8 months later - in the year 851

They were frozen and mute, staring in awe at the scenery before them.

The glittering blue vastness was breathtakingly beautiful. Also humbling, mysterious, and overwhelming. Majestic white birds drifted in the breeze, occasionally dropping from the air to pluck something from the surface of the shimmering water. Zoë tasted salt on her lips, the air was damp and heavy with scents she had no name for. The unrelenting wind nudged the great mass of water towards the curving patch of sand to their right, smashed it against the rocky cliff they were on, whipped it into the berths in front of the large man-made stone wall to their left, a playful and never ending game of advance and retreat, advance and retreat, filling the entire world with its thunderous sound.

"This is the ocean," Armin pressed out, his voice quivering with emotions. "It's just as I always told you, Eren! A body of water so big that merchants could spend their whole lives and still not get all the salt out. That's what I said we'd find and now it looks like I was right!"

"Yeah… The sea. It's so damn big…," Eren said gloomily.

"So it's true," Zoë murmured. "Levi, it's all true."

But Levi just stared at the vista before them, such an unguarded expression of wonder on his face she felt compelled to look away to give him some privacy.

I wish you guys could be here to see this. The memory of their fallen comrades whose sacrifices had helped get them here was accompanied by the piercing grief she always carried with her. Erwin, you didn't waver despite the horrors we saw, thank you for pushing on and not giving up. Mike, would you go crazy about the smell here? I think you'd have a huge smile on your face right now. Moblit, would you be worried I'd do something dangerous? I'm going to touch it, taste it and bathe in it, just you wait!

They rode down from the cliff to get closer to the water, the horses sliding a little on the unstable ground. At the bottom, they turned to the left, away from the wall where, according to Eren, Eldian prisoners were transformed into Titans by injecting them with Titan serum. They tethered the animals loosley to the few trees and sturdy scrubs, leaving them to nibble off the leathery leaves at their leisure or try their luck on the tough-looking plants that grew close to the sandy ground in patches.

Armin's face was glowing with relief and pride that the things he had advertised as an anchor for humanity's hope were not just mere stories in a book and he was the first to take off his boots and ODM gear, bundle up his green coat and jacket, and roll up his trousers and shirt. He waded into the blue vastness with hardly any hesitation, his big blue eyes riveted on the gently rolling waves.

Eager to feel the water lap at her own feet, Zoë ripped off her own boots and jacket as fast as she could. The bright sand was hot against the soles of her feet, making her skid towards the line of water in an awkward dance. The swell came up to meet her and the difference in temperatures was so pronounced, she gasped in delight. Before it could escape, she bent down to scoop a bit of water up to taste it - it was very, very salty.

"Woohoo! Wow, is this thing seriously all salt water?!" she yelled excitedly. Unbelievable! Where did all that salt even come from?!

The kids started splashing around near her, showering themselves with water. Which, she noticed, wasn't blue at all. That was so weird. The water was transparent, but its surface acted like a mirror, reflecting the color of the sky above them. Would it turn grey during a storm?

"Ouuuuuu, my eyes, my eyes!" Sascha screamed, rubbing them furiously. Connie was laughing like a lunatic, preparing his next attack before she had a chance to retaliate.

"Damn, it's salty!" Jean licked the liquid off his hands. "Wow! So gross! Ewwww!"

Armin had picked up something from below the water, staring at his hands spellbound. Mikasa, her boots dangling from her hands, had a look of awed horror on her face as she tried to evade the water from soaking her trousers. Eren had waded out the farthest, staring into the distance in silence, his hair whipping in the wind.

Just when she was about to say something to him, Zoë was distracted by two dark shapes in the water before her. She bent forward. "Huh? What could that be?"

"Oi, Hanji!" Levi called out behind her. "Don't touch it, it might be poisonous!"

Paying him no heed, she reached down to grab the curious things, needing two attempts because she misjudged their exact location. They were soft and squishy and wriggled a little in her hand.

"Ohhh, would you look at that," she exclaimed, lifting them up to eye level. "Is it alive?"

"Hanji, I said don't touch it," Levi repeated angrily, coming in her direction with heavy steps. So typical, he was the only one who had not taken off his equipment, coat, or boots but was eying all of them sourly, coiled and ready to spring into action should anyone get into danger.

"But look!" She rushed towards him, the bounty in her outstretched hands. "It's cute! Might it be edible?"

"Do not…!"

But she had already lifted the squiggly things to her lips to take a bite.

