That evening, just as the sun prepared to grace the horizon, the commotion finally died down, allowing time for Chi and Levi to speak alone. They went to a more isolated spot a ways away from where the rest of the Deviants took camp, under the shade of a large tree. With their hands interlocked, they took their seats against the trunk and leaned against one another.

Chi laid her head against Levi's shoulder and he atop her head, facing the horizon with the light reflecting in their eyes. For a small while, they sat in silence, soaking up the warmth of each other's presences. It seemed like it was a dream; they were so peaceful in the plain view of such open lands. Stretching far beyond view ran the earth, patches of forest decorating the land. Off in the westward distance, they could see what looked like a mountain range.

"Hey, Levi," Chi murmured, "I did end up keeping my side of the promise, didn't I?"

"Good," Levi said lightly. "You would've been an idiot and broken it for good if I didn't come to get you."

"Thank you for finding me. I was lost, at first." Chi wore a wispy look as she faced the fading sun. "At that point, I had thrown away all logic. I was surrounded in darkness, and only darkness—and I thought I was going to be that way forever. But something strange happened, and—and I think I met some important people of my life."

"That's interesting. Who were they?"

"My parents. And my grandfather, too. They were such lovely people... who didn't deserve to die the way they did." Chi's grip on Levi's hand tightened. "And yet, they wore the happiest smiles I've ever seen. They apologized for leaving me, and even though I am—was—alone, they said that they'd always be watching over me. They said they would protect me from a place within the stars, and promised me that we'd see each other again someday."

"They must have been wonderful people if you're to talk about them like that," Levi mentioned, breathing a long sigh. "They were people who showered you with love from so far away."

"But what about you, Levi? Even after all this time, I know nothing about you, and yet you know everything about me. And this 'Ackerman' surname? For so long, I had believed your surname was 'Rivaille,' and not once did you correct me if I was wrong."

"Do I really have to explain this?" Levi whined, holding his right hand up to peer at its silhouette against the sunset.

"Yes," Chi answered quietly. "After all... we are engaged now, aren't we? I'm curious about this surname I'm about to take on."

Levi looked away and reddened at the remark, sighing heavily. "Alright, alright. I'll tell you, idiot." He took a few brief moments to breathe again. "My father? Who knows who he was... he was a person who abandoned me, and I couldn't give two shits about where he is today. I was raised by a man named Kenny Ackerman—a Military Policeman, my uncle, in the underground city. He took me under his wing after my mother died when I was a child."

"So that explains why you were so familiar with the city?"

"Exactly. Not much has changed from when I lived in that filthy place. Eventually, I ended up alone down there, but I made a few friends. Their names were Farlan and Isabel. We stole 3DMG and taught ourselves how to use them in that cramped hellhole. No one could ever catch up to us when we were up to our antics—not even the Military Policemen could." Levi's gaze glittered. "But we eventually get caught, though it was by the most skilled of all three regiments—the Survey Corps. Because of our fear of getting arrested for our crimes, Erwin offered us a deal. We could join them, or be turned in and brought to justice."

"And so you joined," Chi continued for him, anticipating his story. "But what became of Isabel and Farlan? You've never mentioned them before, and I don't think I know anyone by those names in the Corps. I'd like to meet them."

"They're dead," Levi said quietly. Surprised crossed Chi's face and she lifted her head to gaze at Levi, her eyes intently staring into his.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, one hand reaching over to brush away stray strands of hair in front of his eyes. "I didn't—"

"It's fine. It's not something I am sensitive wit, but I prefer not to talk about shit from the past. But I did learn pimportant lessons—and I paid for my brash decisions. Because I made the wrong choice, I lost them to the titans, and that was when I swore my allegiance to the Corps. Ever since then, I've been fighting for the freedom that we finally have now."

"But... this doesn't explain why your pseudonym was 'Rivaille.'"

"Ah, that. Kenny Ackerman is a serial killer, and I wished to never be associated with him. I swear to kill him one day. But for now, he's in captive, and it's up to Erwin as to what happens to him. I don't want to be labeled as someone relatively close to such a person. Thus, I coined the name 'Rivaille.'"

"And why have you chosen to reclaim Ackerman?" Chi questioned. Her eyes went over to where Levi's free hand toyed with a shortened lock of Chi's hair, his fingers brushing over the tips.

"Because if you married someone with the last name 'Rivaille,' you would be married to nobody—a man who doesn't exist. And because I wanted to make you mine, I needed you to have my name. My name."

Chi nodded in amusement. "Chisaki Ackerman... it sounds strange."

"I love it," Levi insisted, gazing upon the land with a smile tugging at his lips. "Imagine, what will become of us now? After this... what do we do?"

"There's so many possibilites," Chi agreed, nuzzling closer to her lover. "You know what Eren used to talk about all the time, back when we were in the Trainee Squads? He'd go on and on about the ocean, and about how salty the water would be—how bright the sun would shine, and how endless the sea would stretch. He promised that he, Armin, and Mikasa would one day visit it together."

"It sounds beautiful," Levi spoke softly, imagining such a sight in his head.

Chi's shoulders rose and fell in a deep breath. "Tell me... this freedom. It's amazing to finally be able to breathe it all in, but how did we achieve it? No one has told me yet what's happened to Violet. I thought I'd crystallized myself so I could take her with me. Since I'm free... then doesn't that mean she is, as well?"

"No one's sure. No one's sure as to why you're alive while she's dead, but she is. When I came to, I was in that crystal with you. Our forsaken world knows how, but I closed my eyes one moment as I was touching that giant crystal, and when I opened them, I was inside—only, it was no longer crystal."

