The rain was freezing cold on Janice's skin. A sudden deluge had fallen upon the city early that afternoon, turning an already crummy but crucial mission into a chore. The sky, from underneath her hood, was navy blue, undulating like the belly of a massive beast. She adjusted her sniper rifle, praying the rain wouldn't have an effect on her aim.

The buildings in the area had a grayish cast to them, as though the steel color of the clouds had seeped into their casings. Most blinds were drawn or half drawn at this hour of the day and in such awful weather conditions. No one wanted to let the storm further depress the aura of loneliness, that already played around the darkened offices.

Janice resisted the urge to shift or bite her nails. Her crouch upon the rooftop was beyond uncomfortable, but she was unable to move until the signal came from her partner. Knowing him, he had been circling the area for hours and would complete several final circuits before he was satisfied.

Whatever occupied him took many minutes, in which Janice worked herself into a towering temper at him, then the flash from the adjacent rooftop came, along with a grappling hook that nearly took her head off.

Janice sighed and let it fall where it would, scraping along the rooftop until it locked against a concrete barrier. No one would be able to hear the noise over the storm.

A blur moved on the other roof, a simple twist of her partner's hips causing the grappling line to retract. She spotted his grey eyes before anything else. With his jet-black undercut and short bangs, the only light-colored part of his face was his eyes.

Janice readjusted as he approached. His own rifles were holstered, two long tubes of midnight colored steel hanging from his shoulders, above the ever-present machete sheathes. Every active assassin was equipped with both; rifles for long range kills and machetes if things got dicey. Janice had no idea where Erwin got the money, and she wasn't going to ask.

"Do you have the target?"

Janice responded cautiously.

"I do but-"

"But what?"

He tapped her shoulder, their code that she could look away from the target. He had trained one of his own rifles on it. Her voice was low and solemn when she answered.

"Levi, take a look at his desk."

The end of his rifle wavered as he adjusted his sights.

"Got it," he confirmed.

"Now look at the lower right corner, almost behind that file folder."

Another minute adjustment, then Levi's breath caught in his throat. "That can't be."

Janice sighed. "But it is. We can't afford to deny the possibility."

He growled. "This was supposed to be a routine mission. What the hell is a random arms dealer doing with a Titan seal on his desk?"

Janice bristled along with him. "Want a guess?"

"Be my guest, Robin."

Janice rolled her eyes.

"As you wish, Ackerman. He's why their newest recruits have those assault rifles. The Survey Corps has nailed down all the other dealers in this area. Most of them are more afraid of Eren and his little trifecta of power than the Titans."

Levi snorted. It was well known throughout the Corps that Eren, one of their youngest recruits, as well as his sister Mikasa and best friend Armin, were a bit of loose cannons. Left on their own, their extreme personalities caused problems. Put them together, as Commander Erwin eventually had figured out, and they'd do the job.

Janice continued.

"This guy is a possible source of information. I think we should go in."

Levi considered it. "It's risky, dangerous, and uncalled for in the mission parameters."

Janice waited, knowing him too well to think of his words as criticisms. Then he put up his gun and stood. "I trust your judgment."

Janice's head whipped towards him but he had already aimed the grappling hook on his hip towards the window they had planned to shoot through. He refused to meet her eyes.

"He's here. Ready to go, Robin?"

Janice huffed out a breathless laugh.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

They fired at the same moment, leaping off the building and retracting the clamps with a hip twist. Janice balled her body up, as Levi had taught her, hands over her face, knees and feet forward.

They crashed through the glass window at full speed and Janice vaulted the desk. In seconds, she had one hand over the arms dealer's mouth and another holding her rifle at his head. Levi strode over quickly and frisked the man, withdrawing his hidden weapons before he could go for them. Janice locked eyes with their target.

"Make a sound and we blow your brains out."

The man nodded. Janice removed her hand.

There was a click as Levi locked the door before sharply directing the man to stand in the middle of the room. It wasn't safe to leave him behind his desk.

Janice kept her rifle trained on the man and Levi brought over the Titan seal. He shoved it into the man's face.

