1850 AY
"ERWIN!" Levi bellowed. Had that been him? Was he the blonde mess on the ground? He felt every fiber of his throat threaten to rip itself apart. It couldn't be. As Levi flew towards the next Titan he couldn't be sure. His arms ached as he spun and threw them into a slash. But now he could feel everything start to fade away. All the noise of the battlefield had become a dim buzz in his ears. As the Titan fell curved into a slumping mess as it carenned to the ground, he tried to find the Commander's body among the grass. Looking around the Beast's feet, he could barely see through the trails of smoke. With a thump, he could finally hear the Titan slamming into the ground. And the sound returned.
The Battlefield was chaos, he heard that now, behind him was the line of a dozen or so Titans he had put to rest, but in front of him was a frantic unruly mob. On his left he could see that Dirk's squad had been nearly scattered. Levi didn't know how many Dirk had commanded in the beginning, but he could see maybe 2 dozen men on horses riding in all directions, trying to escape the skinned Four Legged Titan. Green capes flew all around, on the ground and in the air as they attempted to escape it. He watched the monster leap up. He heard it snapping a soldier in half, its long snout eating up the woman's legs. He couldn't hear her scream.
To his right, was a smattering of dead horses and men all across the field. Erwin's charge had done as he said. The bodies were spread out in waves over the grass. He could see the rocks and blood trail from the wall to feet of the Beast. They had made it, despite it all Levi could see that despite the Beast's barrage and the Cart's chaos the scouts had made it, a man had just been slung by the Beast into the ground as he smacked another scout-not Erwin please not Erwin- off his horse and into the dirt. As he drifted threw the air he saw it.
Lying on his stomach, Erwin's body was covered by his cape. For a second the wind blew across the fields in front of Wall Maria, and Levi saw what laid beneath the cape. He buried it in his mind. Erwin was still, recovering from shock, lifeless, taking a rest right, and his eyes looked glossy. He was staring into Levi's soul. His hand was lying out, as if reaching out to Levi in his final moments. No.
Levi could feel the battlefield rushing back at him. He could hear the scream of men being crushed by the Beast Titan, he could hear the cries of men still rushing on horseback towards him, and he could hear the strangest sound, the Beast was laughing. He was laughing. As he crushed a Scout to death. As her body slipped between his fingers because his grip was so tight. As he slaughtered the bravest of humanity. Distantly, Levi could hear a man yelling a woman's name. It was a desperate sound. As the Titan released what remained, it fell to the grass below. Silently the body hit the ground, resembling a pile of blood and guts more than a person. Then there was only one sound, and as the air froze, as time halted, Levi could hear only one sound. The Beast Laughed. And so Levi Roared.
Putting his trigger in a death grip, Levi sent his cable soaring out its ODM gear. The cable pierced through the veil of smoke that the charge had fired towards the Beast, obscuring Levi from view. He soared threw the air and the Beast lurched as it pierced his eye. The fur covered Titan's right hand opened, dropping the soldier in its grip, as it stood up to cover the new wound in its face. Releasing the cable, Levi shot back down towards the Beast's legs and slashed the Beast's ankles. Ripping flesh from bone as two red triangles of muscle tissue formed in the muscles's absence. The Beast fell to its knees and Levi observed the Beast turn as its left hand came to cover its neck. Levi triggered the cable and shot around its back and upwards so he could launch himself to its neck, preparing to hack and slash its fingers away to get to the nape, when the Titan turned its body to try to swipe at Levi with the back of its right hand, just barely missing as Levi spun his body around the Beast's swing.
As his gaze landed back on the Beast Titan, who had twisted its body to try to reach Humanity's strongest, Levi threw his hips around and shot a cable into the Titan's shoulder. Keeping his momentum, he turned himself into a blade and carved up the monster's arm, spinning around its circles like a buzzsaw. Before The Beast's arm could even begin to fall, Levi had spurred himself upwards and swung through the air to give himself space to charge the Titan.
