Torn

Levi staggered among the rocks of that open field.

Behind him, four huge Titans lay dead.

He felt a sharp pain in his throat, struggling to breathe.

His entire body was covered in blood. Some of it evaporated, but Levi noticed that the vast majority remained in his body. It was his blood, and also probably of that blond man who had run away, who controlled the Beast Titan.

Now he was pretty far from the sea of corpses of the soldiers who had sacrificed themselves. Levi was approaching another part of the Wall. He would need to climb it and see what he would do next.

Panting, he tripped over here and there, feeling a terrible taste in his mouth.

Then, without meaning to, Levi bumped his foot against a rock and fell to the ground, on his back, with a thud.

He lay there, arms and legs spread, his chest rising and falling, seeking some air.

Levi felt an immense urge to sleep. "Just a little…" he thought. He was exhausted, physically and mentally.

Then, in a thought that lasted less than a second, he said to himself, in a whisper, as he looked up at the sky:

"I want my mom..."

Levi tiredly watched some white clouds that still remained in the sky. The sun was already starting to set and was now taking on an orange hue.

He blinked slowly a few times. Now, his breathing had normalized a bit.

"Ah..." he said, looking at the skies. "What wouldn't I do to be able to spend just one more day with you, mom..."

Levi felt tears start to run down the sides of his face and unconsciously, he grabbed the grass, pulling it off the ground. Now he was crying, his chest trembling.

"Mom..." he said, between sobs, "I can't remember your face..."

Levi tried to wipe away the tears with his arm, but ended up soiling himself even more. He began to chuckle while crying.

"Look at me... Humanity's strongest soldier... Crying and asking for his mother..."

A cold breeze passed over his face, as if to comfort him. Levi pressed his lips and eyes together.

"Mom..." he said, his eyes still closed, "I've killed my best friend... I just sent him to his death… Not only him, but dozens of other soldiers… And it was all in vain… What have I done...?"

"No..." thought Levi. "Erwin wasn't just my best friend... He was my brother... My older brother..."

Despite the conditions back then, it was Erwin who helped Levi, Isabel, and Furlan to leave the Underground. It was Erwin who would give Levi some advice, when he didn't even ask for it. It was Erwin who would pat him on the back, after they returned from the missions and saw how many soldiers had died and were left behind.

It was Erwin who asked Hange to teach Levi how to read and write, because unfortunately, his uncle Kenny didn't bother to teach him that by using school methods, so Levi came out of the Underground practically as an illiterate. What Kenny had taught him was how to survive on the Underground streets, which usually involved the use of knives more than the use of a pencil and a notebook.

And now that he thought about it, it was Erwin who brought Lara, Hange, and him together on that day, when the Commander decided that the girl would join the Survey Corps and that she would have Hange and Levi as her tutors.

If Levi considered himself a happy person now for having Hange and Lara in his life, a large portion of the credit would go to Erwin.

It was Erwin who, when he noticed that Levi was feeling terrible for not being able to assume Lara's paternity, walked to him and told him to solve that matter as soon as possible, because no one in the Headquarters liked to see the "Happy Family" being sad.

Erwin was becoming part of his family, which even Levi didn't notice he had formed. He saw how Lara loved him, treating him as if he were her uncle. For a moment, Levi felt a pang in his heart, for all the times he had felt that silly jealously of Erwin and Lara, and wished he could have behaved differently and been more mature about it.

"Lara will be destroyed..." he whispered, clenching his teeth. "And when she finds out I'm the one to blame the most for it?"

He thought about Hange, of how she would react. For a moment, he wondered if she would stop loving him because of his decision. But then, he came to the conclusion that she would not. Hange would understand him for sure, for she had lived in the same reality as his for a long, long time. He didn't know if she would have made the same decision as Levi, if she were in his shoes, but at least, he knew she would understand.

After pondering this, Levi felt his love for Hange increase even more.

He took a clean piece of his green cloak and swiped it over his face, looking up at the sky again. Now, some clouds were already taking on an orange hue, too.

"You know, mom..." Levi gave a sad smile to the sky, "I met a woman." He chuckled. "She drives me crazy! But... I'm completely in love with her... That four-eyes..."