"Why do you have this?" The man refused to answer. Janice twisted her rifle so the barrel pointed up under his chin. Levi's glare intensified. "Answer, shitwad."

Janice sighed internally. Always eloquent, her partner.

"A man gave it to me."

"Helpful," Levi deadpanned. "At least we know we're not looking for one half of the human population. A little more description and we might let you off easy."

A trickle of sweat ran down the man's neck. Janice rolled her eyes. He was awfully weak-willed for an arms dealer. With any amount of hope, it was a sign; the Titans were getting desperate. Janice licked her lips. The Titans had taken everything from her, and after seven years, the man under her hands might be the key to their downfall.

"He was tall, blonde, like bleach blonde, military haircut but clean shaven. Watery green eyes. Real bulky."

Levi shut the man up with a snap of his fingers. It was clearly the Armored Titan. The Survey Corps called him that because he always wore body armor. It had made him frustratingly difficult to kill. He was also second in command to the Colossal Titan, whose face haunted Janice's dreams every night.

Whenever the Survey Corps got close to the Armored Titan, Levi would lobby for sending a rocket launcher. Erwin always vetoed it, unsure if Levi was joking. Levi rarely was.

"How did he contact you?"

Janice asked the question this time. The Armored Titan wasn't her main target, but wherever he was, the Colossal Titan was probably close by.

"He sent flash drives, with video. The seal was with one. I still have one of the envelopes in my desk."

He inched towards it and Janice tensed. Levi gave the man a nod and he retreated, rounding the structure and pulling a bunch of packaging from a drawer. He kept one hand below the desk and Janice's gun came up just in time to see him pull one from under the desk. He cackled loudly and squeezed the trigger, aiming right at Levi's head.

There were several bangs then short clicks. Levi sighed, clearly unimpressed. He rummaged in a pocket attached to his belt and pulled out a metal rectangle.

"Forget something?" Janice put in.

The man's face blanched. He dropped the gun and held up his hands.

"Alright, alright, I'm done, I'm sorry, I won't do it again, here," he pushed the envelope forward.

Levi pulled on the sterilized gloves Janice handed to him before picking it up.

"I didn't mean to do that, I-I was just testing you," the man pleaded.

Facing Janice's gun barrel shut him up. His eyes flew from her to Levi. He found no mercy in either gaze.

"But why?"

"You heard the lady the first time. If you make a noise, we'll blow your brains out."

And with a pull of the trigger, Janice did. The man died a clean death, the customized bullets whizzing through his skull before his brain knew he should be bleeding out.

Levi tucked the envelope in a pocket then nodded towards Janice. They were done here, and the alarms would be bringing guards any minute.

With a stylized twist of her hips, Janice's grappling hook was connected to the building they came from. She balled her body up as she shot out the hole in the window, trusting her jacket padding to protect her skin from excess glass. Levi followed behind.

Their feet touched down on the rain-slicked roof, alarms just beginning to blare in the building behind them. Levi cursed. He grasped Janice's arm then twisted his hips roughly across the darkened expanse of rooftops.

The grappling hook made contact with something far away and already Levi was gone, dragging Janice along with him. She hit the next roof running, wrenching away from Levi. If they were going to go down, she wasn't taking him with her. The look of shocked horror on his face almost made her reconsider, but she turned her face away and scurried to a roof in the opposite direction.

Gunshots came from below her; henchmen running across the streets beneath the buildings she was running on. They were close; she would have to be careful getting back to HQ. Janice took a chance and aimed her hook for a roof that protruded over the edge of the building it was attached to. She hit the edge hard, rolling into the bruises. Then without further ado, she rolled right off the roof, landing on a top floor balcony.

The shouts got closer, along with the sound of gunfire. Janice crashed her body ruthlessly through the sliding glass door, barreling into a bedroom. She straightened up, immediately on guard. But the room was empty. Still, a shattered window would be a dead giveaway.

Janice rushed to the door and peered down the long hallway. A window at the end of the hall cast eerie light across the faded grey carpet as it was lit by the storm. The building appeared to be deserted.

Janice kept her guard up. It was unlikely any building in this district would be abandoned. It was probably a cover for some manner of small-time criminal. Janice didn't want to run into them but anyone else was better than the Titans.