Again fingering the controls in the trigger he felt the air throw his hair back as he charged towards the Titan's nape still covered by its left hand. Throwing his right soldier back, Levi positioned his arms above his shoulder and as he rocketed down, he swung with all his might into cutting the TItans fingers in one great slash. Faster than he could think, he began twisting and turning, slicing through the Titan's flesh, cutting the hand to ribbons. The sudden fury of blades captivated for a moment all who could see it, before at once Levi felt himself give a cry from his gut as his left blade slashed away the last of the Titan's flesh. Only the nape remained. With a thrust, Levi cut open the bottom of the Titans nape, and then with a flick of the wrist and a change of his grip, Levi ripped off the layer of Titan skin holding the Beast's user.
"ARRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" With a cry a man emerged from the Titans' nape. Bending upwards as his Titan finally collapsed to the ground, a great crash cleared the sound from the landscape, as the terrifying Beast was finally felled. Upon hitting the ground the man finished his screaming and turned to Levi. As he looked upon the blonde, Levi glanced up and down the man, with a Lean frame and long blonde hair, the Titan's user glanced back at him through some glasses with thin metal frames. Seeing the man's mouth tightened into a sneering grimace, Levi brought his blades back up, preparing to cut the man out fully so he could be used. But as his blades reached their apex the piece of shit below him cried out. "PEEEEAAK!" What the hell?
"Shut up and stop crying nonsense." Levi uttered, his venom dripping out freely as he shoved a blade inside the man's mouth to prevent him from biting down and transforming once more. "Don't let your last words be some stupid bullshit. Try to have more dignity than some crying toddler when I feed you to a Titan." For a second Levi paused, having been reminded. Looking out into the fields towards Shiganshina, Levi could see those that had followed Erwin, only 6 or so remained, their faces covered in a mix of fear and astonishment. He doubted many of them had expected to live after that charge. But here they were. Why? Why couldn't one of them be you? With a newly sparked rage inside of him, Levi pointed his other blade at a recruit. "YOU!"
The recruit sputtered, "Ugh…Sir!"
"Pick up Erwin's body!" You'll see your dream after all. You lucky son of a bitch. "Bring it back here, I'm gonna feed this piece of shit," he kicked the blonde Titan shifter "To Erwin, so hurry up."
"Yes sir, right away sir!" The recruit leaped off his horse and ran over the flying cape only a few meters away.
"The rest of you! Form a perimeter. Keep the other Titans off-"
"Captain, look out!"
He could feel it before he could turn, the air had shifted and the sound of ODM gear had grown closer. Jumping off the Beast's already decaying corpse, he could see an open jaw pass through where he just was. Time slowed as the Four Legged Titans eye stared into him, even as it moved passed. The jaw snapped shut, and the Four Legged began racing for the wall, following the line of Titans still standing on the opposite wall. Levi landed on both feet and looked off in disbelief.
"Hey where….where are you going." Levi sputtered, as he began to shake. "You piece of shit. COME BACK HERE!"
"HAHAHAHA" Levi could see the blonde man cackling from the Four Legs mouth. That piece of shit…still has the audacity…to laugh? "AHHH! They were right about you Levi! You are dangerous! Its too bad then. I would say see you later, but then I'd be lying!"
"What the….get back here…and laugh in my face." Levi's voice had dropped to a whisper. As he saw the blonde and Four Leg move farther and farther away. His eyes flickered from the Titan to Erwin. Then, he heard the blondes laughing turn into a screech.
"KILL THEM, KILL THEM ALL NOW!"
"What the…" Levi turned and could at once see that all the Titans on the other side of the blockade had turned to face them. The titans beady eyes grazed over the remaining Scouts, looking like predators choosing if this was the prey they would torment before ripping them apart and feasting on the remains. After staring at them for a second, the Titans all turned and began to sprint.
Feeling the new shaking off the Earth Levi looked around him. The steaming body of the Beast Titan had begun to come undone, as flesh began to peel and fade away into nothingness. On his left he could see Dirk's squadron riding towards him, clearly they had been decimated as well, perhaps 20 or so remained from the Four Legged Titan's attack. Combined with the 6 survivors of Erwin's charge…
"DIRK!" called Levi at the top of his lunges. "Get Erwin and make for the wall! Find out if Hange is still alive and kill the Colossal! I'll handle this here."