Levi rested his arm on his forehead, breathing deeply.

"I'm gonna marry her, you know? Pretty soon..."

Another gentle breeze passed over his face. He smiled.

"Oh... You also have a granddaughter..." Levi blinked slowly, thinking about Lara. "She's the most amazing girl I've ever met… She would love to meet you... You would get along so well... You would have taught her so many things that I didn't make it..."

He began to watch the sky, intently.

"I keep wondering to myself what my life would be like, if you haven't passed away so soon..." Levi closed his eyes. "If you were alive, maybe I wouldn't even have joined the Survey Corps... I would've taken you out of that prostitution life and maybe, we would be living a quiet life in some District out there... 'Course we would've had to get out of the Underground somehow, but... It would certainly have been in a very different way than what really happened..."

Levi opened his eyes and blew out a big gust of air through his mouth.

"But... I wouldn't have met Hange and Lara... She would probably have another father now," as he said that, Levi felt a great tightness in his chest. "And Hange, well..." He could not finish the sentence.

"Believe me, mom... That four-eyes would've adopted her with or without me..."

Levi pressed his eyes, remembering the horrible feelings he'd had in the time he had rejected Lara as his daughter, and felt his heart ache a little.

"Oh, mom..." he whispered, "How much I wish you were alive!"

He felt more tears welling up in his eyes.

"How I wish you were here to share the life I have now... Hange would've liked you so much... I bet she would even force you to participate in hers and Lara's crazy experiments..."

Levi coughed a little and wiped his mouth.

"Just imagine," he looked at the sky, contemplative. "I marry Hange and who knows, Lara soon could have a little sibling, huh?" Levi couldn't hold back a laugh. "I'm sure you'd be very happy with it…"

He took a deep breath, allowing himself to lie there, imagining.

"And what about Lara? She would make a great big sister... Such a wise girl... She had taught me so many things that I never thought I could learn..."

For a brief moment, Levi imagined Hange pregnant and without meaning to, he gave a little smile, but then it disappeared.

"But, to tell you the truth..." he closed his eyes, pressing his lips together, "I doubt that Hange will be able to get pregnant one day... Her body's already been hit so many times by fighting the Titans, I don't even know if it could handle a pregnancy..."

Levi ran a hand over his face and blew out air.

"I... I just don't understand how a guy like me managed to have these two amazing women in my life... I don't understand, mom... Why me? I've never done anything worthy to deserve this... I'm nothing but a fool..."

He took a few more deep breaths and slowly got up.

He began to walk towards the Wall, head and shoulders slumped.

Levi walked, with no strength. But, he felt as if something was gently pushing him forward from behind and, he couldn't say, but he swore he heard someone whisper to him: "Come on, one step at a time..."

He felt his vision a little blurred and things seemed to spin around him.

Levi hooked his ODM gear to the Wall and climbed it up. He reached its top and was finally able to contemplate the destruction that Shiganshina was. He knelt on the edge of the Wall, looking around. All he could see was smoke, dust, debris, and blood.

Desperately, his eyes ran everywhere to see if he could find any movement.

"Please..." he whispered... "Please... Let them be alive..."

Then, Levi got a fright when he looked in one certain direction and saw them: the Cart Titan and the blond man. They were on a rooftop - next to the Colossal Titan, which was lying down and evaporating - talking to what appeared to be Eren, in his human form. There were two other people with him, but he couldn't identify who they were.

Levi suddenly stood up and stared at the blond man from the top of the Wall. As if sensing his presence, the man turned around sharply and looked at Levi, as well.

Now the Captain no longer had that look of fury he had shown earlier. Now his look was one of utter insanity. It was a terrifying sight for the blond man: a soldier, covered in blood, with steam evaporating around him, stared at him with wide eyes.

"Argh!" he exclaimed, perplexed. "How's this possible?! He chased me all the way here?!"

Levi had his mouth and eyes wide open and felt his entire body tingle. For a brief second, he managed to think, "This is my chance! I'll fulfill the oath I swore to Erwin!"

Then, he allowed himself to slip off the Wall. The wind that came from below blew his cloak and hair, cleaning that steam of Titan blood that was evaporating from him.

