Limping along the destroyed town area, Levi slowly made his way. He momentarily leaned against one outside wall of a house to regain his breath. Even though he didn't move very fast, his breathing was shallow and drawn out as if he were dying.

That's what he was. He was dying. He had lost blood and was continuing to lose it every second, even as he stood still. He bent over and placed his hands on his knees. For a few seconds he focused on the growing pool of red that had already taken up half of his clothing. He could feel his own blood seeping out of his wound, and it grossed him out to no end.

Honestly, he didn't have to be looking through the rubble of the townhouses. He didn't have to be searching for something in the wake of the destruction caused by the titans. But he needed to be where he was. He decided that long before his feet started moving. He didn't have to be there, but he needed to be.

"Heichou!" a female voice started calling for him. "Heichou! Heichou!" the voice slowly grew louder and louder, and Levi was soon facing the only woman in his squad.

"Petra," he said in a low voice. With a grunt, he straightened his back and looked her in the eye.

Petra's eyes weren't meeting his however, they were focused on his body. "Levi," she said quietly. She was observing his broken state. Levi didn't need to hear her voice her pity because it was all over her face. "Levi," she repeated over.

"After today you will take over my place," Levi told her.

Petra's eyes filled with tears immediately, and they spilled down her face in a waterfall. "Levi," she whispered. "You can still be saved!" She looked him in the eye finally, and tried to put on a tough expression. "There's still time!"

"There's no time," Levi argued. He shifted his weight to his good leg, and said, "I need to find her."

He didn't need to specify who he was referring to for her to understand. Petra was oddly quiet, but he figured she was just thinking about what to do.

"I need to find her, Petra," Levi continued on. "I need to find her. Her squad was in this area, and I'm going to find her."

"Levi," Petra said his name again. "Her squad is de-"

Levi looked to the ground and said, "If I'm not with her, I'll regret it. Like I said, tell Erwin I'm promoting you to take my place. You're strong enough to handle it."

"Levi-"

"Petra," Levi looked the girl in the eye. She was still crying, but Levi wore his strong expression. "Go back to the others. I will not be upset if you turn your back on me. In fact, I'm ordering you to. Turn around...walk away from me, and do not look back. Let me find her, alright? Please do not be cruel and take the chance of finding her away from me."

"Heichou..." Petra said quietly. A few seconds passed and she suddenly straightened her spine, and saluted her captain. Her strong face made its way to the surface, but it suddenly vanished and she looked like she was about to cry once more. "It was my pleasure to serve with you in the war against the Titans," she said.

Another few seconds passed, and Petra suddenly turned her back on Levi. When she started walking away, she did not look back, and Levi smiled briefly before turning back to the destroyed village area.

Levi pushed himself off from the wall and continued walking slowly.

Maybe six or seven minutes passed before he started calling her name,"[Name]! [Name]! [Name]!"

She wasn't calling for him though, and Levi realized that quickly. He refused to accept the fact that she was gone. She couldn't have left. Her squad was a team of highly skilled members, so how could all of them be wiped out? Levi didn't want to think of it.

"[Name]!" he shouted as loud as he could.

Just when he thought the worst, he swore he heard her respond. "L-Levi?"

"[Name]!" Levi started moving faster when he heard her say his name. He walked in between pieces of broken debris, determined to find her. "[Name]!"

"Levi," she said his name in a hoarse voice from somewhere very close by. Levi moved as fast as he could, and he finally found her.

She was laying on the ground, and both of her legs were trapped under a large piece of a broken roof. Aside from that, there was a few scratches on her arms and chest, and blood had trickled down one corner of her mouth. She looked up at him with her beautiful eyes as he stood there near her. She looked relieved to see him, and he felt it too. Her eyes fell to his wound, and the relief disappeared.

He started to walk towards her silently.

"Levi...what are you doing?" she asked when he suddenly placed his hands under the broken debris that covered half of her body. He started to pull upwards on it, and she said, "Levi, don't!" Her voice was beginning to choke up. "Levi, stop it and get out of here! I'm done!" Her voice started to rise as she grew more and more upset.

Levi didn't listen to one word she said, and he just pulled up on the broken roof fragments that were trapping her. After a bit of pulling, groaning, and fighting through the pain his side was giving him, Levi lifted the broken piece off [Name] and pushed it away from her. He tried not to look at the damage, but he decided to anyway. Her legs were so bad from the weight of the debris, and he tried not to show his horrified expression.

He looked at her face finally, and noticed the tears along the rims of her eyes. "Levi," she whispered. "I can't move."

"You don't need to," he told her as he straightened himself up. He walked around [Name] and sat down on the ground beside her. Levi reached towards the woman and put his arm under her shoulders.

"Levi," she said his name before he pulled her up into a sitting position.

"Does that hurt?"

"No," she said as Levi pulled her into his arms. He sat with her in-between his legs and the side of her head leaned against his shoulder.

"You came back for me," [Name] suddenly said. Levi, who was looking ahead of them, didn't need to see her face to know she was crying silently.

"Of course I did," he said quietly in response.

A few seconds passed, and she said his name again.

He gently squeezed her in his arms. The two of them did not need to share words to know how the other was feeling. He knew she loved and she knew he loved her. They also knew neither one of them were walking away from that scene.

Levi looked down at his and her legs, and couldn't tell whose blood belonged to whom. Knowing he could not save her from her death sickened Levi to his stomach. Of course he knew everyone died, but it still hurt to see the one girl he cared for as more than a friend dying.

He turned his gaze to the woman in his arms. Her eyes were closed, and she stopped crying. Levi couldn't tell whether she was just saving her breathe or if she...passed on already. He didn't want to believe the latter option, but he knew that's probably the one that was the truth.

Levi closed his eyes and said, "We won't be getting that house we talked about, [Name]. We won't be living together after all of this is over, but...we're together now and we'll be together in the afterlife. That is enough for me."

Levi pulled [Name] closer and leaned his cheek against her forehead. He sighed deeply.


I do not own the characters of snk