The harsh thunderstorm was finally letting up to reveal a large cloud of steam less than a kilometer in front of them. Cyn, Mike, and Erwin knew what it meant. A large titan just been taken down. Before Erwin could command her to stay close behind them, Cyn dug her heels into her mare's side and she sped off, leaving Mike and Erwin behind. She ignored Erwin's muffled commands as her mare's hooves slapped against the wet grass and thick cool raindrops stabbed at her face.

When she finally met the source of steam, she pulled on the reigns and her mare came to a halt as her eyes fell on Levi Ackerman as he stood on the back of a dead titan. Steam billowed from a large gash on its nape. Cyn took a quick glance around. At least two other dead titans with steam rising from their corpses strung about the clearing, along with various body parts from, what Cyn assumed to be, the rest of Levi's squad.

Levi leaped down from the titan he defeated. Something seemed to have caught his eye as he rushed over to something a few feet away and then fell to his knees. Cyn climbed down from her mare and took a step towards him before she realized what caught his eye. Isabel's severed head lay by his side. He placed a hand over her eyes and Cyn saw him crumble. Levi doubled over in silence. Cyn felt like she was intruding as she bit her lip. She wished that she could do something for him.

"Levi," she said his name gently as she crouched down in front of him. She reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry—"

"Hey, Cyn!" Erwin's voice called out over the sound of the pouring rain and hooves splashing against the wet grass. "Are there any survivors?"

Levi jerked his hand away at the sound of Erwin's voice. Cyn looked up and found Erwin and Mike on their mares trotting towards them. Erwin led his horse to her side as he took in Levi's presence on the ground. Erwin exchanged a look with Cyn. She knew what he meant by it and she bit her lip as she shook her head. Levi was the only survivor. Erwin looked back to Levi.

"Levi, did you kill them all by yourself—"

In one swift movement, Levi got to his feet, charged towards Erwin, and then lunged towards him, tackling Erwin from his horse and to the ground. Erwin's startled mare bolted as Erwin lay on his back in the mud. Levi whipped out his blades as he stood over Erwin.

Cyn jumped to her feet and started towards Levi as Mike leaped from his horse and started to rush to Erwin's side. Levi looked to Mike's directions with a blade pointed at him.

"Back off," Levi snarled.

Mike and Cyn stopped in their tracks. Levi looked to Cyn for a brief moment before turning back to Erwin and stepping towards him as Erwin got to his knees.

"Erwin," Levi placed a blade at Erwin's throat. "I'm going to fucking kill you. That's the only reason I'm still here."

Erwin looked Levi in eyes. "Your friends…" he began. "You watched them die… I see…" Erwin reached into his jacket and then pulled out an envelope, holding it up to show Levi. "These are the documents concerning Nicholas Lobov."

"You bastard," Levi said. "You knew?"

Erwin tossed the envelope at Levi's feet as Mike and Cyn started circling Levi and Erwin like wolves. When the envelope hit the mud, it spilled the contents out for Levi to see, but there were only blank sheets of paper. Levi stared down at the worthless wet paper at his feet that his friends died for.

"I'm sorry… It was a buff," Erwin said. "The documents aren't real."

"What?"

"I knew Lobov was embezzling funds…" Erwin explained. "The real documents are now in possession of General Zackley. It's all over for Lobov."

"All along you knew." Levi glared down at Erwin. "My friends threw their lives away for nothing," he hissed. Levi pulled back his blade, getting ready to go for the kill strike. "For your worthless scheme!"

Mike and Cyn sprinted towards them as Levi swung his blade.

"Worthless scheme?" Erwin repeated, grabbing the blade before it sliced into his throat. Mike and Cyn froze. "Who was it—who killed your friends? Was it me? Or was it you?" Levi glared at Erwin, silently. "Even if you had gone together with them to ambush me, do you really think that they would've survived unharmed?"

