While the dense mass of giant trees prevented most sunlight from reaching the forest floor, the atmosphere remained fairly calm and upbeat under the circumstances. Birds could be heard singing in the background, and the laughter of the Scouts permeated the air.
On the ground Levi was talking quietly to Zeke, with several other Scouts keeping a sharp eye on the shifter. Meanwhile some of the Scouts up in the trees who were off duty were sitting close together on a branch passing around a bottle.
Varis looked over to a Scout that was a short distance away from the group. "Hey Matthew, why don't you join us? This wine is pretty good."
Matthew looked up from his book with a wan smile. "No, that's okay."
"Come on, lighten up. One drink won't hurt."
Matthew waved his hand. "No, really, I'm okay. You guys go ahead."
Varis shrugged. "Suit yourself."
"Hey, look at it this way, more for us." Nick remarked.
The other Scouts laughed and enjoyed some more of the wine.
Matthew returned his gaze to his book. He didn't have a problem with the others enjoying alcohol, and in moderation it was fine. But he personally had a rule against it, and despite having plenty of opportunities hadn't touched alcohol in years.
A large part of his personal distaste for alcohol had come from his experiences growing up, as his father had been an alcoholic. He hadn't been outright abusive, thankfully, and Matthew had heard enough horror stories of what some men did to their wives and children under the influence of alcohol to consider himself very lucky indeed. Even so, his father hadn't been pleasant to be around, regardless of whether he was drunk or sober, and it was almost a relief when the man drank himself to death shortly after Matthew's sixteenth birthday.
Another reason he'd come to dislike alcohol was because he associated it with the wall cult. His mother had been, and still was, heavily religious, and growing up he'd been made to take part in many of their services and rituals honoring the three Goddesses, including a communion ceremony involving small cups of wine. But as he'd gotten older he'd slowly come to realize that the whole thing was utter nonsense, with the revelations the Scouts had brought back with them about the outside world being the final nail in the coffin of his faith in the three impotent deities.
With his father dead, unable to stand his mother's religiosity any longer, and both intrigued and unsettled by the truth of what lay beyond the walls, Matthew had ended up joining the military. If asked why he'd say it was to defend his homeland, but in truth he didn't really know what he wanted to do with his life. He supposed he wanted it to mean something, and while he no longer believed in any gods, he still could see the merit in being dedicated to a cause higher than the self.
Shaking off these heavy thoughts, Matthew went back to his book, tuning out the sound of his comrades' laughter in the background.
In the blink of an eye, everything changed.
One second he was resting up in the treetops, rereading his book. The next, the trees all around him glowed with unnaturally bright lights.
Matthew screwed his eyes shut against the painful flashes, but almost as soon as they appeared the lights faded.
He opened his eyes just in time to see that all of the branches where his fellow Scouts had been stationed were gone, torn to pieces, when a series of massive thuds hit the forest floor with such violence that he almost lost his balance and fell out of the tree.
He looked down to see a horde of Titans sprawled on the ground, quickly getting to their feet.
Matthew's eyes widened in utter shock.
What the hell?! How…
The Titans completely ignored him, and instead all headed straight for Levi, who hastily soared out of the way. At first he simply evaded the pack of Titans, but after a minute or two a grim resignation came onto his face, and he began to slice the Titans apart one by one.
Matthew watched in awe as Levi tore through the Titans, for the first time seeing with his own eyes why the man was considered humanity's strongest soldier.
A moment later the forest was silent once more, the only audible sound being the steam rising from the Titan carcasses.
"Captain!" Matthew called out.
Levi jerked his head in shock. "Matthew! You're...you're still human. You didn't drink the wine, did you?"
"No sir."
Levi grimaced. "I see. So that confirms that Zeke's spinal fluid was in the wine."
Matthew felt a cold shiver go down his spine. If it hadn't been for his personal rule…
Levi's face darkened. "I'm going after that bastard."
"Wait!" Matthew exclaimed. "Take my gas. And I've got some spare thunder spears."
Levi nodded. "Thanks."
A moment later Levi sped off through the trees, leaving Matthew alone by the now destroyed campsite.
After seeing Levi tear apart the Titan horde, Matthew had no doubts that he would be able to best Zeke, so he wasn't worried.
But he did feel rather sick to his stomach. He hadn't developed any particularly close friendships with any of the other soldiers, but they were still his comrades, and they'd been good people. Less than thirty minutes ago they had been doing fine, same as always, and now, they were all dead, just like that.
Matthew went around the camp to see what supplies could be salvaged, the dissolving Titans providing a morbid sight that he did his best to avoid looking at.
A short while later, Levi returned on foot with what was left of Zeke.
