These characters are under copyright by Hajime Isayama and/or Kodansha Comics or others. This is a work of fanfiction, for no monetary gain.
A/N: If you like my
CAUTION: Derogatory and insulting language towards gays and others.
Chapter 56 – Damn You All to Hell
The moment Levi entered the cavern, into the muted sunlight trickling in from the opening to Sina, he knew something was horribly wrong, as the hairs on the back of his neck bristled and adrenaline spiked through him. 'Trap!' every instinct screamed.
He opened his mouth to give the warning cry, though he still wasn't even sure which one, not even questioning the instinct, when the ceiling caved in on him. As he fought to stay conscious, he realized it wasn't a cave-in at all, it was much worse, as his arms were wrenched up and back and manacles snapped onto his wrists, as an all too familiar knee ground into the back of his neck.
"Pathetic," Kenny said acidly, as Levi fought to breathe and his ankles were shackled by rough hands. There were at least four men working with Kenny. "I taught you better than that."
Levi would have cursed, or better still, yelled "Blow it!", so the others would cave in the cavern entrance, but he couldn't even breathe, and then his jaw was wrenched open and a ball gag jammed in. Kenny was using the same shifter proof gear on him that Dok had used on Sasha, Jean and Connie back on their base. The hatred he'd felt for Dok at that moment were like a candle to a torch for the rage he felt towards Kenny.
He silently cursed as Kenny removed the concealed lockpicks from both his wrists, but was then dumbfounded when he stopped there and rose, without searching him for any of his hidden knives. He almost wished he had. It would have confused the fuck out of Kenny that he only had the one, and Kenny might even have possibly missed that one, concealed as it was within the brace.
Levi stopped struggling against the chains at the feel of a razor sharp blade at his throat, belatedly realizing why Kenny hadn't searched him for concealed weapons. Fuck! Kenny didn't need to remove his knives, if he was just going to slaughter him like a trussed up pig.
"Commander Erwin, this is Lieutenant Commander Ackerman of the Military Police. You are surrounded and under arrest," Kenny called out coolly. "Captain Levi has been incapacitated and chained. You and your men have exactly 20 seconds to enter this cavern, disarm and kneel at my feet, or Levi's throat will be slit and the snipers positioned in the buildings surrounding you and the entrance will open fire, shooting to kill. If you allow this to reach that point, I guarantee none of you will survive. 20…19…"
What fucking snipers? I didn't see anyone, and they wouldn't have let Hange set the charges, if they were there, would they have? He's bluffing, he has to be. And since when was this fucker the Lieutenant Commander? There's no such rank. Or at least, there hadn't been a week ago, when they entered the tunnel. What the fuck is going on?
Precious seconds passed without a single sound coming from the cavern entrance.
Would Erwin light the fuses, take out the entrance, and find another way out of the Underground? Would he sacrifice him, to save the radio and books? Would Kenny really slit his throat or was it a bluff?
"Don't kill Levi and don't open fire. We're coming in peacefully," Erwin called.
Levi heard the sounds of steps, not running and attacking, but hurrying. He couldn't see the damned entrance, could only listen and try to hear how many feet, try to tell if anyone was hanging back, as Kenny kept counting down.
"Lev…" Erwin's concerned call was cut mid-breath, to the sounds of a scuffle, and the clank of chains.
"Don't be idiots! You can see that you're completely outnumbered and surrounded. Freeze, the rest of you, or we open fire," a cold, all too familiar voice demanded.
Dok! That bastard!
Kenny surprisingly turned Levi to face the others, so he could see what was going on. To his relief Levi saw Erwin, chained like he was, but so far appearing unharmed. So was Hange. And strangely Armin. The rest of their men were surrounded, being held at gunpoint, but so far not restrained.
Levi helplessly watched Erwin clench his hands into fists futilely, the chains now connecting his wrists to his ankles ensuring Erwin was as powerless as he was. Levi saw his jaw clench as well, as Dok stood over him, shaking his head, a look of cold disgust on his face.