The Titans weren't known for being merciful. Several terrified faces swam in front of Janice's eyes. She had only seen them in nightmares, but according to the file the Survey Corps had on her, they were her old friends and family. Whatever the Titans had done to them had been bad enough to wipe it from Janice's conscious mind.

She made it to a staircase, then vaulted down, jerking her hips at the last moment to attach her hook to the ceiling. Lowering herself on the cord was faster and less tiring than running. Janice remembered when Levi had taught her the technique. It was a much more pleasant image than the flashes of before.

The ground floor of the building was a different story than the top. The rooms she'd been in were apartments, built over a large warehouse. She opened the warehouse door a crack and a wave of general criminal noise swept over her; gratuitous swearing and the soft flapping of cards hitting cement.

Janice searched her pockets. She came up with a sound grenade.

Janice pulled the pin then tossed it as far as she could into the room. The explosion would have deafened her if she hadn't covered her ears.

As the sound of men yelling reached her, Janice darted out, rushing for a set of exit doors she had seen at the end of the hall. But apparently one of the men had been smart enough to cover his ears, and Janice felt a vicious pain rip through her calf the moment she reached the doors.

She pushed on and away, biting her lips to keep from screaming.

Levi was not going to be happy. His mission style was simple: get in, kill the target, get out; not stumble, bleeding, into HQ after going outside the parameters of the mission.

But stumble Janice did, hoping against hope she'd run into Erwin first, to get one lecture over with. Life was not kind and she ended up bumping into Levi, who looked mad enough to slap her but he had way too much sense to try.

His lecture was worse than Erwin's, filled with chastisements about how she let herself get hurt and self-admonishments that left her wracked with guilt. All the while he was digging the bullet out of her leg and patching her up. His hands remained careful even if his words did not.

Janice gritted her teeth through the process, but by the end his words had become cutting enough she was ready to get up and leave. He caught her arm before she could.

"Janice." She looked up, furious. "I'd rather be captured with you than not know if you were alive or dead."

"The evidence might not have gotten here."

Levi conceded the point with a nod.

"True. But if we were together it would be easier to escape." He sighed. "We might have lost the letter, you're right."

A strange look came over his face, like he was deciding whether or not to step back. His final decision resulted in locking eyes with her. "I'd still rather you relied on me a little more. We're a team."

He saw the defiance build in Janice's eyes and rushed to clarify. "I'm not going down that easily and neither are you. We're powerful assassins, and all the more powerful when we're together." He squeezed her arm. "I'm not going to die."

Janice regarded his countenance and suddenly she knew. He must have looked into her file. She braced for his pity, but, finding none in his eyes, accepted the statement.

"You'd better not. At least not until we take down the Titans."

His lips didn't move, but his eyes sparkled ever so slightly. "Agreed."

He released her. "Get a good night's sleep. If Hanji and the other jokers down in the lab can get a location on the letter, we'll be moving out tomorrow."

Janice nodded and walked off. Her bunk was small and sparsely decorated. Any sentimental photographs or trinkets from her life before were shoved into a small box that was hidden beneath her bed. It took too much emotional energy to try and remember them.

Janice washed up and changed into her sleeping outfit. She was impatient to catch the man responsible for her misery, but she knew Hanji, and Hanji knew Levi. If anything important was discovered before the next morning, Levi would wake her.

The familiar blaring of her alarm woke Janice. She was out of bed like a shot, dressed and showered in barely ten minutes. She used to love hot showers, but it had long since ceased to matter if the temperature was to her liking. She rationalized that saving time was more important.

Janice was unsurprised to find her partner leaning against a wall outside her bunk. He gave her a small nod that she returned. Levi's eyes swept over her face, then his gaze flickered away, focused on the mission, but not before she witnessed something almost like concern from her usually stoic partner. Janice had tried for hours to sleep, but her rest was haunted by horrifying nightmares. Four hours didn't look good on anyone.

Hanji and the other "jokers" had indeed tracked small traces of residue on the letter to a high rise a couple of miles away. Furthermore, they had even managed to prove the letter was written not by the Armored Titan, but the Colossal Titan via handwriting samples. Janice gritted her teeth. The samples were seven years old, exactly as long as it had been since Janice had lost everyone she cared about, along with much of her memory.

