Chapter 18

The roar of the Rogue Titan was palpable. Throughout the entire forest, the Scouts perked up as they heard the personification of humanity's fury. The normally calm Commander of the Scouts, Erwin was startled by the unexpected sound. Armin and Jean shared a dread-filled gaze, hearing the light tones of pain in the roar. And Mikasa, she snapped at attention when she heard it, "Eren?!"

And she flew off the massive branch, paying no mind to Sasha who calls out behind her. But the one affected the most by the roar, was Captain Levi. That voice… Don't tell me… A heavy weight began to press into his chest, the only thing on his mind was the wellbeing f his squad… and the doom the mighty roar spelled on their fates. He quickly swings around and heads back towards the danger, unknowingly doing so at the same time as Ackerman. Back with the titans, The Female Titan's body is still steaming from it's transformation. Though looking slightly weakened in comparison to how it was before. Clearly whoever the shifter was, they were not anticipating taking so much damage as they had, especially from the newly minted Scout who lays unconscious not so far away. Even with the Rogue titan charging at her with blinding speed, it gave her nowhere near the same level of terror that Howlett had given her. Throughout this entire day, that was the only time she truly feared for her life.

The rogue titan threw a wild and wide swing at her, which she deftly dodged, providing her with a good amount of distance between the two of them while doing so. The Rogue Titans appearance was particularly feral as it seemed to froth at the mouth. It opened its mouth to roar but the sound came out more like a cough as he was kicked violently in the gut. Despite her weakened state, there was a significant amount of power in that strike as it pushed Eren back, nearly knocking him off his feet but he braced his knees, keeping his center of gravity in place and bringing him to a stop. It seemed that he wasn't completely blinded by his rage as he was quick witted enough to grasp her leg as it came round for another kick and used her momentum to swing her and throw her into a tree, with her back hitting the massive structure harshly, leaves floating down as they were knocked off their homes. Eren wasted no time as his Rogue titan exhaled steam and rushed in for wild combos, hook after hook were thrown but none found their mark as the Female titan expertly dodged all of them, sticking to defense so as to not expend any effort and exhaust her transformed state. But it seems that her weakened form caught up to her slightly as she was too late to avoid a punch that connected right at her jaw, sending her tumbling to the floor.

The titan shifter cursed herself but still recovered, rolling into a crouch and taking off. Enraged by the sudden retreat, the Rogue titan chased after. As the battle continued Levi flew into the scene, a blank expression set on his face as he took in the scene before him. He saw Gunther laying still and haphazardly among the tree branches, a small amount of blood seeping from his head, too far for him to tell if he was even alive. He had no chance to inspect as he witnessed the horrific sight of Petra's plastered body laying against the base of a tree in an unnatural angel. Her lifeless eyes still open but without the light it normally glowed with. It seemed that only from the chest up was spared as the rest of her… was flattened beyond recognition. Though he showed no emotion outwardly, inside he was in agony. He wished for that to be the end of it but that wish was thrown away as he saw what remained of Oluo, only his head that laid far out on the ground while the rest of his body… he can only assume was what made up the red splatters among the tree above. Levi lowers his head slightly, allowing his hair to cover his eyes as he closes them, regret beginning to grow inside his heart despite him pushing it down. He can't allow himself to go down that path, to ask himself those questions. Why wasn't I here? Why couldn't I have been faster? Why did I leave them to die?

He can't allow himself to regret, or else he'll never rise from that abyss, especially when there is so much more at stake. He's broken from his dark thoughts by a voice that he was afraid he wouldn't here again.

"Captain!" it was Eld!

Levi quickly spots his second in command and rushes toward him, landing elegantly on the branch he was stranded on.

"What happened here?" Levi asks, his voice carefully controlled.

Eld was by no means the same, tear streaks were clearly evident and fresh ones were already falling as he laces his fist in a salute. "I'm sorry sir, we were tricked. Who we thought was you turned out to be the Female Titan in disguise, she used Scouts uniform and flares to isolate us and transformed after it attempted to take Gunthers life. Fortunately Scout Howlett was able to prevent his death, sustaining injuries and in the resulting escape Gunther was rendered unconscious. I-I don't know how bad it is." His voice quivers slightly but he clears his throat and continues, though his fist presses tighter against his chest.

