions of the utmost secrecy.

A/N: Hello all! Just a few quick notes for those of who've decided to read enough to get all the way down here...unless you scrolled down here and read this first...in which case, that's okay too! I am new to this fandom in the world of writing - however, the moment I saw the first episode of AoT (at the behest of my husband...), I fell in love. The premise, the story, the characters...one word: AHHHH!

Then, I convinced him that we needed to get the manga! There was no way in hell I was going to wait until 2015 in order to be able to see what would happen next. After reading and rereading and watching and re-watching, it just wasn't enough. I had to jump into this world even though I'm super duper busy with work and life. I can only try to update this as the ideas come - luckily for those of you who are sticking around, I have a strongly driven muse right now (fingers crossed it stays that way for a while!)

One teeny tiny last note for those of you who've only watched the anime: I am not necessarily planning on following the manga, thus (perhaps) no spoilers to be had. However, there are facts that I cannot ignore, such as Levi's last name being Ackerman, not Rivaille. I don't know if there will be a connection to Mikasa, so that's yet to be decided. I guess we'll see!

Thanks so much for reading, reviews truly mean the world (even if it's just a quick "cool story, bro") - especially for new stories, *cough cough*. Oh look, I'm dropping hints! Oops! But in all seriousness, thanks again for reading and here's hoping you stick around for the ride!

-Audrey

P.S. Next chapter, we'll introduce the lovely OC! :)