The Colossal Titan's face hadn't been well known at that time. He was able to successfully infiltrate the Survey Corps as a trainee named Bertholdt. Other junior assassins and civilians kept dying on his missions under mysterious circumstances, but he always claimed it was an accident of some sort. Only a last-minute tip from an informant named Ymir had allowed the Survey Corps to chase the Titans out from within their own organization before they killed anyone else.

Ymir's girlfriend Christa had persuaded Ymir to reveal the rogue agents to Levi. He had rushed to the mission location but had been too late to save anyone but Janice from the massacre the Titans had made of her village.

Eren's village had been attacked just days earlier and it was a bit of a surprise to discover their connection once they both became attached to the Survey Corps. Janice admitted to admiring the young assassin quite a lot. Their eyes burned the same. They were survivors.

Erwin briefed Janice and Levi on the mission, all the while casting careful looks at Janice. She understood why. She and Levi were being given an opportunity to take out the Kingpin and second in command of the Titans. The utmost caution would need to be taken in eliminating such high-risk targets. It stood to reason that Erwin would worry about Janice's personal feelings getting in the way. His decision to let her on the mission at all belied her value as an assassin.

Levi informed Janice after the briefing that Eren had been taken off the list for this mission, his fury once he heard the particulars too much to control. Janice could sympathize, but while Eren's trauma had translated to power, Janice's had become her focus.

They arrived at the location right on schedule. Janice swung through the lower floors of surrounding buildings, hopping balconies when quarters were too close. Most of the buildings were filled with guards, but from their lackadaisical attitudes, they were likely mercenaries the Titans had hired in a show of strength. Janice doubted they'd stick around once the leaders were dead.

Janice and Levi got into position on a roof near the main building and Erwin radioed in their final orders. Ground crews were on standby, guarding tunnels and general exit points. They were led by Mikasa, Eren's adoptive sister. Janice silently approved the choice. Mikasa had streaks of extreme behavior, but over time she had mostly outgrown them, leaving her a capable and clinical leader.

Erwin's orders to Levi and Janice were to attack from the very top floor. It was a testament to the intensity of the mission that Erwin gave them permission to basically sweep through the building from the top down, massacring any Titan operatives along the way. It was much more brute force than the assassins would generally use, but necessary under these circumstances. With luck, they'd trap the Colossal Titan and Armored Titan at some point between Levi, Janice, and Mikasa.

Janice willed her breathing to calm. Adrenaline had ramped up when she realized how close she was to the men who had ruined her life. And Levi's. In saving her he had lost an entire team. He usually acted like he had the emotional range of a teaspoon, but in truth he had quite the easily wounded heart. Nevertheless, he had taken over training her, and Eren's little band, without hesitation. It was one of the highest items on the list of reasons for which she respected Levi.

Next to her, Levi shrugged his coat off, revealing the sharp uniform of the Survey Corps, in all black. In place of the usual patch with their emblem was an ornate metal representation, winking in the light. Janice's eyes were drawn to it. It was unlike her partner to reveal himself that easily to targets. Levi shrugged.

"We aren't trying to keep this subtle." His grey eyes went almost black. "And I don't know about you, but I'd like the Titans to know who's killing them."

A deep thrum of anger began in Janice's chest.

"Perfect," she hissed.

Levi threw his duffel bag towards her and she opened it to find a copy of the uniform. She glanced at him.

"It's not just a fashion statement. Newest body armor from Hanji."

Janice settled into position next to Levi, awaiting the telltale crackle of their earpieces. With a jerk of his head Levi signaled her to maintain her watch of the building while he turned away and slipped a hand into his pocket. From it he removed another metal insignia, which he leaned over to pin on her uniform. He was just withdrawing his hands when Erwin's voice came through the earpiece.

"Mikasa, check in."

Mikasa's voice responded, crisp and clear.

"Ready, commander."

Erwin addressed them next.

"Levi, Janice, check in."

"Ready," they both replied.

"Hanji, how are the tunnels looking?"