"You're such a damned fool, Locksley, letting it come to this. You make me sick. You were born with everything a man could want, wealth, a title, respect, and you threw it all away for a pipedream, just like your namesake," Dok accused his voice dripping with scorn.
Locksley? What the fuck? How the fuck many secret names does that bastard Erwin have?
"Locksley?" a voice asked curiously, one Levi didn't recognize, as a soldier strode into view.
Levi stiffened and his breath caught. The man was wearing a Garrison uniform, but that wasn't what had his attention: it was the bolo tie at his throat, the distinctive emblem of the Commander, the one that belonged around the Old Man's neck, not this bastard's, that had him riveted, as he scanned the man's disturbingly familiar face: middle-aged, blond hair so pale it was almost white, intense steel gray eyes, chiseled jaw, hard chin, not a trace of laugh lines around his eyes or mouth. Not one of Pixis's inner circle, at least, not any of those he'd met, and in spite of the naggingly familiar features, he couldn't place him. Is Pixis already dead, or awaiting execution?
"Back when we were kids, and still friends, Edward always saw himself as a champion of the people, a self styled Robin Hood, like the original former noble, Robin of Locksley. I'm sure you know the story. Edward used to call me Richard the Lionhearted. Marie, of course, was Maid Marion. After she chose me over him, I suppose in his eyes, I became the villainous Prince John. Yet here I am, where I have always been, a faithful man supporting his King, like any good, loyal soldier. He's the one inciting rebellion, and trying to overthrow the monarchy."
0 0 0
Erwin had been fighting to get free, not for himself, but because Ackerman was still holding a knife to Levi's throat, and he was afraid he was going to use it even though they'd surrendered. At Nile's words, Erwin stopped struggling and stared at his former friend, carefully hiding his confusion. What the hell is Nile talking about?
Dok looked down at him, as cold and aloof as if they were strangers. "There's no way you're getting out of this. We caught your whole merry band right along with you. Except for Little John. Zacharius seems to have disappeared. But of course, you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
It was never Robin Hood, it was King Arthur's court, Camelot, the knights of the round table. I was Arthur Pendragon, he was Lancelot, and later, Marie was Gweneviere. When we were in training together, Mike became Merlin for a while, until he overheard us and said he was Percival. We were surprised as hell that he knew what we were talking about enough to make that distinction. Why would Nile bring all that up now, after all these years, but the wrong story? What's he trying to tell me?
Memory stirred, of their last true conversation, the day he found out Nile had proposed to Marie, and she'd said yes, the day his best friend had betrayed him and stolen the woman he loved.
"Damn it, Eddie, don't you remember what we talked about, about Arthur and Lancelot, about Merlin and Gweneviere? Lancelot and Gweneviere never betrayed Arthur. They were trying to protect him from himself. Arthur never truly loved Gweneviere, he only loved the ideal of her. It wasn't about Lancelot and Gweneviere being selfish and self-serving, of them loving Arthur less than they loved each other, it was about loving Arthur enough to push him into doing what he should have done all along.
"How the hell was I supposed to know I was wrong, that Mike wasn't your Merlin, when you keep everything so damned close to your vest? But that doesn't mean your Merlin isn't still out there, waiting for you to find him. Hate me if you want, even hate Marie if you must, just stop hating yourself long enough to allow yourself to find him, you pigheaded ass."
Lancelot betrayed Arthur, in the basest way, but Nile always saw it differently, he swore he'd done what was in Arthur's best interest, that he'd been loyal to him to the end. And Nile just said he was faithfully supporting his King, as he always had. Shit. Is that what Nile is trying to tell me? To stop fighting, and trust him, after everything that's happened? Is he claiming he's still loyal to me, still my friend?
What does that mean about Mike? Did he really disappear? Was it Ackerman capturing or killing him, or Mike taking proactive action, escaping ahead of his own arrest?
