A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! Enjoy!

This chapter contains MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH! Proceed with caution!

edited on march 4th, 2022 @ 11:37am

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𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚁𝚃𝚈-𝙴𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃,
𝓜𝙸𝙳𝙽𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝚂𝚄𝙽.

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LEVI WAS ON TOP OF THE WALL with Lyon at his side, who was carrying an injured Julian on his back.  "Argh... you're kidding me! He chased me all the way here?" Zeke asked himself.

"Section Commander can barely walk without support... I almost feel sorry for the monkey. Levi's gonna slaughter him." Lyon thought.

Levi skidded down the wall with Lyon following behind. "Let's call it a draw, Levi. We're in no shape to fight." Zeke said before turning back to Eren. "Bertholdt... I'm sorry, but I think it's the end for you." The Cart Titan turned around. "Eren! Someday, I'm coming back to rescue you!"

Eren looked at him in confusion before watching Zeke and the Cart Titan retreat.

Levi lands on the roof by Eren with Lyon landing down next to him.

"Captain! Lyon-san!" Eren called their names before looking over at Julian. "Section Commander... is he all right?"

"He got seriously injured by that monkey bastard, but he'll live." Lyon responded, gently setting Julian down on the roof, his leader wincing in pain as he did so. Lyon mumbled an apology to him.

"That was the last of my gas. I'll chase him! Hand over your gas and blades!" Levi ordered.

Julian glanced over at a burnt body behind Eren as he narrowed his eyes. The body was unidentifiable. "Who... is that?" He asked himself.

"Right!"

"Hurry!"

The burnt body then made a gasp of air, catching Eren's attention as he turned back around.

Meanwhile, Hange was interrogating Reiner, who was missing limbs due to William chopping them off as he was also blindfolded.

"Reiner... What's this mental case you had in your left chest pocket?" Hange questioned.

"Before we chopped off all your limbs, you tried to grab it with the strength you had left." William added on as Mikasa was helping Jean.

"Suicide pills? Or perhaps a bomb?" Zach asked.

"Ouch!" Jean winced in pain.

"Sorry." Mikasa apologized.

"A letter..." Reiner replied in a weak tone.

"A letter?" Hange repeated. "What kind of letter?"

"A letter... from Ymir. You have to... give it... to Christa..." Reiner responded.

"Only after we've inspected it." Hange said, putting it in their pocket before standing up.

"Now then. We've got a mountain of questions for you, but..." William took out his blade, making Jean widen his eyes.

"Your lips seem as tight as your armor is hard. Are you going to cooperate and tell us everything that we want to know?" Zach then questioned

"No." Reiner answered.

"Thanks. It helps that you're prepared for this." William stated, rushing forward and connecting his blade with Reiner's throat as blood sputtered out.

"Hold on!" Jean called out, extending his hand. "Are you sure? We might be able to steal his power."

Hange, William, and Zach all turned to look at him.

"Today, I would like to explain... how we're going to get maximum value from this injection." Erwin spoke, holding up the syringe. "Using this medicine, the Colossal Titan's, the Armored Titan's, or the Beast Titan's powers can be stolen."

"As for how... The one injected with this will become a Titan, and eat someone who can change into a Titan like Eren can. By doing so, although they would initially be a Titan lacking intelligence, they would revert into a human able to wield that Titan's powers. If this is achieved, not only do we gain information regarding Titan powers, we're also able to revive a person on the brink of death." Erwin continued on.

"If you capture an enemy with Titan powers, sever all their limbs. And when it is safe to do so, summon Captain Levi." Erwin concluded, handing the syringe back to Levi, who took it.

"We have only this one injection. I'm entrusting Captain Levi with the call to use it."

"I don't think all the conditions have been met." William informed. "We don't know the situation with Levi, Julian, Lyon, and the other side. Neither do we have the time to go confirm it ourselves. Reason being, there's no way for us to gauge the full depth of their powers!" He pushed the blade further into Reiner's neck.

"Even if I cut his head off, we can't be too sure!"

"This isn't like you, William-san. If we back down because of not knowing something, down the line, can we ever hope to beat the Titans?" Jean questioned.

"Jean..." Mikasa mumbled.

"When are we ever going to know all there is about the enemy?" Jean questioned.

William looked up. "Mikasa." He said, grabbing Mikasa's attention.

"Yeah?" She replied.

"How much gas do you have?" William questioned.

"It's almost entirely gone." Mikasa responded. "But it should be enough to reach Eren and Armin at least."

"That's more than me." William closed his eyes. "Mikasa... I need you to check out their situation. Fill up your gas and bring back the injection from Levi. If for any reason you're unable to do so, fire a smoke signal. That will be my signal to end Reiner."

William released his blade from Reiner's neck. "Affirmative." Mikasa said.