"Not even a rat is getting out this way, boss."

Janice could almost picture the exasperation on Erwin's face.

"Alright then. On my count."

Janice flipped from her sitting position into a crouch.

"Three."

She locked eyes with Levi. He nodded.

"Two."

Janice pointed the hooks on her hips towards the roof. The building was easily the tallest for miles; she'd have to aim exactly right or she'd overshoot.

"One."

Both Janice and Levi wrenched their hips towards the building, releasing the hooks. Alarms began to blare at the first moment of contact, but the pair were already in the air.

Janice and Levi crashed through the uppermost windows. Her gun was out before she hit the floor and spraying bullets before she had her balance. The men in the office jerked fruitlessly, falling in a hail of fire. Janice felt no sympathy. While the Survey Corps was a brand of vigilante justice in and of itself, anyone who chose to ally themselves with the Titans was likely a killer. Any assassin worth their salt would rather die than give the Titans any quarter.

The last man hit the ground and Janice spared a second to process the room. It was an office by the looks of it, and none of the targets were the ones they were looking for. That was a smart move on the Titans' part. Leaving the top floor for executives was too spy-movie.

"First room, clear," she said, knowing her earpiece would pick it up. Levi spoke.

"Any action on your side, Mikasa?"

The response was cold, but Janice swore she could almost hear excitement in the young assassin's voice.

"Plenty."

Levi's eyes narrowed.

"Let's get these sons of bitches."

Voices shouted from the next room over and Janice raised her gun, ready. Bullets ripped through the men who'd been attracted by the noise. Janice was vaulting over their bodies before they hit the carpet. Levi was right behind her.

The next group had machine guns and Levi had to upend a desk before sniping over it, leading the men to their maker. They cleared the top floor quickly. Janice radioed the information in and got a terse, "We're alive," from Mikasa. It seemed the Titans were keener on escaping than putting up resistance.

Janice almost grinned. They were scared. Scared meant desperate. Desperate meant reckless. She could beat reckless.

Her suspicions were confirmed the more floors she and Levi cleared. There were fewer men each time, and several fled towards lower ground upon seeing the partners. These stragglers didn't get far.

Finally, the office spaces gave way to more opulence. Conference rooms, and several spaces resembling apartment suites. Levi exhausted his bullets in the last of those rooms and left his guns where they fell. Janice had to follow suit one floor down. They had to be more on their guard now; without the guns, they only had the machetes and, as a last resort, the grappling hooks themselves.

A set of gilded banisters loomed at the end of the hall. Levi adjusted his belt, jostling the giant machete sheathes. The hall was narrow enough that they had to pass in single file.

Janice glanced behind, checking for sneak attacks. She was viciously pleased to gaze upon the trail of groaning bodies and blood spatter littering the walls behind. She nodded at Levi. Clear. They were off, sprinting towards the lit entryway in the distance.

The hall opened up into a giant room, much like the warehouse Janice had been in the night before, but significantly more extravagant. Janice and Levi stood at the top of a giant carpeted staircase. Circular tables sporting pure white tablecloths populated the space, their wooden legs resting on blood red carpet. But all the high ceilings, chandeliers, and thought-provoking frescos in the world couldn't keep Janice's eyes from the two men arguing in the center of the room. Janice would know those faces to her death and beyond.

The taller of the two turned around. He had a classically handsome face and brown hair, with a center part. He looked kind. Janice wanted to tear his throat out with her teeth.

"Ackerman, Robin." The man sunk his hands into his pockets. "You're looking well."

"Bertholdt," Janice hissed. The man whistled.

"It's been ages since I've heard that name. I didn't suppose you remembered me."

Janice straightened up. She felt Levi's hand on her back, it was unclear whether this was for ease of pulling her back, or support.

"I think I'd remember the name of the man who killed my family. My friends."

"Ah." Bertholdt smiled. "You've got me." He smiled. "What are you going to do now, gracious angel? Smite me?"

Janice's head spun. She felt Levi's hand tighten on the cloth at her back.

"You cannot use the name my parents gave me, against me. It is my strength, not my weakness."

Levi stepped up.

"As for what we're going to do with you, I wouldn't be so confident."