"No, if anyone can take out those two it has to be you!" The man approached on horseback as he screamed back. "Take my horse, and go straight for it". Before Levi could protest, Dirk had removed himself from the saddle, and handed the reins to Levi. "I'll stay here with my men and cover you, when we're done we'll bring Erwin's bo- bring Erwin too you. Now go!" Levi thought about arguing for a second, before the sound of the Beast's laughing rang in his ears again.
Levi jumped and hooked hsi foot into the saddle, lifting himself up. As he turned and spurred his new steed into action, he could hear Dirk shouting to the new recruits to take hold of the veteran's horses after they engaged. Stay alive you lucky bastards. You'll be the only fresh blood to make it.
As the town came back into closer view he turned and saw that 2 of the Titans had peeled off to chase him, one stumbling over in excitement like a child, the other falling onto each foot like a drunkard barely keeping himself upright. I need some cover. Spurring onwards, Levi directed him and the horse into the town down the broadm main road. Looking through the rubble, he saw close to the wall, what must be the last standing structure over 10 meters, a small chimney on top of one of the houses.
Planting his feet on top of the saddle, Levi turned and confirmed the two stumbling bastards were still following him. Levi then gave a light jump with only his feet, and sent his cable splicing through the air until it anchored into the chimney. Rocketing towards it, Levi shifted his weight so it would send him just over the tower. As he flew over it by a hair, he let the momentum of the returning cable flip him over. Upside Down, he shot another cable onto another building just in front of the Titans. Feeling adrenaline fill his body, he shot towards the stumbling child, releasing the cable, he drew his swords, letting the momentum turn him into a spinning top of blades and steel. He flew between the two titans, and carved the nape of the Titan from its neck.
As passed to the other side of the street, Levi twisted his hips and legs, so that he landed on a nearby piece of rubble with a wall still standing. As his feet touched the vertical stack of stone he observed the drunkard titan now already reaching for Levi in front of the falling body of his former comrade.
Springing off the wall, Levi jumped leftwards over the Titan's shoulder so he could shoot back towards the chimney, locking onto his target, he drew his blades over his left shoulder as they the cut two deep lines through the back half of the Titans neck, as Levi made it to the chimney, he could see the Titan falling, but his mind was already elsewhere. Flying again past the chimney, he shook his hips to face upwards to the wall. Another cable pulled him halfway upwards, as he twisted his body to get in position for the last final lurch over the wall.
With both turbines reeling in the cable, Levi rose over the wall like an avenging angel, thrown upwards into the sky by God himself. I'll kill you all you pieces of shit. While Levi had expected to see the Colossal still raging instead he was greeted to a sight like the town outside. The area just a bit away the wall had been reduced to rubble, as houses had been torn from their bases and flung around, the stones crashing into seemingly every structure. Half of the district looked like it had been nearly crushed flat, with only stones left. That must be where…
In front of the Wall was a giant steaming corpse of the Colossal titan. Is it dead or did Bertholdt escape? His eyes looking frantically over the rubble He could see nothing. Is anyone alive? Did the Colossal and Armor manage to take Eren? Was all of this….NO! Levi ripped himself away from his darker thoughts. Someone had to be alive in this mess, at least one soul.
Finally he saw something move. Right next to the gate. The Four Legged Titan had landed on a building, just a short distance away from the steaming corpse, it had the blonde piece of shit riding with its weird cargo. The tian was standing still looking at…there!
"EREN!" Levi belched. The small shape of The Survey Corps Titan Shifter and the Four Legged Titan in front of him both looked towards him. Levi shifted his weight forward and let himself fall off the edge of the wall, falling straight down before he lurched forward with his ODM gear, intent on finishing what he started.
"...I'll save you another day then, Eren!" the blonde Titan shifter said. The monster below him shifted, turning further south into the rest of Shiganshina, preparing to launch off to another building. No you don't! Once more Levi shot out at the 2 enemy shifters. Turning he let his gas throttle him to his target. With his last pair of blades Levi drew and slashed at the Four Leg's ankles as it leaped across to another building, the tip of his blade barely passing by the skin of the Titan's feet. Shit. Throwing his torso around he fired his cables once again. Pulling the trigger, he could hear his gas canisters spurt out in a cough like a dying man. They had nothing left. Levi glowered before he saw the Titan continue to run further into the district.
