FicWad

“Breathing is a mere luxury,” Mikasa hissed as she gripped tighter on Levi’s throat.
Levi writhed in Mikasa’s strong grasp and clutched her hands in a desperate effort to suck in just one gasp of air.
“L-let go!” Levi spluttered.
“You let them die,” she snarled, “all of them!”
“T-that’s not t-true!”
Rain lashed the cloaks of the Survey Corps members as they rode dangerously close to the forest of giant trees. Thunderous steps took place in the thick woodland beside them. Levi gripped a sword with an anxious hand as they whipped past.
“You traitor,” Mikasa growled. “You didn’t care for their lives.”
Levi felt his life ebbing away slowly. His vision blurred and his attempts to escape Mikasa’s grasp weakened.
A huge group of Titans burst from the wood and blocked the path of the formation. Deafening cracks split the air as the trees fell from their standing points.
“Switch to the Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear!” Levi barked to his squad as he pulled off from his horse into the upmost branches of the trees.
“You left us there to die!” Mikasa roared as her fingers curled further and further around Levi’s throat.
“I… gave… o-orders…”
“What’s going on?” At that moment Hanji entered the room.
Noticing what was happening; Hanji lunged forward and tackled Mikasa to the floor, forcing her to release her grip on Levi. Hanji struggled to fight Mikasa to the ground and pin her by her wrists.
“Corporal,” Hanji exclaimed, “are you alright?”
From Levi’s viewpoint, he saw none of his squadron following him.
“Arlert, Jaeger, Ackerman, Kirschtein!” Levi called to his squad members. “Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear, let’s go!”
Eren had been caught in a Titan’s grasp. He couldn’t transform if he wanted to; his arms were pinned to his sides. Armin was being dangled by his leg by a Titan that was bringing him closer and closer to its gaping maw. Jean had been trampled and now laid in a pool of his own blood. Unsure of who to save, Mikasa’s head darted back and forth between her trapped companions.
Mike swung the door open and glanced around the room.
“What happened? What’s going on?”
Levi had purple finger marks on his throat, and Mikasa was struggling to escape Hanji’s hold. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
Levi gave a disgruntled hiss as he leapt from the branch he was standing flew off to where Mikasa was. He snatched Mikasa up by her abdomen and swooped back upward to the safety of the trees. Mikasa watched on in horror as the Titan which had gotten hold of Eren finished him off with a sickening crunch. Less than a second later, Armin was down the other Titan’s throat.
“What the hell was that for?” Mikasa roared.
“I saved your life, be grateful!” Levi sniffed.
“We… we could have saved them!”
“It wouldn’t have worked! We’d all have been devoured.”
“You let them die!”
“Levi?” Mike whispered. The Corporal wasn’t moving.
“He’s probably just stunned,” Hanji dismissed nervously.
“Y-yeah… stunned…” Mike choked out.
Hanji lifted Mikasa by her wrists and managed to get her into an arm lock.
“I’ll see if Levi’s okay,” Hanji whispered to Mike, “you take her to Erwin to decide punishment.”
Mike nodded his assent and tied Mikasa’s hands behind her back with some rope. They left the room.
Hanji made her way towards Levi and reached down an arm.
“Come on, Levi,” she murmured, “let’s get you to bed, alright?” Levi didn’t move. “Levi, you need your rest. Frankly, the floor isn’t too good of a place for that.”
Hanji knelt down beside the Corporal. Concern darkened her gaze as she grabbed his wrist. “Levi-”
He had no pulse.
“Levi?” Hanji whispered. “Levi, come on, we have to go.” Hanji’s voice wavered as she spoke. Just then, Mike reentered the darkened room.
“What are you still doing in here?” He inquired apprehensively.
“It’s… Levi…” Hanji croaked.
“What’s wrong?”
“He… he’s… dead…”
Mike’s hands tightened into fists.
“Mikasa killed him?” He hissed through clenched teeth.
“Y-yes…” Hanji whispered.

The guards threw Mikasa into a cell by her wrists and locked the door. She landed with a thud on her side in the corner.
“Why am I the one being locked up?!” She snarled. “Levi’s the one who-”
The guard had already left.
A chill ran down Mikasa’s spine. The only light in the chamber was a flickering torch. In her cell, the damp cobblestone walls offered no homeliness. A plank hanging from the wall with a beige blanket and a rock-solid pillow was all Mikasa could interpret as a bed. She huddled into a corner and swirled through her thoughts as warm tears rolled down her cheeks.
I should have come back down from the tree to save them instead of arguing with Levi… Mikasa thought bitterly. They would still be here if I had done that... I’m such an idiot! Why did I waste time deciding who to save in the first place? I could have killed both of the Titans in seconds if I had just-
A door slamming open broke Mikasa from her thoughts. Two sets of footsteps clicked down the hallway until they reached her cell. It was Mike and Hanji.
“You,” Mike snarled, “you… you murderer!”
“What are you talking about?” Mikasa hissed from her shadowy corner.
“You killed Corporal Levi!”
“I… what…?”
“Levi is dead,” Hanji said gravely, “you killed him.”
Mike was about to add something when Hanji grabbed his arm and hurried from the room.
“I’m not finished with you!” Mike’s enraged shout echoed through the hall.
A smile spread across Mikasa’s tear-stained face and she chuckled. I’ve avenged them… she thought as she rested her head back against the cobblestone and sighed. Your deaths… they should never have happened…
“I’m not sorry,” Mikasa growled to herself.