"Zach, how is your gas supply?" William then asked, his eyes glancing over to the strawberry-blonde.

"I have just enough." Zach replied, banging his knuckles on his ODM gear.

"Go with Mikasa. I'll stay here with Hange and Jean. Make sure Section Commander and Lyon are okay, and tell them about—" William choked on his words.

"Yeah." Zach responded, already knowing what he was going to say as he looked down in grief.

Mikasa sped off with Zach right behind her. "William-san, I—" Jean started to say.

"The decision was mine." William interrupted. "You were just a factor."

"Why... did I?" Jean asked himself. "After all this time, am I actually...?"

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Both Mikasa and Zach had reached their destination only to be met with a bloodied Levi and a burnt Armin.

"Yeah! Keep it up! Armin's breathing again!" Eren yelled. "Come on! Just keep on breathing!"

"Armin?" Mikasa questioned as Eren stood up.

"Captain! Get the syringe!" Eren informed as Levi moved around a bit while Eren grabbed onto Bertholdt. "Make Armin into a Titan and we'll have him eat Bertholdt! Hurry up and inject him!"

"Yeah..." Levi agreed, taking the syringe out. Mikasa suddenly widened her eyes as she fired a red smoke signal to inform William.

A red smoke signal was fired, grabbing the attention of Jean. The Cart Titan suddenly appeared with Zeke.

"William-san!" Jean shouted out in worry.

Jean quickly moved William out of the way, barely missing the Cart Titan's mouth, the both of them crashing onto the ground.

"Not good!" William stated. His eyes widened, seeing Reiner in the Cart's mouth as it departed.

"Reiner was taken! William-san!" Connie called out from above, making Hange, William, and Jean widened their eyes.

"Shit!" Connie cursed, using his gear to propel himself forward.

"Connie! Don't chase!" William shouted out, causing Connie to stop in his tracks. "We hardly have any gas left. You'll just end up getting killed."

"Shit!" Jean exclaimed. "It's my fault... I've... done something terrible..."

"I said the decision was mine. Let's regroup with the others." William informed, Hange nodding in agreement with his words.

Levi was about to hand the syringe over to Eren, but was stopped when Floch appeared on the roof, carrying Erwin behind his back.

"Captain... Levi... Section Commander Julian... I finally found you both. Commander Erwin is badly wounded! His stomach is gouged... and his organs are demolished! The blood just won't stop! I thought the injection might be able to help, but... What do you two think?" Floch asked.

"Huh?"

Levi pulled the syringe away from Eren's hand, hugging it close to his chest.

"Captain?"

Erwin was placed down onto the roof by Levi, who was moving his hands in front of his face.

"He's... still breathing." Levi confirmed. "He's... alive."

Levi then stood up. "I'm using the injection... on Erwin." He announced.

This made Eren grit his teeth, standing up in anger. "You said... you'd use it on Armin!" He informed.

"I'm... reviving the one who can save humanity." Levi stated as Mikasa got out her blade, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"You guys... Do you have the faintest damn clue... what you're doing?" Levi asked. "It's Erwin... The Commander of the Scouts. And you're saying to watch him die. There's no time for this. Stay out of my way."

Eren stepped in front of him, grabbing onto the box. "Keep your emotions out of this." Levi ordered.

"Keep my... emotions out?" Eren repeated. "Tell me... How come you didn't hand over the syringe right away?!"

"Because I was considering the possibility Erwin might still be alive." Levi responded.

"You couldn't have known Floch would drag the commander here! There's just no way you knew!" Eren argued.

"You're right, but... The fact that Erwin is now here means I use it on him." Levi said.

He then sent a punch towards Eren, causing Mikasa to jump up and place her blade to Levi's neck.

"Hey!" Floch called out.

Mikasa looked at Levi with anger shown in her eyes. "His strength isn't all there! I can take it from him by force!" She thinks to herself.

"You should know as well as I do! Without Erwin's talent, humanity can't beat the Titans!" Levi informed.

"That's right, Mikasa! Let's stop with this madness already!" Floch agreed as Mikasa looked at him angrily, making him flinch.

"It's... no different if we lose... Armin." Eren spoke up.

"Eren!" Mikasa shouted.

"Hasn't it... always been like that? He's the reason why we saved Trost by plugging it with a rock. He revealed Annie's identity. It was Armin who came up with the idea of moving at night! The only reason we uncovered Reiner's hiding spot... and the only reason we defeated Bertholdt... was all because of Armin!" Eren claimed.

"The one who's gonna save humanity isn't me or the commander! It's Armin! Isn't that right, Mikasa?!"

Mikasa slammed Levi's hand on the ground. "Please give it to me!" She ordered as Floch stepped up.

"The one who will save humanity... is Commander Erwin." Floch informed.

