This chapter has MANGA SPOILERS and Season 4 spoilers.
To save Paradis Island, Eren Yeager needed to destroy the world.
There was no other way. For him to finally attain freedom, he needed to unleash the Rumbling upon every nation. He had already seen the future, had seen every alternate reality, and this was the only path. It had all been foreseen, and the only thing he needed to do now was carry out the actual process.
And then, finally, he would be free.
However... Would it really be freedom if he was just following a predestined path?
Was it really his own choice if it had already been set in stone two thousand years ago?
Did he even have free will? Or was he simply a slave to the cruel mistress of time?
No...
No, this wasn't freedom.
This wasn't freedom at all.
Eren Yeager saw the future. Saw what was inevitable. Saw what would invariably happen - what already had happened.
And he rejected it.
Besides...
Eren glanced down, his expression softening as he gazed upon Mikasa's peaceful sleeping face. Her form shifted under the blankets as she got into a more comfortable position, snuggling up closer against him.
His lips curled up into a small smile.
Yes. There was not a chance in hell he would do anything to hurt her. No matter what.
He wasn't going to follow a predetermined, preordained path.
From now on, every choice he made was truly going to be his own.
He was free.
XxX
There was still the threat of the outside world, though, so Eren proceeded with his plan to gain access to the Founder with Zeke.
They attacked the internment zone (Mikasa being aware of his plans), attained the Warhammer Titan, and safely got onto the airship.
Naturally, Levi was pissed as hell.
"You're supposed to trust us," he growled. "And now, you've completely lost that trust."
"Major dick move, Eren," Hange agreed.
Eren gazed up at them with emotionless eyes.
"As the commander of the Survey Scouts," Hange continued, "Levi, you're free to punish Eren however you want on the ride back to Paradis Island. Knock yourself out. C'mon, Mikasa, Armin, Yelena. Let's clear out. Zeke, you stay - we can't let you be seen."
Zeke tensed up at that, his regenerating wounds still steaming.
The others nodded, exiting the room, Mikasa shooting Eren a concerned look.
And finally, it was just Eren, Zeke, and Levi left.
"So..." Zeke coughed awkwardly. "I'll just close my eyes and, uhh, repress all memories of what's about to happen."
A beat.
"Oh shit," Levi swore, glancing towards the main cabin of the airship. "They think I'm about to - " he whirled back to Zeke, his eyes wide and incredulous. "You think I'm about to - "
"Eren's my brother, by the way," Zeke said, his eyes closed, "so pardon me if I puke a bit. Just ignore me."
"I'M NOT ABOUT TO DO THAT TO HIM! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? HANGE!"
XxX
Outside, Hange snickered as the soldiers around them erupted into fevered gossip at hearing the muffled screams coming from inside the room. The words were indecipherable, but the tone told them everything they needed to know.
And, since Mikasa was inside the cabin this time, she managed to push Sasha out of the way in time with her inhuman reflexes, saving her life from Gabi.
Let's fucking go.
XxX
And thus proceeded the massive clusterfuck. Things went boom, Gabi got beat up, and so on. There were definitely changes, though. Major changes.
Finally, they were back where it all began: the Shiganshina district. Eren and Zeke were approaching each other, Marley soldiers firing on them, Mikasa and Levi defending Eren - because in the forest, Zeke had been fearful enough of Levi to actually explain his plan, and Levi correctly deduced that Eren was about to Reverse Uno Card the shit out of Zeke and pull off some gigachad strategy to make things work.
Then, the two brothers touched and were pulled into the Coordinate through the Paths.
Since Mikasa and Levi had been in physical contact with Eren, not to mention being Ackermans, they were somehow pulled in as well.
The four - Eren, Mikasa, Levi, and Zeke - found themselves in a desert, a massive pillar of light off in the distance.
A young girl stood in front of them, her eyes obscured in the shadows.
Memories streamed into Eren and Zeke's minds, of Ymir's past.
"Who is she?" Levi demanded.
Eren told him Ymir's backstory, how she was a slave who had no free will of her own, how she had to obey the founding family, how she was stuck here all this time.
Levi stared at Ymir.
The dead look in her eyes...
It reminded him of himself, all the way back then.
But...
The only reason the life was able to return to Levi's eyes was because Kenny Ackerman pulled him out of that dark, gloomy room.
Ymir had no Kenny Ackerman.
She had no one.
For two thousand years, she suffered all alone.
Levi's eyes hardened with determination.
No more.
Kenny Ackerman had been the one to save him all that time ago. Now, it was his turn to continue the cycle.
And so, before Eren or Zeke could attempt to carry out their plans...
Levi reached out and saved Ymir.
And in doing so, he saved the world.
XxX
"Holy shit, Captain Levi is seriously badass," Connie breathed. "So he reached out, patted Ymir on the head, whispered something to her, and then she just... listened to him? Just like that?"
Eren nodded. "Yup. The partial Rumbling he activated afterwards was enough to persuade the world to not screw over Paradis Island. The Curse of Ymir was lifted, thankfully, and Captain Levi is now officially the most powerful being in the world - not to mention unofficially dating Ymir, however the hell that works."
Jean whistled. "Wow. Just... wow. Who knew that Levi's deviant ways would come into handy?"
"Oh for fuck's sake," Levi growled as he walked up to them. "I heard that."
Jean shrugged. "It's the truth. Hell," he chuckled, "I know the real reason why you decided to save Ymir."
Levi narrowed his eyes, daring Jean to keep talking.
Like an idiot, he did.
"She was a slave, right?" Jean said, smiling. "You probably just saw the metaphorical chains binding her and got all hot and bothered and stuff. Then, since you actually found her attractive, she was like a damsel in distress to you, so you just had to rescue her. In a way, your bondage fetish saved the world."
Levi was silent for a long moment.
Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Connie, Sasha, and Historia waited with bated breaths for him to respond.
Finally, Levi spoke. "Say..." he murmured. "Who was it that started this rumor again? I never did find out."
Eren shrugged. "Don't know."
"It was Jean," Mikasa answered, having no problem throwing Jean under the bus. Or in this situation, perhaps the metaphorical Colossal Titan would be more apt.
"I see," Levi said dangerously, a dark gleam appearing in his eyes as he gazed at Jean. "So it was you."
Finally sensing the danger, Jean paled drastically, gulping as he stammered out. "I-I mean... it's true, right?"
Levi's eyes flashed with unholy light.
"Run."
And done. This was pretty fun to write, and I hope it was fun to read as well. It's always been a meme that Levi and Eren are in a relationship, so I thought I should write some crack based on that.
Oh, and Levi x Ymir, I guess? I don't even know lmao
Thank you all for reading!