Chapter Text
Even though surrounded by hopeless dirt and rotten air, his mother’s posture remained so delicate, elegant.
Her fingers, worn out by the misery she was forced to endure, held the handle of the teacup tightly while looking down at him, smiling, with tender and fond eyes, as he was all he had left, the only thing the world had not taken away from her yet.
Elegance.
That's pretty much the only thing he clearly remembered, really. And that’s why he absolutely did not want it to be lost. Ever.
844
“Levi! Someone is following us!” Furlan yelled. Levi turned around only to see 4 caped soldiers, equipped with their own ODM gear, about 50 meters away from them. It wasn't anything new, really, MPs bothered them all the time. They only seemed to care about the Underground when filthy thugs like them got in their way, not when starving children were sold to sexual slavery. Obviously.
So, it wasn't anything new.
“Isabel, Furlan, let’s go!” he said, and then proceeded to operate his stolen pair of gear and hasten away, soaring and swooping through the air, feeling Isabel and Furlan behind him.
Nothing new.
Except something was off.
These soldiers were faster, looser than usual. They managed to keep up with their pace perfectly, not missing a beat.
Levi narrowed his eyes. These fuckers arent MPs.
“Isabel ,Furlan, something is wrong, we’re not dealing with interiors here!”
“What do you mean, big bro?” Isabel replied.
“Their way with the ODM isn't normal. I'll make a sudden U-turn at the next pillar and see how they handle it” he said, and then went on to bank into a sharp turn around the closest pillar. And that’s when his suspicions were proved correctly. With the corner of his eyes, he saw them: wings drawn on the capes of the hooded soldiers.
The wings of freedom.
He smirked.
“Well, that’s exactly what I expected from the Survey Corps”
“The Survey Corps? Really? Are you sure?” Furlan asked.
“Yeah, I saw the wings on their back. These fucks are real soldiers trained for the battlefield, not drunkards dickheads like the MPs. It won't be easy to get ‘em off our backs, but you already know what to do, don't you?”
Isabel sneered as Furlan sighed.
“Sure!” they both said simultaneously, although while Furlan seemed tired and annoyed, Isabel was filled with excitement. It worried Levi, her enthusiasm. She was just a child, she had been when she joined the two of them, after Levi saved her from a group of gangs.
Her zest made her naive, pure. And such things weren't allowed in a place like the Underground.
Soon enough, Levi was left alone, as his friends had both gone in opposite directions, in order to confuse the scouts and eventually lose them.
He kept on going, mantaining a respectable but careful pace, so as not to run out of gas, making his way into the city that he knew like the back of his hand.
It wasn't long until he no longer felt that presence behind him, so he landed on the ground. Maybe he had taken the scout regiment way too seriously, if he had managed to lose them in such a short time. Well, whatever. He only hoped Isabel and Furlan were safe and sound. They were probably making their way back to-
A fucking body slammed into him, driving and pinning him to the ground.
Well, or at least trying: Levi was quick to react, and managed to sweep away from the man’s grip, only to be attacked by another one, who had just appeared from an alley. He then took out his dagger and aimed right at the man’s throat.
“Stop! Look around you!” someone yelled.
Levi halted, noticing that two more soldiers had arrived, holding Furlan and Isabel, whose hands were tied behind their backs. Isabel was shouting, throwing a tantrum, while Furlan tried to remind her of how useless it was to wriggle.
Only then, Levi dropped his knife and let these men tie his own hands.
And suddenly, the three of them were on their knees, wrists bound, with 4 scouts standing before them.
He rolled his eyes.
Well fuck me.
The man who had appeared from the alley, the one he attempted to slit the throat of, was the one to speak.
“You’ll answer some questions now. Where did you take this?” he asked, holding their ODM in his hands.
Nobody answered.
“Your abilities with it are quite exceptional. Who taught you to use it?”
Again, silence.
He then took a few steps closer to Levi, and this time, he spoke to him exclusively.
“You are the leader, aren't you? You were amazing in the air. Were you trained in the military?”
And once again, he received no response, except for Levi's scowl, that deepened even further.
Too unbothered to reply, Levi took time to actually observe the man.
He was broad and tall, probably a foot taller than him, had blond hair, perfectly groomed and neat, and fierce eyes that had a spark in them which Levi really had never seen before. Blue eyes. Really blue eyes.
