Answered Prayers

by slingzarrowz

Levi and Petra are in love and together. They are finally, perfectly happy. But as the world around them falls to madness, their love will change not only their own destinies, but the course of history as well. Rivetra.

50. Chapter 50

Mikasa stood beside Jean in the heart of the Tower, trying to understand what Kanada Azumabito was telling her. The machine that coordinated and guided all of Paradis's hyperfusion attacks simply looked like a big, gray wall of lights and wires. It'd be easy just to slash the thing to pieces and annihilate the possibility of those bombs going off. But Kanada was explaining how that was impossible.

"Erwin is no fool," the man said. His mouth twisted in bitter disdain. "He knew it was a possibility that an attack would happen, or that we would try to stop his plans from moving forward. If you destroyed the motherboard now, it would register as a signal to all of the cruisers to unload their hyperfusion at once. The world would be destroyed in mere moments."

"Can't you just call and tell them to stop the attack altogether?" Jean's brow was furrowed.

"No. If anyone calls with that exact message, their orders are the same: destroy the world. If the time for launch comes and goes and no one has called, the launch continues."

"There's got to be a way to stop it," Mikasa said. Her cousin wiped his brow. All around them, the chamber was in upheaval. Jean's rebels and the Azumabito were trying desperately to communicate while they barricaded the entrances and exits.

"The only way is this. When we're five minutes from the launch, a signal is sent from the ship to the motherboard. Here." He pointed at the only unlit button on the computer's face. "At that point, we can safely communicate. If the desist code is given at that time, the attack will be called off."

"Okay!" Jean brightened. "What's the code?"

Kanada looked weary. Mikasa understood.

"You don't know it?" she said.

"Only one man knows the code to stop the hyperfusion attack."

"The king." Jean rubbed his face and stared at the motherboard with a hateful expression. "This just got more complicated."

"Someone has to find him and get the code," Mikasa said. She felt cool and certain. Jean gripped her arm.

"You can't do this by yourself. I'll go with you, at least."

"If the Guard takes the building, they'll have full control of the hyperfusion again. You have to hold them off," she said. Jean scowled and wouldn't release her. Once again, she saw the man who'd held her last night. This wasn't about strategy with him any longer. He just didn't want to see her hurt. "Jean."

"I know," he growled.

"When's the first attack supposed to go off?" Mikasa asked.

"Twenty-three hundred hours," Kanada said. Eleven. Shit. That was only a few hours away. No time at all. Mikasa wished they'd known this part of Erwin's plan sooner. They'd have moved more stealthily, tried capturing the king before taking the Tower. But if they did that, the bombs might have gone off early.

Levi. If Levi was here, he was already hunting Erwin. She was certain of it. Mikasa had to find her cousin and take down the king together. They had to keep him alive to turn these bombs off.

"I'll find Levi," she told Jean. That seemed to calm him a little bit. "If we're together, we can do this."

She headed for the door, summoning ten of her warriors as she did. The men and women formed a quiet force behind her. She was their mistress; they would go and die wherever she told them to. Jean eyed the Azumabito warriors with admiration as well as a healthy dose of fear.

"I'm going to leave the rest under your command," she told Jean. "The Tower has to hold."

"Yeah." He gave a grim smile. "I like this new side of you."

She frowned. "What side?"

"You were always the best in our training class," he said. His cheeks flamed a little as he spoke. "There was nothing you couldn't do. But you always waited for Eren or someone else to give you a command."

"I've been on my own a long time," she said quietly. "I had to get used to it."

But she didn't want to be a commander. She did it because she had to, not because it was her passion. She wanted most of all to protect. It had always been her instinct to safeguard what she cherished. Eren. Armin.

Mikasa looked at the man in front of her, and realized that she also meant him. Jean. And Sasha and Connie and Levi and the kids, yes, but Jean stood out now in a way she'd never expected him to.

Without thinking, she grabbed and kissed him. He kissed her back, wouldn't let her go.

"Come back to me," he whispered, his lips tracing hers.

"Mmm." Her face felt hot as she led the way out of the room, past the soldiers hurrying down the halls. Sasha should be on one of the higher levels, sniping enemies as they tried to crash the gate. Mikasa took out her blades when they got to the Tower's front entrance. Across the lawn, she could see soldiers with guns aiming their weapons at the Tower. She saw a large, grotesque figure prowling across the green.

Floch in his Jaws form. Mikasa narrowed her eyes.

He's mine.

"Take them down, but the goal is to get away. We head for the palace," she said.

Her warriors assented, and prepared. Mikasa led them out the door and across the lawn, towards the high iron gate. As she jettisoned away from the gunfire, she saw Floch wheel about and snarl as he charged at her.

An idiot to the last.

Mikasa shouted and went into the spinning blade technique Levi had taught her as the titan reared up out of the night.

---

Kuchel was a little sweaty now, but she was doing pretty good. A bunch of guards lay knocked out at her feet. Armin stumbled around, looking at all the damage with big, wide eyes. Oruo kicked one guard that had passed out, and made his trying-to-poop face as he attempted to summon his Ackerman powers. It didn't work.

"Where are we going?" Armin asked. Kuchel chewed her lip. She was pretty sure of herself, but she didn't want to get into a fight with more than eight or ten people at a time. She didn't know if they'd kill her, but they might be able to take Oruo away in all the chaos.

"We need to get out of the palace. But the front's probably got a lotta soldiers." The pink letters told her what to do. "Follow me."

She picked up one of the guards and threw him through a hall window. She lifted Armin and Oruo outside, then they set off across the eastern lawn, headed for the gate. Kuchel would find a way to get the boys over it. That was her biggest concern. After they were outside the palace, they'd find some Marleyan soldiers and then everything would be okay. Or at least, it'd be better. Kuchel gaped at the airships as they zoomed overhead, the blinking lights on their undersides drawing her attention. Even here, in the quiet park, she could hear the rattle of gunfire in the distance.

Somehow she wasn't scared. Her Ackerman instincts guided her, told her what to do. It was like sitting down in a cool bath, when her instincts flipped 'on.' She just felt different all over.

"Come here." She ushered the boys toward some topiary animals. They hid behind an elephant as a troop of soldiers raced by. Kuchel could tell they were the Guard. She frowned. If only the Marleyans would get here…

Armin whimpered and clung to her arm. Kuchel hugged her little brother. Oruo, meanwhile, kept making the angry poop face.

"It doesn't work like that," Kuchel hissed.

"Stop tellin' me what to do!" he snapped. Ugh, that little brat.

"You should be more worried about Mama and Papa right now. If we get captured again, everything's going to be terrible. I'm doing this to help you, Oruo."

"Stop talking like you're a grown up!" He sneered. "If we'd gone to camp, none of this would've happened!"

Kuchel felt like she'd been shot. He was right, of course. She'd doomed them all by coming here.

"And if you hadn't forced me to take you to Paradis, everything would be okay right now! You'd be okay!"

Oruo growled. He was such a brat.

"We should go, shouldn't we?" Armin whispered. Kuchel hugged him tighter. Oruo's scowl deepened.

"Fine. I'm gonna go on my own! You and Mama like Armin better 'n me anyway! I'll just go live with another family!"

"Sometimes I wish you would!" Kuchel snapped. Armin gasped, and looked at her with his big, sad eyes.

"You don't mean that, Kuchel."

"She does." Oruo's lip quivered. She saw his eyes were shining with tears. "Screw you! I can take care of myself!" With that, he raced off across the lawn, charging towards the gate. Kuchel rolled her eyes. He was such a baby.

"Come on." She hoisted Armin up and chased after Oruo. Kuchel squinted. It was hard to see Oruo in the dark up ahead. Ugh, he was such a jerk. "When we get home, I'm gonna tell Papa what a creep he is," she muttered.

Armin only whimpered.

And then Oruo screamed. Kuchel came to a sudden halt.

"What the…?"

Oruo screamed again, louder this time. Kuchel let go of Armin and put on a burst of speed. Her heart began beating frantically as she saw an adult standing up ahead, tucking Oruo under his arm. Kuchel could see her little brother squirmin.

"Let him go!" she yelled.

The man turned. Kuchel stopped out of complete surprise.

It was that Floch guy. The one who'd eaten Cassius. He looked pretty beat up. One of his eyes was gone and steaming as it healed. His whole front was covered in blood. When he saw her, he bared his teeth.

"Little brat bitch," he snapped. Oruo flailed and tried biting Floch.

"Give him back!" Kuchel yelled.

"Don't make me kill you." He sounded ugly and mean. He sounded like he was talking to a grown up. Kuchel sneered and attacked, spinning through the air before she delivered a hard kick to the man's stomach. He shot backwards, clutching Oruo when he landed. Oruo wailed and kicked. Floch got up quickly, but she wasn't afraid. His injuries meant he couldn't take his titan form. "Shut up, you fucking idiot," he snarled at Oruo. Her brother screamed and shrieked. Kuchel's stomach tightened.

"Give my brother back!" She charged again.

That Floch guy held up his left hand and made it into a fist.

Kuchel shrieked as she felt crystal harden around her legs, all the way up to her waist. Oh no. Even when he was injured, Floch could use the War Hammer crystal powers. That only reminded her of the day he ate Cassius, and tears of rage filled her eyes. Kuchel bellowed as she tried climbing out of her crystal prison, but it didn't work. She was locked in too tight.

Floch grinned as he formed a crystal sword in his hand.

"Fuck it. I got Erwin's key." He tossed Oruo aside like trash. "I got his kid back." Armin cried as he came up to them and saw Kuchel encased in crystal. Floch neared Kuchel, sword at his side. "Too many Ackermans running around tonight. Gotta thin the herd."

Kuchel realized he was going to kill her. The pink letters abandoned her. They just kept telling her to get free, but she couldn't.

Armin charged forward and tried pushing Floch away. Floch responded by gripping Armin's collar and tossing him to the ground. Armin began to cry.

"Leave them alone!" Kuchel's chin wobbled. She felt something fierce in her heart. "You're a coward. You just hurt little boys!"

"And girls, too." Floch sneered as he came up to her. He was going to take off her head.

Kuchel was never going to see Mama or Papa again. She didn't want to die. She was stunned as she realized in two seconds she'd be gone forever. No more sleepovers, no more ice cream, no more family game nights. And Floch didn't seem sad that he was taking all that from her. In fact, he looked pretty happy.

"Papa," she whispered, but he didn't come. Floch lifted the blade.

Then he went flying. His crystal sword whirled through the air, landing in the ground. Kuchel gaped. Floch rolled around, clutching his side.

Oruo stood in front of her. The little boy's fists were balled. She saw that certain glint in his eye. That old, fearsome glint.

Holy shit.

"You little—" Floch tried to rise, but Oruo ran at an insane speed, somersaulted through the air, and kicked the man right in his mouth. Teeth sprayed through the night. Floch started screaming, tried to rise, but Oruo kicked and broke both of his knees. When Floch went down, Oruo pummeled every bone in his body.

"Don't. Touch. My. Sister!" he shouted. He punctuated every word with the snap of another bone. Floch tried crawling away, his body utterly mangled now. It was like watching a worm trying to outrun a robin. Oruo spun through the air like a dervish, his awakened Ackerman instincts guiding him to victory.

"Kuchel!" Armin tugged at her arm. She wiggled her body by degrees, until she felt herself working loose. A minute later she managed to push herself out of the prison, even though she cut her leg on the way out. She hissed with the pain.

Meanwhile, Oruo jumped up and down on Floch's back, stomping the guy into the ground.

"Oruo!"

Her brother stopped crushing Floch.

His smile was enormous.

"Raaaar!" He leapt off the mangled body and pumped his little fists in the air. He took a knee and shouted his victory to the stars. "This's amazing!"

Before Kuchel could hug him or tell him to follow her, Oruo got up and charged back in the direction of the palace, pumping his fists and leaping high into the air. Man, he was going super fast now. He might even be faster than she was.

Ugh.

Kuchel cast a last look at Floch, but he seemed pretty dead. Oruo must have shattered his spine a bunch of times. That was something.

Oruo had saved her.

But the little butt could still get himself killed.

"He's just doing this 'cause he wants to fight," she muttered, scooping up Armin and chasing after her other brother.

Kuchel got the feeling that trying to get Oruo to stop fighting would be like trying to get him to leave a candy store. In other words, impossible.

---

Was he dead yet? Shockingly, the answer was no. By degrees, Floch Forster began to return to himself. That little bastard had almost killed him, but while he'd broken the vertebrae he hadn't actually severed the spine. It was the only reason Floch was alive. After a few minutes, he was reassembled enough to get up and stagger towards the palace like a living corpse.