Levi went down and down, his feet scratching the surface of the Wall. Then, he attached his hooks and masterfully flew swiftly towards them. But before he could reach the place, the Cart Titan ran away, jumping on the rooftops, with the blond man tied up in the load it carried on its back.

Levi abruptly landed on the rooftop where Eren was. He didn't even pay attention to the other two people that were with him.

"Captain!" exclaimed Eren, surprised by his sudden appearance.

"That was the last of my gas!" said Levi, panting, turning to Eren. "I'll chase him! Hand me over your gas and blades!" He stretched out his hand, as if pleading.

"Right!" replied Eren, promptly already untying his own ODM gear.

"Hurry!" exclaimed Levi, distressed.

Then, they heard a soft sound. It was a wheezing cough. It was coming from someone behind Eren, who immediately stopped untying his ODM gear and slowly turned his head back, his breath ragged in astonishment.

Levi frowned and narrowed his eyes to get a better look at what was happening around him. Then, he finally realized that beside Eren was Bertholdt, passed out, without arms and legs, releasing steam.

He struggled to identify who was that person that coughed behind Eren, but when he analyzed it better and finally managed to see who it was, Levi felt a huge pang in his heart and his stomach churned.

Behind Eren, there was a boy, completely burned. His entire body was black as coal, without any hair, as if he had just come out of an oven, where someone had left him in there for a long, long time. The only thing left on him was his Survey Corps pants and boots.

This boy was Armin.

"What happened to him?!" thought Levi. "This kind of burn seems like coming from the Colossal Titan steam..."

Eren then crawled closer to Armin, anxious and beginning to cry. He placed his hand in front of his friend's nose and felt some air coming out. He couldn't believe it.

Armin was still alive.

At this moment, Mikasa arrived at the rooftop they were on. When she noticed that scene ahead of her and saw that there was a person there, completely burned, and that it was Armin, she got bewildered. For a moment, she didn't feel the ground under her feet anymore and tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Armin..." she whispered, grabbing her hair.

When Levi noticed that Mikasa was next to him, he beckoned to her.

"Where are Hange and Lara?! Are they okay?!"

Mikasa didn't answer. She kept staring at Armin in total astonishment. Levi thought the worst had happened for a second, and his heart began to beat wildly, feeling an intense chill in his body.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, starting to get annoyed by the girl's silence. "Answer me! Hange and Lara, where are they?!"

Mikasa slowly pointed back, still staring at Armin.

"There..." she whispered. "They're back there with the others and Reiner..."

Levi felt a huge weight off his shoulders and ran his hand over his face, breathing out, extremely relieved.

"Thank God," he thought. "They're fine..." So great was his relief, his limbs weakened and his arms hung down at his sides. But, Levi didn't allow himself to be completely calm until he could see them in person and make sure they were safe and sound, by his side.

Levi was so absorbed in his own thoughts, that he didn't even notice that Eren was practically screaming next to him, completely out of his mind, in total despair.

"YEAH!!!" shouted Eren, leaning over his burnt friend, crying a lot. "He breathed! Armin's still breathing!"

Among Eren's screams, you could hear a very labored breathing coming out of Armin's mouth.

"Hang in there!" exclaimed Eren. "Keep it up!" He then turned abruptly to Levi. "Captain! Quick, hand me over the syringe!"

Hearing Eren's words made Levi realize something.

If he gave the syringe to Armin, then his best friend would definitely be dead for good. Deep, deep down, Levi still had hopes that Erwin would be alive and that, miraculously, he would appear there, so they could give the serum from the syringe to him.

Levi stood there, head down, his face obscured by the shadow of his hair, fiddling with his ODM gear while thinking about it. Eren noticed that the Captain was taking longer than normal to hand him the syringe, so he grabbed Bertholdt by the neck, as if he was going to apply a rear-naked choke on him, and shouted:

"We've got to turn Armin into a Titan, so he can devour Bertholdt! Please, give me this!!!"

Levi watched them with tired eyes and took the box that kept the syringe and looked at it, letting out a grunt through his mouth.

BOOM!!!

