Author's Note:

Warning, following chapters will, I repeat will, contains spoilers for the upcoming season two of Attack on Titan. Readers familiar to the manga version won't have anything to fret but to everyone else, I'd advice you to consider twice before continuing.

Enjoy.

Chapter 10: Shattering

It sounded like someone tore the door straight off its hinges.

Immediately, I sat up and rubbed my eyes as I bemusedly tried to remember when I had fallen asleep. When I finally regained somewhat of a consciousness, I found the obscure room illuminated with the help of a lantern. Its warm glow reflected back on Levi's pale face and his silvery eyes narrowed at my dozy form.

"Get up!" he angrily barked.

I blinked. "Did you… did you just kick down the door?"

Levi ignored me and limped to my side, placing the lantern on the nightstand. In the now naked doorway, Hange's face peeked forward.

"Yo… Corporal, you shouldn't have been so violent," she complained and held up a hoop completely cramped with keys. The metal pieces barely made any noise as she teasingly wiggled the ring in the air. "I had the keys, you know. Hi Sera," she then absentmindedly added.

"What is…" A yawn drenched my voice and filled my eyes with tears. "...going on?"

Levi didn't answer; he was too busy trying to find my other boot.

"Well," began Hange as she carefully stepped over the fallen door, "Shorty here is officially throwing a royal fit."

"Shut the hell up," Levi replied coolly and ducked to the floor, digging out my boot from underneath the bed. "This isn't exactly something you can shrug off. Put your shoes on," he ordered me and handed me the now complete pair.

I frowned and looked between the two as I obeyed. Levi rose and fished out a napkin from his chest pocket, quickly wiping his hands with it. His eyes revealed nothing but hostile frigidness; I couldn't find a single sign that his earlier act had changed anything between us and it both irritated and relieved me, although I quickly decided to lean on the latter—I didn't need any drama. Hange smile was rapidly fading and something grave flashed across her visage as she observed me.

"What is going on?" I repeated and stood up on unsteady legs.

"You're going back home," spat Levi.

I flinched at his acid tone but before I could answer, Hange interjected, "No, you're not."

If looks could kill, Hange would have been a pile of ash. But to everybody's fortune, no such power had been granted Levi—he would have destroyed the world.

"She's absolutely not going out there," he snapped and crossed his arms over his chest. "Not in her puny condition."

Hange adjusted her spectacles, pushing them up her forehead and fringe. "Eren is worse," she said in a sober tone. "And it's obviously better if she follows rather than sending her to Karanese."

Both Levi and I stiffened at her words. I was worried for Eren but I highly doubted that Levi shared my concern for the emerald-eyed boy. Why couldn't I return?

I swallowed and tried again. "What is—"

"Maybe you should just leave her here? She'd be safe and you would know where she was," Hange carefully asked. "The evacuation procedure has probably made it chaotic in the districts, so this would be the best place."

Evacuation procedure?

"No," Levi sternly replied. "It was wrong of me to trust the military-shitheads in the first place. Tsk. I won't make the same mistake again."

"Hello?!"

I waved my aching arms over my head. Their surprised gazes turned to me and I realized that they had forgotten about me. Getting even more infuriated, I harshly went on, "What the heck is going on right now? What are you talking about? Did you two just impulsively decide to wake me up in the middle of the night—" I pointed accusatorily at the dark window, "—to have some kind of audience to your bickering?"

Hange bit down on her lower lip; Levi's angular jaw tensed.

"Of course not," replied the woman apologetically and averted her gaze. "We'll explain more on the way. Come on now, there's no time to lose."

"Four-eyes," Levi said between gritted teeth. "I don't know what kind of shit you inhaled before you came to me but you better get rid of that stuff, because you're unusually dense even to be you. She cannot go out there."

Hange pursed her lips. "But since you're going, maybe she can—"

"I'm still here!" I snarled, furious at their complete disregard for my presence. "Neither of you are telling me what's actually going on! How difficult can it be?"

After a tense pause, Hange heaved a sigh and finally explained. And what she said scared me even more than the seemingly constant news of my family members' death or the traumatic memory of the night in the frozen lake. I would gladly withstand both over and over again, suffer them countless of times more, rather than live to a day when I had to hear what she just informed me. I wouldn't have believed her if it weren't for Levi's tightly balled fists and the deadly silver in his eyes.

