Death: I am so glad to be back in the roll of writing this story. I hated taking a break from it, but it was needed. Now I'm back, and better than ever now that I know where to go.
Warning, this story is close to an end. I can't say for sure how many chapters are left, but I am nearing what it feels to me is the end of this story. Just thought I should warn all of you.
Chapter Twenty Two Narrow Escape
=3=
Eren had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. As they fled, there were no signs of any of the other three that had caused so much mayhem since Annie's capture. When there was still no sign of titan, chemical or not, he had enough. He couldn't fight against his urge to turn around anymore.
"Everyone, stop! We shouldn't be running away!" Eren yelled, and suddenly they paused, landing on branches.
"We can't allow them to capture you again, Eren." Mikasa held firm.
"And leave our comrades behind without any chances of fighting it? What if any of the other three show up upon them? Fighting one without weapons is bad enough, but what about four? And I can fight it." Eren pointed out, feeling his chest burn with the need to fight, his eyes flashing.
"He has a point. With him fighting as a titan, your squad stands a better chance of surviving." Jay agreed.
"But we've never faced a titan!" Lukas was immediately against it.
"We have to face them at some point, right? What if we have another fiasco of them breaking through one of the gates again? We have to fight off everything that is a danger to the people, as well as the queen." Frederika reminded them the ideals of the Queen's Guard.
"But what use can we fight without weapons?" Fritz frowned, not liking their chances.
There was a flash of lightning, followed by a crack of thunder. Everyone shivered at the ferocity of the storm as it picked up. Since this was a summer storm, the rain wasn't cold, but a little more on the warm side. Still, with the wind it created a bit of a chill factor. Suddenly they all caught sight of green cloaks, and suddenly the group that came across them stopped.
"Hange!" Eren recognized them with relief.
"What's the situation? We're spread out across the forest in search of this new titan." Hange went straight to business, also relieved to see Eren was safe. But where was the rest of the Special Forces Squad?
"The Special Forces Squad remained behind to redirect its attention from Eren. Levi instructed I lead the Queen's Guard and Eren to safety, as we are weaponless." Mikasa relayed, and the air was thick with fear.
"...I will spread word, in the meantime, all of you return to HQ, gather weapons and come back pronto. If Erwin is still there, please stick by his side, he is quite livid already. And I know he won't remain behind for very long." Hange instructed after a moment of consideration.
"But, Hange I can fight! I know I can fight again in my titan form! Please, let me fight!" Eren begged, he couldn't wait until they returned to the forest in search for the squad that remained behind.
"You sure you want to fight in your titan form? I cannot ensure that the Special Forces Squad will still be alive by the time we reach them." Hange wanted to be sure he was actually ready to face the possibility.
"I won't lose control, I promise!" Eren said, his words barely spoken when another flash of lightning lit up the sky. Everyone waited on baited breath, and the echoes of thunder followed.
Thus far there have been no sign of the other chemicals, which Hange wasn't sure if it was good or bad.
"Very well, fine. You remain with me. The rest of you, head to HQ and come back as quickly as possible." Hange nodded, and watched with a heavy heart as they left as instructed.
Levi sacrificed himself and the now veterans of the Survey Corp to save the recruits. However, I know for a fact it was more along the lines it was to save his daughter, and he doesn't even know her name change yet.
Hange had been there when the girl presented the papers to Erwin. It had been meant as a surprise for Levi and Erwin, but felt bad on the timing since she walked in on a heated argument instead. With their heart sinking, Hange hoped with all their might that the entire Special Forces Squad made it out alive.
Levi hasn't been told of his daughter taking the name of Lavena Ackerman Smith yet.
It would crush her that she didn't get to tell him. Levi, I hope you have enough titan gene to survive.
Hange felt a surge of hope when Eren transformed, and his familiar roar echoed throughout the forest. The powerful fifteen meter titan charged through the trees followed close behind by Hange and their squad. The commander had sent two people in opposite directions already to spread the word of the update.