Eren and Levi looked at Mikasa and saw that she had fired a red smoke flare, to warn the others about the situation they were in. Slowly, Levi began to hand the box into Eren's outstretched hand. Then, something happened.

A pair of hands appeared on the eaves of the roof.

Levi recognized that red hair that popped up soon after.

It was Floch.

But, he was not alone. He carried someone on his back, with great difficulty.

Erwin was there, tied up and passed out on that recruit's back.

Everyone watched that scene in perplexity, with Levi still holding the box in the air, between him and Eren.

"Captain Levi..." agonized Floch, looking exhausted, "I finally made it... Commander Erwin is badly wounded! His stomach is gouged and his organs are demolished. I can't stop the bleeding!"

Levi couldn't believe his eyes.

"I thought," continued Floch, "that we might be able to give him that Titan serum! What do you think?!"

Complete silence.

The only thing that could be heard was Armin's attempts to breathe.

Making Eren startle, Levi brought the box back to him, pressing it against his chest.

"I can still save him..." he thought.

Then, another thought occurred to him.

All his life, Levi tried to survive. But deep down, he was a person who wanted to help others. He was a humanity's soldier and his oath to fight for it was real.

Levi really had good intentions to fight for others.

But, throughout his life, he always came out losing, especially the people he loved.

And now, an opportunity had come to him.

To, for the first time in his life, come out winning.

Although he was still distressed for not seeing Hange and Lara in person at this moment, at least he already knew that they were both well, and mostly, alive.

If he managed to save Erwin too, he could return home with his family still complete, for the serum, in addition to transforming the person into a Titan, healed any wounds.

But, at the same time, Levi thought about how selfish of him that might sound. Then, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Captain...?" called Eren, stunned and teary-eyed.

Levi went to Floch and helped him up onto the roof, resting Erwin on the tiles. He placed his hand in front of his friend's nose.

"He's still breathing..." said Levi, softly. "He's... Still Alive..."

Eren and Mikasa watched him in fright, for they were already beginning to understand what was going on inside the Captain's head. Slowly, Levi stood up.

"I'll give the Titan serum to Erwin," he said, convinced.

Eren quickly stood up, with an expression of extreme anguish and got very close to Levi's face, who was shorter than him. Levi wasn't intimidated in the slightest. His face was still heavily covered in blood, making him look even darker.

"You said you'd use it on ARMIN," said Eren, his voice breaking, but a tone of anger could be heard. "You were about to gimme the box until just now..."

Levi watched him out of the corner of his eyes, impassive.

"I'm choosing the person who can save humanity," he replied, standing firm.

Floch watched them in surprise and Mikasa drew out her sword. Levi turned to look at her. She was wide-eyed, filled with tears.

"You guys haven't the faintest clue of what you wanna do, huh?" asked Levi. "Do you really wanna let Erwin, the Commander of the Survey Corps, just die?! There's no time for this. Get out of my way."

He took a step towards Erwin, but Eren grabbed the box, trying to take it from the Captain by force. They both stood there, each pulling the box to their side.

"Eren," said Levi, "keep your emotions out of this."

"MY emotions?!" threatened Eren. "Tell me, why did you hesitate to give me the syringe just now?"

"Because I was considering the possibility Erwin might still be alive," answered Levi, impassively.

"There's no way you could have known that Floch would drag the Commander here," Eren had a lot of anger in his voice and tears kept coming out of his eyes.

"Yeah, you're right..." replied Levi. "But now that Erwin's here, I'll use it on him."

"Captain... Just like you want to save your best friend, I also want to save mine!" Eren pulled the box to himself again, but soon his vision was completely blurred, because at this moment, in an impetuous act of rage, Levi punched Eren so hard on the side of his face, that all his teeth on his left flew away.

Levi just had the time to hear Mikasa's scream of fury, who literally flew at him, knocking him to the ground and trying to press her sword against Levi's neck, with an extremely menacing look filled with tears.

Levi tried to hold back that furious girl's arms, but he was too weak. He felt like the blade could begin to cut his skin at any moment. With her other free hand, Mikasa pressed Levi's wrist from the hand that was holding the box.

"Hey!" cried Floch, desperately.

