She should have never left them alone.
She knew that if she left, something bad was bound to happen, but why didn't she listen to her usually right instincts. The asian girl mentally swore at herself as she gazed upon the charred body in front of her. Her knees hit the rooftop with a thud as she gripped her head, it was coming back, this ache in her head. Yet, that was the least of her problems because that ache wasn't nearly as strong as the one in her heart. Tears we already brimming at the ends of her eyes, begging to fall out. No… She had to be strong, not for herself but for Eren. The ache in her chest grew bigger, how could she possibly be strong for him when her mental state was already on the edge of cracking. Losing people was one thing she had accustomed herself to, death was always constantly surrounding them, even at the young age of nine. In fact she faced even those terrible deaths with a strong steel like face, even though she knew deep down inside she wasn't like that. Now everything had come crashing down to her, this one moment that was her fault.
Armin and Eren had given her those reassuring smiles, saying they were going to defeat the colossal she trusted them, but even then she felt that pinch of worry in her heart and her brain. She didn't want to leave them, it was just the both of them. No Levi, no Erwin, no Jean, and especially no her. She wanted to stay and fight with them, their old trio, 'the Shinganshina Trio' as people called them. She was going to fight, she was going to protect the only two things she had left, the only two things that kept her living. Yet, it was all of humanity that was counting on her, not just those two, so when Jean took her shoulder and gave her that stern look she knew she had to trust them.
The Colossal might have been taller, but the Armoured Titan had a tougher defence and a greater speed. The Recon Corps needed her on the Armoured, her brain knew that but her heart was telling her something different. Knowing that her brain was the logical choice she chose that she would trust her first friends. With doubt and worry in her movements she had turned around and walked into the opposite direction.
"Don't worry, both of us will survive. We have to, otherwise we can never see the ocean, right Armin." Eren's voice stood out in the sounds of chaos and screams of their comrades dying.
Her short hair had whipped in the wind as she snapped her head to look back at those angry passionate green eyes she had always loved. His look had 'it will be okay' all over his face. She had looked over to the innocent small blond boy who gave her a thumbs up. She had given them a smile in return and had caught up to her squad.
Her battle had been tough alright, but she had fought through it, and hard. Those two boys that had saved her were on her mind as she fought the beast that broke through that wall. Even the shifter had slammed her into a nearby broken roof and she felt the sharp tile bite into the flesh of her stomach she smiled, she fought even on the verge of death, she had to make it back to them. The Armoured had fallen though not by her but Hangë and she was happy, but all that joy had stopped when she saw that ball of fire fall from the sky. Then that feeling had returned, similar to that feeling she had gotten when Eren had 'died' but the feeling had come back and it was ten times stronger than last time. Something had gone wrong, so she flew, recklessly latching on to every building that came in her way, slaying every titan that came in her way. She had to get there.
Jean and Connie shouted her name behind her telling her to slow down, that she was wasting all of her gas. Her ears were blocking out any sound that weren't her two childhood friends. They had to be alright, they had to be, there was no way. She had tried to convince herself that everything was going to be okay, but deep down that lingering feeling was still there.
When she arrived it was like her whole world came crashing down onto her, it wasn't even Eren angrily looking to Levi, no it was something much worse her eyes had immediately been drawn to that freshly burnt corpse that lay in front of her. Eren had not even noticed her, neither did her fellow Ackerman. She had tried to ignore that pain in her head as she said his name.
"Armin?" Her voice sounded confused and she didn't deny it herself.
Stammering onto the roof she grasped at her head and kept on looking at the scene in front of her. No, this was not happening. Everything that her head was saying was just a fake ass reason not accept this scenario in front of her. She looked at her surroundings again and thats when she heard the growl.
"You better use this damn serum on him or so help me Levi." She cringed as she heard his voice. Broken but it had that edge.
"Eren you know I have to make the most logical choice", the captain squinted his eyes glaring at the emotional wreak of a teenager in front of him. "Think about it, who is more important the commander or a soldier."
"Armin had the brains to even become the fucking commander himself. He has saved our shitty lives more than Erwin has done. The recon corps would be lost without him Levi, and you know that so make the fucking right decision." Eren growled.
"It doesn't change that fact that Armin was a mere soldier, a soldier joins knowing he won't probably make it through this shitty reality we live in. Except it Eren." Levi's voice was stern.
"Without Armin we would all be dead right now. Erwin told you before that he was sacrificing himself so use the fucking serum on Armin, please." The titan shifter held passion in his voice.
The female Ackerman had seen the look in her fellow Ackerman's face when she saw him lunging forward. Her instincts fast as ever jumped into the scene.
She had stopped his fist with her strong grip. She could feel Eren's eyes widen when she did it.
"Stop… Please. Armin wouldn't want this." Her voice cracking and she couldn't stop two or three tears fall from her eyes.
"Mikasa…" The asian girl froze when he said her name with such passion and care.
"Goddammit Ackerman, you just had to save your fucking boyfriend." Levi growled in disgust.
The grip that Mikasa had on his hand tightened and she glared at him and with the words she never thought would leave her mouth left her mouth.
"For once, I am not saving Eren." Both Levi and Eren looked at her with pure confusion.
With a stern voice she pushed Levi's hands a little further away. "I am trying to save the Survey Corps." She stopped. "But most importantly I am trying to save humanity."