"For fuck's sake!" Not minding the water, Levi rushed forward to rip the thing out of her hand, "don't do that!"

Splash.

"Did you just throw it back in?" she asked incredulously, looking at the concentric rings forming on the surface. "How could you?"

"Give that to me," Levi pointed at the second squiggly thing that she was now hiding behind her back.

"No," she frowned. "I won't. I want to have a closer look at it!"

"I'm going to take it from you by force," his voice dropped dangerously.

"Yeah?" holding his gaze, she began to retreat back into the ocean. "Your boots will fill with water and you will wreck your gear."

She turned and bolted, struggling to run into the deepening water, soaking her trousers. The foul curse Levi sent after her made her laugh out loud - suddenly she felt light, as light as a feather as a great weight was lifted off her shoulders. She felt deep joy at being here, at getting to see, taste, and breathe how beautiful the world was. And most of all… to be able to be this carefree outside the walls!

"Woooohoooooooo!" she shouted, splashing forward.

Her Executioner from Hell, which had crushed Titans day and night before, fell silent just as the snow began to stick last year. In the months that followed, Levi and Mikasa tirelessly led their new recruits against the Titans gathering outside the cities of Karanese, Nedlay, and Klorva. Thanks to the use of thunderspears and a new tactic involving decoys, their human losses were minimal. When the snow began to melt, Queen Historia was able to formally announce that Wall Maria had been cleansed of Titans - and Maria's refugees were finally permitted to return to their homes. It was humanity's most glorious victory yet.

And so, six years after the Colossal Titan's first devastating attack, the Survey Corps had resumed their expeditions, riding out to explore the world beyond the walls once again. On their way to the port that Eren had seen in his father's memory, they had encountered just one crippled, pitiful Titan who could barely move. It was exactly like she had suspected: driven by their mindless hunger for human flesh, the Titans on the island had wandered inside Wall Maria to gather close to their prey. The island was Titan free.

For now.

A small sound behind her made her swivel around. "What the…?!"

Levi hadn't bothered to undress but had sneaked up on her instead, waiting for the right moment to pounce. He tackled her and they went down together with a loud splash, his arms gripping her mercilessly as he pulled her under. Zoë swallowed so much water in her delighted surprise, she came back up retching and gasping for air.

"Hahahahhaa," she laughed spluttering, "this water tastes horrible!"

The kids whooped and cheered. Levi's arms were still around her when he regained his feet. His eyes reflected the azure blue of the sky and the dancing sunlight. Water dripped teasingly from his flattened hair onto her nose. His lips curved upwards slightly.

"I said… don't. touch. it!" He pried open her hand and ripped the wondrous animal from it. Splash. "So fucking disgusting, like a swollen worm!"

Funny how this close to him, everything seemed to slow down. The waves pushed and pulled at them gently. What would it be like to just float in the water with him next to her, not minding a thing? Her hands went to his hips - she couldn't stop them, didn't at all want to.

Keeping their distance had worked much better than expected, mainly because Levi had been so busy with leading the Titan eradication expeditions. As a result, she had not been tempted to touch him in months. And yet, she had missed being close to him every second of every minute of every hour of every day, an ache of longing deep in her chest.

"Not here," he exhaled slowly, wrenching his eyes away from her lips. The traces of laughter on his face had disappeared.

She felt the eyes of the kids on them. Hastily, she let go of him and took a step back. Not here. Not now. Not at all. She couldn't break her own rules this wantonly, just because this thing called ocean existed and because it made her feel hopeful for the first time in months.

"Sorry," she swallowed. "Get out of the water, you're really going to ruin the ODM gear."

She watched him slosh his way back to the strip of sand, where he wrenched off his sodden boots and the ODM gear without sparing her a single backwards glance. He went towards the horses and the trees, bringing more distance between them with every step. She felt a strange mixture of anger and disappointment, but that was unfair: She had wanted this and it was necessary.

With her headaches and the dizziness halfway under control thanks to her frequent sessions with Dr. Grütter, she had become more confident in her abilities as a Commander, and she interacted with Pixis and Nile on equal ground. Levi followed her orders without questioning, lending her his strength and his fame to make the Survey Corps look good.

She knew it would be stupid to jeopardize all this. Levi kept his distance, physically and emotionally - accepting her wishes with a thoroughness that spoke louder than words. He, too, must have realized that professional trust and respect had to take priority in a situation like theirs.

Zoë watched him take off his boots and the ODM gear. Her good mood from earlier was gone. And then, Eren began to speak and reality came back with a vengeance.