The kid was awakened now. Shit. What was the king going to do?

Floch entered the palace to find absolute anarchy. Windows had been smashed, shards of glass littering the carpet. Dead and injured soldiers were strewn all around the place. He picked his way over the fallen as people raced past with guns or swords. Outside, he still heard the distant hum and boom of airships and tanks. The air smelled acrid with smoke now, no matter where you went.

"Where's…the king?" he asked. No one seemed to know. Finally, Floch entered the main hallway and found the king. There was a look in the man's eyes Floch hadn't seen before. He seemed even more haunted than usual. "Majesty!"

"What?" Erwin snapped. He barely even noticed Floch's injuries. "I need to get another syringe prepared," he snapped.

"Eh?"

"I need one!" Erwin shouted. He didn't seem to notice Floch or anyone else. The king waved some of his soldiers on. "Prep another syringe. Now! Move!"

So he still intended to use the Ackerman boy. Shit.

"Sire, I have bad news," Floch said. He was not the cowering type, but he almost fouled his pants when Erwin glared.

"Of course it's bad news," he grumbled. "Well? What?"

"I found the Ackerman boy outside. I was bringing him back to the palace when—"

"His sister did this to you?" Erwin sneered, like Floch disgusted him. Well. Now Floch felt less inclined to preserve the king's feelings.

"No, sire. The boy's Ackerman genes activated. He has that insane power now."

Erwin's whole face fell. His eyes became hollow.

"That means I can't…" The king bared his teeth. His eyes grew flinty with anger. "Dammit!"

"We can keep looking for Queen Historia."

"There's no time. Damn everything, there's no time!" Erwin put a hand to his face. He'd never seemed as old as he did now. Floch remembered the cruisers out on the seas, waiting to unload their hyperfusion arsenal. He knew Erwin had wanted to avoid that death if at all possible, but how else were they supposed to reign supreme and in peace for generations to come?

"So the bombs will have to go off, then?" Floch made sure not to smile. Erwin shook for a moment, the reaction violent. "Sire. It's our only offense now." Floch drew nearer, whispered even as the world burned around them. "We have to save Eldia and Paradis. It's our homeland. Just a few cities, and then they'll sue for peace. Like you said they would."

"I…" Erwin gritted his teeth. Some silent war began and ended behind his eyes while Floch watched. "I…" His brow furrowed. "I can't do it."

Floch said nothing. His rage would cause him to scream if he opened his mouth now.

"I believed I'd gain the Founder in time to call off the attack." Erwin shook his head over and over. "I can't do it. I can't do it again."

"Paradis needs you to, sire." Floch's voice came out strained. "They'll kill us all if you don't. The enemy is already in the capital."

Erwin put a hand to his mouth. He had never looked this weak before. Floch felt the sudden, hideous stab of disdain.

"If I gave myself up…" He sounded like he was in the middle of a dream. "After everything I've done, it should be only me who pays…"

Floch could have slapped the shit out of the man. Here the king was, falling down on the job when all of his soldiers and citizens were dying for him and his war. The war for their perpetual independence.

"After everything that's been done, we can't go back. They'll kill all of us, Majesty. It was always going to come down to this. No other way around it."

Erwin squeezed his eyes shut. "Hange," he whispered. "You could have found a way."

"Hange's dead." Floch made his voice cold. There wasn't a shred of mercy. "These bombs are her legacy. Don't let her death have been in vain."

Erwin looked upon him then with such glowering resentment that Floch almost wanted to run. But Erwin said nothing.

The fleeting warmth and pain he'd found in the king's eyes vanished. The stoic god returned. Thank fuck.

"Keep attacking the Tower. I want those traitors dead," Erwin said lifelessly.

"Of course, sire."

"We'll let the clock run down. At eleven, it will be over." Erwin smirked. "There's nothing they can do. None of them knows the four-digit code to call it off, anyway."

Floch smiled. Good. He had pride in his king once more. "What should we do then, sire?"

"The northern air battalion should be flying in soon. The airships will be blown out of the sky. I know we have two more regiments moving up here from Wall Rose. We'll crush the insurrection in the capital, and then the bombs will drop. They'll sue for peace. All of them will." Erwin looked at Floch again, as if he'd seen the man for the first time just now. "Do you think you can avoid any Ackermans?"

"Mikasa's headed this way. The children are running around the park. We don't know where Levi is yet." Floch nodded. "We'll find out."

"I'm going to take my private guard and grab Connie. We'll travel a safe distance away, and I'll eat him. At the very least, I'll have the Founder's power inside of me." Erwin winced. "I will make this up to them all. I will rule this world peacefully."

"Yes, sire."

Just then, a troop of soldiers ran past them, charging ahead like the demons of hell were at their heels.

"What are you doing? Stop!" Erwin bellowed. He grabbed one soldier and threw him to the floor. Erwin aimed a pistol at the man's forehead. "How dare you retreat?" he snarled.

"Majesty! Levi Ackerman!" The man was pale. "He's here."

Erwin lowered his weapon. He looked down the hall. The king was not a man to appear joyful, but right now he wore an almost giddy expression. It was fucking weird.

"Where?" Erwin croaked.

"The front hall. He's fighting the palace's vanguard."

"Go." Erwin turned from the man. "Safeguard the perimeter." The soldier ran away. "Floch. Change of plans. Go to the pits, take Connie, and bring him to the rendezvous deeper in the forest. I'll join you as soon as I'm able."

"Shouldn't we go now, sire? Get away from Ackerman?" Floch's pulse thudded. The children were terrifying, but their father was a true devil.

"I will not run any longer." It was almost like Erwin was looking forward to this. Disturbing. "I'll have him first. Then I'll join you. Floch. Go."

With that, Erwin strode down the hall.

"You can't defeat him in combat!" Floch cried.

"Preparation, Floch." Erwin grinned as he turned the corner. "Preparation is the key."

---

Levi felt the soldier die under his blade. Blood splattered along the tiled floor and dotted his boots. Fuck it. He didn't even stop to consider wiping them down.

"Erwin!" he shouted, trudging farther into the hall. Soldiers attacked from right and left, and he cut them down with ease. Blood warmed his neck and face. He would kill them all if he had to. Even as his heart shattered in his chest, he would kill until he had his wife restored to him.

Soldiers backed up now, trying to coordinate an attack on the Ackerman king.

"Erwin! Come out here!" Levi bellowed. For a small man he had an unusually deep voice. More and more of the Guard pissed themselves as Levi continued his forward march.

"So. Levi."

He looked right. The king of Paradis stood there in his armored glory, a gun in one hand. The other hand rested atop the hilt of a blade. Erwin was fully gray now, the barrel-chested old king. The handsome young adventurer was truly gone.

Erwin smiled. When he smiled like that, those blue eyes shone. He looked thirty-five again, alive with a grand inner vision.

"It's been too long," Erwin said.

Levi drew his second blade.

"ERWIIIIIN!"

He threw one sword so quickly that even he could barely track its progress. A young soldier hurled herself in the weapon's path, saving Erwin from injury. The blade cut her down the middle. Levi hated the sight, but he could feel no regret or sadness. Not while Erwin lived and Petra was in that pit.

"Come, then." Erwin drew his own blade.

Levi bolted ahead. It was as if he could see everything around him happening in the slowest motion possible. So easy to evade the weapons. So easy to kill those in his path. Soon, Levi had cut his way through six more women and men.

He hurtled through the air, ready to take the king.

Erwin moved quickly. The two kings clashed, their blades singing against each other. Sparks flew through the air.

"It takes me back," Erwin hissed. "When we first met."

They had faced off in the underground. Mike had just knocked Levi down, and then Erwin and he had crossed blades. Even though he'd angled to get caught, Levi had been stunned by the power of the other man's blow. Erwin had moved so quickly. For an ordinary man, not a superhuman like Mike or Levi, he was extraordinary.

Erwin had thrown Levi against a wall, blade to the man's throat. The two enemies had stared deep into each other's eyes.

It had been the most infuriating moment of Levi's life. And the most electrifying.

"I let you win then," Levi growled. He reached around for the knife tucked into the back of his belt. "Won't do that shit now."

He snarled as he unfurled himself and sliced Erwin across the stomach. If the king hadn't been wearing armor, it would have incapacitated him. Erwin sprang backwards. He moved down the hall, disappearing into the bowels of his palace.

"Come and see what I've done," Erwin called.

It was a trap. Levi could sense it, the weight of the air, the taste of the other man's elated fear on his tongue. Erwin wanted to trap him.

For Petra, he would allow it. For now.

Screaming in rage, Levi followed the other king. He bounded off of walls, off of the ceiling, lunging down to slice Erwin's arm from his shoulder.

Erwin ducked and moved. He spun down the hall with a dancer's grace, then readied himself for another parry.

"I know how you fight, Levi." Those blue eyes blazed. "I know you."

"And I know you. You gray-haired cunt."

Levi advanced, then at the last possible instant he ducked and shot out his leg. Erwin bellowed as he fell backwards, rolled out of the way of Levi's attack. They turned the corner…directly into a firing squad of ten soldiers.

Erwin had anticpated Levi's attack, the leg sweep. He'd readied the soldiers so that they could fire when the two men came into view. Erwin was still on the floor, smug with his victory.

Damn. Levi had never met anyone like this king.

The yellow lightning sent him up to the ceiling where he grabbed onto a chandelier and swung overhead. He landed directly behind the squad, and with a single swipe took half of their heads. When the other half began to turn, he took them as well. Erwin stood as Levi stepped back from the bodies. Blood reeked on his face and clothes. Erwin bared his teeth.

"How many more innocents will you kill before the night is out?" Erwin hissed.

"That's up to you." Levi readied his blade. "Just come over here and let me take you."

"Kill me?"

"Not yet." Levi's vision shivered. "Not yet."

He had to take Erwin to the pit and give him to Petra. How could you have done it to her? Why did you do it, you bastard?

Levi advanced on Erwin, and Erwin ducked down a hallway. Levi followed, moving just in time to see a wall panel shut. Fuck. Erwin was using the palace's servant entrances and exits. Levi didn't know those places nearly as well as the king did, but there was no time to be shy. He kicked open the wall, shattering it into pieces, and followed.

The hallway was dimly lit and echoed. Levi kept his back to the wall, both blades out, eyes all around. He strained his ears to pick up Erwin's breath.

A game of hide and seek. The two of them together again.

Why was he so happy?

"I've dreamed of this moment," Erwin said. His voice echoed along the corridor. Levi couldn't tell which direction it came from.

"The moment I take your balls off?"

"When we'd face off against one another again. Just the two of us." For a second, it seemed to Levi that Erwin's voice came directly behind. "The intimacy of it all."

He spun and slashed. He punctured a wall, and no one was there. Then he felt the other man sidle up behind him—

Levi thrust a blade.

Nothing. Fuck. Was Erwin doing some bullshit magician thing? Or was Levi so primed for the man's presence that every moment seemed to unite them?

"Enemies again," Levi hissed, stalking further down the hall. Erwin laughed ahead, the rumbling sound like thunder. Levi followed, his heart beating faster.

"I almost missed the intensity of your hate," Erwin said. "It was the purest emotion I have ever witnessed. The most passionate."

Only two people had ever received Levi's passion. One was here. The other was in a pit.

"Good news. You have more of my hate than you ever did before. It's real passionate," Levi hissed. A shadow flickered at the corner of his eye. He slashed and cut through air. Fuck. He had to be careful. His sense of direction was exceptional, but there was no substitution for familiarity with terrain. Erwin had the upper hand here. Levi had to finish him quickly, that or get them both back onto the palace's main corridors.

"We don't have to do this, of course."

It seemed like the voice came right by his ear. Levi spun, and found no one. He bared his teeth.

"How'd you wanna finish this, then? Game of checkers? Foot race?"

"Why finish this? What about this needs to end?"

"I'm not gonna spend the rest of my life wandering around looking for you, Blondie. Everything ends."

Including you.

"Levi, this war ends tonight. When everything is finished, I will be the head of an empire that will last over a thousand years. You can join me, sit at my side with your family. Or—"

Petra.

"Don't you fucking talk about my family!" he roared. Levi charged ahead, a blur of motion towards the source of Erwin's voice.

A door slammed to his left. Levi turned on instinct and broke through the obstacle. He found himself in a great stone room. The kitchens. All the ovens were dark. The servants had abandoned the place.