Mikasa took a deep breath and stared Levi right into the eyes with those 'listen to me or you die eyes'. "Armin had, no still has one of the most advanced brains of our civilization." She pointed to Eren. "If he wasn't there Eren wouldn't have become one of the Corps strongest weapons but a monster in a cage. If Armin wasn't there the hole in Trost wouldn't have been sealed, and we would have all been dead. There has been so many times that innocent boy has saved your confident ass."
The asian girl looked down and moved her hand to the collars of his bloodied jacket. "So please, I know you and Erwin were close like how Armin and Eren are, but you and I both know saving Armin is the right choice. I know it hurts, I know it hurts, you don't want to lose what seems like your only friend but please, you and I both know it is time for the three of us and the rest of the Survey Corps to save humanity. Make the right choice, the one Erwin would want."
The two men looked at her with pure and utter shock, that was the first time Eren had her talk about something so passionately. Levi on the other hand looked down and shed a single tear, he hated this. He hated how that shitty brat was right. Life for them was a battlefield and he could't afford to kill humanity with his selfish reasons. Levi wanted to cry but he heard her voice again.
"I know it hurts Levi, I know because you don't want to lose your friends again, Petra and the others are gone I know… But that is just the cruel world live in, I know you felt like Erwin was the last one for you and I know you don't want to say goodbye, trust me I know. Levi we are Ackermans, being the last ones standing are kinda our specialize. I promise you though this time, we won't be the last ones. I promise."
With those last words Levi broke into a full out sob, he hadn't cried in front of another person since Farlon and Isabelle, when his team got killed by the Female titan he had cried in his own solitaire.
Levi stood up and gave Mikasa a small smile he would rarely let others see. "I will make the right choice." He looked at Eren then back at Mikasa. "The serum will be used on Armin, for his brains to save humanity."
Eren nearly burst into tears as he looked proudly at Mikasa then back at Levi. The short captain walked over to Armin's burnt corpse. With a needle in his hand he looked down at Armin and let a silent tear fall down his face.
"Good-bye Erwin, my good friend." The needle plunged into Armin's neck, and there was a bright light that blinded everybody.
Eren had watched the scene unfold before him, never before him. He had been so heartbroken, yet so much more rage had come out of nowhere from him. When Levi had first brought up the idea of saving Erwin over his blonde best friend his world had came crashing down on him.
That was why Mikasa had come in, injured like crazy emotions all over the place, he wouldn't lie to say that he had a small sense of hope. If this titan serum was a way to save Armin he knew that the both of them would stop at nothing to save their best friend.
Though one thing had bothered Eren, when they were given the news that when Armin would eat Bertholdt he would see his memories. The green eyed boy couldn't dare imagine what that would have to be like for Armin to see. All those cruel things Bertholdt did. Not only that he knew that the Colossal Titan Shifter had feeling for Annie, and Armin used to as well. It would be an extra level of heart break. Why did the three of them have to go through so much fucking pain.
As that final thought entered his head, a sudden memory flashed through his head. He snapped his eyes over to Mikasa. When she had arrived she had gripped her head. A wave of worry rushed through him like an open river. Had she hurt her head trying to defeat the Armoured? Eren shook his head inside in mind, no it was like he has seen her doing that before. No. He couldn't worry about her now, Armin was more important. Eren had zoned out a bit through the conversation but as soon as he hears Levi say the words "your boyfriend" to Mikasa he had gone back into the conversation, his cheeks flaming red.
He had expected Mikasa to say something about how she must do everything to protect him, but no her answer was something much different.
"For once, I am not saving Eren." Those where the words that exited her mouth and Eren had stood there in shock. She was using her serious voice and boy was it scary, but the german boy found something compelling about it.
He watched silently the whole conversation between the Ackerman's. Eren's focus had been on Mikasa the whole time. Never before had she shown so much emotion speaking to someone other than himself and Armin a few time. As soon as his thoughts went to the blonde boy he had immediately looked over to his burnt body that was barely breathing next to him. He looked away with a few silent tears, but then he heard that sound.
It had been a sob, his head snapped around to look at the two asians in front of him, only to see Levi in tears. Never had Eren seen this sight, even when his original special ops squad had died Levi had not cried. At least not in front of people, for fucks sake Petra was supposed to be his fiancé but he did not cry in front of others.
As the captain was crying, Mikasa was busy saying all this stuff about how much of a better use Armin would be to the Survey Corps. Never had Eren been so inspired by Mikasa, long streams of water were exiting her eyes, and Eren didn't want to see them rolling down her face. Yet, he had no right to talk because the same thing was happening to him.
"The serum will be used on Armin, for his brains to save humanity."
When Eren had heard those words exit the Captain's mouth, Eren snapped around and looked at him. Hange was now here, and Eren had no idea where she had come from but she was restraining Mikasa. The green-eyed titan shifter had not been paying attention to what the arms and the legs of his fellow comrades were doing, only the tears on Mikasa's face, and Armin's burnt body.
For god's sake he couldn't even remember lying on the edge of roof, unable to move through his grief. Once he heard that the serum was going to be used on Armin his lumps in his throat grew. He was happy that Armin was going to be saved, but what types of things will his precious friend have to see, in the process of eating the traitor Bertholdt? He swore to himself.
Before he could even process what was going on, the serum was injected and there was a blinding light that only meant one thing, his best friend was shifting into a titan.