"On the other side of the wall," Eren intoned, "there's a sea…. and just across that sea, freedom's waiting."

Everybody grew still at his words - there was something ominous and contrary in his tone it was like fingernails on a blackboard.

"That's what I always believed at least. But I was wrong," Eren said "I was so wrong. I know what's waiting on the other side of the sea now… it's our enemies. Everything we've seen has been exactly how I saw it in my dad's memories," he lifted his hand to point a finger at the horizon. "If we crossed the sea and killed all our enemies… would we finally... be free?"

###

Props to Eren for ruining a perfectly happy day at the beach with his teenage angst, Levi thought, stretching himself out on his cape a little away from the others. He had hung the ODM gear from a branch to dry after testing its mechanisms - all in order. Frankly, it seemed like a waste to have brought it, but it was still better to be safe than sorry, always.

The sand was warm at his back, the clouds above him fluffy and white, drifting leisurely from the West to the East. He squinted up at the azure blue sky, suppressing a yawn. The incessant whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of the waves made him unusually sleepy. But it had also been an unusually busy few months, with lots of tedious travelling in foul weather, yelling at amateurs, and slashing Titans' necks, getting too damn filthy in the process. Now that those pests were all obliterated, they could finally start preparing for their new enemies in earnest.

The answer to Eren's depressing question was obviously 'no': Killing the enemies across the sea who called them "island devils'' would not bring them freedom. Eldians weren't more peaceful than other races, they had managed perfectly well to kill each other without any outsiders joining the fun before. So basically, until the last human being was wiped from the earth, there would be no peace. Their world might have gotten bigger - but overall, things had remained the same: they had to continue fighting for survival, while attempting to live the best possible life given the circumstances.

Levi took a deep breath, savoring the damp, salt infused air, grabbing a bit of the warm, soft sand to let it trickle through his fingers. Today, he didn't need to fight for survival. Today, he could lie on his back and watch the clouds drift by. Ah, his best possible life should definitely have more beach days like this one, minus Eren voicing the truth at inopportune moments.

"Hey Levi, don't you want anything to eat?" Hanji's voice drifted towards him.

Levi lifted his head, groaning inwardly. He had fled the temptation she embodied but now she was approaching from behind the rock formation, carrying a bottle and some wrapped up provisions in her hands. Make no mistake, his best life should also involve more Hanji: Hanji leaving a trail of indentations in the sand and turning to look at it with curiosity, her untidy ponytail bouncing. Hanji in his bed every night, even if it was only to hold her tight and breathe in her scent, or to hear her babble about whatever weird-ass thing had caught her interest. Hanji eating something he had made for her. Hanji bringing dirt into the house because she couldn't care less about filthy boots wrecking clean floors. Hanji laughing, the sunlight dancing in her amber eye. Hanji happy.

But this wasn't his best life. He had none of the above.

"Hey," she fell on her knees next to him with a soft thud, "needed some alone time? The kids sent me to check on you."

He blinked up into her face, thinking that she was fucking obtuse sometimes, coming here with her clothes still damp, her yellow shirt clinging to her body's lean strength and gentle curves in very suggestive ways. But he was not a slave to his baser urges, was he. He could go months without sex if need be.

"I needed time away from you," he said moodily.

"Oh?" she considered his answer with a frown. "Too bad, I brought you lunch. You must eat. I think you've lost weight."

She began to unwrap something that looked like sugar coated bread.

"I can do that myself," he pushed himself into a sitting position. "Give it to me."

"No," she turned her body away so he couldn't reach it. "Maria told me it needs to be handled with extra care and must be unwrapped just so and no other way."

"Maria made this?" Levi craned his neck to see.

"No, her husband. I keep her far too busy to be a baker too," Hanji laughed. "Oups. Now it broke in two. Do you mind?"

"Just give it to…"

"I said no," she swiveled around. "Open your mouth."

"Hanji, you…"

"Do what I tell you," her eyebrows drew together. "No talking back."

And Levi opened his mouth. She positioned a piece of something fluffy and white in it and beamed at him. He chewed… and swallowed. Not as sweet as he had feared. Rather tasty, actually.

"Good? You want more?"

"You aren't seriously going to feed me like this, are you?" he dropped his voice even though no brats were close enough to witness this embarrassing exchange.

"Yes, I am," she said. "Connie dropped his bun into the sand! Sasha cried. They tried to wash the sand off but it only got worse."

"I'm not going to drop it into the sand," Levi extended his hand. "Give it to me."

