The Hunter fell back to one of the taller structures, wiping at the slick sheen of sweat on his face, drawing the green hood tight over his head once again.

His tenth kill dissolved gently at the foot of his tall perch.

"It's Corporal Levi!" Cried out a woman's voice, from not far away, in such a relieved tone of crying joy that the Hunter found his gaze quickly drawn up to see the 'corporal' flying through the grey stone structures, moving with such grace and fluidity that he found he couldn't bear to tear his eyes away.

The man was a blur, swords arching around him as he effortlessly threw his body forwards to bring his blades through the nape of a titan like a hot knife though butter. It was only when he jumped back and landed on one of the tall structures that the Hunter truly realised who this human was.

Black hair shined in the beaming sunlight, silver eyes sweeping over his surroundings, taking on a blue hue as they reflected the open sky.

It was him. His human, defending not only himself but the others with his wind like movements.

...Corporal Levi they said...

The Hunter felt his lips curve up, but not in the usual snarl. Instead they moved up with the strange swooping feeling in his chest as he drank in the figure as it moved, flying forwards to his next target.

He could have sworn that he was bigger before... The Hunter let out a faint breath as he watched the figure shrink into the distance.

"No please! Let me go! PLEASE!"

The Hunter wrenched his eyes away from his disappearing human, instead looking around for the source of the new screams.

Deep gulps of air. No time to rest. No time for watching. No time for him...

His painful hot breaths clawed up his throat as the Hunter moved again. Once more he made to endure the lingering after effects of his earlier transformation. Rest had to wait. He had to help. He had to try.

Using his vines within the human's domain was definitely different to the forest.

He couldn't get as high and secure objects to anchor himself to were few and far between.

However the worst thing was the shining spears at the end of his vines.

The grapples (for that was the word for them even if the Hunter did not know it) bounced off the stone half the time, so he had to mainly rely on his light weight and strength to jump from structure to structure, running down the vertical stones and using the Titan's soft flesh to manoeuvre around.

Clutching his spear tightly, he ran towards the new cries to see a female, hair dirty white, face thick with dark crevices and eyes full of tears, who's lower body was stuck between the grinding teeth of a Titan, red scarf gently swaying with each soft crunching chew.

Silently now he threw himself forwards to balance on the thing's hand, waiting as the thing's sluggish eyes found him, crinkled in murderous delight, and for its jaws to open and snap down on the new arrival.

When that moment came the Hunter darted forward, grabbing the woman and jumping sideways, using his vines to pull them both towards the sloped tops of the structures.

Gently he placed the woman down, briefly putting his hand to her soft cheek to calm her gasping sobs of thanks before turning back to the lumbering white bearded Titan.

He aimed one vine towards its eye and the other to its neck, causing it to rear back as its milky grey eye was punctured, spilling the blood flecked jelly all over itself.

The Hunter ripped out that vine, using the momentum of his movement to swing around and effortlessly pass his spear through its neck.

Job done, he jumped off onto the sloped top again, returning to the woman with soft timid steps.

There was a lot of blood, her legs were gone but for the long stingy strips of bloodied flesh, and her lips were stained a vibrant, unnatural red.

"Thank you. Oh thank you," she breathed out quietly, her hand reaching out blindly for him.

The Hunter knelt down next to her, hand on hers as he searched her deep brown eyes. Those eyes which widened in shock as they saw within the shadows of his hood.

"Boy... You're so young. Why?"

The Hunter said nothing, simply staring back.

"You have.... no shirt, aren't you...cold?" She whispered, each breath harder than the last.

The woman smiled sadly at him and with trembling fingers pulled the scarf off of her neck and wrapped it around of the surprised boy.

He continued to stare in surprise into her eyes until he realised they were far too still. Too unmoving.

...Something strange was happening to his vision, it warped and blurred and he felt something trickle down his face.

Raising his hand to wipe at his eyes he found them wet.

A heavy patter of feet sounded on the roof and the smell of fear overcame his feelings of confusion.

"Sir, we're overwhelmed. What should we do?" Came a deep voice.

The boy spared one last lingering look for the frozen woman then the Hunter stood up, pulling the cloak tight to pull his face into shadows.

A group of about ten people stood before him, bloody and shivering, most in tight tanned clothing but the one who spoke in a familiar green cloak.

Their eyes opened wide as they took him in, clad in a scouts green cape, stance firm and unyielding, strong stomach bare but for the ripped, ill-fitting trousers and black straps that covered him. A blood red scarf was wrapped around his neck, pulling back the material just enough to vaguely hint at a narrow yet firm-set jaw.

"Are you sure he's a squad leader?" One whispered faintly to another.