To Erwin's further confusion, the knife was removed from Levi's throat and then the ball gag was removed from his mouth. "If you start barking, I'll muzzle you again," Kenny threatened.
"What's the meaning of this?" Erwin demanded, with all the calm, haughty aplomb and indignant fury of an insulted nobleman. "Where's Mike, you backstabbing bastard?" Erwin snapped, stopping his physical struggle, and launching a verbal attack instead, stalling for time to figure out what the hell was going on, even as an MP appeared from the crevice to the outside they'd all entered from, one of the snipers they'd belatedly spotted, far too late to escape from them.
"That's all of them, sir," he reported to Dok.
"Tell the others to remain alert. Yeager and Ackerman are missing. It's possible they're a distance away, being kept in reserve," Dok ordered, facing his subordinate, but his eyes were locked on Erwin's, instead of the man he was speaking to. "The last thing we need is to be ambushed by a Titan shifter who isn't working with us." As he made the chilling claim, his eyes shifted to the right for just a moment, towards the unknown Garrison soldier wearing the symbol of the Commander.
Erwin's carefully kept his face impassive, as his thoughts raced. Is Nile warning me that man is a Titan shifter?
"Yes sir!" the MP replied, and exited.
As soon as he was gone, Dok turned to face him, his eyes now accusing. "Edward Reiss, you are under arrest for treason. Levi Ackerman, you are being held in protective custody as a material witness, along with Zoe Hange, Armin Arlert, and the rest of your men."
"No, wait, you can't! Eddie wasn't guilty of killing the Reiss family. I have proof," Historia claimed anxiously.
"We are aware that he is not guilty of that particular crime, Historia Reiss. However, he has been implicated in a plot to assassinate the King and to seize the throne," Dok replied.
"Bullshit! Whatever lying fucker told you that is full of shit!" Levi snarled at Dok. "And my name isn't Ackerman, you strutting prick."
"The charge is immutable, a deathbed confession made by Duke Helmut Reiss," Dok claimed dispassionately.
Erwin stiffened. My father is dead? And he's trying to bring me to hell with him?
"As for your surname, Captain Levi, you can discuss your pedigree with your father until you're blue in the face, as long as it's not in my presence. I've heard quite enough about you from the man over the years," Dok complained.
0 0 0
Levi would have been seething with fury, if he weren't so terrified for Erwin. And for himself, as Kenny twisted and yanked, and suddenly he was struggling to breathe. All Kenny needed to do was shift his position by a centimeter and his throat would be crushed.
"Ackerman, I think you're pinning your son a little too tightly," Dok stated, as if he were discussing the weather.
"But Nile, I thought you wanted to see his face turn blue. That was what you said. But perhaps I misunderstood. I thought you wanted silence, and there's nothing quite as silent as a man who can't breathe," Kenny said smugly as Levi continued to asphyxiate.
Then the knee was lifted and the ball gag was stuffed back in his mouth.
"Playtime is over, children. You've both gotten what you came for. Now it's my turn," the unfamiliar Commander said, his eyes raking across them and settling on Hange. "Your name is Zoe Hange, correct? The clever little monkey who reinvented dynamite?"
The chill in the man's voice, the deceptively mild tone betraying deadly threat, had Levi focusing on the man's face again, desperately trying to place it. He knew he'd seen this fucker before somewhere. Why the hell can't I remember? And why the hell am I the only one they've gagged?
Levi felt his heart seize: he'd never thought he'd see anyone with eyes worse than Kenny's, but suddenly this man's were. They had merely looked intense and intelligent before, the color of a freshly forged and cooled steel blade, polished to a brilliant shine, sharp and cutting in their intensity, but now they were blazing with an inner fire, the eyes of a madman.
"Yes," Hange agreed cautiously, apparently seeing at least some of what he was, sensing the man was dangerous, deadly.