"I brought water too. It's a little warm, unfortunately." She gestured at the bottle. Then, after hesitating briefly, she handed him the bread. "Here. Make sure not to drop it!"

"Don't… don't watch me eat!" Levi complained, finding her eyes on his hands and his face extremely distracting.

"But I've missed you," she smiled. "I'm so glad you're back in one piece and that we're here together. It feels a bit like the old days, doesn't it?"

Swallowing was very hard all of a sudden.

Damn this. He hated how unaffected she was, how she had gone from praising sex with him as the greatest thing in her life to "we should keep our distance" from one day to the next. Not being a slave to his baser urges didn't mean he fucking liked this situation. Like the old days? Yes, once again, he wanted one thing and did another. Really - it was much better for his mental health if she stayed far away from him and him from her.

"Not in the least," he snapped. "Unless you mean yourself who is annoying the heck out of me - that feels like the old days because it stays always the same."

"Hm," Hanji moved closer so that she was sitting next to him on his once-clean-now-full-of-sand cape. "I'm sorry for annoying you. But you know, I fear Maria wants to adopt a child."

"Adopt a… what are you even talking about?" The change of subjects was very confusing. But when Hanji was preoccupied with something, she was preoccupied.

"Oh, she can't have children but she wants one. And you know how Historia… hey, did you hear that I'm going to be an auntie?"

"What the fuck are you…"

"Freddie got pregnant. Hahaha, no! Not him obviously but some fellow soldier he fancies. Shame for his wife but it's quite the news in my family and…," she frowned. "Wait. You don't want to hear about my family, I guess. What was I saying before? Ah, yes. You know how Historia came up with the idea to help people who can't have children adopt them from the orphanages?"

That had been his idea but such details were unimportant.

"Then let Maria adopt a child if she wants one? What's the problem?"

"But you don't understand, Levi!" Hanji turned her head, a look of desperation on her face. "She is the perfect assistant, what will I do after she leaves? It's horrible!"

"I'll find you a new one," Levi waved her concern away.

"Nobody will be as good as her!" she lamented.

"Seems you don't remember what you said about her at first," Levi chuckled. "Don't worry, Hanji. We've got this."

"Do we really?" she asked quietly. "If only I had you or Erwin's confidence and strength."

Their eyes locked. Confidence and strength?

When Levi had gone to Shiganshina before the return of its inhabitants with the military clean-up crew whose task it was to remove all human and animal remains from the horrid site of slaughter, he had sought out the house in which they had left Erwin's body. Only bones, buttons, and straps of leather were left under the Commander's green cape. But instead of bringing Erwin's remains back to Mitras, he had taken them to Doctor Yeager's basement. The bones he had brought back, the ones they had entombed with great aplomb a few weeks ago, were a random soldier's remains.

Seeing the site of their most traumatic battle yet had made Levi realize that a substantial part of him was angry with Erwin. He had never told anyone how selfish Erwin's motivations had been, that he would have killed thousands more just to know what secrets that stupid underground room held. Fight for humanity's future? My ass. Fighting for a childish, egoistical dream! As long as Erwin had lived, he could not find freedom from it - the only liberation for him was in death, the death that had Levi granted him and that had finally released Erwin from his shackles.

But in that basement in Shiganshina, when he had put Erwin's bones to rest, Levi had broken down and wept. Confidence? Strength? Everything was too fucking pointless, why even continue trying? He had let Erwin die, and even if it was the right decision, it felt so damn wrong to kill one's best friend to be able to continue the same useless shit over and over.

"Levi?" Hanji asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Is everything alright?"

He sniffled. No, Hanji. It's not alright. Nothing is. You have to leave me alone.

"Your hands are dirty, remove them this instance!" He snapped at her, reaching deep inside himself to find enough anger to hurl at her.

She did remove her hand, looking confused, not hurt.

"Hey, Levi," she was still looking at him. "Have you ever… have you found out… anything useful?"

He blinked, uncomprehending.

"About the Ackermans, I mean," she blushed a little.

Oh.

"Uhm," he cleared his throat. "I… I never read the book."

"You…. WHAT?!" she screeched.

"I… Well, I didn't… I wanted to…"

"Levi, have you gone insane?!" she shouted. "Who knows what you could have found out!"

"I wanted to read it with you," he retorted.

"A solution to all our problems, maybe!" she pulled at her hair in frustration, "what kind of idiotic, moronic, and stubborn… you what?"

"I wanted to read it with you," he repeated.

"Oh," she blushed even more. "I see. Uhm… okay? Then let's do it."

