Chapter Text
The Next Morning…
Greer jolted awake to rough, frantic shaking.
Her vision swam before snapping into focus—Levi and Evie hovering over her, both breathing hard. Levi looked pale, drawn, his hands gripping her arms like he was afraid she’d vanish if he let go. Evie’s eyes were wide with panic.
Silence.
“Greer?” Levi said, his voice tight.
She nodded once.
Only then did his grip loosen, just slightly. Evie let out a shaky breath she’d clearly been holding.
“W-what happened?” Greer asked, her voice raw and hoarse. The sound startled her.
Evie swallowed.
“You…you had a nightmare.”
Greer nodded faintly.
“You wouldn’t wake up,” Evie added, quieter now.
“A nightmare?” Greer repeated, her throat tightening.
Levi shook his head slowly, composure settling back over him like armor.
“It wasn’t a nightmare,” he said. “It was a memory.”
Evie nodded.
“You were screaming. You kept telling someone to get back. Levi tried to wake you, but you wouldn’t—”
“That’s enough, Evie,” Levi cut in gently but firmly.
Silence fell again.
“I don’t remember any of it,” Greer admitted.
Levi released her completely and stepped back from the bed. Evie followed his lead, smoothing her expression.
“I’ll start breakfast,” she said softly, then slipped out of the room.
Greer watched Levi disappear into the bathroom, the door clicking shut behind him. A moment later the pipes groaned and the shower roared to life.
She stayed where she was.
Breathe. Collect yourself. He needs a minute too.
After a few moments, she pushed herself up and followed him. Steam wrapped around her as soon as she stepped inside, warm and thick in the small room. She peeled off her clothes carefully, mindful of half-healed wounds, and stepped beneath the spray.
The heat stung.
She bit it back.
Silence filled the space except for the rush of water.
Levi stood motionless, head bowed, water streaming down his hair and over his shoulders, tracing the rigid line of his spine.
“Levi—”
“—you were screaming for them,” he said.
The words stole the rest of hers.
Silence.
“You kept yelling at them to get back,” he continued, voice tight, like each syllable scraped on the way out. “Your screams…they were real.”
He shut his eyes hard, jaw flexing.
Greer moved toward him, but he retreated until his back met the tile.
“Was it like that?” he asked. “Were you that afraid?”
His voice faltered.
“I haven’t seen you scared like that since…”
He couldn’t finish it.
The water filled the gap.
“And I wasn’t there,” he went on, the confession forced out now. “You had to watch them die alone. As your captain, I should’ve been there. Maybe I could’ve changed something. Maybe I could’ve saved them.”
Greer shook her head immediately.
“We can’t think like that,” she whispered.
“It’s all I’ve been thinking about,” he admitted.
Silence settled again.
She closed the distance this time and pressed her forehead gently to his. A small, familiar touch. Grounding. Real.
He didn’t pull away.
She brushed a kiss to his lips, slow, careful, giving him time to refuse it.
He kissed her back, but she felt it: the restraint, the fear of wanting comfort he didn’t think he deserved.
When she drew back, she kept their foreheads together.
“Levi,” she breathed.
Please don’t shut me out.
His breath hitched.
And she felt him tremble.
Her body turned, pressed firmly back against the tile, and his mouth crashed into hers with a hunger that stole the air from her lungs. She lifted her leg, winding it tight around his waist, pulling him closer, needing him closer.
His lips left hers, trailing down her jaw, her throat, claiming. And then he was inside her.
A soft gasp broke from her as he filled her completely.
Her hands flew to his back, nails biting into skin as he withdrew only to thrust into her again. Levi groaned against her shoulder, the sound low, strained, and she wrapped herself around him, holding him there as if the world might try to pull him away.
Her body answered him, tightened around him, and she saw the way his composure cracked, mouth parting, breath catching, eyes losing focus. Like she had undone him.
His hand tangled in her soaked hair, gripping, as though she might vanish if he didn’t hold on hard enough. He kissed her again, fierce and claiming, the kind of kiss that said mine without ever speaking.
Her hands rose to his face, thumbs brushing along his cheeks, memorizing him.
The pressure built, higher, tighter, until it snapped.
Their cries mixed, echoing in the steam as their bodies locked together, trembling, neither of them willing to let go first. Levi buried his face against her, arms like iron around her as release washed through them both.
Warmth bloomed through Greer’s limbs, turning her weightless.
Empty.
Quiet.
For a heartbeat, Levi looked the same...eyes glazed, thoughts gone, as if the world beyond these walls no longer existed.
Just them.
Just now.
Silence.
“Breakfast is ready!” Evie called from downstairs.
Reality crashed back in.
Greer shifted to move, but Levi’s arms tightened, keeping her there. She looked up at him.
“Whatever happens today,” he murmured, voice rough, “if it gets to be too much, find me. Alright?”
She nodded, a small smile touching her lips.
“I will.”
He kissed her once more before they finally stepped out of the shower.
The Church of the Walls
They stood in formation, rigid and silent in their uniforms.
Empty coffins lined the yard in neat rows...too many, all the same. Families clustered at the front, clinging to one another. Behind them stood comrades, faces hard, eyes hollow, waiting their turn to speak for the dead.
Erwin stepped toward the podium. Levi remained where he was; public speeches were never his strength.
Before Erwin could begin, voices cut through the stillness.
Questions.
Demands.
Why.
How.
What went wrong.
Questions Erwin couldn’t answer...because he hadn’t been there.
Then Petra’s father stepped forward.
The crowd hushed.
He looked past Erwin. Past Levi.
Straight at Greer.
“Why won’t you speak for them?” he asked.
Silence fell like a weight.
He dabbed at his eyes with a worn cloth, hands trembling.