"Commander Edward Reiss is the one who gave the order to use dynamite on my daughter. But you're the one who created the weapon, laid it on top of her, while she was helpless, and lit the fuses," the man said, in a falsely calm voice that had Levi's heartbeat skyrocketing in terror for Hange, but he couldn't move or even shout to warn the others to protect her, even as all the implications of the man's words tore through him. If Leonhart was his daughter, he was also over 100 years old, which meant he must be a Titan shifter, which meant they were well and truly fucked.
"Your daughter?" Hange asked, frowning in confusion, even as she shook her head. "That's not poss…" her words ended in a gurgle, as she fell sideways onto the cold cavern floor, blood spurting from her severed carotid artery and jugular veins painting the ground and everyone around her a horrific, vivid red.
Levi's silent scream of her name was echoed aloud by Kearney, who ran to her, vainly trying to stem the flow of blood with bicep, his forearms sword blades. A moment later Liam was there, but his hands were just as ineffectual, as Armin begged them to save her.
Levi hadn't thought anyone could be faster or deadlier with a knife than Kenny, but Leonhart had just proven him wrong, as after a few more convulsive twitches, Zoe lay still.
Kearney shook his head in shock and grief above her, as he pressed his ear to her heart. Then he rose, wheeling on her murderer. "Ye murdering bastard!" Kearney roared as he lunged, his prosthetic sword arms raised.
He was met by Kenny with a boot to the stomach that had him falling to the ground gasping for breath.
"We'd prefer to keep this one alive, Commander Leonhart. He might not look like much, but he's the best maneuver gear mechanic we have, and some of my squad are having issues with the higher performance gear we've been testing that I'd like him to resolve. Unless, of course, you haven't filled your quota of killing women and cripples for the day," Kenny challenged silkily. "Personally, I've always found that the continued suffering of live enemies is far more satisfying and efficient for keeping the peace than a quick kill, but it takes a strong man to keep breathing while his enemies still are."
Bullshit! That asshole is the one who taught me to never leave live enemies. What game are you playing? Zoe, don't be dead. You're a shifter now. If Marcel could survive for five years, exsanguinated by Dr. Yeager, then maybe she could survive having her throat slit. It was a frantic hope, and Levi feared, an irrational one, but he couldn't lose Zoe again, this time permanently.
For a moment, Levi thought Kenny had overplayed his hand, that he was going to see the two men battle to the death, and for the first time ever, he thought that twisted fucker might actually lose that fight, even if Leonhart hadn't been a shifter, but instead, the newly minted Commander laughed.
"It's been a long time since a man's had the balls to say something like that to my face. You're a breath of fresh air, Ackerman. And here I thought I was surrounded by pussies and weaklings," he said, his gaze flicking contemptuously to the pale and shaken MPs standing nervously around Dok and the equally pallid Garrison soldiers clustered around him, another clear sign that they weren't Pixis' men.
Dok himself looked completely unimpressed by the carnage and chaos, as if he'd been expecting it.
"It will only get worse over time, of course," Leonhart commented. "It's like I told Dok here: it's clear you people never figured out how to properly keep slaves. You sent your strongest and bravest on that death march, when you should have sent the infirm, the old and the young, the useless ones. Instead, you've weakened your breeding stock. You'll see the mistake clearly within the next generation," he stated bluntly.
"Yes, we're quite fortunate to have you here to instruct us," Kenny stated drily, and the Commander laughed again.
"By God, I like you, Ackerman! Name your poison and I'll buy you a round, maybe even a bottle," he magnanimously offered. Then he turned to Erwin. "Speaking of Annabelle, she should have caught up to your little 'training exercise' in Shiganshina. But I can't help noticing she's not here. As Dok already pointed out, that Yeager feller and the Ackerman girl are missing too. Care to enlighten me as to why that is, Commander? Or do you have any other pawns you'd be willing to sacrifice in this little chess game you've been playing? I can keep killing your men all day," he said, his gaze going from Erwin to Jean, the closest person to him.
Shit! No! Levi began fighting against the damned chains, knowing it was futile. Zoe might still be alive, but Jean would be dead if this bastard got anywhere near him with one of his knives.