Matthew looked at him uncertainly. "What do we do now sir?"
Levi glanced back at the battered shifter. "Obviously we can't trust him, but we can't kill him just yet. We'll grab one of those Yeagerists or something and feed him to them. Then Historia can eat them once she gives birth."
Levi began to drag Zeke toward one of the surviving carts. "Let's move out."
"Aye sir."
The first part of their journey was fairly uneventful, with Matthew steering the horses, and Levi in the back with Zeke's mangled body. To ensure that he couldn't transform Levi had lopped off all of Zeke's limbs, and tied clothes tightly over the stumps to prevent them from regrowing. After Zeke regained consciousness, Levi had alternated between muttering angry threats and kicking him in the face.
Intellectually Matthew knew that Zeke deserved every bit of torture Levi had inflicted on him and more for what he had done. Even so, the sight of the captain brutalizing another human being was rather unsettling for him.
Later in the day it began to rain, the downpour so bad it was hard to see more than a few meters away. At that point Matthew and Levi had taken shelter under their cloaks, and Levi had relented on tormenting Zeke, though he did nothing to prevent the man from getting soaked to the skin.
By the end of the day the rain had ended, and around sunset they came across another group.
Matthew frowned. "Are those…"
Levi grimaced. "It must be the Yeagerists."
From the head of the group Floch peered at the three people in the cart.
"There he is."
"Stay back!" Levi snarled.
Matthew held a sword to Zeke's neck, while Levi had gotten his own blades out and was brandishing them at the Yeagerists, daring them to make a move.
Hange looked around in confusion. "Where are the others?"
Levi's expression darkened. "They're all dead. This bearded bastard turned them all into Titans to try to escape."
Levi glared at them. "If you think I'm handing him over you're sorely mistaken."
"You won't have a choice." One of the Yeagerists remarked before pointing his gun at Hange.
Her eyes widened.
Levi's eyes narrowed. "Treacherous bastards."
"That's enough."
Floch pushed the barrel of the gun down. "There's no need for that. Captain Levi, can I speak to you privately?"
Levi glanced at Matthew, who silently conveyed that he wouldn't let them take Zeke.
Satisfied, Levi and Floch walked a short distance away from the group. Glancing at the young Scout, Levi could see that despite his best efforts to hide it, Floch was nervous.
Levi eyed him intently. "So, what exactly do you think is going to change my mind?"
Floch forced himself to meet Levi's gaze, and his nerves seemed to fade. "You're not the only one who has a bad history with Zeke. I was a part of the suicide charge, remember? Of course I don't trust him. But I don't need to. I trust Eren, and that's enough."
Levi scowled. "And you think Eren is right to trust Zeke?"
"You misunderstand. Eren isn't going along with Zeke's plans, he's just letting Zeke think that he is."
Floch grimaced. "Do you know what Zeke's real plan is? He intends to use the Founding Titan to render all Eldians sterile so that they will gradually die out. He thinks it's the only possible salvation for us."
Levi's eyes widened, and he glanced back at the bound shifter. During their journey he'd heard Zeke muttering in his sleep, two of the words he'd repeated over and over being "atonement" and "euthanasia".
Levi realized that while Zeke may have betrayed Marley, he evidently still had the same internalized hatred of his own race that the continental Eldians were taught to have from birth.
Floch continued. "Of course Eren completely disagrees with this plan, but he's managed to convince Zeke that he's on board with it. After all, we do need a Titan with royal blood to activate the Founding Titan. But once it's activated, it will be Eren who determines how it will be used."
Floch leaned forward, a sly smile on his face. "You want revenge against Zeke, yes? What could be more perfect a revenge than to let him believe his plan is about to succeed, only for it to be taken from him at the last moment? And of course after we activate the Founding Titan we won't need Zeke anymore, and then you can do what you like with him. I know you'll have to swallow your pride and let him go for now, but in the grand scheme of things I don't think that's too much of a price to pay, is it?"
Levi mulled it over in his head. He could tell that Floch was holding something back, most notably what Eren was actually planning to do with the Founding Titan's power. But that omission aside, as far as he could tell, Floch was telling the truth. And if that was the case…
Levi gave a barely perceptible nod, and the two of them walked back to the rest of the group.
Matthew looked at him uncertainly. "Captain?"
Levi looked at Floch seriously. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear, Forster. If I found out you're lying, I will kill you."
Floch's face paled, but his expression didn't change. "Understood."
Levi let out a heavy sigh. "Matthew, let him go."
Matthew looked at him in shock. "But sir-"
"Let him go! I'll explain later."
"...yes sir."
A moment later, Zeke was lying on the cart, his limbs unbound and slowly growing back.
