To say rescuing Armin and Jean from their kidnappers was easy was understatement.  Whoever these worthless bastards were had no combat training whatsoever, so we were able to take them down in the blink of an eye. Between Mikasa and I's reflexes, and Sasha's quick work with her bow and arrow, we pinned down those sorry sons of bitches without even breaking a sweat. Jean and Armin were quickly freed from their restraints, although their pride would take some time to return.

Holding down one of the men with my bare hands, I nodded to Mikasa to give Levi the signal that we had caught the bastards. She jumped out the window of the supply warehouse where Jean and Armin had been held, making her way to the roof where Levi was watching and waiting. So far, everything had gone smoothly, as the second part of our plan was given the green light. To make sure that no one else was watching us, Levi and the members of the Fourth Squad made sure to keep an eye on the wagon that really held Eren and Historia, as they made their way back to us.

All I had to do was wait for us all to regroup tonight. Then, I could finally get some answers from both Levi and Eren.

Turning to face Armin, who was more than happy to return to normal clothes, I heaved a sigh. I was glad we had arrived when we did. Seeing his kidnappers handle him with such unbridled lust, thinking he was Historia, made my heart ache. It had been incredibly difficult for me to wait for Mikasa's signal, wanting to burst in and rescue them immediately. God knows I had wanted that for me...

"Are you okay, Armin?"

"Yea... I'm fine... thanks (Y/N)," he mumbled, rushing to attach his gear around his waist.

I wanted to punch the face of the man I was holding down, but knew it would get us nowhere. We had to get information out of them, and now wasn't the time for me to take out my anger. So instead, I just shoved his cheek into the dirt beneath him; a sad excuse for a floor. I heaved a sigh and forced a pained smile as I looked back up at Armin.

"I'm glad."

That was when it happened.

When everything would change.

Gun shots. 

I lost all warmth within my veins as my body went completely numb. My heart suddenly stopped beating, as if it needed absolute silence to listen closely, to make sure what I had heard was real. 

And it was.

The sound of bullets being fired into flesh pierced my ears, and the furious shout that followed, one filled with agonizing rage, had escaped from the lips of the man that I loved. 

"Levi-" I exhaled in horror, barely able to speak.

Completely on instinct, my body rapidly propelled forward, demanding that my 3DM Gear push the limits of speed, forcing me to fly faster than ever before. I launched myself out the window and onto the roof, barely touching my boots to the shingles below, before shooting my hooks off into the building across the way. Soaring through the air like a hawk searching for it's prey, I feared so terribly that I would find Levi's bloody corpse riddled with bullet holes, but I shook my head violently, forcing the horrific image from my mind. 

I could hear Mikasa yelling my name behind me, demanding that I wait for our squad, but I wasn't about to stop. No... Time was of the essence now, and I couldn't lose Levi. I couldn't...

Could the universe really be so cruel as to steal him away from me now?

The faster I flew, the louder the shots rang out. I was getting closer, but to what? To whom? What exactly was I rushing into? Had we really just been ambushed by Military Police? I recalled being pursued by similar gunfire when I was aligned with Squad Rico during my short stint with the Garrison, but that had been different. They had wanted to take me alive, and Levi hadn't been there. Back then, I was so driven by adrenaline, rage and revenge... But this? This was different. All I felt now was fear...

A kind of fear that would consume you if you weren't aware of its existence; the fear of losing the most important person in your whole life. It had already happened to me twice before. I couldn't handle it happening again... First, it was the horrific loss of my Mother, executed right before my eyes; taking a bullet to the brain. The second was my Father, heavily brainwashed to loathe my existence so fully, that he wanted to kill me with his own two hands. 

I was so blinded by my own fears that I didn't notice a shadow quickly approaching from the side.

The moment I caught sight of Levi ahead of me, darting through the alleyway, furiously zipping along the walls and narrowly missing the ground below, I gasped. Not with excitement or relief from seeing him alive. Not in alarm at the close proximity of the numerous MP's pursuing him so relentlessly. But at the sudden sharp pain that shot through my body, stealing the air from my lungs. The searing hot sting of a spinning bullet grazed my leg, accompanied by the severe bite of a grappling hook digging into the flesh of my thigh. Trapped within its clutches, I was suddenly yanked backwards and thrown roughly against the stone wall of the building behind me. 

I watched as blood involuntarily spewed from my mouth, the bitter taste of iron staining my tongue. Excruciating shockwaves traveled down my spine like lightning, instantly electrocuting every cell within me. Without even a moment to think, I felt myself being whipped around like a ragdoll before being thrown to the ground. As I was ruthlessly dragged across the dusty dirt road, rocks and pebbles bored into me, burying themselves deep into my raw, exposed skin, lacerated through fiery friction. I screamed in utter agony, an irrepressible cry that emanated from the depths of my soul. I could feel my flesh grating against the ground, cutting ever deeper into the muscle.

When I was finally able to pry my eyes open to catch a glimpse of my attacker, I could see Levi behind him, swinging around the corner, blood streaming down his face. In that brief moment, we locked our gaze on one another, becoming painfully aware of the sheer danger we were in.

The next thing I heard was Levi's gutteral roar as he tore through my assailant, slicing straight through him with ease. The tension from the hook released as the cord snapped away, but it wasn't enough to cease my forward momentum. I braced myself for impact, unable to avoid crashing into the mountain of wooden crates and oak barrels in my path. 

The barrels burst wide open and the crates splintered down around me as I unavoidably collided into them. Although my situation was less than ideal, I found myself fairly lucky to have smashed into empty wine barrels, not full. But who am I kidding, wine sounds fucking fantastic right about now...

I had barely begun to move underneath the pile of rubble when a hellish roar of laughter permeated through the street, making my skin crawl. Lifting my head slightly, I saw a tall, slender man appear from across the street, dressed in all black and wearing a strange version 3DM Gear.  His black hat was worn low, as to hide his face. He sauntered pretentiously up the steps of the saloon where I lay, pistols spinning in his hands, as he shouted,

"Levi! I can smell ya, ya filthy little rat!"