Armin called out. "Scout Armin Arlert! Permission to speak, sir!" There was hatred in his voice, cold fury, but Levi wasn't certain if it was directed at Commander Leonhart, for possibly killing Hange and threatening Jean, or at Erwin, for potentially killing Eren and Mikasa, for leaving them behind.
"I'm listening," Commander Leonhart said, sounding neither amused nor intrigued.
"Annie's dead. She and Reiner and Bertolt and Ymir and Eren, they're all dead. All the Titan shifters are dead. And Mikasa is dead too. We're the only ones left, of everyone who set out on our mission," Armin claimed.
Levi would have believed him, if he didn't know the truth. The kid had gotten ridiculously proficient at lying. Unless he truly believed it.
Leonhart's eyes narrowed. "And how the hell would any of you been able to kill my Annabelle? Or are you trying to tell me her team turned against her?"
"I don't know what you mean, when you say 'team', sir. I guess you must mean the other shifters, except for Eren. But Mikasa and Hange were the ones who killed Annie, with dynamite arrows. That was the whole point of Hange inventing the dynamite, of our bringing it with us. It was to strap to arrows, to use against the Titan shifters, specifically, against the Armored and Colossal Titan, Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover, if we ran into them. Because it was our only hope of killing them," Armin claimed.
"You're trying to tell me you didn't only take out Ice Queen, but you took out White Knight and Colossus as well? Bullshit. Reiner Braun is one of the toughest sons of bitches it's ever been my privilege to command. And as for Bertolt Hoover, no one protects their comrades like fags, son. If it was up to me, I'd have stocked my entire unit with nothing but. My predecessor in your Garrison might have been a traitor and an insurgent, but that's one thing he got right. It's a damned shame a bunch of those fags of his are going to follow Pixis to the gallows," Commander Leonhart said, his voice thick with what sounded like genuine regret.
Armin, who had been red-faced with rage before, turned completely pale. "Commander Pixis was hanged?" he whispered, horrified, asking the question Levi wouldn't have dared, even if he hadn't been gagged. Because he knew the answer was going to gut him.
Commander Leonhart's eyes lit with glee. "No, not yet. First he's going to watch his cousin burn. We're going to have us a good old fashioned book burning, complete with a librarian, just to liven things up a bit! Then we'll hang him," the Commander said gleefully, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
Shit! Hypatia! That fucker's got Hypatia!
When Liam lunged, Levi's heart was in his throat, but thankfully, Bauer tackled him, before he could get himself killed by Leonhart, or shot by one of the men surrounding them. Of all the Garrison soldiers and MPs surrounding them, not one of them looked to be on their side.
Thankfully, Liam's attack had taken the focus off Armin, which was good, because the kid was going to get himself killed at this rate.
"And you were complaining about the caliber of your men, Dok, except for Ackerman here? Meanwhile, from what I've seen, the notorious Survey Corps is stocked with little boys and cripples. It's no wonder you've been losing the War, children. Speaking of children, I want to know what exactly happened to my daughter. In detail. And I'd better believe you, or there will be hell to pay, and you're looking at the devil incarnate." He said it with sick glee, as if he was proud of whatever he'd done to earn that moniker.
Levi had thought that title was already taken, by Kenny, but this fucker might actually be more deserving of it, from what he'd seen already, not to mention from spawning that crazy bitch Annie Leonhart.
"Armin already told you the truth, sir," Jean claimed bravely. "We were in Shiganshina on a training exercise, to test the dynamite on live Titans, to ensure Squad Leader Hange's hypotheses were accurate, that the dynamite could actually kill Titans, at least regular ones. None of us expected the Female Titan or the Armored or Colossal to be there. We still have no idea where they came from. We thought they might have followed us through the tunnel, that they killed the soldiers guarding Sigma Gate. We weren't even sure the Gate would still be here, when we got here. But now we know how they got through. Apparently, when you removed Pixis from power, you left the Gate unguarded.
