"So? What do you say?" he said, reaching a hand to Levi. "Will you join the Scouts?"

Levi glared at him in contempt. How dare he offer him his hand, as if they were on equal footing, after restraining him, beating him, and shoving his face into the filthy mud. Levi turned his head.

"Fine."

He smiled.

"Very good."

Erwin Smith, I will kill you. That is a promise.

Levi pushed open the door, bringing up his hand to cover his eyes as the stunning morning light hit his face. The sheer power of the sun still hadn't failed to impress him since he'd arrived. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he stared up at the piecing blue sky, decorated with fluffy, large clouds. A gust of warm air ruffled his hair. It's beautiful, no doubt about it. When he thought about the irony of such a lovely day being paired with the daunting task ahead of him, he couldn't help but crack a small, bitter smile.

He hoisted his satchel over his shoulder, walked down the steps, and to the stables. Isabel and Furlan had left earlier in the morning to tend to their horses before the expedition, so he was going to meet up with them there. He mindlessly walked through the outer castle at a leisurely pace, despite the fact that he was tight on time. As he walked, her face popped in his head. The small smile glued to her face, paired with sad, weary eyes, as she slowly extended her hand to meet his own.

Please be safe tomorrow.

Easier said than done, he thought, rubbing his neck. Well, whatever. It's not like he was planning on doing otherwise, anyway. All three of them knew that their safety came before anything. The expedition, the client, they had no ties to either. All of this was for their future prosperity. A life on the surface, where they didn't have to deviate from the law to barely just survive, or watch their back with every step they took. That future was so close within his grasp he could taste it… and under no circumstances was he going to let it escape him now.

"Levi!"

Levi shot his head back up, he hadn't realized he'd been staring at the ground as he made it to the stables. He gave Isabel and Furlan a small nod as they ran over to meet him.

"Ya took way too long, bro!" Isabel scolded, placing her hands on her hips. "We gotta leave right now!"

"Yeah, yeah whatever." he responded, dismissively, as he moved past them to his horse. He reached up, and pat down its mane. It seemed to relax at his touch, leaning its head into the contact. Should I give it a name…?

"Got all your stuff ?" Furlan asked, motioning towards his bag.

"Mhm."

"Excellent!" Furlan grinned, as he gave Levi a hard slap on the back. "What an exemplary soldier you've turned into!" he teased, with a mischievous grin. Levi glared up at him, but he couldn't help but be amused at the comment. The three of them walked back over to the stables, hoisted themselves onto their horses, and began a slow trot out to the main gate.

"How long had you guys been up?" Levi asked, turning to Furlan.

"Maybe a little over an hour before you, Isabel wanted to 'mentally prepare' her horse, whatever that means." Furlan replied, shooting Isabel a bemused look. She gave him a wide smile, softly stroking her horse's neck.

"I'm thinkin' it worked! He seems really calm right now." she said, looking down at the animal with loving eyes.

"I see." Levi said, shooting his own horse a quick look. How can she tell, is my horse relaxed? Well, it was probably just because it was Isabel, she had always been good with animals.

Silence fell between the three of them as they walked through the inner city. They all felt a responsibility to say something, but the words simply wouldn't form. Eventually, Furlan broke the silence.

"How are you guys feeling?" Furlan asked, quietly.

"Like… I could pee, but also puke...but also I feel really excited!" Isabel piped, completely ignoring the disgusted look Furlan was giving her.

"Such a way with words." he said, rolling his eyes.

"You asked!" she responded defensively, "And what about ya? How are ya guys feelin'?"

Furlan stared down at the reins in his hands, thinking about his answer, before looking up somewhat defeatedly.

"Same as you, I suppose." he finally said, and Isabel let out a sharp cackle, and the corners of Levi's lips upturned at the back and forth.

"What about you, bro?" Isabel asked, leaned forward to look past Furlan and meet his eyes.

"I'm just happy to have this be over with." he said lazily.

"What a boring answer." Isabel pouted.

"Just being honest."

"He does have a point though, after this is all done and over with, we can live happily on the surface." he beamed, "Maybe Levi could open up a tea shop, and I could finally ask a beautiful librarian out on a date, and Isabel…" he looked back at her blankly, "Maybe she could become a pig farmer?" he concluded. Isabel's mouth fell open in offense.

"Pig farmer?!" she exclaimed, in a shrill voice, "No way I'm becomin' a pig farmer!"

"Just being realistic." he shrugged, nonchalantly, as Isabel seethed next to him.

"If ya wanna talk realistic, asking her out and succeeding?" she scoffed, "She's way too good for ya! And anyways, ya barely even know her!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." he responded, looking back down, blushing slightly to himself. Levi observed him intently. What does that mean ? Had they been seeing each other privately? Suddenly, Furlan's eyes widened, and he smacked himself in the head.