"Shut up!" Mikasa told him.

"I will not shut up. Don't think you're the only ones who had it tough! You might not know, but..." Floch pointed towards the wall. "On the other side of that wall, there's not a single living soldier. Everyone died when the Beast Titan threw boulders at us. I didn't think anyone could be saved... but Commander Erwin was the only exception. He thought of a plan for us to bite back at the Beast Titan... and we did. We were smashed to bits just as planned. And I'm sure the last thing they felt... was fear."

"When I found the commander alive, I was about to finish him off. But... that's going too easy on him. I thought to myself that he ought to taste more of this hell. And then... I understood. The only one who can lay waste to the Titans... is a devil! And if I can bring back the devil, that must be my mission in life! That has to be why I survived like a coward when everyone else died! So stay out of his way!"

Mikasa raised her blade up. "Don't do it!" Levi warned. However, Mikasa was stopped by Hange.

"Hange..." Levi said.

Hange was soon joined by William, Jean, and Connie who was carrying Sasha on his back.

"Hey... You've got to be... kidding me..." Jean mumbled.

"No way..." Connie muttered.

"The Commander is..." William trailed off.

"You can't... be serious..." Hange also said in shock.

Levi opened the case, making Mikasa gasp as Levi pulled out the syringe. Mikasa then screamed.

"Mikasa! You have to know how much we need Erwin! We can't let the flames of hope extinguish inside the walls!" Hange told her.

"But... Armin could... do that, too!" Mikasa argued.

"It's true, Armin is exceptional... But he doesn't have Erwin's experience and leadership!" Hange informed.

"We had people we treasured too that died! If we could bring them back, we would! Eren, Mikasa, people die everyday. That is the harsh reality of being in the Scouts. The sooner you learn that, the better." William spoke up.

"William is right. There are people I want to bring back, too. Hundreds of them." Hange added on, shocking Mikasa. "I've had to say farewell since the day I joined the Scouts."

William thought back to when the Colossal Titan transformed.

"Will, Zach!" Melody called out their names, pushing the two men out of the way.

The two looked back. "Please help me! It burns!" The red haired woman shouted in pain.

"Mel!" William exclaimed, a tear slipping out of his eye.

William and Zach were left staring at the debris. "Melody!" William sobbed, collapsing to his knees as Zach placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"But... You know, don't you?" Hange's voice snapped William out of his thoughts. "No matter who it is, there comes a day to say farewell."

"I know it's impossible, but you have to accept this. There will be times you can't accept your sanity. It's tough. Very tough. I know. Even so, we have to keep moving forward." Julian spoke up for the first time in their current situation.

Levi began moving forward but Eren grabbed onto his ankle. "Captain... do you... know about... the sea? No matter how far you look, it stretches past the horizon. It's a gigantic lake. Armin said—"

"Hey! Cut it out!" Floch cuts off his sentence, releasing his hand from Levi's ankle.

"There's a sea beyond the walls... and he said we'd go there together! But... that was our dream since we were little, and I forgot it long ago! Avenging my mom... Killing the Titans... The only thoughts in my head are full of hate! But... he's not like that! Armin cares about more than just fighting! He has dreams!" Eren tearfully continued on.

Levi stood up. "Everyone get out of here!" He ordered. "I'm going to have Erwin eat Bertholdt!"

"Come on. Let's go, Mikasa." Hange told her.

"Shit... Shit...!" Jean cursed.

Jean, Connie, and Sasha began leaving. "Armin..." A tear slipped from Connie's eye. "See you..."

Floch then took off with Eren, leaving only Levi, Julian, Lyon, William, and Zach.

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Julian and his squad watched as Levi used the injection on Armin. Both Julian and Hange didn't have any objections and respected Levi's choice.

Armin transforms into a Pure Titan and he grabs Bertholdt who just woke up. Bertholdt screams, trying to break free, but his missing limbs stopped him from escaping.

"Guys! Help me!" He pleaded to his friends from the 104th, who were on a nearby roof and watching.

"Annie! Reiner!" Bertholdt's pleas were cut short as Armin devours him, blood splattering in the process.

"Captain... Why... did you...?" Floch questioned Levi's choice.

"Do you think... you can forgive him?" Levi asked. "He had no choice but to become a devil. It was us who wished for that. And in the end, when he had finally be set free from hell, we wanted to bring him back once more. But I think... it's time to let him rest."

Armin's Pure Titan collapsed to the ground as steam soon appeared.

"Erwin... I promise to kill the Beast Titan, but..." Levi trailed off as Hange opened Erwin's blank eyes. "It's going have to wait."

"He's... dead." Hange confirmed.

"I see." Levi said.

They watched Armin come out of his Titan as his friends cried with joy to see him alive.

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A/N: Another chapter is finished! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 2680 words.