“You look like you want to murder me”, he said, with a slight smirk, then proceeded to sigh and step back.
“Well, it was not my intention to get rough with you but..” and before he managed to finish his sentence, the other man, who had stood right behind Levi the whole time, gripped his hair and slammed his head into the ground, the filthy and muddy ground of that shithole of a city.
I’m gonna fucking rip them apart after this.
“I am going to ask you once again. Where did you learn to use the ODM gear?”
If eyes could kill, the man would already be dead and gone.
“We didn’t learn from anyone!” Isabel intervened, worried for her brother.
“We learned out of necessity, to survive. Nothing you could ever understand...” Furlan added, glaring.
Blondie remained silent for a few seconds. He slightly narrowed his blue eyes, as if he was calculating something.
It was fucking annoying.
“My name is Erwin Smith. What’s yours?” he then continued, addressing only him.
Levi would’ve loved to keep the tough act on, but he knew that if he did, his face wasn't going to be the only one filled with mud.
“Levi. “
Erwin Smith smiled, and then kneeled in front of him, dirtying his own uniform.
“Levi. Why don't we make a deal?”
“A deal?”
“I will ask you nothing about any of the countless crimes you have committed, and in exchange, you lend me your power and strength and enter the Survey Corps”
Levi’s eyes widened.
“And what if I refuse?”
“Then I will hand you over to the Military Police. I assume you won’t be treated with regard, after everything you have done. Choose whatever you prefer.”
Smug bastard.
He felt Furlan’s and Isabel’s gaze on him, waiting.
They all knew what this meant.
Levi closed his eyes and sighed.
“Tsk, fine then.” he said, with brows furrowed, features hardened.
“I’ll join the Survey Corps.”
And Erwin Smith dared to smile at him broadly, almost laughing, with that annoying smug look in those fucking blue eyes.
There was no way back now.
“Frankly, this is humiliating! Letting some random thugs of the Underground join us like that! They don't even have any sort of training. We can't allow our pride to suffer such a blow!”
“I agree with Flagon. These people are criminals, Erwin.”
Erwin and Mike had brought Levi and his friends to the headquarters, and as they were presumably being shown around and given their uniforms, he was forced to hold a meeting to discuss his own irrational and insane decisions.
“I understand your concerns, gentlemen, I do, but trust me when I say these people’s abilities with maneuvering the ODM gear are simply outstanding. Especially their leader’s. We need them.” he stated. And it was the truth, really. Levi’s movements in the air resembled the ones of a veteran, that was undeniable. What was also undeniable was the fact that their recruitment was necessary to get the government to approve of their next expedition, but Flagon definitely did not need to know that.
“Erwin’s new formation is ground-breaking. It focuses on avoiding the titans instead of fighting them. This could be revolutionary, Flagon. And whilst these scums surely lack discipline and manners, they are not stupid. It won't take much to train them properly. Right, Erwin?” Shadis inquired.
He was lucky to have him on his side. Without the commander’s support, he would’ve not made it. Well, even though at this point it wasn’t long until he became commander himself. Everyone knew it: Shadis was old, ancient, and had lost his spark a long time ago. How to blame him, though? No other Survey Corps commander had ever survived this long.
The things he must have seen.
“Yes, that’s correct”
“Well then, we are done for today. Dismissed.”
Erwin made his exit from the room and proceeded to reach his other comrades downstairs. It was time for Levi and his counterparts to make introductions. Erwin got in line with the other captains as Keith announced that the three of them would’ve been assigned to Flagon’s squad, who scoffed and attempted to protest, failing.
Erwin took a moment to linger on the three new recruits while they spoke their names.
Isabel Magnolia was the girl. She was really small, had red hair kept in two pigtails, and a fringe covering most of her delicate face and features. Green big eyes and a wide smile that barely fit her face. She appeared to be joyous, excited. She looked like she was about 15 years old.
Another child.
The other man, Furlan Church, was a slender and lanky figure, the tallest out of the three of them. But that wasn’t much of an achievement. He had light blue eyes that lied on an oblong and slim face. Dirty blond hair, and another fringe that covered his forehead, landing right on top of a pair of thin eyebrows. He kept a smug grimace for most of the time, as he had just fooled everyone around him.