"Oh crap!"

"What?" Isabel asked, puzzled.

"I was supposed to read something yesterday night, but I completely forgot..." he said, brows furrowed. "Well no matter, I'll just read tonight." he murmured assuredly to himself. Levi cocked a brow. He wasn't going to even bother asking. It wasn't any of his business what he did with his free time, anyway.

"Since when do ya have a reading sched-?" Isabel began.

"Well whatever we do, from here on out, we actually have a choice." He said, completely ignoring Isabel's question, "We get to decide how we will live our lives from here on out." he said, eyes softening. Isabel snapped her mouth shut, and nodded firmly. They continued through the city, marching forward towards their futures.

"We will now begin our 23rd Reconnaissance mission, onward!" Shadis bellowed, thrusting his blade into the air. Veins pulsated from the top of his head. The man was so tense that he looked like he might explode if he pricked himself with a needle. The soldiers echoed his war cry as the large metal gate lifted open with a deafening creak, and they charged through. Levi, Isabel, and Furlan were positioned near the back, with the rest of their squad. The sound of their horse's hooves pounding into the pavement left a slight buzzing in Levi's head. Levi gripped on his reins tightly, and with a strong flick of his wrist, sent his horse flying forward. Isabel and Furlan followed him closely at either side of him. Some gray clouds had begun to creep up behind them, but it didn't look like it was going to rain quite yet. Levi swallowed. As much as he'd tried to prepare himself, now that he was exiting the gate, it occurred to him how quickly this was all happening.

Until three weeks ago, he'd believed that he'd be living in the Underground for the rest of his life. Paying for papers was a lengthy and horribly expensive process. And if he'd somehow scraped his way to the surface illegally, he would've had to live in hiding without his documents. Yet here he was, after a life in the dark, all they had to do was make it to the end of the day, and their unattainable dream would be in the palm of their hands. They could all live happily together within the safety of the walls.

He gazed out at the horizon and the vast land set out before his eyes. He could see lush green hills to the east. He heard squawking and turned his focus up to the flock of birds that flew overhead. An unfamiliar feeling of hope blossomed in his chest as he watched their delicate wings, pumping rhythmically in the wind.

"Wow!" Isabel breathed, eyes bright, "Look at all this land!"

"We did it." Furlan murmured, as he looked to the hills in disbelief.

"It's not bad." Levi muttered.

"Hey you three! Don't get too distracted, you've never seen a titan in real life, so you need to be prepared!" A female soldier scolded. She was a petite woman who wore long brown pigtails that sat either side of her head. Although Levi couldn't remember her name, he knew that she'd been pretty helpful to Isabel when they'd first arrived.

"No sweat Kiera! If we see one, we'll clean it up nice n good for ya!" Isabel chirped. So that's her name.

"Idiot! Do you want to be the first one to die?" Kiera scolded, giving her a look of disbelief. Isabel winced in embarrassment.

"Sorry Kier-"

"Fifteen meter, up ahead!"

Their faces shot back forward. Levi had had Titans described to him many times before leaving the walls, but nothing could've prepared him for the real thing. How could something appear so human, yet so inhuman all at once? The monster sloppily ran over towards their formation, beady eyes staring at them mindlessly.

"We'll take care of this!" Furlan shouted, as he and Isabel shot up to face the titan.

"What the hell are you guys doing?!" Kiera shouted, eyes wide.

Isabel aimed herself from the front, and Furlan from the back. She raised her blades over her head, and if he had to guess, he would say that she was going for its eyes. But as she did, the Titan shot his hand out and caught her, and she yelped in surprise. Levi's eyes widened in shock, and without thinking, he propelled himself forwards to free her.

"Levi! I've got this!" she shouted, as she sliced its hand open, freeing herself. While she dealt with that, Furlan landed the killing slice on its neck. It staggered, and then collapsed forward, shaking the ground. The three of them landed gracefully down with it. Thank god, he thought, wiping the sweat from his head. Or, he thought it was sweat. He looked up to the sky, and saw that the shadowy clouds had made their way overhead, sprinkling light rain over them.

"Did you see that! We killed it all by ourselves" Isabel gushed. She was practically vibrating with excitement.

"I guess so." Levi said quietly. He was still recovering from the shock of seeing his friend in danger.

"You used too much gas." A voice behind him said. Levi swivelled around, and met eyes with Captain Erwin, staring down at him from his horse.

"What?"

"You used too much gas. All those unnecessary movements... they're unnecessary. They were able to handle it without your intervention." He answered, with a stony gaze. Levi looked back in disbelief.