"Come back you piece of shit-"
"Captain!" Yeager cried, waving him over. With a running jump, Levi made it back to Eren.
"Quick, give me your gas!" Levi snapped. "Hurry up now!" As Eren hurried to detach his belts and locks. Levi saw the scene behind Yeager and felt himself freeze at the scene. The fate of the Colossal was revealed. Eren had been holding Bertholdt hostage. The enemy shifter was whimpering quietly with Eren's sword at his neck, as steam continued to rise around his appendages and face. His eyes were closed and the rest of his face was still covered in skinless muscle tissue. Besides him was a body, or at least he thought it was. The small form had no discernable features, but it was burned black. No hair, no hands, no feet, and almost no nose. It could have posed as a burned dummy. For a second, Levi thought he saw the figure breathing. What shitty luck, to have gotten so close to death and to be forced to still hang on. Eren noticed where he was looking and paused.
"It's Armin!" Yeagers face fell, any bravery from staring down the Titans had faded. His visage only showed a deep exhaustion. And a great sadness. "Sir he…he did it. He's the one who ended Berchtold, not me! And now he's…" Yeager was shaking, tears had begun to streak down his face. If Levi was right…There's no time, I need to kill him now.
"Hurry up!" Eren finished taking out his canisters, with tears streaming down his face. Levi let his barrels roll off the roof, before they could land on the ground below he locked in the new canisters and slammed on the trigger, letting the ODM gear take him. For once, he felt nothing. He was so close, he couldn't let the bastard go now, Erwin had to be avenged. There was no time. Not even for the syringe? Before Levi could think about whether he should have left the syringe with Eren, he shot himself up off a bell tower and took in the surroundings. The Four Legged shit had run off into the middle of the district but where?
As Levi flew he heard the sound of ODM gear, and he whipped to the sound. Just a few streets over he could see the Titan leaping off a building, it swatted its hand-Hand? Paw? At a soldier flying above it. Levi could see the slightest tinge of read trailing the soldier as they- as she flew around the grasping paw.
Firing his cable, Levi bolted. Swinging between 2 buildings still standing. He felt himself lurch backwards, as he prepared his last 2 blades to engage. Slamming into another building, he bounced off and let himself fall to pure instinct. Throwing his shoulders around, Levi turned his body into a saw blade firing straight at the piece of shit. The Titan leaped again, and nearly escaped, before a blade caught against its toes. Levi barely saw the appendage fall before landing again.
"Captain!" he heard Mikasa scream. He could see her on a rooftop grasping at a flare gun. "They are heading for Hange and Reiner!" She pointed towards a group of people a kilometer or so over. Without thinking Levi sprang into action as Mikasa fired the red flare skywards.
You can't keep this up forever. If I have to hack off each limb, or each finger. I'll end you! As Levi swung off the final building he could see the Titan once more. It had dug its feet into the building crumbling beneath its weight. It looked ready to pounce as it aimed itself at a group across the street. Among them, Levi could see Jean and Hange holding somebody in her grasp with a sword to their throat.. Levi launched with a scream and he saw the bearded blonde lean over from his little perch on the Four Legs and glance behind to look at him.
"Again! Why won't you just-?" the blonde yelled.
"Levi!" he heard Hange's voice cry. As Levi threw his blades down to strike he could see the Titan jump off the building onto the street. Levi barely missed, his blade slipping down the Titan's left calf. Again the titan showed no reaction. The monstrosity slid down the street before turning back to Hange, preparing to strike. A slicing noise could be heard followed by a gurgle. Levi gave a quick glance away from the Four Legged to see that the figure held by Hange had been decapitated. The head rolling into the middle of the street, where the gray haired Jean stood, his face full of fear at the Titan staring them all down.
The Four Leg seemed to pause and even the piece of shit on its back seemed to gape for a moment. The Beast Titan's shifter grimaced at the sight. Serves you right, you piece of shit. His face fell, before he gave a light chuckle. The atmosphere grew tense, the man seeming to make himself at ease with the laugh, and reminding Levi what he needed to do.