=3=
Levi lost track of how much time passed. He could tell his squad were beginning to tire, and he wasn't sure how much their gears could hold on much longer. They had gas to last a while longer, but for how long? They had not been holding back on their speed, for it was required in order to dodge this beast titan.
Its long arms made it far too problematic to deal with it. It was taller than Ylmir, and its arms were the same length as its height. And it was for sure much stronger than Ylmir, despite how she was already strong enough to give the Armored Titan pause.
And, he was starting to notice a pattern.
Since he stabbed its eye, it focused mostly on him than the rest of his squad. This unnerved him greatly, but as time went on, he started thinking. Maybe he could draw it away from his squad. Maybe he could grant them the chance to live. He had chosen them to remain behind with him over the Queen's Guard. The least he could do was grant them a chance to survive this encounter while he made this thing chase him.
I am fast enough to outrun it. But for how long is the question.
He checked his gear. He still had half a tank left on both of them. It was probably better off than the rest of his squad. And, biting his lip, he came to the conclusion. He decided it was now or never.
"Oi, stinky hairy ass! Yeah, I'm talking to you! Want to play a little game called tag?" Levi sliced a cheek with Talon as he went passed.
"You're it." He challenged before fleeing with a burst of speed.
It puffed, but the beast took the bait and charged after him. The Special Forces Squad attempted to follow, but they had to drop back when the majority their gears ran out of gas. It was just Levi and the beast, now. Just as he wanted. He grit his teeth as he went full speed ahead, zig zagging through the trees.
Levi heard a familiar roar. He blinked, realizing that Eren must have met the Survey Corp and given permission to transform. Or, he probably had enough of running and decided to turn back and fight. Either or seemed probable. Levi changed course to follow in the direction of the roar, and hopefully they crossed paths.
However, what he didn't count was a titan crawling on all fours leaped from the trees to tackle him.
He had sensed something was happening, and his instincts kicked in just in time. He dodged with several twirls, giving out a shrilled cry. His eyes flashed yellow as he glared at the offending titan that attempted to take him down. In that instance, he realized that it didn't have a rider.
The beast must be its rider.
Levi didn't have time to decide what to do from there when a roar answered his cry, coming from a different direction than he had thought was heading towards. Figuring out this was the best way to be found, Levi answered with another cry of a bird of prey as he changed due course again.
An echoing roar answered back, and now they knew which direction they needed in order to meet.
Despite how much of a risk of his gear running of gas too fast, Levi increased his speed tenfold. There was a reason why he preferred the gear he had as in his assassin career. He had tinkered with it over the years. He found a way to increase the speed without destroying itself from the backlash of heat. The cost of it was that it took a major amount of gas if he kept it up for too long.
To his annoyance, the titan on all fours was almost keeping up with him on the ground. And somehow the beast was not far behind, but far enough that even with its long arms to reach with couldn't catch him. In the distance, he could hear the familiar stride of Eren's titan form closing in on them. He couldn't see through the trees yet, but he could feel the trees tremble from the powerful strides.
Suddenly a flash of lighting caught a tree he came too close to as he passed. It caught fire, and he was forced to slow down and dodge as it fell. Levi let out another shrilled cry, one filled with urgency, as he tried to reach for a high branch to escape the beast titan's reach.
However, before he could reach it the four legged one climbed the tree with ease. Catching sight of it, Levi was forced to choose a tree opposite of it, and effectively slowing down again. From the corner of his eye he saw Eren's titan form through the trees, and familiar green cloaks beside him. On the ground he heard horses closing in from a different direction.
A hairy arm reached for him.
Levi flipped over it, effectively dodging it. However, he couldn't pull himself up. His gear ran out of gas.
Heart stopping, he fell.
And then he was caught by the same hand that had reached for him seconds before. Levi stared at the ground, watching in horror as Talon fell. There went his only weapon. And suddenly his world slowed, his body tense and still, as the hand raised him to an opening mouth. His panicked cry cut short when the giant mouth closed in around him.
The last thing he saw before darkness was Eren's green eyes flashing as he closed in, aiming a punch.