"Wall Rose…" Hange murmured, her face paling, "...has been breached."

The wheels knocked over a particularly large rock on the otherwise rather even ground and the bump bestirred me from sleep. I must have reacted pretty visibly because I heard a condescending snort to my left.

"You better not have drooled," Levi dryly stated.

I frowned in confusion until I realized how stiff the left side of my face was and instinctively raised a hand to my cheek. The skin was warm and covered by strands of damp hair. I quickly draped my hair to the right side of my neck as I felt myself grow hot in the face; I had a fairly accurate guess to what Levi meant but since I didn't want to jump to hasty conclusions, I decided to ask.

Levi turned towards me with a sinister glare. "You've been sleeping," he replied in a scornful tone. "On me."

"Why did you let me then?" I muttered as I furrowed my brows.

He didn't answer and I was too tired to bother forcing it out of him. I wished I could shuffle away from him but the seat was a tight enough fit already, with me, Levi, the wall preacher from earlier—I vaguely remembered that his name was Nick—and Hange huddled up together. Levi's leg and hip awkwardly ground against mine whenever the cart caught on something, which, fortunately, wasn't too often but caused me to blush every time.

I faced away from him and clasped around myself in a vain attempt to retain whatever warmth I had stolen from his admittedly comfortable body. A chilly breeze caressed my burning cheeks and I inhaled deeply, cleansing my mind from Levi's lingering fragrance, while I regarded the passing landscape. The air was cool and the night sky was covered with misty clouds, shrouding the glimmer of the moon and the stars. The dark firmament cast a sepulchral spell over the scenery below it, turning the otherwise green, lush fields to endless ribbons of gray and the occasional castles to ghastly shells with empty, lifeless yards and black, hollow windows that stared right back at me.

Not much had changed since I had last been in Wall Sina. What little I had managed to see in Stohess only confirmed what I had suspected the people of the inner districts to be all along: prosperous, disdainful and materialistic. I could see those traits even out in the open; the castles were excessively ornamented, constructed simply for appearances rather than functionality, and abundant with perfectly cropped trees situated by human hand. It was obvious that the denizens of and within Wall Sina revered beauty and riches above anything else and although I, too, could understand the charm of the whole ordeal, I couldn't help but to pity them for treasuring all the wrong stuff in life.

Born in an average, middle-class family and never having either too little or too much money to spend, my brother and I were taught pretty early on how important wealth was and wasn't. Both of my parents had claimed that as important as it was to be able to use money for adequate food and shelter, there was a definitive line between surviving and wasting. And so it came as a major surprise when my father spontaneously announced that we were going on a vacation to Wall Sina, the wall infamous for their frugality and egoism. We were supposed to stay for a week but Sebastian mysteriously got sick already at day one. My father decided to stay in the tavern with him, suspecting that my brother was suffering a temporary food poisoning, but when my mother and I returned to our rooms after a day of joyous eye-shopping, I had barely recognized Sebastian. His frail, juvenile body had been the color of ash and as he finally raised his head from the bucket the innkeeper had been kind enough to lend, I saw that his familiar blue eyes had been void of any emotions but one.

Pain.

We returned to Trost the same day and never resumed the journey even though my father promised me that we would. It took about a week of solitary treatment until Sebastian was restored to his usual self and when I asked him about the reason to his horrible state, he had laughed it away as being homesick and ruffled up my hair. That naturally got me on my bad mood and I had chased him around until twilight, making me forget to ask him again. Because even though I was sure that my brother had never lied to me, not even once, I knew that he sometimes avoided telling the whole truth.

That's what made him such a potent liar.

How strange that I remember it in such detail, I suddenly mused. Sebastian got sick already in Hermiha and I always blamed him for ruining our trip into Wall Sina… If only I had been more mature and moved on; I wouldn't have spent so much time trying to be mean towards him in a stupid, childish way to administer justice.

I exhaled and shut my eyes. Stop it, said a reasonable voice. There are more important things to ponder on. Sebastian wouldn't want you to cry every time you think about him and neither would your parents. You have to move on.