"I and the other veteran members of the Squad attempted to take out the Female titan on our own, we successfully rendered her arms useless and almost killed her, but she somehow prioritized a single eyes healing and nearly k-Killed me, but howlett, he saved me, cutting the gears of my cable just in time for me to avoid being bitten. I sent him in to try and save the others but… he- WE failed Sir. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" Eld can't hold it in anymore and he begins to break down.

Levi inhales deeply, curling his hands into fists as he sees the unconscious form of Calian laying down on the ground. Brat… You better not be dead! "Get ahold of yourself soldier. Now's not the time to lose your head! Quit your crying and stay alert, we'll come back for you."

Sniffling Eld salutes once again, "Yes sir."

Levi descends to ground level and quickly gets to Calian. He kneels and presses his fingers to the large teens neck, feeling the strong pulse beneath his touch. He's surprised by the amount of relief that floods through him. Relief and thankfulness. He's still full of sorrow at the loss of his squad members, but Calian was still able to save at least two of them, even nearly costing his own life while doing so. For that, Levi is eternally grateful for it. And he's a lot more grateful of the fact that Calian will also pull through. He does a quick observation, noting that the blood on his being seems to be from the titan, the steam rising from the dissolving fluid being a clear indication. Almost all of it, he thinks to himself grimly, noticing the large gash on his side, thankfully not too deep but clearly done with precision. This had to have been the blade from our ODM gear. Standing up, the Captain kicks Cal's leg, rousing him to consciousness. Calian's eyes snap open and he begins swinging but Levi catches his hands, expending a bit more effort than he'd like to admit to keep him from flailing as he gets his bearings. Cal's eyes finally focus as he finally realizes that it is Captain Levi that's right in front of him, "C-Captain?"

"You finally thinking straight brat?"

"Yea, sorry I-I was still out of it."

"Understandable. Can you get on your feet?"

"I think so." He says, wincing slightly from the stinging pain on his side.

"hnn, Then get off your ass, we gotta get Eren back before he gets himself killed."

Cal's eyes widen as he remembers the events that just transpired. He grits his teeth and looks away, guilt once again rising like bile in his throat. His voice is thick with emotion as he calls, "Ca-captain."

Levi bows his head, "I know. You did what you could. Now let's focus."

He flies up into the air with his gear. Cal was shocked by how cold his voice was, but now isn't the time to dwell on that and he too rises, ignoring the pain and flying after him. The two make it in time to see Mikasa arriving. They all witness the final moments of the battle the two titan shifters were fighting. Just in time to watch the Female Titan kick Eren's head clean off. The three are powerless to stop anything as they were still too far away and could only watch helplessly as The female Titan rips off the meat surrounding the nape, leaving Eren exposed to harm, the tendons and muscle tissue still connected to his body. He seems incoherent as the female Titan opens her vile mouth, splitting her cheeks in the process as she chomps down on him and rips him out. The familiar sense of emptiness returns as Calian watches his friend seemingly be devoured and for the Titan shifter to begin running away. Again… it happened again.

He snaps out of his thoughts as Mikasa lets out a war-cry, running into a warpath as she demands the Female titan with every bit of strength she can muster, "GIVE HIM BACK!"

She attacks the Female titan with the same level of ferocity as Calian did, striking her along her cheeks and face, The Female Titan only being able to place a hand over her nape as a response to the unrelenting attack of an Ackerman. The Female Titan was clearly becoming overwhelmed and Calian's heart dropped as the memory of her hardening ability finally returned. "Shit!" he yelled and pushed forward faster.

"GIVE HIM BACK!" Mikasa yelled once more as she rushes in slices the titan shifter in her leg, making her stumble.

Mikasa flies around, her blades ready to tear apart the hand that was still protecting her nape. She snarls as she races towards her target, too blinded by her desperate need to save Eren to realize that the hand has crystallized and shocked when her blades shatter on impact. Unlike others though, she doesn't linger and instantly retreats, stabbing one of the broken blades into the tree as she hangs on its side.

"Why won't my blade penetrate?!" frustration being the only reaction to the sudden development.

The Female Titan seems to see this as an opportunity as she slowly turns her head towards Mikasa and strikes, Mikasa narrowly evading the attack as the spot she was occupying only seconds prior was completely caved in. Now it's the Female Titan who doesn't linger as she turns tail and starts running again.

"WAIT!" Ackermann screams wildly but Calian appears and holds her back.

She looks back at the tall teen with outraged betrayal, "Calian?! What the hell are yo—"

Captain Levi suddenly appears before her, "Fall back for now." He orders calmly.