"You're right…" Levi said as his grip on his blades loosened. "My arrogance… my own shitty pride—"

"No! You're wrong!" Erwin shouted. "It's the titans! Where did they come from? Why do they exist? Why do they devour humans? I don't have the answers. None of us do. Limited by our ignorance, we'll continue to be devoured by the titans! If we just stay shut behind the walls, we are never going to escapes this nightmare." Erwin gestured to the rolling plains around them. "Take a good look around you! No matter how far you go, there aren't any walls here. In this wide-open space… I believe there is something there, illuminating our despair. But there are those who seek to prevent us from venturing beyond the walls. They are consumed by selfish thoughts of their own losses and gains from behind the walls where it's safe! It's only natural. During the past 100 years, hindered by the walls, the rest of humanity have been clouded. They cannot see the landscape that lies on the other side." Erwin got to his feet and stepped closer to Levi. "But what about you, Levi? Will you let your eyes remain clouded? Will you kill me and return to the darkness of the underground?"

Levi lowered his sword as Erwin released the blade. Blood dripped down the blade and onto the ground. The rain stopped and the thick gray clouds parted as the sun broke through, casting warm bright sunlight on them.

"We will not give up our journey outside the walls," Erwin said. "So, fight for the Survey Corps, Levi! Humanity needs your strength!"

Levi stood there, staring at Erwin, as he released his blade from his hilt. Erwin stepped around and past Levi. "We move in five."

Cyn looked to Levi then to Erwin. Crimson red blood covered and dripped from Erwin's palm as he made his way over to her. She jogged to meet him. When she was within arms' reach, she grabbed his wrist and pulled aside his clenched fingers to look at his most recent wound.

"What's the prognosis?" Erwin asked as she tilted his hand to get a better view of his lacerated palm.

"You're a lucky bastard," she said, examining his wound and then looked up at him with a smirk. "But you already knew that."

Erwin chuckled softly.

"You could have lost your hand and frankly, you might have deserved it too."

"I deserve many things," Erwin agreed.

Cyn looked over her shoulder and opened her mouth to call to Mike, but her eyes fell on him leading her mare towards her. "Thanks, Mike. I was just about to ask."

Mike smiled. "Read your mind," he said as he reached into her saddle bag. He pulled out a flask and then opened it. The burning smell of alcohol filled their nostrils.

"Thank you," she said as he handed it to her. Cyn looked back to Erwin. "This is going to sting."

"You always say that," Erwin said.

"Hold still." Cyn commanded and the poured the alcohol over his wound. Erwin grimaced slightly as the alcohol touched his flesh. Cyn watched as the blood washed away and dripped on the ground, where it mixed with the mud. She knew the wound continued to bleed so she firmly pressed gauze against it and then instructed Erwin to do the same as she wrapped clean gauze tightly around his hand and wrist. When she finished, she said, "Keep it dry and be careful not to let it fall off. When we catch up with the others, I'll stitch you back together."

Erwin nodded and then walked past her to retrieve his horse. She glanced over at Levi, who stood over Isabel's head. Mike took her medical supplies from her hands and started packing them away.

"I'll pack this up," he said softly.

"Thanks," she replied as started towards Levi.

Biting her lip, she looked around the carnage and spotted the Wings of Freedom. She quietly walked over to the familiar symbol and as she approached, she recognized her fallen comrade. Farlan Church. She crouched down beside his mangled remains and then chanced a glance a Levi. He hadn't moved from Isabel. Cyn looked back to Farlan and gently placed her hand over his face to close his eyes.

"Rest in peace," she whispered and then turned her attention back to the bloody Wings of Freedom patches sewn onto his jacket. In one swift movement, she ripped the slightly less bloody one off and then placed it in her pocket as she stood.