Of course, I sleepily replied. But it's easier said than done. Sebastian always protected me from harm and he was there whenever I needed him. He never wanted me to join the Survey Corps even though our parents pushed me to enter there and he advised me to go to the Military Police even though he hated their cowardice. He always shielded me from everything, even mom and dad… that fire was awfully convenient when I think about it…

I had fallen asleep by the time the wagon reached a large, wooden stable and warehouse at the southern gate of Hermiha District. I woke by the eeriness in the air and the ceasing of the wheels, and shook my head as I regained consciousness. Eren blinked a couple of times as Mikasa gently nudged him awake and we looked at each other in mutual confusion.

"We're here," said Mikasa and jumped down from the cart. She turned around and looked between us both. "Let's go."

"Y-yeah, of course," Eren replied and got off as well. I followed them as they began walking towards the building but briefly glanced behind me when I heard a child wail after its parents.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Hundreds, if not thousands of people were trudging on the street in a straight, seemingly endless line, empty-handed and with their eyes gloomily fixed onto their feet. Their fear was palpable, like an invisible barrier that separated them from me, and the ominous silence made shivers run down my spine.

They've given up.

I began towards them, eager to convince them that there was still hope, that the situation eventually would be solved, but then I realized that I actually didn't know what to believe myself. I harbored very much respect for the military, especially the Survey Corps, but the cause of Wall Maria's fall had been by a single breach through Shiganshina. If the reports were true about Wall Rose, it, too, would fall, no doubt about it.

How foolish I am, I reprimanded myself as my heart started beating faster, whether out of terror or adrenaline I did not know. Of course they're right to be afraid. Only a fool wouldn't be. What will happen to Karanese? Lydia and Miriam? My mother? What will happen when humanity is forced within the innermost wall? What—

"Sera."

As usual, a shudder involuntarily ran through my body when he mentioned my name and accompanied by the much taller preacher, Levi approached me from the direction all the people were heading. Nick looked horrified but gradually regained a stoic composure while Levi was as unfazed as usual. My eyes immediately dropped to his left leg and although he walked too slowly for me to notice any limping, I knew that he was hurt.

And somehow, that hurt me.

"Hey, stupid. I'm talking to you."

My sympathy vaporized and I glowered at him. "What is it?"

Levi cocked his head towards the warehouse. "Get moving. I don't want to be chasing you around either."

I obeyed with a sigh, having seen his revolver earlier. As much as I doubted that he would actually shoot me, I knew that I couldn't be too careful around Levi. He, the preacher and I quietly went inside the brightly lit stables where I saw Eren, Mikasa and Armin gear up together with a troop of soldiers from the Survey Corps I did not know the name of. Hange noticed us in the corner of her eye and spun around, her focus landing on Nick.

"Did you… did you perhaps have a change of heart?" she asked as she hesitantly started towards us. "You saw the people, didn't you? You saw how many they were, right? We could help countless more—no, humanity as a whole with the information you and your organization so desperately withhold."

The preacher was silent. I was just about to take a step forward when Levi whipped out an arm and blocked my way. His silvery eyes were solemn and I bit down a protest as he led me back a couple of steps.

"There's no more time!" Hange suddenly roared and advanced towards the preacher. Her cheeks flushed with anger and her hands had crammed into tight fists. "Don't you realize that? Decide if you're going to talk or not! Please, I am begging you, Nick!"

I raised my eyebrows at her outburst even though I wasn't really surprised; I had always suspected Hange to hide a much more serious personality beneath her otherwise cheerful demeanor.

"Oi, look at me."

His neutral tone instantly attracted my attention and I turned around with a huff. Levi folded his arms across his chest, beneath the black blazer that nonchalantly hung over his strong shoulders, and I fleetingly noted that he had changed his gray button-up shirt to a white one. The barrel of his gun protruded menacingly from his left side.

"You're not going beyond the wall," he simply stated, leaning his weight on his right leg.

Hange kept on yelling and although I was curious to hear about what, I had to ignore her and focus on my own annoyance. "Are you still going on about that?" I asked him, frowning. "This is as good a time as any. It'll even be easier than a normal expedition during the day since the titans can't move too well without sunlight," I added triumphantly.