Mikasa clearly wants to argue, but Calian tightens his hold on her slightly, not to impede her, but to convey a message. Please listen. She exhales roughly and stops struggling. Calian waits only for a moment before releasing his comrade from his hold. Satisfied Levi orders, "Let's follow but do not engage."

The three do as was ordered, both teens trailing just behind the Captain as he continues, "Maintain this distance. It may be tired. It doesn't appear to be going very fast."

"From what I gather this has to be it's third transformation. With how it's lookin now, I don't think it's got another one in it." Calian comments, eyes still promising vengeance.

Levi doesn't reply to Calian instead choosing to address Mikasa, "From what I saw, it looked like he was bitten right out of the neck. Is Eren dead?"

Howlett subtly glances at Mikasa, hoping more than he ever has before that she can confirm that he's alive instead.

Without a hint of Doubt, Mikasa answers; "He's alive." Determination and vengeful fury were the only things that held her voice together as she continues, "Our target seems highly intelligent, and capturing Eren is apparently her primary goal. If she wanted him dead, she could've crushed him in her jaws. Instead she's carefully holding Eren inside her mouth while fighting to escape."

Whether it was wishful thinking or not, hope still blossomed in Calian's chest as he desperately clings to Mikasa's words. "I agree Cap. This is way too much effort for it all just to be about killin Eren."

"It still could've been her goal. It would make more sense to assume he's dead."

But neither one is swayed, "He's alive!" Mikasa states firmly.

Levi glances back at each of them, "I hope you're right."

His answer seems to ignite fury in mikasa as she spits out, "If only you'd protected Eren, This never would've happened!"

Calian grits his teeth, the pain he felt at the loss of his comrades, his friends, resurfaced. He knows what mikasa is feeling, he understands, but it still hurts to hear her say that. Because she's right. "We tried." He whispers.

Mikasa glares at Cal in confusion for a moment but as her gaze trials down to the wound in Cal's torso she realizes what eh means. "Cal—I didn't mean."

"It doesn't matter. You're right. We gotta fix this now." His voice was emotionless and Mikasa feels sorrow but there isn't time to dwell on that now.

Levi listens to the exchange as he realizes who it was that was accompanying him. So this is Eren's close friend.

"We'll focus all our manpower on one goal. First of all, forget about killing the Female titan." Levi orders much Calian's chagrin.

"But she killed so many! She kill—"

"So long as she can crystallize her skin, there's no way we can kill her, you know it as well as I do!" he answers back roughly.

Loathe to admit it, he knows that Levi is right. Her power is unpredictable and clearly unbeatable with the weapons they currently have. Maybe if they had a cannon it could do something, but that's obviously out of the question.

"We'll keep hoping that Eren is still alive, and attempt to rescue him before she leaves the forest. Howlett, you and I will hack her up… Ackermann, you draw her attention!" Levi orders as he readies his blades.

The two nod and ready their blades as well as the female titan is almost within reach. Mikasa dives down and continues her chase close to the ground, despite the fact that the Female titan watches her movement, but makes no attempt at stopping her. Levi nods at Calian and heads towards the left of the titan with Calian going to the right. Thanks to all the training the two had done together, Levi can trust that Howlett will provide the necessary assistance he would need to fight this titan.

The Female Titan continues her run but is getting tense as she's aware of the Scouts surrounding her. Within seconds, she turns with her right fist cocked and ready to hit home. Levi doesn't feel fear as he meets her head on, trailing along her arm and leaving it a bloody mess. On her other side, Calian does the same thing, tearing apart her arm with all the viciousness he can muster, his blades running deep enough to even slice some of its bones. He and leave use her arms as springs and reach her face level. Simultaneously, the two rear back their swords and stab directly into it's eyes, reaching deep into it's corneas and bathing the two in it's gushing blood. The force of their attack was so strong that the Female titan's head was knocked back and she could've swore that she was about to be beheaded.

"RELEASE!" Levi orders and they both unlock their blades, leaving them in and preventing her from healing her eyes again.

The two leaped back, reloading their blades mid flip and the two soar near each other, seamlessly crossing by and exchanging sides as they slice up her legs all the way down to her ankles. They never hit the ground as they rise back up to continue their assault.