And then, of course, there was Levi, standing right in the middle.
He was slightly taller than Isabel. A concerning height for a man of his age.
Wait, how old was he?
Erwin narrowed his eyes, as if to analyze his features a tiny bit more in detail.
He surely had a young face: slightly chubby cheeks, small nose, thin eyebrows. At first glance, he looked like an adolescent. But, strangely enough, something about him conveyed a sense of tiredness. Almost unnoticeable wrinkles around his eyes, and quite not unnoticeable dark circles made him look older, mature.
And his gaze. His eyes. They were light blue, it seemed, and constantly glaring at him, and he could feel the pure hatred they transmitted. That scowl just never left his face, did it?
His hair was pitch, inky, coal-black, contrasting his pale skin, with parted bangs that fell right above his eyebrows. Even in the distance, Erwin could see his undercut, perfectly trimmed.
His hands were crossed over his chest as he spoke “Name’s Levi.”
He was looking directly at him, as if to challenge him.
And Erwin definitely loved a challenge.
Flagon had led them to the barracks, showing them around.
Levi really hated that guy. He had dared to insinuate that they were dirty.
“I know you’ve lived in the scums up till now, but try to keep this place clean” he said. As if he knew anything about filth, real one.
Levi was about to snap at him, since he would’ve deserved it, but Furlan stopped him in time. He thought it was important to behave, make a good impression. At the end of the day, they weren't there to fuck around. They had an assignment to put an end to.
It had been a few weeks since Nicholas Lobov had contacted them and, let’s say, hired them to basically save his ass.
He had said that a certain Erwin Smith, captain of the Scout Regiment, was in possession of classified documents that contained compromised information about him.
He also happened to know that this tall and blond fucker had been eyeing the three of them for a while, considering to make them join the Scouts because of their out-of-the-ordinary skills with the maneuvering gear. So what he basically wanted them to do was to infiltrate the Corps, steal the documents from the man and then, preferably, kill him.
Obviously, not for free.
If they managed to get the job done, Lobov had promised to give them citizenship to live on the surface.
That’s really the only reason they agreed to it.
They were desperate to leave the slums. A life on the surface, in Mitras, sounded like heaven. They were not gonna miss this chance.
Now, obviously, their intention wasn’t to simply act as pawns in Lobov’s big plan: after stealing the documents and killing Erwin, they intended to blackmail Lobov in order to improve their standing.
It was extremely risky, and it’s not like Levi hadn’t already thought of all the ways it could’ve gone wrong. He was worried sick, even though he was not going to admit it. Even so, he was going to do everything in his power to keep Isabel and Furlan safe.
The carriage ride with Shadis went by quickly. They discussed the latest matters. Keith seemed to have figured out what Erwin’s true intentions were.
The truth was, he knew everything about Nicholas Lobov’s plan: the way he predicted that he would’ve recruited Levi to borrow his strength on the battlefield, and so consequently commissioned him, Isabel and Furlan to kill him and get back the compromising documents that contained proof of his embezzlement and financial corruption.
He knew everything about it.
And that’s why recruiting the three of them was so important: now that they were working with the Scouts, their next expedition had finally been funded properly.
After months of refusals from the MP, now , the one who wanted the scouts to go on a patrol was the heart of the government, noble aristocratic Nicholas Lobov, the same man that had been the cause of their failures the whole time, drastically cutting funds and forcing them to stay inside, caged.
Sure, this expedition was going to be a bit different from the others, since he was going to have three of his subordinates attempting to murder him, but at least he had it.
And also, if everything happened how he planned it, in the end, he would've gotten Levi and his friends to actually join them, with no tricks.
Either way, the documents that they were looking for were impossible for them to find.
He had already sent them to Darius Zackley.
Keith had seemed worried.
“Erwin, could it be that you managed to change Lobov’s mind through some indecent means?”
“What do you intend to do?”
No matter how indecent the means were, some things were just way too important.
Only after joining the scouts had he realized what frail situation humanity was in. Dreams, ideas, lives, none of it would’ve mattered anymore if the titans breached the walls. And with how little they knew, it was truly just a matter of time. That’s why it was so important to leave, to get out, to explore, to find out the truth. Even if it meant tricking three miserable people from the Underground into thinking they actually have a way out.
