Hey guys so this is the last installment of this story, thank you all so much for reading it and reviewing it and I'm really glad you've all enjoyed it and I hope you enjoy this last chapter :D

Five years had passed since Armin had saved Eren's and countless other lives during the fifty-eighth Exterior Scouting Mission and he was standing on a raised platform in front of the rest of the regiment, staring out at the sea of faces, some old some new but all staring at him with awe and wonder. Eren stood at his side with Erwin in front of them addressing the crowd, Levi and Hange on the other side of the platform. In the last five years Erwin had been enlisting Armin to help with strategic formations along with plans for reaching Shinganshina in order to discover the secrets kept in the cellar or Eren's old house.

They still hadn't managed to reach Shinganshina but they were slowly closing the distance with larger amounts of territory being taken back for humanity. New temporary walls, that were swift to put up and take down when needed, had been erected with each new hundred feet the Scouting Regiment were able to take back. The temporary walls had been a stroke of Armin's genius, meaning that they had less ground to cover each time they left the safety of them and the population was able to expand again. It had given them a fighting chance.

"As well as welcoming our new recruits it is with great pride and privilege that today I will be naming two new officers into our ranks," Erwin told the crowd. "Along with Squad Leader Hange Zoe I am very proud to introduce Squad Leader Eren Yeager and with Captain Levi, Captain Armin Arlert."

Both Armin and Eren stepped forward to rapturous applause from the crowd. Whistles and cheers from the front of the ranks made Armin look down to see Connie and Sasha cheering. Mikasa stood beside them staring up at them with pride sparkling in her eyes, the other living members of the 104th regiment they had joined with standing with her. Armin couldn't stop the smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he saluted. He had never thought or expected to make Captain but now that he had it felt good. Hell, it felt better than good it felt fucking amazing and he knew that he never would have been able to do it if it wasn't for Levi.

As Erwin continued with his speech Armin looked over at Levi, catching his eye. He smiled and he saw the tiniest hint of a smile grace Levi's lips. It was the most he had ever seen from him when the two of them weren't alone and Armin felt his chest swell with pride. Just knowing that all his training had paid off and that he had defied everyone's expectations, including his own, was enough, having Levi proud of him as well was a bonus.

"Who'd have thought it, hey?" Eren said once Erwin's speech had finished and the regiment had been dismissed. "You as Captain and me as a Squad Leader."

"I expected you to be a Squad Leader once you got your head out of your arse," Armin chuckled, playfully bumping his shoulder against Eren's.

"I'm sorry," Eren said smiling sheepishly. Since Armin had saved his life he had apologised for his past behaviour. Armin had told him not to worry about it but Eren had been insistent about making it up to him. More than anything Armin was just so glad that he had his best friend back. He gave Eren's hair a ruffle.

"You need a hair cut," he stated.

"Look who's talking Mop Top," Eren laughed messing Armin's hair up.

"Stop it," Armin chuckled giving him a playful shove, "we're supposed to be serious commanding officers now."

"You're still built like a daffodil though," Eren teased.

"I could bench press you," Armin stated.

"In Titan form?"

"Bring it on."

Eren opened his mouth to make another snappy retort but was cut off by Hange's arm being thrown around his shoulder.

"Eren are you ready to start talking Squad Leader duties?" Hange asked. "I've got a whole list of things I need to tell you and once that's done we can start talking experiments."

"Haven't you experimented on me enough?" Eren asked.

"Eren when it comes to science it is never enough," Hange said.

"Great..."

"Now are you ready?"

"Um sure thing," Eren replied as Hange began to pull him away.

"See you later," Armin said chuckling.

"Bye," Eren said as he was dragged away.

"Now one of the first things you need to know about being a Squad Leader is..." Hange said as Eren turned his attention to what he was supposed to be taking in. He had clearly thought that he and Armin would have more time to celebrate their new titles before they were thrown in at the deep end to work.

"Honestly Glasses gets way too excited about shit like this," Levi said from behind him. Armin turned to see him looking in the direction Hange and Eren had just gone, an exasperated expression on his face. "Yeager's going to be talking tactics for the rest of the day if he's not careful."

"It'll be good for him to use his head for once," Armin replied.

"If he has the capacity to," Levi stated and Armin had to chuckle at that. Eren still ran headlong into trouble without thinking about the consequences even after all these years. "How does it feel," Levi began, breaking him out of his thoughts, "to be a Captain now?"

"Strange," Armin replied. "If you had told me when I first enlisted that I would eventually be made a Captain I wouldn't have believed you."

"To be perfectly honest neither would I," Levi said. "When I first saw you you were this scrawny little kid who could barely hold himself up on his gear and looked as if he would shatter if he tried to use a riffle but look at you now."

"I have you to thank for that Sir," Armin said. Levi rolled his eyes, knowing that Armin was about to start gushing sentimental bollocks and being totally unprepared for it.

"Whatever."

"No I'm serious," Armin said and he sounded so sincere that Levi felt a new kind of pride swelling in his chest. "You didn't have to train me – I had nothing that I could possibly offer you in return – but you did it anyway. You helped me become the person I am today. Your training kept me alive and by proxy quite a few other people alive too."

"Keeping people alive is kind of my job," Levi stated.

"I know but that's not the point I'm making," Armin said. "Remember the last time we spared and you said that I had missed the point of the lesson you were trying to teach me?"