"Well well," he said. "It looks like, today was not your day, my warriors." he said. His tone was paced now. Like he was talking down to them. "Though I suppose it's better than returning in disgrace."
"Prepare to die, you bastard." Levi leaned into his charge…
"Levi, wait! Hange held up her hand holding the bloodied blade. She met his eyes for a moment before turning back to the Blonde. "So you're warriors huh? Warriors of what? Where do you come from then? Some tribe outside the walls? A village?" Hange yelled. She looked like she had more to say, her face resembling a desperate plea. They needed information after all. "Why did you attack the Walls?"
"Hehe…that's a good question. Maybe…if you had a choice in this I would tell you. But it's so pointless, you really don't know how small you are. How little this matters" the bastard responded. Levi began to shift his feet. Quietly he walked to the edge of the building closest to the Titan, and squatted down, ready to pounce. The Four Leg's eyes darted to him for a moment. "Renier, Bertholdt, it wasn't their day. But don't be mistaken." The blonde raised his hand and revealed a clenched fist. He had healed. Levi glanced to the edge of his blade. "This day will be your greatest victory. And your last. You have no idea what you're doing now. This….this feeling you have now. Relish it. You defeated the Titans, like few ever have. This is truly a remarkable victory. But don't be mistaken…" his tone dropped again, and his face turned to steel, like a father looking at disruly children. "What you have achieved here is only temporary. You'd be better off giving us the Coordinate now. It will save you a lot of pain later. Maybe they will let some of you live afterwards. But you may consider death the better choice when that time comes. And who could blame you." The blond looked right at him, and Levi could see the piercing blue eyes the man had. "This is such a wretched life." Levi flicked his blades outwards, preparing to charge.
"Trust me, you piece of shit." Levi growled. "No matter how much you try, we'll never give you Eren." Levi felt like could grind his teeth to dust.
"They will? Who are they?" Hange interjected. The blonde appraised her for a moment. Before he began again gravely.
"When we return…it will be more terrible than you can imagine. What happened at Wall Maria, will pale in comparison to what comes next. Enjoy your time wisely, we never know how much we have left."
"When you return huh?" Levi chimed in, raising his blades he retorted, "You're assuming a lot. You really think, after all of this, we'll let you get away?" As to punctuate his point, Levi could hear the sound of ODM gear approaching. Levi could see Dirk and his men flying into the district now. Getting closer and closer. "It seems like you might have spoken too soon." The titan beneath the blonde bastard shifted, and its head tilted to the side.
"War Chief?" A gruff and grinding voice came from the Four Legged Titan as it opened its maw. To all's surprise. Levi could even hear Jean gasp below him.
"That thing can talk too?" Blondie seemed to preem at that statement.
"No Pieck, I think we are done for today." He patted the Titan's head. "We will finish our business…another day." The titan turned and leaped in an instant, its legs extending like a frogs. Levi pulled his triggers and felt the adrenaline rush back into his veins before he heard Hange.
"Levi, wait!" Hange snapped.
"What?" Levi landed on a building. "I can end them right here and now."
"We don't know what other cards they have to play." she hissed. "We need to preserve what strength the Survey Corp has left, we can't afford to chase them into territory we know nothing about, not now." He had never seen this look out of Hange before. Looking at her now, Levi saw that she had lost an eye, her body was rigid and her voice was harsher than it ever had been. "What happened on the other side?"
Levi opened his mouth, and then remembered Erwin. He choked on his own words for a moment. He felt himself fall into his own mind.
"Erwin…he-"
"Hange!" As Levi and Hange turned, they could see Dirk landing right next to them, his face held 2 feelings dueling at once. The relief to see the 2 alive, and the same apprehension that Levi had refused to contemplate for a second at seeing the state of the city.
"Dirk your alive!" Hange nearly whispered in astonishment. "But the other 2 we saw just now, how did they-weren't they the 2 leading on the other side? What happened to the Beast?"
"That was him." Levi interjected. "That blonde piece of shit. I cut him out of his Titan after he ….." Hange could see Levi's face freeze before turning to Dirk.
"What happened?"