=3=
Eren was beyond furious. He came upon the beast titan eating the captain, and the sinking feeling of no sign of the Special Forces Squad around. With an angry roar he aimed for a punch at the ugly titan that. It blocked with one of the elongated arms, of which Eren used as leverage to throw it to the ground.
Or tried to, anyway.
Instead he sent it into a couple of trees, as he couldn't lift it off the ground and fling it like how Levi does.
Still hanging onto the limb, Eren pulled at it with all of his strength. With a sickening rip and pop he pulled the arm out of its socket and threw it as far as away as possible. Hindering its ability to defend itself properly, Eren went in for another attack. His aim was for the gut, but once again he was blocked by the other arm. This time though, it pushed him against a tree, using its strength to hold him there.
Eren roared with fury as he struggled to get free.
You dared to eat the captain! I will make you pay!
Hange and a few others sliced up the elongated arm, and the beast was forced to retract and let Eren go. While the Scouts distracted its only arm, Eren went in for another attack. However, he changed the aim of his punch to the side of the jaw. He had a hunch, and he hoped it was correct.
He landed a couple of blows to the face before he decided to send a kick to the gut, sending the beast to the ground. Eren stomped on its chest several times as he growled, and finally the beast titan spat out the unconscious captain, who ended up rolling away a good ten feet before a tree trunk stopped him. Eren knew if he woke up now he would be pissed that he was covered in mud and titan spit.
Eren had been distracted too long.
An arm sent him flying a good twenty meters, the force crashed a few trees down to the forest floor. He was dazed for a good few minutes before Mikasa landed on his chest, having just caught up with Erwin and the Queen's Guard. It was then Eren felt the air change as the beast titan made a command.
Kill Commander Erwin Smith.
The order wasn't meant for Eren, but he heard it clear as day. Shaken out of his daze, Eren sat up. His eyes widened as he watched, as Levi's body moved on its own. No, wait, he was awake, but he wasn't himself. His eyes were golden yellow, devoid of emotion. And he bore the familiar marks underneath his eyes.
Eren roared as he bolted towards them, but he was too late to stop Levi as he did a sweep kick that brought Erwin to the ground. Levi silently stood over the commander, Talon in hand, which didn't make sense in how he had it when Eren was sure he saw the captain drop it before he was placed inside the beast titan's mouth.
Sensing something was up, Lavena intervened. The two immediately fought, and like before they were evenly matched. Eren stopped, and he turned his gaze to the beast titan as it tried to get back up, the Scouts were too distracted by the strange display of Levi fighting against his own.
With a roar Eren unleashed all of his power upon the beast titan responsible. He knew that somehow it was controlling Levi. He had heard the command. He tackled the beast into the ground as he punched endlessly into that disgusting filthy head. When his knuckles were bloodied up, Eren leaned over and released a long, deep roar into the beast titan's face.
You will not use the captain as a puppet no more!
When his roar was done, the beast titan pushed him off. It used so much strength that it knocked out the other titan, and Eren popped out of the body in a daze, dizzy. He blinked as Mikasa pulled him away from the body and into safety. Eren sort of came back around when he caught sight of Levi actually winning against Lavena. And then he had to remind himself that this wasn't Levi in control anymore.
"He's being controlled! I heard that thing make an order to kill Erwin! He somehow has a control over the captain!" Eren yelled, snapping out of his daze.
"Is there a way to snap him out of it? That thing just ran off with the four legged one." Hange hated doing something as a last resort if they couldn't successfully snap Levi out of the control.
"Wait, how is he being controlled? I thought he wasn't a titan?" Fritz stared, as did the rest of the Queen's Guard aside from Lavena, who was otherwise preoccupied.
"He has the titan gene, but not enough to fully transform like Eren. He has some of the benefits, such as strength and speed, as well as the eyesight of a bird of prey." Hange explained to them.
"So this beast thing has the ability to control titans then? Is that's why he's attacking us?" Hawkins frowned, not liking this situation at all. Armin ran up to Eren, grabbing hold of his hands.
"You have to make him snap out of it, Eren! I know you can control them, too!" The blonde encouraged.