"You should perfectly understand that without Erwin, humanity has no chance against the Titans!" exclaimed Levi, struggling to hold back Mikasa's arms.

"He's right!" said Floch, distressed. "Stop this madness!"

Mikasa gave him such a threatening glare, that Floch took a step back, cringing.

Half toothless and lying on the tiles, Eren spoke with difficulty:

"It's no different if we lose Armin..."

"Eren!" shouted Mikasa, worried.

"Isn't that obvious?" asked Eren, trying to get up. "We were only able to close Trost's gate with that rock I carried, find out that Annie was the Female Titan, and travel in Titan territory at night, because of Armin's contributions! Besides, he also discovered that Reiner could be hiding inside the Walls and came up with the plan for us to take down the Colossal Titan! Pay attention, Captain! Your own daughter has chosen him as her Officer, her right-hand man!"

Everyone looked at Eren, perplexed.

"Commander Erwin and I cannot save humanity!" he exclaimed, crying and spitting blood from his mouth. "But Armin can!!! Isn't that right, Mikasa?!"

Levi tried to get up, but the girl pushed him to the ground again, glaring at him menacingly.

"Give me the syringe, please!" cried Mikasa.

Levi did his best to get rid of her, but he just couldn't. Then, Floch approached them two.

"Commander Erwin's the only one who can save humanity," he said, trying to remain calm.

"SHUT UP!" shouted Mikasa.

"I will not shut up!" he replied. "Stop acting as if you're the only ones suffering! You might not know..." Floch pointed to the Wall, "But no one survived on the other side. Everyone became targets and distractions for the Beast Titan's hail of boulders."

Mikasa and Eren watched him, eyes wide.

"I was sure we were all going to our deaths," continued Floch, "but Commander Erwin was the only one who thought otherwise... Even in that dark situation, he managed to come up with a plan to defeat the Beast Titan and in the end, it worked out."

"No, Floch..." thought Levi, with a heavy weight in his heart. "It did not work..."

"We were destroyed by the boulders, as he predicted," continued Floch. "I'm sure the last thing they felt was pure fear. I couldn't believe it when I woke up and realized I had survived. I began to walk around the corpses, looking to see if anyone else was alive, and when I found the Commander still breathing, I thought about killing him right away."

Levi's eyes widened. Eren and Mikasa listened to Floch, speechless.

"But..." continued Floch, crestfallen, "Killing him would be too easy. He still needed to go through this hell… That's when I understood..." Floch looked at Levi. "Watching you kill those four remained Titans, I found out that the only thing that can destroy the Titans is a devil!"

Levi, Eren, and Mikasa stared at him in perplexity.

"And it was my duty to bring that devil back to life!" exclaimed Floch, raising the tone of his voice. "That's why I survived the Beast Titan's massacre! So, STAY OUT OF THE WAY!"

Floch flew at Mikasa, who raised her sword to defend herself. Levi quickly raised his body, trying to block her blow.

"DON'T DO IT!" shouted Levi.

Then, someone held Mikasa from behind.

For an instant, Levi didn't feel the air in his lungs.

He widened his eyes, leaning his body, facing that person in front of him.

It was Hange.

She gripped Mikasa tightly, preventing her from moving.

As if taking his last breath in life, Levi exclaimed:

"HANGE?!"

She held Mikasa's arms and jumped back, causing the two of them to fall onto the tiles with a thud.

Levi looked at the people who landed on the rooftop, right behind Hange.

Connie was carrying a passed out Sasha and Jean had one arm bandaged. They were both gaping, seeing the situation in front of them.

Then, Levi met a pair of very familiar blue eyes.

Lara's.

She was staring at her father. Her expressions changing between astonishment and happiness to find him alive.

"Baby..." whispered Levi, still lying on the rooftop.

He stared from Hange to Lara, completely unsure of what to do. He saw that Hange was looking at him with a gleam in her eyes, or rather, in her eye, for Levi noticed that there was a band covering her left eye and he acquired a worried expression.

He noticed that Hange was making an effort to give him a smile, but it was too late. She had already understood what was happening there, and now, her expression was one of total bafflement.

"You can't be serious..." said Hange, almost whispering, while still holding Mikasa. She felt a huge pain in her heart and looked at Levi with deep sadness, but at the same time, she felt her heart run faster seeing that the man she loved was alive.