"Are you telling me to place our supplies over the lives of our comrades?" he said menacingly, stepping forward. Erwin observed his face, not saying anything, before letting out a long sigh, and turning back to his horse.

"I'm telling you to be more wary of the way you use your resources. They're scarce out here." he said, as he got back onto his saddle. "Don't waste them."

With that, he and his squad went charging back from where they came from.

The way he looked down at him, the way he spoke of his friends as if they were expendable pawns in his game, everything about Erwin's demeanor in that situation sent Levi's chest into a bubbling rage. He couldn't contain himself any longer. It was time to do what he come here for.

"I'm going up ahead." he said, quietly, adjusting his hood, and hoisting himself back onto his horse. "I'm gonna kill that bastard for sure now."

Isabel and Furlan shot each other uneasy looks.

"Are ya sure about that?" Isabel asked, turning her head back to him, eyes shrouded with doubt.

"Yeah, maybe it would be better if the three of us stuck together." Furlan added.

"No, all three of us leaving from our positions would be too obvious." he said, shaking his head. "If anyone asks where I've gone, just tell them that I moved up ahead to survey the land before we moved forward."

Furlan sighed, before giving him a small, reassured smile.

"Okay, fine."

"We'll see you soon, bro!" Isabel grinned, giving him a small wave. Levi nodded, and turned his horse to the opposite direction. He peered back over his shoulder, and watched as their silhouettes got smaller and smaller, until they had completely disappeared into the mist.

The light drizzle had quickly shifted into a full on downpour, the wind howling, and pushing back against him as he sped after Erwin. This is it, he thought. All of his efforts had led up to this moment. He squinted, though he could hardly see anything through the rain. But he wasn't going to lose him, that was for sure. He'd use the veil of the rain to his advantage in the assassination. He whipped his reins, and his horse leapt forward, letting out a shrill neigh. As he looked onward, he could see a spot where the rain was beginning to clear up, and he steered towards it. When he rode through, his eyes widened in surprise, and he tugged back on his reins just quickly enough to avoid falling down. It was a cliff edge. What the fuck? Where had Erwin gone, then? He scowled. Sneaky bastard, he thought, turning his horse back to regroup with his team. As he rode back, he kept a watchful eye out for the Erwin's group, but to no avail. It was impossible to see past the fog. How does the weather up here change so fast? Suddenly, he saw a figure slowly inching towards him, emerging from the veil of mist. A soldier? He quickly pulled his reins back, to avoid crushing the man's head with his horse. He heard a low, raspy voice coming from below him. A soldier he recognized but didn't know the name of. Dark red blood poured from his head and covered his face. But it didn't hide the pure terror on his expression as he looked up to Levi, with desperate, wild eyes. He crawled over with his arms, and as he got closer, Levi realized his legs were completely torn off. Levi's eyes widened as the man stretched a single shaky arm out to him.

"T-the titan… a-an abnormal, i-it came..." he groaned. He spat up some blood, and looked back at him in confusion, "W-where's Erwin…?"

Levi watched silently as he took his final breath and collapsed on the ground. The world around Levi fell silent. He had come from the direction Levi had. Was this Abnormal back where he'd left Isabel and Furlan? Dread filled the pit of his stomach, as he quickly turned his horse around and began racing through the storm, heart going off like a jackhammer in his chest. How did I not see it when I was coming this way...could I have just passed it? Considering how thick the mist was, and how loudly the rain pounded into the soil, it was entirely possible. But he didn't want to believe it, so he just excluded it as an option mentally. He gripped the reins of his horse tightly, knuckles going a stark white. Please be okay, you two.

Soon, he arrived in the open land where he'd split off from them, straining his eyes to make out what was in front of him. The overwhelming scent of iron flooded his senses, the once bright green land was stained with dark blood. Bodies were strewn sloppily over the grass.

"What the hell happened here…?" he murmured to himself, sliding himself off of his horse. He took slow, steady steps forward, unsheathing his blades, as his eyes darted back and forth, looking for the titan responsible. As he walked, felt his boot kick something. He flinched very slightly, and he looked down to see what it was. When he did, his mind went blank, refusing to process the sight before him.

Isabel.

It was a head. Isabel's head, completely torn off from her body. Blood gushed from her neck, mixing into a dark pool of rainwater and mud on the ground. Her eyes were still widened in terror, lips slightly parted open. His heart dropped to the pit of his stomach as he jolted backwards, breathing heavily. His mind was racing. I left them alone...I should've stayed with them… they wanted to stay together… He felt a lump growing in his throat.

"We'll see you soon, bro!"