Cyn started towards Levi with an eye out for Isabel's small slender remains. She came across another set of mangled remains. This set was without a head, but she recognized the small slender torso and assumed it was a part of Isabel. Isabel's jacket was drenched in a mixture of rainwater and blood. Cyn stared down at her and then crouched down beside her. Cyn held Isabel's hand and then looked to Levi. Isabel and Farlan meant so much to him. Cyn squeezed Isabel's hand before tearing her patch from her jacket.

"He won't be alone," she whispered and then stood. "Rest in peace." Cyn made her way to Levi. His position hadn't changed.

"Levi," she said his name gently, letting him know that she was here for him.

He looked over his shoulder at her and then looked back at Isabel.

"I'm sorry. Humanity is lesser for their loss," Cyn said when she stood beside him. She turned towards him and gently grabbed his hand. He stared at her as she opened his fist and placed the patches in his palm before curling his fingers around them. "For you to remember their sacrifice and fight on," she said as she pulled her hand away. Levi looked down at the Wings of Freedom in his hand and then back up at the woman standing beside him. She offered him a small kind smile. "I know nothing that I say will bring them back or make losing them any easier, but if you need someone to talk to, you can come to me."

"Thank you," Levi said. "I appreciate the offer."

"Also, don't remember them like this," she said. "Remember them alive."

"We're heading out," Erwin called.

That night at camp, Levi sat alone just out of reach of the flickering lights from the bonfire at the center of camp. He watched as the shadows danced around and the other scouts socialized. He felt alone. It had been a long time since he had felt this alone.

"Levi," a voice called out to him, turning his attention away from shadows and towards the friendly face approaching him. "Here," Cyn said as she carefully handed him a small bundle.

He took it—feeling the warmth in his hands— and then gave her look.

"It's not much, but it's dinner," she answered. "I figured you might want some."

"Thanks," he said as he unwrapped it to reveal warm bread and some sort of soup in a ceramic container.

She nodded. "We're going to share stories about the ones we lost," she gestured towards the bonfire. "If you would like to join. We'd love to help you keep Isabel and Farlan's memory alive."

Levi opened his mouth to decline the offer.

"Or if it's too soon, you could just listen," she added.

Levi considered her offer for a moment and then nodded. Cyn gave him a small sympathetic smile that made his heart flutter and she led him over to bonfire. As they approached, the sound of the crackling bonfire grew louder, and the distant muttering turned to a loud babble. She gestured him to sit and told him that she'd back. Levi nodded, took a seat on the rough ground, and watched as she walked away from him. He caught himself thinking that he very much liked watching her walk and then quickly turned his attention to the fire. With her calming presence gone, Levi started realizing just how loud it was and how bright it was and how hard it was to breathe. Just the sound of the others talking to each other made him tense, and uneasy. He felt like he was surrounded. It reminded him of being cornered by the Carta when he was in the Underground. For a moment, he thought about just getting up and leaving. He wanted to just go back to his sleeping bag and stare up at the stars.

Just as he was about to move to get up, Cyn appeared and sat beside him. Her presence seemed to soothe him a little like an ally in battle. She placed a cup in his hands and told him to drink. He obeyed.

"Not going to ask what it is?" she asked as he took a drink.

He recognized the taste and smirked despite himself. Black tea. "I trust you," he said, softly. "Besides, not much I can do if you try to poison me anyway. You are the medic."

She smiled at him. "True."

"How did you know I liked Black tea?"

"I'll never tell," she chuckled.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," she replied.

That night they heard stories about the brave men and women that died for humanity. Levi's heart hurt for each of them and their loved ones as the fire's warmth licked his face. He realized that the Survey Corp was something bigger than himself or Isabel or Farlan. It was for Humanity. He used to believe that everyone had a price and because of that everything was fair game. Levi didn't think Humanity was worth much, but Isabel and Farlan were starting to think differently. Erwin and Cyn obviously thought differently. Levi chanced a glance at Cyn from the corner of his eye. Her face glowed in the fire's light and he couldn't help but think that she was pretty and kind. Maybe he'd change his mind about Humanity in time.