Levi crouched down next to him. "Listen carefully, Zeke. You may have postponed your judgment, but you have not stopped it. So be aware that your days are numbered."
Zeke closed his eyes. "I've known that from the moment I became the Beast Titan."
"Let's move out." Floch said.
The following day, the group arrived at Shiganshina only to find it under attack by Marley.
After Zeke had saved Eren from the Armored Titan, Levi shifted his focus to the next threat.
The Cart Titan. Guess we'd better do something about that.
The Cart Titan tried to run, but Levi was too fast, and after a series of fluid movements he sliced off all four of its limbs.
"Fire!" Floch shouted.
The Yeagerists shot four thunder spears into the Cart Titan, destroying the gun and killing most of the Marleyan soldiers manning it.
Levi stood just outside of the ruined Titan carcass. "It's over. Come out and surrender."
"Damn it…"
Magath came out slowly with his hands over his head, but Pieck used the steam from her Titan to launch herself off the wall to escape, and before she landed on the ground she'd transformed again.
Levi eyed her warily. "Shit. Matthew, you handle this."
"Yes sir."
Matthew took custody of Magath, while Floch and the Yeagerists joined the fight against the rest of Marley's forces, leaving Levi alone to chase after the Cart Titan.
Across the battlefield the Armored and Jaw Titans kept going straight for Eren's Titan, and kept getting decimated by the Beast Titan. The Cart Titan, on the other hand, was careful to stay out of the Beast Titan's line of sight, and was instead making its way over to the Beast Titan.
But right before she could reach the Beast Titan, Levi managed to catch up with her and slice off all of her limbs again. With nowhere else to run, Levi pulled her out of her Titan, forcing her to surrender.
Seeing that the battle had turned in their favor, Zeke slid down to the bottom of the wall.
Pieck gritted her teeth. "Damn it! Zeke…"
Levi shook his head. "Trust me, I hate Zeke even more than you do. But unfortunately we need him, so I can't let you kill him, not yet anyway."
Pieck looked at him in bewilderment. "Huh?"
From their vantage point, Levi and Pieck got a good view of the moment the Attack and Beast Titans met. The Beast Titan looked excited, while the Attack Titan's face was expressionless.
The two clasped hands, and the next second a massive flash of light occurred. The two Titans merged, and began to transform into a gigantic form so large that Levi couldn't even see it clearly.
"What the hell?" Levi exclaimed.
Then, everything became still, and a voice rang out from the void.
Hear me subjects of Ymir. My name is Eren Yeager. I am using the power of the Founding Titan to speak to you all.
The hardening of all the walls on Paradis island have come undone, and all the Titans trapped within them have begun to march.
My objective is to protect the people of Paradis, the place where I was born and raised.
However, the world longs for the annihilation of Paradis. The hatred that has been swelling up for so long will surely not end until not just the Paradisians, but all of Ymir's subjects have been exterminated.
I reject this wish.
And so, the Wall Titans will trample all land outside of this island underfoot until all human life living out there has been eliminated from this world.
Levi stood there, frozen, only one thought in his mind.
What have I done?
Author's Note: Happy New Year! I'm back!
So as you could probably tell, this story was basically "What if at least one other Scout didn't drink the wine?" While it's definitely plausible that all of the soldiers drank at least some of the wine, I thought it would be interesting to see what would happen if there was at least one Scout that remained human after the rest were turned into Titans by Zeke. In the canon Levi ended up putting a thunder spear into Zeke's stomach in order to make him suffer, but if there had been someone else there they would have been able to point out to him that that was a fucking stupid idea, and he shouldn't let his anger cloud his judgment. And that in turn could lead to a bunch of butterfly effects.
Some might wonder if Matthew was a self insert. Eh, sorta kinda? I mean, I personally do have a rule against drinking alcohol, both for health related reasons, and also because I make enough dumb decisions when I'm perfectly sober. My dad isn't an alcoholic, but his dad was, and he actually did drink himself to death when my dad was 18, which from the sounds of things was a massive relief to everyone involved. And I did used to go to a church that had small cups of wine for communion, which was pretty much the only alcohol I've ever had, and I gave that up when I realized that Christianity and organized religion in general was bullshit. So in many ways I did draw on my own experiences for Matthew. But on the flip side, I have a deathly fear of heights, which would make using ODM gear rather difficult, and I've never wanted to join the military.
Oh, quick announcement, I decided to turn Story 8 of What If into a full story, so if that sounds interesting feel free to check that out. I'm planning to add updates to What If and that story once a month. It's often enough to give you guys new content, but it gives me enough time in between to hopefully avoid burnout.
Anyways, be sure to leave a review and let me know what you thought.