"Section Commander, after Erwin ordered us to remain beyond the treeline, I waited for his signal. Some time after you sealed the wall, we saw the rows of Titans transform. I was getting ready to ride and break the blockade, but decided to trust Erwin and wait, even after it started throwing rocks at the walls. Once I saw the signal we charged. After breaking into a charge, we caught some weird Four Legged quadruped Titan rolling a boulder towards the Beast Titan, we nearly got the drop on it, but after a couple of minutes it started tearing through us. I ordered the men to keep advancing towards the Beast, hoping that maybe we could at least break the blockade even if it tore us up. We almost got there. Thats when I saw that the Commander had the same idea. He had us launching a pincer attack. I didn't see much of the end of the charge, but I saw Captain Levi take out the Beast. That's when we heard some strange shouting, then the Quadruped left us alone and grabbed the Beast and headed back here. After that the remaining Titans attacked. So I gave Levi my horse and sent him here. But what happened here?"
"The Armour transformed and the Thunder Spears did their job. We took down the Armour, but then the Colossal came over the wall. Armin tried to talk down Bertholdt, but he transformed and killed everyone else. Only 7 of us were left alive." Levi looked at Hange.
"So Moblit-"
"Dead." Hange cut in. Not a soul, maybe the new kids got lucky, sticking with Erwin. After a moment passed, Hange looked expectantly at Levi.
"And what happened to your side. What happened to Erwin?"
Levi crushed his fist in his hand. He remembered the crashing boulders. He remembered Erwin's speech. He remembered his promise. He remembered volleying past the last Titan. He remembered the Beast's hand crashing down. He remembered the body. And then he remembered Eld, Oluo, Gunther, and Petra. And he Remembered Erwin. One more to the ledger…
"When the Beast Titan started throwing Boulders, Erwin organized a charge. The recruits were shitting themselves so he led them. I used the Titans to get to the Beast. Then I cut him open like a pig." Levi rose his head and looked Hange directly, and with Steel in his voice told her. "Erwin led the charge, and the Beast crushed him right in front of me."
Hange's eyes widened and she took in a breath. The rigidity faded from her and her hand covered her missing eye.
"You still have the serum? Can we bring him back?"
"We recovered his body, but…" Dirk's face shriveled as he looked down into the dirt along the ruined street. "I…I saw his body Hange. His chest..his stomach….its" As Dirk struggled for words, there came a cry from the northern end of the town.
"CAPTAIN LEVI!" 2 separate shouts rang out at once. One came as relieved, the latter as a desperate plea. Turning away from Dirk, he saw 2 figures running towards him, each carrying a body. One Mikasa Ackerman ran ahead with the burnt body of Armin, and trailing behind was the source of the scream in Eren, with a tied up Bertholt on his back. Each carried a visage covered in tears.
"Captain, please!" Both came to a stop in front of him. Collapsing to their knees. Mikasa laid down the burnt body in front of the 2 squad leaders and the Section Commander. "He's alive! Sir after you left. Mikasa arrived and Armins alive! He is alive! I saw it look! He's breathing!" After Eren finished yelling hysterically, Levi observed the body. What he saw earlier wasn't a figment of his adrenaline-addled mind, but real. The burnt body was breathing. The slightest rise and fall of his chest.
"Captain Levi, please, give Armin the injection. Give it to him and he can eat Bertholdt!" said Mikasa, sniveling through each word.
"What is that, how do we beat the Colossal? Did he?" Hange mused aloud. Victory had taken a heavy price on both sides of the wall it seemed.
"Captain, Section Commander please! Do it now! Do it now before it's too late!" Eren screamed, nearly choking out his request towards the end.
"Well then, if we can save one person today-"
"Hold on!" Levi was surprised to hear himself speak. But his mouth moved on its own. Its own desperate plea. "If there is a chance Erwin is alive then we need to get him here now! Dirk!" Eyes flipped back to the man.
"Captain…he…the body…" still Dirk could not give words to what Levi had seen beneath the green cowl of the survey corp, neither could give voice to what they knew was true. Levi's grip tightened still, blood seeping out of his fist.
"Bring him…" Levi growled.
"Captain he is…"
"Levi." Hange snipped. Drawing his gaze he saw Hange's look of steel rapidly drop, as she morphed into exhaustion. Her eyes brimming with understanding.