He jerked his head at a point behind the Titan's heads. Bertholdt's companion, a blonde man the Survey Corps had known as Reiner, spun towards the other exit from the room. A team poured into the room in full gear, led by a bloodstained but easily recognizable face, her neck wound in a red scarf. Footsteps sounded behind Janice and Levi as well, and suddenly their ranks filled out the top of the staircase.

Janice looked at the array of faces. Erwin, Matt, Sasha. So many familiar, angry, faces. A little lower in her sight line was a pair of bright green eyes in a youthful face, standing tall next to another adolescent with blonde hair. Eren! He gave Janice a nod before meeting Mikasa's eyes across the room. The two pseudo-siblings looked relieved to see the other alive.

Janice was only a little surprised to see Eren. One of Erwin's maxims was to never let anyone other than himself know the full plan. It had served the Survey Corps well. It had brought them to this point.

Erwin stepped forward.

"Bertholdt, Reiner. For years, the threat of the Colossal and Armored Titans have struck fear into the hearts of thousands of innocents. You have brought about the ruin and death of many of our loved ones. When you joined our ranks, we taught you our values, and we would have offered you safety from anything. But you betrayed our trust. You are too dangerous to be left alive." He took a breath. Janice took savage pleasure in seeing some of the color drain from the Titan's faces. "I have ordered my men to kill you on sight. The question only remains…who has the right to your deaths?" Erwin shot a side glance at Eren. "Every single one of us has lost friends, parents, siblings, childhoods, to your menace."

He paused. Eren stepped forward.

"I nominate Janice and Levi." Janice's gaze swung to him. He gave her a nod and not for the first time Janice saw the adult he would be. "For me, joining the Survey Corps has been all of the revenge I need. And I know Janice." He chuckled lowly. "She'll give us a show worthy of our imaginings." Eren started a little. "Oh, and Levi, because, obviously."

A dark strain of laughter ran through the Survey Corps. Mikasa smirked.

"I second the nomination," she stated. "Janice and Levi."

Hanji stepped out from behind Erwin and raised their fist in the air.

"Janice and Levi."

Matt echoed it and before long everyone was chanting their names like a demonic benediction.

Erwin turned to the partners. He cast one last look at Bertholdt and Reiner. Fear crystallized in their eyes. Erwin's gaze hardened. "You know your orders."

Janice's feet were sailing over the railing before he finished speaking. She tossed aside tables as she went, tearing through the space.

Bertholdt was closest to her, his hand slipping inside his ill-fitting suit jacket. Janice braced herself for what she knew to be forthcoming. A sword unfolded from what appeared to be a stack of small metal rhombuses in Bertholdt's hand. He jabbed it at Janice's stomach. She dodged at the last moment, drawing one of her machetes to deflect it. The sword was deceptively thin but the blade was longer than Bertholdt was tall. Its size was what had earned Bertholdt his moniker.

The two metal weapons made contact with a clang and before Bertholdt had a chance to move, Janice was rushing him, sliding her machete along the length of the sword. She almost got to his throat when he bent backward at a vicious angle. His thumb smoothed over the extend button of the sword. Janice blinked. The sword shrank in a flash, down to the size of a knife. Janice's eyes widened and that little moment of hesitation was enough.

She twisted to avoid the worst of it, but still stepped back with a hole in her side. Her hand flew up to stop the blood flow but it still spilled out over her fingertips. The wound was awful, but non-lethal. Janice gritted her teeth. She'd felt worse. More blood coated her hand. She'd. Felt. Worse.

She leapt forward, switching her machete from her left hand to her right. Bertholdt's eyes followed the motion and she cut him, straight down his chest. His suit jacket and undershirt were left hanging over a thin sliver of skin. A tiny dot of red appeared on the otherwise unmarred surface. Janice bared her teeth even as blood spilled over her lips.

Bertholdt stumbled back, covering his body with the sword. Janice's mind raced. She needed to have more in her back pocket to defeat the Colossal Titan than just strength and speed. He looked weak, but she knew he could take an endless assortment of blows. He also knew how to give as good as he got with that sword, and Janice wasn't going to be standing much longer.