Mikasa observes, impressed. He's very fast! She notes as she watches Levi attack with no mercy. As much as she hates the man, she can respect his skill, it's very clear as to why they call him 'Humanity's Strongest soldier'. He's like scalpel being sued to perform very delicate surgery, seamlessly flowing from one target to the next. And not far off is Calian. It seems that his training with Levi is well spent as he doesn't appear as rough as he used to. The ferocity for which eh is known for is still quite evident but he seems more developed. He's still clearly not on Levi's level, but he's a least able to keep up. They're working so fast and attacking so efficiently that she can't get a second to harden her skin!

Finally Levi delivers one more precise attack and the Female Titan's hand drops from it's protective position over the nape. Mikasa Gasps as she sees this, We can go for her neck! She's tired… I bet she can't move! Mikasa bares her teeth, I can kill her!

She shoots a hook right into the Female Titan's shoulder who's eyes are still closed from the damage inflicted upon them. Calian is aware of the exposed nape and rushes towards it as well. Levi curses as he sees both of the inexperienced soldiers let their emotions take over and attack. The one who is currently in the most danger was Mikasa as the Female titans massive fist is rising up to meet her while her nape is becoming more and more crystallized. Levi yells at the both of them, "WAIT!" but it was too late.

Thinking quick he rushes and shoves mikasa out the way, awkwardly planting his foot on the fist and gritting his teeth as pain shoots up at the sound of the cracking. Calian is already mid strike and his blades, just as Oluo's, shatter before ever even hitting it's mark. The Female titan kicks her head back, Hoping to crush Cal into the tree but his hook hits the next tree over and he reels him in as fast as his gear could, crashing into it roughly and dislocating his shoulder as a result. He cries out in pain but puts some distance between him and the Female titan.

"Idiots!" Levi growls out as he goes up and slice her mouth with his swords, cutting through all the muscle fibers and whatnot, making her jaw fall open, revealing a saliva covered Eren.

Hope returns to Mikasa's eyes as she sees him in one piece, "Eren!" she calls out but Levi is the one who gets to him first.

He quickly lands on the tongue, grabs ahold of Eren and flies off a few trees away.

"Hey! We need to get out of here now!"

Calian hisses in pain as he flies up with them, his left shoulder throbbing as is the wound on his side but he does his best to ignore it. Mikasa seems to be unaware of the rest of the world as she lightly smiles at the unconscious titan shifter, his rising and falling chest indicating his state of living.

"I think he's ok. He's alive. Filthy though. Don't worry about anything else." Steam was rising off of Levi as the evidence of battle was slowly dissolving off his being. He notices Calian looking back at the Female titan conflicted, clearly wanting to return to finish the job. "Don't lose sight of your primary objective! Is it more important to get the revenge you desire? Isn't he a dear friend of yours?"

Calian glares at the Captain who glares back challengingly. He relents and looks away, "On it cap."

He does as he's told, even though his mind still returns to the now crying slack jawed titan.

The mood amongst the Survey corps was somber. All of them tending to their horses and counting their loses. Calian watches as Mikasa sits protectively over the still unconscious Eren, mournful as she sees the corpses being laid down wrapped in white sheets. Too many had blood soaking through them.

The medic tending to him tells him to brace himself as their preparing to place his arm back in its socket. He takes a few deep breaths and nods. "Ok… 1…2…3!"

He grunts, with stars dancing in his vision as the arm is place back in roughly. He rubs his arm lightly, flexing his fingers then rotates his entire arm experimentally, making sure that it's movement is unimpeded. His Torso has already been treated and bandaged as that was the more pressing wound, the ointments they applied soothing away most of the pain to the point that it felt like a small sting. He puts his scout cloak back on and watches sadly as Eld and Gunther stand behind their Captian who's knelt beside a body and cutting off the Wings of Freedom stitched to their jacket. He watches in silent pity. The Captain may hide it well, but he can tell how much it pains him to do so, especially for members of his own squad. The two surviving members behind him watch with controlled expressions, the only indication of their inner turmoil were the still flowing tears that they just can't stop. He bows his head in respect, praying that his comrades at in a much better place than this hell.

He observes the scouts until he finds the one face he was looking for. He quickly makes his way to his girlfriend, who's face lights up the moment she sees the incoming giant. She quickly grasps him in a tight embrace, careful not to touch his wound. He kisses the crown of her head lovingly as he tightens his embrace, "Thank god you're still safe."

She smiles up to him, "Funny, I was gonna say the same to you."

He brings up his hand and tenderly holds her face, her eyes closing in comfort at the contact. Just knowing that they're both alive. She sadly looks up to him, "It almost feels wrong to be happy right now, with so many people dead."