"Neither can you, stupid," Levi retorted and moved towards the wide entrance of the stable, gesturing for me to follow. I grudgingly did. "Don't you understand what madness it is to fight titans in the open? Without superior mobility you're as good as dead, and you don't even have a Maneuvering Gear. And let's not even begin to talk about how this journey isn't in the least planned—you're just going to run around in the dark like dumb-asses."

"Hange said I would be fine," I snapped and presented the only strong argument I had. "And Eren is tagging along even though he's both injured and forbidden to fight."

"Eren Jaeger is different," Levi hissed and stopped by a wooden pillar. He turned around with a deep frown etched onto his handsome features. "Cut off his arm and it'll grow right back. Fucking disgusting. And he'll be able to dodge a titan's attack with his gear; meanwhile, you're gonna be in the damn way of everyone."

I tried not to scream at him. "If I have my brother's ability, I'll be able to know when and where a titan will strike," I replied as venomously as I could. "How else do you think a guy like him was able to kill so many titans?"

This surprised Levi. His eyes momentarily widened before he gathered himself into a characteristic scowl. "So," he spat, changing subject back to me, "you're just going to hope for the best? You're gonna bet your life on something that isn't even supposed to exist?"

I groaned and slammed a hand across my forehead. "Yes, Levi," I exhaled. "Do you finally understand it now? If I really do have the same gift—" Levi's eyes narrowed into tiny slits as he heard the word, "—I'll have proven my worth to humanity and I'll be able to fight for a better tomorrow. If I perish somewhere along the way it'll be worth it, even if that day is today." I felt my voice waver slightly and swallowed before continuing. "I trusted Sebastian more than anyone else and if he said that he could feel the titans, he could. And hopefully, I can, too."

"You've listened too much to your uncle and Erwin," sneered Levi. "Didn't your parents teach you something called 'common sense'? You're supposed to fear the titans—not chase them."

"They taught me to fear nothing." My words triggered a memory but I steadily went on as I automatically rubbed my bandaged hands together. "I've wanted to be a part of the Survey Corps for as long as I can remember and there's nothing you, or anyone else for that matter, can do to stop me." I frowned. "Why do you think I joined the military in the first place?"

"Because you're the stupidest idiot in this damn fucking world!"

I flinched; Levi was breathing through his teeth, fuming, and his eyes were liquid fires. My instincts told me to run as fast as I could but before I could react, I was interrupted by Armin's anxious voice.

"Sera? We must go."

Levi's incinerating gaze screamed of murder as he silently glared over my shoulder. I heard Armin gulp in reply.

"Hmm…? Sera?"

I whipped around and waved my hands in front of me. "I-I'm coming," I replied as casually as I could and even smiled at them. Hange gave me a confused look but the creases on her forehead quickly smoothened when she saw Levi's expression.

"Take your time," she sternly said.

"But," began Eren, his green eyes darting from me to Levi to Hange. "We… we have to hurry, we have to—"

Hange shook her head once, then addressed the members of the Survey Corps in an imperative tone. "Gather your things and get to the horses," she commanded. "I have something else I'd like to share with all of you. Nick, you can stay here; Levi will take care of you."

Eren seemed inclined to protest but Mikasa put a hand on his shoulder and held him back. Dejectedly, he followed the soldiers through a door that Hange held up, sending me a worried glance. I wanted to say something before he disappeared but the auburn-haired woman quickly ushered him out and gave me a meaningful nod before she closed the door after her.

I was not happy that Hange had decided to leave me alone with Levi. The preacher didn't really count since he was slumped to the ground with his withered hands pressed against his face; I didn't think he would care no matter what Levi did to me.

I was almost hyperventilating by the time I mustered enough courage to be able to turn around and I wiped away my stiff smile with the back of my hand. Levi's face was expressionless, a beautiful countenance of self-restraint and calm, but his eyes were still burning with cold fury.

"What the hell, "he breathed, taking a step closer to me, "is wrong with you?"