There was movement to the back of the room. A door swung on its hinges. Fuck. Erwin was outside.

Levi had to make sure the king didn't get too far from the palace. If he got far enough away, he might feel inclined to explode into his titan form.

At that point, no one would be able to stop him.

Not even Levi.

Growling, Levi raced across the kitchen and hurtled out into the night.

---

"Oruo! Stop!" Kuchel chased after Oruo, while the boy gleefully pumped his fists in the air. Armin raced behind them, though he wasn't nearly as fast as his siblings. Wow, Oruo was really having a good time. He sure loved hitting people.

"I'm the beeeeest!" Oruo roared before rolling along the ground and knocking over a soldier. The man lost his gun as he fell. Oruo kicked him in the penis, and the man curled into a little ball. Armin's little brother did a flip through the air and darted back and forth across the hall before throwing himself into another soldier as she entered. The woman fell backwards and went through a window. A lot of glass shattered.

"Oruo Eld Gunther Ackerman! Come back here!" Kuchel hollered. Armin clung to the wall and watched his brother and sister as they attacked a whole other group of soldiers. So many of Papa's soldiers kept showing up and then getting knocked down by the Ackerman kids. Armin could never be as strong as they were.

They were close to his nursery room. All the banging and shouting was making Armin want to cry. He hated loud noises like this.

And he missed Toby.

He checked and saw Kuchel and Oruo arguing while Oruo bounced up and down on the body of some soldier he'd knocked out. Armin would only have one chance. He hurried to his nursery and rushed inside. At least his toys were okay. Toby sat on the foot of his bed. Armin grabbed the tiger and cuddled him to his chest.

"It's okay, Toby," he whispered.

The door swung open. Armin turned, expecting to find Kuchel. Instead, he saw two of the maids who were always mean to him. One of them, the blonde one, looked like she'd been crying. She gave Armin the most hateful look.

"You little fucking brat," she hissed.

"Let's go. Let's go!" the other, frizzy-haired maid said. But the blonde stormed towards Armin. He hugged Toby to his chest, wishing that his tiger would be a real tiger and roar at the woman. But Toby stayed quiet.

"Please," Armin whimpered. But the maid slapped him hard across his face. Armin sat down hard, bursting into tears. "Please go away!"

"Little piece of shit!" The woman grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked. Armin hollered but didn't fight back. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "If only you'd never been born. It's your fault! It's your fucking fault!"

"Stop!" the other maid yelled. Armin wished Inga were here. Where oh where was Inga?

"Oww, stop! Mamaaaa!" Armin sobbed as the maid slapped him, and then kicked him in the belly. Armin almost threw up as he dropped Toby. The maid picked the tiger up and looked like she was about to rip his head off. Armin sobbed.

The maid just looked down on him with a look of pure hate. She wished he'd never been born. Everyone wished it.

Then, like a miracle, Kuchel appeared in the air directly behind the maid. Her whole face was scary. She'd never looked so angry before.

Kuchel pummeled the maid, who dropped Toby. Armin snatched up his tiger while Kuchel picked the woman up above her head.

"Leave my brother alone!" Kuchel screamed. She threw the woman out the window. Glass shattered. The maid with the frizzy hair screamed, turned, and then got knocked down by Oruo. Armin's little brother looked pleased with himself. Kuchel helped Armin to his feet. "You okay?"

Kuchel gave him a big hug. She loved him.

But she shouldn't. No one should.

"Y-Yeah," he whispered.

"Come on. We gotta find Mama."

Kuchel led him out of the room. Oruo pranced ahead, shouting and trying to get other soldiers to attack so he could beat them up.

Fat tears rolled down Armin's cheeks.

If only Mama had never had him. The world would be a better place.

---

Jean left Sasha and the other snipers on the fifth floor. He went back down to the control room, already numb to the rattling of the gunfire and the scream of air raid sirens. Jean tried to remain focused on the mission ahead of him, maintaining the Tower until Mikasa returned. But he could only think of Mikasa herself.

He knew that she would be safe. The only person alive who was stronger than her was Captain Levi. King Levi. If Jean could keep the woman he loved alive and return the throne to her cousin, his dreams would come true. There'd be a house in Mitras, children, a life of sloth and privilege.

Mikasa.

Come back to me. Mikasa. Please.

Unfortunately, there was no peace to be found in the control room. Jean discovered Kanada, looking grimmer than usual. The Azumabito spoke with a man in Marleyan uniform. King Willy's reinforcements. Nice. The Marleyan captain had some younger troops with him. Jean frowned as he approached. There was one young woman with them who, frankly, looked the image of Eren Jaeger.

Jean didn't need more suicidal blockheads right now.

"Kanada. What is it?" Jean asked.

"This is Theo Magath," Kanada said. He rubbed his face, looking exhausted. "He has bad news."

Was there any other kind?

"Commander Kirschtein?" Magath frowned. "How certain are you that you can find the code to abort the missile launch program?"

"Pretty sure." Jean tried not to snap. "We have an elite warrior tasked with finding King Erwin."

"I think you have to understand what's at stake here."

"Besides millions of lives?" Jean failed the 'don't snap' test. Magath frowned deeper.

"Marley and the other Allied nations have a launch program of their own. If a single hyperfusion bomb attacks a single Allied city, Marley and the rest of the world intend to wipe Paradis Island off the map entirely."

Great. Fucking great.

"They'll bomb us," Jean muttered.

"Yes. Simply put, if one Allied city is struck, eight million tons of hyperfusion weaponry will be concentrated on this island. No living creature or blade of grass will be left. The island itself will cease to exist."

"The plan is to wipe out the rest of the hyperfusion arsenal," Kanada said. He sighed. "Unfortunately, as I've just explained to Commander Magath, the hyperfusion arsenal isn't on Paradis. And it's a guarantee that a single attack on Paradis Island will set phase two of the plan into operation. Namely, the wholesale destruction of the entire hemisphere. And in time, it will mean the world's devastation. End of days."

"Call and tell the Allies that," Jean snapped.

"Unfortunately, we haven't been able to communicate with anyone outside of the capital city," Magath said. "Speaking plainly, the one chance you have to spare the island and all of our lives is to call off the hyperfusion attack before eleven."

"All we need is the code," Jean said. His vision blurred. Mikasa would not fail. She had never failed yet. "But to be extra safe, why don't you redirect some of your troops to head to the palace and capture King Erwin alive?"

"Already done. In the meantime, we'll help defend the Tower against invasion." Magath nodded to the Eren-looking girl. "Braun. You and Grice oversee the sniper division on level six."

"Yes, sir." The girl smiled. She looked utterly fierce. Something about her made Jean uncomfortable.

"Gabi," the blond young man whispered as he followed the girl off. Jean stared at the wall of computers and ran a hand through his hair. If one bomb went off, he and everyone in this room would be irradiated ash in a handful of minutes.

Mikasa. Where are you?

---

Mikasa howled with rage as another bullet got one of her warriors through the throat. The Azumabito soldier fell, dead in an instant.

Mikasa's heart broke, but she couldn't afford to stop and grieve. There was no time. Erwin. She had to find the king.

And Levi, if possible. She charged ahead down the palace hallway, eyes open.

Where were the two men?

---

Levi prowled into the forest, searching through the dark for a telltale flash of white, or a glint of moonlight on armor. Already the sounds of combat were growing fainter in the distance.

"Erwin," he whispered. The yellow lightning was silent. Levi felt suspended in a great blackness, waiting for sound and sensation. Waiting to live again.

You'll live on in her, Erwin. At last, I'll have the both of you at the same place at the same time. A bitter, desperate thought.

"Levi."

The voice was too close, yet too far away. Levi propelled himself through the night air, bounding off a tree trunk before rolling away. He crouched there, breathing in the scent of the forest.

There was no time, and yet this was all the time he'd ever have.

"It wasn't just about the kid. Was it?" Levi whispered. Erwin didn't respond. Somewhere above, an owl hooted. Kind of amazing how even while war tore the island apart, there were still nocturnal animals flying around, hunting for their evening meal. Just living. No matter what horrors occurred on this planet, you could be sure that somewhere else everything was fine and normal.

Levi sometimes thought that would be the most painful thought as you were murdered, beaten to death, shot through the stomach. As you lay dying, the knowledge that somewhere else out there people were happy. Celebrating a wedding or a birthday. Making love. Reading a good book, or laughing with friends.

The shattering of your own world, and most people at that moment were laughing over their own good fortune. Life was shit sometimes.

"Erwin. The kid was just an excuse," Levi hissed. He gripped the hilt of his sword, strained to catch an errant breath on the wind. "You never wanted to die, but you couldn't make yourself be brave enough to wreck the world searching for a cure. Armin gave you the courage to be selfish."

Nothing. Somewhere, a cricket chirped. Levi glanced all around.

Erwin wasn't taking the bait. Hell, he wasn't moving or even breathing.

"If that little boy dies," Levi said, shifting tactics, "it'll be your fault. The world's gonna fucking end because of your war. Your son'll die because of it. Unless I save him."

And without the boy's mother, would Levi continue to feel warmth and affection towards Armin? He just wasn't sure he had that much strength inside.

"And will you save him?" Erwin whispered, the voice coming almost directly behind Levi. Almost like Erwin asked himself the same question.

Levi spun around. No one was there. The yellow lightning pointed directly up. But Erwin wasn't wearing ODM. He wouldn't be in the trees.

No. But Levi should be.

He rappelled up as the night exploded in a blast of fire and steam. Levi howled as his cable pulled him up, up to the top of a tree. The heat of Erwin's partial transformation scalded his ass. Levi crouched on a branch, eyes watering with the pain. Erwin had been too close to the palace to fully transform, but a skinless, colossal arm had appeared out of nothing. Levi couldn't see how Erwin was attached to the thing, but it didn't matter.

The hand opened and reached for him. Levi darted away, flitting from branch to branch. Light as the air, fast as the wind, he made himself forget the pain.

Erwin's colossal arm swung his direction, splintering trees as it tried to get to Levi. He'd had enough. Levi turned and sliced through three fingers. They collapsed to the forest floor. New digits would grow in a minute or two, but that was all the time Levi needed. He latched onto the wrist and quickly sliced the tendons, causing Erwin's limb to become useless. Levi ran down the slick, steaming surface of the arm until he somersaulted through the air and landed on the ground. He pressed his back to a trunk and watched Erwin's titanic arm begin to disintegrate.

Gotta get him fast.

"Stop fighting, Levi." Erwin's voice boomed. He sounded angry. Good. Levi wiped blood and sweat from his brow. "I know what you want."

"What's that, bitch?" Levi whispered to himself. Erwin heard.

"To submit to me. It's what you've wanted ever since the moment we met."

"When I tried to kill your ass?" Levi growled, inching away deeper into the forest. Where the fuck was the king?

"You think I couldn't understand you?" Erwin sounded bitter. "You aren't a complex person, Levi. Time spent watching you and listening to you gave me all the information I required. Your longing for Kenny, for a strong man to give you his approval. You may be the strongest man alive, but you are not meant to be a leader. To give your strength to a great man—to yield to him—is your true desire. Is it exhausting?" Erwin sounded genuinely curious now. "To be an utter contradiction, I mean. To fight for your own independence, refusing to bow, and yet to desire submission above all other things?" Something about that word, submission, raised the hair on Levi's neck and the small of his back. It wasn't fear. It was something worse; wanting.

I want to be ruled by only one man. A world without him is meaningless.

But without Erwin's death, Petra would not live. Levi's hand shook. Why had this bastard forced him to this agonizing point of no return?

"Give yourself to me, Levi." Erwin was close now. His voice took on a husky tenderness that made Levi clench his jaw.

Give yourself. To kneel at this man's feet would be ecstasy. To be near Erwin, his warmth, his strength, was to be near a father and a brother and a god and a beloved—

The last word shook Levi, but he couldn't stop considering it. Now, here in this forest, cloaked by night and at the very end, he felt unease settle behind his breastbone. Even with his wife, his true love, even with her waiting for him in that pit, he couldn't help wondering how it would feel to have Erwin's large hand in his hair.

The man's breath on the back of his neck. His weight pressing on Levi, pinning him to the earth. Leaving him helpless.

Levi had never desired men before. But he'd never really desired women, either. He just wanted what he wanted. Who he wanted.

He squeezed his eyes shut. This was confusing, but it wasn't frightening. He wanted to feel Erwin near in order to feel controlled. Only two people on this planet had the power to control him.