"Darlin sorry to say, but right now, I don't care about right or wrong. You're alive. That's all I can ask for."

"Me too!"

Their eyes lock. The warmth, the love, the look of adoration, and desperation in their eyes mirroring each other perfectly. All the world seems to slowly disappear around them as they gaze into each others eyes. It's true what Cal said, they both feel it. They're so grateful that the other is alive. After all that has happened, in this world they live in, it's gotta be the greatest gift they can ever hope to have. To be able to face another day together.

A spark goes off between them and they slowly begin to lean in until a whistle brings them back to reality.

"EVERYONE SATTLE UP! WE'RE RETURNING BACK TO BASE!"

Calian curses silently as Sasha's face heats up and she quickly breaks the embrace. "I'll –I'll see you back at headquarters!" And she power walks back to her horse.

Calian can feel his lips still buzzing, wishing that the announcement was made just a few more seconds later. "Goddamn timin."

He does as told and sattles up to his horse and they begin to gallop again, the somber mood returning like a dark cloud. The survey Corp begin their trek back behind the walls. No one wants to say a word as they all knew, today was a dismal failure. And with nothing to show for Eren, they'll have no choice but to hand him over to the Military Police, where no doubt they'll want to execute him. How the hell do we fix this mess? He's broken out of his thoughts when someone alerts the rest, "TITANS!"

Alarmed, Howlett looks back to see two titans, one a skinny abnormal who's hugging itself and one that has arather large stomach but skinny limbs racing after two soldiers who are further back than they should be. "What the fuck?"

"A soldier on the cart stands, slowly pulling out a flare gun. "That's… Deiter! That fool he went after the body!"

The red flare flies high into the air, it's trail alerting everyone of titans being spotted.

The message clearly got to Erwin as he orders intensely, "Full speed ahead!"

Levi is riding nearby, "I don't see any tall trees or buildings. It'll be difficult to fight out here."

"We're better off trying to outrun them to the wall."

Levi scoffs but falls back, his hand gripping the knee of his injured leg. The titans are getting closer and closer. To the point that Dieter cries out as he sees a hand inch closer to him. He ducks, narrowly avoiding the hand but the resulting movement causes the corpse he had gone back for to fall off his horse. He cries out in despair as it all proved to be in vain. The situation worsens as when he looks to his left, he sees his friend Jurgen being lifted off his horse by a lunging titan who rolls into a stop and brings him closer and closer to its mouth. Dieter stops his horse and watches helplessly as his crying friends is devoured. Succumbing to grief, he yells and shoots out his hooks, leaping off his horse in preparation for an attack. The titan was faster than he anticipated though as he is caught mid air. The titan expressionlessly brings him closer to its mouth now, ready to devour him as it did his friend. He yells for someone, anyone to help him! And his prayer is answered as Mikasa appears, instantly killing the titan before it has a chance to bite down. He tumbles to the ground with Mikasa landing before it in a perfect crouch.

Dieter crawls out of its grasp, silently crying as he stares at the monster. Mikasa grabs him roughly by the collar and lifts him to his feet, "We have to keep going!"

He silently does as she says and they mount their horses and catch up to the main group. But the situation is dire as a mass group of abnormals are on their trial and gaining on them. And they show no signs of stopping. "No they'll catch us!"

"I'll circle behind them!" One soldier volunteers, "When I draw their attention you—"

"No." Levi orders, "Just abandon the corpses. Otherwise they'll catch us."

The soldiers are shocked by their superior officers callousness, "B-But—"

Levi betrays no emotions as he explains, "On past expeditions, dozens of bodies never made it back. These guys will be no different."

The man can only gape at his decision. Their at war with themselves for a moment before they begin to unlatch the cart. "Are we doing this?" The scout says as they stand over the body closest to the carts opening, "We're seriously dumping them!?"

Levi growls frustrated at the pain of his leg, knowing that if he wasn't injured he'd have taken care of the group of titans without any problem. Calian could see the men on the cart change from shocked to angry as they finally come to a conclusion, "WE have no choice!"

The bodies begin to fly. Corpse after corpse are thrown off the cart . The first few were trampled beneath the giants feet but they soon caught the whiff of humans and they begin to feast on the remains. Calian's eyes widen as one particular corpse's sheet unravels and an unmistakable head of ginger hair is visible as it bounces off the gorund roughly and rolls to a stop into the hand of a titan. P-Petra.

