A/N

Hello to all of you drawn into reading this fanfiction! Thanks for giving it a shot! I just want you to know that this story is written by two people: me, Saerenae, and my best friend. It won't be difficult to tell who is writing. I write from Levi's perspective and she writes from her OC's. Basically, we go back and forth between chapters. Hope you enjoy! -Saerenae

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*Levi*

I silently stood in the middle of the street while the cheerful banter around me assaulted my ears and the joyous atmosphere sucked the air from my lungs. I should've been happy that victory against the titans had finally been achieved, but there wasn't an ounce of joy to be found anywhere inside my heart. Instead, my mind was incessantly flooded with the torturous memories of the month following the glorious defeat of those vile creatures.

It was the first week that had started the inevitable downward spiral of misery.

I stood in awe as the queen's orders rang in my ears. Was it possible I had misinterpreted her words? She couldn't possibly be telling me to execute the one responsible for humanity's victory. Her reasoning? He wasn't completely human.

"Historia." I started, making sure to keep the calm mask of apathy securely plastered over my growing rage. "He is not the only titan shifter alive." I watched as her eyes widened the slightest bit before she clenched her fists and slowly exhaled. I immediately realized my blunder and calmly continued, kicking myself for having to defend the brat. "Eren has never harmed someone else for any reason other than to better secure humanity's safety."

Her blue eyes seemed to plead for me to stop, and it was in that instant I realized that the decision she had made had not been one she was happy with. The decision was made by the people and forced out through her. "My decision is final." Historia's voice was clear, but I could see the almost imperceptible shaking of her fists. Damn. There was nothing I could say to change the situation.

I turned away from her suddenly to look at Eren who was staring back at me wide eyed and open mouthed. The kid just witnessed his demise being settled through a calm exchange that seemed to be no more important than deciding what type of tea we might drink at a later meeting.

"Levi…?" His voice was barely a whisper as I quickly strode past him, his chains rattling as he tried to follow me only to find himself subdued by the two military police flanking him.

I paused at the door, turning to face the queen once more. "Forgive me my insolence, highness, but..." It was difficult to keep the venom out of my voice, but there was no hiding what was so clearly there. "When am I to murder humanity's savior?" She closed her eyes. "When, majesty, am I to murder a human boy?"

Silence befell the room.

The seconds ticked by and Eren's gaze shifted to the floor, still hopeful that maybe the queen would renounce her order.

"Dawn." And with that one simple word from the queen, I stormed through the doors with a loud clash, but not before seeing the light in Eren's eyes die to hopelessness. Damn it all to hell. Who was I to be called humanity's strongest if I couldn't even prevent the death of one who so obviously deserved to live.

At dawn, I found myself staring into Eren's green eyes as I held my blade to his neck, Mikasa's furious shouts cursing me as she was held down by three members of the military police. Even Jean could see the injustice of the situation, but he remained still, keeping Armin from doing anything rash.

"Any last words?" I questioned, seeing the defeat overtake the usually spirited child in front of me. I watched as his eyes shifted to the ground.

"I have no words, captain, but I do have one last request." His eyes met mine, waiting for me to shut him down; however, I felt he deserved one last fulfillment. When I didn't say anything, he held his chained wrists out to me. "Let me die free."

I heard Mikasa's shouts turn to sobs as she realized Eren had given up on himself. There was nothing more she could do for him, but oh the hell I'd be paying for taking her most precious Eren from her. I looked over my shoulder to see Historia nod her head, and I released Eren from his chains.

He immediately straightened and put his fisted right hand over his heart and his other behind his back. "For humanity."

I paused a moment, my white-knuckled grip on my blades keeping me anchored to the present. "Farewell, Jaeger."

After Eren's execution, Mikasa had sworn vengeance and Armin had simple remained silent, his eyes boring into me with hate that surpassed any I'd previously seen in him. I had simply discarded my blades, saluted the queen, and moved on to the next victim: Ymir. She had gone quietly, simply requesting that she could look into Historia's eyes when the shifter's end was to come. Her request was granted, and the queen had left immediately after Ymir's head rolled away from her body.

I could see the sun setting through the open gates, pondering whether or not Armin and Jean had reached the sea they'd set out for soon after Eren's and Ymir's executions. It was no matter. I doubted I'd ever see their faces again. At least, not in this life.

I turned away from the gates and started towards the other end of town, enveloped in my own personal world of misery. Death weighed heavily on my mind. Not just recent deaths, but ones from years ago as well.

Isabel and Farlan surfaced in the forefront of my memory, accompanied by my former squad of Petra, Eld, Gunther, and Oluo. It was like a knife was wedging its way through my ribs and into a heart I thought I'd somehow managed to discard. While the pain was becoming easier to bear, it was no less painful. The titans had even taken the sliver of joy I had so carelessly called shitty glasses, but it was salt in the wound when Erwin had passed. I could kid myself in thinking it would've been easier if he'd been killed by the titans, but the fact he was killed by a drunkard at the celebration for victory was just as painful.

I found myself standing in front of the door to the mansion I had once shared with my squad. Was it childish of me to not want to enter knowing that I wouldn't hear their banter? I had taken it for granted in what seemed like a past life.