If he…if he wanted Erwin's body right now, it was because he wanted to feel connected to something greater than he was or could be. To submit. To give all of himself to a cause.

He hadn't always felt this way. At least, he hadn't always felt his need to submit in such a physical way. But now, at the end of their time together, being joined would be the surest way to keep Erwin with him. For years, the increasing distance had ignited a fire inside of Levi. Don't go away. Stay with me. Be with me.

He was so fucked up. A tear tracked along his cheek, and then he shut his tears away.

He had to save his wife. His love. The mother of his children.

"You made that impossible," Levi croaked.

"No. It's never too late."

The way Erwin said it, that absolute assurance, caused Levi to see red. He whipped around the tree and shot his hooks. Erwin darted away; Levi only just missed getting him through the side.

"It's too late now and forever," Levi snarled. "You turned my wife into a titan, you bastard! You can't come back from that shit!"

He raced forward and slashed, but Erwin evaded him yet again. The king backed up. As moonlight slanted across Erwin's face, Levi froze.

The confusion—the horror—in those blue eyes was real.

"What are you talking about?" Erwin whispered.

---

Brigitta hummed as she rubbed her eyes and listened to the titan roaring in the pit.

Roses and hollyhock, violets and posies…

It was the first line of a children's song, and Brigitta had forgotten the rest. She pressed her thumbs into her eyes so that rainbow colors exploded against the blackness.

Roses. Hollyhock. Violets and posies.

She sang that to Siegfried when he was a baby. Armin had loved it.

Siegfried. Armin. She couldn't see which he was. Whose baby he was.

Brigitta moaned and yanked out a fistful of hair. If only she hadn't talked to him. If only she hadn't…

Earlier that day, she'd just tried to get Siegfried to say he loved her better than Petra. Didn't his auntie love him so much? Wasn't she the best auntie? But Siegfried kept trying to get away, the little brat, the little angel, and he'd hurt her so badly.

Brigitta shouldn't have hit him. She shouldn't have made him cry. But he hurt her so much. She loved him more than the world, and he didn't love her. No one loved her.

Then Erwin had entered and found the boy crying. Erwin sent Siegfried-Armin to play with his siblings. And the king towered above Brigitta. She was certain he'd kill her.

It had been worse.

'I will not restore your womb', he'd said. His voice was so calm and cold that she knew there'd be no argument.

She'd sat in a huddle after that, rocking back and forth. Petra was sitting in a prison cell, crying because she was going to be forced to be an empress and a mother. The spoiled bitch. So spoiled. Always had been.

Brigitta loved her sister, but she'd never hated anyone as much as she hated Petra in that moment.

Brigitta had pulled herself together. She'd tried to act like things were normal with Erwin. She'd tried to save Oruo. She loved Oruo and Kuchel, too. Of course she did. But Erwin wouldn't listen. He'd walked away from her with that titan shot. Brigitta had gone to the kids' room to find him, and there she'd discovered Erwin sprawled out on the ground. His back had been broken. She'd asked what had happened.

He'd snapped at her. Left. And that's when she noticed the syringe.

The box had fallen out of his pocket. Brigitta had nabbed it in order to save Oruo. To keep Erwin from using the injection. She'd gone down to rescue her sister to reunite her with the children.

Brigitta had taken a gun from one of the downed guards and killed the man standing watch outside the prison. When she pulled the trigger, she realized then exactly what she was going to do. Where this was going.

There was nothing she could do to stop herself. At that point it was like watching a film play out. She could shout at the screen, but she couldn't force the characters to move or speak differently.

She lied to Petra. Told her that Erwin had Oruo.

As they'd crossed the lawn to the pits, Brigitta had told herself that there was still time to stop. She wouldn't go through with this. The course she was on would change. She just needed to be patient.

But the way Petra sprinted ahead, desperate to get to her babies—her three babies, all of whom loved her more than they loved their Aunt Brigitta—made Brigitta want to die. Or scream.

Or kill.

You're not going to do this she thought as Petra stood at the lip of the pit and Brigitta snapped open the case. As she removed the syringe, Brigitta waited for herself to drop it. She waited to stop. But she didn't stop.

Petra turned back to her sister. The soft relief in her eyes spoke volumes. Oruo wasn't there. He wasn't a titan.

I won't let him be a titan. I'll protect him. I'll be a mother to all three of them.

"Gitta. It's okay." Petra had smiled. Then there was some hesitation in the corners of her mouth. Petra cocked her head, that gesture a question in and of itself. "Oruo's not here. Let's go look for him."

Let's go look for him. It was like the magic words, a spell that turned Brigitta into a demon. Why those words? Because it sounded like an order? Because it was a reminder that Petra had a son and Brigitta never would?

Or was it just because Petra had everything and Brigitta had nothing?

Brigitta felt all love leach out of her heart. Hatred burned in her throat.

"Gitta. What are you doing?" Petra shook her head. "No."

She knew. Oh, she knew.

"He's mine," Brigitta snapped. She gave a broken sob. "He's mine! He's not yours, he's mine!"

"Okay. Let's talk about this." Petra held up her hands. "Please put that down."

Oh, Petra thought Brigitta was stupid. Her big sister was a trained soldier; she was just trying to find a moment to break Brigitta's wrist and take the syringe. Maybe she'd even inject Brigitta and toss her into the pit instead. Then she'd leave and marry Erwin and Siegfried would adore her, and they would leave the barren, miserable aunt out here to rot as a monster for all eternity.

No. No.

"No!" Brigitta screamed. She rushed forward, and Petra tried knocking the syringe from her hand. In fact, she succeeded. The syringe fell to the earth, and the two women lunged for it.

Brigitta had never beaten Petra at anything before. Petra won every foot race. She jumped every hurdle.

But this one time, Brigitta won.

She grabbed the syringe. Petra's eyes widened with terror.

"Gitta, please!"

Brigitta didn't listen. She jammed the needle into her sister's neck and pushed the plunger.

For two seconds, they stared at one another.

Petra…

"Gitta?" Her sister's eyes filled with tears. Her lip quivered. She clasped a hand to the side of her neck, where the worst injury she'd ever receive had been given. "Why?"

Why? Why why why did she ask that stupid fucking question? Why? Why had any of Brigitta's life turned out this way?

Brigitta screamed in fury and shoved Petra. Her big sister tumbled into the pit. A mere half a second after, the night became brilliant with orange lightning. When Brigitta crawled on her hands and knees to the edge of the pit, she saw—

Petra's face, her monstrous teeth, her insane, giant eyes.

Gone. Her sister was gone. Something had taken her place.

Petra was gone.

She and Petra had whispered stories in the dark when they were children. They'd played dolls together. They'd set the table for dinner, giggling about boys.

Her sister was gone.

Brigitta's mind went blank. She screamed. Then she had to get up and walk around in circles and start tugging at her hair and clawing at her face to feel pain, just so she didn't feel that great hollow void that was eating out her insides.

She didn't know how long she'd been like that when Levi found her. She tried to tell him what she'd done; at least then he'd kill her and she'd be beyond this hell. But she couldn't remember how to speak. She could only laugh, and scream.

Now minutes or maybe hours or maybe years had passed. She remained alone, hunched over the edge of the pit. Sirens screamed outside, and guns boomed, and Brigitta also felt her mind tearing apart under the weight of her own private war.

Her life was ruined. Her life was stupid. She didn't deserve life. Or love. Or comfort.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed as her tears dropped into the pit. Her sister's titan reached for her. Petra gnashed her teeth. Brigitta rocked back and forth, clutching her arms. "I'm sorry."

Did she slip? Did she want to slip? Either way, she tumbled forward into the darkness and cried out in pain as she landed upon a hill of sand. She rolled down until she was at the titan's feet. Brigitta looked up in terror as Petra reached down. She grabbed Brigitta around the waist and hoisted her into the air.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she sobbed as Petra opened her mouth wide.

Brigitta remembered a rainy day when she'd had the measles. Petra had brought her soup and sat by the bed and read her a story as the rain pattered on the window. Petra had brought Brigitta a posy from outside, raindrops iridescent on the pink petals.

Roses. Hollyhocks. Violets and posies.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Brigitta wanted to go back to childhood and that room, with the bowl of soup and the flower.

"Petra!" she sobbed, as if trying to rouse her big sister from a nightmare.

She screamed until the titan bit through her back. Then, finally, everything was dark and silent.

---

Holy fuck. What a freak show.

Floch stood at the edge of the pit, looking down at the titan as it finished devouring Brigitta. Petra Ackerman made a damn ugly titan. No question.

Floch smirked. The king would hate to see the woman like this. Too bad.

Humming, he wended his way out of the pits and towards the bunker. He had to grab Connie like Erwin said.

But Floch was going to devour the stupid kid himself. Then he'd snap the king in half when the moment arrived.

Enough of this weakness. Floch was gonna end this shit tonight. The world needed a true king. A real emperor. He'd rise to the challenge.

And then he would take both those Ackerman brats and grind them into paste. He'd keep the Siegfried kid around so long as the brat knew his place. Or maybe Floch would just kill him, too. No sense leaving any loose ends.

Up ahead, he saw the lights around the bunker. The building was a squat, rectangular concrete structure with a metal door. You wouldn't know by looking that the thing went almost six stories underground. Connie was on the second floor. It wouldn't be too difficult to get the guards to hand the shifter over. After all, Floch was a big deal around here.

As he reached the entrance, Floch heard something just behind him.

It sounded like a gun being loaded.

The fuck?

As he turned, a bullet ripped directly through his throat. It felt like fire going through his spine as Floch collapsed to the earth. He clutched the gushing wound and tried to scream, but could only make a series of choked noises. His legs jerked. His lungs began to fill with blood as he heard footsteps approach.

An enemy soldier?

No. A maid.

It was the maid with the fucked up face, Connie's girlfriend. Ingrid or something. Inga. She stood above Floch, her gun aimed at the center of his forehead. His mouth was too full of blood to even allow him to speak.

This bitch. How the fuck had she…?

"Hello, Floch."

Another woman approached. This one was tiny, bone-thin. Her golden hair had all been cut away. She wore a cloth bandage over her missing eye.

Queen Historia sneered at him. He could only lie there, choke, and try to understand.

"You know something?" the queen said. She narrowed her remaining eye. "I remember back when Erwin wanted to force me to have a baby. You wanted to be the father. You told the king I was 'your type.' Hmm? Isn't that right?"

He clenched his teeth. That stupid—

"Well I'm sorry, Floch." The queen smirked. "But you're definitely not my type."

He tried to roar with anger, but that Inga woman pulled the trigger and splattered his head like a ripe melon.

What a stupid fucking way to go.

---

Connie hung there, trying to remain conscious. By this point, his wrists were so chafed that the steam of their healing was barely there. He knew that a shifter could get to a point where their body stopped healing. He didn't think he'd even get to die then; he'd just hang here in solid agony.

They'd put a plastic tray beneath him so that his blood could drip off the floor. Connie felt himself falling into unconsciousness. He had to wrestle to stay awake.

"Piece of shit," one of the guards said. The guy spat some tobacco juice into the pan of Connie's blood. This place was gross.

At least Erwin hadn't done anything to his mom. Yet.

Eren, why'd you have to pick me for this shit? Connie winced. You always knew I was an idiot.

But Eren hadn't chosen Connie. Connie had agreed to eat Reiner. But if he hadn't, his mother would never have come home. These last few years he'd at least been able to make her comfortable. They'd both grieved his dad and siblings, but at least they'd been together.

Besides, it didn't matter if his mom was alive or not if they couldn't…

"Hey! You're not supposed to be here," the guard snapped. Connie opened his eyes wide.

Inga was in the doorway, one hand in her coat pocket.

She smiled at him. Even though his whole body was in agony, he weakly smiled back.

Just the sight of her soothed him.

"Bitch, you heard me? You don't have clearance for down here," the second guard sneered.

Bitch? Connie would teach those two fuckers…

"What about me?" Historia asked as she came through the door and stood beside Inga.

"Wh-What the f—?" The guard didn't get to finish his thought before Inga shot him through the mouth. Before the other soldier could fumble for his weapon, Connie's girlfriend killed him, too. Connie slumped forward, all his weight dangling from his wrists. It really hurt.

But at least she was here.

"Hurry." Historia snagged a ring of keys from one of the dead men, passed it to Inga, then swept out of the room. Inga quickly pocketed her gun and then unlocked Connie. He sagged against her, but she managed to hold him well enough. She sat him in a chair, knelt, and finally helped pull those goddamn metal bars out of his legs. Connie cried in relief as the wounds finally began to heal.