"KEEP GOING!"

It took quite some time, and all the corpses they had, to finally be free of the titan horde. The Scouts closest to the rear shoot a green flare to indicate the survey corps safety. Seeing as how the coast is clear Erwin orders the Scouts to top and rest before they continue so as to get a good handle on the situation. "As soon as we ascertain our location, we'll depart."

"Stay alert! We'll have to take a slight detour to the east…"

Not far off Dieter stands dazed at the events when a rapid set of footsteps catches his ears. He looks up just in time to see a furious Calian stocking towards him. He yelps as he's lifted by the collar and a devastating punch catches him right in the cheek throwing him to the ground and making him see double.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"

A group of Scouts start shouting and Gunther and Eld grab onto Calian to try and hold him off as he delivers another powerful punch, making Dieter spit blood as they struggle and fail to pull Calian back.

"Howlett I know better than anyone else here what you're feeling but you can't do this!" Eld yells.

Mikasa rushes to the and gets ahold of Cal, providing the necessary assistance to finally save Dieter fort he second time.

"YOU DID THIS YA PIECE OF SHIT! YOU DID!"

"Cal Stop!" Mikasa yells pleadingly.

He glares at Dieter, panting heavily. "You can't do this Cal."

He turns his glare to her, "Ya would if it was Eren or Armin."

She's shocked but purses her lips, knowing there was truth to his statement. He growls to himself, "Fuck. It's my fault too." He walks away to fume to himself as Levi does his best to hide his limp and meet Dieter who's still bleeding profusely. Levi takes out a handkerchief and throws it to the Scout. Said scout looks away pathetically until he notices Levi holding something else in hand.

"W-Wha—"

"This proves that they were alive. To me, at least."

Dieter tentatively grabs the wings of freedom insignia. "This was Ivan's."

The younger man's eyes widen then glisten with tears at the admittance, "Captain…"

Without a word Levi gets to his horse and mounts up. "We're leaving."

The journey back was as disheartening as The large scout thought it would be. Didn't make it any easier to deal with. The looks and jeers from the public, berating them for losing more and more lives. As if they had asked to be killed. But for the life of him, he just couldn't bring himself to say anything. They had silently made their way back to the Old Scouts Headquarters, feeling all the more empty than it did just the day prior. Calian sits in his room after washing up, writing in his journal.

I already knew that the life of a Scout, it'll always be a short one. But havin that in mind, it ain't enough to prepare ya for seein it. Petra, she was sweet. Like big sister I never knew I wanted. I think out of everyone, Eren was probably closest to her. She… she didn't deserve goin out like that. Her father didn't deserve to find out why she didn't come back home. And Oluo. Goddammit, I wish the last thing I said to him wasn't a fuckin joke. This whole shit is fucked. And here I am, feelin sorry for myself. I can't even imagine what the others must feel like. Especially the Cap. Emotionally constipated as he is, I can't imagine this not affectin him in anyway. Guess maybe I should do something. Ma always said that the bets way to help yourself is to help someone else. Let's see if that's true.

Calian places his journal on a nearby nightstand and heads to visit Eld first. He knocks on the door and after some shuffling sounds, the door opens. Revealing Eld's bloodshot eyes and despairing face. "Oh… Hey kid."

"hey, just wanted to check up on ya."

"Hnn. Thanks, but I… I think I'd rather be alone right now."

Calian nods, understanding. The door is shut and locked behind it. He doesn't disturb him. Next was Gunther. He knocks on the door but he hears nothing. He knocks again and this time the door opens but not because someone opened it, it was never closed. He slowly enters the room to see a big mess with empty bottle strewn all over. And sitting on the chair passed out was Gunther. Whose head was tilted back and a now empty bottle still in hand pointed down with it's contents now staining the floor. Sighing Cal starts to clean up around him and finally picks up the soldier and places him on his bed laying on his side. He grabs a nearby trashcan and places it on the floor next to his head in case he throws up.

After that he heads down to the mess hall and begins brewing some tea, knowing exactly who it's for. And exactly where he'll be. Levi perks up when he feels another presence in the mess hall, seeing Calian walking in with two teacups, the steam indicating its contents. Cal places one cup in front of him and Levi raises an eyebrow. The teen shrugs, "I heard ya don't like drinkin alcohol so I thought this would be a good substitute."

Levi grabs the teacup in his peculiar way and takes a sip, relaxing as the bitter fluid seeps down his throat in a comforting manner. "It's enough."