I slowly pushed open the door and took a step in, pulling off the cloak that was adorned with the wings of freedom as I made my way deeper into the building. I walked by the dining room and saw a lone soul sitting at the table lit by a single candle, a mug firmly grasped between her hands as she stared into its dark contents. "Kelis." My voice was so quiet I was almost surprised when she looked up to me and tried to find my eyes in the darkness.

I could see the scars that marred the left side of her face, scars that told a story of the strength behind the young woman. It made me feel older than my thirty-two years to see the light in her eyes tell a story of a soul much older than her body.

Giving up on seeing me in the darkness, she glanced back to her mug. "I hear they promoted you to commander." Her voice seemed loud in the still darkness, though it was just barely louder than a whisper.

I clenched the cloth of my cloak in my hand and gave a grunt of acknowledgement before making my exit. There was no sense in speaking of a reward for murder, so I made my way to my room and properly put away my cloak. I opened the balcony doors and stood there for a moment breathing in the cool air.

There was something beautiful about how the cold, night air wafted in through the open balcony doors, the blue moonlight spilling over the ivory keys of a pristine grand piano. It was probably one of the last in such impeccable condition, for it was all but useless in the harsh world of the scouting regiment. Despite that simple truth, there stood an object of a distant, legend world, defiant in its obvious anachronism. I silently sat before the piano feeling no less misplaced in time, causing me to reflect on everything that had happened thus far.

Humanity had been crushed to the brink of extinction, and hope had been close to lost before that child had appeared. Amongst the confusion and despair, hope and fear flared and eventually gave way to victory. It was a victory that was not easily achieved with anything other than massive sacrifice, but it was victory nonetheless. So many had lost beyond their fair share, but here I was. I, the infamous captain, had survived against all odds and was paying for it dearly in my solitude.

My only comfort in that moment was the ease with which my fingers glided over the delicate keys, creating a world beyond the defeated titans and insufferable loss of my soldiers—my comrades. I had no idea how or when this skill had embedded itself into my muscles, but I was thankful I was able to create something other than destruction.

There was a light pull in my mind that signaled my exhaustion, something I had grown used to over the years and something that let me know I was, against all odds, still attached to the world of the living. Behind my closed eyelids I could see the faces of those brats that had managed to worm themselves into what I had left of a heart, bringing a pang of uncomfortable emotion to the surface of my consciousness.

What point was there to victory if I had no one to share it with? Everyone was gone. Some had been gone for a while, but it didn't mean the pain had dulled.

I could still see the young scouts in my mind's eye, saluting me with a smile in their victory, their cleanliness giving way to glassy eyes and blood soaked uniforms. The wings of freedom were chained then left to fend for themselves. The one that had saved them all had been executed simply for not being completely human.

The melody beneath my fingers grew dark as I withdrew from the vision, and I could feel my fingers slipping as though the keys were wet. I could sense the presence of another soul on the other side of the door, but ignored it and continued the piece I vaguely remembered being a funeral march by someone named Mozart.

How perfect for the occasion.

I could see Eren's dull green eyes as the brat stared at me awaiting the inevitable. That little shit didn't even have the decency to plea for his own life. The executioner, humanity's strongest, who Eren believed would never betray him, was to end the boy that had been most beneficial in humanity's victory over the damned titans.

Then again, the kid wasn't even permitted the opportunity to celebrate at all before he was captured. Flashes of blood across the cobblestone painted the back of my eyelids in a vivid nightmare of a memory as I yet again recalled my silent apology and final farewell to the brat.

Wishing to eradicate the sight from my eyes, I opened them to a blurry vision. The once pristine ivory was coated in red, my fingers still dancing over the keys, but not quite as elegantly.

How odd.

There was a quiet rap at the door, but I pushed it to the side as I tried to focus my gaze. My eyelids were growing heavier and my movements less controlled. More than once my fingers stumbled over the keys in a discordant mess of noise as I slowly lowered my head.

The frantic voice of Kelis as she discovered me and what I'd done to myself made me realize that, at some point, I must have stopped playing to place my forehead on the blood soaked keys. How unclean of me. I should've wiped it off, but I decided it could wait until after a short rest, for the exhaustion was too much for me to handle.

Kelis's voice started to fade, her pleas for me to open my eyes growing dull to my ears. It was as though with every pulse of my heart, I grew weaker. I supposed it made sense, but it was far too kind and peaceful of an end for me.

The silence, not disturbed by even a heartbeat or a breath for air, was shattered by the all too familiar, but long gone voice of Eren.

"Captain?" He seemed frustrated for some odd reason. "You shouldn't be here."

"Tch." I put a hand on my forehead trying to recall why this shouldn't be happening, and trying to recall why exactly I shouldn't be able to talk to Eren.

Then it hit me like the colossal titan's foot hit the wall. "Eren." I stared at him, feeling lighter than I ever had before. "I'm…" I couldn't force the words out as I noticed the faint presence of all the people who had gone before me. "I couldn't save you." I was not longer just speaking to Eren, but to all of the ones that I had so desperately wanted to see again.

Eren put a hand on my shoulder before smiling brightly at me, the light in his eyes aglow with well deserved peace. "We forgave you before there was anything to forgive, captain." He stood back, joining the others who were all smiling just as brightly. "Now go home."

I stood in shock, not able to control or even name the emotions that were overwhelming me. I straightened and saluted them, knowing words would never say what I needed to tell them.

In unison, they all saluted me before everything went black and Kelis's strained voice drew me back to the land of the living.

"Levi?"