"But...all the previous times were by accident. I tried to make the king stop when he was on a rampage, but I couldn't even manage that." Eren was in doubt. He wasn't sure he could pull this off.
His eyes drifted to the two, and noted as Lavena struggled to keep up with her father. And yet she had the drive to keep going, despite the fear in her eyes. This time around she was as relentless as he was. And even then it was a struggle to keep up when he wasn't the right mind state.
"...I can try. But we have to help her. She can't hold out for much longer." Eren was about to get involved when Mikasa beat him to it.
She joined in and immediately the two girls worked in perfect synchronization against him. By now the Scouts and Queen's Guard alike gave them room, as the fight became more chaotic when Mikasa joined in. Eren watched with worried eyes as he concentrated. He slowed his breathing as he focused on trying to mentally break the hold the beast titan had over the captain.
He thought about how Levi was so free when he was in the air, and how his moves alone inspired everyone else. He thought about his relationship to Erwin, and despite their ups and downs, they were perfect for each other, as much as it hurt Eren to see them together. He thought about Levi's growing relationship with his daughter, and how she was slowly warming up to him. They had fourteen years to catch up on.
He thought about how, despite how crass he was towards everyone, he cared. Levi cared for every life, and preserving every possible soldier. Come to think of it, he probably had the beast titan chase after him to grant his squad a second chance to live another day, sacrificing his own life for them. And he granted the same for the Queen's Guard, when he ordered them to remain with Eren instead of fighting off their first titan encounter.
And to increase their chances of survival he ordered Mikasa lead them.
Then Eren realized a pattern. Levi had ensured that Eren's closest friends, Mikasa and Armin, were given the increased chances of surviving this event. This was all done for Eren, either consciously or subconsciously, the captain cared for him, despite how he had grown distant with him since the night they spent outside Wall Rose a while back. Despite the awkwardness, Levi put Eren above himself.
And for some stupid reason, even though he tried so hard to follow the captain's advice, he fell for the man even harder. And so Eren concentrated on those feelings, as much as it hurt and tore apart his chest. He focused hard as he concentrated on one thought only.
Come back to us, captain.
Eren closed his eyes, concentrating. He could hear the fight still going on, and Levi showed no signs of slowing down. He focused as hard as he could on the same thoughts as he released his powers.
I know you occasionally hate us, we may annoy you to no end. But we all care for you. Erwin can be stupid, but he loves you. Come back to us. Wake up. Wake up, captain. Wake up, Levi.
"WAKE UP CAPTAIN!" Eren yelled on the top of his lungs.
A flash of lightning, and he opened his eyes and gasped at the sight before him.
Levi was down, as his body had finally begun to tire enough that one of the two girls had swept his feet out from under him. His eyes blinked in confusion, as the yellow slowly changed into pale blue gray. Lavena was the first to cautiously move closer, kneeling down beside him. Levi stared, confused and still in a daze.
"...Why are you crying? Did I cause those tears?" Levi inquired, eyebrows furrowed.
"I thought you were dead. I saw you get eaten. And then...and then you went out of it and..." Lavena sobbed as she held his outstretched hand, and she was overcome with a mix of grief, horror, and relief.
Eren moved closer to kneel on the other side as tears of relief and joy ran down his tanned cheeks.
"Why is everyone crying? The shit did I do?" Levi was growing annoyed, and then he caught sight of Erwin.
Despite his usual mask, his deep blue eyes that held the sky had too many emotions swirling in them. There was silent fury, betrayal, relief, and sorrow in those eyes all at once. Levi felt his heart stop in that moment. He had fucked up. Judging by that expression he so fucked up. And the shitty part? He didn't remember a fucking thing.
"Corporal Levi, what was the last thing you remember?" Erwin was all Commander of the Survey Corp.
"Being swallowed while Eren was coming upon us aiming a punch at that thing's face." Levi stated clearly.
"So you don't remember that titan ordering you to kill Commander Erwin, captain?" Hange leaned over, brown eyes dark with seriousness that scared him.