He leaned down, reaching out a shaky hand out to stroke her hair, until he saw a large, shadowy figure move from up ahead. He tore his eyes away from Isabel and looked back up. His heart pounded in his ears. There it was. It stood on all fours, muscles pulsating animalistically as it jerked its head violently to the side, tearing off a bite from a soldier, sending their upper half flying into the ground with a resounding splash. He squinted to make out the face of the soldier. Furlan. As his body hit the ground, he let out a guttural cough. His eyes fluttered, flicking wildly back in forth in horror, until finally they stopped, gazing up into the rainy clouds.

He cut its eyes .

He cut its legs .

He cut its shoulders .

He cut its neck.

Again and again.

He cut .

Before he realized it, the monster was long dead. One could barely tell the form it used to take once he was done with it, no more than a lump of flesh and limbs, with rancid steam gushing from the cuts. He panted, his lungs felt like they were on fire. He thought after he brought down it would change something, perhaps he would feel some type of satisfaction after enacting his revenge, but that was not the case. The guilt and sorrow in his chest felt like it would never end, and now that he had gotten the rage out, he was left only with an empty hole in his chest. But he couldn't cry. He stared blankly down as the monster's body dissipated in front of him. He fell to his knees. This was it. In an instant, their dream was destroyed. Was this the price they paid for wishing to live happily? He wanted to go look for their bodies, but was afraid of how he'd react if he had to look into their cloudy eyes again. Their bright eyes that usually shined so hopefully had been muted. He stared up at the grey sky.

I hate the rain.

He sat there, staring down at his hands, until eventually, Erwin's squad found him. He hadn't moved an inch. The rain had finally cleared up, and the sun was beginning to peek through the dark clouds. Erwin pulled himself off his horse, and scanned the scene before him.

"They're all dead, sir." Mike Zacharis reported. He was Erwin's second in command, a tall, broad man, with inhumane instincts.

"So you were the only survivor, then." Erwin said, shooting a glance at the corpses surrounding Levi. His eyes lingered on the untouched head that sat near Levi's knee. "How pathetic," he said, dully.

Levi stared at him in shock. He knew that the Captain was familiar with death, but how could he refer to his subordinates so coldly? To his friends. The rage he'd felt earlier came flooding back to his chest, but this time, it was directed towards the Captain. He shot up from his knees, whipping his sword from its sheath. He leapt over to Erwin, pushing the blade to his neck, but before he could make the cut, Erwin shot his hand out to stop the blade. The Captain's blood dripped slowly down the shaking blade, as Levi glowered at him.

"I'm going to kill you!" he hissed, "That's why we came here!"

Erwin stared at him. Eyes unwavering, he slowly reached into his cloak, pulling out an envelope, and tossed it on the floor. Levi's eyes widened. The documents.

"The papers I have listing your client's crimes are fake," he said, coolly. "The real ones have probably reached the Military Police by now."

Levi's chest grew heavy as the reality of the situation washed over him. He knew all along. He'd been watching them scuttle around like bugs in oblivion for three weeks. It was all for nothing. Their smiling faces flashed through his mind.

"Believe in us, okay?"

"You knew..." he whispered. "You knew, and you still sent us marching out in your shitty death parade!" he shouted, voice shaking.

He shoved away Erwin's hand from his blade, preparing to slice his throat, adrenaline pumping through every inch of his body. Just as he was about to finish him off, Mike ran up and restrained him, locking him under his large arms.

"Let go of me, you pig!" he roared back at him, but he couldn't escape the man's grip. At first, he kicked and screamed, eyes deadlocked on the Captain, but eventually, he felt himself tire. Once Mike sensed this, he slowly released him, still eyeing him with caution. But he didn't chase after Erwin. He slumped down to his knees. He didn't have any fight left in him, what was there left to fight for? His dreams and his friends died that day. Could he fight for revenge? He'd quickly learned that that would get him nowhere. He stared at the ground. He had nothing to live for anymore. All there was to do now was to sit in the aftermath of his choices, of his actions, everything that had led to this outcome.

"Don't do that."

Levi slowly looked back at Erwin.

"...What?"

"Don't do that. If you continue like this, you'll be stuck at this point in time for the rest of your life. You still have a full life ahead of you. Don't let one day weaken your determination. There are still many more to come."

He paused, and gave Levi a look he'd never seen on his expression before. Like he was looking at something beautiful that Levi couldn't see.

"Personally, I see a future where we will be free from the curse of the titans."

Levi stared back at him. His determination to persevere was terrifying. How could he still say that, with the dozens of corpses surrounding him?

"Next month, we will go on another expedition. I expect you to join us."

Levi didn't say anything. He stared down at the ground. Unexpectedly, one more face flashed through his head.

"Please be safe tomorrow."

He felt hot tears brimming his eyes, but they didn't fall.

I'm sorry, Ms. Librarian.