"He just took down eight Titans by himself, did you miss that? What else could he be?" Another hissed back.

The Hunter looked at the fearful humans consideringly. They called him sir...

They seemed to want... commands? But shouldn't their pack leader do that?

He recalled his small human-

-Corporal Levi- his name is Corporal Levi-

- moving away, deeper into the human's territory.

He looked out then around at his surroundings, at the Titans. A group of five Titans seemed to be not too far to the left, another ten to the right.

Right... Temporary pack leader...

He turned back to his group and raised his hands to point at the three of them with the least shivers and fearful smells. He then pointed to the group of ten Titans and mimed pulling in, then pointing at the tallest structure he could see nearby.

"...You want us to lure them there? Why?" Asked one after a brief perplexed pause.

The Hunter nodded then pointed to another four, miming the same but for the group of seven Titans.

They hesitantly nodded.

He then waved his arms all around and mimed the pulling in motion again.

"Just keep luring them here? Away from the people?" Asked the green freckled one in a taut voice.

"But we'll be killed! Why- why won't you talk to us?!"

He turned to the man who spoke, who flinched back as the shadowed hood faced him silently.

He slowly pointed at him and the other next to him with tears staining his face then at himself, motioning for them to follow him, before picking up the woman's body and passing it to the larger one's arms.

He gave them all a 'thumbs up' and hesitantly they nodded.

Turning away he fired off his vines and snapped forward with his two followers close behind, stopping each time to pick up a fallen body and hand it to them or carrying it himself.

It was at that moment that he heard the scream.

"Mikasa! No! We have to move!"

He held his hand up to stop the other two and passed the small lifeless figure he had just found to them, motioning them towards the far side of the city where the most humans had gathered.

They hesitantly nodded, relief clear on their faces as they looked at their escape.

The Hunter barely contained his snort of disgust before jumping down off the building, ducking and rolling as he hit the cobbles several meters below them.

At the sharp gasps above him he scowled and motioned for them to move again.

"Hanse take Armin. Run its coming." came the hushed voice of a female, drawing the Hunter's attention back to the scene before him.

"We're not leaving you!" cried a small blond human, pulling at the wreckage that crushed the girl.

"What about your grandpa!? Will you leave him without any family? Alone? He needs you!" The girl spat out, voice destitute and breaking with her angry pleas.

"What about me?! I need you your are like a mother to me! Don't think you can just leave me like this!" Screamed the boy, his fingernails scrabbling and breaking as he desperately tried to pull the building off of her.

The larger blond man took the black haired girl's hand in his for a moment.

"No Mikasa, I will not leave a child behind. I will fight this thing, then we will get you out." Said the blond man, stopping in his efforts to lift the beam and running forwards to the monster-

-Before stopping, body fossilized with the age old stink of fear, staring up at the jagged cold cut smile of the creature before him, at the intense hungry gaze and at the red stained maul.

The Hunter growled as he smelt that stench of fear rolling off of the man. Even if he managed to attempt to fight like that, all he could do would be to get himself eaten and leave the other two alone to die.

The Hunter ran forwards silently, past the fear filled man, dodging through the medium type's grasping fingers as it bent down to grab him.

Within moments he was in position, slicing down on the hamstrings of the legs with a quick sweep of his spear, forcing it down to the earth before scaling its back as it struggled to push itself up.

Ignoring the flailing limbs the Hunter made his way to the thing's neck and sliced deep twice, only to be thrown back as the thing's body violently spasmed and threw him bodily into a wall.

But the deed was done, and the once smiling Titan lay still.

Wincing at the stabbing hot pain in his chest, the Hunter pulled himself up, wiping his face of the sweat and water that still filled his eyes.

He jumped down from the enormous body and made his way forward to the girl and boy who appeared to both be frozen in place, both staring at him with wide eyes and little mouths in perfect 'O's.

He motioned for the small blond one to move back before putting his hands to the wooden debris that pinned the girl to the earth.

He caught her eye and nodded once before he carefully started to lift, teeth clenching as the stabbing feeling rippled through his chest like fire.

There were gasps as the structure rose with his hands but all the large human did was unmovingly stare with shocked eyes.

The Hunter hissed slightly at this but the blond boy was faster on the uptake, moving the girl out who couldn't seem to take her eyes from his. Once she was clear he released the wood, creating an echoing crash as it collapsed which reverberated through their feet.

They continued to stare at the Hunter as he squatted on his haunches, running deft fingers over the girl's wounds, making soft meaningless murmurs every time she hissed with pain, shivers raking through her body.

"...aren't you...cold?"