"The three shifters were working together. They attacked us simultaneously and tried to ambush us. If it wasn't for Mikasa, half of us would have been dead. She sacrificed herself, protecting the rest of us. It's because of her and Squad Leader Hange that we won, we survived. I thought it was insane, what we'd been planning, that it would never work, but the dynamite got them, while the rest of us fought them, distracting them.
"Yeager Titan, he was fighting the Female Titan, so she couldn't help the other two. But she was too strong for him, that damned armored crystal of hers, no matter where he hit or bit, she was just invulnerable, and he wasn't thinking, he was just fighting in a blind rage, because of Mikasa dying. The Female Titan tore him to pieces. But then Hange hit the Female Titan with a dynamite arrow while she was distracted killing Yeager. We got her, but we lost Eren and Mikasa doing it. She turned our victory into ashes." Jean sounded just as convincing as he had on the roof, facing Kenny. More so. His voice was so choked up, it sounded like he was truly mourning the loss of his friends. And he'd painted the Female Titan as a valiant warrior, instead of easy prey, so her father would be impressed with her death.
"I think we've heard enough. It's time for me to bring these men back to our base and continue to debrief them, to help build our case against Reiss. Once I'm done, I'll see that the ones we're not holding report to their base, to Commander Miller," Dok stated.
Commander Miller? That fucker Miller got himself promoted to Commander in Erwin's place? Screw demoting him down from Squad Leader to Scout. Erwin should have let me gut that backstabbing bastard when I had the chance.
"No. None of these men and women are leaving here alive. They're all culpable in my daughter's death, and it makes no difference where Reiss dies," Leonhart said calmly, as if he weren't facing armed soldiers, most of whom weren't in chains.
Shit! Fuck! Levi struggled harder against his chains.
"What about my son? I don't care about these others, you can have them, but you told me he'd be remanded to my custody," Kenny challenged, even as Levi felt something hard and metal pressed into his hand by that fucker, not one of his lockpicks, but by the feel of it, a damned key, even as he felt Kenny shift his position above him, taking the pressure off his back and neck, shifting the bulk of his weight to his opposite leg, clearly readying himself to spring.
"That was before I knew he was a party to my daughter's murder. Step aside, Ackerman, unless you want to join him in hell," Commander Leonhart stated.
Kenny attacked as he always did, without warning, wordlessly, one grapple shooting towards Leonhart's head and a second for his chest. But Leonhart was no longer there to be hit. Instead, one of the men behind him was impaled, as he dove aside, and then, with a flash of green light, and a cracking boom, he shifted.
"Open fire!" Dok ordered, and Levi braced to be hit, as he frantically twisted the key in the cuffs behind his back. But to his shock, Dok's men weren't shooting at them, or even at Kenny, but at the Garrison soldiers who had been surrounding them. Half of them were, at any rate. The other half began attacking the enormous hairy Titan Leonhart had transformed into. Levi had never seen anything like it. It looked more like an animal than a man.
"Protect the Corps and take Leonhart and his men down!" Dok ordered, apparently for the sake of their men, not his own, who already were working in a coordinated attack, even as to Levi's shock Dok began unfastening Erwin's chains.
"Damn it, Edward, I knew that someday you'd be the death of me. If I don't make it out of this alive, you need to know that Percival is in hiding with Gweneviere and the children in Camelot, the last place anyone would look for them. She can explain to you what's been happening. I'm truly sorry about Hange. I didn't expect him to kill her, but at least Ackerman and I kept Merlin safe for you," Dok apologized to Erwin, spouting nonsense, as he yanked off the cuffs around his wrists and ankles. Levi had no idea what the fuck he was talking about, but from the shell shocked look on Erwin's face, he seemed to.
And then Dok pressed the key into Jean's hand, fired his grapples and drew his blades, heading for the bestial, hairy Titan, joining Kenny in what had been a solo attack, as the other men who'd been attacking it were already dead at its feet.