“Petra would’ve wanted you to. You were with her. With all of them. You were there in their final moments.”
His voice cracked.
“It should be you.”
Greer inhaled slowly, the air burning her lungs as she stepped forward.
“Sir,” she began, steady despite the tremor in her chest. “My squad died fighting for what they believed in. They died protecting one another...protecting me, and protecting Eren Yeager. They were brave. Every single one of them deserves to be remembered that way.”
“Stop!” someone shouted.
“Tell the truth!”
“Tell us how our children died,” Petra’s father pleaded softly. “Please. Tell us their final moments.”
Greer met his gaze and didn’t look away.
“We were escorting Eren Yeager back,” she said. “The mission was complete. The female titan had been captured. We thought it was over.”
Her throat tightened.
“We were laughing. Talking about home. About what we’d do when we got back.”
She swallowed.
“Then she appeared.”
The crowd went utterly still.
“Gunter was first,” Greer continued. “He died instantly. We couldn’t retrieve him. We pursued the titan. Eld was next. We weren’t prepared. We hadn’t planned for her speed…or her intelligence.”
Eren’s breath hitched. Mikasa’s hand tightened around his.
“Oluo, Petra, and I stayed behind,” Greer said, voice steady but thin. “So Eren could escape. That was the mission. Keep him alive.”
She paused. Forced herself on.
“We disabled her. Had her pinned. Oluo went in for the kill...but she regenerated her eye. Faster than anything we’d seen.”
Her words faltered for a heartbeat.
“She crushed him.”
Oluo’s family broke, sobs ripping through the silence.
Greer’s hands curled into fists at her sides.
“I told Petra to fall back,” she said quietly. “She was in shock. And by the time she moved…”
Her voice cracked.
“…it was too late.”
Petra’s father collapsed, grief tearing through him as the reality landed.
Silence reigned again.
“I see their faces every time I close my eyes,” Greer said. “I know I lived when they didn’t. And I would have traded my life for any one of theirs without hesitation.”
Her gaze swept the crowd.
“It isn’t fair. But neither is the world we live in.”
She straightened.
“My only hope is that one day, we live in a world without titans, where the fallen are truly honored. Until then, I will honor them the only way I know how.”
Her eyes hardened.
“By killing as many titans as I can, for as long as I draw breath.”
She turned back to the families.
“Be proud of them. They fought. They protected. They died so we could live another day.”
Greer stepped away from the podium and left the stage without another word.
Erwin inclined his head toward Levi.
Levi was already moving.
He followed her into the laboratory as Erwin turned back to address the silent crowd.
Beneath the Laboratory
Hange was hunched over her console, fingers flying, when Greer entered.
Annie remained suspended in her crystalline prison, silent, unmoving.
Greer approached slowly, boots echoing against stone, and stopped just short of the ice. Levi took up position beside Hange, who frowned at the unexpected tension but said nothing.
Greer studied the frozen girl for a long moment.
“Can you hear me?” she asked softly. “I believe you can.”
Hange glanced up.
“Do you recognize my voice?” Greer continued, a faint smile touching her lips. “You should. It belongs to your executioner.”
The room felt colder.
Greer leaned in slightly.
“Tell me...how does it feel to know that no matter how this war ends, you won’t survive it?”
For just a fraction of a second, Greer swore the crystal shuddered.
She smiled.
“Whether we win or lose, I will come for you,” she said calmly. “I’ll give you a choice. I’m not cruel.”
Levi didn’t move. Hange took an instinctive step forward, but Levi’s arm barred her path.
“You may die as a human,” Greer continued, almost conversational, “or as a titan.”
Hange’s breath caught.
“Either way,” Greer added, “it will be slow. And painful.”
She tilted her head thoughtfully.
“I’ve never tortured anyone before. Never found it particularly interesting. But I learn quickly.”
Her gaze flicked to Annie’s frozen face.
“Perhaps I’ll practice on your friends first. Reiner. Bertolt.”
Greer stepped back, scratching her temple with a faint, almost cheerful hum.
“I’ll see you soon,” she said lightly. “Titan.”
She turned and left without another word.
Silence lingered in her wake.
Hange finally exhaled and turned to Levi.
“She was almost scarier than you.”
Levi didn’t look away from Annie.
“She’s figured out how to make even titans afraid,” he said quietly.
Hange let out a nervous laugh.
The Hospital - The Following Day
The squad gathered around Erwin as a medic adjusted his bandages. He wasted no time.
“I’ve received new information,” he said.
Every spine straightened.
“We believe the cause of the titans is known by the upper command...and the King,” Erwin continued. “They are withholding that information.”
Murmurs rippled through the room.
“They also want Eren Yeager. And the key he carries.”
Eren stiffened.
“But the key to my—”
“We’ll have to delay that,” Erwin interrupted. “This takes priority.”
Silence fell.
“Eren needs to disappear,” Erwin said. “Immediately. We’ll move him into hiding beyond Wall Rose, back into Wall Maria.”
Eyes widened.
“Levi,” Erwin continued, “you’ll take command of the operation. I’ll remain here and monitor the political situation.”
The room began to clear...until Greer didn’t move.
Erwin noticed.
“What is it?” he asked.
Greer hesitated. Only for a moment.
“I’m requesting that my sister accompany us,” she said.
The room froze.
She held Erwin’s gaze, unflinching, and watched realization dawn across his face. Hange covered her mouth.
“I won’t leave her behind,” Greer said quietly. “Not when the people in power may be responsible for all of this.”
She lowered her voice.
“Please.”
Erwin studied her for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
“Approved.”
Greer inclined her head and turned to leave.
“Greer,” Erwin called.
She paused.
“Thank you,” he said, “for trusting me.”
She gave a small nod and walked out.