At least that’s what he kept telling himself.
Training started. It was only a week or so before the next expedition, and this one was particularly important, as it was going to act as the try out for Erwin’s new formation. Everyone had high hopes and expectations. They had predicted the casualties to significantly decrease, if everything went as planned.
The change was in the purpose.
This time, their focus would’ve been solely on avoiding titans, not on developing new techniques to defeat them. This expedition was to actually explore, advance, see what’s beyond the walls.
The strategy was mainly founded on the smoking bombs: the lookouts, meaning the soldiers placed on the first row of the formation, were meant to shoot a red one every time they saw a titan. The soldiers closest to them, after seeing the signal, would’ve passed it down, and the cycle continued until it reached the commander, who was staying right in the heart of the structure.
At that point, the commander was to shoot a green smoke bomb, pointing it towards the direction he wanted to pursue in order to avoid the threat.
It was new, but promising.
That’s what everyone thought.
Not that Levi really cared. Even so, he, Isabel and Furlan had to attend training, especially since they were new, had absolutely no military preparation and had never even seen a titan before.
Either way, it went pretty well.
Isabel and Furlan made a good impression on their comrades, even managing to make some friends. It’s like they were having fun doing this.
Levi, on the other hand, was miserable.
He constantly had people on his back, breathing down on his neck telling him that his grip on the sword was wrong, that he wasn’t holding it right, especially fucking Flagon.
“What do you think you’re doing? Those blades aren't designed to be held like that, you’ll end up in a titan’s mouth right away.”
“That might as well happen to you, dickhead”
“What did you just say to me?!”
“If all I have to do is slice the titan’s neck, I’ll do it my own way” he then said before sprinting in the air, into the forest. He felt so light with the ODM gear. It had always come natural to him, from the moment they stole it from the black market, it’s like he just knew how to handle it. It had always been like that for him. He never really gave it much thought, about the way he did things. He just did them. He didn't know how, it was like some sort of instinct, like his body was moving on its own.
It was only a matter of seconds before he was back on the ground, after almost dancing around the trees, slicing all the fake titan’s nape with ease.
His comrades, or superiors, were amazed, it was obvious. They looked at him like he was some sort of God, even fucking Flagon.
One of them had caught his attention more than the others. And not really in a good way.
Their name was Hange Zoe, if he remembered correctly. They had brown hair, always tied up in a ponytail, which let more than just a few strands out. Always wearing a big pair of squared glasses, the spark which never left their eyes was the one that came closest to Erwin’s, although a bit different.
They were some sort of crazy scientist that spent all day babbling about how interesting titans were, and how much they wanted to capture one of them for experiments.
It creeped him out.
The one thing that stood out most of all though, was their absolutely lacking hygiene. It was disgusting, truly. They definitely did not bathe enough, and he could see it. And smell it.
And, worst thing of them all, this Hange seemed to have taken a particular interest in him. They always clung to him and asked him questions about his abilities: where he had learnt, who had taught him, how he managed, and shit like that. It was exhausting. No matter how many times Levi explained to them that he just didn’t know, they just kept becoming more and more persistent. He didn’t have time for this.
And so the days passed by excruciatingly slowly, until there was only one left.
While Erwin was busy discussing the last matters regarding the expedition, Furlan sneaked into his office, looking for the papers.
As predicted, he didn't find them.
“I’m sure he carries them with him, that has to be it.” Furlan stated.
“That’s why I think we should use the expedition to our advantage! Think about it: out of the walls Erwin and the others will be focused on literally everything except us, it’s a perfect chance! We’ll sneak up on him, kill him and steal the documents.” he continued, grinning as satisfied with his plan.
“AH! That’s a great idea! Right, big bro?” Isabel added, smile as big as ever, looking softly at Levi.
Well, it surely was a solid idea. It’s not like blondie would’ve cared for them when face to face with a titan. And also, Erwin’s new strategy wasn’t as safe as everyone had thought it to be. After all, if the formation broke for literally any kind of reason, they were fucked.
And what if it began raining and storming out of nowhere?
It’s not like the smoke bombs were waterproof.
Meaning that if something went wrong, they could’ve taken advantage of the chaos to kill Erwin and make it seem like an accident.