Lightning cracked through the sky. Rain pelted down from the ashen clouds. A look of horror was frozen onto Jean’s face. Crashing snaps resonated from the forest. The scenes from Eren and Armin’s deaths flashed back and forth in Mikasa’s mind. Levi’s final moments forced their way into her view. The cold, gray, unforgiving cell loomed in her vision. Mike’s fury rang in her ears.
“You murderer!”
Mikasa gasped and jolted awake. The torch had gone out, leaving her in pitch darkness. She felt as if someone was there in the room. Not quite her cell, but somewhere near. Mikasa got up and felt her way to the bars.
“Hello?” She called.
A squeak sounded from beside her as the door to her cell opened. Cautiously, she crept out.
Pain seared through her stomach as a strong foot made contact, and she was sent reeling backwards. A hand lifted her by her hair and an elbow jutted into her spine. Mikasa spluttered to catch her breath and felt around for the enemy. Her quivering hand found a scrabbly face and she barreled into the body it connected to, sending them both skidding across the hard stone floor. Mikasa landed a punch in the face of the assaulter. Strong hands grabbed her by her shoulders and shoved her off, sending her slamming into the opposite wall. Mikasa, assuming the person was still in front of her, dove forward and crashed into the man.
“Oof!” grunted a deep voice. Mikasa was sent to the ground as yet another punch was thrown her way.
Mikasa got up silently and slowly stepped silently around the assailant. She could just about make out a tall human shape, and she swept the legs out from under it in a flash. A thump sounded as flesh made contact with rock, and Mikasa felt her ankles being dragged down to the floor as well. A pair of hands lifted her upward and against the wall by the collar of her shirt. Mikasa kicked out with all her might and the grip vanished, sending the perpetrator to the ground once more. The figure was up in an instant and threw Mikasa into the bars of her cell. She gasped for breath as she fell to the ground, unmoving. Just in time, she crawled out of the way as a foot made a loud clang on the metal bars. With a shudder, she realized that’s where her head had once been. The attacker cursed and Mikasa had just enough time to swing another punch.
A creak sounded from behind them; the door leading to the cells had opened. Hanji and Erwin had come to investigate. When dim moonlight shed on the quarreling figures, the two rushed forward to break up the fight.
Hanji grabbed Mikasa in an arm lock and held her back as she struggled against furiously. Erwin smashed the other against a wall and held his arm twisted against his spine. Mike glared at Mikasa from his less than dignified stance. Blood trickled from his nose and numerous scrapes along his arms and legs, and a purple bruise swelled on his cheek.
“She… she killed Levi!” Mike snarled as he wriggled in Erwin’s grasp.
“That doesn’t give you the right to retaliate like this!” Erwin growled.
The Commander gestured for Hanji to put Mikasa back in the cell, and then he relit the torch. Half helping, half dragging Mike across the hall, the two made their way from the prison.
Mikasa’s head and limbs throbbed. Bruises and scrapes seemed to be everywhere, and the wooden bed was no help. The paper-thin blanket offered no warmth in the cold, dark dungeon. Eventually, she fell into an uneasy slumber.

“Wake up,” a gruff voice snapped Mikasa from her sleep.
“What…?” she muttered groggily.
“Commander Erwin has ordered the gallows for you.” The guard informed flatly.
“What?”
“You’ve hospitalized Mike Zacharius and killed Levi Rivaille.”
“I…”
“Let’s go,” he growled as he unlocked the door to her cell and clicked handcuffs around her wrists.
The jagged metal cuffs dug into Mikasa’s skin as she was forced along by the resentful guard. The rifle he was carrying jabbed into her back again, and she ruefully held back from a stinging retort. A headache throbbed in her forehead from her squabble with Mike the previous night.
“Move it,” the guard ordered.
“You try having knife-like handcuffs on, a splitting headache, and sleeping on a cold plank for a night, while being forced along by an idiotic guard who’d pointing a rifle at your heart!” Mikasa hissed. “Not to mention I’m on my way to be hanged. I’ll take my sweet time, thank you very much.”
The guard grumbled something to himself and quickened his pace.
The guard shoved his way through two large double doors that led to a clearing outside and forced Mikasa along in front of him. Standing tall in a circle of sand were two wooden posts holding up a third. A noose hung from the third post and moved slightly in a cold breeze. Erwin, Hanji, and Mike, all of the Squad Leaders, stood behind it with stone-like expressions. A fourth, Ymir, stood beside them. She had been made Squad Leader in place of Levi. Mikasa gritted her teeth as the rifle stabbed into her side once again as she was led up onto the wooden platform
Something clicked as the noose was slung around her throat. If you don't win...Mikasa’s elbows jutted outward into the guard’s stomach. The guard let out a gasp as he gripped his abdomen and stumbled backwards. She struggled to escape the scratchy rope. You can't live...Eventually, she slipped from its clutch and she snatched the key up from the guard and unlocked her handcuffs. Ymir was on her in a second. An arm wrapped around Mikasa’s throat and tightened. The only way to win... She bit down hard onto Ymir’s forearm and the grip released. Ymir fell back cursing and Mikasa bolted forward and rammed through the other Squad Leaders. Is to fight...
In the distance, Mikasa was seen racing down the hillside. Another Scout had come in at once with a rifle at hand. He cocked the rifle as Erwin pointed. Mikasa stopped at the foot of the hill and gazed up at the Head Quarters. The rifleman took careful aim at her figure. Glancing towards Erwin, the Commander nodded his assent.
He squeezed the trigger.