"Are you okay?" Inga petted his cheek. Tears shone in her eyes. "I'm sorry we're so late."

"I'm okay now." Connie grinned, leaned forward, and kissed her. He held her close. "We're gonna be okay."

"Yes. We are." She kissed his cheek, held him as she cried. Connie ran his fingers through her hair. At least she was okay.

That and his mom were all that mattered anymore.

"Connie? Inga." Historia reappeared in the doorway. It was real good to see her out of a cage. "Are you ready to go? We need to move. Soldiers are on the way here."

Shit. Connie hissed as he hooked an arm around Inga's shoulders. She hoisted him up. Historia found him a makeshift crutch, and he hobbled alongside the women out the door and up the stairs. They had to hurry.

He had a journey ahead of him.

---

Levi stilled. He frowned.

"What the fuck do you mean what'm I talking about? My wife! You turned her into a titan, you fucking—"

"Petra?" Erwin couldn't seem to contain the astonished horror. "A… No. No, that's impossible." Then Erwin backed further up, sneered. "You'd lie about something like that to unmoor me, you son of a bitch?"

"You think I'd ever lie about shit like that?" Levi barked. He curled his lip, put his left foot behind his right. He flipped the blade in his hand, and felt as he had when sighting a titan through the forest of giant trees. "For that alone, I'd fucking kill you."

Levi whirled through the air as Erwin raised a hand to defend himself. Probably the king had wanted to turn another arm colossal, to try roasting Levi whole. But Levi spun like a dervish, restoring himself to the man he'd once been. The hard, cold man he'd been before love and a family had changed him.

He would not have love any longer if he kept Erwin alive.

Levi roared as he felt his blades slice through a limb. Erwin howled, collapsing to the ground as Levi rebounded off a tree and dug both his blades through the other man's torso. He heard Erwin splutter, saw blood on the ground, but he hadn't gotten the spine. The king would live. Levi stood behind Erwin. He stared at the tall, muscled back of his best friend. His commander.

The man he loved. Levi winced in agony as he yanked the blades out. Erwin tumbled to his knees and Levi lopped off the other arm. The king cried out in agony as Levi wiped off his blades and sheathed them. There'd be no transformations now. Erwin couldn't get away.

Levi's pulse steadied. His vision cooled. He'd won.

He gripped the other man's shoulder and spun Erwin to face him. Blood was slick on the increasingly wrinkled face. Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth and into his gray beard.

We're so old, Erwin.

"But I have to keep you alive," Levi rasped. "So you can save her."

With that, he kicked and shattered Erwin's kneecaps and thigh bones. The king screamed in pain as Levi dragged his helpless ass across the forest floor. Overhead, Levi saw the flash of lights as airplanes droned in. Shit. Paradisian fighters from the north.

"If my kids die, I'll kill you twice."

"Levi…"

Erwin could barely speak for the pain. Levi dragged the man out of the forest and across the lawn, one hand always on his blade's hilt in case they were confronted. But no one was out in the gardens at this point. All the fighting was closer to the palace. Levi knew his way to the pits. Hange had drawn them a map, walked them over it again and again until he was sure he'd find his way while sleepwalking.

Levi finally recognized the path they were on. He paused then, and frowned. The pits were ahead, but he didn't hear any titan roars. Why?

But he did hear voices. Human voices. And the whizz of ODM cables.

His eyes snapped wide.

No. No!

With a cry of terror, Levi raced down the path, dumping Erwin's shattered body off to the side as he came to the pits. Ahead of him, he saw Marleyan uniforms. His allies had invaded, found the titan pits.

And…they had set the titans "free." As Levi watched, mouth agape, a young soldier swooped down and sliced a titan's nape. Nile's titan. With a roar, the thing collapsed and died a merciful death. Nile Dok was finally free.

But…

"Petra!" he screamed. Levi ran, heart a hammer against his ribs. Soldiers turned on him, raised guns, and Levi heard someone scream that it was King Levi. Hold your fire.

But his wife. No, no, not her…

Levi fell down and crawled to the pit that had contained Petra's titan.

He stared down into it, and found the disintegrating remains of a titan's corpse.

She was gone.

She was gone.

She's gone.

"Petra?" Erwin whispered behind him. The world buzzed, became static and fog.

"Hey! You!" One of the Marleyan soldiers raced over, gun drawn, but then lowered his weapon when he saw the two kings. "Holy shit. Majesty! Fuck, and Erwin Smith. Guys! Get over here, it's the ki—"

Levi roared. He stood and gripped the man by the front of his collar and smashed him to the ground. Levi broke the guy's nose and teeth beneath his boot. When the two other soldiers came at him, Levi hurt them. He threw one all the way into a pit; wasn't sure if the guy survived or not. But after a minute he found himself and Erwin alone. Levi fell to his knees beside Petra's empty pit.

The last traces of his wife were disintegrating.

His throat swelled shut.

He saw her through the years. Pregnant with Kuchel and Oruo. Hanging stockings for the children before the midwinter hearth. Walking hand in hand with him down a lane, despite his hesitancy about cuddling and shit in public. Kissing him. Reading on the beach, chuckling at the best bits. Drinking tea with him on the couch in the evening, her head resting upon his shoulder.

He had lost her. Not in thirteen years, a grief he'd already been preparing for. Right now.

She wouldn't see their children grow up. He would never hold her again.

He couldn't do this.

They would never kiss or make love. He would never listen to her talk, the sweet melody of her voice. Her laughter was silver and rain. The mere joy of seeing her in the morning and evening had been a tonic.

He couldn't do this.

His heart was gone. He couldn't—

Levi wailed.

He had not cried like this since he was a child. He had not wailed since the day he woke and found his mother dead. Not even when Isabel and Furlan had died, not even when his squad had been killed, nothing compared to this.

Levi cried and sobbed like a child. He kept shouting his wife's name, but she would not answer back. She'd never answer him again.

Please don't do this to me. Please. Please take me instead of her.

His children were motherless.

He had lost his world.

Levi lifted his face to the night sky and screamed. The grief came out of him, an endless torrent.

Please god, please god, no, fuck you, please no…

He wished there was even one titan left in these pits. Just one to devour him and end this hell.

But…

No. The kids.

He could never leave them, not after this. He had to endure however long he had left without her. He'd once been so inured to violence and death. Love had made him weak, a soft piece of shit. If only he'd never known her or loved her. Then none of this would have happened. The world was ending because he had loved her.

He was the real devil here.

Levi slumped over and sobbed. He was lost in his pain, an island in the middle of a dark sea.

Until that voice.

"Levi." Erwin sounded quiet. Broken. Tears streaming down his face, Levi stared at the other king. Steam hissed from Erwin's stumped arms as they healed.

And Levi saw marks tracking down Erwin's cheeks in the moonlight. But they weren't his shifter lines. They were tears.

"Levi, I'm so sorry," he gasped.

---

What have I done?

Erwin sat there and stared at the empty pit. He didn't doubt Levi that Petra had become a titan; the man would never make such a thing up. Darkly, Erwin recalled the moment he'd realized the syringe had fallen out of his pocket. He'd never even suspected…

Brigitta? Had she…?

She was the one left behind in the children's room. Erwin didn't know where the woman had gone, but he believed he now understood everything.

And Petra was dead.

And Siegfried was motherless.

And Levi…

The man Erwin loved, his best friend, his greatest enemy, lay broken on the earth. Erwin could never have felled Levi in combat. But love had destroyed him.

No. Love's loss.

Levi had only lost Petra because of what Erwin had done. Erwin gazed at those disintegrating bits, all that remained of the mother of his son. The woman he'd made love to. His faithful subordinate. Levi brought me back to safeguard you.

It was the one reason Levi had picked Erwin over Armin on that rooftop so long ago.

I failed you both.

"Levi, I'm so sorry." Erwin wept. The two men gazed at each other, wretched. Then Levi crawled over and gripped Erwin's hair. He tilted the king's head back, laid his blade across Erwin's throat.

"I'm going…to kill you," Levi rasped. His face was a nightmare of rage and grief. His hands shook. These were the same words as he'd uttered nearly twenty years ago, right after Isabel and Furlan died. The same words delivered in the same way.

"Yes," Erwin whispered. "Do it."

"Don't try to fucking stop me!" Levi roared. "Enough of your stupid fucking mind games!"

"I want you to." Erwin felt dizzy. In a sick way, he was relieved. Connie, or Eren, or both had been right; Erwin was too weak to make the choice to take what he really wanted. He relied on better, stronger men like Levi to see his wishes through. "You brought me back to protect her, and I failed."

"Yes." Levi sounded choked. His eyes were blue fire. When he pressed the blade, blood dribbled down Erwin's neck.

"I don't deserve to be alive when Petra is gone."

"No, you don't."

Erwin shut his eyes. The world was on fire all around them. He had ruined the place, and now he was glad to be leaving it, but…

Siegfried. No. Armin. His mother had named him Armin.

"Do me one favor," Erwin rasped.

"Fuck your favors."

"Please. My son." Erwin looked into Levi's eyes. "Armin. I beg you, for Petra's sake. Take care of him."

Levi clenched his jaw, bared his teeth. Veins throbbed at his temples and along his forehead. He wrestled down his rage.

It was, Erwin knew, one last cruelty inflicted upon this man. Asking him to raise Erwin's child. The boy he'd gotten on the woman Levi adored. The boy who would wear Erwin's face, and look at the world with Petra's eyes. It was, Erwin realized, too much to ask of even a good man, now that his wife was gone.

"I hate you." The words hissed out of Levi. His face screwed up in mounting fury.

"I know. I deserve it."

Levi raised his blade, and Erwin winced. He waited for oblivion. But Levi thrust the blade deep into the earth, then gripped Erwin by his collar. Levi stood, dragging the kneeling king's face up to his.

"Why should you get an easy death, huh? Why shouldn't I take my time with you?" Levi began to choke Erwin. But Erwin did not struggle. He let it happen. "Look at everything you did. You killed children!" he barked. Levi pressed his forehead to Erwin's, and it was too much comfort to be this near to the man again. To share his breath. "You killed Hange."

"No," Erwin whispered. But the tears fell again, because… "Yes."

He was supposed to save Hange, too. Everyone he loved, he'd destroyed.

"You kidnapped my wife. You split up my family. You threw me out of my home." Levi's voice trembled with feeling. "You started a war. Twice! You bombed millions You traumatized my kids! You betrayed your own people!"

"Yes!" Erwin shouted. He crumpled when Levi let go. Erwin lay at the man's feet, head resting upon Levi's boots. Let this be the end, then. He closed his eyes. Let him die like this. Hated. It was only what he deserved.

But Armin…

"Please." Erwin swallowed. He could not die without knowing. "Please spare my son."

"Why should I?" Levi kicked Erwin in the face. His teeth cracked, his nose split. But he didn't scream or fight; he took it all. "You fucked my wife! And when that brat was born, you ruined all our lives! You destroyed the whole fucking world for that little bastard!" This was hatred as Erwin had never yet heard in Levi's voice. The smaller man knelt beside him on the earth and snarled into his ear. "She wanted to abort him. She chose me over your stupid fucking kid." Erwin shut his eyes; he wished he would die now. "I'm the idiot. I told her to have the baby. But that thing should never have drawn breath. I should've killed it when I had the chance, after she gave birth!"

"No!" Erwin sobbed. He shook in terror; he could not let Levi hurt his son. Not the last human part of him. He forced his face into Levi's. "He's a good boy. You can't blame him for what I did!"

"I think we both know this world would be a better place today if that little son of a bitch had never been born!"

Erwin shook his head. "I have no right to ask for mercy for myself," he choked. "But my son is innocent!"

"My kids are innocent, too, and now they lost their mother!"

"So has Armin!"

Levi choked Erwin again. He dragged the other king over to Petra's empty pit, dangled him over the drop.

"I doubt the fall'd kill you. But it'd hurt. Maybe we should experiment, Majesty." Levi sneered. "Hange loved to experiment. See if a shifter can starve to death. How many days or weeks or months would it take for you to die of hunger and thirst? Hmm?" There was nothing human in Levi's eyes now. This is what he became without her; his soul was malformed now. With neither Petra nor Erwin to guide him, he grew devilish.

"You can do that if you want. But my son—"

"What if I killed you, and then went and killed that fucking kid, too?" Levi flung Erwin to the ground and kicked him in the side again and again. "His mother's dead because of you both. Even if you didn't inject her—"

"It was Brigitta." Erwin gasped as Levi stopped kicking. He crouched beside the fallen king.