Or even if everything went right, an expedition outside the walls was always an expedition outside the walls, chaos had to break out at one point.
So yes, it was a solid idea.
But was it safe?
It’s not like Isabel and Furlan were immune to the titan threat. They were taking survival for granted. What if, too focused on Erwin’s movement, they got distracted and ended up in a titan’s mouth? Or what if they just weren’t strong enough even to just handle a titan? What if they got caught up by fear and just freezed? Everyone knew that’s what happened to the majority of Survey Corps soldiers.
How were they any different?
No. It was way too risky for them to leave the walls in the first place.
“Sure.”
He swallowed.
“But I’m going alone. You two just….find some sort of excuse to stay behind”
Isabel’s eyes widened whilst Furlan’s narrowed.
“What?! Why??” she whined.
“We haven't even seen a titan yet, it might be a miracle to just make it back alive. But if I’m by myself, I’ll manage it somehow. You’ll just stay here.”
“But-”
“Levi. Are you saying we can't handle it?” Furlan claimed, calmly.
Levi furrowed his brows even further.
“Yes. That's how I feel.”
At that point, Isabel snapped.
“But bro how can you say something like that?? We haven't even tried yet! This isn’t like you!!”
And so did Levi.
“Enough, Isabel! If you don’t wanna stay behind, then we’re done talking. We’ll look for a different opportunity." he shouted only to go on and storm out of the room, barely hearing Furlan calling for him, trying to get him to stay.
He didn’t want to listen.
He climbed the stairs that led to the roof and sat on its edge, looking at the sky.
This was a new sight for him.
He had heard stories about the sky as a kid, the endless expanse of blue that changed colour depending on the hour: it was lighter early in the day, and darker as time passed by. He knew about the stars, glowing dots that adorned it at night, and then, obviously, the moon.
He had secretly craved to see all of this for a long time, but this very evening, he was met with disappointment.
The clouds covered everything.
Like that, it looked the same as the Underground ceiling, and that’s surely not the view he had hoped to find, not tonight.
He sighed.
“Levi, let’s talk about this.”
Furlan’s voice made him turn around.
“I can't accept you going alone. It’ll be just as dangerous for you. We are worried too.”
“Yeah, big bro. And also, have you forgotten our promise? You said it yourself, that when we step outside, it’ll be the three of us, together.” Isabel intervened, making Levi’s chest ache.
“It looks the same. With no stars and moon, the sky up here looks the same as down there. It’s all the fucking same.” he spoke, as that was really the only thing he could’ve managed to say out loud in that moment.
“What? No it doesn’t, there’s a huge difference! We know there is no ceiling!” Isabel said in such a genuine tone, like she had just stated the obvious, it made Levi widen his eyes.
“Yeah, we’re not underground” said Furlan as he came to sit down just beside his best friend, having Isabel do the same.
“We’ll never go back there, Levi, we’re free now.”
Ah, maybe he hadn’t really realized it yet.
They had made it out of the Underground.
So many things had happened in such a short time, that he hadn’t even taken the time to breathe and understand that he had just achieved what had seemed impossible just a few weeks ago.
He was lying on top of the Survey Corps headquarter’s roof with his two most beloved people, looking at the sky.
There was no more ceiling on top of his head anymore.
Maybe things aren’t so bad after all.
“Big bro, the three of us have always pulled through. It’ll be the same with the titans. Let’s do this together. Like we always have, and always will.”
“Levi, believe in us.” and as the words left Furlan’s mouth, for just one moment, Levi just stopped worrying.
It’s like just for that one moment, everything was solved, and they had no problems, no complications at all, just dreams that seemed so close, close enough to be grasped.
And he really wanted to grasp them.
“Alright then, I’ll believe in you.” he spoke, and Isabel nearly jumped on him, cheering, making him chuckle lightly as he patted her head, ruffling her hair while Furlan laughed.
“Bro’s a stubborn one, ain’t he?” she added, basically hugging him at this point.
And whilst Levi really hated hugs, in that moment he felt warm.
He looked up at the sky once again, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the clouds had wandered away, uncovering the most beautiful full moon he had ever seen, and, he thinks, will ever see.
Everything was going to be fine.
As long as he had these two, everything was going to be fine.