"Excuse me? What kind of shit talk are you saying, Glasses?" He was appalled, staring up at them.
"According to Eren, he heard that titan give you an order to kill Commander Erwin, and you attempted to follow through with it. If it weren't for Lavena and Mikasa, you would have succeeded." Hange elaborated.
Levi didn't know how to respond. He shifted his gaze to Erwin, whose eyes were guarded. He paled as he thought of what he had said earlier, that if he had remained within close range of the commander he would lose sense of his temper and finish the job he had failed moths ago. Did the Beast Titan somehow figured out his momentary anger, and used it to get into his head? Or was it just the titan control power by itself?
"What happened to the rest of the Special Forces Squad?" Hange inquired, unrelenting.
"They're further into the forest. That titan focused mostly on myself, and I knew they were low on gas so I drew its attention only on me and made it give chase so they didn't die." Levi relayed.
"For your sake, I hope you're telling truth. I will be sending a few squads to search for them." The substitute commander said, before sending off a few squads to follow the prints left behind by the Beast Titan.
"You think I was under control before it placed me inside its shitty mouth?" Levi was quick to get on his feet, on the defensive. His body was tense as he glared coldly at Hange.
"You have been acting up all day, and we received word of what you said back in the stables. A concerned stable boy quickly ran to inform the queen what you said. Even if it was said out of anger, it is too much of a coincidence that a short time later you willingly followed orders of an enemy titan and attempted to kill Commander Erwin." They countered, and suddenly Eren stood up as well.
"Hold on! He was unconscious when that monster ordered him to kill him! There was nothing he could do at that point if he couldn't resist the order! The titan in him had no choice in the matter." Eren glared.
"Eren, for once, shut the fuck up before they decide to discipline you for stepping out of line." Levi crossed his arms, knowing full well that neither commander were in the mood to argue with him.
"But captain - "
"Did I stutter?" Levi narrowed his eyes.
Eren couldn't believe what was happening. The short captain always defended himself when he was in the right. But here he was, giving up for the first time. He glanced over at Erwin, but that only served to piss him off even more.
"And you're just going to stand there while he's being accused of treason?"
Blue eyes stared at him with indifference. The look sent shivers down Eren's spine, adding fire to his fury.
"You know, for someone who is in a fucking relationship with him, you do nothing when he needs your support in situations like this. You just stand back, and observe. What kind of fucked up relationship is that? Or are you just too scared to put your position on the line when he could possibly be in the wrong?"
Eren knew he hit a nerve when Erwin didn't answer. This encouraged the Titan shifter to continue.
"Excuse me if I step out of line for saying this, but if I were in your shoes, I would be fighting tooth and nail for him, even if he was in the wrong in the end. He put everyone above his own life in every encounter with any enemy. He made sure that the two most important people in my life had increased chances of surviving just so I can keep going, knowing that I would go insane without Mikasa or Armin. And in the end, unlike you, he couldn't condemn his squad to death after he already lost an entire squad before."
Everyone flinched when he brought up the first generation of the Special Forces Squad. No one has even whispered about it since their passing, and Eren was the first to ever bring them up.
"He gives up everything for you, and you don't even have the decency to do the same. About the only time I've seen you return the favor was when you lost your arm when he was about to be eaten alive by Reiner. And you have the audacity to repeat the same old habits after he was nearly eaten again. You, sir, have lost all of my respect for you for this." Eren's eyes were burning bright.
"Eren..." Mikasa warned, as a crack of lightning flashed above them, followed by thunder.
Levi stared at the Titan shifter, unsure what to think. As much as he wanted to sock him, he couldn't deny any of what Eren said. It didn't help when both of his squads agreed, he could see it in their faces. And one look at the rest of the Survey Corp, he could see they silently went along with Eren, but they dared not voice their opinions, for they didn't want to get on the bad side of two commanders.
Finally, word came back the rest of the Special Forces Squad were all safe and sound. They had all ran out of gas, and were walking back in their direction. All of them were unhurt, but perhaps a bit exhausted. They had all reported the same thing, that the captain gave a wild goose chase of his own accord. Levi noticed the air of relief from everyone, and he made a point to turn his gaze upon Hange.