"Damn it, Nile! Everyone, protect the surviving MPs, join them in attacking the Beast Titan!" Erwin ordered their stunned men, even as he fired his grapples and swooped in to attack.
Levi finally got the last fetter off his ankle and stood, his leg screaming in protest, in spite of the brace, even as Jean started to free Armin, while Bauer and Lenz leapt into the fray. Liam was pulling Kearney toward a thick stalagmite, where he'd be less likely to be trampled and killed, since he hadn't recovered from Kenny's kick yet.
Levi fired his grapples, heading for the Beast Titan. He had no idea why the MPs were helping them, instead of arresting or killing them, especially Dok. He still couldn't wrap his mind around Kenny giving him the damned key, either, instead of leaving him to be stepped on.
Levi had to admit, both that asshole Dok and that fucker Kenny could fight, though. So far neither one of them had taken a fatal hit. Considering the growing pile of dead MPs lying at the Beast Titan's feet, that was saying something.
Then an arrow flew past the rapidly moving Beast Titan, just missing him, impacting the wall of the cavern a number of meters behind him and exploding, filling the cavern with an echoing boom that had Levi diving for the nearest stalagmite, terrified the ceiling was about to cave in on top of them, but fortunately, aside from a shower of rock, there was no perceptible damage.
He followed the path of the arrow back to its source and saw MPs flowing into the cave, each of them equipped with sniper rifles slung over their shoulders, and bows in their hands, wearing the distinctive badges of the First Interior Squad: Kenny's men.
Unfortunately, Levi wasn't the only one to discover the source of the danger. The Beast Titan propelled himself with impossible speed, using the knuckles of his hands on freakishly long, hairy arms like a second set of legs, galloping almost like a horse, charging towards the men endangering him.
Levi cursed as in twos and threes archers were flung into walls, into the ceiling, torn apart by bare hands and prehensile feet, most before they could release a single arrow, the few hasty shots missing their mark, even as the Corps and the other MPs attacked. This Titan had the fighting skill and intelligence of the Female Titan combined with the animal like ferocity of Banshee and speed nearly that of Quicksilver. He was a league beyond anything they'd ever seen.
Levi expected to see Kenny had vanished, or that he was impassively watching the battle, and was shocked to see him instead attacking the Beast Titan from behind, in concert with Dok, as if the two men slew Titans every day.
The Beast Titan spun around as if he had eyes in the back of his head and had seen them coming, and the two men barely swung to safety, as he lunged for them.
"I'm surprised, Dok. I honestly never saw this betrayal coming. I didn't think you gave a damn about the Corps, or that you had the balls or brains for it," the Beast Titan taunted, he actually fucking spoke, in Commander Leonhart's voice, not the way that Hange had, a word here or there, but in full sentences, as if he was still human. "As punishment, I'll make sure you see the ones you were trying to protect die right in front you."
Levi's heart slammed in his chest at the threat, he was moving to protect Erwin even as the enormous hairy hand shot out towards him, faster than anything he'd ever seen, like when that bastard slit Hange's throat. He knew with sick dread that he'd never be fast enough to reach Erwin in time, it would be like watching Furlan die all over again, that he'd be too slow to save Erwin. But suddenly Dok was there, slicing through Erwin's cable, changing the arc of his swing entirely, knocking him to safety as the second cable held. But the save cost Dok, as the Beast grabbed him instead.
Levi expected to hear the crack of bone, to see agony tear across the man's face, but suddenly, inexplicably, Kenny was there, hacking off the fingers that held Dok, freeing him, risking his life to save his Commander, yanking the Beast's prize right out of his hand, as he attempted to swing them both to safety.
They would have both been dead, if Levi didn't block the follow up swipe with his blades, running up the fucker's arm, heading for his face. He couldn't believe he'd just saved Kenny and Dok, two of the people he hated most in the world, but Dok had saved Erwin, and not for the first time, his world had gone completely insane.