"Do you understand now, why I've thrown away all logic?" Chi sighed exasperatedly. "Please, explain this to me."

"Let's see... I'm inside. The outer shell of the crystal is exactly the same as it was before, and no matter how hard I tried to destroy it, I could not. That material is strange—when I looked through it from our tomb, it looked as if the entire world outside was a drop of morning dew in the midst of a massive world. And try as I might, I couldn't break the damn rock—until it suddenly shattered around me.

"Your Alabaster friend had somehow managed to get a sword thrust into the top of the crystal shell, and from there, it shattered—and thank goodness, we were alive. You weren't conscious, but you were alive. I can't put into words how happy I was."

A sad smile came upon Chi's lips. "And Violet?" she reiterated.

"That vile bitch?" Levi let her name roll off of his tongue with disgust. "Like I said, no one quite knows how it happened, but the moment her presence returned to the world, she was... gone. Starting with the soles of her feet, you could see the veins through her transparent skin crystallize, and then, the entirety of her body. Ruff and Claudius worked with shitty four-eyes to come up with the theory that the crystals in her cells had been overridden with yours, and it became too much for her physical body to take. The crystal particles became imbalanced and too much of her body became crystal, taking her life. She was nothing but rock anymore."

"Interesting, " Chi exhaled, her shoulders relaxing. "Then... I'm free. We're free. I love it, this wonderful thing called freedom, even though we've only gotten a tiny drop of it."

Their conversation of dreams was interrupted by running feet, drawing both of their attentions. They rose to their feet and were surprised to find that it was Armin who dashed as quickly as he could toward the two of them, his face. When he finally approached the two, he opened his mouth to speak, but only puffed a heaving breath.

"S—sorry... one... moment," he panted, resting his hands atop his knees as he rebuilt his breath. When he finally caught up with the wind, he lifted his head, his eyes wide with excitement. "Annie, it's Annie! She's finally woken up!"

"What?" Chi burst, her eyes widening. "Annie's finally gotten out of that damn crystal?!"

"Yes, and rumor is, she isn't the same! Come, follow me—they've even allowed her to roam!" Armin rushed off in the direction he came, and Chi started to follow him—but Levi grabbed her arm to stop her. She looked at him in astonishment, pulling him along to insist that he go, too.

"Wait," Levi protested. "Before we go, I need you to promise me that you won't do anything rash. Don't attack her in spite of revenge for my squad."

"Who ever said I was going to?" Chi scoffed, but Levi's eyes narrowed.

"I know you too well, idiot. I don't want you to make any mistakes only to later end up regretting them. Please... take it from me." Chi's gaze softened and she swallowed audibly. Without saying another word, she nodded once, and he did too.

They chased after Armin until they reached the outside of Wall Maria, where they found an entire crowd of people flocked towards a centerpiece. Elbowing their ways through the ruckus, the two emerged at the rim of a large circle with a clearing in the center, Annie standing with Hanji chatting to her. The blonde girl constantly flickered her eyes around, eyeing the people that stared her down.

"Hanji!" Chi called, she, Levi, and Armin racing to the scientist. "What's going on?" When Chi approached the two, her gaze immediately went to Annie, who looked exactly as she did before—but her eyes were different. They seemed empty and hollow, as if a large part of her had been ripped away and cast off into nothing.

"It seems something strange has occurred," Hanji muttered, rubbing her chin with her thumb and forefinger. "I really have no idea how this happened, but not even a few hours ago, there was a big flash right outside of Maria. It looked similar to one like yours, Chi, and everyone rushed to inspect it. We were shocked to find that Annie's crystal had somehow appeared out of thin air—and only moments after it appearing, the crystal melted in a cloud of steam, leaving Annie here, suddenly conscious."

"I think I've decided to trash all of my logic, too," Levi grumbled with a shake of his head.

"It gets even weirder, though!" Hanji shook her head. "Annie seems to have lost a big part of her memory. She doesn't remember a thing that's happened, with her last memory being graduating from the Trainee Squad and getting into the Military Police regiment."

"You really don't remember a thing?" Chi asked, her eyes cutting deep into Annie's mesmerizing ones. With a confused expression, the young girl shook her head and took a cautious step back. Reaching out, Chi attempted to grab Annie's shoulders, but Armin interfered. He stepped in between the two, and though he had a look of utter terror and hesitation in his eyes, his face showed determination.

"P—please," Armin mustered up the strength to say. "It's obvious that Annie's in a state of unsureness. We can spare her the distress, can't we?"

"But... but who's going to pay for Petra's death, then?" Chi demanded. "And Eld's, and Gunther's, and even Oluo's! What about them?"

"We can discuss that later," Hanji insisted, resting a hand on Chi's shoulder. "It really seems so that Annie can't recall a thing that happened. I'll look further into it—I can promise you that, but for now just sit back and relax, alright? I wouldn't want to dampen the mood after our victory." Armin shot Chi an apologetic look and grabbed Annie's hand, leading her away through a part in the crowd.

Chi deflated and shrunk back to Levi's side. Hanji called for the crowd to disperse, in which they did, but Chi stayed rooted to her spot. She buried her face in Levi's shoulder, frustrated. Levi wove his arms around her waist and held her tightly to him; she wasn't the only one who bore this regret.

"I have an idea," Levi said in attempt to cheer not only her up, but himself, too.

"What is it?" Chi mumbled in a muffled voice. Levi whispered a few exchanges of words into her ear. Drawing her head away from him, Chi looked at him with a wide-eyed expression, but a grin curled her lips.

"You want to?" Levi asked slyly.

Chi gave him a vigorous nod. "Let's do it."