"Ah, I don't have it here of course," he said.

"You… you are not even guarding it?!" she screamed again.

"It's in a safe place," he frowned, "stop being so damn loud!"

"Did you… you left it in the Underground!" she yelled again, pulling her hair even harder, "oh fuck, Levi! With that woman?"

"Calm down," he snapped. "I told you it is safe."

She did calm down a fraction "I guess you are still afraid," she muttered angrily, taking some sand into her hand to look at it. "I guess I should accept that."

"What?!" he scoffed. "What should I be afraid of, idiot?"

"Don't even try to play dumb with me," she glared at him. "You know and I know that you were scared shitless of being some mindless slave because my father told you in a weak moment that he was able to manipulate you. And because you were so scared, you actually let yourself be manipulated by him! This whole lone wolf act at Hange Estate? You only went along with becoming some kind of figurehead for those Undergrounders because you were scared!"

"I said I wasn't…"

"Stop arguing," she interrupted him rudely, "I'm rather sick of it. Look. Here."

She began to draw something into the sand with her index finger.

Numbers. A three. A seven. Another three. Then: 5 - 9 - 2 - 8 - 5 - 5 - 9.

"What shit is that?" he asked.

"That's it. The 'word'. To control you."

Levi froze. A number? 3735928559…?

"Sadly, I cannot forget it - my brain just saves numbers even without me trying. So, whatever you do with that book - you cannot escape me, get it? I advise you to read it as soon as you can. It might help us win, idiot."

He was controlled by a number?

"Why is it a number?" he asked, nonplussed.

"Read the book and find out," her eye flashed angrily. "And you know what? I'm not going to read it with you. You do it by yourself and you do it fast, Levi - Grandma Clothilde is getting weaker by the day. I could imagine you will have questions and if you want them answered, you need to ask her."

"Are you two fighting?"

Levi's head snapped up. Eren stood before them, sneaky miscreant, approaching from their blind spot? His green eyes were narrowed on them, his overlong hair whipping in the breeze.

"What do you want, brat?" Levi frowned. Eren was having a rough time and it wouldn't stop anytime soon but his behavior of late had, once again, been extremely annoying.

"I need to talk to you, Captain Levi. In private."

Hanji's eyebrows shot up. "I'll be leaving then."

"Yes, and don't come back," Levi murmured moodily under his breath.

Eren just stood there, arms dangling, his eyes on Hanji's retreating back. Then, he looked down onto the sand. And looked. And looked. Levi waited.

When Eren finally spoke, his voice held a note of menace. "I have come to tell you that the future me will wipe your mind. You cannot be allowed to remember anything that you learned about me and my Founder abilities because you will try to stop me, and you will endanger Historia."

"Oi, what?!" Levi scrambled upright.

"Things have changed," Eren said. "The world has moved on. They built weapons with the single purpose of being able to kill Titans. They have to die."

Something stirred in Levi's memories like an echo. A hot summer day. Sparkling sand, a place where time did not exist. A warning. Don't try to go against me, Captain Levi. You cannot win. Get out of here. And for a fraction of a moment, it felt like the present was not now but then, not then, but there, nowhere, anywhere, running like sand through his fingers, gone, like concentric circles spreading on water.

Levi stood in the warm sun and the gentle breeze dumbfounded, knowing he had lost something he could not get back.

"I am afraid, Captain Levi," Eren shuddered.

"Being afraid won't help you," Levi heard himself say, still trying to sort out what had just happened, why he felt so… diminished? He rubbed his forehead.

"We need to cross the ocean," Eren pleaded. "Soon."

Levi looked at the vast blueness before them, the sparkling beauty that extended all the way to the horizon.

"Yes," Levi nodded. They would not just sit around and wait to die. The Survey Corps moved forward, ever forward. "We will wait for someone to come to us," he continued. "They will come for sure and they will bring ships - and then we cross the ocean and go to them."

"Good," Eren heaved a sigh of relief. "That is good."

A sole tear ran down Eren' cheek, teetering for a few seconds on his chin before it fell on one of the numbers Hanji had scribbled into the sand.

Levi looked in the direction Hanji had gone.

"You behave, brat," he grumbled, grabbed his cape, shook the sand off, and walked after her.

The End

You've reached the end of Volume 2, well done and thanks for reading! If you are curious to know whether Levi will manage to change the future (of which he has no memory anymore thanks to Eren), read on! In Volume 3, Levi, Hanji and the brat squad will go to Marley.