The Hunter looked at the shivering, alive girl and carefully pulled at the red scarf at his throat and wrapped it loosely round her head and neck.

She... A human needed it more than a Titan like him.

Wind blew cool at his neck now as he looked from girl to boy in silence.

Hmm something was wrong. He felt at his neck for a moment wondering what it was before he heard a hesitant voice.

"H-hey. How old are you?" Asked the big blond man in a wavering voice.

The hood.

His eyes widened as his hands scrabbled at his hood, pulling it back over his head.

Damn it how long had he been like that? Could they tell he wasn't human? He knew his body was in the correct proportion but his face? The only image he had ever seen of it was distorted by ripples...

Had they realised? By the way they stared at him he feared for a moment they had... but they were not attacking or running...

He quickly stood up, releasing the hand of the girl with black hair and motioning to the tall yellow haired man to pick her up and move.

He gave his hand to the small blond one with the quick wits and pulled him up, motioning at him to run before he turned, picked up his spear and fired his vines to the stone, (catching it just right for once) pulling himself up and away from their sudden shouts.

Damn it, he thought to himself as he tried to put thoughts of those humans out of his head.

Instead he concentrated on the lagging feeling to his movements.

He had used too much of the silver air. He wasn't moving as fast and his weight was dipping even as he willed his body to be as light as possible.

He stopped on the rounded crest of a smaller structure and searched around for those humans who asked for direction earlier.

He scanned the immediate area, twisting his head sharply around until he saw the crowd of twenty or so Titans, surrounding the tall triangle shaped rock where several humans clinged on.

His eyes flashed over his surroundings as he quickly considered his options. His very breath was now painful in his chest, sharp and wet and piercing with every hitching breath. It was unlikely that he could save those humans like this. Those humans who were doing what he asked for them to do...

He thought back to only two days ago when he had fallen into dreamless sleep during the day- something unknown of with Titans- and of his unhealing injuries, his current condition.

Then one of the large type Titans took a human in his hand and the Hunter's decision was made for him.

"Too much will soon break."

"No!"

The Hunter boy jumped down from his perch, hand clenched in his teeth and a moment later steam filled the small stone valley and the Hunter Titan stood tall, growl echoing through his lipless jaw.

He threw himself forwards, ground rocks flying out behind him as he pushed himself forwards, faster, faster, FASTER.

"UUUAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRHHH!"

His hand smashed right through the first Titan's head, splattering both its brain and the bones in the Hunter's fist across the street.

The Titan's grip loosened, dropping the human in its hand into the Hunter's palm.

"Wha- what the hell?"

"They're fighting over us?"

"Get Conner out of there! Let's kill that thing!"

"Wait! Don't kill it!" came a deep, slightly familiar, voice.

The Hunter brought his regenerating skeletal hand to his nape and gently moved the struggling human in his grip to the tall pointed structure before him, opening his palm flat.

The humans froze, eyes wide and mouths open, the human in his hand even more so.

A soft growl vibrated through the Hunter's chest and he tilted his hand gently.

Move idiot. It's not like I can fight with you in my hand.

"Conner, it wants you to get off." Stated one of the humans in a blank voice. Hunter's eyes briefly fell on the pale freckle skinned human, wrapped in the green sheet.

"Sir, we're overwhelmed. What should we do?"

The one they called Conner jumped off his hand and Hunter moved back, eyes still fixed to the pale human.

He tore his eyes away as the body at his feet started to struggle and push itself up, skull half formed, exposing its bloodied churned up brain. With a blood curdling growl the Hunter brought his foot down on its nape and sharply twisted.

"It finished it off!" exclaimed one of the men.

"It's him!" said the green cloak.

The Hunter blinked, shaking his head as he jumped back from the humans. He didn't have time to listen to them. Scrabbling hands were still grabbing for his humans, greed blinding them of the demise of one of their own. They would notice soon though. Especially when the Hunter began his defense of his humans in earnest.

My humans... He thought to himself as he smashed a red haired Titan's head clean off.

Images of the gently swinging human in his forest, the hand in the sand and the wrinkled woman's frozen brown gaze flashed behind his eyes as he ripped a small type Titan in half and smashed its dripping remains into the ground.

Thoughts of his small defiant human, the herd of thankful humans in his forest, the humans before him and those two little ones with so much life ahead of them filled his head as his hand sliced up through one's stomach, ripping out its organ and spilling it on the floor.

MY HUMANS! His thoughts roared again as he ripped through flesh and bone with hand, foot and tooth, pouring blood over earth and mashing bone into stone.

Suddenly there was silence. There were no more Titans around him.

Small white fragments of bone were scattered beneath his feet. Steaming blood and guts drenched the structures around him.