"You know that?"

"No. But I lost a syringe with titan serum. She had the opportunity to grab it. Petra would have gone with her. Trusted her." He took a deep, shuddering breath. His side was a wall of pain. "It would make sense."

Levi pondered this. "Fucking cunt," he snarled. He pounded his fist into the earth. "Why the fuck would she do that?"

Erwin froze. Because Armin loved his mother more.

He said nothing, but could see the thought light upon Levi as well. The malevolence in the man's eyes grew even more feverish.

"It all comes back to that shitty kid. And you." Levi took up his blade, lifted it into the air. Erwin realized death was a mere second off. Time slowed to a crawl; this was all the time he would ever have, here in this instant. "And me. We're all three devils. We should all die for it."

"Only me," Erwin whispered. "Please. Just take me and spare the boy." He saw Levi hesitate. "You don't murder the innocent. You never have."

Levi's look hardened once more.

"No one's innocent anymore."

And he brought down the sword, ready to take off Erwin's head.

---

As Levi watched himself lower the weapon, half a heartbeat away from killing Erwin, he felt the world stop around him.

The yellow lightning crawled all along his arm.

DON'T. That's all it kept saying. DON'T.

Because he's my liege? My king? My commander? Why the fuck should that matter anymore?

Levi had sworn all those years ago to Furlan and Isabel that he would kill Erwin Smith, and now the day was finally here. He just had to complete the arc, and it would all be done.

He had to—

Levi.

He heard that voice. Erwin's voice. When they'd been young men together, on that crate in Shiganshina.

Thank you.

The look of trust. The look of love. The knowledge that he, Levi, had granted this great man the only gift he'd ever truly wanted.

Then he'd taken it away.

Levi!

At the last possible second, Levi guided his blade off course. It lodged in the earth directly beside Erwin's head, and Levi howled his impotent rage. And relief.

"Levi!"

That wasn't Erwin. It was Mikasa's voice. Levi was stunned as his cousin came at him out of the night, landing on her knee beside him and the prostrate king. To his shock, Mikasa placed herself before Erwin, protecting him.

"The fuck?" he growled.

"You can't kill him." She took out a blade, prepared to defend Erwin to the death. Her gray eyes were bright, her jaw set. "Don't make me fight you."

Can't kill him? Who the fuck had the right to tell Levi not to kill this asshole?

"Get out of my way." He yanked his blade from the earth and prepared to fight.

"If you kill him, we can't stop the hyperfusion attack!" she snapped. "And if we can't stop the bombs, the entire world will attack Paradis at once."

Levi froze. He shook his head. No.

"You're saying…?"

"The bombs go off at eleven. The only way to stop the launch is with a four digit code. He's the only one who has it." She jerked her head at Erwin, who lay on the ground looking stunned. "Please.

Levi hovered there, then dropped his sword. He sank to his knees. Of course Erwin was needed. Of course Levi had to let him go. And then Erwin would use this information to his own advantage, like he always did. They could negotiate now; in return for saving Valle and the other cities, he'd talk it out with Willy. He'd escape this noose. He always did.

Levi had lost. Again. Teeth bared, he slammed his fists to the earth and shouted his rage. Mikasa put her blade away. She knew him; she knew he wouldn't attack now. But he clawed furrows into the damp ground, turning animal with the fury. He was getting dirty, but he no longer cared. The sheer cruelty of it all. The unfairness. He was supposed to finally take his fucking revenge, and even now, even after everything—

"5179," Erwin said softly.

Both Mikasa and Levi looked at the king.

"What?" Levi whispered.

"The code to stop the hyperfusion bombs is 5179," he repeated. Erwin lay there and gazed at them both. "Take me in and radio to Marley. Tell Willy I surrender. Unequivocally."

"You…what?" Mikasa stood, absolutely stunned into silence.

"I surrender. This war ends now." Erwin shut his eyes. He looked, for the first time in years, as if a weight had been lifted from him. He struggled to sit up. Levi and Mikasa helped him. Erwin looked older than ever now, covered in blood and dirt. He seemed flat. Almost small.

He'd given up that big, bullshit king attitude.

"Liar," Levi muttered.

"Take me with you. Surrender me. They can put me on trial before the world, then hang me. Or they can just wait a couple more weeks." As if to illustrate, Erwin coughed. Phlegm and blood spat onto the earth. Levi curled his lip in disgust.

"Why would you change, huh? Just because Petra's dead?" Levi was still ready to get past Mikasa and kill this fucking prick.

"I told her that we were bound together. You bound us when you brought me back." Erwin spoke to himself more than to the others. "Like a magic spell. A curse. She's gone, so I should be as well. I…" He looked bone weary. "I would have let her eat me. I would have given my life to bring her back to you, and I'm sorry I can't."

Levi fought the impulse to scream. He'd been so close to having her again. So close.

"Why?" he snapped.

"Because Armin loves her." Erwin shivered. His face fell in pain. "He loved her. I claimed that I did all of this for him, but I've taken everything from him instead. I drove his mother away. I turned the world against us. I started the events that killed her. I…" Erwin bowed his head. "I'm useless to him. But he has a brother and sister that love him."

Levi understood. Fuck. Erwin was ready to die to give Armin what he needed. So long as Erwin Smith lived, the siblings couldn't be together. Their fathers would war over them eternally. But Erwin could've killed Levi and kept the kids for himself. He adored Kuchel, after all. Except that they both knew, in their hearts, that Levi was the better father.

Erwin was finally, finally being a good parent. He was removing himself from the equation.

But even though this was everything Levi had wanted, he was so mad. He felt worse than ever. Because his wife was dead. The cost of this shit had been too high.

Because…

He hadn't wanted to see Erwin small like this. Beaten down. He'd wanted to kill Erwin in the heat of battle, full of fury and passion. Hatred.

"You're such a piece of shit," Levi rasped.

"I know."

"Shit," Mikasa hissed. She stood and turned. Honestly, it was kinda disconcerting to hear her swear. But Levi understood the problem as the city bells tolled. For a heart-stopping moment, he thought it was eleven. But the bells called the three-quarter hour.

Fifteen minutes to launch.

"Mikasa. Go," Levi said. "Get to the Tower and turn off the hyperfusion program."

"And you?" She looked at the two men. Levi gazed down at Erwin.

"I'll hand him over."

He didn't need to say another word. She was gone into the night, and as Levi stood there he could hear the approach of stamping boots. He turned, hand on his hilt, ready to go at them if it turned out to be a bunch of Paradisian soldiers. But he recognized the round helmets and puff-legged trousers. It was Marley.

He'd hand Erwin over to them. Do his duty. Go find his children. Become king.

Him, king, while Erwin Smith would be put in a cage and mocked, spat upon. Reviled. Put on a show trial, dragged around the world so people could leer at him and thumb their noses.

It's what Erwin deserved after everything he'd done. It was right.

"You deserve all of this," Levi said.

"Yes." Erwin did not sound afraid. Merely resigned. Levi knelt on the ground before the king. He forced Erwin to look him in the eyes.

"I…" There was so much to say. How much he hated this man. What a monster Erwin had become. How the king's cruelty and inhumanity had caused utter degradation, brought the world to the brink of annihilation, and killed the only woman Levi'd ever loved. Would ever love. He said, "I wanted to say thank you."

Erwin appeared baffled. Levi couldn't even believe the words that'd left his mouth. But he continued.

"A long time ago in Shiganshina…I knew you only made yourself a devil to save us all." They looked deep into each other's eyes now. The sight of Erwin's blue eyes, the pain leaving them and the wonder entering, took Levi back to his youth. "I know you did most of what you did for me. And her. And all of us."

"You've said this before. I've agreed."

"Yeah. But Hange told me something. She said that once, when you took her to the pits and showed her Nile's titan, you said that none of us had had any patience with you."

"Yes." He winced. "It was a self indulgent thing to say."

"It was true." Levi drew closer, felt the world reduce itself to him and this man. The two of them alone together for the first time in years. Truly alone. "We asked you to do miracles in order to save us. You did, and then we hated you for them."

"You had every right. It wasn't Hange's fault I abused her trust."

"No. But it was my fault for never trying to be the bigger man. You know what I mean. If I hadn't shoved you outta our lives, I don't think you would've gone ballistic like you did once Armin was born."

"I…" Erwin's brow relaxed. "No. I don't think I would have." It was a soft, almost shy admission.

"This whole war was because of your son." Levi shut his eyes, and felt Erwin's presence. The warmth and completeness of it. "But you clung to him…because I pushed you away."

"It's not your fault," Erwin said. "I wanted my son to myself. It had nothing to do with you, Levi. It—"

"Of course it was about him. But if we'd moved to Mitras when you asked, would you have tried to marry Petra like you said you would?"

Erwin couldn't answer. Levi had been the one constant pull for him, the two bodies hurtling through space to orbit each other in an endless dance. Erwin had noticed Petra because of Levi; he had yearned for family because Levi had abandoned him. His love for his son was real, like his desire for Petra had been. But it all began and ended with Levi Ackerman. As it always would.

Levi's life had truly begun the day Erwin cornered him in the underground, but in a way, so had Erwin's. Meeting Levi hadn't given him a goal; he'd had it always. But it had made his dreams that much more real. And it had given Erwin the truest friendship of his life; the one relationship he could never hide away from.

Erwin shut his eyes. Levi could hear the Marleyan soldiers drawing nearer. Soon they'd take the king from him.

It's what he deserves. After everything he's done.

"For whatever it's worth, I'm truly sorry." A single tear slid down Erwin's cheek. "An apology can never make up for what I've taken from you."

Levi clenched his jaw. "You gave me my entire fucking life. Petra was only possible because of you."

He leaned in then, and pressed his forehead against the other man's. Erwin gave a muffled sob as Levi rested an arm upon his shoulder, snaked it around his neck. Erwin still lacked arms, so Levi held him. He shut his eyes and felt the warmth of this man. His enemy. His friend. The person he'd loved first and longest.

Levi would not fucking cry. He pressed his lips to Erwin's forehead. He held there for a moment, refusing to end the kiss. When he did, he rested the point of his chin upon the top of Erwin's head. Erwin pressed his face to Levi's chest, probably listening to his trammeling heart.

"If the bombs go off…" Erwin gulped. "The bunker. It's six floors down behind a steel door. Take your children there. They'll be safe no matter what happens.

"Oi," Levi rasped. "I'll take all three of them." Armin. "I'll look after him. I'll raise him like my own."

Erwin deflated.

"Thank you. I'm sorry. Levi. I…"

Levi squeezed his eyes shut. They both of them knew the words Erwin would've spoken. The three little words. The truth. Levi felt the same, but he didn't speak, either. There was no need.

He wasn't a guy for talking. He showed what he felt in action.

"It's Erwin!" someone behind Levi shouted. It sounded like a triumphant jeer. "Fuck yeah, let's get 'im."

Levi released his friend, his commander, his love, and stood over him. Erwin, still on his knees, gazed up at Levi.

Almost twenty years ago, Levi had knelt and Erwin had stood and passed judgment.

"Erwin," he said.

The king understood. Once again, tears filled his eyes. Once again, he smiled.

"Levi," he whispered. "Thank you."

Too fast to see, too fast to comprehend, Levi unsheathed his sword and sliced Erwin Smith's head off. It landed at Levi's feet, and the body slumped over.

"Holy shit! Shit!" The Marleyan soldiers came rushing at Levi, whooping and hollering. They thought he had done this for them; but it had been for Erwin.

Levi's last gift. His last token of love.

I'm going to kill you! He had screamed those words, blade crossed with Erwin's on the field that day.

I expect you to come with me.

Levi. Thank you.

He'd made a promise. He'd kept it. Levi Ackerman always kept his promises to this man.

Goodbye, Erwin. He looked at the empty pit. The last of his wife was gone. He clenched his jaw. Goodbye, Petra.

Levi walked away from the soldiers and the dead. He left the Tower to Mikasa. He had to find his children. And Armin.

He had to save them all.

---

Five minutes left.

Mikasa hurtled through the dark, cutting and killing as many as she had to in order to reach the Tower.

5179. 5179. She could not misremember. If she'd had even a moment more, she would have found a way to write it down. But they were too close as it was.

Jean would know what to do when she gave it to him. For the first time in too long, Mikasa felt comfortable in her own skin. She had a mission to complete, and someone who would put her work to good use.

She was like Levi. Ironically, they were both heirs to thrones, but neither was suited to leadership. They longed to serve.