"Captain please!" cried Eren. "Armin came up with how to defeat Bertholdt, just like he figured out Annie's identity, and what to do in Trost, please Captain! Armin…" Eren fell to his hands as Mikasa turned back to face him, resting an arm on his back in comfort, for his and her own tears. The ground grew damp as Eren struggled to find his voice. "He's not like me. All I want to do is kill Titan's but Armin's better than that. He has a dream. He wants to see the Sea. If it wasn't for him , I wouldn't have made it this far. If he's not here, if he doesn't see the Sea, then this all…." Eren rose back up and off his knees, marching over to the 3 superiors. He clenched his fist to his chest, soaked in tears. "Armin will…he's the one who can save humanity! Not me! Please bring him back! Please, CAPTAIN!" With that, Mikasa pulled him back by his shoulder a few steps, before she glanced at the trio.
"Captain…please!" A moment of silence passed, not a noise in the entire city rose to Levi's ears.
"Well then it seems we have no choice then. Dirk, is he…is Erwin dead? Once and for all?"
"Ugh….Yes ma'am." Dirk whispered solemnly. "Erwin's dead."
"Well then, Levi, if you would." Hange voiced. She nodded at the burnt body. Levi grasped the black box and brought it out into the sunlight. Then he froze. Was he…If I do this and there is a chance Erwin could be…Bring someone back from death. Wasn't that the phrase? If they wanted to get the maximum use out of this syringe, he had to find Erwin. As Levi put the box in a death grip and took a step. Hange grabbed his other hand. He threw her a stare.
"He dedicated his heart." her lips lingered after the statement, leaving silence in its wake. "He gave his heart and soul. And now we let his body rest. Armin is still here, we can still bring him back. But Erwin is gone." Her gaze carried the years they had spent together. They battles they had seen. The comrades they had burned. Levi's death grip on the box lessened. He thought for a moment about injecting Armin himself. Instead he shoved the box into Hange's chest, and then grappled onto a nearby building without a word. Erwin… Levi tightened his grip on his swords. I'm sorry. You died, and the damn bastard lives. I failed you.
A flash of yellow light exploded behind him. A skeletal Titan with a mop of blonde hair emerged from the square below. As it turned around like an infant, Levi looked into its half closed loathing. Why you….why do you get to live. Eren said Armin had a dream, a dream to see the outside. Erwin had his learn the truth. He had uncovered the secrets of the King and led the Scouts through thick and thin. After stacking the bodies, he was finally going to see the truth of the world. And then what? Eliminate threats?
As the blonde Titan picked up Bertholdt, Levi tried to imagine Erwin in his position. It could be his Titan crushing Bertholdt's bodies into a mess of blood and guts. It could be him collapsing back to the ground. It could be him emerging from the nape. It could be him with a second chance. It could be him we bring back to hell. No…they needed him. The Scouts needed Erwin, No one else could have come this far…but did he need to come back? He had given up on his dream hadn't he? Didn't I…didn't I tell him to give up? Perhaps if Erwin had given his heart and body for humanity…perhaps his soul should be allowed to rest.
The small blonde midget- Erwin's successor- emerged from the nape of the Titan, his torso bare. The rest of the 104th crowded around him as he arose, crying over his body. As he looked to his left he could see a red haired Scout walking towards him.
"Captain," he said. "Is this really the best option? Shouldn't we bring Erwin here? Even if its a slim chance, shouldn't we try?"
"...what's your name?"
"...Floch Forster sir. 104th cadet corp."
"104th huh? Not happy your friend is alive? Why is that?"
"No sir. We weren't close." The cadet's tone changed. He seemed almost sad. "But when we were in charge, when we were racing at the enemy. I was wondering why was I doing this? Why didn't I run?" his face turned to the dirt and Levi saw his face turn to stone. "On the way back, I think I realized, if every battle is going to be like this. If we keep fighting these devils. We need a devil of our own. To lead us through this hell."
"Yeah…maybe." Levi soured. "But you know…if he is a devil, then he is headed where he belongs." Maybe it was best…if Armin was the one Erwin trusted…maybe he should too.