My fighting reflexes made me mirror his body language but he snatched my wrist before I could gain any real distance between the two of us. I tried to punch him but he grabbed my other hand mid-swing; I tried to kick him but he easily blocked me with a leg of his own. I pursued the latter tactic, hoping that I would eventually come off with a lucky strike, but he was quick to figure out my agenda and undermined it by shoving me against a pillar and push his body so close to mine that I was locked in place.

I winced at the pain that spread through my back. "You're technically assaulting a woman," I whispered, too breathless to speak normally. "There's probably at least one law that prohibits such behavior."

His grip around my wrists tightened and he pinned them above my head as I struggled to get away. My heart increased in pace and my face turned crimson at our proximity; I could feel the well-developed muscles of his abdomen press against me even through both of our shirts and it was so intimate that we might as well have been naked.

"Why can't you just listen to me for once?" Levi parried, his deadpanned face merely inches away from mine. It felt like his eyes would burn me if I looked into them for too long, but I couldn't avert my gaze. "Even though you know the dangers and the consequences, you refuse to back down. Are you mentally challenged or do you simply have a death wish?"

His words reminded me of Lydia's and roused me from my dizziness. "Obviously the latter," I sarcastically replied, "since I'm trying to make sense with you. I must be either suicidal or morbidly masochistic, no doubt about it."

Levi growled. "Don't bullshit me. You aren't going anywhere."

"Why are you refusing to let me?" I asked, suddenly bemused. When he didn't immediately answer, I went on, "What is your problem?" My face suddenly cooled. "Why… why do you care so much about what happens to me?"

His jaw tensed and he diverted his gaze. My poor heart commenced to pound even harder, so hard that I could barely hear my own thoughts. Levi's slim, tantalizing lips were so close to mine that I could practically taste them. His aftershave, the smell of his skin and clothes made my mind whirl and I felt my knees weaken.

Is he intentionally trying to make me pass out? I thought in a pathetic attempt to become angry. Because if so, he's really succeeding.

I almost didn't hear him. His usually patronizing voice was empty and barely louder than a whisper, and he was almost murmuring into his cravat.

"I…" he began.

Hearing Levi hesitate broke me out of my inner turmoil—I had never seen him waver. Never even once. Not when he struck someone, hurled a sneer or touched me. My sanity seeped back into my body and I was able to speak again. "W-what is it?" I inquired.

Levi abruptly let go off me and took a large step backwards. His eyes stayed focused on something in the western wall and he crossed his arms again.

"I made a promise," he finally uttered, his voice quiet and controlled. "I made a promise to your brother that I wouldn't let you get hurt."

I was too shocked to reply. I stared open-mouthedly at him as my arms eventually succumbed to gravity and fell to my sides.

Even in death, I numbly thought. Even in death, Sebastian is doing everything he can to protect me.

Before I could even think of an answer, Levi turned away from me and went to the preacher. He kicked the man's legs and snarled, "Get up. We're moving."

Nick got to his feet in a surprisingly nimble manner and lowered his hands from his face. He hadn't been crying as far as I could tell, but his eyes were large and glassy and he didn't comment Levi's behavior in the slightest. Well, neither did I but I had an actual reason not to.

I just couldn't.

The two odd figures started towards the entrance of the wooden building. The amount of people had dwindled significantly and only a couple of dozen were roaming the avenue. Nobody was looking up from the cobblestones and even though they were following the street, I knew that they were walking aimlessly and without the actual will to move. Orders were what kept them going.

"Sera."

Levi stopped and glanced over his shoulder. His silvery eyes were cold and sharper than knives, but I saw the resignation in them and visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh.

"Even though we aren't together anymore," he abruptly said, making me choke on my breath, "I want you to know that I care enough about you to wanna keep you safe, no matter what stupid vow I might have made. But I can also see that you've already made up your mind about this and as stubborn as I know you are…"

It seemed as if he were expecting a reply from me but I was frozen. Too many emotions ran through my exhausted body and I couldn't come up with a single coherent thought.

Levi frowned slightly but didn't say anything more. He turned his gaze straight, coolly sheathed his hands into his pockets and walked away from the stables with the preacher right on his heels. I waited until they vanished out of sight and held on still for a little while longer before I finally sank down to the ground and desperately tried to remember how to breathe.