Calian takes a seat across from him, fidgeting slightly as he does so. "Whatever you got to say spit it out already. Your squirming is annoying the hell out of me."

Cal snorts but answers, "I uh… I wanted to apologize."

"what for?"

"I went in over my head and went for her nape even though I knew, it wasn't a good idea. Ya wouldn't have been injured if I wasn't so damn rash."

Evi simply sips his drink, "You're young and stupid, it's expected."

"heh. Yea… I'm sorry I couldn't save the—"

"don't start with that." Levi demands, shocking the teen.

"what?"

"Don't start regretting. If you begin to regret, you'll dull your future decisions. You'll second guess every action you take, or don't take and it'll end up affecting your decisions. You made your choices, and they lead to Eld and Gunthers survival. So thank you."

And Levi truly means it. When he saw all the bodies, even Calian's, he dreaded to think they were all dead. But When he saw Eld, when he told him of what happened, it truly opened his eyes to the young man in front of him. This man, he saved his squad. He was there when Levi wasn't and did his duty. Even if he bit more than he could chew when it came to the female titan, he still reeled himself back in. This kid… he really is something else. He looks at him, and the same feeling he had when he looked at Isabel and Furlan comes back. T that moment, with all the suspicions he has, if they were ever proven right, he wouldn't mind calling Calian his family.

"Is that how ya live your life? No regrets?"

"yea it is."

Calian tilts his head and takes his first sip of tea, "I don't know."

"What?"

"I don't know if even humanity's strongest can truly live without regret."

"and what makes you say that?"

"Cause to regret, is all part of bein human. We'll always regret somethin, whether we like it or not. Just gotta learn to live with it, just like everythin else. And No matter how much ya try, I think you're the most human of all of us Cap'n."

Those words stir something in Levi that he can't describe. He's always being looked at as something unattainable, as an indestructible symbol. Humanity's strongest Soldier. Everyone always looks at him with fear or admiration, but only because of what he stands for. There are very few who see past it and see him for the person he is. And once again, this man, he seems to see more than he's letting on.

Calian taps the table and starts to stand up, "I guess I should start hittin the hay. Oh by the way, that Teacup, it's yours. Oluo and Petra and the rest wanted to give ya a gift to show their appreciation. I promised Petra I'd give it to ya if they… couldn't."

As he starts to walk away Levi stops him, "Howlett… The tea… It wasn't bad."

A simple statement, but as he spends more time with Levi and Hanje, he's slowly learned that there's normally a different message underneath the Captain's words. What he really meant was, Thank you, for everything.

"No problem cap."

And he leaves the Captain alone. He enters the hall and is surprised to see Hanje trying to tiptoe away. "Uh Boss? What're ya doin?"

"She yelps and turns, grinning sheepishly at being caught. "Oh! Uh Cal! How are you? I was just walking around and seeing this new spider that I believe would be greta to bring to my lab and study!"

He crosses his arms, "Ya wanted to check up on the Captain didn't ya?"

She drops pretenses, "ahem, yes yes I did."

"Ya free to, I just left."

"I heard… thank you for helping him. He doesn't like to show it, but he needs people." She thanks him genuinely.

He shrugs, "Least I can do. And yea, despite the loner tendencies, he seems to need to be around others."

She smiles fondly, "It's how he was raised, he was always taught to keep everyone at arms length or never show emotion. But really he's a softie on the inside who needs a hug just as much as anyone else."

Calian raises an eyebrow, "Ya seem to know him very well." He notes.

She smiles, her cheeks getting slightly pink as a myriad of emotions pass through her eyes, "Yea." She admits, "I do, better than anyone here."

She bids him goodnight after that, not wanting to reveal anymore.

The next morning Armin wakes up from the nightmare he ahd just experienced. It was horrifying, it was like the whole world was on fire and in the center of it was a frightening skinless face. He shivers and goes to the door to exit his room only to run into Calian, who's wearing a grim face.

"Cal?"

"I think we need to talk."

Authors note: And there we go! What does Calian need to talk to Armin about? I'm pretty sure you can guess what it is! I hope you all enjoyed the update! next one will come out next week of course and thanks again to all who favorited followed and reviewed! Someone did ask if the garrison soldier and Calian would ever reunite and the answer to that... is no. That guy is long dead! But at least he saved one life who's doing his best to make a difference! Anyway, till next time guys!