Even though Jean was in awe of her, she needed him to lead.

The thought of him brought an unexpected flush to her cheeks. Mikasa realized that at the back of her mind the past few hours, she'd thought of him. Worried that he was all right. Longed to see him again.

Once they turned off the bombs, she'd be with him. He'd hold her. Mikasa hadn't realized how much she needed to be held until she experienced it. She hadn't expected to like being kissed so much.

She had a future now. Not merely one constructed from minutes and years and heartbeats, but a person. A home. A community.

If she could get there in time she'd preserve all of it.

Jean. Wait for me.

---

The mania had spread into the streets. Levi trudged through the palace's empty hallways, his boots squelching blood and shattered glass into the carpet.

If he hadn't had those children, he would have lain down beside Erwin and Petra's empty tomb. He had loved and lost twice tonight.

She's gone. His fist clenched. At least he got to say goodbye to Erwin. At least he gave his friend a gift. But Levi would never see his wife again. She was plucked out of him, torn from the root of his soul.

He had kissed her on the flight to Liberio, held and kissed her so that if he lost her he would have no regrets. But a minute without Petra Ral was a regret. A lifetime…how could he manage a lifetime?

The children.

He'd watch Kuchel grow into a woman. He'd teach Oruo and Armin. He'd help them all remember their mother.

If only one of them had resembled Petra.

Levi's instincts flared as he turned the corner, and he took out his blade as someone barreled down the hall at him.

"Papa!"

"Oruo!"

He sheathed the sword and fell to his knees, grabbing the child tight. Levi pressed the boy to his heart, and though he wasn't much of a demonstrative guy in public he kissed his son's cheek over and over. Fuck, his whole body shook. Anything could've happened to this fragile little guy.

"Papa, look! I knocked 'em all flat out!" Oruo beamed, gesturing around. Levi saw a whole hallway littered with incapacitated bodies. "I also killed that Floch guy."

Levi blinked. Shit. The Ackerman power.

"You did all this?"

"Well. Kuchel helped some." Oruo put his chin in the air, obviously proud. He grinned. "Where's Mama?"

Levi had planned to wait until he had the children together and in that bunker. But he could not hide the way his face constricted for the briefest moment. The way his eyes tightened with pain. Oruo was a sharp kid. He saw that this was bad.

"Uh. Where's Mama?" he muttered.

"Oruo. I…" Where was Kuchel? Levi shook his head; later. "Oi. Gotta get your sister and—"

"Is Mama dead?"

Oruo said it like he was daring Levi to contradict him. Like if he spoke the worst thing he could think of, it wouldn't come true.

"We gotta go. We'll talk later."

Oruo's eyes widened. His mouth fell open. Levi had never seen his son look so innocent before. He'd never seen Oruo truly wounded.

"No. M-Mama?" Oruo's face screwed up. He began to heave and sob. "Wh-where's Mama? Where is she?"

Oruo was behaving like a true little boy for the first time Levi could recall.

He couldn't do this. Not now. Levi held Oruo tight against him, felt the kid's frantic heartbeat. Oruo cried into his father's shoulder.

"Listen to me," he whispered. He stared straight ahead, trapped in his own private hell. "You're the strong one, kid. I need you and your brother and sister to come with me somewhere safe. When you're safe, we'll talk about Mama."

"She's dead." It wasn't a question.

"She is. I'm sorry." Levi choked, his world shattering all around him. Oruo wailed, and Levi kissed his head. "Please. I need you to keep it together for me until we get Armin and Kuchel somewhere safe. I know it's a lot to ask of a little boy. But you're the tough one. I need you on this." He fought against a sob. "I need help."

He had never spoken those words like that to anyone, and it was shit to ask this of his son. No seven-year-old should have to endure it. But to Levi's shock, he felt Oruo's wiry little arms around his chest.

"Okay, Papa." Oruo sniffed, pulled away. His face was bright red. His eyes shone with tears. No one had loved Petra like Oruo; Levi knew what losing a mother felt like to a small boy. His own heart shattered to see it.

But Oruo stopped crying. He screwed up his mouth and stayed strong.

He'd do what was needed.

He's Kenny. But he's also me.

It hurt. It was also one of the proudest moments of his life. He kissed his son once more.

"Good boy. I love you."

Oruo nodded.

"Papa!"

His relief was almost too much as Kuchel raced over. He grabbed her, hugged her so tight. His little baby girl. His angel.

"I'm sorry, Papa. I'm so sorry." She was sobbing. "I was bad. I should never have left. I'm so so sorry."

"Baby, it's okay," he whispered. Levi jolted when he heard the city bells chime again. Shit, eleven. Hopefully Mikasa had made it in time, but if she hadn't they had less than five minutes before the counterattack. And Levi didn't have it in him to go out and look after anyone else right now. He was no king, wasn't much of a hero. He was a father. A widower. Right now, his whole world was here in his arms.

And his world was also standing behind Kuchel, hugging a stuffed tiger and sniffling.

"Oi. Armin." Levi reached for the kid. "Come on. We gotta go somewhere safe." But the little blond boy only tucked his face into the tiger and cried harder. Shit, this really was not the time. Levi kept himself under control as he knelt before the kid. "Oi. Hear what I said? We gotta go."

"I'm s-sorry." The boy sobbed like his heart would break. Levi frowned.

"What? You got nothing to be sorry for. Let's go."

But Armin pulled away.

"I wish I'd never been born!" The words came out as a guttural wail. The little boy huddled into a ball on the floor, weeping into his stuffed animal. "This's all my fault! I'm sorry!"

Levi was stunned. "No. It's not."

Armin looked up with Erwin's face and Petra's eyes. The sight of the boy's pain stung Levi. Fuck, he had only seen devastation like that in the children of the underground.

He'd seen it in the mirror as a boy. The pain of wanting to just not exist. Better never to live than to feel like this. Be trapped in it.

"Armin," he whispered.

"I-I know this's all my fault." He gasped, bawled. Tears and snot ran down his face. "I'm the r-reason Papa's mad. I'm the reason everyone's unhappy. Everyone h-hates me!" He cuddled the toy, looked away from Levi as if in shame. "I'm s-sorry! Auntie said Mama loved you more'n me, and that I made you sad! I didn't mean to!" Armin leaned against the wall and hid his face. "I w-wish I never been born! I'm sorryyyyy!"

Levi sat there in stupefied horror.

Little bastard should never have been born. He'd said those words to Erwin. He'd hated this boy when he was an infant, wished he could stab him in the heart. Levi had wanted the boy dead too many times to count.

Because all he had been able to see was his own pain. Petra's mistake.

But that 'mistake' had a mind and feelings of its own. Levi had thought of this innocent kid as being less worthy of life because, what? His existence made Levi feel shitty?

I'm as bad as Marley ever was. Not because Levi had committed genocide or anything, but because he'd seen another human being and thought that he, that Levi, was more real than the kid. More worthy of life and happiness.

He reached out and hugged Armin tight. The boy squirmed a bit, desperate to not be touched because he didn't think he deserved it.

"Listen to me right now," Levi hissed. He swallowed the pain. "You've got as much right to live as anybody else. You're a good boy. You're kind, and you're smart, and you make a lot of people happy. You're not responsible for shit other people do. Okay?" Armin said nothing. "The world is a better place with you in it. Never, ever think otherwise. Okay?"

Armin pulled back and wiped his face. His eyes shone. "R-Really?"

They were Petra's eyes. The last physical bit of her Levi had. He could have broken down just looking into them. Erwin's face, Petra's eyes. He had them both. The kid was a gift to him. What a shitty jerk he'd been not to see it.

"I loved your parents more than anyone else in the world," he said. Levi ruffled the boy's fine golden hair. "I'm always going to take care of you." He blinked, realized it was true. "I love you."

Armin whimpered and then gave Levi a big hug. Levi rocked the boy, fighting against the pain. For Petra's sake, he'd love this boy. He'd see to it that every bit of her that existed thrived and flourished in whatever kind of new world they were facing.

"Love you too, Uncle Levi." Armin sniffed. Precious damn kid.

"Papa, where's Mama?" Kuchel was hugging Oruo, who kept his eyes to the floor. The kid didn't break. Brave, strong boy.

"First we gotta get you all someplace safe." Levi stood, Armin's hand tight in his. "Come on."

He led them all away.

---

"Get out of my way!" Mikasa sliced another soldier down as she came upon the gates surrounding the Tower. She saw puffs of fire and smoke as snipers fired from the upper levels, taking down the Paradisian soldiers as they tried to advance. At least Floch wasn't here, thank god. Mikasa spun and took down an entire row of men, finally clearing the path for herself. She raced through the gate and into the yard.

Up ahead, she saw the door to the Tower open. And Jean was there.

"Mikasa!" he shouted. Even from this distance, she could read the relief in his eyes. The joy that she was alive.

Only a few more yards. It'll be over.

Then Mikasa saw Jean's face shift. His eyes widened, his mouth opened. He began to shout out of fear as he lifted a gun.

She could feel the soldier behind her in the fine hairs on the back of her neck. Mikasa spun around and stabbed him through the heart. The gun went off, so loud that she lost hearing in her left ear for a moment, but the bullet didn't strike her. She watched life depart from the man's eyes as she yanked the blade out of his chest. He crumpled to the ground. Mikasa stood, turned, and saw Jean smiling as he lowered his gun. She was safe.

She wanted to hold him. It was the most incredible certainty she'd ever felt, at least since Eren died. Mikasa wanted to kiss him, kiss Jean. She wanted to be loved by him. And in her own way, as much as she could, love him in return. It was the most freeing realization of all.

She smiled.

Then she felt the bullet explode through her chest.

Mikasa halted, blinking in shock as she felt her whole chest grow warm, and wet, and then as she felt herself grow horribly cold.

She heard nothing. She only saw Jean screaming in horror as she collapsed to the ground.

---

"Shit," Gabi hissed. She looked down the barrel of her rifle. She'd been aiming for the Paradisian soldier, but that woman in the dark clothing had been way too fast. Too fast for her own good. By the time Gabi had squeezed the trigger, the woman had killed the other soldier and accidentally taken his place in the line of fire.

"Gabi. What is it?" Falco looked up from next to her. She winced.

"Shit. Shit," she hissed.

---

He couldn't remember getting out there or picking her up. Jean didn't recall how they'd made it back inside the Tower, but now he was here, crouched on the floor with Mikasa in his arms. Her blood was everywhere. It smeared the side of her face, dribbled from the corner of her mouth.

She's dying. The voice in his head was dull and cold. Jean wanted to scream. He held her close.

"Mikasa," he whispered. "Hold on. Baby, please."

She looked at him with those luminous gray eyes. A bloody bubble formed on her lips as she tried to speak. He kept pressure on her wound, heard people running around and screaming as they tried to find a medic. Like it would do any good.

She was going to die. The fact she was hanging on by a thread at this point was probably due to the freaky Ackerman strength. But even Ackermans couldn't cheat death.

This time yesterday, they'd been in bed together. She'd been so warm and young and alive. And now this…

"I love you." Jean fought the tears. He kissed her forehead. She didn't love him, he knew that. He knew she'd always love Eren first, foremost, forever. But she needed to hear it as she went away. "I've always loved you. I'm sorry. Oh, god."

"Jean," she hissed. Mikasa took a rattling breath. "Code," she wheezed.

For a second he had no idea what she meant, but then… "The code?"

Fuck, she'd done it? She'd found Erwin? But where was the king? Fuck all that, what was the code?

"Five," she choked. Her eyes began to flutter shut.

"Hold on. Please. Medic, help!" he screamed. Five. The first number was five. He pressed his lips to her forehead. "Okay, Mikasa. Five. Then?"

"One." She gave a glugging cough. He could feel the life leaving her. Jean wanted to go out there and shoot every last one of those sons of bitches. He should have been holding her and loving her as she died, not trying to pump her for information. He hated them. If he made it out of this, he'd kill every last one of them himself. He wasn't a hero, but he could be a petty bitch. He was good at that shit.

"One. Okay." He kissed her temple. He cradled her in his arms. This was the strongest woman he'd ever known. The strongest person. How could she be going when he was left behind? Why did the good ones like Marco, Armin, and Mikasa have to go away and leave him behind? "Two left. Come on."

"S…sev…"

"Seven? Okay, seven. Mikasa? Baby, come on!"

But Jean burst into tears then, because he was now shaking a corpse. Her eyes lost their focus, and her whole body slackened in his arms.