Janice took several smaller blows and was smacked into a table as she tried to multitask. Adrenaline was the only reason she was even holding her own. Bertholdt's own desperation as he faced the ruin of his empire played to her benefit, but it would only impart a small advantage.

Janice's eyes were once again drawn to the cut she had made down the front of Bertholdt's suit. She remembered how she'd ran at him before, down the length of his sword. With those two images, Janice had her end strategy. She just had to get Bertholdt to extend his sword again and pray for her pain threshold.

She rushed him, letting all of her rage cloud the surface of her eyes. She also left her injured side wide open. Bertholdt's thumb twitched on the extend button. This was going to happen in one go.

Janice screamed as the sword shot into her injury, fitting neatly through the previous wound and extending out through her back. But she didn't stop.

She flicked another machete out of her holsters and with one in each hand, she rushed Bertholdt, running her own body down his sword. She slashed outward, cutting right under Bertholdt's arms and effectively removing him of all but the arms of his suit jacket. The mass of cloth hit the floor with a definite thud.

He twitched his wrist, intending to turn the sword in Janice's side and slice her in half. She had just enough presence of mind to execute the final piece of her plan. Janice dropped the machete in her left hand and grasped his over the sword hilt.

She broke his thumb swiftly, preventing him from shrinking the sword. Then she gave another harsh jerk on his wrist that she paid for with a blow to the head, but when she stepped back she was the one holding the sword by the hilt.

She couldn't afford to remove it from her side or she'd bleed out. Instead she snapped it off close to her body and threw the pieces away. Bertholdt looked stunned. Janice spit blood in his direction. She wasn't going to give him the honor of any parting words. He was going to die, painfully, in silence.

A shape appeared in her periphery, and she instinctively blocked a blow, before realizing it was Levi. She chanced a look at his opponent. Reiner was injured in several places and struggling to his feet. Bertholdt was still regrouping. They had a second. Levi's eyes shone. Janice blinked and she swore she'd seen him smirk.

There was no time to enjoy her usually stoic partner's sudden emotion. Janice clambered up onto one of the tables, picking her way up several that had been pushed aside. Levi, meanwhile, engaged Bertholdt below. Bertholdt's colossal sword was gone but even he wasn't arrogant enough to not carry secondary weapons. Bertholdt's knives against Levi's machetes; it was about an even match.

Janice made it to the top of the pile of tables. She glanced back at Reiner, verifying that he was still down for the moment. Then she leapt out, her hands connecting with the edge of a large crystal chandelier.

Janice's weight pulled the chandelier's cord down and her stomach wound protested, but her momentum couldn't be stopped. She careened through the air, raising her machete over her head in one hand.

"Die!" She shouted. Then her machete was driving through Bertholdt's chest, right as Levi slipped past his defense. All of the cunning in the world was no match for two machetes to the heart. The Colossal Titan was dead before he hit the ground.

Reiner's anguished scream sounded behind them. Janice whirled, just barely blocking a sudden body slam. She was flung backward. To her eternal gratitude, Levi was there, catching her before she could make a painful impact with the blood red carpet.

Janice regarded his expression. It held concern for her, rage at Reiner, and a kind of savage triumph. Then she remembered that Reiner, not Bertholdt, had been the one who thought purposely taking out the members of Levi's old team was amusing.

Janice tugged on Levi's sleeve. "Get him. I'll be fine." He moved his lips near her ear and whispered a line of instruction. Janice nodded, then grimaced at the pain in her side. "I'll be up in five, go."

Levi took off, weaving under Reiner's catastrophic blows, narrowly sneaking knives in between cracks in his armor. Slowly but surely, he forced Reiner closer towards the wall.

Janice rummaged in her pocket, and her hand closed on a small explosive. She struggled to her feet and began to limp towards the wall. Levi caught her gaze. Janice readied her arm to throw. Time to see if they could pull it off.

Levi twisted his hips and his grappling hooks shot out, finding purchase in Reiner's thick armor. The close quarters cost Levi a hefty blow on the back and Janice heard a couple of his ribs crunch. But he spat the blood out and ran, away from Reiner and towards the chandelier, still hanging on its distended cord from the ceiling.