"Well, am I in the clear, now? Or am I spending the night in the fucking dungeon?" He stated coldly.
Hange didn't know how to proceed, and before they could respond someone else did.
"He's in the clear. He won't be spending the night in a dungeon."
Eyes turned to Commander Erwin in surprise. Levi stared with indifference, keeping his blank mask on. When the horses were brought over, he recognized the dappled gray and whistled. The gelding flicked its ears before making its way closer to him. Levi easily swung up, and for once he didn't feel like galloping away.
Upon reaching the headquarters, Levi directed his horse towards the stables. The others stared, confused.
"Captain, that's one of the queen's personal horses." Hange reminded, blinking.
"And at the moment Stella is unable to remain as my partner. I'm currently breeding her. And this one has already bonded, so I don't think her royal highness will mind if I borrowed one horse until my horse is done being a mother." Levi stopped, and he turned his mount to face them.
"I would like to request the training of both of my squads be moved here. Since the Queen's Guard needs to become more acquainted in fighting titans, it would be better to move to this location than remain in the city."
"And you need the Special Forces Squad why?" Hange inquired, not really opposing, just curious.
"You said you wanted to test Eren's abilities. Might as well start now before the next expedition." Levi recalled what the substitute commander had said earlier about Eren.
"I don't see why not. Very well, both squads can stay here. In a few days I will be coming back to oversee the tests done on Eren. Be sure to keep thorough notes, all right?" Hange flashed a smile, hoping that there was no hard feelings from the short captain.
"I'll leave that job with Hawkins. She has the makings of a junior scientist." Levi stated, watching as the Queen's Guard left the main group, followed by Eren and his two friends in tow.
Pale blue grays met teal green as they passed, and once again he thought of Isabel, resisting a shiver.
"Mikasa, show them to the stables. I'll be waiting for the rest of the squad to flag them down." Levi instructed, and she happily obliged. He turned to watch as the majority left towards the inner city.
He blinked when Erwin hesitated, and for the first time he noticed that the man wasn't on his usual horse.
"...You look better on a darker horse than that silver gray. Makes you less of a glorious warrior leading a bunch of people to victory." Levi stated, unsure how to start up a conversation, his pride getting in the way of apologizing. And a selfish part of him didn't believe he was even in the wrong.
"You mean to their deaths. As my sacrificial lambs, as you so eloquently put it." Erwin responded indifferently.
Levi didn't know how to respond to that. Instead he opted for starting at him blankly.
"Look, I didn't tell you that the next expedition will be my last because it was meant as a surprise. I wanted to surprise you, with the hopes of giving you a reason to retire early from the Survey Corp. I wouldn't make you pull out of the Queen's Guard, for they still need you. I simply wanted to enjoy the rest of our lives together while we still can. I want to spoil you, and be selfish with you, and spend time with our daughter."
At that last part Levi sputtered, and he found himself blushing brightly.
"What the shit talk are you saying?" He wasn't sure if he heard him right.
"She's changing her name to Lavena Ackerman Smith. She wanted us to sign the papers of us being named her legal parents. Well, more or less guardian for myself, but she accepts me as a parental figure." Erwin elaborated, smiling softly at the frozen shock on his lover's face.
She...accepts me as her father? But I thought...
Then he thought of when earlier, he first caught sight of her new hairstyle. And he realized that it was her own version of his own, with a mix of Erwin, too. He saw it now, the way she parted her bangs just like the commander's. And then it hit him that Erwin was giving up his dream to see beyond the walls for him. He had been selfish all along, but Levi was too stupid to see it.
At the realization he urged his mount closer to the commander's, and he wrapped his arms around the broad shoulders, pulling both of them off their horses. Levi grunted for taking the weight of landing in the mud with Erwin on top of him, but he didn't care. He tugged the man down for a kiss, and this time he kept him there.
At first Erwin was tense, but when he understood what Levi was portraying to him without words he relaxed.
I'm sorry for being an ass. And I accept your proposal.