{LEVIHAN} Always

Chapter 1: Limbo

Hanji's POV

Opening my eyes to the bright sun, I've noticed something... strange. It's so quiet, calm... strange. All the pain I felt... it was gone. It's... peaceful. Peaceful once more. Have we... achieved... peace? What do I remember last?

"The plane!" I sprang upward, seeing myself in this little pit. I stared at the beautiful blue sky, seeing a few stray clouds. My heart began to race as I grew worried. Did I survive the entire ordeal? But... it seemed impossible... but could it be possible? In this world, the impossible is possible.

"It took off," a familiar voice echoed in my head. The impossible... is possible? 

"Huh...?"

Turning to the voice, I saw him... and he looks calmer, happier. I couldn't believe it... it was him. He smiles softly, "Hanji, you've done your duty..."

Looking everywhere, I couldn't keep my feelings bottled up in a vial anymore. "Erwin... everyone...?" How... could it be? They're dead... so that means... I'm dead as well? Is this the afterlife? 

Confirming Erwin's response, I see that plane flying across the blue sky. I was finally able to sigh with relief as Moblit aided me to my feet. "I see..." Now that I'm dead, we can speak normally instead of interacting with each other as superiors. "It was so hard being commander... that idiot, Eren..."

Erwin chuckled a bit, walking towards the shoreline. "It must have been very difficult, I'll listen to your story."

Time didn't affect me in this afterlife. I explained the four years of being commander, and it seemed like no time passed. The sun hadn't moved from its spot in the sky. He listened to every word I said. Never stopping me to clarify anything. Instead of telling a story, I ranted all of my problems to him. Even some of the Scouts listened in.

"All that," he says once I concluded my rant, "I missed a lot..."

"Erwin, where are we? I know we're near the-."

"It's not exactly the afterlife, Hanji." He looks over the waters, stepping into it with his boots on. I reached out, ready to stop him, but it seemed water fazed through him. Were we ghosts? But I don't see a living person anywhere. "Hanji, ever heard of the term, 'limbo?'"

"Limbo? I have heard of it a couple of times, but... we're in Limbo?"

He nods his head. "There's one thing in common we all have, Hanji... and it's that we never had a chance to lay our goals to the side. We all died with... let's say unfinished business. It's only a few of us who linger here. Hanji, I stayed here because I wanted answers to our life. That basement... it only raised more questions."

"Why am I here?"

"Ask yourself, Hanji. Everyone here figured out why we're still stuck in this place. We want the titans to be gone. All we can do is watch. Watch how this world is turning out. For now, let's follow that plane, Hanji. Let's see this entire thing through. After all, you sacrificed yourself to let that plane fly. Let's see what is gained from that."

*   *   *

 Levi...

As stubborn as ever. Despite his injuries, he continued to fight to the end. I've never seen him fight past his limits. He's betting his entire life on his ability to keep fighting. Once his body gives up, he's done for. Almost like... he's killing himself. Why would you want to do this to yourself, Levi? Why?

The fight soon concluded, and I stayed by his side. "Were you all watching that?" The way he made it sound was relieving. I'm glad... he's still alive... "It seems that this is how it ends. The goal that you all devoted your hearts to..." He gives us a salute, and I saluted him back. 

Before I knew it, it seemed we disappeared from his eyes. Everyone... all the ghosts in Limbo started to glow and disappear. Erwin was the last one to go. They were all at peace. I waited for me to glow and disappear to the true afterlife. But it never happened. I waited... and waited... but the time never came.

*   *   *

I don't know how much time has passed. I wandered back to where I died, reminiscing my last moments here. Defying death every day... only to run back to death to protect the mission. Erwin's words to me still echo in my head.

"Why am I here?" I wanted all of this to end. But it is done. It has ended. Titans are no longer a thing in this world. I kept asking that question, wondering why I haven't found peace. Why haven't I found peace?

Out from nowhere, I caught a person standing in front of me. "Who are you?" I asked the figure, "Are you... dead too?"

Suddenly, I hear a male voice booming in my left ear. "Do you wish to live again?"

"Live...? I-Impossible..." Flashes of my memory when I felt my skin burning ten times worse than burning my hand on an open flame. I remember how Armin was when he faced Bertholdt for the first time. "I'm dead... I can't be brought back... titans are gone..." The only way Armin recovered was by consuming Bertholdt for the Colossal Titan. If they defeated the source of the titans... how can I regenerate?

"Do you wish to live again?"

Honestly... I do. There's no one else here... everyone moved on... and... Levi...

Uttering those last words, I smiled as a single tear slipped down my face. "Yes... I do..." At that moment, I felt a sting on my left arm and it began to grow heavy. Quickly, I turned to the pain, seeing nothing there. What is... going on...?

Before I knew it, whatever was injected into me, I felt its icy grasp scattering throughout my body. Burning with pain, I screamed at the top of my lungs. Scorching under my skin; the pain never ceased. Soon, my head began to ache, twist, turn, and stretch. My stomach began to churn as I grew nauseous. 

When I could open my eyes... I was... no longer in Limbo...