What the three of them wanted the most at that moment was to be able to hug each other. They wanted to feel each other's protective warmth, and never let go. Hange wanted to kiss Levi, and he wanted the same. Lara wanted to snuggle between her parents, wrapped in their arms. But unfortunately, they couldn't afford to do all this in such a situation. So, the only thing left for them was to each remain in their place, with tears in their eyes. Their hearts seemed to be connected, beating at the same fast pace, filled with bitterness and the feeling of missing each other.

For having been staring at her father for some time, Lara took a while to realize what was really happening around her. She looked at Erwin, who had a lot of blood in his abdomen and was in a deplorable state. He seemed on the verge of death. She felt her heart start to race and her body shudder. Lara looked at Bertholdt, who was still unconscious and without his limbs.

And then, she saw him...

A strangely familiar person was lying a little further behind Levi, completely burned. Lara took a step forward, frowning, so she could see better. When she finally realized that the burned person was Armin, she gasped, covering her mouth, eyes wide.

Lara kept looking from Erwin to Armin, shaking her head in denial.

"No..." she whispered, now her whole body was shaking and she felt the tears coming. "It's not possible... No... No..."

Lara didn't understand what was happening. Erwin's wound was easier to tell why, but what about Armin? Why was he all burned out? Then, she connected the dots. That was, for sure, a burn from someone who had been close to the Colossal Titan's steam for a long time. And later on, she would find out that it really was all part of a plan, where Eren pretended to be unconscious on the ground and hardened himself, while Armin distracted the Colossal Titan. Then, at the right moment, Eren flew behind the nape of the distracted Bertholdt and snatched him out.

Lara had no idea that this was the real plan, and that it would cost Armin to be burned alive.

Slowly, Levi knelt down. He opened the box and started to prepare the serum, while looking at Erwin. Suddenly, Mikasa began to scream uncontrollably, pushing herself forward, trying to free herself from Hange's arms.

"MIKASA!" exclaimed Hange, straining to hold her. "We can't survive without Erwin! We cannot allow the hopes of everyone within the Walls to die with him!"

Hange also shared Levi's feelings. Though she was mad at Erwin for sending her daughter on a mission where she nearly lost her forever, Erwin was one of her best friends, too.

Just like Levi, Hange also considered Erwin as her family. She placed her entire trust in him, as the Commander of the Survey Corps and humanity's hope.

"You can say the same thing about Armin!" retorted Mikasa, crying.

"Yes!" replied Hange, looking at her with deep pain in her heart. "It's true that Armin is much talented, but we need more of Erwin's experience and knowledge!"

Then, Mikasa began pressing Hange's hand very hard, who let out some pained grunts. Levi got extremely outraged by that, but before he could do anything, he was surprised.

Like a lightning, Lara quickly ran, and with a move that she had probably learned from Mikasa herself, grabbed her hand, causing her to turn to Lara.

For the first time in her life, Mikasa cowered before Lara.

Even the others were startled, because Lara was glaring at Mikasa with an expression of fury never seen by anyone. They were all used to seeing a smiling, understanding, and supportive Lara.

But a furious Lara, it was the first time.

"Do not lay a single finger on my mother, Mikasa," said Lara, with gritted teeth, in a low and threatening tone. "That's an order from your superior. Obey it!"

With wide eyes, Mikasa slowly relaxed her body, resting it on Hange, who looked at her daughter with a grateful expression. Lara crouched down beside her mother.

Mikasa was now crying in Hange's arms.

"I also have people I wanna bring back.." said Hange, her voice breaking. "Hundreds of them... People I've met since I joined the Survey Corps..."

She remembered Moblit.

"But, you know, don't you? Not everyone will stay by your side forever…"

Lara squeezed her mother's shoulder, closing her eyes tight, also remembering Moblit, as she let a few tears fall down her face. Hange wrapped her arms around Mikasa, hugging her, while remembering countless other lost friends, especially the ones from today, who belonged to her Squad.

"I've lived with this for a long time…" continued Hange, her voice still breaking. "But, it's something really hard to accept... It consumes everything I have to keep my sanity."