"Vaguely," Levi said although he did. He remembered it vividly. He remembered seeing the devastation in Armin's eyes when he thought that he had failed and he remembered how happy he had looked when he had told him that he hadn't. It had been one of those moments when he had know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Armin was going to succeed. One day he would be a Captain and that day had finally come.

"Well you're kind of missing the point of what I'm saying now," Armin said, a grin beginning to form on his lips.

"That so?" Levi asked raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yes," Armin replied, "basically what I'm trying to say is just thank you. You've done so much for me over the last few years and that means more to me than anything."

"This was all you kid," Levi said. "You were the one who did all the work, I just pushed you in the right direction."

"But..." Armin began.

"No buts," Levi said cutting him off, "you were the one who took everything that I threw at you. You've defied everyone's expectations, including your own, and you have proved to everyone that you are capable. You've had it in you from the very beginning, I just gave you a shove along the way."

"And it really was a shove," Armin chuckled.

"Don't get too cocky kid," Levi replied, "I am still your superior."

"I'm twenty-two," Armin said a little forlornly, "I'm hardly a kid."

"I'm still nearly twice your age," Levi chuckled, "you're a kid."

"Fine!" Armin pouted.

"So are you ready to talk Captain tactic?" Levi asked clapping Armin on the shoulder. A huge grin spread over Armin's face again.

"Yes Sir."

"Hey," Levi said, "remember what I told you; you don't have to call me Sir. We're both Captains now; you've earned the right to call me Levi."

"Okay... Levi," Armin nodded, following him inside the castle.

"Have you heard what they're calling you around the barracks?" Levi asked after a short pause.

"No," Armin replied.

"Humanity's Greatest," Levi said with a smirk.

"What?"

"You're an exceptional soldier and a phenomenal strategist," Levi stated, "it was only a matter of time before you got your own nickname."

"Humanity's Greatest..." Armin mused. "Sounds too grand to be deserved."

"I wouldn't have said so."

"Really?"

"You get used to the extra titles after a while," Levi said.

"I'll take your word on that," Armin chuckled.


"Are you totally sure about this?" Shane, a lanky boy of sixteen with freckles and a mop of mousey black hair, asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Cody, a short fifteen year old girl with cropped blonde hair and bright blue eyes, replied.

"I just mean that maybe the Scouting Regiment wasn't a good idea," Shane said. "Don't you think that we should have maybe taken a different path."

"And what?" Cody sneered. "Joined the MPs? Fat lot of good they were when those two huge Titans were running riot in Stohess seven years ago."

"Yeah but it will be safer there," Shane stated. Cody laughed.

"No one's safe anywhere Shane," she said. "Haven't you wanted more from life that just being stuck behind these walls with nothing but the hand that we're dealt."

"You're such an idealist Cody," Shane stated. "You're going to get yourself killed one of these days and I don't want to be the one to tell your mum."

"You don't have to protect me, Shane; I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," Cody said fixing him with a look that was a mixture of sympathy and irritation. Shane sighed.

"I know that but I made a promise to your mum that I would look after you and if you're going to go running off into danger then I'm going to be standing right behind you."

"Well that's a very nice sentiment, but I really don't need it," Cody told him.

"Maybe not but..." Shane began but he was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming down the adjacent corridor towards them.

"Shh," Cody hissed, "someone's coming."

Both of them stared at the end of the corridor as a short dark haired man with bags under his eyes from years of sleep deprivation and a slightly taller blond man behind him. Cody and Shane stared in disbelief as both of them recognised just who it was coming towards them and they snapped to attention.

"At ease cadets, Levi grunted as he passed, not even bothering to stop to look at them. Cody and Shane quickly dropped their stances. Unlike Levi, Armin stopped to smile at them.

"Cadets," he said.

"Captain," both of them said in unison.

"How are you finding it so far?" Armin asked.

"It's a little daunting Sir," Shane said honestly.

"I'm looking forward to starting training," Cody beamed. Armin chuckled. This girl was going to be a handful, he could tell already.

"Well always remember to follow your training, do as your instructors tell you, listen to your Squad Leaders and you'll be fine," Armin told them.

"Yes Sir," both Shane and Cody said.

"Who are your Squad Leaders?"

"We're both in the Yeager Squad Sir," Cody said and Armin recognised the manic gleam in her eye that he had seen in Eren's so many times before. Good luck Eren, this one is going to give you a run for your money.

"Arlert," Levi called from the other end of the corridor and turning to face the three of them, "come on, I don't have all day."

"Coming," Armin called after him. He turned back to Shane and Cody. "Good luck. Maybe I'll see you out on the training ground." He turned and caught up with Levi and the two of them rounded the other end of the corridor, leaving Cody and Shane staring after them in amazement.

"Was that?" Shane asked when he finally managed to pick his jaw off the floor.

"I think it was," Cody replied.

"Holy shit!"

"That was Captain Levi and Captain Armin," Cody said. "That's Humanity's Strongest and Humanity's Greatest right here. We are literally in a castle with living legends!"

"Oh my god," Shane breathed as he stared after Armin and Levi now looking at the empty corridor.

"Still wish you'd joined the MPs?" Cody asked grinning at him. He grinned back, finally tearing his eyes away from the spot where his two heroes had been.

"Not a chance."

THE END