Levi realized the mistake in his strategy when the teeth came for him. He'd expected this Titan shifter to be like the others, that it wouldn't try to bite him, like a regular Titan would; Hoover had stressed that a Titan shifter who eats people gets taken out by the others, but it was clear Leonhart played by different rules. So this was how it was going to end, after fighting his way into the light at the cost of his friends, his family: he was going to die in the Underground after all, eaten by a fucking a Titan, like Furlan, like Isabel, like so many of their men.
The body slammed into him out of nowhere, there was a guttural cry of pain, and a spray of blood, and then they were both falling, and he knew, he just fucking knew it was Erwin, that he'd been bitten, even as he felt half the grasp released, as an arm was sheared away. Levi couldn't see a damned thing, his face full of uniform, as the sharp tang of blood filled the air, even as the figure holding him twisted, to take the fall on his back, protecting him to the end.
A flash of chartreuse lightning flooded the cavern with light as first thunder and then a Titan roared, but Levi didn't care who was shifting, Hange, back from the dead again, or Lenz, after lying to them, or Armin, somehow turned into a Titan like his friends. Levi scrambled up off of Erwin, frantic to help him, to save him, certain he too late, that he was dying, arms shaking wildly as he levered himself off the man he loved.
Levi froze, staring in uncomprehending shock into pain filled eyes that weren't beloved blue, but shit brown in a rapidly paling face as Dok clutched the heavily bleeding stump of his left arm. Fortunately, unlike when Mikasa was bitten, Dok's arm had been bitten off a good six centimeters below the shoulder, there was enough left to apply a tourniquet. Levi unfastened the man's belt with hands shaking so badly from adrenaline and fear that he could barely undo the buckle.
"Why?" Levi choked out, tears of grief for Erwin still wetting his eyes, roughening his voice, his heart still hammering in panic for the man he loved, as he tried to wrap his mind around the new reality, that it wasn't Erwin, he wasn't maimed or dying or dead, as he fastened the impromptu tourniquet to the remains of the bloody bicep.
"For Arthur. Because I've always… been a loyal knight… and you, of all the people… it could have been… are his goddamned Merlin," Dok forced out through teeth clenched in pain. "And because… you're Kenny's son… and he killed nearly a hundred MPs… after losing Melena. He'd kill… the rest of us… if you died. And I think… you're the only two… who can save us… from that madman, Leonhart."
Levi gaped at the man in wide-eyed disbelief, not because he was spouting some delusional bullshit about ancient myths, or because he thought he was Kenny's son and that he'd ever help that bastard do anything, but because the fucking Commander of the Military Police fucking knew Kenny was the Numbers Killer, that he'd killed nearly a hundred MPs, but instead of arresting the man, he'd promoted him to Captain of the First interior Squad, and now, apparently, to Lieutenant Commander, what must be his official right hand, his second in command.
He didn't have time for this shit. He secured the tourniquet, wrapped one arm around Dok, launched a grapple into the stalagmite Kearney was behind, and reeled them in. He set Dok down beside Kearny, in what was suddenly becoming their field hospital and then assessed the battlefield, paling at what he saw.
Hange's Titan form was steaming away, and every single one of their men and the surviving MPs were battling the Beast Titan, but somehow that fucker was winning, he was holding his own against seasoned Scouts and Kenny's own personal Squad. Even as he watched, another MP got splattered against the rock and a second was pulverized by a spin kick at an impossibly height, the flexibility and dexterity of the monstrous Titan deadly.
Thankfully Erwin and the brats and at least most of the rest of their men were still alive. To keep them that way, he'd work with the devil himself. Without hesitating he launched a grapple that propelled him to Kenny's side. "Use me, damn it," he snarled at Kenny.
"Lead your own damned men. I'm busy," Kenny snapped back, and then he was gone.
Cursing and fuming in fury, seeing Armin, Jean, Sasha and Connie already coordinating their own attack, Levi headed for Erwin, Josef, and Liam. Ominously, there was no sign of Bauer, who usually fought beside Josef, or of Lenz.