Levi lowered his head, his jaw trembling. He didn't need to think much to realize that those who were there were the only survivors of the intense battle they have faced. He looked at Hange and Lara and noticed that they were both crying, and soon he also realized that those tears were for many friends who had been gone, and especially, for Moblit.

In his heart, he felt a deep sadness as remembering Hange's Officer, who, in Levi's absence, was the one who made sure they were safe during their experiments. For a moment, Levi thanked Moblit in his mind for all he had done for his girls.

"It's tough..." said Hange, almost in a whisper. "It's very, very tough..."

Everyone around was now downcast, with tears in their eyes.

"I understand..." continued Hange, hugging Mikasa, who was now hugging her back, crying. "But, we have to keep moving forward."

Mikasa looked up to the skies, remembering her time spent with Eren and Armin in her childhood, and then, with a big sigh, she lowered her head and hung her arms down to her sides as a sign of giving up.

Levi now had the syringe full of serum, but as he was standing up to go towards Erwin, he felt someone grabbing his foot.

It was Eren. He had dragged himself there.

"Captain..." he began to say, his voice breaking from crying. "Do you know about the Ocean? It's a saltwater lake that stretches past the horizon, as far as you can see..."

Levi stared at him.

"Armin said--"

Suddenly, Floch grabbed Eren's arms.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "Enough of that!"

Floch lifted Eren up, holding and dragging him backward. As being pulled, Eren looked at Levi, saying:

"Ever since we met as children, Armin told me he wanted to see the Ocean someday, which is beyond these Walls…" Levi watched him being dragged away. "I..." Eren now was crying a lot, "I had forgotten about those dreams we've shared since our childhood... I wanted to kill all Titans, to avenge my mother's death... This hate was the only thing that fed my thoughts... But," Eren turned sharply towards Armin, with Floch still holding him tightly, "he's not like that! Armin doesn't care about fights! He has big dreams!"

Levi was crestfallen, but didn't say anything.

So, Eren decided to play his final card.

"Captain!" he exclaimed so loudly, that it startled them all. "Your daughter was supposed to be here, burned and dying like him!"

Levi turned to Eren, puzzled. Hange and everyone else, too. Lara opened her mouth, totally perplexed, looking from Eren to Armin.

"What...?" whispered Levi, feeling a shiver through his body.

"Before executing the plan," replied Eren, his voice trembling, "he told me that Lara insisted on coming with him... But Armin did not allow her! He asked her to stay!" Eren then looked deeply into Levi's eyes. "If now you have your daughter, completely safe and sound there, behind you... IT'S THANKS TO ARMIN!!!"

Levi stood there, completely stunned. Slowly, he turned to Lara.

She was now staring at Armin with an expression of astonishment.

Lara didn't know what was happening to her. She felt her head spin, and her thoughts were hazy and a real mess. Slowly, she came to the conclusion that Eren was right. She was supposed to be there, lying next to Armin, on the verge of death. She was supposed to have been part of the plan.

But Armin told her before leaving towards the Colossal Titan, "Stay".

She then looked from Armin to Erwin.

For the first time in her life, Lara felt her heart torn two ways.

Lara loved the Commander. Come on, he was "Uncle Erwin"! He was her family, too!

But, what about Armin?

Why did it seem that since she had decided to make him her Executive Officer, she felt that her relationship with him seemed to have increased so quickly, she didn't even have to think about it right?

She has always treated her subordinates equally, and had the same feelings for everyone. But for some reason she couldn't explain - maybe it was due to all the circumstances they had been through together today - Lara felt that her level of closeness with Armin had increased in an exponential curve in a very short time.

Besides, in the last few hours, Lara began to feel and think certain things that she had never felt or thought about before, and found herself making the excuse that it must be because of the adrenaline or the heat of the moment, a consequence of what they have faced together.

But why the image of Armin's blue eyes didn't leave her mind as he hugged her to comfort her for the supposed loss of her mother?

Why did she still hear Armin's heartbeat when she was crying on his chest?

Why did she still feel the warmth of his embrace and his gentle rocking?

Why, since Armin had turned to look at her for the last time, had she felt her heart beat in a way she had never experienced before?