He grasped the edge as he went but continued running, the grappling line unspooling behind him, hopping tables until his feet left the ground. Janice saw Levi grope for the button on his belt and took her queue to fling the explosive towards the wall behind Reiner.

The blast popped one of Janice's eardrums and flung her to her knees. She squinted up to catch the last moments of the battle. Hanji's loyal tech pulled through and Levi's lines hit their limit. The chandelier's swing combined with the retraction of the lines swung him back towards Reiner, and with an impressive jerk of his hips, Levi executed a spinning kick to Reiner's torso that thrust him towards the wall…and out through the hole Janice had blasted.

The whole Survey Corps rushed to look at the exit. When Erwin looked back his face was twisted into a vicious grin.

"Not even Kevlar can save him now."

A rumble began among the troops. Erwin's grin traveled over their faces and slowly that built to a great roar. Janice could barely believe it. Finally. Justice. For her family, and for so many other innocent people who had lost their lives to these traitors.

She looked over at her partner. He had hit the wall but appeared mostly alright, or as alright as anyone could be after such a battle. The kick had disconnected his lines and the little hooks hung limply at his sides.

Levi's eyes focused on Janice's face and upon seeing her they widened. Janice listened for the source of his shock and found that among all the cheers was a high-pitched hiccupping noise.

It took a second to realize she was laughing. Really laughing, and, as she took stock of her body, crying too. Levi's expression changed along with hers and he brought a hand up over his eyes, tipping his head back. They were a distance apart but she could have sworn she saw tears twinkle from underneath his fingers.

Janice's breath caught. He was so beautiful. She couldn't figure out how she'd never seen it before. But he really was, in that moment, in their triumph.

The rest of the night passed in a blur of cheers, bandages, and finally the fuzziness brought on by hefty sedatives, accompanied by the soft embrace of a stuffed mattress.

Janice awoke in her own bed. She glanced around then as if she'd summoned him, a knock sounded at her door, and Levi strode in.

"The knocking is perfunctory now, isn't it?" Janice joked.

The corner of Levi's face twitched in what could almost be mistaken for a grin. He was limping, one arm in a cast, and what looked like a whole roll of bandages decorating his chest, but Janice had never seen him happier. He wasn't even smiling; he glowed. It struck Janice that she wasn't feeling quite the same.

It didn't make sense, she should be thrilled, and last night she was. But now, what was she now? She'd killed, maimed, done so much for their cause. And that made sense. But the Titans were dead, their organization scuttled. Was she supposed to try and blend in as a civilian? Or keep on being an assassin? She couldn't remember a skill she possessed that wasn't purely for the purpose of being the best in the Survey Corps.

Fingers pressed under her chin. She met Levi's steady gaze.

"You're thinking awfully loud."

"What are we doing?" Levi tilted his head. "We're soldiers. Of a sort. Without a war to fight. What now?"

Levi chuckled darkly.

"There's always a war to fight. Now we have the time to shift from the wars we can see, to those we can't."

Janice followed his hand as it drifted to her head, then to her heart.

"What if I can't win this one?"

Her voice sounded small and so unlike her Janice was disgusted. But Levi just ruffled her hair.

"Then you'll have help."

"Help?"

He settled against her headboard, their thighs touching.

"There's always me," he paused. "If you'll have me."

Janice glanced over at him. His muscles were relaxed, and he was leaning against her headboard, the morning light touching the tips of his bangs. Janice was struck, yet again, by his beauty. His words echoed in her mind. She couldn't remember when she'd last had someone express such an obvious wish to stay by her side. There was no other way to answer it.

"Don't worry Ackerman. Neither of us is leaving the other anytime soon."

Levi's mouth did that twitch grin thing again. Janice knew he might as well have been beaming.

They'd be alright. They were Janice and Levi.

Author's note: For goodness sakes, I have probably been working on this for like a year. I am endlessly sorry it is so late. HUGE thanks to Shirinai Atsune, who created the character of Janice and let me write her in this story. I hope it lives up to your expectations and that I wrote your OC ok. Thank you again. I hope everyone who reads this enjoys it.