Where have they all gone?

His body steamed and hissed as it regenerated itself.

He looked down in surprise as his left arm slowly regrew.

When had he lost that?

He shook his head slightly, body wavering, world tilting on its axis.

Voices seeped into his darkening vision and he shook his head again, trying to remain upright.

"We should strike now, while it's weak, before the aberrant turns on us!"

"No! Did you not just see that?! It killed twenty Titans all by itself and it's STILL standing! They were trying to fucking eat it as well!"

"But there are no more Titans right here! It will turn on us!"

The Hunter brought up his right hand, his most complete hand at that moment, to his nape and backed away from those voices.

"It didn't kill Conner!"

"It's an aberrant! You can't predict what it will do! We need to-"

"No one is to touch it," came a cold, carrying voice.

The humans all fell silent and the Hunter turned to see who commanded such compliance- only to freeze, pupils contacting. For a moment a delirious feeling of relief and happiness threatened to overcome him.

It was his human, standing not five meters away, watching him from one of the buildings.

His eyes really were grey, like pools of moonlit water... He wasn't sure if he had imagined that or not. If he had the lips to do so the Hunter felt sure they would have twisted up in happiness at the sight of his... his human... who was looking right at him...with his hands on his blades...

The Hunter then realised what was going to happen next and a pool of ice opened in his stomach, dousing the strange warm tickle with dread.

He was going to die. He was a Titan and he was going to die.

"Quite the specimen isn't he..." sighed his human, staring at the frozen giant with a narrowed gaze.

His expression was glacial, unmoving and utterly devoid of any emotion but the faint dark flash in his somber eyes.

The Hunter's hand tightened over his neck.

"I told you Levi! He's alive! Ooh! And look! Look! He's aware of his own weak spot, I knew that was what it was doing!" came yet another familiar voice.

The Hunter's eyes shifted to the red headed woman, eyes widening as he recognised the one who made such strange noises at his body before.

His eyes flicked from one to the other, not daring to let them out of his sights.

"Ooh... interesting," commented the man, face and tone hard and cold, discordant to his words.

"What do we do now?" Hissed someone from behind the Hunter.

The Hunter's eyes widened. They had got behind him. He was so distracted that the humans had got behind him.

He took a step to the left, turning, trying to get both sides of the humans into his field of vision.

"Don't move shit face," warned his human, voice cruel yet lifeless.

"Levi! Don't! You'll Scare him away!" Yelled the red one, pulling on the other's green cloak, causing the small man to break eye contact with the Hunter for the barest moment.

The Hunter took his opportunity, turning and running, clouds of healing steam following him as he launched himself over the buildings and away.

"Shit!" He heard behind him, far too close behind him.

Panic surged through him, making it difficult to think as he sped up, ploughing his way through rock and stone.

"You're not getting away from me this time," he heard again, still too close, far too close.

"Stop him, he's heading towards the boats!" Cried another, from further back, voice strained with fear.

"No one is to touch it! It's mine!" Growled out a smoky voice almost by his ear.

Startled the Hunter span away to his right, body light and movements fluid. The last image of his human imprinted on his eyes: a frozen almost desperate look on his human's face as he quickly tried to change his direction to follow him.

But the Hunter was moving faster now, gaining ground on his pursuers. This however did not help him when his right foot caught in something, ripping it off with the sheer twisting force and speed, sending him backwards into one of the taller structures.

Pain lanced through him from his injuries, arms trapped by his side and... air cool against his neck?

There was only one thing he could now do.

He closed his eyes.

Pain.

That would, to put it simply, be the word to describe the Hunter's perception of the world as he forced himself out of the red hot flesh.

There weren't really any other words for it other than pain. It was pure and undiluted and almost wholly consuming of his mind and body. It was too much for hurt, it would not abate so it could not be described as throbbing and it was too pure and consistent for agony.

But it didn't take him. He couldn't let it take him.

He forced his bleeding eyes open and with feverish shaking limbs he scrabbled over the cracked rock and splintered wood towards the light, away from his decaying body.

He threw himself forward towards the source of the slanting light, gasping in surprise as it shattered, cutting deep into his flesh.

No. Keep. Moving. Fight. Live. FIGHT.

Vines snapped forwards, pulling him forwards; the last of the silver air propelling him onwards until there was nothing left.

No air, no light, no...

The world disappeared with the thick cloying taste of blood swelling his tongue.

Then there was only one last thing. A sound. A ringing voice.

"Hannes! Are you okay? What just-? Mikasa! It's him! Oh god! Hannes get up! Help me pick him up!"

Then there was nothing at all.