What was this she was feeling?

Lara couldn't understand...

But, Erwin was there.

It was Erwin who gave Lara the opportunity to fulfill her dream of joining the Survey Corps, two years earlier than usual.

It was Erwin who decided that Lara's tutors would be Hange and Levi, bringing them together in such a way that today they were mother, father, and daughter.

It was Erwin who helped teach her to think strategically as they played chess every week.

It was Erwin who would steal her from her parents so they could play when she had a little free time.

It was Erwin who gave her candy every week, because of her service as a carrier pigeon, even though her father still insisted that her interest rates were too low.

It was Erwin who helped her drop little hints about Hange and Levi's relationship, and secretly, they would come up with crazy plans to join them together.

It was Erwin who became a great friend and companion to Lara.

He had become part of her family.

Like it or not, having his reasons or not, Erwin had saved and prevented her from returning to that horrible life at the orphanage.

Lara owed her life to the Commander.

She ran her hand over her face and took a deep breath. She felt a tear stream down her face.

Then, something popped into her mind.

"Wait..." she said, frowning and looking at her father, "What if we give half the serum to each of them? It can work?!"

A glimmer of hope seemed to cross everyone's eyes, except Levi and Hange's, who slowly turned to her daughter, with a sad look.

"Unfortunately not, my dear," she said. "Do you remember what happened to Historia's father? He took just a few drops of the serum and became that one-hundred-and-twenty-meter gigantic Titan, totally abnormal. If we only give half a dose to each of them, there could be a great risk of both Erwin and Armin becoming abnormal, and then..." Hange pressed his lips and eyes together, "We would have to kill them two..."

Lara looked from one to the other, distressed.

"Besides, if they both became normal Titans, they would need to devour Reiner and Bertholdt to be human again. But... We do not have Reiner with us anymore."

Mikasa turned abruptly to Hange.

"What do you mean?!" she asked, surprised. "He was with us just now! We captured him!"

Levi looked very worried at Hange, who was also looking at him, as if apologizing.

"Before coming here," continued Hange, "that quadrupedal Titan appeared back there and took Reiner away... We lost him..."

Levi lowered his head, running his hand over his face. Mikasa and Eren also let out a sigh of utter disappointment.

"Sick bastards..." thought Levi, feeling anger rise in his chest.

"Yes..." confirmed Lara, crestfallen. "My mother was almost killed again by that quadrupedal Titan." She then turned to look back, "If Jean hadn't pushed her away, it would be the second time in the day that I would've become motherless…"

Jean gave her a sad smile, but also with an expression of great anguish.

Levi felt his entire body shiver and tears began to fill his eyes.

"That's enough!" he thought. Then, he quickly stood up, grabbing Bertholdt by the collar of his shirt.

"All of you, get outta here!" exclaimed Levi, irritated, while holding the syringe ready in his hand, "I'm going to have Erwin eat Bertholdt!"

Slowly, everyone started to get up and make their way off the rooftop.

"Shit... Shit..." whispered Jean.

"Goodbye, Armin..." said Connie, shedding a tear, leaving with Sasha on his back, accompanied by Jean.

"Come, Mikasa," said Hange, helping her up, "let's go..."

Floch carried Eren on his shoulders, and flew away. Mikasa followed close behind.

Crying, Eren stretched out his hand, wanting to reach Armin. Soon he lost sight of him.

Only Hange and Lara remained there, staring at Levi with tears in their eyes.

Holding Bertholdt in one hand and the syringe in the other, he looked at them bitterly.

Instinctively, Lara hugged her mother from the side.

She looked from Erwin to Armin, her heart pounding and feeling great anguish.

Oh, how she wished she could save Armin… How she wanted to look into those blue eyes just one more time… Just one more…

But, she was Levi and Hange's daughter.

Like her parents, she knew that Erwin must be the one saved.

He was the best choice.

With a lot, a lot of heartache, she and Hange turned away and flew off the rooftop.

Just as Armin had done before leaving to fight the Colossal Titan, Lara looked back to see him one last time.

"Farewell, my Officer…" she thought, with a tear running down her cheek. "You were a better Leader than I was."