The soldiers of humanity began to move to the walls on Hange's orders. Without Erwin, command fell to her. Arriving himself, Levi walked over to Hange, who was facing Wall Rose. Looking at her, Levi could see the tension in her shoulders. He could see her taking in what had happened, the responsibility that now fell to her to lead.
In front of her, Scouts went out to retrieve the bodies of the dead. Later they would burn on a pyre, sent to the afterlife. In front of Hange, sat the first to be recovered. Erwin Smith. His body was covered in someone's cowl, to hide the mess beneath. Even so, Levi could see the ribcage of the man poking upwards into the cape. Levi kept staring at it. Time crawled. The movement of people around them seemed to blur as they kept staring at their leader.
"Do you think he can forgive us?" Levi asked. He hadn't noticed when he started talking, or when he stopped. The sound of voice seemed to emerge from nowhere, and end in nothing.
"Does it matter?" Hange replied. Neither broke their gaze from the body, but Levi could see a tear drop as he stood behind her. "Today is it. Everything we fought for. It's all here, we will finally know the truth. And he won't be here to see it."
"...Maybe" Levi said. How can we move on without him? It wasn't a happy thought. It seemed Erwin had been the only Scout Commander to be worth a damn. Without him, Levi worried for the Survey Corps future. "…maybe we needed him to get here. Maybe we needed a devil to get through this hell. And once we beat it, once we were free of it, we had to be free of him too. Maybe…maybe this was always coming, and we just got lucky enough that he made it this far." Levi didn't know if he believed what he said. But it might be true, if that kid was right.
He didn't know how long they had been standing there. But when Hange left, the sun had moved in the sky. It had crossed its peak. All of this…happened before noon? He couldn't help but think back to when he met Erwin. How he convinced him to join the Corps, how he kept him coming back, how he made him believe that humanity could win, as long as Erwin was alive. But with Erwin gone, could humanity triumph over the Titans? Could they end this war? Levi stood there gazing out into the fields. By the time the bodies were recovered, he still hadn't found an answer.
With that, he turned and walked towards the remainder of the 104th. Armin had woken up, and Levi came to stand behind Mikasa and Eren, he could see from the boy's mortified expression. He knows then.
"Captain Levi." he uttered, his voice shaking. "I'll…I'll do my best to make up for…for what humanity lost today. I'll try to replace Erwin the best I can. But…"
"Don't think about it." Levi tried to keep his voice civil, but it seemed Armin had noticed the cut in his tone. "There is no way in hell you can replace Erwin. But still, he trusted you today, to lead our forces here. And it looks like you won. You even made the same sacrifice he did."
"You'll have to grow undoubtedly." Hange said. "But I'm in the same boat as you." that peaked the boy's interest. "Erwin named me his successor. I don't think I'll ever live up to his legacy. But maybe, you and me together, maybe we can fill his shoes." to that Armin nodded. Despite the festering feeling at the core of his heart, Levi felt his spirit lift. If just a little.
"Shut…shut the hell up." came the whimpering from Sasha. The girl was bandaged up and resting, her face covered in anguish. She shook as she spoke, as if she was spending all her energy just to talk. With a slap on the knees Hange rose.
"Well perhaps it's time we gave our dear old Sasha here a rest. After all, we still need to complete our mission." Eren and Mikasa both looked up and exchanged a glance, giving each other a nod before Eren grasped the key. Then they turned back to Hange. "Its time to see what the dear old doctor was hiding."
As they grappled into the streets, Levi let his mind wander. Eren and Mikasa seemed to start and stop, reminiscing around each corner, sometimes exchanging glances. Levi wondered if he had such a place, one that he really cared about, if he would do the same. He never longed to go back to the underground. If he thought of home, all he ever thought of was the Survey Corp, his squad, and him. As they reached the Yeager home, the group began moving the rubble, till at last they uncovered the lid to the cellar. Walking down, he could see Eren fail to fit the key into the lock of the door. Erwin… Levi promised to himself. I swear, no matter what we find here. I'll make sure your death wasn't in vain. I'll find that bastard, and put an end to this. For you. And with that, Levi kicked in the door, and descended down into the unknown.