She'd left him again. At least now she could be with Eren, he thought bitterly. He kissed her forehead, sobbed into her hair. It was unprofessional, indulgent, but what had been the point of getting her, loving her, only for this…?

"Commander!"

Then hands hauled him up. Jean almost started swinging, wildly trying to keep them from touching Mikasa or taking her away from him.

"Sir! The code!"

Fuck. It was mere minutes to eleven. The bombs were about to go off.

Jean had to let the remaining Azumabito warriors take her away from him. They were stoic and silent to a fault, but they roared in anguish as they took their leader away. Shaking, Jean went to the control room. There he found Kanada, sweating, and the flashing button that indicated it was time to radio out with the code.

"Five one seven," Jean muttered.

"And?" Kanada urged.

"She died before she could give me the last number." He glowered at the other man. Mikasa had just died, Jean's world had just disintegrated, and yet life and war went on.

"That means we have a one in ten chance to get it right. Shit. Shit!" Kanada banged his fist on the side of the machine. "We've got a minute…no, forty-seven seconds, shit!"

There was no time. No time to find out the last number. The world now had a one in ten chance for survival.

"We need to pick one." Jean felt dead inside already. What did it matter now? Her blood was still all over him. Last night she'd been soft and alive in his arms, and now… Pick a number and end it. "Choose."

"I can't!"

He almost punched Kanada. What was his lucky number? Did he even have one?

Zero. Five. Nine. Pick any of them.

"I think it's nine," Jean croaked. He shrugged. "Just feels like a good number."

"Okay," Kanada said as he began punching in buttons. Time to give their code to the ships. Time to hopefully stop the missile launch.

"No." Jean frowned. "Zero. I don't know, it just feels like…"

"I don't have time for this shit!" Kanada barked. It was stupid to be mad at the man, but Jean felt like being stupid right now. He'd lost the great love of his life. He couldn't care about anything else right now. Not even his own survival. Not even the world.

"Pick. Zero or nine." Jean slumped down on the floor. "Your choice."

Kanada sweated as he stared at the controls. A microphone whined to life.

"Missile launch to Paradis Island. Do you have the code?" a static voice asked.

Kanada took a deep breath, and spoke four numbers.

---

Ingrid was shocked to find the lights turned off when she and Pieter walked back into the apartment. Usually Levi was still up at this hour.

"Hello?" She flipped on the lights, but no one answered. Well, of course the children wouldn't be here. They were at that camp. Maybe Petra and Levi were out, either having some time for themselves or with King Willy. They worked too hard. She sighed and shook her head.

"I'll put on some water for tea," Pieter said as he dragged the bags to the staircase. Ingrid took off her coat and hat. She wandered into the living room, gazing out at Valle's glittering skyline.

She'd have to unpack the presents. Kuchel would love the little earrings, and Oruo would probably try to take the head off the teddy bear. She'd also brought a couple of lovely bottles of wine back for the adults, though Levi would insist on being difficult. He'd ask why they hadn't brought any tea back. From a vineyard.

Ingrid smiled. Hard to believe she'd come to like having him in the family. But miracles were achieved daily, it seemed.

She heard Pieter rattling around in the kitchen, filling up the kettle. Ingrid looked up, and frowned.

"Pieter? Is this the right time of the year for comets?"

"Uh, I think so," he called. "Why?"

"Something bright in the sky." She shrugged and went to sit on the couch.

---

Giulia hadn't taken a single drink, but Willy had downed five scotches already. He sat behind his desk, and she perched on the sofa. They hadn't turned on the lights. There was something pleasant about sitting in the dark. You didn't have to be anything you weren't. You didn't have to pretend.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. It was the first either of them had spoken in half an hour.

"Hmm?"

Willy stood, wobbled a bit, and then came around the desk. He didn't go to her.

"I'm sorry. For Cassius."

She said nothing. Only made a noise.

He frowned. "No. There's more. I'm sorry for more."

"For what?" She sounded tired. Willy shrugged.

"For everything." He lowered his gaze, tucked his chin to his chest. He felt the hot, absurd pressure of tears. He swallowed, but his voice was thick. "I shouldn't have made you marry me."

"Willy…"

"I ruined your whole life. You'll never get the life you wanted because of me. Because I loved you." He looked at her. In the dark, he couldn't read her expression. "But I did the wrong thing, and you paid the price. I'm sorry. It doesn't mean anything now, I know." He hadn't cried in front of her since Cassius died. He rarely cried in front of anyone. But he wept now, openly and fully. The drink released him. "I don't deserve your forgiveness. But I am truly sorry for what I've done to you."

He stood there, crying. Alone.

Then he heard her get up. Willy was shocked as she came to him and put her arms around him. It was a warm hug. A friendly hug.

"That's all I ever wanted you to say," she whispered.

Willy cried, and he hugged her in return. She shushed him as she might a child. She was a good mother, she always had been. They embraced with mutual affection for the first time in their entire marriage.

Willy smiled a little. It felt good.

It was the last thing he felt as the hyperfusion bomb exploded, obliterating Valle, Willy, and Giulia in the span of half a heartbeat.

---

Onyankopon entered the council chamber. The other chiefs of staff were there, as was Abioye. He looked especially tired.

"Three cities have been destroyed simultaneously," General Idowu said. "Valle, Lundun, and Medre."

"Valle?" Onyankopon almost sat down. Impossible. The greatest city in Marley couldn't be gone. Erwin Smith couldn't be that insane.

"Liberio is retaliating. That means the rest of the Allies, including Nambia, will as well."

"Are we certain this is correct?" Hadiza, the Vice President, looked exceedingly grim. "We don't know what plans Erwin Smith has in place for retaliation," she said.

"King Willy Tybur is dead," Onyankopon muttered. He winced. "But this was his plan. If he were still alive, he'd tell us to see it through."

Even though the pit of his stomach felt chilled. Even though Onyankopon was a man who had always loathed violence, especially against civilians. But this was the agreement.

He had never thought Erwin would bring them to such a place. The king had seemed a good man back when Onyankopon had known him.

But good men fell. Angels became devils. It was an old story.

"You know what to do, then," President Ime said. He lifted his eyes to the ceiling, and the heavens beyond. As if asking for forgiveness. "Proceed."

---

No.

Levi and the kids were hurrying across the grounds when sirens began to wail. Levi paused, his whole life appearing and vanishing before his eyes. Even though he'd never heard those sirens before, he understood them. They weren't warning of attack, at least not by an airship or a battalion.

It was a warning. A warning that missiles were imminent.

"Papa, what is it?" Kuchel asked. Levi picked Armin up.

"Both of you, run as fast as you can. Follow me," he said to the others. Oruo and Kuchel raced after him as Levi ran through the night. His heart was too loud in his ears.

Petra's children were not going to die. He was not going to let the last piece of her vanish from this earth.

But he recalled what Mikasa had said. If the bombs began to fly, the dominoes to fall, then soon the entire world would be nothing but irradiated smoke and ash. Even if his children survived the night, how were they supposed to live?

The yellow lightning told him.

RUN NOW. THINK LATER.

They couldn't find a way to survive if they died in the blast. Fucking obviously.

But as Levi led the way, hurrying for the bunker and some modicum of safety, he knew in his gut that it was over.

The world was going to vanish into nothingness.

But he had to keep going. For Kuchel, and Oruo, and Armin, he had to find a way.

---

Petra opened her eyes.

She lay on her back, gazing up at the night's sky. Her temples throbbed, and she felt nauseated.

It's like I was stuck in a nightmare that wouldn't end.

She couldn't remember how she got here. The last thing she recalled was Brigitta helping her out of the prison cell. Levi, and the children. Where were they?

Panicked, Petra sat up. She shivered; her skin was sticky. The summer wind chilled her. All around her, telltale curls of steam rose up into the air. She patted her head. Her hair was tacky.

What the…?

Slowly, Petra laid her hands upon her cheeks. She felt furrows, grooves in her flesh.

Marks. Shifter marks. She didn't need to look in a mirror to know.

"Oh my god," she whispered. She…

A nightmare that wouldn't end. When Petra tried to stand, she collapsed.

"You're not strong enough yet," Historia said.

Petra blinked up at the queen as she walked over. Historia looked down with her one good eye. She seemed so old. So self assured.

"What's going on?" Petra croaked. "My children. Where are they?"

"You'll see them soon. If you do this right." With that, Historia knelt upon the ground. She took something out of her coat's pocket. She opened the case to reveal a syringe and a vial of purple liquid. Petra began to shake uncontrollably. The sight of that made her want to scream. "Don't worry. It can't hurt you any longer."

Petra jumped when someone laid a coat around her shoulders. She looked up to find Inga standing above.

"Inga?" Petra said.

"You'll be okay." Inga smiled, though tears tracked along her cheeks. The girl wandered off, a gun in one hand. Petra seized up.

"Are you going to shoot me?"

"No. It's a precaution for her," Historia said calmly as she readied the injection. "Petra. You need to focus. I'm sorry, but there's no time to let you adjust to this. You have to make it work right now, or everything's lost."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Petra snapped.

"The bombs are falling." Historia shut the case and stood, looking at the injection in her hand. "In a few minutes, the entire world will be obliterated. And once you and I are gone, and there's no other chance, then reality itself is going to end." Historia took a deep breath. "Unless you succeed."

"What the…?"

Eren. He'd told her once. Reality would unravel unless…

He'd said she was going to suffer worst of all.

"No. No!" Petra tried to stand, but was too weak.

"You only have to touch me. When you do, ask to go to PATHs. You can do this, Petra. We all need you to do this."

PATHs? What?

"Historia, what are you doing?" she shouted.

"The Founder needs to connect with a titan of royal blood." Historia's hand shook only once as she pressed the injection's point to her skin.

The Founder? But she wasn't…

Oh. Fuck.

Petra screamed as Historia injected herself. In a flash of light, the queen was gone. A thirty-foot beast stood in her place, its long, blonde hair hanging down its back. The titan roared as it reached for Petra. In fear and agony, she threw herself towards it while Inga shouted.

Petra touched Historia's hand.

Take me to PATHs she thought as the titan began to grab her.

And then white and blue lightning snaked all around her.

---

Petra opened her eyes.

She lay on her back, gazing up at the night's sky. A dream? A nightmare? Groaning, she sat up…and gasped.

She was surrounded by sand. It was a desert more endless than anything she'd ever seen before. Dunes and undulating hills of pale sand stretched off in every direction. Above her, billions of stars danced in the dark tapestry of the night.

Petra saw no moon. She doubted this place had ever seen a sun. Shaking, she got to her feet.

There was nothing. It was a barren, endless world of night.

Except that there was something. Far off in the distance, an enormous tree of light sprouted towards the heavens. The branches snaked off in every direction. Petra gazed ahead at that tree, trying to wrap her brain around what this was. Where she was.

How this was happening.

"You made it," Historia said.

Petra spun around. Historia sat on the sand behind her. Petra gasped when she saw the girl. Historia was not a girl any longer. She was an old woman, with pale white hair and a lined, papery face. Historia touched a hand to her withered cheek.

"It's so strange. I've only been here for half a second, but it also feels like I've been waiting here for centuries until you arrived. I can't describe it otherwise."

Petra knelt in the sand before the wizened Historia.

"Where are we?" She trembled. "Is this hell?"

"It's not hell, and it's not heaven. It's not even the afterlife; it's more like pre-life." Historia looked tired. "Just like Eren said."

Eren. Why hadn't he explained anything? Petra wanted to scream.

"I don't understand."

"Neither do I, really. That's why she's helping us." Historia pointed off to the right. Petra turned and found a small girl dressed in rags. The child was on her knees, building in the sand. She was sculpting something, a long figure.

"Who the fuck—?"

"That's the Founder Ymir," Historia said, watching sadly as the girl continued her work. The child never smiled, or spoke. She only gazed blankly at the task as she completed it. "She's the first titan. The first real Eldian."

"She can't be alive." Petra felt dazed. Where was Levi? How was she ever going to get out of this place?

"It's not really a life. But she creates all of us in this place." Historia nodded. "And she can recreate us."

Yes. Eren had said something like that, so long ago.

"What's she making?"

"Not what," Historia said. "Who."

At that moment, Ymir stood and dusted sand from her fingers. She must have completed her task. As Petra watched, the sand figure the girl had built began to shift. It became flesh. Living, breathing flesh. The creature stood, shaking sand out of his long hair. Brushing it off of his arms.

"No," Petra choked.

Eren Jaeger turned around.

"Hello, Petra," he said. "This is where things get complicated."